Summer!

Can it really be summer already?  Matthew had his last day of first grade today.  I can't believe this little man is turning into more of a bigger little man every day.  He told me this morning that he was excited and sad that school was done, but mostly excited.  We'll see how long that lasts!

We ran a few errands and by the time we got back it was hot and the kids were tired of being inside.  Solution?  Water!  They were so excited to break out the squirt guns and the pool.  I thought it was a great way to kick off the new season.  Here's to late nights, popsicles, bike rides, and summer adventures!

Here they are loading up....

Andrew playing with one of his favorite things - a broom

Love those smiles!

My Boys!!!!

Taken Dec. 2010

This just makes me smile.

Football

With all the nice weather this winter we have spent some time playing outside. Football has been a recent favorite, especially for Matthew and Zachary. One day we all went out for a game.

Here's Andrew enjoying the game from the bleachers. I LOVE those chubby cheeks.

Ryan isn't much of a football fan, so he cheered from his bike.

Matthew and Zach in the game

Action shot!

And this is Zachary trying to convince me to put down the camera and play with him. His version of football involves him holding the football most of the time, me chasing him, and him deciding on whatever place he wants to be a touchdown. It was pretty funny.

New Year's Eve

For New Year's Eve we told the kids we were going somewhere for a surprise. They tried their hardest to guess, but none of them thought we would be going to...the Kangaroo Zoo! They all cheered with excitement when we drove up to the place. For those who have never been there before, it is a big building full of blow-up bounce houses, slides, etc. The perfect activity for these energetic little boys. And might I add the perfect activity for New Year's Eve. These kids played hard for two hours straight and were tuckered out by the end of the day. After some dinner and a movie they were ready for bed. We may do it again next year!

Little Boyisms

I am trying to be better about writing things down. These are some funny things the boys have said recently.

Ryan, driving home from church one day:
Ryan: I can't wait to go to bed.
Mom: Why? You still have a few more hours until bedtime.
Ryan: Because then I will wake up and it won't be Sunday and I won't have to sing any more boring songs.

Zachary: Mom, you're growed up like a big boy girl!



One night, Zachary came out of bed and said his legs were sore and wanted me to come and rub them. I walked him back to his room and as he crawled back into his bed he told me which leg to rub first. "This one mommy, and then this one. But I only have two legs. Only rub two legs mommy because I'm not an alien."

Matthew was taking a bath and got some soap in one of his eyes. He couldn't get it out (probably because of all of the soap already in the tub), so I told him to turn on the shower to help rinse it out. As he is standing under the water he tells me, "I guess I better find my pirate eye patches. I might need to wear one to school tomorrow."



And of course with all of these boys there is a lot of potty humor. The following stories illustrate what happens in our house almost daily.

One day, Zachary was playing with his nerf ball popper gun, hunting down dinosaurs.

Zach: Pow! I got another T-Rex mom!
Mom: Wow, that's great. Watch out, here comes another one!
Zach, in all of his excitement, passed some gas as he tried to shoot the popper gun.
Mom: What was that?
Zach: It was a Toot-a-saurus Rex!

We were playing hide-and-seek downstairs. It was my turn to count and when I opened the door to go find them I heard cute little boy giggles coming from the bathroom. I kept looking in other places and saying, "I wonder where they are? Where could those boys be hiding?" The boys thought it was fun that mom couldn't find them so they started laughing even louder. I finally got to the bathroom and opened the door. "There you are!" I said. They squealed with delight. I laughed and told them I found them after I heard their giggles. Ryan spoke up and said, "Nuh-uh, mom. It was because you could hear me farting!"

And to show that my boys do have moments of sweetness, Matthew said to me the other day out of the blue, "Mom, you work harder than dad. You are always doing things with your arms - fixing my lunch, picking up things, starting the bath, helping Andrew." I told him that dads and moms both work hard; they just have different kinds of jobs. And we work hard because we love our family. It was nice to know that sometimes he notices the things we do.

And what does Andrew have to say to all of this? Lots of bubble blowing, drool, and the occasional bah-bah, ma ma, or mum mum. Why do they have to grow up so fast?

