Growing

I have not updated everyone on the boys lately.  They are still all boy and growing up really fast, well in my eyes. It is hard to believe they will be 3 years old in about 4 months. Wow. It was when they turned 1 that everything was so vivid in my mind about the different milestones achieved up to that point and I think it is because things tend to happen at certain times within the first 12 months. Even though I like to say I have a good memory, I openly admit that NOW I have to go back through some files, pictures, and baby books to really recall certain times in their lives.  Thus I know it will get even more challenging to recall parts of their lives the older they get. I hear parents now when I ask them what did your child do around this time, or if I am seeking advice, etc and the response is fairly typical, “you know I have a hard time recalling. It has been so long.” I do my best to cherish every moment I have with them so I don’t find myself saying those exact words.  At times it seems like I want them to grow up fast (not too fast) so that we can connect on a different level.  As much as I try to stop myself, the boys in general are I think inclined to be ready for any next phase or step in their lives. They are smart little cookies for sure. I am so full of life when I see excitement beaming from their faces because of something they accomplished. For example the other night when we got home from work Steve’s parents were over and Joyce took Jack in to use the potty and boy did he go! Of course he was rewarded with a little treat. There was clapping and jumping up and down and he got the biggest grin on his face it was so cute. This certainly got our little Zachary to eventually go and of course he got the same treatment.

We still love how they love each other. Their actions towards each other can be the sweetest thing ever. They do get so excited when one has been up in the morning and eventually the other wakes up and walks into our room. Just the other morning Jack was up first so he hangs out with us while we get ready for work. Eventually Zach woke up and made his way into our room. Jack yelled Zach’s name and walked over and gave him a hug. Melt my heart. Of course they are siblings and they have their moments when they don’t get along. We do have to chuckle because when they don’t get along it can be a little funny. Zach will get so upset with his brother for taking something and he will just walk up to him and push him. Jack of course not giving up will walk over to Zach and push him back and then this will lead to pinching of the arm or biting. That of course is not funny. But it is fascinating to us how they never really lash out towards us but they don’t think twice when it comes to each other. They are quick to say sorry followed by a hug…so we have that going for us. J

The boys are definitely comedians and I can only imagine their personalities will just get goofier by the minute. That said I have a quick story to share. If you have been following our blog you will know that we are all sick. I don’t feel we are that bad, and try to still live our life by moving around or staying on the go for energy. Well, Zacharooni woke up 5 times one night last week because the little boy was just miserable…stuffy nose, you name it. How could you blame him? Let me paint this picture. The following night at dinner I am cleaning up the table, rug, and getting the food out of every nook and cranny of the booster sit, Steve is trying to finish up his hot meal. Jack and Zach are trying to bond with daddy by climbing on the bench seat wanting his dinner. So I look at Zach and I asked, Zach, can you tell Mama why you got up so much last night? Jack is looking at Zach and Zach looks at me with the expression of hmm, what do I say and out of his mouth comes, Ummmm??? Steve and I just start laughing. I thought I needed to duck from the food flying out of Steve’s mouth (okay maybe overplayed a little). I am certain he was thinking of something creative and he did. It is moments like that when the boys are starting to be sillier than ever with the things they say. Another moment we get to snicker about is when they like calling out everyone names, almost as if they are taking role call at the dinner table. It seems like every time we sit down for our family dinner the boys like to take names of who they are sitting with and I sense they are trying to break the record for who can say it the fastest. Oh, and we cannot forget the finger pointing that goes along with it. Almost always we hear out of one of them, Zach, dada, mama, me. And vice versa if it is Zach. Throw others into the mix and it makes for an eventful dinner time. If the boys don’t know you but they recognize you are a boy and not a girl then you instantly get labeled as guy. Jack’s new word to say is nope and he does not use it maliciously. He really likes to emphasize the “p”. It is quite funny. J It sometimes sounds like nope and other times it sounds like noop.

