18 months

Ezra is 18 months old today!

He's a happy little dude...up for anything.

By anything, I include neurosurgery...here he is calmly preparing for that surgery at OHSU.

Here he is still waiting for surgery.
Ezra continues to be Mister No-Fuss and the King of Relaxation & Sleep.

This surgery was done in August.  The purpose was to remove a small lump on the back of his neck.

The surgery was more difficult and serious than everyone anticipated. We had hoped that the growth was superficial, but it went beyond the muscles, through the spine, and past the dura of the spinal cord -- into the spinal fluid. Fortunately, it terminated there and the neurosurgeon did not go into the cord itself. The connection from the outside world into his spinal fluid would have certainly allowed for meningitis at some point, so we are really happy to have it closed. We spent 3 days in the pediatric ICU recovering. In addition to that success, we are optimistic about the effects of releasing the tethered cord. There are a bunch of neurological disorders that are caused when tissue attachments limit the movement of the spinal cord within the spinal column. We began noticing positive changes in Ezra shortly after surgery and those small victories continue.

A renewed sense of hope and Ezra's noticeable progress has done wonders for our family morale.  

At 18 months Ezra loves:

baths, showers, & the hot tub 

(being outside and in water is endlessly fascinating and also apparently hilarious)

his big brother

throwing things on the floor (especially food)

peek a boo and other face games

patting his chest for comfort

pivoting his bumbo chair around to get places

saying "ah, ah" and "a-yah, a-yah"

swinging

getting tickled

his favorite baby sitters: Grandpa Swain, Nanna, and Old Mom

laughing

his pacifier

Brothers.

 In the ball pit at therapy.

I've started noticing that Ezra's baby blue eyes change colors to match his green shirts.

Showing off his latest trick of sitting up.

Ezra, you are a rock star.  

We are so proud of you and love you to pieces!

Sitting!

Guess who finally decided sitting up is cool?

I cannot tell you how excited I am for little Ezra.

Ezra has had the ability to sit up for many months, but, for the most part, chose not to.

At most, I could get him to sit up for 3 minutes and usually, once he realized that he was sitting, would immediately stiffen and push backward.

So you cannot imagine our surprise when Ezra decided to sit up yesterday for 10 minutes....and then again later that day for another 10 minutes.....and then today for 20 minutes.

And he's not just sitting still...he's playing, making balance adjustments, and somehow remaining upright even with Jonah's smothering hugs.

Hooray Ezra!  You did it!

We love you!

One Year Ago

One year ago, today, we were making snowballs, eating snowcones, and building snowmen.

That November snow ended up being our "winter" for the season.

I'm glad we enjoyed it at the time!

Jonah had a blast freezing his teeth while waiting for the school bus.

And also trying to freeze Daddy's teeth.

Today, we have about half of our leaves still on the trees; the zinnias and dahlias are still blooming!

The Columbia River started making its own clouds as the water evaporated and condensed in the cold air.  It was a pretty sight.

Hopefully, despite an anticipated warm and dry forecast for this winter, 

it won't be long before we get a dose of snow.

Autumn Arrival

Autumn has arrived!

It was pouring rain most of the weekend, but Jonah and I took advantage of a small sun break to go leaf hunting.

Our little cutie is sporting an entire outfit of handmedowns.  

Jacket: Jennifer

Long johns: Amy

Boots: Kerry

Thanks to all our friends---we are so grateful!

We have been super fortunate to visit the Oregon Coast twice this past month, and, I'm just realizing now, this outfit has been a staple.

Jonah currently loves learning about the ocean and deep sea creatures, the solar system and understanding why we have day, night, years, seasons, tides, gravity, etc.

However, he thinks to get a "new moon" you pop the old one....so we have a little more to cover.

Jonah is thriving in his role as older brother.  He is currently teaching Ezra sign language and is always very observant of his brother's needs.

I love this little guy so much!

Halloween coincided with one of our very rainy days,
which made staying indoors perfect for pumpkin carving.

Thanks Old Mom for the pumpkins!

But it wasn't too rainy...Jonah got all dressed up for Trick-or-Treating.

For Halloween Jonah wanted to be the main character from the children's show Tumble Leaf.  So here he is as Fig the Fox (along with his best friend Stick).  BIG thanks to Nanna for letting me use her sewing machine for the hat....and for also being so patient (late into the night) while I figured out how to make the darn thing with ears that stand up.  Jonah says he wants be be Fig again next year too.  Whew!

Happy autumn to you!