We're All Smiles

Corban is smiling non-stop now it seems. He loves to be tickled and has the cutest little laugh. Corban will smile spontaneously at his brother, Daddy, and Mommy! I think he likes his brother the most. Now if we could convince Caden to not jump, dance, or play on or around Corban when he's on the floor....seriously, it's an accident waiting to happen.I love this picture because you can see just how much he loves his Daddy already!
This would be Caden's finger pointing out Corban's nose...
he's a little obsessed with naming body parts.

and here's our happy baby.... (click to enlarge)

He smiles with his whole face!

And lastly, who doesn't enjoy real footage of smiling and laughing??

AllSmiles
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i LOVE my boys

More Singing

Spider_med
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Our Little Soccer Player

This is what I do when I have too many pictures to choose from.
It works for me.
Also, you really should open this up big to appreciate some of the Caden faces I captured.
Enjoy!

Hard At Work

I'm sure Caden was trying to be very careful when he decided

he could pour a few crackers onto the container's lid.

Corban is...

Two months old and has been tagged by his cousin Cullen to write his first blog post.

Hi everyone! I'm supposed to write 8 things about myself, so here we go...

• My name is Corban Stewart. Corban comes from the Bible (Mark 7:11) and means, "A gift dedicated to God". Stewart is my Mommy's grandparents' name. My Mommy and Daddy say they are very special people who love God and that's why Stewart is my middle name. I can't wait to meet them in April!
  
• I was born in Africa...pretty cool, huh?!
  
• I am learning to smile and laugh right now. I'm the best at this first thing in the morning. I love morning time!
  
• I love my brother and think he is very funny. He likes to play peek-a-boo with me, touch my hands, feet, and head, and he's always asking if he can hold me.
  
• My favorite place is my baby swing. Sometimes I wish Mommy would let me hang out there ALL day but she says I have to spend time on my tummy and other places. Other places really aren't that bad...but don't tell my Mommy. :)
  
• I am 2 months old but have outgrown almost all of my 0-3 month clothing. I'm really tall, just like my Daddy.
  
• Size 2 diapers are almost too small on me but Mommy says we still have a several packs of them so I have to wear them a bit longer.
  
• Sometimes I sleep six hours at night, but sometimes I get hungry sooner than that. If Mommy would just let me sleep in my swing, I would probably sleep even longer than that!
  

There's not a whole lot a two month old can write about...maybe I can do this again in a few months. I'm supposed to tag my friends now. I haven't met many people yet, so I'll tag some people my Mommy says are my friends. I tag Gideon, Nathan, Zoe, and Caleb (I actually know him!).

Baby Einstein

Caden is now trying to sing along with every song he hears, whether it's the first or millionth time he's heard it. A lot of fun for all of those involved.

Head
Video sent by emersonstogo

Caden's 1st Hair Cut

That's right...our two year old had his first hair cut today! You may be surprised it's not longer than it is, but that's because his hair didn't start growing until he was almost one.

So here's the setup:

• plastic mat
• special seat
• water bottle
• comb
• scissors
• Finding Nemo DVD
• cameras
• clothes not necessary
  

Before:

After:

Don't look too closely, it's not perfect, but it will work.
I'm sure we will continue to snip stray hairs for the next few days.

Missionary Kid #2

Check it out! Corban has a passport and his birthplace says GHANA. I still can't believe he was born in Africa!
I always think that baby passports are so funny. You do your best to get a picture of your newborn with his eyes open and looking at the camera. Also, he doesn't have to get a new one until he is 5 years old...how would anyone recognize him at 5 by this picture?! When filling out the application we had to guess on his hair and eye color.
Oh the adventures of a missionary kid....

This Pretty Much Sums It Up

This pic is a good snapshot of our family life right now: our first born wearing a napkin on his head while strapped into a chair with a feathery boa so he won't leave the dinner table while asking to hold his little baby brother while laughing and smiling and being silly the whole time. Meanwhile, our newborn baby boy sleeps through it all!

If you can't relate, then you've never been the parents of 2 young boys!

Crazy-Faced Caden

This is hard work keeping posts up about two boys instead of just one. My mom captured Caden making this face...who knows what he was thinking. And don't you just love the big cloth diaper with short-sleeved pajama top in addition to the Christmas tree in the background....all obvious things that indicate we live in Africa!

Happy Face

Corban has started smiling! He has a great smile where he uses his whole face, but of course I couldn't capture that one on camera. Here are two little grins for you.


Also, you might be interested to know that Corban is 11 lb. 4 oz. now. The pediatrician at Tsiko said he is in the 90th percentile for weight and height (I'll have to get back to you on this measurement). Go Corban!

Birth Announcement

Obviously, it's too difficult (not to mention expensive ) to send out birth announcements. But if I was, I would choose one of these. Since I don't have to choose, I'm posting all of them. Feel free to click on your favorite (this will give you a big, high resolution version), save it, and have it printed at your favorite film developing place.

(the first and last pictures are 4x6 format, the middle is 4x5)

1 month old

Our little Corban is one month old this week. His favorite things include swinging in his automatic swing (we've already had to put new batteries in it), looking around while being propped up on anyone's shoulder, and the usuals...sleeping and eating. He tolerates being held by his big brother and is sure to let us know when he is uncomfortable. He is starting to smile a bit and we've even heard a few coos. He's growing fast and is about to outgrow any newborn clothes he has.

