Ezra Turns One

Andrew, William, Peter, Ezra, Robin, Jonathan, Christina, and Peter
Singing Happy Birthday, Ezra was uncertain about that.
(Not pictured- my parents and Aunt Debra) 

Ezra is officially one year old! We had a really low-key celebration for him on his birthday (31 December). I've been sick for a week, we have been trying to figure out housing things and life has been crazy. Good thing he's one and has no expectations! It's been great to have Ezra as part of our family for the past year. He is a delightful little guy and we love him. We first opened presents. Ezra did not understand this at all, but with a little help from Jonathan and Peter, he got them open.

Ezra and his new broom! He loves it. 

Ezra loves brooms and vacuums. He gets mad and will cry endlessly if I vacuum or sweep without letting him help. So, he got his own little broom so he can still help me and I can actually get things clean! He might end up getting a little vacuum in the future. 

Ezra's new shoes

Ezra got some new shoes- he's worn through his pretty good, and these ones have a little thicker sole, so they will hopefully be a little better for keeping his feet warm and safer when he's traversing outside. He also got some cute new clothes, some little treats, a soft little frog, and some dinosaurs.

Ezra's conquering face

Fruit pack for birthday!!

Ezra Loves
- Food: but only on his terms. He does not like to be fed food. He wants to hold the fork or spoon. It's messier, but it's the only way he'll eat. He likes to eat most everything. He loves those little applesauce packs, sandwiches, pasta, fruit, cooked carrots, squash, anything with meat in it, beans....pretty much everything we give him, he will eat.
- Climbing....everything. He has learned how to climb onto chairs and has made it onto the table twice. Going up stairs is a breeze (still slow going down). If he can hold onto it, he'll try to climb it.
- Dogs, we've been living with my parents for the last couple weeks, and they have a dog, Lucy. Ezra loves Lucy. For the first week, he would squeal any time he saw the dog. He follows her around and if she sits down he tries to sit right next to her.
- Being thrown in the air or spun- this always makes Peter a little nervous, even now, but Ezra loves is! He laughs and laughs. If he's sad, give him a couple tosses up in the air and he's back to happy.
- Peter: Ezra loves his brother so much. It's fun to watch them together. Ezra is starting to get agile enough to wrestle back and play a little rougher. Give him another year and I think he'll outweigh Peter and be able to take him down pretty easily!
- Baths- always an adventure, and now that he is steady, it's easier to bathe him and he loves splashing and playing with bath toys. He got a little octopus toy with little rings for Christmas, and he loves that.

Ezra's not a baby anymore!

Peter, Jonathan and Ezra playing with the new dinosaurs

Peter playing a lively game of "keep the balloon in the air"

Ezra Dislikes

- Being told no, or not being allowed to climb things or get into things

- Diaper changes- I'd forgotten how much a small body can twist until recently. 

- That's about it, as long as he's had sleep and is fed, he's pretty happy

- Cuddling- he still doesn't cuddle a ton, only when he's just up from a nap he'll lay his head on my shoulder when we're walking, for a minute, sometimes if he's tired. If you try to lay down with him and snuggle in bed, he'll just pop up and try to crawl around. On rare occasion, he'll fall asleep nursing and I'll just hold him curled up for a bit because I never get to hold him in my lap like that.

Abilities

- Walking, sometimes really fast

- Climbs 

- He has a good pincher-grasp- can pick up things with finger and thumb

- Still 6 teeth

- Usually only wakes up one time at night

- Babbles a ton, but not many real words yet. Says Mama and Ez (we don't know if he says that to mean himself or just likes the sound)

- Understands lots of verbal commands and questions- no, sit, want some food?, come here, etc

- We started teaching him some sign language, he knows food....of course, and working on please, thank you, more and all done.

Birthday cupcakes

After Ezra opened presents and the boys played for a bit, we sang Happy Birthday to Ezra and had some cupcakes. The singing was my favorite part. Ezra just sat really quietly and stared at us. He was very uncertain about that. But, once he had a cupcake, he was totally fine with life.

Slightly concerned with the singing.

Jonathan showing Ezra how to blow out the candle.

