Camping on Mt. Lemmon

This past weekend we went up to Mt. Lemmon with friends to camp. I was reminded again that I love Mt. Lemmon, and we definitely don't go there enough. It's really quite amazing that door-to-"door" we can be at Rose Canyon on Mt. Lemmon in 45 minutes. It's 20 degrees cooler, 7000 feet higher in elevation, and a totally different world than Tucson.

Given that it is monsoon season, there was a nice rain shortly after we set up our tents. Fortunately the guys were thinking ahead had already hung the tarp so we had a nice area to hang out under while the rain came down.


And, luckily for us, Tucson Water's newest employee was in our presence and dug a nice little trench for the run-off water from the tarp to flow into the wash.


After the rain though, the rest of the evening and through the night was gorgeous.








Ezra loved the freedom to run free and explore...


Estrella showed Ezra all the ropes since she's been going camping for longer than him...


The fact that Blanca stores raw chicken in her leftover breastmilk bags was brought into question...


...as was the way she dresses her son (in case you can't see everything...Moses is wearing fleece camo pants with a onesie buttoned on the outside of his pants, a cinderalla shirt and pink socks...but really, this is why we love Blanca.


We had a campfire with s'mores, and we played an entertaining round of "two truths and a lie"...


Ezra read Harry Potter to get ready to watch the latest movie...


We sang and prayed...


Played with water (when Tucson Water Matt wasn't looking, that is)...


Cuddled with dad...


And loved having time with our friends...

Puffed Rice and Watered Plants

Some friends and I have been talking about ways to keep our toddlers entertained and stimulated during these hot summer days. Jen suggested putting a bunch of dried beans or rice in a bowl with spoons, measuring cups, etc. I was pretty sure Ezra would try eating the beans or dried rice, so instead I used puffed rice (and yes, he did eat a lot of it)...but he also LOVED playing with it. For two days, he was totally entertained by this little set-up in our backyard.




And, he is also a huge help with watering the plants everyday.

scrabble!

...and the photo from yesterday's post of that pre-monsoon sky was the start of a massive monsoon storm!! It was by far the best monsoon rain we've had in years. We sat outside under the patio and played scrabble. That is, until we were pretty sure we were going to get struck by lightning sitting on our metal chairs. :)


I decided to put one of Ezra's sand pails out to catch the rain. And it was literally overflowing within a minute. So then I decided to put his pool out, and the whole thing was full in less than 30 minutes. Ezra was thrilled the next morning to see the pool fuller than it has ever been. He was body slamming into the water and laughing.


I have started this little competition with myself of wanting to use the least amount of water possible in our home. So, this pool has aided in these efforts because we've been able to turn off our drip system and use the pool (rain) water to water our plants for the last 4 days!!..and there is even water left for another day or so. We soo need to invest in some rain water barrels for next year.

Retro shorts.

I recently made Ezra a pair of retro shorts (tutorial found here) and I am totally in love with them. They are a little long, but that was the look I was going for (compared with the Richard Simmons option for length)...hopefully this means they will fit for a very long time. There is something I find to be so satisfying watching Ezra run and play in clothes that I made for him. Perhaps this is why I dress him in the same clothes day after day. :)

We tried to photograph the shorts, but let's be honest, our model is 15 months old and a bit non-compliant when it comes to showing off his new shorts for the camera. He was however in quite the mood for posing and making us laugh.






(mom, I thought you'd like to see the pre-monsoon sky in this photo)


"oh, hi guys...just doing a few push-ups before we go into the playground area...these are my new workout shorts afterall..."

string instruments

Funny how all of my blog posts seem to be about Ezra these days. And by "these days" I mean the last 15+ months.

What can I say, he is an exciting dude that is growing up wayyy too fast!

He loves playing string instruments. The guitar is of course his most played instrument. Probably because we have several laying around the house within his reach so he can play them whenever he feels like. After meals, he often requests to strum the banjo hanging on the wall. And, as of tonight I think "banjo" has become part of his ever increasing vocabulary. The only thing about those instruments (guitar and banjo) though, is that they are double his size. The difference in size is good for the safety of the instrument I suppose. He has very strong muscles and often underestimates the power of his strength.

Over the past couple of days though, he has been drawn to smaller strung instruments around the house.

Ryan's cigar box guitar. (A fan had this custom made and mailed to Ryan!)


And, Ryan's ukelele


He plays them oh-so-delicately...and then tries to run off with them in one hand... :)

da spigot...

Ezra clearly thinks that if we do something once, it becomes routine. I love it. I love that his little brain can remember things and know when they are to happen. For example, we hold hands and pray before we eat. And as of late, Ezra reaches out for our hands as we sit down at the table...and even bows his head. It's adorable. The funny thing is, he will also decide mid-meal that it's time to pray again. This morning at breakfast, Ryan said they prayed four times. That is some mighty blessed food they ate (I was sleeping in :).

The same is now true for drinking out of the spigot with the dog after we run. So, I was able to take some pictures this time.











