the boy is 5!

the birthday celebration started on monday at his school. his classmates made him a crown, some rainbow rings, and and a lovely card. i went in and told his birth story (that's the tradition!) and about why we chose his name. it was a sweet little celebration to kick things off.

this marks his actual birthday! i'd been letting him sporadically open presents but we did manage to save a few to open on birthday morning.

ben 10 is his obsession lately, and he got a ben 10 car and some mini action figures from grandma!

he also got a different version of mouse trap that i'm still not sure how to play.

he took this of himself.

then we went out to breakfast at the cup & saucer. thanks grandma!

i even let him eat a pad of butter because it was his birthday. he looooves butter.

chocolate chip mickey mouse pancake smothered in syrup and a side o' bacon. yum!

it was even a gorgeous sunny day to boot.

making his way through the pancake with a smile.

i also let him drink creamer from the little pitcher, another favorite of his.

you can't see it, but he has an adorable little cream mustache.

graffiti in the bathroom:

some people are so poor all they have is money

when we got home a box had arrived! angry birds star wars death star game!

he's been begging me this for months.

cayce got him this bozo punching guy. thank goodness he has something else to punch!

ezra: 1, bozo: 0

ezra's birthday party was great fun! here he is with raj, a good friend from school.

lisa and erick!

heidi and ruby!

the other ruby! who was also celebrating her birthday. she and ezra are cosmic twins, perhaps even born at the same second back on march 7 2008.

this lovely clown was doing some face painting.

and we were doing some face smooshing.

ezra and mateo built a house togheter. it was hard to get them both in focus so above we clearly see mateo, and below we clearly see ezra.

benjamin, ezra and raj love love love to wrestle.

point raj!

veden gettin' all sweaty runnin' around.

jupiter chillin.

the clown directed some trampoline action.

cayce and jupey keepin' it real.

ezra waiting to bash the pinata!

i have to say he was the best pinata whacker of everybody.

gathering loot.

mateo on the trampoline.

ezra's polka dot cake!

the clown sang ezra a special birthday song.

back to the tramp, belly full o' cake.

this shot of maya, ruby and ezra was recreated because 3.5 years ago this was taken in the same gym:

maya is the best dangler.

nikkie, gabe and koali chillaxin'.

ezra surrounded by his loot.

happy birthday sweet ezra!

new stuff

sometimes you just gotta get some new stuff.

we got this ginormous slinky from the current exhibit @ omsi: mythbusters.

it was overall a pretty cool exhibit, though i think i would have appreciated it more if i watched the show. highlights included a canoe made of duct tape & palm fronds.

(think being stranded on a desert island)

(choose your own caption)

new tool set for his birfday!

loves the saw best.

sawing cardboard...

sawing invasive plants...

sawing sticks...

measuring the car. 

then he said:

'the car is this big'

matter of factly

pounding nails into anything/everything.

maya & ezra making a playground for beaver & springy.

decorated swing.

complete with a slide.

February Bits

So I've been struggling with Ezra's hair since November. I tried to give him a haircut and I totally butchered it. Then we went to a lady to cut it and she just didn't blend it. I took matters into my own hands, went to Sally Beauty, and bought a friggin clippers. Now I never have to worry about his hair again! This picture is right before I got my buzz on.

Here's an after shot at the science museum. He insisted upon keeping the tail, which is getting long and delightfully curly. At least everything's blended and it's not driving me nuts anymore.

Speaking of driving me nuts! He has to stick stickers immediately upon receiving them on whatever is closest, even if that means my face.

Today we adopted these two cuties! Their names are Beaver (on the right) and Springy (on the left). They are very well behaved and tomorrow we're going to make them a little play structure. Love them Kiwi Crates!

Sunday in the Gorge

We started things off with some cinnamon rolls & scrambled eggs.

Then we went to Crown Point Vista House.

It was overcast, but still pretty inspiring.

Then we went to a waterfall that I've never been to, called Latourell Falls. There was a path that led behind the waterfall, but Ezra chickened out half way. We would have gotten pretty wet anyhow.

 I am mesmerized by the patterns in the rock.

Ezra is mesmerized with piggy back rides and grouchy faces.

Our hands, feet, and tiny pinecones.

Can you find Ezra? He is quite camoflauged.

He loved it. I swear.

Back to the Portland Grind

So we're back, and it's good to be home. The weather has been fine, some sunny/chilly days and some cloudy/warmer days, so things have been a just fine trade off. We love seeing our friends, especially Nikkie who came over one night and posed with Ezra for some photos.

It was a fun night.

Another day, same dino jammies. This time Ezra is making a gingerbread house! We got this in a Kiwi Crate kit from Auntie, Uncle & Cuz. Big fun, just a little late for Christmas but whatevs!

Happily waiting for the gobs of glue to dry.

 

Voila! 

Ezra got this awesome shirt from Grandpa! He LOVES it. The panda hat was also a gift from our neighbor and elicits attention wherever we go.

Then last weekend we went out to Sauvie Island and had some fresh, Alaskan salmon on bagels with cream cheese and capers on a sailboat! With Nikkie, and her new squeeze Kris:

and Ezra took this picture of him. Ezra called him captain and his small sailboat a ship.

Fun times! Busy times.