Ephram at Two Months

The last month has absolutely flown by. If we ever decide to have a Te3, I am going to do my best not to be on maternity leave during the holidays. It just makes it go way too fast. I actually started back to work yesterday. I went in late today so that I could take Ephram to his two month appointment which was actually a week late. Our same nanny we have had since Wills was born is still with us and will be caring for both boys the days that I work. I am still working 4 days a week.

Ephram is still sleeping in our room and he is still a really loud sleeper. He hasn't quite mastered sleeping through the night yet, so I am not willing to move him. He does consistently give longer stretches and has slept through the night a few times this month. We are planning to sleep train him like we did Wills, but we thought we should wait until after his surgery. From what I have heard, he will be all out of sorts for a week or so and this will save us from having to do it twice.

He is eating about 5 times a day and is averaging 5 oz a feeding. I am so glad he quit snacking. This is allowing us longer stretches between feedings. Nice to not feel like that is all we do!

This month Ephram started smiling. It is the sweetest thing. He also started laughing. The best I can describe it is to say that he sounds like Chewbacca from Star Wars. Truly adorable!. He is fascinated by Wills. The only way he will happily stay in his bouncy seat is if he has a clear view of what Wills is up too.

Two Month Stats:
Weight: 13 lbs 10 oz, 68%
Length: 24 1/2 in, 92%
Clothing Size: 3 months and 3-6 months
Nicknames: Buddy, Brother
Must haves: We are still using the baby carrier a ton. Kicky pants footed pajamas are our favorite thing to wear. We don't go any where without a wub a nub. He has two, a frog and an elephant. 

 Brothers side by side:

Wills' attitude towards Ephram continues to improve. If Ephram is crying in the car, Wills will look over and say "It's OK brother". So sweet! He is still pretty clingy towards me and if anyone else is around and Ephram is crying, he will grab my arm to keep me in place and tell the other person to "get brother". It's actually pretty funny.

Christmas 2013

We went to the 7:30 Christmas Eve mass. Nursery was available, so we took advantage of it. Mass lasts close to two hours on Christmas Eve, so we didn't want to put ourselves or Wills through that.

Wills bumped his head, and there was no coming back from that for a decent photo.

Christmas morning we got up a little later than usual due to the late night before. We went right to breakfast because Wills still didn't really get the Santa thing. After breakfast we showed him his new train table from Santa and that was it. Charles and I ended up opening the rest of his presents because he couldn't be bothered! Ephram slept through it, so we opened his presents as well. 

Wills asked for more "eyes"

We then packed up and headed to Arkansas for a few days. It was a great Christmas!

What's in a name?

We get asked a lot about Ephram's name, so I thought I would tell where I first heard it and why we chose to name him what we did.

His full name is Ephram Theodore.

I first heard the name Ephram back in graduate school on a show called Everwood. Ephram was the name of one of the main characters. I loved the name because it was unusual, but not too weird. Fast forward a decade and we are expecting our second son. Like with Wills, we chose not to discuss naming the baby until we knew the sex. As you all know, the same day we found out we were having a boy was also the day we found out about the cleft lip/palate. Ephram had always been a name I was interested in, so I decided to look up the meaning. Ephram is the second son of Joseph and he is first mentioned in the old testament, the book of Genesis 41:52. Joseph chose the name Ephram "for God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortune".  This seemed apt, because while we were scared about what could be wrong with our baby, we were also very aware of the blessing this baby was.

Theodore was my maternal grandfather's name. My Grandpa McKown was one of the most important men in my life. He had a strong faith and a strong work ethic. When I finished graduate school and moved back to Arkansas to work, I couldn't start right away due to some licensure issues. This turned out to be a huge blessing, because those weeks spent waiting to start work were also spent driving my Grandpa to the senior center or to buy groceries or just hanging out watching Wheel of Fortune and baseball games. My Grandpa passed away at the age of 95, just one week before I started my first job.

This picture from Ephram's newborn sessions is extra special. He is laying on my Grandpa's bible and it is open to Genesis 41:52.

Comparison Photo

After we found out Ephram had a cleft lip, I did a ton of research. Doing that research, I saw a lot of pictures, both ultrasound and after delivery. Rarely did I ever see the two side by side. I think this would have been really helpful. Looking at Ephram's ultrasounds from 35 weeks, there were two pictures. One makes the cleft look pretty wide, and the other is pretty accurate to what it actually ended up being. Here are the comparison photos. 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Party

Charles and I have thrown an annual Dirty Santa party for the last 3 years. This year, we just couldn't quite figure out how to swing an adults only party at our house with two kids. We are going to try harder next year!

We did still have a Christmas party though. We go to dinner with a group of friends and their children every Wednesday, so we had a potluck and book exchange for the kids. As usual, there was way too much food!

The spread.

 

The book exchange.

  

This photo cracks me up. This is 3 physicians and a physician's assistant trying to figure out how to get the tray off the high chair. They got it off by essentially ripping it out. Surely there is an easier way!

Saturday with Santa

Every Saturday since Thanksgiving, Devon Energy has set up Santa's workshop for kids to come do crafts, listen to music, ride a mini train, and of course, meet Santa Clause. We attempted a Santa picture with Wills the weekend after Thanksgiving and it was a bust. We had heard great things about this event, so we decided to give it another shot.

We checked in when we got there and were put on the wait list to see Santa. We would be sent a text message when it was our turn. We headed over to Santa's workshop to wait. While there, we made a train, a reindeer, a Grinch and a Santa beard. We also did a little dancing with Spaghetti Eddie, climbed around in the sleigh and on the train. Unfortunately the train wasn't running today due to the icy weather. We had been there about an hour and we got the text that it was our turn. By this point, Wills was kind of at the end of his patience, so we had extremely low expectations. We decided to do Ephram first just in case Wills had a melt down, then at least Ephram would have a decent Santa picture. Thankfully Wills cooperated and we got a photo of both boys with Santa. Just like all previous Santa photos, no smile, but no tears either!

We are 38th in line for Santa.

Making Santa's beard.

Playing with our reindeer. 

Ephram needed a snack.

Snow Day

First snow day of the year. I knew those ski bibs I bought for Wills at the end of the season last year would come in handy!

Christmas Train

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Grammy kept Ephram so Wills, Charles and I could go on the Christmas train. We went with cousin Ethan and our friend Bryson. If the train had not been an hour late arriving, I think the experience would have been a lot better. It was tough keeping him occupied while we waited. The look on his face when the train pulled in made it totally worth it though!

 

Unsuccessful Santa photo. He wouldn't let me put him down.

Bribed with a fruit snack.

Trying to photograph the 3 boys together. 

 

It's finally here!

He tried to climb through the fence to get to it! 

Being bribed with cheetos to wait patiently.

Holding on to all of our tickets. 

Excited to be on the train!

Worn out from all the waiting.

Enjoying a candy cane on the ride back.