Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Ezra at the Park...aka, A bunch of videos for The Grandparents

Just a heads up...if you aren't one of The Grandparents, you might not be interested in all of the videos I've posted.  They don't get to see The Kid very often, so I figured I'd post a whole afternoon of video clips.

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We went to Balboa Park today to let the boy run around and get his crazy out.  And boy, did he :)

For some reason, he'd never been on a swing before now.  I know, I know.  Deprived child.

He LOVED the swings.  Actually fussed a bit when we took him out to let another kid have a turn.  Once he realized that he was simply moving on to the next awesome playground activity, he was cool.

So, here's the swings....


And a quick picture of a cute kid...




And next, we moved on to the slides.  He was pretty enchanted with a little girl here & Jordan had to take charge and move things along :)


And this would be Jordan & Ez on one of the bigger slides....


Here's a picture of the boy, riding a dinosaur.  He liked it...but not as much as the swing.



Later, we walked over to the carousel, thinking that he might like to ride it.  When we got up to it and realized how fast it goes, we decided we'd wait a little while longer.  Moving on, we walked to the Balboa Park Railroad...and Ez went on his first train ride!  It's so cute and he had such a good time.  Jordan said he was smiling and laughing and looking around the whole time.  Next time, I'm taking the train ride with him and Jordan can take the pictures ;-)


We walked through the local artist village on our way back to the car.  The shops were all closing up, but Ezra didn't care.  It was still decorated for Christmas and he thought it was pretty cool.



And finally, here's a clip of him trying to NOT walk back to the car...instead, he wanted to walk in circles on the lawn of the NAT.  He's nothing if not persistent, folks.



Monday, December 26, 2011

Ezra vs Nori

I took this video on Christmas Eve.  Ezra has fallen in love with roasted nori & he was eating it like it was going out of style...



We went to Balboa Park this afternoon to let Ezra burn off some of his energy.  I'll get some pictures and a couple videos up soon.  For now, just enjoy watching my kid shove a sheet of seaweed into his face :)

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas!


Ezra's second Christmas was a good one.  A very good one.

We got a late start - he didn't wake up until about 10:30 or so...and even then, he wasn't happy about being woken up.  See, he decided to take a little nap on Christmas Eve from 9:30 to 10:45...and then be up until 3am.  Yay for Ezra & Mommy play time!  Hummph.  It did give me a few minutes to enjoy some coffee & a cinnamon roll before we got him up.  Yum.

Once he started playing with some of his new trucks and such, his mood lifted & all was right in Ezra-town.  His haul was bountiful and we're literally tripping over the toys now.  And this is after I bagged up a ton of toys a few days ago in preparation for all the new additions.

He's one lucky little boy :)

And apparently is a natural when it comes to dunking.  Who knew a little ginger would be so good at basketball?!

He also loves his Cabbage Patch Kid.  He hugs him and gives him kisses.  It's so sweet.

Here's the tree with all but a few presents still under it.  He'd "accidentally" opened one a few days ago and we all got to open one on Christmas Eve.  Even still, it's clear to see that he was about to require another room for all of his stuff.



The way he opened on Christmas Eve, we expected him to tear through wrapping paper like a honeybadger getting to, well, whatever it wanted.  Instead, he was happy to sit and play with whatever we'd just help him open.  

Here he is, just trying to play with his truck/cell phone.  

Now here's a happy kid!  I was hoping for a little more paper-flying, but this is good, too ;-)

 Then he opened his talking cookie jar/shape sorter...and it stole his attention for the next 10 minutes.  I'd just like to point out that, if he could talk, he'd be asking what in the hell cookies are & why isn't he allowed to eat them?

Once he got over his new cookie jar obsession, he played some b-ball & even took a quick break to give his Lucy some love.  Notice that Lucy is sporting her new Redskins jersey, courtesy of Santa Claus.

Here's a short video of him unwrapping his tool bench...



