13 months

Today Miles is 13 months old. I am totally feeling sick, runny nose, headache, sore throat so blogging skills are down to zero. So here are some cute pictures of Miles taken recently. He is a strong walker now and even runs a bit. He is a total giggler and ham. If we are paying attention to Bella he'll try to do something funny like put a toy in his mouth and wave his arms around in order to get attention.
The first picture is just the best one I could get after taking about 60 of Pace, Bella and Miles. I feel like I've been neglecting Pace, there's been no pictures of her on the blog or even a mention for months. She's getting old and even more antisocial but she does let Miles pet and kiss her, poor old thing.
Then there he is hiding in a cupboard in the kitchen. It's so comical to come around the island and there he is, in his foxhole, peering out.
The pictures in the snow are from Thanksgiving. We drove up to Mt. Charleston and there was fresh fallen snow and Miles got to experience his first snow. As you can see he does not instantly take to new things so no smiles. After about an hour he got a little curious and would touch it a bit.
Life these days is sweet and good and we have been having lots of laughs and happiness watching Miles continue to expand his horizons.

Miles

Myspace Glitter Graphics

Officially One

Well here we have it. One year old. The cliche about time passing quickly is true. And you're so wonderful right now, I wish I could freeze time and we could just stay this way forever. You walk like a Frankenstein revving his motorcycle engine - arms sticking straight out and hands twisting. You kiss the dog and cat as much as you kiss your mom and dad.
For your birthday I made you a train cake. We went to the park, you got a little train truck from your uncle Alfred that you love, a Radio Flyer bicycle from Ms. Norma that you demand to be pushed on all day even when it's cold and windy outside (thanks Norma!), Daddy and I got you a fishtank with 3 beta fish, Ga and Ga got you a Noah's Ark with a crapload of noisy animals which you love (except the cow, you are afraid of electronic cow noises - you have 2 electronic cows that scare you now).
You went trick or treating and were so cute. You'd stand there and quietly hold your bag and then I would ring the doorbell and the people would open the door looking at their eye level then have to look allllll the way down almost to the level of their knees and there you'd be, dressed like a dinosaur. Bella dressed like a pirate.
Before Halloween we went to a pumpkin patch and you had a nice time trying to eat hay and rolling little pumpkins and dried corn around.
Hmmm....what else...

Only that the first Black President was elected and you'll never even know what it's like to grow up in a world where maybe some things are not possible. And I'm proud to tell you that I donated, phonebanked and canvassed so that you'd have this world. Everything is possible for you my boy and you live in a promising and optimistic time right now.

Daddy and I love you immensely too, just so you know, in case we don't tell you about 5000 times a day.

2 more days

I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that in 2 measly days my precious little infant will be 1 year old. This is terrible. I don't know how it happened so fast and I'm not ready to stop counting his age in months. I'm calling him 11 months till tomorrow. And he's so sweet. Just a lovey dovey little human.
I'm toying with going back to work and it tears me up inside to think about handing him over to someone else for the majority of his waking hours. He is a total mamas boy and we do everything together. Here's some pics of him trying on his Halloween costume. We have been so blessed with this little infant and everyday is a treasure.

Vegas is unreal

We live in a fancy neighborhood where almost every house is either a rental or in foreclosure and the economy here is in dire straits. But here today we see this amazing blimp flying over our house with a movie theater size screen on the side advertising Land Rovers and other luxury brands. It's hard to be impressed by things anymore since you see everything here but this blimp is new and kind of awesome. My question is...who's buying Land Rovers right now? Everyone except Warren Buffet is holding on to their money like white holds on to rice.

