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!

A Maryland Update

We've been having fun adjusting to our new life in Maryland. James loves his job out here. Not sure if I mentioned before, but he's still doing asset protection with Wal-Mart. He used to catch 1-2 people stealing a week in Idaho and now he catches about 3 a day out here. He's really shining in this position and they are very happy with him. I was able to watch one of his craziest stops a couple weeks ago. It was sad, but cool to see him in action.
I don't have a car any more. We left James' truck in Idaho with some friends of ours to sell for us. He works half an hour away, so he takes the car everyday and we stay in place. I've been looking for another car, but it might be a awhile.
Makai is finally in a crib! He slept in a bassinet sized pack 'n play for the first year of his life (the main reason THIS was so terrifying to me), so I'm sure he's happy to no longer be smooshed up against the side all night long. Though I do still find him wiggled over to the side snuggling with the bumper.

We've have been having fun playing in the pool, riding bikes, staying cool indoors, taking trips to the ocean and the bay.

We're now in New Hampshire for a family reunion. James just changed his flight due to the hurricane, so he will be joining us tonight! It will be the first time all my siblings and their kids will be together! And only the second time my sister has met James. Ezra starts preschool and soccer the week we get back. He is so excited for both and talks about them everyday. It's very funny and kind of melts my heart how excited he gets.

Oh and we just experienced our first earthquake this past week. Scary. Makai slept through it, but Ezra started screaming.

Don't know if I answered all (or any) questions that people keep asking me, so let me know if there is something I left out.

Makai's Birthday Party

James couldn't wait to have Makai open a present and Ezra had been begging all morning to open them, so we decided to give him one to open before church. He loved it!

That night we had a delicious meal and then some cake:

And who says I don't have talent... ha. Ezra did the sprinkles :)

At first he was excited, then not so sure. (The green mess is from his favorite, avocado. )

Since he was a little timid about it, daddy put his finger in it, then mommy smashed his hand in it :(

Then he got into it:

After cake we rushed to the tub, had a quick bath and hurried out to open presents.

This (^) was the present from Ezra. He doesn't seem too enthralled, but he really loves all his gifts.

The unwrapping went a little slow, so Ezra took over on one of them:

I think he had a great first birthday. I still can't believe he's already one. He's really little, which sometimes makes me feel bad for him, but mostly I love it because he gets to be my 'baby' longer. 

We sure do love our Mak Attack.

Happy First Birthday Makai

Big Mak is ONE today. It's really hard to believe. It seems like the one year mark crept on me a bit, but I guess that's how it always seems. He's a sweet baby. He lights up our days.

Here's a little about our babe:

His hair is long. I planned on cutting it when he turned one, but I can't bring myself to cut off his curls in the back. My mother-in-law also told me she wasn't going to let me cut his hair, so that just justifies his girly do even more.

He's very expressive. He has the most entertaining faces. He also really enjoys playing with Ezra. They like to sit down and share popsicles, or cookies. They hold hands. They climb on each other. They play with trains and cars. They make each other cry and they make each other laugh. It's adorable. 

His favorite activities lately are cleaning, crawling, dancing (or bouncing really), eating, and climbing.

He only started crawling when he was about 10 1/2 months old and isn't walking yet. He really doesn't even seem close. It's a little strange because Ezra was walking before Makai was even crawling at the same age. I don't mind; the second they start walking they get into more trouble and they seem so much more grown up. He doesn't laugh much, but he smiles and giggle-grunts all the time.

He is always doing cute things (as all babies do, right?). He loves to play with his voice. He's still nursing and I don't really see an end to that as of now. He can't stay away from the stairs, but thankfully has only fallen down them once (sad, horribly sad, but he was fine).  He's a definite daddy's boy. He loves mommy, but if he's fed and sees his daddy, all he wants is James. James loves it. He absolutely hates being left alone and still cries in the middle of the night often. 

He goes berserk over sweets and screams if you either don't share fast enough, or finish it. He loves splashing in the water. He doesn't have much fear. He enjoys when I sing to him. He would be content being held all day long. He's extremely schedule oriented. He's my special little dude and I still can't stop squishing all his cheeks. We are so blessed to have him. 

Happy 1st Birthday Makai. We love you.

(I will post some messy cake face pics soon.)

Ezra's Girls

Ezra left his heart with two girls in Idaho. He talks about them often and misses them.

This is Caity. She is a little over a month younger than Ezra, so they have pretty much known each other their WHOLE lives! She is one of my best friends daughters, so our play dates were mostly for us, but thankfully they hit it off too. She is a cutie. 

This is Isi (Isabel). Sometimes Ezra calls her Isi-bel. They have also known each other their whole lives. Ezra and Isi were in nursery (the 18mo-3 yr old class at our church) together. She (and her parents) are the ones who really got Ezra comfortable with nursery. She's a smart little cookie.

As hard as it has been to say goodbye, he has found a new girl to fill a little bit of that void:

This is Hailey. Please disregard his hand placement; he doesn't know any better. This is one of James' best childhood friends' daughter. She's adorable. Ezra had gone too long being cooped up in the house with only mommy and Makai to play with, so he was bouncing off the walls when Hailey came to play. He had so much fun we made sure to quickly invite her back the next night for another playdate. 

I think I'll be keeping a close eye on this boy...