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.

three brunettes and a blonde January 22, 2008

I added some pics from cabo to my photos page. more pics are coming soon. (yep i just have to get them off the camera or off corey’s computer :()

one new years resolution January 22, 2008

i resolve to have no resolutions this year. that way i don’t set myself up for failure. actually that sounds really nice but it’s me admitting i lack a little thing called discipline. oh i try. don’t we all? i have such good intentions…but lack the follow through. they say it takes something like 2 weeks to get into an exercise routine- i think it takes 2 years (and i’ve never gotten that far), and 40 times to make something a habit (i’m making that one up)- try 40 times 40 for me. though i won’t resolve to do anything i do have dreams and they keep popping up everywhere.

i know i wrote a short story, shared it last year and have done nothing with it since. but it’s sitting there, calling my name. since then i’ve had numerous ideas about how to reach children through story and engaging adult-kid activities. every time a friend thinks of something they would like- for instance a book of great scriptures to help toddlers and preschoolers memorize the bible- i get inspired and think, i’d like to write/create that! there are a ton of ideas running through my head, the struggle is sitting down and making time to get started. it’s definitely not an i’m too busy issue. not yet anyway.

ironically enough, as much as i love books there are two strange things going on. first, when i sit down to read i’m either too distracted by dirty dishes and unpaid bills or i’m so tired i fall asleep after the first paragraph. the other strange thing is that ezra has not taken to the idea of reading a book with mommy yet. he’d much prefer to open one to the middle, close it/smash my fingers in the middle and then chew on the corners. i hope this goes away or my career in writing children’s books would be seriously discredited.

new additions to the neds in ‘07 January 5, 2008

Welcome Ezra Michael (3/29/07) and Bethany Kirstein (engaged to my brother Danny 11/22/07)

Just a quick brag about my beautiful (though sometimes wacky) family. We spent some time together at my folks place in Cabo this Christmas. We were ALL together for 5 whole days- for the first time since last christmas when we were together for, oh, 2 whole days. Yes a big family can be fragmented at times. Especially when we live in 3 different states and 2 countries.

Cute sleeping babies! Ezra looks so peaceful right? Well let’s just say during the day was about the only time he slept “peacefully”. More rantings about our “vacation” later. In summary, though it wasn’t what I classify as vacation, I wouldn’t trade the time with my family for anything.

Merry Christmas from the Hages December 10, 2007

This past weekend we spent Saturday morning doing family pictures with a friend. it was the perfect day, and I truly believe that Seattle is the most beautiful city in the northwest. Not five minutes from our house is Discovery Park which used to be an old military base. The remnants left make for beautiful and mysterious stories about what went on years ago. Here are some of my favorite pics from the day.

and next to our christmas tree!

Merry Christmas!

update on life December 4, 2007

Hi all, I haven’t been so good about posting lately. What have we been up to? We had a great thanksgiving weekend with Corey’s parents and grandparents (I will remind you they are 92 and still traveling), and siblings. I decided to take on the task of turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie to name a few. The turkey was a first for me and it actually turned out okay, surprisingly enough! I love thanksgiving, one because of the good food, and two because Corey and I have started a tradition of decorating our house for Christmas on Thanksgiving weekend. So up went the tree, mantle decor, Advent candles and stockings. Ezra got a new rocking horse (early Christmas present from grandparents in Colorado), which sits in front of the Christmas tree (twofold purpose: because there is no other place for it, and to block Ezra from eating the fake greenery :))- so everything is festive and fun.

The mom’s group I am leading at church has been such a wonderful group of friends and support. Several new babies have arrived and finally a boy this week for Ezra. There seem to be so many little girls at church! A few weeks before Thanksgiving we had a Thanksgiving dinner for the Homeless in our community. We decorated the fellowship hall and served up a traditional turkey dinner- 5 big birds! About 75 homeless folks showed up. Minhee, her kids and I put together all the grocery/gift bags of donations for every to take back to their “homes”. It took us about 3 hours to put together 60 bags because of the huge amount of donations. It was great! That night I got to sit and play the piano for the first hour of the dinner which was fun. I played only 4 songs (my repertoire is VERY limited) the whole hour. Well, most of it I made up, but I haven’t played for that amount of time in a long while.

Back to the light of my life: Ezra. He started crawling a couple weeks ago, has 4 teeth and more on the way down, is developing a little stranger anxiety but still goes to sunday school and moms group childcare no prob. He is such a happy baby, and can’t be more thankful. His personality is really starting to develop- definitely some stubbornness and persistence like his mother. Curiousity like his father. And the greatest little laugh. My favorite thing is to watch him light up when Corey walks through the door at night. I say “daddy’s home” in an excited voice, and he perks up, looking around for him. As soon as he sees daddy it’s pretty much certain that he’s going to grin or laugh, or wave his arms in excitement. Very heartwarming. I am also amazed at the amount of food this little child can put away. He’s really into eating whatever we are eating. Last night was his first round of taco soup- a must in our family because we eat it so often. He loved it so much. He really prefers “big people” food to pureed baby food so little by little we will keep introducing our favorite Hage foods (except for chips, french fries and icecream).

Business for Corey is finally starting to pick up. We can’t wait for the day when he can do wedding photography full-time. He has gotten a couple jobs for 2008 and we are hoping for more. It has been difficult to watch him know exactly what he wants to do, but because of the restraints of finances, not be able to pursue with all his time and energy. His pictures are beautiful. I am amazed at his talent. If you want to support him, tell your friends getting engaged and married about Hage Creative. He travels! Wives are allowed to give shameless plugs…

So clearly I need to write more often so these blogs aren’t so terribly long.

p.s. new pix on photo page