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
Uploaded by emersonstogo

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

Brothers
Uploaded by emersonstogo

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
Uploaded by emersonstogo

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!

Growing Boy

Caden Darrel Emerson was born in Montgomery, Alabama and celebrated his first birthday in Albertville, France. This year, we were on the road between Togo and Ghana when he turned two. If you have been following us on our Family Blog for awhile, then you are quite familiar with our Mattie the Bear pictures. We took pictures of Caden with Mattie every month until 6 months, then 9 months, 12 months, 18 months and now 2 years. Mattie has traveled thousands of miles all over the world to be with us today. He has been stuffed in boxes and mailed over the ocean, shoved in suitcases and squished into plastic bags. We brought Mattie to Ghana with us just to keep up with Caden's milestone pictures.

Click here to see Caden's 2 week old and 1 year old pictures with Mattie.

As usual, we couldn't choose just one. We hope you can get a small glimpse of our toddler's fun personality.

Baby Blessing

On October 22nd my home was invaded by a group of women very special to me. As a surprise to me, my teammates had planned a baby blessing and invited several of the expatriate women in town. They walked through the front door with balloons, yummy treats, cards of blessings, and an amount of energy that was exploding through their smiles.We enjoyed cupcakes, cookies, chicken salad croissants and punch. We told stories about our births our the births of our children (don't worry, scary stories were not allowed). We played fun baby shower games (you should see the pictures these women drew of my baby) and started a pool for the baby's weight and due date. My favorite part of the evening was when each woman shared with me a blessing for my baby, my family, or Brett and I as parents. I will cherish these notes (they came "scrapbook ready") throughout my child's life. Lastly, they gathered around and prayed over me...words cannot express this feeling.

Thank you to all the women (and girls) that made this night so special for me. In the midst of a very difficult time, you were the peace and energy I needed. I thank God for blessing me through each of you in His own special way.

Our TWO Year Old!

Many of you know that Caden turned two on October 25th. Due to the craziness of our lives, we decided to postpone his birthday party until a more calm date. We also thought it would be fun to celebrate with family, so be looking for pictures of that sometime in December. He's just two...he'll never know we celebrated his birthday a month and a half late, right?!

In honor of our world traveler, I thought it would be fun to post a list of all the places Caden has been...beginning with the day God created him.

1. Knoxville, TN
2. Memphis, TN
3. Birmingham, AL
4. Searcy, AR
5. Nashville, TN
6. Atlanta, GA
7. Israel
8. Montgomery, AL
9. All over France
10. Switzerland
11. Rome and Florence, Italy
    
12. Ghana, West Africa
13. Togo, West Africa
14. Benin, West Africa
15. Dallas, TX

Just this week we had pages added to Caden's passport because it was filling up so quickly. How many of you had a passport at two years old?