Updated 11/13/09

The First Two Weeks - 11/28/08
Midnight after Thanksgiving, Jean's blood pressure is through the roof and we make the slow and icy drive to the hospital with our bags that have been packed for a month already. The nurse tells us that we're not leaving without a baby. The following morning we call our parents and Jean's Mom has a plane ticket for early the next morning, my folks will be at the hospital soon. Around noon on Friday the doctor comes in and we weigh our options, the baby is under stress and the best option is to do a C-section right away. Holy crap, we're gonna be parents within an hour! It's surreal, scary, exciting, stressful... all at the same time.

I suck at changing diapers and swaddling, but from lots of practice, I get better real fast. Jean is still in laa-laa land

We head home on Monday and the house instantly looks like a baby-explosion! Feeding, changing diapers, burping, bathing, getting pee'd on and pooped on all become the norm. This is the greatest thing in the world!

Just When You Think You Have it Figured Out - 12/15/08
Boy were we wrong! Miles slept well in his bassinet for two nights and we thought we had it easy. Not so! After that it was up most of the night and forget about sleeping by himself or on his back! Seemed the only way he would sleep was upright on one of our chests. He started spitting up and the pediatrician said it was probably reflux. Other than that, he's back up to his birth weight and everything is going extremely well! His umbilical cord fell off after two weeks and he's pooped and pee'd on us immediately after bathes and diaper changes. hah  hahaa.

Best Christmas.... EVER! - 12/26/08
Who would've thought that giving a 4 week old baby tons of gifts when he has no idea what in the world is going on could be so much fun?! Best part, having him wear a miniature Santa velvet suit! The pictures will bring giggles for years... for us, not him! Otherwise, all systems "check" in the last week and the faintest hint of a routine... don't wanna say that too loud. Jean's Dad flew into town on Tuesday and cried in the airport because Miles is so damn cute. A wonderful Christmas with both sets of Grandparents to spend it with us and Miles, a day I'll never forget.

Gas Hurts! - 1/9/09
Asleep at 8:20pm on New Years Eve, but awake briefly at midnight for a diaper change! Miles sometimes decides to switch night and day, we just go with it as best as we can. Drinking coffee all day certainly helps! He feels a little heavier some days. Back to work for me and I count down the minutes each day to rush home to see Miles' cute little face. We have found out the hard way that Jean eating any type of gassy foods does not bode well for a babies tiny digestive system. There were a couple days where each waking minute is spent in painful crying until he rips some farts..... and boy can he fart!!

Angels sing, and so does Miles. - 1/23/09
Miles is still exercising his lungs quite a bit and it seems like painful gas. We went back to the pediatrician and he said its probably still gas and reflux from his little immature belly. He gave us meds to help empty his gut, and it seems to help... on some days. Poor little guy, he doesn't seem to be enjoying being a baby! Two months old today, and we're hoping that if its colic, it'll go away mysteriously one day soon. Of course he's on his best behavior for the grandparents, they must think we're full of crap when we say he cries for hours! The lil' pudgy-butt is up to 9lbs and 21" now too.

Miles' first cold. - 2/6/09
10 weeks old and Miles has still been exercising his lungs on the occasional full day or evening, though it seems to be less frequent lately. *fingers crossed*. His Aunt Lori and Uncle Cody were in town last w/end for a visit and formal introductions and to take Miles to his first SuperBowl party. At his two month pediatrician appointment he got his shots (much to his dislike), he weighed in at 9lbs 13oz and 21.5" long. He has been sleeping in his bassinet at the foot of our bed too, only waking for a couple of feedings and diaper changes. It's all about the timing and laying him down in there at just the right sleepy moment! The past few days he has caught his first cold too. We're hoping it doesn't get worse, but its kinda funny hearing him try to cry with a scratchy throat! He has also been much more interactive and following us or our voices with his eyes and doing great lifting himself and his giant head when he's on his tummy!

