Elliott has something to say...

In Case You Hadn't Heard

I got a job teaching bilingual 1st grade at Swegle Elementary next year. I'm very pleased b/c I already know practically all the staff due to the fact I worked there for four years prior to Peru.
This will be my first year with my own classroom. It will be quite challenging/fun. I will be teaching reading and writing in Spanish. The rest will be taught in English, but I'll translate as I go for those that need it.
Praise God for his timely provision!

Elliott's Favorite Thing

After months of trying to find something Elliott would enjoy we found the exersaucer. He will actually stay in it for 15 to 20 minutes keeping himself busy. This is the closest to being independent as he has gotten and he LOVES it. Here's a glimpse...

Enjoying the view

Neil and Elliott enjoying the Willamette River. This is just a 2 minute walk from our apartment!

Elliott's 6 Month Check-up

This morning Elliott and I took a "field trip" to the pediatrician's office for his 6 month check-up and vaccinations. I was obviously not looking forward to once again having to pin his arms down while the nurse gave him shots. It seems so cruel, you know? Well, Elliott did REALLY well and stopped crying as soon as they were administered. Phew!

The doctor also said that Elliott is looking great and is hitting all of the appropriate benchmarks. For those of you who care, he is now 26 1/4" long (34th percentile), weighs 18lbs 10oz (61st percentile), and has a head circumference of 46cm (92nd percentile). So basically we have a short, kind of chubby, big-headed baby. :) We are so thankful to have such a healthy son and try to never take it for granted.

Neil is attending a week-long writing workshop at the elementary school he'll be teaching at next year. To save on gas money, as well as enjoy the beautiful Oregon weather, he is planning on riding his bike each day. The route to the school is totally flat and pretty fast. Neil is still so happy to be back on the bike after going without one in Peru.

Happy 6 Months to Elliott!

It's hard to believe, but our little guy is 6 months old today. He's sitting up on his own, reaching out for us, and ocasionally complains when we take a toy away. Though the road hasn't been the easiest, we are so thankful for him and couldn't ask for a more perfect addition to our family.

Here he is at 4 days old:

The Cantrall Household

We are now in our own place!!

After two months of being nomadic and moving from one house to another we are finally in a place we can call home. The way we found our apartment can be called nothing short of a God thing. It is owned by some supporters of ours and is far more than what we expected to find. Not only is the location amazing but it's affordable, clean, new, and we have access to their hot tub, the Willamette River, BBQ area, a lush garden, tons of exercise equipment, etc. In the picture Elliott is peaking out of one of the windows.





Elliott is continually growing, changing, and learning. Now that we are finally able to get him into some sort of routine he seems to be happier. He naps around the same time each day, he LOVES eating baby food, he has mastered sitting on his own, and wants SO badly to crawl. It's amazing to see him change on a daily basis and we have been so blessed to watch him take in every new experience.

Our Time in Nehalem

Here are a few pictures to sum up our time in Kelsey's hometown.


Neil and Kelsey's dad sporting their Carhart jackets.


Grandpa showing Elliott the neighbor cow.


Hanging out with Grandma.


Elliott is SO close to mastering the art of sitting all by himself and had a lot of opportunities to practice at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Pucallpa Pics

We just got back from a visit to the Oregon coast and will post some pictures soon. Until then we thought we would post a few pictures taken right before we left Pucallpa.


A motocar ride with Elliott sporting his jungle hat.


Our good friend Violeta with Elliott.


Elliott with some of our coworkers at our farewell party.

Elliott's First Cold

Sorry we haven't posted in awhile. We've been dealing with a sick little Elliott. We have been fortunate in that this is the first cold he has had but even so it's difficult on all of us. To top it off he decided the share his cold with his mom. How nice! He's learning how to share at a very young age.