18 Months Old!

Last week, my sister Ryanne and I took Milo to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum to not only enjoy the beautiful weather and georgeous scenery, but to have a little photo shoot. Milo turned 18 months on Friday, so I thought it would be a good way to get some 18-month "portraits," and also to get some new pictures for Tod's office for Father's Day. I have included some of my favorites below. Thanks Ry for a fun day and some great photos!

Makeovers for M & G!

With all of the swimming and running around outside that Murphy and Guinness are doing this summer, we have had a hard time keeping them (and our house!) clean. So to make it easier for us and more comfortable for them, we decided to get them shaved for the summer. Some Cavalier owners would have serious issues with the fact that we would give our Cavaliers a buzz cut, but it is so much more practical for our lifestyle. And we think they look cute!

Murphy looks svelte!

The buzz cut shows off Guinness' long legs!

7 Years and Counting

Yesterday was Tod's and my 7th wedding anniversary. A part of me can't believe it has already been 7 years, and the other part feels like our wedding was a lifetime ago. In any event, this was Tod's year to plan our celebration, and he got me with a huge surprise . . . he took me to a nice dinner and then to the THEATER to see A Chorus Line! Now that is something that I would never expect from him. We went to the Lion King in San Jose a couple years ago, but that's the only other "show" we've been to together. At the time we said we should do it more often, but we just never did...until last night. It was an awesome surprise!

While we were out enjoying some adult time, Milo was at the Twins game with my sisters and Sean having a grand old time. Ryanne told me this morning that he had half their section in absolute stitches. He was in top form--especially after downing a rootbeer float! Yikes!

When they got home from the game, Meghan changed her first diaper and I must say did a great job! Thanks to Ry, Meg and Sean for taking such good care of our little guy, and Happy Anniversary Baby!

Another Amazing Weekend at the Lake

We enjoyed another fabulous weekend in Northern Wisconsin this past weekend! We drove up Thursday night because we have learned to time the drive around Milo's sleep schedule and also so that we would be able to wake up there Friday for a full day of fun.

Friday morning we helped my mom weed the gardens in front of the house. It was a beautiful day so we didn't even mind the work. Milo enjoyed it, too! After watching my mom bring a wheelbarrow full of weeds over to the compost pile in the woods, he proceeded to do the same exact thing with his wheelbarrow! He filled it up with weeds, walked all the way over to the woods, dumped out the wheelbarrow, and then walked back for more! He must have done it like 5 times in a row! It was the cutest thing, and Tod and I were obviously beaming with pride :)

Gramma's little helper

Working hard! (apologies for Guinness barking in the background and the amateur videography!)

The rest of the weekend we played a lot of golf, watched baseball on TV, went for numerous boat rides (one time almost getting caught in a thunder storm!), and Milo of course rode the "tac-ta" with Papa! Milo also went on a field trip to Bayfield with Gramma, Auntie Ry and Uncle Sean to check out the site where Ryanne and Sean will be getting married later this summer!

On our way home late Sunday afternoon, we stopped at Tod's parents' place to see Uncle Tom who is in town from Mississippi/Mexico and some other extended relatives. Milo met his cousin (not exactly his cousin, but I'm not exactly sure what they would be to each other) Douglas, who is 15 and visiting for the summer from Reno. Douglas is Milo's new best friend! He took Milo on a long ride on the "tac-ta" (Gramma Kris' golf cart), took him to the park, and played trucks with him. Douglas was so great with Milo that we jokingly asked if he would come live with us for the summer instead of going home with his grandparents!

Will somebody PLEASE take me for a ride?

I'm waiting. . . How can you say no to this face?

Finally! Thanks, Mommy & Daddy!

All in all, an amazing weekend! We are looking forward to another trip next weekend to stay with Tod's parents for the weekend!

Breck in D.C.

During the last week of May, Tod and some other brave souls from Breck joined the 6th graders (over 80 of them!) on their class trip to Washington, D.C. The week was packed with sight-seeing activities, including visits to numerous memorials (Korean War Memorial, World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, and the FDR Memorial), the settlements of Jamestown and Williamsburg, the Holocaust Museum, Arlington National Cemetery, various Smithsonian Museums (including the Air & Space Museum and the National History Museum), and, of course, the Washington Monument, the Capitol, and the White House. It was a crazy week for Tod, but being the history buff that he is and this being his first trip to D.C., he had a great time!

Everyone in front of the White House

And the Capitol

Playing in the "Wa Wa"

I mentioned a while back that Milo was going through a phase when he absolutely HATED water. When we went to Florida in March, he walked around and around and around the pool but wanted nothing to do with going IN the pool. He also started absolutely HATING bath time. Tod and I were very perplexed because not only did this come out of the blue, but we are both HUGE water people, so it just made no sense that our little guy wouldn't love water, too.

So after struggling with this for a while, I decided a month or so ago to take Milo swimming at the local Lifetime Fitness. As soon as we stepped in the pool area, he started screaming bloody murder. It was a terrible experience! Once I was able to calm him down, we walked around and around and around the pool, but Milo wouldn't so much as dip a toe in the water. I felt so bad for him and also started getting super nervous about the summer ahead. You can't live in the Land of 10 Thousand Lakes and not like water!

Things have progressively been getting better, so a few weeks ago on a really hot day I went to Wal-Mart and bought one of those little plastic kiddie pools. By the end of the day, Milo was sitting in the pool and splashing all over the place! Since then, he has enjoyed bath time much more and now every morning he goes to the back door and asks to go "ow-sigh" (outside) to the "wa-wa" (water).

One of Milo's favorite things to do in the "wa-wa" is to splash my sister Meghan's dog, Baron. Meghan taught Milo that Baron will try to bite droplets of water that are splashed at his face, and Milo just thinks this is hilarious! Here's a short video of the new playmates (taken with my phone so not great quality):

Toys & Adventures

A couple weekends ago, we took another trip up to the lake to see my parents. Milo absolutely loves going to the lake, and there is no wonder why! Every time he goes, my mom has another toy waiting for him and "Papa" has another adventure for him.

The latest toy is a miniature 4-wheeler ("tac-ta") that my mom got for Milo because he is OBSESSED with riding the real "tac-ta" with my dad. Every time my dad stops the 4-wheeler when they are riding together, Milo says and signs "mo" (more). They were on the 4-wheeler so long last time we visited that Milo fell asleep on it WHILE THEY WERE RIDING!

Milo riding his very own "tac-ta"

It even has vanity plates!

Chillin' with Daddy (Grandma got him his own Adirondack chair!)

The latest adventure for Milo is riding in the various boats we have at the lake. My parents finally got their pontoon boat in the water while we were there, and Milo really enjoyed driving the boat with Papa (although I think he prefers the 4-wheeler more because he doesn't have to wear a life jacket). Tod and I also cleaned up a paddle boat that we haven't used for years, so we took Milo for a ride in that as well. He had a lot of fun, and when we got to shore, he wanted "mo." Next time we visit, he'll have to try out the fishing boat!

Not a huge fan of his life jacket, even though it has "ca" (cars) on it

Driving the "bo" with Papa

Learning how to honk the horn

Daddy, Mommy & Milo on the paddle boat

Safely back to shore!

The funniest thing about Milo when he is on his various adventures (riding the "tac-ta," driving the "bo," going for a "rye" (bike ride) with Mommy and Daddy, etc.) is that he always has this totally serious look on his face. If you didn't know better, you'd think he wasn't having fun. But as soon as you stop, he says and signs "mo," and gets upset if the adventure doesn't continue, so we know that he just loves these things. It's hilarious!

Always this look...too cool for school