Year in Review

The year is drawing to a close, and what a year it has been!  Last week, my Squadron had a Christmas party, and Santa showed up!  Nikolai was wicked excited, Max was wicked scared, and Zander was wicked confused...  Our pictures of them were good, but not great.  We are considering getting another camera that can take pictures faster.  The camera that we have now takes great pictures, but it takes ~30 seconds for warm-up between shots!  Not so good if you want to capture the fast action of the toddlers...

Nikolai has been playing with his "Leap-Pad plus Writing."  (and he says it that way everytime - he can't just call it the leap pad...  Pretty funny!)  He is so smart...  I can't believe that he is reading and writing!  He will write a word on his Magna-Doodle, and then he will write a word, but then we have to draw a picture of whatever word he wrote.  It is a lot of fun, but it is not always easy to draw the word "jump" or "newt."  We had our neighbor babysit the other day, and Nikolai was explaining that, "Max is my little brother, and Zander is littler.  Anyhoo..."  Wonder where he got that from!  Then he told her, "I need some lovin'.  Lovin' is huggin' and huggin' is lovin'..."  Funny Nikolai story:  The other day, Niko saw a picture of him and Max (taken before Zander was born) - Nikolai asked why Zander was not born yet; he was still in Mommy's tummy.  Nikolai thought about this for a minute, and said, "Mommy, were you hungry for Zander?"  So cute...

Max is doing great!  It is great to watch him shadow Nikolai - they both play together very well...  Nikolai will sneak in a push when we are not looking, but Max doesn't quite get the idea that Mom and Dad are not supposed to be looking when he does something wrong!  We'll look right at him, and he will get his licks in to Nikolai the way only a 20 month old can!  He knows most of his animal sounds now - Our favorite is to get him to make a pig sound - he really gets into it by wrinkling up his nose and snorting like a champ!  Such a cute boy...

Zander is battling his first cold.  He went to the Doctor yesterday, and fortunately he does not have an ear infection.  Last night his temperature spiked to 103.3 - makes us very nervous!  Zander wants to feel well, and he is doing his best to act like he is not sick, but looking at him you can tell that he doesn't feel well...  Pam has bee supermom - holding him all night and comforting the restlessness - she is great with the boys.

We are planning a low key Christmas here in Missouri.  Please keep the troops who can not be home in your thoughts and your prayers - If it weren't for them, we wouldn't enjoy all the freedoms that we have!  We hope that you and your families have a wonderful Christmas, and a happy and prosperous New Year!  Check out all of the new pictures, and drop us a line when you get a chance!

4 Dec 04

Wow!  A busy few weeks to be certain...  First of all - Happy 3rd Birthday to Nikolai!  Woo-Hoo!  We had a GREAT party for him - social event of the year!  HA!  Pam went WAY above and beyond to ensure that her little boy had a Birthday to remember.  The theme?  What else?  BLUES CLUES!!!  Which meant all of the details - a Blue's Clues cake - All of the supporting characters, and even a clue cake.  I don't think that Nikolai has ever been happier...  With the help of his brothers and friends, he tore into his gifts like only a Tolmoff could!  So cute - all captured on video and pictures to cherish for years to come...

My parents also came to visit for Thanksgiving!  It was a great time to have them here...  Nikolai had my Mom wrapped up reading to him for hours at a stretch - Nikolai even did some of the reading to my mom, too!  Max and Zander loved to cuddle with her as well, and she was more than willing to spoil them with hugs and kisses.  My Dad was even caught playing with the boys a few times!  Not his style, but the boys' persistence paid off in tricking him into playing...  Overall, it was a great time! Pam's Thanksgiving Dinner was spectacular as always, and we were all thankful for spending time with our family.  Pam didn't get to see her parents over T-giving, but we will be seeing them soon!

Max is really starting to chat it up!  He can partially say a lot of words, and he knows what he likes and what he doesn't like.  He still sits in a high chair to eat, and when he is not such a fan of something, he will smuggle the food into the side of the high chair - so when you try to to pick him up, there is food everywhere!  It is pretty funny.  It is so great to watch Max and Nikolai play together - they are all going to be the best of friends.  Even when Zander cries, Max and Nikolai will both go over to him and start playing with him, tickling his feet and giving him toys - anything to make him stop!  Usually it ends up with the three of them laughing up a storm.  There is nothing as contagious as a child's laughter - or a raging case of herpes!

Pam has been a champ this holiday season holding the house together - we have all been wicked busy, but nobody more so than her!  My Dad mentioned that anytime he was awake, Pam was awake!  Not untrue...  Fortunately Zander is sleeping better now - We finally turned on the heat in the house, so Zander's room is no longer an ice-box!  We have been loving it, but I think he was thinking that enough is enough!

Nikolai's potty training is going really well - He will now tell us when he has to go potty, because he knows that his reward is two M&Ms!  And of course "me too" is right behind him to get his share!  Every time Nikolai goes potty, we give Max an M&M, too.  Otherwise there would be chaos in the house!  We hope that the other two kids see "big brother" doing it, and the potty training goes even easier with them...

Funny Nikolai story - he was running around the house without a diaper on, and he grabbed both of his butt cheeks - we asked him what he was doing, and he told us, "I'm grabbing my butt-chins!"  Close, but no cigar!  HA!

The reason that it has been 3 weeks since we updated the website is because I made a new Video!  It came out great - I always want to put in more pix and make it really long, but I showed great restraint...  I also made a wicked family collage to be displayed in our house - here is a trimmed down version - the actual size is 20x30 inches!  I have done this in the past, and they usually come out really nice...

I am almost done with my B-2 training!  I only have my checkride remaining!  It shouldn't be too difficult, but checkrides are always a pain in the butt.  I was cancelled 3 different times due to weather - that is what put me so far back.  The sad part is that I am furthest ahead of the guys in my class!  The B-2 is not quite as robust as the A-10 in terms of maintenance reliability!  Wish me luck...

Lots of great stuff going on!  Make sure you check out all of the new pictures, as well as the new video!  Drop us a line and let us know how you are!

14 Nov 04

Zander has finally eaten solid food!  He was so cute - for the last couple of months, he would stare at whatever we were eating with such intensity...  He was more than interested with what we were doing, that he would pretty much stop doing whatever it was to see what we were eating.  We knew he was ready!  His first taste of rice cereal was pretty funny.  He gave "what the hell was that," kind of look.  But then once he realized that it was actually food, he seemed pretty happy.  The hardest thing about it was getting him to keep his mouth open!  Pam would have to do all sorts of goofy stuff to get him to smile (look at the reflection - pretty funny!).  Once he smiled, then his mouth was open .  Once his mouth was open, then he could chow down on the food.  Often times he would rather suck on the spoon than eat what was on it.  We tried several different kinds of food over the last few weeks - rice cereal, sweet potatoes, green beans, etc.  The one that elicited the best facial response was the green beans.  You would have thought we fed him strained poop from the face he made!  Hopefully he will evolve like his brothers, and like all different kinds of food.  Zander can also play with his friend Caleb now - Caleb is our friends Jason and Nicole's baby - He is one month older than Zander.  They love rolling around together...

  Max and Niko get such a kick out of Zander whenever he is around - he is truly coming into his own.  And now that the know they can get him to smile or laugh, they will work all the harder at it!  We have to keep reminding the older boys that Zander is still a baby, and that he can't rough-house with them yet.  We took Zander out of his car seat when we're in the store, so now he faces his brothers while we shop - Max was besides himself when he realized that he could play w/ Zander the entire time...

Max is such a perfect toddler!  He is curious about everything, and his independence grows by the day.  He knows a lot of words, even though he does not always choose to use them.  He is a great little helper with everything - I was cleaning up our room the other day, and I decided to see if Max could help me out by bringing clothes to the laundry hamper.  He brought everything I asked!  And then he brought the shoes.  And toilet paper.  And toys.  And then he started to clean out my drawers to bring them to the hamper as well!  That is when I intervened...  He thought that if a little was good, then a lot was better!  So cute.  He is getting so long, but he is still as skinny as ever.  We have been playing outside a good bit lately, and he has been having fun chasing Nikolai and running around with him...  Right after Halloween, Pam had some leftover make-up, and decided to have a little fun with the kids - ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!

Nikolai is developing quite the stubborn streak!  Two weeks ago, he took a ball from Max, and I told him to give it back.  Not only did he not give it back- he kicked it!  Then I made him get the ball, and give it back to Max - Then I added the kicker - I told Nikolai to tell Max that he was sorry!  Nikolai would have none of it.  I kept asking him nicely to do it for about 2 hours while he sat in his room - he flat out refused.  He was willing to fore-go food and every privilege we could muster, but he was not going to apologize!  We finally gave up after ~2.5 hours... 

Nikolai is spelling up a storm!  He is also starting to read - sounding out his words.  Never ceasing to amaze! 

All three of our kids are absolute miracles - we could not have asked for a better family...

We hope that all is going great with you!  Drop us a line when you get a chance...  And as always - check out the new pictures!

31 Oct 04

It has been an interesting few weeks!  First off, the Red Sox have actually won the World Series - If that is not enough to make Hell freeze over, then nothing is!  Seriously - though I do not like the team, they did do better than everybody else, and it makes Pam happy.  And when Pam is happy - I am happy!  HA!

This past weekend I went on a wicked Cross Country in the might T-38.  On Thursday, we flew to Tucson, Arizona - my old stomping grounds!  I FINALLY got to have the burrito of which I have been craving for a long, long time...  It was good to see Katie, Mike, Rachel, Fetus, Marsha, and of course, the CHAZ.  A few beers at Gentle Bens and O'Malleys and we were on our way!  The next day we did a little formation flight, as well as the wicked low-level that I used to love flying in the Hog.  Then we wound up in San Diego!  It was a blast - we stayed at the Hyatt Manchester right on the water in downtown - what a good deal.  We met up with a few friends who are in the Navy that I knew from years past - they showed us a wicked time in the Gaslamp district, as well as in Pacific Beach.  As always, the weather was perfect, and the deep sea fishing kicked some butt, too.  We also went to an all-you-can-eat sushi bar named Onami - highly recommended if you are into sushi!  After San Diego (and another Patriots victory - now 6-0!  Go Pats!) We headed into Austin, TX, where we met up with a dude named Korry (yes, a guy is named Korry).  We went out on 6th St, and even though it was a Monday night, we still mustered a good time...  Finally on Tuesday, we battled the weather and made it home without a scratch - giddy up!

Needless to say, Pam was not overly excited about my long absence - which meant Date Night as soon as I got home!  Ross and Shelly offered to watch the kids while Pam and I went out to dinner and a movie.  The dinner - Macaroni Grill.  The Movie - Team America!  Good stuff all around...  We also hit the ice cream joint and had a nice, relaxing time away from the boys... 

Last night we also had a Halloween Party!  It seems to be the annual tradition in the Puddy household - we always had a party in Tucson, but we never head a bonfire in Tucson!  After months of talking about burning things (all our scrub from clearing the backyard out), the weather finally complied and we had a wicked bonfire.  Giddy up!  Everybody came in costume, and there were some good ones!  Parties are so much fun.  It is just the cleaning up that sucks.

The boys are doing great, as always.  Max is so much fun!  He just runs around screaming at everything.  He'll say hi to anything/anyone who walks by.  He is getting to be our little adventurous daredevil who gets himself in over his head before he knows what hit him.  Yesterday we went for a walk, and he wanted to throw rocks into the pond.  Not really a problem until you consider the fact that he wants to make a running throw into the pond!  One small trip and he'd be swimming...  Max loves his big and little brother.  Whenever he can get Zander to laugh, he is beside himself!  He chases Nikolai around all the time - they really play well together.  One thing that we can not get Max to learn is how to keep his toys off of the floor when he is getting clean.  Night after night we walk into the bathroom and there is water and  toys all over the place.  A stage he'll grow out of, hopefully!  We also went to a pumpkin patch a few weeks back, and Max had so much fun feeding the animals.  Of course he didn't get the fact that if you hold the food, the animals will eat out of your hand - he ended up dumping about 50 pounds of corn on the ground!  All the kids had fun...

Zander is still the fattest baby in all the land.  And getting fatter...  He has the lungs of the family, and is yelling constantly!  Not crying, whining, or screaming.  He is yelling.  At what, we are not sure!  He hates to be left alone, and LOVES to be held!  He likes the game of thumbs just like Nikolai did at his age.  I tell Pam how unbelievably cute I think he is!  We are going to have more than our hands full when he starts walking.  Then all three of them can run separate directions and we will be screwed...

