NHL Time!

This week's post will wrap-up the marathon of Z-boy birthdays!  Kaleb's is the final birthday, and Amy was able to take the day off of work again to spend with him.  He decided that he wanted to go to Monkey Joe's, so we picked up Evan to head on over there - only to discover there had been a small electrical fire (thankfully extinguished almost immediately) but that would delay our "jump time" while the smoke cleared.  The boys were none too happy, but we waited until after lunch and then headed on over there again to enjoy a lot of running around, sliding and jumping!  Oh to have such energy! :)

Birthdays are never complete without an extreme amount of cake, so we celebrated that night with a coconut cake - and Zachary decided that he wanted to blow out candles as well (which is only fair as Kaleb blew out candles on Zachary's birthday as that was the night of our family get-together!)

A whole 6 years old!

Even Kaleb's lips are pursed to help him blow out the candles! 

This year's 'official birthday' party was an NHL hockey party - the boys are all really getting into hockey and sports lately.  With the fact that they are all in ice skating lessons, we decided to hold it at RDV as a skating party.  It was quite fun, and it was the first time that we actually had an "all-boy" party (although two siblings were girls, so they were welcomed of course although we felt a little bad for them to be completely surrounded by so much testosterone!)

The birthday boys!

Another fabulous cake from Jennifer

Love Kaleb's ice hockey rink, complete with players!

Rob had a great idea for the parents to dress up in hockey jerseys as well - sadly Amy did not have one, so she had to borrow Adam's (it was a fashionable 3/4 sleeve on her but at least it fit! :))

Kaleb and Evan skating

It's a free ride!

First time on the ice (although the safety referees made him pass her back - no carrying children!)

Zachary and Cole

The whole crew - Cole, Zachary, Jordan, Blake, Maddie and Loghann (Cole's sisters), Esi, Luke, Evan, Obed, Adam, Justin, Kieran and Kaleb 

Another fun activity that was quickly squelched by the safety officers! :)

The birthday boys!

In other news, we finally bit the bullet and had our roof replaced.  We knew it was in bad shape when we bought the house, and before Christmas noticed a small wet spot in Kaleb's ceiling - so decided that we shouldn't wait any longer before having it done.  Having a roof replaced is 1) LOUD, 2) FAST and 3) EXPENSIVE.  Groan - it is NOT fun to spend that much money and not have anything fun to show for it!

Started in earnest on Thursday, mostly done by the next day on Friday before sundown

 Addison continues to be up to her usual tricks.  Namely she has a fascination with writing all over herself with any sort of writing utensil - sharpie, pen, markers - you name it!  We have a Sabbath dress that has leggings, which is a good thing because her legs are entirely covered in markings! She also lately has a love affair with socks - she always wants to put them on her hands like they are gloves!

Wearing her frilly church socks as gloves!

  We had a last minute get-together last Saturday night for a quick supper, and the green roadster continued to be a hit - even with the little kids that can't reach the pedals to drive it - they were content just to sit in it and pretend to drive! Notice of course Addison is in the driver's seat - maybe she'll be a future Nascar driver! :)

Phrase of the week:  Karis was mentioning to Kaleb that he was taking Amy out for a date night next Saturday night.  Kaleb was exasperated that HE was not going.  Karis replied "Why - you guys get to go out on date night with Mommy all the time, I'm jealous!"  Kaleb replied "You're married, you don't need to go out on dates after you get married!"  Ha ha - hopefully we correct this impression before Kaleb himself gets married!

Addison is slowly deciding to venture into the world of words.  She said "apple" and what sounded very much like "thank-you" this week.  Maybe just maybe she'll talk fully by the time she's 2 - although with the third child, you do realize that they'll all eventually end up at the same place so it's not really a huge rush.

