Finally, a tooth!

Fun and stories

Here we are, making silly faces. Graham made Jon take about 20 of these, with a variety of expressions. But, this one was particularly flattering. :)

Eliot, eating corn on the cob (sucking on it, actually, since he still has not teeth) post pasta. Graham kept saying "Ew, Eliot is so gross!" And he did have a point.

Graham has been so funny and full of great stories lately and yet somehow I forget them all! He's so sweet with Eliot and they've really started to be "friends" now, although Eliot can't do many of the things that he's dying to do just like his brother. He's close to walking, but still doesn't seem to think it's necessary, so really doesn't want to put the effort in. He's taken many steps on his own multiple times, but whenever we try to stand him up and get him going he just plops down and crawls like there's no tomorrow.

The other day G had a rare potty accident because he didn't want to stop playing outside in the sandbox. When Jon asked him what happened, (perhaps he thought this might help him avoid our wrath!) he replied "I don't know, my kidneys just made me go pee". In a similar vein, yesterday he came down from using the toilet and proudly proclaimed "Mommy I just went pee and it ALL went in the toilet!". Hope that doesn't scare you away from coming to visit us, since we only have one bathroom...

He loves to give people nick names, so he currently calls his brother either El-y or El, and he has a very cute habit of calling me "Mother" or the shortened form "Mothe" (as in Muhth).

He continues to be captivated by anything Lego, Playmobile, or with either policeman or rocket/space themes, and he stills plays garbage collector on a regular basis. Sibling rivalry has begun to seep into our midst, particularly if Eliot tries to touch any of the aforementioned favored toys. Ever thinking, Graham is always quick to explain "NO EL YOU CAN'T TOUCH IT! [receives a stern look from one of us] It's not safe for babies, you might choke".

In sad news, our very dear friends the Wootens moved away last week, so Graham said goodbye to his best buddy Dash. When we tried to explain the move to him he kept insisting that Dash would be moving back soon, like we did after our trip to Africa. They were such great friends, we'll definitely miss sharing the ins and outs of life with them, but know that they will be going on to great things at Dartmouth.

In happy news, another very dear friend Debbie was here to visit this past weekend and we had so much fun together! The boys think she's awesome and Graham gets to be the ring-bearer at her wedding in just a few months! Hopefully he'll be old enough to make it all the way down the aisle this time...

Well, as I said I'm not forgetting all my good stories so I'll try to pop on and add some more when I think of them, or when they occur, in the next few days. Take care all!

time for some pictures!

Well, after a wonderful summer of travel around East Africa we are settling back in to life in Ann Arbor, and I figured it was well past time to get some pictures on here. We had such a great time in Congo since my last post on Eliot's birthday, but we had very little access to internet or communication of any type, so my already poor updating became seriously delinquent. Thanks to those of you who haven't given up on us!

During our time in Beni, Congo we got to meet lots of new friends, enjoyed getting to know students and staff at UCBC, and also had a great time getting to know the town better and imagining a future life here as a family!

Some of the challenging parts included not having indoor plumbing or electricity, but we coped with those things much better than anticipated.

Each morning the boys and I had lots of fun doing the washing together (I will be happy if we go back after diapers are no longer an issue!) and the hot sun had everything dried by early afternoon. Funny enough we got so used to having generator power about 2 hrs a day that when we got back to all day power it felt kind of unnecessary and excessive! Funny how quickly perspective can change.

Graham loved playing with the pet monkey "Kiki" at our guest house, and feeding him fruits!

As some of you know our time in Congo was delayed and shortened by a long process trying to get our visas to allow entry. Thanks to tireless work from our friends in Beni we were able to squeak through with our documents (we actually had to print them out in the Kampala airport before catching our connecting charted flight; when Jon finally found a place where he could access his email the document had been sent to him 2 minutes earlier!) Here is a picture of us on our very own missionary (MAF) flight into Beni; in this shot you see the whole airplane, that's Jon's shoulder and the pilot's seat in the foreground. Graham loved having our own little plane and peppered the kind pilot with questions.

I also wanted to post a few more pictures of our idyllic time spent with Jon's family in Nairobi-- we had so much fun! Here is Eliot chillin with our neighbor friend Nicholas. Graham made friends with the entire neighborhood and had such a fun time with "Shosh" and "Babu".

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Here the guys are sitting on the car hood, for some reason one of their favorite things...

Now that we're back in Ann Arbor things are already gearing up for a busy semester. Both boys have spent as much time as possible in the sandbox, to make up for lost time, and Graham has been thrilled to reunite with his old buddies. We feel blessed to be back in this great community, and it's strange how much it feels like the time in Africa was just a dream in some ways! We're praying that God will keep the people and places we visited on our hearts in spite of the busyness of life here in the US. Thanks to all of you who prayed for us during our travels; I'll try to post some more details before too long, but you know how that goes...

Love to all!

