17 Months and 15 Weeks

As always, things are hopping here...

Sunday was a busy day for us. We had an extra busy day at church as I sang both services and Alex ran sound. After church, we stuck around for a potluck and enjoyed the company of some friends. There were some water activities outside for the kids, but Ezri was a bit too small and about got run over by kids and adults alike a little too into their water fights. Oh well... As hot as it was, we were glad to get home to the cool.

In the late afternoon, we headed to the pool. While we were there, Ezri took a huge step in her swimming. She wanted to sit on the "boat" (raft), so I sat her up on it. Soon, she was scooting off the edge and into the water, where I would catch her. After a few times, I wondered how far she would go, so I kept letting her go farther and farther into the water until she went under. She came up laughing and wanting more! She apparently was not phased a bit, which is both great and a bit scary as I now have to watch her even closer. She was quite pleased with herself!

We returned to the pool again Monday evening, and she went right back to scooting off the raft and enjoying every moment...

Monday morning was exciting for us as we got to hear Fig's heartbeat for the first time. Ezri and Daddy were there with me, and while Ezri didn't appear to care, we were glad to hear it :) Things are going well, I am feeling great and Fig is growing as expected. We are up to 15 weeks already!

Tuesday marked 17 months for Ezri. So hard to believe our baby is almost a year and a half old already!!! Still a peanut at around 18 pounds, she wears some 12 month clothes, but still fits into many and 9 month items. Her feet are growing like crazy, though. We had to go out and buy size 5 shoes for her this past weekend. 4's are too small, 5's are a bit big yet, but not for long. Yikes! Size 2 diapers still, and no indication of getting out of them any time soon :) Sleeping well all night and still napping twice a day for about 2 hours each time, she is healthy and doing great!

Tuesday afternoon, Ezri and I went to visit Aunt Nancy, Tara and Elizabeth at East Lake, where they were camping (just down the road from our house). We spent the afternoon floating around the lake and playing in the sand. Ezri wore her life jacket for a while, but was not a big fan as she was only able to lay in it (too front and top heavy). She watched fish in the shallow waters and was quite intrigued with the slide and the kids going down it. She really wanted to go down herself, so Aunt Nancy and I helped her by lifting her part way up and holding her as she slid down, letting her go into the water. She loved it! She got pretty gutsy and went out deeper than I expected and even went under the water with no trouble. This child has no fear!

We got to see Grandpa and Grandma on Wednesday night and Opa and Oma on Thursday night. It was nice to be able to see Alex in the evenings this week after a crazy week last week. As it looks like things are going to get hot again, we'll likely be living in the pool again next week. So thankful we have that pool available!!!

Just Trying To Stay Cool

Enjoying the rain showers and the much cooler air as I write this... It has been such a HOT week!!! Ezri and I pretty much hibernated :)

Saturday, before all of the heat rolled in, we watched a combine work the field across the road, harvesting wheat. Ezri was quite enthralled with the big tractor!

Sunday, Alex and I got a bit of a surprise at church. We went with Ezri dressed in her green and yellow Easter dress. Shortly before church began, she was with Andy at the sound board when Tina (her "Sunday Mom") came in looking for her. She grabbed Ezri from Andy and I assumed she was going to sit down together, as they usually do. After I sat down, I kept looking for Tina and Ezri and could not find them! Not really worried, I was just confused as to where they were, hoping nothing was wrong. A few minutes later, Tina came into the sanctuary with a little girl in her arms, but one in a pink dress and hat. Alex and I were really wondering where Ezri was... when we saw the little girl's face. It was Ezri! Tina had made her a dress and hat and changed her into it for church :) The cutest little dress, and one to be treasured for sure because of the time and love that went into it for our special little girl :)

We visited with Opa and Oma for a while Sunday afternoon and had some dinner with them. Along with dinner, we had watermelon slices. While Ezri has had watermelon before and likes it, she had never had it still on the rind... She thoroughly enjoyed herself :)

During our hiatus inside this week, Ezri had a lot of time to read books, one of her favorite things to do. One afternoon, while I was getting dinner ready I heard her in the living room chatting away. Soon, I started to hear expressions and sounds that I make while reading the book "Good Night Gorilla" to her. Curious, I snuck in to watch, and sure enough, she was reading that book :) Of course, by the time I got the camera, she was wise to my standing there, but still so cute! (of course, once again, Blogger refuses to let me put the video up...grr!!!)

Alex was gone every night this week leading a group at our church kids camp, teaching them about engines, cars, etc... getting the kids to change the oil in his quad and rotate the tires on the truck among other projects. To finish the week, he brought along the potato gun and thrilled the masses :) Ezri and I opted to stay home this week as I knew 9:30 or 10pm bedtimes for Ezri all week would be no good!

It was quite the week... a lot of Alex being gone to meetings, appointments, etc to then rush home and back out the door for kids camp. Ezri and I are definitely ready for a weekend with Daddy! Fortunately, Ezri and I were able to spend one night this week with Grandpa and Grandma, and even got to Skype with Uncle Kevin, Aunt Katie and Drew.

