Creativity

On a recent rainy day, Gabriel and I made up a few games. On his own, Gabriel got his play slice of bread and bun and got me to play air hockey with him!
We made a catapult. It was a big hit!!

Comparison

Ephraim turned 6 weeks old yesterday.
Ephraim fidgets a lot in his sleep but also sleeps soundly once all the way asleep. We put the co-sleeper crib next to our bed two nights ago and it seems to work so far. He is napping in his full crib right now (something I never could do with Gabriel).
This is what I got from Gabriel when I asked him to smile. :)
Gabriel's latest phrase is "oh correct" but it sounds more like "oh crick."

Today we played with the letter magnets. When we first started spelling Gabriel's name for him, we'd draw a line under it to emphasis it. Now he thinks his name needs a line under it to be complete. He is a child of the modern era--he found dot magnets and thinks they're part of the alphabet and keeps putting them between the magnet letters (thanks to watching lots of "pbskids.org" tv shows).

The boys are very different. Gabriel ate every 1 1/2 hours and people commented on his long fingers. Ephraim eats about every 2 1/2 hours and people comment on how much hair he has. It seems like Gabriel cried all the time (mostly from hunger). Ephraim fusses but only cries if I wait too long into his fuss to feed him or if he is tired and is having trouble falling asleep.

Sun Then Rain

Saturday was beautiful weather. Gabriel picked flowers and stuck them in the Christmas tree. I thought it was funny.
Yesterday was rainy so we had to stay inside. I even pointed out the hail to him. We made a zoo with his stuffed animals and the dining room chairs.

Happy 5 weeks old, Ephraim!

My Boys

My two beautiful boys! Of course, I couldn't get them both to smile at the same time so I picked the one with Ephraim smiling.
I am thankful that Gabriel is able to play independently so often. After being distracted with feeding Ephraim, I turned to see what Gabriel had been up to. Gabriel told me that he was following dinosaur tracks (the shoes he had lined up) and was carrying a walking stick (the boffer sword).
Clean naturally spiky hair today.

First Smiles

Ephraim has been smiling while awake now (not those asleep face twitches that look like half-smiles). He is starting to make little sounds too. After taking a few pictures (below), we spent about 20 minutes conversing and smiling at each other. I loved it!
Happy 3 weeks old, Ephraim! He received so many quilts (can't have enough). I am so grateful for talented family members.


Gabriel is doing great too! He loves to help and take his turn holding the baby ("he so tute"). Here he is playing outside in the wet dirt.
And our jasmine is in full bloom! I love catching the wonderful scent as it drifts into our bathroom window.

Happy Easter!

19 days old.

Easter was super low-key this year. The sunshine we had yesterday turned into rain today, so Gabriel hunted for Easter eggs in the living room. The candy was just as yummy. And after waking up at 5:30 this morning, Gabriel crashed on dad's shoulder while on the couch this afternoon.

Front Pack

The appointment with the pediatrician went well this afternoon. Ephraim has been getting enough formula (only about an ounce per feeding) to gain weight. Yay! He is up to 8 lbs 8 oz. We go back next week to make sure he keeps gaining and is back to his birth weight.

We found the front carrier and tried it out around the house for a few minutes. Ephraim loved it, as you can see. Now that he is getting more to eat, Ephraim has lots of awake moments, which are adorable!