First Day of Preschool

Three moms and I have formed a preschool co-op for our kids. We each take a turn hosting and teaching every Monday and Wednesday for three hours. Today was the first day, so I took a picture of Gabriel outside our house before we left. (I have lots of good memories of my dad taking "first day of school" pictures.)
I dug out Gabriel's old shoes. Yes, the smallest pair now fits on Ephraim's feet!! I can't believe my little baby is wearing real shoes. Paul lined up their shoes for this picture--love it!

One Year Stats and GOOD News!

First, Ephraim had his 12 month appointment yesterday. Here are his numbers:
height: 31 1/4 inches tall (90%)
weight: 22 lbs 14 oz (50%)
We also started drawing height lines on Gabriel's bedroom door jam to keep track of how the kids grow. I loved doing that when I was growing up.

The pediatrician was impressed that he's walking so well, babbling like crazy, and using a fork to eat! He is picking up any baby signs that we give him. He used "help" the other day, waves Hi and Bye at the sound of the word, signs for diaper change, signs milk and says "ba-oo" for bottle, asks and hesitates before he puts things in his mouth using the sign for "eat" and "me," and gestures for "where is it?". He also recognizes lots of words. For example, we were playing with the wooden car slide and I wondered out loud where the cars for it were. Ephraim walked over to the toy shelf and grabbed the box of cars and brought it to me.

Gabriel is growing up so fast. I am sometimes surprised with the ideas and sentences he says. A few moms from church are putting together a preschool co-op. So on Monday (and Wednesdays), Gabriel will start preschool with 3 other kids. The moms are going to take turns having it at our house and teaching the lesson. We'll see how it goes, but I'm excited.

And our big happy news: PAUL GOT A JOB!!! They moved quickly: phone call last Thursday, phone interview on Monday, in-person interview this Wednesday, call of offer Wednesday on the way home from the interview! We expect the offer letter in the mail tomorrow. New hire orientation is on Monday!! The best part is that medical benefits start right away.

Play-Doh and Curls

One of the things Gabriel and I do when Ephraim takes a nap is play with Play-Doh. One day we found a toy that made dotted lines like on a road, so Gabriel asked me to make a car. It's been getting more complex each time we play now. We have a road with lines, cars (with racing fins), a Mack truck, and now cones!
Daddy is so awesome! He gives the boys roller coaster rides!
The boys got a cold Thursday. Gabriel built his "bunk bed" (the futon on top of the couch) and spent time relaxing and looking out the window at the rain.
Okay, I just want to record something weird. Before I had kids, my hair was super straight. I even got a perm after college to see what curly hair would be like. Now, after I had Ephraim (and a haircut), this is what my hair looks like naturally after a shower! Weird but fun!

One Years Old, Wow!!

I'm sadly behind on my blog journal. Without further excuses, let's get to the boys:
Ephraim turned ONE years old on March 16. On Saturday, we invited our immediate family over for a celebration. We missed Grandma and Grandpa Cook because they were snowed in and couldn't drive down (much less out of their driveway). But we had fun talking and watching the boys run around and do their thing.
Uncle Mike (and Grandpa, for that matter!) always find new and interesting things to do. Here he is stacking things on top of Gabriel who, for once, is lying very still.
(Keep scrolling down to the next post for the videos.)

Videos and More Videos!!

Ephraim tried to climb into the toybox this morning and we thought it was funny. (It's great to hear Gabriel's voice in the background too.)


Here is some video I took last weekend. Ephraim insisted that I hold him while he fought Gabriel. He's smart!


Grandma and Grandpa Gunn sent a wonderful package to us which arrived on Ephraim's birthday. He got this cute singing/talking stuffed dog and naturally Ephraim sings and dances right along! I've been trying to capture it well.


Paul caught the boys playing nicely together. I'm so glad he recorded part of it! (Gabriel can be the perfect big brother sometimes! So sweet!)

Cheeks and Cuddles

I love his cheeks! Yum!
Sweet brothers!
Haircuts at last. Naturally we didn't get a picture of Ephraim's haircut because it took all three of us to distract him and cut his hair. I'm excited because I could use the big attachment on the razor for Ephraim's hair and the back of Gabriel's.
Super Ephraim! (He asked for the cape to be put on him so he could be just like his big brother.) And Gabriel explains an excellent drawing (it's nice to see something besides doodles again).

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.