four months old

miles is four months old already!! here are the latest stats and monthly photos:

NAME: miles edward kroening

HT: 27 inches [92%]
WT: 16 lb 5 oz [72%]
FAVES: rolling, drooling,
standing on laps, eating, watching
puppies and tv, looking at hands
BIG NEWS: two bottom teeth!!

a fun weekend until...

we have had a fun-filled weekend...and I should emphasize the word FILLED! after a warm bubble bath in the kitchen sink, we went to a soccer game for my cousin olivia on saturday morning. it was a little cool outside, but it was fun to watch her play. they were behind 3-0 for most of the game but had a great 4th quarter and nearly pulled out a win with a final score of 3-2.
after the game, miles and I went out to lunch with my aunts (sara & terry), cousins (alex & olivia), mom, sisters (beth, helen, & nykkole), and helen's cousin khaliya. miles was an angel and got passed around the table multiple times!

happy birthday alex!

sisters [my mom, nancy, terry & sara]

khaliya & helen (almost ready for homecoming!)

my cousin, alex, celebrated his 14th birthday on saturday so we went over to the lovett's house for cake and ice cream in the afternoon. miles had a blast watching my cousins, nick & ellie, run around. I'm sure he was taking mental notes and will be chasing after them soon enough! I suppose we figured that since we were on a celebratory kick, we would also swing by kyle's brother's birthday party! conrad, like me, had the pleasure of turning 30 this month. miles had a fun time with everyone over there and showed off his rolling trick to grandpa randy!

comparing belly buttons with nick & ellie

the day was going just peachy until we discovered this mess in our basement...
...yes folks that is water...and a LOT of it! apparently we have some sort of busted pipe inside the wall/ceiling of our basement! we spent last night sucking up gallons of water, cutting and removing drenched carpet pad, and stocking up on drinking water. we were forced to turn off the water main and go without running water. this makes staying here for any length of time a real treat. toilets are inoperable without flowing water :) argh. needless to say we were unable to hang around here today, so we spent the day at my mom and dad's.

the water is leaking from a pipe in the bathroom ceiling and/or wall...this mysterious brown liquid is now oozing from the ceiling...not good.

one of the many times we emptied the wet/dry vac

we came home to a lovely 'eau de wet carpet' scent. it's just lovely! we are hoping to get the insurance on it right away so we can find out the next step. home-ownership is a dream :)

UPDATE: as of 10:00am on Monday this water leak was all patched up. now we're just waiting for the insurance adjuster to come out and let us know what the damage to our wallets will be.

tiny hands

miles is amazed by his hands - he stares at them all the time - we tell him he will do wonderful things with those tiny hands - so precious.

My little hands play patty-cake
they peek-a-boo and wave…
They catch me while I learn to walk
and splash me as I bathe.

My little hands reach up to you
for hugs before I sleep…
And fold together when I pray
the Lord my soul to keep.

My little hands are tiny now
but yours will serve to guide me…
And when I’m grown I’ll still reach out
and know you’re right beside me.
–unknown

roley poley

after many attempts...miles has figured out how to roll over! last week he mastered rolling tummy to back. now I'm not sure if he really knew what he was doing, but it worked to get him off of his tummy and that made him happy. he's really strong on his belly...although it certainly is not his definition of a good time. on sunday night, while we were over at beth & seth's house, he was lying on the floor and playing with his toes...like always. we noticed he seemed to be almost rolling over, so we muted the tv and all stared in awe at this new trick. he continued to kick a couple of times, hoist his legs into the air, grab his feet, twist to the side, and then straighten out. he tried and tried and almost had it...we were all cheering him on! then... he had a little more momentum swinging his legs...and he managed to flip over! the four of us cheered and clapped. needless to say, we scared the bejeebers out of him. I don't think it deterred him though, because he keeps trying!

today I placed him on his back under the toybar and went to the kitchen to chop up veggies. I heard lots of cooing and squealing and assumed he was just having a good ol' time with the lights on the toybar. not so much. he had turned sideways and rolled over and was essentially stuck. I guess my days of running to the other room to finish something up are numbered...it's not going to be long before he starts scootching around the floor. his other new trick is to kick the toybar over. what happened to my swaddled little bundle...

here are a few shots from the other night when he was rolling tummy to back. (please ignore the mess - we were in the process of assembling some new bedroom furniture)

love my toes!

sometimes just one foot will do

ok - if I stick my arm out like this...

...and lean to the side...

