Coffee Date Friday: We've Got a Crawler on Our Hands!

Today I'm linking up with Rags to Stitches for another coffee date. I'm drinking Pumpkin Spice coffee from Target, which was on clearance and it is so yummy! 

A few exciting things have been happening over here this week. To start with, Ezzy is crawling now! As in, crawling forward, as opposed to just pushing himself backward. A few days ago I noticed that when I set him on the floor and turned away for a few moments, then looked back at him, he was a few inches in front of where I'd set him, but I didn't actually see him in action. Yesterday, when he was exactly 10 months + 1 week old, I saw him crawl the entire length of the living room toward me. He does a kind of army crawl thing, where he pulls himself forward with his arms, with his belly on the floor. Honestly, I had given up on him crawling. I thought he would go straight to walking, because it seems like that's right around the corner. So I was pretty surprised when he just suddenly figured the whole crawling thing out.

Now that St. Patty's Day is over, that only leaves one more big holiday before Ezzy turns one. That means we're almost done with all of Ezzy's first holidays, which makes me a little sad and nostalgic. They weren't kidding when they said the first year flies by. (And by "they" I mean everyone I've encountered in the past year, from friends and relatives to random people in grocery stores.) Thanks to Gangy and Grampa Ezzy had three different St. Patrick's Day outfits to choose from. We started with the Notre Dame onesie, and after he covered that in watermelon juice (his new favorite food), we moved on to a Target onesie and bib. To celebrate, we went to Whole Foods for the salad bar and some fresh juice. I got the Green Oz, and I will never drink that again. The ginger was pretty overpowering. We did discover some yummy barbecue tempeh which made the whole trip worth it though (pictured on the salad below - the thing in the middle that looks like "human brain," as somebody called it.) Joe and I loved it so much that we ate it for three days in a row, and were sad when we ran out. 

Speaking of salads, I'm officially in wedding shape-up mode! I've been doing lots of jogs on the treadmill during Ezzy's naps, as well as ballet workouts that I find on youtube. We don't have a date (or venue) picked out yet, but I don't want to try on dresses till I'm back at pre-preggo weight. 

The other thing that I'm excited about this week is a weekend trip to San Diego. We're planning on taking Ez to the beach again, as well as the zoo, and swimming in the hotel pool. We got him new swim trunks, a pool floatie, and a little shovel and pail for the trip. The last time we went to the SD zoo, I had just found out I was pregnant. It was so early that we hadn't even told anyone yet! So this will technically be Ezzy's second trip there. 

Whenever I post pictures of Ezzy, everyone comments on how he's always happy and smiling. And in his 10 month update, I mentioned how he pretty much is a happy baby nearly all of the time. Well, he must have heard me, because now I'm eating my words. For the past week, he's discovered a new cry that he uses all. the. time. It's a "my-world-is-crashing-down-around-me" cry, and it can be used for everything from not being fed fast enough (even if he's still chewing his previous bite) to "I don't like this toy anymore" to "I want to be held" to "I don't want to be held anymore"... basically he just gets in moods where nothing's gonna make him happy. So even though I don't have much photographic evidence, trust me, this kid cries. I'm hoping it's a short phase or teething, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

So that's what's been going on over here this week. What's going on in your life?

Barbecue Tempeh Salad

Proud of himself for crawling all the way across the living room!

Look at him go!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Notre Dame's youngest fan.

A few morning smiles always brighten my day.

It's the Little Things: Extra Sunshine

I'm a day late on this Little Things post because the internet wasn't working yesterday. As a result I got more cleaning and working out done than usual, but I'm so glad to have internet back today!!

I know we lost an hour during the time change, and that seemed to throw everyone (including Ezzy) off for about a week, but now that we're all settled back into a normal-ish sleep routine, I'm loving this extra sunshine we get in the evening. We've been doing after-work walks, trips to the park, and Ezzy's most favorite thing: watching cars drive by. 

At the park, Ezzy was a little uncertain about standing in his bare feet on the grass. He was doing the one-legged flamingo pose at first (much like when we went to the beach over the weekend.) But then he got used to it and he was all about walking on the grass (holding Daddy's hands, of course). And he is getting so fast at walking. By the time he really gets the hang of doing it on his own, he's going to be sprinting!

