We're 2!

We're 2! Zach, Mom, Luke, Dad and Eli

Hi all! Sorry it's been a while since my last blog, but it's been a little crazy around here!

The biggest news is that we're expecting a new baby in May! This was a completely unplanned blessing - it's just amazing what God can do. We are all so excited (the boys don't know exactly what's going on, but they looove babies!) I had an ultrasound and we're pretty sure it's just one baby this time. I'm pretty tired but, as usual, John is stepping it up and really taking over so much of what I have to do so I can get extra rest. Talk about a blessing!

Next big news is the boys turned 2! I can't believe how fast time goes, even though everyone tells you it's so. They are awesome, active, loving little boys. I will try to write more about each in a later post - I want to get this one out with all their vitals and (most importantly) some great pics from birthday and Halloween. Here are the results from our pediatrician appointment this morning:

Luke - Height: 36" (88%)

Weight: 27 lb (37%) - he's a skinny dude, but still pretty tall!

Eli - Height: 37-1/2" (98%)
Weight: 31 lb 6 oz (85%) - Eli has taken over as the heaviest (I knew this - he's hefty!)

Zach - Height: 38-1/2" (>99%)

Weight: 31 lb 2 oz (83%) - If you double his height now, he will be 6' 5" - and you're not supposed to double it until they're like 2-1/2 - he's going to be huge!

We had a party for the boys on their actual birthday, October 30. We all had such a great time! They were totally into this year. When we ask them how old they are, they all shout out "Two!" and hold up two fingers! They're really into cars, trains and planes this year, so they got so many cool toys as gifts. They also got lots of alphabet things - Elmo microphones that sing the ABC's and a really cool ABC mat for in their bedroom. They're so into the ABC's - they know all of their letters already! Here are some cool pics from the birthday...

Next day is Halloween. I mean, can I have a busier week? But we go it all together and the boys really enjoyed it this year. They walked around to all of the neighbors, said "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you" relatively often. I was so proud! It really was a fun time!

Zachie Moocow, Eli Bumblebee and Lukie Puppy Dog! They picked out their own costumes - with some guidance from Mama!

Zach loved his costume

Luke was OK with his costume - he hung in there!

Eli got used to his costume soon after this picture!

Visit from Gramma!

Zach, John, Luke, Eli and Gramma

We had such a wonderful visit from John's Gramma Brit a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to share about it because it was such a special time, that if I can't get it into the baby books, at least it's on the Blog! She lives in Tucson and just loves to spend time with the boys, so we brought her up for a weekend at the Z-Ranch. We had a great time - mostly just hanging out because the boys are completely enamored of her! From the minute she walked in the door, the boys just did not want her out of their sight. After saying "hi" and giving lots of hugs to all of the boys, she wanted to get settled into her room. I tried to coral them, but one kid slipped through and barged right in on her! I was horrified, but she totally laughed it off.

No privacy for Gramma! (Or the boys!)

One thing Brit loves is to swim, so we all went for a nice morning swim before it got too hot. Here's another great picture from that day...

Eli is such a sweetie! They all are - mostly!

Speaking of Eli... Little Eli had another ER visit. We were having such a nice time folding laundry in the spare room, where there is a really old AM/FM alarm radio. The kids love to play with the radio - they even find good songs to dance to! So that day, someone found Gloria Estefan "Come on shake your body baby do the conga" - remember that song? We were all jammin' when BAM! Eli spins himself right into the corner of the wall at high velocity and short distance. No, it wasn't a "I just turned my back for a second" moment (as someone nicely suggested at the hospital later on) - I watched it happen in horror. So I swooped him up really quick and the blood just started pumping. I didn't freak out too badly because I know that head wounds bleed profusely. It was difficult trying to calm Eli down, stop the bleeding, and try to block out the sound of the rest of the sympathetic trio. Luckily John was home from work so he helped get things under control, then I took Eli to the hospital. This time we went to a pediatric ER - it was so cool! Everything was (obviously) centered around kids and making the experience as easy as possible. He did pretty well; left with a Popsicle, stuffed Elmo, 3 stitches and the hearts of all the nursing staff. How could you resist this guy?

