weddings and walking April 29, 2008

At sixteen weeks, I think I’ve finally turned a corner with this little baby growing inside me. My energy is coming back, and just in time for a busy spring!  Last week the fam was in san diego celebrating jenny and kyle’s wedding.  It was beautiful despite the chilly weather on the actual wedding day. Two more family weddings to go this year. We had an unusual surprise while there.  I got to hang out with two of my brothers- which NEVER happens!

We took a trip to sea world with Nic, Rebecca, Wendy and Mike.  It was so cool.  Ezra’s favorite sign right now is water and everywhere we went that day- he was signing water, water, water…

Ezra turned 13 months today.  Corey and I are trying to wait patiently for him to walk.  He is very content to speed crawl from place to place or cling to whatever object is closest by that can keep him balanced.  But tonight, right before bedtime he took three baby steps!  It was so exciting.  Corey and I were screaming and clapping (probably scaring the heck out of Ez).  We can’t wait for all that is to come!

baby fame April 8, 2008

Here’s a video of Ezra and his buddy Jack a few weeks ago. Enjoy!

Compliments of my new brother in law Kyle

excuses April 7, 2008

I have a great excuse for not blogging very much since January. Life these past 3 months has been a complete blur. With three of Corey’s and my siblings getting married in the next few months and another due to have a baby any day- we thought- heck, we should add to the family pandemonium. So Ezra will be a big brother somewhere around October 12th of this year. Ezra was born on his Aunt Annie’s birthday, we’re shooting to deliver the second on Uncle Danny’s birthday

Here is what I have been doing the past three months: First priority- take care of Ezra and try to have as much fun with him as possible, despite the sickness. Second- Eat and not be sick. Third- Sleep. Everything, and i do mean everything else has gone by the wayside. Thankfully Corey is forgiving. An incredible, though not uncommon, wave of fatigue has completely taken over my life. It has sucked pretty much all motivation out of me as well as my ability to think or function at even a half-normal level. Though I haven’t been vomiting and nauseas, I have had the most bizarre (as far as i can tell) and unrelentless stomach ache which has been equated with a need to consume food every hour to hide/curb/diminish the pain. I can’t tell if the eating really helps or not, because the pain doesn’t really go away. However, I am beginning to see glimpses of light at the end of the first trimester dark tunnel because I get spurts of “slow motion energy” that come in 15 to 30 minute increments a couple times a day. this allows for dishes to get done and the toys to get picked up off the floor.

Poor Ezra. He would prefer to be outside petting dogs, pointing to birds and airplanes and swinging at the park. I have basically imprisoned him in our house. His one connection to the outside world is our big picture window in the front room. We sit on the couch and stare at the people, animals, cars, and other things moving around us.

Besides church on Sundays and the grocery store a couple times a week, we don’t get out at all. Except for our weekly time with the moms group at quest. It is my favorite time of week. Ezra gets to play with other human beings his age, gets to take a break from boring mommy, and I get to laugh, cry, and find comfort in friends who understand exactly what I’m going through. While I’ve seriously slacked in my leadership of the group as of late, I always find a measure of hope and strength to finish my week with from the group. thank you ladies.

okay, now that i’ve written a novel…chapter 2: Ezra just turned one! More to come later

moms can’t always be the hero March 17, 2008

A funny story to share, which will emphasize the point, that try as we might to save our babies from all harm, it’s just not always possible!  And sometimes when we try to hard, we end up doing more damage than good.  Case in point:  I laid Ezra down for an afternoon nap last week.  I was tired so I decided to take a rest as well.  A few minutes into it though I heard a thud and suddenly Ezra was crying.  After hearing the story of a friend who son climbed out of his crib and broke his arms just week earlier, I could only think the worst.  I jumped out of bed, completely disoriented- apparently I had been more tired than I thought.  You need to know that my bedroom is literally 2 feet from Ezra’s bedroom.I raced out the door of my bedroom, but as I turned the corner, I got dizzy, my socks were slippery and I went banging from doorway, to wall, to doorway, into Ezra’s room, into his doorway and fell on the floor at the base of his crib with an even larger thud than he had made.  I couldn’t even stand for a minute I was so dizzy, and in pain from banging around all the doors.  Corey rushed up from the basement, after hearing all the commotion, to find me on the floor and Ezra still crying, with blood coming out of his mouth from banging his gums on the crib rail.  Poor baby- no, poor mommy!

I still have bruises on my leg, evidence of my attempt to save my son.  Lesson learned- when baby cries, make sure you have equilibrium before rushing to save the day.