Nikolai never ceases to amaze us with what he says/does.  Everyday he will come up with something that will just floor us!  The other day, he said, "Mommy - you're a bad girl - you didn't leave the popcorn on the table where I wanted it..."  Funny stuff!  We have left his door unlocked now for about 3 weeks with nary an incident.  We tried putting a clock in his room, and the next day it was, Daddy, I don't like my clock."  When we asked why, he said that the numbers stopped moving.  My guess was that he just stared at it (We said that he could not come out of his room until 8 a.m.)  God knows how long he watched it!  Nikolai is a great big brother who loves nothing more than to play with his little brothers!  We are so lucky to have such a great family...

I mowed the lawn for the last time yesterday!  Woo-Hoo!

We hope that all is going great with you!  Drop us a line when you get a chance...  And as always - check out the new pictures!  There are a lot of them...

12 Oct 04

Alright, people...  Let's give credit where credit is due!  The Patriots have been kicking a lot of butt lately!  More specifically, they have won their last 19 games in a row!  Woo-Hoo!  The attitude is pretty sweet in the Puddy household - we've finally found something that we can agree on!  For when it comes to the age-old Yankees vs. Sox, their is no agreement to be found - Pam refuses to honor the World Champion Yankees for the skillful, talented, baseball players that they are.  She continues to hold on to the Red Sox and that beloved Curse of the Bambino.  Silly Pam - When will you learn?  Lots of fun!

Yesterday we celebrated our 7 year anniversary!  We are more in love than ever...  Doesn't hurt that Zander no longer sleeps in our room with us!  We put him up to his own room on Saturday night to see how he would sleep.  Turns out he'd been just waiting for it!  He was sound asleep for ~12 hours!  It was great...  Now let's just hope that trend continues...  Last night he did not do as well, but he still ended up sleeping for about 10 hours (of course he woke up for 2 hours from 2:00-4:00 a.m. wanting to play)...  He'll get the hang of it soon enough.  It is going to be unbelievable to have 3 kids that sleep the night.  We can't wait!

Nikolai is really into his books - he wants to read everything, as well as sound out all the words.  He pins us down for what seems to be hours at a time while we go through page by page of books sounding out every word.  We are SOOOO glad that he has an interest in this kind of stuff.  It is our job to teach!  A few funny Nikolai stories: 1) The other day we had some friends over and we were sitting at the dinner table eating dinner.  Nikolai started to get belligerent about whatever, and he said "no" to everything.  I told him to stop saying no to me, or I was going to put him in the laundry room to finish his dinner, and he came back with, "I am not going to eat my dinner in the drier!"  Pretty funny stuff.  2) The other day we were (as always) trying to potty train the boy - we had him running around outside without any diapers on so that he could feel what it was like to poop out of a diaper.  He comes running around the corner telling us that he went potty on the deck!  Gives new meaning to the term poop-deck, eh? 3)  My life is now complete - the other day while watching football, I asked Nikolai to get me a beer, and HE DID IT!  In one shining moment - it was all worth it...  HA!

Max now knows most of his body parts - he loves to  just absorb everything that is going on around him...  If you catch him doing something that he is not supposed to be doing, he will attempt to stare you down.  He can sit, utterly expressionless, for several minutes until you either a) smile, or b) make him cry.  He is going to be the conniving one of the bunch, for sure!  He is so cute, and he loves to babble along with Nikolai in speech that only he understands.  He also likes to play with whatever toys that Nikolai is playing with - much to the chagrin to his big brother!

Zander is still the happiest, fattest baby I have ever seen!  He loves attention, and he LOVES to yell at things!  we will be in a restaurant, and we'll hear him start screaming at the ceiling fans.  Damned ceiling fans!  We are going to start him on solid foods next month - wish us luck!

Go Pats and Go Yankees!

Everything is going great here - we hope that everything is going great with you as well - drop us a line and let us know how you are!

Happy 1st Anniversary Jay and Karen!

Check out the newest pictures!

26 Sep 04

            [Pam writes] We have been very busy the last few weeks.   On 8 Sept, Katie, Michael and Rachael came for a visit from Tucson.  It was our first time seeing them since we moved and it was a great visit.  Rachael just turned 2 years old and is so adorable.  She has a great vocabulary.  Nikolai and Max had a great time playing with her.  Nikolai and Rachael had the ultimate “yes,no” game going on.  It didn’t matter what was happening…if Rachael said yes, Niko said no and vice versa.  At one point, we were all outside and Nikolai got very close to Rachael and started blowing on her head.  Rachael looked up at him and said, “Nikolai, I am not a candle.”  We all had a hearty chuckle over that.   Rachael is pretty much potty trained and while she was here Nikolai started wanting to sit on the potty as well.  Finally!!!  We’ll have to wait and see how that goes! 

Greg was able to get Katie and Mike into the B-2 simulator.  They had a great time “flying” the B-2.  We were very happy that they were able to visit and we look forward to the next time we can get together!

            Max is starting to chatter more and more.  He has more and more words that he uses regularly.  He repeats after us and tries to sing songs with Nikolai.  It is very cute.  He is cutting a few back teeth now so he is a little fussier than usual now.  Thank God for Motrin! He had his 18 month well baby and he weighed a little over 28 lbs and is 33 inches tall.  He is long and lean.  The only fat things on him are is legs and his cheeks.  He seems to get taller and thinner every day.   He is at a great stage now.  He gets so excited about everything.  We go outside to blow bubbles and he loses his cool.  He chases after the bubbles and squeals!  He repeats to word “bu—ble”  over and over.  He really does find wonder in everything and loves to follow Nikolai around.  One day, he woke up from his nap before Nikolai did and he seemed lost not having his brother around.  The boys love to wrestle and jump on each other.  Greg says that I have no idea what I’m in for with 3 boys.  He is probably right!

            Zander is doing great.  He is getting more and more personality every day.  He loves to watch his big brothers and he loves to wail at the ceiling.  He has got the chubbiest legs!  He is a rolly-polly baby.  He had his 4 month well baby on 8 Sept.  He weighed in at 20 lbs and 26.5 inches.  No one ever believes me when I say he is only 4 months old.  I am going to have to move him from his baby carrier car seat.  He can roll from his back to his belly.  He is sleeping like a champ.  He will sleep for 6-7 hours straight at night, usually waking up once to eat around 4 or 5 AM.  Can’t really complain about that!  He is a great baby! 

            Nikolai is starting to potty train.  He likes to sit on the potty before he gets clean at night and has successfully peed in the potty three times.  Last night we had him outside with us and decided to let him run around without a diaper.  We told him that if he had to do something, just be sure to get on the grass.  So a while later he is playing by a tree in the yard and comes running over to us saying, “ I did poo-poo near the tree…come see!” Sure enough there was a little log next to the tree.  He was very proud of himself and even went to visit his poo a few more times.  Then he runs over and says “I did it again!”  He had pooped again on the other side of the same tree.  Apparently he has marked his territory.  We are definitely on the road to being potty trained.  Hopefully it is not a long road.   Keep your fingers crossed for us! 

            I put Niko up to his room during the day for quiet time.  He usually reads books, plays and occasionally will fall asleep.  One day I had given him a pile of books and on my way out of the room I said, “Have fun reading.”  Nikolai responded with “OK Mommy…have fun sleeping!”  Does my kid know me or what…

            He had now taken an interest in learning how to write his ABCs.  He does know how to write some of the letters.  That will be our next task!  He is also leaning how to sound out words and surprises us on an almost daily basis by reading something.  One day, I mentioned going to the Z-O-O ( I spelled it instead of saying it) .  Nikolai thought about it for a second and said, “Are we going to the zoo, mommy?”  I guess I can’t spell things for very long!

[Greg writes]  This past weekend, I got to take a T-38 out for a little Navigation Training.  I found myself navigating to Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, MA.  Turns out my friend Jeff was having a wedding there that very weekend!  It was awesome to see all the boys from UMass years past...  The wedding was at a 4-H camp that they had bought out for the entire weekend, including cabins, canoes, etc.  Everybody was staying in cabins like a bunch of oversized pre-teens!  It was a lot more fun than typical camp, because this time we had beer...  The weather was dog-doo on the way out since Hurricane Ivan was making his presence known - but on the way back the weather was PERFECT!  We flew right over Niagara falls, my sister's house, and of course UMASS!  We rounded ouut the day flying over the St. Louis Arch - the Gateway to the West!  I did not break out the camera for the entire weekend (because it was raining, and because I am an idiot), but the pix of the flight home were pretty cool...

Remember the surprise party I threw for Pam a few months back?  Well - Pam's best friend Leah was unable to come since she had a previous commitment - Until now...   As part of the (apparently never-ending surprise), I picked Leah up from the airport and brought her to the house - unbeknownst to Pam!  I had Leah and her boyfriend wait outside while I readied Pam and the camcorder, and then just walk in the back door and scare the crap out of her!  It was great to make her soooo happy!  I must admit - I am, in fact, *the man*.  We had a great few days hanging out w/ Leah and Dan, and it was great for the kids to play as well...

One of the (now standard) events that we did was go to the winery.  Nikolai was quite bored, and at one point, he even went inside (while we were on the patio) and said, "I'm bored - can we go home?"  Of course he said it to the wine clerk!  She giggled as she told us the story...  There was a dog that was on the porch with us, sleeping.  Max felt that the dog needed some attention, and he went over to pet it.  The dog growled at Max, and he cautiously backed away.  He didn't show fear, but then he started to yell at the dog in great baby babble!  It was a riot...

As always, we are having a GREAT time!  So glad that fall is almost here, and the Pats are 2-0!  AWESOME!!!  Drop us a line when you get a chance, and we'll catch you soon!  As always, check out the pictures!

4 Sep 04

Outstanding!  That is all I can say...  It has been a long road, but I FINALLY got to fly the B-2!  Pretty cool knowing that I am the 329th person to ever fly the plane...  It kicked ass... 

On Saturday, August 21st, we got a babysitter, and we took in a KC Royals game.  The Royals lost (as always), but the B-2 made a flyby, and it was pretty cool to know that I was going to tame the beast in just a few short days...  The next day, I drove out to the airport to pick up my Dad - he was flying in for the first flight.  On Tuesday, 24 August, we did a day of mission planning - A lot of tedium, but required stuff to get the job done safely and effectively.  The next day was the big day - I was not nervous - just excited!  I got to work, finished up some required paperwork, picked up my lunch from the flight kitchen (this is important - I will explain more later...), and headed out to the jet.

I strapped on the beast, and everything looked just like it did in the sim!  I actually felt like I might know what I was doing - In the A-10, their were no simulators when I first learned how to fly, so the first flight was a lot more "learn on the go" - In this jet we had already been in the sim for over a hundred hours, so we already had a great handle on the whats and wheres of all the switches - the training (as it often does) paid off!  My instructor came aboard and we were off!

The plane flew like a champ...  VERY smoothe.  Our tanker (for aerial refueling) was a going to be late - we now had some time to kill before we were going to get gas.  So my instructor suggested we had better eat now while we had the chance.  I then strapped on the feed bag and went to town!  I swear that I have never eaten more in my life....  I could seriously feel my ass getting larger as I made the transition from fighter pilot to bomber pilot!  For $2.80, I had about 10 pounds of food (sandwiches/yogurts/chips/candy/cookies/pudding/and on, and on, and on...)  I was stuffed!

After our feast, it was now time to get gas from the tanker.  My instructor (a cocky guy - former A-10 pilot - what dwould you expect? - named Booger) said that he held the record for the longest first hook-up - 8 minutes.  I couldn't let that record stand!  I got behind the tanker, and plugged right in on my first shot and stayed their for 9+ minutes - Booger finally told me to disconnect because it was obvious that I was going to be there all day!  There were some shaky moments, to be honest, but overall things went exceptionally smoothe...

For the next 3 hours, we flew around Missouri and stretched out the B-2's legs, exploring systems limits and capabilities.  It was a blast to look out the window down the gigantic wing line and think that I was piloting the world's most sophisticated and expensive aircraft!  KICK ASS!

