Ezra, George and the Pumpkin Photo Shoot

This post is simply because these boys are cute, and I couldn't just choose one picture. We put the pumpkins on the porch (walkway), and Ezra came to investigate, followed by George. 

Ezra giving a little side eye

Cutest pumpkin inspector

Cousins Ezra and George

And another, because they are so cute!

Carving Pumpkins

Pumpkin Guts

We waited until Jonathan was home to carve pumpkins. Peter and Charles did quite a bit of cleaning seeds out themselves. The past couple of years we've had Peter help but he wanted nothing to do with touching the inside of the pumpkin. He did better last year. This year he did great. He got right in there to help scooping and cleaning out. 

Erica and Charles, getting the guts out!

This year Jonathan had Peter draw a face on the pumpkin and he carved exactly what Peter drew. Last year, we picked designs and then Peter chose between the ones we picked out, but this year, it was all him. We used washable markers (genius because then if you decide you want something different, or if they make a mistake, you just wash it off and start over) and Peter just went to town drawing the face.

Jonathan is the best pumpkin carver

Charles, Peter and Jonathan hard at work

It turned out pretty fantastic. Peter loved it. It lasted on our porch for about 4 days, and then Peter took it into the woods and filled it with dirt. Needless to say, it didn't last too long after that. But, for those four days, our porch was full of Halloween happiness. 

Peter and his pumpkin creation

Pumpkin Patch- Wise Acres Organic Farm

Mid-October, Jonathan's parents came to visit the east coast. Jonathan has two sisters who also live on the east (one by Washington DC and one in eastern NC), so his parents came out and made their rounds to see all of us. It was great to have them visit, and the next couple of posts will be from their trip here. 

One thing I really wanted to do with Peter is go to a pumpkin patch and pick out some pumpkins for Halloween. We did it last year and had a blast, so I was hoping I could find a good place here. The pumpkin patch we ended up going to was fantastic! If we are living here next year, we'll go back for sure. We went to Wise Acres Organic Farm in Indian Trail. Entrance to the patch was free, and pay for the pumpkins and some of the activities. They had lots of different activities. Some of them you had to pay for, but there were lots of things you could enjoy without spending any money. 

Cousins on the barrel train.
Charles and George in the back car, Peter in the front. 

The crew was me, Peter and Ezra, Jim and OdaLisa (Jonathan's parents), Erica, Charles and George (Jonathan's sister and her two boys). Jonathan was down in SC all day doing tree clean-up from Hurricane Matthew. We missed him, but had a great time and was glad we could go on adventures with other Nelsons.

Peter, Ezra, Charles and George. 

The boys are a fun group because they are close in age so they all just go around together and play. They get a little crazy, but mostly they are delightful. It was fun to see Peter and Charles together on this trip because they have gotten old enough that they play together more than fight. There were so many things to do at the farm and we kept busy and stayed much longer than I thought we would because everyone was having a good time.

Ezra likes the wind in his hair.

4 person bike- George, Peter and Charles

Grandpa Jim with his grand-boys- Charles, Peter, Ezra and George

Ezra and Robin in the maze

Peter, Charles and Grandpa Jim coming out of the maze.
Pretty sure they made this shortcut to get out. 

One of my favorite parts of this farm was the back wooded play area. It was a forest area where they had cut down any bushy undergrowth and put toys and climbing structures throughout. So there was tons of play area, and loads of things to do while still having good sight lines and it never felt crowded even though there were lots of kids and parents milling around.

They had a zip line that Peter braved. 

This was the coolest swing! Peter and Charles loved it. 

We played in the forest area for a while, walked through a maze and then took a hay ride. The hay wagon was pulled by a big tractor. When we got off, Peter went and stood by it. It was positive it was my Dad's tractor (same color and brand, different sizes) and he was entranced. After the hay ride, we went to choose pumpkins. The boys were told that if they could pick it up, they could get it. So they looked for the best pumpkins and found some great ones.

Ezra eating chocolate covered pretzels
and enjoying the pumpkin patch.

Peter's pumpkin. He could barely pick it up, but he got it!

Peter, Robin and Ezra...getting a good family picture is getting harder and harder.

After getting pumpkins we headed over to the corn bin. This was one of my favorite parts of the day. They have a HUGE bin filled with dried corn, think sandbox only more awesome. It was covered from the sun, so it wasn't hot. The texture was fantastic. I sat on the edge to watch Ezra and put my feet in the corn and it was weirdly cathartic. I felt so much calmer letting these corn kernels fall through my fingers and burying my feet in them. The boys had a blast. Peter and Charles ran around the place digging and playing. Ezra didn't go too far, but he seemed to love the corn too. Someday when we are a little more settled, I'm going to make a corn box in our backyard.

