Shenaniganizer

Shenaniganizer: to perform, engage in, or produce mischief. 

Our shenaniganizer, Ezra, is 7 years old!

He had a super fun birthday which included some of Ezra's favorite things:

balloons, bubbles, balance challenges, pompoms, angel food cake & whipped cream, and hot tubbing.

It was a good day.

xoxo

Connection

My first hug with Nanna since the pandemic started. There's just no substitute for the real thing!

I'm filled with gratitude to those who made this moment possible.  

Thank you to the research scientists, trial vaccine participants, state officials, local healthcare staff and volunteers.  Thank you to my community--my friends, family, neighbors and strangers--for social distancing, wearing face masks and modifying travel and gatherings.

Thank you to Nanna.  

I'm really looking forward to celebrating your 100th birthday later this year....in person!

November Hike

After a pretty rainy week, we were eager to get outside for a local hike.

It was nice to be in the fresh air.

This is a great time of year for this hike---it's too cold for ticks and the poison oak, while present, isn't encroaching on the path.

Jonah thinks I can identify every plant on our outings, but mostly I get curious and teach myself about the ones I find interesting.  I thought this vibrant lichen was really pretty and had to identify it when we got home.  It's common name is Lungwort (Lobaria pulmonaria) and occurs most often in shady environments and is an indicator for rich, healthy ecosystems.  It is edible.

The fog, dormant meadow, and Jesse & Ezra.

My favorite thing about hiking is slowing down enough to notice nature's exceptional beauty.

Have a wonderful day!

xoxo

Drone Flying

Do you see the little gray machine hovering next to the window in the image above?  

Hint: follow Nanna's gaze.

That's Mini.

Jonah has upped his drone game with the acquisition of a real one.

This is no toy.

Jonah had to register Mini with the FAA, get a tail number, and study the piloting requirements.

On a calm day last week we went over to Nanna's house to see Jonah fly it around from the bluff.

Below is a 5 minute video of some of Jonah's footage.

(there's no sound, just images)

Pretty cool, huh?

Predictably, Ezra was more interested in sliding down the stair banister.

xoxo

Colander Party

What is a Colander Party, you ask?  It's Ezra's dream come true!

Yesterday, we celebrated Ezra turning 3 with a theme like no other: colanders.

Ezra loves colanders, mesh hats, salad spinners...anything that's perforated.  He enjoys stacking them, flipping them, feeling their texture, wearing them on his head, banging them together, and especially looking through them.

Jonah and Renee...remarkably neither flipped out of the hammock.

It was a beautiful day to enjoy with our family and friends.

What a difference a year makes!  Ezra now enjoys tasting all food, he will even chew and swallow--those are strawberry remnants on his face and hand.  He's making great progress and it is really exciting to see regular improvement in every area.

So much of Ezra's development is due in part of the wonderful therapy services he has received since birth.  Since Ezra's arrival, he has been part of Early Intervention which serves kids with developmental delays from birth until age 3.  We had our final visit with our Physical Therapist, Kelly, last week and it was sad to say goodbye.  Kelly has been coming into our home twice a month for the past three years and she basically feels like family at this point.

Here, Ezra is playing with his Occupational Therapist, Paul.  

We feel lucky to have had such a great local team.

And while it is bittersweet to be moving on, it means that Ezra is ready for the next chapter....

SCHOOL!

Yes, we have been busy planning for Ezra's transition out of the Early Intervention program and into the Special Education school-age program.  So today, Ezra went to preschool for the first time!  There are only a couple days of school remaining before summer vacation starts, so we are looking at these few days as "practice school".  We are big fans of our public preschool and I know that Ezra is going to grow tremendously in that environment.

Happy Birthday Ezra.  

You are amazing!

xoxo

A Winter to Remember

It is hard for me to recall the exact date that the snow began, but it was weeks ago.

Since that time, we have had cold temperatures, daily soaks in the hot tub, school cancellations and late starts, brief power outages, chains on the truck, lots of cocoa, and immense fun.

The weather forecasting has been tricky for this La Niña year.  The precipitation in the prediction above materialized, but the high temperatures never warmed above freezing, so we ended up with more snow than expected....and it just kept coming!

The snow was appreciated for the holidays and New Year.  I happen to love seasons, and I much prefer a true cold, snowy winter to the grey and rainy ones typical of the past decade.

Blurry, I know...but how cute and cozy does our little winter cabin look?  I've always had a fantasy of having a summer cottage or cabin in the woods...so I have started referring to our home with those darling titles in order to embrace the charming qualities of a tiny house.

Ezra LOVES the snow.  He would post up by the window every day and yank on the blinds until I would open them.  Then he would stand there, head tilted back, giggling as the flakes fell from the sky.

Daisy, on the other hand, did not appreciate the winter conditions.  

She would get giant snow-marbles stuck to her hair when we would go on walks.  And once the snow was over 8" she was confined to our shoveled paths.

Jonah sure had been a trooper through all the schedule changes.  It's the 19th and since the New Year, he's only had FOUR days of normal school plus three late start days.  We have been embracing the time at home though with lots of "outdoor school", baking, coloring, and card games.

As I'm sure you gathered from my last blog post, skiing right from our house is one of my favorite things.  It's been a great year for zero-commute outings.

Skiing the old hwy is also an easy local trip.

So much grinning!

Animal tracks.  My snowshoe tracks on the left and deer tracks parallel to the right.

The pace of the last few weeks has had a unfamiliar energy.  It reminded me more of summertime than anything else.  Days where we were unbound by schedules and effort was made to pack the activities in like the snow might melt....but it didn't....so we kept going.

There were bluebird xc ski days with friends: Tabitha, Kerry, and Rich.

There were blustery snowshoe outings to the river.

After dark snowshoe and sledding adventures with Jesse.

More sledding while Jesse was at work.

Play dates with friend, Josie.

A sunset ski with Tabitha, Jen, and Rich (kitty cat).

Full moon snowshoe with Amy.

Sunrise snow shoveling.

Downhill skiing with Daddy.

More snow shoveling.

More sledding.

Drinking hot chocolate with preschool friend Sophia.

Trying out Mommy's snowshoes.

Trying out borrowed kids snowshoes.

Through out this time, Jesse was able to get to work, so the photography ended up being mostly of me and the kids.  I have a few more photos to share.

Keeping track.

Ezra celebrated his 1 year Hearing Birthday on the 11th....
so Jonah and I made him an applesauce molasses cake.  He didn't really love the cake, but we did!

Staying cozy.

Master snow shoveler.

Our beautiful son.

Our silly son.

Winter textures.

Our deck piled high.

Snow even makes our shed door prettier.

An ice storm was the grand finale.

We are just beginning to thaw today.  Jonah is outside now "ice surfing" on 2 inches of frozen rain.

Although it is treacherous, it is also beautiful.

Lots of love from our winter playground.

xo

-c