And then it happened.  I got a call from the Supervisor of Flying telling me that there was a VIP who wanted to talk to me - my mind raced wondering what I did wrong!  It was then that I heard Nikolai's voice on the radio!  So cute...  Pam, the boys, and my father were in the air traffic control tower to cheer me on for my first flight!  It was great - The boys didn't really get what was going on, but they knew that Daddy was on the other end of the phone (radio, actually.)  The high point of the flight to say the least!

I then brought the plane home for a picture perfect landing, taxied in, shut down, and got out.  There was my great family waiting at the bottom of the stairs for me!  It was awesome!  It couldn't have been a more perfect day...

A few days later, I took my Dad for a tour of the B-2, and took my Dad  and Pam for a ride in the simulator - we had a blast!  Pam did great flying the sim - I should never have let her fly!  She saw that a monkey could fly the plane (and I had!).  Now there was no more mystique as to how to tame the beast...  HA!  My Dad did great in the sim and even was able to latch on to the tanker a few times!  Old habits die hard - and after not having flown for over 7 years, he kept his hands! 

It was a great time having my Dad out there for one of the milestones in my life!  Thanks again, Dad, for making the journey and the effort!

Other than that, we have been having a BLAST (as always) with the boys.  We tried our best to keep them from killing my father!  Nikolai's vocabulary is incredible - we will walking around in Wal-Mart today, and Nikolai says, "Look at all of those different color water hoses, Daddy!"  I seriously don't know where he gets most of this stuff...  Pam went for a walk the other day at Jenny's house, and she turned around and saw Nikolai was face down on her driveway!  He didn't cry - he just got up as if nothing had happened  - a few hours later, a scrape had appeared on his nose - he looks battle worn!  But very cute... 

We always play a game with Nikolai - I saw, "WhooDaMan?  YouDaMan?" and Nikolai will say, "Noooo..."  And then I say, "MaxDaMan?"  and he'll say "Nooo...."  This will continue until we got to Mommy.  I'll say, "MommyDaMan?"  And then he'll say, "Nooo....  MommyDaWOMan!!!!"  It is pretty funny.  So the other day, I say, "Nikolai, are you a dude?"  He says, "Noooo..."  We went through the whole thing until Mommy, and I asked if Mommy was the dude - His response - "MommyDaWODUDE!!!!"  His logic is there!  And it makes us laugh...

We are trying to limit how much TV the kids are watching.  They don't realize it, but we just will turn off the TV, and start listening to the radio.  Then we will read books or play with their toys with them.  Nikolai will often ask to turn on the Blues Clues, or his other favorite Show-of-the-Week.  We see that we have to watch what we watch around him, too.  Somebody called somebody else a Butt-Munch.  Nikolai only heard it once, and he wasn't even completely paying attention to it, but he came out with, "You're a Butt-A-Munch!"  We about wet ourselves!  Out of the mouths of babes - you'll never know what will come out of their mouths next!

Max is F-ing adorable!  He has gotten a LOT less whiney since his confidence has improved with his walking.  He will follow around Nikolai like a faithful puppy-dog!  He always wants to be around his big brother - and Nikolai will immediately ask where Max is if he is not in sight - they are going to be the best of friends...  Max is learning where his body parts are - a certain credit to Pam's "Eye-winkers" game.  He is also starting to talk as well - nothing huge yet, but he will ask for a book, milk, Mommy, Daddy, as well as others.  If you make a sound over and over to him, he will most certainly repeat it.  He is absorbing everything that is going on around him - you can just look at him and know that he is thinking something.  He will also dance when he hears music (it is more of a rythmic up and down bee-bop that makes me laugh) - Such a great kid!  He even went in for a haircut today and did GREAT!  He didn't cry a tear, even with the clippers!  He looks like such a cute nerdy-schoolboy. 

Zander is rapidly becoming the fattest kid I have ever seen!  I have told Pam time and time again that I only wanted fat babies!  She has delivered!  He is the smiliest kid I have ever seen!  The only problem is that - since he is so fat, he is so cuddly - and you always want to pick him up.  He has learned that it is more fun to be held, than not to be held!  So he will fuss if you put him down, however you are IMMEDIATELY rewarded with a HUGE smile if you pick him up!  Oh well - since this is our last one, I won't mind holding him for a few extra minutes here and there...  Another thing worth mentioning - Zander has gotten into a puking phase!  While you are holding him, he will turn into a miniature baby-Vesuvius!  Nothing a wet-nap can't fix, but it is still a pain in the butt!

Funny Pam story - we were in Wal-Mart, and Pam saw something that she wanted on a hook about eye-level - so she grabbed it - and in doing so, knocked a wooden-box-thing (not very big - about a beer can size) onto the head of a 3 year old girl that was standing beneath her!  I had to promise the mother that she could kick each of our kids as reparations!  For the rest of the day, I would point out little kids and as her if she wanted to topple a stack of soda-cases on them!  She was not overly amused...

All is well!  Happy September!  GO W!  After Zell Miller's Speech - I am more fired up than ever to be a Republican...  Let's hope that the majority of the U.S. feels the same way...

Well - I didn't plan on this being such a large narrative, but hey - you gotta document history as it happens!  Check out the latest pictures, and drop us a line when you get a chance!

22 Aug 04

        [Pam wrote this part]    Turns out that Nikolai only had a virus.  It ran its course through all the kids and thankfully didn’t amount to much more than a fever.  I’d say that for now we are all healthy except Greg is stuffy and coughing for the past day or so.  It sucks when he is sick almost as much as it does when the kids are sick.  He doesn’t handle it so well.  Oh well, he doesn’t get sick too often, thank God!

            The boys are doing great…  A few funny stories from Nikolai who is turning out to be our resident comedian…

            One day Niko and Max were getting clean while I was feeding Zander.  Both boys started to freak out at the same time which usually means somebody pooped in the place where babies get clean.  I go in expecting to see a floater and ask Niko where the poop is.  He responds with, “It’s in my butt mommy!”.  Turns out he has to go.  I whisked him to the toilet and he successfully let the poop go into the potty.  To this he responded, “Now I can wear my Bob the Builder underwear!”  He was very proud of himself.

            Another story…again Max and Niko getting clean.  Both boys are standing looking out the window and blowing as hard as they can.  I was curious as to what they were doing.  There was a butterfly on the outside of the window that they were trying to “blow off the window”.  They were excited when it flew away and were convinced that they succeeded in blowing away the butterfly.

            We are on the quest to potty-train Niko.  Wish us luck.  I’m sure it will be slow going.  We are prepped with Bob the Builder and Blue’s Clues underpants.  (These are now Niko’s favorite shows)

            Zander is more and more responsive every day.  He loves to smile at us and his brothers.  He is so ticklish you just have to touch him to get him to smile.  He is so cute.  He is truly the happiest baby. 

            We got our pictures back from Walmart.  It was quite the endeavor to get all 3 kids in the same picture.  This was our best one.  Zander and Niko also got individual pics done.  Max had moved onto other things so he doesn’t have his own pic this time around.  We will get his done next month when he turns 18 months. 

            Greg’s dad will be here on Sunday.  He is flying out to be here for Greg’s first flight in the B-2.  He is scheduled to fly Wednesday night.  Hopefully, it all works out so we can be on the runway when he lands to commemorate the big day.  He is finally done with the academics of his class and is now moving into the flying phase.  He is very excited to finally start flying the plane he has spent the last 4 months learning about.

[Greg wrote this part]  I am wicked psyched to finally fly!  Lots (and lots and lots and lots) of studying will finally (hopefully) pay off...  My dad is even coming in for the great and momentous occasion!  It is going to be a ton of fun.  Speaking of fun - I didn't have a lot of fun when I had to go do my Combat Survival Training the other day.  The temperature was nice, but I started getting sick - not a great time running around the woods when you are trying not to die.  All was actually going OK until it started to POUR rain!  So there I was - dressed up in my BDUs and drenched from head to toe.  Oh well - this is what memories are made of I guess!  Or at least that is what they tell me...  HA! 

Sorry we have been a smidge derelict in keeping the website populated w/ pictures - it seems that there is always something going on!  This past weekend I took a jet up to Minneapolis for the weekend - fun stuff!  Word to the wise - 3 Bombay Sapphire martinis are too much for one man.  It was pretty funny - the next morning, I mentioned the word "Gin" to a guy I flew up with - He turned green and puked on the spot!  I won't mention any names, though.  That would just be cruel...

We hope that all is going great in your worlds!  As always - drop us a line and check out the pictures!

10 Aug 04

It has been an exciting 2 weeks. I turned 30 on 31 July! We are the "old ones" here in Missouri. We are not used to that yet but no big deal! Anyways, the day before the big day, friends of ours, the Ball family came to town on the way back to San Antonio. They stayed for about 1 day to meet up with friends and let our kids play together. Nikolai did not want to go to bed for fear of missing out on anything. Saturday started out normally. I had planned to go out that day with my friends Nicole and Jenny. We brought the little ones, Caleb and Zander, with us and left all the other kids home with dad. Greg left the house earlier than I did with the boys and said he was taking them out on a boy's day out. We went to lunch and shopping which included stops at Old Navy and Starbucks…. The babies were very cooperative, thankfully. Greg called several times throughout the day to update me on what they were doing while I was away. He said they went to a zoo and to the park and were going to round out the day with a little finger painting. I was a little surprised that Greg wanted to take on such a huge messy thing like finger painting with 2 young children, but it was his idea not mine. On to Target we went. At some point Jenny called her hubby Kevin and found out that her in-laws were at her house. Kevin wanted her to come home right away to spend time with his parents. So, since we were done shopping, we piled into the car and headed home. On the way, I received yet another phone call from Greg saying that the boys had gotten into a full blown paint fight and were covered head to toe in said paint. He told me it was pretty funny to see. He told me to hurry up and get home so I could see the debacle before they washed up. Oh by the way, they were in the basement.
This prompts Jenny and Nicole to come in the house with me to see the messy children before they head home to their own plans for the day. When we arrived at the house, we dropped the babies off inside the door (they were both sleeping) and headed downstairs to see what kind of mess I was going to have to help clean up. I go down the stairs first and round the corner to a bunch of people in my basement yelling "SURPRISE"!  My wonderful husband had totally pulled one over on me and had arranged a big surprise which Jenny and Nicole were obviously in on the whole time.

I remember it now as if it happened in slow motion. First I saw Greg who looked so excited! Then I scanned the room stopping on our friends Liz and Rich who had flown in that day from Boston to be part of the surprise. Our friend Heidi has driven from Nebraska with her daughter as well. After taking it all in, I burst into tears. I could not believe that I did not have a clue! For weeks this was being planned around me and I had no idea. Greg had hired a few babysitters to watch the kids on our main floor while we were all in the basement. Good food, Great cake and some mixed drinks… They had thought of everything! I had an awesome time and at the same time, Liz and Rich were able to get to know their godchild, Zander.
I love that Greg organized the party. He went way beyond any expectation that I may have had for my 30th birthday. The whole day was like a dream. I reflected on my life and realized how lucky I am to have such a great family and a group of friends that went above and beyond the call of duty to make my birthday one to remember. Thank You to everyone who organized the party and to all those who came to be part of the surprise. I will never forget that day! You are all awesome!
Life as a 30 year old doesn't feel any different to me! The next day, we took Liz and Rich to a winery. We had fun despite the heat and Nikolai's best impression of a bull in a China Shop. (He broke a little plate in the winery that we had to pay for.) From there we went to Nicole and Jason's to try to finish the food from the party. Nikolai and Max played with Hope and Hannah and Zander and Caleb shared their tummy time. Greg had about 30 cups of coffee with Bailey's. I'm not sure his eyes could get any bigger! Nikolai was entertaining everyone with his animal sounds and his little dances. Another good time had by all!
Liz and Rich left on Monday and we attempted to get life back to normal. We resumed our walks on Thursday and went shopping on Friday. Nicole and I had all 4 kids with us. Because she was pushing the babies in the double stroller, we had to put up with like 50 people asking if they were twins. It was pretty funny! Friday, we all gathered at Jenny and Kevin's house where our kids did their best to destroy their basement. Fun Stuff.
Unfortunately, Nikolai has been under the weather all weekend. Friday and Saturday, he was battling a temperature ranging from 101 to 103. He was also complaining that his back hurt. Today, Sunday, he started complaining that his neck hurt but no longer has a temperature. He was acting more like himself but without much of an appetite. At bedtime, I checked his temperature and found it to be 101 again. While brushing his teeth, I noticed that he had a red, yucky looking throat. Poor kid was telling me his neck hurt because he didn't understand it was really his throat. Hopefully, we can get him into a doctor in the morning and we can get it taken care of before Max and Zander get sick. It sucks when the kids are sick. They have no idea why they are feeling so bad and try to play and act normally even though they feel awful. I would take it all away from them if I could.
Football season starts tomorrow as far as we are concerned. The first high definition game will be on tomorrow night when the Broncos take on the Redskins. We are so excited to watch football again! Go Pats! WooHoo!!!

