Farm Boy

Thursday afternoon we headed over to the Fullerton farmer's market... one of my favorite things to do in our cute little city. This time, my excitement was less focused on the yummy produce and redirected toward one simple thing: pony rides. Our son is crazy about horses right now, due to endless trips to the arena at my parents' house. I knew he would be so excited to ride one of those ponies at the market, and I couldn't wait to take him. Well, we sure weren't dissapointed! Ezekiel started saying "neigh" the minute he spotted those miniture little horses and asked over and over if he could "touch it" (which sounds a lot like "ta ta"). He was so adorable riding around in a little circle looking like a real cowboy! After the horse, he got to touch all the animals in the petting zoo (he kept saying "moo" to the poor baby goat) and then got to pick out his orange balloon (which we still have, by the way, and he plays with for a good portion of the day!). It was a GREAT time at the farmer's market!






What a handsome cowboy

Our little helper

Ezekiel has been asking to "help" with dinner lately. I've been letting him stand on a chair and stir, grate cheese, pour ingredients, etc... he loves it! It could be my imagination, but he also seems to eat more when he helps prepare the meal!







Giving daddy a hand with his job, too...

Mama's Day

First, I just have to say that these super hot days sure make for some beautiful mornings! I started my day sitting outside to work for a bit while Ezekiel slept and Bekah Jane hung out in her exersaucer. It feels like vacation out here! Love it.

On to Mother's Day... I know this is a bit belated, but there is too much good stuff to skip. The best part about Mother's Day was that we had Rebekah Jane dedicated at church. It was a sweet time and I love knowing that our church stands with us in support and prayer as we raise our daughter to love the Lord.

After church we went to my mom's and surprised her with a picnic lunch in the yard. Beautiful weather, delicious food, and so fun to just hang outside and eat. We all loved it (Even the boys, I think. At first, they couldn't seem to understand why we would pass up a perfectly good table for a piece of grass).

Alice and Abby (and their cute matching dresses!)

See, aren't the boys having such a fun time?

Every year, I run up against the same challenge on Mother's Day. I can never seem to find the right card or gift for my mom, because nothing is ever special enough to truly reflect how I feel about her. Growing up, my mom was serious about two things: training us kids to live like Jesus, and making sure we knew how much she loved us. She would hug us until our "love tanks" were full, surprise me at school by taking me out to lunch, plan special trips for just me and her, and stay up late to talk about my night when I got home from hanging out with friends. As an adult, she is now one of my best friends and continues to be the most selfless, patient, and wise mom (and grandma!). So... I always want to get her the most awesome present because, if anyone deserves it, she certainly does. But since they don't sell sunshine in a bottle and because I can't afford to get her a new horse, I usually have to settle for just sharing my heart with her in a card. And, for some reason, she doesn't seem to mind.

One other GREAT thing about Mother's Day is that my sister gave us moms (me, mom, and Alice) a super wonderful present. She set up her massage table in the backyard next to a lovely fountain and treated each of us to a massage. (I bet Annette and Melissa are really wishing they could have been there!). It was sooo relaxing to be outside, listening to the water, and being completely pampered. Thank you, Beckah!! (See why I named my daughter after her?!)

One other funny thing: For some reason, Ezekiel ended up in just his diaper most of the day. At one point, he really wanted to wear his tie so he spent the rest of the day running around in his tie and a diaper.

This and That

(Disclaimer: I don't know what the deal is with the spacing, but I am tired of spending time trying to fix it. Sorry!)

Wow, is it hot. We are trying to stay inside and stay cool today. I just changed the air filter to make sure we are getting optimal performance out of our air conditioner.

So, the kids are playing nicely and I thought I'd take a minute to chat about what is new at our house. A little snapshot:

-My sister returned back to the Domincan Republic after a WONDERFUL week visiting home. It was so good to see her, and one of my favorite visits with her yet. We spent 2 days up in Santa Maria visiting my grandparents with my mom and the kids... a great time.

With my sis at the "Princess Tea" at church

Making lemonaide at grandma and grandpa's:

-Mother's Day was good, but I think I'll devote a whole post to that. Stay tuned.

-Ezekiel has been sooo cute with his sister lately. From day one (honestly from the moment he met her!), he has doted on that little girl. On Friday night, the two of them were actually playing together. Ezekiel was pushing her in the swing and laughing and she was laughing right along with him. Adorable. He will also randomly stop playing, come over to her, kiss her head, and say "nice." Earlier today he walked up to her while I was holding her and threw his arms around her and patted her back. Oh, how it warms my heart.

