Ezra turns three!

Ezra turned three years old yesterday. His day was wonderful. Magical even. This was the grin he had on pretty much the whole day.

Ezra got the star treatment all day. First thing in the morning his Daddy made him a breakfast of eggs, bananas, french toast and sausage. After breakfast we decorated gingerbread men. It may be past the season for it, but he is still talking about gingerbread men and I knew he would love it. He did. Then he got to eat popcorn for his snack (something I never let him do at 10:00 in the morning.) 

Ezra was surprised to get a balloon bouquet delivered from Grandma and Grandpa McKenzie! It even included an Elmo balloon for Annika, which she was very excited about!

After we cleaned up we headed to Chuck E. Cheese. Jon and I went back and forth for a long time on whether or not we should take him there for various reasons but Ezra kept asking everyday for at least a week "Are we going to chucky cheeses today?" So we decided to take him. We invited his best bud Dylan along. Boy, did those kids have fun. It was three hours of pure bliss! And they even wore the super hero capes I made them the whole time, so that was pretty adorable!

That evening we had a dinner of Ezra's favorite foods...salad with the works (avocado, green pepper, orange pepper, cucumber, pea pods, mushrooms, carrots....etc. I know, Ezra is a unique three year old- he likes the green stuff) breadsticks, black and raspberries, and tortellini. We also got him an ice cream cake. We had a bunch of our neighbor friends over and it was a party. Ezra loved every minute of it. Thanks to everyone who came and made him feel so special!

Grandma's package came at the perfect moment. We opened it up and balloons flew out with presents attached at the bottom. What a great idea! Thanks Mom! It made his day!

Some new guys for his collection. Look at that face, how excited is he??

The aftermath.

Oh yeah, and I made Ezra this super cute hat that I saw on Kayli's blog. I saw it and knew Ezra would look really cute in a hat like this. It was really pretty easy to do. Here's the link if you are interested.

Ezra had so much fun on his birthday. We've never seen him smile so much. He was even smiling when he took a nap! What a cutie! Happy Birthday Ezra! We love you!!

Check back tomorrow for Ezra: A Year in Review. 

Stuck inside with time on my hands.

It's been really cold and snowy here so we've been stuck inside. We have been busy though. The kids go to bed at 7:00 which is new and has afforded Jon and I about 30 extra hours a week to ourselves. Plus, Ezra is in preschool during Annika's nap so there's another extra 9 hours a week. It's strange, I don't know what to do with myself! I'm thinking about writing the next great American novel or painting my masterpiece or perhaps learning a new language. Any other ideas?? This past week I've just been preparing for this:

Ezra is turning three! I can't believe my little baby is turning three!!

Besides that we have been reading books, doing crafts, laundry, dishes, cooking...the usual. You know, just hanging out:

 Shhh! Don't tell Dad! (95% of photos taken of Annika turn out like this)

I thought I would throw in a couple masterpieces done by Ezra at his preschool. They are learning about the Arctic. That kid LOVES preschool!

A mighty fine walrus, methinks.

Take it away, I guess.

We were looking through old photos and can't believe how little Ezra used to be! In this one he is only 4 months old. He's growing up too fast.

We always do posts about things Ezra says. This is another one. We can't help it. He's too funny and we don't want to forget. 

Yesterday we were driving in the car and Ezra said "The sun is bright. It sun tickles my nose!" {We think he might be a poet.}

Later on that day he had received some stickers from a store. One of them was not a sticker but a image printed on clear plastic. Ezra wanted to know why it wouldn't stick, what was wrong with it? Jonathan told him it wasn't a sticker. He looked at it again with a determined look, sighed heavily and said (in a very grown up way) "Just take it away I guess." {It was quite hilarious. Trust me.}

What Have you Done!

What Have you Done!

Here is a list of things to do. Those ones in bold are the ones I have done. Just a little about me to share:

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance 
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia 
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check [not on purpose]
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Ezra's first day of preschool!

