9 months!

Wow- the nine month mark is here. It's hard to tell when he will be nine months exactly, because he was born on the 29th of May, and there aren't 29 days in February. Oh well.
I took Eli to the clinic for a check up last week. He weighs 20 lbs now!!!! His cold has gone away and his top four teeth have come through, so we are much happier here at the Robbins' house. The new thing we struggle with now is Eli's never ending desire to walk. If you set him down for any reason, he SCREAMS! If you pick him up, he SCREAMS. He is only happy when walking. It's been fun helping him to explore his little walking skills, going up and down steps and walking in the rocks and the grass.

Here he is playing on our back porch. He loves to chase ants with his index finger, and poke the rocks and grass. We call it 'indexing'.


I've mentioned before that Elijah cries every time we put him down for a nap. Not only does he cry, but he crawls to the end of his crib, reaches out and grabs the mosquito net in desperation. He pushes his face up to the bars of the crib and will cry until he falls asleep. It usually only takes 5-10 minutes, so we just let him throw his tantrum, knowing he will wear himself out. Lately, I've been going in to check on him once he's fallen asleep. This is what I have found.

I love this one because it shows how he literally fell asleep while trying to escape the crib!

Eli and papa.
Watching the rain/hail storm.

Eli loves playing peeka-boo.

Eli and mama

Escom is our electric company here in Lilongwe. We have been without electricity a lot lately. There is so much sludge and waste being washed into the rivers because of deforestation, and it has jammed one of the turbines. So, there is less electricity for the whole city, and as you can imagine, less water, too. Eli has been taking baths in a bucket because we don't have enough water for a real bath. He doesn't know the difference, though.

We don't have many toys, so I try to keep half of them hidden and then bring them out when Eli gets bored with the other ones. Well, lately, he's been uninterested in all of his toys. What is a mother to do? Well, I introduced him to the kitchen cabinets. Actually, he can help himself because one of our cabinet doors has broken off, so it's completely open and ready for Elijah to explore. His favorite kitchen items: the strainer, the whisk and the rubber spatula.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but our friend Owen comes over every Tuesday. He and Dan have been going through Romans together. Owen always stays for dinner and Elijah loves the extra attention. Owen is so great with kids and is really helpful with Elijah. He's the type of person you could just leave your kid with and not think twice about it.

Thanks for reading and keeping up with us!