Favorite Activities These Days

Cooking and playing kitchen--Our little guys picked a "knife" during his Dol celebration (traditional Korean one year birthday celebration), which supposedly means that he will become a cook/chef in the future. Well, if there is any truth to it, he sure is showing signs that he might one day become one. ;) He loves playing kitchen and cooking up pancakes, french toast, eggs, bacon, and dhaal-bhaat! He uses the little red stool we have as his stove (he even pretends to turn it on) and then puts his hand over the pan and says, "hot!" Then, he pretends to crack eggs and make fried eggs. He loves the spatula (I love how he says the word) and pretends to flip the pancakes. Oh yes, and we can't forget tea and coffee and the "cheers!" he likes to give! Pictures will be posted soon.

Drawing--They might look like "doodles" to us, but he is making art and is very focused about what he is doing. He can spend quite a bit of time playing with his crayons and markers. I introduced him to painting a few weeks ago. Pictures will be posted soon.

He likes it so much that the other day, it was warm and I asked him if he would like to go swimming. He says, "No. Elijah busy."

Singing/playing "piano"--He sings by himself, with us, and whenever it seems there is a free moment. He really loves music. He has this small toy piano and he loves to play it. Sometimes even while we're eating dinner, if he's singing, he'll pretend that he's playing the piano on the table. I definitely want to give him piano lessons when he gets older as I also enjoy the piano very much.

Nowadays, when we're in the car, he asks the stereo to be turned on. The other day, he said to our driver, "Uncle, turn on." We're still working on the "please" part.

Going to the office--He has a little pushing cart that he used to use when he was learning to walk. Now, he uses it as his car and says, "Bye mommy. Going to office." Then, I'll ask, "What are you going to do at the office?" He replies, "Working." We say our good-byes and he's off to the office.

Reading--He's a an avid "reader." His favorite author these days is Richard Scarry. He has practically memorized some of his books and can finish the sentences for us.

Yesterday, we went to the swimming pool but it was closed and we had to come home. I purposely said, "Oh, What a disappointment." (which is a phrase in one of the books - because they can't go sailing as it started to rain.) He says to me, "Father Cat!" (Father Cat was the one who said it to his children as he was putting away the sailing boat.) Then, we had a fun "conversation" about how our situation was of similar to the story and that it was disappointing that we couldn't go swimming because the filter system was broken. He amazes me.

Learning the difference between "Want" and "Need" -- I don't know if Elijah would put this as his favorite activity, but we are in the process of learning how to use these two words appropriately. He's learned the two words and uses them often, but hasn't quite figured out how they are different. Although, recently, I can see that he might be making some connections. Sometimes, he'll say, "Need it." and I'll just respond back with, "You don't need it Elijah. You want it." It's been a good reminder for me to think about how I use the words too....do I really need this or do I want it?

Happy Birthday, Ah-Pa!

We celebrated ah-pa's birthday on October 11th. Elijah made a birthday card and helped daddy blow out his birthday candles. Elijah's ah-pa is so amazing that he is getting younger every year! ;) Ah-pa turned "21" this year because mommy couldn't find any candles with number four or any other types of candles....
Elijah loves his ah-pa so much! These days, he LOVES to body slam ah-pa on the bed after his bath time. They love to read together. Ah-pa has also created these amazing photo collections, set to music, of various things that Elijah loves so that he can watch it whenever he wants. Ever since Elijah was a couple of months old, after bath-time, ah-pa would sing a funny song/story that he made up. When Elijah was a baby, it was called, "Naked Baby Man." But, now that Elijah is a toddler, it's called, "Naked Toddler Man." Mommy needs to record the story/song on the blog so that we have a record of it. Elijah loves it!

You're the BEST ah-pa and we LOVE you!

First Train Ride

Elijah got to experience his first real train ride (10 hours each way). We took the Darjeeling Mail Express to Kolkata to celebrate mommy and daddy's eleventh anniversary. Elijah slept comfortably and well. Mommy had only a few hours of sleep because the bed was too narrow for mommy's growing tummy and Elijah too. On the return trip, Elijah got to sleep with daddy on the top bunk! It was a fun trip!

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.