Decluttering entertaiment...

We were recently given a nice basket that I thought would make a perfect newspaper recycling basket (we save our newspaper to build fires with). As I was clearing off the top shelf of the hall closet where we keep our newspapers, I was freaked out by some verryyyy long tentacles that were reaching out towards me. The shelf is above (my) eye level so I couldn't really see what it was, but still I was feeling a little squeamish. Deciding to be very brave, I just reached for it...and jumped when it was much bigger than I had expected....



Oh dear...I have no idea how long that potato had been hiding up there.

Happy 1st Birthday Ezra!!

How is it possible?? Seriously, how? That a whole year has gone by since we first met Ezra?


It is quite amazing to think that they start so small and depend on you for everything, yet in one year's time, they triple in size and desire to do many things themselves.

1 month...


2 months...


3 months...


4 months...



5 months...


6 months...


7 months...


8 months...


9 months...


10 months...


11 months...


1 Year!


Last weekend we had a joint birthday party at the park with Ezra's friend, Corban, who turned 3!

Ryan and Ezra...


Corban the birthday princess!


Who needs cupcakes when there are gluten-free prune muffins to be devoured?


"If only we could get these open...these bubbles look delicious!"


It has been a wonderful first year. So many smiles and laughs. Hours spent just staring at him in awe. Tears of joy. Sleepless nights. Love that makes me want to burst. Lots of snuggles and cuddles...and millions of kisses too.

Happy Birthday! We love you Ezra!

Communal Living

The other day I was walking downtown and passed by this "compound"...





From what I can tell, there are 6 casitas in total with a nice fenced in yard...perfect for exploring kiddos. I am thinking that if four families are interested, we could each move in to our own quarters and have the 5th casita be a "common house" where we eat meals and hang out, and the 6th casita can be a music/craft house where all sorts of creativity can take place.

Who's in??

p.s. if you know who owns these casitas, can you ask them if they are interested in selling?? :)

da zoo!

Last week Samantha and I took the boys to the zoo. We chose to go at 9:30am when it would be still cool out, and hopefully not very busy. Hmm...not so. Apparently because it was a little cool out, everyone-including every school- decided to make it their field trip for the day! That didn't really matter too much though...we still had a grand ol' time!

Ezra's favorite animal was the peacock. :)

And, both boys LOVED crawling around in the play area...

Monday night!

Meet Me at Maynards (MMM) is the coolest thing happening in Tucson (or perhaps even the nation?) on Monday nights. :)

"The mission of Meet Me at Maynards is to bring active adults and families to the downtown Tucson area to enjoy healthy exercise, to experience the beauty, history and architecture of our unique neighborhoods, and to appreciate and patronize local businesses."

Every Monday night about 400-600 folks gather downtown to walk/run. There are 3 loops to choose from: 2 miles, 3 miles, and 4 miles. We walk by cute old homes, the art museum, la placita, the children's museum, etc...it's really quite lovely.

Most of the restaurants downtown offer a 20% discount to MMM'ers on Monday nights. Ezra usually wants to go home and get some shut eye by the time we are done walking, but perhaps someday soon we'll be able to have a late night dinner downtown after our walk.

(these photos were from last week when it was unseasonably chilly)
Our regular crew (more are always welcome to join us!!...just let me know if you are interested)...

Abigail with Ezra, Blanca, Estrella, Matt, and Abby with Moses
(notice Abby's ultra stylish distance-walking boots... :)


Me and Ezra bundled up..


Matt and Momo...


And, the ever-so-happy Estrella!

It's laundry time!

Ezra loves to crawl around outside while I hang up the laundry these days. The tin of clothespins gets emptied and re-filled, emptied and re-filled, emptied and re-filled...it's lots of fun! :)



(those are his rosy red cheeks from eating bread in Bisbee.)

Birthday in Bisbee!

This past weekend we went to Bisbee to celebrate our friend Jacob's birthday! It was a grand ol' time as always. Have I told you guys how in love I am with Bisbee? I am. It's an adorable little town that looks like a taste of Cinque Terre, Italy...or perhaps even Boston. As we walked to get coffee this morning, we were talking about how we love that the shops are mixed right in with the residential houses...that is I guess what reminded me of Boston. I love that feeling of being able to just walk down the street to get coffee, or around the block to get bacon.

Houses scattered about on the hillside. Perhaps I should mention that everything is on a hillside in Bisbee. Lots of stairs to climb everywhere you go.


Mamas and da babies...


Papas and their sons...


Ezra was a little overwhelmed by all of the options at dinner...


He ultimately decided on breastmilk, sweet potatoes and navy beans...with bread for dessert. (We had been keeping Ezra wheat-free because we suspected a slight wheat allergy, but truth-be-told, we resorted to the bread as a source of entertainment...the guy loves bread...and well, we have now confirmed that yes indeed, he has an allergy-or at least has a sensitivity-to wheat...his cheeks were ultra red when he woke up and continued to get more and more red throughout the day).


By the time dinner ended, Ezra was ultra cuddly, and fell right to sleep when we got back to our room.


With all of the kiddos in bed, the mamas and papas played board games! It is so fun to get together and have a slumber party with friends. I mean, how often does that happen in adulthood? Not often enough if you ask me. After gaming, we talked and dreamed about how great it would be to live on a commune where we could raise our kids together and just live in community with one another. I hope we really can do that someday. And, Megan don't worry...we have a casita for you too! :)

One of my favorite things about our group of friends is how the adults all love on the kids, no matter if they are theirs or not.

Samantha with Josiah, Moses and Ezra.


Blanca with Ezra...


Joel and Ezra...


Breakfast on our roofdeck this morning...


Ezra about to become Ezro...


Diggin' it...

cousin miri!

The other weekend we had the chance to spend the afternoon with Ryan's cousin, Traci and Ezra's second cousin, Miri! It is so fun to watch Ezra and Miri watch each other and start to interact a little bit.



Ezra is quite obsessed with balls lately. Tennis balls, basket balls, yarn balls, anything that bounces and rolls...he loves! It is amazing to see how even at this age he seems to have preferences in what he wants to play with. He also has a knack for wanting to show off how strong he is. He kept trying to lift up a footstool to show Miri that he has huge muscles. Lots of grunting involved in his muscle man routine. I tried getting it on video this evening, but he was a little camera shy. :)

Ryan's Aunt Terri has 4 gorgeous horses that the kiddos loved petting.




Me and Ezra watching the horses run and around


Traci with Miri and Ryan with Ezra