Mutual Adoration

Charlie has clearly loved Ephram from the moment they met.  But what has been nice for Charlie in the past month is that Ephram is able to return the affection more and more.  He's even started to give Charlie kisses.  (Okay, it's really just slobber on the cheek - but it looks like a kiss to me!)  I love watching these two interact!

9 Month Clothes Already

I couldn't believe it when Ephram was already too big for his six month clothes at the beginning of June.  Yes, I realize plenty of kids are wearing these clothes in their fifth month.  But we're talking about my little Ephram.  This kid wore newborn clothing for his first two months!  But now he's already on to the 6-9 month size.  My little guy is getting so big!  As usual, I took some pictures of him in the first outfit we put on.

Before this size we have mostly been wearing the gifts and hand-me-downs that Ephram received.  But when I got to the 9 month clothing, our reserves were small... and most of the clothing that we did have is for cooler weather.  So we went on our first real shopping spree for him and bought some new clothes.  We even got him a new hat and sunglasses.  I think his new shades are cute!

Shopping for babies is so much fun.  My favorite outfit that we got is this little alligator overall set.  So here are several more pictures, if you aren't tired of looking at my cute baby yet!  Notice that his tongue is always out?  He's one silly kid.

Charlie is Four and a Half

Earlier this month Charlie turned four and a half.  He tells me every day that he is going to be five "tomorrow".  He is in such a hurry to grow up!  To celebrate his half birthday we made snickerdoodles and played his favorite game, a card game called "Snap".

Charlie has grown so much in the past year - emotionally and physically.  Last June he was wearing size 2T.  He has just recently graduated into size 5 clothing.  Yes, we've bought too many clothes in the past year!  He is also out of toddler shoes and onto big kid shoes.  I guess he really is growing up.

He loves, loves, loves Toy Story still.  I am so glad that Toy Story 3 came out because it is now easy to find the toys that he is requesting.  He also enjoys Cars and Handy Manny.  Oh, and Bob the Builder.

His favorite toys now are his bike, his "computer" and his collection of Read Along books.  He continues to love music, dancing and hanging out with his dad.  Charlie just finished his first year of preschool and has another year of preschool starting in September.

Here are some things I love about Charlie:
1) He always is ready with some joke or funny face to make anyone in the family laugh.
2) He makes up really funny songs.  Often with nonsense words.
3) He is on a Spanish-speaking kick now.  If he says "gracias" to me, and I say "you're welcome", he will prompt me to say "de nada" instead.
4) He always wants to help.  Just tonight I found him upstairs pouring water on his bathroom counter to "clean" it.  His intentions are always good!
5) He clearly loves his pets.  They don't always appreciate his form of adoration, but he's still learning.
6) He has one of the kindest hearts I have ever known a kid to have.
7) He loves to play make believe, and will hold up his pretend world for a whole day if he feels like it.
8) He comes up with quirky nicknames for himself, like "Chachi".
9) He can carry on a conversation with anyone, often better than his mom can.
10) His smile is infectious.

Saturday at the Stutzmans

Our friends, the Stutzmans, recently celebrated the graduation of their son from high school.  They invited us to a small party in his honor.  We were excited to attend, not just to celebrate Matt, but because it was the first time that our old clan was able to get together since Ephram's birth.  I was excited to see the Stutzman, Zaniewski and Kovar kids all together.  I brought along my camera, and actually used it this time.  Lately, when we are out, I find my hands to occupied with a baby to take pictures.

Charlie rediscovered ice ... now he asks me for it all day long!

Ephram had fun showing off his standing ability.

Tanna had fun giving everyone kisses, but I think she most enjoyed kissing Caleb.

For his part, Caleb was having fun dragging chairs around while looking cute.

Jacob and Charlie spent most of their time together, but Jacob also stopped by to play with Ephram a few times.

The funniest part for me to watch was "The Battle of the Blankies".  Tanna found Jacob's cherished blankie and thought she would take a seat and cuddle with it.  That didn't last long.  She got a consolation in Caleb's blankie, and I think it worked out okay in the end.  Since I made both of the blankets, it was a little fun for me to watch them do battle.  Glad to know that they are being put to good use.

All of the kids also had fun playing with this giant giraffe.

Time went very fast and we headed home.  Hopefully it won't take us another half year to all get together again!

Ephram at Five Months

Since Ephram will be six months old in a week, it is probably time that I sit down and do an update about our little guy at five months.

During his fourth month, Ephram became increasingly active.  By the end of the month he was moving every time we put him down and had really started to show his personality.  Nothing makes me laugh more than when Ephram does the one "show off" trick that he has... he plays peek-a-boo with nearly everyone we meet.  He does this by burying his head into my shoulder, and then turning around expectantly (always with a huge smile on his face.)  If he is rewarded with the words "peek-a-boo" or "there he is!" he'll do it several times in a row.  I think Andy gets the best reaction out of him with this game!

There is no four month doctor's appointment, but we measured Ephram at home (to the best of our ability.)

Height: 27 inches (although I don't trust my method on this very much!)
Weight: 17 pounds 5 ounces

He seems to be significantly longer to me, especially as I nurse him - he can now kick anything within proximity of us!

