4 Months

Mr. Elijah is 4 months old today!

This was the first month that our little monkey seemed to be aware of the other monkey sitting next to him in the rocking chair.Getting ready to eat whatever kinds of strange meats he may eat someday on the mission field...stuffed monkey is a good way to start getting ready to eat monkey brains! (Totally kidding by the way!)

Elijah continues being sweet and content. Our biggest change this month is him dropping his dream feed. He now sleeps from about 8:30pm to 8:00 straight! And he hasn't woken up at night for almost a month now. GO ELIJAH!!! We are SO thankful and proud! I feel like I want to tell everyone I see!

Here are some other things Elijah is into:

Holding his head up, loves smiling at himself in the mirror,

dancing around in his jumper (wouldn't quite call it bouncing yet!), The first times were really funny because he had no clue what to do - he just kept sucking on the side of the seat.

He also likes sitting in this bumbo that we borrowed from some friends (excuse the purple color!). He sits on the table and has dinner with us almost every night.

And just yesterday he rolled over for the first time! I put him on his back to play in his gym and was in the other room. I head him crying like he never has before and I looked in to find him with his face in the carpet. He hasn't done it since, but it won't be long until it's consistent.

I really feel like this month is a big one. He seems to be making that transition from little baby to just baby and on his way to boy. Here he is with his grandpa and cousin, Lucas.

I thought I'd get sad about it as he gets older, but he just gets to be more and more fun with each new step!

Hands Free

Hey I know what I can do while I"m sitting here... Where is that hand of mine? Oh good, here it is. Time to get busy!

Should I be like the other kids and suck my thumb? No way! When it comes to fingers, the more the merrier!

1 in...

2 in half way...

2 in all the way...that's getting better!

2 1/2 in...

3 in...

3 in fully engaged! I just wish my mouth would grow a little to fit my the pinkie and thumb!

Since Elijah has gotten so good at pacifying himself with his new hobby, we decided it was time to....

Go hands free in the swaddle! We were getting tired of putting pacifiers back in his mouth when he lost them and he prefers his hands anyway. Although he still has a bit of the startle reflex, so far arms out has been well worth it! Elijah puts himself right to sleep on his naps and at night and last night slept 12 hours straight! Wohoo!!

However, being released does not mean you're 100% good to go. You are still on probation mister! One wrong move and it's back to the swaddle for you until you are married!

On a side note, look how long Elijah's hair is getting! In some of the above pictures you can see it's all fluffy. I love the baby chick look!

Easy Pad Thai

I LOVE Thai food! Since we don't have any Thai restaurants in Brazil I often make this recipe for Pad Thai. It's not supposed to be the most authentic recipe in the world, it's supposed to be an easy version you can put together from stuff in your pantry. We love it and make it often! It's from How to Cook Without a Book by Pam Anderson. http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Without-Book-Techniques/dp/0767902793 Every time we make it for guests they love it because it's so different and unexpected. We use chicken and at least double the bean sprouts. We don't have fish sauce so I substitute soy sauce...not sure if it's a good idea but it's still tasty! We also cut the red pepper flakes in half and add a bit more of the sauce recipe so it's a little wetter. Give it a try! (click to make it big)

3 Months

Elijah turned 3 months old last week. Although I'm a little late on posting, I took this picture on the right day.
Our sweet little boy is growing and developing so fast! As of the past week he started being able to control his reach more and just today he definitely reached and grabbed his toys intentionally. So fun! He loves grabbing Sophie the giraffe from Aunt Jamie.
This month was especially fun because my parents came down to meet Elijah. We was a total trooper as we did tons of sightseeing. He did start screaming every time we put him in his car seat, which was a bit of a bummer, but he always stopped as soon as the car started each time. However, as soon as my parents left, he stopped doing it all together. Maybe he liked their sympathy and attention??? Elijah loved Popi and G-ma and it was so fun to see them play together. This month we also dedicated Elijah in the church, which was an encouraging and challenging moment.
Elijah is also starting to laugh which is SO fun!!! He doesn't laugh at things that are really funny yet, but sometimes his smiles just randomly come with laughs. He loves to "talk" too and seems to carry on conversations with us at times. If only we knew what he was saying!
Ejlijah also gets tons of attention from strangers here in Brazil. Maybe it's the blond hair, but people just LOVE him! When we're walking down the street people have pulled over to chat with him and at the bakery, the employee asked to hold him behind the counter while we ate. Great to get the free babysitting :)
Elijah is still on a 3 hour schedule and sleeping through the night. My next goal is to drop his dream-feed which seems to be annoying to him when we have to wake him up. Once we get back on a good schedule after G-ma and Popi's visit we'll work on that.
Elijah, we just grow to love you more and more each day!

