Life with Ezra

When Ava was only seven days old, a good friend of ours, Brooke Abercrombie, shot some delightful pictures of her. We have enjoyed them so much that I was determined to find a way to make it happen for number two. Once again, a good friend with excellent camara skills, Ashley MacDonald, came to the rescue and captured some precious moments of our son. We love them so much we just had to share them with you.

Life with Ezra has been a relatively smooth transition...so far. Mom's help the first week was invaluable and allowed me to rest up for life on my own. Mike has also been taking mornings off, instead of full-days, which gives me time to sleep in a little and take a good hot shower to start my day. Ezra does well during the night. He usually goes one hour and 45 minutes to three hours between feedings. He seems to be having some bubble issues in his tummy which extends our night-time feeding hours, but once those are taken care of he heads right back into dream land. I'm on day three of a no-milk diet to see if that helps with his tummy. I guess it takes two weeks to get all the milk proteins out of your body. Two weeks without graham crackers and milk? Ice cream? Cheese? Oh well, he's worth it.

It's fun to try and guess what Ezra will be like. He was such a pusher inside the womb, but is gentle and calm now. If we had guessed what Ava would be like, I think we would have been way off by under-guessing her enthusiasm for life and boundless energy, so to me Ezra is a real mystery. That's part of the fun of being a parent. We're excited to get to know our little boy.

Hangin with the Girls

While Mom and Dad were in the hospital, Ava got to hang with Bekah, Mark and Jess. She had tons of fun and even convinced Jess to share her hat.

Growing Up

Here is our sweet boy a few days older. He is eating well and has a very soft little cry and super soft and kissable skin.

Ava Meets Her Brother

So far, Ava and Ezra get along very well. Ava loves pointing out all his body parts. "Baby eyes, baby nose, baby nose, baby toes..." She also gives him soft rubs and kisses. Grandma brought Ava a new baby doll to love which keeps her busy and happy.

Ezra David Sorensen

Welcome to the world! Ezra David Sorensen joined us on Saturday, April 7th at 9:33 am. At six pounds, fifteen ounces and nineteen inches long, Ezra is a bundle of joy. Ezra's labor was easy and fun and mom is doing fantastically.

Dining in Style

Although we were grateful for the little table handed down to us on our wedding day almost four years ago now (boy does time fly) we are proud to say that we now have six comfy dining chairs and a table that seats eight, so come on over for a bite! While you're at it, check out the new chandelier Mike hung for us. He's become quite the electrician. Besides all the wiring in the basement, he's also hung two ceiling fans since moving in. Way to go!

Happy Homeowners!

What is the best thing about being homeowners? PAINTING!!! Christina finally gets to experiment with paint colors and has done just that in Ava's new room. She also got out the sewing machine and made Ava a comforter and roman blinds to tie the circles and colors together. Ava loves her "pretty room" and runs around pointing to all the cirlces naming them "yellow, green, purple." She doesn't always get them right, but we give her credit for trying and mom appreciates Ava's enthusiasm for her creation.

Ava's New Trick

Ava has now learned to flip herself in and out of her bed. She thinks it's the greatest trick in all the books, but mama gets worried she's going to get hurt. Is it time for a big girl bed?

Extended FHE

We love getting together with the family! This Monday we had a fhe with the brothers and sisters and Grandpa and Grandma Wood. Jessica showed us pictures of her Romania semester abroad, and we all got to have a great time catching up with each other.

Big News!

Ava can finally flaunt a full-piggie hair style. Usually she's got two piggies popping off the top of her head, but her hair is finally long enough to pull it all back. Isn't she pretty?

Coming Along...

After one week of intense work, soar muscles and even some blood our basement has gone from concrete walls to dusty glory! We completed all the electrical, insulation and have dry walled about 95%. Thursday the plumbers will install our tub, drywall will be finished, and on Saturday professional helpers will start the job of mudding and texture. We can not thank our friends (thanks Shaw!) and family enough for their help. Our brothers have been fantastic (Shelley too), Carole and Dennis have sweated with us, and Mike's dad Dave slaved away all week. We only let him out at meal times and Home Depot runs. :o) My hands were full keeping Ava out of the basement and feeding our crew, but I did happen to get my hands on a few power tools and was able to participate and nap times and nighttime. It was truly empowering and fun to watch things take shape before my eyes. Here are some of the pics.

It's Basement Time!!!

It all began on February 17. Dave and Brent arrived the night before and at 7am Saturday morning we set to work. While the boys slaved away in the basement, we had lots of fun playing with family upstairs. By the way, the fan in the last picture Mike installed all by himself. And it works! Being home owners is so much fun!!!

Mike and I just got back from a magical two weeks in Europe. We moved fast and were able to see London, Paris, Barcelona, Venice, Florence, Pompeii, Rome and many towns on the Amalfi coast of Italy including the tiny island Capri. We’ve decided January is the perfect time to travel because there are no lines and cheap airfare! We also decided that when Mike e-commutes to work, and there isn’t children’s schooling to worry about we are moving to the Amalfi coast so Mike can fish for dinner and I can have a terraced garden of orange and lemon groves, basil, parsley, tomatoes (all the Italian essentials) and ride my Vespa into town for anything else we might need. A real shout-out to our parents who took turns watching Ava so we could enjoy ourselves abroad. Thank you so much! So the pics from top to bottom: Mike and I in a London phon booth (I spent many hours in one of those during our dating days), enjoying the ambiance of the Eiffel Tower, checking our view of the Duomo from Piazzale Michaelangelo in Florence, wandering the streets of Venice, having a romantic moment in a covered gazebo near Marie Antoinette's estate in Versaille, enjoying a private boat tour from a new-found Caprician friend, one of the many beautiful coastlines on the Amalfi Coast, and exploring the ruins of Pompeii.

Merry Christmas!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas with Mom and Dad Wood in Vegas. Ava loved opening presents and dancing on her new car, but most of all she loved taking care of Grandma's three babies ALL AT ONCE. I have a feeling she's going to be a great help with her new baby brother. :o) We finished up Christmas day with a Sorensen family trip to the park- another one of Ava's favorite activities.

210 C Reunion

Just before Christmas Mike's old roomies decided we all needed to get together. It was great seeing everyone again and meeting all of Ava's future college roomates (we've decided the tradition must continue).

Happy Ava

Ava loves her Santa hat.

The Christmas Tree Hunt

Ava had tons of fun Christmas Tree shopping with Malorie, Mom, and Grandma and Grandpa Autrey. She has never said the word "tree" so many times in one day and was even calling the little trees "baby tree." She's adorable. She also found something to put on her list for Santa (or "Anta" as she calls him). A pink ATV just her size!

Soccer Champ!

Congratulations Mike!! Mike has been playing on two indoor teams this season and both of his teams won first place in their division. Mike has loved his time on the field but is definitely looking forward to the holiday break and some much needed recovery time.