Corn box baby.

Peter and Charles, digging and burying things. 

After playing here, everyone realized they were hungry. Grandpa Jim bought a pizza that we ate, and then the kids played a little bit more. I'm really surprised at how well everyone did. We ended up being there for about 3 hours (I think, maybe longer), and we had no meltdowns or tantrums. All the kids fell asleep on the way home, and some slept for a decent time once we returned home. It was a great trip. I'd love to go back and visit the farm again sometime. We had a blast and definitely recommend this place!

Ezra at 10 month old!

Our littlest superhero!

Ezra has officially made it to 10 months old! He has survived a number of tackles by Peter, being sat upon, a few tumbles off of beds and chairs, and getting hit in the head with blocks, balls, and dinosaurs. He has tried to eat rocks, acorns, chalk, and any old food that  hasn't been swept off the kitchen floor, and he's still around to tell us about it. Being a second child is harder in some ways.

Ezra and Peter, playing in the laundry basket. It entertained them for a good 20 minutes.
(Moments after this photo, the basket fell over and Ez got a big fat lip...sad baby)

Being a second child is also more awesome. Ezra gets more hugs and kisses. Peter tries hard to help him be happy during diaper changes and sad times in the car. Ezra has a brother who watches out for him and lets me know when he has climbed up something dangerous or has something in his mouth. He has a built in playmate, all day every day. He watches his brother and learns things faster than Peter did because he has a good little teacher.

He was eating dirt prior to this picture.
Because I raise my children in the woods.

We love this boy. He brings lots of smiles every day. He is a happy easy going boy, for the most part. He takes a bit to warm up to strangers (something we never saw in Peter), but once he knows you, he loves you. He has very strong feelings on when he wants to be held and when he wants to be on the ground walking...although what he wants sometimes changes in a matter of seconds lots of up and down around here lately. He loves being walked around (when he holds your fingers and leads you around). He is walking better and better every day, usually taking about 10+ steps at a time. He can pivot and change directions, crouch and pick up things and he's getting steadier on his little legs. He still wakes up every night- usually two times and nurses and goes right back to sleep, although one is getting shorter, so hopefully he'll drop it and just go down to one waking up.

Ezra taking a break

He gives more cuddles now, but in his own way. He snuggles the most after he wakes up and if someone else is around. So, if my parents or a friend is over visiting and he wakes up from a nap, I'll go get him and upon him seeing the visitor he puts his little head on my shoulder and just snuggles down and stays that way until he is ready to go play. It's fantastic.

Ezra snuggles are the best.

Ezra 10 month stats
Height- 28 3/4 inches (46%)
Weight- 21 lbs 3.5 oz (69%)
Head circumference- 47 cm (90%)

Loves
- Food- he loves most everything, but sometimes prefers specific things and will refuse to eat other things, but it just depends on the day and time. Sometimes he hates yogurt and eats all the cereal, sometimes he throws all the cereal and eats the yogurt.
- Peter, Mom and Dad
- Dogs (we visited my sister this weekend. She has a dog and Ezra was frantically laughing trying to climb out of my arms to pet the dog. It's a good sized dog and loved licking Ezra...who wasn't quite so sure about that, but overall, Ezra was thrilled to be around the dog.)
 - Splashing water
- Opening cupboards and pulling everything out of them
- Being outdoors
- When Jonathan rubs his beard in Ezra's ear- it makes him laugh, so we assume he likes it

Ezra, Robin, Peter
Hiking to 40 Acre Rock

Dislikes
- Diaper changes
- Having his hair washed
- Clothing changed
- Car seats
- If you give him a food he doesn't want he'll spit it out and throw it on the ground.
- Being away from Mom for any extended length of time

"Look, here's my cape."

Abilities
- 6 teeth: 4 on top and 2 on bottom
- Walking pretty decently
- Babbles a ton, says Mama when he's distressed (usually when he's in the car seat and wants out, or if I'm not fast enough to get him post nap.)
- Waves hello
- Sometimes will initiate and play peek-a-boo
- Has more focus on things and does not easily give up on obtaining whatever he wants
- Can go backwards down stairs (but only one or two at a time)

Jonathan, Ezra and Robin
(photo taken 12 Nov in NC mountains)

He's growing fast and soon he's not going to be a baby anymore! We love this boy and are so happy he's a part of our family!

Happiness (Kids Edition)

Today was a good day. We all went to vote in the morning when Jonathan left for work. Our voting place is the volunteer fire department. Peter got a quick tour of a fire truck with Jonathan while I was voting. Before we left, one of the firefighters gave Peter a foam fire fighter's hat. So, needless to say, he's a fan of voting now. 