We finally got the pictures online!  Take a peek, and let us know what you think!

 

26 Jul 04

Pam liked updating the website so much last week, that she decided to do it again!  It is great to get HER perspective on everything rather than always hearing MY perspective...  HA!  (But she still makes me add all the pictures...)

We have been stuck in the rut of heat and humidity for the last week. It has been in the 80s and really humid. We are still not used to that after living in Tucson for so long. The boys were really sick of being cooped up in the house all the time. Nikolai and Max would follow each other around all day long getting into everything they can. The new thing is that Max loves to be on the couch as much as possible. Unfortunately, being on the couch involves him standing up and running the length of the couch and then jumping on the cushions. Niko sees this and then thinks he can join in. The result is chaos on the sofa which sometimes ends in tears when someone falls and hits his head. 5 minutes later, they are right back at it! They are really funny to watch!
Max is a little "me too"! If I give Nikolai a cracker, Max is right there with his hands out. If Niko has a toy, Max wants it and vice versa. They wrestle with each other and even though Max will try to look all innocent, he gets his licks in too. They play well together for the most part. It's obvious they love each other very much and will be great friends as they grow up.
Zander is getting more and more animated every day. He smiles so easily and will laugh out loud too. He is such a good sleeper and rarely even cries when he wakes up. I hear him moving around a cooing and as soon as he sees me, he breaks out in a huge smile. That makes getting up a little easier to take! His legs are getting so chubby. He looks like a little Buddha baby. It's hard to believe that he is already almost 12 weeks old! Time flies!
Nikolai got a haircut on Friday and was so happy and proud of himself. He sat all by himself in the chair and was such a big boy! He got a little buzz cut. Hopefully this keeps him from having to get his hair cut so often. He is like a little Chia Pet! So cute!

We added two new movies - one of Max messing up Nikolai's order - and one of Zander doing a little jig.  They are all so adorable!

That is it for now - drop us a line when you get a chance, and check out all the new pictures!

16 Jul 04

I (Greg) was going to update the website today - but Pam wrote an email that summed up just about everything I would have said!  Here it is...

Hi all!

Here is another mass e-mail. It seems it is all I have time for! I am so bad at replying to messages! We are very busy but we are all doingwell.

Nikolai is just over 2 ½ . He is like a sponge! We really have to be careful what we say around him because it will be repeated at some point. He doesn’t always repeat it right away which makes it even funnier when he says something out of the blue. He is very smart and keeps a close eye on his brothers. Max is his little follower, doing everything his brother does. Monkey see, monkey do! Nikolai will say, “Come on Max” and a whole new adventure begins for both of them. Niko loves being outside and loves playing “basketball” with daddy! He is so gentle with Zander too. He loves being the big brother. We are trying to potty train him to no avail…. We will get there eventually. We still have 3 in diapers but hopefully not for long. He is my little helper. This morning Zander threw up on me. Nikolai looked at me and says “Oh, Zander threw up…I get you wipes.” He then delivered the box of wipes to me and waited while I cleaned up. Very cute!

Max is 16 months and gets into everything he can. He will go from one thing he isn’t supposed to be in to another. We had to gate off our family room and kitchen so he wouldn’t try to escape every chance he got. He loves to climb the stairs when no one is looking. He is clingier than Niko was at his age and protests loudly when Greg or I leave the room without him. He is starting to throw temper tantrums too which consist mostly of him screeching at the top of his lungs. It is pretty funny to watch. He is very independent too. If he is hungry he has to feed himself. He won’t take food from us but will happily eat in his highchair. He, much like his brother, will eat anything. He loves bananas and grapes. He is beginning to talk as well. Greg is “Da” and I am “Ma”. He will say dog and ball. He will point at something he wants and tries to say more. Despite his slow start in the tooth department, he is rapid firing them now…4 on top and 4 on the bottom. Every day he looks more like a toddler and less like a baby.

Zander is 10 weeks old. Time definitely seems to be flying. We had his 2 month well baby appointment on Monday. We weighed in at a whopping 16 lbs, 11.5 oz. and is 25.5 inches long. He is fitting comfortably into 6-9 month outfits. Unbelievable! He is a very good baby. He is still being breastfed and is very good at it. He eats less often during the day than Niko or Max did, but apparently he gets enough to achieve maximum chubbiness. Nikolai will say, “You feeding Zander mommy’s milk?” The doctor told me he remains in the 95% + in all measurements. He only really cries when he is hungry or tired. He is a great sleeper. Last night he slept from 10 PM to 5 AM. I can’t complain about that! He is a very happy baby. He will smile with the least bit of encouragement and is starting to laugh out loud. He is awake more during the day now as well so there is a lot more interaction with his brothers.

Greg and I are doing well. Greg continues in his B-2 class and will hopefully finally get to actually fly it in Aug. Being a student again is interesting. I am on the weight loss track these days. I am doing weight watchers points and will hopefully be back to my fighting weight by Christmas. I decided I had to get on the ball pretty quickly since I turn 30 this month!

Most days it seems as though we are running a 3 ring circus in our house. We love living in Missouri. The weather is a huge adjustment for us. Coming from Arizona where it is hot and dry all the time, it is hard to get used to hot and humid. The other day, my glasses fogged up when I went outside! We are already looking forward to fall when we can wear sweatshirts again. We also cannot wait for football season to start again. Go Pats! Hopefully there will be a lot of high definition games in our future!

Gotta go for now. We hope all is well and we look forward to hearing from you! Drop us a line when you get a chance. Check out our website, www.tolmoff.com  for pictures of the boys!  [Greg says:  I put the pictures in a slideshow format - let me know which display you like better for the pictures...]

Talk to you soon!

Pam, Greg, Nikolai, Maximo and Zander

:-)

5 Jul 04

My parents and sister & family decided to join us for a few days to celebrate the Fourth of July!  We have been having a great time...  We went to a winery, and even went to Powell Gardens.  It was wicked!  Yesterday (4 Jul), we had a kickin' 4th of July party.  One of the guys I work with brought a jumping castle - the hit of the party for all the kids!  After the kids went to bed, we sparked a fire, and then we sparked some fireworks!  Just what the environment needed - a bunch of guys boozin' it up and setting off explosives...  HA!  Nobody was any worse for the wear - just a few hangovers to contend with...

Zander is so responsive now!  He may just be the happiest baby in all the land...  He is now smiling, cooing, and even giggling!  My mom has been having a blast holding the not-so-little boy.  He is still a little fat baby - just the way I like them...

Nikolai has been having a great time playing with Ashley and Alexis (my nieces).  They are really good with all of the kids...  He is still talking - and spelling - up a storm.  I find myself spelling and sounding out about 1000 words a day!  He certainly has the thirst for knowledge - we hope that keeps up for years to come...

Max has been a lot less fussy lately - his confidence with his walking has spiked, and where there is confidence, there is independence!  He definitely likes to be able to get around on his own, and he HATES when anyone tries to impose their will on him (he is not such a fan of gates, or the word, "no.")

I am giving my sister's fam a tour of the B-2 this Friday, so I'll make sure I get pix posted of that soon.  For now, check out all of our latest pix - the party and the gardens.  And especially our chubbiest baby!  Drop us a line when you get a chance...

20 Jun 04

Yesterday we went on a treasure hunt!  Our friend Jason (whom I work with) heard of something called "geo-caching."  What it is:  People all over the world have hidden stuff - in woods, parks, cities, underwater, etc.  Then they go to this website and put coordinates where the item is hidden.  Then you take your GPS and try to find the object.  It was way cool...  We went to Truman Reservoir (about 1.25 hours from our house), and set up shop at the state park.  We looked at our GPS and saw that we were only .92 miles from where "X marks the spot!"  So we started walking - With all kids in tow.  There is a unique little something about how GPS' display location - they give you an "as the crow flies" rather than giving you turn lefts, and turn rights.  We thought that it would take us about 20 minutes to get to where we were trying to go!  Ahhh...  The beauty of being naive...  We walked for about 3 miles, and it looked like we weren't even 1/2 way there!  We wisely had the women and children turn back.  The men pressed on...  And on.  And on...  We finally found the trail - it looked like we were getting close!  We only had 1/2 mile more to go!  Along we walked until it said that we were only 150 feet away - and of course this pointed us in the direction of down a steep hill!  Jason went first, with me ~30 feet behind him.  I stepped on a rock that "gave" and it started tumbling down the hill - right toward Jason!  He had to do a Mario Brothers leap over the tumbling rock!  It was pretty funny...  We now showed that we were w/in ~20 feet of the object (about the limit of GPS accuracy under trees), so now we had to find the specific location.  It took us ~10 minutes of poking around before we found it!  It was an ammo can full of goodies hidden underneath a large rock.  You are supposed to sign in on the log, take an item out, and replace it with an item of your own...  We just added a magazine clippinng and left everything else in there!  We then headed back - fortunately when the women went back, they got the car, and drove to meet us.  Our .92 mile trip ended up being at least 6 miles - that would have sucked if we had to walk all the way back to the car...  Lots of fun, and I am sure that we will do it again.  If interested - check out www.geocaching.com. 

The boys are still doing great!  Zander is sleeping like a champ - as are his two older brothers!  Lots of good stuff...  Max walks everywhere now, and is just happy to be mobile.  He is such a cute kid.  We looked at pictures from a few months back (before his haircut) and he looked like a hippy.  Now with his nerdy school boy haircut, he just looks adorable!  Max plays great with Niko - when Nikolai gives him guff - Max has no problem flipping it right back to him!  Overall they get along great.  I have been trying to read to Max more often now - he will bring a book to me, and I will start to read it to him - he will get about 3 pages into it, and then he wants to flip thirty pages - back and forth he goes until he gets tired of it and eventually just throws the book!  He doesn't firmly grasp the concept of story time, but he will!  Funny Max story:  We were in the kitchen, and we notice something on the floor.  Turns out Max had a bit of a poop, and it slid out of his shorts leg onto the floor.  Didn't bother him!  Good thing we found it with our eyes rather than w/ our feet...  HA!  The other night, Max and Nikolai were in our bedroom while we were watching TV in the family room.  Things were quiet for about 5 minutes, so we knew that they were up to no good - We went into the bedroom, and they decided that they were going to empty out all of my drawers!  There was crap everywhere...  Unbelievable!  Pretty funny though...

We asked Nikolai who did it, and he actually gave us an honest answer...  We are trying to teach him to tell the truth, and he is usually pretty good at it, but it is cute when he answers with his sheepish voice...  He is such a smart kid who is a sponge for whatever we say - it is getting us in trouble now and then - moreso Pam than me - she has got a potty mouth!  She also calls me Greg, which Nikolai has picked up that "Greg" is my name - as well as Daddy!  So now and then we will hear Nikolai go, "Where's Greg?"  It is funny trying to see him process why some people have 2 different names...  We have been trying to potty train Nikolai lately - not so much getting him to do anything in the toilet - just more understanding that it is there - we put him on the "big boy potty" as he calls it, and he sat there for about 15 minutes!  Nothing happened, but as long as he is not scared of it, I think he will be ok in the long run...  Nikolai is also getting into Bob the Builder - the kids shows today are NOTHING like the kids shows when we were growing up...  All sorts of "morals," and "lessons."  All that we had when we were growing up was a coyote continually flying off a cliff!  HA!

Zander is gaining weight at an ALARMING rate!  He is about 15 pounds now - he is not fat (although he is starting to chub up a bit) he is just solid - and so long!  He is such a good baby...  He is going through his 6 weeks growth spurt, so he eats constantly...  Wouldn't it be cool to increase your body weight by 50% in 6 weeks?  Fun stuff...  The other day, we had some of our neighbors over for a BBQ - Nobody could calm down Zander like our neighbor Mel - he was so content to just sit there all afternoon...  His big eyes wide with wonderment looking at the world...

