Ezra is two!!!

On November 14, 2012, Ezzy turned two years old!  We celebrated with a little family birthday party and some kickball on his actual birthday and then an airplane (Oh, How Time Flies) themed party the weekend after his birthday.  We only had AZ family and our closest neighbors over for the party, but the group was perfect and Ezra loved his special day.  The best part was when he stood on the chair, by his cake, and sang "Happy Birthday" to himself with the rest of the group.  Oh, and that he immediately blew out his candles without any prompting.  I can tell he has played birthday party with Annie a few times!

You probably keep up-to-speed with the cuteness of Ezra (and Annie!) through my facebook page, instagram, or possibly even my picture texts, but I'll share a few of my latest favorite things about Ezra here anyway.

First of all, he is so stinkin' cute.  Those huge chubby brown eyes, and equally chubby cheeks.  And chubby hands... mmmmm.  His sweet scent (like a fresh pastry, all the time) and the way he breathes through his mouth, like a puppy panting, when he is really into playing with something.  All of him is SO snuggly and wonderful!!! And beyond his cuteness is this amazing personality.  

He is charming with his sweet disposition, good manners, and hilarious sense of humor.  He always says 'please' and then 'thank you, Mommy' or sometimes even, 'thanks, Mom' when he wants something.  He talks pretty well, now, too.  He likes telling stories usually involving something that his friend Cleo did, or something about go-carts, Mylo, Annie, school busses, or Jimmy Johns.

I like that he wakes up earlier than Annie every morning.  He ALWAYS wakes up super hungry.  His first word is always, 'eat.' Then he lists what he wants for breakfast, which is typically, 'eggies, toast, juice, Brian's yogurt...'  After we eat, we get to have a little one-on-one time to playtime.  He typically chooses 'guys' or 'cars' and grabs the bucket and says, 'dump it, Mommy?'  This morning he and I were playing with a little wooden color and shapes sorter.  He was putting the shapes on the matching color peg, when he hesitated and moved the purple one to the blue peg.  Then he paused and gave me a crinkled-nose smile and said, 'joking, Mommy' and moved it back to the right color peg.  Such a funny guy!

My favorite thing of all about Ezra is his love for his family.   He gets so excited to hang out with Daddy, and when you ask him who his best friend is, he replies, 'Annie!' without any hesitation.  Sometimes when he is hurt or sad he asks for Annie to hold him.  So sweet.  He is definitely a mama's boy, too.  Sometimes he will just randomly walk up to me and hug my back or nuzzle into my neck.  I love those moments and just breathe him in and try to memorize his touch and smell.  Gosh, he is so lovable.

I took Annie and Ezra to the park a few days ago so I could take Ezra's 'two-year-old photos.'  He is not as into getting his picture taken as his big sis is, but I still love the few pictures I got of him.  Annie was trying to show Ezra how to pose- she is sooooo photogenic.  I love how she squeezes him for pictures, too.  Pretty cute!

What a BIG BOY!

Ezra went pee pee on the potty chair!!!

He woke up from his nap dry, so I asked if he needed to go potty. He thought about it for a second and then whispered, "yeah."

Annie and I were so excited and proud that we sang the potty song that I used to sing to Annie:

Ezzy went pee pee on the potty chair
Potty chair, potty chair
Ezzy went pee pee on the potty chair
What a big boy!!!!

He was proud and excited, too. Annie told him she would take him out for a treat at any restaurant he wanted, to which replied, "Jim-Johns, yay!!!"

Motion by the Ocean

We have been doing lots of fun traveling in the last few months- two trips to Minnesota for the end of the summer and the start of fall, and then just a few weeks ago a road trip to southern California.  We started our California trip in Anaheim at Disneyland- which I plan to post about soon.  The last few days of the trip we spent with Grandma Nancy in San Diego.  Ezra got to see the ocean for the first time- the first three photos are his actual first encounters with the ocean water.  His face in the third photo is awesome, he was amazed at the small rolling waves!

I titled this post 'Motion by the Ocean' because most of the photos are stills of the kids running, jumping and splashing around in excitement.  Photos like this are my favorite, lately.  I love it when a frame exudes the motion of real life.  Now just pretend you can smell the fresh, salty air and hear the rolling of the waves! 

Haircuts!!!!

After months and months of little Ezra rocking a mop-top, he finally has a new 'do.  And big sis wanted in on the haircut action, too, of course- so they both ended up getting over three inches cut off!  Ben and I both miss Ezra's longer hair, but it turns out he is still as adorable as ever. :)  Annie loves her short hair and hoped it made her look older.  She beamed when I told her she looks like she is 4 and a half, instead of 4 and a quarter.  Ohhhhh, goodness, I love these two!

Little artists.

These kids love stickers and crayons! I cherish the art they make for me-- so sweet!

Annie is four!!!

On the first day of April, my little girl woke up four years old.  The happiness that has filled my days for the past four years with her is difficult to even describe.  I am often overwhelmed by her amazingness and the love I feel for her.  I can hardly keep up with all the awesome things she says and does in our days together.  I am totally blessed to be able to spend my time with her, being her full-time Mommy.  She astounds Ben and I with her wisdom and her rich vocabulary, and at the same time she trickles little sneaks of innocence that remind us of how young she still is.  

Annie has so many great qualities- many of which are opposites, like cautious and adventurous, and sassy while still being incredibly sweet.  If you know her, you love her.  She is extraordinary and I am sooooo glad she is mine.  

Mother's Day 2012

This year I celebrated my fifth Mother's Day.  Wow!

My day started with breakfast in bed (of course) consisting of Starbuck's coffee and a McDonald's McMuffin (obviously) and lots of snuggles from the little ones.  I was greeted by a huge gift bag when I came downstairs (to a cleaned up house, by the way).  The gift bag had a jar of my favorite crunchy nutella and five different treats to dip into the nutella.  There were also giftcards to some of my favorite stores 'hidden' on each package of treats-- fun idea from Daddy!

The rest of the day was relaxed and lovely.  Daddy made me 'Momster' cookies and we had a nice take-out-style picnic at a park down the street.  Daddy took a few pictures of me with the kids- they turned out super cute, too- nice job Daddy!

At the end of the night, as I was leaving Annie's room at bedtime, she whispered, "Mommy, you're a good mother."  That was the best part of the whole day.  Sometimes us mommies really need to hear that- and no better day than Mother's Day for such a sweet compliment!

A Berry Bitty Birthday Brunch

Annie chose a Strawberry Shortcake theme for her fourth birthday party. She was very much involved in the process of planning her party this year, and not happy when I tried to cut corners or simplify anything along the way... She is definitely a party girl!!! She even chose her own goody-bag treat- sprinkled whoopie pies- and helped make the tags, the cookies, and the bags!!! She was proud of her work, and loved handing them out to the group of family and close friends that joined us for her party.

Annie's Mama Susie sewed her the darling Strawberry dress that she wore for her party. She also surprised Annie with a new doll that was wearing a dress matching hers! Annie loved that!

This little girl got SO MANY wonderful gifts- all so thoughtful, and so Annie. I may blog the list of gifts (for memory sake) when I post her four year old photos. That would be fun to look back and read fifteen years from now!

And now, please check out a few pictures of Annie's berry bitty party...