Devouring the cupcake!

We sure love Ezra. He's a good boy full of smiles. He loves us and is always happy to see Jonathan when he comes home from work. Ezra is learning more every day! Happy Birthday big boy!

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!

Ezra at 9 months

Ezra James

Ezra is a bit over nine months old, and I haven't written an update on him since he was six months old, so it's time. Ezra is a happy baby who is learning a ton from his big brother. Ezra is on the brink of walking. He's been cruising along furniture for the last couple of weeks but in the last couple of days he has started letting go more often and reaching out to whoever or whatever is nearby.

Ezra starting to get his walking legs

That face. Cute Baby.

The last measurements I have of him are from his eight month appointment, where he weighed in at 20 lbs 9 oz (82%) and was 28 inches tall (62%). He is a big boy. He is still in 18 month clothing. 18 month pants are too long on him, but 12 month pants are tight due to cloth diapers. But he'll be there soon. His main mode of travel is a bear crawl. He crawls around outside with his knees off the ground and will power through gravel, over the stone pavers, and over pine cones, sticks, acorns and anything else on the ground.

Just climbing up the slide, like a pro.

He's so happy to be in that sleeping bag!

Developmental
- Almost walking, walks along things quickly and can transition from one object to another
- He likes to walk holding onto people and will sometimes make me walk him around and not let me have him hand onto furniture instead.
- Climbs everything he can reach, stairs, stools, the slide outside, anything piled up
- He has 4 teeth- two bottom middle and two top vampire (incisors). He likes to bit me a lot, especially when nursing...which he has gotten scolded for many times.
- Babbles all the time, sometimes quite loudly
- Sleep: usually wakes up 2-3 times at night (I think it's due to teething, hopefully it improves), usually 2 naps during the day, morning nap is longer 1.5-2 hours, and the second nap is usually 45 min-1.5 hours
- Eats so much food. I think he eats as much as Peter sometimes.

Peter and Ezra, bonding. 

Likes
- Food, so far all food, especially if he can feed himself. He loves sandwiches, beans, rice, cheese, grapes, bananas, apples, eggs, pasta, tomatoes, olives, broccoli, crackers, zuchenni, squash, cucumbers, everything.
- To sit/lay with feet crossed- anytime in his carseat or when nursing, he crosses his feet. If you uncross them he will quickly put them back.
- Trying to eat spoons
- Being tossed in the air
- Rocks, specifically when they are in his mouth
- Being outside, he'll crawl to the door in seconds if it's open
- Being with Peter, playing with Peter even when it's a little rough
- Playing in water, splashing water
- Chewing on phones

Getting ready to explore the yard.

Bear crawling

Dislikes

- Snuggling: Ezra is not a very cuddly baby. He wants to be looking and doing. He doesn't like to be held as much as he likes to crawl. Then only time he will snuggle is sometimes for about 30 seconds after he wakes up from a nap, or when nursing- but as soon as he's done he straightens out or twists to get up and away.

- Anytime I shut the front door, especially if Peter is outside and I'm keeping him inside.

- Pureed food

- Getting dressed/undressed

Peter asked, "Can I hold Ezra?"

Ezra is a pretty mellow little guy. He tolerates Peter's antics and loves watching him and being with him. Ezra's face lights up when people come to visit us. He has a great laugh. He is fast. He is a fun little boy to have in our family.

(Jonathan writes)
He is always happy to see me when I get home
He eats a lot and is very demanding if he is not getting fed quick enough
He like to eat my phone.
He likes when I jump with him in my arms or on my shoulders
He has a very strong grip, esp on glasses and spoons
He likes to swing his legs

Ezra at 6 Months

Ezra James

Ezra is already six months old! Well, six months and a week old. He is growing up fast and learning to do more things. Three weeks ago, Ezra went to the doctor for shots and a check-up. He had to get three shots, and he was a trooper. When they were weighing him, he peed all over the place in what I can only assume was a preemptive strike for the shots he knew were coming. He weighed in at 18 lbs 5 oz (78.8%) and is 27 inches (81.6%) and is in the 96% for head circumference. He is a giant compared to Peter at this age. Ezra wears 12-18 month clothes. Today I weighed him on our bathroom scale and he weighed 19.5 lbs. He has the bluest eyes and blond hair that is really long on the top and short on the sides. 

