Zachary: You're in Kindergarten!

Zachary, you've been waiting and you're so ready!  Your first day of school was on Monday, August 15th, 2016.  Your teacher is Mrs Lang.

All summer long, we've driven by your new school.  We've talked about all of the things you'd need to be ready and it's time.  And I'm thrilled for you.

You rode your bike (without training wheels) with your neighbor Brady, Karla, Max, and your Grandma Tormoehlen.  You had everyone there to cheer you on as you walked in.

I'll tell you that I didn't cry.  I bottled all of my fears and worry for the trust and faith you are protected and watched.

This is the start of everything awesome for you, Zachary!  I'm so proud to be your mom!

Kimbo

I've been wanting to come back to this for you boys, and today is the day.  So much has changed since I last posted, but today was a big one.

Today, our sweet Kimbo Slice Tormoehlen passed.  Your Dad and I cried for days.

I'm not sure how much you remember of Kimbo.  During his last years, he even became a bit of an ass.  Kimbo would often run away, pee in the house, be in the way, and would faithfully poop in Karla's lawn every morning.

Over the past few days, Kimbo's hips were no longer functioning.  He had trouble walking and couldn't hold his bladder.

Your Dad and I made the difficult decision to help him pass this afternoon.  The sad part is that he knew it.  He asked to spend his morning on the cool lawn.  He watched the birds and the cars, and closed his eyes in the sun.  It was his favorite spot.

I've been reading a book to you about Dog Heaven.  It talks about what a great place Dog Heaven is.  Filled with bunnies and biscuits. After reading the book last night, Zachary, you asked if we could get on an airplane to make sure Kimbo got to heaven safely.  I cried a lot when I heard that.  Max,  you asked if we could go to the farm when we were ready for a new dog.

I'm so sad for your Dad and I, but I'm so happy for Kimbo.  Living free of pain and running like crazy.  And he knows just how much he is loved.

Big Wheels

The boys received  Hot Wheels for their birthdays and love riding them around the cul de sac.  

So fun!

Dear Zachary, You're FOUR!

Oh, sweet Zachary.  You are such a love in our lives.  You are changing so much and it's incredible to watch.

You're learning to read at school and like your friends at school.

Favorite Things:

Favorite Color:" Red"

Favorite Show:  "Paw Patrol"

Best Friend: "Zach Bell"

Favorite Thing to Eat:" Pizza"

Favorite Song; "Sleep Eye"

Favorite Book: "Pete the Cat"

Favorite Snack "Popcorn"

Likes:  "Play Hide and Seek", "Playing toys with my Brother.  And sharing with him"

One of Dad's favorite Memory this past year:  He took you to the spooky Halloween store and you were totally fearless!  You liked looking at the spooky mannequins and running around the store laughing.

And another one:  Your Dad took you down the Alpine Slide in Breckenridge slide this summer.  You were so brave and loved flying down the hill.  

Some of your Mom's favorite Memories this year:  Taking you to Qdoba on the weekends, watching you eat beans and cheese and giving yourself a bean mustache.

Watching you play soccer in the summer.  You tried SO HARD on your team and I was so proud.

I also loved taking you to birthday parties.  You love being around other kids, especially older boys. 

Zachary, you are so strong and so brave.  You make us so proud everyday and we're so lucky you chose us to be your parents.  Thank you for teaching us patience, strength, and love.

Tormoehlen Boys Birthday Party

WOW!  What an awesome birthday the boys had.  We hosted their party at the Greenwood Athletic Club and had a sports party.  All of the kids played, jumped, and ran and there were smiles all around.

Zachary had the BIGGEST smile on his face the entire time and often talks about the party in the days following.  It was also special to have custom eggless cupcakes he could eat.  He talked about being able to eat his cake the days leading up to the party, so he knew it was a special treat.

Kyle and I had such a great day with our loved ones.  What a special and treasured moment for our family.

Max's 2nd Birthday

Max,
YOU ARE SUCH A LOVE IN OUR LIVES!

You turned two on Sunday.  Two year's old!

From the moment you came into my life, I knew you'd be the happiest kid on the planet.  You love to play and do everything the big boys get to do.  Your Dad and I love watching you play with other kids, always wanting to be included.

Some of your favorite things:

• Hot Wheels Cars
• How to Train Your Dragon
• Playing with soccer or footballs
• Anything with wheels: Toy Trucks, Cars, and Bikes
• Books.  You love to sit on my lap and read a book each night.  You'll stand by your shelf in your room, put your finger on your lip and say, "Hmmmmmm" as you consider all of your options.
• You talk SO MUCH!  You have an incredible vocabulary and communicate so well to us.  Just this morning, you said, "Mom, pancake downstairs."  Clear as day.  It's incredible.
• "I DO IT" is your answer to everything.  You need to try everything for yourself

We had an incredible party with friends and family on November 1st, we had a family celebration on November 2nd and your school party was on November 3rd.   You LOVE singing the Happy Birthday Song and blowing candles.

