Photos...

Here's a look at Ezra over the past week...

Ezro...is that you?

We don't know anyone by the name of Ezro. But, if Ezra had been named Ezro...we're pretty sure he would've needed a little more hair to go with the name and look a little something like this...


...so, I wanted to just leave the post like this because I thought it was funny. However Ryan thought I needed to give a little explanation. And well, based on the comment I received...Ryan wins. :)

Ryan was trying to see what Ezra would look like with long hair, so he is leaning over Ezra so that he has Ryan's bangs hanging down on him. Does this make sense? See, I guess this is why I was avoiding writing an explanation. :)

Intentional Act of Kindness...

This is the view from our front window that we woke up to this morning...


...Eileen, David, and Kai picking our weeds! This winter was especially rainy, and we had a TON of weeds covering our front yard. Kind of an embarrassing amount to be honest. But, with being uber pregnant when we first moved back into our house, and now with a newborn, there was just no way that picking weeds was anywhere near the top of a priority list. And, I know that Eileen and David didn't care about our weeds either, they are the just the type of people who love to give gifts, help people, and build community. The amazing thing about this act of kindness was that it was so intentionally planned. Its not like driving by and seeing a neighbor who left their mailbox open and you just close it. It took deciding ahead of time that they wanted to spend their morning (several hours!) picking our weeds so that we wouldn't have to worry about it or even have it on a to-do list! And, on top of that they brought donuts! Shouldn't we have been the ones offering them donuts? As Ryan said after they left, "That just made my whole day!"...tis true...it really made our day...and now we look forward to getting to "pass it on". Thank You!!

workin...

My connection with Cafe 54 really is the sweetest hook-up I could imagine. Last week they called to see if I'd be interested in coming in and doing some paper work for them. Whatever hours I want to work. However many days I want to work. And, I can bring Ezra with me. Sweet, no?

Now, just to give you a little background information, the Cafe is a job training program for adults with mental illness. And next door to the cafe is a day center for adults with mental illness who are not job ready to hang out at and learn computer skills, write poetry, make friends, etc. I was actually using the space in the day center to do my paper work and got many of the clients coming in to say hello and meet Ezra. And, not once, but twice (by two different people), I was asked if he was my grandson!?! Really? My grandson? Oh dear, those gray hairs aren't hidden as well as I thought they were.

Then, another client came in.
"What's your baby's name?"
"Ezra"
"Oh, is that like Ezro but with an "A" at the end?"
(I kid you not Megan, this conversation happened the day after you commented on my blog about his name!)

Oh, how I love the laughs I get at work.

today...

Happy one month birthday to our sweet lil' Ezra!

Ezra's friend Kaia sent him this video of her singing to him...if you listen closely you can hear her say "Ezra" during the fast section of the song. :)

cousins...two of a kind!

Yesterday Ezra got to meet his second cousin Eleanor who just turned 1 week old! Here they both are totally zonked out. I think this was the first time that I saw Ezra as being HUGE...especially since he was next to such an itty bitty precious newborn. I know I've said this before, but I can't believe how fast he is growing. It's fun that although he doesn't have first cousins close by and around his age, he has two second cousins within a 5 mile radius that are within 3.5 weeks in age as him.

Better than Beyonce?

Ezra LOVES to be held! Well, maybe it's more that WE love to hold Ezra! Either way you look at it, the boy is often in one of our arms, laying on one of our chests, or snuggled up in one of our baby carriers.

Ryan isn't home right now, but the house is calm and it's a perfect time for blogging, so I'm going to write anyway, despite the fact that I don't have a photo of Ryan in his very own baby carrier for Ezra.

Here we are getting some good snuggle time...


Needless to say, I'm a fan of baby wearing. And, I was on a blog the other day and saw a youtube video in the side margin that was titled "Baby Mamas (Put a Sling On Em)". Curious, I clicked it, and this was what I got...



Ryan the started singing "All the Single Ladies" by Beyonce, and I told him that the girls in the video for Baby Mamas are just as good of (if not better) dancers than Beyonce. Just to prove my point, we then watched the videos back to back.



Well, upon that close of examination, I have to hand it to Beyonce, she's good. She gets paid to be good. But, I just love the Baby Mamas! :)

"tu" cute!

What better way to celebrate a two-year old's birthday (that falls on the 22nd 'two-two' of April) than with a tutu party??

