Eek, I'm way behind again! This past month has been really busy for us, full of traveling and company and work and play. I hope to get caught up on pictures soon, but for now - here are a few verbal snapshots of what we have been up to:
- In January, Daniel had the opportunity to spend eight days in China with his firm, meeting with clients and working on some exciting projects. He will actually return there next week for a ten day trip. Thanks to the wonder of Skype, we were and will be able to communicate with him almost daily, but Elli and I definitely missed "Daddy." If you ask Elli where Daniel went to on the airplane, she will answer, "Hina Hina."
- Last week, I traveled to Greensboro, NC for the annual Anglican Mission in America Winter Conference. What a blessing! I returned feeling refreshed and renewed, excited about our church and my ministry with students. While I was gone, Daniel's mom came to stay with Elli, and they had a blast! What a blessing to know that my family would be well cared for while I was gone! She stayed a few extra days and blessed us even more by watching Elli while Daniel and I had a Valentine's Day date!
- Our dear friends, Evan and Michaela, came to visit us early in January. We enjoyed showing them where we live, and were so encouraged by their company! There just really is nothing like life-long friendships!
- My dad visited with us the next weekend after a conference nearby. Elli still talks about Grandpa every time she hears an airplane overhead. Hope he can make that an annual visit!
- Elli's vocabulary is just exploding. Yesterday when I went to pick her up from mother's day out, she was talking with her teacher about some dolls that they have. Without any prompting, she identified all of their occupations: fireman, doctor, cook, etc. She is obviously picking up on so much more than I realize.
- The best part of her verbal growth has been at the dinner table. We try to have a family devotional time where we read a Bible story, sing a Bible verse (from Hide 'Em in Your Heart), pray, and work on a catechism question. Hearing our daughter praying for her family and thanking God for his love is absolutely one of the sweetest sounds ever!
- While she adds new words daily, she is also more adept at both her gross and fine motor skills. She can now jump (and loves to on the bed while skyping with her cousin!), run really fast (which is beginning to be a challenge for this seven-months-pregnant mama!), and is conquering more and more of the playground equipment (which sometimes terrifies me!). She loves to do puzzles and is very detail oriented (wonder which of us she gets that from?) :)
- She has also become quite the little artist, sitting down to color for several minutes at a time and loving to paint whenever I give her the opportunity.
- Reading continues to be one of her favorite activities, and she will often line up her Pooh buddies and read them one of her books. Unfortunately, she has a sixth sense for when the video camera is out, so I have yet to capture this on video, but I will not give up easily!
No comments:
Post a Comment