11 months

Suddenly at 11 months you seem like a big boy. You are learning so quickly and want to talk to me all the time. And the crazy thing is I think I understand what you're talking about. Granted your interests are few and relate mostly to putting things in your mouth or to wanting a toy but still...I think there's been progress in the communications department.
Our trip home from Trinidad was 14 hours and I was panicked when I thought about it. However you showed what you're made of and were such a good baby and a total charmer. You slept for about 3 hours on each leg of the trip and played with your toys and sometimes other passengers the rest of the time. You even had a small playgroup with a couple other kids in the Miami airport.
Standing and dancing is no problem to you. Taking one or two steps is no problem either. But you still have a fear factor with just letting go and walking. I can see you are ready though. Your Dad and I think it's just a matter of letting Bella come home and when you want to chase her then you'll get the motivation.
And Bella comes home on Monday!
Foods you like: Chicken! Apple Juice! Peanut Butter! Sweet Potatos! Kiwis are OK, Oranges are hit and miss.
You are already a little director. The other night you were whinging, Dad and I were sitting on the couch and you kept going from one of us to the other. Then FINALLY! we figured out what you wanted and we sat really close together. The relief on your face was evident. And you sat on both our laps and stared up at us with satisfaction.
You are very affectionate. A total Huggy Bear. If you could spend your day hugging and giving kisses with occassional breaks for bottles and food I think you'd take it.
And we got your nursery back in order but with almost 5 months of sleeping in the bed with me in Trinidad we're a little concerned that the days of you sleeping in your crib are over. You'll hang out there for a few minutes if I'm in the room but that's it. And seeing that you've already climbed out of your playpen I'm not willing to let you cry it out by yourself in your crib and end up bouncing off the floor.

Baby Steps!

So with 11 months looming just around the corner, Miles has been picking up the pace on walking. I try to submerge my inner Michael Phelps but sometimes I help him practice and encourage him with " Come on baby! Daddy walked at 10 months, you can't let daddy beat you! You're #1, beat Daddy baby!"
Miles looks at me and laughs.
He has taken a couple steps however. Tiny baby steps and the whole time he's doing this "weh, weh, ung, ung" thing. Like "I don't like this, but I'm doing it, but I'm telling you this crap is scary and I don't know why you have me doing it but since you're so excited I'll try".
So he made a tiny baby step today a couple times and then fell into my arms. It was so cute. And another thing he did today was while he was going down for a nap. He was laying on his pillow and scooted over near me and put his arm around my neck and nuzzled my face with his and put his cheek next to mine and cuddled me. Butter! I melted like butter.

Not going anywhere

So we're not going anywhere. Poor Norris has to stay in the hellhole for longer. But here's some pictures of Miles with his BFF Nicky riding a kids tractor in the garden.

Leaving Trinidad

The munchkin is napping and it's two days before we leave for Vegas. It's been a memorable time for me. Coming down to Trinidad for 4 months while Norris was gone has not always been an easy or fun thing, but on balance I would say that I made the right decision.
Miles has gotten to spend more time with his Grandparents than he will probably ever spend again. He has gotten that "raised by a village" experience that Hillary Clinton spoke so eloquently about. This has made him into a very friendly, happy little infant. When we came down here he could just sit up a little. In our time here he has gone from rolling around to crawling to standing and even riding a little fire truck.
This visit has also injected new life into my parents. I know they will be at a loss for a little while after we leave and Miles will also miss seeing his Ga!'s every day. He loves them and when he sees them he throws his arms up to try to grab them and have them hug him.
I have gotten a lot of help in raising him. I don't think I would have done as good a job if I had toughed it out in Vegas by myself. This experience really showed me how insanely hard the life of a single parent is and I honestly have no idea how they do it day after day if they know there's no end in sight. Knowing this was temporary made it easier.
The hardest part may be coming up. When we came down here he was a wee, malleable 6 month old. He actually slept for most of our trip down and people commented about how well behaved he was on the flight. Now I have an almost 11 month old who is a veritable ball of energy stacked on chubby legs. The idea of having him be still for two four hour flights is so laughable that I am just keeping it out of my mind as much as possible. That coupled with the fact that I have NO assigned seat and as it stands now will be assigned to middle seats the whole way also makes me think that this journey will be epic.
Our trip down here would not have been the same if not for the help of my friend Sandra and her sweet son Nicky. They babysat Miles and loved him and treated him as part of their family. He is going to miss them so much and I wonder if he will understand when we leave everyone behind. The culture and the life we are returning to is so different. We are going from an extended family system to a pretty isolated nuclear family dynamic and apart from playgroups or other activities like that Miles will spend all his time with just Norris and I. Rarely if ever will he experience other families, other ages of people and the sheer amount of people in everyday life as he does here. But as everyone says, children are resilient. And when we get back he will have three great constant companions who will worship and adore him (Norris,Bella and I) and one who will have a passing interest and show occassional love (Pace).

I love Anderson Cooper

....so why doesn't Bill O'Reilly begin with the letter G?

Stock trader

With the market down Miles has been doing some heavy trading, picking up those blue chips at a bargain and our phone bills are sky high.

