Camera and Bread

I bought a new digital camera to replace the one that is 6 years old. It still works fine, but it is big and clunky, so I don't use it as often as I do the camera on my phone (which takes terrible pictures). With this new "toy" I hope to record more of my boys' life before they get too big! Ephraim's voice is adorable and he tells such cute stories. I gotta get some video soon too.

Gabriel is learning to do homework.

Ephraim plays with flour after I made some mini bread loaves for dinner.

Gabriel likes my bread thiiiiiis much.

Ephraim would rather eat bread than anything else. (sigh)

Yum!

Cheese and Teeth

Ephraim fell asleep with his shirt off the other night (yes, early enough when there was still light). Too cute in his favorite pants and stuffed puppy.

Gabriel enjoys brushing his own hair after a bath to make himself "look handsome."

Gotta practice the funny faces in the mirror too!

Gabriel's mattress is usually in my room on the floor (helps us both sleep for now and he's not in my bed). To keep the kids from jumping on the thin slats left exposed on the frame, I put some extra shelf boards, cardboard, and pillows and blankets there as a quiet reading spot. Success!

This past weekend we all went to a birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese. I don't think we ever took the kids there before. Paul and I browsed one in San Jose when Gabriel was about two years old, but we didn't like any of the games. This place was better and he was old enough to enjoy most of the games. Here he is peddling to make the helicopter go up in the air.

Ephraim liked the rides best. Yay for firetrucks (three times in a row)!

Gabriel felt something "dry" in his mouth when we went to brush teeth on Friday night. I looked to see if it was food stuck and it was a TOOTH!! Hard to see here but it is poking out behind his front teeth (slightly to the left). We had a talk about wiggling teeth (so it doesn't scare him) and the Tooth Fairy. Is my baby really old enough to lose teeth already?! (age 6 is average)

Weekend Trips

Catching up from our busy weekends!
A few weekends ago we went to my friend's son's 4th birthday. The superhero theme was a big hit, especially with my boys. Everyone got to make a personalized cape.

The birthday boy didn't like his birthday song. So cute!!

The cupcakes were really yummy!

Then we went to Tilden Park as a family. We went on the merry-go-round and rode the train. It was fun to relive memories with my own kids.

Walk a mile in my shoes, eh?

Oh, yeah, we have trains and this huge playroom floor!

Happy end of summer: ice cream sandwiches (on his face) and watermelon. yum!

Choice Words

Gabriel to Ephraim: Let’s play hide and seek.

Ephraim: Oh-tay.

Gabriel: You count. (thinks) Count to one.

Ephraim: One.

Gabriel: (tries to hide but sighs) Count to two.

Ephraim: Two.

Gabriel gives up and runs to hide around the corner.

Ephraim: “One, two, free, ready not, here tum! … Hmmm, where he be?”

Gabriel and Ephraim spent the weekend with their dad while I went away to the Girl Scout Alumnae relaxation weekend. Here is the story I heard.

Ephraim brought a set of dogtags over to me and asked, "This say, dad?" I told him it said "Sega dot com" (they were from the Dreamcast release party). He got a horrified look on his face and said "Sega dot konk? Mom say konk bad word!" and then he walked away hanging his head in disappointment. As background, the kids don't KNOW bad words. So they had made up a few that they say at each other with such vitriol that they SOUND like bad words. We tell them to "say nice things please" when they do that, but apparently at some point we implied that they were actual bad words. And later that day, Ephraim justified his use of "konk konk" because I "used" the word earlier. "Da, you say konk konk," he says, holding up the dogtags.

Sleeping Beauties

I have been appreciating the special one-on-one time I get with Ephraim in the morning while Gabriel is away at Kindergarten. Such a darling!

While he is not a morning person, Gabriel has been enjoying school a lot. He has a "best friend" named Garion now, so I know that makes a big difference for him.
"Come on, Gabriel, time to wake up for school!"

I often get company in my bed by morning. It is hard to wake them up when they look so sweet, especially next to each other.

 

First Day of Kindergarten

Gabriel woke up unusually happy on his first day of Kindergarten. He got ready early so we had time to step outside in our front yard for some first day of school pictures.

I found this on the camera too. I let Gabriel use the camera back when I was packing at the apartment. Most of the pictures were blurry (of his underwear, his toys, his messy bed, and action shots of me), but this one of Ephraim is great!

New House!!

We survived the move! We had a couple of great friends helping us on both sides, not to mention the wonderful help from my parents. We made it to the new house. I love all the space, especially now that most of the boxes are unpacked. There are plenty to go, but enough room to breath.

I love this picture of Ephraim in the sunlight the morning after our move. Our front room faces east and is so bright and cheerful.

The kids needed a few nights to adjust to the new place. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep. You can tell why I woke up early that morning, right?

There was a dead tree in the backyard. Grandpa and Uncle Mike ripped it down with their bare hands and Gabriel happily made a "treehouse" with the branches. Here he is guarding it.

We bought some essentials for the house, including stickers for each boy's room. Gabriel naturally got Star Wars stickers (to go with his posters and alarm clock). He inherited a large dresser, which works perfectly as a Lego table too. Ephraim picked out train stickers and got a large farm-theme rug.

First day of church in the new ward. So grown up, my little men!

Did I mention a perk of our new house?! It is surrounded on three sides by overgrown blackberry bushes. Yes, it is even blackberry season! Yum! Come over and pick 'em for yourself before Grandpa helps us cut them back.

 Grandpa is helping us set up a garden too. Ephraim and Gabriel like helping.

 Gabriel climbs the tree in the backyard.