Cookie Monster!

At the zoo, getting ready to walk around

Mikey at Gradma's house

Mikey splashing in the pool

Konrad coloring on the porch (coloring the porch)

Zachary taking a break

Zachary has started calling himself cookie monster...it is actually really funny and adorable even though it is really messy. He even makes then noises that cookie monster makes. The only problem is that he also eats like cookie monster and so he crumbles his food and destroys EVERYTHING before it reaches his mouth while growling num num num "cookie monster". He also runs around the living room growling and saying cookie monster...we are not sure why cookie monster struck his fancy but he did. So now when we go places and we try to give him a snack we have to make eye contact with him and warn him and say "Zachary no cookie monster" or else he will start crumbling his food and num num num growling, laugh. He usually just grins at us in a naughty little grin and does it anyway but sometimes he listens :)

Konrad is talking so much, he stares at us and rambles off something so fast like we know exactly what he said. Sometimes we do, sometimes not. He is a very precise mimic and he repeats everything that he hears which is frightening and hilarious. The other night the TV was on for a split second within his hearing and a commercial was on (they normally watch DVD's not live TV) and the loud voice said "next Saturday Big Savings" and I hear Konrad saying "Big Savings, Big Savings"...Mike and I just looked at each other and laughed. He skips around and jumps off furniture. He is still so goofy. He thinks he is so funny and most times he is but it is so much funnier because he thinks he is funny and he is trying hard to be funny. He has to much energy and he can be so intense. Sometimes he will walk up to us and hold our face to make sure we are paying attention to him and only him like if we look away it means we are not listening to just him. Poor Konrad, he wanted to be an only child - he needs the snuggling and the extra along time and the attention, he really does. He has so much energy and he is so sensitive and he has to brothers to share us with.

Mikey is having a hard time with his language skills and it is very frustrating for him. He is happy and playful most of the time and he runs around and plays with his brothers and wrestles them and does all of the things a rambunctious two year old should - but it is at the times when he wants something that his brothers don't or when he is trying to tell us something separate from his brothers that he get most frustrated. He is talking all of the time, but we have a hard time understanding him. We are working hard with him to help him figure out how to communicate with us. The one thing Mikey says all the time is "I Love You". He doesn't say it crisply, it is more like "I yuh you" but it is very distinctly I love you because he often gives kisses after saying it. He says it in this sad, forlorn sort of a ways like you are leaving him forever...it is hilarious and adorable. In the morning when he is leaving his crib, he says to his blanket (which he calls coket) "Coket I yuh you" as he reaches pitifully back for it. He runs up to Mike and I and gives us puppy dog eyes and lays his head on our lap and says "I love you". As we walk past doggies on the evening walk and he is leaving them behind "forever" he will shout "Doggie I love you". It is wonderful, adorable and pitiful and we love it. Our Mikey has a big and wonderful heart that he wears on his little sleeve already.

Memorial Day Weekend

Playing guitar with uncle Kurt

Playing on the beach

Playing on the beach at Grandma and Grandpa's

Enjoying the pool.

The boys had fun on Memorial Day Weekend. We had some busy days. Saturday we went to Grandma Carol and Grandpa Kurt's and we spent the day at the beach and swimming in the lake. Sunday we spent the morning at the water park with Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Tom and then we went to Grandpa Kurt and Grandma Carols for the evening. The boys played at the beach for hours and they didn't get to bed until almost 10pm. They were exhausted but happy. They are getting so brave! At the water park, Zachary ran around with no fear, he talked to strangers like he wanted to be taken home with them and he played in the freezing water like it was 90 degrees. He was amazing! Mikey was a close second at the squirt park, he ran around and played and loved the water, he stayed closer to the adults he knew (thank God) but he ran around everywhere and explored. Konrad took a little while to warm up and he did not like the cold water at all, but eventually he was playing and running around after his brothers...but nothing like Zachary. At the lake, Mikey walked right out into the lake, no fear, like he had been swimming for years. He was saying "bath, bath" like it was one big bath tub or something - he definitely needed a life jacket, he was down right scary! Konrad knew it was a beach and he was a bit more hesitant once again, but he was more willing to try to go into the water the second day and he even went in alone in the shallow areas. Zachary was more interested in covering himself with sand and mud and squishing the sand but eventually he tried the water. He was not nearly as brave in the lake as he was at the park, but he liked it all the same. They are truly amazing to watch explore and test their boundaries. They all are learning their world so fast. It is kind of sad because they are growing up so fast, but mostly wonderful.

Spring Fun

Playing at the park!

Resting with Daddy

Reading in the car

Where are we now...

Mikey and Konrad are fighting for leadership. They have very similar needs for attention and adult reactions and they are both emotional. They are always fighting over mom and dad, toys, chairs...everything...wrestling and tumbling and taking each other out. Konrad still bites here and there, but Mikey has learned to tackle which can be just as surprising based on Konrad's reactions. Zachary plays a bit more with his brothers, but he has no interest in leadership. He is still pretty much his own man in his own world. He is easy going and happy. He can get what he wants because he is the biggest, but he rarely tries. He just waits until his brothers are finished and then picks it up afterwards. He defends himself more, he used to sit still and literally let his brothers push him over and walk on him, now he has learned to bite back or wrestle back, but only when he is desperate or when they both have piled up on him.

