Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Tomorrow is the day. Eli has been talking about this day for weeks. We are flying to Colorado for a conference. Eli has no concept of where we are going or why and he doesn't really care. The important thing is that we are going on an airplane. Ever since the grandparents came on airplanes to visit a few weeks ago, the fascination has been growing. Every day this week he has been repeating "Fwy Mommy Daddy Boy Baby airplane fwy." He usually has to name every member of the family to make sure that we are all going. His favorite game at the moment is fwying, also. Sometimes he will fly by himself. Sometimes one of us will pick him up to help him fly. Either way, we are all about the flying, I mean fwying.

To illustrate how deep the excitement goes, last night Eli started calling for Mommy in the middle of the night. When I went into his room, he was sound asleep and yet STILL talking about "Mommy Daddy Boy Baby airplane fwy." He was dreaming about the airplane!

Unfortunately, he has also gotten a really nasty cough/cold the last few days. We are praying that this doesn't take away from the comfort and joy of the long-awaited airplane trip. We are also praying for a quick flight. You see, we have only two seats for the four of us. And currently our list of items to "carry on" include one stroller, two carseats, a rolling carry on, a diaper bag, a toy bag, a computer bag and a stuffed frog - oh, and two boys. This combined with our very limited space on the airplane could make a 3 1/2 hour flight much longer. I have been praying for quite some time now for gracious individuals in the seats around us.

Next week I will tell you how it goes. In the meantime, feel free to pray for us . . . and stay away from the NW flights to Denver tomorrow.

Birthday Fun

At the beginning of February, Kris' parents made a somewhat unplanned trip back to the U.S. Dad was here for flight training when Keren passed away and Mom came home a few days later for the funeral. Since they were here for their birthdays, which happened to be about a week after Kris' birthday and our nephew, Xhayvian's first birthday, we had one big party! Aunt Kathy had fun making cakes and counting candles. If you can see past the massive flames, you would be able to count the correct number of candles on each cake.



If you look closely at Kris' dad on the far left, you might be able to catch a glimpse of what Kris will look like in a few more years . . .

Buddies

This is Isaiah. His parents work with the Navigators, too. He is six weeks younger than Eli and boy, do they have fun! During our last staff meeting, they literally ran circles around the adults while they talked.




Then they discovered this! It is a cart for moving stacks of chairs - or it is a really cool car for two little boys. They had so much fun riding it. Then they took turns pushing each other around the room . . . and into walls. So much fun!

Toes = Toys

In January Simeon discovered that his toes are amazing. Unfortunately, because of the cold weather, he usually can only find them when he is getting his diaper changed.

One more video

I know there have been a few videos in a row here but I couldn't resist this one. Although Eli is adding new words each day, this is the song that we have heard every day for the last two months. Have I mentioned that "Boy" is how he refers to himself? He is an encouraging soul already. And who says boys aren't as verbal as girls?

Another first

On January 12, Simeon overcame another milestone. He rolled over! And this child apparently likes an audience because he waited to do it until we had several people over. And ever since, he has only rolled over when he has admirers . . . this could spell trouble for me.

Listen closely and you will hear the encouragement that we all hear daily. I had a "Go Mommy Go Yeah Mommy" song sung to me today while I heated up spaghetti-o's for lunch. Trust me, it does wonders for your ego.

LoveFest

So much love to go around!

So Many Talents

Eli loves to sing and dance right now! We thought you might enjoy a little taste of his many talents. I believe this is a solo performance of ring around the rosy.

If you think this is amazing, you should see his breakdancing. Boy's got moves!

Potty Training Breakthrough

We aren't there yet but we are slowly getting closer to this whole potty training thing. Eli has been more interested lately. He has started telling us when he has just gone, which is a little late but we are getting it. And he pronounces potty "poppy." We even got a movie from the library a few weeks back called, "Go Potty Go." Because of that lovely piece of art, Eli sometimes runs around the house singing "Go Poppy Go Poppy Go Poppy Go." Ah, the joy.

