His Hair

So it's no secret that we like to keep Ezra's hair somewhat on the longer side. ;) I love his white blonde hair even if it's turning more toward the yellow/dirty blonde color. I figure when else can a boy get away with wild, untamed hair? Perhaps as a teenager, but then it's more on the stinky side and not so much on the sweet. ha!

Last week I noticed he could no longer really see through his bangs. So, I grabbed some scissors and we sat outside while I trimmed them a bit. Then I thought I should probably take it up just a hair on the length too since I was already at it. Several minutes later I realized I had completely miscalculated just how much I had trimmed. Then there was the whole frantic flurry of trying to save it {which we all know just makes it worse}.

My job {Before}...

 
The following day my parents took E and {what do ya know?} ended up at Sports Cuts. ;) There, they cleaned up my hot mess and had him looking much more adorable in no time.

Their clean-up {After}...

My little guy is looking and seeming so much older these days!

Our {OC} Weekend

If you're an instagramer and follow, I filled up your feed with our adventure to visit W's family this past weekend. We were surprising my mother-in-law for her 70th birthday. It was a whirlwind trip and we packed it full of fun. 

Friday morning our AIS {ass-in-seat} time was set for 8:30 and I'm pleased to report that we made it by 8:35! The boys did pretty well in the car. Since facing Ezra toward us when he was one, he's been a fabulous traveler...Theo, not so much. But he did well.

We made great time and got to Wes and Carolyn's house by mid-afternoon. The boys set up for a cousin camp-out with the Papas. 

 The kids played, climbed trees and enjoyed the last sliver of sun. 

We got to see Shane and Alyson too because Ruth went to the hospital for Grandbaby #17's birth. My sis-in-law, Dorothy, brought Theron Joseph into the world that night. Following set-up, we had dinner and a movie {Wall-E}.

E did great sleeping in the tent! He's got Swenson Camping in his blood already. Saturday morning was lovely and slow; including a yummy bfast.

Then instead of naptime at the normal hour, we sneaked off to the beach for a few hours before the final prep for Mama Judy's party.

It was such a great time. There really wasn't much time left for extras this trip which made me sad {Ams, I wished we could have seen you!!!} so it was super nice to get at least one bonus activity in. For that, I'm grateful!

Then it was off to celebrate this lovely lady whom I'm blessed to call my mother-in-law!

She was beyond surprised and SO happy to see most of her children and grandchildren there. I really think she delighted over the whole deal. :) And of course, I caught some more cousin craziness!

 Eating a cupcake a la concrete.

 We all stayed up way too late, but as luck would have it, the boys slept in and we woke up in time to pack up, say good-byes, and load up the car before eleven. Then it was back on the road yet again. And who knew it would be so eventful...

We were right behind an accident on the last part of the grapevine. Since the CHP hadn't arrived yet, W got out to help and check in on the couple who's car was completely smashed up. Thankfully, they were fine and the CHP arrived shortly thereafter. And then not too long after we were back on the road after lunch, I got a call from our local police telling us our car had been hit and needed a tow. 

My parents came to give them the keys and snap some pictures so we could see. Yikes! So sad! This car has been my car for the last 13 years. Definitely an end of an era. Of course, at this point it's only W's commuter car, but horribly inconvenient for us nonetheless.

By the time we arrived home, the car was towed and turned over to insurance. I didn't even get to see it in person...probably better that way. But it definitely was the talk of the neighborhood since two others were hit. 

The boys did so outstanding the whole way back and we made really good time. Once back, we did some yummy fast food, biked a few times around the block for good measure, showered and put the boys to bed.

Quite the weekend, indeed!

The 'Ow' Book

Every week or so, the Swenson family hits up the local library. Sometimes we get crazy and walk there multiple times in a week. But for E, we check out a new set of four or five books once a week. It's a bit hard to rummage through the stacks of picture books with the criteria in mind: attractive pictures, not too many words per page, but still has a central story line, and is on a topic he likes. Mostly, these books surround his current interests: fire trucks, cats, dogs, babies, etc. I'm still hoping to come across some bike or motorcycle ones..although I should probably just to do a specific research for them.  This is all while trying to watch him while he's in the play area.