They are all talking so much and sometimes we even know what they are saying. Mikey still speaks a weird jibberish language when he talks fast and we have no idea what he is saying. When he slows down though, he gets clear words out. Konrad is still the best talker in that he has the most words and he is putting together full sentences. He talks pretty much constantly. Zachary is a very interesting talker. He talks for a reason but not just to be heard. Where Konrad and Mike will repeat everything we say, Zachary will not. Instead, Zachary will walk around the house saying "What's this?" and when we answer then he might repeat it. Zach speaks the most clearly and is the most articulate when he is talking slowly, he is also the most surprising because he is frequently quiet around his brothers but when you get him alone he starts speaking in paragraphs...and yesterday he counted to thirteen. Konrad repeats what he hears all the time, but he sometimes doesn't get enough credit for all that he knows. Konrad surprised us with saying every shape in a puzzle the other day including octagon, and Mikey told his brother to "sit down and be quiet" this morning...so they are incredibly surprising and entertaining sometimes as they explore and expand their language skills. They are all hilarious when they dance and so eager to please when they do puzzles or drawings.

Zachary loves to sing, Konrad loves to draw, and Mikey loves to read. They all like to do puzzles, play ball, go on walks, and play outside. They are definitely becoming boys.

Easter 2010

The boys really enjoyed Easter this year. They loved finding Easter eggs outside and running around in the yard smelling the spring flowers. They were crazy out there. They are so curious and they can definitely get into trouble. Every stick, leaf, dirt pile and rock that probably should not be unturned gets explored...but those are boys I am told. It is pretty funny to see them exploring the yard and watching each other. When one found a stick, the others found a stick, when one found a rock, the others found a rock, when one started running, the others started running. They all want attention and they all want to be funny. They are pretty funny.

Zachary found a ball - he thought it was an Easter egg, but it was a ball.

Playing with sticks, metal chairs make good drums.

Konrad playing hide and seek.

Konrad smelling flowers with Daddy.

The boys looking for Easter eggs in the flower bed.

Mikey playing tag, the tree was safe!

Birthday 2010!

Zachary trying out his new birthday phone. He is a talker...we don't know what the heck he is saying, but he sure does LOVE to talk.

Konrad and Mikey opening their presents. Zachary wasn't too interested in opening once he got his phone, he just wanted to make calls. Mike and Konrad wanted to open presents!

MMMMmmm cake. Zachary does love cake.

Mikey loves cake...but only with utensils.

Konrad tried the utensils but moved on to his hands.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, somewhere closer to the real day, the boys had a wonderful birthday "month" that stretched over a few weeks. They had their real birthday on January 31st and then a birthday party in February. Konrad and Mikey loved unwrapping presents, Zachary loved playing with the presents. It was a good combination! At Christmas they did not really understand unwrapping but by January they had it down! They definitely understood what to do with the cake.

Christmas 2009

Konrad in his Santa suit at Sarah and Bill's house, Christmas 2009.

Mikey running around with his blankey and a book. This is a common look for Mikey, he loves his blanket and he loves to read.

Konrad has a knowing little grin on his face and he is enjoying a the remote control, which he rarely gets to play with. He knows that this means he is in control of the buttons.

Zachary trying to figure things out. He is our engineer, always trying to take things apart and put them back together again. He is very patient and determined.

Christmas 2009 was an adventure as always. We spent an evening at Sarah, Bill and Finley's house with the Richardson family and with Grandma Carol and Grandpa Kurt. Then we spent Christmas morning at Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Tom's house. In the afternoon, we went to Aunt Bonnie's house to see the Huber family and Grandpa John and Grandma Kelly. The boys handled all of the excitement pretty well. We had a few melt downs, Mikey of all babies was the one to tolerate things the least. He wanted to be held and he did not want to play. I think he got tired, no that I can blame him. Zachary did very well and after a few minutes of warming up, ran around the house and played. Konrad pretty much wanted to be held by Mike, but he let a few other people hold him and talk to him. We ended up having to leave at 7 or 8pm because the boys just could not make it any later, it had been a long, long day.

Halloween and Thanksgiving 2009.

Catching up on what we missed and then we will see what we can do about trying to keep this thing updated...

Halloween 2009

The boys had fun at Matt and Ambers having a hay ride with their dad. Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa's for Trick or treating.

Thanksgiving 2009

Mikey

Mikey was interested in the bread and pears but not much else...he is an okay eater, not too adventurous, but he will try most things. He tried a few tastes but he stuck to the basics.

Thanksgiving 2009

Zachary

Zachary dod not want much to do with Thanksgiving dinner. He ate yogurt and puffs. He is not the most courageous eater and he is not willing to experiment.

Thanksgiving 2009

Konrad

Konrad was very interested in Thanksgiving dinner. He is an very good eater so nothing stopped him from diving in to an adult sized plate of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberries.