We're 8 months old!

The babies turned 8 months old this past Wednesday, the 25th! I cannot believe how much they've grown and learned in such a short time. Danylo and Matvij are both up and trying to walk. They each have 6, razor sharp teeth, although Danylo's are still popping through. Olivia is content to simply roll around on the ground and has no desire to either sit or crawl. Poor little girl. She is, however, getting better at defending herself...sort of!

To mark their "birthday," we took a ride to the clinic and had them weighed and measured. Here are the results:

Matthew is 20 lbs 8 oz and is 29 inches long. (He surpassed Daniel for the first time!!)
Daniel is 20 lbs 4 oz and is 27.5 inches long. (Short and stumpy!)
Olivia is 17 lbs 8 oz and is 27.3 inches long. (She looks chubby but it's all fluff!)

They also started using their new high chairs this week. That went about as good as can be expected. With the new chairs came another new chapter in the routine.....sippy cups and Cheerios! Again, it went fairly well. The boys really enjoyed the Cheerios until one would get stuck on the back of their tongue. Neither one could understand how to work the sippy cup. They left the new technological gadget for their sister to figure out....which she did. God bless her - she finally did something before her brothers! You go girl!




PS - The chairs were presents from their "Uncle Ed and Aunt Deb." Thank you so much for being so generous!! We really appreciate it.

On the Road Again!

After weeks of trying to figure out what was wrong with Mykola's truck, he finally got it....it was the fuel shut-off solenoid that got stuck in the open position. For those of you who are like me and don't know what a solenoid is, it's a little valve/screen thingy!! Basically, what should have been a clean screen that you could theoretically run water through, was a gunked up, crusty piece of rusted metal. Clearly, not the way it should have been. But, all is well and now the truck is running like new. Thank God!

Mykola also got to put on his new tires this weekend. He took it to the local Tire Store and they mounted and balanced all seven tires. I know, I know....so what??? As I've stated before, Mykola and his brothers live for this kind of stuff so this post is for Mykola and his boys!! The slideshow is posted on the right.

Marching to her own drummer....

Olivia is definitely a little girl! She's smaller than her brothers. She doesn't eat as much as her brothers and she's gentler in nature than the other two bruisers! Thus far, she's decided to let Matthew and Daniel do all of the hard work as far as crawling and teething go. Olivia is content to lay on her belly and squirm around, or to let her brothers use her as part of an obstacle course!

In the last few days, however, Olivia has decided to start "talking." She'll only respond when you say "peek-a-boo" and she'll be silent the second anyone else starts to make a sound.

She's also decided that she's a big girl now and she doesn't need to nap with her brothers. To carry out her evil plan, she cries and screams forever or until I've decided it's too risky to keep her in the room out of fear that she'll wake the other two. So, into the jolly jumper she goes.....her evil plan complete!! Here is the final outcome....oh, if only she'd listen to her mother.....

Morning Chaos....

This post is specifically for my Aunt Jane who lives in Oshawa, Ontario! My mom was just on the phone with her and during their conversation she was telling Janie about how Matthew and Daniel act like little tigers! So, for her viewing pleasure and yours, here's a short video to show you what's its like when two out of the triplets are crawling over everything, literally! Enjoy!

Disneyland 2009!

Hi, everyone! We decided to take advantage of my mom and Jack being here, and planned a short vacation with just me, Mykola and Kolya. We wanted to show him how much we appreciate his help with the triplets and that we think he is the best big brother in the whole world! It was a great weekend at both Universal Studios in Hollywood and Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Kolya was so surprised! It was a weekend-long celebration in his honor which won't be soon forgotten.

We started off on Friday at Universal Studios. It rained the whole time we were there which prompted us to cut our day short because it got so cold. Despite the weather, however, we had a fun time. We saw Curious George, SpongeBob, the Simpsons, Jaws, Dora and a bunch of other TV and movie characters. We stood in line for the Shrek 3-D ride which was a hoot! Mykola and Kolya waited, in the rain, for the Krustyland ride. It was in an IMAX theater and from what they said, it was awesome!! We even took the famous Universal Studios Tour and saw some really cool stuff. It's truly amazing how movies are made. The special effects people are to be commended - they scared the dickens out of Kolya and that was just on the ride!!

We would have stayed longer but it really was too cold to be outside. So, without looking at the time, we left Hollywood and headed for Disney. Boy, was that a mistake! Downtown LA traffic on a Friday afternoon.....aaaahhhhh! What should have taken us no more than 45 minutes took us nearly 3 hours...and that was on the back roads. Kolya got a chance to warm up and get some much needed shut eye. Needless to say, Mykola and I treated ourselves to a last minute sightseeing tour of Korea and Mexico on our way to Anaheim. Our detour almost went through Watts and South Central LA until I directed my navigator to point us in another direction IMMEDIATELY!

When we arrived in Anaheim it was nearly 6:30 pm and time for dinner. Our hotel, The Camelot Inn, was too cute! It looked like a house in a tiny German village, and was directly across the street from the park. Once we got unpacked and took a look around the neighborhood, we got back in the car and headed toward Outback Steakhouse - Kolya's choice. After waiting for over an hour to be seated, we finally finished dinner after 9:00! Afterward, it was back to the hotel for fireworks outside our balcony and a good night sleep.

