Ezra at the pool. I bought one of these floaty devices and I was worried because it was for 9-24 months. But, instead of him being able to sit up and play (like I'm sure it was designed for), he kind of just lounges and enjoys floating around. The picture on the upper right is of him trying to grab the fountain.

Happy Memorial Day!

I bought our matching shirts for the 4th of July, but found that they worked equally as well for Memorial Day.

Here in Houston it was a soggy, rainy day, but at least PapPa's brisket was good.

Ezra's enjoying bath time more and more. He makes things difficult however, when he insists on laying in the little tub, rather than sitting in it.

On Saturday, we went for a walk and got soaked in a sudden downpour. After that, we had a big cleaning day around the house and he was not content to sit in his swing. So I put him in the carrier and he "helped".

Ezra is 14 weeks. I took him to the Dr. last Friday (to get his 2 month immunizations) and he weighed in at a whopping 14 lbs. 1 oz. and 24 inches. He feels every bit of 14 lbs. and I know he's just going to get heavier. The shots were sad. A necessary evil (I suppose....), but such a horrible experience. Ezra ran a fever and was fussy ALL day long. Poor kid.

He's sucking on his fingers a lot. Not so much his thumb as his fingers. But he was extra sucky tonight so I attempted the pacifier once again (he's never really taken it) and he's kept it in his mouth for longer than he ever has before. So we'll see.

In the past week, he's rolled over (tummy to back) a couple of times and been super close to rolling back to tummy. He's turned all the way face down, but can't get his arm from underneath him. So close!

I think that's pretty much all that's worth writing about. Except for the shots, all is well and we are enjoying our time at home (missing Mike though...).

Today I enjoyed my first Mother's Day. It's a wonderful thing to be a mom. It's everything I hoped it would be a SO much more. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have such a beautiful baby boy. I got to share him with the church today in our dedication service. The picture on the right is of the "Greer" mothers (my Dad's Mom--"Meme" and my Mom).

It was so nice for Mike's family to come out and celebrate with us. (Great) Grandma Allison is holding Ezra in this picture. He is her 16th great-grand child.

Ezra also loves his Grandpa Allison (Mike's Dad). I think they've already bonded over their mutual love for Chicago (the band). Ezra was mesmerized by the Chicago t-shirt Grandpa Allison was wearing the first time they met.

Although it doesn't really show in this picture Ezra is a big fan of his cousins Patrick and Armani. Poor little guy. At this point, he was tired of being cute and just wanted to go home.

Ginger is having to get used to a baby in the house. We thought this was too cute and very telling of Ginger's inner feelings about Ezra. To me, it seems as if she is screaming, "Pay attention to me!! I can be a baby too...". :)

Ezra loves for Nanna to rock him to sleep in the recliner.

Here's Ezra sitting on Grandpa's belly. They are having loads of fun.

Last is a picture of our happy boy. So sweet!

Saturday was Ezra's first beach outing. At first I was sad that the gross Galveston beach would be his first experience, but I thought, "If it was good enough for Mike and I when we kids, it would be fine for Ezra." It was actually kind of nice because the water was already pretty warm, and the waves were small enough to be fun, but not dangerous. Ezra really had no opinion concerning the matter. He definitely wasn't sad or mad about being in the water, but I can't say that he was overly enjoying himself either. He tolerated it and gave no protest when we decided we were done. My friend Jennifer was kind enough to go with me to hang out and help with all his baby gear and so we laid on the beach, while he took a little nap in the shade. I didn't want to keep him in the sun for too long so we went back to the beach house shortly after that. Overall, I'd say his first beach experience was a resounding success.

We made it to Houston safe and sound. It was a long trip, but Ezra was an angel.

The picture on the left is Ezra sleeping in cradle that my Grandpa made. We need to get a piece of foam to cut for a mattress, because what we have in there is NOT the right size. It is pressed into the bottom and the sides of the cradle make it slope up, so when Ezra is in there we call it an "Ezra taco". He doesn't sleep in there overnight, but I put him in there for a nap and it didn't seem to bother him.

He hasn't rolled over yet, but he's trying really hard.

Here's Ezra with his very proud Nana. It's all we can do to make her go to school every day instead of staying home to play with the baby.

The picture on the right is Ezra hanging out with his PapPa (great-grandfather). They are already best buddies.

