Wednesday, December 28, 2011

What, indeed

Elias has been learning what to do in case of a tornado and what to do in case of a fire ever since he started at daycare. Every month they practice both the fire drill and the tornado drill. Recently, they must have been talking about it in class because Elias has been telling me that if there is a tornado, we go to the basement and if there is a fire, we go outside. Today he asked, "What if there is a tornado outside and a fire inside at the same time? What do we do?"...what, indeed.

Friday, December 16, 2011

August Smiles

Baby Greta

Elias, Ezra and I got to visit baby Greta and big sister Alex back in September. What a cutie. Sadly, we haven't had a chance to see them since. Two small kids means no time for anything it seems. I vaguely remember having friends...

Traffic Jam


One of Elias' favorite games to play.

Quilts!


My friend Kat made this beautiful (and super fun) dog quilt for Ezra when he was born. It has been up on the wall for awhile now, along with two kids' prints we got from Shari, a quilt made by Great-Grandma Ruth and a quilt made for Elias by his cousins. The room looks great. How sad is it that Ezra is almost one, and I am only now getting around to posting about the nursery. Even if I manage no updates in between, I promise to let you know where he decides to go to college.

BUT...

A Musical Life

Music is a huge part of our lives. We have been going to kids' music classes since Elias was 6 months old. This fall we went to an outdoor bluegrass concert in Fraser, heard Elias' music teacher Mathew's band, The Dinosaur Squad, play at a few free concerts (I guess you could consider us groupies...Elias played the maraca onstage), and went to a Justin Roberts concert. If you had been there, yes, that was me screaming, singing and dancing...but we go for the kids....really.

Swinging Back in July

How Embarrassing

Back in July, I finally convinced Matt we needed cleaning people. My friend had a great recommendation, and so they were hired. Ana's crew of 5 arrived for the first, deep cleaning. Prior to their first visit, Ana had walked through the house to make an estimate and to talk about what they would do. A price was agreed upon (the 1st cleaning more expensive than the follow ups). While I don't know exactly when the crew arrived that first day, Ana said she thought they would come by around 10:30. When I arrived home from picking the kids up from school at 5:00 and they were still cleaning...well, to say it was a bit embarrassing is an understatement. We sent them some additional money since that first cleaning took longer than expected. Now that 3 ladies come every 2 weeks, it seems to be a bit more under control. Take THAT dust bunnies!

The 4th


Since we were in St. Louis anyway, we stayed after the reunion to visit with Matt's family. David, Serena and Justin came by to play with the kids. Ezra wore his special 4th of July outfit made by Grandma Darleen. David took some wonderful photos.

Family Reunion #2

In July, we flew back to St. Louis to get together with my Mom's side of the family at Pere Marquette. It was a whirlwind get together, but loads of fun. We stayed at a great lodge with swimming, picnic tables and hiking.
Ethan and Ezra

We ate out at a restaurant with live music. Jacob and Alison played shakers on stage, and Matt and I danced some swing.
We went on an epic "1 mile" hike that was really more like 3. Matt carried Elias on his shoulders almost the whole way. We were the last ones of the pack, but at least we managed to stop for the view the rest of the group somehow missed.

We had the mandatory group photos in our awesome matching shirts.

The goofy one

Or was this the goofy one?

For the afternoon and evening we played with the parachute, waved our flags, hung out under shelter because of the terenchal downpour, made balloon swords, saw Matt's parents, did crafts, had a talent show, and hung spoons from our noses. A rip roaring good time.



Even Ezra enjoyed it!

Everyone Just Keeps Getting Older


Charlotte and Montessori teacher Katie

Luckily for me, Elias has been invited to Birthday party after Birthday party at school...and I LOVE them! Charlotte turned 5 back in June and we went to Heritage Square, an amusement park in Golden, CO. We started off watching the show "Billy the Kid". Each child in the audience got to be part of the play. Elias volunteered at just the right time. He got to save Nellie from the bad guy who was always so mean just because he had his shoes on the wrong feet. Because Elias kept Nellie from falling into the river, he got a big lipstick kiss on the cheek (and was very embarrassed).
Then we rode amusement rides for the rest of the the afternoon. Elias liked the swings, the balloon and the banana ride. He wasn't so sure about the big dragon roller coaster ride.


