Dos Meses Con Ezrito!

We have discovered that Ezra quite enjoys a bath as long as he stays warm. This means he wants most of his body submerged underwater and you better make sure that water is on the hotter side of warm than the cooler side. In order to keep him submerged, one of us has to be in the bath with him to hold his head out of the water, but the rest of him underneath. Once he gets a little bigger and we get more confident, I'm sure getting in with him will no longer be necessary. But for now, it works.

Ezra started smiling at us this month (right around 6 weeks). The first time he smiled AT me I promptly began to cry because it made me so happy. He has gotten more and more smiley as the days have progressed this month. It is so fun!! He smiles biggest right now at any type of breeze on his face, a tickled chin, when he sneezes, and most recently, at the clicking tongue noise.

He chats and coos during the day. His voice is so adorable. He has even given a little teaser giggle a time or two. He has also become more active with kicking his legs around and pumping his arms back and forth. 

Our nightly routine starts around 9 pm. I feed him on one side. Then we bathe him, dry him, lotion him, diaper, and clothe him. Kyle swaddles him while I turn the lights off in the house, except for the living room light, which we dim down to a faint glow. Then I feed him on the other side, burp and rock him to sleep. He eats twice during the night (2, 6 about) and sleeps well between the feedings. Sometimes after his 6 am feeding, Ezra wants to be awake for a little while. Kyle gets up with him and takes him into the living room (so I can sleep) to hold him until he is ready to go back to sleep. He stays with him, sometimes getting to catch some more z's himself, until he leaves for class at 9 am.

In addition to learning to smile, this month Ezra learned how to cry. He is now freely voicing his opinion when he is tired/hungry. He still cries sparingly. When he does cry, we usually let him go for a few minutes because he has the CUTEST POUTY FACE we've ever seen. I mean, wow--it's adorable. In addition to his pouty face, one of his cries is just this little gaspy-type cry and it is so sweet (and sad.) It just sounds like he is gasping in over and over again trying not to cry, like little kids do when they are trying to be brave, but are actually weeping. Ya know what I'm talking about? It is so sweet.

March-April brought with it Ezra's eyelashes. He didn't have any when he was born, but he does now :)

Ezra met the team this month! I dropped him off at the gym with Kyle during the afternoon while I went to lunch with some friends. Ezra spent time in the locker room for the first time (and I'm sure there will be many times to come.) When I came to pick him up, Kyle wanted to bring him to the weight room to show him off to the trainers. It was amazing to me to watch these big strong guys (and girls), all college athletes, coming to catch a glimpse of and fawn over my little baby. As my dad put it, most people seem to have an affinity for new life--no matter who they are. Kyle then wanted to bring him to see the coaches. In response to a playful grin I gave him he said "What? I want to show him to everyone! He is the greatest thing I've ever done!" <3

We discovered that dairy upsets his stomach and so I have cut that out of my diet, for the most part. I will still eat cheese on a hamburger, or whatever, but I've stopped drinking and eating dairy-based foods. Every once in a while we noticed that he would just have a harder day or night. They weren't catastrophic or anything, he just didn't have his normal demeanor during the day and woke up more frequently during the night. We finally linked the cause to meals i'd had that were dairy-heavy--like a milkshake for dessert. Soy milk it is!

This month we started venturing out with him more. He does great in his carseat and almost always falls asleep within about 10 minutes of being in the car. Every time Kyle or I hold him as we walk outside he looks around like he is discovering a new world. So much brain development, so little time! We discovered that if you want to feel like you have the most beautiful, wonderful baby in the world (as if I didn't already...) you should take them to the waiting room of a small temple. Every temple worker and patron, male and female, will oo and aahhh over that baby like there is no tomorrow. How often do people bring babies into the waiting room at Palmyra? I'm guessing not very often. We felt like movie stars. 

Overall, Ezra is just a LIGHT. He is so easy to be entreated. That is the phrase that I feel like best defines his little personality thus far. I love his spirit. I am convinced that no person in the world could spend a day with him and leave feeling like their life hadn't been enriched.