Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Lindsey and Reid's Wedding

The night before Lindsey and Reid's wedding we all enjoyed a night out at the rehearsal dinner . . . 
it was so fun to have our whole family together - minus Michael on his mission.


WEDDING DAY!!!






It was SUCH a windy - and freezing - day!!!


This is the majority of my mom's side of the family! (Minus several cousins) 
It was so fun to have a mini-reunion at the special occasion!


My beautiful sister!


 The adorable couple!




The reception was here at this beautiful old mansion. It's also where we stayed!
It was the most classy, perfect location and evening.


Not to mention - we danced our booties off!


It was so awesome to celebrate my sister and her new, fantastic hubby! We love Reid!










Monday, February 25, 2013

Miles turns FOUR!

It is probably pointless to acknowledge the fact that I cannot seem to "keep up" with blogging about our life. We are definitely pretty busy just living it! However, I DO want to keep a better record - life is fun and meaningful and I want us to remember it all. 

That being said, I am always inspired by my sister-in-law, Rachel. She is pretty much my definition of a supermom. One thing she always does - that I am now adopting - is blogging all about a child on their special day. So, lucky you, Miles! You're the first one to get it! :)

Right now about Miles:

* He is such a cuddly, loving little boy. He is definitely my snuggle buddy and I love it!
* Ironically, he is one of the toughest and strongest kids I know. He has zero fear in wrestling with Luke or Daddy and I am often afraid HE is going to hurt THEM, not the other way around!
*He LOVES to learn! He is eager to practice numbers and letters and asks us every day to do "Learning Quest" with him. (Brain Quest cards)
* He is still obsessed with riding his bike! It is, by far, his MOST favorite thing to do! He has been riding a two-wheeler without training wheels for about 2 months now.
* He is so sweet. For example: Just tonight at the end of dinner he said (totally unprompted),
 "Mom, thank you for this yummy dinner. Will you please make it again? I really loved it."
* He is SO matter-of-fact about everything he says. He is confident that whatever he is saying is true. If you try to correct him on a "fact" of his, he calmly says something like, "No, Mom. I know. I'm right."
* Favorite foods currently include: granola bars (still going strong on that one!), pizza, Lake Country cheese (specifically! see Costco for that one), pasta and "treats!" He is still great at reminding Luke of our family motto when trying something new: "Green Eggs and Ham! You never know until you try it!"
*He loves to memorize books and then say, "Hey guys! Listen to me read this book." He then quotes it, page by page, verbatim. Funny.
* Every time he sees a piano - he plays it. (We don't have one - boo - but he runs to all others he sees.)
*He is really into tattling right now. Not my favorite thing. But, again, rather than whiny - it's more matter of fact. He did this. It's a fact. He shouldn't have. Period.
* He is constantly drawing pictures for his friends and family.
* He has started waking up in the night again. Every night. Not sure why. We are tired of it.
* He says that, even though Simon is his buddy, his brother Luke is his best BEST buddy!
* His favorite indoor toys are still his "Lightning McQueen Cars." All of them. He can be heard in his room having VERY enthusiastic, detailed imaginary play conversations with those "cars with eyes."
* He still has a very distinct, kid-like speech "impediment" (?) I'm not sure I'd call it that, but you get the idea. For example, he informed us that his favorite color is no longer "Yeyo" but is now "Toqoise."
*Finally, he is absolutely, totally and completely obsessed with the baby in mommy's tummy! He kisses my tummy, he rubs my tummy and in EVERY single prayer he says, "Thank you for the baby. Please help it to keep growing big and strong." He can't WAIT to be a big brother!

 MILES' 4th BIRTHDAY! 
(that was in NOVEMBER!)

Just prior to his actual birthday, we had spent 5 days in New York for my sister Lindsey's wedding. 
(HOORAY for Reid and Linds! More on this later . . . )

With most of my relatives in town (at my aunt and uncle's house in Troy, NY), Jake and I decided to give Miles his own little moment - after all of the wedding festivities were over. It's amazing how much fun a brownie "cake" and STEWART'S ice cream can be when you have about 20 people to share it with you! 
It was a pretty energetic rendition of "Happy Birthday" too! He loved the spotlight!













Miles' ACTUAL birthday was two days after we got back home.
He enjoyed the batter off the spoon after I made brownies for his preschool class!


Here he is a preschool!
The whole class sang to him . . . and he sang to himself! Ha!



A couple of weeks later, we got around to a party for his friends.
Ahoy, Mateys!
This be a PIRATE PARTY!



All ready for the outdoor TREASURE HUNT!


Shiver me timbers!
Using the picture map I made, they found the treasure chest!


Gold doubloons!


Madeline!


Easton!



Nicole!


Best buddy, Simon!


I think this 4th birthday was sufficiently celebrated! :)