15 months

I can't believe how quickly the last three months have gone by! Seems like my sweet baby just turned one. I had a feeling this would happen because of summer (which always seems to fly by) but still can't fathom that Ephram is already 15 months old today. I just looked back at the 14 month post and realized I wrote the exact same thing...that time is just flying by!

He went to the doctor yesterday for a weight check and weighed 18 lbs 14 1/2 oz...SO he gained 14 oz in two months. Not as much as they were hoping for (since he had lost weight) BUT better than losing! They had a Korean growth chart there and he was in the 10th % for height and 10th for weight...on the Korean chart. He also got his MMR yesterday.

Physical: Ephram has started taking steps over the last couple weeks and now does about 4-5 without falling. He can stand up (with nothing to pull up on) too. When he learned how to stand up he was SO proud of himself (as was the whole family...we were cheering and clapping for him) and he would give the biggest grin and clap his hands. The big kids get JUST as excited as we do about it and are constantly getting him to stand up or walk holding their hands. I am convinced that they (especially Cailey) have a lot to do with his progress! He crawls SUPER fast so that's still his preferred method of transportation. He can go backwards on his 'riding' toy and walk behind it while pushing it. Ephram fell down our stairs a couple weeks ago (the same day he learned to stand) and hasn't really attempted going down them again since then. Before that he'd go up and down them over and over again. He still loves to climb on any and every thing! Oh..and he's holding his cup more consistently now too. There are still times when the kids hold it for him (goat style) or we'll help him out but he has definitely figured out how to do it.

(he can ride on this too and the kiddos LOVE taking
turns pushing him on it)


SO proud of himself!


my silly climber...and he's clapping too

Communication: Ephram signs all the time now and adds things daily, though he talks way more. The ones he uses the most are please, more, thank you, all done, cheese, cracker, eat, cup, pray, and mommy.

He seems to be adding words to his vocabulary daily and talks WAY more than any of my others did at his age! He says: bible (which means puzzle), WOAH, OW (and will softly bang his head while saying it), ham, ball, gogurt (yogurt), cheese, cracker, E (the letter), bray bray (for braden), OH, yucky, ewww, oooo (he does this when he sees something neat and it's so funny to hear him say, oooo), amen, eat, go, baby, boat, wawa (for water), doggie, pup (cup), no, mommy, da-ee (daddy), num nums (food), nigh nigh (night night), aww (which he says whenever he hugs someone or something), me, up, uh oh, and woah woah woah (for row, row, row). He may say more but that's all I can remember! I'm amazed! He also touches his chest with both hands and says, "me" when I say, "who does mama love?".

giving a high five

Ephram has learned how to clean up his toys, take lids off things, puts things in containers and takes them out, puts things in bags and takes them out, LOVE doing opposites (like awake/asleep, stand up/sit down, hands up/down, apart/together, over/under, etc.). I took out crayons for him to color with and he did it for a little while but then wanted to eat them:). He LOVES doing puzzles and sits with them for a long time. He does NOT like to be read to (which is driving me bonkers) by anyone. He doesn't want to sit long enough for the page to be turned.

(first time coloring)

Ephram still LOVES to cuddle and hug all the time. He gives the BEST hugs and wraps his arm around our necks and lays his head down..melts my heart! He has been pretty compassionate lately too and when someone cries he'll crawl to them and lay his head on their chest and hug them...and say, "aww" (He does this with Cailey most often). He now initiates hugs and will hold his arms out to Braden and squeeze him tightly...SO sweet!

School: (not for Ephram:) He's doing much better when I'm teaching and will now just crawl around the floor in either his, the girls, or the homeschool room. He likes to take things out of the cabinet in the hs room (which has led to teaching him to clean up:) and checks it all out. He really doesn't like playing in his room by himself but I need to start doing that as his am nap is dropped. This week he has shown signs of needing only one nap a day so I'm guessing that next week we'll move to one nap. School will be a bit harder then but we'll adjust!

he LOVES to play with pegs, cubes,
and all the little manipulatives we have that have
holes in them so he can put it on his finger. he's loved
doing this for a few months now.

Eating: Ephram eats a GREAT breakfast (usually a huge bowl of oatmeal with bananas and milk) and lunch (usually yogurt, 1/2 pb sandwich, cheese, fruit, ham, etc.) but becomes picky at dinner. He did MUCH better this month and honestly we didn't have problems until the last couple of days. He loves his milk but doesn't like to drink all day until the afternoon when he'll down 3 cups of it at once..then move on to water. Ephram isn't crazy about meat or most veggies. He does like green beans and broccoli and will usually try something once (unless it's green:). He loves all fruits but continues to just be a 'normal' eater and will eat like a bird and stop when he's done.

i just had to put these in because he was SO smiley this particular day at lunch time...LOVE his smile!


the kiddos love taking turns 'feeding'
him at lunchtime while i make their lunches
(ephram eats a little earlier than they do)


we still love snuggling him
when he's drinking his milk sometimes:)

we gave him a yogurt drink when he didn't want his milk and he was just so
cute with it. he drank most of it down but did NOT want us to help him get the
rest out. it wasn't a pretty picture when we had to take it out of his hands
in order to help him...but he LOVED it.

Sleeping: This past month he took am naps when we were home but did fine without them. I put him down around 1:30 on the days he didn't take one and he usually slept until 4-4:30. He still sleeps great at night and wakes up early to talk/play with braden.

Ephram has always been pretty much easy going (unless a certain Asian girl with pigtails tries to 'mother' him too much...but she ADORES him:). Lately he's getting a 'voice' and tends to SCREAM when things aren't going to his liking. He responds well to, "no screaming" and settles down but boy he can get frustrated sometimes! It's so neat watching his little personality come out!

ephram is a great traveler in the car and
rarely cries. he doesn't sleep very long but still
seems to be our happy boy!

We went to the beach and loved watching Ephram experience the ocean for the first time. He LOVED it and would crawl towards the water only to be knocked down (sometimes flipped over) and would just do it again! We just kept putting him back at the edge so he could start over again. I've never seen a baby love the ocean as much as he did..and he didn't care about being knocked down, having sand on him (or in his eyes), having his eyes burn from the saltwater...he loved the ocean!

the first time...starting to crawl in!