More to come soon! Also, lots of photos on Facebook!

Some cute stories

Zach - didn't like giraffe up close and personal so much






Eli thought that giraffe was alright!







Luke was ready to jump into the habitat!



I wanted to share a couple of cute things about the boys, because these are the things I forget so soon. They are tiny, insignificant milestones and memories, but they're what become our lives, so I don't want to forget them all. Plus, I want to share with you guys some of these things you really should see to believe!

Cool New Skill: Moonwalking

Eli is too cool for school

The boys absolutely love to dance - yippee! There's nothing funnier than watching kids dance, and it's even better when there are three of them! Their current favorite genre is classic R&B, and Stevie Wonder is our favorite artist. So we're always trying to teach the boys to do funny stuff, and sometimes it works. I showed them how to moonwalk on Friday, because I saw Eli making some of the motions. Then on Saturday, "Very Superstitious" came on, his whole face lit up and he just started moonwalking back about 20 feet! He never even tripped! I almost fell over I was so laughing and clapping so hard. Too cute! I tried so hard to get this on video to no avail. I'll stay on it!

Runner-Up Cool Skill: Dribbling


Happy Zachy!

The same day that Eli moonwalked, I caught Zachary dribbling a ball. OK, this child is 20-1/2 months old , 36 inches tall and dribbling a basketball! I'm soooo excited! What else can I say??

Word of the Day: Button

All of the boys are coming along great with picking up words, and one they really have down pat is button (pronounced But-TON). You would be amazed at how many things can be (and are)called "button": light switches (all of them), buttons on remotes, appliances, phones; and of course, the favorite: belly. "Belly button" is always accompanied by the child saying it also trying to locate it on the nearest person, and then beeping it. Consider yourself warned!

Grown up Trick of the Day: Fastening (aka closing, latching, buckling, snapping, etc...)

Luke, the mad Genius!

Luke is a little thinker, there's just no denying it! He can now pretty much fasten anything that he comes to - you know, like baby things. The snaps and buckles on his and the other boys' carseats, which are all different, the buckles on the swing and the booster seats, the gate latches - all of these things he can close. So the only reason I'm still sane and Luke is safely sleeping in his crib is that he can only close or lock things, he can't open them yet. Thank you, Good Lord! I hope his listening skills keep up with his engineering skills!

Sweet Moment of the Day: They boys are starting to be helpful around the house. I'm serious! They really try to pitch in with whatever I'm doing. Today they were helping me change their sheets, and as I was finishing up I looked over and they had each laid down on his back in a three-sided pinwheel on the pile of old sheets and were gazing up at the stars on their ceiling. It was so sweet to see them genuinely enjoying each other, and their room, and it seemed like life in general. Nice!

Have a great week!

Fun Times

Luke, Eli and Zach (all in stripes) at the Library story time

We've been doing a lot of fun, new things lately! The extremely hot summer is forcing us to find some new indoor activities, which is always interesting. We took the boys to out to lunch and then the Play Factory over the weekend. The Play Factory is an indoor play area with all kinds of insane climbing contraptions and even a huge bouncy slide. The amigos did so well! No pictures though, because John and I were running like crazy to keep up with all of them. Then Tuesday we went to the Children's Museum of Phoenix. It was their third "birthday" so all triplets got in free! I had been wanting to check it out but was a little leery of taking the boys myself. So, since it was free, we went and had an awesome time! Luke was way into it - there was so much to explore!

Zachy

Word of the Day: Peach - I was giving the boys a whole peach to eat for the first time, and Zach immediately said "ball"! I usually let things like this slide (since it does look like a ball), but since we were eating I thought I'd correct him. So I said, "No Zachy, it's a peach". Then it goes like this:

Zachy: Ball!

Me: Peach!

Zachy: Ball!

Me: No, Zachy, we eat the peach

Zachy: Ball!

Me: See, take a bite of the PEACH

Zachy: Ball!

Me: Yep, eat the ball!

