Surprise! It's a post that's not about my kid.
For the past couple weeks, since our life has gotten somewhat back to normal, I have started my "weekly schedule." Basically it's a way for me to keep the house clean by only having to do one thing a day, remind me to study my Bible and exercise, etc. so I don't feel overwhelmed with my new housewife tasks (I know that sounds dumb, but with me, getting overwhelmed happens pretty easily especially in the midst of taking care of a newborn). So part of this weekly schedule is planning a menu and grocery shopping. I know many of you are friends with me on Facebook and might remember my status after I made my very first meal after having Ezra (the first day our friends stopped bringing us food and I realized that I was once again responsible for what we were going to eat). Basically it said something like the meal was nasty and Chad went out for ice cream and we had that for dinner instead. I had thought I was being all smart before the birth, so I had frozen some meals, and this one in particular was sloppy joes. Well, it was nasty. I took one bite and threw the rest away, which gave Chad permission to do the same thing (he is usually very polite when it comes to my meal blunders and at least eats firsts, even if he doesn't lick the leftover bowl clean). Anyway, I decided at that point that this was my job now. I HAD to start making better meals, because I just couldn't stand to eat meal after meal of my own bad cooking. And eating out for each meal for us is not an option, both for financial and health reasons.
So to go along with this, if you know me well or at all (and if you don't, why are you stalking my blog? Oh wait I do that too), you know that I love the Food Network. I have it on in my house pretty much all the time unless Top Chef is on, which incidentally is another food show in case you didn't get that from context clues. Problem is, none of that knowledge was really rubbing off, or I would see a recipe that looked good but never would try it. So now that I have more time to plan our menu and cook on a daily basis, I've been trying out a lot of recipes and they have all been good so I wanted to share. There's this new show on called Ten Dollar Dinners which is hosted by the lady who just won the Next Food Network Star, and I have tried a bunch of her recipes and they are all good. I am putting the links to all these recipes because I recommend all of them. The only issue I have with the "Ten Dollar Dinner" thing is that I don't think they always cost only $10. She calls for a lot of fresh herbs, thyme for example. That's fine with me because I have thyme growing in my backyard, as well as a lot of other herbs, but to buy herbs like thyme and basil in the store costs a good $3-4. Also, for the recipe I'm making today, it calls for white wine. Well, we don't have wine at our house, so I had to buy a bottle and even the cheapest wine is $5 or $6 a bottle. They always say on these shows "Cook with a wine you would drink," which to me means don't cook with wine, because I wouldn't drink wine. So I really don't know what that means, except I do know not to buy that "cooking wine" they sell next to the vinegar. I think it has salt in it or something. On the other hand, she will plan a menu that uses all of one thing (like a lemon in the salmon cakes/asparagus/orzo meal) so nothing goes to waste. I like that because I hate having a part of something left over and then feeling like I need to use it for something, but really having to throw it away most of the time. So here is what we've been eating the past couple weeks:
Potato Bacon Torte (used refrigerated pie crusts instead of making my own)
Roasted carrots
Salmon cakes (sidenote: when I told Chad, who's not a huge fan of fish, that we were having salmon cakes, he said, "I'm scared." I was too. Anyway, they were really good and Chad even had seconds and then ate the leftovers, so there you go.)
Orzo with thyme and lemon zest
Roasted asparagus with Lemon vinaigrette
Crispy-skinned chicken a l'orange (I made the leftovers into chicken salad and it was really good)
Basic fruit salad
I also made my mom's friend Genie's pork tenderloin recipe, and it was really good as well and the best part is I have all the ingredients at my house already. The other good thing is that although pork tenderloin is a more expensive cut of meat, there are usually two per pack and it's really hard to mess up. Here it is:
Mix all together and coat meat on all sides:
1 tsp chili powder
chopped garlic
3 T brown sugar
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan cheese
olive oil
Sear meat 2 minutes on all sides to brown.
Roast at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or if you use a meat thermometer 160 degrees internal temperature. I guess the time depends on the size of the roast.