Christmas Cuties

Corban's 1st Christmas

A sweet smile is the perfect gift!

I imagine Caden is telling Corban all about Santa.

Brothers

Thanks to Gamma for the "I'm the big/little brother" matching shirts!

All I want for Christmas...I already have!

Fun With Gran'Pa

Gran'Pa is in the process of building Caden and Corban a new play structure. Meanwhile, Caden is enjoying "testing" a few pieces before they go up. This is a rope that will be attached to a climbing wall. Caden thought it made a great swing and didn't understand why Gran'Pa wanted to take a break after swinging for only a few minutes.

Updates

I hope everyone enjoyed our little guessing game as much as we enjoyed reading your comments. Your wait is finally over! (If you haven't had a chance to guess who is who in the next post, stop reading now and scroll down!)

Before I post the answers...are you aware that this is post #300 for our blog?! We began this blog with the announcement of being pregnant with Caden three years ago. What a joy it has been for us to share our family with all of you!

I should also mention that our internet has been very inconsistent since we arrived back in Kara. For those of you trying to reach us on Skype, thank you for your voicemails, but we will not be able to talk to you until our internet is back to some kind of normalcy. Please understand that we are just as disappointed about not being able to talk to our friends and family.

OK, OK...here are the correct answers:
1. Corban - 3 weeks
2. Corban - 3 weeks
3. Caden - 1 month
4. Caden - 3 weeks
5. Caden - 1 week

God has blessed us with two beautiful little boys! I look forward to watching them develop into their own personalities with individual characteristics.

Guess Who?!

Each picture is numbered below.
Leave a comment with your guesses on who is who....
Caden or Corban.
I'll post the answers in a day or so.

1

2

3

4

5

Sorry, there is no prize for the winner...just the satisfaction of knowing who my children are.

2 weeks old

Yes, he's a good eater and sleeper...can't you tell?!

Blue Laundry

And what do you do with the baby while moving clothes from the washer to the dryer?....
Yea for blue laundry!

Don't Worry, We're Alive

It's just that our phone line, and therefore our internet, has been down since we came home to Kara one week ago. You might have been thinking that we were not posting because our new baby is a handful, but that's definitely not it...Corban has been an absolutely amazing baby so far, even easier than Caden was. We'll update everyone on everything as soon as it is back up. For now, here is pic of Caden and Corban, best brother friends!

Brotherly Love

Corban Stewart Emerson

Corban is here! He made his appearance on Friday, November 23rd at 10:45 GMT. He weighs 7lbs 4oz and is 19 3/4 inches long. He looks alot like Caden did when he was first born, which is a good sign for him, since Caden has always been an adorable little boy. The name Corban comes from Mark 7:11 and means, "A gift dedicated to God". His middle name, Stewart, is in honor of April's grandparents on her mom's side. They are beautiful, God-fearing people that we hope Corban gets a chance to know and emulate in the years to come... The first ever pic snapped of Corban (besides ultrasounds of course...) Washing all of the gunk off
**wink**
Daddy with his new little boy...I have TWO SONS!!!

Corban Stewart Emerson
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Go Blue!!!
Corban, meet your big brother!

Brothers
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Caden has been so sweet and curious with his new baby brother...
Getting a very good look at this new baby brother...
Corban and his mommy! April is doing great and was so amazing during labor...with no meds!
First pic of the three of us...there was no way we could have gotten Caden to sit still for this...
About to hit the road after36 hours in the hospital
Leaving the hospital
Corban has been a great baby in the first day and a half of his life, nursing well, sleeping alot, and being very sweet in temperment. Thank you to the Lord our God for another precious gift of life. Delivering in Africa, we learned even more astutely that newborn lives are incredibly fragile and precious, and that Corban's life is truly in His capable hands. It was different without any of our family or dear friends to be here with us, but we did enjoy the intimacy of it being just our family. We knew when we signed up that leaving behind friends and family would be the biggest sacrifice we make as missionaries, but God fills the holes and sustains us through your communication and prayers. We love you all so much!

38 weeks and....

This will be the last pregnant April picture in 2007. We are going to the hospital tonight to be induced. Please be praying that everything will go smoothly and we'll have a healthy baby. We should be holding little Corban on Friday. Keep checking and we'll let you know when he's here.

Look What I Can Do!

Caden has been getting very active these last few months. He loves to climb, run, throw, flip, swing and whatever else he can think of (or sees his daddy do!). He loves to learn what new things his body can do, and he is very coordinated and determined. It looks like he is going to be a good athlete, which makes his daddy especially happy!

Cade_playing
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2 things you have to look closely for: One, Caden "singing" as he plays the piano, and two, the big basketball belly belonging to Caden's mommy! Ok, well maybe the second one you won't have to look too closely for!

Truck Tragedy

Many of you know that our truck was destroyed in an accident last month. You can read more about it and learn how you can help by visiting our Ministry Blog. Scroll down to find the entries we wrote about the accident.

You can also view a PDF file we created to inform people and help in the fundraising process by clicking here.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and encouraged us with phone calls and emails. We are truly blessed with an amazing support network. Please continue to pray for God to provide the funds we need for a new vehicle!