Mr. Mom Duty - 2/20/09
We've survived 12 weeks! Jean went back and I've been off work for the past two weeks. I was terrified! But Miles and I have survived. Most days were great and its all about short attention span, reading his cues, and lots of naps/feedings.... and help from my Mom! His digestive system seems to be working correctly now which makes for much less crying and a happy house. He's up to 10lbs 6oz now and still hates his car seat. His little personality has really come through and its awesome to hear his little coo's and see his facial expressions as reactions to everything.

With daycare comes Miles' first cold - 3/6/09
Only two days a week of daycare is still enough for Miles to catch a cold. Suctioning his nose is not his favorite thing in the world! Jean and I were deathly ill with a stomach virus the day he wasn't feeling good, YUK! Miles first trip to Mtn Chalet got him a cool sunhat and a 15% discount since it was his first visit... they suspect another lifelong customer. Other then that, he's just making all sorts of noises and flashing smiles. Getting much better at tummy-time and a pro at rolling over onto his back now.

Giggles Galore - 3/20/09
The last two weeks have been full of giggle-fests, Miles' first St Patricks Day parade (slept through it), and the appetite of a growing boy. Fortunately he's also been sleeping for longer periods at a time and occasionally only waking up once at night to fill his belly! Jean and I don't know how to act with the bit of extra sleep ourselves! More and more noises, staring in the mirror, trying to stuff his entire fist in his mouth, and picking up toys have also been favorite past-time activities. He still prefers trying to stand up over laying on his belly though!

Talkin' the Talk - 4/3/09
12lbs and 24" at his 4 month appointment! Hard to believe just a short time ago he was only half of his current weight. Miles has been spontaneously growing out of clothes and just about talking in full sentences.... well, not really, but he sure has been making alot of noise! Going out places is much easier as he enjoys looking all around or just sitting/standing in our laps.

Meet Uncle Matt and Aunt Laura - 4/17/09
Matt and Laura came into town to meet Miles and we all had a great time. Miles did a break-dancing routine for us and enjoyed sitting on Matt's lap and helping him with electrical work. HA! Most waking minutes his limbs are in constant motion and he's really taken to kicking stuff hanging over him. Miles still doesn't enjoy getting the boogies suctioned out of his nose... I wonder why?! Given his increased appetite, we tried rice cereal this week too. The first try didn't go so well, but on the second try Miles porked it right down. Next will be pizza and cheesesteaks!

Growing and growing - 5/1/09
13lbs 6ozs at 22 weeks! His sniffles are finally clearing up after another trip to the doc. Miles has discovered his toes and is talking (relative term) more and more. He's still not quite what to do with the rice cereal except get it all over his chin and smear it around his face. Another fun trip to the zoo for him also!

Holy Crap! 6 months! - 5/15/09
Miles did good on his first Mothers Day by getting his mommy some flowers, a card, and a couple framed pictures. He seems to love eating sweet potatoes and just tried apple sauce last night. A lot more sounds coming out of him and he's not far off from crawling. He still tries to stuff everything in his mouth no matter what size, and has taken a liking to the taste of his grampa's shirt! Non-stop entertainment with this boy around!

Close to crawling - 5/29/09
14lbs 3oz and 26" long at his 6 month check-up. Getting close to crawling also, he's got all the motions down, just needs to put them all together. Currently his favorite thing to do is raspberries and drooling, and playing in his farm animals exer-saucer. What a great invention! He's eating mush twice a day and loooooooves sweet potatoes. Its hysterical to see his "drunken sailor" impression while holding his hands as he's standing up!

Grandma and Grandpa Haas Visit - 6/12/09
Its been an exciting couple of weeks with Jean's parents in town to thoroughly spoil Miles! Trips were made to the Denver Aquarium, the Art Museum, and the zoo. His first trip to the Uncle Wilbur fountain followed by a shopping spree at Little Richard's Toy Store too. Not too much else except the usual sleeping in his bassinet for an hour then ending up in bed with us and his 4am dissertations and telling us all about his dreams. Miles is sitting up all by himself now too except for the occasional topple.

