Silly Jumper

Myles jumps to the beat of his own drum, per se

Myles's Saturday

The SmithAldridge Saturday

Myles had his first taste of stone ground cheese grits & scrambled egg (aka "Glue".) A popular breakfast in the SmithAldridge home, Myles took to it happily!

Later we took a little hike at the Sepulveda Dam Basin (aka "The Symphony of Sounds", according to the welcome sign.) 

Myles enjoyed the walk & we even stopped to watch a cricket game before leaving. 

Myles in his Chris Paul jersey - Go Clips! 

The day ended with Game 4 of the Clippers playoffs. We watched the game at "Spoonful", a Studio City restaurant owned by a former Georgian &  specializing in Southern fare. Myles powered through an entire game - what a trooper! 

Myles Wears a Hat

It was sunny, so Myles wore my hat for a bit.

A is for Alligator

Myles has begun the "alligator crawl!" On Saturday he was barely doing it & by yesterday he was going after stuff. The first video is from yesterday morning & the second is from this morning. In just 24 hours he was already quicker. Rut-ro, Shraggy! 

Myles's Sensory Bag

AKA "Squishy Bag"

I made Myles a Montessori sensory bag with items from the 99 Cent Store. I filled a gallon size ziploc bag with hair gel then inserted various trinkets, squeezed out the air, zipped it up & reinforced all the edges with clear packing tape. Squish away, young Myles!

Also, this was the first time I'd been to a 99 Cent Store since moving to CA in 2001...and I gotta say, it was kinda strangely awesome. 

Our Wiener is Broken

As many of you know, Tupelo recently suffered from a herniated disc & had emergency surgery on her spine. The following video was taken the day BEFORE her injury. The video mainly features Myles & his favorite toy, THE WHISK, but you can also see how excited Tupelo is to be "on the hunt" in the backyard. Our crazy wiener.

Mere hours before Tupelo's injury, she & Myles hung out while I repotted some plants.

The next morning Tupelo couldn't move her hind legs, so I packed up the wiener & the baby & we spent the following hours at our vet & then Animal Specialty Group getting Tupelo into surgery. Myles was a trooper the whole time
(this pic was in the vet waiting room) as was our little Tupelo.

One day post op - The vets felt Tupelo would make a full recovery; however, she wouldn't eat for them, so yes, Myles & I went all the way to Glendale to hand feed our picky little pup. And she ate for us, yea!

After 4 days in the hospital, Tupelo came home & is on the mend. She had her staples removed a few days ago & is allowed to walk around once or twice a day for 5 minute increments. She still wears "the cone of shame" to keep her from licking the incision & she spends most of her time in her crate & on steroids for the next month. The strength is slowing returning to her legs & she has lots of energy that she's not getting to burn. She's always been crazy like that. 

And now let's sing praises to animal insurance, Pets Best Insurance. Her vet bills totaled $5,017 & our pet insurance paid over $4,000 of that. I submitted the claim immediately after receiving the bill & less than 2 weeks later, the check arrived. Everything was itemized & made sense (we have a deductible & are then reimbursed for 80%.) 

Why can't human insurance be so efficient & effective?

Myles Plays (& Eats) a Piano

(Thanks for the hand-me-down piano, Ms. Marissa!)

More Myles, Of Course

Myles is nice - He lets me put stuff on his head & take pics

My Sunshine

Mmm...feet.

LOVES to stand, especially at this chair

Laundry Stowaway 

Monkey Toes

Looking at his photo album (he's looking at a picture of Tupelo, aww!) 

Hummingbird

On yesterday's walk, we saw a hummingbird stopping to drink at a neighbor's kangaroo paw plant. It hung out for a few seconds then hovered right in front of my camera before flying away. Like Myles, the bird likes my iphone case! Or it just knew that I'd wanted take a pic of a hummingbird for quite some time.

Myles Eats Black Beans

Well, that title pretty much says it all. Myles ate some black beans...and it was a fun mess. I like feeding him black beans b/c he gets a little black bean goatee. It's like a glimpse into the future when I'll get to say, "Ugh, go shave that crap off your handsome face."

 Yea for stuff Moms say!

"I do it myself."

Not quite right.

There ya go!

Black Bean Goatee

Happy Birthday, Papa!

Today is my Dad's birthday! Myles wanted to wish him a Happy Birthday!

 Myles is so excited for Papa's birthday that he wants to show you 

how to slap your own butt...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - WE LOVE YOU!

Myles, 7 Months Old

Our little Myles Flynn is 7 months old & growing big & strong. His personality is big & strong as well. He's developed a funny little sense of humor that keeps Greg & me guessing. Not one for a cheap laugh, Myles stares at us blankly when we constantly try the same trick to get him to giggle. Instead, he laughs hysterically when the dog runs by, when we remove his arms from a long sleeve shirt & lately, when Greg burps. He'll be telling us to pull his finger any day now. Ahh, boys. 

So far (knock on wood) Myles is a great eater! We moved on from single ingredient purees to items a bit "chunkier" & with multi-ingredients. Recently he ate homemade lentils made with shallot, garlic, marjoram & grilled Granny Smith apple. Though, nothing makes him happier than those full fat YoBaby yogurts, duh. 

Myles loves reading. Or rather, being read to. He pays attention to each page & has begun to "pet" each page we read as I point to what we're reading. Aside from loving to read books, he also loves to eat them. He loves music & listens to it daily. Although we sing normal kiddie music, Greg has made a Myles playlist aptly titled "The MisEduction of Myles Flynn." And nothing gets him ready for a nap like "The Carpenter" by The Avett Brothers (one of my personal faves.) 

Myles coos & babbles constantly...and also makes it known when he dislikes something, anything, everything. He also gives great hugs & kisses! He hugs us all the time and when he kisses me, he grabs both sides of my face to pull me closer...though, I'm pretty sure he's just trying to eat my face off. 

...and is it just Greg & me or is Myles's hair turning...reddish?

Aww, check out those little teeth!

Although it is April 1st, all of the above is true to the best of my knowledge.

Happy Easter!

Myles's 1st Easter

The Easter Bunny visited us! He brought Myles a puzzle, blocks & bubbles!

Mmm, blocks are delicious.

Lofthouse style sugar cookies

Greg made a strawberry strata for Easter breakfast

Myles & his loot

Easter at the Findleys! 

Adorable Isobel "Punky" Williams

Marissa gets in some good Myles time

Elizabeth checks out her loot

Fifi eats a cookie

Aarin entertains all the kiddies!

"The Last Hoorah"
We made roast chicken & vegetables for our Easter Dinner.
I've decided that after this I'm returning to my vegetarian ways.
This makes Greg make a sad face.