Happy Monday! I feel as if poor Merlin has been getting the short end of the stick, photo wise, lately, so I wanted to make up for it this week. He gets ignored by the camera for two reasons, first, he's usually napping or laying in the exact same spot of the house each day, and the photos would all start to blend together. Second, this spot he's in does not have the best light. So it's not that I don't adore the poor old man, it's just when I spend time with him I'm usually on the floor massaging his back and snuggling in, not taking photos.But this week? This week I made sure to document him.I love how Ezra snuggles in and "hugs" the old guy. I also have a few frames where Ez is pulling (gently) at that poor collie's face, but he's just taking it. What a lover.The other crazy thing about this week was that six days ago it was snowing like crazy, and today it was in the mid-40s and we were walking in the sunshine with hardly any snow left on the ground! I snapped this one of the two dogs playing in the backyard on Tuesday. Snow makes Merlin as frisky as he can get at this age.This is the look Magda gives you when you take her tennis ball to get her to look at the camera. On the one hand, she *is* looking at the camera. On the other hand, she looks like a total bitch.Oh, hello pumpkin! See how grey his eyes look here? If he's wearing grey, they look grey. If he's wearing olive, they look green. If he's wearing navy, they look blue. Chameleon eyes!We had brunch on Sunday with our friends Scott and Renee and Ezra was enamored with their kids Nora and Colin.And here's that sunny walk we took! See? Hardly any snow left!Love this. It was between Merlin kisses.And this photo shows Ezra here sitting up ALL BY HIMSELF. He's still a little wobbly, but very close.For your internet share of the day, these photos made me gasp (particularly numbers one, six and twelve). Also, this trailer for Mr. Holmes is such an interesting twist on the mysteries of life. I hope it gets great reviews!

Look at that poor little face. This week we kept Ezra home and took a few days off work to nurse him back to health. The first afternoon, I was letting the dogs out and propped him up on the couch. When I came back in and saw that pathetic look with the tear on his cheek, I had to snap a photo before scooping him up in my arms and nuzzling him some more.I didn't take many more photos of the poor kid this week (or the family) as I was super busy just trying to stay on top of the routine we established to try and get him better. Most of you know babies can't have decongestants when they are this young, so we took holistic medicine to a new level. There were hours spent each day in hot and steamy bathrooms, lots of sessions with the Nose Frida (much to Ezra's chagrin), lots of saline drips, lots of humidifier refills and lots of applications of a special rub for his chest, back and feet. There were also a lot of naps (thank goodness).Oh but wait. What is this special rub, you ask? Well, Vicks Vapor Rub isn't safe for babies this little, so I did some research and made my own holistic version. I KNOW. WHO KNEW I WOULD BE SUCH A GOOD HIPPIE?!Anyway, I just mixed up some cocoa butter, coconut oil, eucalyptus oil and lavender oil. The Eucalyptus opens up the airways (it's also in Vicks), the lavender does as well, but also relaxes the kid for nap times and the cocoa butter just works well for consistency and it smells delicious. I also put a few drops of the eucalyptus oil in his humidifier over his crib to help keep his sinuses open as well. You guys, his room smells like an awesome spa right now... but you have to look beyond the trashcan overflowing with tissues and boogie wipes.Anyway, all that work appears to have paid off (knock on wood) as he was far less congested today and was even back bouncing away in his jumper. He's still tired and a bit more fussy, but he's miles ahead of where we were last week. So let's hope he gets a few days reprieve at daycare before coming home with the next illness.I joke. Kindof.Magda was spectacular this week and is very patient with Ezra's exploration of her snout with his little fingers. Don't worry, we keep a very close eye on them.We have several toys that were given to Ez when he was a baby and was too young to appreciate them. This week we pulled out a few of them to help keep him entertained at home. He particularly loved these blocks with rattles inside.And Magda loved the packaging! That's what we call a win-win!This was taken on Sunday as the clouds of illness were clearing. And that's about it for this week. I'm not gonna lie, Jamie and I are completely exhausted. This weekend there were a few nights where Ez was up every 1.5-2 hours or so, and man is that tough. Fingers crossed he gets those amazing sleep skills right back with his recovery, eh?Oh! And I wish I had more photos of Merlin to post -- but with his tough week, I just petted and loved him up without the camera. He's still doing better since we cut back his pain meds, and hopefully I'll have photos to show you next week.

What a week! Ezra started daycare and managed to flirt with the ladies in the class (students as well as teachers), catch a virus which landed us in the doctor's office thanks to the weirdest diaper ever (no more details, I promise), and he slept entirely through the night a few times. Big week, y'all.Magda was better behaved since I wasn't doting on Ezra all day (imagine) and Merlin? He's still sleeping a lot. He'll be sure to meet you in the kitchen if you're making a meal that includes meat, however.Anyway, photos below! Enjoy!First day of daycare outfit.Naked (under a blanket) at the doctor's office. And still happy.This hoodie matches his eyes so well right now, I love it.Oh hi, cutie! Look at those long lashes!Still wriggling out of socks any chance he can get.And I love this one of him smiling at Magda.For your random internet share of the day, I love these photos of shampoo'd hair! So creative! Also, check out these amazing back stage photos from the Oscars. Fantastic.

