Ezra's 18 Month Recap

Has it really been six months since I did Ezra's one year update?! He has grown and changed so much since then makes it hard to believe it's only been six short months! Nevertheless, he is still my darling little cuddlebug and just as cute and sweet as ever. :)

He has covered quite a few milestones since the last update, and this will be quite a long detailed entry to try and capture as much as I can remember.

Let's start with the stats from the doctor's office for both his 15 and 18 month appointments:

15 Months (appt was on Dec 16, so closer to 16 mos old)
Weight: 26lbs 1oz - that puts him in the 50-75%. (Gained 3lbs from August)
Height: 34in - off the chart! (Grew 2.25in)
Head: 18.5 inches

18 Months
Weight: 27lbs, 10oz (up 1 lb 9 oz from Dec) which puts him in the 75%.
Height: 33in (yes, it looks like he shrank an inch, but the 15mo measurement was probably inaccurate) - that puts him in the 75%!
Head: 19 inches - again in the 75%.

He has been very comfortably wearing 18mos sized clothing since close to his first birthday, and he just moved out of regular size 5 shoes into Converse size 6. I don't think it will be long before I move him into 24mos/2T clothes!

Ok, let's hit up the milestones, shall we?

• Ezra walks like a champ. When motivated he can move quite quickly! Falling flat on his face is no deterrent if it means something like the opportunity to climb the stairs! He has recently discovered the fun in pulling along toys on wheels behind him. He is also getting very good at walking backwards. He isn't running quite yet, but I'm sure it won't be long before he has that mastered too!
• Still holding steady at 4 teeth. Two top front and two bottom front. Those first two that came in were the top pair, and they made their grand entrance in September.





First teeth!



• He self-weaned from breast feeding in October at 14 mos old. We were down to one to two feedings a day and for a few days he simply refused to nurse. So I took that to mean he was done. For a few weeks to follow, he would occasionally try to lift my shirt looking to nurse (usually only in the morning when Brian would bring him into our room which was part of the old routine for him), and I would remind him that he was all done nursing. Sometimes he would get upset and other times he just moved on to something else. Part of me was sad to see nursing him end and to not have recognized those few final nursing sessions as being just that. But at the same time it is refreshing to have my body back to myself after 4 years of pregnancy + nursing.
• He also kicked the bottle habit shortly after weaning. He started refusing bottles at nap time, so I switched him over to a sippy cup, and he was much happier. It has been kind of nice no longer having to worry about having clean bottles available and freeing up cabinet space.
• Within the last month or so Ezra has started making clearer words. And on Feb 18th, he was saying "hi" all day long. Before that, you could sometimes get him to parrot back mama or dada. And at other times, it almost sounded like he was saying things like "here you go" clear as day. I think he is working hard on mimicking sounds and words though. He certainly "says" plenty in his own little babbling language, and often he'll repeat the same series of sounds to you when asked. I just have no idea what he is actually saying! :) He also says "bong" for the bell in a book and "ding dong" for the chimes on a doorbell/house toy.

Videos of Ezra Talking


• He is also signing more things. He signs milk, bath, more, book, waves goodnight/goodbye, and blows kisses. I think there may be a few more, but I can't remember at the moment.
• He is still very much a mama's boy which (most of the time) I think is the most precious thing. He lights up when he sees me, and is often my little shadow. He gets upset when he is forced to stay in the playroom while I am working in the kitchen (much to Caiden's chagrin), and he gives me the biggest hugs when I come back and pick him up. He is also very hesitant to leave my side when we go different places. I have learned that he needs extra time warming up and do my best to keep him close until he starts feeling more comfortable.





Somebody does NOT like Santa Claus!

