Bandwagon Jumper

It's been a busy October for Miles. He's been moving around more and more and has ushered in predictions of walking by Thanksgiving. Instead of just moving baby walkers, he's really taken a liking to moving furniture and boxes around. Miles' paternal grandparents came to visit a couple weeks ago for cousin Tate's 4th birthday party. Miles went to a bouncy house although seemed a little scared by the whole ordeal. We then celebrated Mommy's birthday a week later and now Miles is thick in the middle of the Giants run for the pennant. Sure, it was only 3 months ago Miles was at Miller Park cheering the Brewers on. But the excitement has caught up to him and here he is modeling his new Giants shirt which is perfect for Halloween season. And if the Giants lose tonight and tomorrow and don't make the World Series? Hmm...

Summer Playtime

Apparently I've decided to turn this into a monthly blog, so here's what I've been up to in September. I've been on the move non-stop with some crawling that quickly turned into assisted walking with my walking tools. I still have a little "limp" to my crawl as I favor my right leg and just kind of let the left one drag along. I went to my first wedding and boogied the night away. I've also had some great play-time with my cousins out here. Nicholas and I run wild (OK, he runs while I crawl) and I spent this past weekend in the mountains by Tahoe with Tate and Caleb. I pulled a clever move staying up all night screaming on Saturday so I could fall asleep easily on the drive home Sunday. Here are some recent pics!

Miles Does the Unthinkable!

When Miles turned 8 months old we realized that our electricity bills were sky-rocketing because of blow-drying his hair after baths. The only way to solve this problem was to get him a haircut. We didn't time the cut very well (he was ready for a nap but when we stopped by the shop for an appointment they could squeeze him in so we did it when he was a bit grumpy) but he seems very happy with his classy new look. And what to do you know, he's starting to look a bit more like his dad....

The Great Outdoors

We took our first big road trip this weekend as we headed to Yosemite with aunts Liem and Van, uncle Thai, grandma, and of course cousin Nicholas. Van's friend Peggy and her daughter Chandra also met us for some quality outdoors time. Sure, daddy's idea of the outdoors meant only 9 channels but we were able to do some good hiking around the park. And the best part? The only bears nearby were my teddy bears!

Dog Days of August

OK, it's been a while since I checked in. And a lot is going on. Here are some highlights...

I'm really digging solids. Forget oatmeal, I'm already digging into apples, pears, peas, and other pre-made baby food. Sign me up for eating contests!

I'm starting to crawl! Sure, it's a struggle where I lean to one side, lean to the other, then slowly move across the floor. But it's a start.

I'm starting to get my first teeth. I think I'm handling it well, not to mention that I handled my first cold awfully well.

And finally, I'm getting ready for my first big road trip. Yosemite this weekend! I'm a big teddy bear fan, but hope I avoid the real thing.

Milwaukee's Best

I just got back from a week vacation to America's Dairyland and holy cow, was it a busy week. Here are the highlights and milestones:

• After a quick test-run in April to LA, this was my longest flight ever. I think I handled it OK, although I definitely did some testing of my lungs.
• Upon arriving to Milwaukee I met my newest cousin, Laila May Price. My first girl cousin! She's so cute.
• Grandma and Grandpa Cohen's 40th wedding anniversary. 40 years...that's a long time. I mean, I'm not even 40 weeks old yet.
• My first dive into solid foods, rice cereal is a little bland though. Can I please just have pizza?
• My first trip to the zoo, a baseball game, and even getting my feet wet in the local pool.
• Uncle Jason had a birthday as well, I jealously looked on as all my cousins (well, not Laila) scarfed down his birthday cake.
• And finally, we had a baby naming ceremony for myself to honor my Jewish roots. We combined it with Laila's naming and my grandparent's anniversary to throw a big party. I got a little tired out though.

All in all, a great week.

June Fun

It's been so long since I posted, mainly because I've been having so much fun in June. Here are some highlights:

- I got a new stroller seat so I don't have to sit in the car seat anymore. I love stretching out in my red seat (and falling asleep while they walk me).

- Daddy's 30th birthday and Father's Day. Of course, daddy doesn't know how to turn on the grill but Uncle Mike has been really helpful. I'm so close to eating solids I can almost taste the BBQ!

- The weather has gotten so much better after a cool spring. Hmm...might need to wear sunglasses.

- Preparing for my big trip! This is a big week...after celebrating my 6 month birthday, I'm going across the country to Wisconsin and can't wait to meet my new cousin Laila.

Party Time!