It was absolutely adorable to see all the little girls running around in different color tutus (handmade by the birthday girl's mama!) exclaiming, "I'm a princess!"

And for the guys? Handsome striped ties....

Happy 2nd Birthday Kaia!


David and Eileen are known for their extravagant party planning. Just a week earlier, we celebrated David's 30th birthday party...click here for the detailed fun!

In Ezra news...

Ezra took his first bottle from Ryan yesterday! It was quite sweet for me to witness, he didn't hesitate one bit (he's his mama's boy when it comes to food!), and the whole time he stared right at Ryan.


We got a mirror for him...and he loves it! He'll just stare at himself for minutes on end (I was going to say "hours on end", but that would've been a total exaggeration). :)

It's official...

...we are not movie stars.

Tonight we watched The Blind Side. You may remember from last summer, that we were extras in this movie. However, after watching several football bleacher scenes in a slow motion screen by screen manner, we have come to terms with the fact that we didn't make the cut. Actually, we were cut out by just 1 person. Seriously. Our friend, Dana Lee, was sitting next to a woman that we saw over and over again...if the camera shot would have been just a little more to the right..we would have been movie stars. :)

At one point, I was sure that I saw Cameron, however upon closer inspection...it was Tim McGraw...I think he'll be happy with my mix-up.

Our lil' man

When we chose the name Ezra, we never saw it coming that so many people would think that it's a female name. I suppose that living in a community influenced by the Spanish language, a name ending in "a" tends to mean its feminine. That, paired with the fact that Ezra wears a lot of gender neutral clothing, he is often mistaken for a little girl. Which, truly doesn't bother me...except for when we are at the pediatrician's office. We always correct the nurse (the same nurse every time), simply because we don't want her to be surprised when/if she opens his diaper. So, at our most recent visit I dressed him in ALL blue to help her out a bit. But, no luck, our little man got called a "she" once again.

Green Baby!

In less than our first two weeks of being home with Ezra, we went through more than 2 containers of baby wipes. Which, this frugal green mama is just not cool with. So, cloth wipes became a priority, and I have to say that I LOVE using them! Some that I have are made of flannel, but the ones I like the best are actually just thin washcloths. The extra bit of texture that they have, help to clean his bottom easier. Thanks to Megan's suggestion, this is what our set-up looks like:

Inside the coffee carafe is where we store our toasty warm wipes solution. I put a washcloth from the stack on the left in the bowl, and the squirt out some solution directly onto the washcloth to use only what I need...and then wipe away!

There are a gagillion wipes solution recipes online, but the one that I've been using and like is:
1/8 cup of olive oil
1 Tablespoon of baby shampoo
4 drops of tea tree essential oil
8 drops of lavender essential oil
3 cups of warm water

If you are using cloth diapers, the cloth wipes can just go right in the same diaper pail, as opposed to having to separate out the disposable wipes from the re-usable diapers. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

BATH TIME!

Poor Ezra has been quite the gas-man the past couple of days. Ryan woke up early when he heard Ezra whimpering in bed and tried moving his legs around to help him get the gas out...which it more than did. In fact, not only did it explode out of his diaper, but also through his pajamas and on to the bedroom pillows that were laying on the floor. Shortly after that, I was playing with him on the ground and he spit up so much that it rolled down his cheek and around his head covering his hair. So, bath time it was.



Safe and warm again in dad's arms...

Reunion!

Last night we had our birth center class reunion. Everyone went around and shared their birth stories as well as any funny parenthood stories that have happened so far. It was a nice evening of re-uniting, sharing tips, encouragement, and offering support and friendship.

Here are the babies!! (Addicus, Iris, Evelyn, Ezra, Tyler, and Annabelle)




Ezra back in the familiar hands of midwife Judy!


My absolute favorite story of the evening came from Annabelle's mom. She was sitting in her living room nursing Annabelle when she saw that her neighbor was walking up to the door. She threw a burp cloth over Annabelle's head to cover up for her neighbor and continued to nurse while answering the door. After the neighbor left, she turned around to go back to the couch, but first caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and realized that while she was careful to cover up the side she was currently nursing on, her other boob was completely left hanging out. Her neighbor took it all in stride and never said a thing nor acted as if anything was unusual. Oh, the funny things we do when we nurse.

