Long day already

Last night, we left Nolan with Rob and Lacey so that we wouldn't have to take him to the downtown Salt Lake health department for H1N1 shots. It's a good thing they were able to watch him. We woke up at 4:30 and were in line by 5:45. Justin did an estimate and figured that at that point we were around 120th in line. There were somewhere around 1,500 doses so we were safe. We were prepared with lawn chairs, winter clothes, and a snuggly sack for Ezra. The line grew and grew and by 7 a.m., there were already too many people to receive the vaccine. It took us one hour to get to the nurse station after they opened. It would have felt like a lot longer if Nolan was with us running around. We watched people get turned away and there was a sheriff at the front doors in case anyone got out of line. So now we just need to stay away from crowds (and Wal-Mart) for another week until the vaccine kicks in and then I'll feel like Ezra is pretty safe. An early morning and two and a half hours in line definitely seem worth it to me.

No messing around

Today I heard there were H1N1 vaccines in Salt Lake County so I rushed in to get Nolan taken care of. No more waiting around for more shipments to arrive in our county. I even got his seasonal flu shot, too. That wasn't pretty because we had to go to a different room and he knew exactly what was coming by then - and the sucker in his mouth was no longer cuttin' it. He was a big boy though so we went out to lunch afterward (or maybe that reward was for me!). Too bad he'll need a booster in a month. And Justin and I are just hoping there are adult doses available soon since Ezra is too young to get one. There are lots of people at Tooele High School with it and they're thinking of closing down. I hope we can keep the little guy safe.

Birthday Week

It's not really our birthdays yet, so don't feel bad thinking you forgot. (Maybe you didn't even feel bad when you saw the title... in which case, shame on you!) But our vacuum has really been giving out on us over the past few months and it was time to upgrade. We went with the Dyson 25 Ball vacuum. When Justin put it together his exact words were, "It's an engineering work of art." I said something less intelligent like, "oooohhh, it's so neat." Believe me, I wanted a less expensive vacuum but the Dyson is the only one recommended by the allergy association, and Justin has horrible allergies 3 seasons out of the year. We're hoping it will help. It's so fabulous to use the hose and have it actually suck! It really is so easy to control and empty, and we don't have to replace filters or bags. Woohoo! Just as an experiment, we vacuumed with the old vac and then with the new one to see how much our old vac had missed. Well, you can see for yourself. Gross! Every day Nolan says, "where's that new vacuum?" And then he answers himself by saying, "oh, in the closet." Here's the new little beauty. It was such fun!

The next day, Justin received his ham radio in the mail. It would have been the perfect Christmas present because it's the kind of thing that takes a lot of fiddling with and learning how to use. It would have been perfect to lounge around with near the fireplace. O-well. He couldn't wait and I didn't have the heart to make him. Now we have the sweet sound of radio static permeating the house.

The funny thing is that my Nana called me to wish me a happy birthday the day I got the vacuum. She was one month early but it seemed fitting!

Ezra's 4-month well check-up was today. Here are his stats: 14 lbs. 2 oz. (40th percentile); 24.7" tall (60th percentile); 16.5 cm head circumference (60th percentile). I had an appointment to get Nolan a seasonal flu vaccine and of course they called me this morning to tell me they were out. So an appointment does not reserve your vaccine? Even when you made your appointment two weeks ago and they had plenty? NO! Really annoying if you ask me. So then I had to scramble to find someone to watch Nolan so that I didn't have to take him. Thanks, Lacey!!! The doctor seemed irritated with his staff that it happened and promised they'd call as soon as it gets in.

Lastly, we've been planting trees and putting in our dry creek bed. It's good to see that there's an end to the landscaping in sight - not really soon, but we'll get there. We now have a crabapple, a plum, and a pear tree. Work, work, work!

And here are my boys this week. Ezra is starting to really pay attention to Nolan while he is playing. I'm glad Nolan is a nice brother and brings him toys every now and then.

If anyone lives in St. George and needs an awesome photographer, check out my cousin at http://www.errinandrusphotography.com/. She does such a great job. I just need to find a time to get down there and have pictures done. You can enter a contest to win a free photo session.

Pretty Mommy

Today was a cleaning sort of day... the type of day that I don't do my hair or makeup. I let down my ponytail tonight and "stored" my clips on the side of my head until I went to bed. I was feeling quite homely, but Nolan made me feel all better. As I tucked him in, I was hurrying him along, saying "Come on, get into the covers!" He looked up at me, paused meaningfully, and said, "Oh, pretty mommy." I said, "What did you say?" (I figured I couldn't have possibly heard correctly. He looked up and said, "Mommy so pretty." I told Justin about it and then Justin asked Nolan, "How pretty is mommy?" Nolan said, "Soooo pretty!" Now that's what I call a great mom moment!

What a visit!

I had a great time with the little boys in St. George. Justin had a short business trip in Virginia and loved his time there. He said it was beautiful! He didn't so much like staying home alone the rest of the week, eating an assortment of frozen foods. I can't stay home alone unless I take a good dose of Unisom (which isn't good when baby wakes to nurse) so my parents were kind enough to help us get down there to stay. Thanks for driving with us! Some of the best parts of the trip included:

1.Going to Tuacahn to see Aida, my favorite musical, while my Dad watched Nolan. Ezra was the perfect baby during the entire show.

2.Eating a Feta Bleus Burger at Jazzy Java (where my brother works). Of course, I loved all the other places where we ate as well! Thanks to Kamrie and Ethan for watching Nolan last Saturday.

3.And going shopping by myself for an entire afternoon while my mom babysat.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

When I first told Nolan 3 weeks ago that we'd be going to St. George, he said, "Nolan go on that fire truck." I was amazed that he remembered the above fire trick from 3 months ago, so we had to go see it again.

Nolan had his own baby to take care of while we were there. I would find "her" in the Bumbo seat or the bouncer, and do a double take because I always thought Ezra wasn't where I left him. Wrong baby!

This was the Swiss Days parade in Santa Clara. He was so sweet to leave his hand over his heart for the first 5 minutes of the parade. And there was complete rapture on his face when he saw that army tank. You wouldn't know it though, because he wouldn't take his eyes off of it to look at the camera.

This praying mantis was on his last leg and Nolan found it fascinating. At one point he bent down and gave him an eskimo kiss. How sweet that he is more affectionate with an insect than his mother!

And here's Ezra with his "new" used Bumbo seat, which it turns out he really doesn't like yet. I've also captured Nolan in his new habit: biting toenails and fingernails. Believe me, I've offered to clip them.