Mama's Boy

Lately Ephraim has become a bit of a mama's boy, and I kinda like it ;-)  I get a lot of attention.

Here's a little animation of my silly man asking for mama.

I'll blog about our Utah trip soon :)

1 year old

A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun.  Enjoy the trip.  ~Author Unknown

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Ephraim is one year old! And what a fun little toddler he is!

Ephraim has 8 teeth now, and is always teething.  At his one year appointment he was 31.25 inches long (90th percentile), he weighed 23 lbs 14 oz (around the 60th percentile) and had a head circumference of 19.75 inches (99th percentile).

Ephraim is starting to get the hang of walking.  He is really good at walking while holding mamas hand, and can walk for longer times.  Once he figures out how to stand up on his own he will walk everywhere!  He giggles and smiles everytime he walks, and takes teeny tiny steps.  He's very cautious and so cute!

Ephraim's language is exploding!  He signs "more", "cereal", and "finished" with little prompting, and calls all food "nananas."  He is always saying "hi" and "hey." He knows who mama and dada are.  He makes sounds for cars and airplanes. He tries to mimic sounds that you say.  He says "ssss" for "Jesus" and "ba" for ball.  He points to everything and says "ah" to ask what it is.

Ephraim is into everything.  He loves attention and doing anything "grown up."  He giggles when he thinks he's going to get in trouble.  He loves animals right now, and is always pointing out the birds, squirrels and dogs that he can see from the windows in our apartment.

Ephraim still loves to have attention from everybody, but has become a little bit more of a mama's boy lately, but I am loving the extra hugs and kisses.

Ephraim's first birthday party was a lot of fun.  Grandad Beckman flew all the way in from Florida and was a huge help with the party.  

When it came time for Ephraim to eat his cake he wasn't sure what to do at first.  He tried eating it one sprinkle at a time for a while, but after a couple tastes of frosting he decided to dig in.

After a while he was pretty full, so he just decided to crawl around and spread the frosting with him.  

He loved having a little bath in the sink.

Ephraim really loved spending time with Grandad, and we had Karolyn and Jeff visit as well.  We explored San Antonio, and Ephraim explored too.

Ephraim had his first fourth of July.  He enjoyed the food, the pool, and the fireworks.

All in all it's been an awesome year.  The time flew by so quickly!  Ephraim is such a fun little boy, and I look forward to many more years with him!

More Photos Here

11 Months

We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today. ~Stacia Tauscher

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I don't even know what to think.  This is my last update before my precious babe turns one!  Where has the time gone?

To celebrate his 11 month birthday my poor boy got hand, foot, and mouth disease.  The sick little man has slept most of the day.  We took him to the doctor and found out that he weighs 22 lbs 3oz and is 30.75 inches long.  He is a big boy!

Ephraim's personality is coming out in full force.  He loves people, and especially big kids.  He points to everyone he sees and, if they are lucky, he will wave hello.  When Ephraim smiles at someone even the meanest looking fellows will smile back.  When he's in the mood to wave hello and goodbye he says hello and goodbye to everyone and everything.

Ephraim loves to "talk."  His babbling sounds like sentences now, and he knows how to say "up", "hey", "yay", "mama", and "dada."  He also signs "more" by clapping his hands together.  He tries to say fish, and he knows what "finished", and "water" mean.  Also, if you say kisses and put your cheek by your face you just may get a slobbery, open-mouthed kiss.

Ephraim is independent.  If he can do it by himself, he loves it.  He crawls and climbs anywhere he can.  He loves to find leaves and sticks and try and put them in his mouth.  However, if mama puts out her hand and asks him to spit it out, he almost always does.  He is finally somewhat interested in holding someone's hands and walking, but much prefers to crawl all by himself.  He loves swimming, but he wants to do it by himself.  He has no fear, and doesn't mind diving head first into the water.  He requires a very watchful eye wherever we go.

This month has been a month of teething.  Ephraim wants to have a mouth full of teeth by the time he turns one.  I love his silly toothy smile.  Stephen thinks he looks like bat boy. His very favorite foods are squeezy fruit pouches and graham crackers.

We've been moving this month, and Ephraim likes to play in his play pen and with boxes.  Ephraim had a little bit of trouble sleeping the first day, but then quickly adjusted to his new surroundings.  He's seen his first television shows, and enjoys a little bit of Sesame Street, and Yo Gabba Gabba, but only in very small doses.  He wasn't a fan of Mr. Rogers; we think his voice was a bit monotone for his tastes. He still much prefers to read his books (much to the pleasure of his parents).  Although, his very favorite thing just may be a Mickey Mouse sing-along CD that we have.  No matter how upset he is in the car, if we turn it on, he is instantly quiet.