Look carefully and you can see his teeth!

Developmental

- He is almost crawling. He can get up on hands and knees in crawling position, but hasn't quite figured out how to move all his limbs together to move forward. For a while he would get up on his toes and hands- like a push up position- and just hold it. He still does that, but has figured out how to bring his knees in. Ezra can pivot and go backwards. He can also roll a complete circle and sometimes uses that method to get things.

- Ezra has two teeth, bottom middle. He loves biting everything. 

- He can sit for 5-10 seconds independently before toppling. 

- Personality- He is a happy boy. Peter can easily get him to laugh by yelling, "Ribbit!" and jumping like a frog. Ezra loves it. He lights up when people come over. He will let anyone hold him and is content unless he is hungry or tired. 

- Sleeping: Most nights he goes to sleep by 8pm, sleeps until 11pm- wakes up and nurses, sleeps until 3:30am- nurses, and then sleeps until 7-8 am. He takes 2-3 naps a day. His morning nap is usually 2 hours long, and any others are about an hour. 

Hair blowing in the wind! Happy boy in his swing. 

Blurry, but adorable. 

Likes

- Food- He has started eating food other than milk. So far he's had bread, crackers, egg, rice, broccoli, watermelon, cantaloupe, black beans, carrots, sweet potato, mashed potatoes, banana, apple, cheez-its, pasta, and a couple things of baby food. So far he loves everything and will get vocal if you don't feed him fast enough. He is very aware if you have food and aren't sharing with him. He has fast hands.

- Baths- he loves to kick and splash in the water.

- Peter- Ezra loves when Peter comes and plays with him. Peter makes Ezra laugh easily and loves to hold him. 

- His swing: We bought an outdoor baby swing to put on the play-set we got from the grandparents. Ezra is very content to sit and swing and chew on the straps. 

- Sticking his tongue out- it's almost always sticking out just a bit. I initially thought it was because he got his teeth in and he was feeling them, but now it seems to be the norm. 

Post-bath baby

Working out those muscles. He used to do this all the time.
Now he gets his knees in more.

Dislikes

- If he's on the ground for too long and he's been trying to crawl, or just planking, he gets really mad and gets some tears going. 

- Not being fed when other people are eating.

- Being snuggled- he's not a really cuddly baby. He likes being held so he can look around and will get a little frustrated is you try to hold him in toward you. Even if I'm carrying him in his pack and he's exhausted, he rarely will fall asleep being held. He likes to watch the world. 

- That's about all. He's pretty easy going and happy. 

Brothers- Peter and Ezra

 Ezra fits right in to our family. He is a happy little guy and is loved by all. His little smile warms my heart and makes it easier to make it through the hard days. He makes some of the best faces and makes awesome sounds. I love watching the boys together and watching Peter interact more with Ezra as Ezra gets older. I have a feeling they are going to be little terrors together, but I think they will support each other. It will be interesting to see what Ezra is like as he grows older.

Ezra (Month and a Half)

Ezra is almost a month and a half old! He is growing up. He is similar to his older brother in some ways, and very different in some ways. 

Similar

- the same coloring

- both have lots of light hair

- Ezra gets the hiccups multiple times a day just like Peter

- both are pretty easy going babies

- strength- both held their heads up quickly and can push up easily

Different

- sleep patterns: Ezra will sleep when laid down and sleeps for longer periods of time (usually at least one 4 hour stretch every night), Peter would only sleep when being held and only slept about 2 hour stretches at this age

- Ezra gets bad gas bubbles and cries so sad from them all the time

- Size: Ezra is much bigger at this age than Peter was

Ezra is a smiley baby!

About Ezra: 

He is a happy boy. He has already started smiling on purpose when he hears familiar voices or when you play with him. He gives big smiles that light up his face. Jonathan learned yesterday that Ezra is ticklish. He doesn't laugh when tickled, but he squirms all over. He does laugh pretty frequently in his sleep, just a little chuckle. It's adorable. 