 After we'd finished unwrapping all of his toys, I forced him to sit still for 30 seconds so I could get a picture of him with his haul.  Clearly, he was not okay with this...

Later, he got dressed in some new clothes from his cousins (that I'd washed prior to wrapping just so he could wear them!), and got to work on building some stuff with his new tool bench.  He looks like such a little man in his flannel, doing manly things like cutting wood :)

"I've just gotta double-check this one, guys."

There was a lot of playing & exploring going on for the rest of the day.  We did take him for a bike ride around the block to see all the Christmas decorations & lights one more time before they start coming down.  He really likes the giant, inflated penguins & snowmen :)

All-in-all, Christmas 2011 was awesome.  Time to get started on shopping for next year ;-)

Cheers!













Thursday, December 22, 2011

15 Months!


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Easy-E is 15 months old today!

He's got so much going on these days and he's growing SO fast now.  Sometimes when he's laying on me, I look down and simply cannot believe just how big he's gotten.  I think he's actually grown an inch in the past 2 weeks.  Seriously.

So, what is Ezra up to these days?  Well, I'll tell ya!

-He's wearing a wide range of clothing, from 6-12 month shirts to 18 month pants and rompers.  He's all over the place.
-Ez lets me know when he's ready to take his bath.  He'll start saying "Ba! Ba!" around 5 or 6pm and not stop until I let him in the bathroom...where he proceeds to systematically throw each of his bath toys into the tub.
-He's on the verge of running.  He'll take a couple really quick steps before stumbling to the ground.  It's cute, but it's going to give me a heart attack.
-He's back on the green smoothie bandwagon.  He basically attacks me for it.
-Perfectly ripe pears are his most favorite food these days.  And he also loves to snack on his puffs.
-Trips to the zoo are getting to be more and more fun.  He really enjoys looking at the animals now.  His favorites are the tiger, the mountain lion, and the snake turtles.  He laughs uncontrollably when the tiger & mountain lion walk by him - especially the tiger, since he can get so close with the glass.
-He brings me his books when he wants to read.  Favorite?  Noisy Farm.
-Grouping objects is a new favorite activity.
-He still LOVES to climb into the laundry basket the second it hits the ground.  He's a good clothes-folding-helper ;-)
-He's got 2 more top teeth that have broken through and there's 2 bottoms on their way.  This makes a total of 10 above the gum line.
-He waves goodbye, sometimes give high-fives & blows kisses...so sweet :)
-He's so funny and smart and the most amazing little person I've ever met.  And I tell him every single day.

Here's a couple shots of the boy.  I'll have my camera back by tomorrow evening, so hopefully I'll be able to add some more to this...you know, 15 months + 1 day :)


Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Jungle Bells

Soooo....I forgot to go ahead & publish this post a week or so ago.  Whoops!  Also, for some reason, it posted after another that I'd started a couple days ago as well (but just finished).  Hmmmm...
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Nighttime Zoo is back!  This probably doesn't excite most people, but it makes me pretty happy.  It means that Ezra has a place to go after his mid-afternoon nap.  It means that I'm not stuck walking him around the neighborhood for the millionth time.  It means we have a reason to bundle him up in his hat, mittens and heavy coat (for the 40 degree weather ;-)).



 And here's Ezra, napping in his stroller the day before...but once again, at the zoo.  He looked so sweet & cozy, I just had to take a picture.

In other news, Ez is getting some more teeth.  Poor kid.  He's also incredibly mobile.  And pretty clumsy at times...which means he's had a couple face-bruises :(  It's tough being a toddler.



Friday, December 16, 2011

Another Hodgepodge.

Ezra has been a busy little man lately.  He's currently getting a couple more teeth, so we've been nursing A TON, having some really crazy sleeping times and he even had his first fever.  Poor kid.  One minute he's cool - just running around, snacking on his puffs & playing with toys and BAM!...He's crying because his adorable little mouth is hurting.  I can't blame him.  I mean, teeth are a pain sometimes.

