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.

Removing Lists

I am happy to announce that I have removed the lists of words Miles can say and sign. I did a little exercise of listing every word I can remember him using, unprompted, and it tallies up to over 500 words. So I'm letting go of the lists.

A couple of cute stories

I went with Miles to school this morning. He's got a little cold so has been a bit under the weather. As we were leaving school, we were heading out with one of his friends, Esteban, who was headed towards the bus. Miles fell behind and Esteban reached up to take my hand. When Miles saw this, he complained loudly. He was like a jealous lover. Even when I offered my other hand, he was so offended that he refused. He made the point of letting everyone know that I was his mommy.

When we got home, he was interested in playing a little tee ball. He got out his bat and tee along with a bucket of balls we have for such things. He was taking the balls out, one by one, to place them on the tee and hit them. At one point, he put a ball on the tee and, before he could hit it, got distracted. He forgot and reached into the bucket for another ball. As he turned to place the second ball on the tee, he saw the first one and said to the second, "Wait your turn!" Once he hit the ball already on the tee, he said, "Your turn!" and put the second ball up there to be hit. He's learned his turn taking well.