From Hostel to Home

19 Months

Dear Family,
I'm 19 months old! I promise not to count in months anymore once I hit 2 years. It's been fun taking monthly pictures and I'll be sad to pass the torch to my baby brother, but don't worry, my mom will keep me in the photos and of course update you on both of us. She just promises not to count in months anymore for me.
Not a lot has changed this month. My hair is growing like crazy. I hated getting my haircut so much that my mom and dad are dreading taking me in again. It's gotta happen though.
It was Chinese New Year this month! It's now the year of the monkey. Baby brother will be a monkey and mom tells me they are supposed to be cheeky, but smart. I'm a horse. Brave and strong. My friend River came over and we played the whole day and had pizza for dinner. It was awesome.
I met my new cousins! Twin baby girls that I love so much already. My dad blows their picture up on the TV so I can see them better and I like to give them kisses and practice saying their names. So many girl cousins! I'm kinda glad my mom is having another boy for me to hang out with.
Speaking of my brother. I haven't been as interested in giving him hugs and kisses anymore recently. Sometimes I'll hide under mommy's shirt and listen for him, but I don't really feel like giving him hugs anymore. My mom tells me that I'm going to be a great big brother and I know she's right. He's just taking forever to get here. I'll give him hugs and kisses again when he comes out.
One of the pictures of me on the front of the card is from my favorite play place I go to sometimes on the weekend. It's at the mall and it has so many cool things. There's a ball pit, bikes to ride, puzzles, doll house, fake stores to pretend play, and so many other things! I love it when my mom and dad take me there. I could stay all day and have a really hard time leaving.
Another one of the pictures on the front is of me cooking. I made banana bread with my mom this morning. Cooking is so much fun! I learned that if you crack an egg, it explodes all over the place. First, it scared me. But my mom cleaned me right up and I was back to mixing. So fun! I take after my daddy with my love for cooking.
That's all for now. We're all preparing for new baby to come and moving to China in August. Big changes in the year of the monkey.
I love you and thank you for watching me grow.

XOXO Ezra

18 Months

Dear Family,
Happy New Year! This month has been filled with traveling, changes and a great beginning to a wonderful new year! To start out fresh, I got my first "real" haircut! I hated it. My mom held me the entire time and I wanted nothing to do with it, so the lady went as quick as possible. My mom tells me that my hair is still long, but me and dad think it's just fine the way it is.
For Christmas, we went on a plane to Borneo! It was great. Our hotel had a huge window that I could watch the boats on the river. I couldn't wait to wake up every morning. Also, Santa came to our hotel! He brought me a red fire truck and a book to help me learn new words. I still love santa and I'm a little sad that my mom took down all the Christmas decorations. My mom tells me Santa lives in my heart until next year.
We didn't see any orangutans in Borneo in the wild, but we did see them at the rehabilitation center. I had a lot of fun walking around the jungle with my mom and dad and it was a really nice Christmas. Also, flying in the plane is really fun for me too!
For new years, we went to Legoland parking lot to watch the fireworks. I've heard them many times in my life, but this was the first time that I saw them. It was exciting! I was scared because they were a little loud, but once we watched them from the car, I wanted more!
After new years, my mom and dad went to Bangkok for 3 days and I stayed in Malaysia with Mages. I wasn't scared. Mages took good care of me and my mom and dad made sure I was okay. The reason they went to Bangkok was to get a new job, and they got one! Mommy keeps telling me I'm going to love moving to my new house. We're moving to Shekou, China! I'm most excited about the food because I love eating rice and noodles. I also get to start school at just 2 years old! I'm so excited! Me and my brother are going to just love our new experiences in China and I'm so proud of my mom and dad for getting a new job!
A lot of changes and a lot of growth for this new year! Thank you for loving me and watching me grow.
I love all of you with all of my heart!
Xoxo
Love,
Ezra

Merry Christmas

The Banner family is doing great and we very excited about expanding our family in the next year with another beautiful baby boy. We are grateful for our family and friends across the ocean and we miss and love you all very much! Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

17 Months

Greetings Family!

I know Ezra likes to write these sweet messages, but I'm going to take over for this month. Ezra says he loves you all and will send you a message next month!

So, to start with, Merry Christmas! Ben and I have one more week of school before going into a 3 week vacation! We have not booked anything yet because we're both so indecisive with where to go! We're thinking Thailand beaches would be pretty nice for a week or so. Stay tuned next month for the lovely pictures of wherever we decide to go.
Ezra's doing great. He's growing like a weed and just the sweetest little guy ever. He's quite shy around others and takes time to warm up. We went to have Christmas photos taken today with his best friend and he was too shy and scared to leave Ben or my side. He also seems very empathetic. When someone gets upset or a chid cries, he also starts crying. It's really sweet but kind of sad.
Ben and I have decided to not renew our contracts with the school in Malaysia! We are interviewing and still looking internationally, but our backup plan is to go home to the states if we don't get another job that fits our needs. We're all very nervous, but excited for a change.
Speaking of change, Ezra's little brother is growing well and so far seems like a very calm baby. Ezra loves to pull up my shirt and hug and kiss his baby brother. I told you, he's very sweet.
Ezra learns new words every day and is just a little sponge. He's communicating so much now that I feel like I can almost have a conversation with him. He loves cheese, applesauce, noodles, toast, cereal and his favorite is to drink the milk out of the bowl after he's had a bowl of cheerios. His personality is shining through and it's fun to watch him change and grow into a little person.
That's about all for now. We'll keep you posted on our new adventures with getting a job.
We love you and miss you all!
Merry Christmas from Malaysia!
Much Love,
Sherri

