Mountains green, sparkling streams

We've been home for a few weeks now and this is the first time I've been able to sit down and post some pictures from another wonderful summer in the mountains. The cool air and beautiful scenery are great, but there is so much more to being at Blue Haven. The people there are our second family, and knowing that our kids get to grow up around them is such a blessing.  

Sweet Ivy accomplished a few milestones while there--one of them being trying solid food for the first time. Sweet potatoes--I think she liked it!

Sweet expression on a sweet boy--I think this is chocolate all over his face from one of Jennifer's creations.

One of the highlights of our summer is when grandparents come to visit. Gramme came for a whole week! All the kids love her--they fight for her attention.

This picture made me laugh because Ezra is too busy telling Ivy to look at the camera (which she is already doing) to look at the camera himself. I can see from this picture how much Ivy grew and changed during the summer; this is from when we first got there.

Ezra and his buddy Sandy (Michael and Jan's dog)

What little boy doesn't love to catch lizards?

We took Ezra fishing for the first time, and sadly did not catch anything. Mom, you are going to need to start stocking your tank so we can fish at your house!

One big happy family--All the Montandon siblings, their spouses, and some of the kids (missing Ezra and Lucy) at the 4th session "Redneck Reunion." What a fun theme!

Typical outfit Ezra would pick out for himself on any given day

And another typical outfit

Ezra LOVED Matt. Ezra was a tough nut to crack this summer. He was shy and at times not so friendly to the large numbers of people in his face all the time. Matt made it his goal that he was going to win Ezra over, and he did pretty early on. I think with a cookie or some candy or something like that. They were fast friends. Thank you Matt and all the other staff for loving my children and taking the time to win their affection. (I am tearing up as I wrote that!)

This is not such a flattering picture of me, but I love it of Ezra. This was a typical morning in our cabin. Ivy would wake up in the middle of the night to eat, and so I was trying to get some extra sleep when Ezra would wake up bright eyed and bushy-tailed. This particular morning he climbed into bed and was laying next to me so sweetly. I cherish moments like this with my usually rambunctious boy. (I really was asleep in this picture--Chad captured the moment)

Mom, don't look at this one. This was the first of many accidents that happened over the summer. Some of our awesome first session teachers bought a couple of really nice playscapes to put around camp. Well, the first one was up less than a couple hours before Ezra walked right in front of another kid swinging and got kicked in the face. Poor baby. In all, he had this accident, fell numerous times, a bee sting on his ear, pink eye, a virus with fever that lasted a week, fell off his bike and hit his head, fell off a folding chair which clocked him in the face and gave him a couple black eyes, and got bit on the finger by a squirrel. Yes, a squirrel. It had been caught in a live trap and Ezra stuck his finger in and he had to be on antibiotics for a week. No wonder he was glad to be home!

This is Ezra's room. This year they built a little room for him with a door. What a nice addition to our cabin this was! I didn't have to worry about keeping his toys all picked up, and he stayed asleep when Ivy cried. They also gave us a bathtub this year. Soooo much better than the single stall shower that leaked every time we showered! And we could bathe the kids in our own cabin!

Another one of Ezra and Ivy's special friends, Dayton. She was dishroom manager and helped us out with the kids a lot. We miss you, Dayton!

This picture makes me laugh. I can still remember Ezra saying "No more pictures" as he held up his hand.

I was trying to get a picture of his pinkeye--the first time in three years that he's had it. It eventually cleared up then went to the other eye. You can also see the remnants of the bruise on his nose from the folding chair hitting it.

Playing with gramme and some cousins

Crazy haired baby in her bumbo.

Family pic

Silly songs--Ezra loved silly songs! Every first night of a session we have silly songs and staff introductions. Some of Ezra's favorite songs were "Way up in the sky," "Little cabin in the woods" and the Zulu Warrior song. He will still sing these or request them at bedtime every once in a while.

So cool in his shades and rainboots

Hanging out on the nurse's porch. I think we might have a picture very similar to this of Chad and Elle when we were nurse for a session about 6 years ago. That would have made Elle a little over 2 years old.

Ezra and another one of his buddies, Jenny. Jenny was a cook and Ezra would often want to go over to the "cooking store" to play with their toys. Jenny, we miss you too!

Aunt Erin & Uncle Josh came to visit. These are my sister's and my kids. Ezra and Ivy had fun playing with all their cousins this summer.

Dad came to visit for two weeks and brought his dog, Augie. Augie enjoyed being in the great outdoors.

Mackenzie, Kellen, Josh, Bonnie, Dad, Ezra, me, Chad, Ivy, Erin and Noelle

Kellen and Ivy (trying to get Kellen's sucker). All the older cousins loved holding Ivy

Erin & me with dad

At a campfire together...we love wearing jackets and having fires in the middle of summer!

People asked me if it was hard having two little ones up there. Yes, it was hard, but because of the ages of the two kids this year I think it was easier than it has been with just Ezra in years past (10 months and 22 months). I think next year keeping up with Ivy will be a challenge--she'll be about 16 months old and Ezra will be wanting to run all over the place. But we are so thankful for the opportunity to minister at Blue Haven and our prayer is that we will be able to be there for as long as we are effective. 

May his love from above bless Blue Haven forever!

Ivy is 7 months

Sweet little Ivy is 7 months old! I totally missed the 6 month update because we were at camp. She is starting to get really fun...I love this baby stage. 