Miles and Amelia

Today we see Miles with his frenemy Amelia. He loves Amelia but is also afraid of her because she is kind of like a cat. One minute she's playing nice, the next she's biting, hitting or kicking him.

Pictures!! Finally!!

Ok, over the next few days I will post pics. It takes forever to get them posted so bear with me.
Todays's pictures show Miles doing two of his favorite things, bathing and eating. He is an eating machine. I never have to worry about him eating. I never understood how scary it can be when your child does not eat until he got sick a couple weeks ago. I HATED that he was a picky eater. I got so worried for him. His legs got a little thinner so I guess he used some baby fat around that time.

10 months

Miles, today you are 10 months old. You are sleeping right now. Yesterday Barack Obama had a historic nomination acceptance event and it makes me hopeful that the world will be an ok place for you to grow up in.

So how have you grown? You got 2 more teeth this month, your front top teeth and when you smile oh, well, I just melt inside. You're about 2 1/2 feet tall, your 18 month clothes are too small for you and keep popping off at the snap crotches.

So what can you do? You can give an Obama style Fist Bump, give High 5's, wave bye bye and give kisses. You call your Grandma "Ga". You call me "Ma", FINALLY! You enjoy chatting on the phone with Amelia - you both can't really talk but somehow have intense phone conversations with each other. You totally have everyone around here fascinated by your every move - even the office staff, who pitched in and bought you a piano with animal sounds which has become one of your favourite toys. Your Grandma seems to get high whenever she sees you - she acts so silly to entertain you. Another thing you have gotten good at is crying to be held. You act like we left you in the forest and you're afraid we will do it again. You CONSTANTLY want to be held and while my parents find it cute I find it annoying.

What happened this month? Well you got gastro and was the sickest I've ever seen you and it was scary. Projectile vomit, violent diarrhea and no appetite at all. Thankfully that has passed and you are back to eating like a termite.

Ok huggy bear, you woke up and are demanding attention, holding on to my chair and shaking it with your tiny might. When are you going to let go of that pacifier? Ok, you're trying to turn off the TV again, gotta go!

Vitamin D Deficiency May Lurk in Babies

From NY Times today, scary and something I have never heard of:

Exclusive breast-feeding may be associated with vitamin D deficiency and rickets, recent research suggests.
Click on title of post to see article.

I didn't know until this weekend.....

that babies could have such explosive diarrhea that it would actually blow the poop out of the diaper and all up the back of the baby and all on the bed too. I feel I have learned this piece of information the hard way.

Because I miss Pace and am kind of sick of the Olympics

more animals

House of Ill

We are hunkering down this morning weathering a storm of projectile vomiting coming from 3 sides. Two days ago my mom started having vomiting and diarrhea. Miles was not around her and we thought maybe she had food poisioning so did not expect it to spread. But it did.

Yesterday around 3pm I was feeding him green peas (what an Exorcist Cliche but it's true) then a little milk and the child started Linda Blair-ing on me and ALL over the couch. I had never seen projectile vomit before. It's like an ugly fountain. It was kind of a light green, Martha Stewart probably would choose it to paint a kitchen or mud room. Poor child did that till there was less than nothing in his stomach. Quick trip to the doctor and he was diagnosed with gastroenteritis. Last night was a nostalgic trip back to the first weeks of his life when I had to be up every couple hours to care for him. Baby got the diarrhea too.

Today so far he's been holding on and I've been giving him Pedialyte every 15 minutes as well as coconut water and Crix biscuits. Unfortunately my dad has fallen to the gastro as well. I am currently the only soul standing. I feel a little paranoid kind of like I may be Linda Hamilton and the alien is already in my stomach and will soon rip through kicking ass and taking me down with everyon else.

