Morning

We have a pretty awesome routine down in the morning:

Papa leaves for work.

Miles and I sleep in.

Kid eats a banana every morning with eggs, cereal or oatmeal.

I make my rounds throughout the house to draw the blinds, straighten out the couch, pick up toys.

Miles watches cartoonies.

Mom catches up on computer stuff then joins baby on the couch.
By this point Miles has tried on a billion hats, made a mess of his breakfast, thrown his books around and turned on the record player while watching t.v.
And I wouldn't have it any other way.

This & That

Camp Wolf is pretty much consuming my brain these days and as it should be because we are set to launch in a matter of WEEKS! Cristin and I have been working our buns off to make this happen. It's pretty surreal that a tiny dream is now becoming a really exciting reality! Besides CW business, I have been day dreaming of Autumn, cool weather, layers of clothes and fun holidays. Is that crazy to be wishing for these things when we have that weather pretty much 9 months out of the year here in Portland!? With thoughts of fall comes the reality that my little pal's second birthday is in four months and I know that time is going to FLY by. Lately, we've been working on Miles' room, making it geared more towards him and less about my office/storage space. We recently got a big boy bed for him and even though we still plan on co-sleeping, we wanted to introduce him to naps on it to eventually make the transition easier. I'm so excited about painting his walls and adding new art and shelves! I'll be posting a DIY tutorial of felt pennants I made for his walls soon. I haven't been working on too many crafts lately so having to re-due his room is an excellent excuse to surf Pinterest for fun, affordable room ideas.

My little pal

 My sweet friend Jamie was visiting from Phoenix a few weeks ago and took a few photos of us for the "about me" page for Camp Wolf's website. I love how they turned out and it's great to have updated photos of my little pal and me.

My helper

Miles has been such a good boy while I've been working on Camp Wolf. I try to always set aside time during my day to focus on him to go to the park, get ice cream or play in our backyard. He really loves helping me out too. It's so awesome to watch him grow into this amazing kiddo. He loves watering the front porch plans and he's pretty damn good at it too! He even helps feed the kitties which is just so cute. But with all of that said, I've also been letting certain things slide like watching Curious George alllll morning while I get to my emails or tear up the house so I can finish sewing a jacket. Nursing has been a doozy too. I wanted to stop breastfeeding after we got home from our trip but with all the excitement and craziness of starting a business, nursing was something that we could stay consistent with and stopping just sort of fell on the side lines. I've definitely cut him back a lot and I'm okay with waiting a bit longer to stop. He's still a little hellion with throwing and the tendency of not listening but man, he sure has a sweet heart. We got real lucky with Miles. He has a real love and understanding for animals, adores entertaining people, gives the BEST hugs and kisses and is genuinely such a happy soul. This boy has my heart. And even though our life has become more busy he is still by my side as my anchor, loving me each second of the day and you can't beat that.

These people are my kind of people.

 Being away from this papa for a whole month was not good for any of us. For starters, the husband was miserable working his ass off 10 hours a day, six days a week and coming home to a quiet home with no real meal to eat and no crazy kiddo to fill his arms with after work. No fun. In fact, it really sucked bad for him. Me being gone last month really screwed with our finances and everything fell behind like things usually do when there's no one home to look after those things. So on top of working too much, no wife or son to be with and absolutely no money for four weeks really left him feeling like shit. My husband isn't a very emotionally romantic sort of fella but to hear him say how much he was missing us was sort of a blessing in disguise. You know how absence makes the heart grow fonder? Well, in our case it really did. We weren't having any problems or anything but like most relationships, some space will do you all good. I came back really damn excited to be home. I really, really missed my house and my cats and most of all my sweetheart. I feel like I needed some space from Portland and my home to really appreciate what a badass life we have (broke or not!). I feel like I'm less on the computer and my phone when Steve gets home and more outside hanging with my guys. Don't you sometimes feel like you maybe spend too much time on blogs, pinterest, instagram, netflix or is that just me!? I've recently tried to keep my blogging and computer time for when the fellas fall asleep so I can have uninterrupted hang time with them in the evening and it's been so awesome! Dinners outside, lots of hammock time, beers with papa and Miles on the skateboard starring at bees on our wildflowers is way better then the computer any day. I guess what this post is about is just taking the time to step away from the routine with your family to really appreciate what you have and actually make a change for the better.

Instagram jam

In case you don't follow us on Instagram @MilesMama here are a few of my favorite photos from the last few weeks.

Snoopin

There's no particular reason for this photo other then Miles being real cute in dad's "man hall".  Everyone, have a killer holiday weekend (that's almost over, eeep!) and if you're fortunate to have sun then soak it up for us rainy folks!

17 months old!