Today I'm making North African meatballs with Couscous with dried dates and tomorrow I'm making one of Ina's recipes, chicken stew with biscuits. I'll let you know how those turn out. (Update: made the meatballs and couscous and it was really good, but I probably won't make it again for a while. It had a lot of ingredients I don't normally have on hand, like kalamata olives, dried dates, etc. But it was worth trying once).
I am starting to get my cooking confidence back. Every single one of these meals has been good, and the positive side to it is that we have eaten all the leftovers. It's my job to clean out old food from the fridge, so it's been nice to not have to do that. It has made me enjoy cooking again, and now I look forward to cooking dinner every day. I'll probably start posting the links to whatever I am cooking each week, only I think I'll post them after I cook the meal. Then I can say if it was good, and if it wasn't, I won't be recommending it.
I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend...we are having friends in town and grilling on our new grill! Chad went out and bought one the other day. Which reminds me, does anyone have a good recipe for pork chops on the grill?
P.S. for all you other Food Network lovers out there...is there anybody else who couldn't care less what Brian Boitano would make?
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Ezra, Ezra, read all about it
For a while now I've been pondering writing a post about how we decided on the name Ezra for our sweet baby boy. When I tell people our son's name, I get a few different reactions: they love it, they pretend to love it ("That's...different."), or they have never heard of it and I have to repeat it a couple times. It really surprises me every time someone has not heard the name Ezra. When we were contemplating the name, I thought, "It's easy to pronounce, it's a biblical name, and everyone has heard it." Not so. The first time we went out to eat with Ezra, our waitress asked his name (along with touching his face and hands--ACK!) and when we told her, she said, "Oh. That's new. But just wait, people will hear it and then they'll like it and start to use it." Like we had started a trend with our kid's made-up name. It cracks me up that in this day and age of so many made-up names, we chose one that is literally one of the oldest names still in use today, and people think it's made-up.
So before Ezra was born, I had a pretty long list of boys' names, maybe 20 or 30. I went through my Baby Name Wizard book, wrote down every one I liked, with the ones I had loved for a long time asterisked. Oddly, I was just sure we would have a girl though, because of our family's lopsided number of girls (on both sides) and the fact that we had a girl's name picked out from the get-go. But alas, we found out we were having a boy. So back to square one, which included me marking names off my own list that I liked enough for a hypothetical baby, but not for MY baby. My two favorites for boys' names for a long time have been Ezra and Asher. Chad was given full reign to nix whatever names he didn't like, which I found easier than asking him to come up with his own list as well. Chad immediately nixed Asher, claiming it sounded pretentious, which cracks me up. However, I wanted to avoid a name that I thought was going to become really popular soon, and I see Asher doing that, so I was fine with taking it off the list. Also on the list was Jonah, which I still love (it came down to these two names at the end). People often ask us if we had to have a biblical name. Absolutely not. I loved a lot of other names, but in the end it just happened to come down to names from the Bible (Asher is certainly not a name I would choose for its biblical significance, I just liked the name). So the night before we went to the hospital, we sat down and talked about each of the names and their significance. Ultimately we chose Ezra because of its Hebrew meaning, "Servant of God," and the story behind the Ezra in the Bible. The name Ezra is also a nod to a couple of well-known authors, Ezra Jack Keats and Ezra Pound (significant to me because of my English background). And contrary to what some of my high school/college friends might think, no, we did not name him after the band. Finally, we just liked its quirky sound, what I like to call "zippy." A few people (family members maybe? Let's not point fingers) have said it sounds like an old man's name. That is also fine, because he will be a man before we know it, but let's not talk about that now or I might cry.
Finally, about two months before Ezra was born, I consulted the social security name website. Going back to my desire to not name my child something that every other kid was named, I looked at the rankings and more importantly the number of spots the name jumped over the last year. Ezra jumped about 40 spots, but was still ranked below Jonah, which jumped about 30 spots. So I figured the chances of my kid having the same name as a bunch of other kids is slim to none. Plus, I realize the name Ezra probably doesn't appeal to as many people as the name Jonah. I know, I'm OCD.
So there you have it. And please don't call him Ezzie.