Our back yard is finally DONE!  The stumps are gone, the sticks and branches picked up, and now I can finally mow the lawn back there.  It looks pretty good if I do say so myself!

Well - that is about it for us!  Take care and drop us a line when you get a chance...  As always - check out the pictures!

5 Jun 04

Our Boys - the lover, the fighter, and the thinker...

Things here have been going GREAT - As always...  This past weekend we decided to take the kids to the Columbia airshow - The A-10 Demo team was going to be there, so it was going to be a good chance to catch up with them and take in an airshow...  I am a Mentor to a Cadet at the University of Missouri, and he works for the former owner of Ozark Airlines - This guy opened up his hangar to close friends - of which we were a part of!  Pretty sweet hanging out in a hangar vs. having to fight the crowds in the sun.  All was going well...  Until the F-18 took off.  Max came unglued - Screaming his head off!  It was very loud.  Nikolai wasn't such a fan either - "Too loud!  Let's go to the big white car.  Lets' go home now!"  We felt really bad for them.  I thought that Nikolai would be old enough to enjoy it, but he wasn't overly impressed.  Needless to say, we departed rather early...

The next day, I had gotten tickets for Nikolai and I to go to the circus!  He was really excited to go...  When we got there, he did not quite get that he had to stay in his seat!  He saw the elephants come out, and he said "let's go play with the elephants!"  Wouldn't life be easy if we could just go play with the elephants on a whim...  HA!  He liked all the acts except for the contortionist - that kind of freaked him out.  He put his head on my lap and shyed away from even looking in that general direction.  Then he started to get bored, so he turned around and started watching the other kids behind us laugh at the circus in front of us - whenever they would laugh, he would laugh!  It was very cute.  He was still a little bit young to completely get it, but by this time next year he will be at the perfect age...

The next day I had agreed to go with Pam to get Max and Nikolai's hair cut.  Always a pleasure!  We started with Max who proceeded to cry the entire time.  He had the big crocodile tears coming down his face and they had hair stuck to them.  We can not convince him that the barber was not going to hurt him!  He looks so cute in his nerdy school-boy haircut...  Nikolai on the other hand was a squirmy little rodent!  He would not let the lady cut his hair to save his life!  His haircut turned out awful...  No fault of the barber-lady's, just our unruly child...  HA!  When we got home, Pam cleaned up the haircut a bit and salvaged what she could...  He is still a cutie!

Nikolai also had some funny happenings this past week. 

1)  On Memorial Day, we had the A-10 demo team come to our house for a BBQ.  All was going great, and then we all went to watch a movie downstairs.  Nikolai then turned towards me and said, "You're a bitch."  And he repeated it.  Again.  And Again.  We don't know where he heard that from, but he said it clear as day!  We were all more than a little shocked.  Excellent way to show off your parenting skills, eh?  Nice...  We tried to ignore it and maybe it would go away.  Eventually he stopped saying it.  He only said it a few times the next day, so we are hoping he forgot it altogether!  Still pretty funny!

2)  The next night, Pam was giving Nikolai something that Mommies do to get their kids clean - he leaned forward when she said, "I have to wash your butt."  Then Nikolai said, "Wash my nuts, too,"  Pam about peed herself as she ran to leave the room...

3)  Pam had finished pumping some breast milk, so she ran to the bathroom real quick.  When she came back, Nikolai was holding her breast pump to his chest saying, "I'm pumping too!"  Once again the hilarity ensued...  He is a real character...

Max is walking now!  He is getting very brave - he hardly ever holds onto anything anymore...  He walks like a little Frankenstein but he has never been happier.  He also learned how to say, "Hi."  So he will walk around the kitchen saying, "Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi, etc."  It is very cute...  He also says Mama, Dadda, and More (when he wants more food - Like a good Tolmoff!  HA!)  With his new haircut, he looks less and less like a baby and more like a little boy.  He is so cute!  And he is so good with Zander - he always gives Zander hugs, and he is very careful anytime he is walking around him...

Both older boys have been sleeping great!  Nikolai will make a bit of a hubbub when we first put him down, but after that he will quiet right down and stay quiet throughout the night.  Whatever it was that was bothering him a few weeks ago is now gone!  Thank God.  Max is a great sleeper - to bed at 8 p.m. on the dime, up at 7:30, naps from noon-2:30 and back down at 8.  Nothing like a solid schedule!

Zander is fattening up quickly...  He is so cute!  The line on his nose is disappearing, and he has even given us some bona-fide smiles!  He loves to be held - he is a solid kid!  He likes his big brothers, and they like him...  Funny Zander story - The other day Pam was giving him something to make kids clean, and she went in the family room to tell me something.  Something caught both of our eyes, and we look over at Zander getting clean on the countertop, and there was an IMPRESSIVE arc of pee coming from him - no kidding when I say it was ~6 feet straight up!  Pam had the camera in hand, but it was not on - would've taken too long to take a picture!  It was quite spectacular - the boys never cease to amaze...

I took Niko and Max fishing the other day...  We caught 10 fish!  It is about time...  My kids were losing faith in me...  But not anymore!  We'll bring the camera next time and take pictures... 

On a sad note - Puddy got the big snip-snip yesterday...  Not a whole lot of pain, just some uncomfortability - puts some finality in the "not having any more kids" thing, eh?  We didn't want to tempt fate...  We already have 3 GREAT (and healthy) kids...  That is all she wrote!

Well - that updates our lives!  Lots happening in little time. We threw in a movie of Max toddling about - check it out!   Drop us a line when you get a chance, and check out the latest pictures!!!

22 May 04

We have been having so much fun with our little guys!  Nikolai is so good with Zander - he always goes over and gives him kisses while Zander sleeps.  We have not quite gotten our point across that we don't want Zander awoken while he sleeps, but that is OK...  Zander had his two week well-baby checkup yesterday - 11 lbs 6 oz, and 23 inches!  Wow!  He doesn't look like he is that big until he stretches his legs out - then you can see that he is huge!  Kind of like a trophy bass...  HA!  No problems with his feeding - he sometimes even sleeps for ~4 hours straight at night!  Woo-Hoo!  Now if only we could talk Nikolai into the same.  We had to revert to switching  Nikolai's doorknob since he keeps opening the door in the middle of the night.  He was pretty pissed when he figured out that he could not even open the door!  We can hear him screaming inside his room, but we have no real idea what else we can do to get him to sleep through the night - he pulls out all the stops to try to have us come get him.  Some of our favorites:  "Mommy, I need a hug."  "Mommy, I'm thirsty."  "I dropped my dinosaur."  "Come read me a book."  "Come sing a song."  And our favorite - The Wiggles (kids TV show) that have a part where everybody wakes up Jeff (a character) - they say "1-2-3, WAKE UP JEFF!"  The other night Nikolai said "1-2-3 WAKE UP DADDY!"  It was pretty funny...

Believe it or not, Max has been able to sleep through it all!  It is pretty surprising, because Nikolai has quite the set of lungs on him, and when he gets going, it is pretty loud!  Max is getting more and more daring every day with his walking - he will walk between items where he knows that he can hold on - it is when he gets out in the open that he drops back to his knees to crawl.  His knees get bruised at times since he crawls so fast...  Pam says it looks like we beat our kids - I keep telling her that she has no idea what she is in for with 3 boys...  Nikolai and Max like to play rough together by tackling each other.  Nikolai is usually the tackle-er, whereas Max is the tackle-ee.  They both laugh and have lots of fun with each other...  Max is now sprouting teeth like there is no tomorrow!  It is great to see, because his entire demeanor has changed - he is now constantly laughing and playing...  There is a LOT less whining!  Now we know what was causing his distress the past couple of months...  Great to see!

While out weed-whacking the other day, I whacked a poison ivy plant.  Now my legs itch.  What a pain in the butt.  That's what I get for living in the "Kuntree."

Other than that, it has been pretty low-key!  The temps are starting to rise and the humidity is spiking - not what we were used to in Arizona, but (so far) in my mind 85 degrees and humid beats 115 and dry!  We hope that all is going great with you - drop a line, and check out the new pix!

16 May 04

Happy Birthday, Mom!

This has been a great week getting to know our new little guy!  Zander is so cute...  He is the strongest sucker I have ever seen!  He constantly has a fist in his mouth making loud sucking noises...  We had to take him to the doctor on Monday to ensure that his Bilirubin level was not too high.  He was a bit jaundiced, but not too bad.  He had lost a bit of weight, but that is standard before Pam's milk comes in.  He still has a wrinkled little frown on his face when he sleeps, but every now and then he will crack a smile.  Everybody says that it's gas that makes him smile.  I don't blame him - I get a bit happy when I sneak a cheek, too.  He is doing REALLY well with his sleeping - it has certainly helped out our family.  Unfortunately it is our 2 year old who doesn't like to sleep.  Nikolai was never really big on sleeping, but this past week has been ridiculous.  I think that he cries in the middle of the night just to see if we are still there.  I am not sure where he thinks we would go, but a lot of times he will call for us, and then when we get upstairs, he will turn right around from his door, and get back into bed and close his eyes.  Then he does the same thing about 20 minutes later.  Repeat as necessary.  And sometimes he will say, "Let's go downstairs and take a walk," at 2 in the morning.  When you refuse his suggestions, he will start to wail at the top of his lungs.  He can keep up a full scream for almost a half an hour!  It is really quite impressive.  Sucks to be Max who room's right next to Nikolai.  I finally got Pam to agree that we will go up there once during the night and tend to him, and then let him cry it out.  We did this a long time ago when we first attempted sleep training with him - it worked then, but wish us luck now!

Max still won't walk on his own.  He has the ability to, but he will usually only take 4-5 steps, and then drop to his knees in a controlled manner and then start to crawl.  He can really zip around while crawling!  We have hardwood floors, so we think the issue is that he doesn't want to slip while walking in socks on the hardwood floors.  Someday!  Max's sleeping has been spectacular lately.  He will wake ~8 a.m., and will get cranky at noon like clockwork!  We will then put him down in his crib, and he won't peep for ~3 hours.  When he wakes up, he is nice and happy until ~8 p.m. where we will brush his teeth and lay him down.  He wakes up in the middle of the night ~3 times/week - Can't complain about that!  I think now that he has more teeth popping through, he is a different animal.  He fusses every now and then for no reason, and then we'll give him some oragel and he will calm right down - our guess is that the swollen gums are really bothering him.  He did have 3 more teeth show up in the last two weeks!  His little teeth are so cute...  Max is having a few problems with Zander taking a lot of our attention.  While Pam is feeding Zander, Max will go right up to her and demand to be picked up...  He is getting better as the days go on.  I give him about a month to forget what life was like before Zander, and to be perfectly OK with his little brother.

Pam's parents left Saturday afternoon, but not before a quick tour of the B-2!  Pam was almost the first person ever to breastfeed inside of a B-2, but Zander co-operated and she did not need to.  We got a whole bunch of pictures in front of the B-2, and I even got them a flight in the simulator.  Both of them landed the plane!  Pretty cool...  They were a great help while they were here!  Pam is dreading this week - her first time alone with all three of the boys...  She'll do great!  It will be a true test of sanity...

A scary event this past week - Pam woke up on Thursday morning with SEVERE abdominal cramping.  She couldn't stand up or talk while the cramps were going on - I thought we were going to have twins a week apart!  We took a trip to the emergency room to make sure there was no infections, etc.  The doctor did his whole battery of tests, and determined that it was all of the internal pieces and parts making their way back to their original homes before Zander's girthy self pushed them out of whack!  It was good to find out that this was only natural.  Pam said that the pains were a million times worth than the post delivery cramping with Nikolai or Max.  We are all glad that she is OK!

My class is going great - we took this past week off so I could spend some good quality time with the new baby, but tomorrow is back to the grindstone!  I got to fly in some nasty weather on Friday - It was my first flight in ~5+weeks, and it showed!  I spent the first 3/4 of the flight trying to knock the rust off...

Funny Nikolai story - Pam was feeding Zander the other day, and Nikolai came up to Pam and said, "What are you doing?"  Pam replied that she was feeding Zander just like she used to feed Nikolai and Max.  Nikolai responded by taking Pam's shirt and putting it in his mouth and starting to chew on it - cute stuff!

We hope that you all are doing great - Spring has certainly Sprung!  Outdoors life is going great...  Drop us a line when you get a chance!  And as always, check out the newest pictures...

