Easter

Naps are always a little tricky on Sundays. Between church and our family dinner, there are simply too many people to look at.  Today was no exception... Unfortunately, all of the Lee grandsons were out of sorts at different points and we never got a picture of all the boys in their adorable, matching Easter suits.  Needless to say, we will be staging a photo shoot with the triplets soon! 

Regardless, we had a fun day with family- enjoying each others company and the sunshine!

We unfortunately missed the egg hunt, but look forward to having Ezzy and Troy join the festivities next year! 

M

Treasures

Some time after the holidays I lost my camera.  I could remember the last time I used it (to take pictures of Ezra in the bathtub), and I knew where the case was (where the camera should have also been)...  

For the sake of taking pictures, I didn't really care.  It is so much easier to just use my iPhone- I think it may even take better pictures.  But, I was a complete wreck because if I lost my camera, that meant I also lost all of the pictures from the hospital when Ezra was born.  I had spent months pinning pictures on Pinterest, creating a list of all the shots I wanted to have, and imaging the big day.  I was absolutely devastated at the thought of losing those pictures.

After looking everywhere it could possibly be, I pretty much gave up on the search.  I'm not really sure how it ended up there, but a couple weeks ago, Tieba found my camera in the side door console in our car.  I was soooo excited!  While the pictures don't quite look the way I had imagined them, they are absolute treasures.

M

Last Week

.....

All of my usual tricks- singing twinkle twinkle little star, looking out the window, bouncing, vacuuming, and even nursing (!) suddenly stopped working on Wednesday!  Ezra was all sorts of out of sorts ... he refused to sleep, eat, and be his usual happy self between 9 am and 1pm. 
Out of desperation, I opened up our back door and Ezzy suddenly quieted down.  He was back in hysterics when I shut the door, which led to us cozying up and sitting on the deck for a while.  Cabin fever then made me think it would be a good idea to put the Baby Bjorn on and walk over to Albertsons, where we walked the perimeter of the store for a good 15 minutes, until I decided to buy a couple of things and Ezzy went postal. 

Eventually I coerced him that eating was a good idea, which finally led to sleep! And more importantly, I talked myself into taking a nap as well- something I almost never do.  

After a very stressful morning, it felt so nice to snuggle up with my peaceful sleeper, stare at him, and count my many blessings (before taking the most necessary and amazing nap of my life).  
I am so grateful to be able to be at home with him every day, to be the one that can always calm him down (even if it takes 4 hours), to have a healthy- happy boy- that has given my life more purpose than I could have ever imagined. 
   
.....

I decided to stop obsessing over Ezra's sleep patterns... With that, I recycled the sleeping log that I had freakishly recorded for the last month.  More important than anything, I promised myself to stop talking about his lack of sleep when people asked me how he is doing.  If someone specifically asks me, I can share that he still wakes up every two hours at night (5 times a night/ insists on nursing for 20 minutes/ and lately needs help falling back asleep), fights me so hard when I try to put him down for a nap, usually only naps for 20-30 minutes, and averages an hour of sleep during the day, as opposed to the average 4 month old that sleeps between 4 and 6 hours a day... 

Next step, stop taking pictures of him while he sleeps :) 

.....

After months of strictly reading self help books, I indulged in some serious chic lit.  I finished the book within 24 hours and have become a lover of iBook.  Purchasing books so easily may not be a good thing... 

 .....

 Ezra now requires absolute silence when nursing.  If I start talking he pops off and gives me his big brown, wondering eyes.  If someone else is talking, he cranks his neck to the side to see who it is and what they have to say.  Heaven forbid I take a drink of water, sneeze, or have my phone off silent!  Mr. Curiosity doesn't want to miss out on a thing. This works out really well with my new found love for reading books on my phone.  In fact, I find that I often nurse him for much longer than needed because I want to read just one more page... 

 

 .....

Ezzy joined me in bed every morning for his last 2 hour stint of sleep.  I love having him snuggled up next to me, but know that this is probably not a good habit...   I'm  trying to just put him in bed with me when we are both awake- before I change his 5 pound diaper! Unless it is a special occasion....

 .....

On Saturday, T and E enjoyed a day at home together while I traveled down to Tacoma for Amy's bridal shower.  It was a lot of fun to spend the afternoon with friends and have some time away from mom duties.  I'm lucky to have such wonderful friends that live relatively close by.  I am so happy for Amy, and love the excuse that weddings and babies make for us all to get together.  

 .....

Chris had us all over for dinner on Sunday.  He prepared a very thoughtful, gourmet meal.  I think Abby was a little overwhelmed having all of us over to his apartment.  I can't say I blame her... You can't predict what may happen when we all get together.  I never would have guessed that Levi would be able to lure both of my parents into a dog cage! Actually, it isn't that surprising, they will do anything for that guy!

After dinner, we walked down to Green Lake for a bit before our babes turned into pumpkins.  