Fathers Day hike and giggles - 06/26/09
Miles has discovered that he can make funny clicking noises if he sucks on his own tongue and lips, keeps him entertained for hours! Last w/end he was Jean's biggest cheering committee for the Garden of the Gods 10-miler, and got to visit some horses at the Penrose Center. He made me cry on Father's Day, though with such a cool kid.... every day is like Fathers Day! We hiked the whopping 0.8miles round-trip up 9,843ft in Mueller State Park for Miles' first summit! He didn't hike though, Jean carried him... close enough! He's eating more and more by the day and we can certainly tell by his diapers! The two things that make him laugh hysterically are pretending to chew on his side and hearing Denali bark. Oh yeah, and his new favorite thing to chew on..... his own foot.

16lbs! - 07/10/09
Baby-business as usual around here. Another cold for Miles and a trip to the Pediatrician let us find out that he is just under 16lbs! All those pears, apples, peas, squash, and green beans has certainly packed the pounds on Miles... especially his chubby little thighs! A 4th of July bbq had Miles on sensory overload with all the faces to look at and people to hold him. One of his new favorite things is sitting in front of a box of toys and pulling every one of them out, tasting them, and either talking to them or throwing them to the side. Good entertainment for hours! Most nights he doesn't wake up for a bottle, but still find a way into bed with us then wakes up before the alarm... and he doesn't quite understand "go back to sleep" yet. ahh ahaaa. He's also learning how to throw a fit and causes "earthquakes" in his Exer-saucer. Funny stuff!

Backwards crawling - 07/24/09
An exciting couple of weeks..... Miles survived his first w/end long road trip down to Telluride, Ouray, Silverton, and Durango... good practice for Yellowstone in a couple of weeks! Miles has also perfected "raspberries" as does them for hours at a time until his face is numb and he's out of drool. He has slept in his crib by himself for several nights in a row! He'll usually end up in bed with us by the morning, but does great by himself. Jean and I don't get any more sleep then normal because we wake up all night to check on him and look at the baby-monitor! And crawling is coming along... though backwards. Miles seems bothered by the fact that he tries to go forward but ends up going backwards, but it won't be long now. Funny to watch!

Vacation!.... in the hospital - 08/07/09
Instead of our planned vacation to Yellowstone this past week, we had to cancel due to an unexpected stay in the hospital. Miles had his umpteenth sinus infection then started running a real high fever. He got dehydrated from not eating and just felt terrible so we ended up in the Emergency Room till 1am last Tuesday. Wednesday the Lab called and said to bring him back immediately. They were treating him for Meningitis, which had Jean and I really scared and freaked out, but it ended up being part of the Strep bacteria that got in his blood. Luckily the IV antibiotics cleared him up real fast and we were home after a couple nights in the hospital. The Pediatric nurses were awesome and one even declared Miles as "cuter then pumpkin pie!" The antibiotics gave him real bad diarrhea which leads to several outfit changes a day and real bad diaper rash. Not fun! In between all of that we found the time to make another visit to the Denver aquarium and Miles is becoming real mobile between crawling backwards and tumbling across the floor in all directions!

On the move - 08/21/09
Another couple of busy weeks for us... Miles has mastered forward crawling and is in different places every time you blink. We went for a Toys 'R Us shopping spree to get a cart full of new fun toys (mostly noisy stuff, of course). He fits in his Kelty Kids carrier now too, so we took him for a hike up Mt Cutler in Cheyenne Canon... he slept through most of it. Also a trip down to Buses at the Brewery, and since the 1971 VW isn't quite baby-safety-approved, Jean and Miles drove down separate. And once again.... another 3am trip to the ER. Started with a stuffy nose and progressed quickly from there. Miles was wheezing and coughing all night, so we took him in after another sleepless night once he was really having trouble breathing. A respiratory-treatment and more antibiotics for Miles umpteenth cold of the year. I guess this is his way to visit the doc over and over while building up his immune system.... while aging me and Jean at an exponential rate! He easily gets forgiven as now he's saying "ma ma ma ma ma ma ma" and "da da da da da da". Lil' stinker!

