Have Your Cake....

Summer is in full swing, we've been busy, busy, busy! Just this weekend we've gone to garage sales, had a playdate, went to our neighborhood BBQ, and had a family birthday party.

{Ezzy's garage sale finds..sunglasses and winter coat!}

The birthday fun continues on around here! A month long celebration of sorts. This weekend we had our family birthday party for my niece Michelle (13), Ezra and Cohen. It was a nice simple gathering at the park with just our family and Danny's parents.

 {Ez and Grandma Deb}

{Birthday kids!} 

Ezra's First Birthday

Ezra  had a pretty low key birthday. Getting tucked in for his last night before turning ONE!

This has been one of my favorite times of day. Ezra wakes up between 5 and 6 for an early morning snack. I tuck him into bed with me to snuggle while he nurses or has a bottle. He's the best little snuggler and I am so going to miss these times. I keep wondering when it will be the last day that this happens, but I hope we have a little while longer. 

{Birthday Breakfast and snuggles}

After breakfast and morning nap we went out for birthday cookies! 

The boys went over to Gramma's to play and take naps. Gramma and Grampa took the boys to our favorite ice cream place and we met up with them there. Ezra wasn't a huge fan of the ice cream, until he got ahold of the chocolate ice cream. Then he couldn't get enough!

This kid is seriously just the sweetest boy. Happy First Birthday, Ez!!! 

Cohen: Age 3

At 3 years old...

Cohen is talking SO much! He cracks us up with the things he says (where's Daddy?...Acsally (Actually)...I'm going outside to wide my bike...I gotta go push Ezzy)

He asks for apple juice first thing every morning when he gets up.

He is picky about what he eats -- he won't eat most fruits or vegetables, but loves peanut butter and jelly, peanut butter and crackers, ketchup, noodles, macaroni and cheese, goldfish crackers, scrambled eggs

He is getting better at running and jumping!

Loves to have his back scratched (You scwatch my back Mommy, just oooone more)

He is daytime potty trained and is wearing diapers at nap and nighttime, wears size 5 diapers

Wearing 3T shirts and 2T-3T pants. Size 8 shoes.

He still takes a 2-3 hour nap during the day and generally sleeps 7-7 at night

LOVES to play outside with dirt and water and containers. Likes to read books and play cars and trains.

We love this sweet boy so much!!

Happy Birthday, Ezra!

Happy Birthday my sweet little one year old!! What a gift you have been to our family. You have brought us toothy one dimpled grins and lots of laughter. You have brought healing to our mending hearts. Your sweet snuggles are the best. Your tiny baby arms around my neck with your head on my shoulder are the perfect.

Thank you for being my chubby cheeked ray of sunshine and my cuddle bug. The perfect combination of sweet with a little bit of sass. I love watching you play with Cohen and watching your relationship develop. A little bit of a stubborn independence, but still always willing to come back for a snuggle. You voice your opinion when your brother is doing something you don't like and let us know that you want something by throwing your arm out and giving a good "Uh!". You are adorable and you know it and use it to your advantage. You have won over lots of hearts.

We weren't sure what to expect when we thought of having another baby. We didn't know if we could possibly love another little boy as much as we loved your brothers. You have filled all the nooks and crannies and made my heart so very full. We have learned that our love can grow and spread farther than we ever imagined. You and your big brother have filled our lives with so much joy.

We love you so much baby boy! (please stay little forever)

A New Kind of Birthday

You know what's kind of weird? Having my baby's birthday coming up and not feeling sad and overwhelmed. It's a birthday and I get to fully celebrate it. I don't have to visit a grave. It's a birthday that doesn't double as a death day. A supposed to be the "best day of my life" that was actually the worst day of my life. We have taken to having a little party for Cohen after the actual birthday so that we still get to celebrate him, but his actual birthday will always have some bitter with the sweet. I hate that this is the way it is, but I can't change it. Maybe someday the pain will ease, but for now, it's a difficult day.

This time, we get a little normalcy. I get to think back to the day our little chubby baby entered the world and even though it was a bumpy ride, he was healthy. We got to count his fingers and toes and snuggle and have a baby experience that didn't involve life support and isolettes.

It's kind of crazy to have a birthday coming that I don't have to prepare myself for and send out "this is a bad time of year, bear with me" messages. I don't have to take the week off work or throw myself into projects to stay busy and distracted. This birthday feels different and light and joyful. Well, mostly joyful, I am eating brownies and crying into my pillow that my baby is one.

So this is a new kind of birthday and I just get to enjoy it. I'm kind of excited about celebrating this sweet little rainbow baby!

The Wrestling Team

These boys...they fight like brothers...wrestle like brothers....

And then this happens....be still my heart. They love like brothers.

Life with a 3 Year Old

A little interview with Cohen....

What's your favorite color? Cars!

What's your favorite thing to play? Cars!

What's your favorite food? Cars!

Ok, nevermind. Thanks for your idea on interviewing your child every year Pinterest, maybe next year.

Farmer's Day Parade

Our little town has a parade each June. We took Cohen last year and he did okay, but was very clingy because of all the noise and hubbub. I was a little nervous about how he would do this year, but we armed ourselves with noise cancelling headphones, snacks for distraction, and the knowledge that we may just need to pack up and go home if it didn't go well.

We arrived early to get our spot and the sidewalks were already packed. We found a spot next to one of Cohen's little friends, which I think was a bonus. They were pretty cute and fed off each other's excitement.

  I had to take Cohen to go potty before the parade started, he was super excited and running around and took a pretty good spill. We had no bandaids, but luckily the parade started soon after and distracted him. I'm glad he's gaining more confidence in his physical abilities, but the little fellow is still a little clumsy on his feet, I see lots of bandaids in our future!

Anyway, Cohen loved the parade. It was over an hour and a half long and he sat glued to his chair waiting for what was coming next. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him sit still that long! He was naming off all the trucks and pieces of farm equipment and even learned about a few new machines on wheels. I loved watching Cohen during the parade and I'll probably go look up all the parades around here for the rest of the summer because I have never seen him that focused and just able to calmly enjoy something like that.