Eighteen Months

The summer sun beats on, and somehow we have found ourselves with an almost-four-year-old, and an eighteen-month-old! Last week, Ephraim Luke celebrated his half-birthday with a trip to the zoo. Every day, a little more of his sweet baby-ness fades away, but the little boy he is becoming is someone so very special. His twenty-five pound frame still holds chubby legs and squishy cheeks, and I hope those stick around for a few more months!

Ephraim is a quiet little introvert, and he doesn't say many words, but every time he sees Steve, it's "Da! Da! Da!" He can say "mama", "please", "cheese", "paci", "woof", "boom", "shoes", "num num", "amen", and "more"--all with little twists on the pronunciation :)

E is such a dog lover. When we were sitting at Culver's last week in Wisconsin, he spotted a fluffy, white puppy outside on the patio. He started waving, squealing, and woofing, while hitting the window to get the dog's attention. Since Ivy has been sick this week, E can't wait to go into the kitchen to see her. He immediately asks to give her a treat, carefully passes it into her mouth, and then asks for another one. He pets her soft fur so gently, and sometimes likes to lie down in front of her just to watch her.

Music is Ephraim's favorite. He doesn't want to watch TV unless there is singing. He is a big fan of Christian music videos, and he loves to dance and stomp his feet to the beat. He'll climb up to the piano about once a day to play a few keys :)

E can't get enough of pancakes, strawberries, spaghetti, oatmeal, pizza, applesauce, chips, yogurt, graham crackers, ice cream, cookies, ham, and cheese. He seems to always be looking for a snack. He has six shiny white teeth to chew with--two on top, two on bottom, and two top molars.

He loves to climb up on the dining room chairs, the couch, Nolan's tricycle, the window seat. Unfortunately, he has a lot of spills because he's still pretty little. He doesn't like being told no, and he throws quite a few fits because of it. He sticks out his bottom lip and bursts into tears when being scolded, which gets him out of too much punishment :)

A few other things I don't want to forget:
Ephraim runs away fast, but he doesn't want to be alone. He comes back and grabs our shorts or pants to pull us to go with him.
He gets really excited about putting on shoes, especially his little blue and green flip-flops.
He knocks over towers, steals cars and trains, and tears apart all Duplo creations, which leads to some trouble with big brother. 

After many months of telling him not to, he still deviously plays in the dog's water.
He sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night, but he can finally settle down on his own if I help him find his paci. I no longer have to bring him back into our bed.
One long nap is all he needs in the afternoon. He is a really good sleeper, and I think he would sleep in until 9 every morning if his brother wasn't so noisy.

Little Bear, we are all so crazy about you. We can't wait to see how much you'll grow in the next six months!