Remote Control Heaven

The boy's birthday season has begun, and last week was Zachary's birthday.  Just in a coincidence of how the calendar worked, we had the family birthday party on Zachary's actual birthday.  It's been a while since we've seen Amy's cousins, so it was fun to have everyone over.  The boys got remote control trucks, and Zachary got a remote control helicopter - and they have had a blast this week playing with these toys!  The trucks have been fun to race outside on the driveway (even Addison wants to claim these trucks as her own!) and the helicopter has to be flown inside - the boys (including Daddy!) have had a blast flying it around and have gotten pretty good!


Grandma made a fantastic soccer cake for this year's birthday extravaganza

Racing to the garage door

The helicopter is up in the air on the top right hand side'ish of the picture by the ceiling as we all watch to see what will happen!

Amy took Zachary's birthday off this year, and we had a very memorable day by hitting the bowling alley.  We took Blake and Evan, as well as Papa-Z, and it was a really fun time (no-one cried that they weren't doing very well....even the kids! :)).


Ready to start the fun!

Enjoying some time on Mom's lap

The bowling boys!

All the Z men

Gram-Z and Papa-Z ended their visit on Tuesday this week, much to our disappointment.  The time always goes by too quickly!  But we had a blast with them, and the boys kept Papa-Z a-runnin' for sure!  Gram-Z was particularly good at getting Kaleb out playing sports with the rest of them, which is awesome to see him starting to play baseball etc (so good for his hand-eye practice for his eyesight!)  Kaleb in the past has been a little more hesitant to play with Papa-Z, but this time he had no such reluctance!


Playing trains with Papa-Z on their huge track (the entire toy alcove!

Kaleb just hit a home run!

Sadly, this is the only picture with all three grandkids - Addison is the MOST UNCOOPERATIVE group picture-taker!

Addison refused to participate in this picture, but the rest look lovely!

Hanging out with Papa - Addison's favorite spot - right on top of the table!

Phrase of the week:  "Ach" - we think that this is Addison's attempt to say Zach!  She has also been heard saying "Help" this week, AND she brought a diaper to Jennifer and announced "Poop" - sure enough, she was poopy!  Finally, some words coming out of this child, and could we hope for early potty training!? :)

Busytown

Busytown - that has a double meaning this week, we've had a busy schedule AND we went to the play titled "Busytown!"  The kids have a field trip typically on Fridays for school, and Amy had a lighter week so was able to join them in the morning for the play, which was really fun.  Addison did pretty well -sitting for probably 45 minutes before getting antsy.  She then passed between Amy and Miss Jennifer to keep herself entertained!

The group of kids that were at the play

We have been enjoying the Z-grandparents this week, and the boys have been in 7th heaven playing with Papa-Z and snuggling up with Grandma in bed in the mornings!  One of the outings was actually another play last Sunday - "The Three Little Pigs" and it was so, so cute - highly recommend it!  We joined the Cochrans for that play, and all of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

 

Enjoying some quality time with his friend Kieran!

 

As Amy ran out the door to jump into the van for the play, she threw on a pair of shoes that she hasn't worn in a few years and as she walked into the theater, she realized that her shoes were literally falling apart!  She "babied" them throughout the evening, crossing her fingers that she would make it through supper (no shirt, no SHOES, no service!!) until she could get back home and it was not a moment too soon as she lost the entire sole of the right shoe on the way in from the garage!  These weren't cheap shoes, so go figure!



Sad state of affairs

Last Saturday was a busy day - starting off with a baby dedication for Kelli and Kent Johnsons for baby Elin (Kelli is the lady in the green dress holding Elin) and in a funny twist of coincidence, one of Amy's employees Laura also dedicated her baby Nadia.  The funny thing was that Kelli and Laura also were in the same dedication on the first go around with their baby boys - Erik and Sebastian!  Laura is standing on the right hand side in this picture below.



Last Saturday evening, we had the Isidros, Grodacks and Bergherms over to our house - and it was so cute, Addison decided that she just loved Colby and had to give him hugs and this picture is almost an exact replica of Brady (Colby's older brother) loving on Addison (and Jennifer being the one holding the baby in both pictures!).  Check out the original below.