Only a year ago Miles was a tiny little one in the middle of his first trimester and his aunts Van and Rachel gave birth to two little boys. Well, naturally it's time for some one year birthday parties. Cousin Nicholas had his first birthday party last weekend in Burlingame while cousin Caleb had a small family get-together tonight in San Carlos (it was also his great-grandmother Roni's birthday). Here's Miles with Aunt Liem at Nicholas's party (judging by her glasses Liem apparently thought she was going to a Hollywood premiere, not a suburban children's party) and Miles with cousin Caleb at his party.

Jump Around!

Now that I'm an 18 lb bruiser with nearly full neck support, I can start using new toys. The newest one is my jump-aroo where I can practice jumping up and down all day long. I'm also continuing my voracious eating habits, it's getting dangerously close to the time where I can eat solids and I'm already learning to hold the bottle by myself (but I still need some help).

I love my Mommy!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone! It was my first one and I made sure to spend a lot of time with my mom over the weekend. We got pizza on Friday night with cousin Nicholas, went for a nice walk on Saturday, then had brunch with mommy's side of the family on Sunday. We stopped by to see aunt Rachel and wish her a happy mother's day and then celebrated with first time mother's day celebrant aunt Van and veteran celebrant grandma Dao. On Sunday morning I tried cooking breakfast but set off the smoke alarm (well, daddy is blaming that on me).

More Visitors!

The best part about a house is having guests over. Last weekend daddy's parents came to visit and we had a great time hanging out with them. Grandma Barb spent a lot of time feeding me and Grandpa Norm enjoyed reading me all of his books. We also had a BBQ with cousins Tate and Caleb, I wanted some steak but had to settle for milk. Maybe next time...

LA Story

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, it's been busy as always. This weekend Miles took his first plane flight to SoCal. Friday night we flew into the always crowded LAX and drove up to Burbank and Encino for Miles to meet a bunch of new friends...Noah Lam, Dylan Koh, and 3 month old Sophia Koh. The next morning we all drove down to La Mirada for Miles to hang out with his grandparents. After grandma Dao watched Miles so mommy and daddy could get dinner in LA, we met the Kohs for brunch in Long Beach this morning before flying out of the OC. Miles loved the warm LA climate and had his eyes open and alert for celebrity sightings...unfortunately there weren't any this time. Here's Miles on the plane with daddy, hanging with his new friend Sophia Koh, and hanging with his maternal grandparents.

Easter Egg Hunt

For Easter weekend Miles got in the car and drove with us to Uncle Jason and Aunt Rachel's place where they had an Easter Egg hunt for all the kids. Miles was the youngest kid there but was able to hold his own searching for eggs. Here's mommy with cousin Caleb who looked spiffy in his Easter outfit. And then mommy and daddy hold a tired Miles after he collects his eggs. Good times for all!

Social Butterfly

Unlike his nerdy dad, Miles has been making lots of friends in his first three months. There's been a lot going on with the move from San Francisco to the suburbs, but Miles has made sure to make time for friends. He's met plenty of new buddies as mommy hosted an event for the Burlingame mother's club today and he's had other friends over for playdates as we gets settled into his new house. He's even making some older friends as daddy's friend Drew came over last night for pizza and basketball. But Miles is on pins and needles waiting for news of the arrival of his first female cousin...due any minute now in Maryland. Good luck Aunt Jenny!

Bracket Buster

Sadly, Miles's NCAA tournament isn't going too well. He picked Stanford and UCLA to meet in the finals and then spit up on all of his notes. But he did make some other key decisions, here's what he had to say:

San Francisco vs. Burlingame: Burlingame wins because I get my own room, but I like visiting the big city.

Lost vs. Amazing Race: Amazing Race. It visits all these neat countries while Lost makes no sense.

Walking vs. Driving: Walking. I enjoy a good car ride, but nothing beats walking around the neighborhood with mommy and daddy.

Eating in Restaurants vs. Eating at Home: Mom's cooking is the best, but I love the white noise of restaurants. Always knocks me out.

Lullabies vs. Classical Music: Classical Music. Lullabies are for babies! Give me the Baby Einstein classical music any day of the week to fall asleep to.

Bassinet vs. Crib: Crib! Cousin Tate gave me his and I've slept well in it the past few days.

And finally, Mommy vs. Daddy: No comment.

Exclusive Interview

Miles has been a bit of a recluse on the blog lately so we finally tracked him down for an interview. Here's what transpired:

Blog: Hey Baby Miles. What you been up to?

Miles: It's been busy. We moved into the house last week. Daddy's parents came to visit for the weekend.

