Saturday, January 22, 2011

4 Months!

Holy. Crap.

My sweet little boy is 4 months old today. Unbelievable.

He's getting SO big now. He's out of almost all of his Newborn-sized clothing (still rockin' a few pieces), he eats like a champ now, he plays with toys, rolls over, giggles at some things and outright laughs at others, scoots on his belly, sits for story-time, plays with his toes...I'm pretty sure college is right around the corner, no?

He is beyond awesome and we are both well aware of just how lucky we are to have a kid like him.

Here's some of his special 4 Month pictures...






And here's a few we snapped at the zoo today. It was a beautiful day - perfect weather for the zoo and a perfect way to celebrate Ez's 4 months. He really seemed to enjoy it this time and actually looked at animals instead of falling asleep ;-) I'm pretty sure that being in the stroller, not the Moby, helped that.
I'd also like to point out that Jordan, despite my explaining our morning routine, failed to wet & comb Mini-Man's hair so that it would be somewhat manageable. Nope. He claims that "Dad doesn't do hair." Mm-hmm.


Friday, January 21, 2011

Friday Night Excitement

I spent my Friday evening making these...

They are soft, chewy Snickerdoodles and they are fantastic. Here's the recipe.

And tending to this...

It's a wool cover and it needed lanolizing. I managed to put it off for a whole week but I can't stand not using it, so I had to hop on it.

And here's Jordan and Ez having a little QT while I made the cookies. Pretty cute, huh?


And finally here's me and my most favorite person ever. I think he was tired of the flash in his cute little face all night ;-)

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Recipes, Diapers, and Pictures - Oh My!

A couple recipe reviews...

I'd been craving brussels sprouts for awhile now. I know that my mother is going to need to read that one a few times for it to sink in. Brussels sprouts were probably the only vegetable that I wasn't a huge fan of as a kid. But when I came across this recipe, I decided that they look delicious and need to be made immediately. Turns out, they were...and they did! I mean, you add a little parmesan to anything and it instantly makes it delicious, right?

I made this last night to go along with some delicious but rather unimaginative enchiladas. I wasn't expecting much from it, but I was really surprised by how awesome it was. You really need to make it soon. I added a little extra lime juice and cumin and used plain quinoa (because that's all I had), but otherwise, the recipe is just perfect as-is. And it works on it's own as a snack or as a side dish. Just do it.
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Ezra's new diapers came in the mail a couple days ago. I can't lie, I was so freakin excited to get that package. I LOVE getting new diapers and diaper accessories ;-) It's a problem.

So I ordered him 8 Kawaii Minky Bamboo diapers. I got 4 Blue Label and 4 Mom Label - the differences are pretty minor but I wanted to try both. Each came with 2 bamboo inserts. My only (minor) complaint so far is that "Peach Red" turned out to be "Hot Pink". Like, clear as day, hot pink. No matter - Wee-Man looks good in anything and can rock some pink diapers like it's his job.

They're One-Size diapers, so they can snap down for him while he's still itty-bitty and will grow with him up to 35lbs. And being pocket diapers, they can be stuffed to capacity for long stretches (nighttime, naptime) and he'll stay comfy. The material is organic bamboo and it's just as soft as his Goodmama organic bamboo velour diapers, but feels more silk-like. Pretty awesome and I'm a tad jealous that he gets such soft, plush things on his bottom ;-)

I'm sure that only 2% of the people reading this actually cared to know all that. You're welcome, 2%. For the rest of you, you'll be ready when Alex Trebek announces the cateogory, "All About Cloth Diapers." And you're welcome.

So here's the Baby Formerly Known as Spork modeling the Ocean Blue colored Blue Label.


And for your viewing pleasure, here's a cute shot of the babe after his bath tonight. He LOVES baths. I can't wait to take him swimming and see if the love carries over to pools and beaches ;-)


Angus Young or Ezra?

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Clarification and more pictures

I went back and looked at the last post and realized that I should probably clarify some things.

Ezra got up around 11:30am that day. He was, by no means, tired. Had he given any cues that he was (yawning, disinterest in playing, fussing, etc) he would have napped. He routinely has days where he only takes short catnaps during the day.

He catnapped after eating about 4 times, for 15-30 minutes each time, waking when he was ready.

The goal was to amp up his activities throughout the day in order to try to tire him about a bit earlier in the evening....to allow for an earlier bedtime. Also, naps (real naps) throughout the day are a part of that goal. He laughed and played all day and was never forced to stay up.

Alright, I feel better.


So, was it successful? Kind of.

Here's what we got from it:

1. He fell asleep and woke up the next day about an hour and a half earlier. Great!
The next night, sleep was even better. Awesome!
The following day, we were back to going down and getting up late again. Bust.

2. I'm not consistently following a routine. Because we were so stringent on eating every two hours (at least) for so long just to maintain normal weight gains, I didn't begin a nighttime routine with Ez. There truly was NO time for that most days/nights. He was eating far too frequently (because he simply had to) and I barely had time to remove my butt from the couch to refill my water before he needed to eat again.
Now that I can and should, I am. We are currently working through The No-Cry Sleep Solution. I'll let you know how it goes.

3. Posting a pictorial essay of how you spent your day with a 3.5 month old is almost as tiring as spending your day with a 3.5 month old ;-)
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Whew. So, guess what Ez's latest triumph is...?

He rolls from back to belly now AND is scooting on his belly! I know...I was shocked too. I swear, I just gave birth to this little person and now he's working on becoming mobile? The hell? I almost want to pull a Cesar Milan on him and "Ssssssttt" every time he does it so that he'll stop and just be my tiny, immobile, adorable baby forever.
Then I realize that this makes me sound like a crazy person and I decide not to do it.
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You've probably noticed the amber necklace that I have wrapped around Mini-Man's wrist. If you are a member of my family, you have likely mocked me, albeit quietly and rarely to my face, about it.