Addison and Colby

Brady and Addison

 

 

Zachary is in a soccer league at FLEC, and is playing twice a week.  He is loving the experience so far, and has scored a fair number of goals!  He can't decide whether he likes to be on the field though or in the goal - because when you're in the goal, you actually get to touch the ball! :)  He is quite a good little player and his coach asked whether he played year-round (which he does not) because he has such good instincts!

Racing for the ball - in the green shirt and red shorts.

Addison could really care less about how her brother plays soccer - more interested in playing in the dirt!  Where is this child's parents - she is a bedraggled mess! :)

Speaking of Addison - she is FINALLY starting to settle down enough that she'll actually sit and listen to you read a story to her - before she would sit for about 2 seconds before getting down to run around, but now she'll actually make it through a few stories before having to dash away.

With having the grandparents here, we are all spoiled rotten - and the boys especially have loved it as they have been able to get a lot of dedicated play time in - here are some moments throughout the week with Papa-Z as they enjoy their time together.  Gram-Z has spoiled us all with her delicious meals, and has been encouraging Kaleb to play baseball and enjoy the outdoors - she has a great way of motivating Kaleb to participate!

Playing catch with Papa-Z - Zachary has a really good arm and catching ability so far

Listening to a story - Zachary's favorite bedtime habit.

Counting money with Papa-Z - good for Kaleb's math skills!

The Wonders of the Tampa Zoo!

We had a super fun experience last week when we headed off to the Tampa Zoo on Friday for a field trip. Amy was able to take the day off to join the boys, and it was well worth it!  The day was beautiful (except for the very EVIL pollen in the air!), and we were joined by Bergherms and Biris.  The Tampa Zoo is AWESOME for anyone who hasn't been there before, it has all sorts of interactive activities as well as a section of small children's rides.  At most places you have to be BIG enough to ride the rides, but at the Tampa Zoo, you have to be SMALL enough! :)

Isn't this just an awesome picture!

The giraffe literally LICKED Zachary's hair in this picture!

Zachary and David having a little rest

Feeding the birds

Bumper boats - Kaleb barely made the "small enough" requirement!

 There was a ride called "Gator Falls" that Amy went on with the boys - as you can see it was a water ride, so she expected to be a little moist when she got off.....

And instead we were DRENCHED like we've never been drenched before.  Shirts like 2nd skins, pants entirely wet, hair like a drowned rat!!!  The boys loved it, and needless to say Amy did not accompany them again on this ride! :)

 

The boys on the field trip, although Jonathan (David's brother) was missing in this picture.

After concluding our time at the zoo, we raced home (or shall we say inched our way home in stop-and-go traffic, adding almost an hour to our commute home in comparison to our drive there) - we had friends from out of town - McFaddens and Slikkers over to our house, along with the folks that they all knew from Michigan (this is all Karis' group of friends from Andrews University days) - the Deiningers and Cochrans.  It was fun to visit with them and catch up.

The boys had a fun experience as they were able to head out to the beach to enjoy the beautiful weather with Miss Jenn - although Zachary said that he was quite cold after being in the water.

 

A little sandy we'd say!!

Sand even on his eye lashes!

The allergy season continues here, making all of the Z family suffer (except Addison so far).  Even poor Kaleb who hasn't had that much of a problem with allergies slept in until 10A last Sabbath after the day at the Zoo, and when he got up, his eyes were so swollen from allergies that he didn't have any eye definition left!  Zachary's ailment has improved from when we lived at the old house now that we have wood floors, but we're beginning to wonder if his frequent, severe headaches may also be allergy related.

Last week, the Z adults took the plunge and upgrade our phones.  Amy had a smart phone, but it was cracked badly and Karis just had a regular cell phone.  Verizon was running a "deal" and we both ended up with iPhones.  After having an Android, Amy is having a hard time making the switch but is slowly getting used to it, and Karis never having one before is just having fun now that he has all of this power at his fingertips! :)

 

Phrase of the week:  When he realized that it was taking so long to get home from Tampa and that our visitors would most likely arrive at our house before we could get home, Zachary was so dismayed that he said "I'm re-thinking this field trip business to Tampa!!"

