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!!!

icky