18 months

Our little man is 18 months! I was remembering my 18 month blog post for Aubri- which was also Ezra's pregnancy announcement- and felt bad for Ezra that I never make time for blogging his milestones.  Life sure is a bit crazier with two kids! Aubri had her first overnight trip with daddy to San Francisco. It  felt so weird and easy to just have Ezra with me.

After a day apart they wouldn't let go of each other! 

Ezra makes us laugh every day. He loves to make funny faces, do silly things, be mischievous.  If he does something disobedient he will often put himself on time out and fake cry with a smile, pretending to be remorseful.

His vocabulary is increasing daily, and he is at the point where he will repeat anything if he really wants something. His favorite words are still "that" "snack" and "no". We taught him a few signs (something we didn't do with Aubri), and his please and more are used a lot. He knows lots of animal names and all the animal sounds. I contemplated making a list of his words, but I think they've exceeded the amount I can remember!

Ezra finally has the attention span to read books! We don't always make it through an entire book, but he has a few he will sit and read with us over and over again. I catch Aubri reading to him often and it is the cutest thing.

At 18 months, Ezra is crazy about Mickey, or "Ha-Ha" as he calls him. Aubri always says, "Don't even say the word Mickey or he will go crazy!" By crazy she means he will start singing and marching around, while drumming on anything (or anyone). He will not sit to watch more than a minute of any TV show, but will watch all 16 minutes of the Disneyland Soundsational parade on YouTube. When I sing him to sleep, he stops my from singing any song, and says "Ha-ha la la la la!" meaning I have to sing the Mickey parade song.  We bought Disney annual passes and have  made two trips already. He is so brave meeting the characters, and will go on any ride.

licking his plate clean!

He still has the biggest appetite. This kid can eat! He would literally snack all day if food is out. Luckily he has no problem eating his fruit and veggies, and there is very little he won't eat. His biggest aversion is milk! I weaned him last week, and we had a couple of sad days. It was much easier with Aubri because she already loved regular milk. The first day Ezra actually found a bottle in the cupboard (he never ever used a bottle) and insisted on me pouring milk from the fridge. He didn't take more than a sip, but he carried the bottle for an hour. It was so sweet and smart of him to realize he missed mom's milk, and thought he could figure out a way to like milk! Since last week he has been so funny at bedtime. One night he found a pair of baby socks balled up and wanted to cuddle the socks while he fell asleep. Another night he insisted on falling asleep with his hat on. It blows my mind how he is figuring out to find something to comfort him aside from nursing to sleep. He has slept better too! Very few night wakings- whew!

Falling asleep with his hat on!

He fell asleep with it on!

He loves cars, and crashing, and sound effects. He loves music and dancing and instruments. He doesn't walk when he can run, and he doesn't sit when he can stand. He is all about wearing hats and likes to dress up. He gets so excited to go to his grandparents house and play, but doesn't want to be left in Tiny Tots at church.  He is a momma's boy, but loves when Daddy gets home from work. He is always ready to leave the house, and loves being out and about.

Ezra, you are a special boy! We love your cheesy, silly grin and you light up a room. Your enthusiasm for everything is contagious.

 We love you with all our hearts. We pray for you daily, and know that you are capable of doing huge things for God's kingdom. I can't wait to see how God is going to use you!

Hay Day VBS

This year, Five Cities Vineyard Church had our first ever Vacation Bible School! It was a daunting undertaking, but went so well! I had a lot of volunteers who lent a hand, and everything came together.

 I could share so many awesome stories of kids having fun and learning about growing in friendship with Christ. I have hundreds of pictures of the children having a blast, worshipping, and getting to know each other. But, this post is simply about the "details" and the Pinterest inspired projects. It was so fun to follow and be followed by Children's pastors across the country who had their own Hay Day Pinterest boards. I'm pinning these to help those who still need ideas!

Stage for Moosic and More and Friendship Finale.

We were able to borrow most of the props! The back drop is a painted drop cloth, and the silo is 2 trash cans stacked and wrapped with red paper!.

 Entrance to church.