On Saturday (Happy Valentine's Day!!), we started with breakfast at IHOP and then we headed to Disneyland.

There was one thing that Mykola and I noticed right off the bat....we don't miss going to theme parks!! There were two kinds of people there - those that were looking to procreate and those that already had (and had the kids in tow to prove it!) As Mykola and I are well past the stage when we walked around with our hands in each others' back pockets (although I'm not sure we ever did), we were definitely a bit out of place. Regardless, we had a great time!

We had a blast riding all the rides! Here's Kolya and me on the Tea Cups.

Take a look at the video of Kolya "driving!"

We took the train all the way around the park to get a taste of the whole place. We people watched and bought insanely expensive souvenirs just because. We treated ourselves to ice cream and turkey legs! But best of all, Mykola and I got to share Disney with Kolya and only Kolya! He loved the park and everything that goes along with it. We really enjoyed watching him have sooooo much fun! He also loved being the center of attention again. We absolutely adore our oldest son and we're so glad to we got to experience this weekend with him!! (Check out the slideshow of all our pictures from this weekend!)

A New Baby in the Family!

No...we're not having another baby!!! But our friends, Bryen and Lisa Bartgis, welcomed their first grandson into the world this past Tuesday, February 10, 2009! His name is Heath Weston Jones and he was 7 lbs 11.6 oz and measured 19.5 inches. Baby, mommy and daddy are all doing well!

Congratulations to the Jones/Bartgis family and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Baby Heath!!

Love,
The Rowdy Rozsas

6 1/2 going on 30....

The other day, Nicholas was getting ready to take a shower. He was getting undressed when I noticed that he was looking at himself in the mirror. He was checking out his armpits where, apparently, we made a new discovery. Was he being truthful or was it just wishful thinking??? Check out the video. He's such a goof!

Busy, busy, busy!

Hi, everyone. Sorry I haven't written in a while. It's been crazy busy around here. My mom and I are trying to survive the week while tato is gone. The kids have not cooperated AT ALL! I used to look forward to the time that they go down for the night...now I dread it because I know that in a few hours the torture starts all over again. AAHHH!

Sometime this weekend, I'll post some pics and movies. We had another milestone this week...Matthew started to crawl, I mean really crawl! Forward not backward, and stringing a couple of movements together before falling on his face. Daniel is well on his way and should be crawling by the end of next week. Olivia is, well....Olivia. She lays on her belly and flails her arms and legs around expecting to go somewhere. She's learned to prop herself on her side which is hilarious because it looks like she's posing for some seductive portrait - which, of course, she better never do while I'm alive!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! We are definitely looking forward to Mykola coming home tomorrow. TGIF!!!

Johnny Jakym - 65 and still kickin'!

65 years ago, in a little village in Germany, my dad was born. He lived on a farm there until he was 6 years old - at which point he and my grandmother immigrated to the United States. His stories about his trans-Atlantic journey are hilarious but, at the same time, illustrate just how difficult it was for them on their Army/Red Cross sponsored trip.

While my grandmother worked, my dad basically raised himself, traveling around Cleveland and back and forth to Oshawa, Ontario all on his own. I guess back in the 1950s you could still do that sort of thing. He went to the same high school I graduated from and spent some time at Cleveland State University. He also did a stint in the Army, to whom he credits his Korean vacation! If you ever meet him, ask him about the time he was supposed to be doing his two-week reserve training but got sent home because they thought he was Jewish!!

My dad has a love and borderline obsession with cars. Just ask any local car dealer and I'm sure they'll know my dad by face if not by name! In his eyes, after two years a car is old and practically obsolete so it's time to trade it in for something newer. His loves of travel and driving the open road is not complete without a good set of wheels. Again, if you ever see him, ask him about the time he bought a new car instead of investing in a McDonald's franchise back in the 60's. Can you say "would have been a millionaire"?

My dad was a police officer most of his adult life. He dedicated over 20 years as a cop in Brooklyn, Ohio, both in the cruiser and on the bike. I'm glad he got out when he did because Brooklyn is just the same place it was back in the day. I remember all the shift parties that we used to have at our house when I was little. I still think he built the bar in our basement just to make the guys happy!

My dad has also survived two, yes TWO, open heart surgeries! I am SO VERY THANKFUL that he is healthy and taking better care of himself (even though I can't prevent him from going to Wendy's or buying that chili dog at the local Speedway...yes, I know your dirty little secrets!!)

Now, not a day goes by that I don't see glimmers of him in my kids, especially in Nicholas and Matthew. I am grateful that my dad is still around to share my life with me. He is a gracious, funny and private man, and he always has words of wisdom for me when I need them. His life's stories are endless and make me laugh until I cry. Thank you, daddy, for everything you have done for me and for my family. I love you and I can't wait until you visit us in March so we can celebrate your 65 years of adventures together!!

All our love and best wishes for a wonderful birthday!
Tracy, Mykola and all your grandbabies

My Dad with Nicholas - November 2008


Dad with a Paris policeman - June 2004


Dad at the Eiffel Tower - June 2004


Dad next to the sign of the village where he was born


Dad with Nicholas in 2004


Dad at the Harley Dealer in Germany - 2004


Dad with Nicholas at the Waffle House - 2003


Dad at Shaw AFB - October 2002