Elias and me on the Balloon Ride

Matt only took Elias on one train ride, and it was too much for Matt. Sick to his stomach. I'm surprised Matt can even take the elevators up to the daycare. At least he always manages to get his shoes on the right feet.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Encouragement

Thanks for all of the thoughtful notes from everyone encouraging me to keep up with the blog. It is always nice to know that there are people out there who enjoy it. I have a ton of catching up to do, so my plan is to get back into it very soon. I'm just not sure it is wise for any mom with two small children to plan on anything.

The Human Vacuum Cleaner

Ezra will find every piece of dirt, lint and food particle on the floor, put it in his mouth and chew and chew and chew. You got dirty floors? He's your man. Never mind that the sweet potato fries were spit out almost immediately. "But those aren't yummy paper pieces Mom."

Ezra is already 11 months old. NO WAY! What has he been up to? Here goes.

Ezra...

-dances any time a song is played
-cries every time we knock the block tower down
-loves to stuff his face with cherrios (and is getting pretty good at it)
-got his third tooth (finally) on Dec 10th (top, right, 2nd from center)
-has cheeks that are always red (Eczema just like his brother)
-enjoys playing "share" (handing a toy to you, but then expecting to get it back right away...not good when he tries to play with Elias)
-can now crawl down the stairs backwards (although usually halfway down he forgets and starts going up again)
-said his first word ("Hi") on Dec 7th
-dislikes chunky baby food (ex. Green beans just don't get smooth with the blender)
-loves riding on your shoulders (thanks for discovering that Grandpa Don)
-now has green (?) eyes (his blue eyes looked like they were turning brown, but now seem green. Who knows?)

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Unhooked on Phonics

Elias' teacher, Ms. Julie, is known for getting her students to read at an early age. Unfortunatley, I think Elias must have missed a key point. Last week as we are driving home he says:

"Ca. Ca. Ca. Car."
"Ba. Ba. Ba. Fish."

Almost 10 Months

I'll explain the hat another time...as for the facial expression, I think it goes without saying that Ezra is a wild child (or "busy" if you work at the daycare).

At almost 10 months Ezra:

-weighs 17lbs 13 oz, 28 inches long
-splashes so much in the bathtub that he must be part fish
-got his 2nd tooth (Sept 24th) bottom, left, front
-has mastered going up the stairs (especially when Mom and Dad aren't paying attention)
-knows the signs for milk, more and all done
-loves to dig in my plants (messy!)
-has had cold after cold after cold
-loves to wiggle and clap to the music
-constantly drools
-chases Brooks around the room at school
-pulls off his bib every time he eats
-is the class clown
-is still breastfeeding 3 times a day (more like 2.5 times)
-grunts and makes fists when he is frustrated
-is getting pretty good at eating cheerios
-loves unrolling the toilet paper
-is the teacher's pet (Margie goes on and on about him every time I pick him up)
-stands up and claps without holding on (but seems too afraid to take those first steps)
-works with toys at school for a long period of time before moving on
-shakes his head no when you shake your head yes...and laughs (see class clown above)
-has started sitting on the froggy potty at home
-smiles at people he knows
-is beyond curious about EVERYTHING

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Snaggle Tooth

Snaggle Tooth is 8 months old!

-Got his first (and only) tooth (Aug 17th)
-Loves to clap (although he has been doing that for months)
-Does not like applesauce and only barely tolerates yogurt, but will happily eat green beans, broccoli and peas
-Has super sharp nails and scratches his face constantly
-Crawls through the tunnel at school
-Says ba, ba and ma, ma (but da, da is still his favorite)
-Already conspires with Elias to do no good
-Recognizes the Goodnight song
-Has found the electrical outlet in the floor (over and over again)
-Has taken a liking to eating my plants (he does seem to like vegetables)
-Still has a wonderful laugh

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Is it Wrong?

