Ezra is Two!

The first week of October we celebrated the birth and life of Ezra Caleb.  It was hard to believe that two years had passed since the first time we held him in our arms.  The doctor who delivered him said - "I think this one is going to march to the beat of his own drum" and so far, it's been a prophetic statement - he is definitely his own unique individual!

Ezra is fun!  He loves to joke around, make people laugh, and perform antics for anyone who will watch.  He knows when he has people's attention, and wants to keep it that way!

Ezra is loud! I've mentioned this before, but it still characterizes him.  Yelling (especially inside, where he knows he's not supposed to) is like an art form for him.  He giggles loud, he cries loud, and anything that he can bang--loudly--is good entertainment for Ezra. (This is why, if you ever wonder by our house and it sounds like we are torturing a small child by the screaming inside....don't worry, it's just Ezra, and I probably just told him he was having the green--not the yellow--plate today--or something as equally as devastating!)

Ezra is a little snuggle bug.  He loves to give and receive hugs and kisses, to play with our hair as we hold him, and would happily drag around his little soft "Raffy" (giraffe) lovey all day to snuggle with if we let him...which we don't, to his utter disappointment!  He will often ask for me to rub his back when I put him down for bed or a nap.

Ezra loves the arts. It has been fun to see their different preferences so early in life -- while Isaiah is very logical, orderly, and loves to build, stack, organize, etc, Ezra loves to listen to music, dance, color, paint, do playdoh...and knock things over, to the dismay of his big brother.   Some days it is hard to find an activity that they both enjoy doing at the same time, though as he gets older Ezra is starting to enjoy reading books more and more, an activity Isaiah is almost always excited to do.

Ezra also loves his big brother!  In this house, it's monkey see, monkey do! Anything Isaiah does, Ezra does or wants to do too.  From bike riding, washing hands, funny faces or poses, weird noises....Ezra learns all kinds of things from Isaiah.  Isaiah is very patient with Ezra and puts up with alot from his nosier, more violent sibling....and it is absolutely adorable watching Isaiah help Ezra up a flight of stairs--hand-in-hand--or help Ezra get his shoes off, or reach something on the counter.   The older they get, the better friends and playmates they are becoming.  Some days I feel more like a referee than a mom as I break up all the fights, but other days they play happily together for extended periods of time, and it is super fun to watch!

Ezra was excited to have his picture taken. Isaiah didn't want his picture taken.
This is the picture....notice the copied pose!

This week is also a big week in his life because....He is potty training!  Ezra is proudly wearing some Thomas the Train undies, and after 3 days in them, is doing awesome!  He has only had a very few accidents, and has kept his diaper/pull up totally dry TWO full nights in a row, and all naps!  He is working very hard for his fruit snack potty treats. :)    We are blown away by how quickly he is catching on, but he has also had a great example to see by watching Isaiah.  It is pretty exciting to think we might be a diaper free house for a few months before little baby #3 arrives!

We love you, Ezra! You bring so much joy, laughter, and blessing to our family!

Here are some pictures from his birthday.  He had so much fun being celebrated!

Gifts on his birthday morning

So excited!

Opening gifts at his party

He loved people singing to him!

Yum yum!

Balloon hats and birthday smoothies!

Excited to play with his T-ball gift!

Summer Fun

Alot has happened in life since I last posted.  Alot is still happening but at least it feels like the craziness of it all has diminished.

End of June - We found out I am pregnant! I told Andrew on Father's day, which was really fun. I had found out the day before, which meant a whole 24 hours of SILENCE...considering he's been there for both of the other boys' findings-outs, it was a veeeery loooong twenty four hours to keep it from him. Whew.

Beginning of July - Enter morning sickness!  Actually, morning sickness is really an insufficient title. How about: Morning/noon/evening sickness.  With Isaiah, it was barely there. I only got nauseous if I got hungry, so as long as I always had a little snack on hand, I was fine.  With Ezra, weeks 7-11 were pretty miserable - no throwing up, but nauseous and generally felling of yuckiness/flu like feelings all day.   With this little babe, week 5 pretty much kicked it off (with everything I had with Ezra except amplified), and didn't begin to diminish until week 11...12...13...(ok, seriously, let's wrap this up already!!).

My two active little boys were good to me....but still active.  Andrew getting home from work and being able to take over their care was extra wonderful on many days this summer.  It was not fun, but I haven't ever wanted to complain about it because I know many moms and friends who have it much, much, much worse!

In August we had a great weeklong visit from my parents.  We ate waaay too many pastries from the local French bakery, had fun exploring the sights around us, played many games, picked fresh berries and generally over indulged in really yummy food. They also helped do some packing, because a few days after they left....

We moved!  Major event #2 for the Dusing family during the summer of 2015.   It was just across the property of where we work and live, so maybe 100 yards from our other house.  Andrew did some renovations before the move which meant a busy couple of weeks packing, renovating, painting, and unpacking. We are greatly enjoying our new home, in which Ezra doesn't need to sleep in the bathroom anymore, Andrew and I have our own room that isn't bordered on both sides by children (oh, the gloriousness!), we have a stove, a dishwasher, tons of counter space, and a bathroom that fits all of us in there at one time. (If you've ever bathed multiple children at the same time, you would understand the bathroom part...)  We feel very blessed!  Projects are ongoing (Andrew just finished painted the kitchen/hallway, and the kitchen cupboards are next) but it's all part of the fun of making a house a home.

