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.

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?)