12 months!

ONE YEAR OLD TODAY!! Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

We are so thankful that God gave Ephram to us and handpicked him for our family. Today we celebrate the day he was born and rejoice that his birth mom chose life in a very difficult circumstance...for that we are beyond thankful.

Four months have just flown by as I'm sure the summer will as well. Ephram was sick a few times this month with teething issues and just lots of colds. Whenever he's sick he becomes a different baby and my happy boy disappears until he feels better (understandably). On the flip side, when he's sick he turns into a super snuggle boy which I just LOVE! He'll curl into our chests and suck his thumb...priceless. (Note to self: take a picture of that)

Sleeping:
Nothing has changed. He's a champion sleeper at night and during the day. When he misses a nap he sleeps super long for his next one.

Communication:
5/13 Ephram can say: hi, no (he says this most often other than mama and dada), bye, mama, dada, more, and dog (braden says that he's heard him say braden when he's in his crib but we haven't heard it:) He can wave, blow a kiss, give high five, and sign more, all done, and please. He amazes us more everyday. He had little interest in books this month and won't sit in our laps long enough to get through one. I'm hoping this will change:).

ephram's front teeth popped out!

i was doing laundry and heard ephram laughing
HYSTERICALLY. i turned the corner to find kinsey
playing chase with him:) LOVE these moments!

notice his head...the mosquito's love him as
much as they love b and k.

still loving the jumpy! (after a week of being
out of it)

my sweet boy...SO thankful for him!

Eating:
We have worked on the cup but he still will not pick it up himself and hold it. If we do 'hand over hand' he'll hold onto it until he's done with his sip and then drop it. At this point he is down to just drinking milk at meals from a cup. (Tonight will be the first night without an evening bottle.) I also taught him how to drink from a straw so sometimes I'll use that instead of his cup. He continues to be SUPER picky about his milk and only wants it warm.

He was going through a phase where we'd feed him something and he would take it back out of his mouth and hand it to us but stopped when we started saying, "no". He LOVES carbs, doesn't like meat, likes some veggies, and all fruits. His favorite fruit is the banana. He dances when he sees one:).

i taught ephram how to drink out of a straw (thanks to tips
from his bff, carter:)

i love this picture...he does this whenever he's SUPER tired
or has missed a nap. this was after our long day at Lazy 5 Ranch
and the Train Museum.

we've started doing some fun 'school' things like beading
and pegs

this boy LOVES his daddy!

getting tickled

getting tickled some more

ephram LOVES to stand and look out the front
door

playing


ephram LOVES crackers, biscuits, and any
kind of bread. he's my little carb boy (just
like his biggest sister was/is!) he also LOVES
kix cereal and flaps his arms and dances when he sees it.

Physical: the biggest thing he started doing this month was climbing up the stairs (and over things) and standing for a couple seconds on his own. He isn't really cruising or able to push a walking toy but if he lets go of something he'll stand on his own before sitting.

a few weeks ago we were at a friend's house
and noticed that ephram learned how to climb up the stairs!

he still LOVES doing yoga!


the climbing has begun