Cabinet climber

I thought it was about time our 'little' one deserved some space of his own on the blog, especially since I never finished and put up his 1 year old birthday post.

Ezra 

We are constantly amazed at our second child.  Now 18 months, he is a whirlwind combo of discovery, keeping up with his big brother, chattering, stubbornness, and fun. I don't know if it's because we've been through the age before with Isaiah, or we know all the fun developments that are coming, but Ezra seems so....grown up right now compared to how we thought of Isaiah when he was 18 months.

Such a handsome little man!

One thing we notice so much right now is Ezra's level of speech.  This is probably part personality and part being the second and hearing his brother talking all the time, but this kid is a talker!   He has many words - "Cheese", "Mama", "Dada", "Kee-ra" (our cat, but he uses for all kitties!) "I" (for Isaiah), "Addy", "Miiiyyee" (for Millie), "Teo" (for Theo), "Ball" "Wa" (for water), "Du" for duck, "Nana" (for Nana, or Banana), "Nooo"(a new favorite), "Eh-ra", and "Stuk" (for stuck)....  that's just a tiny spattering.  He will repeat many words/names/objects we point to and tell him, and though not perfect, the sounds are definitely there.

He also does a great job of using the sign language we've taught him.  "Help", "Please", "Thank you", and "More", are currently his top favorites.

here he's saying 'cheese' for Daddy's camera

Ezra loves music.  He loves to dance, clap, do his version of snapping his fingers, play piano, and make noise.  He is super fun to watch.

He was so excited to try this instrument..."Look, it's just my size!"

Ezra is a climber.  He watches Isaiah climb around on things and follows suit.  Yesterday he tried to climb up the cupboards in a pathetic,crying mess of desperation as he tried to get his pacifier that I'd put on the back counter.  I think he almost had a foot hold locked in as he practically did the splits to get one leg on top of the counter.  It was funny in a pathetic kind of way...

Speaking of the subject at hand, this boy looooves his pacifier.  He would probably walk around with it 24/7 if we let him. Which we don't.  He gets it for his pre-sleep routines, when he's not feeling good, and when there is a strong need for him to be quiet.  He doesn't get to sleep with it (most of the time), though he would if he could!   We weaned Isaiah off of his paci at 6 months because his sleep was so poor with it, so a toddler with a pacifier is new territory for us.  Especially as he's getting older, we see Ezra's emotional, rather physical, attachment to it. There is ongoing discussion as to when the pacifier should have the final day in Ezra's life....but no conclusions have been drawn yet.

Ezra, 16 months, not minding the -25 C temperatures...

He is also a snuggler, and a mama's boy.  Hard core mama's boy. He gives wonderful, gentle, smacking kisses when asked, and sometimes on his own initiative. Actually, it is a common occurrence for Isaiah and Ezra to grab each other in head-locking hugs and give each other kisses...just because.  These are beautiful moments I cherish.

A few logistics just to log them in:  at 18 months, Ezra takes a 20-30 minute nap every morning, and about a 2 hour nap each afternoon.  He usually sleeps 11 1/2 hours at night - often straight through the night. However, with all the sickness in our house the past 4 months, we have gone through several disturbances to this pattern.  He is a good eater, but doesn't match Isaiah insatiable appetite at 18 months. He loves broccoli and carrots, and will eat most other vegetables anyway. Top on the sweet list are pears, oranges, bananas, and any kind of berry.  Ok, basically all fruit, with apples being lowest on the list.

His first 4 molars came in during February - basically one each week.  It was relatively pain/fuss free for him, for which I am super thankful.

He stopped drinking milk around 16 months.   After breastmilk he went to rice milk, and then when we cautiously went to cow's milk (due to his sensitivity to it in his early months), he decided he really didn't care one iota about milk of any kind.  I tried a few other types of healthy drinks and gave up. He drinks water now. :)  I really shouldn't have been surprised, this kid makes up his own way.

He is a bit wild, very entertaining, sweet, and fun-loving. We love getting to watch him grow!

Ready for the slopes!