Ezra turns ONE!

Our sweet little Ezra turns 1 today.

At one year Ezra likes:

anything visual, being tickled, his pacifier, dancing, sleeping, ceiling fans, standing up (with help), peaches, hiking, showers, games, & watermelon.

He LOVES big brother Jonah.  Even Jonah's aggressive, somewhat smothering hugs make Ezra laugh.  I often find myself in the awkward parenting position of explaining to Jonah that it's not okay to bounce the beach ball off of Ezra's face even though he is clearly enjoying it.

Ezra doesn't really have any strong dislikes.  He doesn't eat or drink well, but I'm not certain it's because he dislikes it.  He also isn't crawling or sitting up yet, but those positions are difficult and uncomfortable for him.

Ezra's defining characteristic (besides fantastic hair and bright eyes) is his easygoing personality.  I am so grateful that Ezra is happy and peaceful.  

Here are some favorite photos from the past year.

Gardening outside with Mommy.

Adventures with Jonah.

Playing dress up as Macklemore.

Our sweet boys.

Loved by Great-grandma Nanna.

More gardening outside with Mommy.

Adoring Daddy.

Hamming it up with brother Jonah.

Winter hiking.

Bundle of cuteness!

Snuggles.

Bath time with Jonah.

Cold watermelon for teething.

Swinging in the hammock with Jonah.

Family cuddle time on weekend mornings.

We love you Ezra.  We are so glad you are here.

Happy Birthday Baby!

Real Life

Unstaged.  Unedited.  Unexpected.  Life.  

I suppose it wouldn't be worth living if the outcome were predictable.

Thanks to my boys (all three of you) for keeping this mother on her toes.

I love you.

Madly.

xo

Easter Eggs

Happy Easter!

Spring is in full swing, but the oak trees haven't leafed out yet so our kitchen gets flooded with a wonderful warmth on the sunny days.  I took this picture and then realized I was missing something important....

Lilcas!

Ours just started blooming.

I love the aesthetics of our tiny kitchen.  It's the only part of the house that has the original single pane windows.

I wish you could inhale this photo.  It smells divine!

Earlier this week there was a lot of Easter Egg decorating.  Jonah was enjoying dipping and seeing the colors stain the eggs.

Master egg artist at work.

 We used my Mom's duck eggs for this particular project.

This morning we went up to my Mom's mini farm in Underwood for an Easter Egg scavenger hunt.  She had made rhyming riddles directing Jonah to all the secret spots.

On the hunt....

Jonah loved it!

The cape was Jonah's idea.  It turned out to give him super finding powers.

Ezra got to "find" one too.

Afterwards, we got to have a 2nd Breakfast of bacon, rainbow salad, cupcakes and Easter eggs.

What a privileged life.  We are so thankful.

Then it was back outside to say hello to the chickens...

...and ducks.

Thanks for a very special Easter morning, Old Mom.

I hope you all have a lovely day too.

xo

-c

Silver Falls State Park

Last weekend we celebrated Stephanie's birthday by staying at the cabins at Silver Falls State Park.

It was our first time there and we enjoyed hiking the short, family-friendly loop to see two impressive waterfalls.

Ezra is 10 months old now and getting bigger!  He only likes to be carried facing outward, but as long as that request is satisfied, he's one happy hiker.

Wave!  We had our rain gear out because the trail goes behind the falls and it's very misty.

Jonah got to puddle stomp and explore every side path.

And, thanks to Dave and Steph, we have a couple photos of the four of us!

We enjoyed a delicious meal of grilled lamb chops ("lamb pops" is what Jonah called them), eggplant, couscous, & salad.  Over the years, we have had some incredible meals while camping, but this one might be my new all-time favorite.  Dave and Steph really should be famous for their skills.

The key to having great food while car camping is:

buy excellent ingredients and do all your prep at home.

Jonah and I made birthday Pavlova for Aunt Steph.  It was so good that we didn't even eat smores....or, at least, not until the morning.

I was introduced to Pavlova while living in New Zealand.  This was my first time making it.  I look forward to whipping it up several more times this summer when our berries are ripe.

Camping, even car camping or cabin camping, was intimidating to me with Ezra's feeding needs.  I took this photo of Ezra's gravity feed bag (full of formula) hanging up from the tree because I wanted to share our daily reality with you all.  It is definitely harder, but it is always harder....even if we stay at home.  It was a good reminder to embrace what our lives are now and keep doing the things we enjoy.  Ezra had a blast and got to camp for the first time!

Preparing breakfast...it was a cool morning, but the sky was clear and soon the sunlight was warming us up.

I would definitely come back....it would be fun to do the long hike next time and see all 10 waterfalls!

Happy Birthday Steph!  We love you.

xo