Mylestones

A few new photos for you...one is a photo of Myles sleeping with his new friend Geoffrey the giraffe, a sweet gift from my Aunt Penny. Geoffrey has a giraffe head and a very soft blankie body, which Myles loves...I think they will snuggle together for years to come! We are now in a more regular schedule of sometimes taking afternoon naps while mama works at the computer. It's lovely when it works, and when it doesn't Myles gets to go in the sling or bjorn and work with me! Did I mention that this past week he had a night when he woke up only once? It was amazing when that alarm went off and I realized he didn't wake up a second time! It's been several days since that happened, but I'm confident it will happen again some day. Last week I started back to work, with Myles at the morning out program 3 mornings each week. We leave him in the care of Iva Leigh (who's been at this job for 18 years, she's a southern grandmother who loves holding babies!) and Amber (who has an infant in Myles' infant class). There are about 6 babies in the class. We don't like leaving him, and by pick up time I am very anxious to get my hands on him! At the same time, being back at work is a blessing, I just love what I do and I think it's good for me to get out of the house. Myles also had his first shot this week. Luckily, there seemed to be no allergic reaction so we were thankful for that. He cried for about 5 seconds and I cried for a few minutes...a theme seems to be emerging here, as the same thing happened when we dropped him off at the morning out program for the first time.

On another note, our house is moving along! After many frustrations with things left undone and finish carpenters who didn't exactly make the grade, one of the guys from Carolina cornerstone (our general contractor) has decided to come out and get it done himself. And he's been at it for several days, doing quality work and getting things done. Seth also finished the fence out back so Juniper has been out for the first time today to explore her new yard unencumbered by a leash. Incidentally, we discovered she's eaten a few baby wipes when she had some trouble taking care of business in the back yard. I'm hoping it was a clean wipe that she ate, but I wouldn't bet on it.

More news and photos to come when we report on the Hendler visit from last weekend! For now, I'm off to hear one of my favorite poets, Mary Oliver, speak at UNCA.

Bathtime Surprise

We never really have gotten the hang of the baby bathtub. Instead, one of us usually just gets in the big tub with Myles, so he can be as fully submerged (warm = happy) as possible. This last bathtime, it was my turn. Seth stripped Myles down and handed him over and I got his little body in the water when we felt one explosion after another. Yep, it was my first floating poopie bath. And let me tell you, new born poop is anything but solid. I felt slimed. But we had to act quickly, because Myles is like a little time bomb, and we never know how much time we have until the next melt down, particularly when he's in the tub. So we filled the baby bath, all the while I'm soaking in poopy water. Seth transferred Myles, I drained the big tub and did my best to clean it out (and clean myself up!). Every day's an adventure! Last night was historic, Myles only woke up for one feeding. I was shocked when the alarm went off and I realized I had only fed him once in the night. An extra hour of sleep...why don't I feel refreshed yet?

An update on my dad: his surgery last Friday went well, but the tumor was larger than expected and the surgery was more complicated. Luckily, the tumor missed being connected to the kidney and a major artery by centimeters, so on the one hand he avoided having a kidney removed and on the other hand he was able to have the tumor removed, which would not have been the case had it been connected to this artery. Yesterday he finally got some broth (which my mom said tasted like the finest soup he'd ever had), and we are hoping he might be out of the hospital Saturday or Sunday. My dad and my mom have such positive spirits, with a lot of support from their church and friends, and I'm grateful for this. We are still waiting for the full pathology report, but the initial report showed that there may have been two types of cancer in the tumor, one of which is fairly aggressive. Please continue to keep my family in your thoughts and prayers!

Voss Family News

This week we received some difficult news...my dad has been diagnosed with sarcoma, and has a mass in his abdomen that will be surgically removed on Friday. The doctor believes it's 90% likely that the tumor is malignant. So this week has been a flurry of tests for my dad...everything from chest x-rays and blood work to a stomach scope and colonoscopy in order to determine whether the cancer is isolated in the tumor or whether it's spread. So far, so good...it looks as if it's isolated, and we are hoping that's the case. This news was pretty shocking to me, as my dad has always been so healthy (eats well, exercises, goes to all his doctor's appointments) and I guess I still had this idea that somehow he'd be exempt from all serious illness because of his good health. But my folks have a very positive attitude going into Friday's surgery, and Seth, Myles, and I will head to TN on Friday to be with family for the weekend and visit my dad in the hospital. A colleague of mine mentioned that in the midst of it all, Myles will continue to bring joy...and so I'm thinking of him as a little joy-giver who has the amazing blessing of spreading joy wherever he goes just by virtue of being a sweet, chubby baby. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers. We love you, dad!

Bad Batteries

Not only are we experiencing some technical difficulties that have made it difficult to do a new post, we also seemed to have bought some faulty batteries, which will not work in the camera. So we have no new photos to share, just what we have been emailed by family. Please bear with us as we sort this all out...hopefully we will have some new photos next week.

On another note, Myles had his 6 week check up on Tuesday morning. He weighs 11lbs 2oz (75%) and measures in at 23 and a half inches (90%). So it's good to know he's growin good on mama's milk. Evenings have been somewhat tricky lately, as Myles likes to cry through dinner unless he's being held (and even then, sometimes he likes to cry). This is more than a little frustrating for his papi who has been working hard all day and wants to come home to a baby who is not in the throes of fussiness. But we are trying to just roll with it. Last night, with the aid of the miracle blanket (sewn, Seth says, by angels), Myles slept for 5 hours straight! The miracle blanket is made to help swaddle infants, for those who don't know what it is. Well, that's the news for now...

Cousin Kaleb comes for a visit!

Squishy...

One more Myles update...he's starting to get squishy! I noticed this the other day when I grabbed one of his thighs as I was picking him up...squishy...even his hands look a little plumper to me (not to mention those cheeks) so I'm assuming he's gaining weight. I love the squishy thighs, so hoping we just continue to fatten him up.

Myles smyles

Well, we finally caught that precious smile on camera and had to get it out to you all! On the picture farthest to the right, he's in his second outfit of the day at 9:30am. In the other photos, he's in his third outfit of the day...between pooping, peeing, and spitting up on himself, Myles is a regular fashion plate with several costume changes each day (which he tends to scream through). But the smile makes up for everything! Enjoy...