Our little drummer

Yo, yo, Elijah, you've got some rhythm. You sure knew how to beat that drum to whatever beat was playing in your little head. Mommy and daddy were quite surprised to see how comfortable you seemed playing it even though it was your first time being exposed to one. Maybe you can play the drum at our next youth-meet during worship? ;)

A Cute Picture with King Babar

I love this photo of Elijah and King Babar. Babar is his favorite day-time stuffed animal. Each morning he goes straight to his room and gets Babar out from the drawer that he is in. He looks for him from time to time throughout the day and he loves to give kisses on the nose, as well as bite it. It is very sweet to see.

Planting Avocado Trees

On Thursday, daddy and Elijah went out to the new conference center that the denomination of our local church is currently in the process of building. It was a work day--a day to plants flowers and plants. We told our friend about how we have small pots of avocados trees growing and asked if it would be alright to plant them. So, we now have two avocado trees planted and growing at the new conference center! Maybe in seven years, we can actually enjoy the avocados!! ;)
Here are some fun photos of Elijah working and supervising the work going on there.

Our Little Indian Toddler

He likes chiya, puri, dhaal-bhaat, raw onions, and is "learning" how to play cricket. It is weird to think that he will grow up learning to play cricket rather than baseball. Paul is starting to learn more about it and has begun following the 20-20 World Championship. He says it is actually quite interesting. I have yet to discover the "fun" in watching cricket -- just like I have yet to understand the "fun" in watching baseball. Elijah got to actually "bat" today. He knows the word, "bat" now.

Oh yes, while we are on to new words, here are a few more: Lock, Rock, Racket, Momo (Indian dumplings), and Juice (although he only says, "sss"), and Babar (Ba-bar). He now says, "ah-pa and um-ma," perfectly. Mila, my niece would be happy to know that Elijah knows how to say her name too!

Another exciting event today: both son and dad got chased by cows! Yes, they were unhappy that Elijah invaded their territory and got a little aggressive.

A funny story

Yesterday, we had a "play date" with a couple of Elijah's Korean friends. While playing, one of the toddlers started to cry because she didn't want Elijah to have any of the stuffed animals in her brother's room. So, he sat there while she began taking every stuffed animal around him while crying loudly. He even offered one to her, perhaps to comfort her... I don't know. But the funniest thing was as soon as she stopped crying, he looked at me and said, "All done." It was as though he was just sitting there patiently waiting for her to stop crying and wondering why she was so upset! I sometimes wish I can open up that little mind of his and see what he is thinking! I really love this toddler stage. And, Elijah makes it really fun!

Up to Something....

We are realizing that our little boy loves to read. We found him reading on his own in the living room. It is really interesting to watch the process he goes through in choosing what to read.... That little mind of his is working constantly, that's for sure.
A budding artist? He has begun to play with markers and color pencils. Now, he would "draw" something and tell us what it is by signing, "elephant," or by saying the word like "ghoon-bah" for ball.
Trying out mommy's running shoes....Elijah thinks it's about time for mommy to get some use out of those nice pair of running shoes...

Trying out daddy's running shoes...."Daddy, did you just buy these because mommy says they're like brand new?" (That's because it has been almost a year and daddy has yet to go running.)

Ghoong-bah

He used to say the word, "ball" fine. But, now he says, "ghoong-bah." Initially, I could not figure out what in the world he was trying to say, but then a light went on! Oh, he is saying, "ghong" in Korean which is the word for ball and "ball". So, I guess he has heard us using both words and decided to put the words together to make, "ghoong-bah." I try to say the right Korean word to help him correct it eventually, but I love saying his new word too.... it's kind of cool. Even our neighbors have begun to use the new "ghoong-bah" to refer to balls. ;)

Ring Around a Rosie

You have to see the look on his face when the three of us (Daddy, mommy, and Elijah) play this game together--a sheer joy, happiness, and pleasure. I love playing it, especially the three of us together because I get to see that joy on Elijah's face.

A couple of days ago, I saw him spinning around on his own in the room, playing "ring around a rosie." So, I told him that he can also play the game with Babar and boy, was he excited! I videotaped him playing and it is one of the cutest videos I have.... Oh, Elijah, you bring so much laughter in our lives.

Trying to Keep Up!

I am finding that I am blogging more frequently these days on Elijah's blog. It is my best attempt to keep up with all the ways that he is growing and changing.

