month nine & ten | ezra

Sweetest baby Ez, somehow in the mix of the holidays I forgot to post your 9.5 month pictures & now, here we are, less than two months from your first birthday! I won't even lie, I have the feelings about your upcoming birthday! Plans are in the works and I am excited! (: 

These past couple of months have been fun and full and busy. We've been taking advantage of this unseasonably warm January by hitting the park or playing on the trampoline / in the driveway any chance we get & like your big brothers, you love being outside. You're scooting like a pro now (just like Solomon did--it's weird that none of you Martin babies crawl) and are pretty dang quick. You have 4 of the cutest teeth I've ever seen -- those top two ginormous chiclets slay me. You're the best eater around -- you're currently loving yogurt, pizza and peanut butter. And, you're even starting to consistently sleep through the night. Can you teach your biggest brother now? You give the sweetest kisses and seem to know exactly when to give them (you leaned in and gave me the biggest, wettest, sloppiest kiss when I picked you up from church nursery last Sunday). You say "addy" alllllllll day long, "bye bye", and "mama"--but only if you're wanting to be picked up in the middle of the night. You like to clap your hands when we say "yay" and hide behind your sleepy tiger when we ask "Where's Ezra?!" And, you're bald. Not 100%, but dude, your hair is taking forever to grow. 

It has made my heart so happy to see you really love being around Amos & Solomon. You don't have to be entertained by them, you just enjoy being with them. I've particularly enjoyed watching Solomon get to be a big brother to you. He's really sweet with you and will actually sit down and play with you throughout the day. My prayer consistently for you three is that you'll love each other and always be best friends. I love watching more and more of your personality come out day to day. You're loud, you're fun, you're sweet--so sweet! Keep growing big & strong, sweetest baby Ez! I sure do love you! 

[month 10 | solomon // month 10 | amos]

month eight | ezra

month eight

Eight whole months!!! Holy cow, batman! I keep thinking to myself (and saying out loud to daddy) that I'll be planning your first birthday party pretty soon! I don't even know where these last 8 months have gone. 

This past month was a big one for you! You've started waving bye bye & sometimes give what looks like a little salute. You've also said "addy," "hot," and "car," but you have to be in the mood for sure. I try all kinds of things to get you to talk to us, but you do it on your own timing. Let me clarify. You talk all day -- you jibber and jabber and holler and scream, but you have to be in the mood to say words. You've just in the past few days gotten interested in moving around by yourself. I think until now you've not been interested because I just scoop you up and move you to wherever the brothers are. You've tried to pull up (from the inside of card board box) and can scoot backwards. You still hate tummy time, but you'll stay on your tummy long enough to get your legs going now. I bet you'll be crawling by the end of the year! 

Your such a good eater. You love table food (and will still eat baby food too)...some favorites include: graham crackers, green beans, Larabars, pizza, french fries, and bananas. You're still partial to mama's milk and have mastered the sippy cup! 

Ez, you seriously are the happiest baby. I tell daddy all the time that if all babies were as happy as you, I'd have 10. You give the best face-eating-nose-scruntching smile every time you look at me. It doesn't matter what time of day (or night) or what's going on -- you're always smiling. Daddy & I have been praying since you were born that the joy of the Lord would be your strength (Neh. 8:10) and I really believe even as a baby you have that joy. It's simply contagious and I pray that it always will be. 

Ezra McCraw I love being your mama. You are such a joy and treasure. I'm excited about the Christmas season with you (and the brothers). We're soaking in the season as much as we can while trying to finish our white house. Little one, keep growing big and strong. I sure do love you! 

month seven | ezra

Ez!! Seven months! Dude, you are such a delight. You smile and growl and jabber to us all day long. You really only fuss if you're tired or if your mouth is bothering you. You've acquired your bottom two front teeth over the past month and I'm betting the next couple aren't too far behind. You've also waved a couple of times and have mimicked Amos coughing. You light up when Amos & Solomon come into the room and turn your head whatever way you need to to find them. I love watching you watch them and know that you're going to be in the middle of their craziness really soon. I also love watching you growl at them for attention. You're so, so, so loud! Seriously, all I can do is laugh sometimes. 

You spent 2 nights with Honey last month while Mama & Daddy ran the Tuna 200 in NC. You still suck that thumb, use your feet as an extra set of hands and chow down on baby food (you're still nursing too). You also like to grab any table food thats within reach and go at it. You weighed 16# 13oz at your 6 month check (it was actually around 6.5 months so I'm counting it towards 7 months (: ) and were 27.25" long. You're learning to use a sippy cup & have gotten pretty good at it! And, your sweet tongue is still too big for your mouth. 

 I keep trying to get you to say, "mama," but you just look at me and smile that sweet smile. You're super friendly & chill. The ladies at church love snuggling you & a handful of cashiers have even asked to hold you. 

Ez, buddy, I love being your mama. I love snuggling you & getting the biggest smiles from you. You make my heart so happy! Keep growing big and strong - we've got lots of adventures this fall! (: 

[month seven | amos]

[month seven | solomon]

month six | ezra

month six 

|happy half birthday|

Ezra!! Happiest HALF birthday!! (Holy cow!) This picture sums you up, almost to a T. It's just missing that ginormous smile that covers your face most of the day. You're my thumb sucker & monkey toe grabber. You're very good at putting things in your feet to free up your hands. 

