Super Bowl Party

We had a pretty fun Super Bowl Party that included yummy snacks (which didn't actually last until the Super Bowl started), glow sticks, and crazy staches.

I'm a New England girl, so I was bummed the Pats didn't win, but it was still a good reason to have a party :)

PicEZo

Ezra likes to leave us beautiful pictures often. Usually they are stick people or a head/face with legs coming out of the chin and arms out of the ears. This face is a new one:

James and I agreed that it has a creepy factor to it, but overall it looks like we have a Tressler version of Picaso on our hands. I LOVE his little drawings. I especially love how proud he is every time he draws them.

Ezra's New Do

One day James decided Ezra's hair was getting out of control. He thought that if I could put it in pigtails, it was too much:

Ezra really enjoyed growing his hair out, so I thought there was no way he could convince him to cut it.  All he said was, "Ezra, I'll give you a cookie if you let me cut your hair." Ezra replied, "hmm, okay!" And that was that. Almost 5 months of growing it out was traded for a cookie. 

Daddy says, "Okay, I'm done. How does it look?" Mommy smiles and says, "Ha, I don't think so."

All those fluffy locks :(



Apparently a cut to daddy really means a buzz. I would've been okay with a trim..



He was pretty calm considering he has a fear of getting his ears cut off when daddy does his hair.

He looked in the mirror after daddy was done and said, "UUUMMMM, what happened?" I think the taste of the cookie had left his tongue and the reality of his choices set in. Thankfully he got over it fast and said, "It will grow." 

Maybe it was getting to be a little much, but I loved running my fingers through that soft head of hair. He's still a cutie pa-tootie and it didn't take too long to get used to. And let's be honest, this kid ALWAYS had a major case of bed head or hat hair, so for that reason, shorter is better.

Our Plane Ride Home

As I have mentioned in previous posts, the boys and I took a trip to visit my family in New Hampshire the  end of January. Our flight home made my consider never flying by myself and two babies again. I have been flying alone with children since we had children. I can only remember one time that James and I actually flew together with a kid. That being said, I am used to the stress and can normally handle it. We started the adventure with a wild chase, heavy bags, "aww they're so cute" comments and a five-minutes-before-boarding-I-really-have-to-go-to-the-bathroom trip in the airport. I'm used to this part.

Makai's hair-do was intentional

Ezra's hair-do was the effects of his hat.

Ezra just spotted his crazy hat hair.

Then we got on the pretty empty plane and found a whole row we could keep to ourselves! My thinking is, "What a blessing ... Makai has his own seat!" We get all buckled and then I get in trouble. Apparently Makai can't have his own seat without a carseat, so I still have to hold him. I just thought, "Okay, I'll hold him take off and landing and then make good use of the seat in between all that." Apparently that's not okay either. That darn flight attendant came by about 4 times during the flight to talk to me about how I need to hold my baby on my lap at all times. And not just that I had to hold him, but he showed me how to hold him and assured me it was for the baby's safety.

 At one point Makai squirmed off my lap and got on the floor just as that flight attendant was walking by, I quickly scooped him up and glanced up just in time to see a "tisk, tisk, tisk" look on his face. He was my best friend. I was one more talk away from saying, "Here sir, you sit down and hold this baby for two hours."

Caught in the squirming act.

I snuck Makai onto Ezra's lap at one point, but of course that didn't last long.

It was a cute split second to see Makai leaning up against his big, protective brother.

Makai cried most of the flight and I actually joined in towards the end. My kids are normally well behaved on flights, but they are still kids. Makai, especially, needs playtime and refuses to be held for very long without the chance to explore.

I got in trouble on the flight out there too for buckling Makai in the seatbelt with me. It definitely made me consider never flying by myself with children ever again. I get sick every time I fly, so I hate it already, add two bundles of energy and an over-the-top flight attendant and I was ready for the night to just be over. Thank goodness it was a shorter trip this time. We have done many trips from Idaho to New Hampshire or Maryland and those are much longer trips. Though I did always seem to have more understanding flight attendants.

I got off the flight ready to chase the kids to baggage claim and cart around our 3 suitcases and a carseat while we waited around for daddy to get us. I was happy to see him, but the affects of our flight stained my face the whole car ride home. At least the adventures in New Hampshire were worth the craziness.