Throughout the week, we typically read the books once in the morning right when he wakes up and we jump back in our bed with him snuggled in on Papa's side {which can buy me up to a whole additional hour of laying in bed}. And after naptime or right before dinner; along with his puzzles. He picks out which ones we read so right away I know if I've made a good selection or not that week. One of his favorite books from the library to date is this book:

Please Take Me For A Walk

By Susan Gal

It's about a pup who desperately wants to go for a walk as he shares all the dog-happy things he'll be able to do while on the walk. The pictures are made from charcoal and digital collages-- very rich and eye-catching. The author also clearly sets the story in her Berkeley neighborhood during the fall, which is fun too.Yes, that means complete with smart cars in the street and Mac computers at the cafe.

Well, this library book is now officially ours and is also officially known as the "Ow" book. E was 'reading' through it on his own one afternoon several weeks ago and happened to rip out a few pages from the binding as well as rip a page right down the center. I was able to tape the torn page, but still haven't tried to get the others back near the binding. 

We went the following week to notify the library and discovered that they have done away with the 'replace on your own' program. Basically, you have to just pay for the book AND a processing fee. Awesome, huh? I thought libraries weren't for profit?! Prior to the 'defacement' incident, I was actually going to hop on Amazon and buy a copy for E, he loved it so much. Welp, he does, in fact, have his very own {partial} copy for $21 now.  BUT he still picks it out to read every day and will repeatedly say "Ow" as we approach the torn page and the two pages I've shoved in the back until I tape them back to the binding. So, in part we're getting some money's worth. Yeesh.

Needless to say, we'll be keeping library book reading as a joint activity until he's a bit older. And he'll be sticking to board books on his own.

The Big 3-0

W turned 30 yesterday!! And I didn't have one thing planned for the weekend. Long story...W became obsessed quite enamored with a product called Utilikilt back in September. He's wanted one ever since he got fitted for one--but these puppies sell for $300. 

W had done some research and discovered that they travel to fairs around the area. Since the company is still in its grassroots development, they allow volunteers to help out with these fairs in exchange for merchandise. So back in March, W contacted them about the local Maker Faire on his birthday weekend. He was hoping to have fun helping sell kilts and then barter his time for one. He was super excited and was told he was first on the list. But come closer to the weekend and he still hadn't heard anything from them. Long story short, he had to jump through lots of hoops just to find out they had forgotten about him and were already staffed. My disappointed hubby was such a good sport and we made up plan B as we went along.

We went for a hike after a great morning at the Farmer's Market with friends,

Did some building and truck playing,

And had a fabulous breakfast before church on Sunday

I told W that our next weekend plans will by far make up for his cancelled ones, but he said he loved his birthday weekend even with Plan B.

Happy Birthday, Lover!

Too Soon, Tooth Fairy!

Apparently, it has been too delightfully boring and wonderfully normal around the Swenson house. Because Ezra cracked his tooth this week when he slipped on the wet floor from his knees while I was cleaning him up after dinner. I will not recount just how sad and torn up I was over the whole incident. W first called Kaiser and then our friend, Will the Orthodontist, to make arragements to see him the next afternoon.

 The following day the tooth was no longer stationary, so W left work early and we drove to the local office of the Alameda Pediatrics Dentistry to get it checked out, only to learn that this office is closed on Mondays. W called the emergency line and name-dropped Will with the Alameda office (which is about 30 miles away) and we made an appointment for as-soon-as-we-could-get-there and were on our way.

They examined E and decided the best thing for him was to extract the tooth. There was really no hope of salvaging it. My Knight stayed with Ezra during the quick procedure while I waited outside, trying not to cry in front of the handful of kids waiting for their appointments. The staff was so great at making us feeling comfortable and confident. One assistant shared how her little girl had two chipped teeth. And Dr. Perry {who has three grandkids of his own} was superbly helpful and professional. It went as smoothly as it could have.

Ezra was so wiped by the whole thing that he was out cold on the drive home. 

I finally found relief that evening during dinner while talking with W. I realized that I'd been carrying the weight of the incident and damaged tooth that whole day and night before. And I was so exhausted by it. I guess I was worried that he wouldn't be the same little cutie as before; that this had somehow changed who he was or tarnished his adorableness. But W had taken some pictures while I was at the grocery store and showed me that my worries were no longer needed.

Sure, his perfect little smile isn't so perfect anymore, but he is still that sweet, handsome, little fire-cracker with a larger-than-life personality that I know and love. He'd already bounced right back by evening and was all smiles and giggles for Papa. In fact, by early evening he seemed completely unfazed by the whole ordeal. Clearly, we were more traumatized than he was! He still cracks me up. He's still so snuggly. He's still our Ezra. And for that, I didn't want or need that burden anymore.

