The End of Dance Season

A full year of dance flew by before we knew it and it was the last day of dance class. I wanted to document the occasion but of course I got no eye contact.

But, she did allow me to put a hair clip in.  It made it about half way through class so I was very impressed! On her last day we got to sit through the entire class and see what they had learned. Emerson got quite a bit of stage fright and didn't love everyone staring. 

Here is her final dance.  It made me very glad she wasn't in the recital this year. But, I'm hopefully that by next year she will be comfortable on stage. By the way it's hard to film with a steady hand and keep a certain toddler from rushing the "stage."

In her class when the stretch, the make a butterfly and go around the circle telling where their butterfly is going. It cracked me up because Emerson had the most elaborate, long response about princesses and castles. It was very creative I'll give her that!

It was a great year and Emerson loved her teacher. All the girls became good friends and we decided to register them all together next year in Ms. Kristen's class again! How fun! So Emerson will get to see her friends in September and will be sporting new tap shoes in addition to ballet. 

Dance Party

I've been terrible about taking pictures of the kids lately. So I made a point the other week to take some snapshots of our day. I had to document our dance party. Ezra has started to dance and join in on the fun. He gets low and swings his arms. Emerson does her interpretive dance as usual and runs around like a mad woman. 

We went upstairs and much to my surprise Emerson asked me to take her picture. She wanted to model and these are the poses she came up with. I was dying laughing. I can see us having lots of interesting pictures in the next year if she keeps this up.

The two of the them together. Both looking, not a chance! 

But, aren't they adorable! Emerson was very excited apparently. 

This is what I'm dealing with these days. An adventurous climber. Do you notice his nose scrunch growl?? He does this whenever he is excited or thrilled with himself now. 

Quarantined

 This has been the scene at our house the past week. Two sick kiddos. 

Therefore another blogging break.

Can you believe this guy is 14 months? I feel like he was just 9 months. Is it possible the second year is going by fast than the first? Ezra is growing into an adorable toddler. It's hard to believe that even at this age Emerson wasn't walking, and he has been a busy bee for 3 months. So he seems more grown up to me at this age. Finally after much waiting, he has four teeth on top, bringing him to a total of 6. Good thing for him since he loves to eat. He has picked up the sign for more and constantly walks to the kitchen and signs more over and over again. He likes big people food, not baby food. I would say grilled cheese and quesadillas are his favorite. Sometimes I can sneak some veggies in his quesadilla to make me feel a little better. He goes nuts for veggie sticks, crackers, pretzels, and cookies. (Who doesn't?) I made a fresh strawberry bread the other day and he ate no less than half of the whole thing. His appetite seems unquenchable. Not a fan of veggies or fruit though. He has found the occasional apple, orange, or watermelon slice tasty but not in excess. I'm not worrying about it too much. Because to be honest I'm thrilled that he is eating at all. If you know Emerson you understand what I'm saying. His verbal communication is growing everyday. Since Emerson has a new love for Dora, he responds and says, "map!" He is constantly saying hey but no bye yet. He says the word dog and is super excited about Mia. It's like he just discovered that we have a dog living here. The feeling isn't mutual. Ha! But, he loves to throw her the ball, and tell her it's a ball. I've heard him say duck, and other words that I can't recall. He is a big climber and will try to get on top of anything so I have to keep a close eye on this fast dare devil. The other day he climbed on top of the kids table for the 20th time, stood up and said, "sit!." I think we have a miscommunication about what I'm trying to tell him when I say sit.  He likes to  do what big kids do, thanks to his big sister. He really enjoys painting, coloring and seems to have good coordination. Recently he started smiling by scrunching his nose up and showing those teeth. It's so cute and really shows his enthusiasm! He also loves to give big kisses, hug, and roar like a dinosaur. In true boy form he will take any toy, even Cinderella, and push her around saying, "vrooom."

He knows a couple bodyparts. His belly, toes, and head. He really enjoys showing his belly off to us.

This is typical Ezra. Cheesing with food stuffed in his mouth.

Love this boy! Doesn't he look aqua and plaid.?

Ezra is 14 mths…so here are his 12 mth pics

After a long blog break with lots of busyness I figured I needed to post
Ezra's 12 month pictures. It just so happens he is 14 months today. Seriously?!?! Where has my baby gone. Anyways aside from my moping here are pictures of the scrumptious little boy. I did a 15 minute session and he was ham as usual. Emerson was an excellent assistant. I told her to make him happy and she certainly did! In a couple years I think she will be a big help on shoots.

