Soooo big (and soooo behind on blogging) :)

Ok, get a lot documented in a short post and....GO!

1). Sadie was just getting on the first stair in the last post??? Well, today I heard a LOT of giggling between Blake and Sadie and I had just sent Blake to his room, so he must not have gone....Nope! He went, but so did Sadie!! She was at the second to top stair when I found her and thank goodness she didn't fall! She has a little trouble sometimes on the turn on the stairs b/c it gets super narrow in the corner and also thankful Blake didn't knock her down as he was next to her the whole time!!!

Her next big thing is last night I decided to teach her Sooo Big! and she caught on like a champ (I had also done it the night before but I was amazed at how fast she learned it--apparently I started too late :) ).  Here is a little video of her doing it and also showcasing her ability to stand without support for a second! I just love how she obliges me while she is trying to read...!!

Sadie is soooo big!

2). Blake is talking a lot now and loves loves loves to play with his friends. We have some fantastic neighbors directly across the street and we have play dates frequently now. Blake always asks to go "see friends." :) One family just moved in this summer and they moved from Golden Valley, MN (which is the city just next to Crystal where we lived in Mpls)! They have three kids and are always wanted to play with Blake, so it's been great having them here!  He is sporting a nice bump on his head from when he was playing with said friends--he fell out of the wagon when he stood up and then they started pulling the wagon. Here is a clip of Blake in the morning when Scott got up with him (it is about 3 minutes long, so watch at your convenience) :)

Our big boy

3). And as documented in pictures below, we've been going to weddings, hanging out with family, spending time at home while Scott works on his thesis, playing video games, more wounds, etc etc etc. :) :)

Blake taking me and Sadie's picture. I was bending over b/c most of the pictures cut off my head :) 

All of a sudden, the high chair is appealing again. If Sadie does it, Blake wants to do it too :) 

Whoops, another wound while playing with the neighbors! They have a fairly steep driveway and Blake took his big wheels down the driveway when I wasn't looking and went out of control and skinned up his nose. Poor boy. He takes the injuries well though and after a good cry, is back to playing. 

Blake loves to come and join us in bed in the morning. This particular morning, he wasn't quite ready to get up though, and fell back asleep in my spot:) Usually, he just jumps around, if he joins us at all. Lately, he'll just come wake us up and then go play or demand breakfast :) 

Building a deck at Grandpa and Grandma's house (actually, my brother Kyle was, but the kids were more than willing to help and Kyle graciously let them help) 

Playing Apples to Apples outside while we watched Kyle work :) 

Blake & Sam working hard!

Mom & Sarah playing with us and the kids (we played a revised, kid friendly version and it turned out great)!

Blake and his second cousin, Kelvyn. Aren't they adorable!?!

Had to get another one. I kept mistaking Kelvyn for Blake with his super blonde hair!

Blake and his first attempt at video games. Cute picture, but he won't be playing much of these if I have anything to do with it! :)

Dad and...hmm, what was this picture for...I think he just bid blind nola in 500...and won?? Nope, that doesn't seem right for the scores...I believe he was showcasing that after 6 hands we were both tied at 280, haha!

Good hand?? :) 

My adorable little girl eating!! Love this face so much!!

I love her face when she is picking up food :) 

Sittin back and relaxing with grandma (foot is up on the high chair)

Oh yeah, and Blake decided to go egg Grandpa's basement. Um, sorry about that Dad! 

This was after a little clean up of shells, but you get the picture. Thankfully, Sam came and told me Blake was throwing eggs in the basement. It could have been a lot worse!

Sadie and Great Grandma Omi

Apparently this is how I look when I eat salad...I'll have to work on that...;)  )this is another shot by Blake)

Happy baby

Blake and uncle Gary 

Blake and cousin Sam--they are best friends!

Shooting Grandma. No one taught him to shoot like this...sheesh...fortunately or unfortunately Grandma played along. 

