Potty-training

Age at which my mother-in-law says all three of her boys finally agreed to potty-training: 2 1/2
Number of days over age 2 1/2 Jonas is today: 6
Number of diapers worn today: 2 (one upon awakening, one at bedtime)
Number of pairs of underwear worn today: 3 (plus 1 pull-up at naptime)
Number of different pants worn today: 4
Number of loads of laundry I did today: 2
Number of minutes between each trip to the bathroom: between 60 and 75
Number of times he actually peed in the potty: 4 or 5
Approximate number of dollars we'll save each month in diapers when Jonas gets this figured out: 50

Having your 2 1/2 + 6 days - old wake up one morning and announce, with quite a bit of conviction, that he no longer needs to wear a diaper: PRICELESS!!

December

Here are some miscellaneous December pictures.
I hope the first two aren't signs of how much trouble we may be in with son #2!

Miles, the climber. And you can't tell from the picture, but that is actually a rocking chair that he is standing in!

Miles helps with the recycling.

Dixie lounges in the living room. I think someone may have forgotten to tell her that she is actually a dog.

Grandma - the sweater fits!

Decorating the tree.

The best picture I could get of them in front of the tree together!

And finally, a video of Jonas singing his ABC's...thank goodness for Marie, because I certainly hadn't thought to teach him that yet!

Wintertime

Best buds...

Winter brings fun, new "inside" games. Like - "let's pull all the toilet paper off the roll! (And then try to eat it!)"

Here's a good one - "let's empty all the toys out of the toybox, and then climb into it!"

And for sunny days when Miles is taking his morning nap... SNOW-BIKING!

But Legos are still our favorite!!

Trick or Treat!

I took a vacation day on Halloween so I could be home with the kids. We had a fun day carving pumpkins (Jonas refused to put his hand in the pumpkin) and baking some cookies! Then, the trick-or-treating, which Jonas really got into this year!

My scary little teddy bear!

Tigger, the scary tiger... with fangs?

Chace and Makenna made it to our house just before we headed out.

Frosting cookies.

This wasn't on Halloween, but I just had to post a picture of my cute boys and their RIDES!

Finally!

Well, I'll be the first to admit that I've been a little bit behind on my posts! Seems like time goes by in leaps and bounds instead of minutes and seconds!

Many things have happened since my last post...
here are just a few...

Miles got his first haircut...

Miles began eating finger foods...can you spot the Cheerio stuck to his temple?

Jonas became a frog...

We (me, Grandma, Jonas, and Miles) went to Illinois to visit Abbie and Izzie and family...we had a blast visiting the arboretum, picking pumpkins, and celebrating Abbie's birthday!

While in Illinois, Miles decided to start to pull up on things and has only continued to hone his skills since our return home.

Miles learned to ride a bike...(just kidding).

Jonas became a superhero...(no, really!)

And Miles just generally continues to be a bit of a stinker! He still prefers not to sleep more than 4 hours in a row. Unless I'm in a different state...I recently went to Florida for a conference for 5 days, and Miles seemed to sleep his best ever while I was away!

I promise to post more often!

Fall Is...

Daddy back to work...we miss him already!

Great garage sale finds (don't tell Jonas they're Minnie, not Mickey, ears!)

More indoor fun...

Too much indoor fun...

Brisk walks in the double-wide (stroller, that is.)

Last-minute summertime fun (thanks to the "bubble gun" Jonas received in the mail from his friend from across the street, who is now in Arizona enjoying her freshman year in college!)

And, of course, fall is FOOTBALL! Jonas put this helmet sticker in his hair and announced that he was "like Uncle Nic." Sorry, Nic- it seems like all your years of stardom as a wrestler and soccer player have gone unnoticed by your nephew. Instead, after watching you play only one time, he asks "Where's Uncle Nic?" when he sees a football game on TV.

However, like any good soccer player, he believes the most important and exciting part of the game is the kicking. After putting the helmet sticker on his head, he put the football sticker on the floor and pretended to kick it!!

Finally, I can't think of fall without thinking of school, especially my college days. Sigh...these days "dance party" takes on a whole new meaning!

