he ain't heavy

the relationship that is blossoming between miles and henry is more precious than I could've imagined. as the old saying goes a picture says a thousand words, so I think I'll let the images speak for themselves.

it's not all smiles and snuggles though. the day henry took his first steps, the game changed. miles was clearly threatened by his baby brother's newfound independence and ability to get around. kyle and I are certainly earning our black and white referee stripes these days. I know that this stage will not be short-lived, but we embrace it along with all of the other stages. my siblings and I fought often, but the good times over shadow those squabbles and we are the best of friends now. I'm sure my parents have some pretty tattered referee shirts hanging in their closet! the beauty is that this special brother-brother relationship will be stronger because of their ability to get-along and to duke it out. it's a strange balance. 

such sweet eyes...

...such a quiet thinker...

...but he's very capable of a good body check...

a common sight these days

our first-born is a fast learner. I came into the kitchen the other day to this sight.

it's strange to hear him sounding out words and pointing out letters on random roadside signs. speaking of signing...our boys are both big signers. miles has a pretty extensive knowledge of many signs, but did not communicate much through this amazing second language. henry, on the other hand, has quickly taken to signing and uses it as a very useful communication tool. I know that it has nearly eliminated any and all toddler tantrums at our house and jump-started the language development of both of our boys. I take very little, if any, credit for their sign language. I gladly divert all acclaim to the phenomenal Signing Time series. if you haven't heard of it...check it out!

as soon as I figure out how to post a longer video - you can watch miles sign the alphabet. he's really into finger spelling these days...it's amazing!

it's late now and I'm clueless as to why I'm not under the covers right now gearing up for a fun anniversary celebration weekend with my husband...but here are just a few other favorites that have been lying around iPhoto. enjoy!

helping "rocket" on little einsteins blast off!

came home to these beauties on a friday afternoon when daddy and the boys were home alone for the day

clearing the cobwebs

wow. it's been too long since I've been on the blog and posted ANYTHING. it's not that we haven't been busy, because we have. I think I just got out of the groove. after grandpa died, it seems like thanksgiving came plowing in and work has been nuts. but we're back and here is a glimpse into our november.

on my days at home with the boys, we fill our time with puzzles and playing, lunchtime and coloring, step-and-throw games and reading books. time seems to fly by and before we know it, it's dinnertime and daddy is coming through the back door.

there have been plenty of nights filled with pjs, basement lounging, baths, and snuggling. I definitely feed off of those moments. I'm somehow refueled by the craziness of prepping, serving, and cleaning up dinner for our little family. I sit in awe at how quickly henry is going from baby to toddler and how miles is transforming into a little boy right before our eyes.

kyle loves to trade in his shirt and tie for some comfy lounge pants so that he can get right down on the floor to play with his babies. listening to miles' giggles as kyle chases after him or hearing henry's little voice say "daddy!" as he signs it is proof enough that they love him right back. c'mon now, you know you're diggin' the tea party pic!

there is something sort of magical about bath time. sure, we have our fair share of tears, floaters, and wipe-outs, but they are overshadowed by the splashes and shrieks and the "watch this mommy!'s" I have to confess that I have a huge weakness for a freshly bathed baby. I love to snuggle in with them and feel their warm soft skin against my cheek and smell that yummy baby magic soap. henry's fuzzy flyaway hair tickling my nose is certainly an added bonus. mmmmm.

so yeah, we've been away too long and I promise many more posts. we have turkey day to catch up on yet and many-a-holiday photo to be taken. don't get me started on my love of all things christmas. speaking of...there is a twinkling tree in my living room with my name on it.

two great get-togethers

I'm not sure how this post slipped past me, but somehow I forgot to grace you all with pictures and stories from our annual trip to the great minnesota get together - otherwise know as the state fair. in sharp contrast to years past, the weather was phenomenal. it was so great that henry wore long sleeves...unheard of on a typical labor day weekend in minnesota. we packed up the van and ventured up to st. paul to take in the sights and sounds of the fair...on one of the busiest day of the year. by some stroke of amazing luck, seth routed us around to the northwest end of the fairgrounds where we quickly found ourselves a cheap parking spot within walking distance. thank you seth!

the boys were so well behaved. they tolerated the crowds and barely complained. especially kyle. seriously though, a special muuuah to my wonderful hubby for putting on a happy face and joining us for a jaunt around the fair. I think he would rather be shoveling six feet of snow than hanging out at the fair with thousands of other people who are just as excited for hot dish on a stick as beth and I were. it's fair to say (pun intended) that crowds are not his thing. we tried to ease the pain a little and came up with a plan of attack before we stepped foot on the fairgrounds. kuddos to beth for printing out maps and marking out all of the food stands we planned to hit up. we also scored a coupon book that basically became our menu. frugality at its best!

we always make it a point to hang out at the john deere display for a good half an hour. josiah started to relocate the mulch and quickly recruited miles. I'm sure the john deere reps weren't shedding any tears when we left.

miles and josiah really loved the little farm hands activity. they both donned adorable aprons, picked up a pint-sized pail, and made their way through a mock farm-to-shelf ditty. we were soaking in the cuteness of it all until we hit the backed up crowds half-way through. beth and I both decided that it wasn't quite worth the free stuffed sheep we picked out at the end, but fun was had nevertheless. next year we plan on going on some random weekday morning instead of the most crowded day EVER. adorableness prevailed, though, and we captured some great pictures.

I like to think of the state fair as my newest birthday weekend tradition. I'll admit, I celebrated thirty-two years of life on the 5th of september. I am sure I said this last year, but I feel like I couldn't be more blessed.

nothing like a shameless plug for thomas bubble bath...he's in love.

the gift of my amazing family is certainly enough for this birthday girl...but who doesn't enjoy a little morsel wrapped in pretty paper and a shiny bow? so thank you to all who spoiled me on my big day. you rock. besides a trip to the state fair, I really just wanted a good ol' end-of-summer bbq. my dad certainly knows how to do up a tasty cookout. it's definitely an added bonus that I get to "share" my birthday with my mom (her's is just one week later).

this year we posed for our annual mother-daughter-birthday-cake photo with my mom's good friend and our phenomenal daycare provider, go-go. love her.

I didn't set out for this to be such a long post, I guess it just happened. maybe it was me getting a little sentimental about my birthday, or perhaps an ode to my natural gift of gab. whatever it may be, it's long. so let's blow out the candles on this one. ta-ta.