Checking out the cows with Great Grandma Lorna

And the baby kitties!!

Grandpa changing Sadie's diaper--thanks Bubba!!

And me and my babies

I O What?

IoWA, that's what. Yep, I thought of that all on my own. ;) Well, as you probably know, Cedar Falls, IA is where we will be calling home in about a month and a half and Scott will be working for John Deere. Yikes. I'm not ready for starting over again in another new city, but hopefully there won't be another move in the near future. Well, I want to be organized when we move and since that seems to be impossible for me, especially with two young kids, that means I shouldn't spend my time blogging while they are sleeping.

It is amazing the mess two kids can make (well, it is mostly just the one...:) ), but I love them so much it makes it not so bad.

A couple quick facts about our move:

1). We want company!!!!

2). John Deere is packing up all our stuff for us, moving it, and storing it, if we need it. Soooo thankful for that!

3). I never wanted to marry a farm boy (unlike my Mom), so I married a city boy. Never thought he'd move me to rural Iowa (ok, not super rural, but smaller town than I've lived in since freshman year of college, and surrounded by farm land) and work for a tractor company, haha. Funny how things work out!

4). We have yet to find a great home to purchase, so prayer on that front would be appreciated. Thanks to my Dad for accompanying me on the first trip--it would have been a disaster if he wasn't there, as Scott had to stay home and work.

5). We are looking in Cedar Falls, not Waterloo. Apparently, it is a better place for schools and living...we'll see :)

6). We hope to find a wonderful church, as we are leaving a wonderful church.

7). We want company!!!! :)

Ok, should sign out now. I need to go wash Blake's pillow and teddy bear, as he wet the bed the past two nights (he was doing so well before...I hope this was just a fluke). He's been dry for weeks, so this was kind of surprising, b/c it was a lot of pee!!

Here's a couple pictures of my brother's wedding a couple weeks ago and a few of my kiddos!

The ring bearer

Got a little wet, haha

Me and my new sister

Taking a walk

Blake loves to take walks!!

Um, so does Sadie!!! ;) 

My kiddos--love them so much!!

Oh, look, a puppy. Lately, these two have been fighting quite a bit. Blake gets so mad at Sadie when she takes his toys (although he always takes hers) and Sadie doesn't give up and gets mad back. Fun stuff here in the Miles' household. :) 

A nice calm picture :)

My 8 month old beauty!!!!

She sure is fun and super adventurous. Today I found her standing on the first step--that was a first. Normally, she just pulls herself to a standing position--doesn't actually climb the first step! 

Blake counts, Sadie crawls, and Waterloo

I think it about time I posted some more videos :)

This first one is of Blake. He loves to record video and then watch it, so that is what we were doing in this clip:

Conversations with Blake

This next one documents Sadie's first day of learning to crawl!!! It is a long video, and if you'd like to skip ahead to the crawling (shaky as it is), it is right around 2:08 and 2:50 :)

Sadie crawls!!!

This last one is close ups of Sadie and also shows how Blake likes to copy people.

Sadie being a baby and Blake being 2

Hope you enjoyed these. Sometimes it can be a little boring watching other people's home videos, so I won't be offended if you skip them :)

And here's a few pictures during our trip to Waterloo to scout out the area while Scott interviewed with John Deere

This is just a cute picture of them together :) 

Cute one of Sadie, so it's going in the blog!

Blake with his arm around his sister and also wearing his stethoscope (my earphones)

Blake playing doctor--I had no idea he was paying attention to the doctor how many months ago (at least 6 since he was last there...or maybe he is remembering from Sadie's...???)

Bath time!! Unfortunately, we totally forgot there would be a pool,so no swim trunks...

