Summer Update

Summer has been filled with new adventures for Elijah (and Rob & I, too!)  The previous seven posts include photos from our recent trip abroad.  We are forever grateful for the opportunity and can truly say travel is the best form of education.  Elijah may be too young to process it all, but he does comprehend that the world is big but quite manageable and unbelievably varied but familiar.  No matter where he goes, people are friendly, hardworking, and family-oriented, and, hey, they love sports!  (The latest addition to his ball collection: the rugby ball.)  But, best of all, they've got really cool taxis and buses (red double-deckers!) and trains (fast and super fast kinds!) and planes (propeller ones!) and boats and motorcycles.  The tube and black taxis in London topped his list of preferred transportation.

Also a highlight: the Guards and the Beefeaters at the Tower of London.  But nothing beats the day he spent at Edinburgh Castle, especially with all those cannons.

As much "boy" as he is, he's still one to stop and smell the roses.  Literally.  So I can honestly say he appreciated all the beautiful landscape, too; especially with his curiousity these days about God and Nature.  And Ireland provided PLENTY to appreciate!  Though, it did help that castles were nestled throughout. : )

A final note, mainly for Rob and I to remember later: Elijah speaks so well, it freaks us out.  Aside from maybe the "r" sound, he pronounces words clearly now.  And he has a vocabulary that keeps us on our toes.  I can't tell you how many times I halt and wonder not only when he learned a certain word but also how he learned to use it effectively...like the word "effectively," for example.  LOL  Just a few months ago, "last morning" was a common phrase of his to signify any time that has passed.  Now, he's learned the difference between yesterday and three days ago.  Too bad, because it was so cute.  But one thing that still trips him up is the pronoun.  "Nana asked me to give this to her. Her needs it to..."  So sweet.  And he wonders: if the past tense of "walk" is "walked," then why can't the past tense of "run" be "runned."  It can be--if you're Huckleberry Finn.  Last but not least, Elijah sees no use for the word "am."  No extraneous verbs for him; it's simply "I playing right now," or "I not tired."  Puts a new spin on "to be, or not to be."  Take that, Shakespeare.

Stay tuned for a new chapter: Elijah starts preschool on August 31st!

~Nasreen