Fun with Daddy

Daddy likes to be silly with Elijah!

My Favorite Moments with Elijah

Too many to list but I'm going to give it a try....

Some of my favorite and sweet moments with you, Elijah, are when....

we play peek-a-boo with daddy after your bath and you squeal in joy
we get on the floor and have a "crawl" race....you, Elijah, always win. (Mommy is so nice.)
you sing along as daddy or mommy plays the guitar
I hear you call out for me with sweet words, "Um-ma" or "mama"
we put our noses together and do "nosy, nosy" and afterward you give me a big, wet, smooch
you rest your head on my shoulder and snuggle in when you're tired...
I receive a small piece of muri (rice puff) that you worked hard to pick up and you put it in mommy's mouth
you feel mommy's stomach growl or grumble while nursing, and you look up and laugh. Then you make a grunt to let me know you want me to do it again....
I am changing your dirty diaper and you you sing with me or clap your hands (when you're in a good mood..)
you feel free to explore your surroundings and go off, but once in a while, you'll pause and check in with me
you make a mess at the table as you "explore" new textures and food

You bring so much joy, laughter, and love. I love you so much!

First Scary Moment

The chair that Elijah's booster seat was strapped on to fell over while Elijah was having his lunch. I'm not sure exactly what happened as it all happened so quickly. But, I think he was kicking his legs and moving around and somehow he managed to tip the chair backwards and fall. It was a scary moment for Paul and I, especially since the floor has absolutely no cushion. But, from all that we could gather, he didn't hit his head with the full force of a fall. There is a scratch mark across the wall which indicates that the as the chair was falling, it hit the wall and as a result the impact of the fall was not as big as what it could have been. He cried, but as soon as we picked him up, he stopped crying....so we think he was maybe more scared than hurt....However, he still has a red scratch and a bump behind his head. I wonder if our portable booster seat is not very safe, especially with our dining room chair....

I also saw a snake slither across the path near the entrance to our flat. I was going out with Elijah because I didn't want him to fall asleep right away after the fall and wanted to keep him awake. As soon as I saw it, I walked back upstairs and waited a while before heading out. Our neighbor went out in search of the snake so that she could kill it but it had disappeared.....Hopefully, one of these days we could catch it and kill it before it bites one of us!

New Developments

Today, he figured out how to get himself into a sitting position on his own from lying on his tummy. I went in to check up on him after a few minutes of crying (doing the Ferber method for sleep training) and he was sitting up and crying. He did it once in the late afternoon...so I guess he has figured it out. (BTW, he went down to sleep after 7 minutes of crying and screaming his head off.)

Also, he is starting to transition from the "commando" crawl to a regular crawl, where he is pushing himself up and kneeling. He has been also wanting to stand up more. I wonder if Elijah is going to be an early walker or whether he would just crawl for a long time because he likes being able to move around that way....

Here's a video of him crawling. The quality is not that great and I didn't do a good job of videotaping, but I hope you enjoy it!! :)

Sleep Training

So, I decided to sleep train Elijah for his naps during the day. I realized that I spent quite a bit of time putting him down for his naps and I felt like he is now ready to go to sleep on his own. Actually, he already knows how to put himself to sleep. It is helping him to do it by letting him know that it is nap time and not play time. Because of our transition, setting up our place, teething, and then a cold, I wanted to wait for the right time to do it. I decided this morning was the right time to begin. He woke up at 5:30am, ate, played, and then it was nap time. He was tired and was in need of a nap. I put him down, he cried, and then I went in every 5 minutes to reassure him without picking him up. He was mad each time I left and cried harder, but after 40 minutes of crying, he fell asleep. He slept for an hour and a half. (Recently, he started waking up after only 30-45 minutes of nap. I could tell he was still tired but he wanted to play.) Well, I just put him down for his late morning nap. He whimpered for maybe two minutes and he is down. :) We'll see how it goes!

Elijah Exploring His World

He is so inquisitive....I have so much fun watching him.

First Trip to the Himalayan Hills

We took our first trip up to the Himalayan hill town of Mirik. It was great to be in a cool place where we could wear warmer clothes, walk around without sweating, sleep with a blanket covering us, and be entertained just by being outside. We loved the fresh air. It was also India's Independence Day on August 15th, so we got to watch a small ceremony commemorating it. We are grateful for the refreshing time together.

Elijah loved being outdoors. He loved being carried by daddy and mommy in the backpack carrier where he could see everything around him. Elijah was a hit wherever we went. People wanted to see him and he gave them big smiles in response. Some people even asked if they could take his picture. We're praying that all the attention doesn't go to his head. :)