What Have We Been Up To Lately?

Potty training (with a best friend)

Being super cute

LOVING life!

Dropping off the growth curve... :(

(Skinny, sad baby in a truck...)

And promptly starting the Biggest Winner diet (Laura concoctions like... millet-green bean-lentil-egg yolk-yogurt-banana-brewer's yeast smoothies. [Oh baby, pour me a glass.]
Or on boring days just oatmeal-plum feasts)

"Bike wide wif Mommy"

or Daddy

Strawberry and pea picking with family and Gramma!

And eating TONS of field-fresh baby peas and berries!

Learning to sit!

Being the ideal baby

Spending some quality time with our wonderful neighbors

And loving "feniwy" :D

We've Moved!

To a charming blue house near a park. With a fenced backyard. And the world's best neighbors, who are keenly interested a Brian's job search, and in getting our kids to laugh. (I just want to add that we got a screamin' deal on this sublet due to the decreased demand in this college town in the summer for housing.)

It's a great place to be for the summer, but hopefully we'll be able to move out fairly soon when we find a job!

Felix calls it the "blue home-again" because when Grandma Polly came to visit a while ago, she would always chant, "Home again, home again, jiggity-jig" as we pulled in the parking lot".

Grab Yer Life Boat

Having your toilet explode is a sure-fire cure for mid-week boredom. Strap on your snorkle mask, Felix, we're going swimming!

OK, I'm being overly dramatic. It wasn't that bad.

It was this bad!

jk.

Truth: I went to flush the toilet and it just kept flushing. And flushing. And flushing. And there was no shut off valve thingy down by the floor where there should be such a valve thingy.

So I took off the back of the toilet to mess with some stuff. I guess I messed with the wrong stuff, cuz the next thing I knew there was a geyser shooting water all over the bathroom. It was spraying up with ferocious force to the ceiling and raining back down all over me and everything else in the bathroom. Then the water started pouring out into the hall and our bedroom. Oh man. It's like 6:05 so I have to find the number for the after-hours emergency maintenance service, which takes a little longer. Not a big deal if you jammed a sippy cup valve down your garbage disposal. It is a big deal if Lake Michigan is being siphoned into your apartment at a brisk clip.

So finally the guy arrives to shut off the toilet. (It takes him a couple of trips to his truck to find the right special tool to shut the thing off. Toilet valves are not a cute place to showcase your proprietary designs, Mr. Toilet-maker.) And we're left with a couple of inches of standing water and a bathroom that has become a family-size shower.

Luckily, Woodbury Gardens called a carpet cleaner guy and footed the bill to have our carpet ripped up and padding replaced. Felix had a blast in our apartment-turn-funhouse--climbing through the piles of furniture and running over the undulating sea of carpet, drying out for four days by six of these bad boys:

They're loud. But they're better than the alternative!

MBA Kids' Graduation

I Can Canoe! Can You?

Brian took Felix on a canoe outing on the Huron River for Disorientation week before graduation. I was a pansy about finding a babysitter for Ez, and so I had to stay home like a lazy bum. They had a BLAST! I really regret not going with them, and I've vowed to not let my shyness about asking for help prevent me from making memories in the future--and missing out on seeing this little cutie learn new things!

Au Revoir! Adiós! Tchau! Shalom! Zài Jiàn!

I'm going to miss my Ross Partners like CRAZY!! It has been an amazing two years...

You May Call Him Master-Master Hall

The bigger one, not the two-year-old (though I'm sure Felix would like it if you deferred to him as your master as well). Hooray for Brian! On May 1st he graduated from the Ross School of Business with an MBA, and from the Music School with a MMus. Goooo, Brian!

We were so lucky to have Dave and Sharon came into town to watch Brian receive his diplomas and celebrate with us. Well, that was the excuse, but I know they mostly just wanted to see the grandbabies. :D

Brian being inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma (smarty-pants business society)

Brian Hall, MMMBA. aka Mr. Adorable (um, to me at least)

Where's Brian?

The Hall Clan

Bri, Ez, and Me.

(Felix was probably chasing a school bus or something)

Plotting out his next move...

Dad & Son :)

Thanks for coming out to visit us, Dave and Sharon! We love you a ton.

And I am so very proud of you, Brian! Some day when I'm all grown up maybe I'll get a master's degree, too.

Blessing

Last Sunday (March 1) Brian gave little Ezra a name and blessing in sacrament meeting. It was a wonderful experience, and we felt very fortunate to have loving family and friends in the circle surrounding and supporting our family. In the beautiful blessing Brian mentioned Ezra's kind and gentle disposition, something I can definitely confirm. He definitely is the sweetest, most mellow baby, and I feel so blessed to have the privilege of raising him. :)

Grandpa Dave and Grandma Sharon flew out all the way from Phoenix--how generous of them! Felix remembered Dave right away, and they had lots of fun playing together. It was great to have them here, and to get to know Sharon better. I'm so glad she's in our family.


My Dad also came up, which was quite a feat in and of itself! I am soo glad he came though. He stayed with us for a few days after the blessing, and had a great time talking and playing with the boys. (A funny note is that without prompting, he calls my Dad "Papa", which is what I called my Dad's dad, and what my Dad called his grandpa. How did Felix figure that out?) I loved watching my Dad play with Felix, and seeing them develop a special relationship. I hope we can see him again soon!

Also, a few days before the blessing, Grandma Polly surprised us with a visit to Ann Arbor! It was a blast to have her here, and we managed to squeeze a lot in during her short stay. Here are some shots of Felix and Ezra with their beautiful Grandma.

Unfortunately, my Mom wasn't able to make it up for the blessing, but she did send her love--and the adorable blessing outfit and knit blanket.

I'm so grateful for our loving, supportive families, and for the opportunities we have to spend time building our relationships and creating memories together. I'm also glad that Ezra gave us a reason to get together. We can't wait to see everyone again soon!