So this weekend we celebrated Father's Day and my birthday (!!) and we got a haircut and we ... recovered from illness. Oh, don't you worry about Ezra. That kid is a-ok healthy. It's the viruses he spread to us, his poor parents, that brought us down. And Jamie got hit the hardest (just what he wanted for Father's Day! Thanks, kid!). Anyway, luckily for Jamie, ice cream was what tasted best this weekend, and that's what I wanted to eat for my (very small) birthday gathering. So it was a win-win. Photos below -- enjoy!
This week was a FULL ON, REAL haircut. Meaning, not only were clippers used, but Ezra wore a cape and the hair dryer was brought out, and the kid took it like a champ. That Barber Bob is the damn best.
And as a reward, Ezra got to finish Jamie's smoothie at Panera. That kid loves his smoothies/popsicles/ice cream. Can't imagine who he gets that from...
And since we all know ice cream is my favorite food ever, we invited a few friends to meet us at MilkJam on Saturday to celebrate my birthday. We ordered "All of Them," which is all 16 flavors built into a sundae. It was amazing.
We demolished it. (There was more eaten after this photo. Which might have caused my stomach ache that night.)
But this kid was thrilled!
The next day, I snapped this while he was enjoying a yogurt. This kid and cold dairy are a match made in heaven.
And here the boys are on Father's Day.
I like how it looks like Ezra is giving Jamie a backrub for father's day here, and not climbing all over his poor, sick father.
That evening, we had a picnic at the lake, listened to some classical music at the bandshell and then watched the ducks.
On Monday, Jamie and I went for a few short walks, and on one of them I spied this deer. Wait, Jamie spied the deer. I took the photo.
And then that night, Nyberg came over for my birthday dinner and played with the kid. After dinner, she and I headed down to the lake to photograph the moonrise. You'll get to see that tomorrow :)For your internet share of the day, I loved this story. If only we were all that polite on the internet.
This kid had a fever and was sick all weekend, so we spent most of our time inside eating yogurt and smoothies. But Sunday he started to feel a little better, so we took him out for a hike. Well, we hiked on paved paths and pushed his stroller. So it was at least relaxing for him! And then we came home and had more yogurt.
Oh! And since he was feeling better (but was still contagious), we bought a kiddie pool and spent the afternoons splashing about in water.
The other thing Ezra wanted to eat this weekend (besides yogurt) was smoothies. He's so classy at the table, eh?
On our hike, we made our way down to the St. Croix River where Ezra admired the boats.
Oh, and let's not forget the yogurt popsicles.
And more yogurt. And this time it's even in his hair.
But who could say no to those eyes?
As usual, we packed as much into this weekend as we possibly could. There was a big soil delivery, gardens planted, walks taken, slides conquered, multiple farmer's market visits, several shopping trips, a graduation party, dinner out for pizza and several photo shoots. And Jamie installed the last of the window air conditioner units so we are now set for summer! (The end of the week is supposed to reach the mid-90s.)
I should start by saying that on Friday, Ezra and I got donuts (National Donut Day), and he was smitten from the get go. So that evening, when we went to one of our favorite pizza joints and they placed raw dough sprinkled in flour in front of him (as they always do with the kids because it's like the most amazing play-dough ever), he dove in and tried to eat it. These were his reactions.
Yeah kid. A little different than the donut you had for breakfast.
On Saturday morning, a bunch of soil was delivered so I could plant raised beds in those two watering troughs right there. We thought Ezra would love seeing the truck dump the dirt. Instead he was terrified.
However, he is a boy after all, so the dirt itself was a huge hit. He helped us transfer it both with his new plastic sand shovel and bucket, and then he attempted to use the adult shovel. Good luck with that, kid.
For the record, we planted strawberries, basil, cilantro, chives, romaine, thyme and beets in one container (and some flowers that the nursery lady told me might help keep the squirrels away). And in the other we have cherry tomatoes, carrots, radishes, leeks and green beans. We had a cucumber plant left over, so we're trying that in the yard. Wish us luck.
Sunday morning began with another walk to a nearby playground. Another child was having a birthday party and Micky and Minnie mouse showed up. Ezra has never seen them before, so he had no associations other than "What the HELL is THAT?"
Sunday afternoon was spent at a graduation party for Shuttersmack's summer intern (!!!!) (more on that later), and a few people were playing guitar and singing and this boy here was far more interested in that than cupcakes, cookies or rice krispie treats.
And at the end of it all, he was conked out. What a weekend.
We had a wonderful holiday weekend with family in town -- tons of amazing food, great weather, long walks and man, were we sad to see them head back to California. But hopefully we'll see them again before fall arrives.
This is how Ezra gazes at his Aunt. He is smitten! And it was so fun to see him so enamored.
On their first morning in town, they wanted to hit up 
And after breakfast, we headed over to First Avenue for some obligatory photos.
This kid now doesn't really want to be held or ride in a stroller. He prefers to walk most of the time. Or run. Or get dangerously close to traffic, or close to cliffs or close to rivers. It's not unnerving at all.
Sunday, the weather was magnificent, so we (and the rest of the metro area) headed over to Minnehaha Falls. Oh, I do love it there.
