A whole lot of love

Valentine's Day was memorable for our little family as we headed to Arizona to introduce Ezekiel to his great-grandparents and lots of great uncles, aunts, and cousins on Kevan's side. If this kid wasn't spoiled before, well, it's official now! He was held, kissed, and admired for 5 days straight and loved every minute of it! We are definitely learning that our little guy thrives on attention (hmmm... we're not like that. I wonder where he gets that from?). Every time someone new gives him attention he just hams it up with a big smile and reaches his chubby little hands out to touch them. Which, of course, gets him more attention. It's a vicious cycle. I am calling the next few days "damage control" at our house (as in News Flash: The entire world does not revolve around you, little man), but it was totally worth it!



Ezekiel meets his Avoa (great-grandma in Portuguese)


Meeting great-grandpa


Hanging out with Aunt Lori at Claim Jumper


What a beautiful day for a walk around the park with Uncle Gary and Aunt Elke


Ezekiel with Grandma Anna at the zoo


How sweet is this picture? Ezekiel LOVED the zoo!

Just to see you smile...

Our little guy has plenty to smile about these days. And he's not shy about it, either!


Ezekiel loves his Exersaucer - he's learing to reach for the toys and play!


Don't you wish they made these for grown ups? Ezekiel's cousins let him borrow this great toy, and he will jump in it until he's exhausted!


Happy Birthday, Kevan! We celebrated with a family outing to the drive-in theatre.


4 1/2 months old and Ezekiel's sitting up all by himself (sometimes!).

What I love...

There are some things I just love about my son so much I can hardly stand it. As I sit working from home today, I am struck by how fortunate I am to spend every day with him and what an absolute joy it is to be his mom. So, as I take a quick break from writing, here are a few things I love:

*The shape of his face. I don't know what it is about his little round face, but it reminds me of my brother, my husband, and my adorable nephew Daniel all in one.
*His breath. It is the sweetest smell in the entire world. Now I know why they named a flower after it.
*His name. I know it is a mouthful and he may not be able to spell it until he's 12, but it is so perfect for him. Every time I say it I love it even more. Did you know it means "God strengthens"? We pray for God to keep him strong every day - and that he will grow to be a man strong in his faith.
*His laugh. Is there anything better? I love putting my face right next to his and hearing him laugh right in my ear.
*The way he smiles at us with this huge grin every morning when we get him from his crib. Most of the time he is already awake and just lays in there contently sucking his thumb until we go get him. Kevan says he looks at us like "I knew they would come for me. They always do."
*His great dispostion. This kid is just a lot of fun - we actually like being with him. I can't help but hope this spunky, happy-go-lucky personality only continues to take root and grow.

In case you're wondering if I gave birth to an angel (and sometimes I do wonder!), there is one thing I do NOT love: His new scream that means "I'm having fun/I'm hungry/I'm tired/I'm bored". What happened to his adorable little cry? I hear this is just a stage, and I'm hoping it's a short one!

But right now he is sitting peacefully in his swing watching me work, and I am in love.

Surprise!

Ezekiel is turning out to be quite a gentleman, thanks to his daddy. Kevan took him to the park and they came home with a surprise - 2 roses for mama! One from Kevan and one from Ezekiel. Kevan told me that he was teaching his son how to treat a lady. I love my roses - and I love the 2 men in my life that make me feel like the luckiest woman in the world!

The latest...

Just a few stats on our growing boy: At Ezekiel's 4 month check-up, he weighed in at 16.4 lbs and just shy of 25". The doctor called him "husky". We can't get enough of his chubby cheeks and round belly. He looks pretty proud of himself, huh?




In other developments, our son is officially a thumb sucker. When he gets tired or hungry, in goes the thumb. We think it's adorable, of course, but we're also certain he will kick the habit by the time he's one. Here's to hoping!

A Merry Little Christmas

Christmas with a baby...what a joy! Even though Ezekiel is too little to understand anything about Christmas, he really seemed to enjoy himself (especially the unwrapping the presents part!). We spent the morning with just the 3 of us opening gifts at our house, and then headed over to my parents to be with them, my brother and his family, and my sister. The drive to my parents was a little emotional as I thought back to Christmas just 2 years ago. Kevan was in Iraq and the best gift I received was a phone call from him that day. As we drove yesterday with a car full of gifts, our crazy yellow lab, and our beautiful baby I was overwhelmed by the blessings in our lives. God is so good to us!


In his Christmas Eve outfit... how could you not kiss those cheeks?!


Christmas Eve dinner at our house - we had so much fun hosting!


Daddy opening his Christmas gift from Ezekiel


Loving that wrapping paper!


Kevan bought this Christmas outfit for Ezekiel - so cute!


