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 :)

The No-Tell Motel

So, I finally have more of an excuse for not updating often.

Back when my dad was visiting, we had a bathroom sink pipe leak "situation."  We should have known that something in the house would break...because every time my dad is in town, something breaks or requires a major overhaul.

This pipe-breaking-situation caused us to not use our bathroom sink for about 4 days before anything could get fixed (stupid, stupid management company.  See also:  "reasons why I hate renting")  In this time, we discovered some other issues that turned out to be HUGE clues to a major mold problem.

After a whole lot of ridiculous foot-dragging by our landlords, we were finally visited by a restoration company who decided, within minutes, that a complete renovation was necessary and that we needed to be out ASAP.  As in, they showed up at about 8:45am and by 10am, we were grabbing a few things and heading to a hotel.

That was on the 18th.  We just heard back that clearance has been given to begin plumbing and electrical work.  Then the new kitchen cabinets and counters can be installed, then the bathroom can be put back together, then the cleaning, then we can move back in.

I know this falls into the category of First World Problems and I shouldn't complain.  I know.  But living on top of each other in a hotel is getting frustrating.  Seriously.  Two dogs, a curious toddler, and two adults.  Just going back and forth to the house to do diaper laundry is enough to piss me off now.  And we still don't have a projected move-back-in-date...just that it should be soon.  Eh.

I thought Ezra and I spent a lot of time outside of our house before all of this mess.  Now, I try to spend almost every waking moment out of the hotel room.  The poor kid just can't help but to get into trouble here.  He has taught himself to climb on everything and has learned to perch himself on the arm of the couch, on his toes, to try to touch things that are just out of reach.  It's a heart attack waiting to happen.

Anyway, that's what's been happening lately.

For getting through that, here's some pictures from our most recent day at the zoo.  We went sans stroller or bike and I left my wrap in the car...so Ez was a big boy and did a ton of walking.  He really loved it and it was nice not to have to strap him down only to take him back out to look at stuff.

Notice his fingers in Jordan's ears.  Apparently, it was mildly painful.

EZ and me, checking out a monkey or two.

The kid LOVES escalators all of varieties.  This one took a moment or so to get used to, but he loved it just the same.

 I didn't notice Ez digging into my shirt while the photo was being taken.  Let's just pretend not to notice it now....

 You can see how tightly I'm holding on to him, right?  Clearly, he has no fear when it comes to being up so high (we're on the SkyFari) and wanted only to peer over the edge at the treetops...and not smile for the camera.

Until I looked away.  At which point, he laughed and giggled for Jordan.
Damn, he's a cute kid.

19 Months!

Ezra is 19 months old!  He's such a big boy and I'm sad he's growing up so fast...but he's so much fun that it makes up for it :)

What's Easy-E up to lately, you ask?

-His favorite food is broccoli.  Loves it. 

 -He got an iPad from my brother, his Uncle Josh.  I don't even have an iPad.  His favorite apps are I Hear Ewe (animal and automobile sounds),  Curious George's Zoo, and the KPBS video app.  He's already learned to be very gentle with it and was already a pro at the touch screen, thanks to his playing with my phone :)

-He's starting potty training!  I was going to wait until he started talking, just to decrease the frustration.  But, he spends so much time without a diaper on (thank you, near-constant-rashes) and has been peeing into his trucks and his Potsy toy, so we decided to just pull the trigger and buy him a potty.  As soon as we got it home, I asked him to go pee-pee in the potty...and he did!  Only standing up, so far, and not quite 100% accuracy, but being so young, I'm okay with going slow with this.  Plus, he loves to clap for himself when he's done, which is just too cute.

-He's been really digging chinese food lately.  

-In the last couple months, he's begun eating some dairy products.  So far, he loves greek yogurt and mozzarella string cheese.  

-He's still signing and is up to 40+ signs.  He LOVES to learn new ones and seriously, will pick up a new sign after seeing me sign it once.  He's my smart little boy :)

-His favorite books are still Green Eggs and Ham, Noisy Farm, and I Love You Through And Through...but we're adding in Horton Hears a Who (my fave) and his Elmo Storybook.  Ive had to put away his The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear.... because I just needed a break from them :)

-He's the most amazing little boy in the whole world and I tell him every single day.  

Here's some pictures of the boy...

His mouth was full of crackers...

But he can't help but comply with my request for smiles :)

He tried smiling with his mouth full...he's quite the gentleman and kept his mouth shut for this one...

I couldn't not include this outtake

...and this one...

And finally, Ezra would like to offer you a cracker....

The Most Interesting Baby in the World.

A few weeks ago, we entered Easy-E into a baby photo contest run by a local radio station.  Admittedly, I've forgotten to use up my daily allowance of votes on several occasions, so we really aren't expecting to win.  We did, however, have this video made up already, so with a few quick changes, it became his campaign video.

