Things my kid says

Miles: Let’s play football
Nate: OK, go find the ball.
Miles: I’m Johnny Knox. Come get me, Forte!
Nate: Ok, Johnny Knox. I’m going to tackle you.
(Nate tackles Miles to the ground and kisses his cheeks)
Miles: Stop kissing me Forte!
(Repeat running and tackling maneuvers, only Miles kisses Nate)
Nate: Johnny Knox! There’s no kissing in football!
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Kelly: Miles, let’s go pick out snacks for your class. Tomorrow’s your birthday!
Miles: Yeah! I will have a party for me.
Kelly: A party for your birthday?!
Miles: Uh huh, all my friends will sing to me. I like it! They will sing “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Miles…(Pause and Smile!) Happy birthday to you!” And then we will have snacks at my party because I will be 3!
Kelly: Wow. You sound excited!
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Nate: Miles, did you play with your friends today.
Miles: Yup. I played with Kenric.
Nate: What did you and Kenric do today?
Miles: I tackled him.
Nate: Does Kenric like to be tackled?
Miles: Yes, ah, no. No, he doesn’t like it.
Nate: Does Kenric know he’s your friend?
Miles: Yeah.

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Posted in: Things my kid says

Happy Birthday, Miles!

Happy birthday, Miles! We love you!

Turning 3 is kind of a big deal. You’re rapidly growing into a big boy – full of sentences, personality, ideas, and energy!  You’ve moved into the preschool styled classrooms at daycare and have really good friends. Not an evening goes by where we don’t hear a play by play oration of your and Kenric’s day.

You eat all of your vegetables so that you can “grow up to be a 6-foot 6-inch basketball superstar” just like Michael Jordan. You run drills with dad imitating Forte’s speed, Culter’s hands and Knox’s agility, complete with a one-of-a-kind endzone dance! You’d rather watch the A’s on TV over any cartoon. You are a dancing machine and mommy’s helper in the kitchen.

You are polite and love to show off your manners.  I realize these with soon disappear, but I won’t take them for granted while they last.  You give the best hugs and always make me smile.  It doesn’t matter how tough my day has been, you melt my heart without even trying!  Whether your singing Jesus Loves Me, you ABC’s, or Justin Bieber’s Baby, I giggle and pray days like these  never end! I love watching you grow up, but my heart breaks at the same time. 

It seems like yesterday that we brought you home from the hospital,

 

…..celebrated your first birthday in New York,

 

……or your 2nd birthday in Chicago. 

So here we are, celebrating another birthday! Your 3rd Birthday!!

We couldn’t be more proud to be your parents. You are one of God’s greatest gifts to us!!

 

Love you so much,

Mom and Dad

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Posted in: birthday,Miles

‘Guys only’ Fishing Trip

Nate and 3 others guys from the area decided to plan a short trip to get away from city life for a while.  They chartered a boat in southeastern WI to venture out on Lake Michigan and catch their limit.

They caught Salmon and Lake trout.  Looks like they had a blast, even though the adventure started VERY early.

 

Here’s a few moments to be proud of….

 

 

The charter guide even cleaned all of the fish for them to take home!

The guys with their prize :o)

When Nate finally returned home, we were so happy to see him.  
The welcome was short lived as there was a lot of fish to get packed and in the freezer ASAP.

Vacuum-packed to save for our enjoyment (we grilled some last night – AMAZING!!)

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Posted in: Nathan

Pumpkin Carving

We carved our pumpkins that we picked up a couple of weeks ago at the pumpkin patch

 

 

Miles picked out the patterns that Nate and I had to carve. This year, he likes the scary face patterns most.

Time to light them up – with birthday candles because I forgot to grab tea lights_oops!

Nate got this guy…..

Nate’s the one with the crafty skills, but was handed this simple pattern. He rocked it for sure!

Miles gave me a face that was little more tedious.

Happy Almost Halloween!

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Posted in: Kelly,Miles,Nathan

Go Ape

Have you ever heard of or played the game ‘Go Ape’?

Miles was given a gift on my  birthday as well (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!)

It’s a blast to play with my adorable, nearly 3 year old not-so-baby boy!

It’s a lot like Old Maid, except you match poses instead of numbers, animals or some other game variant.  

Here are the basics:

Each player is dealt 5 cards.  The object is to make matches in groups of 3. The player with the most matches at the end of the game wins!

One player will ask another of his/her choice, “Do you have a monkey that looks like this? <insert pose copying that on the card of interest>

If you have the card being asked for, you give it to the player asking for it. If you do not have the specific card requested, you tell them to “go ape” and then a new card is drawn from the center pile.

Let me show you a couple of poses… (Isn’t he precious?!?! He’s mastered the art of mimicry!)

         

Oops – the camera died before I snapped a photo of this card – but the pose was way too cute not to include.  I’m not about to rifle though Miles’ room to find the game and take a picture tonight.

Enjoy the incomplete post – and sorry about sticking my face in there. Miles demanded to snap a few photos too!

Go Ape!

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Posted in: Banwarth's,Kelly,Miles

Family moments

I apologize for not blogging more this weekend.  I intended to put together a couple posts yesterday, but decided to go for a leisurely 3 mile run instead.  My anxiety levels have been climbing lately and the run was exactly what I needed.  I feel so much better!  So.. onto what you subscribe to this blog for: Miles updates.

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Big night last night…..

Miles woke up on his own AND  went to the bathroom unassisted!

On a normal night, Miles  will walk into our room and wake one of us up to help him, however last night all we heard  were his little footsteps and toilet flush!  Like I said, BIG night at our house.  My baby is growing up so fast!  I admit, hearing the toilet flush when both Nate and I were still in bed was a little weird – but exciting as ever!

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On a more comical note….  Would you like to see my boys prepare for Sunday Night Football?!?!

 

As I write this, the BEARS are dominating the Vikings,  39 to 10 halfway through the 4th quarter.   What a bright end to a fun weekend!

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Posted in: Miles,Nathan,running,Video

Pumpkin patch 2011

On Saturday, we drove to a nearby pumpkin patch called Goebbert’s! It had been 2 years since our last patch visit in CT.

Saturday was a bright and sunny 85*F day- a day more  reminiscent of summer rather than fall, but a day we needed to spend outside doing anything!

Fast-forward a 30 minute drive north and west to Goebbert’s.

Immediately, we spied rows and rows of pumpkins! This was going to be a good day!

We found cornstalk tunnels and lots of things to climb on….

Then we saw it……

Pony Rides!

We bought a couple tickets and the boys stood in line.

 

Was the wait worth it? You’ll have to ask them…

Large children and adults weren’t left out…. The farm also offered camel rides. We skipped that – they smell!

Lunch time was a shady picnic, soft pretzels and pulled pork

Miles found a friend  or two – we snapped a couple picture of that!

 

Finally… Miles got to pick his very own pumpkin.

We got a couple larger pumpkins for carving and a couple 1/2 peck’s of apples for baking.

Miles and I made the first pie of the season right away!  

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Here are a couple cheesy pumpkin photos to satisfy my maternal needs. Miles is so accommodating :o)

  

Don’t worry… Miles didn’t miss out on a nap completely. As we headed home, Miles snacked on a peanut butter sandwich, rocked out, and then passed out. Can you tell how tired he was?!?!

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Posted in: Chicago,Kelly,Miles,Nathan,Video