A Tale of Three Friends...

Over the last week, Emmanuel has had the privilege of meeting three of my friends for the very first time!  Here is the tale of mommy's three friends. 

First up is Natalie!  Natalie is the friend who inspires me to be a better, more virtuous woman of God.  She is passionately in love with Jesus.  She is beautiful (well, you see the picture), intelligent (she is at Harvard Law School), a prayer warrior (she prayed over my house and my family), and fun to be around--(she's also incredibly fashionable!) She was so amazing with Emmanuel, and he loved her!  

She arrived really late while Lil' E was sleeping so he first met her at breakfast.  He looked at her, then looked at me, and then looked back at her.  He walked right up to her and wanted to play.  

Natalie, thank you for loving Emmanuel.  Thank you for loving me and Eli.  Thank you for allowing the Holy Spirit to use you mightily.  I am humbled that you are my friend--my really good friend. 

Next up is Jeni Spevak!  Jeni and I interned together at a middle school in Baltimore City when we were in the MSW Program at Maryland.  She and I have our differences:  she is a vegetarian...and I eat just about anything...she is an opera singer...and I sing in the shower....she is not so into religion...and Jesus is my homeboy....but despite all of our differences, we enjoy one another's company, and I admire the passion she has for social justice and the homeless community.  I also like to play with her hair!  She told Emmanuel when she met him, "Hey!  I haven't seen you since you were a zygote!"  That's my special friend, Jeni.  Thank you, friend, for your love.

And lastly, Zhuohan Liang.  Zhuohan is a PhD student at Johnny Hopkins.  She and I worked together when I was in the Physics Department there.  She is probably the hardest working student that I know.  I admire her work ethic and her determination.  She ministered to me when I experienced the pain of losing my dad.  She was a healing balm.  Thank you, friend, for your love.  

Thanks, friends, for hanging out with our little man and for watching him grow.  We appreciate your love and your presence in our lives.  

Child, You're Forgiven and Loved

Well, it has been a couple of weeks since Emmanuel turned one, and we have definitely crossed from babyhood to toddlerhood.  Emmanuel clearly understands "no" (especially from daddy), he is walking really well (we have our own little Frankenstein), and he is talking and screaming at any and everybody who will listen.  

His personality is probably more like Eli's.  He seems very smart, yet funny.  Friendly yet cautiously observant.  Honestly, the only thing Emmanuel gets from his mama is his larger than life smile that occurs early in the morning, every morning.  

Every night before going to bed, I whisper to Emmanuel, "Child, you're forgiven and loved."  It is a prayer that I desperately hope that he finds freedom in and understands that those words are for him from His loving Savior. 

We hung out at the Baltimore's Child Toddler Fair last weekend.  Emmanuel had fun with the gymnastics' equipment.  He screamed when he got into the tunnel.  Mama translation, "Mama, come and get me."   But, I couldn't fit in the tunnel :)  

Lil' E also got to ride a pony!  He was one of the smallest kids on the pony.  It was awesome.  He did great and talked to the horse.  When he sees animals (especially our neighbor's dogs), he typically screams, smiles, and points.  He was a little more reserved on the pony (only at first....)

A full shot of the ponies.  

And, a daddy-son favorite activity--acting crazy in Tinytown!  Somehow when Eli and Emmanuel go there, Eli ends up with all these other little kids following him around.  One day a little boy came up to Eli and said, "Come on, dad....me next!"  Eli was like...um...and the little boy kept following him around calling him dad until the nanny told him to leave Eli alone.  

Bella and Emmanuel were so funny when they saw all this candy!  They started picking up all of the chocolate bars.  It was hilarious.  

We've been trying to take advantage of our great piece of land, so we've been spending more time outside running through the sprinklers.   Yes, my baby has a big stomach--and no, we couldn't keep this hat on for long.  

So, little Emmanuel, as you continue to grow and change and develop into a man, it is my prayer that you will know that you are forgiven and loved.  

I want to be a one year old for the rest of my life!

This day began like any other...I was curled up next to my dad in the bed. 

I noticed that my mom laid out a special onesie that she made for me...it said something about me being a one year old, but I still wasn't sure what all the hoopla was about. 

The back of it had my date of birth.  I asked my parents what "EST" meant, and my mom said "Established."  She said that she did that because she thought it was cool.  I just looked at her like she was crazy. 

All week, I've been getting cards in the mail from my parent's friends.  I even had some people drop by some gifts just for me.  I started thinking that being a one year old seemed pretty cool. My mom's friend, Mrs. Denise, got me this cool truck.  It's soft and the perfect size for toddlers. 

Mrs. Denise is pictured below with us.  She also baked me some blueberry muffins.  They were yummy.  

My mom and dad sang me this weird song called Happy Birthday, and then they did a huge "no, no"--they lit a candle and left it burning in the room.  They were smiling and really excited, but I was plain confused.  They placed the candle on top of this mountain of dark shiny-ness (they called it a double chocolate cake), and then they blew it out.  

Mom said that the cake was made with love--even though she didn't decorate it that pretty.  She said something about it being made from scratch and being three tiers but that her buttercream icing was a little too thin so it didn't spread well.  I just looked at her and wondered when I could get a fork and dig in.  I didn't care if it was that pretty.  

They said I could take a bite...so in "typical Emmanuel fashion," I waited for them to hand me my utensils (I don't like to eat with my fingers when I can use utensils--my mama says it's because I think I'm grown.)

Yum, this chocolate cake thing tasted good.  I went back for seconds! 

I tried to scoot closer to the cake, and I accidentally got some on my foot.  

My genius parents (they really are smart most of the time--book smart at least--they've even got degrees and awards and stuff to back it up--but sometimes their elevator stops when they get excited, especially my mom's)...anyway, they realized that maybe it wasn't the smartest idea to feed me on top of the island, so then they gave me a slice in my high chair.  

I wonder if they will give me some more if I eat all of this...mom said something about not really ever wanting to make a cake and the icing from scratch again because of the amount of butter and chocolate that she used.  I can tell you one thing:  I don't care how much butter or chocolate she uses just as long as she makes this again and again! 

She said that in a couple of weeks I will have a party with my family in Tennessee...and she's going to make me a chocolate cake in the shape of a CAR!  (Cars are my absolute favorite).  Go figure--I get another one of these cakes just for being a one year old--next time the icing will be green.  

And, of course, no messy eating experience is complete without my mom trying to clean my face.  

I also got to try out my new car seat today.  I'll be forward-facing from now on--just like the grown-ups.  

We stopped at a restaurant for lunch (dad said something about having a gift card), and I got to try out citrus fruits--they were yummy, too!  You aren't supposed to have citrus until you are a one year old...so today was my lucky day--citrus and chocolate!  Yipee!  I want to be a one year old for the rest of my life! 

Here was my fruit sampler--oranges, kiwi, strawberries, and grapes.  I really liked all the food I had today!

We went for a walk by the waterway.  And I did lots of walking (and falling down), but I walked the most I have since I started "walking" 6 weeks ago.  

We posed for a family picture by the water.  My parents try to do things on the cheap (as if you didn't know), so this is the equivalent to a "professional" picture.  The lady taking the picture didn't have all of those "making-the-baby-smile skills" that they have at expensive places like picture people, but mom says that that's ok. 

And, here are my doting parents, yet again.  They said that turning one was a huge deal and that they had made memories with me over this last year that were just the beginning.  I told them to stop all of the sappy talking and to make me some more cake...please.  
And, in typical mom fashion, when we got home from Annapolis, my mama gave me some more chocolate cake...and this time she served it with ice cream and a grown-up spoon.  

Yum, yum Happy Birthday to me.