Birth Story: Part Seven--The final chapter

(Written by the husband)

The epidural doctor had the social skills of a hitman. No time for conversation, he sat his equipment down on the table and immediately began putting his tools together. Judy asked me to stand in front of Abby so she could lean forward onto me.

“Actually I want everyone to sit down” the hitman said assertively. Judy, who was in charge, didn’t have to listen to him, and she took my place standing in front of Abby.

“Scoot back”, he told Abby.

“I’m having a contraction” she said as she coiled over. He physically slid her back on the table, unsympathetically. “You need to hold still.”

I watched as he gave the epidural. Apparently guys pass out during this part. Well this part, or the other part, at the end. But I didn’t find it difficult to sit through, nor would I find the other part, at the end, difficult to sit through. I think it had something to do with the fact that this had been a day-and-a-half long journey, and at that point, an ending becomes the best thing you can imagine.

The epidural started to kick in. Judy told us that the game plan was for Abby to get some rest, that she would need it for the pushing. Abby and I were supposed to try to sleep for a few hours, while the contractions continued. The epidural should allow her to sleep through them.

What I didn’t know was that Judy was worried. Things weren’t progressing, and the epidural was the last trick in the bag. Except for a C-section. The nurse showed me a button that Abby could push to give herself some extra medicine through the Epidural IV. “It only works once every ten minutes, maximum of three doses an hour”, she told me. They left us alone in the darkened room.

I laid next to her on a reclining chair that’s supposed to turn into a bed. It doesn’t. It just turns into a flat reclining chair. So I just watched her. She would tense up a lot during contractions. I showed her the button she could push for extra medicine. She pushed it and it beeped. It wouldn’t be long before more pain would come, and she would fumble in the dark for the button. But it wasn’t giving her anything; she had already used up her allotted amount. This broke my heart to see. Why was she still in so much pain, even with the epidural?

I started thinking about how much I had prayed for her cervix to dilate during this whole process. I thought about how much Abby had prayed for a birth center birth. I started asking myself whether prayers ever really get answered, or if it’s just coincidence when they do. This was a hard time for me.

“I feel like I need to push”, Abby moaned. It had only been about 45 minutes since the epidural. I told her that I knew she didn’t have a concept of the passage of time right now, but it hadn’t been very long. I paged the nurse anyway.

“Can I help you?”
“Hi, my wife feels like she needs to push”, I said disbelievingly.
“Great! I’ll tell the midwife!”

I expected Judy to come in and tell us that it hadn’t been long enough, tell us that we need to keep resting. But Judy’s spirits were high, and she entered the room like it was Christmas morning. She climbed on the bed and began to examine Abby.

Judy turned and looked at me. “God is good! Can you say ten centimeters!!!”

I couldn’t believe it. Abby was right, she did need to push.

Everyone got into their positions. I stood next to Abby’s head.
“Ryan, I need to you hold Abby’s leg”, said Judy.

Turns out I was going to watch our baby be born. This is something I didn’t think I had the courage to watch. But like I said before, when the journey is this long, the thought of reaching the finish line becomes everything.

She pushed for about 45 minutes, and then…

He was born.

I couldn’t believe it when I saw arms and legs, feet and fingers. It was a whole person.

“Tell her what it is Ryan!” said Judy.

I was so shocked that it was a whole person, I had forgotten to check the gender.

“It’s a boy,” I said.

He was immediately laid on Abby’s stomach. He cried and cried and cried, for so long that we all started laughing. Then, suddenly, he made peace on his mother’s chest and he wouldn’t cry again for the rest of the night.

I cut his cord, and eventually, after he and Abby had bonded for a long time, he was weighed and measured and cleaned.

I overheard Judy telling the nurse that she was praying for the birth when she had left the room earlier. “I wonder if midwives pray more than any other medical professionals?” she smirked.

Ezra had made it. “God is good”, I thought to myself.



(Midwife Judy with Abby and Ezra)

Birth Story: Part Six

(Written by the husband)

It was 7pm, March 31st, and we were beginning to settle in at TMC. Abby was hooked up to an I.V. and was being given pitocin, and some sort of narcotic. She was sitting on a birthing ball, leaning her head onto the side of the bed, resting and contracting. The three of us (Midwife Judy, the Doula, and myself) took turns massaging Abby through the contractions. Judy was the best at it, and quite tough to follow. And although Abby would normally be too polite to speak up, with the help of the narcotics she had no problem telling me how to massage her more like Judy. Humbled as I was, I appreciated the guidance.