Sweet Moment of the Day: Eli found two cookies, and Daddy said "Eli, why don't you give a cookie to your brother?" Then Eli walked right over and put a cookie in Luke's mouth. What a sweetie! All of the boys are starting to share with each other on their own initiative, but still not when asked to. They're getting there!

Eli being sweet

Cool skill: Luke is a little jumping bean! You should see the way he hops across the trampoline - he covers about 4 feet horizontal distance on a good bounce - no joke. It's so cute - he really enjoys bouncing! Since I started this post (ohhhh so long ago) Eli has started bouncing with two feet too. It's so fun to see them develop!

Luke

We're all doing really great. No sicknesses or injuries - oops, forgot to mention Eli! We had our first ER visit a couple of weeks ago. Eli's poor melon slammed into the glass door to our patio at high velocity. Unfortunately, the child does this a lot, so we weren't overly worried, until he started vomiting. The pediatrician wanted a CAT scan to be sure he was OK, so we went, and had a really good ER experience at Arrowhead hospital. It was so fast and relatively painless (except for poor Eli's melon). It turned out that he did have a concussion but not a serious one, and no need to worry. Cool! I breathed easy until we got home and Eli started vomiting again! I was freaking out then! Luckily I called the ER before heading back, and the doctor said that when a small child has a head injury, they almost always vomit when they get home from the hospital. Weird, right? But I thought I'd pass that along to avoid some other mother having a near heart attack! So, the first of probably many hospital visits turned out not bad.

Have a great week everyone! Late shout out to all the Dad's too - especially big daddy JZ! What a man, husband and father - he is the most lovong, involved, engaged dad I've had the pleasure to witness.

"No, I'm not lucky, I'm blessed!"

Mother's Day 2011

Eli, Luke Mama and Zach, in their swimming suits

on the swing we refinished

Hey! Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the Momma's I didn't get to talk to. I love to take the time to celebrate Mother's Day. It gives us a chance to really stop and think about the amazing blessing that children are in our lives, and what an honor it is to be the Mama to three sweet little boys.

It's also another day to be spoiled for me, by John, and hopefully in the future, by my three little kiddos! I got to sleep in and didn't really have to do much all day but appreciate my husband, our kids, and our life. We took a bunch of pictures so I'll share them with you with a few cute stories about the boys...

Luke is just a cool little guy! I can't wait to see what he's like as he grows and develops. One thing that he's started to do is really to "talk" (in baby language) A LOT! It's so cute! When his brothers are still in their booster seats from eating, or in their crib after waking up, he always goes up to them and talks about I-don't-know-what! It's really emphatic and energetic. He's also still polishing his mechanical skills - what fun. He knows every weakness in our gate system (which is extensive) so if I forget to latch one thing, he's out. He's very careful in his inspection too - quickly checking for loopholes. What a trip!

Eli wasn't feeling good in on Mother's Day, hence the dazed and confused expression. He has really become a little love machine! He started the trend by kissing the phone when John was out of town, and now he's kissing the phone ALL the time, kissing pictures of cats in books, just everything! It is so sweet and precious. Another thing he does is sing. He has a medium "talking" voice - not too high or too low. But when he sings it's always really high and melodic, and he sings pretty much any time he feels like it or if we ask him too. The other day he was singing and I was watching him, and he just stopped, came over and kissed me! That just melted my heart!

Zach is a little social bug. Every time we go anywhere where there are lots of people, he disappears, but can always be found close by, right in the middle of some family's outing or a bunch of older kids playing in the sand. He just goes right in and makes himself at home! He's such a tender, loving boy that everyone is happy when he joins them (usually!). He definitely likes to play with others and is very tolerant of other kids. He's a joy!

Mama, Eli, Zach and Luke after a good long day

Boys checking out their Easter baskets. In Arizona,

you can hide them outside. Isn't that fun?

Easter was great, and a time of firsts for the boys. They went on their first Easter egg hunt. They did well, but needed lots of guidance still; luckily Nana and cousin Maddy were there, so each kid had a helper. Next year will be crazy I'm sure!

Zach

Eli (hard to get him in action!)