My little pal turned 17 months old last week which means he's less then a month away from being a year and a half. Crazy! It's funny how its was a huge countdown to the day he turned a year old and ever since then the months have been flying by. His age right now is so amazing and frightening all at the same time. I love how well we communicate with each other lately but I know not being able to vocalize his feelings has been the root of most frustrations. He doesn't know too many words yet but points and gestures to everything he needs which is extremely helpful for the both of us. He understands my commands and has become a really great helper too. Miles feeds the cats every morning and it is the cutest thing to watch! He scoops the cat food into a cup, walks from the kitchen down a step into our mud room, dumps the food into their bowl and drops the cup back into the bag. I'm so proud, seriously! Last month we were dealing with throwing and hitting which was definitely something we have worked hard to consistently stop. He still throws tantrums but I think he's at the age where fits are common and I'm learning ways to calm him down versus becoming upset. Being outdoors helps a lot with getting some of that crazy energy out so I'm really looking forward to summer. I'm also really excited for an upcoming road trip we are taking with my mom, sister and her three girls. I can't wait to see him bond with his cousins and learn a thing or two from them on the road. When we get back from our trip I have plans to add a toddler bed in his room and make it a better play area for him. I'm also going to start weening him from nursing which I know will be a effing doozy but I'm looking forward to sleeping better through the night without breastfeeding. All in all, 17 months with this kiddo in our lives has been pretty damn amazing and it's been incredible watching this little boy grow! Miles has such a huge heart and I just know he's going to grow up to be a really special person.

Sun, sun, sun

 Portland has been having the best weather lately (besides the two days of rain to just remind us of where we live). Cool mornings, hot afternoons and dreamy evenings means eating dinner outside and running around like wild animals.

Sewing and stuff

 My girlfriend Valerie helped brush me up on my pathetic sewing skills I learned in High School over the weekend. I bought amazing Pendleton fabric last month and have been super eager to use it and now I finally had the chance to have some fun with Miles' clothes. By the way, sewing with a sewing machine is AWESOME! Seriously, why have I been torturing myself with hand sewing everything!? I even got around to making these five minute leggings I've been wanting to do for a while which turned out pretty stinking cute but pretty damn amateur! I'm really excited to learn more about using a machine and I could definitely use the practice on doing a cleaner job but for now I'm having so much fun and am loving the way these patches turned out.

The leggings turned out cute, right?

 At first I wasn't too crazy about this Pendleton print but as soon as I put it on his jacket I feel in love.

I wish I would have centered it better but nonetheless it turned out really cool.
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The Electrik Kids giveaway winner is Donna. Thank you everyone who entered!

Miles right now

 My sweet boy was teething something fierce last week. He has four new teeth coming in with high fevers and painful nights. Luckily, this week has been much better for him and he seems to be back to his normal self. I swear I live with a 16 year old kid though. He sleeps till 10ish, gets really moody if woken earlier, gives dirty looks if you tell him no and loves to stay up late. Such a monkey! With the warmer weather we've been having here in Portland it's been lovely letting him play in our backyard while I cook dinner or work on our garden. He's all about hugs and waving right now. LOVES to hug everything and every time I ask him for one he says "Aww"!! My little pal loves his papa too. That's a no brainer but once Steve gets home Miles lights up, grabs his hand and pulls him all over the house to play and they do till dinners ready and it makes me so happy to see them happy. I was looking at old photos tonight of Miles and it really hit me just how much he's grown. His face is maturing, hair is even getting a little longer and he certainly is much taller then he was a few months ago. This kid's a special one!

Happy Easter!

The weather has been D R E A M Y lately! A Springy 76 yesterday! Steve's working his tush off making me new display fixtures for my larger space so it's just going to be my little pal and me for most of the day. I don't have any real big Easter plans for us so we might just soak up the sun, eat strawberry shortcake and bug dad in his work shop till her plays outside with us!

Shopping tips!

Hi mamas and papas, over the past few months shopping with Miles has become a real challenge at times. Walking was a major game changer with my kid. He wants to run and explore everything possible when we're out which makes running to the store an hour long trip with a few tantrums along the way. Being a mama that picks and sells we are out at thrift stores, estate sales and target (duh) all day long but the number one thing I always try and remember is that my kiddo has a limit to his patience and if he's hungry or tired or even over stimulated it can increase irritability and at that point my errands can wait because my kiddo can not! I know as parents we try and use as many tricks to keep our babies from being out of control so I thought I'd share what helps our outings to be a little more tolerable these days.

1. I know most kids hate wearing sunglasses and hats but my boy loves them so to keep his hands occupied he plays with them and puts them on his and my face a good billion times.

2. STICKERS RULE! Seriously, this is a new one for us and he loves it! I keep a pack of stickers in my bag so while we wait in line it helps distract him. I stick them all over us and he has a blast taking them off my face and hands.

3. I recently added a ton of educational games and videos to my Nook so that Miles can play with it while in the shopping cart or car.

4. We try not to give Miles too many sweets but Redvines are the best and take forever for kiddos to eat.

5. Music makers are awesome toys and keeps your kiddos hands busy. Miles is usually happy sitting inside the cart playing with his light up guitar and tambourine.

6. SNACKS! Baby food pouches, fruit bars and string cheese are our jam! Miles is always hungry so I bring food that's easy for him to independently east while we are out for the day.

7. Snack container and drink leashes are genius! Miles is a thrower so being able to attach his sippy cup to the cart makes life just a little bit easier.

my kinda kid!

Happy Weekend, y'all!

D R E A M Y

Right before we headed back to Portland I asked my old friend Isaac Gibbs to photograph Miles for his portfolio at Balboa Park in San Diego. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I finally got to meet his lovely ladies Dana and baby Rosie. Also, my awesome girlfriend Susan and her daughter Addison joined us down there so that was an added bonus to our day. Isaac sent me over 20+ photos last night and I am in love with every single one of them! Love, love, love!

 Helping my little pal out :)