EZ-EE-WA

No one in the world is cuter when they pray, than Ezra. We all love it. 

Ezra is a genius! I've decided he's also a major introvert. He likes to be alone and doesn't want people in his space. He screams a lot because these are impossible requests with 5 siblings.

 Ezra loves to sing the song All Creatures Of Our God and King (we like this cello rendition of it). He especially loves the Alleluia's. 

We have a family code word when it's time to gather. It makes it easier to get everyone to come quickly because we use it sparingly. Are you ready? It's......

Squirrel. 

When Ezra hears it, he acts like it's an emergency ;) 

He runs all over the house saying it until everyone comes. 

This September was a big month for Ezra. He started sleeping in a big boy bed, and he started liking to watch Baby Einstein (love when that happens).

Ezra loves to say "football".

Foods Ezra loves: salsa, avocados, vegan butter on bread, banans, nuts, plain yogurt, feta cheese...

Since he started sleeping in a bed, we play hymns and classical music to help him fall asleep. 

He likes it. He likes music in general. He loves to dance (with his hands in fists and elbow up and side to side) and he actually has a killer Michael Jackson moonwalk. He hummed tunes from when he was way little. He didn't have first words, but first choruses of songs. What the?

JOY SCHOOL IS JOYOUS!

It's been so nice living close to my family. We have lovely Sunday Persian dinners at my parents house, and the kids get to stay over that night and have Grammy School the next day. My mom is teaching them art half the day and writing the other half. While the older three kids are gone, I have Joy School with the three littles. It's been so nice having that time with them to do all the things the older kids did when they were younger. 

This is what we did on our first day:

Played in the balls at Ikea and got ice cream, Scarlet picked out cute new boots (Pods- good for every season, check them out), decorated a birthday plate, read Heidi together, worked on her alphabet box,

played with rainbow rice, listened to audio books, Scarlet packed up for an adventure in the woodland part of the yard, and we baked biscuits. These little people are wearing me out.

We bake yummy treats.

Snack time on the front porch.

We make rainbow rice for our sensory bucket. Ezra loved this. He played silently, working so hard, for longer than he's ever has played at anything. 

 We decorated a ceramic plate with Sharpies and then baked it. Scarlet LOVED this. You can redo your drawing as much as you want before you bake it. Scarlet drew a cupcake so we can use her special plate for birthdays. She wrote her name for the first time on it.

We go swimming at the pool and in the kitchen sink.

We paint poster board to find the secret message.

We go for walks.

Scarlet works on her alphabet rocks.

Ezra loves to wear backpacks.

We throw colored ice in the bath.

Weeds, Chickens, Plums, Apples, Hay, Berries...

I went to an Herbal First Aid workshop and learned all about weeds and how to use them. It was riveting. When we moved, I was really concerned about my weeds- they were given to me by a beloved friend. Tim brought them for me and I headed out to the yard, 9 months pregnant and worked my tail off getting them planted before they died. The good thing about weeds is that they are robust, and grow really fast. I think I might plant an entire weed garden- its so easy and so rewarding ;)

 I've been making all kinds of potions and magical concoctions. The other day I was blending them in my Vitamix and the kids would pass by and look at me with a furled eyebrow and then continue on their way. I think they are getting used to my freaky green stuff now. Everytime they have any issue at all, what do I say?  "Go get the green stuff." 

Gargantuan Comfrey

My freezer is full of these... really wanted to put it on Mark's eyeball but my dad couldn't even handle the thought of it.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Never preserved so many apples in my life! We didn't even touch the crab apples

 because we were so sick of it.

If you look closely at this picture you will see a silver bowl hanging from the tree- the kids made up and apple picking system that had something to do with a hanging bowl and a butterfly net. I think Jacob was the net catcher.

There were 7 billion red, delicious plums. We picked this many on several different days. 

They were never ending.

Gramma's apples were beautiful.

I think we ended up canning over a hundred jars plus my freezer is stuffed too.

Hours of fun right there. I recommend a haystack in the backyard to anyone. The kids played and played in it. This particular game was my favorite. They made nests for themselves and even Ezra had a nest to drink his milk in. 

We found the perfect spot for a campout. We were hoping to camp with Eli's

 fam but we ran out of time.

They brought out everything they own. Games, books, homework.

We caught many a froggy in the yard.

The girls made sure there was fresh flowers on the table at all times.

All you can eat dessert.

Charlie's hands are so squishy- they make me sad for some reason. 

Sad that one day I won't be able to hold them whenever I want.

Scarlet carried on the wildflowers in the ice family tradition.

Jane has perfect daisy chain hair. I love how she's a real deal flower girl. Often I will look out the window and see her floating in the breeze with her arms outstretched, daydreaming about who knows what. She loves to do her schoolwork way up in the birch tree in our front yard. Don't ask me how she gets all her stuff up there or how she actually gets anything done.

I love this picture because 4 kids are in this tree at once- 2 on branches and 2 on swings.

 Another childhood family tradition. Duct tape nature bracelets.

This is at Grammy's house for art class. They were laying on a blanket and painting the sky. I wish I could take Grammy's class.

So fun to see cousin Brendy. The kids kept talking about how fun she is long after we were home.