Size: Miss Ezra is wearing size 5 diapers, 18-24 month and 2T clothes and size 6 shoe. She's got a few 12-18 month stragglers in her drawers still, but she seems to be growing like a weed! And while it's sad to see her chunk slowly disappear, we're very thankful for a healthy and growing babe! But when I say "slowly", I mean very slowly... We still can't fit jeans up over her thighs and any shirt with an elastic waistband just gets stuck over the top of her large belly! I'm hoping the wrist creases and knuckle dimples stick around for another year! - After a slightly belated well-check appointment we know that Ezra weighs a whopping 28 pounds, in the 98%tile for weight, has a head circumference in the 95%tile and is in the 42%tile for height...?! We knew she was on the shorter side when she turned one, but we assumed that was related to the weight loss issue and that she'd be back to "normal" by now. The doctor's aren't worried, she's completely healthy!, just not as tall as we thought she'd be! I mean, have you seen her dad!? ;) She'll shoot up before we know it, and doesn't actually look short, especially not in comparison to her 2 year old+ friends!, but we were a little surprised by that number.
Eat: Ezra is eating three solid meals a day and 1-2 snacks throughout. She loves her yogurt, granola and blue berries for breakfast, smoothies for a morning snack, fruit (all fruit!) and cheese for lunch and pizza for dinner (she out eats me on Friday pizza nights!) Other than pizza, she doesn't particularly like bread (she will actually only eat the pieces with toppings and tosses the crust aside!) If you give that part of the meal to her first, solo, she'll eat it (like her pb&j sandwiches at lunch) but if she has something she likes more on her plate, she won't touch it! She still doesn't like applesauce, quinoa or avocado, (add sugar snap peas and carrots to that list!) but for the most part, she'll try anything we give her! Something I want to remember - Stephen made Ezra a Minnie Mouse shaped pancake for dinner once, in hopes of getting her to eat her pancakes. I don't know exactly when or how she figured out who Minnie Mouse was, but she got so excited to have a Minnie shaped pancake! She kept pointing at her mouth saying, "Minn Mou!" She still does that, out of the blue, like the though of eating that Minnie Mouse pancake just pops in her head and makes her smile and laugh! Now, every time we make pancakes for dinner, she'll eat as many as we give her so long as they're shaped like Minnie Mouse!
Teeth: Ezra has 12 teeth in that big smile of hers! 16, technically, but those 4 canines are still working their way to the surface. She doesn't seem to be too bothered by the teething process, which we're sure thankful for!, but I feel so bad for her that these canines are taking so long to come in! She loves to brush her teeth before bed and I love to see that beaming smile of hers!
Sleep: Sleeping Beauty is still continuously sleeping through the night - to bed at 7 and rising at 6. Lately, just before Stephen and I left for Hawaii, she started having trouble going down for bed and soothing herself to sleep. She'd never be able to fall asleep in our arms, no matter how long we rocked or sang, and as soon as she was put down in her crib, she'd stand back up and cry. Usually, it would take her just a few minutes to quiet down and she'd be asleep by the time Uriah went to bed 30-60 minutes later. This is still our usual routine, unfortunately, though just over the last couple of days it has gotten better. Instead, she's fighting nap time! Thanks, Ezra! ;) I think, ideally, she would take two naps a day, but I'm not interested in being homebound all day if her naps bookend Uriah's. She goes down around 1 for an afternoon nap and usually sleeps close to 2 hours, though recently, they've been shorter and shorter, if she takes one at all. I'm not sure what's got her schedule thrown for a loop, but I am just thankful she sleeps well at night (unlike her brother...)
Milestones: So Stephen and I went away to Hawaii and Ezra started talking... COOL! ;) I was sad to miss her new words but it was such a treat to come home to! She finally says "momma" on a regular basis (!!!) and Uriah, too! I thought about trying to type out all the words she says and how it sounds when she says them, but looking around the room at all their toys and all our things... there isn't anything she doesn't say and it would just take too long to write out! Not all her words are completely clear, of course, but she will at least try to say anything we ask her to repeat. Her animal sounds are so sweet, too! And just in the last couple of days, she's been starting to say two words together! I love hearing her sweet voice! She is still climbing all over everything and becoming quite the daredevil. Her hand eye coordination and fine motor skills are improving, too - she can put Uriah's Legos together all by herself and loves building block towers. She is still using sign language, for some basic words, and we've been learning a few new ones in school with Uriah (I love that she gets to join in on his school time!) She loves signing and singing songs (and I love to witness it!), Three Little Monkeys, The Wheels on the Bus and Jesus Loves Me are her favorites. I'm always so impressed with her level of understanding, too - she knows all the main body parts and she comprehends all that we ask or tell her and can appropriately respond (unless we're telling her to "stop" - she has selective listening when it comes to that word).
Likes: Ezra is still the happy and content babe she's always been - I have friends ask me if she actually cries or whines. And she does, trust me!, but it is rare ;) She loves her daddy and her brother - always wanting to be apart of what they're doing (Stephen of course doesn't mind, but Uriah doesn't always have the patience for it ;) She loves bath time and swimming, playing with blocks and baby dolls, watching Daniel Tiger (which is a pretty rare event), eating (!!), doing anything outside (she is just now starting to like the slides at the park), "making food" with her pretend food and kitchen toys and fighting pretend bad guys as Iron Man or with our superhero figurines (this is actually one of my favorite things she does! - sound effects and all!) She loves playing chase and hide and go seek - loves them! She still doesn't mind the stroller, the Ergo or the carseat. She would happily sit in a sand hold and dig for long periods at a time. She loves her blankey, all stuffed animals, watching Nana's cat on FaceTime and Papa! (her new best friend after our September beach trip!)
Dislikes: She is getting better and better about sharing, but really, I think it's Uriah who needs more lessons ;) so she'll protest when something is taken out of her hand, or if he picks up a toy she was previously playing with, but she can still be easily distracted or soothed. Other than the fights with Uriah, she basically only cries when you tell her what to do, mostly if that demand involves "no" or "stop", neither of which she will listen to. She's persistent and independent and while it's hard to teach a little one like that small life lessons, in the long run, I pray those character traits stick around and help her achieve her goals.
Things I want to remember: Her resilient attitude - always getting knocked down, always getting back up. Her white blonde hair (especially in those pigtails!) Her perfect, smooth skin. Her fighting sound effects. Her dance moves. When she comes running around the corner with her hands in the air yelling, "supize!" Her genuine belly laugh. Her monkey face, as I have come to call it, when she stretches out her top lip and pouts at the bottom one, usually reserved for when she's examining something. Her mischievous smile. Her big squinty eyed smile, too. Her affection for my dad, her "Bapa". Her "no". Her ever present and contagious JOY.
Miss Ezra Lee, you are loved something fierce. What a joy and honor it is to be your momma. Thank you for keeping smiles on our faces and happiness in our hearts.
