guk

as I was hustling to get out the door the other day, I turned around and could not find miles. however, I could hear him saying "guk, guk". I noticed that the gate between our kitchen and dining room was open. miles was lying at the bottom in a pile of shoes. no need to panic, there are a mere 2 1/2 steps between these two rooms. he was just letting me know he was "GUK" - or stuck for those of you who don't speak toddler.

oh what a beautiful day

yesterday was such a gorgeous day - 75, sunny, breezy - so miles and I took advantage of it and packed it full of fun! we started out by driving down to chatfield to visit our friends - kate, kylin, and grace. kate is my job-share partner and a great friend! we walked the kids to the park and then came back to eat lunch. grace and miles were born just 12 days apart, so it was interesting to watch them interact. miles tried hard to keep up with the girls. his walking is so new and it's hysterical to see him stick his little elbows back and tummy out as he toddles around. we had a great time playing with our friends and left just in time for a nap.

miles and grace
I'm coming, I'm coming!
aren't there TWO rocking horses mama?
hungry kiddos
kylin helping miles take his shoes off

good thing we rested up, because later that evening we headed for the county fair. beth, seth, josiah, kyle, miles, and I all packed into our car and drove there. no need for sympathy here, the fair is located a mere 2 miles from our house. we were trying to cut down on parking fees. our county fair USED to be free, but as the population has grown...so has the price. it's still cheap-o, but we miss the good ol' days. at least we could take comfort in the yummy fair food! miles chowed down a hotdog and some french fries for dinner and then some mini-donuts and ice cream for dessert! delish!
after feeding our faces, we ventured to see all of the animals. miles has been quite interested in his little people farm he got for his birthday, so kyle and I were both curious to see his reaction to a REAL sheep, horse, etc. it was priceless. his jaw dropped open and he kept pointing and saying "ohhh!!" he was fascinated by every animal we saw. I took him to the fair last year, but I don't think he even opened his eyes.
this year was so much more fun. I am looking forward to many more summers at the fair (kyle is probably not - that's what happens when you grow up on a farm and as a member of 4H!).

cows!

hello otis

josiah's first fair!

checking out the chicks at the kiddie barnyard

obligatory family photo

wautoma oh-nine

this weekend we went on our annual vacation to wautoma, wi with the msoe gang - the harms', maios, and bansemars. we weren't able to go last summer, so this was the first year we had kiddos along. last time we were there there were eight adults and one baby on the way. this year there were eight adults, three babies, and three more on the way! oh, how times have changed.

the three preggo mamas

anyways...we drove there on friday night. it's typically a 3 hour trek, but we took almost four. that's what you get when you have a 14 month old who needs to eat dinner and stretch out his legs :) miles was such a good little traveler. he played quietly with his books and toys for some of the trip and snoozed on and off. about half of the gang was there to greet us. the bansemars rode up with matt and baby genevieve. her mama, sarah, had to work friday night and the harms' came on saturday morning as well. we settled into our "wing" of the cabin and headed down to the campfire to stay warm. it was freeeeeezing out! in fact, we had to start up the wood burning stove in the kitchen on saturday. july? what?! needless to say, we didn't do any swimming on saturday either. we did, however, go on our daily pontoon ride around mill pond. the babies were adorable in their little life vests. genevieve wasn't so fond of this fashion disaster. oh the humanity!

who are we to blame them for their lack of enthusiasm...
...this isn't exactly a coveted safety feature
a chilly boat ride

lucky for us sunday brought s-u-n!! it was gorgeous out and we took advantage of the only opportunity of the weekend to dip the babies in the lake. ethan was psyched! uncle shawn stepped up to the plate and took him swimming as his daddy (scott) had a bit of a run in with some sparklers over the 4th of july which resulted in 2nd degree burns all over his hand...lovingly earning him the nickname of "mj" (scroll to see spectacular glove bandage).

on the other hand, miles was NOT impressed with the natural spring waters of mill pond. not even a new nemo floatie could make this introduction to lake swimming fun. he cracked a smile (or two), but was especially happy to exit the water and get in the driver's seat of the boat. I can't say that I blame him. it wasn't what I would call "warm" water and the cool summer breezes were not masked by his adorable little swim shirt.

headed to the beach...note he is NOT sadhappy to be on dry land!
ahoy captainmiss g - bathing beauty & boat driver extraordinaire

everyone recovered and the guys settled in for some game time. first up? some sort of baseball ditty that I really don't understand (update from kyle: the game is called "pepper"). here are a couple of pics:

scheming to "fake out" matt

these three yahoos actually played college baseball

next...a rousing game of beer darts. in case you're unfamiliar with this fascinating little game, let me briefly explain. two people + sharp dart + puncturing a beer can + drinking down to the puncture = fun? apparently so. it even required a tournament bracket. kyle was the champion. I'm so proud.
we feel so fortunate to be able to spend time with our dear friends every year. it's amazing to watch how our families are growing. here are a few more photos to commemorate this annual trip. until wautoma 2010...