After voting, I went to Wal-mart with the boys to buy Peter some socks, Ezra a sippy cup and some shampoo, because I lead an exciting life. We got in and out without a hitch and even managed to return some faulty markers we'd bought a few weeks back. It was a good trip. Once home, we ate some food and took it easy. The boys have been sick the last couple days, fever and cranky, nothing too bad, but it was good to have some quiet time. 

Peter went outside for a bit and came back with a lizard he'd caught. He was pretty excited about it. I told him to find a good home for it by the trees. He came back to the door a few minutes later and exclaimed, "Mom! Look! Look!" I looked over to see this cute face: 

Peter wearing his lizard

He told me, "Mom. It was crawling on me and went up and down and then just stayed there." Then he giggled and said, "He's a little tickely on me!" That lizard hung out on his shirt for a couple of minutes. Peter loved every second of it. Finally the lizard jumped off and ran away. Peter just said, "I liked that little guy."

Watching his lizard.
(Yes his shirt is on backwards, and yes his sticker is upside down.)

Second happy child moment. For snack/late lunch (hobbit children), I had washed out Ezra's new cup and filled it with water. Up to this point in life for drinking he either nurses, drinks water from a cup small amounts at a time (as either Jonathan or I refill the cup a half an inch each time), takes some water in a bottle or steals Peter's water bottle. And because he's not the first child, it's taken a bit for us to get him his own. But the day had come, it was washed, filled and ready to go. I set it on his tray with some sandwich and then was working on other things. Then, I heard Ezra laughing. I looked over to see him hugging his cup and laughing. It was adorable. He hugged it for a good minute, laughing and smiling the whole time. Best present ever.

I caught him mid-laugh, so he looks more serious than he was. 

Happiest baby with a water bottle. 

Hopefully this video works...

Anyway, that was our day. Lots of smiles and happiness for the small things. Also, while I was making dinner (which is usually the hardest part of the day when the boys are done and I am done and we are just hoping Dad gets home fast), Peter played fantastically with Ezra and they were both happy the whole time I made dinner. Peter made soup (pretend) while I cooked. I asked him what was in it and he said, "Bread, miso and cheese." We have raised him right. It was a good day.

This is Halloween, This is Halloween

Family of superheros
(Jonathan as Clark Kent holding Ezra as Robin, Peter as Batman, Robin as Supergirl)

A few months back, Peter informed me that he wanted to be Batman for Halloween. It was a cute idea, but I was sure that it would pass in a weeks time and he'd move on to a new costume idea. Buuuuut, he didn't. And I was totally okay with that, because superhero costumes are really easy to pull together, and lots of fun to be for Halloween. It took us a while to decide on which superheros everyone else was going to be (I tried to convince Peter to be Batman and me to be Robin, Jonathan be Spiderman and Ezra a little spider...be he only wanted Ezra to be Robin) but we finally settled on our superhero family for Halloween. 

Superheroes can fly!

We checked out a few Batman books from the library, and once Peter learned about sidekicks and that Batman's sidekick was Robin, he knew that Ezra was going to be his sidekick. Peter initially wanted Jonathan to be the Hulk and me to be Wonder Woman, but with a little convincing, we went with Superman and Supergirl- their costumes are much easier to pull together and less green painting. 

Batman's coming to save the day!

Jonathan's parents were here a few weeks ago, and his mom helped with much of the sewing of capes and my skirt, which was a huge help. The costumes came together great. Jonathan's was by far the easiest. He already had a superman shirt, and he just wore it under a white shirt and borrowed Peter's red tie.

Best Superman Ever. 

We had a ward Trunk-or-Treat and chili cook-off the Saturday before Halloween. Jonathan was gone all day Saturday with a group from our ward cutting trees for people who needed help from Hurricane Matthew. They have been going down the last couple of Saturdays. I'm glad he's been able to go and help other families. The group came back in time to come to the ward party. We had some delicious chili and Peter came home with a huge bucket full of candy, which he shared with Mom and Dad....because he doesn't know that other kids keep all their candy, and I plan on keeping it that way as long as I can.

Batman and Robin
These boys are the cutest. 

We also went trick or treating on Halloween in my brother's neighborhood. His family lives in a development with lots of houses and lots of families. It was fun to go around with them and let the boys go around with their cousins. Lots of homes had fun decorations and there was even a haunted house in the neighborhood. Peter collected more candy and a few glow stick bracelets. Ezra rode around in the stroller and was in a pretty good mood considering he was up way past his normal bedtime. It was a great night!

Happy baby, happy mama.

Halloween was a great success this year. We had a blast and have candy to last us a while. Peter has already decided he wants to be a chameleon next year for Halloween....I'm hoping he changes his mind on that, but if he doesn't I've got a year to figure out a costume! Happy belated Halloween!