Babies Long Ago

I was browsing through some photos and came across a few of Chris and I as babies. I guess it gives a little reference to the question I posted a few days ago. I think I was about the same age as Elijah is now, but Chris is younger. Susan, how old is he here?

A Family Christmas

We celebrated Christmas Eve with Friends and fellowship beginning at the candelight service at the Chapel. We are missing you all and wishing we could celebrate together.

Happy Holidays

It has been great to be home to relax and spend time with Elijah. I am loving every minute and questioning my decision to work. I only have 5 more months and then we will be together again. It also makes me miss family and friends during this season. Y'all are missed!!! Yesterday, was a day of celebration with some of friends we have made since being here. We ate ham and cornish game hens with all fixins. Yum! Elijah enjoyed tearing into the presents, being amazed for a couple of seconds, throwing the new toy on the floor and moving on to the next pretty box. He was a joy to watch.

We have some Christmas Eve pictures taken while we were all dressed up, but they are on a friends camera, so we will get those to you when we receive them. Merry Christmas, we send our love!

Who does Elijah look like in these last two pictures?

A Picture is Worth a Thousands Words

This one is for Suzanne McKay.

It was his second attemt to eat all by himself!

Christmas came a little early because we ran out of room under the tree.

Somebody is getting spoiled this year.

Got milk? or Baby powder?

What's New?

Elijah has started to feed himself using utensils and you can see what a blast it is for all involved. This was his first attempt to use a spoon with zero parental help.

He makes toys of anything he can find around the house. Boxes are one of his favorite toys. He likes to crawl in them as well as pile them or climb on top, He has figured out it gives him extra reach when he stands on top of boxes.

He loves this special "hat"...I guess he may take after the Boon side in some way. Every time we put it on he parades around the house shouting "Hat! Hat!" being very specific about pronouncing the 't' at the end of the word.

This is our newest mode of transportation and currently Elijah's favorite. He will play in it for hours if left alone anywhere near it. It is also very useful for running errands including grocery shopping, shopping and getting packages at the Post office.

ALS

Chris is back to his normal job now that he has completed ALS (Airman Leadership School). He was a top student in his class and won the Leadership Award at graduation. He was given a 'beautiful' statue (pictured below) in honor of his achievements!

Here is Chris receiving his graduation certificate

Congrats to our Future Staff Sergeant Noll!!!!

Busy-ness

As, usual I am apologizing for not being prompt in writing, but it will probably be the routine for a while. Now that I am teaching I spend much of my 'free time' getting things ready for school. As fun and exciting as it is, it definitely keeps me plenty busy. Chris is still daily occupied with school and homework. His time is well divided between work and family, but he is learning time management and not to procrastinate (a skill I can't help him with).

We have been enjoying the fall weather here. Unfortunately, it means we spend more time inside the house, but we try not to let the weather damper our plans. We are all geared up for the wind and rain. With the fall weather, comes a beautiful stormy ocean. It may not be pleasant to be amidst, but it is absoultely gorgeous to watch the white caps, the angry sea, and the crashing waves. (Picture soon to come)

Elijah is growing and changing, of course. He has turned into a cuddle bug and we soak up every moment. His two top molars are through and the bottom molars have created a mountain in his gums. He is saying new words everyday and jabbering away sharing all his thoughts throughout the day. His favorite activites are singing, reading "boops" and dancing.

Letting the Cat Out...

As some of you already know, I have been in the process of getting a teaching job here at the military school. Well, I got it. It changes some of our plans and allows for others, but all together it is a great deal. I only teach 1/2 day Kindergarten from 8-11. It still gives me most of the day with Elijah and I get a chance to get out and relate to others as well. I had to pass off my leadership of MOPS to my other ladies, which saddens me, but I really feel like this is an amazing and rare opportunity for me to find a part time teaching position, especially with us being overseas. I just wanted to share the great news with all our family and friends because the BIG announcement went out to the parents today. Because I am coming in with the year already starting, it means there will be adjustments and frustrations for the parents. Those are the people I am most worried about having to deal with.