If you are concerned about Ezra- he is fine, and has not attempted to do whatever he did that afternoon, yes, to get out of a nap (in which he succeeded).

jury duty March 13, 2008

I got a notice in the mail today that I’ve been “summoned” for jury duty. Argh. As much as I love justice, there is just something not appealing about sitting in a courtroom listening to who knows what…then there is a part of me, the part that used to watch perry mason all the time, that’s curious as to what it would be like to be on a jury. But honestly, do I have to pay a babysitter to go down to the courthouse, to sit and wait to see if I am even selected to be on the jury? Moms of young children should be able to opt out-easily- if they want…that’s just my opinion.

will you be my valentine? February 19, 2008

who could resist that face?

sunni cali February 10, 2008

Last week Ezra and I went on an adventure to San Jose, CA…our first trip without Daddy! Ezra did really well on the plane. He almost lost it on the way down, because he was skipping a nap, but he held on and stayed composed the whole way. A couple bottles of formula later, we arrived to visit our dearest friends Steve and Stina and their new baby James. We had so much fun just catching up and sharing life as new moms together. Our boys hit it off so well- taking naps at the same time, playing together and even going to bed around the same time so us moms could party hard :). We hope they will be BFF’s!we tried unsuccessfully to get a group shot of all four of us at Santa Cruz, but alas, my camera skills still prove poor. oh well!Ezra was sure glad to make a new friend and he keeps signing “baby” now that we are back home. I’m pretty sure he’s thinking about his best buddy in sunny california! love you jamesy poo!

food and feet February 1, 2008

Here’s the latest fun things with Ezra. Our friend Lucy Hwang made Ezra cute bunny slippers when he was born. They finally fit him.

Today, Ezra decided he didn’t want his bib on. Then he decided, i don’t want my shirt on either. Normally I would intervene, but today I thought I would just watch and see what Ezra would do with a little freedom at lunchtime.

look at me mom!I know how to use a spoon… it’s easier when you just tip the bowl over…am I going to get in trouble for this?

how could a person get mad at an adorable kid like this?

baby sign language January 26, 2008

I am so amazed at my son. Corey and I started teaching Ezra a couple baby signs when he was about 5 months old. “more” and “all done”. Just a couple weeks ago the sign language thing kicked in. In a matter of a couple days he was signing “more”, “all done”, and waving “bye-bye”. Not necessarily on cue, nor at the appropriate times always. But nevertheless we could see him really trying to communicate with more than facial expressions, body language and crying.

Ezra is usually having breakfast in his highchair when Corey leaves for work, and a couple weeks ago, about 10 minutes after Corey left, Ezra looked out the big window (where we wave goodbye to daddy when he leaves) and waved his arm, as if to say “daddy went bye-bye”. I was shocked and so excited! He’s done it again several times and has even done it in the evening when he is waiting for daddy to come home. For me, it’s the coolest thing so far. But it gets even better.

We went to visit some friends who just had a baby a few nights ago. While sitting chatting I showed Ezra the sign for baby (which he has seen a few times before). Almost immediately after I showed it to him, he looked at the baby and did the gesture. It looks very much like his sign for “more”, but later when we ask him to “show us baby”, he does the same sign, and smiles, as if he remembers adorable little Tobias.

And finally last night, I was praying for our dinner with my hands folded. Corey and I regularly practice this ritual and usually Ezra just ignores it, or smiles at us like we are doing something strange. But last night, as I said amen I looked up to find him smiling at me with his hands clasped in front of him. Hallelujah! The boy wants to pray.

His vocabulary continues to grow by the day: elephant trumpeting sound, car sounds, airplane sign (yesterday), banana and cracker sign (today)…

Now I know these behaviors are not unusual for children, but to experience it as a parent, not just as an educator or teacher is indescribable. To see the stages of development in communication with my child is something to “wow” about.

I would recommend babysigningtime to anyone wanting to enjoy this type of communication with your child. It’s a fun-to-watch sign language series for babies and little kiddos.

i made the switch January 24, 2008

I finally did it. I switched to cloth diapers. I ordered it all today and will pick everything up on Tuesday. Ezra- watch out! Your bum is going to feel mighty nice! Even before “going green” was a cool thing; I had considered cloth diapers. It’s great for baby’s bottom, so much better for the environment, better on the wallet, and they aren’t that hard to use (so i’ve heard :)). They were once considered old fashion- you’d be surprised what they are creating for cloth diapers now! (I’ll add that the “coolest” cloth diapers aren’t the coolest for your wallet). The Hage family is going back to basics. plain old white cloth diapers and plain old white diaper covers- no pins thank goodness. I have to thank a few friends and family for inspiring me. And babysitters- don’t worry…they make really nice, easy to use cloth diapers. You’ll love it.