My little man and his big noise makers!

Here we are...mama and son...this picture is a rarity (I usually don't ever get in the pics!)  This picture is especially for EA (my dear friend, Erin-Ashley, she is so amazing and I miss her so much) so that she can see my sling/pouch/wrap.  I tried to explain it over the phone, but my explanation was not so great.  So, here it is, EA.  See how Emmanuel just fits in the front (he is sitting indian style).  Now, he is big enough to be worn on my hip.  He loves the pouch.  Because it is so cold now, we don't get to use it as much as I would like.  Thank you, Davin, Won-Jung, Zoe and Daniel!  Emmanuel LOVES the maracas.  He mostly eats them, but every now and then, I hear him shaking them.  And, my favorite set of photos...for this post...Emmanuel is attacking his noise-maker thingie! 

Here he is holding the noise-maker thingie...the poor noise-maker thingie doesn't know what's coming!
Here he is beginning to chew on the noise-maker thingie...but still making eye contact with the camera...

And finally...Emmanuel overtakes the noise-maker thingie with his teeth.  The noise-maker thingie didn't stand a chance!

Thanks for reading about our boy.  I'll post more later.  

I know who I am

This week's "Jesus Lullaby" is the bridge of one of my favorite songs by Chris Tomlin and Israel Houghton  (who we will see in concert on Saturday!)  It is my earnest prayer that the Lord would use the words of these "Jesus Lullabies" to speak to Emmanuel's heart.  

I am forgiven...

I am Your friend...

I am accepted...

I know who I am. 

I am secure... 

I'm confident...

That I am loved...

I know who I am. 

I am alive! 

I've been set free! 

I belong to You...

You belong to me! 

We'll let you know how the concert is--I am sure that it will be a picture of heaven here on earth!

I was there when the first Black President was sworn in...

When people found out that we were taking Emmanuel to DC to see the inauguration of Barack Obama, many thought we had lost our minds.  "You're not going to be able to see anything...won't it be too cold for him...why would you put your infant through that?"  We were committed to having Emmanuel experience history so that he can better understand his identity as a black man in America.  Many years from now when both Eli and I are long gone from this place, Emmanuel will be able to tell his grandchildren, "I was there when the first Black President was sworn in."

It was an amazing experience to be among millions of people who were excited about our country and our new President.  I have never experienced so much enthusiasm for a president. I know that statistics show that other presidents have been popular...but what other presidents have people wear their name on skull caps and scarfs...it was obama mania!  People came from all over...Chicago, Tennessee, California.  This one lady said, "We don't have tickets or anything, but we just wanted to be here to experience this." 

We are praying for our new President--for his leadership in his home, for his relationship with his wife, for quality time with his kids, and his wisdom in running the country.  In my granddaddy's words, "Child, we just have to pray that he doesn't waver from God...that he remains true."

Below is a picture of Lil' E all bundled up. 

Obama was sworn in around 12 noon...this was the picture of the Washington Monument around 10 AM. 
I loved watching Michelle Obama (on the jumbotron) while Barack took his oath of office.  She looked like she was so proud of him.  (By the way...the jumbotrons were awesome!)

Pic of our new President...

Pic of people dispersing after Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.

The people behind us.

More people!

Yes, I nursed in the midst of millions of people and in 25 degree weather.

More people.Walking through the crowd.

Smiling Emmanuel...

The people never ended!!!

More Barack...I didn't get a picture of Rick Warren, but I did appreciate his prayer before the ceremony. 

Can you believe all of the people? 
We had a blast.  It was a long, hard day...both of our biceps hurt from carrying our little man for most of the day...and our car got towed...but we enjoyed the adventure...there is always an adventure in our house.  

Video of Zoe and Emmanuel

(Finally) As promised...here is the video of Zoe and Emmanuel!  Now, I mentioned that Zoe was a genius...notice how Eli says, "That's my boy!"  Zoe changes it (remember she is just 2 1/2) to:  "That's YOUR boy!"  I did not know that 2 year olds could change personal pronouns without prompting!  She also knew that an 8 sided figure was an "octagon."  

