kiss those terrible twos goodbye!

ezzy kate turned 3! let's be honest, this year has been a little rough, so i'm thrilled to have it behind us. people aren't kidding about terrible twos, but things are looking up and life is getting a bit easier. the tantrums are getting shorter and less frequent, and we're starting to be able to reason with this little girl. i could not be more grateful.

this birthday was so much fun! it's the first year that ezzy has known what a birthday is. she was looking forward to it all week. she woke up that morning excited to eat cupcakes and open presents. she was thrilled to see the house decorated like her favorite movie, frozen. after we opened presents, we ate her requested breakfast of cupcakes. mmm. 

that afternoon, we went iceskating with grandma and grandpa roper, aunts millie and abbie, cousins ellery and aayla, and future uncle james. look at this girl's face! she was SO excited to go iceskating!

after iceskating, we headed home for some frozen themed food, cake, and of course more presents.

there are days that i can't believe my baby is already 3! where did the time go? but then i think, "i've only been a mom for 3 years? that's it?!? it feels SO much longer!" ...in a good way, promise. nothing has changed my life more than this girl. she makes me laugh everyday, she is so loving and tells me she loves me all the time. she is still a daddy's girl and probably always will be. she loves to color, read books, play outside in the dirt, and watch "shows". she is obsessed with frozen and has every song memorized. her favorite food is oatmeal and peanut butter sandwiches. she is kyson's second mother and loves to take care of him. i'm so grateful that she is in our lives! happy birthday ezzy!

baby ezzy

ezzy has decided that she is done with naps. ugh. i hate this idea. but the other day i found just the thing to do the trick...

little miss loves to be held and rocked like a baby, so i played it up. i swaddled her like a baby, rocked her for a bit, and put her in the pack-n-play. she loved it. and was fast asleep within minutes.

birth story

the sunday before baby boy arrived i started to have contractions. brandon and i walked and walked and walked but the contractions went no where. the next day, i was still having contractions but they were inconsistent and not very strong. then at 6:00 they became stronger and were coming every 3-5 minutes. i showered and did my hair and makeup to try and keep myself occupied. by about 9:00 brandon was ready to go to the hospital but i wasn't. there were no tears yet and i didn't want to be turned away. i don't know why i was worried; at my last dr appointment i was dilated to 3 and 80% effaced. they wouldn't have turned me away... i might have been a little irrational. shortly after 10:00 brandon convinced me to go in. he dropped ezzy off at my sister's house and we headed out... but of course not before stopping at wendy's. :)

we got to the hospital at 11:00. still worried they wouldn't keep me, i made brandon leave the bags in the car. (seriously don't know what my problem was.) we got in, the nurse checked me and immediately asked if i wanted an epidural which of course i did. (no shame!) she then ran to the door and yelled, "she's at a 7, 100% effaced with a bulging sack and she wants an epidural." bless those nurses; they hurried in and got me prepped and ready for the anesthesiologist. i guess it was a good thing we came in when we did. ;) my mom and sisters wanted to be at the delivery, so brandon called and told them to hurry over. by 11:45 i was feeling so much better; all numb and comfy. my mom and sisters, millie and abbie, arrived and annie was there via facetime. it was pretty much a party in that delivery room.

the dr. broke my water and discovered that baby was posterior. luckily, he was able to turn him and we were ready to get the show on the road. around midnight i started pushing. on the second contraction, baby boy's heart rate dropped pretty low and the doctor got his forceps ready. thankfully i was able to get him out on the next contraction without any help from the baby-tongs. whew.
at 12:15 baby boy took his first breath and shocked us all with his full head of hair. holy monkey, i have no idea where that came from but we are in love with it.

i am so grateful that everything went so perfectly. we are enamored with our little guy and feel so blessed to have him in our family.

introducing...

kyson max

9.17.13

7lb 1oz

19"

ezzy's messes

i have to start by saying that i HATE messes. (who doesn't, right?) they stress me out and just add one more thing to a never ending cleaning list. i have tried to child-proof our home but this girl is constantly surprising me with her mischief. she somehow manages to open doors with childproof knobs; she can pull EVERYTHING out of her drawers from the 1-inch crack that the child-latch allows them to open; she is like a bloodhound when it comes to comes to gum and can find it anywhere; she LOVES fingernail polish and has no problem getting it open; and when she is done eating her food, she finds the best way to let me know is to throw the remaining food on the floor. it's fantastic.
here are just a few examples.

one of my favorites. esme smeared an entire tube of thick diaper cream EVERYWHERE. her poor teddybear was covered and is still gross and greasy. i have tried everything; laundry detergent, oxy clean, dish soap, our little carpet cleaner, but nothing will get it out. ugh.

i let esme take a nap with me... she waited until i was asleep and then did this. red sharpie, awesome. 

my favorite is the top left. hand up the truck tailpipe! i know the stickers aren't a mess... i just thought they were pretty dang cute. 

a common scene at our house. ;)

everyone tells me that boys are more mischievous than girls... if that's the case, i might be in real trouble.

ezzy-chezzy

5 years

this weekend, brandon and i went up to park city to celebrate 5 years of marriage. nothing big and fancy but a much needed relaxing weekend alone. and of course we took no pictures. not one. we have official become a boring married couple... and i'm so ok with that.

i'm so grateful for this guy and glad he's by my side. love you brandon.