Monday, October 26, 2009

Oh how we love the fall!



Autumn is such a beautiful time of year here. It almost makes up for the long, cold, winters. Okay not really, but I still do enjoy the beautiful colors that are everywhere. Today we went to the Mt. Auburn Cemetery to find acorns for a craft project and then we let Ezra and Emily play in the leaves. They had a blast and it was fun to watch them be so cute together. We may not get a picture of Ezra in a pumpkin patch, but at least we took advantage of the natural beauty!








We also had our ward Halloween party over the weekend. It was nice to have a reason to dress up. We couldn't pass up Ezra's first Halloween, yet he really doesn't need candy and can't even say trick or treat. We did the ward Trunk or Treat and it worked out great. We are loser parents and all the batteries were dead in both camera's so this is all we got for you. I will get some good ones of Ezra crawling in it for a later post!


Sunday, October 18, 2009

Ezra in Motion


We just wanted to share a few videos and pictures of Ezra and what he has been up to lately. He loves to have us help him walk and has a major melt-down when we make him stop. He is scooting all around the house and crawled on his hands and knees for the first time yesterday (He did better than it looks in the video). He still prefers the inchworm method though. He likes to pretend to pick things up off the floor so that Bob and I will pull his hand away from his mouth. He thinks he is so hilarious. When he really just wants our reaction he will hit himself in the eye or just hold his hand in the air, because he is so intent on watching us that he doesn't pay too much attention to actually getting his hand in his mouth. He really enjoys flipping through my cookbooks too. I think it is because they are spiral bound and easier to keep open, but they still have little pages. He waves, but I have a hard time getting him to do it in front of strangers. He likes to ride on your shoulders, but will pull your hair and beat on your head endlessly! He has started watching Signing Time videos and gets really excited about them. He has yet to do a sign but he moves his hands around a lot and occasionally pauses and looks at his hands like he is trying how to make his hands do what they are doing. It is totally adorable. He is such a smart little boy! Annie also got Ezra to do the Little Rascal wave while she was here, but I couldn't get him to do it on camera. And last but not least he really enjoys making sounds by moving his hand back and forth across his mouth. He is such a funny kid, we laugh at him all day long. I don't know how we ever got by without him!
  



Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Ezra's backup crew

My Mom, Aunt Annie, and my little brother Josh (who got home from his mission the day before coming here) all came to help out with Ezra's surgery. We played games a lot. In the hospital, in the car, and into the late hours of the night. We played some of the worst rounds of pinochle I have ever seen, but I for one had a good time.

As Jolyn is demonstrating, we also did a lot of eating!
We did more than play games and cuddle a crying child though. We went out to Concord and Lexington, the Christmas Tree Shops, the Mt. Auburn Cemetery and hit up the Cranberry Harvest Festival.

Despite this picture I don't think either of them were 
thrilled to be shopping with the ladies! 
Bob has never been so grateful for school!


We saw this blue heron while we were at the cemetery.


I think somebody wants to be a farmer when they grow up!

Bob has dreamed of seeing the guys in waders 
ever since the Ocean Spray commercials.

Ezra in the middle of a dry cranberry bog.

In case you ever wondered, this is what the inside of a cranberry looks like.
Nothing was too exciting, but it was nice to be able to get out a little with Ezra. We were sad to see them go, but we were all in bed by 8:30 that night to try to catch a few extra zzzzz!

Monday, October 12, 2009

Practically perfect in every way!

Our little guy under went the knife one last time for his palate repair and to get tubes in his ears (to minimize the chance of ear infections). He has been such a trooper through everything and this time was no different. To get the full scope of what he went through this time around we are going to back up to the Thursday before his surgery. I noticed what looked like a little bug bite on Ezra as we are putting him to bed. I made a mental note to keep and eye on it and didn't worry too much. The next morning it was considerably bigger and blistery looking. I called the doctors office and they said I should bring him in a.s.a.p. So we headed into Boston, and luckily they got us right in. At first the nurses thought it was chicken pox, due to a couple spots on his face, but the doctor was sure it was impetigo and was not at all concerned with the spots on his face. We were really glad that it wasn't chicken pox because they would have cancelled his surgery but they took a swab to test for M.R.S.A.. They were worried that since he has been in the hospital so much that it may be from that, and they would need to take extra precautions for his surgery. Luckily the tests came back negative.