chow time
little buddiesroasting marshmallows with our dr. suess stickfirst smore

no no

each and every night kyle & I go in to check on our sleeping monkey - not necessarily at the same time - but we like to make sure he's all tucked in and covered up. I just went in to make sure he wasn't cold (a possibility with short pj's on) and tinker followed me in there. I turned the hallway lights on dim and found the little guy passed out on his back lying on his two blankets. typical. he stirred a little when I gently pulled them out from under him. as I was about to cover him back up, tinker decided he needed to shake out some sort of itch. cue jingling collar. I figured he wouldn't move a muscle - we all know how much this kid LOVES his slumber. well he didn't wake up - just b-a-r-e-l-y opened one eye, said "no no" and passed out again. does this mean we say "NO" to our dogs too much? highly likely.

big brother

we are excited to announce that miles is going to be a big brother!! you read that right. baby kroening #2 is due on january 26th, 2010. I have been feeling super nauseous and tired this summer, which has made for some less than thrilling days for miles. I feel bad that I haven't had the energy to do all of the things I had hoped to do with him during my summer off, but we are hanging in there. with the end of the first trimester in sight, I'm hopeful that relief of some sort will follow. I'm not going to count on it though, as the "morning" sickness (a.k.a. morning, noon, night sickness) lasted until about 20 weeks with miles. I've already started to show and sort of happy to announce that the maternity clothes are about to make a comeback! I must say that I am a fan of the expandable waist pants :) plus, I feel like maternity shirts at least make me look preggo and not just like I indulged in one too many mini donuts at this year's rochesterfest...because I didn't. I swear.

first steps

I apologize for posting the new polaroid pics in the sidebar without an explanation! mr. miles is FINALLY taking some steps!!! he is not "walking", but he's getting braver. he is a very careful little boy. he has always liked to examine objects and turns them round and round inspecting every angle. he has approached walking with much thought. he's been standing on his own for a good 6 weeks. his first steps are very steady and deliberate. I just think it's a clear example of his personality. I'm glad to know that he likes to think before he acts. now if that continues into his teenage years...I will be the world's happiest mom!!!

*UPDATE* - kyle here with more details. the animation in the sidebar was created from pictures taken on Monday night and were some of the first steps Miles has taken. below is a video of some even earlier steps taken on Sunday evening.

fun on the fourth

I realize it's been a week since the "icky" video - and even longer since I've updated you all on what we've been up to. so hang on to your hats...
on friday we headed to our first honkers game of the year and enjoyed all of the luxuries the box has to offer: outback steakhouse food, unlimited beverages, cookies, and the ability to watch the twins game...all 15 innings of it. we showed up at 6:40pm thinking we had arrived just before the 7:05 first pitch. imagine our surprise when we realized it was the bottom of the 3rd inning. oh yes, a double-header! not exactly a great recipe for a 13 month old. luckily miles has inherited his father's love of baseball. however, he seems to have inherited my "love" of mascots. the little monkey was a-ok to see slider from afar, but preferred he stay a good 50 feet away. something we could only discover when we requested the obligatory baby and giant baseball headed mascot photo. when he couldn't stop signing & saying "seep" (sleep), grandma headed home with him at 9:30pm. the rest of us stayed until 11:30 to see the "fireworks extravanganza" (I'm quoting the honkers here). it was a nice display and made me feel better given the fact that kyle is NOT a fan of fireworks and we knew we would not be heading down to the big city show on saturday.

miles & uncle marc

checking out the schedule with great grandma

chillin' with bennett
(this is miles' "where's slider?" look - accompanied with an "ooh!")

helen & blair

happy birthday!!

too close!!
(bennett thought slider was a snowman)

we celebrated my grandma becker's 80TH birthday on saturday! she has been recovering from some major surgery which has taken some of the wind out of her sail recently, but we are so happy to see her energy and smile returning! she looks fabulous and we were ecstatic to be able to celebrate with her. the rain let up just in time for us to eat outside. once again, miles didn't stay awake to see any fireworks this year...maybe 2010?

the grandmas!

mummy marc

ooh...pretty necklace auntie jen!
helping great grandma open presents

beth, seth, & josiah were unable to come to the party on saturday, so we all got together on sunday. we like to take advantage of the times when all of us are in town! kyle took on the challenge of grilling up the bbq chicken and he conquered it in style. the pulled chicken sandwiches were delish. it was such a nice relaxing afternoon with picturesque weather to boot! after all of our grilling this weekend, we thought we'd wrap it up with a gourmet chipotle dinner. yumm-O!

one of the guys

uncle marc & josiah
sunshine
sleepy josiah
one year later (click here)
bubbles!!
cousins
awww!!!