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.

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?

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.

First Day of School

When I look through the photo albums of my childhood, there is always a picture from the first day of school. Such fond memories. On April 11th, Ezra started at the same Montessori school as Elias. He and Elias wore coordinated outfits for this momentous occasion. Getting back into the swing of things at work took some time, but now it seems like ages ago. We have a routine, and everyone is getting the hang of it.

Right when Ezra started, Elias started transitioning to Ms. Julie's class. It was a rough couple of months as he loved snugly Ms. Sholanda and seemed terrified of strict Ms. Julie. I am happy to report that last week Ms. Julie told me Elias has done a 180 and is now a big helper in class, telling kids to be quiet and has even declared himself Ms. Julie's boyfriend. Go Elias! If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.