toddler!!?!?

I know that the fact that Ezra now walks puts him in the "toddler" category. But, I can still see the "baby" in him.

He still has that pug nose. Chubby cheeks. Distended belly. Reversed knuckle dimples. He loves to nurse first thing when he wakes up (and pretty much every 30 minutes to 2 hours throughout the day :).

He loves to feed himself at the table, and considering he only has one tooth, he is pretty darn good at handling "finger foods" that require a lot of gumming. I recently discovered that he LOVES to eat watermelon. Especially if it's off the rind. So, we have been eating a lot of watermelon around here. And, what is cuter than watching a (ahem) toddler eat watermelon straight off the rind? Juice dripping off the elbows and down the belly. Seeds stuck to his face and neck.

It wasn't until I saw these photos on my computer though that I thought, "WOW, he doesn't look like a baby anymore. He is a toddler!!" I was very sad for a moment, but then I realized how much fun toddlerhood has already brought us, and how this journey of parenthood just keeps getting better and better.

Friend crush

Stephanie and her husband Joel were in the same birth class as Ryan and I at the Birth Center. We recently admitted the fact that for quite some time we had friend crushes on one another...and fortunately it all worked out and we are now friends. :)

We joke about how much we have in common...and in fact, I have just started to assume that if I have a weird quirk, she probably does too.

i.e. the other day I was at her house thawing meat to make lasagna and I asked her, "did you ever say 'dethaw' instead of 'defrost'"? Yup, she did. Me too.

We both blame it on the fact that our moms happen to mispronounce/mis-say a lot of words and we have just absorbed their pronunciation. For example I also say, "resignate" instead of "resonate"...not sure I can blame my mom on that one though...(mom, do you add a "g" to that word too??)...

Both of our moms do massage therapy.

We both grew up not knowing much about pop culture in terms of music.

Our husbands have to fill us in on the latest news happenings going on locally and around the world.

We have brothers who are in similar situations.

We both like to...
...run
...sew
...camp
...get bountiful baskets
...try making all things from scratch, including deodorant
...be frugal and scour the town for good deals
...utilize the public library for all sorts of media
...yada yada yada...

Having boys just 3 weeks apart has been super fun. Their nap schedules seem to line up almost perfectly so that on a moment's notice we can get together for a short bit in the early morning or late afternoon.

Here they are in the early morning eating breakfast. It was pretty darn cute. They were taking turns feeding each other with their spoons. And then it switched to just eating out of each other's bowls.


And here they are practicing the rhythm section of their band with shakers. I think Owen is going with the standard style of holding a shaker, whereas Ezra has chosen the flap-your-arms-like-a-bird approach.


And...here they are finger (body?) painting...


Last weekend Ryan, Ezra, and I got together with his mom and a her friend from her birthing class and her daughter (Laura) who is just a couple of weeks younger than Ryan...and her daughter who is just a couple of months younger than Ezra. They brought photos of Ryan and Laura from when they were toddlers that were hilarious to look at. It's fun to think that in 30 years Ezra and Owen might have kids and we'll all be hanging out looking back at these photos.

Cinco de Mayo!

I am quite behind in blogging...so there may be a lot coming at you in a very small amount of time. We are canceling our internet on Tuesday (the day ryan leaves for china!), so I have to get in as much blogging now as I can while in the convenience of my own home. :)

We had our small group over for dinner last Friday, and since it was just one day after cinco de mayo...we decided to call it a cinco de mayo party!!

Ezra and Sol playing in the sandbox...


Joyce and MoMo...


I may have mentioned this before, but I love all the "kid sharing" that takes place among our friends...as shown in the photo above with Joyce holding MoMo. Everyone seems to just totally love on everyone else's kids. It is such a great feeling to see Ezra have so many adults in his life that love on him.

Here is Ezra "up to bat" at the piñata. He had lots of fun swinging at it, but when Gabe (in the red shirt) actually broke it open Ezra burst into tears. I have no idea if it was actually the fact that the burro lost his head, or all the cheering that startled him, but it was one of those funny, yet really sad moments.


