21 Months Old

Twinkle Twinkle

He loves to sing "Twinkle twinkle little star...." My favorite line of his is "Up buh buh buh world so high..."

Elijah's done this a few times now, and we finally caught it on video. Wait for the flourish at the end.

Bite Mommy!

A few days ago, Elijah received a time out because he tried to bite mommy. He knows that biting is not allowed and as soon as he tried, I sat him down on a stool and told him to stay there. He sat there and cried. After about 10 seconds (I usually count to ten), I went back in the room, picked him up, and consoled him. I tried my best to let him know that it is okay to be mad, but that he cannot bite mommy or others. After he said sorry, we quickly moved onto playing.

He woke up in the middle of his nap crying. He showed me his finger and said, "Ah-ya (ouchie)". I think he may have bitten his finger in his sleep....not sure. I picked him up, tried to console him, but he was really upset. He kept saying, "bite, bite." So I wondered if he was teething and needed something to bite. So, I gave him something to bite. No luck. He kept crying and seemed to be getting more upset. Then, it dawned on me that maybe he was still processing his time out and what had happened. So, I asked him. "Elijah, do you want to bite mommy?" He stops crying and says, "Yes!" He was still angry at mom, I think.

So, I held him and said, "Elijah, I'm sorry that mommy made you mad. It's okay that you are angry with mommy, but you cannot bite her. I'm sorry that you're so mad." He kind of nodded his head, calmed down and just whimpered a little and pointed back to his bed. He was ready to go back down for his nap.

I am sure Elijah that this won't be the last time that you will be upset with mommy. It's okay that you become upset with her and that you let her know that you are. Your attempt at biting mommy was probably your way of letting my mommy know. You can say the words, "bite, hit, and mad" to let mommy know that you are angry. But, you cannot hurt people as a result of your anger. I guess we will both continue to learn about how to be angry but not sin as we grow in our relationship. I love you, sweet son.

(Added note: Yesterday, I saw him exercise self control. He got frustrated while playing with his trains Thomas and Percy. They're of different size so sometimes they don't move well together. After a few attempts, he was really frustrated that they kept coming apart. So he wanted to throw them. He had the the two trains in his hands and in motion to throw, but he didn't. I saw him and asked him, "Are you frustrated and you want to throw?" He says, "Yes." I said, "Good self-control Elijah. I'm glad that you didn't throw even though you are frustrated. Can mommy help you with something?" I can't remember what happened after that, but all I remember was thinking, how proud I was to see Elijah exercising self control. He motivates me to be a better person.)

104.4--Yikes!

Our little guy made his first official trip to the doctor's office yesterday in India for an illness. Last Tuesday, he started having a runny nose. On Wednesday, he woke up with a fever. By that evening, his fever was up to 103.7 and began to cough a little. Paul and I decided after doing some initial reading on fever and his symptoms that we would wait and see how he does for the next few days with the help of tylenol and ibuprofen. He seemed to respond well to the drugs and he had playful moments, ate fairly well, and drank well. But, his fever would continue at the 103.7 range when the drugs would wear off. By the third day, I was starting to wonder what was going on. From all that I read, it seemed that by day four or five, if he continued having a fever, maybe we needed to go see a doctor. On day five, I decided we need to go see the doctor. It was confirmed when I took his temperature and it rose to 104.4. Moreover, on Monday, he was a different kid. He was lethargic, cranky, clingy, and didn't seem very interested in food. He was definitely not feeling great. So, we took him to see a pediatrician that we have come to like because he seemed like he cared about kids.

Going to the hospital here is always an adventure. We got there 15 minutes before the doctor's arrival, but we were number ten on the patient list. We waited probably about two hours. There was a "guard" at the door of the doctor's office to "police" people from cutting in line. I had Paul start asking people what number they are before the "guard" got there because I could tell people were trying to cut in line. Of course, once the questioning got started, they started asking each other and monitoring. Elijah fell asleep while waiting.

The final diagnosis was that Elijah has an upper respiratory infection. The doctor thinks it started out as a virus but turned into an infection. So, he was given antibiotics which he is on. He still has a fever of 102.5 but today, he seemed happier and back to his normal playful self. Hopefully, his fever will break soon and the antibiotics will do its job in killing off whatever bacteria that is causing him to be sick.

He always protests initially getting his rectal temperature taken but somehow, he usually concedes with the words, "Umma's turn, then Elijah's turn," which translates to Umma gets to stick that thermometer up in my butt-hole but I get to hold it afterward and put it back in the plastic cover.

I know that some moms are creative about getting their kids to take medicine by doing some stuff, but I have to admit, I'm just not that type of mom. Maybe if I become desperate, I will resort to some creative means, but so far, shoving them into his mouth has been working okay. ;)

Elijah, you're such a good sport! I hope you get better quickly.

A possible sign of an introvert?

Today, we had the American playgroup meet in our home. There were six kids total (including Elijah) ranging in ages from fifteen months to three and a half years old. Elijah does pretty well playing on his own or around other kids when we're at other people's homes. But, he was pretty overwhelmed by the invasion of all these kids in his room, who dumped all his toys on the floor, and got into whatever they could get their hands on. He even screamed once and yelled for mommy quite a lot. Although he is easy going, he is also pretty particular about things--such as putting things back where they came from, making sure that the cap on the markers are on, and finding any small items like dirt or whatever off his feet and giving them to me. So, I think he was upset by how his room was in "disarray" in matter of minutes after the kids arrived.

