Little Mechanic, Bella Girl, Cookie Monster

Look at me go with my tools, Grandpa Boon and Great Grandpa Roberts will be so proud of me!

Our baby girl Parabola (Bella) is getting bigger, oh, she's so cute!

Thank you Uncle Nathan, Aunt Heidi, and cousins Alec, Braeden, and Channy for my new, fun Cookie Monster backpack.

Inside On A Rainy Day

I found a new chair that Mommy taught me to sit on.

Nothing gets me more excited than corn dogs and ketsup, YUMMMM!!! And look, I use my big boy fork to eat with now!Mommy taught me to sit on a ball, so I'll show my appreciation by sharing my dinner with her.

Nasties

We are all in the process of fighting the winter nasties here. We have been sick often since we've been here, and from what it sounds like we are not the only people with the problem. I guess that is very common because of the conditions. One of my friends says we live in a petrie dish because the conditions are mild yet, moist. Elijah is still fighting it, Chris just beat it, and I just got it! What great Fun!

Chris got a call at work today saying Elijah had taken a spill and bumped his lip. He was so brave he didn't even cry, but it was bleeding and swollen. When we picked him up it was obviously still swollen.

Later in the evening he was running from the dog and after a series of events he tumbled again and knocked his mouth in the same place. This time there were tears shed and the intense cry without noise. We have a rough tough little boy who proves himself daily. Needless to say he has an even bigger battle wound now.

Our new favorite place on the island

Recently we have discovered a (long time military favorite) restaurant overlooking the ocean. We finally broke down and took a family adventure to the restaurant. The serve local cuisine as well as adding a bit of an Italian twist to the menu. One of my favorites! This is just a quick snapshot of our trip. The view you see in the picture is the view from the restaurant. Isn't it beautiful? I stop in awe of the beauty of God's creation on a daily basis. I hope you enjoy it too!

The first day we took Elijah to School we heard that he had already made five girlfriends. This weekend when we were playing outside we caught it on film how much he adores little girls. He eventually climbed in the car with her and sat on her lap where they just cuddled.

Many of you have been asking about our friends who unexpectedly had their first baby girl 2 month premature here on Terceira, well here is the healthy happy family! Alana is now 7 1/2 weeks old and a whopping 5 lbs (approx)!

Going to School

After some unfortunate events and much contemplation, Chris and I decided to send Elijah to school rather than continue with a Nanny. We thought the socialization would be really good for him. We also discovered it was less money for the CDC (Child Development Center)...always a plus. He was a champ the first day. His teacher was amazed that he had never been in a formal Childcare center. He slept on a cot during nap time and played well with the other kids. The next couple of days were a bit of a different story. He was quite upset when Mommy or Daddy left and he didn't nap well. Then he came around a bit by the end of the week, only for the weekend to come. We will see what happens next week. He actually enjoys his time once he gets over the separation anxiety. I think he is still shy there because his teacher says he doesn't talk except for saying the word 'ball', which we all know is his favorite toy. At home he has quite an extensive vocabulary. They are teaching him to drink out of a regular cup and sit in a little person chair while eating with utensils. We are starting to work on this stuff at home to help with the progress. At least he dispays similar behavior at both places. His favorite thing to do is turn his plate upside down and dump all the food on the table. Then he smears the food around and mushes it in his hands. It's great Fun! He is growing up so fast! He is almost 18 months now and still continues to grow off the charts. He is about 3 feet tall and towers over all the children in his class. Of course, he is the youngest kid there, yet he stands almost a complete head above ALL the other children. I am hoping to get some pictures of his school soon so we can post them for you.

Happy New Year

Where better to Spend New Year's morning than at the beach. It was a nice sunny day when we got up, but as often occurs here, the weather changed to gloomy and windy. It was pretty cold, but we went anyway.
Elijah enjoyed blazing his trail in the fresh sand. He also loved looking at the boats (known as "boaps" around here). Everyday (many times a day) he looks out the window at the water to see if there is a boap out there. Daddy promised Elijah he could go see a bunch of boats this morning, thus the ONLY reason mommy endured the cold until her feet got numb.

Daddy and Elijah are searching the harbor for the coolest boat around.