Ezra is 10 weeks (tomorrow). We went to the Dr this morning for a check up, and she said everything looks great. He weighs 12.65 lbs and is 23.2 inches long. We're still waiting for Ezra's passport and praying it comes this week. Mike continues to get ready for deployment and it is fast approaching.
This picture wasn't taken on Friday night (a couple of days before), but it goes well with the story below.
We had kind of an unfortunate situation on Friday night. I was told it was funny and to put it on the blog. I hope it doesn't make me seem like a horrible mother. :)
I went to a ladies fellowship on Friday night and left the men-folk at home (Mike and Ezra). I pumped to bottles to leave and was planning to be home by 9. At the fellowship after I had finished eating, I moved back into the living room to chat so that I could keep an eye on the clock. At 8:30 I started making my way toward the door to leave. About 5 minutes down the road, I get a call from Mike and hear Ezra screaming in the back ground. He says, "Are you coming home soon? I thought you were going to be home by 9." I asked if he was out of milk and he said Ezra wouldn't take the second bottle and had been crying since about 8. I said, "I might be a few minutes late, but I should be there around 9." He said, "It's after 9 right now!" To which I replied, "Ok! I'm on my way." I looked at the clock in the car and it read 9:47. As I sped toward home to feed my hungry and crying baby, I tried to imagine how this could've happened. There was no way I chatted that much on the way out. It then occurred to me that the clock I had been so diligent to keep an eye on, hadn't been sprung forward. The clock was on the wall high above the entertainment center and the lady hosting the party is about 6 mos. pregnant, with a deployed husband. So it's not like she could just shimmy up a ladder to change it.
I got home and fed Ezra. Contrary to what I thought, he survived. Once the situation was explained to Mike, he wasn't quite as mad. It's funny in hindsight, but that night when I had a long drive ahead of me and could hear my baby screaming on the phone, I guarantee you I wasn't laughing. I was praying I didn't get killed as I sped down dark country roads at about 120 km per hour (don't tell the Carabinieri).
I'm off to work out. Gotta get those last couple of lbs off and down to my pre-pregnancy weight before I come home. :)

The first picture is Ezra with his Easter dog. It's big enough that he's able to hold onto it a little and bring it to his mouth. He likes how soft it is and plays with the dog's ears. Although, I don't really think it's intentional.
We took the flower pictures after church Sunday. We had Ezra's baby dedication so we were in the picture mood. I guess I should re-phrase that to say I was in the picture mood. :) But, Mike and Ezra did cooperate for the most part. The picture of Ezra and me in front of the white flowers is actually in our neighbor's front yard.
Mike and Ezra with the pink and white tulips is in our yard. And the "family portrait" (minus Skyla) in front of the purple Irises is in our yard. We have quite the variety don't we? No thanks to me. All these beautiful flowers were already in our yard, and they survive and bloom every year with no help from me.
We go to the Dr. for Ezra's 2 month check up next Monday. He will actually be 10 weeks. So, I will report on weight and any other news next week.
A kind soul has graciously volunteered to keep Skyla for us while Ezra and I are in the States so hopefully we'll get Ezra's passport in the next couple of weeks and we'll be all set to arrive in the States the first week of May. Keep praying that it all works out like we hope it will!

Happy Easter! What a cute boy in his new Easter outfit?! There are many fields of yellow flowers on our drive from our house to the base. I made Mike pull over and trespass with me so we could snap this picture. If you click on the picture it should enlarge and you can see the snow on the mountain behind me. The picture with the red tulips was taken in our front yard.
Mike and Ezra decorated the Peeps that Ezra received in his Easter basket. We had to help Ezra eat them of course. At our church picnic, he participated in his first Easter egg hunt. (By "participated" I mean he slept and I picked up a couple eggs for him.) Maybe we'll have more involvement from him next year. :)

See, I told you he could smile bigger. He was a happy baby this morning and smiling all over the place. We almost got a laugh out of him. I thought these were just too precious and couldn't wait to post them.

He smiles when we read to him, and yesterday he smiled when Skyla walked past his swing. It seems they are finally getting used to each other. After our walk, I laid Ezra on the couch while I let Skyla out of her kennel. I asked Skyla, "Where's the baby?" She went first to the stroller, then to the swing, and then heard him on the couch. She went over to sniff him to confirm that is was him and then ran back to me satisfied with her find.

This is a half smile. He can smile bigger, but it's kind of hard to catch on camera.
He's cooing more and more every day. It seems like he's getting more hair too.
I can't think of anything else worth noting--that's the problem with weekly updates. Sometimes not too much happens in a weeks time. I hope you enjoy the pictures at least...