Eliot's 1st Birthday!

Feeding the giraffe

Crocodile Tooth!

Eliot is one year old! I can't believe it. His presence in our lives has brought so much joy in so many ways, he is a true blessing to our family. It's amazing to see how happy he makes others, and how affectionately his bright eyes shine as he makes new friends no matter what continent he's on.

For his birthday party we went to Nairobi Mamba Village which boasts a crocodile park with over 70 crocodiles (Graham and Eliot were entranced although their mother was sure to have nightmares--what horrible creatures!) as well as ostriches and a giraffe. After the party we came home and had cupcakes.-- Eliot kept saying "mmm---mmm--mmm" the whole time.

We will finally be heading to Congo on Friday, with the visas cleared and flights mostly figured out. Our time here has been so blessed, but we're excited to finally make it to Beni.

Love you all!

Happy Birthday Eliot!

Feeding the giraffe

Crocodile Tooth!

Eliot is one year old! I can't believe it. His presence in our lives has brought so much joy in so many ways, he is a true blessing to our family. It's amazing to see how happy he makes others, and how affectionately his bright eyes shine as he makes new friends no matter what continent he's on.

For his birthday party we went to Nairobi Mamba Village which boasts a crocodile park with over 70 crocodiles (Graham and Eliot were entranced although their mother was sure to have nightmares--what horrible creatures!) as well as ostriches and a giraffe. After the party we came home and had cupcakes. I'll upload a video of Eliot enjoying his, although we didn't catch the "mmms" he made the whole time.

We will finally be heading to Congo on Friday, with the visas cleared and flights mostly figured out. Our time here has been so blessed, but we're excited to finally make it to Beni.

Love you all!

More adventures

Graham on a jungle hike in Uganda

Two happy guys

Hello again to everyone!

We were supposed to be in Congo today (actually, yesterday) but due to a sudden complete change in visa policies were unable to leave as scheduled. Our friends in Beni are working on it from another angle, but in the meantime we're enjoying a bit more time in Kenya with Shosho and Babu!

Since we've been here Eliot has started standing on his own for a few seconds and is determined to do everything that Graham and his big boy friends do. He particularly loves digging into the huge trunk of Legos that Shosho bought from another missionary family and which Graham spends endless hours playing with. Graham, of course, loves to tell him cannot play with them. But, Eliot really holds his own, swatting Graham's hands away if he tries to hold him back. It gives me a tiny glimpse into the future combination of sibling friendship and rivalry.

Graham has become friends with the entire compound, and regularly goes "visiting" to various apartments on his own. There are three dogs here that he's also become quite close to, particularly one ugly mutt whom he has named "Police Dog Sparky". The dog's love for Graham is mutual, particularly since he doesn't seem to get much attention from anyone else!

Both of the boys seem so comfortable and happy here in Africa, they love meeting people and make friends so easily. They have both come to love Flora, who helps around the house here, and she has taken such good care of them, too! She even babysat one evening so the four of us grownups could go out together- what a treat! They were all happy as clams when we got home, Eliot had even fallen asleep in her arms.

In short, we're loving it here and are so excited to (hopefully) be getting to Congo soon. We're feeling so blessed and happy to be here together. Love to all!

Africa!!

Finally, fast enough internet to post some pics and an update! The Shaw family has now spent over a month in Uganda and we are loving being a family here! The boys are so happy; they love all of the freedom they have to play and explore, the dirt that gets into every crevice each day, and the many friends who have come into our lives since we got here.

We've gotten to have so many fun adventures. Jon's research is going very well and I've enjoyed a few shifts at the local hospital, mostly helping out with their vaccination clinic. We feel so blessed by the opportunity to be here and love our "home" in Fort Portal. We are staying at a friendly little guest house and have made good friends with the staff, who especially dote on the boys. Overall, the transition has been remarkably comfortable and easy; the boys have been such troopers, even through moves and changes. Without further ado, a few pictures.

At the Amabere caves with our friends Doreen and her son Nino

Family photo at our guest house in Kampala, just after we arrived (you can still see the jetlag in Eliot's eyes!)

Graham climbing trees with his friend Ian

In the bathtub soon after we arrived at our dear friend Phil and Emily's house in Kampala. They gave us such a warm welcome!

A few pictures

I just wanted to put up a couple of recent pictures. The first two of Eliot are taken by Graham. He loves using the camera, and I think they show artistic promise, don't you?? Sorry, I don't know how to flip the second one in blogger.

Eliot has been crawling for the last couple of weeks, and getting into Graham's toys more which has caused a few conflicts. Even so, Graham is a very patient brother and LOVES to play with Eliot. I'm amazed at how much they already interact and play together. And they love each other so much! Sometimes they start giggling at each other and just can't stop. I love seeing them together!


Loving brothers: they are so sweet together.

April is here!