Here are some pictures of the past few months, in no particular order.....

August: Isaiah canoeing with my parents

August: Family!

August: Quality Nana & Papa time

August: Super excited for a new tool bench!

September: Baby announcements

September: Sweet face

September: Pretending he's about to eat a playdoh taco....right after this picture he actually took a bite...yuck!

September: Roasting marshmallows in our yard

July: Enjoying a picnic in our new bug tent!

July

July: Marshmallows for the 4th of July

July: Too sticky Mommy...too sticky!

July: Clearly, he was not impressed!

July: yummy ice cream cake for Andrew and I's birthday!

July: So many candles...ha!

Life is full, and we see the Lord's goodness to us every day!

Matters of the Heart

Written June 27th....

June has been fun.  The Lord is definitely answering my prayers to enjoy these days of motherhood and play.  Believe me, it's not all fun (!), but I am seeing the Lord at work in my heart and attitude.

One highlight of our month was Andrew and I celebrating our nine year anniversary.  Woohoo! It had been two whole years since our last night away from the kids (basically, since before Ezra was born), and our anniversary seemed like a great reason to make it happen.  One of our co-workers agreed to stay with them, and our kids couldn't wait for a whole day to play with her!

It was 24 hours of fun exploring the big city we live near, really good, extravagant food, and a great time enjoying each other's company.  Such a great break!

This month I've also been reminded of the weight of our job as parents to train and guide our kids' hearts to truth.  Every day before his nap and bedtime, we read the Bible with Isaiah.  He loves the stories, but he also loves to talk about Jesus.  He asks many questions about what's going on, why such and such thing is happening, and is always concerned about the people who do mean or bad things.  He has a sensitive little heart.  The other day we had a fairly long conversation about sin, heaven, why Jesus had to die, and what that means for us--all prompted by his questions.  Some of them were hard to answer--trying to keep it simple for his mind to understand, but to also not water down the gospel and the reason we need Jesus.

Isaiah is young --3 1/2 years -- but old enough that he is becoming aware of what is right and what is wrong, within his own actions and others. In a world where truth is distorted and right is a matter of opinion these days, I have been reminded of the great importance it is to instill God's truth and love into these little hearts we have been entrusted with. To pray unceasingly for them to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, and to pray that they would follow wholeheartedly after Him.

In the midst of these thoughts, I am also reminded of how important it that I am living out in my own life that which we are seeking to instill in our kids' lives.  Am I reflecting Jesus to them in how I talk with them and others, in my attitude, and in my actions?  Am I being quick to forgive and slow to become angry?  Am I loving and serving the least of these as Jesus did?  

In the midst of summer fun, I ponder these things.

blowing bubbles!

Coloring concentration

fishing for something cool

so much fun with bubbles!

swimming and popsicles...what could be better?!

painting the porch with his spray bottle

How old is this kid??!  I see a teenager in here...

Ezra enjoying one of the perks of having your dad be the maintenance guy....custom lawn mowing seat and mower rides!

Brothers working together

They love the water table Andrew built for them!

examining their catch

I am lucky to have such handsome guys in my life!!

Roller Coaster

My last post was in March...I see the calendar says it's almost the end of May, but seriously, what happened to April?!?  I'm not totally sure, except for one great thing - we ended up taking a last minute trip to the States to visit my sister and her family for a week.  It was so fun, so refreshing, and a great reminder of how wonderful it is to be with family--something we don't get to do alot of these days.  The boys got to have so many new experiences, which is always fun to watch.

Play doh fun

Sisters!

Fun on the trampoline

Andrew loved his spot in the back. Really. :)

Camel rides were super fun!

Checking out a firetruck

Doing the monkey bars

On the plane. We love juice time!

The past few weeks we are starting to see Isaiah and Ezra's age gap close as Ezra's gets older and more able to keep up.  Ezra is by far the more adventurous of the two, so it's actually a good thing that Isaiah will be leading the way right now...maybe it will keep Ezra from doing something too crazy and outside of his ability.

They are so fun, so handsome, so smart, and so sweet.  

And yet...do most moms struggle as I do, finding lack of excitement for many days and kid activities? Most of May has been a bit melancholy for me. Spring is here, which means we are outside enjoying the nice weather and green grass.  Some days are easy and fun together, the boys and I.  But then the next is hard as I struggle with the monotony of the coming summer days....the bugs, the heat....*sigh*.  

My lessons of motherhood this month have been to find joy in the Lord amidst the days.  To be thankful always for the gift of my children.  To walk faithfully in obedience to what the Lord is calling me to do.  God has been reminding me that I can be joyful even when I don't feel happy...and that there is no need for me to walk around with a thunder cloud over my head just because I feel that way.

May has felt like a roller coaster of emotion.  I love roller coasters, and the thrill of adrenaline....but I don't love the drama in my head as of late.

Here's to moving on, letting the Lord be in control, and having a wonderful summer!

My Family (my parents, us, my sister and her family).   It was wonderful to be together for a couple days!

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!