JFR- Part 2

Santa's Village


It's a wonderful amusement park themed after.... you guessed it, Christmas. It was so fun.

They are so 'little' kid friendly, unlike many places lately. Makai could go on a lot of the rides and Ezra could go on just about all of them. It was great.

Notice Nerdy James? Yes, those are Ezra's sunglasses. 

Ezra and Lily

I can still hear his squeal.

Chase and Tyler

While it wasn't a big attraction, it was so nice to see a Nativity at "Santa's Village".

Ezra sitting on Mary's lap while Lily made sure baby Jesus was comfortable. Actually, I think she was trying to hold him. She's definitely in need of a baby brother or sister :)

Tyler, Ezra and Lily

Ezra and Uncle Kevin

Jenn, Kyler and Chase

Dad and James- love them. Ezra and I are in the cart in front of them. Ezra learned he LOVES roller coasters.

 The "Johnston" Clan

If you ever find yourself in the White Mountains in New Hampshire, Santa's Village is worth seeing for sure. They even have reindeer you can pet and feed. Ezra often talks about going to "Santa's Billage" again.

Johnston Family Reunion- Part 1

We had a family reunion for my side of the family the end of August. It was the first time we had all been together since my wedding and the first time all our kids have been together ever. We stayed in the White Mountains in New Hampshire at my parents timeshare (a vacation we took many times as kids). We all were too excited that we knew there were bound to be some hiccups, but it all worked out in the end.

There was my dad and mom, my sister Jenn, her husband Kylann, their kids Chase and Kyler, my brother Jason, his wifey Jamie, their kids Tyler and Lily, James, me and our boys, and my younger brother Kevin. Plus we got to meet up with my aunt Charlene, Uncle Dickie, my cousin DJ, his wife Alisha and their baby Landon, and my cousin Sheri's kids, Hailey and Jared! Does this remind anyone else of reading the Old Testament? haha.

 a lot of us our first night in the condo's.

Ezra and Lily became good buddies

I have a handful of pictures of the kids playing with Nana's ipad and itouch. It was definitely their favorite toy and also, naturally, the cause of many fights.

The Hurricane

Hurricane Irene threatened to cancel James' flight out, but we were thankfully able to change his flight a day early with no extra charge thanks to Southwest. Then it rained and the wind blew and it was no big deal. At least that's what we thought. The Pemigewasset River (normally a very shallow, rocky, river) near our timeshare was roaring and rushing. It broke the timeshare's water source. With no water they were forced to evacuate us due to fire code. We stayed in a hotel and prayed that they'd get the water fixed soon. Within a couple of days they got water back and allowed us to come back. While we still had to boil any of the water we used, the biggest headache was over.

That tree actually collapsed just minutes after this picture was taken and the bridge collapsed a couple days later. It was scary. The ground would shake from the boulders crashing and being ripped out of the ground. It was Crazy.

We got to spend lots of time together and it was fun. My niece Lily asked me to do her hair just about everyday and I loved it! Once while I was doing her hair I told her she was so pretty. She touched her hair and said, "not yet, almost."

She's darling.

We had some adventures while we were hiding out in the mountains. To be continued...

Fun with Baby Kai

He lights up my life.

He naps, then Ezra, then Makai again, so I usually get some quality time with just Mak in the afternoon. He loves every minute of my undivided attention. And I love every minute of squishy tushy time!

Don't you just want to eat him? Okay, maybe that's just me. I really have to restrain myself from munching on his chubby arms or nibbling on his little ears.

Oo I just love him!

Ezra's First Day of Soccer

Ezra had his first day of soccer on the 17th. We have both been looking forward to it for quite awhile. He was so excited when Grandpa got him soccer cleats and socks and his very own soccer ball. I am a volunteer coach for his team too and I love that. We had a lot of fun (me more so than Ezra I think). I would love to be a soccer coach one day.

It was a little crazy with all the kids on his team running in a million different directions, but I expected that. Ezra told me later that his favorite part of soccer was his team. It feels good to be involved.
And... he just looked so darn cute in his little soccer outfit.

Since I was on the field with the kids, this is the only pic I got him in his uniform.

The Real James

Warning: This video may contain offensive behavior. My deepest apologies. Also, James is actually a great dancer.

We had a family reunion for my side of the family last month (more to come). My mom made us great t-shirts and asked that we all wear them went we went to some of the parks. James decided that if he had to look like a nerd wearing matching shirts, he would make the most of it.

He carried on for quite awhile until I finally begged him to be normal. He said not until I got the rest of the family to take one nerdy picture. Most of them agreed, so he thankfully returned to a somewhat normal behavior. 

Gotta love him. It's a good thing being normal doesn't run in my family.

Ezra's First Day of School

Ezra started preschool today. He was so excited. He has been talking about it since we first started looking at schools soon after we moved here this summer. I just thought it would be a good way for him to meet friends around here. Plus I just can't get him to sit through my "school sessions". When we picked the school and dropped off the registration forms, he cried because he wanted to stay.

