Happy Holidays!

We just finished a lovely Hannukah, eating lots of latkes and lighting many candles. Ezra learned the dreidel game, had a Hannukah party with his Chicken Coop buddies and learned many a Hannukah song. Although, after the lighting of the candles each night, he wanted to sing the Happy Birthday song and blow out the candles. So we did.

Next up is Soltice fun and lots of snow songs sung to Ezra's Po. And, then a Christmas party at Liko's house and then some caroling and a little Santa fun. Ezra is so excited to put surprises in the stockings and pretend to be Santa Claus with a big cappuccino foam beard (funny the references kids will make....You would never know that his Mommy drank many cappuccinos).

Grandma gets to spend Christmas with us and will try to keep warm in our drafty abode.
Momma will happily be on vacation soon and Mommy spends her days looking at preschools for next year and trying to get massage clients. Ezra is Ezra as you can see.

One Pox Too Many

When we say pox, we mean just that, a pox.

Ezra had the Chicken Pox recently. Or so, we think he did. Yep, it appears that his Chicken Pox was probably the mildest case seen around in a long time. You may notice the remnants there on his left cheek just below his eye. One giant pox.

He had all the symptoms. He was definitely exposed. He broke out with other spots....but the other spots just faded away. The one on his face festered and did its pox thing. We attribute this mild case to our wonderful and smart Homeopath/MD who gave him a remedy when she found out he was exposed.

He seemed fine through the whole thing. The hardest part was keeping him away from others for the 3 week incubation period. Man, what a funky and sneaky illness.

So after our little boy was no longer contagious, Momma took him to see the Red Balloon; his first movie in a movie theater. After many questions while the movie played and a growing circle of empty seats surrounded them, he came home with a red balloon and the hope that other balloons would come and he would float up in the sky and into the clouds.

We are gearing up for Hannukah, Solstice and Christmas.....we hope this finds everyone well.

Happy Halloween!

For weeks now, when asked what E wanted to be for Halloween, he would say, "a giraffe." His wish came true with the help of our local consignment store and some store credit. We scored the only 3T giraffe costume in sight.



















We didn't foresee the growth spurt that had ensued. Here he is getting warmed up this morning, trick-or-treating with his classmates from the Chicken Coop on 24th Street. For several stops he would stand back and watch his friends say the magic words and receive the magic treats. This little, short-necked giraffe had to process every Halloween move, then........
He and his giraffe friends started loosening up.

....And by the 3/4 mark of the one block excursion, this giraffe was a pro.

....Then he discovered the pink lollipop.










You would think that it was all over at that point, but E tasted the lollipop and put it back into his bag and saved for the Halloween Fairy.

Yup, all the treats E collected today were for the Halloween Fairy. We came home tonight and took our pumpkin and blew out the candle after singing Happy Birthday to the Halloween Fairy. We then filled the pumpkin up with all the collected treats. And, tomorrow when E wakes up he will find that the fairy took all the candy and left him a special gift; a beautiful gourd shaker with a Dia De Los Muertes image on it. At least, that is what she told me.

Tomorrow we will build our altar for The Day Of The Dead. We have our marigolds and papel picados and one sugar skull.

For now, Happy Halloween!

Ezra and the Playground Pioneers

E's in print again, this time in an article in Greater Good Magazine written by Jeremy Adam Smith, who is also one of the writers for Daddy Dialectic, and a dear friend. It's an article on parenting, which includes interviews with both Mommy and Momma. And, if we weren't involved enough with this article, Mommy contributed the photos. This is probably why you see E in 2 out of the 3 photographs printed.

He's awfully cute and a super lucky little guy to have all these cool people invested in his well being.

The First of Many

We know how 2 1/2 year olds can have difficult times transitioning, but when a drumming loving toddler breaks his first mallet, it appears that the sun will no longer shine as it had before.

We were pretending to be the Timpani players to Beethoven's #9 and he was louder than thunder....and well, it happened. We saw the splinter fly, and then the mallet took its last bow.

We held the mallet in our hands while tears flowed and said our goodbyes and thank yous. It was a very sad moment. After much appreciation of the mallet, we were able to take its splintered body to the garbage for the final farewell.

And yes, you can bet we will be the first customers at the music store tomorrow.

Here he is in action....

Early Birds, Spanish Words and Peeps

We have been moving at such a fast pace, we're not sure where to begin. First off, we've been waking up super early because E is going to school! Yup, our little chick has grown up and is attending a four family co-op created by all of us and affectionally named The Chicken Coop. The poem of the month is appropriately The Early Bird by Shel Silverstein.

Here he is on his first day. Oh, those sleepy eyes. But, check out that new backpack. We walked all the way to the bus stop, rode it for approximately 4 blocks and went to school.....


......where he began his day playing with play dough.


