Feliz de Cinco de Mayo! (did that make sense? Mira? Sushma? Blanca? Someone who speaks Spanish...help me out...I just pretend I know what I'm saying :)

Mr. Green

Last week Ryan's elementary school students had a concert for the parents. It was so cute to hear them call him "Mr. Green", and for them to stare at Ezra and I as if to say "wow, he has a real life besides being a teacher??...impossible".

at home

In public Ezra often gives off the appearance of being shy. Many comment on "how serious" he is. And, we just nod along and agree. But, the truth is, this guy never stops talking (and laughing)!

This is more of a taste of the Ezra we know at home...



It is impossible for us to video record Ezra because as soon as he sees the flip camera, he stops what he's doing and just goes after it. So, this video was taken on my digital camera and is a little grainier...and honestly, we weren't rockin' out to Billy Joel as loud as the video makes it seem.

It was a fun evening together. I had just realized that I hadn't had pizza yet since my return to dairy, so I made a pizza...gluten free crust so Ezra could join in on the fun...and fresh mozzarella because why not splurge?

We always pray before dinner, and although we hold out our hands for Ezra to grab hold, he never does...he just starts eating. This night however, Ezra held Ryan's hand throughout the prayer, and then periodically throughout dinner he'd reach his hand out and want to hold on to Ryan's. Made a mama want to cry it was so cute.

Swimming in the mini-pool!

Ezra received a mini-swimming pool for his birthday, and I must admit that I am as excited about it as he is. It has been in the 90's for over a month, and I have found that now that we have Ezra, 90 degree weather doesn't stop one from wanting to play outside. So we still spend a good chunk of each day at the park, toddling around our patio while hanging laundry, watering the plants, digging up the plants, playing in the sandbox...and....lounging in the pool!!

Taking his position as the pool-filler-upper...


back to business, it's a very serious role to have...


Feels good...


Tastes good...


Time to jump in...


...and splash mama!


wow, that was refreshing and all to clean. now back to the dirt...

Texas!

Last week Ezra and I spent time in Texas with my friend Summer and her son, Micah. Simply put, it was wonderful. It was so fun to be with another mama who is at the same stage of parenthood (Micah is just 3 months older than Ezra).

I joked that it was a spa vacation for the boys. We would take them to Micah's gym class, and then bring them home for smoothies and a nap. Go for a walk and stop at 2 parks along the way. Make wonderful dairy and gluten-free toddler food to meet both babies' dietary needs. Blow bubbles and watch them run around the room trying to catch/pop them.

Summer and I were able to pour lots of energy into our boys during the day, and then spend the evenings chatting, relaxing, and doing pilates together.

I hope this becomes an annual tradition!

Thanks Summer and Micah!!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Happy Mother's Day!

Inspired by Jenn's post on the Uncommon Childhood, I wanted to post an ode to my mama this mother's day.

10 things I appreciate about my mom...

1. Right after Ezra was born she and my dad flew down and took care of Ryan and I so that we could take care of Ezra. Laundry, cooking, dishes, holding Ezra at 4am so we could sleep...she made the transition into parenthood so much easier for us.

2. She allows us (and supports us) to parent the way we want to without offering criticism. When we told her about EC, she was right on board and would put Ezra on the potty when he had to go. She even found the same potty at a thrift store so that he could have one when we visit Michigan.

3. She encourages me in my many crafty dreams and endeavors. From making jewelry to sandwich bags to diapers...she is right there with me cheering me on. She even flew down to visit for a week last summer to help me cut out and sew diapers while Ryan was gone on tour.

4. She believes in Ryan(hood) and does everything she can to make sure everyone has heard about them. From throwing house concerts, to booking a show at her high school, to hanging up flyers all of Grand Rapids with my dad to advertise a Ryanhood concert.

5. She's a foodie and has thus raised me with a pallet that loves fine food!

6. She brought me along with her as she volunteered with Vietnamese refugees while I was growing up and has instilled in me a love for volunteering...and a love for people from different cultures.

7. She always emphasized wanting to save money to travel instead of having "things". I love that that mentality has stayed with me.

8. She is always asking about my friends and likes to stay up to date on what is going with them. And she is always up for me having them over when I visit Michigan.

