Happy Thanksgiving

We have enjoyed another quiet week, ending with some time together with our families to celebrate Thanksgiving.

This past Saturday, we were able to spend a portion of the day outside.  A bit chilly, but pleasant enough to play and clean up some more leaves.  The neighbors were cutting down several trees in their yard, which had Ezri's full attention.  She was very interested in all of the noise and work going on.  From her perch on our tractor, she took it in for a while before moving on to play in the leaves as I raked them into a pile by the road.

The leaves have been a source of great enjoyment for Ezri this year.  She really loves to shuffle through the piles and spread them around.  She also finds it fun to fall into them, throw them, and sit in the middle of a pile just exploring and looking at the leaves for extended lengths of time.  Oh to be so young again...  I do have to admit I've found myself playing in the leaves just a bit as I move them out of the yard, joining in on Ezri's fun :)

Sunday we rested.  Ezri struggled this week with sleeping after getting our flu shots last week.  She finally caved on Daddy's lap for a while in the afternoon.  A rare moment...

 

 Ezri and I kept ourselves occupied this week Monday and Tuesday with plenty of play time.  She has become quite the little helper, wanting to empty the dishwasher, put her clothes in the drawers and hamper if dirty, feeding Tucker and Tobi...  She always keeps me smiling. 

This Mommy has been doing well so far.  Baby fig is extra active, those little feet constantly kicking my ribs on the right.  I've also been experiencing Carpal Tunnel and Sciatica with this pregnancy.  Oh the joys!  But so worth it... We are looking at the calendar and realizing we will soon be meeting this little one as Christmas is nearing and the due date so soon after. 

Wednesday, Ezri and I spent the morning with Aunt Kerri, Aubrey and Wesley doing a little shopping and just generally enjoying one another.  The girls really had fun at Mendards when we wandered through the Christmas area.  Looking at all of the trees, lights, nativity scenes with Baby Jesus (Ezri's new thing to talk about), balls, stars, etc.  It was fun to take it all in through the eyes of those sweet little girls, so innocently enjoying the decorations.  So easily amazed and appreciative of it all, not fixated on the rush that is ensuing.  What a lesson...

Thursday we were able to spend Thanksgiving with my parents, Alex's parents, (Great) Grandma, Michael, Becky, and Andy eating together and enjoying the company in my parents' home.  It was nice to be together with everyone and Ezri soaked up all of the extra attention from 3 Grandmas, 2 Grandpas, and Aunt and an Uncle as well as her favorite Andy, Daddy and Mommy.  Later in the evening Mike, Kerri, Aubrey and Wesley stopped by and Ezri got in some play time with Aubrey as well.  It really was a wonderful day.  So many things to be Thankful for !!!...

30 Years and 31 Weeks

We have enjoyed a blissfully quiet and mostly restful week and are so glad for that!

Saturday was Alex's 30th Birthday.  We celebrated together, just the three of us, with a quiet day at home.  For his birthday, Ezri and I gave Alex a Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon.  He was truly excited when he opened it (much to my relief) and eager to get busy building it right away.  We waited until Ezri went down for her nap to unleash the 1250+ pieces and begin the building process.  It was fun to just hang out and put Lego's together for 3 hours :)

When Ezri woke, we were just finishing up.  She was very eager to get in on the fun, wanting to play with the Lego's and the completed ship.  Daddy let her play with some of the figures and soon the two of them were happily exploring and playing together.

Alex has caused me to smile on several occasions in relation to those Lego's... I'll find him playing, making sounds, etc.  I do believe I heard him exclaim that this was one of the best birthday gifts ever!  Not sure how I'm going to top that next year...  Still, I'm so glad he was able to find some relaxation and enjoyment after the past few very stressful weeks :)

We have seen snow a couple of days this week.  Ezri and I bundled up a few times to brave the ...  As we cold to play outside, but it was short lived.  How quickly fall weather has slipped away from us. 

Tuesday, we headed to the doctor to check on baby Fig.  Now at 31 weeks, all is well and as expected.  Ezri listened with us to the baby's heartbeat and was so well behaved while we waited and talked with the doctor.  So hard to believe that in a couple of months we'll be adding another member to our family...  Nevermind that we still have to decide on names - eek!