• Speaking of hugs, he is the cuddliest most snuggly little guy on the planet. I love rocking with him at nap time and bedtime because he is so content to just lay over my shoulder and let me cuddle and kiss him to my heart's content. We often play little games, and I love making him giggle and laugh during these times. I often call him my little cuddle bug.
• He also still enjoys being carried around and seeing what is going on at "big people levels." I think if he had his way, he'd be carried around all day long. :) He also likes to sit on my lap whenever possible. Often I'll just sit on the floor, and he'll bring over toys or books and hang out in my lap. I am making sure to enjoy those opportunities as much as I can!
• We have finally moved into that magical period of coordinated naps. Around Thanksgiving, the stars aligned and we were able to shift his bedtime from 6pm to 8pm. Fortunately he started sleeping in later as well and gets up between 7:30 and 8:30am. This has allowed me to push his nap to the afternoon (usually around 1pm), and he usually naps for 2-3 hours. Caiden also naps in this window, and I adore having a break and time to myself in the afternoons. It appears to be a very healthy sleep schedule for him as he is usually in a pretty good mood for much of the day.
• He has been eating like a champ. I swear these boys are going to blow out our food budget! :) He has oatmeal, fruit and some O's for breakfast. For lunch he has been happy with grilled cheese, banana, more fruit and veggie straws. Some days he enjoys an after nap snack, and dinner usually involves sweet potato plus whatever else we're eating that night. He doesn't appear to have any allergies to any foods either. We haven't been able to be as aggressive about limiting his sugar intake as we were with Caiden. It was pretty easy to hide the sweets from Caiden when he was this age, but now he gets to eat those things more often and Ezra often wants demands some of what Caiden is eating. I still try and limit the sweets, but he does get to enjoy them from time to time.
• Ezra has learned how to throw some wicked temper tantrums. They are almost humorous to watch (at this age anyway!). When he first started throwing them a couple months ago, Brian thought he had hurt himself and wondered what all the commotion was about. He was shocked to learn this was just one of Ezra's soon to be many temper tantrums! His tantrums often take the form of a boo boo lip accompanied by tears and an angry cry. When he really gets going, he'll fold himself in half (if standing) so that his hands and head are also resting on the floor. Sometimes he goes into all out stretched-out-on-the-floor-on-his-belly tantrums. He is generally distracted out of them by either getting focused on something different or (in extreme cases) getting what he wants.
• He absolutely loves climbing the stairs. Boy was he ever furious when he discovered the safety knob we had to install on the stairwell door to prevent him from unsupervised climbs! All I have to do is ask him if he wants to go upstairs and he makes a beeline straight for the stairway! Heaven forbid if something is in his way! LOL!
• He is very particular about closing doors and gates. Whenever he spies one that is open he makes it his personal mission to make sure it is closed right up. 
• He absolutely loves playing with gadgets and electronics. His favorites include remote controls, phones, and cell phones. With the phone, he'll often walk around with it next to his ear. So cute! I have to often keep an eye on my purse or pocket as he'll pluck my phone right out before I know it!
• He has really gotten into books. For nap/bedtime, we must absolutely have his two favorites on hand: The Best Nest and In A People House. He will seek those out as soon as we get into his room. And those are the first things he asks for when he wakes up. In fact, one of his first understandable words/sounds was "bong" for the bell in The Best Nest. From our library downstairs, his top books are Gossie & Gertie, Ollie, Brown Bear Brown Bear, Baby Colors, What Does Baby Say, and You Are My Sunshine. I absolutely love spying him sitting down with a pile of books and looking through each one of them.
• Ezra and Caiden are getting better and better about playing with each other. Sometimes Caiden is a bit rough or not in a sharing mood and in those instances, there are tears from both of them. But when they are happily playing together it is the sweetest thing. I love peeking in on them and just observing them interact with one another. Caiden often calls him "buddy" and often asks for Ezra to keep him company in the playroom. Ezra likes playing with Caiden's toys, and I think as he gets older they're going to have even more fun playing together. Just the other day, I caught Ezra grabbing Caiden's hand and pulling him around the room. It just fills me with such joy to hear them laughing and giggling together. Those are definitely the good days. :)





Playing with Daddy's old toys at Grandma & Grandpa's house






Boys in the bath






Caiden sharing his pear with Ez

• Once or twice a month, I'll leave Ezra with Caiden at Wednesday's Drop 'n' Play at the park district. Initially he is very upset that I am leaving, but about two minutes after I've left, he is a happy camper. It's nice that he gets to socialize with other kids (while having his big brother around), and I get a little break too.
• We've also been working on reinforcing his interest in music. We did a session of Kindermusik (sadly the teacher was not very engaging) and then a session of Tot Rock. The Tot Rock classes were a lot of fun, and he seemed to really enjoy them. They have lots of fun songs and instruments, the teacher was fantastic with all the kids, and Ezra seemed to have lots of fun there. I look forward to taking him to more of those classes soon.
• He's gotten very good about cooperating with picking up toys and putting them away when asked. When he sees Caiden or Brian or me picking up toys or books and putting them away he gets in on the action as well.
• He is definitely at the age and the type of kid who freaks out when a parent changes something about themselves. Brian shaved his mustache and goatee off and Ezra was completely freaked out about it. Brian tried to pick him up right after he shaved and Ezra had a massive freak out. Full on silent shriek followed by a very loud and hard cry. I came upstairs shortly after and he totally clung to my legs and hid behind me whenever Brian got close. It took a few hours, but he finally got used to seeing Brian's new look and understood he was the same person.
• Overall, he's been pretty healthy. He's had a handful of colds with runny noses and a couple of rough nights' sleep, but in general nothing major. Fingers crossed that he finishes out the winter in the same manner!
• He had his first and second haircuts over the last six months. The first was in October at the same salon where Caiden had his first cut. He did pretty well and only got upset at the very end. I opted to have a less dramatic change and decided to keep his hair on the long side. He had his second cut in January and handled it like a champ!