After only two hours, the narcotics were wearing off. Judy told us that they can give one more dose, but after that, the narcotics typically stop working. Meanwhile, the pitocin was making the contractions stronger and stronger, and they were getting tougher and tougher for Abby to get through. They gave her the second dose of narcotics.

Judy was having Abby try a number of positions to try and get the baby to turn. Abby was now on the bed on her left side, with her right leg lifted and supported on the bed stirrup. The contractions were hitting her hard. She asked me if they’d given the second dose of narcotics yet. I told her they had. “Oh crap,” she said.

After 30 minutes, she was supposed to turn to the other side. But before she did, the doula had her stand on her hands and knees on the bed, wrapped a big cloth under her belly, and and jiggled it back and forth, in a final attempt to get the baby to turn it’s head. No luck. Abby laid on her right side. The second dose of narcotics was wearing off more quickly than the first, and she was really beginning to struggle.

Judy checked her cervix. 5 cm. It was now midnight, 34 hours since laboring began. My heart broke for Abby. She was beyond exhausted. Almost out of body. She had been resistant to the idea of an epidural, but she simply didn’t have anything left. She kept asking “how much longer will I have to labor if I don’t get the epidural?” trying to weigh the options, trying to find the strength to continue without getting an epidural. But no one could answer her question. No one could give her that strength.

So, having given it her all for 34 hours, she finally gave in.

To be continued…

Birth Story: Part Five

(Written by the husband)

One of the nurses at the Birth Center opened the door for us. Abby took one look at her and burst into tears. The nurse quickly hugged her and held her for a long time. This was the first time Abby cried during the process. Which is amazing. It was evening now, and the midwife was on her way. While we waited, the nurse checked Abby’s cervix. 28 hours in, and only 4 cm dilated. And his head was apparently not putting much pressure on her cervix.

Judy (the midwife) arrived and we talked about our options. She said Abby was having dysfunctional labor, meaning she was having strong contractions, but her cervix was not dilating due to the baby’s posterior positioning. We decided together that the best option at this point was to go to TMC (the neighboring hospital) and see if pitocin would help make her contractions more effective. Judy would continue our care at the hospital along with a TMC nurse, and our doula.

Abby’s dream had been to have a “Birth Center birth”, so there was a sadness as we made the short drive to hospital. When we arrived at TMC, we knew right away that we had been spoiled by the care, comfort, and empathy of the Birth Center and its staff. The hospital was a much more clinical environment. They quickly ushered us into our room, and began reading over Abby’s birth plan. “It says here your greatest fear is… birthing at TMC?! Why’s that?” Abby burst into tears again. Before she could answer, Judy walked in. She hugged Abby and helped her compose herself. It was clear that she was going to be running the show.

To be continued…

Birth Story: Part Four

(Written by the husband)

Two hours later we were awoken by an alarm clock. In our room!?! I couldn’t believe it. It turned out the iPod dock we had borrowed from the doula was also an alarm clock, set for 6AM no less. I crawled out of bed and shut it off. I think Abby had enough medicine in her system to return to rest, but I soon got up. It wasn’t long though before the bathtub in the room next door was in use for a water birth. We heard the whole thing. All 45 minutes. The woman arrived at 8AM, and delivered at 8:45AM. It was quite an amazing thing to aurally witness. I began to worry whether or not all of these babies being born would begin to discourage Abby, but she assured me it continued to encourage her.

We got up and went for a walk around the parking lot. She continued to do the exercises suggested by the midwife to turn the baby (which was still in posterior position). We returned to the Birth Center, and greeted the new midwife on duty. It was Judy, who we loved. She had taught our birthing classes, so we had gotten to know her quite well. She examined Abby, and broke the news the Abby was now at an “almost 4cm”. I started doing the math. 20 hours to get to “almost 4 cm”… let’s see… it should only take… 30 more hours! She suggested some homeopathic medicines (black and blue cohosh) that can help labor progress, and we headed home to again labor in the comfort of our own home.

Abby spent most of this round in the backyard, pacing, hanging over the birthing ball, and stretching. We tried the homeopathic pills for a few hours, but nothing seemed to be changing. She found it literally impossible to sit through a contraction now. The back labor was only getting more painful. At about 4:30pm, I noticed she was actually falling asleep standing up, only to wake up when her knees would give. This is the moment when I threw in the towel. I held her from behind and told her she was running out of strength, and that it was time to go back to the Birth Center and find out what our other options were. She agreed, and we drove back to the Birth Center one final time.