Is it wrong when a Mom laughs at her three-year-old taking a hit to the groin? He was in a little bit of pain, but I...ahem...the Mom just couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Luckily Dad was there to console.

Nillup

Most days Elias makes up silly words, but every once in a while he tries really hard to get his point across...and it usually takes me a while to get it. A few days ago, it went like this:

Elias: I love chocolate and nillup.
Erica: Nellip? (I often can't tell what he is trying to pronounce)
Elias: No, nillup.
Erica: Nillep?
Elias: NO, NILLUP.
Matt: Vanilla?
Erica: Oh, vanilla!
Elias: Don't talk about it.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

6:30...No Way

Both kids slept until about 6:30 this morning. BOTH. That makes for a good morning! You kid-free readers may be thinking that is early, but 6:30 is sleeping in when one or the other is usually up at 5:00. I'm not counting on it happening again tomorrow, but it sure would be nice. Maybe I'll sleep with my fingers crossed.

A ME Day

Back in June, my good friend Carissa planned a day that was just for me. It was a Friday where there was no music class, the kids were at school (a rare Friday), and I had finally found the time to be a bit carefree. We took Sumo for a walk, had a wonderous brunch, went to a movie, indulged in cupcakes and chatted the day away. I have only had a handful of days to myself since (really just by myself), but none of them have been quite as special. Great friends rock!

Show and Tell

Since Elias has moved up to primaries, it has been a very exciting summer at school. They went on four field trips (Matt went on some too!) taking the public bus to the botanic gardens, the zoo, the art museum, and the library. Every month, Elias has snack day where he gets to bring one book and one treasure for show and tell (and I have to bring in snacks for his class). With much persuasion from me, he has taken:

The Bear Snores On and his bag of instruments (I tried to get him to take his guitar)
Of Thee I Sing (Obama book) and his camera
The Three Little Javelinas and the quilt Great Grandma Ruth made for him
Bugs for Lunch and a cow eraser

As you can see, I started off strong, but am starting to lose my coercion skills. A cow eraser? What next month, his dirty socks?

Elias' True Best Friend


Julia is truly Elias' best friend from school. Sadly, she started at a new school just a few weeks ago. She has a new baby sister, Zoe, so she is going to school a little closer to home (and a bit cheaper too). Lucky for us she told her Mom she really missed Elias, so they came over for a play date a few weekends ago. I remember last year Mimi telling me that Julia was so mean to Elias, but he would wait for them to arrive at school every morning and run to open the door. He does love Jules. I guess Elias can claim he learned how to handle women at a very early age.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Conditional Best Friends

A few weeks ago, Elias started telling me I was his best friend (often along with Olo (Old Yellow) and Sumo). I've decided he must be hanging out with the girls at school. Recently he has become more demanding:

"You can be my best friend if you eat your ice cream." (I'm down with that)
"You can be my best friend if you play with me." (Not quite as good as ice cream)

Yesterday it was:

"You can be my best friend if you poop in your pants." (Uh, no thank you)

I guess he must be hanging out with the boys at school too.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Seven (Plus) Months


Thanks for the Duck, Duck, Moose outfit Posts (and cute little socks)!

