Sorry to leave you hanging over here for so long.

I’ve decided to combine my personal blog with my photography blog, so if you’ve been searching for updates on Ephram, Beau and I, head on over! — Donya Luana Photography

Sometime soon, all the old blog posts here will be merged onto the main blog as well. See ya over there!

Once we told Ephram our Sunday plans of going to see birds and fish and monkeys, it was all he would talk about.  We took a very scenic ride there so we could explore a bit, so for the entire 2 hour drive he asked about the Monkeys.  Luckily, the Rainforest Pyramid didn’t disappoint.

Someone got pretty tired (and sweaty from the humidity) towards the end, and there may have been a tantrum thrown over wanting to push the stroller himself… so we sped through the end of the exhibit. But overall, he was a super good boy and very interested in the animals.

Christmas eve was spent with Beau’s family before I headed off to my last overnight shift at work.  You have no idea how happy I was that this would be my last holiday working.  I have an inkling I won’t even really miss the holiday pay much.

Of course the food was awesome as always.  Helping Mema.

Seeing the littlest boys of the family, up on the bar stools, watching the preparation of food, was just too cute.

After we ate, it was time to open presents.  Ephram loves his papa.

All the cousins, in their Christmas pajamas.  A new tradition?

I am fairly certain this was his favorite present of the night.  Unfortunately, he hasn’t played with it since this night because it’s been packed up for the move!  We’re crossing our fingers those terrible movers bring our stuff today or tomorrow. At this point, if I didn’t take a picture of it, I don’t even remember what he all got for Christmas!

Eskimo kisses with Auntie Amy.

Cousin Zach’s drill was another big hit.  I think we’ll be in search of a pretend tool kit for someone’s birthday coming up. ;)

Gosh, Texas is nice, but it would be a million times better if our families lived here.  Hint, hint… ;)

And for those of you who can’t translate 22 month old speak, the above mentioned books are ‘Hop on Pop’, a picture book featuring a train, and ‘The Foot Book’. The first and last being Dr. Suess’s creations.

Anyways, we are now officially in Texas and finally have internet, and I really wanted to post a Tuesday Odds & Ends today. But it’s just not happening. I’ve got a little guy running around the house asking for ‘Cheese?!’ because I slipped and let him know I was going to make mac and cheese for lunch. At least I’ve got lunch figured out. Dinner on the other hand… My brain simply cannot come up with a warm, healthy meal that I could cook with only a baking sheet, a large cooking pot, and plastic silverware. Oh, and tongs. I do have tongs. If you have any ideas for me, now is the time to speak up! :)

I’m also contemplating combining the blogs. For some reason, I’ve been disliking the disconnect for awhile. I want one place to post about Ephram, our life in Texas, my personal ramblings, my photography, things that inspire me, and whatnot. What are your thoughts?

Funny thing, now that I read through my post, I guess this is sort of an Odds & Ends post after all. In disguise! :)

Photos below: Our new deck plants.

It was so beautiful in Texas today that we just had to get out of the house. It was 75 degrees, partly cloudy, very windy which made the air smell tropical… So right after naptime we walked to the park. I am really loving having this park so close by. I have a feeling we will be having a few picnics there in the coming weeks.

Ephram has a clear favorite when it comes to the park activities; the swing.

After about 30 minutes of swinging – I’m not kidding – I convinced Ephram to explore the rest of the park.

Here’s him and me climbing up one of the curved ladders. Beau was taking pictures of Ephram while he was slightly preoccupied observing some older kids playing across the park. Always observing.

Then as you can see below, we smacked heads somehow and Beau captured the whole thing. That kid has one hard head. No lie.
(It may take awhile to load, but will continue to loop afterwards.)

Haha, I love his facial expressions! Mine on the other hand… well, they’re pretty funny too I guess. :)

Like I said yesterday, Ephram was sick the first week, and we have only a few toys in the apartment (the rest being in boxes on a moving truck in Chicago that may or may not ever get here…). Don’t worry Colonial Van Lines, I really enjoy sleeping on an air mattress, washing clothes every other day, and cutting our food with plastic utensils. Please, take your sweet time… So we tried to get out of the house as much as possible.

First, let me start with the apartment. I’ll try to take more pictures soon and give a mini-tour, but this photo captures my favorite part (tied with having the laundry room attached to our bathroom). The windows! They are low to the ground in every room so Ephram can see outside. Even pushes his cars around on them. And if you know me at all, you know I’m in heaven with the white trim. :)

After sending my mom back to Minnesota via plane on Tuesday, we took the hour trip down to Galveston to see the beach on Wednesday, even though Ephram’s cold was really kicking in. He slept most of the ride there and back, but woke up enough to take a short stroll on the beach once we got there.

But he was still pretty sick Wednesday evening, Thursday, and Friday. He wouldn’t even eat a hot dog! Definitely a sign of sickness with Ephram.
Do you like our living room furniture? Why would we want Colonial Van Lines to bring our furniture in a timely manner when we’ve got deck chairs? I mean, really…

And just when I thought he was feeling better, he laid down on the floor, one shoe on, blankie in hand, and fell asleep.

But we still tried to cheer him up with a trip to our nearby park. I think it worked, don’t you?

Don’t worry, he’s doing much better now. He successfully transferred his cold over to Beau and I, just in time for Beau to start work this past week.

Week 2 pictures coming up next!

But we’re here in Texas now, west of Houston in a small (but growing) suburb. We have yet to recieve our furniture and boxes thanks for a wonderful moving company. (And by wonderful, I mean horribly awful…) And we have only had one English channel over the air – ABC – until today. So it’s been an interesting adjustment to life in Texas, but at least it should only get better from here, right?