Voting has since ended...and he didn't make it to the second round.  Bummer.  $2000 and a billboard with his picture on it would've been pretty freakin sweet.

Grampy's Visit, Part 1

My Dad is in town for a couple weeks, so we're trying to spend even more time than usual out and about.  The weather has mostly been cooperating and so far, it's been a pretty great few days.

Here's one of Dad with Ezra at the playground.  They had fun playing peekaboo, going down the slides and playing in the sand :)

We drove up to La Jolla Cove for the afternoon to do a little sightseeing.  The seals were taking their rightful place on the beach at Children's Pool, despite the greedy, photo-hungry a-holes that tried invading their little bit of land.  Anyhow, they were out and easy to see from the cliffs, so we got some good viewing in.  The weather was beautiful - warm sun with a nice breeze...a perfect San Diego day :)

Ezra was less interested in all the seals on the beach and more into the birds.  I think it's because he knows how to sign bird...and not seal.

A stop for lunch meant some playtime with Grandpa.  Ez was giving him kisses, hugs, and just snuggling and playing with him.  So cute!

18 Months!

Easy-E is 18 months old!  Here's a little of what he's been up to these days...

-He runs everywhere, even if where he's going is only a few steps away.  You know, because he can.
-His signing is really picking up ever since he's started watching his Signing Time DVDs.  He knows milk, apple, banana, water, mom, dad, baby, fish, cat, dog, bird, please, sorry, want, cookie, candy, poop, wet, dry, boy, help, all done, eat, hungry, cheese, ice cream, more, stars, night, cracker.  I'm sure I'm forgetting some.  I'd also like to point out that some of those things (ice cream, candy, etc), he's never had...but still knows the signs for them :)
-Sweet grape tomatoes, pears, bananas and strawberries are among his favorite treats lately.
-Going to the zoo is super-fun now - he LOVES the flamingo/duck area and anything in a tank of water, like the pygmy hippos (with all the fish) and the snake-neck turtles.
-Reading books is at the top of the list of favorite things to do.  His current faves are Green Eggs & Ham, Sleepytime Farm, I Love You Through and Through, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  He's also got favorite pages in those favorite books and can flip through and find them at a moment's notice ;-)
-He's got a love/hate relationship with his bike again.  Some days he climbs in it himself and others he will throw a screaming fit if I try to put him in it.  Eh.
-It's becoming increasingly more difficult to get him out of the bathtub.  He loves bath time.
-He drinks out of cups and water bottles (with some guidance) and occasionally prefers that to a sippy.
-He'll give you a kiss if he likes you :)
-When he's at the petting zoo, he'll "give love" to the goats by laying his hand and head on them, closing his eyes and smiling.  It's so stinkin' cute.
- I love him more than I ever thought possible.  He's the smartest, sweetest, cutest, most amazing little boy I've ever known.  And I tell him every single day.

Here's some pictures of him in his special 18 month onesie!

A recap of sorts

I've been really busy lately.  Not like, productive-busy.  Just busy with all sorts of day-to-day stuff.  That's my excuse for not updating...take it or leave it ;-)

Keeping up with EZ is getting to be like running a marathon, but thankfully, he's fallen into a schedule with sleep and naps...mostly.  I'm knocking on wood here, but I think we're back in the groove :)

Ezra has been learning and doing so much everyday.  His most recent new favorite thing to do is to play with the salad spinner.  He loves to push the plunger down, then lift the top off really fast so he can watch the basket spin.  He gets so excited and laughs when he does it!

The weather has been pretty great lately (with a few cooler days tossed in), so naturally, Ezra & I have been spending more time outside.  Here's Ezra last Saturday at the OB Kite Festival.  He had a great time running around, chasing bubbles & kids & balls.

We took our lunch down to the beach & then spent a little time on the grassy area playing some soccer...

On our way back to the car, we stopped for some ice cream at a local shop.  My Up-All-Night-Espresso ice cream was fantastic, but it was no match for the novelty of Jordan's ice cream waffle sandwich...

Yum!

In other news...
He's back to loving his bike!

Last Sunday was my birthday.  My 30th birthday, to be exact.  Ouch.
Actually, it was pretty great - and surprisingly, being 30 doesn't suck.  Who knew?  It was a day full of my favorite stuff...We started the day with strawberry pancakes and a mimosa, headed to the beach, picked up some Chinese takeout on the way home and finished it off with ice cream cake from Coldstone.  The best part?  Ezra decided that his present to me would be him suddenly loving the water & waves at the beach!  He walked right in and didn't want to get out (despite the very cold water!).  The only thing he liked as much as that, was playing in the sand.  He could've done it for hours :)  'Twas a good day.