Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Almost there...


Samuel is getting so close to cutting his first tooth, or teeth. (I'm not sure which)  He is as droolly as ever, but is not fussy or cranky.  He puts everything in his mouth, including my arm, face, anything within close range.  It's so funny!  He will lean in to give a kiss, then start biting and sucking on my cheek.  

He is also close to getting on his hands and knees.  He can get on his knees, but then will drop down to his elbows.  I am guessing soon he will be figuring it out!

Monday, July 28, 2008

New Church

We went to a new church yesterday. It was actually our second visit. I think that it is a great fit for us...great bible teaching, good children's ministry, awesome worship. I felt like I could go and not have to think about all the stuff going on at our old church. That's very refreshing. Jeremiah and I both feel kind of guilty about the switch, but we had a great conversation with an older, wiser couple that left our old church last year. They attend the new church and really encouraged us to follow God's lead.

Yesterday they had service outdoors. It was so nice to worship in God's creation. After that they had a picnic with some fun organized activities. Corinn and her partner won the three legged race!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Things are moving along

Elijah is now legally our son! He is now a Smith! Elijah's file is done in Parquet and returned to PAP on June 24(this means that the adoption decree, etc. is done). It is now being legalized and registered. This can take a little bit of time. Then it will be submitted to MOI. Please pray that things will move along quickly and that he will get into MOI soon. This usually takes several months, then will be another month or two before he gets his visa and can come home. It's possible for him to be home in October! I am praying he will be home by Christmas.

Jumpier than a rattlesnake in a pickle barrel!

This is my son Loren's description of Samuel tonight. He is getting very strong and active. He loves to jump, either in his Johnny Jump Up or on someone's lap. He is rolling and moving around, trying so hard to crawl. He also started clapping his hands today. He is so smart and is doing so well.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Road Trip

Samuel and I took my friend Sarah and her host baby, Lena to Yakima last week. We left on Monday and were gone until Friday. I drove our minivan and we also took Sarah's daughter, Grace. We had a lot of fun, busy days there. We stayed in a hotel and went swimming, ate out, watched some movies, talked, laughed, went to several doctors appointments, and sat in the hospital. Samuel did so well. He is truly a great baby. Everyone thought he was quite the charmer. He also LOVED swimming in the pool. We are home now and he is loving being in his own bed again. So am I!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Bubba update

Elijah loves to run around outside, he likes being chased and tickled, he’s especially ticklish on his sides, and laughs so hard I can’t help but laugh with him. He’s been busy chewing on mangoes recently too and likes to run up to hug me with his big tummy covered in mango juice, he somehow manages to get the juice everywhere even in his hair! Elijah can get upset if he isn’t getting his own way and likes to throw the occasional fit, stomp his feet and cry as loudly as possible so he can get maximum attention for his efforts. Elijah is happiest when he’s held or when he has someone’s undivided attention but as soon as he’s put down he starts to holler and cry, thankfully he does well when he is directed to something new so he knows he doesn’t get his desired result by crying loudly instead the nannies will show him a toy or encourage him to play with someone else.

He’s been doing very well in school recently, Elijah and his friends have been learning the importance of sharing and saying “please” and “thank you”. Elijah is good at sharing toys when encouraged by his teachers. All the kids practice writing/ scribbling on the chalkboards, Elijah does not like to wait his turn though and stomps his feet until he gets one of the boards. He’s very good at drawing “baton canpe’s” which are straight lines and is always so proud of his efforts he loves to show them off to everyone. He is really good at repeating words when his teacher asks him to; he can say “mama”, “alle” and “tap-tap” clearly for her. Outside of school Elijah babbles and talks a lot, he likes to say many different words and his favourite one is “hey” which he uses in every situation but especially to get someone’s attention and show them something.

Elijah loves to listen to music and bobs his head to the beat, when a song ends he’ll usually say “uh-oh” and as soon as another song starts he’ll shout “yay” and clap his hands. Elijah enjoys colouring, when he does it he almost always has one crayon in each hand and colours with them both at the same time. He likes to change colours often and draws lines and funny looking shapes. Playing with balls is one of Elijah’s favourite things, he is great at throwing them and when someone throws one back to him he puts out his two hands in preparation but usually has trouble actually catching the ball, he has the motions right though so I’m sure he’ll be getting it soon enough. While playing outside he loves to climb on the play gym, he isn’t too interested in the slide but prefers to climb up and down on the different levels. He’s a busy boy and this month he weighs 25 pounds 10.8 ounces. Elijah now has 16 teeth.