Ezra's Latest Trick

Someway, somehow, Ezra learned how to click his tongue. The sound is loud...and utterly fascinating for an 11 month old. At first, he would look around the room as if someone else made the noise. Then, he realized he was the one capable of making such a sound and was thoroughly pleased with himself. Nathan thought it was cute and immediately reinforced the skill by clicking his own tongue. Now, the two of them have their own little language (or inside joke).

I love this video for two reasons: 1) I love that Ezra so obviously loves Nathan  2) I love how Ezra spreads his arms and triumphantly screams the last 3 seconds.

What I'm Excited About

1) Thanksgiving

2) Black Friday

3) First Birthday Party!

4) Moving to our new home in Utah!

There are so many good things in the horizon for us. November is going to be a fantastic (and crazy) month.

I've already planned our Thanksgiving meal, created a Black Friday list, and started on the packing. The invitations for the boys' birthday party are done, and I think they they are adorable.

(Sorry. You can't have my address and phone number unless I know you :) )

Bring on the rest of the party planning! (Nathan can finish the packing)

Big Sister

Eliza is still getting used to the idea of being a big sister. Sometimes, she is jealous of the babies and all the attention they receive. Other times, she loves playing peek-a-boo and patty cake with her little brothers. Recently, she has requested to hold Ezra and Elliott and to be a little mama. I was a little timid about allowing Eliza to hold one of the boys (even while sitting down), but Nathan convinced me that nothing bad could happen with us sitting right beside them.

Eliza made sure to securely hold Ezra. In fact, she was a little too cautious. She held his head like this the entire time he was in her lap.

 I guess we'll work up to her holding both babies at once.

(And don't you love this vintage double rocker we found at DI? Those colors scream 1975.)

11 Month Boys

Ezra and Elliott are two little characters. They are beginning to display two very different personalities, and I cannot get enough of their precious antics.

I'll start with big brother, Elliott. Elliott is a peacemaker (for the most part). He crawls around the house with a constant smile on his face. 

 He is always smiling, and he seldom cries. He absolutely loves food and will eat anything we put in front of him. His favorite foods are raisins, rice, and graham crackers. We recently discovered that he really loves macaroni and cheese, too.

He has learned how to patty-cake and claps anytime he sees Grandma Cheryl (who first practiced clapping with him). Elliott wakes up ready to take on the day and makes every morning something to look forward to. I know that he'll be ready to meet me with a smile as soon as I walk into the nursery.

Elliott is close to walking. He has been cruising around the house, holding onto any surface/couch/chair he can find. He also is babbling, saying cute things like "da-da" and "pa-pa." I am so lucky to have a sweet boy like Elliott. 

Ezra continues to be our sensitive child. Elliott and Eliza are fairly independent, but Ezra loves to be held and cuddled. If I take Elliott out of the crib first, Ezra absolutely loses it. He cries like he has been totally abandoned and will not calm down until he is safely in one of our arms. He recently started a new habit. As soon as I pick him up, he quickly reaches for one of my fingers so he can "hold" me. He uses his other hand to rub the skin on my arm and will nuzzle into my neck. The minutes he cuddles with me are pure heaven. 

Ezra is a fantastic eater, but doesn't inhale food like Elliott. His favorite things to eat are raisins, rice, and macaroni and cheese (just like brother, of course).

He often prefers milk over food and will cry as soon as he is done eating. Both boys really love their sippy cups.

Ezra is our mover. He is such a fast crawler and doesn't have too much interest in walking. He loves to rock back and forth in his high chair and furiously shakes the rail on the side of his crib. He enjoys playing with anything that makes noises, moves, bounces, or lights up. For these reasons, this little toy car has brought him much happiness.

His favorite activity is playing with Nathan. When his dad throws him up into the air, he lets out the most contagious laughter. I love having a sensitive little guy, and I think it is wonderful that the twins are so different.

Together, the boys are quite a team. They crawl after each other, laughing and giggling most of the time, and babble back and forth in their cribs and in their high chairs. Ezra will even pass Elliott his leftover food when he has had enough. Every day, I find myself thinking: "What would it be like to grow up with someone constantly by your side." I bet it would be pretty awesome. They seem to really enjoy being twins.

As for Nathan and me, life is pretty normal these days. We are no longer sleep deprived (the boys take 2 two hour naps and sleep 12 hours at night....awesome!), we have a great routine, and things flow pretty well. I plan on weaning pretty soon, and I will be ecstatic when I can stop using my breast pump. I have dreams about throwing it off a building or bludgeoning it with a baseball bat. I think that's my cue that the relationship with pumping has become unhealthy :)

It's hard to believe that we will be celebrating their first birthday this month. I can't wait for their party!

Halloween

A couple of days before Halloween, Eliza, Cheryl, and I visited Great-Grandma Robbins at the local nursing home and went reverse trick-or-treating.

