Amazing Kids

I am sometimes bewildered at Gabriel's tastes, but I am SOOOOO thankful for them. He loves vegetables, and I hope I can keep it that way. Yesterday, he ate all the cucumbers at dinner (mom only got four half slices on her salad). Tonight he was sneaking broccoli whenever he could. We've had to bribe him with lettuce so he would eat his chicken. And I've said before how he risks his fingers as he grabs carrots off the cutting board while I'm chopping them (the sound of the carrot peeler will call him from the living room).

Ephraim has great perception sometimes. Today he pointed to the tiny animals on his sleeve and made animals noises as he pointed to each one. We didn't think he'd notice something so small and on his clothes.

Paul wants me to mention the superhero of the day: Bookman. Gabriel put on his alligator hat and previously-Batman cape and ran around pointing his palm to us saying "bookbookbook" which is the sound effect for shooting books at us. Let's not forget that he had a sidekick puppy-dog "Fire Pup" at his side.

Doing Things Together

Ephraim is growing up fast! He refuses his bottle in favor of eating food now. About two days ago we tried giving him a fork to eat with and he loved it! He served himself some applesauce with a spoon yesterday. The result was messy (applesauce on the walls) but it was fun.
This picture was taken a while ago but I like it. Gabriel loves his train set. He built this one all by himself. I think I posted about this before, but it's still cute. Upside down flat-sided pieces are the streets for cars so he mixes cars and trains in his town.
Both boys love books. This was an adorable scene I had to capture.
We've been so busy around here lately. Paul and his games did great at DunDraCon! It's thrilling to see how much excitement he draws to him. We will be taking his Aspect roleplaying game to the next level and distributing it nationwide through a company we found. We're learning. So while Paul is working on his Stone Tablet Games and looking for a full-time job, I had Jury Duty this week (thankfully I got excused after 3 days). I also have two book projects that are keeping me busy, not to mention our energetic boys.

11 Months

How can my baby be 11 months already, almost one?!
Ephraim is such a joy! He loves to walk everywhere, sometimes running. His favorite game is to be chased (sometimes into the bathroom where the cat water bowl is) and to come back to "get" you (fall open-mouthed into you). He loves to eat real food, especially if big brother is eating it. He has a mild runny nose right now and at least 4 molars coming in.

Paul is taking his roleplaying game book Aspect (as well as his boardgames) to a convention this weekend. We have been so busy preparing for that. Paul's aunt Cindy does t-shirts, so we got some with the Aspect logo on the front (and Stone Tablet Games on the back). Gabriel loves that he and his dad have matching shirts. Paul is thrilled that they're not iron-on (like I surprised him with the first year we went to the con). They look great.
A while back, I got out this water paint board for Gabriel to enjoy. He loved painted and repainting pictures. This one he said was "a cow going fishing."

Santa

Gabriel has been playing this game since Christmas and I think it's too adorable not to post. He wraps a toy in a blanket and hands it to us as a present. When we talked about Ephraim's birthday coming up, they were all birthday presents for us, each in turn. Tonight it was: "Ding, dong, doe" (the doorbell, then in a deep voice) "It's me, Santa. I got a present for you." (then switching voices to a high pitch voice as he unwraps the blanket) "For me, Gabriel? Just what I always wanted. Thank you!"

More Teeth

Ephraim has been teething more than usual lately, so I was brave and poked my finger around in his mouth. Sure enough, more teeth have poked through on his top and bottom left side. They are farther back, maybe molars.

Ephraim eats with his feet

Ephraim had us all laughing this morning as he tried something new!!

Caterpillars and Frogs

Ephraim has discovered books. He frequently goes to the shelf and grabs a book and walks over to hand it to us. Often, if I'm sitting on the floor, he'll climb into my lap too. We just flipped through "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" boardbook 3 times in a row, plus another time when Gabriel got interested. I think sticking our fingers in the holes to be the caterpillar was the best part for both boys.

Gabriel is growing up but still adorable. We watched "Princess and the Frog" recently. This evening he was jumping around the room and came up to me and said, "Ribbit, ribbit! Turn me into a man." I blew him a kiss, but he said, "No, mom, you gotta kiss me" and he came in closer for a smooch. How sweet is that?!