He woke up this morning and said, "I'm getting so big!" In other words, "take me to preschool mom!" We got dressed speedily and sat down for a breakfast that he raced through. Then as he was leaving the table, he knocked over his full glass of chocolate milk all over himself, the table and the floor. I knew it was going too smoothly. We got him all cleaned up and changed and he was running out the door with excitement.

I did send him to school with a messy face! Oops. At least we got his teeth brushed before "the big spill". 

It's a hard thing to send your child and his education into someone else's hands. I've been so worried that I was going to lose my sweet boy into the not always sweet world of preschoolers. I worry that he won't share or that he'll be mean to another kid. The thing I worry about the most is his tender heart. 

When we dropped off the registration papers, summer preschool was in session and a boy looked at Ezra and snottily said, "who's that kid?" I responded (as any 5 year old mother would), "This is Ezra, he's a cool kid." The boy said, "No he's not; he's weird." I wanted to be 5 some more and say, "No you're weird, you weirdo." However, I grew up long enough to walk away. It made me feel sad. 

What if Ezra heard what he said and felt badly? What if comments like that happen all the time? What if kids say words and act the way I have tried so hard to teach him we shouldn't?

When we were leaving school today there was a young woman standing right outside the door and Ezra said, "Hey, get out of my way." I was shocked. He usually impresses me with how polite he is and always says excuse me. He even apologizes to lamps and doors or chairs if he bumps into them. It kind of made me fearful that he is already picking up on some not so nice behavior. I made him apologize right away and then talked to him about being respectful. I just hope my sweet boy stays sweet.

I have considered homeschooling in the future and still might for different reasons. Maybe I'm silly, I am just so proud of my boy and I don't want to lose that. Though I do believe that I have tried my best to teach him and now it's up to him to put some of those lessons into action. 

I just can't believe my little Ezzy is going to school! He's even got a field trip coming up to go to a petting farm. He's definitely looking forward to that. 

she says, he says

Having a toddler sure does help you to recognize what words you use most often. I have been embarrassed several times by what he says because you know he must have learned it in our home. It also just makes me laugh, a lot. I love when he uses words out of context or makes up his own words.

While working on the ABC's once Ezra said, "That's a "P". Oops, I said potty talk. I'm so sorry." He often says, "Oh poopy. Oops, dats potty talk. I didn't mean to say potty talk. Poopy butt. Oops."

Ever since I had a talk with him about using the word "stupid" he has been so sensitive to the word. He hears it any time someone around him says it. He gives a look and then says, "we don't say dat word." It really embarrasses me sometimes.

At least a couple times a day this is what Ezra asks me: "Are you frustrated at me? Are you sad at me? Are you happy at me?" It really upsets him if I am anything but happy "at" him.

It seems like I am constantly fighting with him over something (usually to get dressed). I do feel like a nag. He gets upset and says, "Just chill out. You're giving me a headache." Once he said, "Don't freak out mom."

He asked me if he could watch a show with me the other day. He said, "let's watch 'Holly Pregnant'." I was like, "hmmm, never heard of it." I was wondering what shows he's been watching with his dad. I finally figured it out and said, "Oh, you mean ' Home Improvement'?"

During their bath one night Makai was playing with the jets in the tub. Being a protective (or perhaps bossy) brother, Ezra quickly pulled his hand out and then had a talk with him about how dangerous that was and how he could get a big owie.

He always says things like, "that's fantastic!" If I ask him if he wants something, like dinner, he usually responds with, "oh no, I'm fine." Then he sometimes follows that with, "Juuuust kidding".

We were walking through the store the other day and Ezra kept telling me that everything was too expensive. It sure did embarrass me because I realized I must say that a lot.

Earlier today we were reading like a bazillion books and after each one Ezra would close it and say, "wow. what a great story."

Even if he repeats our 'little talks' or 'lessons' in the wrong place, wrong time, maybe wrong context, I can't help but smile. He helps me to learn to watch what I say and also to take extra time with our talks because he has proven that he does listen and learn from them. And I cherish those 'little talks' he gives me in return.

The Headache Shake

How can you tell if you have a headache? You're probably normal and wait for it to hurt, and then you know. Well, James isn't normal in just about any regards. He shakes his head back and forth really fast (like a dog who just got out of water) and then says, "I have a headache." Is this weird to anyone else? I always say, "well if you have to shake your head to find out, then it really can't be that bad." This didn't just happen once; he does this all the time. He's just a little quirky.

{Apparently the picture I had on here made James look fat, so I was called a "butt" and asked to remove it. I thought he was cute :}

We're missing quirky James/daddy right now since he went back home on Saturday and we don't come back until Friday. From what I hear he's getting into trouble and sleeping too much. We're matching him with the trouble part, but sleeping? Not so much. Enjoy it James; we're back to climb on you come Friday night!