Ezra is a pretty good sleeper. He will stay asleep when laid down better than his older brother did, but he is still hit and miss with that. He has to be laid down at just the right time after he falls asleep. If you set him down too soon or if you hold him too long after he falls asleep, then he'll wake up. He will sleep in his crib at night, which is beautiful. He sleeps for 2-4 hour chunks at night, but it's hard getting him to go to sleep at the beginning of night. He doesn't go to sleep easily; he'll squirm and fuss for a couple of hours with a small 10 minute nap in between. We're trying to figure out how to help him go to sleep better by keeping lights dimmer and sounds quieter. 

Ezra Baby Stats (2 week appointment):

Weight: 9.1 lbs (62%)

Height: 21.5 inches (80%)

For reference, Peter hit 11 lbs at 2 months old...we'll see how Ezra weighs in in a couple weeks, but if he keeps growing like he has, then he'll be over 11 lbs by then.  

Ezra at 1 month.

Ezra and Peter:

So far, Peter loves Ezra. Peter likes to rub his cheek on the top of Ezra's head because it's "so soft and cozy." Peter also likes to try to put his finger in Ezra's mouth and poke his cheeks and eyes...we're working on these things. Peter is also awesome at running to get a diaper, binky or my water bottle throughout the day. Peter sometimes sings to Ezra, usually he sings 'Rock a Bye Baby' and he gets most of the words right. Peter does not like it when Ezra cries. He'll either ask why he is crying, or he holds his ears and starts crying too...that's fun. 

Just over 3 weeks old

We love Ezra. It's felt like he's always been a part of this family and this is his spot with us. It's been a hard to adjust to having two kids at home and learning a new balance, but I know once I get through newborn stage then we'll all fit a little better. Right now I don't sleep as much, and I've gotten peed on at least three times in the last month. I have way more laundry to do because of lots of poop and pee on everything and my arms are always tired because of this ten pound weight I hold. But, I love Ezra's smiles and his cute baby sounds. I love watching Jonathan cuddle him and make silly sounds with him. I love watching Peter be proud to be a big brother and let people know this is his xiao didi. I love that our family is a little bigger, even if it makes it a little bit crazier.

Peter Update

He recently discovered he loves pockets...just like his mama

I haven't done an update on Peter recently, so here it is. 

At 2 years old, Peter's stats:

Weight: 24 pounds- 17%

Height: 2 feet 8 inches- 14%

I've heard that if you double a kid's height at age two, then it is their approximate full grown height. If this holds true for Peter, he'll be 5 feet 4 inches....sorry kiddo...hopefully you'll take after Dad more and blow this prediction out of the water. 

He needed a hood like dad

Likes:

Foods: bananas, animal crackers, pancakes, noodles- especially when shaped like wheels or butterflies (bowtie), fruit leather, apples, oranges, mac and cheese 

Baths

Being outdoors

Coloring- but only when someone colors with him

Stickers

Balls

Animals: dogs, cats, chickens, zebra, octopus (he says it op-a-tus), whales, butterflies (he says it in Chinese- hudie: who-deyh), frogs, birds

TV shows: My Big Big Friend, Curious George, Bo on the Go

The library- books

Nursery at church 

People- he asks for people he's met but hasn't seen in a while all the time

Trains, planes, boats, trucks

Singing

Wrestling with Dad

Dislikes:

Brushing teeth

Taking his pajamas off in the morning

Diaper changes

When mom says, "No more tv."

Anytime he has to do something he doesn't want to do

Yeah, that's marker...permanent...
Luckily it's just hands and not walls

Helping Mom move the dresser

What can Peter do:

Jump

Run

Climb

Understand and follow simple commands (when he wants to)

Recognize a handful of letters- O, P, W, X, A, B, I

Identify and correctly name orange, white, yellow, sometimes blue and green

Pick out clothes to wear

Use a spoon

Help with laundry

Clean up spills

Remember songs and start singing them

Says phrases and puts words together

Count to 3, sometimes higher

Tickle people

Paint and color- he now targets specific things, although it is still crazy

Copy things people say (the other day he repeated "Oh my gosh" after I said it, and said it randomly the next day. He also likes to repeat everything I say when I'm on the phone.)