**ETA: Ezra's middle name is Paul. We chose the name for two reasons: Chad's dad's name is Paul, and Ezra is the first male grandson on Chad's side, so we thought that would be special. Also, the biblical Paul is the ultimate reminder of God's grace and forgiveness, which I always enjoy being reminded of.
So before Ezra was born, I had a pretty long list of boys' names, maybe 20 or 30. I went through my Baby Name Wizard book, wrote down every one I liked, with the ones I had loved for a long time asterisked. Oddly, I was just sure we would have a girl though, because of our family's lopsided number of girls (on both sides) and the fact that we had a girl's name picked out from the get-go. But alas, we found out we were having a boy. So back to square one, which included me marking names off my own list that I liked enough for a hypothetical baby, but not for MY baby. My two favorites for boys' names for a long time have been Ezra and Asher. Chad was given full reign to nix whatever names he didn't like, which I found easier than asking him to come up with his own list as well. Chad immediately nixed Asher, claiming it sounded pretentious, which cracks me up. However, I wanted to avoid a name that I thought was going to become really popular soon, and I see Asher doing that, so I was fine with taking it off the list. Also on the list was Jonah, which I still love (it came down to these two names at the end). People often ask us if we had to have a biblical name. Absolutely not. I loved a lot of other names, but in the end it just happened to come down to names from the Bible (Asher is certainly not a name I would choose for its biblical significance, I just liked the name). So the night before we went to the hospital, we sat down and talked about each of the names and their significance. Ultimately we chose Ezra because of its Hebrew meaning, "Servant of God," and the story behind the Ezra in the Bible. The name Ezra is also a nod to a couple of well-known authors, Ezra Jack Keats and Ezra Pound (significant to me because of my English background). And contrary to what some of my high school/college friends might think, no, we did not name him after the band. Finally, we just liked its quirky sound, what I like to call "zippy." A few people (family members maybe? Let's not point fingers) have said it sounds like an old man's name. That is also fine, because he will be a man before we know it, but let's not talk about that now or I might cry.
Finally, about two months before Ezra was born, I consulted the social security name website. Going back to my desire to not name my child something that every other kid was named, I looked at the rankings and more importantly the number of spots the name jumped over the last year. Ezra jumped about 40 spots, but was still ranked below Jonah, which jumped about 30 spots. So I figured the chances of my kid having the same name as a bunch of other kids is slim to none. Plus, I realize the name Ezra probably doesn't appeal to as many people as the name Jonah. I know, I'm OCD.
So there you have it. And please don't call him Ezzie.
**ETA: Ezra's middle name is Paul. We chose the name for two reasons: Chad's dad's name is Paul, and Ezra is the first male grandson on Chad's side, so we thought that would be special. Also, the biblical Paul is the ultimate reminder of God's grace and forgiveness, which I always enjoy being reminded of.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Update and 5 weeks
Well, a few of you have asked if Ezra is feeling better and the answer is yes. Thanks for asking...in fact, after his little fussy spell last night, he went to sleep a little after midnight and slept until 5:40 this morning, which means I did too! Yahoo! He is back to being his happy self today and is doing well with eating--none of this eating for two seconds and then crying business. So, I am going to attribute it to just being fussy. Although, we still think he had a bit of a fever. He is a hot-natured baby, so we are trying not to bundle him up all the time just because he is a newborn. Surprisingly I haven't gotten too many comments from the little old ladies at church telling me to put some socks on my baby.
Also, Ezra is 5 weeks old today. I'll try to take pictures, but I just took those other ones yesterday, so you get the point. He's asleep right now, hence, the blog entry. I got to spend my morning running errands, shopping for some cute new fall clothes (for him, of course), and picking up his birth certificate at the Lubbock Health Department--quite the place. I am so thankful for my husband who is so willing to spend time taking care of his baby so I could go out alone. They had some good "boy time."
P.S. I know there are a lot of my friends who read this that are new moms as well, and I wanted to pass along that our pediatrician said NOT to give him Tylenol, because a fever is most often the first indicator that something is wrong. So FYI, if your baby has a fever, don't automatically give him Tylenol.
