In a galaxy far, far away, two young Jedi knights reached a new milestone on this day, celebrating their 4th birthday.  Master Zach and Master Alex honored this momentous occasion by celebrating all week, with a family party on Sunday, a special “sharing” day at school for each Jedi, cupcakes for their class, and on the anniversary of their birth, a day of fun at the Nickelodeon park at the Mall of America and even more presents.  As you may have guessed, Star Wars was a common theme for this birthday, as the boys continue to love all things Star Wars.  Check out all the fun in the 4th Birthday photo album.

New bunk beds with Star Wars bedding!

Another big milestone the boys reached this month: bunk beds!  Just one quick year after graduating to toddler beds, Zach and Alex were beginning to outgrow them, so we decided it was time for big boy beds.  The boys are quite proud of their bunk beds with all its drawers and special staircase.  Alex chose the top bunk, while Zach wanted the bottom because that’s where Brother from the Berenstain Bears sleeps.  Photos of the new bed are in the Jan – Feb 2010 album.

The boys had their checkup this week as well, and they’re doing great – although as skinny as always.  Alex is about 31 lbs (10th percentile) and is 38.5 inches tall (14th percentile), while Zach is about 30 lbs (5th percentile) and is also 38.5 inches tall.  They weren’t too happy about their shots this year, but it does save them from getting them all at once next year as they prepare for kindergarten.

While I have been adding lots of pictures, it’s been forever since I last posted to the site, so for those who didn’t get a chance to see the pics yet, here’s a recap…

• The Nov – Dec 2009 album was updated with pictures from a performance Cole had at Barnes and Noble where he did a couple solos in a fundraiser for his band, as well as photos from Z&A’s visit to Santa and some other odds and ends.
• Christmas 2009 was a lot of fun for us this year because the boys were filled with anticipation for Santa’s visit.  We left cookies for Santa (he likes oatmeal raisin at our house) and treats for the reindeer, and the boys were in awe when they were gone the next morning and replaced with presents.  Santa didn’t disappoint with the gift they asked for the most – a Transformer known as Bumblebee.  Later that day, Grandma Pat and Grandpa Bob came down with Cole, and we had a wonderful Christmas Day.
• The week after Christmas, we went down to Chicago for a few days to celebrate the holidays with friends and family.  We visited with the Chmuras (Uncle and Auntie “Chooch”), watched the Vikings-Bears game with the Belousek side of the family, and spent a day with GG.  We also spent a little free time playing at the nearby DuPage Children’s Museum; for those who live in the area, we HIGHLY recommend it – it’s a great place!

Tags: Alex, bedtime, Belouseks, birthday, Christmas, family outing, GG, milestones, museum, Zach

As with any sports program, the BP Preschool Sports program has individual and team photos taken.  The boys’ pictures came out really cute, so I scanned them in to share.  They’re on the last page of the May – June 2009 photo album. The expressions on their faces are just too cute.

In the new July – Aug 2009 album (seriously, how is it that July is almost over already???), there are some pictures and video clips from the tee-ball part of Preschool Sports.  The videos are pretty funny – it’s complete chaos (I think even more than soccer was, if that’s possible) and it’s obvious we need to teach Zach and Alex about how the bases work in the sport.

Zach, Daddy and Alex

Also in the album are pictures from shooting “booms” on the 4th with Robert and Kwo Ue, a mini-golf and go-cart outing with Grandma Pat and Papa Bob, and a parade and carnival at BBQ Days, the town festival.

Tags: booms, family outing, friends, golf, summer

We’ve had a lot of fun so far this summer playing outside and enjoying some great weather.  One of our highlights was the night we camped out in our new tent in the backyard.   We had a lot of fun reading stories (all camping or sleeping related ), checking out the stars and just hanging out.  We even managed to get some sleep – although I’ve realized my body just can’t handle the hard ground like I did when I was a Girl Scout oh so many years ago!

Zach and Alex were really excited to play sports this summer, joining a Preschool Sports program where they get to play a little bit of soccer and a little bit of tee-ball.  They had soccer the first couple weeks and just loved it.  They both looked really good and had a blast doing it.  They were just non-stop all over the place (not a huge surprise, knowing them).  The tee-ball portion started this week, and again, they had a ton of fun.   I think they’re especially proud to be out playing baseball just like their big brother.

Speaking of big brother and baseball, Cole’s baseball team had a great regular season, finishing first in their league!  The playoffs are this week, and they won their first playoff game tonight!  Yeah, Cole!

In totally separate news, both Zach and Alex are finally potty trained.  Yeah! No more diapers!!  Zach was finally motivated to do it once he realized that he had to use the potty if he wanted to go to preschool in the fall.  It’s funny what motivates kids sometimes, but hey, whatever works!

New photos on the site include pictures from our camping trip, all three boys playing their sports, a fun afternoon playing with squirt guns at Grandma Pat and Papa Bob’s, and more.  Check them out in the May – June 2009 photo album.

Tags: Alex, baseball, camping, Cole, family outing, soccer, summer, Zach