"up nort"

once again the weather was unseasonably cold during our trip to duluth. we went up to visit our friends, the harms'. their little guy, ethan, is 17 mo old and runs all over the place. miles watched him intently and we had him take some notes. sometimes ethan decided to try crawling again but hopped back up when they hit the hardwood floor.

hi friend
miles is almost as tall as ethan - they are looking for the horseys
ethan announcing "hor-thee"
kiss? no?

I blow you one.
money see-monkey do

on saturday we headed into town to grab lunch and then went out to Park Point to play on the swings and go to the beach. we clearly could've used our winter coats and hats by the water, but we were significantly warmer than the girls who were swimming in lake superior. riiiiight. the boys both fell asleep in the car, but we drove up to Enger Tower where we saw some spectacular views of duluth an kyle & scott ventured up to the top of the tower.

weeee!!!

miles' first time on a swing
getting ready to go down the slide - check out that face!
headed to the beach
brrr!!
give this kid a stick and he's happy
dude - why are we sitting in the frigid cold?
ummm...the car is THAT way!

later on all four of the adults took a nap...we were out cold for a good hour. I'm sure it was quite the sight - three of us sitting on the couch and one in the recliner. anna made a yummy lasagna dinner and we played some games after the babes were tucked in for the night. on sunday, the dads woke up with the kiddos and the mommas slept in. ethan was up at the crack of dawn, but kyle lucked out when miles slept until 7:45am. I got up about an hour later and was impressed to find that scott had prepared a lovely breakfast of pancakes with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. delish. the boys went straight to the tub and then down for naps.

we wrapped up the weekend with lunch at the rapids restaurant and were home by 7pm. it was great to see them and we wish we could get together more often. our next visit will be in wautoma in july - the big annual get together with all of the college friends. this year will be a whole new ballgame though - three additions to the bunch - ethan, miles, & genevieve. pray for us.let's be honest...THIS is why the guys wanted to get together!

miles and madison

cousins ali & maddie came from milwaukee a couple of weeks ago to help celebrate baby f and beth at the baby shower. they invited us to come out to the hotel to swim. miles absolutely LOVES the water and so does madison. it was only fitting that they also tried out the water in the tub. it was fun to see them and we hope to make a trip to milwaukee soon to visit the rest of our WI family!

updated party pics...finally!

I know I promised these last week, but we've been busy! here are the rest of the party pics. including the highly anticipated smash cake photos.

family photo

happy birthday little monkey

why are you all looking at me...and what happened to my clothes?

ooh...cake!

yeah me!

this would be the mess miles made ON HIS OWN...

...his uncles stepped in to mess him up some more...

...he was NOT happy about it!

cake = done.

party time!

we finally celebrated miles' birthday the right way...with a party! I have to admit that I had a ton of fun planning all of the details. if only I could make a living planning kids' birthday parties...

...but I digress. we went with a mod monkey theme (shocker, I know) and only invited our immediate family members. that crowd alone is 20 people! needless to say, miles was the star of the party. he should enjoy being the only baby for now - his cousin is set to arrive any day and according to momma beth - yesterday would've been grrrreat. we grilled out and then dove into some banana cake. I tried my hand at fondant for the first time. I don't think it turned out half-bad, but it was a bit of a pain. lets just say that the cake boss is not going to be beating down my door anytime soon. miles was spoiled by everyone. the gifts were abundant and we are so thankful for everyone's generosity. in true robin fashion, the camera battery died during the party, so I'll have to update it later when I download the pictures from our other camera. in the meantime, here are some photos from the day:

chow time

miles' smash cake

grill 'em up!

this is mere seconds before he snapped the cord on his face. that was the end of the party hat.
take note of the mini-banana in his hand...he held onto it for most of the party!

in the words of miles = "eeeeeeat"
nykkole ventured out in her casts to join us.

he was very meticulous when unwrapping. he handed me each piece.

a pool/sandbox! fun!!!