Enjoy :)

Call the papers! Emmanuel slept for 6 hours straight!

Well, folks, this has been a long time coming. Emmanuel slept for 6 hours straight last night, which technically is "sleeping through the night." It was great that he only woke up one time!
Now our hurdle is his early morning wake-up call, but I think he's a morning person like his mom (this also means he's like my brother's kids...they all wake up between 5:00-6:00 AM EVERYDAY!) I'll take an early morning wake-up call if my boy will only wake me up once :)

Most of you know that Lil' E has always been a great napper--he takes 2 naps a day that range from 1.5-2 hours, and if it's a late night, then he'll add a 3rd nap for about 45 minutes...but the nighttime hours have been brutal!

Eli and I came up with a plan (which btw--I told him that he should write a book because everyone who develops a sleep theory has a book out there!) where we would alternate who gets up with Emmanuel to slowly and gently wean him from his nighttime feedings. If Emmanuel appeared to be "starving" during Eli's turn, then Eli would wake me, and I would feed him...and we would continue alternating turns. This has really worked out well for our family. I'm a wimp, so I can't do the "cry it out" method...(at least, not yet)...so this is a great alternative!

So, that's where we are in the sleep department. I hope that I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch, but at least there's hope of more uninterrupted sleep soon.

Thanks for all of you who have been praying for us specifically in this way.

Rolling...Roliing...Rolling on the river!

Hi, friends!

Well, I have been trying every day to upload this video of Zoe and Emmanuel, but I have had no success.  I will keep trying because it is HILARIOUS!  I could watch it over and over again. Below are two pics of our guy sitting by himself :) 

Emmanuel is rolling all over the place...the floors at the University of Maryland...our floors here at home...his crib...any floor that we put him on.  The interesting thing is that he first rolled over at 2 weeks old and he was a pretty good flipper from his stomach to his back, but he couldn't quite get from his back onto his stomach.  Well, that is all-a-changing now!  He also tries to "crawl," but he hasn't quite figured out that his arms and legs can move at the same time.  He will kick his legs and just look at me when I place a toy in front of him.  He is a funny little guy!  

He is smiling and laughing like crazy--and it now beginning to do it without being prompted by us.  Today I looked at him, and he just laughed and laughed (perhaps he thinks I am funny looking!)  My mom says that he is a silly boy--I guess she is right, and he gets that from his silly dad!  

I will continue to try to upload the video.  

Our 5 year anniversary is on Saturday (Jan. 17th)--please join us in praising God for 5 years of marriage!  

All Bundled Up!

Baby, it's cold outside...(but he's smiling anyway!)
Emmanuel and I braved the cold weather so that mommy could get some much-needed "outside" exercise.  Eli and I made sure that the little guy was all bundled up.  I think that Emmanuel enjoyed the walk--there were several other people out with their dogs--but his cheeks were a little red when we came inside (see above picture!)Eli thought that we should get a picture of this outfit before it no longer fits!  I think Emmanuel is going through his 6th month growth spurt because he's clothes are not fitting like they used to...

We are headed on another playdate (really a "play lunch") today--man, this kid's social calendar is hard to keep up with!  

Thanks for reading...have a great week.  

6 Months Old...First Time Eating Solids!

Happy 6th Month Birthday, Emmanuel! 

Well, today officially marks Emmanuel's 1/2 year birthday.  I can't believe it has been 6 months already.  

We agreed that we would wait until Emmanuel was 6 months old to start him on solid foods...so today was his lucky day!  We started him on Earth's Best Organic Brown Rice Cereal.  I  really wanted to start with something more tasty like sweet potatoes, but rice cereal can be a base for lots of veggie and fruit mix-ins and it is pretty low on the allergy scale.  

Here is Emmanuel with some of the rice cereal on his lips. 

It became evident to us that he enjoyed biting the spoon (because he is teething) more than actually tasting the food! 

Here is Emmanuel trying to take the spoon out of my hand. 
Here he is waiting for the right time to grab the spoon from me. 

Well, it was an adventure--we weren't that successful in the actual "eating" area, but we had lots of fun!