 Ivy sits in her high chair like a big girl and has started to eat solids--she likes all the fruits and yellow/orange vegetables, and does not enjoy green bean/pea purees although she will eat a regular green bean. She LOVES puffs and mum mums. When we first got home from camp, she threw a fit any time I put her down to get anything else done, and especially if she couldn't see me. But then I learned I could put her in her high chair and put some puffs on her tray and she will stay occupied for a while trying to pick them up and put them in her mouth. Every once in a while she's actually successful.

I love this picture of Ivy and Chad. She still loves to be held and will go to anyone, but she definitely has her preferences. If someone else is holding her and she hears my voice or sees me, she wants her momma. 

In her 7th month, Ivy finally started sleeping through the night on a regular basis. I was up pretty much every night, at least once a night all summer, and by the time we got home I was beyond tired. So our first night home I told her goodnight, closed her door, closed my door, and wouldn't you know it, she woke up at 8:30 the next morning. Probably was awake some other time during the night too, but the point is that now she sleeps through the night. :) 

Ivy also got her first two teeth at around 6 months. She is also rolling over both ways and can sit up by herself for short amounts of time. 

Now that I'm back on schedule, I'll try to post her 8 month update in a couple weeks.

Ezra at three

Our "baby" turned three while we were at camp this summer. Oh boy, is he a fun, funny, challenging kid. After a few conversations with friends I am convinced that every three-year-old is challenging, to say the least. Ezra is physically growing like a weed, and his little mind is so sharp. He is testing his boundaries like never before--when he gets in trouble and has room time, I'll go in and ask him if he's ready to obey (he can come out when he's ready to obey), and he would rather say "I'm ready to come out" or "no" than concede to me. He is a great big brother--so sweet to Ivy, but also pesters her quite a bit. I have to make sure he doesn't sit on her when she is playing on the floor. But it's just a matter of time before she starts crawling around and playing with his toys before he sees her as the pest. 

 One major milestone that Ezra has hit is that he has finally gotten the potty training thing down. It took over 4 months, but he seems to have decided that he doesn't care to go to the bathroom in his underwear on a regular basis anymore. Thank goodness! We were growing weary of the clean-up.

 I can't believe that Ezra is three. It's so fun to watch him grow and learn.

(Ezra on the new tricycle he got for his b-day)

Three years old

Ezra and his friends Trevyn and Aiden all have birthdays within a month of each other, so we had a joint party for all three of them this year. They all love dinosaurs so that was the theme of their party. We had it at the church gym and the kids had a great time running around, riding their tricycles and scooters, and playing with balloons. Happy birthday T, E, & A!

Our summer so far

What a great summer it has been. We are so thankful for getting to be in the mountains during the hottest part of the year, with so many people that we love, and getting to be a part of this ministry. I will try to condense the last 7 weeks into one blog post, so get ready for a lot of pictures.  

This sweet little girl is just shy of 6 months old. She is getting her first tooth on the bottom...I can feel it just about to break through. She is sleeping better at night and takes 2-3 naps a day depending on how early she wakes up in the morning.

She constantly has a scratch on her face by her nose. Yes, I clip her fingernails.

We have traded out the baby swing for her jumper. She loves to reach for things. She has also started watching what we eat and wanting to eat it too. Last night she was screaming at me because she wanted some of the cake I was eating, so like any good mom, I gave her some. Just a little bit. :)

She has rolled over about 4 times. This is what happens when we put her on her tummy. She is an extremely laid-back baby. "You want me to lay on my tummy? Okay."

We started food about 2 weeks ago because she was looking so longingly at us while we were eating in the dining hall. So far sweet potatoes, apples, pears, bananas, and prunes have been a success. Green beans...not so much. We mix everything with oatmeal and she likes that.

Cutie pie on the fourth of July

Gramme is here visiting but has to leave today. :( We have all enjoyed being here...but I bet she is tired of being on kid duty.

Ezra is a boy, for sure. He loves lizards, and there are plenty of them around here. This summer we have seen quite a few horny toads too. And they are slow enough for me to catch.

Overexposed but sweet picture of my baby boy

Wishful thinking...Ezra enjoys wearing his rain boots, rain or shine.

My favorite guys

We have started taking Ezra fishing. Haven't caught anything but I wish we would soon...Ezra would be so excited. But the rule at CBH is if you catch it, you have to keep it...which means cleaning it. I am not sure I'm ready for that so I won't take him fishing by myself. Fish guts don't appeal to me.

This picture cracks me up. The theme for the banquet this year is "Join us on the Blue Haven Bayou for a Redneck Reunion." I think Shawn and Chad have matching wigs. All of our babies showed up in just a diaper, and as you can see below, we have another bun in the oven! What a surprise!

The whole family

And a normal family picture

 So that has been pretty much our summer in pictures. What these pictures don't show, for the sake of my mom, is all of Ezra's sicknesses/injuries. I have been making a mental list:

2 bloody noses (one of those he walked in front of a kid swinging and got kicked)
1 busted nose complete with 2 black eyes
Numerous bloody knees from falling on the rocks
Bee sting on the ear lobe
Pink eye
Fever
Diarrhea
Just this morning he dropped a rather large rock on his toes, and now he has a couple of purple toenails

I think that's about it. But this summer won't be remembered by all of Ezra's injuries...we will remember the wonderful friendships we have made and strengthened, the great staff this summer, the fun time with family, and the blessings that God rained down on Camp Blue Haven. I will probably update again once we get home.