Mayaro beach house

You know how when you're home, and it's just hot and you're kind of bored and you think to yourself how nice and cool it would be to be at the beach instead? Well I had that thought while sitting in our air conditioned living room and went and spent the weekend at a beachouse in Mayaro with some friends of my mom's.
My mom (who could give those fabled rats a run for their money when it comes to packing) and I packed for the overnight stay so that meant that when we left we took a playpen, 2 fullsize suitcases, a lasagna, a gallon size bottle of Baileys, a stroller, 8 liters of water, 6 towels, bedding for 2 beds, plus enough baby food to feed Miles till he is ready for college.
Barely able to close the trunk, with no room to move her feet in the back because of all the luggage we were not ready to leave yet. No, we had to pick up a friend of the host who we had never met. Did she travel light? Well comparatively but not really as she was going to the house for the entire week having nothing to do with her life but roast in the hot sun I guess. So we jammed 3 more bags into the car plus this lady who had green painted very long toenails and off we went.
Those who have never been to Trinidad may think that it being an island in the Caribbean that the idyllic beach must be, oh, a stones throw from every doorstep. Not so dear reader. Though as the crow flies the beach we were destined for would only be maybe 20km south east of us, in order to get there we actually had to go NORTH about 30km then EAST about 20km then SOUTH about 50km. And so it was 2 1/2 hours of bumpy road with a strange, kind of loud talking lady (who later the next day stripped half naked in the yard in full view of everyone and just didn't care) we arrived at a pretty nice house.
Our hostess is a lovely and gracious woman who kindly told the few friends she invited that they could bring friends too if they wanted. What resulted that day and the next was a kind of Indian Animal House where bottles of booze and new people were arriving nearly every hour and massive amounts of food were being cooked. There were children everywhere, adults swarming and even a crab in a bucket who jumped out of his confines and escaped to safety, preferring his chances with in the wild to his chances with these people who seemed to cook every type of meat they could get their hands on.
Eventually however night fell and the day trippers took their leave and there was calm in the home. We all happily took to the porch and drank Baileys, and eventually got a bit sleepy. To the sleeping quarters we went and there realized that sleeping in a beachhouse in the Caribbean without air conditioning is kind of like sleeping in the ocean itself as the air was so wet and humid. So my mom and I dragged one of the plastic encased mattresses to teh rooftop deck and made it up and with pillows and all lay under the full moon with Miles for a few hours till he fell asleep then moved it back downstairs to prevent him waking up with lungs full of dew.
Oh, I forgot - the neighbors were having a MASSIVE party with live tassa drumming and everything so getting Miles to sleep that night was especially impossible.
Around midnight I went with one of my aunts to the beach so she could find her husband who enjoys taking a midnight dip. As we were out looking for him, out from the water emerges an aging Venus, naked as the day she was born and cool as anything says "hello, goodnight" and heads into the party next door.
Next day, drink, people, repeat. Drive back in blazing hot heat and think to self that the beach may be good for a lot of things but not for cooling off.

Baby Top 40

Miles usually does not watch T.V. it's on in the background and I'm watching the Olympics or surfing through the election pundits. There's only one thing he consistently stops to watch, agog with enjoyment, bouncing up and down no matter what he's doing. It's those Free Credit Report. com commercials. You know "they monitor your credit and send you email alerts, so you don't end up selling fish to tourists in tshirts". That one. More than Disney channel, more than anything educational on PBS or Discovery Channel. That's his favorite thing on T.V.

front teeth and talking

So 2 days ago our boy got his top right front tooth. My brother in law may know what this tooth is technically called but I call it Adventures in Biting. The Miles mouth is now a place you put a finger only if you have paid up your health insurance. Unfortunately in my Mommy Duties I do have a responsibility to go in there fairly often. His gums hurt and he's fussy so I have to rub some teething gel on there. I feel like I've been drafted to go into a battle where everyone knows heavy casualties are the expectation. He seems to smile knowingly when he sees the tube, like he's rubbing the tongue on them polishing them up for the attack. He aims for the cuticle. It's the most sensitive spot on the finger I guess.
Talking is pissing me off. I am the Ma Ma. I did EVERYTHING for 9 months then mostly everything for another 9 months. Why oh why then does he call my mom "Ga! Ga!" but me, I get coughed at. Yes, I said coughed at. Miles gives me this little "cough, cough" to get my attention when I am not looking at him. I guess he doesn't want to cry but can't talk yet. But it is humbling to be called by the infant as though my name is Jeeves the Butler. This has got to be remedied. I may start playing a loop tape of "Ma Ma Ma Ma" to him in his sleep till he starts saying it.