Zachary

Zachary has turned into a little boy from a toddler overnight. He definitely knows what he wants and will often find a way to get it, even if it means getting in the way of his older brothers. He knows exactly how to push their buttons and finds it fun to do it often. But he can also turn around and be the sweetest boy. He is very thoughtful and usually willing to share.

He wants to be a big boy, but is still unsure about the potty. He is afraid of getting his underwear wet. I think we're pretty close to trying again making it stick.

Zach is very imaginative. He is always going to the store, fighting bad guys, playing with his lego guys, etc. Behold, the Zach-o-saurus!

He Loves to play games even though he doesn't always understand the rules. His favorites right now are Sleeping Queens and Duck Duck Goose.

He is still attached to his blankets made by Grandma Tams. He must have them for sleeping and sometimes rolls them up and pretends they are his babies.

One day Zachary told Ryan to go to time out after a fight over a toy.

Ryan: You can't tell me what to do. You're not the mom.

Zach: No, I'm the Zachawee. (Zachary)

All his v's sound like b's: bolcano (volcano), fibe (five), Lub you (love you), shubble (shovel) etc.

He also says "My tie came unshoed" when he needs his shoes tied.

He loves the little girl across the street and can't wait to see her in nursery. He prays for her often.

We sure love this little/big guy. He brings so much more adventure to our family.

Jelly Beans

This happened back in March right after Andrew was born. I wanted to write it down so I wouldn't forget.

We had a package of Starburst jellybeans and Zach decided they were his new favorite treat. He asked for them often but was only allowed to have some every once in awhile. One night we had just finished dinner when Zachary did something to go to time out. I don't remember what it was, but I know that he was in trouble in his room. In the meantime, Ryan was crying a little because his legs were achy. Kevin offered him some jelly beans to "help." All of sudden we hear a wailing coming from Zachary's room. It was the end of his timeout anyway, so I went in to find out what was wrong and he informed me that his legs hurt too. Smart boy. I had to hide a smile when I asked him what we should do about it. He told me that he needed some jelly beans too. Kevin heard the conversation and told Zachary the only way he could get jelly beans was if he hopped from his bedroom to the kitchen. Zach and his "sore" legs jumped all the way there to get his jelly beans. As he was eating them I kept asking if his legs were feeling better and he continued to respond in the negative until they were all gone. I think he was afraid we would take them away if we thought they were working too soon. When he was finished he flashed a big smile and announced that he was all better.

Easter 2011

Digging in the Dirt

*This was from March. We're still trying to do some catch-up since we've been lazy bloggers lately.*

It was such a nice day that Kevin proclaimed, "It's time for us to go dig something!" So out the boys went to go dig in the dirt. They thoroughly enjoyed getting dirty with their dad.

Storm Trooper Zachary

He just might get you, so watch out.

Zach's New Bed

This is pretty late in coming. We've been trying to get things ready for the little guy and of course I haven't been very on top of the blogging thing. About a month ago we moved Zach from his crib to a new bed. I was pretty nervous because we had to work hard with Matthew and Ryan, but Zach took to it right away. He only got out of his bed a few times the first night and has stayed in it ever since. I think he enjoys being a big boy. Now if only I could convince him to potty-train!

January

January is already over? I feel like this whole month has gone by in one big blur. The weeks have been pretty much the same - school, work, errands. And I have to admit that I haven't done my best lately at documenting things. Here's a quick run-down of some recent goings-on before I forget.

Kevin: Keeping busy with work and church responsibilities. We are busy trying to get one of the downstairs rooms painted and the carpet put back in after our water leak at the very beginning of the month. We were thinking of trying a new color down there (instead of pastel purple) and although the boys wanted blue or green we decided to just go with the neutral color already in our house. We may be kind of boring, but at least the name of the color is Tequila. :) That ought to add a little spice to place. Kevin has also enjoyed watching a few football and basketball games. And he even got some time to play Civilization last night. Woohoo!

