The miracle of birth

One of my best friends delivered a beautiful baby girl tonight. After marveling with her over the miracle of birth, I can't help but feel completely overwhelmed with memories of the emotions that flooded into my life 6 months ago.
I still remember Talin and our doula, Rachel, looking down at me, encouraging me to push...and then suddenly I felt the most incredible feeling I had ever felt in my entire life... it seemed as though all the noise and voices in the room became hushed; all of the angst and exhaustion left my body as the midwife tenderly lifted up a long, little body. Everything moved in slow motion as she turned him around to face me....for the first time, I met my son! I had dreamed, hoped, and planned for 9 months, but NOTHING prepared me for the wave of awe that I felt as that tiny face turned towards me!
I remember the sweet smell in the room and the warmth from his wet little body as they laid him on his chest and he looked up into my eyes. He didn't cry...he didn't wiggle...he just stared and stared...and then he cried. =) That moment felt like it lasted for eternity...the moment of his eyes gazing right into mine. Then I remember Talin leaning in. I remember the sweet tears on his cheeks...how gentle his voice was and how comforting his breath on my cheek. I remember his strong hand softly picking up Ezra's tiny fist and his sigh of absolute amazement. It's been 6 months of joy, tears, sleep deprivation, adventures, lessons, love and learning. But, I still feel like it was yesterday that Talin and I were blessed to experience a true miracle.


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Today was my mother-in-law's birthday! Happy birthday Maridawn! I'm so glad that Ezra and I got to spend time with you this past week. He loves you so much and you are SOOO good to him! Thanks for a great week!!
I have tons of pictures to post. =)

Father's Day

"Fathers are our first teachers and coaches. They're our mentors. They're our role models. They set an example of success, and they push us to succeed, encourage us when we're struggling, and they love us even when we disappoint them, and they stand by us when nobody else will." -President Obama
Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad. -Anonymous

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection. -Sigmond Freud

The greatest gift I ever had came from God, and I call him Dad! -Annonymous
(Owen and Emma see Talin as their Dad too!)

I am totally in awe of Talin's skills as a a Daddy. After 9 years of being with him, I have seen him do some pretty incredible things...but nothing compares to the gentle way he holds his little boy and whispers how much he loves him into his tiny ear. I feel so proud to stand beside you as your wife Talin Wadsworth. Happy first Father's Day!!

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On a sillier note, Ezra tried avacado today and it was pretty hillarious! Talin snapped these pictures of him enjoying the ohhh so creamy goodness. =)

F-R-I-D-A-Y!

Ezra gave me quite a scare today! He was grabbing his ears and crying all day...of course being a worry wart..I hustled him off to the doctor's office only to be told that he's TEETHING! Poor baby! But at least it's not an ear infection!! After we went to see the doctor, we made our way down to my friend Allyson's house warming party. It was SO MUCH FUN! I am so lucky to have such great friends! Ezra was his usual charming self...
after a YUMMY dinner and a brief nap (for Ezra) on sweet Allyson's bed, we decided to head home..only to discover that....
Owen had made himself a new home in the stroller. Well, I guess THAT will teach me to leave things laying out! =)
We missed daddy Talin but it was a FUN night! Thanks friends!!

Uncle Zach's Monthly Visit!

Lucky us, Zach had another layover in Oakland this month! This time we took a trip up to the city to see Talin. We had a super yummy lunch at Atlas Cafe and then ice cream at Fenton's!
(Yes I totally disappointed Zachy again by getting *gasp* coffee cookie dream....mmmmm....he got THE worst blend of flavors I've ever seen...a scoop of strawberry cheesecake...a scoop of mint chocolate chip...and a scoop of chocolate....BLECH!)
We love you Uncle Zach!

Aaaaaaaaand.....we're back!

I can't believe we haven't posted anything in sooooo long! Life got pretty crazy there for a bit. After the illness that knocked us all flat on our backs (I still can't hear out of my infected right ear), my maternity leave ended and I had to go back to work to finish up the last week of school. Lucky for me, Talin's sister Erin took an ENTIRE week off of work to come and play with baby Ezra. I am seriously impressed with how brave she was!! Every day, she packed Ezra into his ergo carrier and walked ALL over San Mateo. She even braved a ride on the Cal Train (a feat that Tal and I have yet to attempt). She changed poopy diapers, sang silly songs, monitored nap times and still found time to play with Talin and I! I feel so lucky to have such a great sister-in-law! She is going to be a great mommy one day!

Things are pretty much back to normal. I'm back at home..Tal's working hard to earn some vacation time, and we have grand summer plans. So far, it looks like we'll be in Utah next week. Then we're attempting to take our little family to Hawaii for our anniversary on the 1st. I'm doing a 5k with my parent's on the 24th of July...so back to Utah we go, and we have plans to go see Heidi in LA. I'll be tutoring all summer (thank you for that blessing!!!!) and Tal's looking to pick up freelance work. It's going to be a busy 3 months! Here's some pictures of our adventures with Erin.





OK...so they're all pictures from ONE outing that we took to Half Moon Bay, but Erin got some great pictures with her camera and she promised to send us copies. =)

Stretch!!!

Ezra's new joy is laying on his belly and seeing how far he can S-T-R-E-T-C-H his arms and legs.
Sometimes he puts his little face down and just lays there. I haven't caught a picture of that yet though because as soon as he hears the camera beep he looks up at me with a cute little"huh?" expression. This is the closest I came to capturing it.

Sick...bleh

I took Ezra to the doctor last week for a little rash on his forehead...and it would appear that he and I brought home a cold! Poor Talin is all sneezy, coughy, and fevery. Ezra had a really scary old man cough. The advice nurses tell me not to worry every time I call....but seriously....I hate it when we're sick!

Poor sleepy baby...

This headless mound of blankets and sheets is my husband...ahhhhh...

But on the plus side,I got an extra day of Talin this week! Whoo!

Phone Photo Roundup

After complaining for the last month that our phone's storage space was dwindling away (taken up by pictures of Ezra), I had an epiphany: instead of sending the photos to our email addresses one by one, I remembered that both the cell phones and my laptop are bluetooth enabled.

Photos are now saved to the hard drive, and we can now wipe our cell phone's memory cards so they're ready for the next Ezra moment.

Here's a small roundup of all the photos I downloaded from mine and Jen's phone (in, roughly, chronological order):

Newborn Ezra (pretty sure this is him only hours old).

ones-y model

mad face

it's too bright!

shleepy face!

the boys hanging out in the chair.

Looking out the window in the morning.

amish baby face.

the mug shot

Wondering what the dad is doing with that camera.

You wanted something?

morning sleepy time Ezra

With his kitty hat from Ivy & Sam.

Jen and the boy!

Out on a walk with the dad.

With the mouse ears from Grandma Maridawn.

Ezra and Jen at Dolores park!

Bundled up for the Golden Gate Bridge.

Rolling around in the new apartment.

There's a lot more to be shared, but for this post I don't want you to be scrolling down forever ;) Let's just call this part 1 in a series...