Faster and faster - 09/04/09
Since Miles is spontaneously growing out of his clothes, we did a shopping spree at The ARC to refill his drawers. Another fun family hike, this time up Signal Butte, and listening to tunes at the Manitou Mtn Music Festival. Miles has really been cruising lately and can kick his speed into overdrive by using one knee and one foot. His favorite past-time is chasing Denali around the house... though Denali doesn't find it quite as amusing! Miles also got "blessed" at The Blessing of the Babies at my Mom's church. His new favorite spot is under the dining room table and its quite entertaining to watch Jean trying to get him out from between the couch and end-table... Miles can fit, but we can't! He stands up every chance he gets on his musical table, the steps, the stairs gate, edge of the couch, etc and he's just so proud of himself and squeals with glee whenever he does! Won't be long now till he's walking!

Here we go again - 09/18/09
Another month, another sinus infection. So here we go again with the docs visits, antibiotics, lots of diapers and clothing changes, etc. Not too much else new except a little white bump on his gums where a tooth is about to pop through and standing on his own for a few seconds at a time. We're also trying to get the lil' 18lb'er to fall asleep in his own crib which is a test of wills with mixed results... some nights it works great, some nights he wears us down and we give in letting him fall asleep on us! This boy has stamina!

A Tooth! - 10/02/09
Another exciting couple of weeks.... we did a long w/end in Steamboat Springs where Miles got to go to his first OktoberFest and we did some hikes to Fish Creek Falls and in Mt Zirkel Wilderness. We had to take his entire dresser of clothes since the antibiotics were still causing us to change his diaper/outfits often. His first tooth has started to make an appearance so now Miles is ready for steak and to chew on sticks with Denali. He has gone through a bout of hitting his head and landing on the floor with his face, but I guess we all do at some point in life! Starting on some more solid foods and his expressions are priceless when he's trying something new. He likes beets, but its pretty obvious when he eats them!

Chunky food - 10/16/09
Hard to believe that Miles is getting close to a year old. Now that he has a tooth, with another on its way in, he's been eating chunky and mushier foods. He can't get enough spaghetti! Carrots and apples are favorites as well. A messy treat that he loves too is teething biscuits, since you have to put them in a silly little mesh pouch, it makes quite a mess. Pushing balls and blocks across the floor provided alot of entertainment as does climbing a couple stairs... with assistance getting back down. Miles has also been resisting sitting in his car seat by arching his back and really putting up a fight. Maybe he remembers how much he hated his car seat as a newborn?! But, since he can't crawl around on the floor of the car, we get him in. Every day is more and more fun with this sweet and precious lil' guy!

First plane ride - 10/30/09
A photoshoot with grampa proved that Miles is still the cutest baby in the world and he is getting more and more daring on the steps. Even able to make it all the way up! Whenever we can't see him, he's usually halfway up the steps with a huge grin on his face! His first plane ride went great as we went to DC to visit prego Lori and Cody. Miles did awesome as we hauled him around to museums and on/off the train. He got a little fussy a couple times but just from too much excitement, not enough naps, and his second tooth coming in. On the flights he tried to eat the evacuation instructions or slept, everyone commented how great he was. *whew* He sounds like R2D2 lately while babbling or says "der der der der". Hysterical to hear! Real close to walking and standing on his own, pushing his walker all around, or walking while holding just my one hand. Won't  be long now! Eating has gotten easier as he can often eat the same as us, but in much smaller chunks. Some recent favorites are mashed potatoes, mac 'n cheese, and squash.

Another month, another cold - 11/13/09
Miles caught another cold that he and Jean shared. Not sure if it was H1N1, but we were able to stay out of the hospital this time and just spent alot of time at home and with the lil' guy sleeping on us. All better once again though! So instead of going out for his first Halloween, we just dropped him into his Elmo costume and took some pictures and videos for a few minutes while he was feeling good. Too cute! He loves talking into the candy bucket to hear his voice echo. He surprised us one night by perfectly saying "hi daddy" out of the blue, but hasn't said it again just yet. Both Jean and I couldn't believe it and our jaws dropped! His walking (with assistance) skills are even better and several times a day he'll crawl all the way up the steps from the basement to the second floor. He and Denali are buddies again since he'll put food on his hand and hold it out for Denali to lick. Now, if we could just get him to stop squirming so much during diaper changes. Just two short weeks till his first birthday, Holy Crap!