This week wasn't quite as busy because I've been sick with a cold, but we still had adventures playing with stacking cups, playing in the falling snow, eating oatmeal and pears (!!), meeting Dad for lunch and opening Valentine's Day gifts. I just want you all to know that it's not always smiles around these parts. But I still find him adorable. His eyes are getting more grey and a touch greener as well.Jamie made a brisket from a Bon Appetit recipe, and Magda was *extremely* interested in it.Ezra opened his first presents (he was too young at Christmas).And as expected, the tissue paper was his favorite part :) Magda enjoyed knocking over the stacking cups with her paws while Ezra did the same with his hands. It was adorable. So that was our week! And for your internet share of the day, how about this little piece of adorableness. 

What a week! We have full on belly laughter happening these days, along with several three hour naps! But mainly, this is the last week before Ezra here starts daycare. I'm gonna miss this little guy so much during the days. But, (deep breaths), it will be really good to get my own life back. In the meantime, I'm going to try to just enjoy these last few days while I can.Of course, we had lots of airplane time. And lots of drool.One day last week, I thought it would be fun to "fingerpaint" with Ezra. I just added some food dye to some yogurt, thinned it up with some water and let him at it. Obviously I am naive in that I didn't expect it to end up on the face or in the hair. Lesson learned.Snapped this while Meredith was watching Ezra last week.Ezra met Diggs this week. I love how he's resting his hand on that big, adorable Boxer.Leah was off to the left smiling at Ezra when I snapped this. He's kinda smitten with my beautiful lady friends.We also have been playing with scarves during the day. He loves the way they feel when they brush his face, and I have tons of bright, colorful vintage scarves.These last two make ma laugh so hard. This is what Ezra looks like when he's nervous. Ha!

What a fun week we had! There was the very first "Ezra sleeps through the entire night and has to be woken up by his parents in the morning" bit. That was awesome -- and sadly, not repeated (yet). There was also the time I took him out to meet the Doomtree rappers at the donut shop (photo below). Or the time he met my longest childhood friend, Kameran Lee Bender, whom I have been friends with since 1979 or so. He was smitten with her, let me tell you.Also? There was Sunday brunch where Ezra sat in a high chair at the table the whole meal and entertained himself with  napkins and coasters while we ate a leisurely meal. That was rad.Beyond that, there were many games of "airplane," more tummy time, lots of playing with the dogs (he is now very interested and loves to gently pet them). It was a really, really great week.

Busy week around here! We had our first meeting at daycare, a trip to the Mall of America, a trip to Rivets and Roses, Ezra's first playdate with the lovely Naomi and many other errands. There was also some crankiness, as well as TWO NIGHTS where the kid slept all the way through (praise the lord!). Below are the photos! Enjoy.Merlin is doing a touch better, but mostly because we upped his pain killers so while he's not in as much pain, he's sorta... drugged. But still handsome as ever. And sweet as ever.I snapped this at Rivets and Roses. Flipping me the bird at such a young age. We're saving this for many uses down the line.Ezra learned about Eskimo kisses this week, and he LOVES them. He giggles like crazy when my bangs brush his face while doing this. Adorable.Magda got lots of walks as the weather warmed up, so she's been pretty content this week.Yup. Fussiness.Here he is with Naomi. Cuties. She's a few months older than he is and she seems miles ahead -- sitting on her own, pulling herself up into a stand and eating crackers.We still love bouncing.And he still loves the mirror.And this week, Ezra was treated to his first collie pedicure! Those are the best.

We were out on the town all week it seemed! Ezra attended art openings, lunch with girlfriends, dinner with another family and loads of errands. And he met a cat! But we had some great times at home too snuggling, cooing and playing quietly. And there was also some screaming. Oh yeah, there was some screaming.We had one night where we got practically zero sleep, and then last night when Ezra slept for more than NINE HOURS straight, woke up to feed and then let us sleep in until 9:30 am. So that was about the most fantastic night ever.Merlin has made an amazing recovery from his illness, and he was playing in the yard today and even took a short walk with me (!!!). Magda is in need of exercise and attention, so we took her and Ezra on a much longer walk to deal with that. And ever since they  have both been sleeping, so that worked like magic.Photos of the week are below. Enjoy!"Oh yeah, I'll just blow raspberries at my toes and ignore those needles over there." Yup, four month vaccinations were this week.Tummy time for everyone.Practicing for his senior portrait.We met up with my buddy Gigi for lunch at Pizzeria Lola and she showed him the room and the windows so I could eat.Have I mentioned this fascination with blowing bubbles? It's like he's already practicing farting sounds. He finds it hilarious. Boys.Tickle time with dad.Playing airplane with dad.Magda has been roaming the house without her collar so she's quieter and doesn't wake napping babes. She looks so wild to me without it!We took Ezra out Saturday night with our friends The Petersens to a french restaurant. He was enamored by Eric.Today it got to FORTY DEGREES! So out we went! Ezra is in two onesies, pants, snow boots, a fleece snow suit and gloves. He was plenty warm (stop worrying, grandmothers). Magda was naked. She was fine as well.Aaaand, Ezra fell asleep on our way back. Jamie snapped this photo. Who sleeps like this?