Ezra’s first birthday!

Here are some pics from Ezra’s birthday party. We wish we lived closer to family. It was just the four of us (including Kenzie), but we had fun. Ezra’s favorite toy right now is a little car shaped like a VW Bug. (BIG thank you to Linda for the Heliport!!) I’m not sure how, but he knows how he’s supposed to play with it (he’s such a boy). He loves to ‘drive’ it around the house and pushes it along on all fours. It’s so cute. He even likes to park it in shoes or under the couch. Anyway, I made (or attempted to make I should say) his birthday cake in honor of his toy car. I’m no cake artist, but I think you can tell what it is 🙂  Ezra certainly enjoyed it. Which is good because he’ll only be enjoying sweets on rare occasion! I can’t believe how hyper he was afterward and he didn’t even eat that much cake!  

Because sharing is caring…

Where did he go?

The sweet little baby boy I brought home from the birth center has been replaced! Where did he go?? He was oh so tiny and cute! I miss him so! In his place is this big boy on the right. He likes to laugh, play tag, have tickle fights, snuggle, drive his toy car, learn new words (like diaper and cheerio), and read books with mommy and daddy. I may miss my tiny baby, but I sure love the Ezra I have now!

We celebrated his birthday on Sunday. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone by. It makes me so sad and I may start crying if I think about it too long! Luckily my little Ezra is a cuddle bug and absolutely loves snuggling in as close as he can for his hugs and kisses. I take advantage every chance I get! He’s grown so quickly and is learning so much every day. He is such an incredible joy and blessing to us. I love him more than words can say. 

Christmas

Long over due, but here are my pictures from Christmas. We spent the holiday in Tennessee with family and friends. (This was our last Christmas with Evan for a while. He’ll be leaving on a two year mission this spring. We’re really excited for him, but we’ll sure miss him while he’s away!) I included family Christmas photo #2 because I think it’s cute the way Kenzie and Ezra interact. My friend Nikki hosted the first annual “festive” Christmas sweater party. I have to say festive rather than tacky because I borrowed the sweater I wore 🙂   It was great to see everyone!

 

The Eagle’s Nest

We had the opportunity to attend my little brothers Court of Honor over the Christmas holiday. Earning your Eagle takes a lot of hard work and dedication and we respect and admire Evan for his accomplishment. I think mom and dad deserve an award for their bugging the crap out of him efforts as well. Kudos to you all.

What happened in Vegas

While visiting family out west, we decided to spend a few days in Las Vegas. We stayed at The Luxor (the pyramid). Not too impressed with it. I found it hard to believe it was a four star. We’re thinking next time we’ll stay at the Bellagio or Palazzo. And as long as we’re on the topic of being disappointed… we’d heard lots of talk about how great the Las Vegas buffets were. We hit up the buffet at Planet Hollywood, which is one of the highest rated ones. We were very underwhelmed. If any of you have suggestions about what places to try next time, let me know. Brad and I love trying out new restaurants.

The shopping is amazing in Vegas. It rivals New York and Hong Kong as far as destination shopping. We took Ezra with us (For the time being, he goes everywhere we go. I’m not sure when I’ll ever be able to leave him 🙂 Not to mention the fact that I hate to impose on anyone to watch him.) Supposedly Las Vegas is a family friendly vacation spot and there were certainly numerous families with munchkins and strollers in tow, but I don’t think we’ll be taking Ezra with again. Porn was literally littering the streets and I heard more than one “Daddy what’s that?” followed by “PUT THAT DOWN NOW!!”  Also, we’d like to catch a show next time we’re there. We weren’t able to see any this time around because we had Ezra with us. 

Overall it was a fun trip. I enjoy being in the city. We’re in a small town right now and a trip to the city – any city – makes it feel that much smaller. We’re itching to move on.