Luke had it down no problemo!

Nice big ol' family dinner - 10 of us!

Hope you all have a great week! More to come soon (hopefully!)

Just Playin' Outside

Luke on left, Zach on right, Eli ducked just as I was taking the picture!

It seems like every time someone asks me what we've been up to, I say, "Just playin' outside". John and I put together a play area-slide-thing last week and the boys have been loving it. The weather here is great, a little hot but I don't want to complain when I think of my friends in PA and CO! So every day we've been just hangin' in the backyard for a couple of hours at least, and we're enjoying it while it lasts! Here are some pics of the guys playing:

Zach loves to play with balls, and that was one of his forst words

Some funny stories I've been wanting to share... We've been going to an indoor play area at a local church every week and it is sooo fun! The boys are getting to play with lots of different toys from what we have, which is neat. Today they were all hanging out in the area with the little kitchen and table and chairs. They were chewing on plastic hamburgers, beating little bowls with spoons, checking out the little mini fridge - very cute. I can't wait until their next birthday! So anyway, one week I found Zachy pushing a little girl probably twice his age (that would make her a mature 3) on a swing. So cute!! He had never been around one of those little stand alone toddler swings before, but he has seen me and other people push on swings. He just looked so gallant - very calmly and easily pushing the little girl!

Check out Eli;s dimples and choppers!

Eli has taken strongly to singing. I'm not always sure what moves him, but he'll just stop what he's doing, sway from side to side and sing, in a higher pitch that his usual voice, little syllables and cooing. It's so sweet, and he really feels it. All of the boys seem to like music, but I think that might be true of all babies. They definitely all jam to certain songs on the radio. I haven't exactly figured out their tastes yet, but Luke rocks out to all different music types, from cell phone ring tones to country. Zach likes a lot of bass, which he gets from both of his parents. Eli seems to like softer, sweeter music, like the little songs that their toys play and Elmo songs really get him swaying.

Isn't Luke a sweetie pie?

Sweet little Luke... there's a story that I'm not writing about him, because I don't want to embarrass any of my children (too much) if they should ever happen upon this little "ode to Amigos". He is a sweet, angel baby, but I have seen the dark side of Luke, let's just put it that way! He has just started really saying words, so now all of them are saying a few words and I think it's going to snowball. Luke talks the most, but it's just unintelligible (to us? to the other babies?- who knows?). Zach says the most words, and Eli is just coming along great too.

Eli is very adventurous on all new toys - I think he's

about to walk down the slide here.

My Dad and I talk usually every day, and he always talks to the boys on the speakerphone. Well, the other afternoon I called him because they were chattering a lot and I thought he'd like to hear it. So when I had the speakerphone up I said, "Say hi to Pappy" and Zach distinctly said "Pap pap". We were both (Dad and I) so excited, that it made Zach excited too. The next day, almost the same thing happened but with Eli! Neither of them had ever said it before, and they both said it while he was on the phone. I thought that was so cool!

So the boys are really growing up! Pretty soon I won't be able to call them babies anymore. Toddlers are fun too!

We're Back!

Eli, Luke and Zach - learning to eat with spoons!

Sorry for the long absence. We have had serious technical difficulties at the Z-Ranch, including a fried computer, missing software, etc. You don't even want to know the details! I will give lots of updates on the boys, to bring you all up to speed!

15 Month Appointment

This was on January 26. Everyone is doing great health-wise now, except for seemingly interminable cold bugs getting passed back and forth! Here are the stats:

Luke

Height: 31-1/2 inches (65%)

Weight: 23 lbs, 12 oz (66%)

Eli

Eli's favorite hat is a custom tupperware bowl

Height: 33-1/4 inches (98%)

Weight: 26 lbs, 10 oz (92%)

Zach

Height: 34-1/2 inches (>99%)

Weight: 26 lbs, 2 oz (90%)

So as a summary, they're all big boys! Zach is literally off-the-charts tall, and Eli has taken over as the heaviest for the first time. Luke is still smaller, but he's growing fast and furious too!