One thing I can’t say anything bad about yet is the weather. Ephram got sick the first week which meant we couldn’t go much of anywhere. This second week, Beau and I have been sick, so we still haven’t ventured out and met any new people (other than those Beau had met at work). But we’re getting by, doing puzzles, reading books, and even beginning potty training.

Without our furniture, our new apartment is rather empty (as you can see below). We have little to no cookware, two deck chairs make up our living room, we sleep on an air mattress, and we have only a few toys for Ephram (really that’s probably all he needs). Just yesterday he discovered two clothing hangers in his closet and made a ‘plane’ out of them. No coaxing from me, he honestly did it all by himself!

January: Ephram turned 10 months old and was already picking up some mad music skills. Ha! And somehow I got him to eat peas! I remember feeling fairly proud that day, but I think the very next time I offered him peas, he turned me down… Still very much working opposite shifts from Beau and dealing with a very cold Winter, Ephram and I had a lot of time on our own indoors, so I had to stay creative with my attempts to keep him happy. And he did too. And right before January came to an end, our poor little red car went to a better place.

February: I had an 11 month old on my hands and could barely believe it. Look at that bald head! He continued to be utterly adorable, but we left him for a few days on a trip to Florida – just Beau and I. (Thanks again Amy and Paul!) Meanwhile, Ephram got very close to walking.

March: Despite all my attempts to keep Ephram a little baby forever, he defied me and turned one. So I was forced to deal, and we threw a party. Though baby swim class is what really kept us busy this month. And a few redecorating and home improvement projects. And our first family storm chase of the season!

April: Ephram developed an obsession for cleaning, possibly due to the coming of Spring? And with Spring, came change; Beau got a new job within our company and Ephram started daycare. The snow started melting and we finally were able to venture outdoors with our newly mobile toddler. And despite all the change, my little guy continued to be a snuggler.

May: Our full-fledged toddler started mastering the art of using a fork, attempted to put on his own shoes, and became a huge fan of smoothies (even if they included peas!). All in addition to his mad swiffering skills. Every month has its sweet moments. But May was really defined by our backyard project: Part 1, part 2, part 3.

June: Summer arrived, which of course meant a couple trips up the cabin. And more time spent in the backyard, planting flowers and vegetables. And a bit of snuggling, wrestling, and brilliance for good measure.

July: What to do with a 16 month old in the middle of a hot summer? You learn to use a squirt bottle, travel up north to visit grandma on Fourth of July to play in the lake, and drive 10 hours west to escape record humidity. I apparently didn’t blog much in July, probably because we doing a lot of playing outside.

August: Following suit from July, we spent even more time outside once the humidity began to subside, and our garden began yielding an insane amount of veggies! We also enjoyed a picnic at the beach with many of our playdate friends.

September: Ephram’s uncle Blake got married, and our backyard became a jungle! Took lots of walks downtown and to the parks, and spent time lounging on the patio with friends. And even when it turned cold at the end of the month, a certain little fishboy decided he wouldn’t let summer go.

October: I swear this was the year of being outside, thanks to a busy toddler of ours. I love that. He noticed the season change when it finally came, showed off his stubborn (yet adorable), inquisitive, & helpful personality. And of course, we finished off the month with Ephram’s second Halloween. I’m not sure how we’ll top the puppy costume next year.

November: I feel like Ephram really grew in the last couple months of 2011. The first big one was his verbal skills (which are hugely better now than in November – but this was the beginnings). Then he said adios to the pacifier – though not willingly at first. The highlight for Ephram: seeing snow for the “first” time. But the highlight for me: watching Ephram and his cousins play at Thanksgiving.

December: The very end of 2011 was a blurry state of limbo for us. With the slim chance of moving to Texas in the back of our minds, we tried to not let the ‘what ifs’ play a strong role, but who can ignore something so huge? Seriously. So we continued to visit family, were blown away with Ephram’s words & interests (especially with the pretty christmas lights), and then finally found out the big news. I’m not sure the timing could have been more perfect, in that the holidays came just a few days after we found out, therefore allowing us to visit most of the family before our departure this coming week.

2011 was fantastic.

2012 will be even better, I know it.

Moving away from our family and friends will be incredibly hard, and I know the moment we leave our driveway and begin our trek down I-35, I won’t be able to hold back the tears. But it’s a great opportunity for us for a number of reasons. One big one for me: Staying home with Ephram every day – and no. more. overnight shifts.

In an attempt to catch up on the month of December and what Ephram’s been up to, here’s a few photos of Ephram decorating the Christmas Tree. He’s been quite obsessed with the ‘pree ights’ (pretty lights) all month and asks for ‘more, more!’ every time we drive by a lit up house around town. When arriving home each day, he insists on running into the yard and touching all of the Christmas lights we’ve had in the bushes and trees. Good thing it’s been an unbelievably warm and snow-less December.

Also, you’ll note the Halloween costume making an appearance. He asks to wear his puppy costume at least three times per week. I never expected to get so much use out of it, so I’ve gladly let him run around dressed as a puppy. I suppose it’s the equivalent to having a daughter who loves princess dresses?

In case you’re wondering, we decorated the tree like normal this year, but kept the bottom third of the tree more Ephram-proof by putting the felt ornaments here. Overall, he left the tree alone all month, but from time to time he’d take the felt ornaments off. I think I got these at Michael’s a few years ago. Perfect for toddler hands.

*posting may be sporadic as we attempt to quickly pack our life up and head south. but I promise to share as much as I can once we get settled in*

Ever since I moved out on my own I’ve been attempting to make it myself, and while it never really tastes quite the same, I think I got pretty close last night.

Ephram scarfed his down faster than I’ve ever seen him eat before. I think that means it was good. Or, he was just that hungry. I’ll go with both.