Musical Genius

A John Cage-like composition by father and son.

Miles turns two!

This happened about a month ago so it's kind of shameful that it has taken me this long to post pictures and whatnot. But it was a month long festival of events. As it should be, for such a delicious and sweet boy as this!

On his actual birthday, his dad and I fed his train obsession by biking down to the train station, taking the local light rail into San Jose, biking around the city and then taking Caltrain back north. He was so happy. It took us almost an hour to get to San Jose but he was as content as could be, looking out the window, smiling at all the people who came on and off the train. We found the bike trail that runs along the river in SJ and biked around until we came to a park that had fountains for playing in. Then off to Caltrain and home in time for a nap.
The day was finished nicely as it was one of those incredibly hot days, an anomaly for Northern CA. We went to the pool in our complex and there was another family there, celebrating the birthdays of both their sons. We were encouraged to come in and get food and drink. They had a bouncy house in the back of the cabana. Miles went in happily for the first time ever and eventually went down the slide.


The following day we opened presents and he got to have his birthday cupcake with candle (he refers to such treats as "happy cake."

The following Monday, his daycare provider had a little party for him at the end of the day. More "happy cake."

Two weeks later it was my birthday and, since it was his father's Back-to-School night at work, he and I celebrated with dinner and cupcakes from Safeway. More "happy cake."

Next, we had a 2 x 20 birthday party to celebrate the two milestone birthdays (and the wonderful coincidence of the math.) More "happy cake," swimming and presents.

And finally, the day after, we had a group birthday for all the kids in his playgroup.

From now on, I think he will be very disappointed if the birthday celebration does not go on for multiple weeks.

Miles is off to school!

My big boy is off to school on the school bus. He has been going to the Early Start program in Santa Clara since the beginning of the summer and had started up again with me taking him there and bringing him back. But now, he is taking the bus once a week. It comes to our house, takes him to school and then brings him to daycare after the day is over.
Yesterday was the first time he got picked up at home and did the whole day without me. He was very excited about going on the bus but when he realized that I was going to leave, he gave me a look that said, "Are you sure about this?" His teachers report that he got to school with nothing but smiles, had a great day (though another DAMN runny nose), and our daycare person reported that he was all smiles when he got to her and, amazingly enough, was still awake. School takes a lot out of him.
I went with him today which was nice for him but certainly not as exciting as going on the bus.

A Little Summer Goes a Long Way

Summer has been great. I love not working and having time to be with Miles, having some time to myself and paying attention to the smaller things.

Miles started his Early Start program here in Santa Clara County. We were given the choice of the auditory/oral class, where they only speak to the children, and the total communication class, where they speak and sign. I guess I knew this was a controversial issue but I had no idea just how loaded it was. When I visited the two classes in the spring, I chose the oral class because the children in the class had the strongest oral skills and I wanted Miles to have those good models. But once we had been there for a week or two, the teacher told me that, come fall, I wouldn't be able to sign to Miles while in the class. Not that she has any problem with it, but she explained there were major legal battles over the issue. She then suggested that I check out the TC class.

As was the case in the spring, the children there had little in the way of oral skills. But, I was reminded, there will be many changes in clientele in the fall and things may change radically. So it came down to my own philosophy of what I believe is best for Miles. I chose the signing class. I'm sure I will hear from many of the HOH community, but I chose based on what we do at home including what I know as an educator- children learn best when they are presented with multiple modalities for learning. Also, he will only be at school for six hours a week so he will have plenty of time with strong oral models at all the other hours of his week, especially with his parents.

Will all choices of his education be so fraught?

Meanwhile, we spent the summer perfecting the "staycation" concept. Miles has become completely obsessed with trains so last Saturday we biked down to the local train station, took the train a few stops, biked to some local parks, took the train home again and biked back. He was totally amazed that you could actually go inside the train.

The grandparents came to visit for a week plus a few days after a trip to Oregon. It was really nice for Miles to spend more time with them as we are so far away. Plus, it meant that Jeff and I were able to go on a few date nights. Always good for the marriage. We spent plenty of time in the complex's pool and got some cute video and photos.

Early in the summer, my husband totaled his bicycle, luckily without any damage to himself. It then necessitated him purchasing a new bicycle. He was so tickeld with it that we then bought one for me. Since then, we have had all sorts of family bicycle outings and I have taken my bike out for a few long rides all by myself. It's nice to have a new physical outlet that challenges me and gets me outdoors.

Back to school soon- I'm trying to pack in as much as possible in the short time left.

After all the sadness of this past year, it can be hard to feel grateful. I recently heard a segment on NPR about a man who went from praying for things, to praying to get out of jams and finally, after a bad motorcycle accident, went to a prayer that goes like this: "Thank you, thank you, thank you for this life."
I am tapping into the gratitude for fresh food from the farmers' market, trips out with my family, the sunshine that warms the tomato plants, the crisp green leaves against the crisp blue sky. It fills my heart and keeps me from despair.

Sign Language Club

In an attempt to get a few extra bucks, I did a sign language club with students from my school this year. They learned "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" in sign language and performed it for the school at the annual talent show.
Check out the video!

Miles learns to play tee ball

It is girls' softball season around here and when we take Miles to the park, he has become very interested in watching the girls of all ages playing softball. He knows to clap when a good play has been made and he has learned to squat like a catcher. He likes to stand right up near the fence so he has a really good view.

The other night we noticed that he was chasing a ball around with a stick and Jeff thought he might be playing "hockey." But eventually we figured out that he was trying to play baseball like the big girls he had seen at the park. Jeff rigged up a tee using a tube from one of my vacuum cleaners and found a long cardboard tube to use as a bat. See the video below to witness the final results. We've since bought him a real whiffle ball and bat. Next is the tee so he can play for real.

Amazing Miles

Here is a wonderful and amazing Miles story:

He was at daycare and everyone was outside playing in our daycare lady's backyard. One of the other children was just arriving to school and having a hard time of it. She sat down at the beginning of the walkway to the backyard and cried. The provider encouraged her mom to just come into the backyard, expecting that the little girl would follow after a moment or two.
Miles heard her crying, left the playhouse and walked to where she was sitting. He began talking to her, which made her stop crying, and then offered his hand to her. She took it and then joined everyone in the backyard!

Beyond being the sweetest story ever, I was amazed to hear that my boy was so adept at empathy. I expect he will accomplish great things.