He HAS been a good sport and has very much enjoyed trying some delicious homemade kale chips.  I've shared this recipe before, but it's worth sharing again.  'Tis delicious.  If you think you don't like kale, try these.  They taste like salt & vinegar chips...yum :)

Another new thing that's been, uh..."fun" is that Ezra has decided that he no longer likes to sit down in the tub for his baths (or as he calls them, "Ba! Ba!")  Instead, he likes to stand up to play with the faucet, which is covered by a cute whale faucet cover, or just to get a better vantage point from which to pour water on me with his toys & cups.  If his tantrums weren't so crazy, what with the back-arching, screeching, arms & legs flailing...I might force his little butt to sit down.  But a hard, water-filled tub is not a place I'd like to test the strength of his skull.  So, he wins that battle.  For now.

Also, he seems to be gaining steam in the area of appetites...yay!  He's still nursing a ton, but he has started eating more solids.  He's a growing boy, people.

Seriously, he's growing like a weed.  His pants that used to require a double-cuff roll....are now down to a single roll.  That change happened overnight.  Or, close to it anyways ;-)

And here's some pictures I've snapped of the boy...

We went to the zoo again the other evening.  Here's Jordan & Ez right at the entrance, where they had some fake, soapy snow falling down :)

 I'm not sure when this one was taken...sometime this past week, I think.  Definitely at night, evidenced by the Robot Destroyer pajamas :)  Also, since I took both of them on my phone, I put them through Instagram - just in case you were wondering.


Saturday, December 10, 2011

Vegas, baby.

So, I have bad news.

Not only am I completely awful at updating lately (blame the incredibly mobile & mischievous Ezra!)...but I'm also without a working camera.

I won't bore you with the details, but I'm down to my iphone for the next couple weeks.  Let's just say that it's ridiculously slow shutter and inability to focus on anything is making picture-taking a bit...tough.  We'll make it through, though ;-)

We made the trek to Vegas last weekend.  Our great friends, Job + Brandi, got married and we were lucky enough to be a part of their celebration.  Ezra wasn't exactly supposed to be in the wedding, but considering his status of "attached-to-my-hip," he managed to walk down the aisle with us both, stand with me during the ceremony and also make it into each picture involving the bridal party.

At least he matched.  He was in black dress pants, grey vest and a tie that completely matched my dress.  Let me just tell you, he was freakin' adorable.  Oh, and brand new black Chuck Taylors.  Yep.

The wedding was great.  Short but perfectly sweet and romantic ceremony, followed by some seriously delicious food and finally finished with dancing in the coolest wine bar ever.  Really.  It was so perfect and awesome.  Totally them.

Oh, and the cake.  The cake was intense, y'all.  Pumpkin, with what I can only think must have been crack-laced cream cheese frosting.  Holy crap, dude.  Best cake ever.  Winner, winner, chicken-dinner.

So, congratulations to the happy couple!  We're SO happy for you...and we had a ton of fun crashing at your house and invading your space for the extra-long weekend :)

Here's some pictures we took.  Or really, Jordan took.  As I mentioned earlier, Ezra is pretty much attached to me again these days.  When he wasn't ON me, he was running amuck, getting into mischief throughout their house...so I was definitely not toting around the camera.

Yes, it's blurry.  Blame Jordan.

It's wrong to have a baby in a bar, yes.  But you can't get funny pictures of your kid unless you break a few rules, right?!

One too many...

Gimme the damn water, Ma!

 He finally ran himself around enough to fall asleep, thanks to some milk & snuggles with Mama.  Here's Mini-Man and Jordan...

 Later, we headed downstairs to the coolest wine bar ever.  This is a shot of their first dance.  They're so damn cute ;-)

Here's Brandi with her father.  Also a super-nice guy.

 Just before the cutting of the most awesome cake ever...

 Here's Ezra at the after-party :)  Really, he's just harassing the poor dog, Holly.  He climbed those damn stairs about a million times.