9. She laughs with us when we are laughing about how she says things like "HPS" instead of "GPS".

10. She loves the outdoors and walks barefoot in the grass...and so do I!

Thanks Mom, I love you!

messy but fun

It is definitely true that Ezra is dirty more often than he is clean. I bathe him, I promise, but somehow he always gets dirty within minutes of having just cleaned up. I was talking with another mom the other week about how both of our kids are always dirty...it's just a fact. She told me that she finally learned her threshold the other week. Goose poop. She is not fine with her son being dirtied by goose poop (they were feeding the geese and inevitably he wanted to touch the goose poop). I think I agree. Goose poop is my limit.

I must paint a picture of what Ezra looked like when this conversation was going on. We were at a birthday party and he had just finisehd eating a piece of watermelon off the rind and was covered with pink stickiness. Plus he somehow had dirt stuffed up his nose...on it's way out. His head was full of sweaty curls. And his clothes, hands, and legs were covered with dirt from the play area.

This evening I had my hands full babysitting a friend's baby, so I took off Ezra's shirt and just let him have at it with feeding himself dinner. He loved it. I am not sure how much made it in his mouth, but it's all about the process, right?

sewing bee

While Ryan was on tour, Stephanie came over for a sewing bee party. It was so wonderful. We set up our sewing machines, ate ice cream, chatted for hours, and sewed away!



And although we missed these guys tons...


it was lovely to have uninterrupted mama time while they were fast asleep. :)

mall rats

I guess the thing to do with kids in the summer in Tucson, is to take them to the indoor play area at Park Mall.

With Ryan away and needing something to do the other week, I decided to take Ezra and check it out.

First of all, I should probably mention that I chose to go on a Sunday evening. My rationale was that the mall would be slow because everyone would be home getting ready for the upcoming work/school week.

Wrong.

Everyone was at the mall playing on the indoor play area.

At the time Ezra was only taking 1-4 steps, but mostly crawling, so the indoor play area was asking for a stomped-on-ezra. Good thing Blanca has been seasoned with summers and mall play areas and knows the secret spots to go. Ezra and Estrella loved playing on the cars. (They cost money to ride, but they were totally content just playing on them without having them "go".)

Scrabble!

Scrabble is probably our favorite game. We received a really nice wooden scrabble board as a wedding gift from one of my grad school professors. Neither of us had played it much before, nor did we really think of it as a "fun game".

Fast forward 8 months.
Move to Tucson.
Have no friends.
Play scrabble 2-3 times/ day.
Rent and watch documentaries about scrabble.
Consider going to a local scrabble competition at Arby's.
Decide against it, because really we do not know all the "q" without "u" words.

We no longer play with the same frequency that we used to. But, we still think fondly of the game and play when we can.

When Melissa moved she left behind an old scrabble game that was missing tiles. I decided to take it, knowing that it would be perfect for crafting at some point, though not really sure what that crafting might be. And lo and behold, it has already been put to use. Alphabet magnets for Ezra to play with!

Dad's hand-me-downs...

Last weekend I collected some of Ryan's childhood furniture that Lori had been holding onto for just this time. Ezra is loving having furniture just his size...

Touring updates...

I suppose that I have failed to mention Ryanhood is back on the road! They left last Friday on a 10 day tour of the midwest (New Mexico, Missouri, and Iowa). Ezra and I had hoped we would be able to join in on the fun, but some of their drives are over 10 hours, and that is just not fun when you are 1 (or 31).

So, although we do plan on getting rid of the internet, we haven't done it yet. I know, I know, my last post about the internet was written with the thought we'd be getting rid of it that day...I thought we were...but then we realized it'd be nice to skype while Ryan was on this tour. Ezra is not to sure what to think about skype, he kind of gives Ryan the side glance and doesn't say much. Although, that said, tonight Ezra wanted to go to the computer we skype on, and I think it was because he wanted to see Ryan. Sadly though it was at a time when Ryan was driving and couldn't get online. More skyping tomorrow hopefully!

Ezra and I will be going on vacation on Wednesday! A good friend from Boston (who now lives in Texas) generously offered her frequent flier miles to fly Ezra and I out to visit. Summer has a son 3 months older than Ezra, so it will be fun to all play together.

