Busy, Busy, Busy!

As always, we've been pretty busy lately.  Lots of playground time, playdates and various outings.  As a rule of thumb, we always hit up a playground before nap time or else the rest of the day is likely to be tainted with crabbiness and a general need to release some crazy.  

Here's a quick video of Little Man taking his own little butt down the slide :)

A little peekaboo at the playground...

We got him a tee-ball set and he LOVES it.  He drags the tee over to the door and starts whining (much like a puppy) when he wants to take it outside to play.  So far, he mostly hits the ball from above, rather than actually swinging the bat horizontally.  Thankfully, I think he has Jordan's hand-eye coordination, so I'm sure he'll improve with time :)
I told Jordan he should invest in a cup...I mean, we've all seen countless videos of kids whacking their dads in the crotch, right?  He should go ahead and protect himself now.

We spent Memorial Day morning at Kellogg Park in La Jolla.  I love it there, though we've only ever been on weekdays.  The moms are really friendly and the kids tend to be all around the same age.  It was crazy-busy, as expected, but we arrived early enough to secure a good spot on the grass near the playground and even got some stellar parking.  Ezra had an awesome time playing in the water and in the sand.

We also had a strange encounter with a kid, maybe 6 or 7 years old.  Ezra had his sand toys next to this kid and his toys.  The kid apparently didn't want Ezra to so much as touch his truck and asked us if we'd take Ez to play somewhere else...away from his toys...so that Ez wouldn't play with them.  The hell?  I mean, he asked, so we obliged...but were more than a little dumbfounded.  It's a crowded playground, kid.  Learn to share.
All was well in baby-land, as Ezra made friends with a very cute little girl that liked to share :)

Me and my E-Z Rider.

I love that he loves the beach :)

20 Months!

Easy-E is 20 months old!  He just keeps getting busier and busier each month and it's all I can do to keep up with him :)

Here's what the Mini Man is into these days:

-He's become a fan of foods that come wrapped in a tortilla.  I get it, I mean, it's handy.  It's portable.  What's not to like?

-He climbs up and goes down slides all by himself!

-Washing hands has become a new favorite activity.  Not so much in an OCD sort of way, more in a "loves to splash in water" kind of way.  I hope ;-)

-He's still working on potty training.  It's a slow process, but he likes to bring me the bucket part of his potty when he needs to pee (when he's diaper less).  Also, he's getting used to wearing his big-boy underpants...which are just the cutest things in the whole world.

-Ez loves to sit in his highchair for meals now.  

-He is obsessed with cars, trucks, motorcycles, airplanes, buses, firetrucks, ambulances, police cars, and bicycles.  Obsessed.  Kid will wake up out of a dead sleep if he hears an ambulance or other siren and sign it until I acknowledge it.  

-Obsession numero dos?  Balloons.  Holy crap, we can't go anywhere near them without him absolutely needing to touch them.

-He still loves the blender and most other kitchen appliances...possibly more than a child should.  He still loves to pretend to cook, especially while I'm making food.  It's ridiculously cute.

-His favorite books of late are his Elmo Goes to the Supermarket and Elmo Goes to the Community Center.  Also, Brown Bear and Pat the Puppy are daily reads.  

-He's so smart and sweet and is the most amazing little boy I've ever known.  And I tell him every single day.  

I realize it's hard to tell here, but he's signing "like."  I'm also not sure what in the world he was "liking" at that moment...but there's a good possibility that Family Guy was on the television.  Great parenting, huh?

He's a happy boy.

He's coming.  He's coming to getcha.

And finally, a glimpse into the future.  I imagine this look will be seen pretty often once we get into the teen years.

Back in the swing of things

We've been back at our place for a little over a week now...and still have 2 boxes of stuff to finish putting away.  I know.  But since every square inch of this place was covered in sheetrock dust, we had to not only clean everything that remained out of boxes...but also everything that went into the boxes.  Just not quite as much scrubbing.

Anyhow, staying in a hotel for almost 3 1/2 weeks was more than a little crazy.  I'm sure it would've been different, under different circumstances.  Like, say, if we weren't 9 blocks from our house.

Whatever.  It's over.  Or, it's mostly over.  They're still doing some little things here and there, but for the most part, it's done.  We have some shiny new kitchen cabinets, countertops, and sink, and new tile and bathroom sink/vanity.  So, I'm pleased with the newness (who doesn't love new stuff?) and the overall look of everything.  Ezra is pretty pleased that we still haven't put child safety latches back on every lower cabinet ;-)

Now, on to what you came here for in the first place...

Ezra got another haircut!  I know, big surprise, but we tried out a different place and, though it was way more wild, the girl did a great job and Ezra managed to calm down after the initial shock of loosing some of his precious locks.  Granted, he was bribed with a spray bottle, Cars on the screen in front of him, and some animal crackers...but I digress.

Here he is, playing while waiting for his haircut -

And here he is at the playground afterward...looking as dapper as a boy covered in sand and his own hair can look :)

The boy has also had plenty of time out and about with his friends...

At La Jolla Shores with his buddy, Claire.  

We even managed to get almost all of the remaining birth class babies together...but I only got pictures of EZ and Claire.  They tend to play together a lot, so it's easier.  Plus, have you ever tried getting 5 toddlers to sit together and look in the same general direction?  It's like herding cats.

We went to a birthday party for one of Ez's friends today.  Ez enjoyed not being the youngest child there and also really liked playing with the 7 year old girl...he's quite taken with the "older" girls ;-)

At no point did he actually want to get out of the pool.  I actually had to remove him.  

That's my boy :)

 He even let little Rico, the birthday boy, go for a ride in his own car...

That about sums up what MiniMan has been up to.  Lots of playgrounds, lots of friend-time, lots of getting reacquainted with his favorite kitchen appliances --I'm mainly referring to his love for the VitaMix :)