Ezra is 3!

Sunday was Ezra's big day! It was fun to celebrate Father's Day on the same day. We had my parents and Rob ann Lacey's family over for dinner and cake. Ezra wasn't himself since he was on Benadryl to keep the swelling down on his bug bite. But by the time we had cake and opened presents he was pretty happy. I asked what kind of birthday cake he wanted and all he ever said was "blue." I was pleased that I wouldn't have to work hard on the cake.

 He loves his presents and especially liked the candy that he received. It doesn't take much to please him... just sugar. It's nice having a few new toys to keep the kids happy. We sure love this Ezra guy! Happy Birthday, little man!
And did I mention that Ezra recently completed his potty-training? We had a smooth start, then a rough week, and then he got the hang of it. He is such a good boy! We still have accidents here and there, but I'm amazed that he did so well! 

Rough Night

After spending the afternoon in Salt Lake City, we returned to find that we no longer had Ezra's blankie. I thought long and hard and realized we left it at Kohl's. I called and they said they'd keep it safe. We never take it into places (just the van) except that Ez had just fallen asleep so I tried to lay him in his stroller with his blanket so that he could rest while I shop for a bit. Well, long story short... the boys were playing in a store wheelchair as I was checking out and I quickly rounded them up and left the store. Without blankie. The single most important thing to Ezra.
Ez was asleep when we arrived home again (after going to Jump Around Utah he was worn out) so I thought that maybe he'd just sleep and not notice it was gone. Nope! After two hours he was awake and asking for blankie. It was so sad to explain to him what happened. He tried to be brave but he just couldn't get to sleep without holding it. He was miserable. Justin said that he'd be his blanket for the night and he was able to relax a bit if he was sleeping on Daddy's chest. But he was restless. Finally he came out to watch TV with me and dozed off on his favorite place on the couch. It was a long night for all of us since he slept in our bed.

Needless to say, the reunion the next day was wonderful. I brought it home and Ezra was happier than on Christmas morning. Note to self: NEVER leave blanket anywhere again!

Summer Stuff

Here's what our Summer has involved so far:

BOWLING! Nolan was disappointed that he never got a strike and Ezra kept wandering off to the arcade and lounging on the ground. Bowling isn't his thing yet. I bowled a 78. I think I have some room for improvement.

WHEELER FARM! It's always fun to head out with friends! Ez was so happy to love on this goat.

BUG BITES! Summer wouldn't be complete without them. Ezra got two on his forehead and they swelled and swelled. Soon his eyelids were swelling and his eyes underneath looked dark. He didn't look like himself anymore. The picture doesn't show it too well, especially because it got worse after I took it. Luckily he's back to normal after 2 days. He can thank his Mama for the mosquito bite allergy.

FATHER'S DAY! It was nice to have my parents visit for the weekend and celebrate with us. We went to City Creek and had a fun time seeing the sidewalk chalk festival at Gateway. Ezra can't get enough of his Grandpa John. Nolan worked hard on a special book for Justin. It was such fun to present it to his Daddy. 

We've done a little hiking here and there. Last week we headed to Park City so that Justin and Nolan could do a little mountain biking. Nolan was so thrilled to be biking on dirt trails! Ez and I took a little nature walk while they rode. We found a stopped ski lift to rest our legs on for a while, but of course we were later asked to stay off. We didn't think we could hurt anything but they thought otherwise! I took the boys to play at the park while Justin biked down into Park City from Stein Erickson using a fun trail. We headed to Kneaders for some treats afterward. It was a lovely day!

The boys took advantage of another Home Depot kids project. This was Ezra's first time... he helped Nolan make an organizer. They have since stuffed it full of fruit snacks. 

 SWIM LESSONS! We don't have pictures yet, but I'm confident we're going to have a good time. Ez didn't want to join his class the first day ("I want to be in Nolan's class in the big pool!") but today was better. This is the first year that I can put my kids in lessons and I can sit and watch. Then they can swim with floaties on afterward, too! I'm not a huge fan of swimming as you can tell. It's nice having one less person to get cleaned up afterward.   

Memorial Weekend

 I'm behind on blogging... as usual. But we had a fun Memorial weekend so I don't want to forget it. We went to our first air show at Hill Air Force Base. We knew it might rain but we thought we'd try our luck and see what we could get in before the storm. The boys' favorite was the army Jeep and a plant that can be a helicopter, too. And it was pretty cool walking right into the belly of those big cargo planes. The air show part was just okay. The most exciting part we saw was when a jet car raced an airplane. They saved the Thunderbirds for the afternoon and unfortunately we got there when it started at 10:30 a.m. and didn't plan to stay long enough. But it turns out that a fierce storm and cold front came through so we had to leave after about two hours. All the people began running for their cars in the freezing rain. Soon we realized that we were lost and didn't know which direction to go for our parking lot. The kids started to cry because they were soaking wet and cold. Luckily we recognized the correct lot and didn't have to search too long. It was so nice to get to the warm van and change into dry clothes. Then the fun really started: we had to find our way out of the base. There must have been thousands of cars trying to get out of one exit. We were in parking lots and stop 'n go traffic for over an hour before we were out! But we were warm so we didn't care too much. 

We decided to get a nice hot lunch at The Cracker Barrel where Dad surprised us by ordering everyone a hot cocoa. Yum! When we got done with lunch the storm had passed and we heard the Thunderbirds overhead. Just our luck. Next time we'll be sure to see them fly.