And on the touring note... Have I mentioned that Ryan will be going to China for a month? He is going to be touring with a group called Artifact Dance Project. If you click the link to their website you can watch a YouTube sample of the show. It's a dance show with part big band/jazz music and part elvis/michael jackson/etc. Ryan will be singing Billie Jean and Jailhouse Rock...as well as playing electric guitar throughout the show. So fun! There will be 2 performances in Tucson before they take off for China (May 15 and 16). And, while he goes to China, Ezra and I will go to Michigan to visit mi familia! Yay!

Here is a random photo from visiting the Ryans in the studio recently...

Happy Easter!

It is a yearly tradition (with the exception of last year since Ezra was only 3 days old) to go to an outdoor sunrise Easter service. I love being outside, surrounded by the mountains, and others who also want to watch the sunrise as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

The air was sort-of crisp (afterall Easter did fall much later this year causing for summer to be well underway already in Tucson). Ezra talked throughout the entire service, picked some flowers, clapped whenever he felt it was appropriate, and laughed whenever everyone was quiet. And even though no one knew us (we went to church just down the street...I am not ambitious enough to wake up early enough to have to drive somewhere at that hour of the morning)...we were greeted with lots of people thanking us for all of the baby sounds after the service. I love it when people love the realities of having a baby around, and not just the cuteness that also comes with babies.

When we got home, Ezra found the Easter bucket of goodies that Mary, Ray, and Rachel had dropped off. Who knew Easter eggs were so much fun to open and close? I think I may have to pack some with me for our next plan ride...



Later in the morning we went over to Lori's for brunch. I ate lots of cheesy quiche goodness, and so far Ezra seems to be just fine...yay!

I forgot to bring my camera, so the photos I have are sized a little funky. Here is Ezra looking for Easter eggs...




And after we both took a nap, we went to the park. (sidenote: For those in Tucson, Erik Hite Memorial Park on Old Spanish Trail between 29th St. and Houghton Rd. is wonderful!)






Happy Easter!

Ezra walks!

For your weekend viewing pleasure, here are some videos of our lil' guy starting to walk!

This video was taken on Monday...


And this video was taken on Thursday...

Little Toidey

When our friends Chris and Melissa moved to California last month, we were graciously gifted with many of the things that they didn't care to move with them.

One of those items was The Little Toidey. I swear it has to be from the 1940's.



I'll be honest, I took it because no one else wanted it. I knew that it would be hard for them to throw it in the trash, so I thought I'd do them a favor and bring it to goodwill without them knowing it.

Once I got it home though, I realized that perhaps this was just the thing we had been needing for our EC (elimination communication) to move forward. Ezra was still using his little potty when he woke up in the morning and after naps, but at other times throughout the day, he would just stand-up off the potty before going. Because really, playing is way more fun than sitting on a potty afterall. Given that EC is about meeting a child's needs and not potty training, I didn't like forcing him to stay seated, so I would just let him get off and crawl about playing.

I decided to put The Little Toidey on our toilet, and see if Ezra would want to use it. Sure enough, he did! He went on The Little Toidey almost every time he had to go for two days straight! He requires some (acutally, a lot of) help with aiming. I am starting to learn why families with little boys sometimes have bathrooms that smell like pee. Please feel free to tell me if ours ever gets that way. :) He is still using it quite regularly, but likes to go back and forth between his old little potty and the Little Toidey now. It has definitely been reassuring for me to realize that he hasn't lost his ability to know when he has to go...he just isn't always wanting to use the potty. :)







When asked what he thinks about his new Little Toidey, this was his response:


I recently wrote for Uncommon Childhood on the topic of Elimination Communication. You can read the article (and also see a cute photo of Ezra when he was 10 weeks old on his little potty) here.

The Internet.

I have been reading Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. It's a great read and has had me thinking a lot about how I manage my time, money, stuff, goals, etc. She has been very inspiring with lots of practical tools. There is a section where she has the reader list what they do in a day, and see where they are wasting time. Although I don't feel like I spend a ton of time on the internet on any given day, over the course of a week, it is more time than I'd want to be online. And definitely time I'd rather be doing something else, like hanging out with Ryan, reading, or sewing.