We went room to room and handed out little bags of candy to the residents. Eliza would knock on the door and promptly say, "Happy Halloween!" She was so cute, and the people there loved having a visitor--especially a cute little girl.

I've said this before, but I love going to the nursing home. The older men and women light up when they see small children and it makes every trip meaningful. I almost cried when one lady gave Eliza a huge hug and thanked her for being a little princess.

Eliza understood that this night wasn't about her and was fine with not receiving any candy herself. Things were different on Halloween night, though. She was so excited to attend the trunk-or-treat at our church. She, of course, went as Cinderella and the boys went as missionaries!

I was brainstorming ideas of things that are cute in couples and suddenly thought: "They could be missionary companions!" We simply sewed fabric onto onesies for the ties, bought a pair of black pants, and made missionary tags. I printed the tags on name badge labels because they were a lot cheaper than iron on paper. It was an inexpensive costume that they can wear to church again in the future. I thought they were pretty adorable.

Nathan and I didn't dress up. I've been sick for two weeks, so I am using that as an excuse. Trunk-or-treat was a success, and Eliza got a ton of candy.

As we were leaving, Grandma Robbins called and let us know that no one had come to trick-or-treat at the nursing home.  Understandably, the people there were pretty disappointed. I told a few friends about the situation and before we knew it, there were several families and a room full of children running down the halls of the nursing home. Several men and women were waiting by the door with bowls full of candy, hoping to see some children. Eliza was their first trick-or-treater, so they made sure to give her plenty of goodies. It was a great evening and yet another reminder that we will miss Othello and the people here. We are really fortunate to have so many wonderful friends. 

Ahh!

I am excited. So, so excited.

The last two weeks have been crazy. Well actually, the past couple of months have been crazy. A few weeks before we were supposed to move to Portland, Nathan decided that attending University of Western States and earning a chiropractic degree wasn't the right career choice. He had had doubts earlier this summer, but felt better about the decision after talking to several chiropractors. However, after spending some time thinking about the debt, changing healthcare system, and the actual details of the profession, he realized he wants to help people with their relationships--not their bodies. So, he is going back to BYU and plans on starting his Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy in the fall. 

He still needs a few prerequisite courses before we move, so we were hoping he could begin school in January. Nathan finished his application and interviews in just a couple of days and soon found out he had been accepted for winter semester. We began looking for places to live, but there was always a reason why it didn't work out. After searching for houses/apartments for two months, we began to think about buying again. We are currently renting out our home in Provo, so we didn't really consider purchasing a second property until it seemed impossible to find a decent apartment.

As soon as we entertained this thought, the stars aligned, and we were blessed to find a beautiful condo in Springville. My friend, Becca, lives in a great complex and texted me one morning that a unit in her building was foreclosed and selling for a ridiculously low price. I have always loved Becca's condo, and we even tried to rent there, but it ended up being a Craigslist scam. Anyway, long story short: the condo was a HUD home, which means that the government owns it and bids were accepted up until a certain date. The day before the bidding closed, we placed an offer. Nathan and I both felt inspired to offer a certain amount (it was amazing how the same exact number popped into both of our minds), and I felt confident the condo would be ours.

A few days later, we found out we had lost the bid. I was pretty upset. I kept thinking, "Why would we find the perfect place for the perfect price and then have things ultimately fall through?" It took me a day to get over the frustration, and I finally felt peace that God would work things out.  Three days later, our realtor called and told me the other bid had fallen through. The contract was in our court. After a few stressful days of signing and overnighting documents, we finally received official word this morning that we are "under contract" for the unit! I couldn't be happier. We are in a perfect neighborhood, and you can see Eliza's future school from our window. We should close by the end of the month and move sometime before Christmas.

From this entire experience, I have learned that God can work things out better than we can imagine. Nathan and I feel incredibly blessed that everything fell into place perfectly. We can't wait to move into our new home!

(I just have to post a few pictures because I LOVE this kitchen.)

I May Be Crazy

This is simple, yet effective.

Since we put this on our stroller a couple of weeks ago, no random stranger has approached us and touched our children (and their faces). I may seem like a control freak or germaphobe, but things had gotten out of control. When the boys went in for a check up at the doctor's office last month, six or seven different people touched their faces and hands. All of these people were sick or waiting with a sick child, and I couldn't find a polite way to ask them to keep their hands to themselves.

I hope I don't seem like a rude person. If I know you and you are healthy, you are always welcome to love on my little boys. I just don't want them to have RSV again, so I am doing my best to prevent any sickness! Thank goodness for this sign (even if it is a little passive aggressive and weird).

**I was reading the title of this post and this suddenly come to mind: 

"Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my stop sign, don't touch my baby."

I can't decide if I am extremely lame or incredibly funny. I'm glad I can amuse myself on days when I don't feel well.