Also, Ezra is 5 weeks old today. I'll try to take pictures, but I just took those other ones yesterday, so you get the point. He's asleep right now, hence, the blog entry. I got to spend my morning running errands, shopping for some cute new fall clothes (for him, of course), and picking up his birth certificate at the Lubbock Health Department--quite the place. I am so thankful for my husband who is so willing to spend time taking care of his baby so I could go out alone. They had some good "boy time."
P.S. I know there are a lot of my friends who read this that are new moms as well, and I wanted to pass along that our pediatrician said NOT to give him Tylenol, because a fever is most often the first indicator that something is wrong. So FYI, if your baby has a fever, don't automatically give him Tylenol.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Pictures and video
This kid is so frustrating. All day long he looks right in my eyes, and when I pull out the camera, he is determined to look everywhere but at me. Such a disobedient child. Cute though, so I put up with it. 
Tonight has been tiring. Ezra has been exceptionally fussy, wanted to eat but then would cry when he started eating, and felt hotter than usual, although we couldn't get a consistent temp reading on him. A few of the temps were high enough that I called the pediatrician. I feel so bad for him because I know he is uncomfortable and probably hungry but doesn't want to eat for some reason. He finally fell asleep with some help from his daddy and I am the only one awake now. I am sure tomorrow will be a better day.
Notice the title says "pictures AND video." I have tried to post a video a couple of times, but Blogger won't let me. It's probably too long. I'll try to get shorter clips to post.
Tonight has been tiring. Ezra has been exceptionally fussy, wanted to eat but then would cry when he started eating, and felt hotter than usual, although we couldn't get a consistent temp reading on him. A few of the temps were high enough that I called the pediatrician. I feel so bad for him because I know he is uncomfortable and probably hungry but doesn't want to eat for some reason. He finally fell asleep with some help from his daddy and I am the only one awake now. I am sure tomorrow will be a better day.Notice the title says "pictures AND video." I have tried to post a video a couple of times, but Blogger won't let me. It's probably too long. I'll try to get shorter clips to post.
Friday, August 28, 2009
One month
Who could resist this sweet face?
I know I just did the "four weeks" post, but today little Ez is one month old. My family is always commenting that he looks so different in the pictures I post than when they saw him, but he even looks different to me from day to day. Every day when he wakes up he looks so much older. We are having so much fun and I am not having a problem at all filling my days. Here are a couple pictures I took today. Ezra got some new wheels so he can accompany me on my walks and runs. I didn't realize that I would need a jogging stroller, but the regular stroller was way too bumpy on our roads when we went walking, and I didn't even attempt a run with it. So today, we went on our first run. Here is Ezra before the run (poor kid doesn't have a hat that fits)...
And here he is after:
I guess he liked the lull of the road because he went to sleep almost immediately when I started running. Needless to say, he likes his jogging stroller (a nice reprieve from the carseat).
I am finally starting to get back into the swing of things as far as exercising goes, and not a moment too soon, because a woman today mistook me for being pregnant. I had to hold back tears. Oh well, if people thinking you still look pregnant isn't motivation to get back in shape, I don't know what is. So I am getting back into a running regimen (very slowly, but surely) and I have done the 30-day shred DVD a couple times (no, I'm not planning to do it in 30 days). I am taking it easy, but I really really don't have anything to wear, so I'd like to at least get back into some of my pre-pregnancy clothes sooner rather than later. And really, that story about that lady wasn't a fish for compliments, it was just a story. I realize I just had a baby a month ago, and I realize I need to take it easy. Don't worry, I am.
I hope everyone has a great weekend.
I know I just did the "four weeks" post, but today little Ez is one month old. My family is always commenting that he looks so different in the pictures I post than when they saw him, but he even looks different to me from day to day. Every day when he wakes up he looks so much older. We are having so much fun and I am not having a problem at all filling my days. Here are a couple pictures I took today. Ezra got some new wheels so he can accompany me on my walks and runs. I didn't realize that I would need a jogging stroller, but the regular stroller was way too bumpy on our roads when we went walking, and I didn't even attempt a run with it. So today, we went on our first run. Here is Ezra before the run (poor kid doesn't have a hat that fits)...