Places to Play

Elijah has discovered a new place to play today. I was working on the computer and Elijah wanted to play so he climbed under my legs and discovered the playground under the desk!
He loves riding his big boy truck!
and rocking on his caterpillar

Fun New Activities

Elijah is at the stage now where new things are not happening everyday, but life is still just as exciting. There are some newer big boy things he is doing, including:

• Blowing kisses
• Giving kisses
• Signing many new words (he is learning to communicate with words rather than screaming for things-It's wonderful not to hear the screams of frustration)
• Saying some animal and other object names
• Getting his 2 year old molars (already)
• Running with all his might (including some good falls)
• Repeating words (Be careful what you say to him)
• Tantrums- not so fun
• Pointing to things, saying "dat," and waiting for you to tell him what it's called
• Using 'please' and 'thank you'
• Calling for 'mama' and 'dada'
• Fake laughing or laughing with everybody else (it's hilarious)
• Turning his head so you can't 'see' him and then saying "Boo!"
• Pulling toys around like a dog on a leash
• He has stopped using a pacifier!!!! BIG step, he loved that thing. Now he just clings to his silky blanket at bed time.

He is running around everywhere and is definitely a boy to the core. Today he was running at full speed and crashed face first into the gravel. The gravel won. It didn't faze him too much because he picked himself up, cried for a few seconds, got some mommy love, and then was off to discover the world again.

He is fascinated with aircraft. If he is inside and hears a jet he runs to the window to find it, point and say, "Dat, dat, dat!" until you acknowledge his exciting find. If he is already outside, he squints and searches the sky for 'dat' so he can point at it. I'm sure you will all be amazed to hear that we do see plenty of airplanes and helicopters on a daily basis, so he gets lots of practice.

Chris started ALS (Airman Leadership School) today so he had to go to work in his Blues. Check out my hottie! He spent many hours getting his uniforms spiffy, so let him know they look good!

Things I Love...

Aunt Sue and her fluffy comforter!

What...I'm not doing anything?

What is this?

Parabola..."Bella"

We were out on the town with our friends Susanna and Kevin when we ran across something we couldn't resist...a new puppy. We ended up taking her home and spending many hours cleaning and loving on her. Unfortunately it was a Friday night and nothing is open here until Monday so we scrounged through our house and made a few friendly calls to find flea shampoo and any other necessities. Chris was a good sport and got up with her at night to feed her and take her potty. She is around 5 weeks old and her mom just died, so it is like taking care of a newborn baby...at least it feels similar with the regular nightime feedings and bathroom breaks. Elijah loves her and thinks she is a toy. He finds many hours of satisfaction running away from her and 'gently' petting her.

It took us a day to decide what to name her. We looked up a few Portugese words and was at a stand still. I really like the name Bella which means 'beautiful', but Chris wasn't convinced. We spent the following afternoon working on Chris's math class when we ran across the word "Parabola". Chris was sold. He said we would name her Parabola and call her Bella. That was the end of that! If you don't know what a Parabola is...look it up. It's really not all that exciting unless you love math.

We just took Kevin and Susanna to the airport (a few hours ago) after enjoying a week with them. We crammed in as much as we could in one week. The highlight of the week was the bull fight in the town of Porto Martins. Kevin was crazy enough to get down and run with the bull. I will put words in his mouth and say it was probably the greatest rush of his life thus far. We made some new friends and enjoyed traditional Azorean cuisine. Among the dishes we varieties of cod fish and octopus. It was relaxing to have friends around and we enjoyed the fellowship and conversation. Thanks Guys! Remember all y'all are welcome to visit!

The New Addition

What's Happening?

I wanted to share a little of my Italian experience with you guys, so here are some pictures and there are videos to the right. The pictures are of me standing in front of the bridge of sighs and the other is a view from the softball fields of the mountains at dusk.

I have been staying busy trying to get stuff ready for MOPS. We had our first meeting this week, but I missed most of it because I was sick.. Elijah wasn't feeling too hot either so I showed my face and left to recover. I am looking forward to joining them in two weeks. My other leaders said the meeting was great and it was a good start to the ministry.

Elijah is of course, getting so big. Everywhere we go people tell us what a monster he is. He has taken on the hobby of dancing, even to the shortest tunes. He thinks it's the greatest thing ever. In the last few days he has made the addition of his arms. This boy has got some rhythm. Suzy, you'd be proud. He also started singing along every once-in-a-while. I'll try to capture a video to share with you guys soon.

Pictures