Clearly Ezra dominates the spigot. And, also is entertained by it for far longer than the dog (Drake).

Monsoon afternoons...

One thing that I love about monsoon season, is that it's possible to go to playgrounds during the day without burning oneself on the equipment.

Yestderday afternoon Ezra and I went to the playground at the church down the street. We've been going there a lot lately and he has totally created this game that he does every time we go. I am amazed that he remembers it the second we walk in the gate.

He collects a handful of mesquite pods.

Carries them up the steps of the slide.


Throws them down the slide one by one.


Laughs and waves to me.


Goes down the slide.


Hops off the slide...and repeats the process all over again.

I love that he can climb up the steps to the slide and go down by himself now. He is so proud of his independence. And, to be honest...I enjoy resting and watching him from the "porch swing" that is in the park.

There is also the hungry hippo...that he loves to climb in and out of...and apparently he also likes to feed the hippo my cell phone. Oops!



After the park we went home, ate dinner and I gave Ezra a bath before we went running. I was trying to be super prepared and ahead of my game so that when we got back from our run, I could just nurse him and put him to bed. That was before I knew he'd be sooo thirsty when we got back from running (afterall it is hard work to ride in a stroller for 3 miles), that he'd have to have a drink out of the spigot in the front yard with the dog (we ran with my friend Mackenzie and her chocolate lab). I wish I had taken photos of him trying to drink out of it (we don't have a hose attached, so it was literally right out of the spigot). Just as he'd have his mouth right where it should be, his hand would slip and turn the water on full blast and spray him everywhere. He thought it was hysterical. I love the way he laughs. Needless to say, we had to change his pajamas, and dry off before we could go to bed. But it was well worth the fun.

Recipes...

I've gotten into making my own body care products as of late. And, I have intended to write a post about it, however...time just slips away when you have a busy little guy...and so many things you want to be sewing. :)

However, I did write an article for Uncommon Childhood recently and included recipes for making your own deodorant, face wash, and toothpaste. All of which I have been L O V I N G using.

And, the article was also picked up by The Walkabout Chronicles Daily (it's under health on the right). How fun is that? Very fun.

Okay, that's all. Go make some deodorant...it's summer afterall.

Ezra for President!

I tried my hand at freezer paper stenciling last week. It's easy peasy...and it's probably even easier with an exacto blade that's sharp. Ryan said the dullness of the blade (a.k.a. the jaggedness of the lettering) created a great font for the shirt though. :)



I would totally vote for this guy, wouldn't you??


As you may notice in the top photo I am covering up some little man parts; we have decided to go almost exclusively diaper-free at home these days.
Ezra has discovered that peeing while standing up (into his little potty on the floor...or outside) is pretty much the coolest thing ever. And, so is flushing the toilet (lucky for us and our water bill, the flusher is on top of the toilet, so we have to lift him up in order for him to flush it).

Up until Saturday he wouldn't tell us when he had to go to the bathroom, however if we made the "zzz" cueing sound that we've been using with him since he was an infant, he'd go within seconds...even if he only had a few drops in him. :) So, as long as we were frequent with giving him the opportunity to go to the bathroom, there were no "accidents" (I don't really like to use that word since "accident" sounds like he did something wrong, when really he didn't, but for lack of a better word...)

On Saturday however Ryan's little sister was over for the day, so we decided to keep things modest and have Ezra wear a diaper. We would still give him frequent opportunities to go to the bathroom, which he'd do "on command". But, he also started taking off his diaper and bringing it to us when he needed to go to the bathroom, and then pee in his potty.
That night we went to a Ryanhood concert and were gone for 3+ hours, and when we got home he was still dry.
So for the whole day, his only wet diaper was during his nap.
Totally sweet!

On Sunday the trend continued, even while we were at a friend's house. Although, instead of taking his diaper off and bringing it to us, he would say "mama" and sign "more". We are still working on the sign for "potty". Even though it's probably the first sign I started doing with him...it's the one that he still doesn't do. Oh well...we seem to be able to communicate his needs just fine without it.

On topic, but not...
I will share that the other day I went in his little playhouse and I saw something brown on the floor, and immediately thought, "oh dear...poop!"...thankfully it was just a couple of lincoln logs though. :)

Playtime!

Last weekend I hosted one of our birth center mom playdates. Some of us were in the same birthing class...and others I met at the Saturday mom and baby group. Now that our kiddos are too mobile for the group, we have continued meeting at someone's house every Saturday.

Dean enjoying a moment alone in the car. Not too long after this photo was taken, we had to hide the car in the closet because sadly, its not a 2, 3, 4, or 5 person seater as some would have hoped it to be.


Ezra and Evelyn sharing a little (gluten-free) snack.


Evelyn and Atticus' parents were both in our birthing class..


Lorelei and Oliver checking things out...


Its amazing how refreshing it can be to see that other kids also scream, hit, throw tantrums, and scatter food all over the house. It was a perfect afternoon indeed.