I wasn't positive that it was really helping with anything at all. That is, until I took it off him for bath time and forgot to put it back on for several hours. Let me tell you, this thing really takes the edge off the discomfort that he's feeling from these moving teeth.

So there.
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And here's some recent pics of the boy.

He had a good time laughing at me while we sang and danced our way around the kitchen making banana bread. This is one of my favorite pictures!


Here's Ezra, modeling his new cowboy romper from Jenna.


And here's one of him after I told him the most hilarious joke ever.


Isn't he precious?


So cute, sitting in his Bumbo after a trip to Yogurtland (for me, not him ;-)).

Monday, January 17, 2011

Adventures in Resetting Clocks

Here's a shot of Ezra at 2 o'clock on Sunday morning.


This would be the reason for the following post...
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I'd like to present to you a little something that I like to call "Keeping-Ezra-awake-all-day-with-minimal-downtime-so-that-he'll-go-to-sleep-sometime-before-3am-and-not want-to sleep-till-noon."

I played with my butterfly. When I say play, I mean I mostly tried to eat it.


Here I am right before we headed out the door to take Brodie for a walk. I'm only 3.5 months old and Mom's already making me walk the dog. This is crap. I'd also like to add that I wasn't allowed in my Moby today because I tend to fall asleep approximately 45 seconds after I get in it.


Okay, so the walk wasn't that bad. It was pretty great.


I went to Von's to pick up a few things for dinner. Not my dinner, of course.


Here's me with Mom.


Check it out - Dad is like a human Bumbo!


Chillin with my Dad. He's a funny guy.


Then I examined Dad's knee for awhile.


I can fly!


Diapa-diapa-diaper change time!


I attacked the monkey...


Then that damn monkey attacked me...


Then Mom put my jammies on me while I played with my singing puppy, Frank. I don't look like it here, but I really love him.


Check it out - I can ride Lucy.


Oh hey. I like to stand up, too.


I wore Dad out but I'm not tired yeeettttt!


And I'm back to "playing" with my butterfly while Mom washed dishes. Yum.


Look! Another diaper! Thank goodness Mom didn't take pictures of every one, huh?


I'm still a bit too little for this awesome toy from Adam & Lorianne , but I like to try (with a little help from a blanket to help bolster me!)


I'm laughing at Mom in this one because she's singing along with Frank and, well, Mom's singing is funny. And by funny, I mean bad.


Sometimes a guy just wants to hang out in his Bumbo with his Mozart music cube.


I hung out in my sling & helped Mom put dishes away. Don't mind the wet spot on her shirt, it's just a little magic that I left for her.


Later, me and Mom got our Suess on.


I did a lot of eating throughout the day but we thought we'd skip pictures of that.
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I'd like to add that it's 1:30am and Mini-Man is still awake, though drowsy. Cross your fingers that this next catnap turns into some full-on, blissful sleep :-)

Thursday, January 13, 2011

A weight update and a couple pictures!

Have I mentioned lately how awesome our midwife is?

My kid is almost 4 months old but I got a little nervous about some overly sleepy days with less eating and pooping, followed by a new pattern of eating a little less in general. I know...he's a baby. Everyday can be completely different, Having micromanaged his growth for the first few months, I guess I get a little anxious when a new pattern develops or we have a strange few days. I've tried weighing him using our bathroom scale, but that thing is on it's way out anyways, so it's unreliable at best.

Vickii's great. She humored me and let me go in to weigh Mini-Man at her office.

And guess what? The kid is doing good! Still averaging about a half an ounce gain a day, we're up to 12lbs 2oz.

I'll officially stop being a nazi about his weight, barring anything crazy happening, of course ;-)
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We are all set to go to TX for the wedding at the end of the month, save for Ezra's outfit for the big day. I have yet to find something cute, season-appropriate for an outdoor wedding that actually fits him. He's all over the place with clothing these days. He's still fitting nicely in some NB sized onesies and shirts, mostly wearing 0-3mo, and is even wearing some 3mo and 3-6mo sleepers. Those are mostly because he wears his big-boy diapers at night, so we need the extra tushy-room :-) Perhaps we'll just go old-school-Baby-Jesus-style and just wrap him in a nice blanket & be done with it...
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Easy-E just woke up from his catnap and wanted to show off his latest and greatest new thing --

He finally sits in his Bumbo (without looking at me like I'm punishing him)! He was also simultaneously telling me the noise the owl makes.


And this one is just to show you his gangsta-lean.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

So, Jordan has been sick since Friday. Like, he's not touching or going too close to Ezra kind of sick. Because of this, I'm even more exhausted than normal. All of this means that you don't have to bother scrolling through my useless, rambling commentary -- because I'm not going to even try. Here's some pics that I've snapped of Little Man over the past few days...

Ezra seems to have really taken a liking to Sophie these days.


It was early, so he was giving me the stink-eye for making him do tummy-time.


Aaaand, he's pooped.


This would be Ez's newest gangsta pose.


I took approximately 14 shots and yes, this was the winner. I cannot get him to look at the camera unless I'm behind it making silly faces and fart noises.


This one is the same story as the last one. I can't win with this kid.


Shortly after we tried this hat on him, we realized that he looks like an old Irish man with it on. Either way, he's cute.


So, here's the shot that I was originally going for.


But this is what I got before that last one. My kid, flipping me the bird.
They grow up so fast, don't they?