8 May 04

It has been a great few weeks!  We have been waiting patiently for #3 to arrive, and he is finally here!  We would like to welcome Zander Mateo Tolmoff.  He was born on 6 May 04 at 10:47 p.m. tipping the scales at a beefy 10 lbs 7 oz, and 22 inches long! He is a GREAT looking kid (except for the fact that his face is purple since he came out so quick - bruising!  And a squished nose that should pop into shape here soon...)  Our family is now complete…

The labor was interesting because it was Pam’s first time going into labor on her own!  I finished my class at 3 p.m., and we had a Doctor’s appointment at 4.  We were laughing and joking with what she was going to say – or not say…  The midwife took a feel around the innards and said, “Oh my…”  She then told Pam that she was 5-6 cm!  Woo-hoo!  Only 3 days late – but better late than never!  We went home and told her parents and the boys.  Nikolai was pretty excited – he even gave me a high five for Zander’s upcoming arrival!  Max gave a big smile and a knowing wink (not really) at the fact that he was no longer going to be the baby anymore…  He knows that he gets to be a big brother now, too!  Pam has no idea what kind of trouble the boys are going to get into…  I can’t wait to take lots of pictures of them and watch them grow up – Woo-Hoo!!!  We packed a bag returned to the hospital.  We were admitted right away…

            While we were at the hospital, the labor progressed nicely with Pam cursing the boy (and me) more than once…  Just kidding!  She did great…  We even got to see the series finale of Friends and an episode of ER – that was pleasant because it was all about one of the doctor’s wives having a stillborn baby.  Nice.  We started off in the world’s smallest room, and then it got better from there.  The nurses were great- we even brought them bribe chocolates for good treatment – having Pam as a nurse is a great deal – she knows the way to the nurse’s hearts…  Overall, a VERY positive experience!  Still glad it is our last one…  When Zander showed up, the room fell silent and everybody just gasped at how large he was.  Unbelievable!  The water was broken at 9:59 p.m., and the boy was out 48 minutes later.  Then while Pam was getting sewn up, I was marveling at Zander’s big piggies!  Such a big Hoss!

            About an hour after the lad was born, he started to eat his fist, so Pam made an attempt to breatfeed him.  As expected, he did that wonderfully!  We don’t expect any problems with him eating…  SUCH A GREAT KID!  At about 1 a.m. the nurse (Cindy) came in and said that she was going to give Zander something to make kids clean, and if he was sleeping, she said that she would keep him in the nursery and give us a chance to snooze.  We expected him back in about an hour – turns out he slept until 6:30 in the morning!  Then when she brought Zander in to us, he cooed for a few minutes and then slept again for another 2 hours!  Woo-Hoo!  He was a textbook baby…  Pam said that if Zander came first (at 10 lbs 7 oz), then we would only have one kid!  HA!  The hospital staff here has been great – it is way nicer being out in the country vs. Tucson where it was as if you were in a baby factory.  It is so nice and quiet!  All is well with the world…

About 16 hours after Zander was born, we were pretty much done with everything that the hospital was going to offer...  The hospital staff wanted us to stay until Saturday morning, but we figured we would get more rest if we were at home in comfort rather than on the hard hospital furniture...  We asked for, and received permission to leave.  We were home by 8:30 p.m.!  And Nikolai was still awake and greeted Zander with a big welcome home kiss...  Such a great big brother!  Through the night, though - we had one occasion where we had all 3 kids screaming at the same time...  A fun realization that this is now our life!  HA!

            Nikolai and Max knew something was going on the last few weeks.  Nikolai started waking up in the middle of the night screaming.  When Pam would go up the stairs to get him, he would say, “Mommy, I need you.  Hold me.  I need a hug!”  So then Pam would stay with him for a little bit until he fell asleep.  He is so cute!

 Max is now starting to walk!  He is so cute taking his first steps – it is almost as if now he forgets that he is supposed to be holding on to something.  He will let go and use both hands to intently study an object, and then all of the sudden he will just plop down and look surprised – it is pretty funny!

 Pam’s parents came in last Saturday to help out with the kids while we ushered in Zander.  They love playing with the boys – Nikolai is dazzling them with his numbers and his letters – he spells anything!  It is funny seeing how organized (read: anal) he can get over setting up his numbers and letters.  So funny!

We have been making lots of improvements on the house lately – we just finished a new deck!  It is wicked cool…  We bought patio furniture and now we can enjoy good old fashioned out door Missouri living!  Woo-Hoo!

 Funny story…  The other night, I went to bed early because I had 2 tests the following morning.  I get woken up about 2 hours later to Pam talking to me.  It took a minute for me to figure out what she was saying.  She was telling me a story:

            We had gone to Costco and bought a 3 gallon jug of laundry detergent and we were keeping it on the dryer.  As the dryer was on, the detergent vibrated off of the dryer and onto the floor.  When it hit the floor, the cap ripped off of it, pouring 3 gallons of laundry detergent on the floor.  When Pam went into the laundry room to check on the clothes, she was greeted with an entire floor of blue laundry detergent (liquid).  She got her mom, and they proceeded to clean up the entire mess with every towel in the house.  Pam recognized that this was an extreme amount of laundry detergent, so she was hesitant to put the towels into the laundry machine.  Pam and her mom proceeded to rinse out all of the towels in the sink, and when they were sufficiently clean, she then transferred them into the laundry machine.  But Pam is a smart girl – she realized that there was still a lot of laundry detergent saturated in the towels, so she proceeded to stand vigil on the laundry machine while the cycle ran so as not to leak soapy bubbles on the floor.  When no bubbles showed up, she declared herself the victor, wrote me an oh-so-witty note for me to see in the morning, and went back to watching TV.

            But what kind of story would this be if that was the ending?  It was at about this time that Pam’s Dad decided to go to bed.  He got into bed, and then realized that he should probably go to the bathroom.  As he walked to the bathroom, he stepped onto a REALLY wet portion of carpet…  He investigated further by opening the door to the furnace/hot water heater/water softener room.  What he found were 8” of bubbles coating the entire floor!  It turned out that the plethora of bubbles well, lets’ say, overtaxed the septic system and made all of the bubbles work their way back up into the basement!  Nice…

            So this is what I am woken up out of a sound sleep for.  I try to gather my thoughts and figure out what happened and what we are going to do about it.  Long story short – all 4 of us were mopping and cleaning, wringing and sponging, weeping and sobbing…  Brutal.  Final tally?  1:30 in the morning and we finally get to see the pillow again…  The next day, the entire thing looked like it had never happened – all the sinks drained, toilets flushed, and all was right with the world…

Thanks for sticking through a HUGE website update!  Check out all of the latest pictures - and as always, DROP US A LINE!

25 Apr 04

Ouch.  My head hurts...  I have finally started my B-2 academics, and let me tell you - they can pack a lot of things into a $2B airplane!  It is a completely different way of thinking than the A-10 - for example, you have buttons to turn on and off engines, and EVERYTHING is controlled directly by a computer!  If you lose all of your electrics (not very likely), the plane will immediately go out of control...  NICE!  The A-10 was much more of a manual aircraft - lots of round dials and such - this plane has 8 big computer screens that will tell you everything you need to know.  Needless to say - lots to learn...

Last week Scooter (Jeff C) flew in from Boston to chill in the country for a few days - a SLICE of a time!  The highlight was an afternoon kitchen pass that we used to go to a local winery...  We spent the afternoon chilling on the Montserrat wine deck with a great Chambourcin - good stuff!  Good to see one of the buddies from years past.  And at least he wasn't in France this time.  Being gay.  I dropped him off at the airport Monday morning, and was going to go to work for my first day of class - the highway (on the return trip) was closed, so I had to find alternate routing - I (of course) got lost, so then I had to drive ~90 mph to get to work so I wouldn't be late!  It sucked.

2 weeks ago, Heidi K came down from Nebraska to help us celebrate Easter w/ her 2 kids (Samantha and Evie).  Nikolai was having a blast with Samantha - We went over to Jason and Nicole's for Easter - we even had a little Easter egg hunt for the kids - it was a lot of fun!  Nikolai knew what he was supposed to do, but Max wasn't so sure...  There were a bunch of other kids there and Nikolai was loving life!  Jason and Nicole have a slide and a see-saw at their house, and Nikolai was CONSTANTLY going from the bottom of the slide, and climbing the ladder to re-attack - he must've gone down the slide 150 times!  He ran around so much, that he laid down on the living room floor, and was asleep in ~30 seconds...  Pretty funny!

Max refuses to walk!  He can stand up without holding on to anything, but he just won't take the first steps - his technical skills are available, but the confidence is lacking something fierce.  He can crawl extremely fast, so he doesn't really see the need to learn!  We keep working with him, but instead of walking to you when you hold your hands out, he just lunges at you!  He has no fear of falling on his face, but he won't do it while walking!  He is turning more and more into a little man, and looking less like a baby.  A little man with only 2 teeth!  His top teeth REFUSE to come in!  He is probably going to fore-go baby teeth altogether and just get his adult teeth when he turns 6...  He got his last tooth on 5 January!  It will probably be rapid fire when he does get teeth...  But for now we wait with our toothless wonder.  He is too damned cute!  It is a good thing that we are going to have another baby in the very near future to fill our baby void...  HA!

Speaking of the unborn baby #3...  He does not want to leave the comfort of Mom!  He is the most active kid I have ever seen!  You can watch the entire belly shift left and right - you can even see a foot sticking out of the side!  She is due one week from today, but my guess is that #3 will be stubborn just like his big brothers!  HA!  Pam's parents get here on Saturday - it will be nice to have them around while we get settled with number 3.  Pam is rather large at this point (belly), and she can't wait to get #3 out of her, but she is equally afraid at the prospect of having 3 kids out to destroy her rather than the two that we have now!

Well - that about catches you up on our life!  Drop a line and let us know what is up w/ you...  And don't forget to check out the latest pictures!

10 Apr 04

It has been three weeks! I can't believe it... I have been trying as hard as I could to get the website updated, but it seemed that there was always something going on! For instance, myself and Kemo (a former -16 pilot here to fly the B-2) took a T-38 out to Williams Gateway airport in Phoenix AZ. We got there, and the other people that we flew in with (in a different jet) broke their airplane! The boss (in his infinite wisdom) decided that me and Kemo should stay behind with the broken jet. Damn! From there, we spent 5 great nights in Phoenix. Good stuff! We met up with Matty B, Jim and Julie, Mr. and Mrs. Fetus and cousin Mike.  We shot guns, quaffed the odd beverage, and overall had a killer time. There were a couple of bizarre stories that came out of the whole thing, however. One night I was walking home from one of the bars while Kemo and company were hitting IHOP to grab a little chow. While I was waiting to cross a street at a red light, I witnessed a hit and run! Unbelievable... So then instead of getting a head start on snoozing, I had to spend two hours with the cops explaining to them what I saw. What made it pretty funny, was the guys who was hit (in his car - not a pedestrian) looked like he was right off the show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Brutal. He was slightly more effeminate than even the most effeminate chicks that I have ever met.  The next night, I went to the hot tub right before I went to bed, and I met a guy there who asked if I was married.  I said that I was, and asked him the same question.  He replied, "I am not sure how to answer that question - my fiance died 5 weeks ago in a car crash."  Nice.  Just what I needed to hear before I went to bed...  Oh well!

Pam was more than happy to have me home, however.  She had to deal with both boys - Max was sick, and Nikolai just barely hanging on to his health.  Of course I was wicked tired when I got home, but I did not have a leg to stand on w/ Pam...  Last weekend I mowed the lawn for the fist time!  It actually went really well.  The lawnmower worked great, and I truly felt like a country bumpkin.  Good stuff!

We are also having our Master Bedroom shower re-tiled...  The original builders used 9.5 year grout, and the house is now 10 years old, so the shower was leaking like a siv!  It sucked ass - the wood and the sheetrock was totally rotted out.  Very nasty!  The guy who is doing it seems like a good guy, and he gave a reasonable price to fix the whole thing, so we are pretty happy with it.  Not done yet - and a huge pain in the butt running downstairs to take showers - but he is almost done, ad it will be back to life as normal...

Next week I start my B-2 class!  Gone will be the days of innocence and leisure...  It will be good to actually have a mission again.  I still look longfully at the A-10 (we have them at Whiteman), and miss it and the mission...  Oh well - on to the next!

