Ezra's 4th Birthday

Ezra was so excited to have his birthday.  He couldn't wait to 'turn into 4!~'  I was pretty excited about how happy he was.  I never know with him how he is going to react.  He couldn't decide what kind of party he wanted to have for his friends.  I was excited that Spencer could come home from work during his lunch break and we could have his friend party while everyone else was at school.  They were a little sad, but it really was a lot less stressful here! 

He wanted a Cars, Monster, Batman, Spiderman, Ghost,  Superhero party.  I think we pulled it off.

 He picked out pumpkins for all of his friends to paint for one of the activities.  It was a really big hit.

 They went on a ghost hunt to start.  Ezra was really the best hunter.  He hunted for the other boys ghosts to help them.  I kind of don't think they understood the game very well!

 

 I really am happy that I got away with only having his 2 best friends come.  These boys are inseparable.  They have such a good time and get along so well.  Ezra never stops talking about them.

 

 Ezra's friend Bradley gave him a cape and a mask.  He immediately had to wear it and didn't take it off all day long.  Konrad gave him a cool Iron Man toy.  They all wanted to play with that.

 The Monster cupcakes were a big hit. 

After we painted pumkins and played all of our games we played a game my mom made for my birthday parties when I was a kid.  Pin the cupcake on Birthday Bear!  I wasn't sure if they would like it but they played it over and over again.

 For our family party later that night, we loaded everyone up and went to Chuck-E-Cheese.  It seemed like it would be a fun time and it really was.  Mason even was happy.  We had cupcakes and presents  and games and pizza!  Ezra was the happiest boy in the world.  All of the kids made sure to give him all of their tickets so he could choose the biggest and best prize of all!

We are so lucky to have our 4 year old Crazy Beans in our family.  Happy Birthday Ezra!

Ezra part 3 ~

Ezra makes me laugh everyday.  He also is the most maddning child everyday!  He thinks of the craziest things to to and sometime crazy is exhausting.  I wouldn't trade it though.  He keeps things interesting and fun.

What little kid wouldn't want the movie popcorn from the night before?  This is how we all should eat it!

Spencer put the fence in to finish the backyard last fall so that I could let Ezra play outside without worrying about him running away and hiding in some neighbors house.  It lasted about a week this spring before I realized he had figured out how to climb up and let himself out.  Now that fence is wired shut.  He still can get out if he really wants to.

One afternoon he was 'helping' Spencer with a project in the kitchen.  After buying Spencer 3 new tape measures for Valentine's Day (Ezra had cut the ends off of every other one we had in the house) Ezra found a new way to torture Spencer during his project. 

Look at the innocence on that face!  He would never...

More Crazy Ezra ~

Ezra loves to make a big mess.  He is good at it too.  I can't really leave him alone without having a giant mess to clean up for longer than a minute or two.  He loves to have me build him huge train tracks to play with his trains.  I think what he loves more is for me to walk away and to destroy it.

We didn't get much snow this year, but Ezra had to play in it every time it did snow all day long until it was gone.  It was fun for him, but he runs away so often that I had to be sure to be out with him watching the whole time.  Cold!

What an innocent little face!

His favorite toy lately are his 'cut foods.'  They are little wooden foods that have Velcro in the middle to stick the pieces together then you get your little wooden knife and cut them into pieces.  He loves cutting his foods and making me sandwiches or soups. 

After a long day of messes we have a long warm bath.  He loves bubbles in his bath.  If I even look the other way when the tub is filling he pours out the entire bottle of the closest soap or shampoo to get the most bubbles he can.  What a stinker!

Crazy Beans!~

If you don't know Ezra, he is one of the funniest kids I've ever known!  He is always doing something CRAZY!  He has a million nicknames.  When he is in trouble or causing mischief he is called 'Ezra Bean.'  There is one thing that is certain; he keeps our days interesting.  I am always happy when he is in a good mood and just does funny things to keep me smiling.

 When Ezra is at school or at someone's house playing I really wander around my house trying to figure out what exactly it is I am supposed to be doing.  I am usually playing a form of defense to try and keep the damage and crazy to a minimum.  He is into everything and likes to explore and try every way he can think of to use the fun new things he discovers.

 One day he decided that he didn't like wearing 'big boy underwears' so he took them off and found a better way to wear them.  He kept them on like this for most of the day.

 The funniest thing is that he is very open about his 'super sneaky naughtiness.'  He likes to be stealthy and is very good at it.  I think he really loves the reaction he gets from all of his crazy.  He will be the class clown one day. 

 He has this weird obsession with making huge messes in the bathroom.  It's not really that funny or endearing.  He usually locks me out when he knows he is doing something naughty.  This time he was caught red handed, luckily BEFORE all of that tp went into the toilet (as it usually does!)

Me.. And My Shadow~

This is me....

There is one thing you should know about me...  I am NEVER alone.  It's not a bad thing.  My company is usually pretty fun.  I will almost always be seen with a little shadow at my side 'helping' me with everything I am doing.  Even as I type this I have an extra little hand pushing keys to 'help' me.  He's darling.

But... I am still NEVER alone!

My Boys~

I love when my boys include Mason in their fun.  Even if they do drag him down the stairs away from his doors to sit with them on a chair while they watch a movie.  It's sweet and I know he loves it.  I sure do!

Roommates~

Since we came home a year ago from Ukraine, Ezra was kicked out of his room and he has been 'rooming' with Mason.  It's a pretty tight fit to get them both in the room, but it's worked.  Ezra actually really loves being with Mason.  He is always very worried about him when he isn't sleeping or if he is crying.  I love checking on them sleeping. 

Ezra and Ethan~

Ezra and Ethan are great friends.  They are always looking for each other to play and they are always doing everything together.  They have such a great time.

Watching them together is the sweetest thing.   They scream and drive each other crazy too, but mostly they are best buddies.

Ethan always is dressing Ezra up to play guns or whatever they are playing.  He helps him load his Nerf guns.

I love that they get along most of the time without me having to referee. 

Famous Kids~

My darling kids were asked if they could have their picture taken to accompany an article in BYU Magazine in January.  They were so cute and we were so happy that they were chosen!  For a few weeks people recognized them and mentioned it to us that they had seen them.  It was fun to see the magazine at Dr. offices and at the orthodontist.  They would point out their picture to the staff.  Unfortunately, they weren't credited next to the article, but I actually don't think they cared much.  They were all just proud to show people how famous they were in an actual magazine!

Sleeping Ezra~

I can't ever resist pictures of my kids when they are so darling and sleeping.  Ezra is the funniest because he goes a million miles an hour and then just crashes.  I love it. 

Another thing that Ezra adores are his blankets.  He only has one or two that he will allow near him that are not crocheted.  It's different than any kid I've ever known.  He loves the blankets with holes in them.  His little toes sticking through sure are darling too.

He'll even crash in the shopping cart at the store.  (That is very rare and very celebrated.)

I just missed the picture of him falling asleep with that apple on his arm in his mouth.  He is a sleeping angel!

Nurse Ezra~

One thing that Mason does a really great job of doing at our house is teaching our other kids how to love and serve unconditionally.  They are very sweet and helpful with Mason.  Everyone of them has a very unique relationship with him that just melts your heart to witness. 
One morning I heard Mason gagging and ran to the rescue only to see that Ezra and the suction machine had beat me to him!  Mason had complete trust that Ezra could take care of whatever it was he was planning!

All the snuffies were sucked out and everyone went back to their business!  What a big helper I didn't know I had!

Later he had to take care of his own snuffies.  I have been rendered useless..