16 Months

Dear Family,

I've made it to my 16 month birthday! These months just keep flying by...
We went to Vietnam this month for a one week vacation. It was really fun. I did catch a cold (like I always do when I fly) so I had a rough time sleeping. My mom and dad made the best of it and we all had a fun time. The food was really yummy and everyone thought I was super cute and wanted to hold me! I think my favorite part of the trip was bike riding around with my dad. Mom was there too, but I got to ride on the back of dad's bike and it was awesome. I also got to see ducks for the first time! Ducks are my favorite animal in the books I read. The real ducks, didn't really look like the ducks in my books, so I was a little confused, but still happy to see them.
Big news! I'm going to be a big brother!!! My little brother is coming in May and my mom tells me it's going to be great! I love kissing my hand and putting it on momma's belly because that's where she says the baby lives. I'm excited to be a big brother. I'll have to practice my gentle hands before the baby comes.
What else? Halloween was this month! My friend River came over and we carved a pumpkin and got dressed up. I was a pumpkin and she was hello kitty. We were both really cute together and it was super fun.
In other big news, the haze is finally letting up around here and I'm able to go outside and play! I missed being outside so it's so great to be able to go for walks, swimming or just play around in my front yard. I didn't realize how much I loved playing outside until mommy and daddy kept telling me we couldn't because of the "yucky air."
Not much else is new. I'm learning new words. I'm really smart! I still love to eat. I still sleep with mommy and daddy in the middle of the night when I wake up scared. I'm a growing boy!
Much love from Malaysia.
Thanks for watching me grow!!!

XXOO Ezra James

15 Months

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from Malaysia! I turned 15 months old today! Or as my mommy likes to say, 1 year and 3 months old. This last month has been kind of boring for me because of the haze, but we're all hoping it gets better soon. My mommy and daddy haven't been taking me out much because the air is yucky from the fires in Indonesia. When it is clear, they let me go outside and play. My fingers, and toes are crossed that it clears up really soon!
A lot of learning has happened for me this month. I'm learning to communicate more using sign language and words. I can tell my mama when I'm all done eating and say "down" when I'm ready to get down from the dinner table. Daddy says it's really nice that I'm using more words. I can even say please (dzz) and thank you (da ooh). Mages is teaching me to be kind to others and she's also teaching me to speak Tamil and Bahasa! She's so great! I love when she comes to play with me.
Mommy keeps telling me we're going on a trip to Vietnam next week. I like plane rides because my mommy and daddy let me do whatever I want, as long as I'm quiet. I eat snack after snack and go walking up and down the isles of the plane as many times as I want. Vietnam should be fun too.
Well, I love to read books, ride on my "car", eat blueberries, play chase, peek a boo, stacking, sorting, coloring, play outside, dance, sing (I'm always singing, it's my favorite), laugh, be tickled and help in the kitchen.
I don't really like my veggies not pureed (still), bath time, diaper changes, meeting new people, and lawnmowers.
I love you all very much! Different parts of the world, but watching me grow. Thank you for loving me.
Much love,
Ezra James

14 Months

Dear Family and Friends,

A message from my mommy:
Ezra's made it to 14 months and we couldn't be more proud of our smart, sweet little boy. He's learning new things every day and he's so stinking smart! We look forward to coming home every day to squeeze him tight and cherish all the moments we have together. His personalty is shining through and he's turning into quite the funny little monkey. Enjoy his little message...

A message from Ezra:
Hi family!!! Oh boy, I turned 14 months old! I had to have shots the other day and it made me cry. I love seeing my doctor, but I don't like it when she pokes me! I'm learning so much lately. As you can see from my pictures on the cover, I'm learning how to eat with chopsticks and learning how to swim! I love the water! Mommy and daddy take me swimming after work sometimes and it's great. I also got this new blowup bathtub that makes my bedtime routine a blast! Daddy fills the water up so high and lets me play with as many toys that I want! I'm kind of an expert with walking now. I've got a lot of words too! A few favorites are cracker, mum mum (food in Bahasa), tractor, flower, book, ba-br (blackberry), nana (banana), wawa (water), da (ball) and of course mama and dada. My curly long locks are still growing and everyone mistakes me for a girl.
My favorites: sleeping with mama/dada, swimming, fruit, dancing, dada playing guitar, outside time, naked time, being chased, stacking games, sorting games and pulling all of the diapers out of the bag.
I have 4 teeth on the bottom and 2 on top.
I still don't sleep through the night, but I'm almost ready.
Thanks for reading my message and caring about me so much! I love you!
Hugs and kisses from Malaysia!
Love,
Ezra

13 Months

Dear Family,
I just loved seeing each one of my Grandma's this summer! Grandma Trish- I was a little tired and grumpy from all the traveling, but I loved seeing you and having you teach me new things! Grandma Pam- Lummi Island was fantastic and hanging out with you everyday was a special treat! Great Grandma Stella- thank you so much for making the drive to come visit me! I love my little cup you gave me and I just love you so much!
This was a busy two months for my family! We spent time in Taiwan and the United States. I had my FIRST BIRTHDAY on Lummi Island with my friends and family! It was so much fun! I ate carrot cake and everyone was there just to celebrate me!
Another great thing is I learned how to walk this summer! It was funny, I just started one day and I haven't stopped since!
I had a wonderful summer visiting with my family! I cant wait until next summer! Thanks for spending so much time with me and loving on me as much as you do!
My words: tractor, cracker, mama, dada, mum-mum (food), doggy, truck, wawa (water)
My favorites: pancakes, MILK, crackers, rice cakes, peanut butter, egg, yogurt
My games: peek a boo, how big is the baby, in and out, stacking

I love you!!!!!
Much Love,
Ezra

July 5th, Ezra turns ONE!