Merry Christmas

We had many wonderful Christmas gatherings with family this year. On Friday, Christmas Eve, we went over my parent's house. Traditional Christmas goose and yummy food, new warm wall-to-wall carpet to play on, piles of presents, and cheerful family relaxation made for a good time.
For the first time in my life, we didn't go anywhere on Christmas Day. Paul used his huge new pancake griddle to make breakfast and we opened our gifts to each other. It was a relaxing day.

On Sunday, we went up to Paul's grandparent's house near Placerville for the extended family gathering and group photo (still waiting for my copy of that event). Gabriel had a blast playing with all the little boys, running around the house and throwing snowballs (there were patches of snow around the yard). The boys ranged in age from almost 9 years down to Ephraim at 9 months. All of Paul's siblings were there and it was wonderful to see everyone. We stayed the night and exchanged presents with his immediate family on Monday morning.
Last night, we bundled up and went to see the lights and displays at Christmas in the Park in downtown San Jose. I remember taking Gabriel for his first Christmas there. It was fun to have both boys admiring the lights.
Ephraim's favorite position is standing and he still takes a few steps to go anywhere before he falls down or sits down. He loves to feed himself. We bought the easy to dissolve baby snacks, but he also likes bread, cheese, and freeze-dried fruit.

We introduced Gabriel to the game of 20 Questions on our long drive home on Monday. We usually stick to animals and don't keep track of how many questions. He caught on quickly and had a great time. He didn't quite understand what an animal was because he came up with "the hills" on one of his turns. On our way home from the San Jose lights, Gabriel requested we play again. He thought of one and daddy and I tried to guess. "4 legs?" "No" "2 legs?" "Sometimes." "Does it have eyes?" "Sometimes." "Does it fight badguys?" "Yes, it's a pirate!" (Yes, "sometimes" they have a wooden leg or a patch over an eye. Clever kid!) We had a great laugh about that.

2011 should be interesting: Paul is finishing writing up his Aspect book and will sell them at DunDraCon in February. In March Ephraim turns one. I'm looking forward to putting together the blog book of 2010 and publishing that. A few weddings to go to also. Happy New Year!

Walking?!

I need to record this: Ephraim has been impressing us today with his new-found ability to walk! He took about 5 steps from the rocking chair to the couch. Sometimes he'll stand by himself and take one step and kind of leap leaning forward to his destination. But as of today I think he has more confidence in his balance.

Average age for walking is about 12 months. Gabriel took his first steps from dad to mom at 10 1/2 months. Ephraim is 9 months and desperate to keep up with brother! Gabriel was playing with a gift bag we got today and he put it down on a chair. Ephraim was holding another chair close by, let go, judged the distance (I held out my hand in case he wanted to grab it), but he walked about 5 steps to get the bag all by himself. Video to come. Paul predicted that he'd walk before Christmas. I think I will declare him right!

And he's not afraid to tell us when he wants something, especially if brother has it. He has a nice loud yell, a prelude to "my turn!" I'm sure.

Stacking Blocks

We've been playing with the foam blocks I made for a long time. Both kids love knocking them down. Yesterday we played a game: dad stacks the blocks and one of the boys knocks them down and we all clap. Today I was playing with just Ephraim and I stacked the blocks expecting Ephraim to knock them down. He concentrated and grabbed a different block, moved it over another block and let go. He stacked a block himself!! He did it several more times, each time with me praising him and clapping.

Paul got this on video while I was putting Gabriel to bed. Paul says he could see how Ephraim was so proud of himself. Watch for the circus trick near the end of the video too.



And I forgot to mention: HAPPY belated 9 MONTHS, EPHRAIM!

Temple Lights

On Monday we went to the Oakland Temple to see all the lights and hear Christmas music. Gabriel had so much fun running up and down the lit hill to each water fountain (and trying to duck under the lights to play in the water in between them).
Ephraim enjoyed all the lights too! And the people. Here he is waving to the camera with dad.
Gabriel had a runny nose last weekend. This week Ephraim caught it, and mom and dad are fighting it off.
Yum, peas and goldfish crackers! (dad likes the pea on the chin the best)
Gabriel colors in a Christmas tree that mom drew for him. We are counting down the days until we get to see family. And praying that everyone is well when the time comes.

Winter Daze

I built a small tent behind the couch, as Gabriel requested. He was excited to get Ephraim to come inside too. The photo is a little blurry but it shows both kids smiling and having fun.
Gabriel loves tickling his brother. I think the feeling is mutual.

Ephraim loves using the walker.

Signs of the Times

Scene: We're trying to get everyone ready to head out the door. Gabriel is making a game of evading Mom.
Mom: Gabriel, please come over here so I can help you put your shoes on. How many times do I have to ask you?!
Gabriel: Four. (thinks about it) Maybe ten?
(Paul to me later: I thought this kind of sassy reply only came from teenagers.)

After watching Disney's "The Jungle Book" a few times, I find Gabriel stripped down to just his underwear.
Mom: What are you doing without any clothes on?
Gabriel: I'm being the Mancub.

Meanwhile, Ephraim is refusing the bottle in favor of anything he can get his hands on. Right now the favorite is bread and Cheerios, mostly because he doesn't chew well yet. This afternoon I fed him bites of persimmon and he LOVED it! He is also picking up some of the baby signs we're using. We're teaching him "more" and "all done" and "eat."

Ephraim Claps and Stands

Gabriel helped me untangle the Christmas lights. He is looking forward to Christmas this year and is finally old enough to get excited and anticipate family and presents.
Ephraim learned to clap his hands! (Plus Gabriel wanted some screen time too.)

Ephraim has been cruising for a while (standing up and walking while holding on to something). Lately his favorite thing has been to stand up and LET GO! He is quite proud of himself. Even while writing this blog post (it's taken two days), Ephraim is trying new things. He is standing alone and taking a STEP now. (slow down, my little baby!)

A few weeks ago we put Ephraim's crib in Gabriel's room so that Paul could use the computer any time to look for a job. Well, after several sleepless nights each week of the kids waking each other up, we decided to switch back. Ephraim has been taking naps even while Paul is typing and everyone is sleeping well again.

We bought Gabriel some firetruck pjs. He loved pretending to be a fireman before going to bed the last two nights. I enjoyed seeing him use his imagination with something that didn't involve lightsabers or "kooming things."