Please pass the Cookies

The Myles Man has a new tooth!!! Hip hip hooray!!!For those of you counting this is toopher number 3!!! The Easter bunny delivered the two bottom teeth on Easter Sunday, and today his first top tooth has officially popped through. He has been in pretty good spirits considering a tooth is breaking through his poor little gums. As the old wives tale goes he has had a cold, but he has still been pretty happy. Not too much longer and he can become a true Wilkinson and have cookies for breakfast!

Myles on the Move

Myles as Pre courtesy of his Father


Myles has been kind of crawling for quite a while now, but now he is bookin'. He still prefers the "army" crawl most often, but boy is he fast. He loves to explore and is curious about everything. His latest move that has Eric and I clapping and cheering in excitement is pulling himself up on, well. . . on everything. It has been very fun to watch him progress and gain the confidence needed to accomplish this great feat. Now he just needs to learn how to get back down. This has become a bit of a predicament at bedtime. He thinks it is such fun to pull himself up in his crib, but then wait, he doesn't know how to lay back down. That is not so much fun. Oh, well he'll get it in time. For now we just go back in and lay him down. I have found in my short parenting career to try not to get to bent out of shape about things that may seem like an inconvenience at the moment. For example, Myles used to only take naps if you held him. At the time it seemed like I could get nothing done and that I had absolutely no time for myself, but now only a few short months later he no longer needs to be held to take naps and I kind of miss those times. I am so glad that dfespite the seeming incovience I savored those moments because all too quickly they are gone and now he is on the run with little time for cuddling. All of that sappiness to say I am trying to live in and enjoy each moment.

Countdown to May 14!!!

Well, after being severely chastised for not writing, here I am. Don't worry my house is in shambles and I won't sleep anymore, but at least my blog is up to date. Just kidding, but seriously my apologies for being such a slacker, I am terrible at these kind of things. And no, I still have not met my neighbors, but I do have a gift for their baby girl. Maybe if I get my butt in gear and take it over she may still be able to wear it by the time I give it to her. Anyway, I can't seem to get enough of this beautiful sunshine! I am just basking in the fresh air and the blooms opening everywhere. It is absolutely heavenly. Myles and I have been spending quite a bit of time outdoors these days. He is my little tree hugger baby. Literally he can be crabby and crying inside, and the moment that I step out the door he starts to smile and laugh. It's great. One of the other spring things that I can hardly wait for is the opening of our farmer's market!!! Only 16 days to go!!!!!!! I am ecstatic! In years past Eric and I have been members of a CSA farm (for you non-granola girls that is a Community Supported Agriculture Farm). We really enjoyed it and learned a lot about some obscure veggies that we had never eaten, sometimes even heard of before. Kohlrabi anyone? Anyways, it was a great experience, but even when we split our share with a friend the amount of veggies that we were getting just vastly outweighed the amount of veggies that we were consuming. So this year we have decided not to buy a share in the farm and just to purchase at the market. All of that to say that in the previous years I would still go to the market just to look(dorky I know) because I already had more veggies than I knew what to do with. But this year I can actually buy our produce at the market. Now, I know that this may seem like a minute and insignificant thing, but none the less I am really excited about it, and I'll even spare you the sermon about the many reasons why I love and support the farmer's market and why you should too :) Anyway, only 16 days, YEA!!!

Won't You be my Neighbor . . .

It is finally beginning to feel like spring. I don't know that I have ever been so excited to usher in the new season. One of the joys that I am loving about the new warmth, funny how I think that mid 40s is warm, is that I can run outside with Myles. It is great for both of us. Well, anyway last week I was running with Myles and as we were finishing our run I noticed for the millionth time one of the flags that symbolizes a child/family serving in the military hanging in the front window and a yellow ribbon wrapped around a tree of the house across the street from me. Like I said I have seen the flag and ribbon countless times before, but on that day I was struck with the sad realization that I don't know my neighbors. I started thinking about the fact that I share a significant bond with these people that live right across from me and yet I know nothing about them. Who is their loved one that is fighting for my freedom? Do they get to talk to them often? When will they get to see them next. I think my neighbors name is Sarah, I have no idea what her husbands name is. Isn't that terrible. How many years have I lived right across from them and I might know her name, maybe. This idea of living so close, but leading very separate and distant lives has been nagging at me over the week. Then on Wednesday Myles and I were out for another run. Often I believe that when God is trying to teach me something He sends repeated things/lessons into my path. So, my journey continues . . . Myles and I are running and we run into another neighbor ( not literally thank goodness) This girl, I think her name is Jennifer, maybe, (Again a terribly disturbing admission) lives 2 houses down from me. She is pushing a stroller. As I stop to talk to her I find out that she and her husband had a baby girl 7 weeks ago. I didn't even know she was pregnant. How sad is that. She lives 2 houses away and I didn't even know that she was having a baby. Again, here is someone with whom I share the significant bond of rookie parenthood with, and I don't know anything about her. All of this has really made me begin thinking about my neighbors and our neighborhood. I don't think that it is supposed to be this way. I am not sure exactly what God is teaching me, but maybe, just maybe I should get out of my comfort zone and get to know my neighbors and let them get to know me. I don't know what will come of this, we'll see.