So Monday morning we headed to the hospital for surgery. Ezra really liked the waiting area, but when his surgeon got delayed with a previous surgery and Ezra had to go an extra hour and a half without food he was not a happy camper. He screamed himself to sleep, poor little guy. I was almost in tears, it was definitely the hardest part. I just felt so bad that he didn't understand why we weren't feeding him, it made me feel cruel. We played games with my family in the waiting area. I think the nursing staff thought we were crazy, but it made the time go by faster.

Bob hates these pictures, he doesn't like to see Ezra in such rough shape.
I think it is important to document, 
especially for other parents who will go through the same thing.

The surgery went well and Ezra was sleeping when we got to join him in the recovery room. When he did wake up his cry was much quieter than usual, and he was fairly easy to calm as long as Bob or I were holding him. Bob and I both spent the night so I got a little more sleep this time around. (That and we had a private room this time) He was really groggy the first day, but smiling and eager to get around the next day. We took him home late that night and although he had a big crying spell at 1 am it was nice to be home in our own beds. My family was a huge help and allowed Bob and I to catch up on some sleep. I was really grateful, especially because for the first few days he only wanted me so they couldn't help much then.

Ezra is doing much better than I expected. He really wants to eat real food, but is on a liquid diet until Thursday, so we try not to eat in front of him. Yesterday he tested out his new singing voice in church. He has always enjoyed the music, but now he is joining in. Bob and I had a hard time singing we were laughing so hard. He is one week post op and has had no pain medicine at all today. He is just his happy old self!


Thursday, October 1, 2009

Crawls, Calls, and Canals!

I thought I would do a not so little post to show you how uneventful our lives have been the last little bit, before the blog becomes overwhelmed with family and surgery pictures.


Ezra is living it up with his bottles. 
He won't be able to have them after his surgery on Monday!
Ezra has started to crawl, sort of. He looks like an inch worm. He pulls himself forward while simultaneously bringing his knees under him and pushing his little booty in the air, then plops back down onto his belly to do it again. He can certainly get where he is going pretty fast when he wants to. He has been getting to play with his little friend Emily quite a bit lately and it is really fun to watch the two of them together.


I made Ezra this little drum set with old formula cans. 
He doesn't exactly get the drumming but loves them all the same.




He gets daily baths thanks to his helmet. 
He gets sooo excited when we start to take off his clothes. 
It is probably his favorite time of day!
I finally got a calling in the ward. I have been calling free since I had Ezra, and call me crazy, but I requested a calling in May. I finally got called to be the Beehive Advisor, and after teaching two Sundays they released me and called me to be the YW Secretary. I thought the Executive Secretary put it well when he said "It's a funny thing when callings come purely from inspiration rather than just needing to fill a spot." Basically the YW President just really felt like I needed to be the secretary and it wouldn't leave her alone, so here I am. I am enjoying having a calling that is involved and flexible. We have a great bunch you young women in our ward!


Sorry for the poor quality. I took it with my phone while being attacked!
Bob is half way done with my root canal! Yipee! I describe the process as long and boring, but I think Bob enjoys it a little more than me. I feel like Bob has done an exceptional job, especially considering this is the first procedure he has ever done on a real human. I know he is going to make a wonderful dentist soon. I am looking forward to him completing the process so that I don't have to be careful with my tooth anymore, and I'm sure he will be excited to be the first in his class to have a root canal under his belt.


We stopped by the train while we were at the mall. 
To say Ezra enjoyed it would be an understatement.



Getting in a little last minute playing before bed time!