Golden Pig Tales

Ezra is still sitting next to me on the couch. I was editing the end of a chapter and wanted to complete the edit then Ezra made sleep noises. Ezra sounded awake. I checked and found him sitting up waiting for me or -v-. After leaving him in bed with -v-, I returned to edit the chapter. I soon heard Ezra talk noise, and -v- wanted to sleep, so I got Ezra from -v- went to couch. We sat. I edited by reading aloud. We sat. And we sit. Now I am writing aloud.

If -v- were to tell it, or write it, she may write of comparing the sleep noises that Ezra and I make. She says I make sleep noises. And I know Ezra does make sleep noises.

He talks some times. Some times he snorts. Some times he snores. Some times he mumbles. Some times he whines. Some times he shouts from pain of teething or confusion of sleep. He some times moves around making bumps in the night. Most of the time he is quiet.

There are nights when I hear these sounds, and I can’t get back to sleep because I don’t know if the sound is him being awake or sleeping, so I get out of bed and go check on Ezra and usually find him sleeping.

…All except the shouts of pain or confusions are sounds that -v- has told me are sleep noises I make, too.

We were climbing stairs. We were halfway up the stairs, and he wanted to nurse and a nap and wanted to walk down the stairs. I helped him walk down the stairs then he walked to -v-.

He is now napping between two square pillows on floor between -v- and me.

Ezra picks up the soccer ball. He walks it over to the coffee table. He lifts it to the coffee table top. Then he pushes it over the coffee table top and watches it roll. If the soccer ball doesn’t leave the coffee table top after the push he will stare at it, get fussy and leave. If the soccer ball rolls off the top to the floor then he watches the soccer ball until it stops rolling. Then he walks away from the coffee with arms up and hands high over head with cheers and squeals of joy.

Ezra was sort of fussy off and on all day today, and very clingy to boot. I woke up with a bit of a hangover this morning, due to an evening out with Auntie Kate. Ezra was happy to see me this morning, which made me feel better right away. I think Ezra might have been experiencing some teething today, which I think was the source of the fussy-ness and clingy-ness…but he was also very happy and wanting to exert his independence. Ezra spent a lot of time walking around the house with various toys and often clutching a towel of some sort, which he insisted on putting over his face so he couldn’t see where he was going. I guess walking isn’t enough of a challenge for him anymore, now he’s got to try and do it blindfolded! Anyway, with all this walking, regardless of whether there was a blindfold or not, Ezra had a few bumps and run-ins with furniture and the floor. There was some crying, and there was also lots of laughing. We also set up the new pool in the backyard. All in all, it was a good day with Ezra.

Ezra has become too cool and apt at walking to use his Baby Walker to help him walk. The Baby Walker has been laying with front on the ground in the same spot for days. Before that the Baby Walker rested with the rear axle resting above the ground against a bookshelf near its current location and state. The only reason the Baby Walker is now laying with front on the ground is because Ezra played with the spinning objects and dial on the front of the Baby Walker while standing then he tipped it over and walked away.

Any one need a late 80s early 90s Fisher Price Baby Walker?

Applesauce, oatmeal cereal, yogurt. A banana and Cheerios. Beans and vegetables.

This morning Ezra was crawling around with his new favorite toy: a big red plastic cup. The big red plastic cup is the most recent in a long line of kitchen utensils that has become Ezra’s toys. Before the big red cup, Ezra liked most to play with a whisk that he like to hit against the ground. (He still likes to play with the whisk, but after stepping on it a couple of day ago I have put the whisk on an upper shelve out of his reach for now.) There are plastic spatulas and big plastic spoons that he seems to enjoy hitting together and against the ground and try to bite and chew on. He still likes to toss around and hit the tops of tupperware bowls and containers. Wooden spoons, strainers, cutting boards and measuring cups are a few other kitchen toys. It is my hope that in the distant future he will have a fondness of these kitchen toys and see them as “toys” to cook and take over cooking duties for a couple of days a week. For now, it is good to see him get additional use out of “toys” that can be used for something else once he gets bored of them.

I took Ezra outside tonight after dinner for a walk, one where I walked AND Ezra walked!

