working out at the gym...

There is a gym near by for gymnastics, that has a toddler hour on Tuesdays and Fridays. So, for $5 Ezra can run and jump totally wild and free in a padded room full of trampolines, a pit of foam, and everything else this 19 month old boy loves to do.





I think ezra and eleanor look like they could be siblings.

Spontaneous gatherings...

Last weekend we called Lori (now known around these parts as GG by Ezra) at the last minute to say we were going to the park and to see if she wanted to meet us there. I love gatherings like this that need little planning and always seem to be fun.

kitchen help

This photo is for my mom, who I think secretly worries that Ezra does not get to eat enough chocolate and therefor suffers from a lack of magnesium in his diet. :)



We were baking these cookies which are sooo yummy!! Not to mention, also gluten-sugar-egg-dairy free!

After baking, we washed the dishes...


I love spending our days side by side.

Happy Halloween!!

This evening we went to a Fall Harvest Celebration with a group of friends from the Birth Center. Of course we dressed up. Well, by "we" I mean Ezra. And, I don't think I've ever loved halloween more than I have this year. Truth be told, Ezra prefers to be naked all of the time. As in, don't-even-think-I-will-wear-a-shirt-in-my-own-house naked. But, if he is going to wear clothes, he likes to go all out. Hats, sunglasses, you name it, this guy likes accessories. So, what better way to get dressed, than decked out in a full hobbit costume??





There was a bucket to bob for apples in...however I think that all of the tots just enjoyed playing with the water and tasting every single apple instead. Ezra did try to climb in (head first...true bobber style), but I gently re-directed his feet back to the ground. :)






After he tired of 'bobbing for apples' he found a soccer ball to kick around.

However, once this...


became this...


became this...


I knew it was time to head home for bed. :)

1st Birthday Party for Moses!

Last weekend, Momo turned 1 and Ezra had a blast celebrating!

Blowing up balloons (and yes, Ezra wears his sunglasses for hours on end by choice :)


Blanca, mama to Moses...


Ezra taking his usual stance at the cooler. Passing out drinks and sucking on ice...


Jell-o jigglers, party hats and balloons...what more could one want?


The Birthday Boy!


Happy Birthday Moses...we love you!

it's here....

The new Ryanhood record arrived via UPS last week! It looks awesome!!!!!!!






The first email response Ryan received after someone listened to the digital download was, "If I had to sum up this record in one word, it would be 'real' and if I could use two words, the second would be 'fantastic'". I agree. So much emotion and raw-ness. So so good.

And another email response included this (dancing by Dominic, videography by Chris Giambelluca):


You can get your very own copy here.

And, if you are in the Tucson area, their cd release is happening at the Rialto on 11/4/11.

Owen and Otto

Guess what?? Owen's mom (my friend Stephanie) had her baby!! Sadly, I don't have any photos of sweet baby Otto (yet). But, the other day we got to hang out with Owen for the morning. I just love the way Ezra and Owen follow each other around. Ezra gets so excited about seeing Owen (whom he lovingly calls "Owie").

We spent some time coloring (although they are pretty light with the crayons, so you can hardly see any of their drawings)...


They discovered that the Cozy Coupe really is a two-seater after all...


And, that they are musical geniuses on the piano!

Thank You!

I can no longer say "thank you" without hearing Ezra's little voice saying it in my head. We have some how taught him the wrong usage of the phrase. When he hands us the clean dishes out of the dishwasher we say "thank you" to each thing he hands us. Well, now he thinks that when you hand somebody something you say, "thank you". So all day long I hear him saying "tank youuuuu" and find him trying to hand me his apple, shoes, crayons, you name it. Oh well, I'm sure he'll figure it out at some point. :)

But the real usage of thank you here is for RYAN! Just two days after his birthday celebration, I received an early birthday present...





Ryan and I are not usually gift givers, so this was a super thoughtful gift and surprise (though I did find out about it before the delivery).

Ryan knew I had been checking Craigslist for pianos for a while now...just daydreaming and wishing we had a piano. I don't really even play. I just love the idea of having a piano in our living room as a way to welcome in music and anyone who wants to play a few notes.

Well, Mr. Icanfindeverygooddealoncraigslist scored us this great piano for FREE!! All he had to do was pick it up! (I really shouldn't say all he had to do, because I know a lot of time went into finding it, and pianos are not exactly light to move around.)

We had planned on taking off the mirror on top because it had a big crack in it, and replacing it with maybe some cool tile artwork or something, but when we took off the mirror we found that that it got even better.... (and that it is from 1903!)


Needless to say, there has been lots of music-making in our midst...and I'm totally loving every minute of it!

mmm...mmm...good!

The other day I caught Ezra in the fridge...eating butter.






Why is it that he loves butter so much?
And, why is it that I'm not supposed to let him eat it?
I mean, isn't it just cream that's been churned for a long time?
Am I allowed to give him butter for dessert while we eat ice cream?

Happy Birthday to Ryan!!

On Tuesday, we celebrated with Ryan as he entered into his 30's!

Actually, the celebration started on Monday night, having dinner at Bazil's with his family. It was really nice to go there again (I think it's been over 2 years since we were last there!), and have a long drawn out dinner in courses with family. Ryan was gifted the "Oh-No Three-0!" button from his mom, a button she had from her 30th birthday, that Ryan has many memories of (he was 8 when she turned 30).


Then on Tuesday we celebrated as our little family by...

...eating french toast for breakfast...

...going to the park...




...Redboxing Bridesmaids while Ezra took a nap...

...eating Sonoran Hotdogs at Guero Canelo...

...followed by dipped cones at Dairy Queen...

...Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders for dinner....

...Coconut Cream Pie for dessert...




...and then redboxing Win Win after Ezra went to bed...(we recommend this movie!)

Happy Birthday Ryan!! :)

babbling brooks...

On Monday I met my friend Sushma and her two girls at Reid Park to play. We wandered over to the duck pond, and then the kids discovered a nice babbling brook to play in. Both mine and Sushma's hearts jumped for joy when we saw this sight of kids playing in water, a rarity here in the desert. We truly just melted inside and confessed how we daydream of such things.

After playing in the water for at least 20 minutes or so, one of the ground's keepers came up to me and said, "Make sure you bathe your kids when you get home, we put chemicals in the water so that algae doesn't build up." Of course, it was too good to be true. But, since we'd already been playing in it, why stop? So, the kids played to their heart's content. And, we laughed about our naivety.

greats and grands...

Last weekend we got together with some of Ryan's cousins and his grandparents to play at the park. In Jess' exact words, "I really like this habit we seem to be starting of just getting a dozen or so family members together for random occasions. Much friendlier and less stressful than the big 50 people gatherings at the holidays!" (sorry I didn't ask for permission to steal that from your blog..!) I totally agree! It's super fun and I think Grandma and Grandpa like to see the grandkids and great grandkids all playing together.

Ezra and Rachel playing catch


Ezra and Ian sharing their love for drinking fountains


Noel and Eleanor


Grandma, Rachel and Naomi


Isaih and Ezra had so much fun playing together. I just love to see how much Ezra notices other kids now and wants to play with them (especially if they are older).


My best attempt at getting a photo of all of the great grandkids together. Ezra, Elijah, Isaih, and Eleanor.