And here he is after:
I guess he liked the lull of the road because he went to sleep almost immediately when I started running. Needless to say, he likes his jogging stroller (a nice reprieve from the carseat).I am finally starting to get back into the swing of things as far as exercising goes, and not a moment too soon, because a woman today mistook me for being pregnant. I had to hold back tears. Oh well, if people thinking you still look pregnant isn't motivation to get back in shape, I don't know what is. So I am getting back into a running regimen (very slowly, but surely) and I have done the 30-day shred DVD a couple times (no, I'm not planning to do it in 30 days). I am taking it easy, but I really really don't have anything to wear, so I'd like to at least get back into some of my pre-pregnancy clothes sooner rather than later. And really, that story about that lady wasn't a fish for compliments, it was just a story. I realize I just had a baby a month ago, and I realize I need to take it easy. Don't worry, I am.
I hope everyone has a great weekend.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
4 weeks
Ezra is 4 weeks old today! Here are some things about our baby boy at 4 weeks:
1. He has started to smile a lot, and most of the time it's just little smirks, but every once in a while we'll get a big, gummy, eyes-closed smile. This alone is reason enough to become a parent.
2. Like I mentioned yesterday, he's about 9.5 lbs now. He was 6 lbs 14 oz at birth.
3. He wakes up every 2-3 hours to eat, plays a little bit, then goes back to sleep. He only wakes up about every 4 hours at night, and goes right back to sleep after eating.
4. He has started to "talk" a little bit. Also adorable.
5. He's a pretty even-tempered baby and very predictable. I already mentioned he cries in the car, and he also gets pretty fussy in the evenings about every 3 or 4 days. As long as you feed him and give him a quiet place where he can be left alone to sleep, he is good to go.
Friday our little guy will be one month old. We can't believe he's already been here a month! I am trying to just take in and enjoy every moment.
Monday, August 24, 2009
A weekend of firsts
This weekend was filled with "firsts" for me. Chad went to the cabin with a couple of friends to get the deck railing finished, so I was on my own with our almost-4-week old all weekend. It was good to get over that little milestone of caring for our child all by myself, especially since Chad is such a HUGE help around the house and with Ezra--possibly more help than the average husband (not an insult to the other husbands out there, but a big compliment to mine). I was able to prove to myself that I could do it (with quite a bit of help from some good friends...). Also, can I just say that I have a HUGE respect and admiration for parents who are the sole caregivers for their children? What an awesome, exhausting experience...I was ready to pass the kiddo off the minute Chad got back home so I could have just a little break. Anyway, everything went pretty smoothly. We ran a few errands, including our first trip together to the grocery store and our first trip to Target by ourselves. Ezra is still not a fan of riding in the car (understatement), which my mom says is a direct trait from me. Here is the look I get when I put him in his seat, right before I strap him in and he starts crying hysterically:
Every once in a while if he's JUST been fed, is not in the least bit tired, and the stars are otherwise aligned, he will not cry. But most of the time when we get in the car, he cries the entire time and the minute we get to where we're going I get him out and hold him he is fine. So I have found the best accessory to have when running errands is my sling. I can put him in it by myself (unlike the Ergo carrier--haven't figured out how to do that one alone yet) and he falls right to sleep. Then my hands are free and I am free to shop in peace. Plus, no lugging around a big old carseat or having it take up most of my cart. I am determined, however, not to avoid leaving the house or going places because my child cries in his carseat. I think staying at home all the time would make me even crazier than the crying does.
Here's a cute photo I took of Chad and Ezra right after Chad got home yesterday. I love the way Ezra is looking up at him and studying him: "I think I might know you." In these photos, especially the first one, you can also see where Ezra is losing a lot of his hair. He has male pattern baldness, with a little ducktail in the back. Some might call it a mullet. So I guess he's going to lose it all, which I wish would go ahead and happen. He is so adorable, but the poor thing looks like an old man with his eyebrow wrinkles and receding hairline. I wonder what color his hair is going to be when it comes back in.