Pre-haircut in October

During his first haircut

Goodness this has turned into a mighty long entry! Then again, there was six months worth of recapping to do, and at his age there is a lot of material to cover!! I tried to capture as much as I could without turning this into a novel. I hope I got it all! :) Let me leave you with one of my favorite videos and a cute picture of Ezra all dressed up for the snow.

Video of Ezra in the Bath

Our little man in the snow

Cookie Monster

Ezra was very excited to have his Valentine's Day treat! He wasn't completely sure what to make of it at first, and did lots of looking at the cookie and then looking at me and grinning. Eventually he decided to give it a taste and it wasn't long before it was all gone! :)

Little Hugger

I had some other photos planned for posting today, but then I captured this little gem on camera last night and its cuteness far surpassed anything else. :)

The Little Hugger

Valentine's Day Cookies

May I present to you: 

Valentine's Day Cookies for Caiden's Class :)

Wrapped and ready to go

I made a total of ten for his class. Nine for the other students and one for his teacher. I made four extra for our little family to enjoy on Valentine's Day.

You can see my "penmanship" improve over these. I practiced on Brian & Caiden. The very last one I did was Ezra's.

Overall, I am pretty happy with how these turned out given it was a first time for me in several areas. Which also translates to: I learned quite a few new things on this batch. Good thing they are for a class of 3 year olds or else I would have felt a lot more stressed out and self conscious! LOL!

So here is a list of what I learned/experienced:

• I need to get less sloppy about my borders. It's pretty obvious when I use two different colors. 
• I should have left more of the edge of the cookie for show. This also would have allowed me to make a more defined heart shape.
• AmeriColor black is NICE! And it does darken up as it dries. I should have taken a picture of the icing before it set, but it was a dark grey/silver when I started. I was very pleased with the end result, and I didn't have to dump in half the bottle. I also don't taste the nasty bitter like I do with Wilton.
• AmeriColor red is also NICE! Having the color in squeeze bottles is so much better to work with. I did need to use a fair amount, but like the black it also darkened up as it dried.
• I really need to practice my penmanship. I don't have the best handwriting as it is, and I feel like it really showed on the cookies. But it is also my first shot at writing with an icing bag, so I know it will get better with practice. (I'm also thankful that you can "erase" mistakes with a little water and a paper towel!)
• Writing with a #1 tip makes for some fragile letters. I had to repair two cookies after transferring them to their bags.
• For some reason, a lot of my cookies came out of the oven uneven - lots of air pockets. I have no idea what caused this. Normally it isn't such a big deal since the icing usually does a good job of leveling it all out. But it does present a bit of a challenge when you need to write on them!

I think that about covers it for my notes. I hope his classmates and teacher enjoy them. I had fun making them! :)

Hooked on Decorating

So I mentioned in my last post that I was going to post more of my personal baking/cookie endeavors here. I also mentioned that most likely the next creation would be cookies for Caiden's class. Well, since I only needed about a dozen cookies for that, I had some extra dough to play around with. I've been dying to try some new techniques I learned about, so what better opportunity to play with them than now?! :)

I used one of my biscuit cutters to make some simple round cut outs. I also made 1 1/2 batches of the royal icing so I wouldn't have to worry about running out of colors for the Valentine cookies. I am ridiculously excited about how easy these were to make and how much fun it was trying out the various new patterns! These are all "flat" designs. No raised piping done with these. :)

I did swirls, polka dots, my initial, and the last one I'm not quite sure how to describe. :) By far, my absolute favorite is the red cookie with the white swirl and black border in the photo below. I absolutely love how it turned out!

I am so glad I had the chance to practice this new technique! It takes the cookie designs to a whole new level! :)

Cookie Creations

I decided I need to feature some of my cookie creations here. I generally post photos to FB, but there is no reason to not do some entries on them as well. :) Plus this way, I can share their "back stories."

To say that I have become obsessed with royal icing would be an understatement. :) I used to hate decorating cut out cookies. I hated mixing all the separate colors and then slathering the icing across the cookie. It always seemed to me that the cookie would lose most of it's shape and if there were more than one color on the cookie it became a mess. I just didn't have the patience to do a half-decent job of it.