To be continued…

Birth Story: Part Three

(Written by the husband)

It was a full moon that night, and babies like full moons as it turns out. We pulled into the Birth Center, and as we pulled up I saw the midwife outside, which was comforting. But before I could say hello, she got into her car and drove to the neighboring hospital. One of her patients was delivering. We walked inside only to discover another woman laboring in one of the Birth Center’s three laboring rooms. So we were the third couple in active labor at the moment… this is an exceptionally busy night for the Birth Center (they average just 20 babies a month) and the midwife on duty had her hands full. Abby and I returned to the room we had been in earlier that day and made ourselves comfortable. Well, I made myself comfortable, and she continued to pace, and rock, and sit, and soak, and contract. The nurse sat on the floor of the bathroom with Abby encouraging her and coaching her through contractions. The midwife eventually returned to examine her, and said that she was 100% effaced, but only 3 cm dilated. This was discouraging, especially to Abby, who was exhausted from dealing with the pain of back labor for more than 8 hours so far.

Hours went by and the doula and I took turns massaging her lower back. Abby was complaining about getting hot, so we turned the ceiling fan on. Then we turned it on higher. Then opened the patio doors. I was wearing a jacket, and Abby was wearing next to nothing, but it did the trick.

We heard a newborn baby cry from another room and I could tell that it helped to motivate Abby. More hours of laboring went by. At 4AM, the midwife returned and suggested that they give Abby an I.V. with some morphine to help her rest. They would also use the I.V. to hydrate her, as she hadn’t been able to keep down any food or liquid since labor began. We laid down on the bed next to each other, and I watched her fighting her way through contractions as they setup the I.V. The midwife explained that Abby would still be able to feel the contractions with the morphine, but it would be as if she didn’t care. Soon it was working, and Abby smiled at me. We both fell asleep.

To be continued..

Birth Story: Part Two

(Written by the husband)

Abby hugged me. “We’re gonna have a baby” she said to me tearfully. It was about 2pm, and the contractions were coming every 2 or 3 minutes, and they were lasting about 45-50 seconds each. Abby labored through the contractions for a few hours, while I recording their frequency and duration on a pad of paper before calling the midwife, who suggested that we continue laboring at home for a while longer. We attempted to follow her orders, but emotions were running high and contractions coming fast and frequently. Abby had also begun to throw up, which worried me. I loaded up the car, covered the passenger seat in garbage bags, and we headed to the Birth Center at around 5pm.

The Birth Center is a very comforting place, and it felt good to be there. We were in a nice private room, with a queen bed, a birthing ball, unfinished wooden furniture, and nice dim lighting. The midwife examined Abby and said she was only dilated to 2 cm. She also discovered that the baby’s head was in a posterior position (the back of the baby’s head was pressing into Abby’s spine). This was important news, as it explained the painful back labor that Abby was going through. Ultimately, only being dilated to 2 cm., we knew the midwife had been right to suggest we stay home, so we headed back home to continue laboring. While driving, we called our doula to ask if she would come over and help.

It’s such a feeling of helplessness watching your loved one in so much discomfort, and being unable to carry any of the burden. At times my short back massages were of some value, but I often found myself pacing endlessly, while she did the same (Abby found it nearly impossible to sit or lay down due to so much lower back pain). With the doula now there, helping to guide her through her contractions, I was able to step away for a few minutes and fix myself a meal. Meanwhile Abby transferred from the bathtub, to the bedroom, to the chin up bar (hanging from her arms) seeking a place of comfort.

Eventually she landed in a rocking chair, and I sat in the chair next to her with a guitar in hand. I improvised soft melodies that swam between hope and melancholy. Music I’d never heard before. As time went on and on, my fingers eventually found their way to a lullaby I’d played Abby to sleep with many years ago, before I’d ever told her that I loved her. She smiled at me briefly. It was the first I’d seen in a while.

It was 10 o’clock at night now. Abby’s contractions were growing stronger and longer. The doula asked us if we wanted to have a home birth. We told her that we didn’t. “If you don’t want to have this baby at home, it’s time to go”, she said.

We climbed in the car, and drove back to the Birth Center.