A long overdue seven month Ezra update:

-Loves to be outside
-Would rather play than drink milk (Why do my kids hate eating?)
-Has the cutest giggle when he is tickled or attacked by Elias
-Has tried rice cereal, sweet potatoes (his favorite), avocado (really doesn't like it), bananas, peas
-Loves to chew on paper and cords (How do they know what they aren't supposed to get into?)
-Prefers food over milk any day
-Nods his head up and down over and over again (He is a yes man)
-Still says da, da, da
-Always crawls towards the doggie bowl (I thought they couldn't remember stuff at this age. How does he always know where it is?)
-Kicks when he drinks his milk
-Tries to roll over every time you change his diaper
-Was frustrated when he couldn't crawl. After he crawled (8/1/11) for a few days became frustrated that he couldn't walk (continues to be frustrated)
-Pulls himself up on everything he can (First time 7/14/11)
-Climbs the stairs at school (8/12/11)
-Will probably be walking by 9 months (God save us)
-Wants YOU to visit!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Dreadful Words

This morning as Elias is crouched down in the dinning room, he says, "Look Mom. I found an ant hill." While Elias isn't usually 100% accurate, there is almost always some truth to his statements. Sigh. Anyone know a good exterminator?

Sunday, August 14, 2011

What Has Happened to Me?

Today I looked at my watch, saw 6:20 p.m. and thought, "Boy, it is getting late." Seriously? I never have been a late nighter (bed by 9:00), but kids are definitely making it worse. We went to hear Elias' Music Together teacher, Matthew, play music at a restaurant today. 7:00 is Elias' bedtime, so when I saw it was almost 6:30, it meant it was time to call it a night. Any bets on how soon until I start taking advantage of the Early Bird Special?

THE nap


While we were staying at Marjie and Paul's for the family reunion, Elias' room was Paul's office. Little did any of us know just how much trouble an unsupervised Elias would be in a new place. Right after we arrived, it was time for a nap. We read books, sang our song, tucked Elias in and headed downstairs while he "napped". About an hour later, Matt found Elias with the metal innards of the file cabinet around his head, the rock garden sand dumped out on the floor and just about every cabinet within reach emptied. Needless to say, when we came back in July, Paul's office was pretty much empty....BEFORE it was time for Elias' nap.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Imagination Bites

Sure, everyone thinks it is so great when children have such enormous imaginations (just don't ask their parents). Elias loves to pretend. I am forever wondering why we can't just PLAY the ladybug game? Why do we have to take the Aphid pieces and put them in a bowl to make pretend chocolate ice cream? Heaven forbid we pretend with the trains or the Little People toys or sit at the table and color. No, no. We have to move every toy we have (big and small) in front of the stairs because we are "doing construction." The dog's leash hooked over the door knob extending to Ezra's mat makes sure everyone takes the proper path while the work is being done. An extension cord becomes a microphone (never mind that we actually HAVE a toy microphone), the screws become batteries, the cookie sheets and Popsicle sticks becomes a fire...the junk drawer is Elias favorite place to find the next thing to play. Next time you are cleaning out your drawers and wonder, "What would I ever do with this?" Just send it our way.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Family Reunion #1


At the end of May, we headed to the St. Louis area for our Kiefer family reunion. What fun to see everyone (we missed you Geoff and family)! A bunch of Kiefers live in the area, so most of us stayed with relatives. The youngest generation had a blast playing together.


I was glad there were so many folks dying to get a hold of Ezra.


Some of the highlights were: Water balloon fight, great food (I still need that BBQ recipe Paul), snowball fight (snowballs saved in the freezer from the winter), a trip to the zoo (Elias getting an ear infection cut that trip short), silly faces, wrestling with Uncle Matt, face painting, and an Irish festival


There is talk of a Disney cruise for next time. My only concern is how many Goofys can one ship hold?

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Sooo Big


Check out my tie (Thanks Grandma!)

A 6 month report:

Ezra has mastered sitting. Now he leans forward to try and crawl (not quite there), scoots backward, sleeps on his stomach and has even been known to sit up in his crib (crib was quickly lowered), loves to say "da, da, da", rubs his eyes constantly, weighs 15 lbs 5 oz, is 26 " long, pulls to standing at daycare and is ready to be TROUBLE.


Check out my bib (Thanks Kiefers and Winters!)

Even though he has no teeth (and is still super drooly), Ezra has eaten rice cereal, bananas and sweet potato. He doesn't always open his mouth to eat and loves to stick out his tongue and say, "pthththth" right after a big bite. Remember what I said. TROUBLE.