Our major breakthrough, though, came when Dadot decided to wear a diaper one day. Then he decided to sit on the potty and wear big boy underpants. Who knew that a stuffed frog would catch on to potty training so fast!?!? It has been weeks since he has had an accident! And whenever Dadot tells Eli that he has to go potty, Eli likes to go, too.

Who says that it is only girls who go to the restroom with friends?!?

Family Picture

In December we had a family picture taken by one of our friends. Didn't it turn out fun?!? It was an entertaining photo shoot, to say the least. I'm still amazed that she got us this great of a picture!

Sweet Sleep!

Simeon has had a month of firsts! I've only told you of a few so far but the rest are coming. He had his first haircut. He rolled over for the first time. He met his grandparents for the first time (or at least some of them.) He slept in his room with his brother for the first time.

And last night . . . drumroll please . . . he slept through the night for the first time!

Unfortunately, his big brother didn't . But we are this much closer to getting a full night's sleep again. One of these days we will. I can almost taste it.

First Haircut

As you all know, Simeon was born with some hair. Some even said he was born needing a haircut. We managed to hold off until January, though. By four months old, though, there was no more delaying. His hair was in his eyes and when we tried to keep it out of his eyes, he ended up with a serious comb-over. The poor kid was getting accused of wearing a bad toupee.



Before:

After:

It ended up getting a little shorter than we had first planned. So he went from a bad toupee to looking like a monk - or one of the three stooges. Ah well, at least he's cute . . . .

Time to jump

In January we got our jumper out of storage for Simeon.


He loves it!

But his favorite part of it is watching his big brother play nearby.

Personal Space

Eli has developed a large personal space bubble, especially with his cousins and brother. This has made group picture taking a bit more of a challenge.


Sometimes X-man, our nephew, comes over when his parents both have to work.

This day the boys stood here and watched trucks!

Getting Bigger . . .

These were taken in early January. He sure does love to smile!

Isn't he getting big?

Look Closely

One evening in early January, our friend Rick decided that we should make pizzas from scratch. Eli thought this was a great idea. He really wanted to help roll out the dough . . .

ok, so maybe he really just wanted to play in the flour.

Dadot's First Bath

In December we decided that it was time for Dadot to have his first bath. You see, Dadot gets dragged everywhere with us and Eli uses him as a pillow. Needless to say, we were overdue for a bath.

Eli loves baths. When I suggested that Dadot needed one, he grabbed him and ran for the bathroom. So I explained that Dadot would need a special bath - in the washing machine. Eli helped me to put bubbles into Dadot's bath water and helped me put Dadot in. He was very excited for Dadot . . . at least at first.

About three minutes into the bath, Eli grabbed my hand and took me to the washing machine. He made it clear that he was ready for Dadot's bath to be done. So we opened the machine and checked on him. And we kept checking every three or four minutes through the entire cycle.

When the buzzer went off for the end of the cycle, Eli came running from across the house. He was disappointed when I explained that Dadot was too wet to play with. So we set Dadot up on the kitchen table with a fan blowing on him. It happened to be right next to Eli's favorite place to watch the world from his window. A few minutes after Dadot began to dry, I discovered him and Eli like this . . . .

Eli was patiently telling Dadot all that he had missed during bath time.

Best friends should not be apart!

Creative Communication

This was another of our favorite words of Eli's creating. This is how he tells us that he wants to watch VeggieTales. It started after he watched "I love my lips" the first time. Do you get it?

A very cute Yes

Eli is adding new words to his vocabulary every day. This was one of our favorites from December. He has already learned the proper pronounciation, which makes us just a little sad . . .

Playing Ball

Eli is a natural ball player. Kris showed Eli once how to use a baseball bat. Ever since, each time he picks up anything shaped like a bat he hits a ball. I am not able to hit a ball nearly as well as he can! It seems that I will likely be watching a lot of ball games with this child.