The next day, we went down to the strip to see the sights.  Here's the only real picture we took.  Ez was a little wild...



Tuesday, November 22, 2011

14 Months!

14 months.

Man.  Time is flying by.  We're about to celebrate Thanksgiving for the second time with Ezra.  It's crazy.

So, what's Easy-E up to these days?  Well, I'll tell ya...

He's walking.  Everywhere.  All the time.
Pushing his bike, stroller, push-toys, anything he can get his hands on, will fill hours and hours of the day.
He can point to his nose, his tongue, his belly-button, his foot & his head when asked.
Ez loves to munch on Fiddlesticks.  Yep.  My kid is eating packaged treats.
He's an expert at his straw-sippy-cups.
Did I mention he's walking all the time?
He says "Baa" for bath.  And even signs it about half the time!
He's getting pretty good at signing "Please."
He likes to dance!
Ez gives hugs and kisses to the dogs :)
He blows kisses & it melts my heart.
Peekaboo is now played by covering his face with his hands instead of a blanket (or diaper, wipe, etc!).
He is getting pretty good at sorting shapes.  Circles and triangles are his shapes of choice right now.
He can identify the letters "A" and "B."
He's so smart.  And sweet.  And beautiful.
He's amazing and I tell him every.single.day.

Here's a bunch of pictures...because I couldn't choose just a couple ;-)



He was mid-chew here...munching on a Fiddlestick.  I just thought it was cute.

Gimme!

You'd think he was a puppy...





And just in case you were wondering, yes.  He's got an appointment to get his hair cut again, next week :) 



Saturday, November 19, 2011

Better Late Than Never: Oma's Pumpkin Patch!

 Back on October 19th, we headed a little East to Lakeside to visit Oma's Pumpkin Patch.  Ezra got suited up in his brand new shoes (he had been walking with help, so we wanted him to be properly outfitted to walk outside), and ended up having a great time.

They were lacking in the actual pumpkin patch...they had a lot of "pre-picked" pumpkins, but no real patch to speak of.

What they lacked in the patch arena, they made up for in the everything else arena.  There was a petting zoo, complete with sheep, goats, itty-bitty adorable baby goats (kids?), and a little calf!  Also, a lasso-the-fake-steer-area, an arcade-style basketball game, hay-bale maze, cottonseed-hill sledding & a hayride through the working dairy farm.  Plus a fake milk-the-cow set-up and numerous tractors, straw bales & pumpkins set up for photo-ops.  It was pretty awesome.


Here's Jordan & Ez when we first got there.  EZ was pretty distracted by all the fun stuff :)


EZ on the flatbed pickup truck...admiring the pumpkins.

Petting a goat...

He really liked this mama--baby combo.


 He was extra gentle petting the adorable calf.



 Me & my Ezra.

Riding some fake cows!

 He's a cowboy!

Farmer Ezra!

One day, he'll understand that he's supposed to poke his little face through.  Until then, we get these ridiculously cute photos of him kinda doing it ;-)

Farmer Ezra & Jordan the cow!

 Just shootin some hoops with my Dad.

He was a little confused when we told him that this is how you milk a cow...I mean, he hears the word milk, and immediately signs it & tries to get me to feed him.  This blew his mind, people.  Milk.  From something other than Mom?  That's crazy-talk ;)

This one's blurry, but cute, nonetheless.  Ez & Jordan sliding down the cottonseed hill.

A quick family shot on the cottonseed hill.

Jordan trying to lasso a "steer."

Atop a straw bale hill.

He's ready, folks.  Ready to PLAY.

 He had a great time going through the maze & poking out at all the openings :)

Our friends, the Palmer's & the Champagne's arrived just in time for the final hayride of the night.  Here's a picture Mike took of  us (notice how nice his camera is!) as we were waiting to embark on our journey...

Ezra in the cottonseed...


Claire, Ezra & Desmond posing as baby farm animals!

Having some fun in the cottonseed...


Ez LOVED playing in the cottonseed.