Today, I would say is really the first time where Elijah actually "played" with other kids. I don't know if something clicked for him developmentally, but it felt very different from other times I have seen him interact with other kids. There were some clues that he was starting to recognize others more and that the concept of "playing together or with each other" was forming, but today, he played together and with two older kids--both a little older than three years old. He played car, "talked" to them, and laughed with them. He even ventured off without us into another room with Daya's grandson and didn't even seem phased by it. Something clicked for him, it seems.

I am also realizing that he is using signs to communicate a complete thought. Before, it was one word here or there, but he is now putting signs together to form a complete thought. For example, during meal time, he signed "thank you," than a cross for "Jesus." Interesting to watch....

Oh yes, I can't forget this. At a store today, there were small "potty" or "toilets" that toddlers use during potty training. For the last couple of weeks, each time Elijah is straining as he is pooping, I have been intentionally saying, "Elijah, are you pooping?" I figured somehow he would eventually make the connection as to what pooping is. So today, he saw toddler "toilets" and seemed to want to sit and play with them. So, I sat him on one and told him that this is what you use for "pooping and peeing." He sat on one of the toilets and made a grunting noise. I thought he was just letting me know that he understands that it is used for pooping. Lo and behold, he had actually pooped sitting on the toilet in his diaper. Now, I don't know whether it is just a coincidence or whether he really understood the concept of pooping, but I think I might try potty training him in September after we return from the States.

I laugh at the fact that Paul and I are already s-p-e-l-l-i-n-g words so that he can't understand what we are saying! :D

Little Communicator

I love communicating with Elijah and trying to figure out what it is that he is trying to say both in words and with sign language. Today, he signed a complete thought, which was "Give me my hat." He signed "hat" then what we use as "give." We're still working on the word, "please," although he did "please" in his own way by bowing as he put his two hands out with palms facing up for "give." That is usually how Koreans receive things from people, so when he wants me to give him something he does that.

He also tries to put his two index fingers together to make a cross to sign that we prayed. I don't know what the sign is for "Jesus" so Paul made it up by making a cross sign. Whenever we pray, he bows hunches forward like he is bowing and makes a cross.

He also likes making his own choices on books and things he wants to do or see. We give him options on what books he wants us to read and he chooses.

Recently, Paul made a slide show of various things that Elijah is interested in, so he now goes straight to Paul's computer, tries to open the laptop, and signs "elephant," "chicken," or "airplanes", etc.

The other day, he saw chicken meat and signed chicken. Paul took him to the poultry shop and told him that a chicken was going to be killed so that we could eat it. He didn't let him watch the killing of a chicken but he decided that he was going to explain it to him. No wonder he saw the chicken meat sitting on the counter and signed to me, "chicken."

One of his favorite signs is "more." Now he is using it for almost everything if he wants some kind of response from us. I have realized that sometimes it means "faster." Other times it has meant "help." Today, I taught him how to correctly sign "help" and he practiced using it. Sometimes he uses the sign for "more" for a "drink." I'm not sure why but he has never used the sign for "water" or "drink." He usually reaches out for the sippy cup or sucks his thumb. Weird.

I love being able to communicate with him. I think I am going to love it even more when he starts to talk, although he might be a non-stop talker! Oh, I can hear the word, "Why?" ringing in my ears already! ;)

Silly Photos

Cutie Pies

While Paul was leading his session at the Youth Conference, I was on Elijah duty! There was a family with a toddler a month older than Elijah so we spent some time playing with the mother and her son. Elijah loved being there. I'm not sure why, but he never sat on the ground but would only squat. I don't know if that is because he sees me squatting all the time... He found the sensation of fine dry dirt really interesting and eventually stuck his fingers in his mouth to taste it. I am finding that Elijah really likes being in remote villages because he is so intrigued by all the animals he sees. Also, he gets to chase them around as though they are his own pets! Of course, he was having so much fun that daddy told me at the end of the day that he refused to take a nap. No wonder he conked out as soon as we got in the car. We were especially grateful that God answered our prayers for cooler weather because it could have been really hot.
The Little Explorers Off to an Adventure! (With close supervision....) ;)

Aren't they adorable? I think they are!
One of the things Elijah loves to do is to sit on steps, stools, chairs, and thresholds.
The Adivasi toddler gave Elijah a big bear hug. Elijah wants to get away and have his independence back! ;)

Free "Toys" at the Mall

On Friday, while daddy was getting some work done, Elijah and I hung out at the mall to beat the heat. Since he loves climbing into chairs, I took him to a furniture store and we just hung out there. Of course, I loved it too since you can sit in really comfortable chairs there and no one seemed to mind! Later we went to a department store so that he can ride on the kiddie toys. I took these photos using my phone...not too bad at all! It's so nice that it doesn't take much to entertain a toddler! ;)