I'm so grateful for you Max.  I'm grateful everyday you chose me to be your mother and our family is stronger with you in it.

I love you to the moon and back, sweet son.  

School Party

Dinner at Qdoba with your outfit of choice

October 2014

October is here and the Tormoehlen Boys are as busy as ever!  

Both boys enjoy experiencing everything to do with Halloween! They have practiced Trick-Or-treating around our neighborhood and enjoy looking at all of the decorations.  Additionally, we read about Halloween every night with special books.

The boys decided just this week about being Ninjas for their big night.  Thank goodness for Amazon 2-day shipping, as we're cutting it close!  We plan to walk around the neighborhood with Karla and Brady's family.

In other big news, we had a follow up allergy appointment for Zachary and his allergies haven't gotten any better, therefore, he was recommended to start allergy shots in November.  Although we're nervous, we're so hopeful this treatment will help our sweet Zachary.  He just deserves to be a kid and Kyle and I are completely focused on helping him overcome his allergies.  The tests are emotionally and physically exhausting, but we're thankful we're more educated.  Hope no other parent I know has to put their little one though what Zachary has done.  He is so strong and so brave.

On a fun last note: One of the may highlights of the month was taking the boys to Chucky Cheese for Austin's 4th birthday.  You'll see from the photo below one photo of joy.  Max and Zachary had so much fun and enjoyed playing games and eating everything in sight.

I've been having so much fun with the boys on the weekends, and it's increasingly challenging to head into work on Mondays. They are so wonderful and I'm amazed how blessed I am to be chosen as their mom.

Big Birthday Party this weekend!  I'm getting so excited!

The Boys' Silly Pumpkin

Sweet Zachary.  These were the results of his weeds test.  He's clearly SUPER allergic

Zachary's FIRST Broncos Game

Zachary got to attend the Broncos vs Seahawks game in August and he had a blast!  We arrived early enough for him to see Thunder on the field and kept asking me why there was a horse on the field.

He had a dinner of nachos and soft pretzels and enjoyed running up and down the concourses.

It was a great experience I was thankful to have and I'm excited to take him again! Go Broncos!

June is Already Over!

Lots happening in the Tormoehlen house!

June was a blur.  We celebrated Colin and Dylan's birthdays, I went on a vacation with college girlfriends, we took the boys to their first Rockies games, and we spent the past weekend in Greeley for Grandma and Grandpa Rady's 70th Anniversary!  Phew!

In-between all of this, we took a quick hour to snap some updated family photos.  I'm so thankful for them, as it's obvious how much the boys have been growing.

Here's an update on everyone:

Kyle:  Kyle has started his own business, Healthcare Transaction Advisers.  He's now has flexible hours and can do the things he wanted.  Hopefully it will take off and he will be very successful.  I'm sure it will!

Zachary:  He's now moved up to the preschool room.  There are many kids in the room, ranging in age from 3-6 years old, so it's been a big transition.  He's enjoying the summer program, bringing his bike to school, splash days, and walking to the park. He also finished another soccer season with Kyle as the coach.

Zachary's Favorite Things:
- The shows, "Paw Patrol", "Little Einsteins" and "How to Train Your Dragon" movie
- Pete the Cat and Curious George books
- Eating Dark Chocolate
- Riding bikes and swimming

Zachary Silly Things:
- Zachary talks about his butt all of the time.  He'll insert it into songs, giggle about his butt or other's butt and even ended up in the Principal's office for saying it too much at school.
- He loves wearing snow boots, even in June.
- He loves getting naked
- He has a spot on the couch.  Don't ever sit there.  Even the dog gets in trouble
- He's 3, so has to do everything himself.  He has to put his syrup on his pancakes.  He has to start his own movies.  Bossy, bossy.
- He likes catching miller moths with Max

Max Favorite Things:
- Watching movies with his brother
- Signing songs.  Now it's "If You're Happy and You Know It"
- Reading books in his room before bed
- HOT WHEELS.  He'll take inventory every morning and likes to line them up on the tile
- Eating everything in the fridge
- Dogs.  Looking at dogs, hugging dogs, everything dogs
- Looking for trucks on the road
Also, his vocabulary is HUGE!  He says many words like, "Please, Octopus, Lawn mower, Thank- You, Brother, Shark, Giraffe, Mouse, Bug, Night-night, Bed, Book, Diaper"....on and on.  He's quite the talker and it's over the top cute


Max Silly Things:
- He hates his diaper changed because it forces him to take a break from playing
- He demands eating fruit snacks before the bath and drinking ice cold water before bed
- He likes to wear his swimsuit but doesn't like to get in the water
- He LOVES wearing his flip flops
- He likes to wear hats.  Any hat will do.
- He likes to eat Oreo's.  He'll twist them to separate

This weekend is the 4th of July.  We'll be showing Zachary the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating competition, which has been a tradition with Kyle and I since we were dating.  Hope he thinks it's as silly as we do!

We're busy, but we're blessed.  Our boys are the best and it's great to be their mom!