Making Breakfast with the Kiddo

Something tells me I've lost my mind.  Rather than fight the "I wanna help you!!" I just measured everything out and let the toddler make breakfast.  We may have the kitchen condemned, but otherwise, it was a success.

You Pick Strawberry Day!

I have been getting Ezra jazzed for You Pick farms since January.  I don't know what the crazy appeal is to me, but my excitement has been a little over the top.  Today, it finally happened!

Ezra was happy to have his own bucket to carry around and put strawberries in.  He also was a little enthralled with the irrigation system.  While it looks like the ground is wet in the middle, it's actually not, but he refused to walk on it regardless- he straddled it down two rows.  

In the beginning, Ezra picked every strawberry he could reach.  I tried to explain that we only wanted the ripened red strawberries, but every time I peaked into his bucket I saw more and more green strawberries.  I decided it was time to eat some.  Ezra bit into a green strawberry and decided it was yuck.  I offered him a red strawberry, and he decided that was much more preferable.   

After that, it was pretty much over as far as picking went.  Ezra's bucket kept getting emptier and emptier rather than fuller and fuller.  I love this picture because his face really says it all.  

 When we got back to Grandmama's, we enjoyed the fruits (haha, yes, the literal fruits) of our labor.  By the end of the day I had one strawberry covered little boy!

Lucy Rose

Nicole West Photography

Lucy Rose was born March 31st, weighing 5.6 pounds.  At five weeks early, she spent her first ten days in the Level 2 nursery trying to breathe properly and on her own, gain weight, and keep her body temperature up.  Since we've brought her home, she has done absolutely wonderfully!

Nicole West Photography

Aside from the blessing of a new life in our family, the most amazing thing surrounding this pregnancy has been the loving hands reaching out to help us at every corner.  Some complicating factors of LR's birth made things really difficult-  I couldn't walk due to coupling of a badly sprained and a cesarean; LR had to be in the level 2 nursery for a week and a half, so I didn't leave the hospital;  etc.  It seemed like every time a new need arose, someone new would come out of the woodwork and give assistance.  We have been so very, very blessed to have some truly wonderful people in our lives.  

Pay Grade of a Stay at Home Mom

Conversation with Jason while freezer meals.

Me:  

Hey, maybe when I go back to school I could take a couple cooking courses.  Then I could be on Master Chef or something like that.  Haha, no I could never do that.  

-beat of silence-

Well, I mean I could do it, but I can't handle getting yelled at like that.  I mean, I could handle it, but at this point, it's below my pay grade.  

Ezra:  

I wuv you, Mama.  I wuv you.

Me:  

Yep, that's my pay grade now.  

Ezra's Last January as an Only Child

I'm working on something serious and feministy, but it is pretty sensitive for me.  To avoid putting it out there before it's ready I am posting awesome pictures from January.  We got a year pass to the aquarium for Christmas, so we enjoyed the aquarium today.  Fewer toys, more fun, right?

 Ezra and Clay had fun playing before Clay and family moved, but we are really looking forward to seeing Clay and family in a week or so :)

 Mischief makers

Trouble a-brewin'

 Hide and Go seek with kiddos.

Aunt Kerri made Ezra a cape for Christmas.  Super Ezra means tired Ezra later.

 Sometimes, timeout doesn't have the desire effect.  Here is Jason trying not to laugh while Ezra throws a timeout party.

 After I told Jason to keep an angry face.

 Checking out lemurs at the aquarium.  Ezra and Jason are in the middle.

 Play area.  I am photobombing in the window.

 Ezra really got a kick out of the bamboo spinning.

 Who trusts this safari driver?

Ezra in a bald eagle's nest.  

Merry Christmas Done Wooten Style

My side of the family decided to Cruise for our Christmas season.  Along the way we stopped at Cozumel, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Roatan, Honduras; and Costa Maya, Mexico.  

 Every night on the cruise there was either a Broadway-style variety show or a comedy show.  Conveniently, Carnival offered both family-friendly viewings and adult-only viewings.

 My mom entertaining Ezra while we wait for the show to begin.  He hopped from seat to seat for a while, but once the shows did begin we loved the music, dancing, and lights.

 Family photo op in Cozumel!  Court and I were in the same spot four and a half years ago!

 Court got her fair share of sling work.  Now, I have to say something about this sling.  I was certainly skeptical about its claim to carry up to 35 pounds, but here you see my itty bitty sister carrying a 32 pound kid.  I love it.
Ezra is showing off the flower Aunt CoCo gave him to match the sling.

(Jason here) Food done the Mexican way.  The chicken was OK, but the guacamole was very good and the bean dip was excellent.  The presentation was very nice, too.  This picture is after I'd already taken a couple of bites.

 Housekeeping created towel friends every night to keep Ezra's Christmas bear and Monkey company.  We got to find them every night after the show.

 So... Belize was an interesting place...  if by interesting I mean I have no desire to go back.  We had a fine time walking around the compound gated off for cruisers that measure about three city blocks.  However, by the gates were men with guns who looked less than friendly.  We brightened the day with a mango smoothie and then headed back to the ship.

 Roatan was our favorite day.  We spent it taking advantage of nerdy photo ops and lounging on the beach.

 "What's wrong with socks and sandals?"

 Pathway to the Mahogany Bay beach.  The island was so lush and green right up until you hit sand.  We got to see some neat plants that would close when touched and only reopen after a few minutes had passed.  Interestly to me, they only closed when touched by something living;  the rain did not make them close up.

(Jason here) Ezra and I spent a lot of time out in the water.  At one point when I wasn't paying enough attention to the incoming waves, a big one hit us both right in the face!  I asked Ezra, "Did that wave smash us right in the face?"  "Yeah... smash face!"  A minute later, Ezra told me "I want smash... face!"  So I held him at just the right height until another big wave came and smashed him in the face.  "Did that wave smash you in the face?"  "Yeah!"  "Was that fun Ezra?" "Yeah!" (Surprised Daddy) "Do you want to do that again?"  "NO!"

 Ezra and Jason had so much fun playing in the waves that Ezra was completely worn out by lunch time.

 But don't confuse that for too worn out for lunch time.  He and CoCo shared mozzarella sticks on the beach.  The waiters actually come to you on the beach with menus.

 Teaching good nerd habits at a young age.

 More towel friends.  This one was a crab.  Ezra enjoyed all the animals, but mostly he enjoyed the eyes.  He would take them off and proudly proclaim, "Frog Eyes!" and then put them back.  Or put them on Jason's glasses, declaring, "Daddy Eyes!"

 The ladies in Costa Maya.  It was the shortest day and the rainiest day.  It was also a compound much like Belize, so we decided the comfort of our ship was more enticing.

 Ezra was very dapper for "Elegant Night" dinners.  Also pictured is "Monkey," the stuffed gorilla that Ezra took everywhere with him on the cruise.  Monkey even had his own seat at Showtime.

 The favorite towel animal was a monkey that hung from above our mirror.

The ladies with our servers, Lalu and Wayan, after our last dinner. These guys spoiled us rotten with amazing food, great service, and constant smiles.  They particularly loved our charming kiddo-  they danced with him and constantly brought him chocolate milk.