I'm BAAAAAAACK!

This has been on my to do list for quite some time now. So it's happening. Here we go.

November

The month of November was a lot of fun. We took our first trip to Disney with Jon, Stacie, Sam, Evan, Grandpa Bob, Grandma, Grammy and Grandpa Larry.  Don't get me wrong, vacation with a 2.5 year old is still exhausting for us but we had a blast. Miles was a pretty good sport with all of the activities and sensory overload going on. Ben and I agreed that we would definitely go back but probably not until naps and strollers are not needed. That would make it so much easier and feel like we are really soaking it all in. One BAD thing that came from the trip was losing his puppy. I was in tears over it and I thought Ben might be for a second. We were at the Magic Kingdom at night and he was kind of in and out of his stroller the whole time with eating, doing rides, etc. There were pretty close to 5.5 billion people there watching the lighting of the castle for Christmas and the fireworks. Ben and I had had enough and ready to head back to the hotel. We got to the bus stop and no puppy. I knew he had probably dropped it amongst the crowd when we were watching fireworks. On the bus ride back to the hotel, I am frantically googling disney lost and found to try to put a call in. They were closed so I would have to wait until morning. Thankfully I had packed one of our extra puppies (we have two extras, they're just not quite as loved as the original) in my suitcase. He kept asking for puppy and just was saying "no new puppy". We never really talked about it being lost but he did okay with the newer, less abused one. I called the lost and found the next morning and no luck. I left a claim with them so that they would call me or mail it to me if they ever found it. I'm telling myself that a kid who needed some love picked it up and it gives him/her the safety that Miles felt with it. :( He has now fully adjusted to his "new" puppy and I don't think even really knows that we lost one.

Then we had Thanksgiving with my parents coming over for brunch and going to Grammy Marcia's for dinner. It was a great day and fun to be able to spend the holiday with our families.

December
December is always crazy with this year being no exception. I always tell myself I want to have my shopping done by December 1st but it just can't happen, so I'm not going to set myself up for failure any more. We did some fun things with Miles including taking him for a Polar Express train ride from Fishers to Noblesville. Santa was on the train and it was a perfect snowy day. He loved it and still talks about it. The Hillenburg Christmas was cut a little short because Miles was sick that day. We took him anyway hoping no one pregnant, elderly, or little (as in Reid or Remy) would get sick. He was running a fever and just felt bad. Uncle Ted was sweet and came through in the clutch when Miles randomly says "I need a sucker". Ted was down getting suckers at his house and back within 20 minutes. It made for a much more pleasant ride home than it could have been. That Monday we kept Miles home from school just not to make him any worse, especially going into the holidays. That Monday night, we were downstairs playing and I was sitting in the chair, ben was playing hoops on the 3 ft. playskool rim, and Miles was just being Miles running around, knocking things over, having a good old time. He knows how to turn the treadmill on by flipping the button to make it beep and then pressing the green button to make it go. Before I go any further, when it does turn on, it goes 0.5 miles per hour, a pace that is even boring to him. He likes to stand on the belt and jump off at the end. I looked over and he was looking underneath the treadmill for something. In the blink of an eye he touched his fingers to the belt and they got caught underneath while the treadmill was on. I wanted to slit my wrists. I ran over and pulled the cord to unplug it and ben got his hands out. I can't even explain how much pain I think he was in. He was shaking, screaming, kicking his legs, etc. It was bad. Real bad. I just held him for a good 30-45 minutes until he calmed down enough for me to even look at his fingers. By that time my shirt was wet from how much they had seeped water. He had blisters from the pads of his fingers to his palm on his middle and ring fingers. Ben called the St. V's childrens hotline which was about as helpful as "tits on a boar" hehe. Then he called his cousin John who gave us better advice. We finally got them bandaged up for the night with lots of gauze, tape, and neosporin.
The next morning his cough (from being sick the weekend before) still didnt sound great so I thought I better take him to the Dr. She checked him out and turns out the had a touch of bronchitis and an ear infection. When we checked in the receptionist said "aww, do you have an owie (on his fingers)? I have an owie on my fingers too" as she held up her bandaged hand. He replies "i got owie on da twedmeel". She looked at me for an explanation and I didn't have one, so I quietly took a seat to wait with Miles. Once we go back, Dr. Glass came in right away. She also asked what happened and I told her and she said okay looks like you did what you should have done but I better take a look. She unwraps his bandages and I had not gotten enough neosporin on the gauze that the gauze is ripping his skin off because it is stuck to it. At this point I hated myself and was close to an all time low. She dabbed some water on it and finally got the bandages off. She said yeah those are 2nd degree burns and I should give you some prescription cream so it heals nicely (although she agreed with John with the neosporin for the night prior). She got him bandaged back up and we were done. He had tears down his cheeks and was so upset. We walked out of the room and saw her in the hallway and he looks at her with tears in his eyes and says "fank you dr. gwass" I wanted to squeeze him. Dr. Glass looked at me and whispered "can I give him a sucker?" I said you can give him ANYTHING.
Meanwhile, it was my morning to open the store so Ben opened for me until I could get back to him with Miles. One of those days I had to repeat to myself "this too shall pass" but at the same time I wanted to freeze his sweetness and innocence.

After that December was smooth sailing, his fingers healed in about a week with changing bandages once or twice a day.

Christmas was wonderful, we spent the day in Huntington for the last hurrah on Clear Creek Road. One story while we were there. There are deer in the backyard all the time. Christmas eve there was a deer with an obviously broken leg. The kids loved watching it and the adults were talking about the broken leg. Christmas morning he woke up and we said "Miles did Santa come??!!" and he replied "No.... his reindeer was broken."  So sweet.  I will miss that place on Clear Creek but the memories that my mom and dad will make here will add to the joy and memories of the old house.

New years was, well, new years. Ordered a pizza and everyone was asleep by 10:30.

January
January flew by as we got ready for the baby and for Miles 3rd Birthday.

That's today. We stopped on the way to school to take donuts for his class and teachers. We had his party on Saturday with family and close friends. It was a great weekend and tonight will be a few more gifts from Ben and I and just some hanging out at home. Miles has taught us more in three years than we could have possibly imagined. He brings life to our family like no one else could. He keeps us on our toes, laughing, and moving (aka chasing him around with him yelling "try again!" with an ornery look on his face). He is cuter, smarter, funnier, and sweeter than I could have ever imagined. He will hit you with his fishing pole one second and want to be rocked the next minute. He loves to hear stories about his grandpas and his cousin Sam. He knows (as much as a three year old can) about Jesus and only wants to be sang Jesus Loves Me when we rock him. I know the first few weeks/months will be challenging bringing a new baby home but I know he will rock the big brother status and be proud. We love you so much Miles Benjamin, you are truly one of a kind and God has blessed us abundantly by letting us be your parents.

Our cup is full.