So today is the first day of school for pretty much everyone I know. It was really weird not getting ready last night to get up this morning and start a new year. Instead I spent the night waking up to feed my baby, sleeping till 10 (after waking up a bunch of times, so don't be too jealous), mopping the floors in my house, and spending time with Chad and Ezra. Quite the change from my usual schedule up until now. It's 4:15 right now--I would just be getting out of school if I was still teaching. Who knew the day would go by so fast? Last night I told Chad that I was really looking forward to today after the weekend being so busy with church, errands, a wedding shower that I helped host, etc. Odd when your weekdays are more relaxed than your weekends. I think I can honestly say that this is the first Monday EVER that I have looked forward to. I'll stop going on and on just to say that I feel so blessed to be able to spend this time with my child and husband and that life is really really good.
So tomorrow my baby will be 4 weeks old. Time has really flown! We are ready to get back into some sort of normalcy in life, and I am ready to get back into my clothes. I know it will take a while but it's getting old wearing maternity clothes, and even some of those are too small or too big. So I am getting a jogging stroller to take Ezra on my walks and runs, and I will be joining Chad's gym soon. I go in for my 6-week checkup just two weeks from now, and once my doctor gives me the okay, I will be upping the workout regimen. Speaking of weight, we did an informal weighing of Ezra today, and he weighs almost 9 1/2 pounds! I couldn't believe it. But I knew he was feeling heavier.
**Attention: Do not read this next paragraph if you don't want to read about baby poop. You have been warned.** This is changing the subject a bit, but I know some of you out there will be able to help me...tell me what you do to get baby poop stains out of clothes. Yes, my little dear has had 3 blowouts in the past few days--two at church and one at the wedding shower. Really looking forward to starting those cloth diapers and hoping they contain things better. My apologies to those of you who do not want to read about baby poop, but you were warned.
And finally, here is another video of Ezra just playing on that little mat he has. I thought the grandparents/aunts & uncles would enjoy.
That's it for now. Who else can't wait for the crispy fall weather to get here?
Every once in a while if he's JUST been fed, is not in the least bit tired, and the stars are otherwise aligned, he will not cry. But most of the time when we get in the car, he cries the entire time and the minute we get to where we're going I get him out and hold him he is fine. So I have found the best accessory to have when running errands is my sling. I can put him in it by myself (unlike the Ergo carrier--haven't figured out how to do that one alone yet) and he falls right to sleep. Then my hands are free and I am free to shop in peace. Plus, no lugging around a big old carseat or having it take up most of my cart. I am determined, however, not to avoid leaving the house or going places because my child cries in his carseat. I think staying at home all the time would make me even crazier than the crying does.
Here's a cute photo I took of Chad and Ezra right after Chad got home yesterday. I love the way Ezra is looking up at him and studying him: "I think I might know you." In these photos, especially the first one, you can also see where Ezra is losing a lot of his hair. He has male pattern baldness, with a little ducktail in the back. Some might call it a mullet. So I guess he's going to lose it all, which I wish would go ahead and happen. He is so adorable, but the poor thing looks like an old man with his eyebrow wrinkles and receding hairline. I wonder what color his hair is going to be when it comes back in.
So today is the first day of school for pretty much everyone I know. It was really weird not getting ready last night to get up this morning and start a new year. Instead I spent the night waking up to feed my baby, sleeping till 10 (after waking up a bunch of times, so don't be too jealous), mopping the floors in my house, and spending time with Chad and Ezra. Quite the change from my usual schedule up until now. It's 4:15 right now--I would just be getting out of school if I was still teaching. Who knew the day would go by so fast? Last night I told Chad that I was really looking forward to today after the weekend being so busy with church, errands, a wedding shower that I helped host, etc. Odd when your weekdays are more relaxed than your weekends. I think I can honestly say that this is the first Monday EVER that I have looked forward to. I'll stop going on and on just to say that I feel so blessed to be able to spend this time with my child and husband and that life is really really good.So tomorrow my baby will be 4 weeks old. Time has really flown! We are ready to get back into some sort of normalcy in life, and I am ready to get back into my clothes. I know it will take a while but it's getting old wearing maternity clothes, and even some of those are too small or too big. So I am getting a jogging stroller to take Ezra on my walks and runs, and I will be joining Chad's gym soon. I go in for my 6-week checkup just two weeks from now, and once my doctor gives me the okay, I will be upping the workout regimen. Speaking of weight, we did an informal weighing of Ezra today, and he weighs almost 9 1/2 pounds! I couldn't believe it. But I knew he was feeling heavier.