This past Thursday I flew up to Offut AFB and saw Heidi -a friend of ours from AFROTC.  Her husband is deployed, so she is coming to visit us for a few days and have Easter here - should be lots of fun!  She has 2 little girls - Nikolai will be more than happy to beat them up...

Max is so adorable...  He refuses to walk, but he loves to play peek-a-boo, and we re-introduced him to the swings lately.  At first he was not sure, but now he cries if you try to take him out of the swing...  He is so close to walking - he is just  too scared to take the first step...  He s also terror - doing his best t either a) crawl up the stairs without us seeing him, or b) clearing out a cabinet before we can get there.  He takes after his big brother!  Will #3 be the same way?  Time will tell...

Nikolai is so cute, too!  He loves spelling everything, and he LOVES the park!  He is building his confidence up rapidly by crawling on the jungle gym and up the stairs and down the slides.  When other kids are there, Nikolai is besides himself with happiness - laughing and smiling...  We have figured out the terrible twos - Nikolai is just fine until you try to impose your will on him.  If you let him do what he wants, when he wants to do it, then all is well - but if you try to tell him what to do, how to do, or when to do, he loses it...  We went to an Easter Party at my squadron, and they had a jumping castle and an Easter Egg hunt.  Nikolai even got to take a look in a T-38 cockpit - future fighter pilot in the making...  Nikolai was beside himself in the jumping castle, but it was very difficult to get him to figure out that he was not supposed to kill the other children in the jumping castle.  Nikolai also did not quite grasp the concept of an Easter Egg hunt.  It was pretty funny to watch him once he figured it out - After the concept struck him, he didn't want it to end, but the eggs were all gone!  We are going to Jason and Nicole's house tomorrow for Easter, and we are going to have a little Easter Egg hunt for the kids - Should be lots of fun!

Funny Nikolai story...  The other night, we all went downstairs to watch a movie, and we set Nikolai up in the office to watch a movie on the computer.  We were enjoying the movie in relative peace for almost 1/2 and hour, when we knew something was wrong!  We went to go check on Nikolai, and there he was, sound asleep on the office chair...  Pretty funny stuff!  I picked him up and brought him to bed - he woke up about an hour later screaming - probably wondering where he was!  Good stuff... 

Jason and Nicole had their baby this past Monday - Caleb Michael was 19.5 inches and 8 lbs 0 oz at birth - a real cutie...  They are now getting used to not sleeping - Welcome to our world!  Now it is Pam's turn to pickle...  3 weeks and 1 day until the due date!  Giddy up...

We hope that all is going great with you - Give us a shout and let us know how things be!  For now - check out the newest pictures...

21 Mar 04

Max had his first haircut today!  He had no problem at first, but then he went downhill fast...  He was wondering who these people were, and why they had buzzing things in his face.  No problems though!  He ended up without a scratch, and he now looks like a little boy, and no longer like a baby...  I am happy to see him growing up, but Pam is a little sad that she no longer has a little baby in the house...  She only has to wait six more weeks to have another one around, though!  Max also had his one year well-baby - he tipped the scales at a beefy 25 lbs 5.5 oz, and 30 and 3/4 inches - He is a little smaller at this stage than Nikolai was, but not by much!  (two pounds and 1/2 inch).  He is just so damned cute!

Nikolai had a pretty good week - we went to the park (twice) and he has no fear about anything!  He climbs up the jungle gyms, and is giddy the entire time...  There were only a couple of times when he had a mildly panicked look on his face, and a meager, "help" escaped his lips...  Max got a taste of the swings - parks are not as accessible here as they were in Tucson.  He loved it!  A little unsure at first, but he rapidly warmed up to it.  We also put him on the grass and he wouldn't touch it wit his hands.  When he finally did, he looked at us with a huge smile, and the took off crawling!  He is a happy little kid...

Nikolai is avoiding his naps like the plague!  When we put him up for a nap, you can hear him running around - and he finally learned how to get into Max's room!  Not good.  On the monitor, we could hear Nikolai making him laugh...  We also set the alarm in the house, and Nikolai got brave and wandered out of his room into the hall - the motion detector picked him up immediately, and the alarm went off!  We knew it was coming - but poor Nikolai didn't!  It scared the crap out of him - we giggled a bit - hopefully that was just the negative reinforcement that he needed to keep him in his room from now on...

Now for a little mushy story...  Yesterday we went to the mall, and I took Nikolai to the kids area in the center of the mall.  There was a ton of kids playing, and Nikolai's eyes lit up!  He jumped right in and was running around, never been happier!  He totally forgot that I was there.  I kept watching him, and it was great to see life through my son's eyes - everything was new and fresh to him - stuff that I wouldn't even take a second glance at made his eyes wide with wonderment...  It hit me like a brick...  And it was good...

Nikolai was watching TV the other night, and he came into the living room, and asked Pam for a strawberry bar.  Pam, being the helluva Mom that she is, gave him one!  She then went in to check up on him ~15 minutes later, and there he was on the floor - strawberry bar in hand - sound asleep.  So cute!

Max now plays peek-a-boo!  He is so cute -he hides under the table (by squatting down), and then he pops up and says "RA!"  And then he giggles...  We can't help but laugh - Max even gets Nikolai going!  Max is also learning how to wave - he uses the waves all wrong, but he has no idea, and he'll figure it out at some point...

Pam is falling a bit ill as of late.  And she lets me know at every turn...  HA!  However, with all the work she puts in with the boys, I can't help but pick up a little of the load...  We hope that all is going great with you!!!  Check out the latest pictures, and drop us a line when you get a chance!

14 Mar 04

WOO-HOO!!!  Max made it through his first year!  We had a nice little birthday party for Max yesterday.  Ross, Jason, Nicole, the Tanks, The Geoffs, and the Craigs all showed up.  Our house was a ZOO!  There were a ton of little kids running around.  Nikolai refused to nap yesterday, so he was a zombie by the time people showed up...  We also found out that (like any good two year old), Nikolai does not like to share.  Throw in about 6 kids who want to play with his toys and well?  You get the idea...

Max had a great time, however...  He loved being around the other kids, and thought that he could sneak himself up the stairs while no one was looking!  No real injuries occurred yesterday, except for the loss of a couple of balloons. (Bringing helium balloons from Walmart - I was trying to put Max in the car while I had 2 HUGE clear garbage bags with ~10 balloons each - and it was windy...  The wind flipped one of the bags upside down, and the weight that was holding them down was released, and the balloons sailed off into the heavens...  Pam was pretty psyched w/ me when I got home.  Insult to injury, the wind was blowing the exact same direction as the road I needed to take to get home, so I got to watch my balloons flying away on my drive home...)  We really expected Max to rip into his cake - but he just poked at it a bit - he really didn't grasp what was going on...

When it was time to open the presents, Nikolai was right there to offer his assistance!  Max was more than willing to let him, since all Max wanted to do was play with a box of diapers.  So funny to watch how their little minds work.  Everybody was nice enough to get us toys that were a) loud.  b) came in a million parts.  and c) loud.  Thanks guys!  We'll remember it...

The house was trashed when everybody left, and I promised that I would clean it when I woke up, but Supermom cleaned the entire thing before she went to bed.  OUTSTANDING! 

We also went for several walks this week, giving Nikolai the chance to play w/ Tucker, throw some balls around, and throw rocks in the pond.  Meanwhile, Max just looked cute...  HA!  We mentioned that we were having some of our land cleared out - well yesterday the workers set the huge brush pile on fire!  Nikolai got a big kick out of watching the fire...  We are having so much fun with our two boys!  7 more weeks until number three...  We can't wait!  We hope that all is well with you - drop a line when you get a chance, and check out the latest pictures!

7 Mar 04

That is right!  I found out on Thursday that I will be promoted to Major!  Woo-Hoo!  The promotion rate was 93.4 percent, so I wasn't overly concerned that I wouldn't get promoted, but it is still good to know that I don't have to worry about it anymore...

I flew with my Wing Commander on a cross-country the past couple of days - It was pretty cool to see how a one-star General gets treated - He is a really cool guy, and a helluva pilot, too!  On Wednesday, we flew to Maxwell AFB, AL for a Senior NCO Academy graduation.  I didn't have to go, so I went out with one of the guy from my squadron who is at Shoe-Flag - good stuff traveling around the country in a T-38 on the government's dime...  On Thursday, we flew through Moody enroute to MacDill AFB.  The General told me to have him there at 2 p.m. - I shut down with 5 seconds to spare!  I am the man...

Max's teeth are very cute, although he only has two of them!  The two on the bottom are nice and straight, but the top ones just refuse to come through!  It is killing him at night, which is in turn killing Pam.  Pam hits me, I yell at Nikolai, he taunts Max, and the vicious circle continues...  Next week Max will be one year old!  He is so cute and so adventurous...  He is a very happy baby, and he idolizes Nikolai - He will follow Nikolai around all day long, and always wants to be around the activity.  He has also taken up stair climbing!  Nikolai will wait for us to leave the room, and then he will run toward stairs - knowing that Max will be close on his trail...  Max just laughs and laughs - whenever you tell him not to do something - he just gives you a mischevious smile...  So cute!

Nikolai is still babbling up like a champ! I guess that we can't really call it babbling, since he actually makes words and sentences. He still blows our mind with the things he sees/remembers/regurgitates. He constantly wants us to spell things - anything, really - it doesn't matter as long as we are spelling something. Pretty funny... We got Nikolai his very own bed the other day! We didn't want to have 3 cribs in the house, so we got Nikolai his own twin-size bed, so the new baby could have his crib. Pam is in the process of doing up the baby's room - what better way than to have a crib? We made a big deal about the bed so that Nikolai would embrace it, rather than think the new baby was stealing his bed. So far so good! We have waited for him to come walking into our room in the middle of the night - but that has not happenend yet - the worse he usually does is stand at his door (which we have gated, so he won't wander and fall down the stairs), and go "Mommy?" Most of the time he is just content to play quietly in his room, though! He also has not figured out how to walk through the bathroom in order to get to Max's room. Thank God! The last thing we need is Niko waking Max up first thing in the morning...

We bought a new tractor! I can't believe it either - The Puddys are Green-Acres all the way! We are having our back yard cleared out, so we are about to get a whole lot more lawn - We had real nasty pricker-bushes and ratty, dead trees in our back yard, so we are having a bulldozer plow through it to get rid of it. With a lot more lawn, it was a toss up as to who was going to mow it? I weighed the options, and it looks like the tractor will pay for itself w/in 2 years - Which now means my weekends are toasted! Oh well - it will be fun...

By the way - while I was typing this, I thought Pam was playing w/ Max in the other room.  I got up to go to the bathroom, and Max had crawled all the way to the top of the stairs unsupervised...  He thinks he is bulletproof - the kid has no regard for consequence!  Glad he didn't decide to try making his way down the stairs...  Looks like we won't be getting the Parent of the Year awards, eh? 

Big Dave was in town for a few days last week - Nikolai just loved him! He had a blast playing... On Friday, I took Big Dave for a tour of the B-2 - pretty sweet - it was my first time at the jet since I've been here - It amazes me that money truly can buy anything!
We hope that all is going great with you! As always - check out the pictures and drop us a line when you get a chance...

27Feb 04

We have had such a great time with the boys!  Nikolai is still working on spelling things - He now grasps that letters make words, and he knows what sounds each of the letters make.  He is not sounding out the words - I think it is just rote memorization that he is working on now.  He can spell mom, dad, nikolai, max, tolmoff, apple, and a few other words - more and more every day!  He even says things to us that we are surprised about - the other day, Max started to crawl toward Nikolai, and Niko said, "MAX IS COMING - AHHHHH!!!!"  Pretty funny...

One the whole, the boys play together pretty well - There are times when Max will pick up something that Nikolai wants, and Niko will get frustrated and run out of the room saying, "BYE!!!"  We just let him go, and a few minutes later, he is back in playing w/ something else...

Max is crawling around all over the house, and he is constantly trying to get into things - There is not a drawer or a cabinet that we have not had to pull the boy out of!  He is a very inquisitive little lad - way more so at this stage than his big brother.  Max can't even walk yet, but he can climb stairs!  As soon as we are not looking, Max takes off for the stairs in hopes to get to the top before we pull him off...  We can't wait for the nicer weather for the boys to go outside and play - Hopefully by the time #3 arrives, Max will be walking so that we don't have to carry two kids around...