Amy: Still pregnant and going strong. We are down to single digits on how many weeks left for this little guy to come to our family. I am hitting the big and awkward stage, making it hard for me to bend down for too long. Kevin thinks I should get one of those sticks with the grabbers on the end. Who needs those when you have kids to do it for you? :) We are in the process of getting some new baby gear since ours have started to expire. We are also still working on a name. Both Kevin and I have our lists, but no consensus yet. Hopefully sometime soon!

Matthew: Loves school, at least going and participating. At the beginning of the school year he was very excited to do homework, but has recently changed his mind a little. He loves to read; his new favorites are the Magic Treehouse series. We can't keep them around fast enough before he devours them. I guess he got that from his mother. He loves playing freeze tag at school during recess and apparently sets "freeze traps" on the playground, a fact he is very proud of. He loves watching football and basketball games with his dad and usually chooses a team to root for. He can't wait to start soccer in the spring.

Ryan: Just as funny and crazy as ever. He loves to sing, but doesn't want anyone to pay attention to him while he is doing it. He is very creative and loves to show off his drawings (usually some form of bad guys vs. good guys) as well as his Lego concoctions. He finally learned to write his name with a capital letter at the beginning with lower case letters following. This has not been his favorite thing since he thought everything should be written in uppercase. He takes joy out of the simplest things and has the cutest laugh and sense of humor.

Zachary: Growing and learning more everyday. He loves to be like his brothers, so much so that he will change what he is having for breakfast just so he can be like them. He is learning how to go in the potty and just transitioned to a big boy bed. So far both are going relatively well, although I know as soon as I say that we'll hit a snag somewhere. He is a typical two-year-old - strongly independent and very stubborn. He has a great imagination and loves to play with cars and Imaginext guys. His very favorite thing has been the Nerf ball-popper gun he got for Christmas. He thinks it's great to get the monsters.

That's about it for now. More adventures to come!

Outsmarted

I oftentimes find myself being outsmarted by my kids. Sometimes it's because I haven't thought things through, and sometimes it's just simply because they really are smarter than me.

Case #1:

Today, Matthew was playing with his new Star Wars Lego set from Christmas. It's a big star ship with wings that can open and close when you spin a gear on the back. (For those of you interested, it is the ARC-170). For some reason, one of the wings wasn't opening like the other. Matthew brought it to me and as I started looking at it with my advanced knowledge of Lego engineering I deduced that a gear had fallen off from one of the wings. Matthew went and found the piece and I put it back together, thinking (very proudly in fact) I had solved the problem. But when Matthew started to turn the gear in the back, one of the wings opened while the other didn't. When you turned the gear the other way, the wings did just the opposite, the other opening while the other stayed closed. I started looking over the thing again, trying to figure out what I had done wrong (admittedly, my Lego engineering skills are more mediocre than advanced). That's when Matthew whips out this little gem of advice:

Matthew: Mom, I have a hypothesis. (A hypothesis?)
Mom: And what's your hypothesis? (As I'm still fiddling with the thing...)
Matthew: I think when you put the wing back on the other wing was still open, so when you turn it they don't open at the same time.
Mom: (A little surprised at the logic of his answer) You know what, you're probably right. Let's try it and see.

So we took off the wing, closed the other wing, reattached the first, and voila! Matthew the Mastermind figured it out light years ahead of his mediocre mom.

Case #2:

I was munching on some M&M's from my stocking when Zachary caught me with my contraband.

Zachary: What you habing?
Mom: Some M&M's.
Zachary: I need some (with a HUGE smile on his face and those puppy dog eyes). Pleeaase?
Mom: Okay. I'll give you a few, but only because you are so cute.
Matthew: (running in from the other room) I'm cute too. Can I have some?
Mom: Sure.
Ryan: (waiting at the side) Well mom, I'm not cute, so that means I can have A LOT. (I had forgotten that Ryan refuses to be called cute, preferring instead the term handsome. Well-played my boy).

Zachary's Birthday

Zachary turned two in September! This little boy is no longer my baby. He has definitely asserted his rights as a toddler.



Grandma and Grandpa Tuft came over for a little party. The boys love to wrestle with Grandpa.




Zach had a lot of fun opening presents this year. As you can see, it was very serious business.




