6 Months Old

I cannot believe my little baby is half a year old!

He is a mover and a shaker.  He still rolls as his preferred mode of transportation, but has started doing little push-ups on the floor, and is expert at using his arms to pivot around on his stomach.

 

He is strong.  He sits up really well now and can stand up holding on to something for some time.  He just needs to work on balance.

He is really starting to babble.  Blowing raspberries and saying "bababa" are his favorite right now.  He babbles the most when he thinks he is alone.

He loves his mama and expresses great distress if she ever walks by him without picking him up or holding him, but Ephraim and Daddy make him laugh much more.

He loooooooves eating.  I mean, he is obsessed.  He has had bananas, avocados, beans, rice, ice cream, bread, potatoes, green beans, carrots, applesauce, and couple different baby purees and he has loved all of it.  There is nothing that makes him madder than seeing someone eat without giving him something to eat. I am trying to limit him to solids only once a day, but it is becoming increasingly difficult.  Asher also wants to nurse all the time!  He is just a big, hungry, boy!  He knows how to pull at my shirt and rub his face on my chest now to show that he wants to eat.

Asher likes going for walks in the carrier or the stroller.  He loves the pool and bath.  He splashes and kicks with all his might.  

He puts EVERYTHING in his mouth, and he bites down hard.  He likes to chew on hands, toys, wipes, food, furniture, and, well, anything he can get his mouth on, but there is no sign of teeth yet.

Asher is really easy to travel with.  He sleeps well on the go, and sleeps well for naps and bedtime if he has some white noise going.

His personality is really starting to show, and he loves people.  We just love having this cute little man in our lives.

 

Also, this is hilarious!  Love this little man's facial expressions.

5 Months Old

Sometimes you seem so little and sometimes you seem so big that I forget you are only 5 months old.  That seems to be the mantra of my giant baby life :-)

You are a busy busy bee.  You love to roll and roll all around the house.  You can only roll in one direction, and as a result always end up stuck against a wall, but you have fun finding toys and things to play with in the process.

You are strong.  You can sit up with no support for a little while if you are not distracted, and can last quite a long while if you are in the boppy pillow to help you recover if you start tipping.  You "plank" by lifting your arms and legs off the ground when you see something you want.

You are so heavy.  Mama's arms are constantly tired (as is her back) from trying to manage your heft. I have to put you down to play frequently just out of exhaustion.  You are wearing 12 month clothes, and even some of those are too small, but all of your pants are too long.

You are venturing into the world of eating.  You thought ice cream was too cold, and strawberries were to sour, but bananas are good, and avocados are favorite.  I have to limit you to one meal a day in the evenings, but I am quite sure you would be happy to eat all the time.

Your favorite activities include jumping in your jumperoo, playing in the pool, bath time with Ephraim, and eating.  You are such a happy little buddy.  You giggle at Ephraim's silliness, and smile when you see mommy or daddy approach. If you are not tired you can entertain yourself with toys or in your bouncer for quite awhile.

You loove to grab and play with your toes.  You stick them in your mouth and talk to them.  The same goes for anything that you get into your hands.  You chew with much vigor.  Your hand-eye coordination is improving.  You can reach for things and put them straight in your mouth without trouble now.  You are using this skill for improved hair pulling skills as well.  You are very deliberate in all that you do, including sucking your thumb when you are tired.

You make an "mmm" sound when you are getting fussy, and that has led to an occasional "mum" or "mama,"  and it tugs at my heart strings.  You are starting to blow raspberries, and love to stick out your tongue.

You do not like when you have to stop eating, when you see mommy and she doesn't pick you up right away, and being hungry or tired.

Ephraim is just as in love with you as we are.  He loves to make you smile or laugh, and will always go to try and cheer you up if you are sad.  He already bickers with you a little over toys, but generally is willing to share and be my helper.  You guys have been sharing a room for awhile now and doing really well with it.  If you wake up around the same time when I go in Ephraim is almost always in bed playing with you, and when he does that you don't cry for me to come get you.

You are settling into a routine that is a little hit or miss, but you usually take a nap in the morning, and then another one in the afternoon.  You go to bed at 8:30 is and then will sleep until 7 or so, usually only waking up once in the night to eat.

You are just the cutest roly poly baby I have ever seen, and we love you so much!

More Photos Here

4 Months Old

This giant boy is so big that sometimes I forget he is only 4 months old.  Every month brings new developments and so much joy!

Asher is a such a happy camper!  He looooves people and loves to smile.  His favorite person to laugh at is daddy, but he will give me little giggles from time to time.