Milestones:
Complete a full roll (from back to front to back again) - 17 weeks
First owie - 17 weeks
First tooth - 5 months

Yes, Ephram got his first tooth on the day he turned five months old.  I had expected he was teething for a few weeks, but did not count on the first tooth to just pop out the way it did.  Ephram didn't sleep for two nights prior, but I figured it may just be a growth spurt.  Then, on his five month birthday, he cried for about 2 hours in the afternoon.  This is very unlike Ephram and I was concerned about what was bothering him.  He fell asleep at the end of his crying bout, and when he woke up a half hour later, I put my finger in his mouth to test if he was hungry.  He bit down, and it hurt.  Just like that, my baby had a tiny tooth.  I am told it is a little early to be teething, although my mom says that I teethed even earlier!

What he's eating:
2/3 breastmilk and 1/3 formula
At his five month birthday I was still pumping 4 times a day in order to keep my production up so that he would not require more formula.  I always meant to do a post about my quest to feed Ephram, but have never got around to it.  I have struggled to feed him  from the very beginning, and have had to supplement my supply since he was two days old.  At times I have felt like a failure, but have now come to feel more accomplished in the fact that I am still breastfeeding my son at five months, despite all of the obstacles we faced.  I am also much more relaxed about it now that his own immune system is developing and his weight is steadily increasing.  Surprise, surprise my supply has gone up as I've relaxed.

Favorites:
Popcorn Popping (song)
Where's Baby's Belly Button (book)
Exersaucer (toy)

Nicknames:
Little E, which is morphing into Mr. E (Charlie thinks it is funny that this sounds like "mystery")
Little Bug
Monkey

He is proving to be very good at manipulating things with his feet, so we say he has monkey feet, just like his dad!

Here are some pictures from the final week of Ephram's fourth month!

Playtime with Ephram

Sometime in his fourth month, Ephram started really playing... both by himself and with us.  He started moving around more and I began to be surprised by finding him in a different spot then I'd left him... often with less than a minute lapsed.

The biggest hit with Ephram during month four was his playmat.  We've had it since he was about a month old, but he really discovered it last month.  Now he will grab toys with both hands, and a third one with his feet.  It is really funny to watch!  He also loves to roll to the edges so that he can try to eat the toy bars and the blanket.  Sometimes he will also grab toys that are in close proximity so that he can play with them too.  I guess he doesn't feel there are already enough attached to the mat!

Of course, we also added the exersaucer to his toys when he was four months old and we have already gotten great use of it.  He starts kicking before we can even put him in now!

Ephram also improved his rolling skills during month four.  Although he still doesn't roll like crazy, he can do it when he wants to now.  Which is not often enough for me to catch on camera.  Mostly he rolls onto his tummy so that he can reach his toys better.  And sometimes, very rarely, he'll do a full roll.  During month five, which I will have to document in its own time, he has really perfected his own style of creeping.  It is one I have never seen before, and I must catch it on video.

We also introduced some moving items to Ephram when he was almost five months old.  His favorite is the ball in the picture below.  He also has a dump truck that he really likes, which will dump some blocks off of its top when we help Ephram push a button.

Playtime is definitely getting more and more fun!!!

Boone at Three

Boone turned three on May 28th.  It is a little hard for me to believe that we met our cute little puppy three years ago!  But, when I think about the journey we've taken from hyper puppy to evermore calm dog, I realize that a lot of time must have passed.  We decided to throw Boone a proper birthday party for his third birthday.

We started the day before by making a cake.  Charlie was in charge of combining the ingredients.  He did a great job!

We also thought that Boone should get a birthday sign on the wall.  Charlie set to work and came up with this creation:

 Then Charlie and I went to work on decorating Boone's cake.

It took a lot of explaining afterwards so that Charlie would stop bugging me to eat that cake right away!  Finally he said, "But Mom, Boone can't eat the cake because he's allergic to chocolate.  So can I have a piece now?"

My answer?  "Aha!  But this cake is for the human members of our family.  We're going to make a special cake for Boone."  I was met with a perplexed look.  You may be perplexed as well.  What is this special cake?

Three doggie treats decorated with frosting to resemble birthday candles on a paper plate.  Tasty enough for Boone.

With that, we were ready for the festivities to begin.  We sang Happy Birthday to our favorite canine and then let him loose at his cake.  He loved it.  In fact, he ate the entire plate.  Oops.  But he was happy and that's all that mattered.  The human cake was very good too, so we had to congratulate Charlie on his excellent cake baking skills.

Then it was time for presents.  Boone got a box of treats and a new rope toy.  He loves rope toys and immediately started playing with it.

All in all, it was a fun birthday party for Boone.  Can't wait to see what his fourth year brings!

Brothers

Even though their relationship is so new, it is clear that Charlie and Ephram love each other.  Both are capable of getting a smile out of the other, no matter what their existing mood is.  At four months old, Ephram isn't able to interact too much with Charlie yet... but they love to laugh at each other.

Cute!

Isn't my baby boy so cute?  Our good friends, the Stutzmans, gave us a huge amount of baby clothes that their boys didn't need any more.  Many of the pictures I've taken of Ephram are in these outfits.  While Ephram was in the 6 month clothes, this outfit was one of my favorites.  I think he looks cute in red.  And blue.  And green.  And ...  pretty much anything.  He also was just starting to learn how to support himself while sitting when I took these pictures.  Makes it a lot easier!  I love this cute kid!!!