 Zacchaeus stage made with PVC pipe and a sheet.

Stained pallet wood signs for stations.

Picture backdrop station for crews and families to pose.

 Snack. Night one: hay bales (rice krispy treats), Night two: Fresh eggs and straw. (eggs were filled with chickadee crackers).

 Night 3: dessert following  a BBQ dinner.

One wall in Bible Adventures.

Fire pit for Night 1 Bible Adventures. We actually added more flames, and wrapped them around flicker battery operated "candles". It looked really great lit up at night!

 Super dark picture of our trees in Bible Adventures. The middle is made out of real oak branches and a carpet roll tube.

Little Peeps Preschool wall. The chicken crafts were made by the preschoolers a few weeks prior. 

Hay Rides on Night 3

Comparisons

You're probably not supposed to compare your kids to each other, but we can't help it. I look at them all the time and just laugh at their completely different, unique personalities. I LOVE their differences. And I love noticing how they are each their own person in the special way God created them. I am grateful that they have different strengths, attitudes, likes, and dislikes. It gives our family variety, and to be honest too much of anything would be overwhelming. In the same way I feel Jose and I complement  each other in our marriage, our kids complement each other and round out our family.

 Aside from the obvious "girls talk more" ,  here are other things different in our kids:

Aubri loves milk, Ezra spits it out.
Ezra eats anything and everything, Aubri has a more selective palate (aka picky)
Aubri has always loved Sunday School/ childcare, Ezra is just warming up
Ezra is our goofball and clown, Aubri is our actress and make believer
Ezra is rough and tumble all the time, Aubri is slightly more delicate
Aubri has always wanted to read book after book, Ezra enjoys the first page
Ezra loves any animal, Aubri is scared of most
Ezra will communicate when he is tired and want to go to bed, Aubri would never admit she is sleepy
Aubri would sit in a high chair for 5 minutes, Ezra could be in there forever if you keep food coming
Aubri always wants to be barefoot, Ezra always wants his shoes on
Ezra takes a few minutes to wake up, Aubri is ready and alert instantly

One year photoshoot

Ezra's 1 year pictures wrap up our professional photo shoots (until we have another kid!). For Aubri and Ezra we had  pictures taken every 3 months of their first year. They change so fast! Even though the "baby" is the focus of the shoot, we all get to get in the action! It has been fun to get to know Christina from Moments Captured Photography. After this many sessions (not to mention she was a witness to Ezra's birth!) she has become a friend. Her pictures are everywhere in our house -and all over Jose's desk- that so many friends and family have decided to go to her as well.

I never got around to printing a family photo on canvas with Aubri before we found out I was pregnant with Ezra. It seemed silly to pay for something that would be outdated so soon! But since we don't plan on adding to our family anytime soon, it is time to order. Here is the winner....

Ezra got his own fun a few days later. He eats sooo well for us! He will try anything. I am amazed at his favorites- zucchini and asparagus get cleaned off his plate before anything else! I've really be trying to hold of on sugar and dessert for him. I want to take advantage of introducing healthy food while I can. So this cake smash was a real treat for him.

I love this progression of smiles after his first bite!

 Of course we had to get some more use out of his personalized official jersey!

Aubri was itching for her turn in front of the lens! Poor girl was having a hard time being patient watching Ezra take pictures. Finally she got to pose!

BEAUTIFUL!!!

What is a birthday shoot without balloons?!

 So this is pretty typical for us. She is smiley and poses perfect when SHE wants to.

In all our shoots with Christina, Jose and I have never thought to get a few of just us. I'm glad we remembered this time!

This family photo just made it on to Moments Captured new business card!

I LOVE this picture! I wish you could see Ezra a little more, but this is so them! They are constantly climbing all over each other, tackling each other and cracking up!

Oh man, I love this boy!

This was a great surprise gift from Christina. She made this collage of pictures from the last year of shoots! Once I saw it, it took me less than an hour to have it ordered on 14x14 canvas! Can't wait to hang it in Ezra's room!

Thank you Christina for all our great pictures! www.momentsoflifecaptured.com