first snow

It finally snowed!  Good thing we got Miles all that snow gear.  Check him out, he looks awesome!  He loved the snow.  He did lots of oohing and had a lot to say about it.  He laughed when Mike threw snow. He even tested out sliding down the hill, in Dad's lap of course. 

birthday boy

We celebrated Miles turning one this weekend.  It is a week early but this way lots of family can attend.  Grandma Lori and Grandpa Clay did their best to spoil Miles by letting him open his present early.  They know how much Miles loves to push things around, so they got him a walker.  He loves it.   And when I say loves it, I mean he likes to sit in front of it and listen to the music it plays.  He bobs his head and dances around.  He loves it! What he does not love is using it to walk.  I think it still goes a little to fast for him.   His Aunts and Uncles got him clothes and books.  And his Nonna and Poppa got him a classic wooden toy, the pound and roll tower.  He has caught on quickly and loves to hammer the wooden balls and watch them roll down the tower.  Mom and dad got Miles a complete snow suit, jacket, snowpants, and boots.  Now we are ready to slide down that hill in the back yard!  If only we would get some snow this winter.

Oh, the cake!  It was so much fun to see him check out his birthday cake.  I think his favorite part was having a whole room full of people sing to him.  And as for the cake, he tasted the frosting, liked it and then used his two little fingers to carefully nibble at the corner of his cake.  No frosting licking, or cake squishing, or shoveling it in.  He just neatly nibbled the corner and that was good enough for him.  Open presents was much the same.  He would grab a little piece of paper and give it a long slow pull as it ripped open a little bit. 

ONE

Miles is 1!  His 1st year went so fast.  What a transformation from a new born infant into a fast moving little boy.  At 1 year old Miles has 8 teeth.  He is 31 inches tall.  He weighs 24 pounds.  His first words were "hi" and "uh oh."  Miles took his first steps at 11 months but is yet to take off walking.

thanksgiving

We hosted out first family holiday in our new house.  What a blast!  Miles thought it was amazing to have the house full of so many people, especially his cousins.  He was a little apprehensive about his first turkey dinner.  He spit almost everything out after the first bite.  After a few tries, he did end up liking the turkey.  We took a chilly walk to the neighborhood park after dinner, and then thankfully Auntie Tiff was able to calm him to sleep after the days festivities.  Miles snoozed the night away, while the adults loudly played games late into the night.  He only woke once in search of a pacifier and a blanket to snuggle, then quickly went right back to sleeping.  Good thing, he had a big day the next day, his 1st birthday party!

what's that?

Miles and Shackleton are having a moment sharing Miles' new favorite hobby.  He loves to climb onto the ottoman and watch out the window.  He can climb up all by himself by stepping on the radiator, and pulling himself up by the window ledge.  The only worry of course, is him staying on without falling off.  Shackleton doesn't seem to mind sharing the view.  There is so much for them to see from the window.  Cars, birds, squirrels, airplanes, Christmas lights, and I'm sure the list goes on.  It also gives Miles lots of opportunities to point and say, "hus ha?" which we are taking to mean, "what's that?"  It is also prompting a new favorite word, "car!"

forever fall

Miles has been lucky that this winter has been pretty mild.  It gives us a few more chances to go crawling around outside and exploring the yard.  He is crawling so fast these days and he loves a challenge.  He loves to climb up and down the hill and the stairs.   And he is fast, did I mention that already.  He is so fast he prefers to crawl, and certainly can't be bothered with walking just yet.  That is much to slow, and a little risky!

more friends

Miles got to meet Addelyn this weekend.  Our friends Pete and Alyssa came to visit.  It was so fun to spend time with close friends who have a child so close in age to Miles.  Addelyn was born less than 2 months after Miles.  Alyssa and I even got to spend some time together during pregnancy which was comforting to swap belly stories and wonder together what it will be like when the babes arrived.  Seeing Miles and Addelyn together was fun, although we did learn that Miles is a bit of bruiser.  Addelyn was good at sharing toys.  Can't wait for our next visit together!

godzilla attacks

Miles transformed into Godzilla for halloween.  Clinging to skyscrapers, knocking them down, and so, mass destruction in Corcoran neighborhood ensued.  Godzilla was not thrilled about his costume, or about us running to the door and answering to trick or treaters.  Godzilla was much happier after a milk break, and enjoyed yet another roll or two in the leaf pile.  It was from the leaf pile where he watch the trick or treaters come and go, and also where he was able to scare one or two of them as them passed by.  We made one stop trick or treating to our next door neighbor.   All in all, a pretty good night for our first attempt at a family halloween. 

fall leaves

Fall would not be complete without a jump or two in a pile of leaves.  I'm not sure who had more fun, Miles, or Mike and I.   The fall weather has been so great and its fun for Miles to crawl around the yard.

pals

Olive and Miles, together again!  We love to babysit Olive.  Miles has the best time when his friend is over.  They love to play and crawl together.  They especially love to chase the cats around the dining room table.  Here they are all jammied up and ready for bed.  Miles is lucky to have such a wonderful friend to grow up with.

kitty love

Karma got a little extra love today when Miles was able to catch her to give her a hug.  Miles loves it.  Karma does not.

camping

We went on our first Novak family camping trip.  It was fantastic.  We went to William O'Brien State Park just north of Stillwater, MN.  The park has camper cabins you can rent on the cheap.  We were amazed at how beautiful and cozy the cabins were.  It was pretty luxurious camping if you ask me.  Miles had a great time.  He loved listening to all the sounds of the birds, squirrels, and wind.  Miles pointed to everything that caught his eye.  He would follow the birds across the sky and point to them up in trees.  He's got an eye for nature.  Our first camping trip was a total success.  We hope to spend many summer and possibly winters camping together.