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

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.

Tags: Alex, Belouseks, Cole, family outing, milestones, school, State Fair, Zach

Wow, it’s crazy how fast a couple months can fly by!  I’ve finally gotten around to posting all the photos from the past couple months.  Some have been up on the site for a while, as you may have seen from the changes in Recent Photos, but I never got around to publishing the links to them.  The highlights:

• Cole’s 14th Birthday: Grandma Pat and Papa Bob came by to celebrate with us, and after having cake and opening presents, we all went bowling, a fun birthday present courtesy of Grandpa Dan and Grandma Marilyn. Even Debbie and Ben joined in the fun.
• Mar – Apr 2009:
  - My birthday, which I celebrated by making a donation to Locks of Love with 11 inches of my hair.  We also spent a day at Mom and Dad’s house.
  - Trip to the Children’s Museum to see the Clifford the Big Red Dog exhibit along with the usual fun stuff. It was Cole’s spring break, so he joined us, as did Grandma Pat.
  - Easter: the egg hunt in town, a visit from the Easter Bunny, and special Easter baskets from Grandpa Dan and Grandma Marilyn
  - Baseball: Zach & Alex get their first gloves, and Cole’s first game of the season
  - Alex wears big boy underwear for the first time after staying dry for 2 days!  He was really excited to wear his new Star Wars underwear.

Tags: Alex, baseball, birthday, Cole, Easter, family outing, Grandma Pat, milestones, Papa Bob, potty training, Zach