Lots has happened of course, but I'll just give the highlights. First of all, Nathan passed all of his classes from last quarter!! As usual, he didn't think he would pass, but he never ceases to amaze. Math was his big worry but all was well. The exciting thing is that now, for the first time, his math classes will count for college credit. He finally finished doing all of the preliminary classes and this will be his first and last college math class. Nathan will only have had one math class free quarter. I'm proud of him for sticking with it to the end. Actually, maybe it won't be his last math class. Just yesterday, Nathan started to talk about maybe not getting an art degree. He's wondering more about exploring a degree that has more to do with building things, like houses. He's not sure yet. He's thinking about talking to a counselor and taking one of those tests that helps you determine what kind of jobs you might enjoy.
Another thing we're really into right now is Dave Ramsey. For my birthday, I got a little birthday money so I decided to take Financial Peace University with Nathan. It's been the best thing ever. For the first time, Nathan and I actually have a budget system and we're practicing the habit of trying to put a name on every dollar and taking the class together helps us be on the same page when we talk finances. We love it.
Benny has been blowing me away with his talking. He's starting to use sentences!! and he loves to repeat me and learn new words. One day, I was eating something and he points to what I was eating and says, "I want that too". And when he's thirsty he says, "I want a drink". And he can point at a lot of objects and say their names. He's just taking off and it's so fun to see him learning. Ephraim is also progressing a lot. He can sit up really well and roll to his hearts delight. He's also pushing himself up on his arms and scooting backwards sometimes which is preliminary steps toward crawling. I think Benny started crawling at 9 months so I'm predicting that Ephraim will be crawling in just two more months. Wow, that's not long at all. It's funny how opposite both of them are. It seems like if Benny likes something then Ephraim won't and vice versa. For instance, Benny loves taking his fluoride and hates it when I dump water on his head to get the shampoo out during bath time. Ephraim on the other hand, hates taking his fluoride and could care less if I pour water over his head. Benny is Skinny and Ephraim is thick and burly. Benny came out with black hair and a lot of it and it just kept growing. Ephraim came out with the tiniest hint of light blondish hair and lost what little he had and is still trying to grow it back. Benny is blue eyed, Ephraim is brown eyed. The list goes on, they are just opposite is soooo many ways, it still surprises me. One thing that they do share in common is that they seem to like each other. Benny loves to make Ephraim laugh and Ephraim loves giggling at Benny's little antics. They make a good pair.















Benny's 2nd birthday!! We decided to have a breakfast dinner because he loves breakfast foods and it was a hit. He has now entered the "curious twos".















Now that's a proud star fleet officer. Nathan strutting a Christmas gift
















brothers snuggling on the couch together
















Oma and Ephraim getting their beauty sleep
















I love that smile!
















I thought this picture was funny because as soon as Benny saw the camera, he covered his face. Silly little squirt!














































I looked up one day and Benny was doing this balancing act and so proud of it































We don't have fancy computer programs so this is the poor mans way of projecting what Ephraim will look like 20 years from now.
















If Ephraim could grow hair, or if he was a girl this might be what he would look like