We had an ultrasound the other day, and all looks well!  The boy is soooo active!  He keeps kicking Pam with his big feet - we just watch Pam's belly bounce up and down as he beats her up from the inside.  He is way more active in utero than the other two combined!  We even got a pretty wicked ultrasound picture of the boys face that looks like The Scream.  Pretty cool...  Also, they said that his boy parts are well intact - should be no questions here!  She called it the turtle...  HA!

Last weekend, I took Pam and the kids to the Kansas City Plaza for Valentine's day.  The plaza is a ritzy area that has a lot of great restaurants, stores, etc.  We got a room at the Fairmont hotel, and we even got a babysitter to watch the boys in the room!  While the college coed watched the boys, Pam and I had a GREAT (and much needed) night on the town without the kids...  We went for drinks (me, not her) at the Canyon Cafe, dinner at Kona Grill, and dessert at the Cheesecake Factory.  YUMMY!  We found that we could even talk to each other about stuff other than the boys!  That night in the hotel, we realized how it felt to sleep under a down comforter, so we made haste to get one of our own!  The nights have been fantastic...

We hope all is well with you!  Check out the latest pictures, and drop us a line when you get a chance!

14 Feb 04

This has been a great two weeks in the Puddy household...  First of all, we have been reveling in the victory of the Patriots!  We bought out www.patriots.com and we even found a B-2 with the Patriots logo all over it!  It is very cool...  I am not sure that I want the Pats to win again - it ends up being very expensive four us...  (Final count:  6 t-shirts, 2 sweatshirts, two hats, and a logo B-2 model...)  Good stuff!

Nikolai is - bar none - the smartest kid in the world!  We know that we are biased, but he is just so damned cute!  Every day he surprises us with something new.  His newest sayings are "Cool" and "OK!"  When you ask Niko to go anywhere, he says, "OK!"  He has the cutest little voice...  He says please and thank you, and knows how to give the puppy-dog face when he wants something.  And when he busts ass, he even says excuse me!  Pam taught him that one, not me...  His vocabulary is growing more and more by the day, and Pam and I often stare at each other and say, "Did you teach him that?!?"  He is even learning how to spell!  We told him how to spell Max, and the next thing he did was take his alphabet mat and spell out M-A-X.  Once we saw that he understood the concept of spelling, we got him to spell all sorts of stuff - he can spell mom, dad, Niko, Max, and I even took a stab at teaching him how to spell guitar.  That didn't work so well, but he will learn eventually!  There were some wicked funny stories these past two weeks:

1.  We went for a walk today, and I let Niko play in the road (no traffic, dirt road w/ only about 5 houses on it) as I was walking around our property.  He was in sight the entire time, but I was not watching him the entire time.  When I went back to get him, he was covered in water and dirt.  And - here is the kicker - his bangs were wet!  I asked him why his hair was wet, and he showed me, by getting down on his hands and knees and drinking out of the water puddle like a dog!  I about wet myself...  The across-the-street dog, Tucker, drinks that way - why shouldn't he?

2.  We got Nikolai the book, "Everybody Poops" in the hopes that we can help potty train him by showing that pooping is a natural function.  Instead, he just says, "Mommy poops."  "Daddy poops."  "Tucker poops."  "Max poops."  When we ask him if he pooped, we will get a correct answer only about 50 percent of the time.  Last night, when Pam returned from a trip to see a man about a Wallaby, Niko said, "I pooped, too!"

Max is full into the crawling mode and can't WAIT to get into the toddler mode!  He now crawls like normal kids (hands and knees vs. low crawl), and he gets into WAY more than Niko ever did!  The second you put him on the ground, he is off to terrorize something...  He requires CONSTANT watching.  I love trying to see how his little mind works - he is fascinated by stairs and everything that we tell him that he can't do (drawers, closets, cabinets, dishwasher, etc.)  He does his best to interrupt whatever Nikolai is into - Niko's favorite toy is his alphabet mat, and when Max gets involved, he shreds the mat much to Niko's disdain...  "No baby, that is mine!"  Max is way more sensitive than Niko was, and he HATES to be told no (don't we all?).  As of now, it appears that he will be the explorer of the bunch.  He can now pull himself up to standing on pretty much everything, and once he gets standing, he will clear off everything in his lethal radius!  He dumped Pam's coffee (it was already cold) twice in the past week...  It s going to be a lot of fun for both the boys when they can go outside together and play together this Spring...  Meanwhile, the most active baby in the world continues to rock Pam's innards!

The pregnancy is going great - Pam is built for breeding babes...  This baby is WAY more active than both Max and Niko combined!  Every morning we spend some time getting to know our little guy by watching him boot the snot out of her belly - We are getting so excited to meet him! 

We got the pictures back of the boys (taken 25 Jan 04), and they came out great!  Check them out...

We hope that all is well with you, and that Cupid brought you all the lovin' you deserve - check out the newest pictures, and drop us a line when you get a chance!

3 Feb 04

Sunday was the day!  What a great game watching the Patriots stomp on the Panthers.  Very nice…  Liz and Rich made the haul from Mass to enjoy the game here on the big screen.  We had a little superbowl party, and everything went great!

Things here have been going very well – last weekend, me and Ross went on a cross-country in the T-38 – We had lunch w/ Lucky in Charleston, boozed it up with Glennard in Tampa, and then headed for Colorado Springs for the altitude chamber (the whole purpose of the trip) – We even swung up to Denver for a few nights!  The weather was crap all over the country except for where we were and where we were going.  Unusual to say the least – but we never had even as much as a delay due to weather…

The kids are doing GREAT!  Max only wants to stand – his confidence is a bit shakey, so he wants a little support from us, but he will try anything!  We have hardwood floors, so he is always sipping and sliding around on that – his crawl is more of a low crawl than an actual crawl – he looks like a special forces soldier pulling himself through the brush to kill the enemy.  He is also sleeping through the night like a CHAMP!  We still can’t believe how well he is doing.  We put him in his crib while he is still awake, and he will fuss for ~5 minutes, and then he will be sound asleep for 11+ hours!  It is fantastic…  When Max is awake, he just follows Nikolai around and wants to do everything that he does!  Nikolai doesn’t grasp the sharing concept yet – we hear him say (~1000 times/day), “No baby.  That is mine.”  He has such a cute little voice –when he wants it to be a cute little voice.  He does have the capability of being an obnoxious little turd when he wants to be!  But he doesn’t do that too often…

 2 weeks ago, our family met up with a couple and went to a Japanese steakhouse, and we had a great time – When I say we – I mean me…  Me and the guy (Jason) were doing Sake bombers, while Nikolai was trying to throw food around like the chef.  Funny stuff…

Special thanks to Mike and Katie for all the letters that the kids were playing with...  They love them!

We were very delinquent taking pictures the last few weeks...  We promise we will be better!  However here are a few more pix for your viewing pleasure!  Hope all is going great w/ you…  Email when you get a chance!

11 Jan 04

We have been having a SLICE of a time with two healthy boys!  It is so much nicer when you don't have to worry about giving them medication every 5 minutes...  Nikolai got flash cards for Christmas that have all of the letters on them with an associated picture - All day he walks around saying, "A, AHHHH, Apple.  B, Behbehbehbeh, Baby. C, CaCaCaCa, Cat, MEEEEOOOOWWW!!!"  And so on.  Very cute, but kids at this age Love repetition!  The other day, we left the room to clean, and we came back about 10 minutes later, and Nikolai was sound asleep in his high chair at ~6 p.m. - Also, he walked up to Pam, pointed at his butt and said, "poopoo, Mommy."  When Pam asked if he went poopy, he gave the standard 2 year old, "no."  But he had - he is adorable!  Even when he's got mess in his drawers...

Max is healthy and a buttload of fun - he is so much more mobile - he low crawls everywhere and, much like his big brother, wants to be in the center of the action.  Always afraid he is going to be left behind.  His little teeth are so small and so cute.  We are working on sleep training him now, too.  Putting him to bed when he is still awake and letting him put himself to sleep rather than rock him to sleep.  So far, so good!  The first night he screamed for less than a half an hour (compared to Nikolai's hour and a half), and the next night it was only ~10 minutes.  Baby steps!  Pam is wicked psyched, because the more the boys sleep - the more she gets to sleep!  Sleep is really at a premium...

I survived my first week as a 30 year old no worse for the wear - everybody at work was quite shocked at my bald melon, but none of the reviews have been too bad...  Pam said, "It is not quite as shocking as it was..."  I guess that is a compliment!  I had my T-38 check ride the other day, and it was a beast - no real problems, but not my best flight...  Now I am going to be in the training section of the squadron until my B-2 class starts in April.  Pretty much a job to keep me busy for the next couple of months...

Last night we had a ~15 people over to watch the Patriots STEP on Tennessee!   Most of the people in my squadron are Pats fans, so we had a pretty good showing to support the team...  One more win and they are in the superbowl!  Woo-Hoo!!!

We hope that you have not broken (all) of your resolutions so far in this new year!  Take care, and drop us a line...  As always - check out the pictures!

3 Jan 04

Wow - I'm old!  Tipping the scales at a beefy 30 years old.  Ouch!  Oh well - Still been living the life to the fullest..  Last night we went to Macaroni Grill (Mmmmm...  Macaroni Grill) to celebrate mine and Ross' birthday - his is on Monday - but the old bastard is turning 31!  HA!  We had to celebrate a day early because we are going to be WAY too busy watching the playoffs today to celebrate!  Nikolai is doing GREAT without his binky!  It is so nice now that everyone is back to healthy...  Hope that all is going great!

1 Jan 04

Happy New Year!  It was a slow go, but we finally got the entire web back up on the server!  They recently doubled the allotment that they gave us to post our website, so I figured we might as well take advantage of it!  We are (STILL) using dial up now because the satellite internet is tending to suck.  They keep sending me broken pieces and parts - hopefully should be fixed once and for all by the end of next week...

New Year's Eve.  Wow.  We were invited to a New Year's Eve party at one of the pilot's houses, so we decided to check it out - Togas mandatory! Just my type of party!  Our Togas were a dark blue fabric with hundreds of little American Flags on them - they were matching and very cool...  The went perfect with my BALD HEAD!!!  That is right - Puddy is now BALD!  We were watching a home-movie the other night, and from certain angles, you could see that my hair was SEVERELY thinning out!  Not pretty.  And yesterday I needed to get a hair-cut, so I figured that I would save myself $13, and I would cut my own hair.  So I am REALLY bald.  It is a bit shocking, but I like it!  Pam is still undecided, and I don't think Max knows who I am!  Both Max and Niko just keep staring at me with a look of wonderment... 

The party throwers had set up baby-sitting just two houses away for the kids to be watched.  The only problem was that there was going to be a 10 and 12 year old watching the kids...  Pam got called to check on them once at 10:30, and then the baby-sitters called again at 11:57 p.m. and said that, "Nikolai just won't go to sleep."  We knew that it was time to probably take off since the baby-sitters were unable to handle our brood.  We rang in the New Year, and then scurried out quickly to retrieve the boys.  When we got their, it was more than obvious that Nikolai was in charge!  HA!  Max was still awake, and they both looked very tired...  We said our good-byes and headed for home!  Oh well - they say kids change everything - and they were right!  Gone are the days of having a pediatrician for a baby-sitter...

Unborn Baby Boy Tolmoff is trying to climb out of Pam right now - he just boots her all day everyday!  It is so cool to watch and feel her belly move when he kicks.  Nikolai still doesn't fully grasp what is going on with Mommy getting bigger, but he knows that something is up!

Max is adorable with his cute little tooth!  He is feeling much better, and he even spent all night last night in his crib!  Hopefully we have rounded the corner on illness with the boys... 

Big news on the Nikolai front - we have taken away his binky!  Today is the first full day - He hasn't really asked for it, and when he does, we just try to divert his attention to something else.  The big test will be tonight to see how he handles it while he is supposed to be sleeping.  I can clearly remember a few weeks ago at 2 in the morning, him screaming bloody murder yelling, "BINKY PLEASE!!!!" because he had dropped it underneath the crib, and he would have kept crying until we retrieved it...  Wish us luck!

We hope that 2003 was as good to you as it was to us...  May 2004 bring continued happiness!  As always - feel free to drop us a line, and check out the new pictures!