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

8 Months

Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.  ~Steven Wright

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Ephraim is 8 months old.  So much has happened this month.

Ephraim is still our little army crawler.  He's fast and always moving.

He does have a new trick.  Although he does not yet pull himself up to sitting or standing, if we stand him up he will cruise along furniture.  He loves walking, and trying to figure out how to walk and stand on his own is his favorite pastime.

Ephraim has a lot of toys and enjoys putting them all in his mouth, but what he loves most in anything he's not supposed to have.  He especially loves anything that he perceives as "grown up."

Ephraim will eat everything we give to him.  He loves eating cereal because he can feed it to himself.  He still lets us feed him.  Eating is his favorite activity and he can eat a lot.  He even likes pickles.

He also has learned how to babble.  He says "ba ba," "ma ma," and "da da" among other sounds.  He will sit and chatter to anyone who will listen, especially himself.  He's quick to laugh and enjoys laughing at silly things now.

When Ephraim is cranky, he'll let you know, but no matter how cranky he is, there is usually a way to make him smile, through silliness.

Ephraim enjoyed his first visit to the zoo this month.  He also enjoys playing at the park, and exploring new places.

Ephraim is growing up so fast!  It's hard to believe that he's trying to walk.

More Pictures Here!

7 Months

We've had bad luck with our kids - they've all grown up. ~Christopher Morley

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7 months.  Time just keeps flying by.

This little boy is a busy busy body.  His army crawling skills are intense, and he is fast.  He is into everything!  He wants to play with all the toys, and especially anything that is grown up!  He almost never wants to sit still.  Nap times are no fun, but going to bed at night is getting easy.

He loves to eat!  He loves bananas, applesauce, sweet potatoes, avocado, oatmeal, peas, green beans, black beans, cereal treats, and basically everything we try and feed him.

Ephraim is much more vocal now and very impatient.  If you aren't fast enough for him he'll let you know.  For example, he blows raspberries to tell me to hurry up when I'm not feeding him quick enough.  He also laughs a lot more when something makes him happy.

Ephraim can sit up and play without trouble now but can't get up by himself yet.

He's getting steadier on his feet, but still needs to hold onto something for support.

Ephraim loves to be held.  If he can't see mommy or daddy he will go on a search.  That usually means he heads straight for the kitchen/bedroom area and waits there until we reappear.

Singing silly songs and watching Mom and Dad dance is so much fun!  Going out on the town is always good.  Bath time and story time are both favorites, as long as they don't last too long. Variety is the spice of life and this baby knows it!

This little man is so grown up now, it's hard to believe that he was once a tiny little newborn baby!  We love him so much!

More Pictures Here

6 months

The potential possibilities of any child are the most intriguing and stimulating in all creation. ~ Ray L. Wilbur

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Half a year!  What the heck?

My little man had quite a busy sixth month. He is growing ever bigger, and more expressive.  **Update- Ephraim is 18 lbs 3.2 oz and 28.5 inches long.  That puts him in the 50th percentile for weight and the 95th percentile for height.

Ephraim is quite mobile.  He loves to army crawl and is very efficient at it. 
He's an adventurer and already wants to get all the things.  We are definitely in trouble with this one :-P.

He can sit up, but prefers to be on his tummy so he doesn't sit up for long.

He is making more sounds.  He says 'mom' when he is crying and occasionally says "dada" when he is happy.  This mama is not so sure what to think about that :-P

He's very ticklish all over, but after the initial laughter tends to get very mad when tickled.  He had better get used to the tickles though, because his daddy is not letting up any time soon (or mommy for that matter).

He's discovered blowing raspberries and does that frequently.  It's very cute.

Ephraim has two teeth now.  He handled teething pretty well, although he was a very sad baby at bed times.

Ephraim LOVES eating solid food.  That is definitely supposed to be in all caps.  He can't get enough of it.  So far we have tried oatmeal, bananas, applesauce, avacado, and sweet potatoes.  He enjoyed all of it except the avacodo.  He really didn't like the avocado.  I'm excited to start broadening my big six-month-old's horizons in the coming months.

What Ephraim loves most is people.  He especially loves to flirt with all the ladies. 
Ephraim enjoyed a visit with his Great-grandpa Davis on our Christmas road trip in December. 

Ephraim also enjoyed spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Ison and all of his Ison Uncles over Christmas.  It was an awesome first Christmas and he got very spoiled.

He especially loves bouncing in his new Jump-a-roo.

He's also experiencing his first cold weather.  He's not so sure what he thinks about that.

This child is very loved, and this mama is loving every minute of his crazy antics.  Thanks to everyone else who loves him as much as we do.

More 6 month pictures here
More Christmas pictures here