Elijah's First Words....Maybe??

I am lagging behind in my blogging. I have lots of entries floating around in my head but, unfortunately, finding the time to blog is getting more difficult. So, here are a few "happenings."

Elijah is a talker. He babbles nonstop, and I am not kidding. I love listening to him. I have been surprised at how hard he tries to communicate with words. Beside um-ma (Korean), mama, ah-pa (for daddy in Korean), I thought I heard "gae" (dog in Korean) yesterday as he pointed to a dog. I think he also says "i-guh" (this) a lot too as he points to the objects that he wants. He has a lot to say and so far, he seems to have no problem trying to let us know what he is thinking. I can't wait until I can understand him more. I also want to spend a little more time learning sign language....just need to find the time because he often surprises me with different signs he knows....like, sleep. One night, he was especially tired and at the dinner table he signed "sleep" to let me know that he wanted to go to bed. He fell asleep so fast!

Language development is a lot of fun to watch. Recently, we have come to realize that he now knows objects (i.e. shoes, stuff animals, etc) and people by name. If I ask him "Where is so and so?" among a few people, he looks in the direction of or points to the person or the object. He understands simple words like "give, walk, no, where." (Most of these, he understands them in at least two languages, I think.)

These days he plays phone with us and pretends to be talking on the cell phone. Also when the music is playing on the mp3 player, he holds it to his ear and swings back and forth to the beat. When we sing he claps, and he knows how to give a high five. I'm thinking for Christmas, if I can find a toy cell phone or a laptop, I might get it for him.

Mr. Elijah Graf is also exerting his will more and more and Paul and I agree as his parents that he is quite stubborn. Usually, he is easily distractable. However, if he has made up his mind about something, he will not relent until he gets his way. And, he is only 10 months old! He throws little tantrums here and there if he is unhappy about something. But, for the most part, he is easy going and loves to play! I am having SO much fun!!