Teething

He has three top teeth and another bottom tooth coming through. No wonder he was not a happy camper today. He was clingy today and not really himself. I finally gave him Tylenol to help ease the pain a bit. Hopefully, he will sleep well tonight....for his and our sake. I am so tired!

Well, I will post more photos and other thoughts when I have more energy. We were planning to go out for our ten year anniversary but we couldn't find a babysitter and both Paul and I developed bad headaches and were not feeling well. We had ham sandwiches for dinner, a bowl of ramen, and now we're ready to sleep....yes, Elijah, your mom and dad are old farts! :) For some reason, we are reminded of this reality more ever since we had you!

Grandma and Granpa's Visit

Grandpa Phil and Grandma Ann came for a visit this past weekend. It was a very short visit, but we had a good time together exploring the hills of the Himalayas. Grandpa and grandma read to him and played "To Boston," with Elijah. Elijah loves "To Boston!" (I am going to go off on a tangent here, but as I have been reading more nursery rhymes, I am mortified by how morbid they are!) The words to "To Boston," are kind of sad, but Elijah loves the part where he "falls" with the words, "dropped dead."

The words go:
To Boston, to Boston, to buy a loaf of bread,
Home again, Home again, the horse dropped dead!

Elijah's First Field Visit

We went to Seeyok and Nol, two fields where some of our Nepali friends are. We ended up staying overnight in Seeyok because it rained and the roads were way to steep and slippery. So we ended up staying in a 6X6 room and enjoying a night in the village. Here are some photos.

New tricks of Elijah

Elijah can now...

• pull himself up into a standing position as if he has been doing it all along
• get himself back down into a sitting position from standing position
• feed himself (rice puff, spaghetti noodles, pieces of bread)
• climb onto his toy bin on his own
• open his mouth wide to have his teeth brushed
• make farting noises on daddy's shoulder
• turn pages of a book
• understand "no," and sometimes, he even obeys ;)

You amaze us every day!

Ps: I will post some pictures from Elijah's first field visit on another day. He traveled well (for which we are thankful) and was a people magnet.

Eight Month Old Climber?

Elijah turned eight months old yesterday! Daddy has already begun coaching Eli to climb. :) It's really a good thing that daddy is a good spotter too. What amazes me is that yesterday, Elijah had a little trouble pushing himself up. Today, he has been pushing himself up all day long....So, my question for Elijah is, "What happens to you in the middle of your sleep because you wake up with new abilities!" I wonder when that ends.... :) Because, I would love to have that happen with my Nepali language ability....

8 Months Old

Shots

I got a steroid shot on my right wrist due to excruciating pain from tendonitis. I had the pain since Elijah's birth and it finally came to the point where I could not stand it any longer. It has been really difficult to use my thumb and I had not realized how important the thumb is! Your hand is not very useful without it! Anyway, I am trying to not use my right hand as much but it is not very easy to do when you have a very active almost eight month old baby. Immediately after receiving the shot, I had relief but then about ten minutes later, the pain was more excruciating than before. So, I went back to the doctor to double check and he said I will not see any effect until three days later... Anyway, if the pain doesn't get better, he said I should come in again in three weeks for another injection. Hopefully, I won't have to go back to get another shot because it hurt!

Elijah also got his Hib B shot today after the mishapd about a month ago. We like our new doctor and he seems very thorough. The only complaint I have is that he poked the needle in too slowly. In the States, before I could even blink, the nurses were done with the injections. Elijah cried for a few seconds and as soon as it was out, he stopped and was ready to grab for something else he saw in the room.

He is now able to pick up the small pieces of rice puff fairly easily and is more or less able to put them into his mouth....He wants to do it on his own and he insists on it at times. I am looking forward to the Cheerios that grandma and grandpa will be delivering in a week. He is ready for some new finger food/snack!

Today, he also had yogurt, which he liked! (Thank you, Jesus!) He also so far has not shown any allergic reaction. (Thank you, Jesus again!) I am just so grateful that he seems to be doing well with food. A couple of people told me today that he looked bigger and chubbier. He could use a little more fat on his body! :)