We had a really nice Valentine's Day! I made shirts for the boys - boys Valentine's shirts are hard to find!

Zach, Eli and Luke - "We Love You!"

We've been enjoying the warm weather lately. We play outside in the yard or at the park usually every day. The boys are starting to get really adventurous on the playground equipment, and it's super cute, but also super scary. So far, no major injuries - for me or the kids!

Eli loves to do yard work already!

Zach, Eli and Luke - I couldn't resist!

Just a few comments on what the boys are up to... Zach is a talker! I never would have thought he'd be the one, but that child imitates almost any word you say! He says on his own now: ball, book, Bible, moo (as in the cow sound), bird, purple, cracker, cake, bye-bye, dad (obviously), and probably lots more I can't think of right now. It's so cute! I can't wait to hear all of their sweet little voices (I know, I hear many of you laughing hysterically!).

Luke is a little shape sorter! For those of you without small kids, this probably sounds weird. We have a couple of shape balls and blocks, where you fit the shapes into the right holes, and Luke is the master! He gets so intense when he's putting those blocks in - it's really cute! Once he gets going, the other ones want in on the fun too, so that might cause issues. We're trying to figure out sharing and NOT stealing from each other!

Eli is just so adventurous! It's funny because he doesn't like new things at first, but he's usually the one to explore new places and get into new things. He's really social with other kids too - he has no problem just taking off into a room full of kids. Again, the stealing issue comes up, but we're working on it! He's also really good with pointing out his body parts. All of the boys are pretty well-versed in body parts, but Eli performs! He'll show off to neighbors and friends with a big, dimpled smile, even chomping up and down to show off his 50 teeth!

Some quick family/friend news... Please pray for my Gram - she recently had a hip surgery and is recovering. Congrats to Staci on the new job and Barbara for retiring - rock on sisters! More to come soon, including super cool St. Patricks Day shirts!

Here We Go Steelers!

Eli sporting his Steeler gear

OK, I know I haven't blogged in a while and there are so many more important things going on in our lives.. but GO STEELERS!!!! We had such a fun day today. Phoenix is a beautiful place to live, especially in the winter with three little guys who love to go outside. It was about 72 degrees and sunny, so we went outside and jumped in a leaf pile and just generally explored the whole back yard.

Eli on left, Luke on right and Zach in the back

Then the boys went down for a nap at 2:30, which coincided perfectly with the start of the game. If you watched the game, you know the first half was dismal. The Steelers weren't playing well and the prospects didn't look good against a tough Ravens defense. So the boys woke up at halftime (wearing their Steelers gear, of course!) and I said, "OK, you have to be our good luck charms!" And don't you know, the Steelers rocked the whole second half! The boys were so excited to see us clapping and cheering! At one point, John and I roared with excitement on a long completed pass, and all three of the boys just burst into tears! It took us at least 15 minutes to get them calmed down! Hopefully, next week they will be awake for the whole game!

Other than that, we've been having a lot of fun. It's been so warm here lately that we've been able to go to the park almost every day. The boys continue to amaze me with what they can do. All of the boys climb up the steps of the play area (which is neat because we don't have steps here at the house) and Zach and Eli both go down the slide by themselves - usually on their bellies! It freaked me out the first time Zachy came flying down, but he was fine and loved it! They went on their first swings the other day, and Luke and Zach liked it, but Eli needs a few more times to get used to it, I think.

They're really starting to be so sweet to each other, too. Luke is especially empathetic - he will go over and gently touch a brother who is crying, and even give them his cup.

Eli and Luke playing together

Eli kissed Zach tonight (I really thought it was going to be a bite!) No teeth involved though - which is hard since Eli now has 15 teeth! Can you believe that? Thank goodness he only uses them for good (so far!).

Poor Richards lives on! Zachy carries on the tradition of the hat

(Nadine and Big E, you know what I'm talking about!)

Luke waving - I almost caught it!

Hope everyone is recovering from a busy Christmas and getting used to this new year. I have a feeling it's going to be a great one!

Zach, Eli and Luke at the aquarium at Cabela's -

Daddy's little boys!