Yes, they are growing up each day and becoming really good with learning new things, and not to mention they really know their routine and what is expected…for the most part if not distracted. We always find it funny watching them get ready for their nightly routine. I would love to take a video of them but I am now more cautious of “exposing” them the older they get. So I hope you can envision this in your mind as you read. The boys at one point loved taking bubble baths. They used to love putting the soap suds on the wall and then rinse it down, or pretend they were Santa and put the suds on their face like a beard. NOW they absolutely love taking showers and they started to enjoy taking them a few months after turning 2. Again, let me paint a picture for you of how this goes down. It starts after hanging out for a little downstairs, typically playing with one of us while the other cleans up from the day. All we have to say is okay let’s clean up and make our way upstairs to take a shower. Yikes you thought that Bob the Builder just walked through the front door. The boys excitedly help clean up and can I just add they do a good job in that department. Zach is really good about stacking things neatly. Hmmm, maybe takes after me?  All while you hear shower, shower, shower. They know what to do. They go to the play room and start taking off their clothes. They have not mastered taking the shirt off just yet but are almost there…95%. I think it depends on the shirt actually. So, they strip themselves down to their diaper. They take off their diaper and collect that and their clothes and run over to their closet. They put the dirty clothes in the laundry basket and throw their diaper away. Pause: sometimes when I do their laundry I will find some diapers. HA. Thankfully clothes have not gone missing (like in the garbage can) and the diaper is just slightly wet. They just get very excited about shower time and decide to throw the diaper in with the dirty clothes.  Continue: They gather a few toys for the shower. They love playing with their Lego’s in the shower because they can fill up the bottom with water and then pour it out. Sounds fun, huh?! J They run to the bathroom, put their toys down, go pee pee in the little potty, flush (the pee really does not flush down…we have to empty it; just all part of the fun going pee pee), and they grab their towel, run back in their room to grab a diaper, and then they haul you know what to our bathroom for shower time. They love our shower for some reason. Yes, they do all this on their own without us telling them. On occasion we have to remind them to go pee pee, but they are good about remembering. What makes this even more exciting is all while doing this they are running and hopping. On occasion one of them will smack their butt while running too. Craziness. And um for the record the butt smacking they don’t get from me. HA. The boys love this time of the evening and enjoy standing under the running water, playing with their toys. We then have a quiet evening where we have a little bedtime snack and water or even warm milk. They still love their warm milk. J We either read books or watch a little Fireman Sam while they enjoy their nibbles of fruit or saltine crackers topped with PB and raisins.

I feel like so much happens with them so fast that now things to me are just more or less normal. They are talking like crazy and it is so funny to hear them trying to speak sentences. We often hear when we get home and if we are just cuddling with them that one of the boys will point at us and say Mama Dada home or if we are driving by the Fire Station it is fire night night (because the garage doors are closed and that means the trucks are sleeping wink wink). Their ability to recognize numbers, colors, and shapes gets better each day. We are really proud of them and a special thank you to “K K” aka Karley for working with them diligently last year because look at where they are at today. We first started working with them on shapes last year with puzzles and blocks. As to not overwhelm them we would start to implement letters by introducing the first half of the alphabet followed by all letters. Next came numbers and they are doing very well. The boys have even turned this into a game whether they are telling us a color of an object or number. For example I cannot remember what I was doing but I had two of something and Zach just looks at me and says two while holding up his fingers. And now if I ask him to come over by me or go downstairs, etc he responds one. Get it…he is trying to tell me one minute. J HA. I will confirm, wait one minute and then I get yes. If Zach and Jack are playing with Lego’s one will say Mom Mom Mom until they have my attention. Once I look over they proceed to tell me the color of the Lego in their hand. They are getting good about recognizing written names, such as their own. It is fun when we work with them on numbers. They do really good repeating after us and even by themselves as they look through books with numbers. However, there are times when we are not practicing our numbers and you hear Zach in the background 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 8, 9. HA. He loves 8 and 9. They really have made some leap and bounds since turning the big 2 last year and we could not be happier with their development. There is so much more they do and if I documented it all this post would be never ending.  As Steve tends to say, wrote another novel huh? J I truly cannot help it.

Last night we took the boys down to San Clemente Pier to watch the waves and trains. We did see a few trains and the boys waved bye bye to all those going home. We then decided to stop at Fisherman’s for dinner and sat outside. It was the most beautiful night. It was so toasty warm sitting under the heaters that we were all feeling a bit warm and had to take our jackets (and hats) off. We were there for happy hour. They have a different happy hour menu each night and so we decided we will go back and try their steak tacos. Yum Yum. I have not been taking a whole lot of pictures simply because it seems like we were on the go and then had friends visiting, but I did take a couple with my phone while at dinner. Jack was being a stinker and would not look! J

Zacharoo

Jackson playing hard to get

Well, until next time. I look forward to sharing with you all the latest and greatest with Jackson and Zachary!