Ezra went to his first day of preschool all by himself today. It was really hard on me to leave him there, but I tried really hard not to let him show how scared/sad/unsure I was to leave without him. After three hours I went to pick him up, fully expecting him to run into my arms when he saw me. Sadly, no he did not run into my arms. I actually had to try to convince him that he would be back soon as I pulled him out of the sandbox. I'm glad he had so much fun- but I do wish he missed me a little more. I do think it will be easier to leave him there next time, knowing how much he likes it. 

On the walk home I asked Ezra what they talked about and he told me "They taught me about everything!" I guess we picked a good school!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday!! to my mom (yesterday.) Sounds like you had a fun and action packed day. Hope you had a great time! We wish we could have been there, maybe we can come out soon!

In other news, Ezra started going to Sunbeams at Church this year. His birthday just misses the cut-off but they let him slide and go in this year anyway. I took our little camera with us to church so I could snatch a shot of him on his first day as a "big kid." These aren't great quality but here ya go. And I took a few of Annika on our way out to the car. She had to bring a ball with her :)

Ezra is in the red shirt and grey pants.

Some recent crafty projects.

I like to do crafty things. It feeds my creative urges. I've been meaning to put some projects on here, but some were Christmas presents so I had to wait. This first one is a blanket (can I call it a quilt? that sounds too fancy for what it is...) I made for Ezra's bed. It fits the top of a toddler bed perfectly. I love it because he can make his own bed easily and he loves it because the flip side is orange, a color he is obsessed with! I didn't use a pattern or anything, I just measured, cut and sewed.

This is the Black Apple etsy doll. I found the tutorial she did on Martha Stewart. Here's the link.

They are really easy to make. I've made four but I forgot to take a picture of the other one. On the later dolls I decided it would be better to sew on the face instead of paint it on so they would be easier to wash.

The top two I gave to our Polish neighbors who moved back to Poland. We miss them already!

This is a pin cushion. I found the idea here.

Flip side

These are bean bags I made for the kids. I just sewed up three sids, put in black beans and sewed it up by hand. They really like to throw them around and their daddy teaches them lots of funny games to play with them. 

I stole this idea from the nieniedialogues. 

I used thick wrapping paper and glued it to the back of the the bookshelf. I like how it turned out. You might have to click on the picture to see it better.

Nine things that have happened this week. plus another one to make it ten.

1) Yesterday as we are heading out the door, Ezra tells me that my bag doesn't match my coat and that my coat doesn't match my shoes. When I ask him if he'll be ashamed to be seen with me, he says yes.

2) Anna has learns how to say "No." She could only shake her head no before, now we get the audio. It is adorably cute. It becomes our favorite thing she does.

3) Jon slips on the ice outside and gets a seven inch scrape on his forearm and an achey back. 

4) Today while we were at the grocery store I ask Jon to pick out some crackers for the kids. He comes back with "Kashi Fire-Roasted Vegetable Crackers." I think to myself "Oh my gosh, what one or two year old would EVER eat this!!" I then realize he has picked these out for himself in guise of getting them for the kids....Sigh........Scan.

5) We make new year resolutions-- most of which are broken within hours. 

6) Anna gets a black eye and busts open her lip on two separate occasions.

7) Ezra wonders what Santa got for Christmas. (It's a good question!)

8) Ezra wonders what beer is. (He saw it at the grocery store, in case you are wondering. And yes, they sell that sort of stuff at Walmart here. Yes, that is weird.)

9) Jonathan is on RA duty for most of the week and has answered questions like "What do I do if the solids won't go down the toilet?" "My kitchen light bulb has burned out. I called 911 and they won't help me. They told me to call you. Are you going to help me?!" "What do you mean school doesn't start until a week from now and I can't get into my apartment for 4 days? I just flew in from China!" And many other nonsensical things. (Although on second thought, these may only be funny to people who live at Purdue Village... oh well)

10) We stay up late watching movies so Jon can see the ball drop for the first time...only to miss it by about 10 seconds. 

Happy New Year! It looks like it will be a great year!! :)