Prayer

Gabriel was playing with his kitchen and invited daddy over, "dinner time!"
"What's for dinner, Gabriel?"
"Uh, lunch. Time for prayer."
"Is it Gabriel's turn for prayer?"
"Heavenly Father, thank you for the food. Thank you for church. ...The end." (we both heard the end, but it could have been amen)

Eyes

We took the stand-up toy thing out of the garage the other day. Ephraim has been a little fussy, either from his vaccines or from boredom or both, so I wanted something new for him. He likes playing in it. Ephraim's eyes are still the gray that he was born with but I've been seeing hints of tan in the middle. Who knows when and what they'll turn to.
The sunlight really makes Gabriel's eyes glow. I tried to capture his gorgeous hazel eyes (green and brown here), but I'm not much of a photographer.
Love this guy!

Paints and Parties

Gabriel received some watercolor paints for his birthday so we played with them on the floor on Thursday. It was a new concept to him so he's still learning but he had fun.
Then on Saturday morning, the day of his birthday party with his friends, we covered the floor of his room with balloons before he woke up. (Thanks to a great tradition my friend does with her kids) Naturally he wanted to bury himself in his closet with them.

Ephraim is 4 months and very interested in everything that goes on. He loves watching us eat and watching his big brother bounce around the room or play with his toys.
Love his smiles and laughter!
"Gotta get my toes in the shot, mom, they're my favorite thing!"

4 Months

Ephraim is 4 months old today!
We survived both kids going to the pediatrician and getting shots (thanks, mom!).

Ephraim is 15 lbs 12 oz (70% and up 3 lbs in 2 months) and almost 27 inches (95%).

Gabriel is 36 lbs 8 oz (90%) and almost 40 inches (90%).


(More news and pictures to come! I'm busy prepping for Gabriel's birthday party with friends tomorrow morning.)

Happy 3 Years Old!

My first baby boy turned 3 years old today!
Ah, I remember Gabriel's loooong labored birth so well:
Adorable edible cheeks at 1 years old (toddling around and exploring everything):
The beginning of the fun and challenging 2 year old (side eyes and facial expressions to match his verbal expressions):
Now Gabriel is 3 years old:
He is my BIG boy! He eats almost-adult-sized meals. He is enjoying a bowl of cereal and milk here. He also loves a big bowl of rice and refried beans, and he gobbled down a huge bowl of broccoli by himself that I was expecting to share with him for dinner. Not quite potty trained, but capable of it. His vocabulary is expanding every day, he talks in complete sentences and paragraphs. He also constantly asks what words mean and what we're talking about. We've moved beyond nouns (words for toys and food) to concepts (growing up and digestion).

Today Gabriel saw some people working on our neighbor's roof. Naturally, he wanted to climb the ladder and go up there with them. As part of his argument, he told me, "I'm almost a man now." You sure are growing up fast, my sweet Gabriel!

Rolling Over - 16 Weeks Old

Ephraim was very excited today. He loves playing with his toes and rolling on his side. Tonight I was playing with the boys on the floor and I looked away to watch Gabriel do something and Ephraim gave out a little cry ("look at me, mom"). When I looked back he rolled from his back to his stomach easily! He did this twice in a row and seemed quite pleased with himself. I tried to get it on video, but of course he wouldn't do it while the camera was on and the second I turned it off he rolled over again. This video is the end snippet of the roll. This has become his new pass-time so I'm sure I'll capture it better soon. And all this on his 16-week birthday.

Balance

To be fair, here's a post just on Gabriel:

"Pchoom!" He's firing his robot "kooming thing" at me.
Laughter!
Gabriel Quote of the Day: "Watch a movie, dad? Mom said no, but you say yes."