Ready or not...

Tonight I had such a precious moment with my little Miles. I had put him down for bed, but a few minutes later I thought I heard him crying as if he'd hurt himself. I went in to check on him, and it was just his usual complainings about having been put to bed (something he's realized is just not fun). I picked him up and held him close, rocking back and forth. For the next five minutes or so, he had his head on my chest and talked very quietly to himself, looking up every now and then. When I felt like he was calm enough, I put him back down, he snuggled up next to Winnie-the-Pooh, and I heard no more. I left with my heart aching, in a good way, and storing up that little moment among others that I will keep for the rest of my life.

It's almost here...Miles will soon be one year young (old just doesn't seem right). How do most mothers deal with this? I know how Casey is dealing with it -- he likes seeing Miles get bigger and change day by day. Not me! Okay, for the most part, I am proud to see him advancing and learning and all of that. But it is so hard to know that he is growing and won't be my little baby boy forever. Or, as is indicated in the following photo, my little 'Cheerio Chin' boy.

Miles has lately become more and more cuddly with me. He gives me daily hugs and kisses, but I get about the same amount as his two Winnie-the-Poohs, but I still feel important. Miles also loves Junebug, our resident kitty, and she is unbelievably patient with him, enduring big pats on her back and the occasional ear-tugging. And when Miles is crying...Junebug comes near, somehow sensing that there is pain and that she can help. And she does!

Last week my parents came to visit, but mostly to help out while Casey was away on a spring break mission trip to West Virginia with a few of our students. One day we headed down with some friends to the lake where there is also a man-made beach (so much fun). This was Miles' first experience with sand, so I wasn't sure how he would take to it. He loved it! Below you can see him enjoying his digging, even with sand on his face, in his mouth, and sometimes in his eyes. (That's our friend Meagan in the background.)

Miles still isn't walking, but he crawls faster than I've ever seen a baby crawl. He goes turbo-speed! He's still very good about sitting still and playing on his own now and then, and he will sometimes strike the perfect pose for my ever-present camera. Miles can now stand for seconds (sometimes up to ten!) at a time, even clapping while he is keeping his balance. He loves to clap those hands.

I know my blogs tend mostly to be about Miles, and I truly want to branch out and write about soooo many other things. Right now I am still dealing with a wound that has been open since last June (totally serious...I wouldn't joke about this), lots of irritating fatigue, and currently a perforated eardrum due to infection. Just hoping to get across how much I would like to be blogging on a more continual basis but struggle to do so. I hope that any readers left out there will stay faithful, because I will be back in full force someday, God willing!