Christmas 2010 (Part I)

Christmas 2010 was quite memorable for a couple of reasons. For one, this is the first Christmas that I think Elijah had some grasp of its meaning and celebration. We spent the Advent season learning about different truths about Jesus: "He is the light of the world,""He is the way to God," "He is Immanuel--God with Us," "He came to save us," etc. We made words that reflected these truths to go with the tune to "This Little Light of Mine" and we learned to sing it every morning during our Bible reading time. We also got to present gifts to Jesus, His own Christmas tree at the Christmas Eve service and our songs in celebration of Jesus' birthday.

On Christmas morning, we opened gifts with Papa (grandpa) and Grandma. Ah-pa spent a short time explaining why we exchange gifts with one another to Elijah. God gave Jesus as a gift to us because He loves us. In the same spirit, we give gifts to one another as a reflection of God's heart and our love for each other. And then, it was time to open up the gifts! Elijah loved opening up his gifts--Lego sets, a tea and kitchen set, and books.

Later that day, Uncle Jin, Auntie Grace, cousins Christian and Evan, Uncle Daniel, and Auntie Grace came up to celebrate Christmas with us. We had a yummy meal, the guys spent some time watching the Lakers game, and we sang Christmas songs together. We also spent some time skyping with hal-ah-buji, hal-muh-ni, and the Lech family who were not able to join us for the celebration. We were thankful and glad that we got to celebrate Christmas with family in 2010!

Disneyland! (December 14, 2010)

How would Elijah respond to Disneyland? Would the life size Disney characters scare him? Will he like the rides? We have heard mixed reviews of Disneyland for toddlers from various parents and we were not sure what our experience would be like. Our hunch was that he would really like it and we learned that we were right. He LOVED Disneyland! He still talks about it.

His favorite rides were Winnie the Pooh and Dumbo. We rode both of them a couple of times. He also enjoyed the Lady Bug ride at California Adventure. Thanks to mommy being on wheel chair (due to my twin pregnancy), we didn't have to wait in long lines, which was a nice bonus. He also got to meet Disney characters: Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Pluto. We didn't get to meet Mini Mouse this time around, but we got to see her in the parade.

We got there around 9:30am and stayed until 8:30pm. I was pooped out by 6pm and was ready to go home, but Elijah wanted to stay and ride more rides! We had a blast and we hope in a few years we can do it again with the twin girls too! Special thanks goes to our friend Mark and his aunt who made our trip to Disneyland possible!

First Hair Cut (12/11/10)

It took almost two years for Elijah's hair to grow thick and long enough to get his first hair cut! Guess who the barber was? The one and only guy who gives Elijah a $75 shampoo treatment each time he takes a bath--Ah-pa!! Who knows whether the shampoo treatment that daddy gives is really worth $75, but Elijah always does come out of the bath with shiny hair. :)

We looked into possibly giving Elijah a professional haircut for his first one. But we decided we didn't want to spend $20, so ah-pa got his clippers and scissors out. I thought it was not too shabby for first try at cutting a toddler's hair. While ah-pa cut Elijah's hair, I entertained him by reading books. I say it was a SUCCESS!

TWO Baby Sisters!!

I sometimes wonder how much Elijah comprehends what is going on. He definitely knows that my tummy is getting bigger. Since our Monday doctor appointment, he has been much more interested in touching my tummy because he saw the ultrasound pictures. Every night, we are praying for the two babies and for the doctors.

Yesterday during his bath, we asked him a few questions.

P: Elijah, what is in mommy's tummy?
E: Babies
P: How many babies are in there?
E: Two!
P: Are they boys or girls?
E: Girls!
(And of course, I want to know whether he has any comprehension of what a boy or a girl is...So I ask)

Me: Elijah, are you a boy or a girl?
E: (Thinks a bit) a Boy!
Me: Wow! You're going to be a big brother to little baby sisters?
E: YES!

Elijah, you're going to be an AWESOME big brother to your baby sisters! They're so lucky to have you as their brother and you are so lucky to have them as your sisters..... Jesus has been good to us. I can't wait to see you grow up together.

23 Months Old

Eenie meenie miney moe

I had taught Elijah "Eenie meenie miney moe" a while ago as we were choosing something. Since then, he memorized it and loves repeating it. Of course, his older cousins Jeshua and Seth were eager to share their versions of "eenie meenie miney moe" and repeated them to Elijah. He thought his cousins were so funny! Here's a video of Seth saying his version and Elijah and Mila having a great laugh! So cute.

"Eenie meenie miney moe, catch a tiger by the toe. If he hollers let him go, eenie meenie miney moe."

Seth's version: "Eenie meenie miney moe, catch a tiger by the toe. If he hollers, I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear."

Thanksgiving 2010

We spent our Thanksgiving with my side (Lee's) of the family up in northern California. We got to see snow, which was a treat for Elijah and for mom and dad. All the uncles and aunts came up, along with the cousins so it was a full house but a lot of fun! I'm so glad that Elijah has lots of cousins to play with. He really enjoys being with them. He got to taste his first turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and really liked eating pumpkin pie!

We also went to a Christmas tree farm the day after Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun see and enjoy the many different types of trees available. On our way back to Los Angeles, we stopped in Santa Rosa to see Uncle Tim, Aunt Martha, cousins Cordell and Spencer from the Graf side of the family. Elijah loved Uncle Tim's boat!

International Traveler

Elijah has become quite the international traveler. We are so grateful that he travels so well. Our trip back to the States from India was pretty uneventful. I think with a toddler, I prefer to have multiple stops so that he can walk around and move about rather than be stuck in a plane for a long time. We had a layover in Bangkok, then a stop in Malaysia, and then another transfer in Taiwan. Thankfully, he slept most of the time during our longest flight (12 hours) from Taiwan to Los Angeles. Here is a video of Elijah at the airport.