Sunshine

Summers up in the mountains are wonderful. We have been enjoying the free concerts, beautiful weather and good company.
We have made use of our double jogging stroller to walk down by the river, played on the playground with Logan and Henry,


attended a chocolate festival (yummy!),


done crafts and hula hooping at Cooper Creek Square, listened to free music at Hideaway Park and enjoyed the outdoors and cool breezes. Loving Colorado - The Sunshine State!

Kahlua Fantasy Chocolate Cheesecake

May 25th was Grandma Darleen's Birthday, and we were lucky enough to have her here to celebrate. I made Kahlua Fantasy Chocolate Cheesecake (thanks to Shari for the recipe). It was delicious! Who wants to celebrate their next birthday in Denver?

Lucky Robins


Matt considers us lucky to have had a Robin's nest right in the eaves on our back porch. They have already laid their eggs, taught their young how to fly and left for bigger and better things. Some days I wish the raising of our young could go just as fast...and some days I can't believe Elias is already 3.

Purple


Elias likes all things purple. He also seems to accumulate girls' rings and hairbands from school. Matt thinks he is a little kleptomaniac. I think he just likes to collect (and put all small items into boxes, bowls, bags, and sometimes, his hair). Well, we always were kind of hoping we would have a girl.

For the Record


On May 20th, Ezra had his 4 month doctor's visit. He weighed 13 lbs 2 oz, was 25.5 inches long and his head was 16 inches around. Although it seems the only thing they can really accurately measure is his weight. He is on his own growth curve, at about the 10th percentile. That was also the day we donated a cooler full of frozen breast milk to the milk bank. Bye bye DHA tainted milk; Hello freezer space.

Jim is a Genius


Just don't tell him or it might go to his head. Ezra had the same blood in his stools that Elias had. I tried cutting out peanuts and eggs since Elias is allergic to peanuts and was allergic to eggs. Those red streaks were still appearing. When Elias was little I tried cutting out dairy and soy, but neither of those helped him. I was on the verge of quitting breastfeeding when Jim suggested I stop taking my prenatal vitamins. Brilliant. Getting off the vitamins (and more specifically the Lipil DHA supplement) was all I needed. I suspect that would have worked for Elias too. Where was that idea 3 years ago? I guess Jim really is getting wiser in his old...ahem...older age.

An Easter Tradition


Perhaps it is a bit too early to declare, but declare I shall. We have a new Easter tradition. This Easter was spent similarly to last year...


we dyed Easter eggs with Shari and Mika, hid plastic eggs and tried to find them, and



went to Winter Park for the kids' Easter egg hunt. It was a tiny hill with tons of kids let loose to find plastic eggs hidden with candy. Elias and Mika filled the basket he and Grandma had made to the top. We ate candy in the lodge and then


hit the train playground before riding the Cabriolet back to the car. The Easter bunny would have been proud.

The Galloping Goose

Ahhh, to think back to the snow and cold. What a good time to recount the great skiing adventure. On April 16th, Matt took Elias skiing for the first time. He loved getting his hip yellow ski boots and skis at the rental shop. Size 6, the smallest they had.


Ezra, Elias and I walked to the bunny hill while Matt carried his and Elias' skis up to the lodge to get Elias a ticket. I got more than a few pity-filled looks as we worked our way from the parking lot to the Galloping Goose lift.


After a a bit of struggling, the skis were on and everyone was ready.

Maybe I would consider taking up skiing if Matt picked me up and helped me get on and off the lift...
And held me up as we came down the mountain. They did about 5 runs coming down pretty fast. Matt got quite the workout.
Only one minor injury when Matt pushed Elias to give him some speed, and instead of moving forward he bent at the waist and slid on his head. Why is it always his eye? We need to invest in a full face helmet.

They went back the next weekend, rode the magic carpet and even took a green run on the real mountain. I guess next year it's the half pipe.