You fit right in with your two big brothers who never stop talking by jabbering along with them. And, I think you may be louder than either of them if that's possible (#helpme). I know I say this every month, but boy do you love them. We recently discovered that if we stand in front of the fridge where I have pictures of each of you that you smile and look back and forth between the ones of Amos + mama & Solly + mama. It makes my heart want to explode every single time. I hope that you always love them like you do now. My prayer is that the #martinbandofbrothers is inseparable & that you know what a treasure you have in having two big brothers as best friends. 

You're still sleeping pretty darn well, with the exception of a few nights. And, you LOVE baby food. My hope was to exclusively breast feed you for 6 months, but around 5.5 months you just seemed ready for food, so we gave it a try. Your very favorites are applesauce and cinnamon pear oats, but you eat just about anything I give you (minus sweet potatoes...you gagged). You're also mastering puffs & love to chew on the fat pretzel sticks (we're careful with these because they'll get soggy and break off). You're going to follow in Solomon's footsteps and be an excellent eater of table food as soon as you can, I'm sure.

Daddy-O & I think you're going to be a bruiser. We call you "bulldog" because everyone now & again you just look like a bulldog. Your arms & neck seem super muscular & you just look like you're ready to beat somebody up (is that crazy?). You're definitely built differently than either of your brothers & I can't wait to see how this shakes out when you guys are teenagers. 

Thank you for being such an easy baby. You smile when you wake up and rarely fuss. You're so chill and just go with the flow. You're such a blessing to our rowdy crew & we love you so very much! 

month five | ezra

month five 

 You little stinker. The day before I took these pictures you were the smiliest, friendliest, happiest thing...then you gave me this! Screaming, crying, tearful fits for these pictures. Hashtag, that's real life. In general you are a happy little guy. You give me the best smiles & constantly laugh at your big brothers. I can already tell how much you love them & that you're going to be best buds with both of them. 

You've hit a couple of growth spurts & have had a few terrible nights, but for the most part you're a pretty good sleeper...definitely the best at your age (in our house). You're still exclusively breastfed, but I think we'll start food soon. You watch me eat and seem very interested. You've also started spitting up almost every time you nurse, so hopefully food will help with that. 

You're reaching for & grabbing things really well. You love the chew toys and your sleepy animals (monkey // bear // tiger) and you're an excellent hair puller. You roll from side to side but don't roll all the way very often. You're honestly just content to be around your brothers. If they're in the kitchen, you're happy to be in your exersaucer or if they're in their bedroom, you're happy to play on your play mat. Easy, peasy dude. You still scream when we put you in the car seat (little Amos) and don't love bath time. And, you're a drool bucket. Not sure if you're teething or what, but dang dude! You can soak an outfit in no time. 

I've loved watching you grow. You're getting to be pretty big ("all arms & legs" per a man at Trader Joe's). Your hands are HUGE...I can't wait to see if you outgrow your brothers (maybe not if, but when). You're still pretty bald, but I think it's pretty cute. And, you've mostly given up the thumb sucking (and you don't take a paci) which has made bed time interesting. 

Ez, you are a pure joy. I've thought often how this verse is so perfect for who you seem to be already: "...for the JOY of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10 ... it's the verse your daddy picked out for you & one that I've been praying over you lately. I pray just that for you little buddy - that the joy of the Lord will be your strength. And that the joy that you have will spill over in to every single thing that you do. 

Keep growing big and strong, Ez. You sure do make your people happy! 

[month five | amos]

[month five | solomon]

month four | ezra

Baby Ez!!! You're 4 months old! You are one happy little dude. Somehow, with as unscheduled as I am, you've managed to put yourself on a pretty decent schedule. By 9-9:30 PM you're ready for bed & will either sleep 6.5ish hours or 8.5ish hours consistently! Some mornings you even go back to sleep after nursing until around 9AM. You've gotten really good at self-soothing, you little thumb sucker you...and prefer to put yourself to sleep rather than being held or rocked to sleep. And I thought Solomon spoiled me.

You love to be in the middle of what "the brothers" (my nickname for the big boys) are doing. Today I found you under a pile of stuffed bunny rabbits in your bouncy seat jabbering to Solly who'd put them there. I'm sure you were asking him to take them off of your face, but you didn't seam to mind too much. You love Amos and laugh at him often. It's really sweet the relationship you two are building even this early on. 

You've rolled over a couple of times and love to be in the exersaucer. I've even had to raise it up a notch already because you're really tall! You're very strong and have really good head control. We practice sitting, but you're not quite there. Soon, though, I'm sure! You're also a talker. And a  L O U D one! Amos will tell me, "mama, Ez sure is talking loud!" (He's one to talk.) I can't wait to know what you're saying! 

You're getting your first taste of the beach next week and I can't wait! You're also going on your very first boat ride this weekend on Mimi & Papa's new boat! Wooohooooo! Yay for all things summer! (: We're still spending evenings at the park as often as we can - when we can sneak away from the work of the white house - and when we do, I wear you in the bjorn. You like to look around and occasionally will fall asleep right on me. 

Ezra, you're a handsome little devil. Your smile is one of the sweetest ever. It lights up your entire face and make my heart glad every.single.time. I sure do love you little buddy!