To beat the heat, I made an attempt at homemade fruit and yogurt popsicles. Success!!! Ezri loved them :) And so easy... a little strawberry yogurt, some frozen strawberries and fresh bananas blended and frozen. Yum!!! Ezri's first real experience with a popsicle and she enjoyed it.

Thursday, Ezri and I met Grandma, Aunt Kerri, Aubrey and Wesley at the pool (Aunt Nancy's) for the afternoon. The hottest day (at least 97 with heat index over 105), we loved the water and it helped break up the monotony of staying inside all week to stay cool. I am so glad Grandma was there... it meant I got to actually enjoy the water a little :) Ezri is so busy that a good 10 minutes of swimming is enough before she wants to be back out, playing on the deck, throwing things in, climbing the pool steps, etc. The extra eyes and hands allowed Kerri and I to even float on rafts and get a little sun for a bit :)

Ezri and I attempted swimming earlier in the week by ourselves, but it was much more difficult as I had to open and close the pool while trying to watch Ezri and make sure she didn't jump in or disappear. Easier said than done! While we were able to swim together, it was a chaotic beginning and end to the visit. So, it was much nicer to enjoy the pool with other adults around.

While the girls swam, Wesley enjoyed the shade...

We even got to see Great Grandma for a bit later in the afternoon :)

Now that the worst of the heat is over, at least for now, we are hoping for a much more relaxed weekend and hopefully some good sleep. It has been so hot that Alex and I even moved downstairs to an air mattress in the living room for the week (the upstairs doesn't cool enough when it stays 80 at night after being over 90 all day). Sigh... Still, I will not complain (too much) because I know a time will soon be here that I'll wish for warmer days.

Miss Personality

We have been trying to stay cool this week... Looks like next week could be even worse!!!

Saturday, Aunt Kerri, Aubrey and Wesley came over to play for the day. After some lunch, Ezri and Aubrey headed out to the pool. Now that Ezri is so mobile, she spent more time getting in and back out than actually playing in the water... In for a moment to get wet, out and around the yard with Aubrey right behind her. Back to the pool, repeat... Silly girls!

We spent Sunday early evening and part of Monday afternoon (after the huge storm blew through) in (Great) Aunt Nancy's pool. We are so lucky to have that nearby! Wednesday, Ezri and I mowed the lawn as the heat dissipated a bit and it was quite pleasant for a bit. We also got some badly needed weeding done in the garden and some in the yard. We picked some red and black raspberries and even some green and yellow beans!

Our garden is looking great this year (except for the patchy beans). The tomatoes are forming and growing, zucchini, squash and cucumber plants are full of blossoms, peppers are beginning to produce, peas and carrots are looking good and the corn is well past "knee high by the 4th of July", with some already tasseled. Looking forward to harvesting and eating all of those goodies!!!

Ezri has become much more interested in coloring and drawing lately, grabbing hold of any writing utensil and applying it to whatever surface she can find. We have to make sure pens, pencils, etc are well out of reach and that crayons are supervised so that they stay on the paper. She is beginning to enjoy sitting and coloring for longer stretches now. Our budding little artist...

We were able to Skype with Aunt Katie, Uncle Kevin and Drew for the first time this week since they moved to Japan. It was wonderful to be able to see them and talk for a while. Ezri was quite the ham, talking to Drew. Funny to be getting Ezri ready for bed when Katie is getting Drew up and having breakfast!

We also got to spend some time with Great Grandma on Wednesday night. We stopped over for a visit and Ezri got right to showing off. She was quite taken with watching the hummingbirds come and go to the feeder right by the porch. She got to see a pig up close and watched Daddy mow the lawn a bit too. Then, she played some catch with Great Grandma and really enjoyed herself. Alex and I are so glad she can have those times with my Grandma and can have the chance to know her as she grows!

Ever the adventurer, we caught Ezri in some peculiar places this week...

On the kitchen table... (going after her "bark bark")

On the stair side of the baby gate... playing some game :)

Quite pleased with herself to have accomplished those feats as well! She is becoming a master at climbing up stairs and doing much better about going down either feet first on her belly or sitting and sliding on her bottom. Our stairs are not very forgiving as they have no carpet, so she is a bit timid about going feet first and sometimes even scooting, so we carry her down more often than not.

She discovered she can open drawers in the kitchen this week... how, we're not sure since they pull really hard and are heavy, but nonetheless, she can do it and has found the bottom drawer is filled with cups, bowls, etc for her. Fun to spread around the house!

Talking up a storm now and picking up on signs just as quick as I can learn them and teach them to her... Growing like a weed, well kinda... size 4 shoes, 2 diapers and still some 6 and 9 month clothes, getting into a few 12 month pants (for length - waist is too big) and we've found some summer outfits that fit now when they should have last summer :) Such a little peanut with a huge personality!!! We love her to death!