Dance Party

My Brother and Sister-in-Law are pretty fun. They live in my parents' basement, so whenever they had a dance party, we heard it and headed downstairs. This is the result of one of those parties:

Ezra has been trying to break dance. 

Sometimes he gets it and looks really good. Other times he just spins around and looks good doing that too. He gets really frustrated when he can't do it just the way he wants too. Either way, he's a ham. I have no idea where he got that from.... ;)

That's my brother, Jay (aka Jason if you grew up with him and have a hard time changing his name.) He's a blast. He's nutty and silly and is just one of the kids. Makai adored him and gave him like 10 hugs when we had to say goodbye :(

We kept trying to encourage Makai to do the "Butterfly". It's a move James taught him where he moves his knees in and out. It's adorable, but he wasn't interested in performing this time. I'll get it on video sometime soon.

"Sleigh" Ride

We had the opportunity to go on a fancy New England Sleigh Ride while up north. It was actually a Trailor Pull since there was no snow on the ground, but the kids didn't know the difference. 

My 4 year old nephew Tyler

My mom aka Nana and my niece Lily. My mom wrapped her scarf around her head which was a great idea, but an interesting look :) Maybe she really just had a toothache?

My Sister-in-law, Jamie (My brother, Jason, was at work)

The Makie Doodle

I love these little faces

Grandpa and Makai

Ezra and his buddy, Tyler

We saw this face a lot during the ride because he just wanted to get out and run around. Plus he refused to stay seated so he fell over every bump or sped up trot.

We stopped halfway through the ride to roast marshmallows and drink hot chocolate. Though Ezra made me wait until his was cold because he insisted that he only likes, "Cold Chocolate".

Proud Grandpa with 4 of his 6 Grandbabies

This is the Grandpa Makai's middle came from. Makai was super fond of him and started calling him "Gaaa-Paa"

Don't mind the insides of Ezra's nose.

On our way back Ezra spotted these and said, "Whoa, Mom! Look at those HUGE Marshmallows! Wow"

It was so fun. 

We're still pulling hay off our coats and boots, but it was so nice to have gone. Thanks again Nana and Grandpa!

p.s. Jenn, in case you were wondering about Makai's hat... I forgot the one you gave him, but thankfully Old Navy had them for only a couple of dollars. 

Chuck E Cheese's

My parents took us all to Chuck E. Cheese's one night for dinner. It was Ezra's first time ever being there. He has talked about it often, so he was really excited. He wasn't even afraid of that crazy mouse.

Ezra loved all the video games. Though he was too young for most of them. While I was chasing Mr. Mak around, I could hear Ezra grunting and groaning because he wasn't winning all the games. It was kind of cute actually. Makai just liked all the lights and the kiddie rides. Annnd our great prizes!

Thanks Nana and Grandpa!

A Girls' Day Out

While in New Hampshire, I took my 3 year old niece, Lily, to get her nails done. She was so excited. She literally skipped her way into the salon and was so excited to see all the pretty colors she could choose. She chose purple for herself and hot pink for me. 

She was very quiet the whole time. And so still.

Then she was so worried her nails would smudge, so we had to stay extra long under the fans to make sure they were completely dry.

The girl put snowflake designs on her thumbs that she loved. Of course the color didn't last long, but it was the experience that counts, right?

I can't wait to have a girl to do this with. But it was extra special to go on a girls day out with my niece too!

When 3 Year Olds Read

I love listening to Ezra read books. It's funny to see how he makes sense of a picture and creates his own story from it. Here he is reading a story to his cousin Lily (also 3). 

We just got back from a trip to New Hampshire where Ezra and Makai played with their cousins Tyler and Lily EVERYDAY. It was Heaven for them.

I can guarantee you've never heard The Little Mermaid told like it is told by Ezra!

That little Unicorn is named Buttercup (from ToyStory3) and Ezra picked it out for her  one day while we were shopping. He was so excited to give it to her.

Family Game Night

It's those moments in the middle of playing a game with your family when it's dad's turn and he says, "Die, please." and Jason (my brother) quickly follows with, "After you." These are my favorite moments with my family. I love playing games with these knuckleheads!