I was worried to take his pictures since he is so active and at this point was already walking. But, for some reason he loves little furniture so he was happy as a clam to sit in a chair his size. An orange, or "ball" to him helped too.

Isn't he dreamy??

My favorite pictures. He was just bursting with excitement!

I asked Emerson from the beginning, do you want me to take your picture. She adamantly said, "No, no!" So I let her keep her outfit on. Otherwise I would have tried to coordinate a bit. But, she couldn't restrain herself when she saw him getting all the attention. Her facial expressions are priceless. I'm not sure Ezra knew what to make of it. In the top right, I told her to act like Rapunzel and this is what she gave me. Ha! I love it.




On dramatic b&w. Wonder what they are thinking about?? I bet, how great their Mom is!
(In reality they were looking at the neighbors dog.)

Miss E.

This girl is growing up fast. She seems to grow a half inch a day and you would have never known that she use to below 5% in height. Now she is a whopping 15% thank you very much. Three has come with lots of challenges, by far the toughest year yet. But, her silliest and quirks are the funniest yet.

I just wanted to share a few things she has been saying lately. Whenever I go to the store she always ask me for everything she sees. To avoid the temper tantrum of a full out no I tell her she will have to ask her Daddy. So when we went to Target (Really do we go anywhere else?) I spotted a bathing suit that I liked. So I asked Emerson what she thought about it. I trust her fashion sense most of the time. She turned around and told me, "Yeah, but you'll have to ask your Daddy." I about died, people walking around us about died too. She has also start to piece together that you get special things for your birthday. She'll see something she loves, or wants to do something and will say, "I can get this for my birthday!" Although it's 9 months away but she doesn't know that. Might as well be tomorrow. She also showed me every princess that she wants for her birthday. About 6 more in all. We'll have to work on that materialism. :) Her conversations are really funny. She has to tell everyone she meets about her latest boo boo as if it happened 5 minutes ago. She chats with her friends from our patio when they are on their porch and I wish I could record these conversations. Her new thing is talking about when she gets bigger. If I eat this, "I'll grow bigger and bigger." "When I get bigger I'm going to wear a ring like mommy." Lastly when she looked at my wedding picture she saw that I had a long veil and said, "Mommy you had long long hair like Rapunzel!" If I'm equivalent to Rapunzel in a 3 year old's eyes that must make me pretty cool.  She has changed so much! Just to think this was her just two years ago!

Looking at these I realize how much lighter Ezra's hair is than hers!

Upon seeing these Emerson wanted to know what she was wearing of course and about those shoes.

Ezra 13 months

I've seriously slacked off the blog updates. I had every intention of finishing up Easter, maybe updating on Emerson's party (which was gasp in February),  Ezra's party, one year pictures, etc. But, life got crazy with daily chores, activities, and busyness that I had didn't have the time. When I realized that Ezra was 13 months old two days later I knew it was time for a small update. Mark and I both agree that Ezra has grown up faster than Emerson did and it really seems all of the sudden. He imitates so many things we do and really seems to understand how things work. The other day he took the trash can out of the bathroom to play with. When he was done he carried it back and slid it into the exact same location it was. He's a smart cookie! His walking has reached a near running pace and he is always on the go. Whenever he eats something he finds tasty he lets out a little giggle. I just love that giggle. When I change his diaper he sticks his toys up so I will tickle them. He's full of affection and gives me real hugs. He loves to lay his head down on my shoulder. His vocabulary is starting to build. The other day he said, "ball dada," and has finally started saying mama! He is full of surprises and really absorbs what Emerson does. He painted last week on paper with a paintbrush and loved it! Not finger painting but real painting. Ezra was very controlled and specific about putting the brush in color then painting. It was amazing! 

He has gotten two more teeth in the last week and his smile is adorable. So we are at 5 teeth total. 

He is such a funny, and sweet little guy. We couldn't love him anymore!

Easter Part 1

As usual I'm behind on chronologically posting events. Let's be honest I'm behind on almost everything.  The week of Easter we did our now annual egg hunt with our neighbor, and best bud to Emerson, Ben. I tried to document the occasion and this is what Emerson gave me.  It was unsure that morning if were going to be able to go through with the hunt. It was raining, windy. Then the sun came out just in time!

We hid about 30 eggs. At first they were slow to find any and we were afraid it might take all day. But, they eventually hit their stride and began to crack open the treats. Ezra was napping but got to share in some victory goldfish at the end. Next year it will be quite different with Ezra and Zach in the mix to even out the competition. 

