Ezra turns THREE!!

Ezra started out his birthday with a nutritious bowl of Fruit Loops.

Then it was time to get busy and get the house ready for his friends to arrive. He ended up opening a gift from his good friend that moved to CO this past summer and spent time playing with his new toy while my mom and I got things in order.


Ezra had a wonderful time at his rocket party! He had been talking about it for weeks! And was so very excited that the day had finally arrived! He enjoyed every moment of his party! Even the kids and adults singing to him. Big change from last year when he was very unsure of the singing. This time he just smiled-looked around at everyone-and soaked it all in. Blowing out the candle proved to be tricky for him again. The pressure of everyone watching. He attempted to blow it out using the air from nose like last year. Finally one of his good buddies helped him out and we were able to move on to handing out cupcakes to the guests :o) Ezra proved to be the slowest cupcake eater as well! He had his cupcake first and I think he was the last to finish. Present time was fun for all the kiddos attending. Waiting anxiously for Ez to open the gift they had brought! After the gifts were opened there was a little more time for play before everyone had to take off for their nap times. In the evening, we celebrated as a family with dinner at Red Robin - Ez had grilled cheese and carrot sticks. Then back home to open gifts from us and Grandma and Papa. What a day!

Tagged

I was tagged by my friend, Kirsten and since this was my first time ever being tagged through a blog I just had to respond. So here you go!

Q. five names you go by:

1. Leanne
2. Lee
3. Mommy
4. Mom
5. Chica (by my sister)

Q. three things you are wearing right now:

1. royal blue v-neck Old Navy shirt
2. ultra comfy (a few sizes too big) Paige jeans
3. Columbia light hiking socks

Q. two things you want very badly at the moment:

1. a hot shower
2. cup of coffee

Q. two things you did last night:

1. had dinner with the family
2. went to Beth's apartment to watch a movie

Q. two things you ate today:

1. tortilla chips and nacho cheese dip
2. carrots

Q. two people you last talked to on the phone:

1. my husband
2. Beth

Q. two things you are going to do tomorrow:

1. wake up
2. enjoy my day with Ezra

Q. two longest car rides:

1. Cleveland, OH to Portland, OR
2. Akron, OH to Williamsburg, VA

Q. two of your favorite beverages:

1. iced tea
2. hazelnut latte

Q. the people you’d like to respond

1. Kellie
2. Sara
3. Angie

Arctic Blast 2008

That's what they've been calling it anyways. All I know is that it resulted in a lot more snow and ice than has been seen in Portland since maybe the '50s. We were basically stuck at home for days on end. Becks managed to get to work last week by walking a mile to a transit center and taking a bus into downtown and then coming home by walking a mile after getting off the bus. Luckily this week was a scheduled week off for him, so he didn't have to work!

So Arctic Blast 2008 = No church for a couple of weeks, no driving without chains, no leaving the house for us as we don't own chains, no trips to the grocery store, no frantic shopping trips for Christmas, no visiting of friends, no real hustle and bustle that the holiday season usually brings, no mail. But it also = lots of time spent with family, playing games, reading, creating, organizing, baking, plotting an escape and a very white Christmas. It has been an interesting couple of weeks.

Our house buried in about a foot of snow.

Ezra out for a walk around the block. Making sure to stay in the tire ruts.

Ezra doing his part to help with snow removal in the driveway.

The near empty shelves we found at the grocery store when we finally made our escape yesterday.

Too be specific.

Ezra one night made it clear that when he got home he would like to put on his old pj's. And not just any old pj's, but his dinosaur pj's. Then he said he wanted to pop popcorn and eat it on the couch while reading his stories before bed.

The great tree hunt of 2008

Chilling on the way there.

Hiding.

This one looks nice, but is way too tall.

Beginning to cut our tree down.

Ezra and I next to our tree after it is laying on the ground.

Becks carrying the tree up the steep hill to our car.

Ezra on top of the car with our tree!

The skill of raising your eyebrows

This skill takes a lot of time and practice to master when you are young. Ezra feels that he has this skill down although he is only really blinking his eyes. I had to post this because there will come a day when he really will know how to raise his eyebrows and we will want to remember when he thought he knew.

And the months go flying by.

Where to begin? I haven't the slightest idea. How about with a few pictures? Yeah, that sounds like a good place to start! Even though I am only sure of one person out there that is still looking at this. Let's start with some from October...from the beautiful Autumn colors that surrounded us this year, fun at a park and finally Ezra as a lion for this years Harvest Fest at our church. You can tell from the last picture that Ezra was hot, tired and ready to go home :o)