Late this week, Ezri suddenly took a great interest in the potty.  While not to the point of knowing she needs to go, she has for some time been talking about it and paying attention to Daddy and Mommy.  Thursday she asked to sit on the potty several different times during the day, so I began to oblige her requests.  While she has not yet done anything while sitting there, we figure she is at least getting the idea in a non-scary or confrontational way.  When she's ready, we're fine with that, but we're not pushing.  It made me laugh, however, that while sitting there one time she wanted one of Daddy's magazines to look at :)  We brought in one of her books (a little more manageable for her little hands).  I guess it's time to go out and buy a seat adapted to her little tushy :)



Our little baby is growing up so fast!  Picking up so many new words almost daily, chatting up a storm and always full of antics that keep us laughing!

We look ahead now (unbelievably) to Thanksgiving next week already.  With so much to be Thankful for, it is sure to be a day of blessing.  Loving every moment of the life we live here!!!

Kitties, Bumps and Snow

Ezri and I are so happy to have Daddy back (for the most part) after a very busy past few weeks.  Friday saw him up at the install site again for the day.  Thankfully, Saturday and Sunday we were able to spend some much needed time with Daddy! 

As the weather was fairly pleasant on Saturday, we spent some of the afternoon outside finishing up last minute yard clean-up tasks before winter hit, putting things away and preparing for the snow.  Just in time, apparently.  Sunday we rested and relaxed with our friends before Alex headed to bed early as he had to go back to the install site on Monday.  For him, that meant he (and as a result myself as well) was up at 3:30 AM and gone from 4:00 AM until almost 1 AM the next day :(  Needless to say, it was a very long day for all of us, with lots of questions from Ezri about where Daddy was.

While Alex was gone, Ezri and I went to (Great) Grandma's for the morning to tackle a project in her upstairs bedroom.  We cleaned out a bunch of stuff and made room for her to be able to sort pictures this winter.  Recently, someone dropped off 5 or 6 kittens of different sizes and ages at the farm, all super friendly and wanting attention.  Ezri just loves to play with them!

On more than one occasion, we've almost come home with a kitten or two simply because they jump into the car the minute the door is open.  While I am sure Ezri would love to take one home to keep, we have yet to convince Daddy of that :)

Wednesday, while working and playing around the house, Ezri took a head dive off the dining room chair and into the wood floor.  Instant bruising and swelling, an inconsolable baby for 20 + minutes and two panicked parents later, we headed to our Dr. to have her checked out.  Concerned about a concussion or other damage, we felt it better to check than to wait and have something wrong.  This is the first time we've ever taken Ezri in for anything other than a scheduled Well Child visit.  Thankfully, everything ended up OK.  Outside of being fussy and having a sore head with a nasty bruise, she's none the worse for the wear :)  Of course, trying to get a picture was near impossible and pictures don't quite show the true injury...

Wednesday night, after all the excitement, Daddy had the grand idea to build a fort in our living room...

 Ezri just loved it!  So much so, that we've still got a part of it up, though I did have to take part of it down so we had some dining room chairs to sit on :)  This is now Ezri's "house" and the past few days she has spent considerable time in there talking on the phone, playing with toys, etc.

Daddy, Mommy, Tucker and Tobi also hang out with her in there from time to time :)

Thursday afternoon, while Daddy was gone to a meeting, Ezri and I headed outside while the rain held off to finish raking the leaves that had come down in the rain and wind the days prior.  Ezri was excited to be outside in her rain boots!

It was pretty cold outside.  While we were out there, it started to snow!!!  First little flakes, then hail like balls.  Ezri was very interested in all the chaos.

 Once the hail/snow let up, she got out of her car to check it all out...

 And play in it, of course!

Thursday night, Ezri entertained us with a song and dance routine.  We had found a microphone while cleaning in Grandma's house, and she is all about singing into it.  She will often join me on stage at church during band practice to sing into the microphone and listen through my ear buds, so she is no stranger to how a microphone should be used and at full volume entertained us with "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (which goes a little something like... "Tee-ko tee-ko tar") among other songs :)

Throw in some dancing to the radio and we were all set :)

Following her entertainment act, Tucker got a little love from Ezri as she combed his hair :)

 

By Thursday night, we were quite surprised at the amount of snow that had accumulated in our yard.  Poor Tucker even left footprints when he went out. While we know it won't be sticking around just yet, I'm not quite ready for this.