We all had a great time!  Looking forward to many more sunny Sundays with family. 

 ...................

M 

 

Mr. Troy

Levi will always have a very special piece of my heart.  I remember before I had Ezra, legitimately wondering how I could love and care for another baby more than Levi.  Of course, the moment my little Panda joined our world, I realized that love could be even stronger.  
Suddenly, Ezzy became my everything and the days of just hanging with Lele and then coming home to my quiet house and getting a full night of sleep, seemed like forever ago.  I worried that I would miss my days with Levi, but even more so, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to have the same bond with Troy because I would be so busy taking care of Ezra.  (I worried about a lot in those early days...)

 Thankfully, I still spend most of my days with Levi, and Mr. Troy and I have a very special bond.  Being the second child, he and I both know what it is like to have a crazy older sibling that sometimes steals the show.  We have many similarities, we both are good sleepers, quiet observers, and go with the flow. 

I admit to finding a bit of joy when someone (other than Kelly) is holding him and he starts to cry.  I know that I can always snatch him away, cradle him in my arms, and trigger his calming reflex. I love to snuggle him into my cheek and blast his ears with shhhhushes. 

I love my Baby Troy. 

M   

St. Patrick's Day

....
(Levi is the Chief of the Mackawa Tribe.  We are hoping that his younger cohorts do not join in on his war cry... "beep beep beep beep MAAAA CKKKKKK AAAAA WAAAAAAAAA!" always signals danger...)

Google

For many reasons, I can't imagine life with out my iPhone.  But, I especially can't imagine the long hours I put in nursing all night long with out it.  There is no way I would be able to stay awake, and it would be much harder to entertain myself in the dark with out rousing my Panda.

The other day I went to the Google toolbar to search for something and all of my recent searches came up.

It made me laugh, and then made me wish I would have had a record of searches from Ezra's first several weeks of life.
That list would certainly include:

• is it normal for my baby's tongue to be white?
• why is my baby grunting when he sleeps?
• how long should I pump for?
• how can I keep my baby awake when nursing?
• when do mixed babies hair change texture?
• when do mixed babies skin change?
• 2 month old cough
• how often should you bathe a baby?
• how long does baby acne last for?
• when is it safe to take your newborn in public?
• car seat neck support
• how to prevent SIDS
• why do African American babies have a higher chance of getting SIDS?
• A-Z Reading 
• baby sleep books

and the list went on... Recent Google searches tell a lot about a person.  Here is proof that I am nuts!

M

4 Months

Dear Ezra,
In the four short months we have known you, you already have more nicknames than the average guy. The most popular names you go by are: Ezzy, Panda, Bear, Taco, E, and all names that start with E including, but not limited to, Ezelle, Ezekial, Evette, and Elliot.  You are growing stronger each minute.  Gone are the days of lounging in my arms all day.  You now love to stand on my stomach (with help of course), lunge forward with your strong abs, and you are even able to hold your head up high when hanging out on your tummy. You are starting to play with toys, but your favorite things to grab on to and explore are your own fists, my hair (ouch!), spit up rags, and blankets. One of your very favorite things to do is watch TV! We try to limit your screen time except for when I'm cleaning the spit up out of your rolly neck, you will always stretch back to watch TV.  You love to laugh and smile, just like your dad.  Grandma and Grandpa always crack you up!  They know just where to tickle you and the crazy faces to make you roar with laughter. Your dad always looks forward to giving you a bath. You crack up when he sniffs your toes and tells you how stinky they are. You are hesitant when you first hit the water, but are quick to relax, smile, and munch on your fists. We think you are going to love swimming! I need to start lifting weights and running miles so I can keep up with you!
Love,
Mom

My bear is growing way too fast! 

M

Cute

I don't mean to brag, but.... 

You know your baby is a knock out when your pediatrician asks if she can go and get another doctor to show her how cute he is! 

Toddlers and Tiaras here we come :) 

M

Moments to Remember

dinner with the Buehler's

sunny days at the park

laughing in the mirror with Grandpa

 visits to Great Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Kyle's

surprise mani-pedi appointments from T

Ezra's baby blessing at church,  3.3.13

"bouncy castle" with Levi

jealousy when Troy is eating....

unclogging milk ducts

passing bad habits on to Troy

looking big enough for a kids' cup of water!

Such fun!

M

Three

Ezra was never small enough for the box of newborn diapers my mom made into a cute little diaper cake.  He made it halfway through the box of ones before he was ready for size two.   

Assuming that he was still in the 12-18 pound range, I ordered a new box of twos from Diapers.com earlier this week. With in the 36 hours of waiting for my delivery I realized that he had soaked through his diapers the last two mornings, blew out of nearly all diapers in the last few weeks, and his diapers are beginning to look like a thong! 

Ezzy has graduated from Swaddlers to Cruisers... At 3 months and 3 weeks, we are now in size 3!

It is a good thing we have baby Troy to share our left overs with!

M