Addison showing that it is never too early to learn how to play hockey!

For the Love of Skating

The boys have been in ice skating lessons this winter (third year now), and have been loving it.  Zachary is actually in 'hockey' skating lessons and we have been quite impressed with the level of skills that they're teaching him for skating.  Kaleb has been in just regular ice skating lessons, but we intend to move him over as well next year.  They have been loving it so much, that all things this year seem to be "skating" and we have been going to the public skating sessions on Wednesdays as well.  Several times the Bergherm boys have joined, and that has been just precious.  Kaleb and Kieran have been very good at helping Evan go along on his skates, and it is so cute!  Blake has been doing pretty well on his own, so no need for Zachary to hold his hand! :)

Kaleb and Kieran holding Evan's hand (love Kaleb's tongue sticking out!)

In addition to this, Zachary and Kaleb also went through a phase where they would give us nightly skating performances - as they had seen in the Olympics.  They were a "doubles" pair, with Kaleb taking the female part as he was the smaller of the two.  It was hilarious - Zachary of course was always so serious that he looked like he was grimacing (making the parents slightly uncomfortable!) - but it was always worth a laugh.  We taped one particular performance - this one you can see Zachary's face grimacing, you can see him drop Kaleb's head on the ground (poor Kaleb!) and then at the end when Kaleb flings himself over, there is an unmistakable sound of a "low flying duck" being let loose before thankfully the video cuts itself off!! :)  Ha ha!

 

We also went last weekend to the local fair, it was a small affair, but the kids had a fun time on the rides.

On the ferris wheel - and the brick building behind them is actually where Amy works!

Impossible to see, but this is Zachary and Kaleb on this ride (at the top, kind of right over where the sun is shining through the opening).  They did this ride 6 times!

Daredevil Addi was only allowed on the tame rides, so she had to make do with the train!

Kieran and Kaleb enjoying a ride together

The true highlight last weekend was being able to celebrate Braelyn's 7th birthday!  She had a bike ride party and then wrapped up the festivities with watching the movie Frozen.  As we had taken Addison, we bid our good-night when the movie started, much to the boys' horror - complaining all the way to the car "Why do we ALWAYS have to leave first!??"  It is hard to be a Z-child, what a life - little did they know it would be so rough when they were born to this family!? :)

The birthday girl!

Enjoying a few minutes of the movie - even Addison ran up and got on a chair!

We have had a couple of marathon sleeping episodes - last weekend Addison slept in on Sunday (after being up later than normal at Braelyn's party) until 9:37A!  Amy was beginning to wonder if she should sneak in there and make sure there wasn't a medical emergency!  This Saturday, Kaleb returned the favor after a particularly long and fun Friday (more on that in next week's blog post!) - he slept in until 10:05!  These two are great, it makes a parent feel a little less guilty about keeping them up later at night on special occasions because they will actually sleep in and catch up on the missed sleep (unlike the older brother who will remain nameless....)

Addison is continuing to struggle with getting in her 4 new teeth - the terrible runny nose continues to come and go, sleep coming and going (multiple trips to rock her in the middle of the night, which is highly unusual), and fevers to top it all off.   She is precious as we're putting her to bed, she will be drinking her bottle and will always turn Amy's face so that their foreheads are touching....so sweet!

Where there is a will, there is a way - Addison wanted to sit higher in her little bus toy so that she could see over the dash, so she figured out that shes could put this stool on the bus seat and sit up on it and voila - problem solved!

Phrase of the week:  "My eyes are droopy!" - this was Zachary's phrase as he looked at himself in the mirror after being sleep deprived and saw the bags under his eyes!  If only you'd sleep in, it would be so much better!

Kaleb's 'phrase' is more of a story - he drew a Valentine's day story with Jennifer's help, and it was all about how he and his Mom were walking to church and came across monsters, and their adventure in evading the monsters and still making it to church! :)