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Wow! 16 months old. We're so proud of our little man.
From taking up this much room in his carseat...
...to taking up this much room! "Um, Mommy, I'm a little big for this now. Can I have a new one?" What a miracle!
Here are a few recent pictures for you to enjoy:
Mr. Mischievous.
Beautiful eyes (or eye in this case).
Reading with Mommy. He loves books, especially the ones with flaps for him to lift up. 
"Helping" Mommy with the dishes - by staying up out of the way!
Cupboards - still his favorite.
"Will YOU play with me?"
"ARGH!"
Crazy boys.
"Pleeeaaassseee open the gate, Daddy."
"Don't you do it, Daddy. Don't you take one more picture." 
Christopher's vocabulary increases by about 3 words everyday. It's amazing, and kind of scary what he suddenly repeats...time to be more careful of what we say, eh? At his recent doctor's visit, he weighed almost 21 lbs and was 33 in tall. When the nurse was going over the developmental milestones, she asked if he spoke, 1-2, 2-4 or 5-10 words. Mommy replied with a very proud "53." And he's added many more since then. Some of his more recent words include: Jesus, tigger, pooh, hot tea, tickle, trashcan, butterfly, squirrel, stinker, tree, outside, paci, keys, shut, Tasha and play. He points to every vehicle he sees and says "car" and laughs at everything he hears that sounds like a beep and says "beep." Everything in his little world must now be named. He'll point from item to item to item wanting someone to tell him what it is, sometimes trying or succeeding at repeating the word.
We had our first trip back to the hospital with him about 1 1/2 weeks ago. Christopher had been talking off and on in his sleep for about 4 hours, when I finally decided to go in and check on him because he doesn't usually do that - and it dawned on me he may have a fever. Yes, he did. It was 103.4 and he was slightly delirious. So we made a trip to the ER, where he was poked and prodded, had his nose cleaned and swabbed, x-rayed and examined all to say "It's a viral thing - here's some tylenol - go home." Oh well - better safe than sorry and we're so thankful it wasn't RSV or something else. He had a fever for 5 days with no other symptoms except a little fussiness...then it went away and he was fine. PTL!
Things are going well for us. Andy and I are both busy with work, yet enjoying it too. Silas's bag DID make it to Sierra Leone the following week - thank you for your prayers. Continue to pray for him as he adjusts to a much different diet, learns the language, and works in the community.
Whew...I think that about catches us up. I'll try to be regular again and make sure I have a new post up each Monday. Thanks for hanging in there and faithfully keeping up with us and holding us in your prayers.
~Rachel (and Andy and Christopher)
Yikes! I'm kind of "far behind" in blog posts. Bear with me as I try to catch up.
January 2 - 8, Christopher and I flew to Phoenix, AZ for one of my good high school friend's wedding. (Tina Okken and Nathan Smiddy.) Unfortunately, since I was in the wedding, I don't have any pictures from it yet - but I will get some and add them to this post later.
Anyway, the trip went very well, was relaxing, and we all had a wonderful time. Christopher was amazing on the flights - he slept almost the whole 2 and then 3 hours each leg, and LOVED the airports.
We stayed with another high school friend, Tricia (Henry) Pina and her husband Jeff. It was wonderful to catch up with my best friends and just be able to spend some time together - I hadn't seen any of them since my wedding 41/2 years ago! The wedding was beautiful, the bachelorette party fun, and the food delicious. Thanks, Nathan and Tina.
The climate/landscape is so different in Phoenix. This picture was taken in the neighborhood we stayed in. There isn't much grass anywhere - most people's yards are all gravel. It was gorgeous in it's own way. Christopher and I took several long walks, stopping to play in a park and taking lots of pictures because it was all so unique (at least to me!) =)
Christopher? "Yes, Mommy?" Where are you? "Here, Mom." giggle giggle
He was having a wonderful time hiding behind the door from Mommy, and distracting Jeff from his computer game.
Jeff shows Christopher one of his 'toys.'
Tricia and Chrisotpher.
Christopher's first self-portrait. He figured out how to push the button on the camera to take a picture - which made the flash go and a picture show up on the LCD - that's what he liked.
The view from the flight leaving Phoenix was incredible. I was amazed at the sudden and drastic changes in landscape.
First, the city. Lots of houses crammed into every available space.
Then the mountains - with no houses.
And suddenly, snow.
And finally, as you can see, a drastic change from rugged landscape, to flat farmland as far as I could see. Crazy! And beautiful. 
Our connecting flight in Memphis, TN, was delayed two hours, so Christopher and I spent a fantastic FOUR HOURS! in the airport. He actually did great - he entertained everyone else waiting for their planes, walked everywhere that he could and shouldn't go, and tried to share toys or borrow toys with any other child that he saw. There was no fussing the whole time - what a blessing.
After cleaning the phone as best I could with wetwipes, I finally gave in and let him "call" Daddy.
He played with the phone for about 1/2 hour. 
We finally arrived home around midnight, exhausted yet refreshed from a fun mini-vacation. We both missed Andy and were glad to be home as a family again.
On Tuesday, Silas left for Sierra Leone for three months to do a public health internship. We received word that he arrived safely in Freetown, but the airline lost his bag. =( They told him that it should come in on the next flight, which is Saturday, but their office won't be open for him to pick it up until Tuesday...so a week with no luggage. Not fun. Please pray that it will arrive in one piece on as soon as possible. Also, keep Si in your prayers over the next few months as he lives in a rural community and does public health work. Pray for opportunities to share Jesus with those around him, and for his protection as well. Especially pray that he doesn't get Malaria - which made him very sick a few years ago. Thank you.
Monday evening, we were all able to eat together as a family before he left. Tuesday morning, Christopher and I went over to Daddy and Mama's for a waffle breakfast before taking Si to the airport. Christopher learned to say "Si Si" on Monday, and a proud Uncle was able to hear him say his name before he left.
Uncle Silas and Christopher say goodbye for a few months.
We love you, Silas, and are proud of you! May God bless your time there.
Our little man loves to eat...and unfortunately has discovered a secret:
...where the snacks are kept. His favorite snack is gold fish, and he knows right where they are. At times he'll go to the cupboard and pull them out with a cute little "peas" (please) or "fis" (fish). If I ever ask him if he wants some fish for a snack, he'll go get them out for me. Clever little boy!