Happy first day of Spring! And great big Birthday wishes and lots of love to Auntie Daniela! 

One more favorite little moment from this week was playing "catch" with Ezzy. Since Ezzy loves throwing anything and everything he gets his hands on, it only makes sense that his favorite toy would be a ball. 

Linking up with Words About Waverly and Sadie Sky Boutique!

Beach Bums Part 2: Ezzy's Likes and Dislikes

The last time we went to the beach with Ezzy was last Labor Day, when my sister was in town. Ezzy was only a little more than three months old at the time, so he pretty much just laid on the towels with us, nursed a ton, and enjoyed being carried around, taking in the sights. This time he was much more active. We tried standing him up with his feet in the water, but he hated that. As soon as the water crashed around his feet he was wailing. After that he didn't even like being held near the water for the most part. (Unless there were cute girls nearby, and then he was completely content to stand there watching them. Little playa.) Aside from that pesky ocean, there were several things Ezzy LOVED this time at the beach:

• Seashells. Huntington Beach has tons of shells buried in the sand, and he loved trying to lick them, and then making a disgusting face. Or, if we were able to get to him before he got the shells to his mouth, we'd say "Ick! Yucky! Don't eat that!" and then he would throw the shell as far as he could. 
• The sand. At first he actually seemed scared to stand on the sand. He would perch on one leg, with the other one in the air like he was a flamingo. But once he got used to it he wasted no time getting sand everywhere. He loved throwing the sand. Digging in the sand. Burying us in the sand. Rubbing the sand against our skin. Being buried in the sand. At one point, Joe buried his legs in the sand, and then Ezzy spotted his toe peeking through the sand and tried to reach down and grab it, not realizing it was attached to him. It was the cutest thing. 
• People watching. There's no place like the beach for people watching, and Ezzy loved taking it all in. He especially loved when we were on the pier watching all the surfers and the lifeguard on his jet ski. (And of course, the girls!)

One more thing Ezzy disliked was showering all the sand off when we got home. It wasn't the first time he's ever had a shower, but for some reason this time he wailed like a drowning cat. Silly boy.

Oh, and one thing Joe disliked about the beach was the fact that everyone with a jogging stroller was able to push their stroller right through the sand, while we (aka - Joe) had to carry our stroller over the sand. So we may be doing some stroller shopping in the near future.

Beach Bums: Part 1

The weather over the weekend was gorgeous. Apparently we had record highs for this time of year. So of course, we (and everyone else within a fifty mile radius) went to the beach! I went on Saturday with some friends, and again on Sunday with my boys. By Sunday night we were all covered in sand, a little bit sunburnt, and exhausted. It was the perfect weekend.

We got so many great photos that I'll be back with the rest of them tomorrow, as well as a recap of Ezzy's like and dislikes at the beach.

Happy St. Patrick's Day and hope you all had a great weekend!

Impromptu Photo Shoot

On Gangy and Grampa's last day in town, we decided to wander around the mall so Ezzy could people-watch and we could stay cool in an air conditioned area. While we were killing time, a photographer approached us and asked if we would let her take some pics of Ezzy as training for working with a baby. We would get one free photo out of the deal. Of course, I can't resist photos of Ez, so I said yes. Even though she basically used the same set up as our Paddington Pictures, the assistant to the photographer was soooo good at getting Ezzy to smile. Especially when you consider it was naptime and he was tired and hungry. Ezzy was absolutely infatuated with her. If she walked out of the room for a second, he was swiveling his head around trying to find her. And when she walked back in he would coo and giggle at her. So we wound up with more than a dozen adorable shots of him smiling right at the camera. As my mom later pointed out; Grandparents + mom + baby = perfect targets. Of course she knew we would buy more than the one free picture. And, as you can see above, she was right! Call me a sucker, but I can't resist a cute shot of that kid. 