Zachary loves Thomas the Tank Engine and Curious George. Every time I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, it always ended up changing. So I opted for the easiest choice. Thanks George!





It was a busy day. The little boy was pretty tuckered out when it was all said and done.




Some fun things about Zachary:

He loves to tease his older brothers

He wants to be like his brothers and therefore prefers playing with Legos and building robots.

He loves balls.

He has the best pouty face I have ever seen on a little guy. It can seriously be hard to remain consistent when he pulls that out on you.

He is trying to learn his colors but everything ends up being green.

He is a little afraid of airplanes right now because he saw one flying very low. Whenever he hears an airplane or helicopter go by he covers his ears.

Things he is saying: all time favorite- No mama, I will do dat! Look mama (which I love!), faffle (waffle), aubot (robot), all the animal sounds, Hi dad!, color, gib a lub (give a love, followed by a hug), Jesus, Wyan (Ryan), Mafew (Matthew), need a drink, take Mafew to cool (take Matthew to school), doodle (noodle). He copies everything you say and communicates very easily now.

He's such fun little guy and we love him to pieces!

Not-So-Happy Camper

I'm not exactly sure why Zachary was upset. I just thought it was funny when I noticed what his shirt said, so I had to take a picture. Poor kids get tortured by their mother. :)

More Randomness

Here's a few of the fun things we've done this summer:

Cleaning pencil marks off the walls

Reading books



Having battles

Slip and Slide anyone?

It's hard to believe summer is almost over.

Buzz-Man Zach

Zachary is just like his brothers - tons of fun but FULL of mischief. He loves to grab things he's not supposed to, wait until I see him, then run away full throttle in an escape attempt. And I have to admit he is pretty fast. He likes to take favorite toys away from his brothers when they aren't looking and thinks it's hilarious to have them chase him down. And then he throws the tantrum when they reclaim their goods. This has resulted in a new era of life for him - duh, duh, duh - corner time out. He's been in time out on my lap before, but he's old enough to start the regular stuff. The first few times he went to the corner he went pretty willingly, sat down, and started to fake cry (obviously imitating his older brothers). Honestly? I had to try very hard not to laugh. Because of his talent for disturbing the peace, he has also learned to say "sorry" (sha-sha) and "love you" (lo loo).

Zach loves to play. He likes the typical cars, trucks, little people, etc., but he is usually interested in whatever his brothers are playing with (as previously mentioned.) He can really get into their ball games and can hold his own in wrestling matches.
He even likes to have lightsaber fights and can make some pretty good blaster noises. Legos are also a favorite, although he prefers to play with the lego people (he calls them "guys") by pulling them apart and putting them back together again. He loves playing outside on his bike and on the swings.

He is also starting to talk a lot more and is trying to imitate the things that we say. He wakes up every morning with the same question - "Daddy bye-bye car?" and has started to put more words together in phrases and sentences. He heard one of the boys pass gas one day and started to laugh. "Mat-ma toot!" he told all of us. New words he is saying: Mat-ma (Matthew), Rye-Rye (Ryan), uh-oh, nuh-uh, swee (swing), sly (slide), pan (pants), sock, ha (hat), bye (bike), pwee (please), tank oo, pop-pop (popcorn - the kid is an addict), my (mine), no, ow-sy (outside), muh (milk), wa-wa (water), der (there), show, gink (drink), umpa (grandma/grandpa), bubbo (bubble), Buh (Buzz Lightyear), Queen (Lightning McQueen) and some others as well.

And finally, we had to give our little guy a buzz. His sweet baby hair just wasn't filling in where it was supposed to. It was long and wispy and he was starting to have a mullet. Cool as that may be, Kevin opted to give him a buzz to give Zach's hair a new start. Here's a short breakdown of the process:

Before

During

Mohawk

Final Buzz

It made me a little sad to see all of his hair go. He looks bigger now and is no longer my baby, just a happy, busy toddler. He is such a fun little boy with a lot of spunk and personality. I guess he has to be in order to fit in with the rest of the crew. I can't believe he will be two in a few months. We sure do love our Zachary!