Then he and his pal Remy got to see their favorite Spanish Immersion teacher, Susy Dorn, in Palo Alto last weekend. She held a fundraiser/concert for the earthquake victims in Peru. He became rather shy when he met Susy again. If she only knew how much he has learned from her.

Remy and E have a moment while watching Susy.

Here he is with his pal and school mate, Argus.











This boy has developed such great friendships. There are a lot of constants in his life and we feel he is thriving from it. This boy of ours is growing in so many directions it's hard to keep up. We just know that we are constantly proud of him.

We Went Walkin' Way Down To Weno Nevada

We thought our trip with Liko and family to the balloon races in Reno would mean Willy Was a Whale would be the road trip song of choice, but instead the boys discovered Yellow Submarine, which seems rather appropriate since the giant inflating balloons kind of had a 60's bubble-like animation to it.

We packed up the Big Car ( a seriously giant minivan that we all shamefully fell in love with) on Friday morning, gave Grandma and her caregiver a big hug and we went off to see the Big Balloons and indulged in a little vacation away from being caregivers ourselves. It was amazing, as you can see below. Ezra was both intrigued and freaked out about the hundreds of giant, brightly colored, firey, loud balloons that floated up to the sky with people attached in a little basket.

















Ezra and Liko are still reenacting going up in a balloon. Liko's favorite was the eagle shaped balloon while Ezra's was the strawberry.

The boys had a blast as did the adults. Thanks Liko and family for inviting us along!

Gravel Pits, Shovels and Blue Notes

Momma had the brilliant idea of a gravel pit. We realized that idea, planted a little garden with our boy's help, and now on these last lazy summer evenings, Momma gives E a little lesson on the trumpet in a kind of blue kind of way.

Happy September everyone!

Birthday Cakes Made of Sand

So many people to celebrate! First, Welcome Zelia Gloria Curtiss born August 10th around 11:58pm. Momma was Argus's guide through a beautiful homebirth. Also, Happy Birthday to Zelia's Momma, Karen who spent the entire day in pre-labor and didn't get a chance to celebrate herself, so next year we propose a trip to a relaxing beach after Zelia's 1st birthday. And, of course, Happy birthday to Aunt Oona! Ezra continues to perfect his ability to use Mommy's cell phone unattended and will probably call you again in the near future. He may even have a new song to sing.

Meanwhile, we have made many birthday cakes in the sand and blown out many pretend candles for all of you! In between our sand creations we continue to spend lots of time at the playground. We are bundling up in this chilly month of August.

Ezra is beginning to understand how to push himself swinging. Here he gets a little help from Olli and a high five from Liko

And, a playground date isn't complete without chasing

And, look at this happy big brother. Argus is in bliss

















Grandma is still with us and seems to be getting better. We've made many a sand cake for her as well.

Red Guitar

Ukulele Rock Star

We are consistently entertained with new songs from E on his ukulele. He would make Justin Roberts proud with this little medley.



Here he is practicing his stage dive after the grand ukulele stunt. The kid's already got moves.

To Love To Hold

Boy is seriously obsessed with tennis these days. He plays with many versions of rackets, one of which is a bowling pin (he's very creative). Here he is at the beach with a badminton racket. We say he's already got some good form.

It seems that as the summer fog has rolled in so have many changes around the home front. Grandma is staying with us for the time being to do little convalescing which means getting out and over a bridge to find sun may not happen for a few more weeks. But, lucky for us, September is usually a very warm month and we will have to camp at least one more time before the rains and snotty noses come.

Ezra loves having his grandma here. We hope she feels the same way.

City Stars

Ezra is a star and is in this weeks City Star's City Snapshots! He and his buddy Argus weren't sure what to think of the photographer as you can see in their expressions and Mommy decided to put Ezra's hair in a barrette that day to keep his hair out of his eyes. So I am sure people will assume he is a girl, which is not all that uncommon. The curls throw people a little.


Here he is again with his buddies Argus and Liko. These three are three snap peas in a cozy pod.

Sand, Sun, Work & Fun

Ezra and family have been having such a wonderful summer. We've been busy with so many fun things. Mommy went back to work for a couple of weeks to her old work place, Project Open Hand, while Momma got to be a full time parent. It was a nice shift for the family, and Mommy had lots of fun seeing her old peeps at work. Good people, good organization. And, Momma was able to get some fun Ezra time in.

But, in between these little changes was lots and lots of water play. This boy has seen so many bodies of water in the past few weeks. No wonder his favorite song is Willy Was a Whale.

First, there was a day trip to Tomales Bay to Heart's Desire Beach. What a beautiful place. Plus, we got to eat a lot of cheese from Cowgirl Creamery.