On Monday, we started the day walking around Lake Harriet. We decided to to see how Ezra felt about dipping his toes into the lake. The water was quite lovely, but I think he was even more fascinated by the nearby kids who were building sand castles. So later, we went to Target and picked up a shovel and bucket for the beach. How much fun does this boy have in his future?!
And we ended the weekend by cleaning up the house and dishes, and this little helper sure makes me smile. Oh, I wish every weekend could be this much fun!
Eating snacks with your shirt off as watermelon juice dribbles down your chin? Yup. It's 
This boy loves his cold watermelon so damn much.
Also, I got a damn good deal on a huge box of Legos at one of the garage sales. Ezra is THRILLED. This kid knows maybe 20 words, and you better believe "Lego" is one of them.
This is another amazing bargain I got at one of the garage sales. Also a huge hit. I love this pose.
During one of our dinners on the patio, Ezra was delighted by the caterpillar that joined us.
On Sunday we went for a long wagon ride / walk, and Ezra was completely mesmerized by all the people all out mowing their lawns. Another word he learned this weekend? "Lawnmower." When we got back home, our neighbor Jon was out mowing his lawn, and we told him how enamored Ezra was with the machinery. And then he blew our minds by sending his children over with this toy lawnmower. Did our kid get spoiled rotten this weekend or what?
While Ezra was in the bath, Magda stole his dirty clothes and played with them in the bedroom. I love how she holds the shirt in her "hands" and barks at the clothing. Adorable.
No real internet shares of the day today, but I do want to tell you all that I'm doing The Dog Days of summer on Saturday, June 25. This means I'll be hosting mini-photo sessions for your pups in the studio! If you're interested in such a session (or know someone who is!), please check out 
The weather on Saturday was FREEZING and we stayed in as much as we could and napped under big, wool blankets. Then on Sunday, everything changed and we were in the mid-60s and outside for almost all the hours of daylight. One of our excursions was to a nature preserve center, which Ezra loved even more than I thought he would.(Weren't the clouds outstanding yesterday?)
Ezra still loves reading the books about the potty. But he has zero interest in actually sitting on one. Sadly.
Saturday morning, our neighbor Kate came by and completely blew Ezra's mind with her charm, the toys she brought and her adorable nature. I think we have a crush.
Here he's paging through Keith Richards' autobiography. Maybe we should save that one for later, kid.
Here we are on our Sunday hike through the woods.
And, you know, just resting on a log.
For your internet share of the day, we've been enjoying 
We had an amazing weekend around these parts -- lots of friends, lots of great food and lots of laughs. Ezra was in an *amazing* mood all weekend ... until he tried his very first lollipop (as seen above). That piece of candy was like a mainline of cocaine* straight to his brain and we probably won't be doing that again anytime soon. But I hope he enjoyed it while it lasted.
We started the weekend with sushi. Lesson learned: Order Ezra his own damn sushi because sharing doesn't work as he eats all of ours. But the good news is that he loves eel and avocado and shrimp and octopus and wow, what a kid!
Just a few shots from our room at the Japanese restaurant. I love those private dining experiences.
After dinner, Ezra played outside with Evie (who joined us with her parents for the meal!). Evie looks like a flower child from 1969 here, and I love it.
The weather this weekend has been phenomenal, so we practically lived in the backyard.
We started Mother's Day with Ezra deciding to push the vacuum cleaner around. YES, LET'S WORK ON THAT SOME MORE!
Then he got dressed for our brunch date and man-oh-man is he cute or what?
At brunch, he ate guacamole with a spoon. Who eats that for breakfast? My very own spawn, that's who. Jamie shot this image after we finished eating.
After brunch and nap time, our buddies Eric, Betz and Eero came over to hang out in the back yard. Eero was a total champ and helped Ezra with his trike (an played ball with the kid). It was a lovely afternoon, and we had a fantastic time.
And then we gave Ezra this piece of brain-changing organic material and he turned into a whirling dervish with a short temper and extreme frustration. Good thing we got him settled down by bedtime.*Sidenote: I have no idea what mainlining cocaine looks or feels like. I am making this statement based on lots and lots of television viewing. 
So how is the family? Well... we're busy! The weather has finally warmed back up to the 60s so both Ezra and Magda are thrilled to be back outside. However, Ezra learned two new (and very important) words this week. Those words were "no" and "mine." So yeah, we've had a few challenges. And unsurprisingly, Ezra is not a fan of you using those words back at him.Beyond the vocabulary "improvements," Ezra deepened his love of trucks (he's a huge fan of the 
Here he is playing with 
Yes he has a crusty nose. It's part of parenthood. I clean it up before we leave the house, but not before 8 am. Sorry.
We also met a bunch of friends at a new park this weekend, and not only did Ezra tackle some newer, bigger, faster slides, but he also tried out this standing teeter-totter thing. Pretty rad.
And then he passed out cold on the way home from all the excitement.
One afternoon, we walked up to the nursery to get some plants for the front porch. Wagon rides are still a huge hit with this little man.
And now he loves pulling it as much as riding in it. I'm not gonna lie, this guy loves to be the one in charge. I cannot fathom where he gets that from.For your internet shares of the day:+