October birthday(s) are approaching!

I am long overdue sharing an official announcement of baby Wiebe due in October 2018.  Nate had started posting a bit on social media a few weeks or months ago, but I wasn't quite ready to do so and he obliged and refrained from doing any more with understanding.

However, we are 24 weeks along now with this pregnancy and by all measurements and accounts, baby is healthy and strong.  I am in good health and feeling well.  Ezra has been helping me slowly tear down his playroom (to move downstairs) and to build baby's bed and move some different furniture around for the baby's room.

As with our previous pregnancies we found out the baby's gender so we can narrow down the name list.  And the added bonus now of helping talk more specifically to Ezra and preparing him for his baby sister's arrival.

So far, so good in Ezra's mind.  He seems excited to be getting a baby sister and enjoys watching the baby development videos we play every week as baby grows and gets bigger in Mommy's belly.  Now that my belly is indeed growing along with baby he has just started giving baby "hugs" too.

As baby girl will be arriving around the same time Ezra will be celebrating his 3rd birthday, it will remain to be seen how well he enjoys sharing the same birthday month, or week, but hopefully not the same day.

We are enjoying our family summer time and chance to do a few more adventures before hunkering down for winter and the early baby months once again!

Ezra over 2.5 years old now and LOVES sports, his favourite sport of the week currently being baseball.  He communicates well and clearly (usually).  He just finished his first soccer season which was interesting.  But overall went quite well.  He plays "kitty" for probably a few hours total during each day, which I find especially delightful when he tosses his food on the floor to eat like a kitty does.  He continues his sweet sleepy time attachment to his blue "blankie".  He is wearing 4T/5T clothing and 10/11 size shoes.  He is 40+ pounds and I basically never lift him...ever.  He gets lifts and snuggles from Daddy now.  Ezra naps once a day still usually for an 1.5-2 hours just after lunch time.  He does very well in his twin bed and normally is a good sleeper through the night.  It is fun to see him really begin to enjoy and look forward to his friend/social time.  Instead of screaming and fighting over toys with peers we have finally reached a delightful stage of sheer excitement to play alongside his buddies.  He continues to be a great eater and we enjoy how easy he is in this department!

He will be a great big brother and live into his name of being a great "helper".

2 years old!

A few of Ezra's favourite things

Ezra just had his second birthday and continues to grow quickly!  He is 36 pounds and 36 3/4 inches of solid boy.  He is wearing 3T clothes and 8-9T shoes.  His language and vocabulary are growing daily now and he enjoys so many things.  If you were to ask him what his favourite food is, I could garuantee he would say "cookies".  If you asked him what he wanted to do he would say "watch a video".

So you would never know we have been quite delayed to introduce desserts, cookies, and sweets as well as technology, but they are two of his favourite things and things he asks for regularly...  As in all day long.  However, even though he would not admit to having interest in other things when asked, he very much enjoys playing with Mommy and Daddy, and listening to music.  Ezra and Daddy now have regular jam sessions in the living room as Daddy plays the guitar and Ezra "dances" or in other terms, runs around the living room in circles.

Ezra enjoys all things sports.  He will play with a ball or balloon a good portion of his day.  He loves to jump up and down, and kick and throw a ball, and most recently knock over his bowling pins from a play set he received.  Those around us have informed us he is quite athletic, coordinated, and advanced in his gross motor skills for his age.

As his language is developing quickly we have enjoyed his mostly cute pronunciations of certain words.
Below is a short glossary of words in case you run into him on the street and aren't quite sure what he is saying:

Star- Up-pah up-pah (as in the song Twinkle Twinkle:..."up above" the world so high, like a diamond in the sky)
Dessert- Bah-zert
Video- Vee-dio
Truck- *uck (Please don't ask him about trucks in public, I promise he didn't learn that one from us)
Thank you- Tank you
Please- Peas
Basket ball- Buzoolah (this took us DAYS to figure out, still not sure what he's saying other than it's starts with a 'B' and is otherwise unidentifiable)

Honorable mention goes to one of our favourites he has now grown out of in the last few months
Milk- Mook

I also have him his first short haircut, so his long locks are gone.  I've never been one to fuss over hair or getting it cut, but I had a little heart pang seeing him look so grown up with his hair buzzed short.  I've already adjusted but it did give me pause.

Before haircut

After haircut

Over the last few months Ezra and Daddy have been enjoying more together time and shared interests and it warms my heart to see Ezra bringing his bible to Daddy to crawl up in his lap to read bible stories in the morning and asking Daddy for "song" which means he is asking for Nate to play the guitar and sing for him.

It will still catch me off guard at times to hear Ez's sweet unprompted voice saying "Tank you, Momma" after doing something for him after I've already started moving onto something else.  Ezra enjoys his evening prayer time with Mommy and Daddy and get to choose who he wants to pray for every night, many nights it's just for Mommy, Daddy, Grandma's, and Grandpa's but every now and then he throws in a buddy or babysitter too.  He is  just starting wanting to speak the words to the prayers himself.  

He really does do our hearts good...thank you for being interested in his journey.

16 Months

Well 16 months in theory.  We don't have 29 days in February this year so we will pretend.  It's close enough.

This last month has seen some fun and not so fun developments.

Fun:
Had his first hair trim and survived
The shrug; He now enjoys mastery of using his shoulder muscles and it's especially delightful when he times it with a question, as if to say "I don't know"
Cute faces, think squinty eyes and smiling
Increased speed and energy, fun to watch, hard to keep up with
Increased sounds/words.  Says the staples, Momma, Daddy, No, clearly and enjoys imitation of animal sounds and trying new words like close and truck and using a few more baby signs to communicate.
Enjoying gross motor play; climbing, wrestling with Dad, and being outdoors on nice days


Not So Fun:
Screeching, especially at the dinner table
Shaking of head/Saying "no" to everything
Mini Tantrums at not getting his way
Teeth-Ez has been getting his four eye/canine teeth on top and bottom

First hair trim

Playing in Daddy's dress shirts

On the deck playing "ball"

Has discovered the joy of puddles

Loves climbing and playing