My Most Wonderful Husband

Right around the Fourth of July, Jeff was going to take Miles to the farmer's market.  As they got ready to go, Miles pulled out his hearing aids, telling Jeff, "I want to be like you, I want to be like you." 

Hearing this just about broke my heart.  But Jeff didn't skip a beat.

"You are just like me.  You look just like me.  You love music like I do.  You have blond hair like I do.  But I wear glasses and you wear hearing aids."

I love that man more and more each day.

Here I Am!

I have been very remiss in my blogging.  It must mean that life is getting good.  Or just very busy.
In April, my brother came into town.  He lives in Hong Kong and the last time I saw him, my father was dying.  Before this trip, he and his wife had yet to meet Miles.  That gives you an idea on how long ago it was.  He came to the Bay to run in the Big Sur International Marathon.

We met up with Evan on Thursday when he came to our house for dinner.  Miles and I met him in the driveway where he proceeded to become one of Miles' favorite people by giving him a present, a colorful octopus from Sri Lanka (my brother travels the world).  Miles showed off his biking skills by riding down to the park and then impressed Evan with his strong throwing arm by tossing back some softballs from the girls practicing on the baseball fields.  Evan secured his position as "great uncle" by throwing Miles around and tickling him until he was red in the face.

We got to see both Evan and Cheryl again on Saturday when we drove down to Carmel where they were staying for the marathon the following day.  Miles was thrilled to go to the beach, though it wasn't as warm as the day we went to Santa Cruz.  We walked on the shore, explored the pretty downtown and then went to Point Lobos for a hike and some baby harbor seal watching.  The mamas were out having their pups and warming themselves in the sun.

On our way home, we stopped in Santa Cruz at a Mexican restaurant we have been to with friends.  There was a table of women next to us who, by their conversation, were obviously teachers.  As they got up to leave they stopped to fawn over Miles.  One commented on his hearing aids and said that she was a teacher at a school that had deaf and hard of hearing program.  I asked her which one.  She said, "Oh, it's in Santa Clara," which made me ask again, "Which one?"  When she told me the name of her school, I said, "That's the school we're hopefully going to send him to for preschool."  Of course, that set off a long conversation about the program and how wonderful the teachers are.

As a side note, Miles' Early Start teacher had to be a little aggressive to get the assessment process into play.  I'm hoping we don't get closed out but they are sending someone to begin the evaluations in about two weeks.  Space in this program is surprisingly limited.

We went to see the ENT at the end of April as Miles was showing fluid in one of his ears again.  Both tubes were working their way out of his ears so we needed to do the whole process again.  While we were there, I mentioned how loudly he snored and that he seemed to always have a runny nose.  "Ah, sounds like adenoids.  We could do the scope but we might as well just do it while he's out during the surgery."

Mid-May, we went to Lucille Packard Children's Hospital where Miles got himself a new pair of ear tubes and was unburdened of his abnormally large adenoids.  He now sleeps silently and there is no sign of snot!

Mama's Boy turns into Daddy's Boy

Miles has always been a mama's boy. For the first months, he got all his nourishment from me so this made complete sense. We started to notice that Miles believed that Daddy was for fun and Mommy was for comfort. Then there came a time when Jeff would go to attend to Miles' needs and he would send him away, wanting me. He would want me to carry him even if Jeff offered to, he would want to hold my hand or sit in my lap, even if Jeff was there.

But there is a new shift in his personality. Two days ago, as we all got home from work and daycare, I watched Miles follow after Jeff as we marched around to the front of the house. Jeff absentmindedly pulled a piece of ivy leaf off the fence as he walked. Miles, walking behind him, did the exact same thing, imitating his daddy.

Later in the evening, Jeff was using the electric drill/screwdriver to get some screws out of a piece of wood and, of course, Miles wanted to watch. Jeff warned him not to get too close as the drill could be dangerous and showed him where he had cut his finger. As we went upstairs to get ready for bed, Miles went straight to his little tool kit, got out the drill, and started "working" on his crib. Then he showed me his "ouwie" where he too "cut himself with the drill."

The funniest thing is that Miles is now starting to make the distinction between boys and girls. He knows that he has a penis and daddy has a penis. The other day he asked me if I had one. So begins the birds and the bees conversations...

Hearing test

We went for Miles' mid-year hearing test today. His hearing is generally stable but he has some fluid in his right ear which knocks that ear from mild-moderate to moderate-severe. The tubes we had put in last year in February are starting to come out, the right one may be completely out, so now we have to go through the whole process again; ENT then possibly another tube surgery.
We also had his first transition meeting for preschool yesterday. We are pushing for an oral/auditory program they have in Santa Clara but we'll have to see if there is room. I'm willing to consider other options but everyone involved has agreed that the district's special education preschool would be inappropriate for Miles.

Moments of Spontaneity

Some of the best moments in my life have been spontaneous; moments of little planning and big exploration or learning or discovery.

Jeff's 40th birthday was last Sunday. I had tried to press him into some kind of celebration. Dinner with friends? A party? But, while he wanted to mark the occasion, he didn't really want to make a big deal of it. So I was very pleased when he woke up Sunday and said, "I want to go to the beach. Miles, you want to go to the ocean?"
And, of course, Miles was game.

