catching up

yes, I'll admit it, I'm way behind on blogging. this is not to say that we haven't had anything fun to blog about, but rather that I am now officially "back to work" and it has consumed too much of my time. I finally downloaded all of the pictures we have taken in the last week and a half and (not surprisingly) there are MANY! such is the life of an only child!! last weekend we had a lot of time to relax at home as a family as well as go to 'greek fest' and participate in the 2nd (or maybe 3rd) annual 'greseth golf outing'. miles and I joined in on the first two, but opted out of the golf tournament. monday, august 25th, was my first day back at work. miles went to daycare and was the best baby there! well, ok, he's the only baby there! grandma (my mom) was gracious enough to offer to do daycare for us. this has made my transition back into the working world a LOT less stressful. I feel so blessed to know that he is in a safe and loving place everyday that I'm at work. for those who don't know, I will actually be working part-time this year at riverside elementary school. I'm going to be teaching thursdays, fridays, and every other wednesday. I'm fortunate to have this opportunity and, I must say, I'm quite excited about it! it's great to be back at school with my friends and I'm sure that the adult conversation will be beneficial!

our little miles is changing so much everyday. he now brings everything to his mouth, drools like a faucet, kicks his legs a mile a minute, rolls from his tummy to his back (most likely in protest of tummy-time!), holds his head up like an old pro, giggles, and...drum roll please...sleeps through the night!!! he eats around 7 pm, is sleeping by 8/8:30 pm, and wakes around 6am! what an angel :) he truly is a wonderful baby and we feel incredibly blessed to have him for a son.

here are some pictures from the last ten days.

this is what I get to wake up to every morning!

uncle brian came to babysit miles...miles LOVES brian!!

holding his head up like a champ!

I did say "like a faucet" - this is his best impression of a denture-less man

hanging out with great grandma becker before heading to greek fest
uncle marc is goofy!!

relaxing with daddy

new favorite activity - chewing on his fingers - gags himself often!

out to breakfast with mommy and auntie beth - such a good boy!

beth came to stay with us while daddy & uncle seth were out of town

annual twins weekend...and summit fest!

we ventured to the cities for what has become an annual twins weekend with our good friends, the harms'. this year was a bit different now that we both have baby boys. we drove up on saturday morning and went to my uncle and aunt's house in st. paul. we just happened to be in town for summit fest at the groveland tap - $1 summit beers, $2 brats, and 25 cent wings! scott, teresa, nick, and ellie walked there with us - it's just a couple of blocks from their house. the harms' caught up with us later in the afternoon...they were busy buying a new set of wheels...something a bit more carseat friendly.

miles enjoying a beer with his daddy

little miss ellienick and his "summit"ethan with his daddy and his "summit"

we headed off to our hotel around 6pm. we stayed at the 3M holiday inn. if you're looking for a cheap/nice hotel...this is a great choice!! we took miles and ethan swimming, put them to bed, ordered pizza, and all fell asleep by 11pm. my how the days have changed!

ethan posinggoing swimming!
miles got a little cold in the pool
ethan & his mommy, annathe morning after a night of partying...oh how things have changed!

sunday was our trip to the dome. ethan and miles wore matching outfits. ethan's was probably on it's last wearable occasion and miles' lasted mere hours - he pooped through during the top of the 1st. arg. good thing kyle is a twins freak and we have multiple outfits! miles enjoyed the majority of the game in his daddy's arms with his eyes shut. the babies were both great and the twins won! all in all it was a wonderful weekend. it's always fun to get the boys together and watch how fast they grow. we decided that next year will be crazy...keeping two toddlers busy during a baseball game. yikes. for now we enjoy them sitting in one place!

family photo

the harms' and kroenings - notice the boys' matching outfits...not for long!miles' position for about eight inningshappy boy!go twins!

miles and his girlfriends

my friend (& job-share partner) kate came over last thursday to have lunch with us. kate and I were pregnant together all last year and her daughter, grace, was born 12 days before miles. she also has an adorable little 23 mo. old, kylin. grace is such a peanut compared to miles. when she sat in the einstein exersaucer she was a good two inches from the bottom...we had to put a pillow under her feet! kylin is a sweetheart and sure gave me a reminder about how busy two year olds are...but so much fun!!

grace

kylin

disappointment

many of you have followed our family's lawsuit against the mayo clinic for the past seven years and the recent trial that ended last week.

link to article

we were shocked by the verdict and disappointed that nykkole did not receive the justice she so deserves. as we sat together last wednesday, my dad reminded us all that we have plenty to celebrate...our family. after all is said and done, we have each other and we have nykkole. thank you to everyone who followed the trial and sent good thoughts and prayers our way. we truly appreciate all of your support. here are some pictures from last wednesday...we are a crazy bunch!

little baby einstein

as we near the three month mark, I'm proud to announce that our monkey miles is now loving his baby einstein exersaucer (thank you uncle matt & auntie sarah!). he loves to look at all of the bright colors! standing on our laps has been his favorite thing for quite some time, so I figured he would get a kick out of standing in this new toy. what a little man!

grandpa time

here are some pictures of miles having fun with his grandpa kroening.

happy birthday jen

we celebrated auntie jen's birthday this past thursday. she turned the big quarter of a century on saturday, august 9th. beth and seth had everyone over for a yummy cookout. back in the pre-baby days we often ventured to buffalo wild wings for thursday's boneless wing night. alas, those days are gone now...so we did our own version out on the friedt's deck. beth grilled out boneless chicken tenders and we tossed them in our favorite bww sauce...she even picked up some buffalo chips from the restaurant. yummy!! might I just say that it was remarkably more comfy, less crowded, and significantly easier to carry on a conversation. the perfect combination!

miles with uncle brian and uncle marc

the birthday girl, jen, trying to figure out what's in the brownie...

...no candle? no problem! toothpick to the rescue!

nykki came in her pjs and had a great time

grandma with two of her favorites...miles and chocolate!

learning new tricks

miles has mastered the art of giggling and is slowly figuring out how to maneuver his arms. just days ago, he was flailing them about with no particular target in mind. now he concentrates oh-so-hard on the toys on the toy bar and somehow gets his hands to reach up to the musical butterfly! he gets so excited when the music comes on. I have to admit that we are quite proud of his new trick!!

he's even managed to kick and turn sideways!!

focusing on the target

here are a couple of him goofing around with daddy

fun at the park

this week we were able to hang out with my uncle scott and his two kiddos - nicholas and ellie. scott is also a teacher, so he has the summer off and comes down from st. paul to visit now and then. (in case they look familiar...nick and ellie were in our wedding!) we walked down to our neighborhood park. it was miserably humid out, yet oddly the temperature wasn't too hot...hmmm. in any case, the fine weather and a half mile walk/run to the park explains the sweaty faces. it was fun to see them and miles enjoyed watching them run circles around him...I'm sure next summer that role will be reversed!