Right Now... **

Right now I am::

::Loving the creativity behind Mr. Underwear (featured above)...when leg opening is on side of face, it makes eating dinner very easy.

::Waking up very early to a quiet house (and an active baby in my tummy)

::Taking naps every single day

::Wishing I had thought through the idea of being 9 months pregnant in the middle of a Tucson summer a little better

::Enjoying re-arranging our bedroom for the arrival of a wee one

::Ultra proud of the fact that I made 4 dinners from scratch last week (as opposed to the scrounging we've been doing for the last several weeks)

::Excited by the state of our garden

::Wondering just when I will go into labor

::Praying that this labor will be much quicker than the last, and that I will be able to deliver at the Birth Center

::Looking forward to going for a massage later this morning

::Busy trying to sew a lot of baby wipes and sandwich bags for Little Bird Nesting Company before my time becomes a bit more limited

::Loving how Ezra is always wanting to kiss and hug my belly

::Smiling at how excited Ezra is to have the baby sit next to him in the backseat of the car, and how he has a whole list of songs ready to sing to the baby

**The idea of doing a "Right Now" post has been completely taken from SouleMama**

Mt. Lemmon Video

Jacob made a video of our trip to Mt. Lemmon the other weekend...

Enjoy!!

36 weeks...

Only one week to go until I'm technically "full-term"...

Microphone!

The other week Ezra had the realization that he needed a microphone! 

...and with a little help from his kitchen and some masking tape....we had a microphone!

Of course, next he needed a stage...and I have some video of him singing from his stage, but I'm having trouble uploading it...perhaps I'll be able to post it later this week.

Happy Birthday Grandmo!

Last week we celebrated Ryan's Grandmo's 75th Birthday!  She recently broke her hip, so she is currently living in an assisted living home for rehab. 

Who Needs a Nap?

Mama, that's who!    :)

Ezra has decided that about 2 days out of the week he'd prefer not to nap.  In fact, he'll even state, "I don't want to take a nap."  However, I totally depend on my afternoon nap these days.  Just ask Ryan, I have given up cooking and cleaning, to sleep instead.  :)

Some may think that this means he is about done with napping, but the confusing thing is that the other 5 days that he does nap...they range any where from 2 to 3.5 hours long.  Kids, there is just no predicting what they have in mind and that's okay.

Last week we had one of those days where Ezra decided he didn't need to nap.  Thankfully, he played in his room while I still napped.  However, this is what I walked into after letting him play by himself for 2 hours while I slept...  :)

Up A Mountain!

On Friday I told Ezra that after music class on Saturday we were going to go up a mountain.

"Up a mountain!?" "Up a mountain?!" "Let's do it!" "Go now!"

He was sooo excited.  Saturday morning he woke and said, "First music class, then up a mountain!"

On our drive up Mt. Lemmon he started asking if Phoebe would be there, and if we would see the snowman.  (Two key 'people' of our last trip up to Mt. Lemmon in December.)  I know people always say that kids remember everything, but seriously?!  Even at this age??  It's so impressive.  I hardly remembered the snowman.

This trip did not involve Phoebe or the snowman, but we did get to see a whole crew of our friends up there!  Some were camping, and others were day-tripping like us. 

Ezra was serenading those who were "napping"

The crew around the "not campfire" (it's wildfire season here)

Estrella relaxing in the hammock

A mama with food to hand out, is one popular mama.  Always.

The only 25 seconds that Ezra rested on the mountain.

Abby and Evelyn.  It's so hard to believe that Ezra was Evelyn's age the first time we took him camping on Mt. Lemmon!

Even when just day-tripping, camping = eating lots of food!

Hiding out in the Lauderdale tent while it rained.  This picture makes it look like we had things all calm and under control.  Don't be fooled.  I think at one point there were 5 kids and 3 adults in the tent.  Total chaos ensued with Jacob flying the kids as helicopters above his head.  It was quite fun.   :)

Sol, Joyce, and Paul

Me and my outdoor companion (Ryan had to work)

Digging in the dirt while it rained.

Going on an adventure with Elsie.

...and finding cool bugs.

Joel on guitar, Moses on drums, and Ezra on harmonica...totally jamming out...as you will see below.

'

Yay for fun "on top of a mountain"!

Green Potty

The 'green potty' is on loan with Evelyn, and Ezra doesn't miss the opportunity to bring it up every single time we see her.  "Evelyn have green potty?"  "Evelyn go poo poo?"

The other week we had sweet Evelyn over for a little EC play date.  Ezra enjoyed entertaining her while she sat on the potty. 

I love how cute little babies look on potties!!

Get Out the Vote!

Ryan was invited to play with Calexico as part of the "Get Out the Vote" Ron Barber event at the Rialto Theater on Saturday night.