Blog: Tell me about their visit.

Miles: Grandma Barb was a big help getting everything ready for the house and Grandpa Norm was fun to play with along with cousins Tate and Caleb.

Blog: I hear you had four vaccination shots today. How were you so brave and barely cried after them?

Miles: I get my toughness from my mom. Plus I now weigh 14 pounds so I could barely feel them.

Blog: Really? 14 pounds?

Miles: Yeah...but most of it comes from my hair and my cheeks.

Blog: I hear you also clocked in at 24.75 inches which is in the 90th percentile. I bet your dad is proud.

Miles: He is. Just don't tell him that I don't know if I want to use my height to play basketball. With my good looks I just might want to get into acting.

Blog: And we'll leave it at that. Thanks for your time Baby Miles. Any last words for you loyal followers?

Miles: Only 16 more weeks until I get to eat solid foods. Can 6 month olds eat pizza?

Moving Day

Why haven't we posted in a while? Well, it's been busy in the Cohen household. We decided that it wasn't enough to just have a new baby, we also made the move to Burlingame in the past week. Miles seems to like having a lot more space and he can't wait to get into adventures in the new house. Here's a picture of Miles getting ready for the move and our kitchen post move. And um, Miles, you're putting on the weight there big guy. Might be time for mommy and daddy to buy you new clothes.

Love is in the Air

What a Valentine's Day! Miles celebrated by hearing the good news that his Uncle Thai got engaged to his wonderful girlfriend (now fiance) Sarah. They drove up from LA and Thai popped the question in wine country. Rumor is he begged and pleaded and she finally said "yes". Congrats to the happy couple and here they are celebrating with Miles.

Olympic Baby

Less than a week after the Super Bowl ended the NFL season, Miles is going to deal with his football withdrawal by watching the Winter Olympics. In honor of this, let's take a look at what countries he's rooting for:

Vietnam: in honor of his maternal grandparents and the country where Aunts Van and Liem were born (they can never be president for this reason). Unfortunately Vietnam isn't a winter sport powerhouse.

Scandinavian Countries and the Baltic States: in honor the vacation his parents took during Rosy's 2nd trimester. Special mention to Sweden because Miles's buddy Lukas Aspelin's father is from there.

Mexico: in honor of his dad's favorite food.

Australia: Miles has been watching a lot of Lost with his dad so is all too familiar with flights from Sydney to LA.

South Africa: When you have a middle name of Leo you have to like anywhere that has a lot of lions. Plus his parents went on their honeymoon there.

USA: Ultimately Miles is a homer. He seems to be a big fan of the curling team!

A Clockwork Orange

If you ever need to wake up at 2am and can't find your alarm clock, Miles is here to help. During her pregnancy Miles would wake his mom up every morning with a healthy round of kicking and movement at 2am. On Christmas Day he woke up her again, but this time he was trying to make it clear that he was ready to enter the world! And 6 weeks later, Miles continues his 2am antics. He's been a great sleeper, usually conking out at 9-10pm then giving mom 4-5 hours of much needed sleep. But sure enough, between 2-2:30 every morning he gets hungry again and after a quick feeding he'll go back down. Here's Miles with his beautiful mom and another one of him sleeping with a serious case of bed head.

Crissy Field Run

Every Saturday morning I try and go running at Crissy Field with my friend Jad. With him out of town this weekend I enlisted some new running mates...Miles, Rosy, and Grandma Dao. It was a beautiful morning and Miles enjoyed the sea air. Of course, it was a little embarrassing when I was running as fast as I could and Rosy was casually passing me while pushing a stroller and Miles laughed at me.

Going Strong at One Month

Sorry for the lack of posts, been a busy week. And life is great with Miles, as he surpassed his one month birthday with a day of smiles, sleeping, pooping, eating, more pooping, and more sleeping. His highlights of the past week include: going house-shopping on the peninsula and being extremely well behaved, hanging out with cousins Nicholas, Tate, and Caleb a bunch, doing more tummy time, going to a new parents class (where it was clear he was the best sleeper of the bunch), and gaining good weight to tip the scales north of 10 lbs within his month birthday. We feel like we're getting into a nice groove with Miles which I'm sure any parent can tell you means a wild, unforeseen adventure is coming shortly.

Back to the Future

In an episode of Lost a character is sent to the past and encounters himself as a baby. I know exactly how he feels, looking at Miles is liking looking at pictures from 30 years ago. You can see Miles here on the left and his father on the upper right. Oh, and that character from Lost is also named Miles. Eerie.