US Citizen

Mr. Eli is now officially a dual citizen! All of his paperwork just came through with the US embassy in Brasilia and he now has his official certificate to show he is a US citizen born abroad (he can use this instead of a US birth certificate). And he has his US passport. All ready to travel...just need plans and tickets :)

As hard as we tried we couldn't get a good picture of him for his passport. He has no neck showing! Oh well, he'll look like a cute baby in his passport until he is 5 then he'll get another chance at a more flattering picture.

Lizard on the Loose

This guy was on the loose in our home. The lizard. Not Elijah. It was terrifying. Here's what happened:

- Elijah was napping.
- I was sitting at the computer about to tackle my virtual to-do list.
- Jeyson was at the hangar.
- Bobby RUNS into the house after something.
- Bobby corners something behind the sofa in the living room.
- I RUN to the living room.
- I think Sam is cornered behind the sofa.
- NO BOBBY!!! Leave Sam alone! Go outside!
- I see a skinny tail from behind the sofa.
- It's not Sam's tail.
- I think a mouse or a rat is cornered behind the sofa.
- GET HIM BOBBY!!!
- Then I see it.
- A lizard.
- The lizzard is VERY large.
- Lizards are our friends, according to Jeyson.
- Lizards eat bugs and cause no harm, according to Jeyson.
- We have to protect lizards from Bobby and Sam, according to Jeyson.
- I agree.
- But I'm scared of lizards all the same.
- NO BOBBY!!!! Leave the lizard alone! Go outside!
- I get a broom.
- My plan is to shoo the lizard outside with a broom.
- My plan failed.
- The lizard ran out from the sofa into the office!
- The office is where I needed to work.
- The lizard hid under the couch in the office.
- The couch is too big for me to see him or move to shoo him.
- I have no choice but to wait for him to come out.
- I can't get anything done except on the computer.
- I work on my emails, etc. with my feet in the air.
- I work like this for 30 minutes waiting for him to appear so I can shoo him with the broom.
- He does not come out.
- My legs are running out of blood as I hold them in the air.
- I refuse to touch the ground.
- It is time to pick Jeyson up from the hangar.
- There is still a lizard in the house.
- He won't come out.
- I have to go.
- I lock the lizard in the house and Eli and I get Jeyson.
- I tell Jeyson the traumatizing story.
- Jeyson is thrilled!
- He loves lizards!
- Jeyson runs into the office and shuts the door behind him.
- Elijah and I huddle together outside the office.
- Jeyson emerges.
- Live lizard in hand.
- As a payment for rescuing me, Jeyson makes me pet the lizard.
- I quickly touch the lizard.
- No it has to be a real pet. See how cute he is?
- Groan.
- Real pet.
- WASH HANDS!
- Picture.
- Release the lizard.

Elijah's Tree

This past weekend we went over to my in-law's farm. It was a nice relaxing weekend (other than helping bag up a cow :) Since we were away from home and a routine is harder anyway, I loved the excuse to spend extra snuggle time with my lovebug.

Jeyson had a great idea a while back and we finally put it into action. We planted a tree for Eli so every year we can watch it grow along with him. We decided on a Jatoba since they grow to be huge and sturdy like this one.

And we decided to plant it over at Jeyson's parents' farm since we don't know where we will be living long term and plus our yard (if you can call it that!) is FAR to small anyway. Jeyson's parents loved the idea so we loaded our $2 tree into the wagon and found the perfect spot.

It was perfect to plant during rainy season too so hopefully it will get off to a strong start before dry season arrives.

So tiny!

Every once in a while we'll take of Elijah next to his tree. Here's the first one!

I loved his feet getting a little dirt on them for the first time. I can't wait until he's running around and making mud pies :)

By the end Mr. Elijah was done...(Oops I lost track of the time and I forgot to feed him!)

Afterwards, hanging out with Opa. We just love watching this boy grow...though I hope it doesn't happen too fast!