-I have been thinking a lot about my "ecological footprint" lately, wondering what changes I can make to help reduce my imprint on the earth. It is important to me that I teach my kids about social responsibility, for several reasons. I want them to be good stewards of the resources God has given them, I want them to live on the cleanest, healthiest earth possibile, and because I want them to have an acute awareness that there is more to this world than their own lives. So it begins with me, setting the example. Does your family practice any environmentally friendly disciplines? I'd love to hear your tips!

-I love Craig's List. Yesterday I was on a quest for 2 new things: a toddler bed for Ezekiel and a new diaper bag (love my diaper bag, but I have used it every day for almost 2 years and it has seen better days). And I found both for half price on Craig's List! Hooray!

-So, Kevan has had some weird, mysterious illness for two weeks now. It is really starting to suck, to be honest. At first the doctor thought it was mono (totally has all the symptoms, but the tests came back negative.) So now we're left thinking it is a "serious upper respitory infection." Whatever it is, it is not my friend. Kevan has pretty much been sleeping (with brief interruptions to work his shift) for the last 2 weeks straight. Please pray for him if you think of it, and pray for me to be compassionate (a character trait I'm, um, working on).

Let's end on a happy note:

Look at those big ol' eyes!

Ezekiel has been quite the sleeper-inner lately. I took this pic at 9:30 the other morning, right before I woke him up (which I normally would NEVER do. But, c'mon, 9:30?!?)

PS: I'm not kidding you, since the time I started writing this blog, our air conditioning has stopped working. I don't know what the deal is, but it is HOT in here!

How it went down

So, Kevan and I had a friendly bet on whether or not Ezekiel would make it down the aisle during his grand debut as a ring bearer last weekend. Kevan's guess: Absolutely. Mine: Not so much. And the winner is.... Kevan. Technically. Yes, our brave little guy walked all the way down the aisle... crying the entire way.

If it hadn't been so darn funny, I think I would have run and scooped him up. Poor little thing was scared to death of all those people staring at him! As soon as the doors opened for him and Abby, all those poor guests heard were the wails of my terrified son. I really hadn't considered this scenario. I figured he'd either run down the aisle yelling "ball!" or some other random word, or plop his little bottom down and not budge. But I really never thought about him actually making the voyage crying the whole time. Scared as he was, he just kept putting one foot in front of the other and got the job done. Of course, it didn't hurt that Abby girl managed to keep a tight hold on his hand while still holding her basket and dropping petals along the way. She was determined to be the best little flower girl no matter what her baby cousin was doing! Sooo cute. When Ezekiel reached the bottom of the aisle, I was waiting there for him with treats in hand and a big hug. And he had a blast the rest of the night! Oh, what a little cutie pie he was that night. He looked so stinkin' adorable in his little outfit - and I really think he enjoyed all the attention (from the safety of my arms) that comes along with being the super star ring bearer. Plus, he got to get his groove on on the dance floor, which was pretty awesome. Thank you, Selah, for letting Ezekiel share in your special day! We are so happy for you and Kenny - the wedding was a truly beautiful celebration!

Beautiful Abby and Ezekiel - preparing for their big moment

So sweet. Abby looked like an absolute angel.

"Hey, I did it!"

To celebrate, Abby threw all her rose petals on Ezekiel's head.

Hugs from Aunt Rebekah

Such a beautiful day!

Rolling over and other great stuff

A few days ago I was talking to my sister-in-law, Annette, about her latest doctors appt. Annette is pregnant with her 4th child and she was going on and on about how fun her appointment was and how wonderful it was to see the baby on the ultrasound. I couldn't help but notice that her enthusiasm had not waned from baby number one to baby number four. 37 OB appointments later (or something like that), and it is still amazing. That is how we felt yesterday when our little Bekah Jane rolled over for the first time. Both Kevan and I were there cheering her on. We'd known she was gettting close for days now. And then, all of a sudden, flop!, there she was on her tummy! Hooray! You would think we had never seen anything so great. We were clapping, picture-taking fools. It just doesn't get old.

Rebekah also had another big day this week when she went in for her 4-month check up. (ps: I can't believe she is four months!! I still have baby announcements to send out. How did this happen?!). According to our trusty pediatrician, she is doing great and healthy as can be. She weighs 14 lbs. 4 oz., which puts her in the 70th percentile but we still think she is just a wee little thing. Her big brother was "off the charts" at this age, so she is all girly and dainty in my eyes. =) I was glad that she passed all the little tests: Does she hold her head up? Check. Does she follow me across the room with her eyes? Check. Does she give us any sleep at night? Check, check. (We are super lucky in this category). But why didn't he ask the fun stuff? Like if she likes playing dress up and if she's making friends (of course!). He didn't even want to hear her cute little laugh. I can't imagine.