The irony of it, is that Tsh has the blog Simple Mom. I like her blog a lot. But through reading this book, I've realized that I spend way more time reading blogs than I'd like. So for the past week now I've only been reading the blogs of people I know, or blogs that have a title I can't resist. :) This makes it sound like I read a ton of blogs, I don't really, but there are probably 6 that I read on a regular basis...and really enjoy reading.

The internet is a great and very useful tool. I love that I could google "Father's Day 2011" earlier this evening and know within seconds the date of Father's Day this year. And I love being able to find so many recipes and sewing tutorials for free.

However, the internet is definitely the "new TV" when it comes to wasting time. I feel like it's not that big of a deal for someone in the 21st century to be without a TV. We have a TV (sans cable), but have not watched it together as a couple since we were married. We use it to watch movies (ahem, and Little House on the Prairie which we have on DVD). :)

But to be without the internet in the 21st century sounds a bit crazy. How would one check their email three (or more) times per day? Catch up on everyone's Facebook status? Post blogs? Or watch the latest viral youtube video?

Well, we are about to find out. Without knowing that I had been thinking about this, Ryan recently brought up that he'd like to cancel our internet because it sucks up so much of his time that he'd rather spend creating music. So, we both quickly agreed, without hesitation, that we want to cancel our internet so that we can spend time doing things we'd rather be doing.

We spend $50/month on internet, so we are instead going to give ourselves each a $25 allowance per month to spend on whatever we'd want to be doing instead of being online. For me this will probably mean crafting supplies, and for Ryan music gear or software. I am super excited about this.

In fact, by the time you read this we'll likely have already been off-line for a week. (I had to gear up for the change by post-dating some blogs. :) We do plan on still being internet users, just not at home. So, if you want to get in touch, the phone is probably the best way. Leave me a comment if you need my number.

Side to side

Corban was over a few weeks ago and requested we watch the side-to-side video. Which naturally means the Kathy Smith Prenatal Aerobics DVD. A month or more before Corban had watched it while here, and loved saying "side-to-side" along with Kathy Smith. I wish I could bottle up Corban's little voice and play it regularly. I'd make it my alarm clock, "it's time to wake-up mrs. abby".

So to give a little background of what was happening at the beginning of aerobics...
Corban was wearing a dress, but decided she needed to take it off and just wear shorts so she could be more similarly dressed as Kathy Smith. And then towards the end of the video, Corban tells me that I just need to take my dress off and put shorts on to join her...

Oh, and by the way, I sound like a shmuck when Corban asks me to join her, but I can't because at the time I was helping her brother eat. But fret not, I did get up and get my side-to-side on.

Seven Falls

My niece Haleigh lives with my parents and comes to Tucson with them whenever they come. She always wants to go for a hike. Which I love, because I love to hike. But it is without fail that every time the hike is not high enough, long enough, or risky enough for her total satisfaction. So this time, I decided I was going to go one-on-one hiking with her and make it a nice, long hike. We chose what we thought was going to be a cool day, but really turned out to be the hottest day of the week.

Our destination was 7 Falls. We entered from Bear Canyon Rd to avoid the "road" walking you have to do if you enter from Sabino Canyon. (It also takes off about a mile or so, but I didn't dare tell her this...I just told her this was the more 'hard core' route because it was all trails and no roads). :)

Part-way...


I think my tactic of finding a long hike worked, because several times on the way up Haleigh would pause at a rock and say, "I think we are almost there." And on the way down, she stopped at every creek crossing to splash her face with water...and rest on the rocks. :)

Our shady picnic spot at the top...


The pool of water...


It was a nice 5-hour hike together!

A day on the town...

It is tradition when my family comes to town to stop at the sonoran hot dog/ taco stand...at least once. :)



Ezra was feeling a little disappointed that all he got was some leftover rice and beans...


And then we headed for the zoo! I had purchased our membership through Groupon a while back, and just found out that it is good for lots of zoos all over the country...including the Grand Rapids Zoo!


In general, the animals at Reid Park Zoo are a little on the lazy side. Perhaps it's the heat. But, on this cool-for-Tucson spring day, even the bear was out swimming!


At this point in life, Ezra's favorite part of the zoo is definitely the play area...