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!

Zach, Teacher Becky and Alex

It’s September, and as in most households, that means it’s time for school!  Cole started in 9th grade this year at his junior high (yep, you read that right: he’s a freshman already!), while Zach and Alex started preschool.  As you can imagine, Zach and Alex were just a little more excited about going to school than their big brother – but then, they didn’t have homework looming over them like Cole did.   The little guys really had a great time at school.  They played with cool toys, read a story, sang some songs and even had a popcorn snack (does it get any better?). They had so much fun that they were totally worn out and quiet the whole way home.  We don’t have pictures of Cole’s first day (for which I’m sure he’s grateful), but we do have pics from Z&A’s first day in the Sept – Oct 2009 photo album.

Also in that photo album are a couple of pictures we took when my cousins Angie, Josh and Aubrey came up to visit us and go to the “Great Minnesota Get-Together” – the State Fair.  I think Angie and I had both planned on taking more pictures than we did, but somehow we were too busy eating all the yummy foods on a stick.  We don’t have many pictures to prove it, but we all had a great time. They hope to come back another year if for no other reason than Josh needs to get his deep-fried pickles again (my faves too)!

The July – Aug 2009 album also has some new photos, including some food fun, a trip to the zoo, a visit to the BP Fire Station for their open house, and the cool Star Wars ships Z&A earned with potty training.

The Vandermarks, Christmas 2008

We hope you and your family are having a wonderful Christmas this year.  We had a really nice one – although it certainly would have been better if a big issue at work hadn’t kept me on the phone for more than half of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Oh well, sometimes work happens.  In any case, we were thankful for the time we did spend together and with my parents on both of those days, enjoying some wonderful meals and some fun times playing together.

This was the first year that Zach and Alex got the concept of Santa, so that was a lot of fun. They had gone to visit Santa at the mall a few times while there to play at the indoor play area, and they had asked him to bring them “dump trucks and Star Wars stuff.” For the days and weeks after that, they’d remind us over and over that “Santa is going to bring us presents!”  And sure enough, he did.  They did indeed get some new dump trucks and some Star Wars figurines, but I think their favorite gifts are their very own flashlights, which also double as light sabers.  They carried them everywhere yesterday and today.  Some times it is the simplest things that bring the most joy…

It’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally uploaded a bunch of pictures from November and December onto the site.  In the Nov-Dec 2008 album, you’ll find photos chronicalling art projects and holiday decorating, as well as some fun in the snow.  In the Thanksgiving – Chicago album, we have pictures from our visit to celebrate the holidays with the Belousek family and with Great Grandma Jean (be sure to check out the video clip of the boys enjoying pie at GG’s house – they were pretty excited about that pie ).  Now here’s hoping it doesn’t take me another month to get the Christmas pictures posted…

Josh and Angie

Congratulations to Karen’s cousin, Angie, and her new husband, Josh!  They got married on Oct 25 in the beautiful Valley of Fire State Park outside of Las Vegas.

Josh is a great match for Angie and fits really well into our family – although that may not be a good thing since we’re all a little nuts! Welcome (officially) to the family, Josh and Aubrey!

We had a fantastic time playing at the resort’s indoor and outdoor waterparks, where they had all sorts of cool water slides for big and little kids. Unlike last year, Z&A were thrilled to play in the water – especially Alex, who seems to be a natural in the water (he was trying to swim on his own by walking on his hands). This made our time in the water a whole lot more fun. Cole really had a good time too – his favorite slide was the 8-story tall straight-drop body slide; he went on that over and over.

This year we also went on a tour with the Wis. Ducks, which takes you on a land and water tour in an old army vehicle called a Duck, drove go-carts at Riverview park, got in a little mini golf, and of course visited the Riverside & Great Northern Railway, where we got to visit with longtime family friends and train buffs, the Chmuras.

Check out the pictures from the trip in the Dells 2008 album in the Vacation gallery.

In unrelated news, check out the photos from a recent golf outing Joe went on for work. He and a couple co-workers decided to have some fun as a foursome and dressed up in costume. You can tell they had a great time.

Zach and Alex had a lot of fun with all the new things to see and play with.  And we all had fun celebrating that first Christmas with them.  However, I have to say that for the first time ever, I was happy to take the tree down this year.  The boys were just fascinated with it, always wanting to put the branches, ornaments, and lights right into their mouths.

Other new photos have been posted in the newly-created Jan-Feb 2007 album and a couple cute ones from the last days of 2006 (my favorite is the one of Alex sleeping on Eeyore).