His most recent skill- ceiling walking

Peter's growing up and is both so much more fun and so much more work. I'm making an alphabet, colors, number poster to help teach him things. Also, we will hopefully get some other moms together to let the kids play/give mom an adult to talk to on a weekly basis, and that will be great. The weather has been really nice and warm- high 50s everyday, so we've had lots of outside time, which keeps our sanity. We go to the library at least once a week. I love being close enough to walk everywhere with him. Anyway, that is Peter. He's great and we love him!

Peter Panda Turns Two

While we were in North Carolina, we threw a birthday party for Peter. It was a few days before his actual birthday, but close enough to justify a party. His great aunt Deborah (my Dad's half sister) has a birthday close to Peter's so we threw them a joint party. Deborah made chicken cordon bleu for dinner, and Peter chose dessert...which means I chose dessert because he doesn't really know what that means yet. The gang came over for dinner, presents and dessert.

Dinner was good and everyone ate all they could. It was fun to have everyone over one last time before we headed back to Utah. We'd told Peter that it was his birthday, and he connects candles with birthday and will sing you the song, but his understanding wasn't much more than that...until we brought out the presents. He definitely understands presents. He's really good at waiting until you tell him he can open one, which is nice...learning patience young...at least with gift opening.

Best focusing face ever.

Book baby and his little feet

 He got some great gifts. Deborah gave him the most adorable little high top sneakers. They are still a bit too big, but he'll fit into them soon. My parents gave him lots of good travel gifts. He got a "Very Hungry Caterpillar" backpack with crayons, a small coloring/sticker pad, a book and little stuffed animals. He also got a cute outfit.

Deborah, Vivian, Peter and Robin

 Vivian likes his stuffed animals and Peter (after a minute or two) did a good job switching off with her so they could both hold one of them at a time. They did a great job of trading the animals.

It was a fun little party. It was great having a party with lots of family around. Peter was a happy little guy and had fun opening his presents. 

Peter reading his alphabet book, he likes finding letters he knows

Borrowed headband from a cousin...
If we ever have a girl, she will be adorable.

Peter with his excellent new backpack

New shoes and backpack...he's a cute one.

After presents were opened, it was time for dessert. When my mom asked what I had in mind for dessert, I had no idea. As I thought about it, I decided that cupcakes were the best idea, they are small and cute for kids. I wanted to decorate them somehow, and because Peter loves animals so much, I thought it would be fantastic to make the cupcakes into animal faces. I toyed with the idea of doing a jungle theme with lots of different animals, but that takes lots of things and quite frankly was more work than I wanted to do. Then, I came across a panda cupcake and I was sold. It was perfect. The tutorial we used did mini-cupcakes, so we followed suite and they were excellent. Click here for the tutorial. They were super easy to make and turned out adorable. The tutorial says to use sprinkles for the mouth...I tried that for a couple and nope, those sprinkles were tricky and small, so instead we just used a tube of black frosting from the store...way easier. They turned out most adorable. 

Pandas!

Panda close-up.

When Peter first saw the panda cupcakes, he flipped (in the happiest, most excited way possible). He didn't identify them as pandas...he called them dogs, but still, he knew it was an animal, so it works for me. He was super excited though. He pointed and needed someone to pick him up to see them. He loved them, which made my day.

Peter Panda with his panda

Not sure what to do about these flames in front of my face...

Starting a little bit of blowing...he figured out what to do eventually.

He ate just a bite and was done....good thing we made small cupcakes.

Vivian loved them!

Gleaves tradition birthday poster

Finding balloons

I'm two!

Happy Birthday little buddy. You are a smart little boy who loves to be with people and explore. You are loved very much by your mom and dad. We are so grateful for you and the happiness you have brought into our lives. Everyone who knows you loves you. You are a happy cuddly boy and we are glad we've had you for two years. I love coloring and dancing with you. Your dad loves wrestling and reading books with you. Keep growing up. Keep learning and remember you are a son of God. Make good choices and love everyone. We love you kiddo!