9 months

Dear Miles,
A few days ago you turned 9 months old. You are just good enough to eat. I love everything about you, and many other people do too. Your babysitter Sandra here in Trinidad comes to "borrow" you like a library book if she hasn't seen you in more than 3 days. Her whole family is in love with you and I'm taking pictures of them in case I have to call the authorities if you're missing. You LOVE her son Nicki here in the picture holding you. You just hang on to every move he makes when he's around. You want to walk like the big kids so bad, you stand up and barely hold on to things and inevitably fall and bust your butt when your feet get tangled. But after a little cry up and trying again you go. You can say car and dada. Every now and then you will repeat something clear as day.

You have your two bottom front teeth and you make the most of them. You are an eating champion. There has only been one food (gross Heinz chicken and vegetable puree) that you have refused. You eat the most bitter vegetables like carile and spinach and want more. We took you to Ruby Tuesdays a couple weeks ago and gave you a little bowl of pasta and when it was done you picked up the bowl and started licking it. Here you can see a picture of you eating a chicken leg like it's nobody's business but yours.

You are surprisingly strong. You grab 4 liter bottles of water and drag them around, you picked up the computer chair by holding on to it and refusing to let go when we tried to get you away from the computer. And you're tall too, you're already 30 inches.

You LOVE to bounce up and down.

You cut the cake with Amelia for her 2nd birthday party and then stuck your whole hand in her cake trying to grab what you could for yourself. It was quite a day for you, in the swimming pool with a bevy of 2 and 3 year olds, hanging out quite calmly while all the chaos swirled around. Having this time to spend with you every day is something I will never forget, it is truly worth the effort and self sacrifice to see you enjoying life and turning out to be so brave and calm.

Foreshadowing the future by Amelia Joseph, age 2

So last night Miles' cousin Amelia came to spend the night. Since posting pictures is an incredible pain in the ass I will instead draw you a verbal picture. Picture a 2-3 foot tall uninhibited skinny laughing, screeching, jewelry wearing, fingernail painted, wild jungle child who has recently been discovered living in a tribe of wolves and has been brought to civilization about a week ago. Basically your typical 2 year old. Favorite food - ketchup. Amount of food eaten, about one teaspoon at a time of anything. She seems to survive on air, like an orchid.
She got jealous of my parents giving him attention so she bit him. The look on his face now when he sees her is one of longing and confused fear. This morning you could tell he wanted so badly to be near her and giving her kisses but he was a little afraid that she might bite again.
She went to my dad, her "grandpapa" and matter of factly told him " I bite Milesy boy". She calls him Milesy boy like she is some old lady and he is a little child even though they are only a year and 3 months apart. She is so tiny, actually weighs the same as Miles and they wear the same size Pampers. I remember her a visit last year being Miles' age and being just like Miles, all smiles and effort to walk and sweet as morning sunlight. So I'm trying to enjoy my fat little roly poly ball of love right now as I know that just around the corner the "Terrible two's" await and life will be a non stop action movie.

First tooth and more

Today our boy went to the Emperor Valley Zoo here in Trinidad. He was more interested in watching people, especially anyone eating anything than in watching the animals. But he did like the parrots it seemed.
Yesterday he cut his second tooth. Last week on July 3 I noticed his first tooth working it's way out.
He is very sharing. He shares his pacifier with me all the time - I have to pretend to suck it when he puts it in my mouth. Today he was eating a cracker and thought I would like some so he offered me his wet mushy cracker and watched to make sure I ate it. He smiled, ate some more then offered me more after him. I was touched by his sharing and grossed out that I ate a slimy cracker covered in someone else's spit.

8 months old - 22 pounds of pleasure

Yesterday Miles turned 8 months old. For some reason that age just seems SO OLD to me. Though he is still an infant he's now a mobile infant. And that mobility makse such a difference. It's still not walking unassisted but he can really get accross a room now, whether holding on to furniture and "cruising" as they call it (I just picture babies at bars with cigarettes when I hear that) or belly wiggling accross the room or even actual crawling which he will sometimes engage in.

He's knows plenty of baby tricks to get his point accross without words.

Exhibit 1: Morning time circa sunrise. Infant Miles awakes delighted to be alive. Looks over at sleeping Mommy and determines that she has had enough sleep and should now wake up and entertain him with belly tickles, raspberries on belly, kisses and wrestling. So he approaches Sleeping Mommy with 2 pronged attack. First, pull hair, preferably the hair near the front, small bunch so it really hurts and alarms her to protect self from possible bald spot. Next close in with open mouth really sloppy, I mean to say extremely wet baby kisses that also go "mmmmmmmmmm". Aim for Sleeping Mommy's mouth but failing that suck on chin or nose. When sleeping mommy opens eyes very irritated at possible bald spot he gives a bright smile with twinkling eyes and roll back to engage me to chase him around the bed and play. Repeats as necessary until I give up and am awake and playing at 5:30 in the morning.