When we returned, the San Francisco weather allowed us a backyard pool date with E's pal Remy (while Mommy was working and the weather turned cold, Momma brought the pool into the kitchen and had a indoor pool party.....Momma is so much more fun than Mommy sometimes).
Then there was bathtime with Liko. This was a super special treat. And, a little advertisement for Straus Family Creamery. Those yogurt containers make darn good bath buckets.
Then we took E camping on the full moon. We watched the moon rise, and Ezra slept in a tent for the first time. We also played a lot at the beach, and E loved to pretend the tide was chasing him. I have never seen the ocean make someone laugh so hard.
And, then we were fortunate enough to spend more time up at the Villa de Merz in Sonoma. The tempertures were record breaking, but who knew. We spent a lot of time in the pool.









I hope everyone else is having a fabulous summer too! Stay wet!

Welcome Sweet Anjeli and Happy Pride

The sweetest little girl was born on June 10th, Anjeli Rhianna Looper! Congratulations to new big brother, Remy! And, of course the rest of the cute family! Ezra and Mommy got to meet her last week, and well, as you can see, it was love at first sight. Ezra was so very sweet and gentle with her. It still brings tears to our eyes when we tell the story.



Here is a picture of new Daddy, Malik, and Ezra at the May drum class.











And, Happy Pride everyone. We had a rather quiet weekend, but was proud nonetheless. Sorry to miss Oona and Sarah at the Dyke March. There is always next year.

School's Out For the Summer

Lordy, lordy! Momma is home for the summer and we kicked it off by spending a weekend with our friends Betsy, Steve, Leila and Gus at the beautiful Villa De Merz in Sonoma.

We picked lots of berries and ate them right off the vine. Lots of them. Then Betsy baked us a beautiful cobbler for dessert! And, Leila made a fabulous Best Berry Blast smoothie!
Ezra and Gus had some fun pool time!
We chased lots of bubbles.
And, Ezra chased Leila.
But, the highlight of the weekend was a little drive Mommy and Ezra took on the John Deere. We sang the tractor song all the home! Which goes like this.....


Tractor, tractor you're so big
Tractor, tractor dig, dig, dig
On the street or on the farm
You bend your great big arm
Tractor, tractor you're so big
Tractor, tractor dig, dig, dig

Yup, this song is all the rage in Ezra's group of friends. Momma out did herself! The tune is the very familiar Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or the ABC Song. We pick up the tempo quite a bit. Ezra wants to sing it even faster!

Thank you Betsy, Steve, Leila and Gus for such a wonderful weekend!

Hooked on Homophones

After being cooped up at home with an ear infection for a couple of days and feeling pretty rotten, today Ezra's health and energy level were finally at top volume plus some! Mommy spent a good hour trying to get him down for a nap today when Momma had to intervene. He expressed his joy of good health by singing songs really fast and jumping on the bed and flailing himself atop Mommy, to which Momma exclaimed, "Ezra, you need to give Mommy a little peace." To which Ezra replied, "I want big peas."




This is actually a picture from when we were at the zoo for his birthday. He just has the perfect little crazy face that we witnessed today.




We all gave up on the nap and called it a day around 6pm this evening. It is currently peaceful. At least for the time being.(/div)

Sand and Sleep

Ezra is becoming more and more interested in what other kids are doing at the playground.

Here he is negotiating a little play time with a couple of older girls in the sand box. Reactions varied.

Earlier that day.....

Mommy takes care of E's little buddy Remy on Wednesdays and can proudly say she has napped them together ONE time.

It obviously wasn't this day.

Birthday Presents

Momma asked Ezra the other night what they should get Mommy for her birthday. He replied, "Front loader!" She asked again later and he gave the suggestion of a "Backhoe, Circles and Planets!"

It's Official....

There isn't a cuter boy than this one.

Farmer's Market Bash

After two weeks of celebration, I do believe E's birthday is over.

Say it isn't so!

















Today we gathered a group of his toddler friends and converged upon our weekly Farmer's Market in Noe Valley. We made fruit and vegetable hats and distributed blow-outs. We bought strawberries from one farmer, snap peas from the next, oranges from another....and VOILA, we had a party going on.

Not to mention a great band was playing who sang Happy Birthday to Ezra. Thanks Quake City Jug Band!


E was pretty darn happy. Especially when the band sang "I've Been Working On The Railroad." And, also he was pretty happy because he probably ate a whole basket of strawberries on his own. Here he is, refusing to wear a fruit hat, but was definitely a strawberry in spirit on his fun day and maybe he will be a strawberry tomorrow too. hmmmm....


His friend Emiliano was broccoli. Emiliano danced his little heart out.



Plum was an apple by choice.


Ezra watched one of the musicians today play a stand-up bass and play the harmonica at the same time. Well, this needed to be tested out once we got home.
















We're not sure if Ezra thinks that his birthday will always last two weeks. He probaby won't remember this at all. But, he does know the Happy Birthday song pretty darn well and is already singing it to his Mommies.

What a great couple of weeks!