Getting back in the swing

This was my first full week of making dinner. We have been so lucky to have friends and family bringing us yummy food I haven't had to cook on my own with kiddos. So this is how we got it done. The Moby. It seriously saved my life this week, as I cannot leave Ezra anywhere accessible to Miss E. He looks pretty cozy, doesn't he? Also great for shopping trips, church, and walks. :)

I also got to let Emerson do something fun. I pulled out her baby pool since we were in the 90's this week. Our patio becomes shaded after 4:30 so we broke out the bath toys. It's going to be tough this year for me take her to our pool in the full sun with Ezra. Also I'm not sure there is a cute bathing suit out there that covers all I want it too, and doesn't look super mommish. Sigh.  I think I'll be wearing my maternity one and yes it still fits. We pulled out Emerson's bathing suit from last year and it was a wee bit tight. One of the first times anything has been tight on her in awhile.

We both enjoyed a strawberry popsicle. Perfect for the beginning of summer! Hope everyone has a good holiday weekend. Maybe next week I will post my birth story. It was much more emotional for me than Emerson's birth but I think the hormones may have subsided enough for me to write it. We shall see. 

Love your brother

Ezra was hanging out the other day on our bed. The usual safe place from his sister. 

Minding his own business, bugging his eyes out as usual.

Then all the sudden I turn around and Emerson is on the bed trying to pick him up. Since when can she climb our pretty high bed?!? So instead of completely freaking out I decided to let her "hold" him. With a little help from a pillow she got to love on her brother. After 10 seconds of her new found freedom she tells me to go and motions me away. Yeah, I'm going to say that's not going to happen! Nice try though.

While she wasn't stealing his paci they cuddled a bit. 

"Seriously? I told you to get out of here."

She was over the moon with love for her brother. 

But, I can't say the feeling is mutual.

Our Weekend in Pictures

I was super documentary this weekend trying to capture little moments. On Friday afternoon when Emerson woke up from her nap I could not stop laughing at her hair. So I just had to get a picture. The poor girl had soaking wet hair. I couldn't figure out why she was so hot in a tank top with a fan until Sunday I found her napping with a plush blanket over her head. Yep, that will do it.


Emerson worked on a birthday card for her cousin Avery. Sticker decorating as a favorite so I let her go to town. She made a beautiful card. I thought she was finished and when I checked back in she had decided they all looked better on her body as tattoos.

I'm still finding these little tiny stickers everywhere.

S

Saturday, Ezra took a snooze in his sister's crib. It can be a good place to avoid your sister and get some good zzz's. 

He also pulled out the Elvis lip.

Emerson let me put her hair up for one of the first times in forever! She wore it up for a good part of the day. She looks so much older with pig tails. Yes, she is color on a book that is bigger than her. 

Ezra and I got our picture together at the birthday party.  We also unknowingly wore matching outfits. :) Ezra gave me a real smile on Saturday. The kind that makes your heart explode. Have I told you I love this little boy?!?

During naptime the boys hung out on the porch. Ezra says, "Whassup?"

Sunday we went to Duke Gardens for a picnic. After a couple hours of getting ready we grabbed a spot and Emerson grabbed some chips. We noticed it wasn't very busy and after a few minutes we realized why. It was hot, hot, hot. After hanging out we treated ourselves to ice cream. We got Emerson her kid cup of strawberry, I got dulche de leche.  She asked to taste mine so I obliged. She proceeds to eat a good portion of mine so I eat a bite of hers. When it was near finished she hands me my empty cup, then takes the pretty full strawberry and puts it on the other side of her and says, "Mine." Nice move. 

The Mom of two routine

Because we must start with an adorable picture. I think this is his Elvis impersonation.
Anyways we're working on getting this mom of two thing down. I've heard lots of women of many kiddos say that going from one to two is the hardest transition and whew it's been tough. Getting out and about is a whole other obstacle. I get dressed a couple hours before needing to go and inevitably we all need a few more clothing changes before go. Between telling a two year old multiple times, "You cannot squeeze your brother's head." "Seriously, you can't lay on top of him." "Really, he doesn't like your finger in his mouth." I'm about done. Ha! Hopefully as the days go by we will get into a better routine and my toddler will get the wax out of her ears. So my hat's off to all you Mamas out there taking care of your babies. Now I'm going to to enjoy a few minutes of both kids napping. It's rare!