At one point, he got up from his room, walked over straight to our room, climbed onto our bed, grabbed a book on the bedside table, and began to read! Not a word about what he was doing, or calling out for mommy to come. I guess he wanted some peace and quiet and he knew where he could go to get it. All the moms were astonished by this little guy's behavior and we all had a good laugh over it. When he was done and ready to go back, he walked over to the room and reentered the mess. I guess it was his solution to the problem that he was faced with. It was just amazing to watch this twenty month old remove himself from the frustrating scene, find a way to give himself some space, and then go back to what was going on. I have no idea if this is any indicator that he is an introvert too, but I will always remember this little solution of his.

Our Little Helper and Independent Boy

Every morning, Elijah helps mommy make her bed. He loves being a helper. He "tucks" in the bed sheet around the edges (of course, mommy follows him around and actually makes her bed). The other day, Paul asked him to go and put a plate on the table, and he did. He has no idea how much of a helper he is going to become once his brother(s) and/or sister(s) come along! But, it's fun to see him able to do so many things.

Today, he climbed into the car and then into his carseat all by himself. Also, he has begun trying to put on his shorts by himself. He loves being able to "master" certain tasks and we enjoy encouraging him to become more independent. One of my favorite moments is watching Elijah celebrate and celebrating with him his "victories." It brings me a lot of joy to rejoice with my son!

We're starting to think about enrolling him in a preschool when we return to the States starting in January when he turns two. FEC Glendale has one and it is only a few yards away from where we'll be staying in Glendale. So, we're starting to discuss our options. I think Elijah will actually really enjoy being in a structured classroom setting with other children. He had no problem being in Sunday school even though he had never met the kids or the teachers before. Another bonus I learned: the preschool will potty train your kid! I'm thinking I might take up on that offer, although we will see. ;) The next few weeks, I'm going to check out some preschools here in India too for when we return. We will see....

Recent Happenings

I'm going to take a quick break in writing about our visit to the States so that I can keep recording some other developments in Elijah's life. I blame it on pregnancy, but I really seem to have short-term memory loss because I have to write everything down these days....otherwise, I get to the store and I'm wondering, "Now, why did I come here?" So, I feel compelled to write recent happening in Elijah's life and development because I don't know if I can remember them all tomorrow!

Sleep: This kid is switching to Indian sleep time. It means he is going to bed later because he fights sleep (anywhere between 8:30-9:30pm) and sleeps in (7:30-8:30am). I can't decide whether I like this better or not. I have thought about taking away his nap or reducing it to only two hours and see if he will go to bed earlier. But, he really likes his naps and when he doesn't get enough, he gets cranky. I am enjoying staying in bed in the mornings, but I feel like Paul and I don't get any "free" time together at night. It's really interesting but he never fights his nap time....he sometimes goes to his bed, looks for Babar, and falls asleep like that. But, the evenings are becoming a different story....however, he's a great sleeper. Once he falls asleep, he doesn't wake up until the morning, which is very, very nice.

Potty Training: I haven't decided whether I want to start potty training him. But, he has been walking around "diaper-free" (Paul calls it 'free-balling') the last few days, which he LOVES. But, he pees all over the floor and I've been trying to encourage him to use the kiddie toilet. He is still good about letting me know when he needs to poop, but he has yet to pee in the toilet. I don't want to force it on him if he's not ready....he seemed a little frustrated today. I can't decide if I want to give it a try....any thoughts, moms who have walked the road before? He shows some signs of readiness but not completely....

Prayer/Worship Songs: Our little guy is becoming a prayer boy. It now has become a family "ritual" to pray for someone who is hurting during breakfast. He is starting to remind me when I forget. It brings me a lot of joy to see him grow in his desire to pray for people. Before he goes to bed, we ask him who he wants to pray for. He names a few people here and there. But, it seems that "Nolan" his buddy makes his list every night! Maybe he's sensing the impending change that will happen in Nolan's life when his baby sister comes along. ;)

He also LOVES this worship DVD that my sister bought for Elijah's birthday. He watches it every night and even sings along. He loves to say the words, "Zacchaeus, you come down."

Discipline: In general, our little guy is pretty laid-back and agreeable. But, he is stubborn and is a very determined boy. When he is tired or hungry, he can be very disagreeable, which I can understand. We are starting to see some signs of the emerging "terrible two's." It's hard to know what things he understands and doesn't. But, he definitely seems to know when he is in trouble because he does not want to look into my eyes when he has done something wrong. He's been learning to say "Sorry."

Today, Paul and I had an interesting discussion because Elijah didn't want to eat his dinner but come down and play. So, what does he do? He says, "poo poo." Why? Because he knows that mommy would take him out of his chair right away. He did this a few times, and although it was kind of obvious that he didn't really need to go, I didn't want to discourage him from trying to use the toilet. But, after the fifth time of coming down, and then quickly running away from the toilet with a big smile on his face, I told Elijah that mommy is disappointed that he lied to her. Of course, he has no idea what lying is. He only knows "cause and effect." If he says "poo poo" the effect is that mom would get him off the chair. But, after a few times, he can use the cause and effect to get his way--which becomes manipulation, or does it not? Anyway, I wanted him to know that he lied to mommy and that when he is done, he can say, "All done" instead of "poo poo." He later followed after me and said, "Mommy, I'm sorry for lying," which we forgave.

But, one thing I have learned from disciplining Elijah is that he does much better when he has received empathy first. When he feels like mommy understands and acknowledges his disappointments too, he seems to respond much more quickly. He still has to deal with the consequences of his bad choice, but he knows that I also understand where he is coming from. It's funny but these days, he says, "We obey." Hopefully, he will learn what that means quickly! ;)

Language Development: He mainly speaks English, understands all of my Korean and responds in Korean here and there, and is starting to pick up some Nepali phrases. I can't keep up with his language development. Paul and I find ourselves looking at each other each day going, "Hey, did you hear what he just said?" We are constantly spelling words. Our little nickname for him is "motor-mouth" because he talks all the time. It's fun to watch him do imaginary playing and is jabbering away about something....