Zeke: 1-year-old photos

Hezekiah David Halverson turned one in September! It's hard to believe our baby is already 1!

Our friend Debbie took a bunch of photos to commemorate this milestone.

Zeke has been very steady at standing for months. This past week he has gotten more confident to try walking and will choose to attempt walking rather than crawling.

He is such a smiley, happy guy. I really think that he tries to tell jokes and do silly things to make others and himself smile. Last week he "said" something to Thea, and then got a big grin on his face like he had just told a funny joke!

Everything goes in this guy's mouth! On Friday he got hold of a stick and was biting all the bark off of it...but will he take bites from one of the graham crackers he got for his birthday? no!

Zeke loves being outside and is always watching for a door to be open that he can go out. He is very careful, but quite speedy at going down the single step at our front and back doors. He recognizes when mommy or daddy is putting on the Ergo baby carrier and comes crawling and begging as soon as he sees it being pulled out.

 

cowpokes

We got some new dress-up clothes in a package recently. Had some trouble getting a smile out of the 4-year-old without some silliness though!

cowgirl

do I HAVE to smile??

CHEESE

fancy coffee

My barista at work

Jamie, the non-coffee drinker in our house, has become quite the fancy coffee maker. He has started experimenting with different flavors and has come up with a really yummy combination:

 

Put in the coffee press with about 2 c. water and let perk for a few minutes:

Coffee grounds,

1/8 t. cinnamon, ground

1 pod of cardamom seeds, crushed with the back of a spoon

1 heaping teaspoon of cocoa powder

¼ t. vanilla

 

After the coffee has achieve perfect brew-ness, pour into a large mug and add:

1-2 teaspoons of sugar

Chocolate soy milk to taste

 

This weekend he even got REALLY fancy, and whipped up some cream for the top! It did make it seem like something I should have to pay money for J The extra cream he froze in dollops on a cookie sheet and once solid, transferred them to a freezer bag. So now I can put a dollop of whipped cream on my coffee whenever I need that extra “something”.

 

What an act of love from a man that isn’t fond of coffee himself!

some of the ingredients

 

At the table - Aug 04

Doing some activities at the table…

I decided to try letting Thea string buttons on a thread..

she had a lot of fun...but I did end up re-threading the needle too many times to count!

Thad discovered the fun of the game Blokus

He placed, removed, and replaced the pieces quite a few times...and then had to get a little silly for the camera

fun with dominoes - Aug 01

Dominoes are a hit with all members of the family...

Thad's dominoes were a launching pad for a spaceship!

Thea's were a train track

Zeke's dominoes made some nice loud clapping noises

playground fun - July 31st

We had a playdate at the playground a couple weeks ago.

Thad had fun riding his bike (a recent gift from friends) on the basketball court--our roads are a bit too bumpy and rutted for him to ride on, so this smooth surface is a welcome place to ride!

Zeke with a friend

another of our smiley baby

He finds all sorts of interesting (and yucky!) things on the ground

Some kids came to watch the bike-riding

Zeke has 5 teeth now!

Thea trying on mommy's glasses

Thea LOVES to swing!

Playing in the water

A hot December day! funny for all you in the northern hemisphere, huh? We pulled out a bucket and filled it with water. Thea got some bath toys in a basin of water. (It was close to noon, so I tried to keep them in the shade to avoid turning them bright red!)



Thad had fun scooping water out of the big bucket with the little bucket, and pouring it into Thea's basin for her.



I had fun squirting Thad using a cheap little foam thing





Thea playing with her toys



I turned around to talk to Jamie, and when I turned back, Thad was preparing to sit in Thea's basin. I guess he didn't feel wet enough!









We convinced him to try to fit in the big bucket instead--that turned out to be a pretty big hit!





'hmm this is a funny feeling' - he had so much fun sitting down in the water and then standing back up! we had to refill the bucket a number of times.



Thad had so much fun sitting in the bucket, I had trouble getting him to come inside later, even though he was really cold. It was a really warm day, but sitting in the shade in a bucket of cold water can be quite chilly!

a visit to the park

Other photos from Thea's birthday



Thea's waffle on her #1 birthday





Thad before his waffle -- look at that face! This boy is quite the little actor!!





How much waffle can fit into one 2-year-old's mouth? More than you'd think!





Thea LOVES to sit on Daddy & Mommy's bed!







practicing blowing!

All week, Thea's been practicing week for the big day! When the time came she didn't do it, but she tried again after we removed the candle.

(For those of you who get this delivered to your email inbox, I think that you have to visit the blog to view the video clip.)

Thea's 1st Birthday

Our little girl turned one last week, and we celebrated with some of her favorite food: spaghetti and cooked broccoli.



Thea LOVES cooked broccoli!



She will almost always open wide for broccoli!



So we made her a 'broccoli cake'



She thought it was pretty cool with the candle on top!



Looking at a birthday card



Ready to open presents!