Cute boy in a towel :) 

Thought this was so cute when I noticed...Blake loves to play with soap if you couldn't tell :) 

Scott needed an updated Linked In picture, so we snapped a few when he was dressed up for his interview. It is really hard getting a good picture of him when he poses--it never looks natural, but this one turned out well

 And, here's a couple bonus photos, but not from our trip:

Sadie sucks on everything now

Although we do not have pets, this is how Blake likes to feed his teddy and puppy...:)  He grabs these tins from the cabinet and gets them oatmeal.

Happy rainy days--hope everyone reading is not flooded!

Fun with Sadie

Ok, couple quick facts about Sadie, b/c I think they are cute.

Looking at Mommy while Daddy takes her picture

The above picture reminded me of something she does. Every time Scott leans in to kiss her, she looks at me. All. the. time. Especially when I am holding her and he kisses her. She has to glance at me as if to say, "What is this guy doing? Am I ok with this?? Is Mommy ok with this??" Cracks us up b/c she does it every time

Secondly, and this one we are a little worried about, is that this little lady loves to shop. I mean it, she loves it!! She is in the best mood whenever I take her shopping. Whether I am holding her and browsing or whether she is sitting in the cart and swinging her little legs.

We checked out Aldi for like the 3rd time every the other day, and they have a wider cart where Blake and Sadie can sit next to each other and she was giggling and smiling the whole time.

I brought her to the grocery store and held her the whole time and I got so many smile and kisses. :)

So fun, but bad news for the future and our pocketbooks, haha!!!

Ok, and can't forget about out little man!

Blake showing me his play dough...after that, he went around to the other side and I found out that lever was filled too :)

Great, thanks Blake

Blake and his play dough

Ok, Mater is filled with mixed colors--now I'll have to try to separate them :) 

Blake and Mommy chillin. Gotta love the cute little feet!

Quick job update

Scott's been busy lately searching and applying for jobs and we've been talking about it quite a bit. Where to live, what he's looking for in a job, pros and cons of locations and jobs, the fact that not all our criteria match up to the perfect job...

So, here's the update on what he currently has on the table: 

Offer with BRP in Sturdevant, WI (near Milwaukee)

Fri, June 13th - Interview with John Deere in Waterloo, IA

Mon, June 16th - Interview with Thermo King in Bloomington, MN

Discussions with former bosses/managers about positions in Fridley, MN, Columbus, IN, and Seymour, IN. 

So, as you can see, we are all across the board. 

BRP--Pro: Position he thinks he would enjoy the most; good offer; will move us; WI is nice and has lakes :) 

          Con: Location

John Deere--Pro: Decent location in relation to family; decent job description

                    Con: Not excited about the location in general; complete desk job, so not the most desireable

Thermo King--Pro: Great location; only a decent job description as he won't actually be working on engines

                       Con: Not exactly what he wants to do

Cummins/Fridley--Pro: Location and working on engines

                              Con: He left there for a reason last time, would be working for boss in Columbus, satellite isn't great

Cummins/Seymour--Pro: Best career move; exciting job; great boss

                                 Con: Location is so far from family; Seymour isn't exciting

Cummins/Columbus--Pro: Exciting job and company with lots of opportunities

                                   Con: Location is far from family, but better than Seymour :) 

So, as you can see, there is a lot to think about!! We love what MN has to offer in regards to waterskiing lakes, cabins, snowmobiling trails (ok, this is mostly Scott's loves, but hey, he's my man and I want him to be happy). We love that it is close to family. Unfortunately, they don't have a wonderful job for him doing what he loves and what his experience is in. Not wonderful opportunities, but there still are good opportunities, so we are working through them and hope to know relatively soon! Next week we have to give BRP an answer, so next week we should know whether we will be in Milwaukee!! :)

If anyone has any great ideas for us, let me know :) 

Here's a few pictures of my loves: 

Sadie Jane

Love her face here :) 

Look at those teeth!

Where are my kids???

There they are!!! Sadie made her way under here, and Blake joined her and shut the door :) 

Scott and Sadie...look closely...

...yep, she's sleeping. Hard to tell without looking close :) 

Me and my little man