The "F" Date

I have not done a great job with posting about our ABC dates, and I do plan to go back and post the "C", "D", and "E" dates at some point (mostly for memory sake), but for now, we are pressing on with the "F" date.

First we went to the park to Fly kites. We rented a Mickey Mouse kite which the salesman told us was one of the favorites. He gave us this high-tech reel to use with the kite which made flying it almost foolproof (at least once you got it up in the air). I went into the kite flying experience with the question of what is so much fun about it. I see kites flying from my window all day everyday so I assumed it must be a lot of fun. I left with the answer that kite crashing was actually a lot more fun than kite flying.


These are some of the many old men that sit in the park day after day flying their kites. It looks like really hard work doesn't it?














After kite flying, we decided to throw the Frisbee. We noticed a couple of locals staring at us so we asked them to join us. It was their first time ever to throw a frisbee so David and I went easy on them (kidding). We actually enjoyed that a lot more than kite flying!

We ended the day out with a Family dinner at a new French restaurant in a city about 30 minutes away. I had the beef bourginon, David had a pan-seared fish, and Elijah had a cheddar and mushroom omelette. It was all delicious!

Memorial Day 5K Fun Run!

We and some other friends here hosted a 5K fun run for the foreigners (that's what we call any of us not from China) on Saturday morning. We had a blast, and even Elijah got to participate. David pushed the stroller and ran the entire way (he has really become an incredible runner). I ran with a friend, and we ran half way and then ran/walked the rest (this is pretty good for me as I am mostly an indoor exerciser). David and Elijah made it to the finish line in about 30 minutes, and I rolled in about 10 minutes later. It was a great way to spend time with friends and to get some really great exercise.

Elijah's Swimming Non-Adventure

We took Elijah swimming for the first time last weekend, and we just knew he would love it- he didn't (can't you see the distress in his face?)! As soon as he caught sight of the pool, he started crying. We tried easing him in, distracting him with toys, playing by the slide, but he wasn't having any of it. Finally after half an hour or so he began to tolerate the pool and all of our shennanagins of trying to get him to like it, and even chose to sit in his little boat and put on a semi-happy face (well at least he wasn't crying).

Elijah's friend Roman and his parents went with us which was so much fun. Roman loved playing in the water, loved going down the slide, and didn't even mind getting splashed. He had a great time!

We are determined that he will love to swim so we're trying again tomorrow. We'll see what Elijah thinks of round two.

Nostalgia...

I always have a little moment of nostalgia when the time comes to change from one size of clothes to the next size up. As it goes, Elijah has outgrown most of his 12 month clothes which not only means that he will begin wearing his new 18 month ones, but also means that my little baby is growing up into a little boy. It seems like just yesterday, he was just learning to roll over or just learning to eat rice cereal, and now Elijah is walking everywhere and eating everything in sight (this morning he had a scrambled egg, a wholegrain pancake, and a 1/3 cup of peaches)! I know there is no stopping this process of growing up, but some days I wish I could just press the pause button and keep Elijah small forever. This is such a fun stage of life with him as he is so impressionable, so cute, and so not able to say anything disrespectful or really do anything deliberately disobedient.

I guess one thing I do have to look forward to with moving up to his 18 month clothes is all the new fun outfits I will get to mix and match (thanks so much Nana and Papa for all of the clothes you sent!) and all the new things Elijah is going to discover and learn over these next 6 months.

Sliding Down!

These are the cutest little videos of Elijah going down the slide at KFC. He reminds my so much of my neice and nephew who also love to slide and want to do it over and over again!

Super Sunday Sandwich- Croque Monsieur

During the winter, each Sunday was themed "Souper Sunday", and for our dinner meal, I made a different kind of soup each week. We loved that so much that for the summer we have decided to have "Super Sunday Sandwiches" and "Super Sunday Salads" on each Sunday evening of the week.

The first sandwich on the rotation was a fried green tomato BLT on homemade buttermilk bread with a side of sweet potato fries. We both loved the sandwiches and thought they were a perfect start to the new theme.

This week I made Croque Monsieur sandwiches. These wonderful creations originated in France at small cafes. These sandwiches are made by spreading a helping of dijon mustard on the inside of one slice of french bread then layering thinly sliced ham and gruyere cheese and then topping with another slice of french bread. You then spread butter on the outside of the sandwhich and pan fry it for a few minutes on each side until it is a golden brown. Meanwhile you make a cream sauce (bechamel) to spread over the top of each sandwich and then sprinkle more gruyere on top. You then broil the sandwiches until the cheese is melted, and whallah!- you have a croque monsieur.