My Little Princess

Emerson has gotten into dress-up and really being a girly girl. Although she still won't let me fix her and leave it for than 5 minutes. Working on that! But, anyways she is constantly wanting to wear jewelry, and sport some heels. It cracks me up when she loads up her arms with bags, puts on some heels and pushes her stroller. Ha! The other day I pulled out her clothes for dress-up so we could play. She picked our a glittery pink dress. I told her it was a princess dress. She wore this for a couple hours and she came upstairs later that day and said, "Mommy I'm a princess." It was adorable to say the least. 

When Mark got home we went for a wagon ride and we passed some of our neighbors. They had a tea cart which fittingly went with her princess attire. So heels and all she is strolling through our neighborhood like this. That is until she had a wardrobe malfunction and took a little spill. It's tough being a princess. 

Sibling Love

I attempted to take a few sibling shots of my kiddos. Of course a two year old and 1 month old don't take direction very well. Although Ezra listens better than E.! Ha! But, I caught a few cute moments.

I just love Emerson's smile here. I wanted her closer to her brother but she wasn't having it. Ezra staring at her is priceless. I thought a vintage processing looked nice for these two. Can you see the difference in skintone though between them?


A little more candid shots before Ezra's one month check-up. Doesn't he look like a little man? This is one of my favorite outfits for him. Emerson looked adorable as well and I did brush her hair. She just decided to mess it up right before I pressed the shutter. Typical. She likes the bedhead look.

I let her hold her little brother. She was so happy. Talking to him, and surprisingly more gentle than I would expect.

But, you can see Ezra was not thrilled. She kept saying, "K baby?." You can really see here how big he has gotten and how small she is. I think he will catch up with her very soon!

Happy 1 month Ezra!

It's hard to believe it's been 5 weeks since Ezra was born! Happy 1 month Baby Boy! Ezra has grown by leaps and bounds and it's not an exaggeration to say I can't even recognize this big boy I have now. He is no longer the tiny little newborn we welcomed into the world. Chubby cheeks, rolls, and all he has gained almost 3lbs since he was born and is incredibly strong. He is slowly becoming more and more alert and enjoys listening to his sister make noise. Or maybe he has learned to be on the alert for her. He loves to snuggle and has enjoyed many trips and walks in the moby wrap. His blonde fuzz is seeming to fall out and he has grown lots more brown hair on top. But, still keeping his old man hair style. I adore his pouty lips and the warm cuddles he gives. I absolutely love the baby kisses when he bobs his head around my face. It may mean feed me now but I find it so sweet and yet funny at the same time.  We are so blessed.

Adorable 1 month old baby feet. 

Amazingly enough I could not keep asleep to save my life for newborn pictures but I got him to pass out for 1 month ones.  In true Ezra fashion he was sprawled out.



So I don't leave a certain someone out. Here is my little model who was kinda jealous of her brother's photo shoot.

These little piggies

These little piggies specifically are so cute I couldn't resist taking a picture

or two or

three of them!

Emerson got a little hint of color on her piggies for the first time. It did take some repetition of, "No, don't touch them! They're wet!" But, I do think she likes her lavender toes. 

Ezra opted out of the lavender shade. I never thought Emerson's feet would look big but they sure do compared to Ezra's!

In Love

In love with these cute little toes...

Chubby cheeks...

Cloth diapered behind...

and sweet face of my little guy.

And of course I can't forget these pouty lips!

Spring Daze

This weekend we headed to the Spring Daze Festival in Cary. It's an arts and craft festival in the middle of a park with tons of booths, food, and music. I was a little nervous about taking both kids out but I really wanted to go since we had so much fun last year. It did take us over a half hour to get out of the car because of diaper changes, feedings, etc. but it went well. Ezra rode along in the Moby and seemed super content to snuggle all morning. Around lunchtime we took a little break for pizza, and milk (for Ezra) and had our own little picnic under the shade of  a tree. With some live music in the background Emerson was in heaven dancing like crazy.

Ezra seemed to enjoy it too and woke up just long enough for a picture. We also grabbed some delicious homemade ice cream and I got some natural white tea soap before we left. There were so many cool things there I could have bought something at every booth!

We tried to capture Emerson dancing but of course she got side tracked as soon as we started filming. But, I was cracking up at her smelling the flower. She is a hoot!