Exhibit 2: About an hour after waking it is bottle time. If he is hungry he will start whining when he sees the bottle but not full out crying. He watches me make the bottle and makes this little anticipatory whinging sound only bursting into full tears and crys when we sit on the couch and the bottle is 2 seconds from landing in his mouth. Why does he do that? I can only guess it is his way of cheering me on to get the bottle made then giving me some negative reinforcement by the relief from hearing the crying.

NOTE:
This post was a lot longer but I lost a lot of it when the internet went down and right now do not have the heart to try to recreate. Suffice it to say that Miles is doing many typical 8 month old baby things and is progressing to adulthood in, ahem, baby steps.

Happy Birthday Granny Annie

Dear Granny Annie,
Happy Birthday from Miles and Cindy. We hope you have many more happy and healthy birthdays to come. Miles is doing well and sends you a big sloppy wet kiss!

If Miles had a sister...

This is what she would look like. His great grandmother, my grandmother knitted him this outfit and I have to say he is so cute he makes the Gerber baby look like a cigarette smoking wrinkled old hag.

blogging from Trinidad

We have been in Trinidad now for a few weeks and it is very difficult getting a good internet connection, far less downloading pictures. Fortunately we have found a good place and hope to keep blogging.

It is hot down here and the rainy season has begun so it is also very humid. Unfortunately there is an outbreak of dengue fever so we have to be very vigilant about mosquitos. So far so good though.

Miles is enjoying life down here as he has many hands to hold him and he is actually getting a little spoiled, he crys now if he is put down to play by himself where he used to play by himself quite nicely.

He went to the beach for the first time and it showed that he is his father's son. He is not a big fan of the beach much to my surprise. I love the beach and thought for sure with his love of swimming class that he would take to the beach but not so much. He was curious about the sand and played with it a bit but when I took him to put his feet in the water he was more overwhemled than excited. We didn't go in, just a dip of the feet and he didn't cry but he didn't laugh or seem pleased either.

He loves being in a hammock though, I put him in this hammock at my aunt's house thinking that I would get in too and we would play, but he immediately got really quiet and relaxed and within minutes was asleep with his book on his face. It was very adorable to see him sleeping very seriously with his book in the hammock. We may have to set up a hammock in the living room when we get back.

He is 7 months old now and still does not crawl or have any teeth. He does do a serious body drag when he is motivated to get something though. He looks more like a flailing beached fish than anything else as he squirms and grunts his way a few feet to his destination. But he is quite good at pulling himself up and even holding and walking if the environment is right. He can almost get to sitting all the way up from lying down which is one of his most dearly desired feats, he tries to do it all day long and cries tears of frustration at his inability. But in true baby fashion he is unstoppable in his squirming and trying and I have the bruises on my arms and stomach to prove it ; )

6 Months Old

Well, our boy turned 6 months old a week ago and the times are changin'. He's about 21 pounds now. He can sit up now pretty well, does not rely on his hands for balance as much now - they are free to grab at things all around! He can't crawl but he can stand and hold on to your fingers or the mirror and balance for a little bit. He can roll from front to back and back to front and is rolling around like a log now, kind of rolling to get where he wants to go - which is usually near Bella and trying to grab on to her. He is smiling and loving, gives sweet hugs and sloppy baby kisses. He loves bouncing in the baby car pictured here. He is going through a phase of not liking his car seat - doesn't he know the Britax is the Rolls Royce of car seats? And absolutely everything in sight must be grabbed at and put in the mouth if possible.

First foods

So Miles was about a week shy of his 6 month birthday when he finally tried solid foods. His first food was a freshly picked orange from my uncle's orchard. We went to my Uncle Kenny's orange orchard to spend the afternoon and Norris and I got to pick fresh fruit and walk the grounds. It was very pretty and the oranges were so sweet. We peeled one and Miles first gave it a lick then once he realized it was good he was nose deep, sucking at the orange like a little pro! It was so comical to see him eating the orange with gusto like he had been doing it his whole life. He sucked both halves and as you can see from the picture almost finished both.