Preoccupied

Things have been busy around here lately. Not only is Paul home a LOT more than usual, it is his birthday celebration week. Last Saturday we invited many of Paul's friends over and had a party all day to play video games and boardgames and boffer outside. The weather was perfect. Gabriel got his fill of all of the above. Paul's friend from Arizona is staying in the area for the week so there's something exciting every day.

Gabriel continues to do well with potty training. He's had a few accidents, but nothing often or unusual. I feel comfortable taking him to the store or park with me now. Ephraim continues to try to catch up to his brother. He crawls anywhere he wants (chase the cat, chase the mom) and loves to pull himself up to stand. His 2 bottom teeth have grown quite a bit and his 4 upper teeth have finally poked through. I'm being more aggressive in feeding him baby food solids. He's been eating pears and green beans this week. Look at those bottom teeth:
Cute story: Gabriel loves jumping on his bed. I have allowed and encouraged it since he was young because the mattress is directly on the floor so it is safe and he badly needs a way to get out all that energy. Tonight was a particularly energetic evening, so there was lots of jumping. Ephraim kept crawling over to Gabriel's bed and crying when I pulled him away so he wouldn't get hurt. Finally, I understood. He wanted to jump WITH Gabriel. So as I held up Ephraim on the bed (who jumps in our laps all the time) and faced him toward Gabriel, the most beautiful sound occurred. Both boys squealed with delight and heartily laughed as they jumped together on the bed! A glimpse of days to come, I'm sure.