A crawling-sitting-teething-eating machine!

He sits...(for a few seconds).

He has teeth...(two on the bottom)!

He eats cereal...(apparently I have been starving him)!

And he crawls...(sort of army crawls. But he sure can get around)!

Already????????

So....my 5 month old thinks he should be able to crawl...and he gets really frustrated when he can't. Not that he's not mobile already anyway...he just scoots around on his tummy and throws in a few strategic rolls here and there. This not-always-on-target type of locomotion can lead to some surprises when mommy's back is turned...like a baby stuck under the bed...or a baby trapped under his gymini/play-mat.

The Zoo

Last weekend we went to the zoo. We signed up through my work to take a bus up on Saturday. Jonas was almost as excited about riding the bus as going to the zoo! It was a beautiful day...and the MN Zoo sure is different than I remember it! Not just animals anymore, but lots of play areas for the kids...who needs animals when there is a gigantic sandbox, a play area with water squirting out of the ground, Meerkat "tunnels" to play in, and real tractors to sit on! Jonas's favorite animals are easily the dolphins...we were very disappointed that the dolphin show was canceled for the day.

Miles had a good day, too. He just naps whenever he feels like it. His favorite part was the bird show. He was actually watching the show, with his eyes fixated on the birds...and sometimes he would even let out a squeal...which was a bit embarassing at times.

Another highlight was feeding the goats. You just put 50 cents in the machine to get food pellets...which look VERY SIMILAR to the goat droppings. At one point Jonas thought he had hit the jackpot and found some poor kid's spilled food pellets...but, well, he was mistaken...

And here we are posing on the tractor. If you look closely you will see that Miles's hat has fallen over his face...good one, daddy!

So I Married a Triathlete...

...which required me to pack up the boys and the dog last Saturday morning after swimming lessons (Jonas didn't cry at all this time), and head up to Ben's one and only triathlon of the summer. (It is amazing how much a baby and a 2 year old can hinder one's training regimen.) First stop, Papa and JuJu's house to drop off Dixie. Then on to Chisago City to pick up the race packet. After driving the bike course so Ben could "mentally prepare," we checked into our hotel. We were on the 3rd floor, which was great because Jonas loves pushing the buttons and riding on the "alligator," much to the entertainment of other hotel patrons.

Sunday morning, we woke up at 5 am. Apparently, they assume all triathletes are morning people...no one accounted for their wives (or significant others. I was joined on the playground at 6 am by some triathlete-husbands and their small children.)

Jonas looks chipper at 6:15 am on the playground near the race start.

Here's Miles, not so chipper, snoozing in the stoller.

Still waiting at 7:30 am for Ben's wave to go.

Finally, 7:48am...Ben starts the 1/4 mile swim.

Now, 8:47 am, Ben is back from his 17.1 mile bike ride and entering the transition area.

8:53 am - Jonas and Miles appear to be patiently entertaining themselves. Of course, those of you who have ever had or spent even 5 minutes with small children know this is not the case. Good thing JuJu and Papa also came up to watch the race (and entertain kids.)

9:14 am - On the home stretch after the 3.1 mile run. Ben is easy to pick out from a distance since he is not exactly built like the majority of the triathletes (think tall and lanky).

9:23 am - Whew! He did it! He met his goal of doing it in less than 1 1/2 hours (final time 1:28.40).

9:41 am - The boys are somewhat delirious now after the 5 am wake-up. Jonas just keeps going down this slide (which, by the way, is one of the coolest slides I've ever seen.) And Miles remains happy as long as he can be held!!

By 11 am we were back at the hotel for early nap time. Which worked out well in the end, since Uncle Russ, Aunt Jenn, Noelle, and Joshua came up to spend the rest of the day with us at the beach! We had a great time!

Monday we spent the afternoon at the Children's Museum in St. Paul. We thought this picture would make Papa happy!! :)

Miles gets in on the action, too, playing at the "pond."

Mommy and Miles on the rooftop garden.

And then, back home. Because 3 days and 2 nights of "vacation" with a 5 month old and 2 year old are enough for even the triathletes among us!