It was an early event, so I brought Ezra so that he could see Ryan play.  It was a blast.  I love how much Ezra loves music and can identify the different instruments.   With so much excitement he kept listing them off, "trombone" "trumpet" "shakers" "double bass" "piano" "guitar" "electric guitar"..."Dada's green electric guitar!"  I wish I had brought my camera so I could have taken a photo of the band, as well as of Ezra as cute as can be with his ear protectors on (which he amazingly never tried taking off this time...sigh...the benefits of him getting older?!).

Here is a photo I snagged off the internet of Mark Kelly, Gabby Giffords, Ron and Nancy Barber (they spoke just before Calexico played).

Can You Dig It?

This past weekend was Josiah's 2nd Birthday!  I love how little kids seem to pick a theme on their own.  Ezra loves to play sports that involve balls.  Josiah loves "diggers"...and his party was appropriately themed to reflect just that. 

Here are the kiddos in their hard hats...

Josiah going to town on his birthday cake...

The youngest construction diva among us...

And Ezra modeling his new hat...

It was a super fun party among friends in a backyard with kids running around.  A perfect way to spend a Saturday.

New Phone Number...

We have finally made the leap to a 520 number! 

I tried sending a mass text, but in case I didn't get everyone my new number is 520-204-3872

watermelon

There is no question about it, Ezra's favorite fruit is watermelon.  Even his friends who are in the two and under crowd know this about him.  The other day West came over and he told his mom to bring watermelon "because Ezra really likes watermelon". 

And, to top it off, West's mom, Micha, is the fabulous photographer of Westlight Photography....so I scored these photos!!  :)

Adventure

It seems as if I do a lot of napping lately.  There was definitely a 30 minute chunk of the day yesterday where I'm not exactly sure what Ezra did because I was fast asleep (unplanned).  But, the house remains standing, so all is good. 

During my "I'm-so-tired-I-can't-keep-my-eyes-open-for-one-more-second" nap on Monday, Ryan and Ezra went on a little adventure down the street. 

What 2 year old doesn't perk up to the sound of a fire truck siren?  And, even more exciting, a fire trucking roaring down our street??

Ryan and Ezra headed out the door to get a closer look.  The ambulance was what was really needed more than the fire truck, so the firefighter asked Ezra if he wanted to drive the truck.  Now a little back story, any time Ezra sees an airplane, fire truck, excavator, or a trash truck the first thing he says is, "Ezra drive it?" followed by, "I ask the driver / pilot?"  So, to have the firefighter come right out and ask Ezra if he wanted to drive it was super exciting!!  Of course though in the moment, Ezra was feeling a bit shy...so he and Ryan drove it together.

And, he was awarded a sticker for his bravery...

If I ask Ezra about the firetruck experience he says, "I was brave" and "ambulance help neighbor...bonked his head".

If Ryan asks Ezra about it, he says, "Ezra drive ambulance??"

Emily and Ezra

Over Memorial Day weekend our friends Katie, Steve, and Emily were in town and we were lucky enough to score a visit! 

Emily is super sweet...I just wanted to squeeze her sweet cheeks and soft chubby thighs the whole time! 

Um, who you lookin' at?

I'm a really good uke player...let me show you my skills...

Actually, my mom told me that the ladies' like it when I play with them vs. just showing off...

 

 

I also like just being silly...let's be friends!  :)

*Photo credits go to Mrs. Katie Dobson.  :)

A weekend with the ladies

This past weekend eight girl friends and I rented a house for a little getaway. 

I had been looking forward to this weekend getaway for months!  However, I must admit that I was also a little nervous (and sad) to be away from Ezra overnight for the first time.  About an hour or two into the weekend though, I realized that this was definitely something I needed...a weekend with the ladies to refresh my "mama-powers"!  :) 

We did a lot of sitting, talking, eating good food, reading, knitting, and holding sweet baby Evelyn!

We didn't wipe anyone else's nose, mouth, hands, or butt.  We actually even all got to go to the bathroom without any spectators.  Take showers that lasted more than 2 minutes. Swim in the pool, like actual swimming without holding onto a child.  And wake-up due to our own body's telling us it was time versus a little person telling us "the sun woke up!".  I love all those parts of mama-life too, but to have a weekend of just relaxation was awesome!  We took turns cooking and washing the dirty dishes.  There were times when we were serving, but also lots of times to just sit back and be served.  It was refreshing indeed.  I think this will become a yearly "habit". 

Our guest of honor was Melissa who flew in from California to join us for the weekend!!  

Turns out that the weekend was equally good for Ezra and Ryan.  They had all sorts of new games to show me, most of which involved flying over the couch, throwing balls, and jumping off the couch.  :)