To be continued…

Intermission...

Sorry to hold you in suspense a little longer with the birth story, but I wanted to post a quick photo update. Ezra is growing soo fast (as in he is already 1.5lbs over his birth weight!!)...as well as growing in alertness everyday, so I wanted to post some photos before they are out of date. I promise Ryan will be back with Part 2 very soon. :)

Our first morning at home waking up together...



Ezra loves to have one hand propped up under his chin...and to be wrapped in a blanket naked. :)


Dominic and Ezra's first playdate!


He's working hard at growing some serious chubby cheeks. :)


Cuddling with mama...


Early morning snuggle time with Grandma Sue...


Family photo!


My parents arrived the day after Ezra was born and just left this morning. It was soo wonderful having them here and making our transition into parenthood that much easier. My mom would take Ezra after his 5:30am feeding and snuggle with him, and then shortly after, my dad would wake up and snuggle with him some more so that Ryan and I could sleep in until his next feeding. My mom took care of all the laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. I was sad for them to leave this morning and look forward to them coming back in June! THANK YOU!!
Grandma Sue, Ezra, and Papa Phil...


Today was the most alert we have seen Ezra yet. He loved just laying on a blanket in the living room. I made him a black and white mobile that he would just gaze at and bat at (I don't think he was intentionally batting at it, rather he just doesn't have a whole lot of arm control yet. :)




We are so in love with this sweet boy of ours!!

Birth Story: Part One

(Written by the husband)

From the earliest hours of March 30th, I knew something strange was afoot. It was still morning, and Abby had decided to turn her homemade yogurt into homemade frozen yogurt. No complaints here. The churn of the ice cream maker began to fill the house as I looked forward to tasting the delightful experiment. But she hadn’t yet exited the kitchen. I soon learned she was also baking some fresh granola. “Strange… it smells like bananas”, I thought to myself. Turns out, she was also simultaneously baking two loaves of banana bread. She could sense my surprise, and shouted “my parents will help us eat all of this” from the kitchen. We certainly would end up needing their help, as there were also peanut butter cookies on deck.

Note: My wife doesn’t bake. She cooks, she organizes, she helps kids, she runs marathons. But what was happening, I’ve since learned, was something called “nesting”. A mother’s built-in instinct to prepare a place for her forthcoming baby. Apparently in many cases it results in a 9-month-pregnant woman down on her hands and knees scrubbing baseboards with a toothbrush. Fortunately in my case, it meant frozen yogurt.

Needless to say, the kitchen didn’t get cleaned that day. As soon as that last batch of cookies came out of the oven, Abby began complaining about lower back pain. The contractions were beginning.

To be continued…

IT'S A BOY!!

One week ago today, our lives were forever changed by the birth of our son, Ezra David Echelbarger Green! He is a handsome little guy with dark brown hair, blue eyes, and the most kissable chubby cheeks. For those who like the hardcore details: April 1st, 1:58am, 7lbs. 9oz. and 20 inches long. :)

Seconds after birth:


Snug in dad's arms at Easter brunch...the day after we arrived home:


Birth story to come...Ryan offered to write it, as he probably remembers it all a bit more clearly than me. :)

40 Weeks + 1 Day

I have been asked a lot lately if I have had the baby yet. A friend just sent me a great link that made me giggle in reply to that very question.
Yesterday was a great "due date" day for us. We woke up, ate a yummy breakfast, played peanuts (card game), went to Chris and Melissa's for lunch, played scrabble, took a nap, went for a long walk, ate dinner, played rummikub, went to bed.
Ryan and I both have colds right now, so I looked online to see if I could take cough drops or not...they said that pregnant women should stay away from cough drops with menthol because they may cause contractions...I decided that meant I should have as many cough drops as I need/want. :)
The only "problem" with not having had the baby yet, is that all of our yummy treats that I made last week are almost gone now and the cupboards will soon be bare again...and well, my mom and dad don't get here until Friday! I guess it's time to go to the grocery store again. :)

In Bloom!

Today is my official due date. And while I've had some contractions...I'm not in labor (yet). Perhaps there will be a different update I can share with you later in the day. However, the fence in our backyards in in full bloom right now and I'm absolutely loving it! There is nothing (and I mean nothing) like the smell of wild jasmine...

And, the bank roses are multiplying every single morning. I sure do love March in Tucson!