Entries from July 2011 ↓

Mostly Ezri was serious about her task of putting sprinkles on the cupcakes for her dad and Grandma Liz’s birthday, but every once in awhile a sprinkle went in the mouth.

She put ingredients in the stand mixer and did the sprinkle shaking. She called making cupcakes “a very good project.”

Remember our tomatoes back in June:

Well, look at them now:

Ezri and the July thunderstorms have done a good job watering.

Still no ripe tomatoes in the garden, but all the green ones give us hope.
We’ve had some red tomatoes on the patio container plants on the back stoop. I haven’t tasted one yet, as Ezri catches them first. She says they are tasty.

On a hot day, Ezri and I made a deal to split a smoothie.
I wanted a mango pineapple smoothie and thought I had Ezri sold.
Then she said she wanted “booberry, strawberry.”

After tasting the berry smoothie, she decided she really wanted my mango smoothie.
I clearly have trouble saying no to Ezri.

We shared two smoothies. So, really there was no loser in this story.

After reading the book Leonardo the Terrible Monster at naptime, Ezri pointed to the author’s photo on the back flap and said,
“This is Mo Willems.
He has a penis.
He is a grown-up.
He pees in the potty.
He is the author of this book.”

She is ready to introduce Mr. Willems at one of those events where he picks up his numerous awards for writing totally awesome kids’ books. Did you notice how everything she said was accurate and stated in complete sentences?

(photos from our family photo shoot with www.jodiellen.com)

Some collected comments of the past week or so:

While listening to Love Shack by the B-52s, Ezri asks, “Why bang on the dog? Why bang on the dog?” She is visibly upset, though I try to assure her that they are singing about banging on the door. No animals are harmed in the lyrics of this song.

Ezri has learned to recognize a false dichotomy:
Amanda: “You can EITHER have stories with me and then nap OR you can go straight to nap.”
Ezri: “I don’t want ANY of it. I am stomping away.”

Ezri asks in a distressed voice, “Why did I pinch you? Why?” Ummm. . . that’s for you to answer, Ezri. I suggest you don’t do it again.

Since learning how to play Blitzkrieg Bop on her Paperjamz quitar, Ezri when told it is time to leave sometimes says,
“Hey-Ho! Let’s Go! Hey-Ho! Let’s Go!”

Ezri knows about magic. She pointed her magic marker at me and said, “It’s a magic marker. I turn you into Zoe. I turn you back into mama now.” It was the orange marker that turned me into the orange muppet named Zoe.

It has been a bit of a heatwave, so Ezri felt the need to cool off as she took off all her clothes she said, “Let’s do naked.” And then she said, “Let’s do yoga.” She proceeded into an elegant nude downward dog. I may have a photo, though I will not be posting it here.

“Mama is Ezri’s mama. Amanda is Ezri’s friend.”
(Thanks, kiddo, you are most certainly Amanda’s Ezri!)

Ezri has a new love for magic markers. Or it may be that she is now mostly trusted to draw on paper and has more access to markers for this reason.

Her favorite thing to draw is spirals.

Here is a composition the artist calls “Spirals”

If anyone needs a drawing of spirals, just let me know. Ezri is willing to make MANY.

After a fast and violent storm that knocked down lots of branches and trees (and left us without power for three days), the sun came out and Ezri and I went out to play.
As soon as Ezri knew it was wet outside she found her boots and put them on all by herself.

Ezri really wanted to put all the leaves and branches back on the trees.
“Why are they broken? Why? Let’s fix it!”
I explained we could not fix the trees and Ezri asked. “Why?” and made this face.

She liked puddle stomping.

The playground was wet, but still fun.

It was really too warm and too dry for her raincoat afterall.

So simple . . . Kids decorate bikes and buggies and wagons and trikes. Then the police close a block of main street. The kids roll around the block with as much pomp as they can muster and then go to the park to watch a juggler do a show.

We decorated the wagon with balloons and some streamers.
Ezri said, “It’s Fancy like Nancy!”
We had her shake her tambourine down main street.

Towards the end of the block long parade, Ezri got tired, even though Eric provided the power to move her along.
It was a HOT day.

After our efforts, we needed ice cream.

This is only Ezri’s second ice cream cone, so she’s still learning how it all works.

Ever since seeing a magazine ad for Kool-Aid with kids sticking out different colored tongues, Ezri has been fascinated by the idea of a tongue color changing. I really wish her tongue would change color when she eats green peas or red grapes, but it took a yellow lollipop from the Trader Joe’s treasure chest to do it.

Then she wanted me to take her photo, but every time I snapped she closed her mouth.

Finally, we got this photo. Hello, yellow tongue.

Then she found yellow toys and the yellow stripe in her shirt and said, “Tongue – Match! Match!”