He also loves to coo and talk to anyone who will listen.  Also, he especially loves to talk to his binky and anything he can hold in his hands.

He is getting so much stronger.  He is much better at sitting with support, and loves to lean up and stand on the couch.  He can scoot himself around on his belly a bit as well (although it makes him kind of mad.)

He still loves his bath and kicks and splashes with all his might the whole time.  He also looooves going to the pool for the same reason.  Asher is really getting interested in toys and screens lately.  He likes to look at the TV if Ephraim is watching cartoons (oops :-P) and loves his playmate and jumparoo. He also likes to grab blankets and burp rags because they are easy to hold and chew on.  When he sees something he wants he tenses up and lifts his arms and legs up off the ground with all his might.  Eventually I guess he will figure out that the opposite has to happen in order for him to actually move/crawl ;-)

Speaking of chewing, this little man looooves to chew on his hands.  His hands are always in his mouth, and he is quite the thumb sucker!  He is getting better at keeping his thumb in his mouth, and although he likes to sleep swaddled with a binky, he will often suck his thumb to fall asleep during the day.

Things that Asher does not like include: getting dressed, being left alone with no one to talk to, being tired, and being finished eating. Asher cries almost every time he has to stop eating.  He just loves to eat!  He nurses every 2-3 hours during the day, but only wakes up once during the night now.

This boy is getting quite a bit of hair on the top of his head and I just love how fuzzy and soft it is!

It's so fun to watch this sweet, social, funny boy grow! Happy 4 months cutie!

3 Years Old

It's true, my toddler is really more of a preschooler than a toddler!

You hear things thrown around like "the terrible twos" and "threenager."  I feel like the two's were not too hard to navigate, but this "approaching three" thing has thrown me for a bit of a loop (adding a new baby into the mix probably hasn't helped).  Ephraim is smart and curious.  He also has a mischievous streak.  He keeps me on my toes.

Ephraim loves cars, planes and trains.  He also loves to learn all about the names of different animals.  Really he just loves life and learning new words!

He is really good at speaking, and speaks in full sentences.  He is starting to ask a lot more questions and has started using pronouns.  He refers to everyone as "he" and "that guy," but he knows that mommy is a girl, so he is beginning to figure out genders.

Ephraim's favorite TV show is probably "Octonauts," a cute show about animals that go underwater to learn about and help sea creatures. He likes to say "Aye Aye Captain" when I ask him to do things and says "water" with an English accent because of that show.

He loves to sing little songs when he is playing.  "Hooked on a feeling" by Blue Swede is a current favorite.  However, if he does not like a song he will announce that "this is a grown-up song," and tell me, "I not like this one."

Ephraim is a sweet big brother.  He loves to tell Asher that "He is so cute," and talk to him in a high pitch voice.  He also gives him lots of hugs and kisses.  He does not, however, like sharing his bath with Asher, because Asher loves to kick and splash in the bath and generally encroach on Ephraim's space.

You can tell he listens to mommy and daddy more closely now, because now if he doesn't want to do something he will tell me that it is "too dangerous," "too far away," "costs too much money," or that "I can't because I'm angry."  He also loves to exclaim, "Oh crap!" when things don't go his way.

Ephraim also looooves to "be silly."  "That's so silly," is probably one of his favorite phrases.

Ephraim's memory is improving.  He tells me about all the things he did "last night" (anything that happened in the past is last night).  The other day he told me all about the things he did last halloween.  He reminds me as we pass restaurants and things that they are places we have gone with "the uncles" etc.

Ephraim is afraid of monsters in movies, and can be shy with new people and big groups.  He will tell me if he is feeling shy or afraid though, and can usually work through those feelings and be "so brave."

We just finished moving into our first home, and the first day we were here he told me that he didn't like our new house because none of our stuff was in it.  He has been getting used to the idea of living in a new place and gets more excited the more we unpack.

Ephraim planned his own birthday.  He told me that he wanted a birthday cake with candles, ice cream, party hats, and balloons.  He also wanted to eat at CiCi's and see a movie with "Grandma, Grandpa, Uncles and Nathan".  We went to see Inside Out, and had a great time.

Ephraim likes to tell me all about how big and tall he is, but he still isn't too big for cuddles and binkies, so that is good.  He is 39.5 inches tall.  Although sometimes I am not as patient as I should be with his antics I feel so blessed to be his mama.  He is a such a happy boy who is excited about life, and I am excited to see what the next year will bring.

More Pictures of Ephraim