We didn’t go very far, but Ezra was so excited to be out for a walk, walking on his own! We walked from our street corner down the sidewalk and stopped for a moment to squat near the big lily plant, eat mulberries and look at some ants. Then we stood up and continued our walk past our house and our neighbor’s house. Then we walked down the neighbor’s driveway to tap the bumper of the neighbor’s shiny red truck. Then we walked back up the driveway, turned around, walked back to the truck, tapped the bumper again. Then we returned to the sidewalk and Ezra was moving so fast - he almost seemed close to running at times - waving his arms up above his head, wind in his hair, smiling and laughing with such great joy. It was enough to a tear to my eye of mostly joy, but a little sadness, at how quickly my son is growing up!! Then he turned the corner, looked back at me, and seemed to wave as if to say “try to keep up, mom!”

Brushing Ezra’s teeth has been a process that results in a fussy Ezra nearly every time it is.

It could be Ezra when tired doesn’t like the tooth brush in mouth during his tired/cranky phase of the night. It could be he is teething and anything in the mouth that can rub the gums should be replaced by something he can bite down upon. Or maybe he wants control and just hates having his teeth brushed. Usually, I can only get a good brushing on the top or bottom teeth. It all depends on if I begin with the top or bottom. Then after that he will use his tongue to push the brush out. Or he will grab the brush with a fist and not let the brush get in mouth. Some times he fusses with loud shouts, which allowsfor me to brush his upper front teeth, so I usually begin with his bottom teeth.

We have decided to try to brush his teeth at different times during the day to see if we can give Ezra a good teeth brushing without resulting in a crying fussing Ezra full of tired confusion.

Ezra is awake. He is awake and fussing. I tried for the past minutes to calm him, but my longest attempt to calm, fifteen minutes of walking around with him in the Ergo Baby, ended with him waking during the transfer from Ergo Baby to crib. I tried to sooth him by rubbing his back, but that didn’t work. He’s very tired but excited making him cranky and fussy. I think the run practice he and I did earlier caused him to be tired and excited. All the laughing he did as I jumped around like a fool probably had a similar effect of waking and exciting a tired Ezra. Now Ezra is now being soothed by -v-.

After Ezra climbed the stairs this morning, Ezra decided he wanted to climb down the stairs. Unlike the one or two other times Ezra has had any interest in going down the stairs, this time Ezra lead the descent from stair to stair with his legs and not his head. He slipped and lowered each leg one by one until they were pairs of feet resting on a stair. Then he slid legs over the stair to the stair below and continued the process until he was on the floor.

I don’t know what provoked his sudden desire to climb down the stairs after climbing up the stairs, but given is increasing weight and my aging back I am very happy to see he is improving his mobility skills to include going down the stairs then I won’t need to pick him up and carry him down.

Ezra waking around 10:45 P.M., 12:45 A.M., 2:45 A.M., 5:45 A.M. last night/this morning has Ezra sleeping since 7:00 P.M. tonight. Either the heat or teething or both or something unknown made for irritable sleep for Ezra last night. He was a sleepy Ezra after 5:00 P.M. today.

Odd thing was around 7:45 P.M. tonight Ezra woke for a few minutes.

…He sleeps now.

Ezra has been walking, falling, walking, falling, walking, falling, walking, falling, walking, falling. walking, falling all evening long.

Most falls have been plopping falls on his butt. A few were tumbles forward. No matter how the fall though he got up and kept walking, walking, walking. He walked between -v- and me. He walked from kitchen to dinning area, to main living area. He walked walked after me. He walked after -v-. He walked and fell. He walked and fell. He walked and fell.

Now he sleeps. And -v- and I feel worn out.

What’s more fun than splashing in the pool on a hot summer day? Ezra had a fun pool party with his baby friends A and O this weekend. The water babies splashed and laughed for hours!

During the past week there have been times when Ezra has been walking around with his walker enjoying the horizontal surface of the floor. Then he has seen the stairs and scooted on over to the stairs with his walker, climbed the first step, turned his walker around, then attempted to pull his walker up the steps. This hasn’t gone further than Ezra sitting on the second step with feet bracing on the first step and body trying to pull the walker up the steps, but it makes me wonder what he would do if he could climb the steps with the walker and succeed in his seemingly diabolical plan to combined two of his favorite things.