Birthday!!

Honestly how is it possible that four years have passed since we brought home a tiny bundle of blankets?  

And, how is it possible that, that tiny cooing baby is suddenly old enough to come barreling down the hall at 7 am screaming "PRESENTS!!!!!!!" 

ha ha ha ha

It literally does seem like the blink of an eye!

We let Ezra pick what he wanted to do today, and although we had LOTS of fun ideas, the thing he wanted to do, most of all, was hang out in pjs at home and play toys!  

What a homebody!!  

That's what we did.....until about 3:00 and then Daddy couldn't handle it anymore and we had to get OUT!  

So, then off we headed to join in the holiday madness at union square.

I always forget how many people are downtown during the Christmas season....it reminds me of New York....

....thousands of people all rushing about, holding giant bags full of gifts and bundled up against the cold.  

Ezra seemed to be enjoying the hustle and bustle....

...and then something even more magical showed up....

...one of his best friends!!!!  

He was so excited to have a friend to explore and play with he literally jumped up and down and squealed with joy!

So, off we went to see the sights......like the sugar castle at the Westin St. Francis, complete with.....

 ......a sugar train!

 ......and a motorcycle santa......

 .....passing out candy canes!  

We stopped and listened to street performers and watched the ice skaters gliding around the rink, until our tummies started to grumble then Ezra declared he would like to eat his birthday dinner at......

 .....Chipotle, his all time favorite meal!  

We were so lucky to find one only a few blocks away. =)

 After saying our goodbyes, and oohing and aahing at all the city lights, we drove home to indulge in a little birthday cake and ice cream.

 This year we ordered a JUMBO cupcake allllll for Ezra.  

 He was so excited that he didn't have to share his delicious "snickerdoodle" goodness!

 After a little birthday singing (from here and afar)......

 ...the day ended as it began! 

HA!

Happy Birthday Ezra man!!

Thank you, everyone, for making his day so special!

Four

This kid...

...who has sprouted to 3.5 feet tall ...

 ...who adores his daddy and loves to tease his mom...

 ...who has the most hilarious sense of humor...

 ...the world's largest imagination...and kindest heart...

 ...is four today!  

We love you so much Ezra man!  

We are in awe of how quickly you have blossomed into our silly little kid and we are thankful EVERYDAY that you came to our family four years ago and brought with you all the joy, hardwork, and love that parenthood involves.  

We know you have big changes coming in this new year and we have NO doubt that you will meet new challenges head on with your trademark grin and tender heart.  

WE LOVE YOU!!

Preschool Pajama Pancake Party

For the last day of school before the holiday break, Ezra's teachers organized a pajama pancake breakfast...

 .....complete with a mini "program.  

The kids all sang and played instruments while a room full of parents stood with camera's and i-phones documenting each smile and and giggle. 

HA!

Ezra loved that he got to wear his favorite pirate pajamas....and that the pancakes were holiday shaped!

 But, we both know that the best part of the whole day was that Daddy had officially left work until 2013!  

HOORAY!

Let vacation time begin!!

Caaaaaaandy house

For family home evening tonight we made a gingerbread house courtesy of Trader Joe's. =)

I love that this kit is imported from Germany...everything felt so....authentic. 

HA!

 Ezra's favorite candy was the fruit shaped gummies...

....mine was the mini meringue fairy folk!

Hooray for holiday traditions made easy. =)

                        Now if we can just keep Owen away from our creation long enough to enjoy it!

The Herd

Things have been pretty quiet around the blog lately due to THIS.....

...22 reindeer later, I'm ready to give my sewing machine a much needed break!

Musee Mecanique

Remember that cool....

....well....okay.... 

...slightly creepy museum we found full of ancient penny arcade machines with Pop Pop when we has visiting last April?

We'd promised and promised and promised to take Talin there, and last month we were finally able to keep that promise!

Things were pretty much as we remember them....cool....

 ......a bit creepy.....

  .....SO COOL!......

 ......hmmmmm yeah....creepy.......

...but for $0.25 a machine 

(or less)

 we had SO much fun trying to find the coolest, and creepiest, games we could!

Of course, no visit to the Musee Mecanique would be complete without a photo booth memento!

Can we talk about how cute that first frame is! 

We didn't say ANYTHING about posing to Ezra and this is the first face he pulled. 

LOVE IT!

 And, really, any night that ends with a dinner of fresh Boudin's is counted as a successful outing!

(even in the pouring rain)

Oh delicious bread bowl full of soup.....take me away!

E is for...

I keep finding "E's" all over the house.

Some have 3 prong, some have 9.....either way I can't bring myself to throw away any of them!

 The other night the boys went out for a fun "father/son" dinner at our favorite little diner. 

While they waited for their meal Ezra flipped the table number upside down and declared,

"Look Daddy, now it's an E!"

I laughed so hard when Talin told me that story.

 I can NOT believe this little boy is almost 4!  

Remember when he was just a squirming bundle of blankets?! 

Time really does fly, and I never really realized it until my baby somehow became old enough to see letters in the world around him. =)

Oh...I'm sorry...were you about to shower?

...because, you know...

...the tub is the most comfortable place in the house...

...so dig out the treats or I'm not moving baby.

HA!

Oh how I love this orange, snuggle-toothed fiend.

(despite his super annoying habits)

Moonlight Buffet

Late one night 

(much later then I care to divulge) 

I was turning off the lights in the kitchen, when I glanced out the window and had to do a double take.

Is that what I think it is?

YES!

That is TOTALLY a secret deer noshing away on the landscaping. 

HA!

I sat and watched her delicately eat without a care in the world 

(after all what human would be awake at this hour...)

 

 ...and then she was joined by her almost full grown children 

(can you see the one under the tree?)

I couldn't resist leaning out the window and calling to them.  

The casually looked up at me, annoyed at being interrupted, and then went back to eating.

I love this town!

Read it again!

 Nothing ends a hectic Monday nicer then holiday story time with one of your best friends...

...complete with PJ dress code.....

.....crafts and treats.......

...and a good ol' fashion sugar crash.

Thanks for the invite cute Lindeman family!

Random

...I really do believe that Primary is the BEST job in the world!

...the end....