Neither David nor I have ever eaten this sandwich which made it a perfect candidate for our Super Sunday Sandwich night. We ate every last bite of these delicious savory treats and can't wait until the next time we get to have them again!

Next Sunday's sandwich- French Dips with Au Jus!

The Fussiest Day... But Still Cute

When we put Elijah down for bed tonight, both David and I breathed a sigh of relief. We looked at each other, and both agreed that today Elijah had the fussiest, whiniest, cryiest day of his entire life thus far, and we were both completely exhausted from it.

Elijah woke early at 6:30 and fussed in his crib until we got him up at 7:30. He only ate a little breakfast and continued on with his fussing while we got ready for church not wanting us to put him down for even a second. He fussed through his morning nap, and woke up after just 30 minutes of sleep crying loudly. He fussed at lunch and only wanted to eat a little again. He did finally take a good nap this afternoon, but only after fussing to go down. He woke up crying again, but was happy to have a cookie and milk for snack. I took him to play with his friend Roman, and he cried several times when Roman took his toy or when he couldn't stand up or something equally as tragic. He fussed at dinner and absolutely refused to eat anything other than yogurt and applesauce. He fussed in his bath which is extremely atypical (this is usually his favorite time of the day) and then fussed when we put him down to bed.

I sincerely hope he is teething or just having an off day. Lord I pray for sweet Elijah that you will comfort him and help him to rest in You.

So the other reason for this post- in the midst of a terribly fussy day, Elijah was as cute as ever in his little red gunnysack jumper outfit.

A Real Shock!

For reasons you will soon understand, I will not post a picture with this little excerpt from Elijah's day.

This morning I put Elijah in the tub for his bath since we got in too late last night, and he needed to go straight to bed. I gave him a few bath toys and left him playing happily while I wiped the table from breakfast. David was reading, I was cleaning, and Elijah was babbling and playing. Then we heard him get very quite. A moment later David walked in the bathroom and called to me, "I need help in here." I rushed in to find Elijah standing in a bathtub full of poo! I could hardly believe it. He has never done this in his entire lifetime of baths so I was shocked!

I really wasn't sure how to go about the clean-up, but eventually we did get everything clean and sterilized. I'm not quite sure why Elijah decided to do this for the first time ever, but I guess he would agree with my dad's sentiments when he says, "You don't want to hold that stuff in there. It will make you sick!"

Chalk it up to one of the many not-so-dainty experiences we will have with our little man.

Picture Pages

Many times when Elijah has room time to play by himself, I will walk in to find him flipping through his picture album. We often look through this album together- me telling him all the names of our family and friends and him pointing and babbling. It was so sweet to find him looking through the book this morning, and I just had to catch it on the Flip. As you'll see he is really focused on the task, though I'm not sure what he enjoys more- the pictures or flipping the pages!

Sack O' Taters

1st Birthday Videos with Mom and Dad

Good morning birthday boy!

Anytime David pulls his guitar out to play, Elijah rushes to his side and tries to play with him. So for his birthday, we decided to get Elijah is very first guitar. He hasn't quite figured out how to strum it on his own, but he loves to spin the center piece around and around. He is well on his way to be a talented guitarist!

Elijah loves to shake everything he can get his hands on- spice containers, bottles of liquid, and now his new maracas!

Elijah David Patrick's 1st Birthday!

One year statistics: 24 lbs 12 oz, 31.5 inches

He did it! Elijah reached the one year mark and had a wonderful birthday celebration. Pops, Gigi, and MawMaw made the trip all the way to China to celebrate wtih us which was so very special.

The lion cake! It was so much fun to decorate!

Elijah is just about ready to dig in!

His first taste of cake!He seemed to enjoy the cake- especially being allowed to make a mess of it!

Elijah just loves balls of any shape and size, and he especially loved this little safari ball that Gigi brought to go with his birthday decorations. Isn't he just so cute?

Elijah's most special birthday present was the train engine that Gigi and Pops chose just for him. He loved riding the little train around, sqeaking the horn, and trying to figure out how to open the seat to put his treasures inside.

Elijah just loved the Pop-Onz blocks that MawMaw picked out for him. He built all sorts of fun and zany creations!

It always seems to be the most inexpensive and non-elaborate things that kids just love. For Elijah it turned out to be the orange birthday balloon. He played with it non-stop until he went to bed and looked for it first thing the next morning. We even tied a ribbon to it so he could bang it around. He just loved it!