The wound will heal. We'll get use to the gap. None of this is permanent. W says it just makes him more like a big boy now, which I'm not too keen on, but guess I have to face the fact that he is growing up.

And I also have to face that not only is Ezra a boy, but he is a Swenson boy. I'd heard all of W and his brothers' horror stories before--I knew what I was getting myself and our future boys into when I married. ;) Ezra's cousin, Daniel, has already had his front tooth extracted. So, why was I so surprised?

 As Uncle John said to W, "Ezra, welcome to the Toothless Club!!!"

Poor Bookie

Sometimes being a babe is just plain hard!

The day we left SoCal was one of the roughest for Ezra. He was just so pitiful.

He had a low grade fever, runny nose, and was just miserable. And was teething HARD, on top of everything.

Ezra napped on and off for most of the ride home. He even took a few naps on me before we left. That never happens anymore. I must confess that it was really sweet to have that again. I so miss those days where he would sleep on or next to me. But I was so sad for my little guy.

After all that sleep, he seemed much better the following day. He's still not quite 100% yet. The three teeth are almost all the way in now...just in time for that 4th top one. Hopefully, these next ones are a bit milder. The past few weeks were no fun!

So Far This Week...

...an outrageous storm-fest on our apple hill day. sure is a long drive for three quick stops, no u-pick, and a picnic lunch in the car. we made the best of it and still brought home some yummy treats. what a bummer that this fits in with our slightly-turbulent traditions this year. hopefully this trend won't last.

...i misplaced my cellphone {because 'lost' is such a strong word}. W had to go out to At&t to get a new sim card to use in his pre-iphone phone. this one gets less service in our house than my old one. not to mention, all the lost contact information and cute pictures.

...our little man, who's currently working on 3 teeth, got his first official owie while over at some friends' house for dinner. he took a face-dive while crawling through their table and chairs. they have a extremely fearless boy a year older, so my girlfriend was quick with the ice and washcloth. after some crying, blood, snuggles and a big fat lip later, he picked up playing again.

...after 11 years of a clean record {ok, there was that one ticket in colorado}, i got into my first car accident. i was alone. and it was so my fault. a minor fender-bender but it sure got the adrenaline pumping and put me in a funk. not looking forward to the increase in premium payments for the next 3 years.

...our health insurance is expiring this weekend and i need to sign-up for a new plan ASAP. stress!!!

So it's only tuesday. and well, things aren't smooth sailing for the swensons. but here are some things that i'm thankful for:

-Linds birthday & family dinner celebration tonight

-That the rain made everything so colorful and beautiful as we drove around the orchards

-The man who snuck in two extra apple cider donuts for us

-Getting to meet, visit & hear stories from W's pastor growing up {who now lives close to apple hill}...just another reminder of what a great man I married!

-W being there for Bookie's wipe-out

-The wonderful family we had dinner with

-W cleaning & vacuuming the downstairs on his day off

-Learning to sew buttons on & how to iron at my new small group 'hidden art of home-making' {please don't judge: I didn't like to iron so I never learned how}

-Bookie's lip looking almost back to normal the next day

-The kind officer who helped everything get squared anyway.

-W being home after I got home from dealing with the accident

-The sim card being free

-W starting to interview for jobs

-We get to visit W's family so very soon

...it's good to see that the good outweighs the bad...

here's hoping for a better end of the week!

A Change of Plans

We started the day of the wedding a bit hectically. We were trying to squeeze in a farm visit to milk a cow before 4:00. I called the farm before we had left California but didn't make a reservation because I wasn't sure which day would work best. So here I was calling them Friday morning and leaving messages while W went to go get a rental car. Long story short, the farm wasn't open that day due to last minute family business and W found this out just in time to not rent the car. Not going to lie, I was definitely bummed!! Not only did I really really want to milk that cow, I was also excited to see more of Wisconsin, outside the city limits. Oh well. It's still on my list, waiting to be crossed off.

Instead, Michelle, W, Ezra and I had a great day wondering around Lake Michigan's shore and taking in more of the city.

For lunch, we stopped at Milwaukee Public Market, which is a less-busy, indoor, smaller scale version of Seattle's Pike Place.

We took our lunches and walked out to the water. We passed by the Milwaukee Art Museum.

We ate along the shoreline.

And played while getting some sun at Veteran's Park.

Lots of mischief for the boy.

Getting into the contents behind his stroller.

Afterward, we went back to the hotel for a nice, refreshing nap before getting ready for the wedding!