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.