who doesn't love brownies?

miles helped me whip up a batch of brownies the other night. well...he was all about helping until he saw the answering machine on the counter..."push buttons!"

he's had lots of practice in his little kitchen.
he LOVES to cook up all sorts of treats and feels obligated to bring each item to us and proclaim "thaaaank you" as he hands it over. yeah, he's a little confused. we would be all about correcting him, but it is too darn cute. I'm working on catching it on video...so hold tight.
unfortunately his bedtime arrived before the brownies came out of the oven. lucky for us he didn't really understand that what we made was edible.

henry is one month old

I'm not sure what happened to the last month, but the date on the calendar definitely tells us that henry is a month old. he has really filled out and is getting more and more alert each day. we have seen a few smiles and he's starting to coo a bit. we are impressed with how strong he is - his little neck manages to hold us his head up with ease and his lungs are in tip-top shape! we admit that we were spoiled with miles, as he rarely cried and was super easy going. henry is a bit more dramatic. exhibit A: when he wants to eat, he would like it...NOW! we are getting used to the normal "fussy times" that 99.9% of all babies go through. he's typically fussy during the evenings and we have pinpointed the cause = gas. poor little guy. our current plan of action is gas drops and that's been helping. other than that, he is a sweet little baby. he sleeps great at night - usually waking up once or twice for some chow and then drifting right back to la-la land. he's begun to "talk" to toys and sees himself in the mirror. he loves to watch miles...I'm sure he's taking great notes on how to whine effectively! we now realize just how quickly the newborn stage is and we are soaking up every moment!

a little sleepy

keeping him settled with a pacifier...

...quick snap the picture!

time to lounge

hi there!

sitting in papa's chair
("I'll get you my pretty...and your little dog too!")

catching up on henry

henry is growing like a weed and changing everyday. I will update more later. but for now...some much anticipated photos:

new outfit from great grandma & grandpa greseth

he is loving his time in the big crib, but still sleeping in the bassinet by mommy & daddy at night.

who's that cute baby over there?

who doesn't love snuggling on the couch?

did we mention how L-O-N-G henry is?

full tummy in the middle of the night:

valentine's day 2010

we survived our first valentine's day with a toddler and managed to squeak by without ANY chocolate. who knew? we had a fun day at nana and papa's house. great grandma & grandpa g and grandma sissy all joined us. it was fun to see everyone and they enjoyed some quality time with "the boys"

miles made valentines this year

the boys

grandma sissy

uncle brian

henry and his card from nana and papa

eating pizza with nana

miles' friend bennett came over to play too!

henry's first bath

we were able to test out the baby bath after henry's cord fell off. my mom and I fully anticipated that he would scream his head off. after all, babies don't usually fancy getting cold and wet. we were wrong. henry LOVED it! he was totally content through the entire experience and didn't make a peep until we slathered him with lotion long after the bath was over. seems to me that we have ourselves a water baby!

the newborn startle

all clean

brothers

what miles has been up to

we have been absolutely thrilled to watch miles take on his new role as big brother. it's gone relatively well and, although we admit we are still in the honeymoon phase, we will take it! while we were in the hospital, miles was able to stay with nana and papa. kyle ducked out for a night to stay at home with him as well. here are some pictures that show what the little monkey has been up to since henry arrived.this is "go-go" (a.k.a. gloria) - miles goes to her house for daycare and was able to go play with his friends one morning while I was in the hospital

so many fun toys at go-go's house!
"skype-ing" with henry & me at the hospital - he was giving us kisses!
talking on the remote

nana brought over a yummy cake!

wearing daddy's shoes

his new favorite game - hiding in the toy/tv cabinet

watching signing time

playing in his kitchen...a hot diggity dog sandwich!

great aunt jeanie brought over cookies for miles to decorate. he had so much fun!

superbowl 2010

it is tradition to get together with our friends for superbowl weekend. let's be honest...it's not so much about the game, just an excuse to see each other! this year's rendezvous was held at the harms' home in poplar, wi. (poplar is more like a map dot...think duluth/superior). I was unsure if I would make the trek up north with a tiny newborn and fresh incision on my belly. however, I have felt great and thought that we would survive this first family-of-four vacation. survival tip #1: leave around nap time, thereby allowing little miles to snooze away a chunk of the 4 hour trip. survival tip #2: plan on stopping where toddlers can run. we made it up to a small town 1 hour south of duluth before stopping and stretching our legs. we ran into walmart for a few necessities and let miles push the cart to burn off some energy. we then drove to KFC for dinner (classy, I know) and kyle headed in with miles while I fed henry in the car (every mother's dream, right?). I have to say that the stop was longer than expected, but resulted in a much happier toddler.
we arrived at the harms' around 7:30pm and got settled. a special thank you to everyone who crammed into the upstairs and allowed us to spread out in the basement guest suite! the rest of the crew (a.k.a. the maios and bansemars) arrived L-A-T-E that night. we greeted them the next morning and introduced everyone to little henry. it was just three short years ago that our superbowl weekends were filled with late nights, adult beverages, quiet sleepy mornings, and adventures out on the town. now there are six bambinos under the age of two. enough said.

the three "big kids"

miles, ethan, genevieve

the three "little kids"

addison, henry, alana

despite the addition of six little ones, the guys managed to squeeze in plenty of time on the wii and even an afternoon out for burgers and beers. lucky ducks.

the daddies took the kids outside on sunday to wear them out...the kids, not the daddies.

the little girls stayed inside :)

"hi everyone!"

the boys

enjoying the feast!

it was great to see everyone again and to catch up on life in general. the kids were all so well-behaved and I was amazed at how graciously ethan shared all of his toys with miles and genevieve. I'm not sure that would've been the case had we hosted!
there was no shortage of food (thank you ladies) and fun. we are looking forward to this summer's get-a-way with the gang!

xoxo...until next time!

note: there is no information regarding the actual superbowl. I spent the evening in the bedroom calming a fussy newborn and watching the sound of music (love!!). I hardly recall who even won the game.