My not so little, little man

The Myles man has been feeling a little under the weather. He got a nasty cold about a week and a half ago and has been battling it ever since. Finally, I decided to take him into to see the doctor. His stuffy nose has gotten a little better, but he just has not seemed like himself so I wanted to make sure that he didn't have an ear infection. Fortunately, his ears got a clean bill of health, but the doctor said his throat looked rather sore. My poor baby. While we were there they weighed and measured my little man. Turns out he is not such a little man after all. He weighed in at 20 pounds and was a whopping 28 inches long!!!! I can hardly believe it! It is a good thing that I ordered his new car seat, he is about to outgrow his current one any minute at the rate he is growing. I am so thankful for his growth, what an answer to prayer!

Crib Naps!!!!!!!

YEA!!! Big news in the Wilkinson house, Myles has taken three, count them, three naps in his crib today! Now to an outsider this may not seem like a big deal, but to us it is monumental and I am quite excited. He usually requires the aid of his swing, the sling, or a moving car to put him to sleep, so this is a big step for us. And yes, he also had sweet potatoe for lunch. Well, nap time is now officially over so I better scoot!

Granola Girl Weekend

Our Saturday began with Eric and I running a "baby relay". On Saturdays we both like to get our long runs in. But as with much of life post children this has become slightly more complicated and thus requires a certain amount of creativity and flexibility. Where as in pre-Myles days we simply took care of ourselves and dashed out the door for a run of however long we desired, we now have to put in much more careful planning. Each weekend looks a little different, this Saturday we wanted to go to Kalamazoo for the day so that added yet another component to our planning. The morning began with me feeding Myles at 6ish and then putting him back to sleep while I scurried around trying to get as much accomplished as humanly possible before he woke up again. Eric ate and did his run while I prepared Myles' bags and such for the afternoon outing. Myles woke back up around 8. He and I had a pleasant morning while Eric finished his run. Then Eric and I did the baby baton hand off and he took over baby duty while I got my run in. It is very empowering and invigorating to be running distance again. Each week I have a million excuses for why I can't/shouldn't do my long run, but each week I drag my booty out there and do it. There is something that happens during those miles that is hard to explain, but regardless I am a better wife, a better mom, a better me when I return. Finally, we got out the door as a family and began our little excursion. For part of my Christmas gift from the boys in my house I got to go to a fabulous restaurant called Food Dance in Kzoo.

It is right up my alley. When you walk in you are surrounded by natural beauty. The walls are painted vivid colors and depict gigantic veggies. They serve local, organic cuisine and are a part of the Slow Food movement. They know the farmers, bakers etc. that their products come from. It is amazing! We had such a great experience. Not only was the food out of this world, the ambiance was excellent, the serive was warm and inviting, and you knew that in a small way you were contributing to something positive. Our family day continued with some shopping around Kalamazoo. We finally got to see the new Gazelle Sports and then hit Baby's R Us. Here my G.G. adventure continues. I know, Babys R Us is a rather unlikely setting for anything green to occur, but I was on a quest to find glass bottles for Myles. Yes, I am on the BPA free band wagon and I looked all over Holland and was unable to find them in town. Although my mother tells me that they are available at Wally World, but you know how I feel about that issue, so to Babys R Us I went. The staff thought I was a total nut job as I questioned them about the different options and refused to use the drop in bottle liners because they create more garbage. I mean really, I use cloth diapers, drop in liners would be rather contradictory. Regardless, we found the correct glass bottles and Myles can now eat safely, well atleast until the latest report finds something terribly dangerous in glass as well. (ha ha) We grabbed a little dinner and headed for home. All in all it was a really great day, just bonding as a family.