17 months...

being silly with daddy!

Ephram was 17 months old yesterday yet somehow I was thrown off and thought today was the 3rd so my post is a day late:).

Communication:
He's reached the point where he says so many new words that I can no longer remember them all by the end of the day when I write everything down. He puts two and three words together constantly and imitates EVERYTHING. He doesn't like to 'show off' what he knows on demand but we've figured out that he'll do it if the other kids do it first. SO...if I want him to tell Nonny his new phrases I'll say, Cailey...what does a cow say? and she'll say "cow mooo"...which is IMMEDIATELY imitated by ephram. (He can totally do it on his own and does all day...just not when we want him to share it:) The funniest thing he's learned are 'knock knock' jokes. The kids are CONSTANTLY doing 'knock knock' jokes in the car and he's picked up on them and is always saying, "knock knock."

I was keeping track of his new words until a week ago so here's the list I have for this month until that point: "carker" (for carter) "here ya go mama" "i will" "knock knock" "mama here?" "slide" "whee" "wipey" "diaper" "bottom" "turtle" "open" "down" "your welcome" "i don't know" "poop" "juice" "moon" "nose" "bounce" "eyes" "ears" "shirt" "hat" "wagon" "ride" "chalk" "hot" "cold" "popcorn" "kinsey" "cailey" "elmo"....which we found out a couple weeks later was "animal" and "spoon". We made a list of all his words/phrases/animal sounds and he can say a little over 100.

Ephram usually says please and thank you unprompted but in the few times we have to prompt him he will sign it instead of saying it. He still signs more and all done occasionally but mainly uses verbal language now.

Physical:
Ephram LOVES to climb and go down slides by himself, loves to be pushed on the swings and loves to be chased. He's started running too which is super cute because he'll laugh SO loud as he's being chased.

Sleep:
Ephram just went down to one nap a couple of days ago. He was having trouble falling asleep in the afternoon so we dropped the morning nap and he's been doing great with it. We moved up his nap to start at 1:30 instead of 2:00. The only sleep problem we're having is that he will NOT go to sleep unless Braden (or sometimes someone else) is in his room with him. It was never a problem before but lately Braden's been out for scouts, parties, Halloween, etc. and ephram just cries and cries because he wants someone in his room with him. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that he loves his brother and wants to be with him but I never thought going to sleep without him would be a problem:).

i just love these footie jammies and it's finally cold enough for him to wear them.
i can remember braden wearing both of these and just loved them on him...i can't believe
ephram is big enough to fit in them already!

Ephram will actually BRING books to us to read...but will become uninterested in 30 sec:). It's a step though and I'll keep trying to get him to sit and listen to books because he has SO much language and points to everything on the book and labels it. He also turns the pages, says animal sounds, and even a couple colors or imitates verbs (ex. crying, laughing, etc.) in the stories. "Row Row Row" is his favorite song but "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Wheels on the Bus" come in close second.

he LOVES his siblings...and socks and shoes...and bananas:)

Eating:
There's a picky eater in every family, right?? Sweet Ephram isn't crazy about veggies but will eat (or at least try) a teeny tiny bit of what's put in front of him. If he doesn't like it he just won't eat it. I don't make different meals for him but will sometimes give him banana or applesauce if I don't think he's had enough dinner. I also still puree veggies into his yogurt or applesauce if he hasn't had enough. He can feed himself the big stuff but we still spoon feed him yogurt, etc.

he LOVES popcorn as a snack and will ask for it
after his nap

Ephram is well behaved (so far:) and very helpful around the house. He loves to bring me trash and clean up with the other kiddos. He's discovered markers and got into a bit of trouble after coloring on the wall and himself but other than that he spends most of his time playing with toys and with his siblings.

i can definitely say that ephram is the only one of my babies who has played the guitar
or listened to the IPOD before:) funny how having older siblings means different
toys to play with...he wants to do the same things they do so it means he plays with trains,
LEGOS, etc. at a much younger age.

Ephram's FAVORITE thing to do is be outside. He is happiest when he's either in the front yard pushing around toys and riding on things or when he's in the backyard playing and exploring. In the evening after his nap we send him out with a snack (and a couple big kids) and he's content to play for a long time. The 'big kids' love pushing him in the wagon, playing with him on the see saw, chasing him, and pushing him in the cars.