happy birthday nick

we celebrated my cousin, nick's, birthday on sunday. if you recall, nick was the ring-bearer extraordinaire in our wedding. he turned 8 on may 4th and they were going to drive down from st. paul for mother's day. however, my uncle scott (nick's dad) ended up with the dreaded H1N1 "swine" flu!! everyone is all better now, so we got to celebrate with a yummy double-decker cookie cake. delish. miles also opened up a gift from his great aunt and uncle. an adorable pair of monkey pjs and some super cute socks. thanks terry & doug! of course miles was more enthralled by the wrapping paper. so this serves as a warning for his actual birthday: please do not be offended when miles tosses your lovely gift aside and feasts on the wrapping. he loves your gift. I promise.

happy birthday nick!

ooh...PAPER!
above mentioned socks

smiley monkey (take note of the spoon...it doesn't leave his hand for the rest of the party!)

alex wears a hat just like uncle brian...
...so does nick!

silly great-uncle scott (makes you feel old...huh boom?!)

happy mother's day

last year I was due to give birth on mother's day (may 11th) and in protest of still being preggo, I wore a non-maternity shirt. not a good decision - click here to see why. that all seems like ages ago now! miles (and daddy) bought me a beautiful lily to plant in the backyard. it's called a "hush little baby", so appropriate! we went over to my parent's house for brunch with my mom & grandmas. we feasted on a huge spread of delicious french toast bake, egg bake, fresh fruit, breads, bacon, and sausages/peppers. delish. on a side note: my grandma becker recently underwent major thoracic surgery and she looks FABULOUS!! it was wonderful to be able to spend time with all of the special moms in my life.

the whole gang...minus helen

the guys making bloody marys

miles and his crazy uncle marc

daddy cutting up fruit for miles who apparently discovered how nicely his finger fits into his nostril!

miles' auntie nykkole & grandma

I think the best part of the day was reflecting on the last year with my little monkey. I feel so blessed to be able to be his mom. he is a beautiful baby boy - inside and out. he spoiled me with lots of kisses and hugs.
happy mother's day to all of you moms out there - I hope you all took a moment to hug your baby or babies - and to everyone else, I hope you told your mom how much she means to you. here are a few more photos from the festivities!

miles and his grandma
playing with papa's remote
my crazy siblings...minus helen :(

what?

this is how I found miles the other morning. he had been playing quietly in the living room. need I say more?

daddy's helper

new favorite activity = emptying EVERYTHING.exhibit A: drawers

exhibit B: cabinets

exhibit C: laundry baskets

exhibit D: books (need I go on...)

so when miles became mobile, we began the daunting task of baby-proofing our home. we had put outlet covers in, moved any and all decorations to a minimum height of at least 3 feet, and installed a couple of cabinet locks. the locks we had were the removable type and, while I had a love-hate relationship with them, kyle definitely had a hate-hate relationship! they were a real pain and made it too much of a chore to get the toaster out. we were forced to break out the heavy artillery and install some actual cabinet locks. miles was MORE than happy to assist. I'm sure if you ask his daddy you will discover he was a "real" help :)

he even helped install the new storm door on the front of the house. how does this fit in with the baby proofing you ask? well our old door was nothing short of ridiculous and a true eyesore. in fact, it was the FIRST thing we put on our home improvement list when we moved into our house...5 years ago! somehow renovate the bathrooms, build a bar, buy new appliances, paint every interior square inch, install new carpet, re-finish the hardwoods, and even re-side/shingle the shed beat out the simple "new front storm door" project. go figure. besides it's shabby facade, I was most annoyed by its inability to latch. result? baby falling out the door. this could pose a slight safety risk. my brother marc helped us out last weekend and miles joined in on some final "tweaking" with daddy.