...I can get on my back!
daddy was celebrating with me :)

the third musketeer

our dear friends, matt and sarah, welcomed a beautiful baby girl sunday, september 21st, 2008 in wauwatosa, wi. genevieve gabriella made her way into the world at around 3am and was 8 lbs 2oz and 22 in long. she has a full head of gorgeous dark hair...a little jealousy here from mr. miles. we are looking forward to meeting the little beauty at the end of october when we will be driving to 'tosa to meet up with the maios, harms', and bansemars. it will be so fun to get the three muskateers - ethan, miles, & genevieve - together for the first of many playdates!

congratulations matt & sarah...she's a doll!

fotobugz - three months

miles had his three month pictures taken at a local photographer last week. unfortunately, he wasn't too smiley, but we managed to get a some good shots anyway! here is the link if you want to check them out:

www.fotobugz.com

click on "FOTOBUGZ SITE" and a new window will pop up. along the top you will need to click on "CLIENTS" - the password is 'kroening'

happy viewing!!

grandparents day

sunday was grandparents day. yes...I know...it's definitely a "hallmark holiday" but we fell for it anyway! this is an extra special day for us because it's the first grandparents day for grandpa randy, grandpa mike, and grandma nancy. we are so thankful to have them in our lives and feel extra blessed that miles is able to grow up so close to all of them. we know that many families are without grandparents and that makes our situation even more wonderful. we also celebrated miles' great grandparents and were able to see them as well. oh and it was also grandpa randy's birthday! here are some pictures from sunday.

giggling with grandpa

telling uncle clayt and auntie jess stories
flying with uncle claytmiles in his superman cape!looking out the window with grandpafun with grandma nancygreat grandma and great grandpa gresethsnugging with great grandma beckervisiting leandrewhugs from grandpa and grandma

turning thirty

well - it was inevitable. I have turned thirty. I knew that I couldn't stay in my twenties forever, nor would I have wanted to. kyle surprised me on my birthday by arranging for 16 of our family and friends to celebrate with us. I was under the impression that we (the two of us) would be enjoying a quiet dinner alone. I have to admit that I had NO idea and was oh-so-happy to turn around and see everyone waiting with big ol' smiles on their faces! I must say that I turned thirty with everything I could've dreamed of. I have an amazing husband, beautiful son, two sweet doggies, wonderful friends and family, a lovely home, and a great job. I truly could not want for anything more.

yummy toes

guest blogger: miles kroening

hi everyone! I think you all should know that I found the most delicious and fun toy the other day. and guess what? everyone has them...TOES! my toes are so yummy. I like to grab a hold of both of my feet and then chew on my toes. such fun and so convenient :) my mommy said she is going to post a video of my giggling at her and daddy. mommy makes funny noises and daddy rubs my back, legs, and arms. they sure do know how to make a baby smile. I'm getting real good at laughing and putting things in my mouth. I also found out that my thumb is pretty fun to chew on but for some reason mommy keeps giving me my pacifier instead. I heard her say that she doesn't want me to be a "thumb-sucker". I'm just trying it out, but I still love my pacifier!! I'm growing up fast and learning new things everyday. keep visiting the blog so that you can catch up on all of my new tricks!

I got em!talking to the camera

kisses for mommyooh...toes!watching the twins with daddy

labor day fun

kyle headed up to burnsville to stay with my brother, marc, and sister-in-law, jen, on thursday night. they were in need of a "handy man" to help with the installation of their hardwood floors. given the fact that kyle has mastered many projects around the house, they deemed him best fit for the job...and available! so, while he and marc did their best impression of tim the tool man and al, miles and I stayed in rochester and had some quality time with auntie beth! we watched chick-flicks and went shopping. saturday afternoon we ventured up to the cities to join the others after they were finished flooring. we layed low on sunday - went to the mall of america and ordered pizza. monday we decided to join in on the "great state get together" a.k.a. the minnesota state fair. it was H-O-T hot, but we had a good time anyway. we tried the hotdish on a stick and were pleasantly surprised! it's actually just a skewer of alternating meatballs and tater tots, breaded in a corndog breading, fried, and served with a cream soup type dipping sauce. I know - you're wishing you could have one right now! it wasn't too bad though. it was a fun weekend!

reading the belly button book

roxy is very interested in her "cousin"

ready for the mall of america

cheese on a stick!

auntie beth and miles trying to cool off

the tiny tiny bun for a giant prime rib sandwich...what?

three months old

I finally downloaded these...enjoy and GO TWINS!!