Well, then something magical happened. I was surfing a blog I linked to from one of the couponing blogs I followed. I started reading some of her earlier entries and stumbled across a link off of her blog to yet another blog - Annie's Eats. She has a fantastic tutorial on how to decorate with royal icing. I had ALWAYS wondered how in the world people make their decorated sugar cookies look so amazing! I figured it was complicated and quite beyond my reach. Imagine my surprise when I discovered just how easy it really was! It was like unlocking a mystery in the baking world for me.

I decided my first attempt would be making cookies for Ezra's birthday party. I actually did a trial run a week or so before just to see how it would go. I'm glad I had some practice to work out some kinks and get some experience learning how to work with the icing. When it came time to make the "real" batch, it went really well! I was excited to debut them, and everyone really enjoyed them! Especially the birthday boy. :)

Of course, I had to share this technique with my baking partner in crime Summer. A few weeks after Ezra's birthday, I made a trip up to MN to meet her new daughter. We decided it would also be fun to do some baking together and what better thing to try but cookies with royal icing! Summer had already reviewed the tutorial, and I shared with her what I had learned. We had a blast decorating fall themed leaves and acorns!

I was super excited for Halloween! What a fun series of cookies to decorate! Among the pumpkins, scary cats and ghosts, I threw in a couple fun ones. A Charlie Brown ghost and a cookie made to resemble Crisco. :)

I took an unintentional break from decorating cookies until two December events: Caiden's Christmas program and a Christmas cookie exchange in December. The parents were asked to bring a plate of cookies for the social gathering in the classrooms after the program. I've been dying to try out the snowflakes, since I'd seen so many photos of beautifully decorated ones. I was shocked at how quickly these cookies were gobbled up by the kiddos! :)

For the Christmas cookie exchange, I knew immediately that I'd make some sugar cookies with the royal icing. I had to get creative with the process this time around because I was working on a limited schedule. I had to make 6 dozen cookies, but I was in rehearsal for my play several evenings a week. So I started early and worked on them a little bit each day.

First I did all the baking.

Then I piped and flooded.

  

Next I added the garland.

Then the stars.

Finally the ornaments went on.

I am pleased to say they were a hit! :)

Next up were cookies for an impromptu Super Bowl party. Believe it or not, I actually had a football cookie cutter laying around. I bought it around Caiden's birthday last year intending to use it to make cookies of the Toy Story aliens for his party. I never did get around to that, but it sure came in handy for this party!

My next project will be this weekend. I am making cookies for Caiden's class for their Valentine's Day party. I will be making heart shaped cookies with the kids' names on them which were inspired by this blogger. Summer found her, and we are both pretty hooked on her site! Oh if only I had the time and inspiration to bake like she does!

I really enjoy making and decorating these cookies. I wonder if this could ever actually be a paying gig. Karla keeps bringing up the idea of opening a bakery together. :) I actually told B when I was in the midst of the Christmas cookies that I found the decorating process relaxing! This has really turned into a fun hobby for me, and I look forward to many more baking and decorating opportunities!

TV Obsession

After years and years of putting it off, we finally broke down and started watching AMC's Mad Men. WHY OH WHY did we wait so long?! I swear I cannot stop talking about this show. And I totally understand why it's earned so many awards. After watching a series like this, we're totally wrecked for watching sub par network TV. (Don't get me wrong, there are some very well written shows on network. Some that come immediately to mind are: Fringe, Modern Family, Suburgatory.) But Mad Men has me completely captivated.

One thing I absolutely love is the fashion. I am by no means a fashionista, but I do love drooling over the gorgeous dresses and imagining what it would be like to dress like Betty does day in and day out. I am fascinated by the idea of accessorizing not just your purse and shoes, but your hat and gloves as well. I also think the men look so incredibly dashing in their fedoras.

The show does an amazing job setting you smack dab in the sixties. The attention to detail for the decor, props, language, current events, style, culture and the near constant drinking and smoking (OMG - that took some getting used to!)...all of it...is simply mind-blowing. Obviously I don't really know what life was like in the early to mid 60s, but I honestly feel like I am living right there with the characters in the show. It's also been fun figuring out what cost of living was back then compared to now. What? Purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in NYC cost $3,500? A decent weekly salary was $75? You could buy a fancy car for $6,500? And if you were particularly well paid, you could just walk in and plop down the cash for it? What do you mean people weren't taking out loans and mortgages for everything?