**Attention: Do not read this next paragraph if you don't want to read about baby poop. You have been warned.** This is changing the subject a bit, but I know some of you out there will be able to help me...tell me what you do to get baby poop stains out of clothes. Yes, my little dear has had 3 blowouts in the past few days--two at church and one at the wedding shower. Really looking forward to starting those cloth diapers and hoping they contain things better. My apologies to those of you who do not want to read about baby poop, but you were warned.
And finally, here is another video of Ezra just playing on that little mat he has. I thought the grandparents/aunts & uncles would enjoy.
That's it for now. Who else can't wait for the crispy fall weather to get here?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
First real bath
So Ezra had his first "real" bath tonight since his umbilical stump fell off. I guess if I'm posting videos of him sucking the weird pacifier, it makes more sense for me to post picture of his first bath. A very momentous occasion. And look how un-vain I am by posting this first one. It was the only one where the baby didn't look like he was crying. 
Really, he wasn't crying.
Unimpressed/embarrassed about his naked body/still asleep/"Mom, get that camera out of my face."
Really, he wasn't crying.
Unimpressed/embarrassed about his naked body/still asleep/"Mom, get that camera out of my face."
Some pictures and video
Ezra's favorite toy...he will stare at it for about 20 minutes before he decides he's sleepy or hungry. (And this one really shows his receding hairline)
This melts my heart.
We call this his shifty eye face.
A couple videos...nothing special, just what Ezra does when he's trying to wake up, and a weird one of him sucking one of those pacifiers where you can see the inside of his mouth. What can I say, we're easily amused.
This melts my heart.
We call this his shifty eye face.
A couple videos...nothing special, just what Ezra does when he's trying to wake up, and a weird one of him sucking one of those pacifiers where you can see the inside of his mouth. What can I say, we're easily amused.Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Pictures from the weekend
Granddad, Ginny and Mackenzie came for a visit this weekend, bringing up the caboose of the family members who have come to visit Ezra since his birth. Here are a few photos from the past couple days...
I've found that the swing is my go-to baby item that I can put Ezra in when he is awake, turn on the mobile and the music, and he is entertained and happy. Half the time he'll fall asleep, which is very helpful at 5 in the morning when he is ready to go for the day and I'm not. :)
Ezra found granddad's chest particularly comfortable for long naps.
He has been awake for longer times and more often lately. He has started smiling here and there, but I haven't been able to catch it on video or in a photo. Soon enough.
I wouldn't normally post pictures of my baby crying, but I wanted to talk about this "Happiest Baby on the Block" thing. We watched the DVD in one of the classes we took at the hospital and read the book before Ezra was born, and it seems to work to calm him down. According to the pediatrician that devised it, babies have this "calming instinct" that happens when you combine a bunch of different techniques. Here it is in action:
Step one, swaddle.
Step two, shushing. Step three, turn baby on his side, kind of facing the floor. Cradle his head in your hands and jiggle (like a vibrating motion). There are a couple other steps like sucking on a pacifier and swinging (it's called the 5 S's), but you only do the ones you need. Most of the time Ezra calms down after he's swaddled. He just can't stand those flailing hands hitting him in the face.
Shortly after this Ezra fell asleep. Now, I will be the first to admit that he is fairly easy to calm most of the time. But I am sure anyone who has ever had a fussy baby will agree that it never hurts to try something, and this works for us.
My two favorite people. :) Chad has become an expert at ignoring me when I have a camera in my hand.
I've found that the swing is my go-to baby item that I can put Ezra in when he is awake, turn on the mobile and the music, and he is entertained and happy. Half the time he'll fall asleep, which is very helpful at 5 in the morning when he is ready to go for the day and I'm not. :)
Ezra found granddad's chest particularly comfortable for long naps.