We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Great-Grandparents

Kevan and I are both blessed to have all of our grandparents still alive to enjoy their new great-grandson. This past weekend, Ezekiel and I spent the weekend with my mom visiting her parents in Santa Maria. What a special time we had sharing Ezekiel with his doting great-grandparents. They enjoyed him so much and I found myself tearing up several times at the sweet moments they shared together. We are looking forward to visitng great-grandpa and Avoa Burns in Arizona in January. I know they are anxious to meet their first great-grandson as well!


Loving on Grandma Cindy at AJ Spurs on our way up to Santa Maria


Hanging out with "the guys" at Grandpa's donut shop. Every morning my grandpa Norris meets his friends for coffee at this donut shop, and they sit around telling stories and making jabs at each other. I always loved tagging along with him as a kid and it was pretty surreal to bring my son along this time, too. Ezekiel got plenty of attention from the regulars! PS: Check out Santa Claus in the background. I'm telling you, this place is like a scene from a movie!




So much to learn from great-grandpa Norris...


My grandma Betsy and I gave Ezekiel a bath in the same sink I used to get my baths in as a baby. (Everything is sentimental when you visit your grandparents!)


Ezekiel loves his bath time!


This is one of my favorite pictures. We went to church with grandpa and grandma this morning, and grandpa was so excited to go get Ezekiel from the nursery after the service. He came walking down the stairs with the baby tight in his arms and proudly showed him to his friends saying "This is my great-grandson." It was such a sweet time.

Let the festivities begin!

I am sitting here sipping hot chocolate enjoying the scent of pine in my living room while my husband makes a 10:30 run to Wal-mart because he insists that our tree doesn't have enough lights. Ahhh... Christmas.


Picking out our tree earlier tonight


My two boys in beanies

Before and After

It was so fun to have the 3 new babies together this Thanksgiving. The last time they were together they were still in our bellies. Check out all that's changed since July!

Waiting for babies...

Bethany, Melissa, and Annette at Lake Almanor (how is it possible for my tummy to be so huge?!)

Here at last!

Annette & Cami, Bethany & Ezekiel, and Melissa & Autumn (aren't my nieces adorable?!). Cami and Ezekiel were both born 8/23 and Autumn was born 8/18. What a trip to have a baby the same time as my 2 older brothers.

A week of wonderful...

Ezekiel's first Thanksgiving, turning 3 months old, all 10 cousins together for the first time, a visit with Grandma Burns, a walk on the pier, 3 babies on a blanket... so much to be thankful for.


Camryn, Ezekiel, and Autumn - 3 new babies to celebrate this Thanksgiving


A family photo on Thanksgiving day - Ezekiel is 3 months old today (doesn't he look so big?!)


Is this not the craziest picture? Nobody ever said photographing 10 kids would be easy!


Getting ready to head to the beach for dinner with Grandma Burns


Walking on the pier after dinner... what a perfect night

A big night!

Last night Ezekiel got to meet his cousins Morgan, Daniel, and Autumn and his Uncle Andrew and Aunt Melissa for the first time! And we got to see and hold baby Autumn! The 2 babies were born just 5 days apart and we have been so anxious to introduce them. Andrew and Melissa are here from Truckee for Thanksgiving (YAY!) and we are so thankful for this opportunity for the whole family to be together. On Thanksgiving day all THREE new babies (Ezekiel, Autumn, and Camryn - all born within 5 days of each other!) will be together for the first time.


Ezekiel and his Uncle Andrew


Andrew and Bethany with our 2 babies - Ezekiel is a tank compared to his petite little cousin Autumn.

The other great thing about last night was that, while Kevan was changing his diaper, Ezekiel officially rolled over! We were at my parents' house with a lot of the family there, so he was quite a show-off about it. Kevan and I acted like crazy lunatics cheering him on and taking pictures of the big event. Ezekiel has been practicing for days, and is pretty funny about it. He gets really frustrated and starts grunting as he tries to use his face for leverage. I've never seen rolling over look so hard.

A week of "Firsts"

Last Wednesday Ezekiel turned 11 weeks old, and celebrated with a week of "firsts". Check out all the new things he did:



Ezekiel enjoying the beach - He didn't have a clue what he was looking at, but I loved showing him the ocean for the first time.



Playing with his new activity mat for the first time


His first motorcycle outift - thanks to Rock-n-Roll Grandpa Richard!

Football Sunday!

Kevan has been asking since week one if Ezekiel can wear his Bronco jersey to church. My answer has always been the same, "It's too big honey". Well, this week he couldn't take it any longer and decided he would make it work. So, Daddy and his little man sported their Bronco jerseys on Sunday. Check out the custom jersey that Uncle Gary sent Kevan, too. Pretty cute.

Super Baby!

Ezekiel was Super Man for Halloween, complete with a red cape. Since his dad has been telling him from birth about all the fun holidays he has to look forward to, we made sure his first one was extra special. Halloween included 2 trips to the Pumpkin Patch (one with Aunt Rebekah and one with his best friend, Kate), dressing up for the Boo Fest at our house, and wearing his "My First Halloween" outfit that daddy bought him. Overboard? You bet.