8 Months Old!

While skyping with Grandma and Grandpa Krupke, E took an unfortunate "nose" dive into the table resulting in his first "boo boo".  Can you see the table edge shaped bruise?  He took it like a real trooper though!  What a tough guy!

 "Oh where is my hairbrush"  This seems to be the new favorite toy!

8 Months Old....

We took all of our student friends to a night of karaoke and Eli got to come along!  He and his best baby friend Charis were a big hit!  We tried to get a picture of this pair, but they were more interested in each other than smiling for the camera.

Mom and Dad getting a little "artsy" with a spur of the moment photo shoot....

Just A Few New Tricks

Li Ayi, Eli's favorite friend, is teaching him how to 拍拍手 (Pāi pāi shǒu) or clap his hands!

Here are a few more pictures of our growing boy!    

Trying to get a good 7 months old picture...he is a man of many faces!

He's on the move.... Eli is army crawling all over the house...

... and getting into everything! :)

Around the World in 60 Days (Part 4: Hong Kong)

I love Hong Kong!  It is clean, beautiful, and orderly.  It was such a breath of fresh air to spend a few days in this amazing city.  Across the street from our hotel in Hong Kong there was a New Years Festival Street fair.  They had rows and rows of beautiful flowers and small fruit trees.  It was a great reminder that Spring is soon on its way!  Here is also a photo from our hotel at night.

During our stay we ate lunch at this dim sum restaurant overlooking the harbor.  No menus needed.  These ladies come around with carts of dim sum (Hong Kong style appetizers) and you simply point to what you want!  We enjoyed a gorgeous view, fancy tea, and good food!  It was a really fun experience.  Eli was the only kid in the whole place, but several commented on how good he was.  We are so blessed with such a go-with-the-flow little boy!

We took this cable car up the side of a huge hill called Victoria Peak where there is a great view of the city  At times we were literally hanging at a 45 degree angle.  They crammed everyone in, on the way down we didn't even have a seat and had to keep our balance by leaning up against the wall!  Below are a few pictures from up on top!  We picked a great, beautiful day!

The last touristy thing we did was take the ferry across the harbor.  There is a famous shopping street called "Nathan Road", where we were sure to get a picture!

We all enjoyed planes, trains, automobiles, boats, a trolly, a golf cart, a double decker bus, and even an elephant on this wonderful tour around the world.  What a blessing the many memories we made are!  We are so incredibly thankful for this journey.

Around the World in 60 Days (Part 3: Thailand)

For three wonderful weeks we were able to escape the bitter cold East Asia weather and enjoy the sunnier, warmer shores of Thailand.  Our time was filled with two weeks of conferences and one week of much appreciated vacation.  Eli took his first swim in the pool, we all got to ride on an elephant, and we enjoyed many meals and talks with old friends.  He also sprouted his first tooth and learned how to roll over.  Pictures mean so much more than words....so here are a few shots of our trip!

Cruising, ThaiAir style, in his bassinet!

 4 Months Old!!!

 Taking a little family outing to a water market outside Bangkok!

Eli's idea of sunbathing!


My idea of sunbathing...with a coconut shake in hand!

Eli's first swim!

Enjoying dinner on the beach.

Look guys, I can roll over now!

Snuggling with Dad on top of an elephant.

 Family elephant ride

 

First dip in the ocean!