He has been awake for longer times and more often lately. He has started smiling here and there, but I haven't been able to catch it on video or in a photo. Soon enough.
I wouldn't normally post pictures of my baby crying, but I wanted to talk about this "Happiest Baby on the Block" thing. We watched the DVD in one of the classes we took at the hospital and read the book before Ezra was born, and it seems to work to calm him down. According to the pediatrician that devised it, babies have this "calming instinct" that happens when you combine a bunch of different techniques. Here it is in action:
Step one, swaddle.
Step two, shushing. Step three, turn baby on his side, kind of facing the floor. Cradle his head in your hands and jiggle (like a vibrating motion). There are a couple other steps like sucking on a pacifier and swinging (it's called the 5 S's), but you only do the ones you need. Most of the time Ezra calms down after he's swaddled. He just can't stand those flailing hands hitting him in the face.
Shortly after this Ezra fell asleep. Now, I will be the first to admit that he is fairly easy to calm most of the time. But I am sure anyone who has ever had a fussy baby will agree that it never hurts to try something, and this works for us.
My two favorite people. :) Chad has become an expert at ignoring me when I have a camera in my hand.
Friday, August 14, 2009
A couple more from today
When we went to the doctor's office our pediatrician said that Ezra needs to be spending 10-15 minutes a day on his stomach. I got some video yesterday of his first "tummy time" (why does that phrase annoy me so much?) but I am going to refrain from posting it because he is not too happy at all about having to push his little head up. I got another really cute video this morning, but I had set my video settings too high on my camera so blogger won't accept the video. Anyway, these pictures are from the second time we put Ezra on his stomach, and before he realized that he really doesn't like it.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
8-12-09
Bathtime
Another heart-to-heart conversation with dad.
Little baby boys in hoods are the cutest thing ever.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
I got my new camera yesterday so I was able to start experimenting with it a little bit. I like it a lot so far. Ezra is asleep most of the time, so I tried to get a few shots of him this morning when he was awake. Then I had to delete half of those because he was cross-eyed. I will post more video as soon as I figure out how to work it.
Ezra's favorite sleeping position is with one fist up by his face. For a child that can't control his arms or legs, it's interesting to me that he always ends up like this. 
Aren't baby feet the cutest thing ever!?
The worried look has been partially replaced by just a somewhat serious look. 
We took our little boy to his two-week checkup today, and he is doing well. He has gained 10 ounces since birth, so he is at 7.5 lbs now. He is almost 21 inches long (which means he would have grown 3 inches in two weeks, but we think he was longer than 18 inches when he was born). So we went to the doctor, out to eat at On the Border, and then Ezra's first trip to the bookstore where granny bought him whatever he wanted. He picked out 6 books and off we went.
We were also finally able to finish Ezra's room. Emma had finished the two side paintings a couple months ago and was waiting on us to pick out a name before she could do the middle one. I love how they turned out and how they look in his room! Just a reminder, here is the quilt that hangs up on the wall...
And here are the paintings that Emma did. Thanks Emma!
Ezra's favorite sleeping position is with one fist up by his face. For a child that can't control his arms or legs, it's interesting to me that he always ends up like this. 
Aren't baby feet the cutest thing ever!?
The worried look has been partially replaced by just a somewhat serious look. 
We took our little boy to his two-week checkup today, and he is doing well. He has gained 10 ounces since birth, so he is at 7.5 lbs now. He is almost 21 inches long (which means he would have grown 3 inches in two weeks, but we think he was longer than 18 inches when he was born). So we went to the doctor, out to eat at On the Border, and then Ezra's first trip to the bookstore where granny bought him whatever he wanted. He picked out 6 books and off we went.We were also finally able to finish Ezra's room. Emma had finished the two side paintings a couple months ago and was waiting on us to pick out a name before she could do the middle one. I love how they turned out and how they look in his room! Just a reminder, here is the quilt that hangs up on the wall...
And here are the paintings that Emma did. Thanks Emma!
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