Visit Old Friends

Ezra and I spent a day last week catching up with some folks that we haven’t seen in a while….and it was somewhat convenient that one of those stops was by a firehouse. I had to really convince Ezra to go inside to hang out (note the sarcasm). Scotty took the photo and e-mailed it over today.

20 Months!

Wow! On to using a new number to tell his age….

Monkey Bizness

Just discovered this joint a few miles north of us (actually referred there by some friends, but today was our first visit) called Monkey Bizness. Wow, what a great concept: a hug play area for kids, with a coffee bar and snacks with free WIFI for the adults. It’s a little pricey – $7.50 – for each kid, but the parents don’t have to pay anything and still get to play right along side of your child if you please….or you can sit with some coffee and the internet.

I chose to play for a while, then sit back and let Ezra go. And boy, did he go. He quickly made friends with a few other kids and off they went. I did find out that if you want to watch your child’s climbing ability grow in front of your eyes, pair them up with an older kid that is happy to take yours where you wouldn’t dare. Then, sit back and watch the action. Big slides, cargo netting, tight tunnels, swings, climbing gyms, etc, etc, etc. Highly recommended, and it’s now on our ‘must return to’ list.

Sliding

Yea, sliding…not sledding. No snow around here recently….at least nothing to report. I was hoping for something good around this time to take Ezra sledding for the first time. Since winter accumulation all seems to have moved east of here, we did take advantage of the cool yet sunny day and spend a little time in the neighborhood playground. Ezra climbed up the steps and slid down the slide all by himself. Over, and over, and over, and over, and over…etc. The slide is taller than I am, and his smile every time he was about to go was barely contained.

Pics from the camera-phone. Hope to have the real deal out there next time we go – it’s just too precious not to get.

A Family Christmas

For the first time in nearly forever, everyone was able to work their schedules to have the same free night….and we took advantage of that by having our annual Family Christmas gathering. Music, fun, food, and two photos:

Winter Walk

A quick walk outside before the snow started resulted in a quick photo (I couldn’t find any of his hats as we went out the door, so he got to wear another FD hat).

***I don’t know why the photo isn’t showing up…some glitch in the system….but if you click on it, you will get the full size version.

Ezra’s Future Hat?

We were getting ready for the fire department’s annual banquet when Ezra fell in love with the Class-A uniform hat. I couldn’t choose just one photo to share….

Let The Climbing Begin

Parent not paying super close attention + an explorative child + the right age + the right flexibility + lots of grunting = a new hobby. Seriously, why walk around the table to get your water, when you can just crawl over it and sit down once you get there.

From Beyond The Couch

I was in the kitchen this noontime gathering the fixings for lunch when I hear a faint “Daddy” shoutout from somewhere…..

MLK Marade

For the first time in what seems like an eternity, all three of us enjoyed a three-day MLK weekend together. It was filled with friends and goodtimes, accompanied closely with sickness (all three of us having some stage of a cold and/or fever). We also went up to Denver to participate in the annual MLK Marade (march and parade). It’s one of the largest in the US and this year the numbers are looking even up from other years….I have seen estimates in the 30,000 range. The marade got started a little later than we expected, so we were only able to participate for about a mile before peeling off for some lunch. We were able to build a meal in at Watercourse before heading home for the afternoon series of naps.