10 Month Update - Our Not-So-Lil Boy

Ezzy at: 1 week, 2 months, 5 months, 7 months, 10 months

Ezzy - this past month you seemed to have made the transition from baby to little boy right before our eyes. Your daddy and I can't help but look back at your newborn pictures nostalgically and remember how tiny you used to be. Now you're so full of excitement and boundless energy and infectious laughter. It's amazing to us how communicative you are, even though you don't say actual words yet. You raise your eyebrows at us, pound your chest, bounce up and down, shout your baby-talk, scream, smile sweetly, scowl - you are just sooo expressive. Your dad and I never tire of watching you. We remember ten months ago when we were so excited to meet you but had no idea what to expect. We couldn't wait to find out what you looked like and what your personality would be like, what kinds of things would make you smile or cry. As soon as we met you, you exceeded our wildest imaginations of how wonderful it would be to be your parents. And in the past ten months we feel more lucky each day that we get to explore this world with you. We love you more than you will ever know.

Some 10 month stats: As of last week, Ezzy weighs almost 19 lbs, up 4 pounds from his last doctor's appointment, 3 months ago. He's 27 inches long, up from 24.5 inches three months ago. His head circumference is 18 1/4 inches. That puts him in the 20th percentile for weight, 10th percentile for height, and 50th percentile for head circumference. Last time he was in the 0-5th percentile for height and weight, and 75th percentile for head circumference, so that's good news! He's wearing size 3 diapers and 9 or 12 month clothing. 

Our 10 month daily routine: I can't say we really have a routine anymore. In the past month, Ezzy has gone from taking two naps, down to one nap, down to zero naps, back up to one nap. I think I speak for everyone when I say we're all happy with a baby who naps at least once a day. I was a fan of two naps, but I'll take what I can get. Despite skipping his afternoon naps lately, he's decided his bedtime isn't until 10 - 11 pm. Not sure if the time change has something to do with this? Thankfully, he's also getting up later than last month, when he was up for good around 5 or 6 am (and sometimes even 4 am!) Now he'll sleep till 7 or 8:00. He's also gone from waking up 4 times a night to waking up once or twice, and a few nights ago he slept eight hours straight! That pretty much makes the later bedtime worth it to me. His eating routine is pretty similar to his 9 month meal plan.

Some notable changes from last month:

• Ezzy has gotten really good at pulling himself up to a standing position. He thinks Joe and I are his personal jungle gyms. He's even managed to stand on his own for a few seconds at a time.  
• He loves to practice walking. And he's a confident little boy, so he often tries to push our hands away, thinking he can walk to wherever he wants all on his own. (He can't.)  
• His new favorite sound is snorting. Not sure where he picked that up from, but he snorts while he's laughing all the time now. It's the silliest thing. 
• Now, instead of his normal smile, he makes his "monster face" which is somewhere between a smile and a snarl (see below). 

Ezzy likes (in addition to his 9 month favorites):

• A moon wall decoration we have hanging in our bedroom, next to the door. Whenever he's in our room, he'll find that moon and just stare at it and smile or giggle.
• He's still loving this sit to stand learning walker. I sit him in front of it and he's amused for 20 - 30 minutes, but lately he's only content if he's using it to stand up.
• Clocks and watches are still pretty fascinating to him. No matter where we are, he'll manage to find the clock in the room and laugh and stare at it.
• He loves playing catch. We bought him a little ball and he gets a huge kick out of throwing it for us and watching us roll it or bounce it back to him.
• Bouncing. He can seriously bounce for a good five minutes at a time. That may not sound like very long, but you try it. It's definitely a workout. He's got some STRONG legs.
• Grocery stores, where's he's sure to be fawned over by throngs of adoring women.
• Moving cars - a long-standing favorite with him. And he seems to especially like motorcycles (unfortunately for me!)
• Ripping paper. A napkin can keep him entertained for awhile. Sorry to all the restaurants left picking up tiny bits of napkin confetti after we left...
• Screaming at and pounding on things (aka - tables, his chest, my chest...)

Ezzy dislikes:

• Being ignored. He expects anyone who walks by him to stop and admire his cuteness. When they don't he stares them down with a disappointed expression.
• Napping. Sleeping in general. Sadly we've had quite a few days where he successfully fights sleep, but then he goes into extreme fussy mode and nobody's happy. 
• Thankfully, Ezzy has many more likes than dislikes. We got really lucky with such a good-natured baby. 

His monster face while he's staring at the moon on our wall.

I'm pretty sure he's snorting in this picture too.