This weekend we'll be celebrating Alex's 30th birthday.  While the celebration will be small this weekend, we're sure to enjoy the time we have together, grateful for a lull in the work load for a few days so we can have some Daddy time!

Happy Halloween!

We had some fun this past weekend!  Ezri got to carve her pumpkin on Sunday afternoon - a little late in the game as Halloween was Monday, but oh well.  Because it was cold outside, we plopped her on the table and let her go to work.  She had a blast!

Getting into the seeds and what not were no big deal for Ezri.  Wearing one of Daddy's t-shirts to keep her clothes clean, she dug right in. :)

 

We had so much fun watching her play with the pumpkin.  After we had it all scooped out, Mommy put a face on the pumpkin, which she loved even more!

 After our pumpkin carving, we headed to Crane's Orchard with our friends the Rollandinis for an afternoon of apple picking (last of the season) and then enjoyed some dessert at the restaurant on the orchard grounds.  While it was quite chilly outside, we enjoyed the time with our friends.  Ezri even got to go on a "cow train" ride with daddy.  She cried all the way because she wanted Mommy, go figure :)  Mostly because she missed her nap, I suspect, otherwise she would have loved the ride behind the ATV in the cow shaped/painted barrel wagons. Sadly, my pictures from that afternoon are not cooperating at this time...

Monday, Ezri and I played at the house while Daddy worked away from home again on his big project.  We got him back for the evening and were able to go Trick-or-Treating with Ezri, however.  This year, Ezri was a little ballerina.  Last year's costumes do not fit either Ezri or Mommy :)  Ezri was quite excited about her little basket (which happened to be the flower girl basket I carried in my Aunt Nancy's wedding, made by my Grandma).

 Mommy wore a t-shirt made special for the occasion.  A "baby puh-kee" (baby pumpkin) I painted on the shirt and with hands and feet compliments of Ezri (we outlined hers and then pained them in) :) 

 Our first stop was across the street to the Kisner's house.  Ezri's first time, she was unsure of the whole process, but once her basket was loaded up with candy, she soon figured out what it was all about.  We even got her to say "Teek -a-Teek" (Trick-or-Treat).

We then headed out on the road to catch family.  The first few years, we figure it is more about seeing family members than the candy that Ezri can't eat anyway.  So, off to the farm to see Great Grandma we went.  On the way, Ezri got herself into a Tootsie roll while snugged into her car seat.  By chewing on the candy til she got through the paper, she figured out it was good, so of course we had to at least indulge her in the pleasure of one piece :)  At (Great) Grandma's, she got loaded down with more goodies, not only from Grandma, but from Aunt Cathy and Elizabeth as well as Tara.

 Then we headed north to Grandpa and Grandma's (it was already almost 7 by the time we got there!).  Of course, Ezri was excited to knock on the door and get more candy :)

One would think after all that activity that Ezri would be wore out, but not this child... she was awake talking the whole way home!

The remainder of the week, Ezri and I have not seen much of Daddy.  His big project was tested Tuesday, and then the whole machine packed up and then two days of installation, with more to come, taking him far from us (2 hours) and with many early mornings and late nights.  Ezri and I are sure ready for the weekend so we can get in some Daddy time!  This Mommy is tired of the "Daddy Go?" song over and over and my heart breaks for Ezri as she can't understand why Daddy is gone all the time :(

While home, Ezri has been busy playing inside and out (when the weather permits).  She has taken an interest in re-arranging the letter blocks that spell out our last name.  This week, we became the Stewearts for a time! :)

Late in the week, Ezri was patting my belly and talking, so I asked who was in there.  We talked about the baby a little and then I asked her if it was a brother or a sister.  She responded with "sitter"!  If I asked the other way around, sometimes I'd get a brother response and other times it would be sister anyway, so I'm not sure if it has to do with what the last word was or if Ezri is in on something we aren't :)  Either way, too cute!!!

When we did get Daddy home those few precious moments we could steal away, Ezri was wrapped around his neck or snuggled up by his side :)

 Thankful for all of the work that continues to come in for Kritex after 3 years of being out on our own, that's for sure, but exhausted and drained from the excessive hours and stress.  We're all looking forward to having Daddy to ourselves for a time!