My one artsy shot :)

Emerson 3 Years Old

I figured I should maybe post an update on Emerson before she turns 4! Time is flying by. These pictures were taking awhile ago, but really she rarely lets in a good picture these days. She picked out this dress all by herself with a gift card she got to Old Navy for her birthday. She kept telling me she needed to get shoes to match. They learn early!

She says the funniest things everyday and I hope that I can remember her silliness down the road. Every morning she wakes up and says, "I'm hungy." When I ask her what she would like she says ice cream.  But, after a quick no she will ask for mommy's cereal or daddy's cereal. I think calling it our cereal is so much more appealing. She has gotten really into puzzles. Around breakfast time she loves to do all of her puzzles one after the other. I never thought she would enjoy such a quiet time. She also has become quite the artist, coloring non stop. I think we may run out of space in our endless supply of coloring books if that is possible! Last year this time, she would maybe do one scribble with a crayon. Then just peel the wrappers.  Emerson loves to sing! She will put on a show and sing to the top of her lungs, most of the time making up her own songs. She also sings loudly in the store.  It amazes me though how she will pick up the lyrics to songs so quickly. Of course she still loves to dance! She knows the basic ballet moves, in addition to her own signature moves. 

It seems she has a great memory on certain things. Mark has told her the story of Jonah and the Fish and she could easily retell it with so much detail and lots of theatrics! She will open her Bible to that chapter and "read' it to Ezra. Lately she has been telling me to close my eyes and she will pray for every person she knows. She enjoys church and loves to learn more about Jesus. She will be attending Vacation Bible School this year and I know she have an awesome time. 

As far as toys she is of course into princesses. Dress-up is big around our house. She plays with her Rapunzel figurines nonstop and loves baby dolls. She also puts them all to bed all over the house. Sometimes I find a few tucked away in our bed, or Ezra's bed. She has recently gotten into Disney movies and loves all the classics. She loves Cinderella, Belle, and Aladdin. Oddly enough my favorites as a little girl. As a result she thinks birds outside will fly into your hand at any given moment. Emerson has become a fan of Strawberry Shortcake and talks about her nonstop. The series is on Netflix and that is her number one choice. Another 80's favorite. Last year she was on wardrobe repeat wearing only a few dresses. She has become more diverse actually wearing a lot of things I pick out. Although she does have her own style. She even wore blue the other day which completely surprised me! She usually is on a pink and orange kick. At 23 lbs she can wear 18 month pants but is slowly moving into 3T dresses since she is getting taller! I never though she would get to 3T but she has hit a growth spurt! With long legs she creeping up the growth chart. Emerson has become a social butterfly. Weekly she tells me how much her friends love her. We need to work on humility! Ha! She loves meeting friends and can go to any park and walk away with a new pal. She has group of buds that live on our street and has such a good time with them. Recently she told me she wanted to go to school! I suppose she realized that there are tons of friends there! I asked her if she wanted to leave me at home. She thought about it and graciously said I could come too. She takes being a big sister seriously, always trying to "supervise" her little brother. Telling him what he can play with, eat, you know like any big sister would do. Lately she has become possessive of her Mommy and Daddy to Ezra. She says, "My Mommy!" When I told her that I'm his Mommy too she said, "That's not very nice." With lips sticking out and all. I couldn't help but laugh. Never a dull moment with this girl! 

Cake Time!

Ezra shares a birthday with one of Emerson's little friends. So we headed to Pullen Park to celebrate with a picnic and rides. Ezra was the only boy, but didn't mind one bit! It was actually a very chilly day for April. So we were bundled up! My friend Laura, made us an amazing picnic. Sandwiches, chips, fruit, and cupcakes for all. Even chicken salad for the mommies. Afterwards we rode the carousel.  Ezra wasn't the biggest fan and I have to admit it's kinda fast.

 

The girls 

Emerson took a ride in the boats. To be honest it was a nightmare with her literally trying to jump ship. We are lucky we weren't banned from the ride!  But, she seemed to enjoy it none the less. 

Ezra was content to walk around since he was too small for the ride. 

That night I made Ezra's favorite, pizza. He chowed down and loved it! I made him some vanilla cupcakes from scratch. Ezra got excited to have us sing to him. He was a little too eager though to grab the flame of the candle. He investigated the cupcake then went in for a bite. He pretty much ate the entire thing! So much different than Emerson's first birthday. She didn't know what she was missing!