We packed up what we thought we would need and headed south to Santa Cruz. Equipped with stroller, sunscreen, a little food and drink, bathing suits and a credit card, we set off, not quite sure where we were headed except to the ocean.


It was a marvelous day, sunny, not too hot but definitely warm. When we got there, we followed the crowd to the Boardwalk and checked out the rides that would be appropriate for Miles. But when he saw the ocean, Miles knew what he wanted to do. We headed down to the beach, took off our shoes and headed into the ocean to get our feet wet. At first, Miles was unsure that he really wanted to get wet. After a few times of dipping in his toes as the waves rolled in, he was ready to change into his bathing suit and get in. He had a great time running in and out of the waves with Jeff and there was a lot of laughing and splashing. As we got wet in the ocean, we walked along the beach towards the pier. It was about lunch time so we made it onto the pier and looked for a place where we could grab a quick seafood lunch. We ate outside in the sun and then got Miles in the stroller for a little snooze.

We walked up the hill to where we could watch the surfers while Miles slept. When he woke, we continued up the coast to where there was a paddleboard competition. Then we headed back down the hill to the Boardwalk where Miles got a chance to pilot his own helicopter. I wasn't sure that he was going to be happy having to ride on his own but he was smiling ear to ear as he figured out how to make the helicopter go up into the air.

With all areas of fun covered, we headed home for dinner. Miles took a bath, we ate leftovers for dinner and then finalized Jeff's birthday with some cake and a candle. It was one of those days that I will hold dear for a long time.

Miles and the Firefighters

Last Saturday we were looking for something fun to do so we decided to have a picnic dinner in the park. We rode our bicycles down to a local park then Jeff went to pick up some food to eat while we were there. During our time at the park, a few firetrucks went by with lights flashing and Miles went running after them, so excited to see the trucks in action.

As time went on and the sun began to set, we decided it was getting cold and dark so we should head for home. We started getting back on our bicycles and Jeff and Miles were ready to go before I was. As I was putting on my helmet and rolling up my jeans, the trucks were heading back in the other direction, lights off now. Jeff asked if it was OK with me that they zoom off ahead to see if they could watch the trucks pulling into the station, only a few blocks away.

When I caught up to them at the station, the trucks were back and the guys were outside, talking with a firefighter who invited us in to see the station and get on the truck. To our surprise, Miles said that he didn't want to (I think he was a little overwhelmed by the idea). The firefighter suggested that we come back in the morning when it was warmer and Miles had gotten some sleep, promising that whoever was there would be happy to show us around and let us take some pictures.

We got a few blocks away and, of course, Miles changed his mind and wanted to go back so we talked him through what would happen the following day. We were surprised he went to sleep, he was so excited.

But the following day came, and after doing a bit of grocery shopping, we rode our bicycles back to the fire station where two of the nicest guys showed us the different trucks and engines, showed Miles the equipment that firefighters wear during a fire and talked with us for awhile about how they do their shifts. They gave him a new helmet, a few stickers and a coloring book. We are all huge fans of the fire department!
Here are some videos of the day:

My sweet husband

Jeff is not one for big displays of romanticism so this really caught me off guard.
Last Tuesday, Jeff had a fund raising event at a local restaurant called Armadillo Willy's. They give 20% of the proceeds to the choir program. A number of choir families and girls from the choir were there to have dinner. I wasn't looking forward to it because these things usually turn into a hectic dinner for me, chasing Miles around, trying to keep him out of trouble.
But Jeff didn't need to do too much shmoozing and we were able to have dinner as a family.
Somewhere towards the end of dinner, one of the girls from his choir approached our table with a gift bag and a lovely note. The note itself got me teary but then I realized that the girls were all circling around and were about to sing to me.
I barely controlled myself from becoming a crying mess as they sang a wonderful sweet love song. (Jeff asked me if I thought the girls did a nice job and, truly, I can't remember because I was just trying to keep it together.)
Miles was confused by all the hubbub but thought it was pretty neat and I think Jeff and his choir were pleased with themselves for reducing me to tears.

Music, Music Everywhere

Miles is definitely his father's son. He is showing so much interest in all things musical.



In the above video, Miles performs an original composition for which he wrote both the words and the music.



Miles plays the "Rainy Day, I've Got a Cold Blues." Watch out, Bob Dylan.




Miles and his dad compose on bass and acoustic guitar.

Ratting out Daddy

Jeff has been having a stressful week. He has a presentation tomorrow, grades due, work to finish on his website before the presentation, etc. I mention this so you don't judge him too harshly.

Yesterday, I was home from work when I heard the car pull into the driveway. Jeff had picked Miles up from daycare and I went downstairs to greet them. Miles was still playing in the car when I went into the garage and I noticed he wasn't wearing any shoes.

"Where are your shoes?" I asked.

"At home!" he answered with a grin.

"At home?"

"In house!" he gleefully explained.

I couldn't figure out what he was talking about.

Later, Jeff was running down the trials and tribulations of his day. "Shall I list for you all the things I forgot today?" he asked.

"Miles' shoes?" I guessed.

"How'd you know?!"

Your son ratted you out, buddy. Gotta be careful now that he has the language to tell what really happened.