A few photos on the day she turned 4 months:

We had a fun day of swimming at my mom's this week with Heidi and her kiddos. This was Bekah's first time in the pool, and she seemed pretty relaxed.

Dance party with Everett (see, I told you she is making friends!)

I leave you with a little update on Ezekiel. Two things: 1.) He is obsessed with Elmo. How this happened, I don't know. I think Sesame Street adds some addictive quality to his little voice or something. My son saw that show maybe twice before he was absolutely hooked on that little red monster. What happened next is entirely our fault. We fed the habit.

Yes, that is our son sitting in an Elmo chair holding an Elmo doll. Don't judge. We are entirely aware that this is spoiling and we plan to put an end to it immediately. =)

2.) Ezekiel is a ring bearer in a wedding tonight. His one job is to make it down the aisle in his adorable little outift holding his cousin Abby's hand and the ring pillow. Wish us luck.

PS: For those of you asking, the 2 babies on the way in our family belong to Aaron and Annette and Andrew and Melissa. We are so excited!

Honorable Discharge

Yesterday Kevan received something in the mail that is worthy of celebration: His official Honorable Discharge from the United States Marine Corps. Yup, he is officially done with all his duties and obligations to good 'ol Uncle Sam. His time in the Corps is especially marked by the 7 months that he spent in Iraq... three years ago already. We can hardly believe that it actually happened - and that we lived through it (in more ways than one). And we are SO happy he never has to do it again. When the paperwork arrived yesterday I got that familiar knot in the pit of my stomach when I saw "Department of Defense" in the return address. I knew his time of service was done... but that feeling is hard to shake! I know some guys are "lifers"and do tour after tour overseas. But once Kevan got married he realized that that lifestyle was just not for him. Being apart was just about the worst thing we could imagine, and living through it was nothing short of agonizing. But, at the same time, we're incredibly proud of his service and sacrifice - and thankful to those who continue to answer the call of duty. Kevan was honored to serve our country and he served with commitment and dedication for 6 years. And I am so proud of him. For doing what was right even when he would rather take the easy road, for seeing beyond himself and his own little world in an effort to make the world - and our country - a better place, for waking up at 4 a.m. on the weekends once a month to spend 2 days training and sleeping on dirt and then heading back to work on Monday, for walking miles to a phone in a combat zone for a 10 minute conversation with his wife... the list goes on. The guy made a great Marine, but he makes an even better husband and dad. And I am so thankful we never have to share him again!

In a helicopter in Iraq

Cooking up burgers on the grill he built in Iraq

In case you're wondering if it was all fun and games... how miserable does this look?

Welcoming him back to American soil

I love my former Marine! (Thank goodness it's over!) =)

Fun with Cousins

Autumn, Daniel, Morgan, Ezekiel and Bekah Jane... a perfect day for ice cream!

Imagine if you will 11 kiddos ranging from 3 months to 8 years old... yeah, sort of sounds like a super stressful episode of Nanny 911. But it's actually the reality known as my parent's grandchildren (and with 2 more on the way things are not slowing down!).

Last week, we had the special treat of getting all the kids together at mom and dad's for a play date. As crazy as it is, we all love these rare days when all the cousins play together and the adults try to keep up! It was such a fun day - I just soaked up every minute. I painted Maddie and Morgan's toenails, went lizard hunting with Abby, had snail races, and Aaron and I hung out with 8 little ones in the spa (counting heads every 10 seconds!).

A couple days later we met up with Melissa and her kids so Uncle Kevan could spoil them a little (he had to work earlier in the week when we got together). We played at the park and then headed to Baskin Robbins for some yummy ice cream. Remembering how my parents used to trick me as a kid, we tried giving Ezekiel just the cone. Yeah, he's a lot smarter than I was! He just looked at his pathetic little empty cone and kept asking his cousins for a bite of their ice cream. Nice try.

Maddie, Morgan and Bekah Jane. Morgan held baby Bekah as often as she could. Such a good little mother's helper!

Morgan and Seth help keep Bekah asleep

Ezekiel and Autumn winding down after a busy day

At the park... Bekah Jane trying out the swing for the first time

Doesn't she look so tiny?!

Weee!

Ezekiel finally getting a taste of some Mint 'N Chip. Mmmmm!