After that it was on to Logan for the weekend. We visited grandparents and attended the Petersen Reunion in Hyrum. We didn't know very many people but they had a fabulous traditional Danish lunch. After some DNA testing, it turns out that the Petersens might NOT, in fact, be descended from the King of Denmark (gasp!). This is something that some Petersens hold near and dear to their heart. Hopefully the scandal can get sorted out soon. I'd hate to find out that we aren't royalty after all!

While in Logan we enjoyed  playing at Ryan's Place Park (even Uncle Daren came to play) and going on a little hike with Grandma K. up Providence canyon. The boys (including Justin) thought it was fun to see how far they could jump over the river. I thought it was fun photographing them. There is more room at Grandma K.'s house to stay now. Aunt Jodi and the boys had been living there for almost a year but they recently moved to Arizona. We missed playing with David and Jack and seeing baby Ryan. Ezra asked me, "Where'd the boy cousins go?"

And congrats to Grandma K.: she and Jon are engaged! We're excited for their wedding over Labor Day weekend. I'm so happy that Grandma K. will be living in Salt Lake City soon! It's funny that my boys will now have another Grandpa Jon. They already have two Grandma Kathis (one spelled with a "y") and a Grandma Karen and Aunt Karen.

Mom's Tummy

Today I was looking at some pictures with Ezra. We came upon one of Ezra when he was being weighed at the hospital the day he was born. He asked, "Why am I like that?"
I said, "That's you on the day you were born when you came out of Mommy's tummy."
He got a disgusted look on his face and said, "I don't like it in your tummy! It's gross in there. There are burps in your tummy."

Graduates

Nolan graduated from preschool this week. He did a great job singing the songs and saying his part: "We saw five alligators, but they weren't green. They were the brightest PINK we've ever seen!" I think Miss Marissa must have known that his favorite color is pink. Ezra really wanted to stay up on stage with Nolan and was so frustrated when Dad kept plucking him off. Finally at the end, we allowed Ez to stand by Nolan as he received his certificate and award. Nolan was given the "Big Thinker Award." She told about how she'd asked what he wants to be when he grows up and he said he wanted to build a big store. She said, "Oh, like an architect?" And Nolan had said, "Yeah, but my store will be huge and have a train running through it and you stop at different places to get what you need." Justin and I both like the idea. I love shopping and Dad loves riding trains! Sounds like a good combination.
We're proud of you, Nolan. I still can't believe you're done with preschool!

And my nephew, Bryson, graduated from high school that same night. Way to go, Bryson! He's so handsome. Here's the little gift I made for him. I'm posting pictures to help me remember for future graduates that come along.

Outside during May

The weather has been gorgeous so we've enjoyed lots of time outside this month. We've got our garden in and finally filled in the remaining portion of unfinished yard with bark. For Mother's Day, Justin built me this awesome trellis for the tomatoes, melons, and cucumbers to grow on. I'm doing square foot gardening and the author recommends this. Hope it works for me. Nolan even helped out with the load of bark so we couldn't resist this pair of work gloves that fit him so well. Like a glove!

  Occasionally the boys stop bugging each other and actually play nicely. Nolan was good to give Ez a ride. I always breathe a sigh of relief when they are smiling together, rather than arguing or whining about something the other one is doing/not doing. It's a blessing and a curse to have them two years apart. Great friends but they really annoy each other, too. But here's another happy moment: making brownies and licking the bowl clean.

The boys were pretty enthralled with the process of tuning the piano. What a sight for them to see how it works inside! They begged the piano tuner to leave it open when she was done! The piano was severely out of tune but there was one note in particular that buzzed. She found a long strip of paper under the key. We're pretty sure it was Ez who put it there. 

  We also had a water party at a friends' house recently. It was fun to see all these kids having such a great time. It was so hot (around 90 degrees!) that I was longing to get wet, too. I guess I should have! 

Mother's Day Card

Today the boys gave me a sweet Mother's Day card that I want to remember. Justin wrote it out for them, but he transcribed exactly what they said. Here is Ezra's note:
Dear Mommy, I just like to watch a movie. Where is my Mommy? I just love her so much because I just don't know. She is the best Mommy in the whole world. -Ezra
Very poetic and open-ended. I like that. Here is Nolan's note:
Dear Mom, I love you and Dad loves you too. It is going to be very nice on Mother's Day. You're lucky because today is the day that's Mother's Day! You be happy on Mother's Day. (A little bossy, maybe.) I like to play games with you. I just like you. You are pretty. You love us and we love you. The end. -Nolan
I think Nolan is more excited about Mother's Day than I am.
Justin also wrote me a nice note, but I won't go into that. It was mooshy and lovey, you get the idea. The boys bought me a bag of dark chocolate (that's really all I need to be happy) and yesterday Justin built me a awesome garden support for growing tomatoes and other vine plants. We've been really busy in the yard and garden this weekend so it's nice to relax today. I think I'll ask hubby to make dinner tonight. But if he cooks then I'll have to keep the boys happy and out of the kitchen. Not sure which is the better deal? But I know I'm so thankful to be a mom and have Nolan and Ezra in my life!

I hope all of our mothers and grandmothers out there are having a nice day. Love to all of you!