And then there is the writing. The story lines are tight and draw you right in. There is intrigue, romance, humor, drama...the whole shebang. And this is one of those shows where the main character is what they call an anti-hero. You want to hate him, but as time goes on, you find yourself cheering for him. In fact, most, if not all of the characters are flawed in some significant way. But that is what makes them believable. Relateable. Although, there is ONE particular character played by an actor whose character in another show was positively detestable. (Rob & Kristi, all I have to say is ARGH - FREAKING CONNER!) Anywho, I've nearly come to the point where I no longer hold that against him. Barely. ;)

If you have not yet watched this show, I urge you to give it a shot. All four previous seasons are available streaming on Netflix and season five starts at the end of March. You won't regret it. :)

Vintage Post - Ezra Walks!

Wanna talk about behind on updates?! This one is, oh, 3 or 4 months old? His official first steps were on November 14th which was a few days before this video, but we didn't have the camera on hand. He spent a couple weeks tentatively walking between mom and dad, and by Dec 3, he was walking all over with lots more confidence. :)

 

Video of Some of Ezra's First Steps

One of my very favorite things are new walkers. I love all the bow-legged and stiff kneed cuteness of it! I also love the adorableness of watching him from behind.

Video of Ezra walking a couple weeks later

Video of the "Behind the Scenes" View

The Menu Board

Spend any amount of time with me and it will eventually come out that I despise menu planning for dinners. I don't know exactly why, but it is true. For the longest time, I would just wing each night's dinner and come up with something that afternoon. Often that would result in a trip to the store. Well, then I went from one kid to two kids, and that whole "plan" went square out the window. :P I realized I had to get a heck of a lot more organized, so I got myself a magnetic whiteboard and markers, slapped it up on the fridge and started the weekly meal planning. Sometimes I'll have several weeks in a row of doing a decent job of it, and then I'll have a number of weeks where it is a real struggle. Sometimes I actually get overwhelmed by my cookbooks and become incapable of picking anything out! But I do truly love having plenty of cookbooks to eventually pick from.

Anywho, this overwhelmed feeling lead me to make a cheat sheet of our favorite recipes so that I had a quick go to when it came to picking out the meals for the week. I really like having that available to me. What I try to do now is pick out 2 or 3 new recipes to try each month and then rely on the old standards to get us thru the rest of the days. My cheatsheet wasn't very pretty tho, and it was starting to get ragged. Plus, it never contained any side dishes - another area of difficulty for me. So, imagine my delight when I stumbled across this brilliant and beautiful menu planning system on a blog I frequent - IHeart Organizing.

I was instantly captivated! It turns out it was an idea from Better Homes & Gardens. They have the templates available on their site. All you do is open the file, type in your menu items, print it on magnetic paper (yes, I was surprised to learn of the stuff too!) and voila! You have your new awesome menu system. :)

Instead of going out and buying new whiteboards and a fancy calendar, I just re-purposed my existing whiteboard and made some room on the side of the fridge for the menu labels. So my only investment was buying the magnetic paper.

Mine isn't quite complete yet. Turns out I have a lot more in the "meat" or main dish category than I realized, and I need to create a few extra labels (like "leftovers" and some duplicates of side dishes we commonly consume more than once a week). But I "launched" it last night and so far I LOVE how it looks! All of my main meat dishes, veggie sides, bread/grains/pasta and salads that we commonly eat are all listed in front of my face in a very eye pleasing manner. I hope this will make my weekly meal planning more fun and less of a chore! Here, you can have a look too. :)

Oy

Hmmm...a little cobwebby 'round these parts. This is longest I've gone in quite some time between posts. I didn't realize how busy I've been until I sit down, open this blog and realize just how very long it has been since it has seen any love! I know I also haven't been very motivated to write. Since we've moved back home, I haven't had quite as large an audience seeking updates on what is going on with our little family, or more realistically, seeking photos and videos of the boys. But I do have an upcoming Ezra post to complete highlighting his 18mo milestones. I also had aspirations of keeping a running log for each of the boys so it would be easier to make those entries. Whoops. :P But to be honest, after going these many months without an update, it has me thinking about what direction I should take this blog, if any at all. I like to have a digital record of what we've been up to and keeping track of how the boys are growing up. I don't want to wish 10 or 20 years from now that I did a better job of capturing the little stuff. But that is a lot of pressure to myself under too. Up to this point, this blog has largely been little more than a series of updates about the boys. And I'm glad I have those records, but I feel like I want it to be a little something more. I just don't know what that is yet...

In the meantime, I'm not going to promise a backlog of catch up posts. I would like to post about a handful of things the boys achieved these last few months, but I'm not sure what that is going to look like just yet. So please, do stay tuned. This blog will likely start seeing some activity again soon.