It’s been a while since we took some bathtime photos…so here’s some from Thursday night. He loves being in the water, and goes crazy when he hears the bathtub warming up for his arrival. He also really enjoys getting the water dumped over his head, even though it might surprise him from time to time (see picture below). Also, I included a photo – even though it’s a little blurry – where you can see both of his teeth.

I took Ezra to a meeting at work this morning – I am on the Apparatus Team, and we are in the process of putting together specifications for three new engines and one new ladder truck. For those unfamiliar with the process….it will take the 8 of us on the team about 12 months to complete the project. It’s a lot of work, and Ezra seems interested in helping…kinda….he certainly voiced his opinion in today’s meeting. Anyhow, one of the guys in the meeting took this picture on his camera phone.

So as Ezra has gotten more and more interactive, there have been some consequences that we have been surprised to find. In the past, Ezra has been a really good and patient eater when chowing on solid foods….but recently, he has started to play with us more, and has been enjoying playing peak-a-boo; which he does by putting his hands on top of his head. Combine the effort to play with the effort to eat – especially the extra sticky food: prunes – and you get a big ol’ mess…and a good ol’ time.

Well, another month has come and gone….this time it was 3/4 of a year gone by (!). Seems as though everyone is over the sicknesses that have inhabited the house for the past few weeks, and all attitudes are on the rebound. Ezra and I went swimming yesterday morning, and then to visit a new member of the extended family at Swedish Hospital…..our great friends Joe and Alissa welcomed a baby boy on Monday night….Barrett was born around 10:30. It was great to see them and to introduce Ezra to a new play buddy….and future teammate of some sport.

The ominous heat that has held the front range hostage for the better part of this week seems as though it is starting to break: today is supposed to be a cool 70, but Saturday could bring us some snow. Keep your fingers crossed that this summer intrusion is only that, and winter will return…..at least some of us actually like this time of year.

Big news! Ezra is in the process of getting his first tooth. After days of being dis-invited into his mouth with our fingers, lots of poop, and a very runny nose (more on that in a minute); Ezra allowed one finger each into his mouth on a very short exploratory mission. The findings by the team were simple: something that feels very unlike a gum, sharper than his tongue, and located on the bottom just to the left of the center. Since nobody to date has seen this mysterious object in person (or been able to photograph it), it is a series of drawn conclusions that have lead us to this point. But I think that we are on solid ground.

The thing is that Ezra has been sick for the better part of two-three weeks. He has had a cough and runny nose that hasn’t gotten worse with time, but they never got any better. Sleep (for all of us) has been up and down….mostly down. So we came to the conclusion that Ezra had fought hard enough without a visit to the doctor’s, so he deserved to see if something medically could be accomplished.

We went to the office this morning and were able to see Dr. Sheehan (his normal Doc). After a pretty good examination, she came to the idea that Ezra has RSV…which is really common in kids his age, and is spreading like wildfire around the metro area. He most likely picked it up in daycare, but if all of the reading material is correct, he is on the downside of the sickness. Due to his good vitals, no fever, and great demeanor; there was no medicine issued, just instructions on what to watch for in case it gets worse before it gets better. His cough seems to be improving today, but the night will bring his biggest test. 

Here are a couple of pictures from this evening (with my new camera…..ssshhhh….don’t tell anyone yet, more on that another time)….the one is of him gnawing on a teething biscuit. 

So I spent some time learning/figuring out how to lower the mattress in the crib to prevent him from being able to fall out….but within minutes of completing the task, we learned that it wasn’t going to work to our expectations. Upon being placed into the crib, he immediately stood up, and the new height only served as a better stability platform for him. ~sigh~ I suppose that it’s time to come to grips with the fact that there is a possibility that he could get out if he wants. I still think it’s a little while away, but the absolute safety of placing him somewhere with little concern seems to be gone. At this point, it appears that crawling has turned into a tool for him to move between places to stand. 

This is how we found him this morning:

The learning continues. As mentioned earlier, Ezra is learning how to stand up, and is taking every opportunity to attempt to do so. His two favorite training sites are the bottom of the stairs and in his co-sleeper. He is also finding chances on the coffee table at home and at the day care. Here are some pictures….all done on his own.