We're Going To...

We got a package in September.
Ephram saw it and was so excited about it.
So I let him open it.

Inside he found:

Luggage tags with Lightening McQueen on them.
And the word Disneyland, which I had to explain to him.

Do you remember those old commercials -
The ones where they would show some big basketball player winning the game,
Or the Olympian with the gold medal finish -
And say to them,
"Congratulations!  What are you going to do now?"
And the answer, always, was... "I'm going to Disneyland!"

Well folks,
It's been a marathon of a year for us here in the Kovar household.
So, we decided we'd celebrate our survival and sanity
By doing the same.

So,
That morning I told Ephram, "We're going to Disneyland!"
"Where Mickey Mouse lives!"
I got a smile.
And then I said,
"And, we're going to Radiator Springs there too!"
That's when I got the beaming grin up above.
So, Disneyland,
The Kovar Family of Five is headed your way.

Just Because She's Six Months Old

I took her photos.
No reason, really...
Other than she was beaming at me after a nap.
Freshly diapered,
Cute as can be,
And happy as a clam.

And in that moment it hit me -
How big she was.
How much good had happened since her birth.
How bright her impression on my life.

And I wanted to remember that moment.
Right then, and there.
So, I plopped her on a brown blanket on the floor -
Ran downstairs for my camera before the moment escaped.

And...
Captured it.

All of my Macie.
Just because I could.
And because I want to always remember six months old.

Her First Half

Somehow we hit the big milestone already - 

Six months old.

Half a year.

Time for her first half birthday.

She didn't know quite what to think about the fact that I was putting strange, paper covered things in her lap.

Time to introduce her to the idea of unwrapping a present.

This required help from a certain (very eager) older brother.

Her very own doll-in-a-pod.  She was instantly interested in pulling her "Hunny Bunny" out of it's sack.

Then her helper helped her unwrap a second gift.
A new Sandra Boynton book.
(We love her books.)
Moo, Baa, La La La

Time to read the book.  Macie laughed every time I said "Moo, Baa, La La La" to her.
So I said it a lot, of course.

Time for cupcakes.
Since Macie is too little to eat dessert, we let the boys pick out her dessert.
Chocolate cupcakes are the favorite around here lately.

One happy, half-a-year girl.
(All wrapped up with a bow courtesy of Ephram.)

She's the best present ever.

Love you, Macie.

Best of Friends

The older she gets, the more their bond strengthens.
More personality, more responsiveness is delightful to Ephram.
Who has quickly honed in on the things that she truly likes.
Ephram garners Macie's broadest smiles and liveliest laughs.
He is concerned with her every minute of every day.
He cheers her, teaches her, helps her and comforts her.
(Sometimes he even pushes Andy and I back from her when he wants to do it himself.)

I am amazed by how much they love each other.
I am but a spectator to the whole affair.
So here is a view into their growing relationship.
(All pictures from September.)

Another One About How He's Cute

I love 2.

It is just so much fun.

I remember feeling the same way about Charlie.

They think on their own.

They act alone.

They still need help.

And they're just plain cute.

So, I apologize for the repetition here.

But truly, this is just another post about how my Ephram is so darned cute.

Sometime this summer, he started doing this whenever he heard something interesting.

He also looks at you and goes, "huh?  huh?"  while he cups his hand over his ear.

And waits for you to identify the right sound - 

Plane, bus, garbage truck, motorcycle, helicopter... you get the idea.

In September he started making beds on the floor.  He would lay down pillows and blankets.

It started out being for him.

Then he started laying down pillows for Andy and/or I also.

He would tell us which pillow belonged to each of us.

It was rather cute.

Lindsay started nannying for us in September.

Ephram fell instantly in love.

Lindsay celebrated a birthday the same month.

Ephram picked out a card, balloon and cupcakes for her - 

All by himself.

He was very, very proud of himself!

As it turns out, he also really enjoys a chocolate cupcake.

His refrigerator self-feeding reached a new level in September.

He started climbing the shelves to reach what he wanted.

Hopefully I have squashed this.

I have visions of falls with heads smashed on countertops.

It hasn't happened.

But in my head, it could.

He now usually lays down on his tummy to watch TV, read books, or pay attention to just about anything.

I just think it's adorable.

His love affair with windows continues.

He loves to play with blinds,

Look at his reflection,

Look out at the world,

And put toys on the sill.

I love to watch it.

From time to time I see him copying a Macie behavior.

There was a brief period in September when I tried to reintroduce her to a pacifier.

She still hated them.

But Ephram had to try it out.

He liked it until I took this picture.

After which, he promptly spit it out, threw it,

covered his face,

and then ran out the room.

He's infatuated with "Daddy" shirts.

(Any long sleeve button down shirt.)

He saw this one in Costco and just had to have it.

It makes his eyes look more blue every time he wears it.

One day I asked Ephram to play in his room while I got Macie down for a nap.

It took quite awhile - probably about 20 minutes.

And there wasn't a peep from Ephram's room.

I was a little worried when I walked in there.

No need.

I found him organizing his new blocks on his parking ramp.

And having a grand time.

Love his imagination.

And that concludes my post about how cute he was in September.

Another one to ensue before the end of the year, I'm sure.

Fun in the Bath

As a baby, Ephram hated baths.
He would scream from the moment the first water touched him, until I was done.
As an early toddler, it wasn't much better.
He'd get into the bathtub, but refuse to sit down.
He'd stand there as I washed him.
Screaming would commence when we started on the hair.
We tried so many different approaches to washing his hair.
None of them helped the screaming.
We put many, many toys in the bath with him.
We'd play with them.
He'd watch.
While he was standing there.

Then, sometime after two, it changed.
He started sitting down.
And even playing with the toys.
He usually wanted out after ten minutes.
And he still screamed when I washed his hair.
But he would stick around to watch the water wash down the drain.
And he was in a good mood after baths.

And now, somehow, he loves baths.
I don't know when it happened.
Maybe when I was in the hospital.
Maybe when Macie was a newborn.
Maybe just a month ago.
But he does, he loves baths.
He loves driving his Thomas train around the tub.
Loves experimenting with the cups in the water.
Loves filling up his washcloth with water and then trying to wring it out over Thomas.
Still does not like having his hair washed.
But we can usually escape the screaming now.

I'm just happy that bath time is finally an enjoyable place for this boy.
This silly, stubborn, cute, adorable, lovable boy.