Stephen and I are training for a marathon and half-marathon respectively, and Ephraim gets to come on lots of walks and runs with us.  He is a trooper and enjoys rides in the stroller, and often takes a little nap in the meantime.  He especially loves playing at the park when we are finished.

It's so much fun to watch my little baby grow into a toddler!

More Pictures Here

Happy Day!

Yay! :-P

10 Months

You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.  ~Desmond Tutu 

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Ephraim is getting too big.  We had an appointment today his stats are: height- 30.75 inches (95th percentile), weight- 21 lbs 10 oz (50th percentile), head circumference- 19.25 inches (99th percentile)

Ephraim is quite the busy boy!  He is babbling all the time now.  His babbling sounds much more like talking now, and he loves to mimic the sounds that he knows.  He especially loves to squeal with mom and dad.  He also can clap his hands now, and does it anytime anyone says, "yay."  I think he knows how to say "up."

His favorite activity is reading books.  He likes to be read to, but loves even more to "read" them himself.  He opens the pages and babbles away.  His other favorite of late is dropping things.  He likes to throw things off his high chair, out of his crib, from his carseat, and from his stroller.

Ephraim is very good at crawling and pulling up to anything and everything.  He's discovering that crawling upright takes a lot less effort than army crawling, and uses it as his preferred mode of transportation (unless there's something to hold onto and walk with). He can stand unsupported for much longer now but he hasn't taken any steps yet.  He's very curious about everything, and loves new toys to play with.  He can crawl around with a toy in his hand now, and I find things all over the house.

Ephraim loves going places.  He loves to watch people, and especially older kids.  He tries to follow them around and watches their every move with great interest.  He can crawl up stairs without any trouble, and even walked up some stairs while holding on to the railing at the park the other day.

Ephraim does not like napping.  There is way too much to see and do! He is doing a lot better at sleeping at night, and only wakes up two times most nights now.

Ephraim's top teeth are breaking through today.  He's been a little cranky lately, but that explains it.  Ephraim really handles teething very well.  He has serious food envy, and always want to eat whatever you are eating.  He loves hamburger, fish, chicken, and turkey.  Goldfish are his favorite snack.  He can eat whole bananas now.  Ephraim looooves to eat.  It's probably his favorite activity.

Ephraim is a fun fun fun little boy, and he certainly keeps me on my toes.

More Pictures Here

9 Months

Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.  ~Chinese Proverb

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Ephraim has grown so much in personality this month!  He is a busy busy little body, and a very happy little boy.

He has figured up how to stand himself on any vertical surface and spends his days crawling from object to object and standing himself up.  He likes to let go and see how long he can stand.  The longest I've seen him stand unsupported is 5 or so seconds, but he's going to figure it out soon.  He can crawl on his hands and knees now, but still prefers the army crawl for speed.

He's getting really good at entertaining himself, and will play by himself in his room for up to half an hour.  He especially loves to look at his collection of books, and to play with anything he can shake or pound on.

He is a curious little man, and is into every crack and crevice.  He is especially interested in power cords, so the baby proofing is in full force.

The weather is getting nicer, and Ephraim loves to be outside.  He enjoys the swings, going down the slide and crawling through tunnels in the park.

He loves to do anything that will get mom or dad's attention, and he's figured out that the easiest way to do that is to head to somewhere he isn't supposed to be.  He head for the door or the kitchen and the bathroom, and as soon as he realizes you are after him he will giggle and try and crawl away faster.

He's figured out how to pull open a door if it's been left open a crack, and can switch off the lights if you hold him.  He loves banging things together and is trying to figure out how to clap his hands.  He tries to mimic mom and dad.  He babbles constantly and currently says baba, mama, ahaha, didi, and dada.  He also thinks it hilarious to pretend to cough.

Ephraim has 4 teeth now.  The two bottom teeth and the top lateral incisors. It seems like his top two teeth may not be far behind.  Besides being a little more drool-y and slightly crankier at bedtime it's hard to tell that he's even teething.  He's such a good boy!

His favorite things to eat right now are cottage cheese and gold fish crackers.  He mostly loves eating in general and is getting really good at feeding himself and chewing.

He's decided that he only needs one nap a day, but is going to bed earlier.  He still wakes up 3 or 4 times in the night, but he goes back to sleep really easily, so I don't mind (too much).

Ephraim is a lot more aware of who different people are now, and likes Stephen more and more.  I love watching my two boys together. Grandma and Grandpa Ison came to visit and even though Ephraim wasn't sure about Grandpa at first, he warmed up at the end.  He doesn't have much stranger danger, even though he definitely prefers his mama, especially at sleepy time.

Ephraim had his first Easter the day after his nine month birthday (which is why this entry is a little late, we were busy busy!), and he looked so cute in his Easter outfit!  We love having such a cute little man!

More Pictures Here