(Ok, so I've been editing this post for so long that I just had to change my title from "March is here" to "April is here". I think that means it's time to post it no matter what!)

Graham and Eliot are enjoying their time together more and more as Eliot gets older and more interactive. He is scooting around at a slow crawl now, and is thrilled to be taking part in things. His favorite thing is "wrestling" with Graham, and he already holds his own, grabbing Graham around the neck and shoulders and, of course, pulling his hair, both of them squealing with glee all the while. I am wondering how many million times I will say "be gentle guys!" in the next few years. More than I can count, of that I'm sure.

Graham is at that wonderful age where he is full of questions and observations about absolutely everything, but of course has no sense of propriety yet. He is very used to seeing me breastfeeding Eliot and is quite enamored with the process. A few days ago though we were with a friend who began breastfeeding her baby. He looked over and said in a very polite, conversational tone, "Oh, (insert name here) I didn't know you had boobs!"

The other morning our washing machine's load got out of balance and it started making a loud banging noise while we ate breakfast. Jon was surprised and asked "What was that?" to which Graham responded "Don't worry Daddy, I think it's just me crunching my cereal."

Eliot had his 9mo appointment a few days ago and he seems to be doing great. His most recent stats: 28 1/2in tall, and 21lb5oz which means he's still been gaining over a pound a month! He has finally begun to accept solid foods in the last couple of weeks, which makes me happy and seems to be helping him rest a bit better. He continues to have the most laid back personality, and laughs at pretty much anything, especially anything that Graham does.

We only have a couple of weeks left before we leave for Africa- it's coming quickly! We're all excited about the adventure and can't wait to get back to the continent that holds such a huge place in our hearts. We appreciate your thoughts and prays as we prepare ourselves and the boys for this journey!

Much love to all, and I promise to put some pictures up soon, once I get them downloaded...

Fun times

A recent trip to Detroit's Renaissance Center (GM's headquarter's)

Sweetness

I love these guys!

First day of school

We're having so much fun with boys now that we're all healthy again and back to our routines. Eliot continues to grow and fill out- I didn't know it was possible to have shoulder blade rolls, but he has somehow managed to grow them! His favorite activities include watching Graham do anything, having his hands or feet kissed, and pretty much any kind of direct interaction with other humans. He is so outgoing, I can't believe it. He recently weighed in at 20lbs6ozs and 27 1/2 inches, so he's very big and heavy for his age. (My arms and back are well aware of this!) A few days ago he did his first independent movement when he scooted backwards while lounging on the floor with Graham and I. The goal was to go forwards but he didn't seem to upset with the opposite result! He now frequently moves in circles, or backwards/forwards a few inches at a time. He thinks Graham is the funniest thing in the world, and I'll post a video at the end of him giggling at G's antics. Sorry, it is shaky and blurry at times, but it's hard to hold a baby while also trying to get him in the picture!

Graham has recently started preschool at the University's Child Development Center, and his class of 18 has 14 different first languages within it. He was very excited to try this new experience, and loves painting, playing with cars and tool boxes, doing crafts, playing outside and helping with clean up time. Most of the time we're all still home together, and we love to do everything from grocery shopping to trips to the science museum to sledding and winter hikes. Graham is a real natural with the sled, and can't seem to get enough.

He continues to crack us up with his wise sayings and wonderings. Last week's sermon at our church was a great one about the redeeming power of God's love. Our pastor used an illustration of a conversation he had had with his young son. He had asked him whether he thought his parents loved him as much when he was bad as when he was good. Jon decided to pose the same question to Graham on our way home from church. He paused for at least 30 seconds, obviously contemplating how he should answer, then said, brows furrowed, "Daddy--that's a bad question I think".

He is still so sweet and sensitive, it is (most days) a joy to be his parents. I am learning all over again to be very careful about what I say, as I now hear "Mommy, how many times have a told you..." He also repeats the nicer things, like last week when he came downstairs in the morning, gave me a hug, looked into my eyes and said, with great seriousness "Hey Sweety. Did you have a good sleep?"

He loves his brother Eliot, although already enjoys NOT sharing with him, and showers him with lots of hugs, kisses, and toys (those that aren't interesting or enviable in any way). They are quite a pair and they keep me busy and happy.

In other big news, Graham is officially potty trained, which has been a long time coming! We are so proud of him and happy to have only one in diapers.

Even bigger news, is that Jon got a Fellowship to study abroad this summer, so we will be in Africa (Uganda) for 3 months! His research there will be focused on Congo and we'll be near the border. We're so excited to get back and find out first-hand how our family will fit in on our "home" continent. Pray for us as we prepare for this big trip. The boys get their passport photos taken tomorrow!

I'm sorry our posts have been so sporadic... I really wish I was better at taking pictures and documenting like I was in Graham's first year of life. I guess that's second child syndrome, right? I hope Eliot knows we love him just as much, even if we have a few hundred less photos of his cute little face. Much love to all!