My Dear, Sweet Ezra Peter!

What a wonderful gift you have been to us over the last 16 months.  I realized just the other day that I have never written down your birth story and I've never written you a letter.  Oops.  I don't have much time these days to blog.

You are a bright, silly little boy with an iron will.  You are not afraid to make your opinions and preferences known to both me and your siblings.  You are impossible to put in your car seat child!

I was thinking back to your birth day today.  I want to tell you about it.

Friday, August 9th, 2013 (2 days before my official due date)

At around 5 am, I woke up to contractions but was in complete denial (after the roller coaster your sister put me through, no one would blame me).  I was sure I was in for DAYS of labor but I asked your Dad to work from home, "just in case."  Daddy needed some time to get some work done, so Elias, Selah and I decided to go to the grocery store to get groceries.  It was about halfway through that shopping trip that I knew I had made a terrible mistake in going.  But I wasn't walking out without the groceries I had suffered through contractions to get! HA!  After a very long wait in the check out line and 2 horse rides, we made our way back to the van and SLOWLY buckled up.  By this time I was having to breath through the contractions but I still didn't think I was progressing the way that I wanted to be.

We got home at about 11am and let Daddy know that things were picking up.  At about 1pm Grandma came and got your brother and sister.  At about 2:18 pm, Daddy decided it was time to call the midwife, despite my protests.  She said she would be by in about 30 minutes to check and see how far dialated I was.  She didn't expect I'd be far along either.  No sooner had Daddy hung up the phone when I suddenly felt my body going through transition.  I heard my feable, tired, confused voice mumble, "help" as your head crowned.  Daddy rushed into the bathroom (where I hadn't planned to be at this exact moment...) just in time to catch you.  He immediately handed you to me and left the room.  Birthing you wasn't on his list of things he wanted to do and it was quite a shock for him.  After he composed himself for a moment, he rushed in and asked me what he was supposed to do.  "Call the midwife? Call 911?"  I could not have cared less.  I was in post birth no more pain BLISS.  I was instantly in love with every part of you and extremely grateful that the birth was over and wasn't going to be days and days!  I told him I was fine and that he didn't need to call 911.  He phoned our midwife, who was just as shocked as Daddy.  We determined that you were born at about 2:28 pm.

I love you little man.  You bring us so much joy!

Every single time I sit down to write about my children and how they've grown and changed over the months, I am struck by how slow the weekdays feel and yet how the months and years are flying.  The last post I wrote about Selah was for her 1st birthday.  How could time have passed so quickly?  She is now 20 months.

My sweet baby girl has grown and changed so much.  I always thought raising boys would be so much more challenging that raising girls.  Boys come with so many challenges I don't feel prepared to face.  Challenges about keeping pure in such a hedonist world, challenges in raising them to honor and respect women...the list is endless.  But I didn't realize, at even such a young age, how tender a girl could be.  Selah constantly needs kisses and hugs for any simple offense.  The dog sniffed her arm, she needs a kiss.  She got a drop of water on her head, she needs a hug.  This can sometimes be frustrating because my life is already packed full of drama (the consequences of having children so close in age I suppose).  But when I stop and think about it, it is a precious, beautiful thing.  I have the opportunity to teach my daughter that she can be both strong and vulnerable.  That she can be independent but also cherished and prized.  This is a huge responsibility.

I am also struck by how quickly she is developing.  Certainly being a girl and being the second child has given her the upper hand.  Her vocabulary is fairly large and just in general she is one smart cookie (in spite of the many ways I've ignored the many opportunities I have to educate and train her...).

Selah,

Happy year and a half girl!  You are the smile on my face in the morning, the laughter in my heart.  Your sweet voice brings me so much joy.  You are such a caring little girl.  Anytime anyone is hurt, you immediately run up to them and ask if they are OK.  Your little eyes speak such depth of love and compassion for those hurting and I can't wait to see these things develop in your heart.

You still love to read, though you are much more opinionated than you once were.  Sometimes we can read for 30 minutes, sometimes I get through 2 pages and you start screaming, "I don't want this one!"  Your favorite book by far the last few months has been "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus."  You SCREAM the words and are very expressive.  You have many books memorized and also enjoy reading to yourself.  It is fun to see you study each page and to tell your own version of the story.

You also love music and dancing, though you are VERY picky about music.  You are constantly asking for specific songs.  And if I put anything other than the requested song on, it is an instant tantrum until that is remedied.

Like any almost 2 year old, you are fairly picky with your food.  Some days, all I can do is get you to eat carbs.  Other days, you are fairly cooperative.  You often enjoy avocado and corn, apple sauce.  You have some mad skills when it comes to feeding yourself and you spill much less than Elias does.

You are really into your doll, Grace and you are also fairly attached to Elias' doll, Max (much to his anger).  You like to wrap her up in blankets and talk to her.  It is fun to watch you.

For all your sweetness, you are a spitfire too.  You are very active and love to be on the move.  Sitting still is basically never an option.  You even eat standing up most meals (I know, terrible habit forming behavior...).  You love to walk.  When you tire of walking, you always ask me to carry you in the cutest way, "Mommy, I carry you." It melts my heart.  You also like to hold hands while walking.

Another of your joys in life is spinning.  I don't get it.  You love to get very dizzy.  Daddy spins you in your spinny chair and you just scream "more, more."  It makes me sick to even listen to the chair going in circles.

You have an affinity for shoes but are constantly changing your mind on which pair you want to wear.  On any given day, you will wear at least 3 different pairs of shoes (in various sizes) any number of times.

Selah, love, you are such a joy. I can't wait to see how you grow and change over the next 6 months.

I love you.

EJ,

I. Can't. Believe. You. Are. 3!!! Yeah, I know, I start every update on you that way. But seriously, three?!

Now that you are 3, you are constantly saying, "I so big now!" I love it!

You are such a fuuny, infectious little boy. You are the class ham in the 2s/3s church Sunday school. In fact, I can even hear you sometimes during church services howling and laughing as the other boys join in.

You now go to preschool twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30 until 10:30. You started just days after your big third birthday. You've had no problem adjusting and love your new adventure. Your speech has improved so much over the last year and we are excited to watch your language to continue to develop... You say such funny things!

You love TV more than I'd like to admit. You especially enjoy Thomas but also enjoy Go Diego and Dora. You also love to ride your bike, playing at the playgrounds, having picnics and hiking. You had a Thomas themed party and got several trains, which you spend a great deal of time playing with.

Your favorite foods are by far chips and salsa (you make daddy proud), tamales, cheesy eggs and granola. Oh, and "birthday cake." You are constantly singing happy birthday in hopes that it means someone has a birthday and you'll get cake.