Change (& decay) in All Around We See!!

This past month has been perhaps the most eventful in our lives,
particularly, because the baby has changed SOOO much!  It’s
amazing how you can see such personality and character in a little baby
that’s only 4 months old!  Anyhow, here are some of the
highlights: 
1) the baby has started teething (drools like Niagara as Uncle Justin K. likes to put it) 
2) he can now play in his saucer and jumper–and he LOVES it 
3)  he “holds” the bottle when he’s eating  and pulls it to his mouth if you’re not quick enough
4)  he is starting to grab anything close enough to him — so no
more holding baby on lap while eating — and he’s taken quite a liking
to Bentley’s ears and nose as he squeals with glee (Bentley doesn’t
seem to mind, in fact, I think he likes it!! 🙂 
5)  my parents have finally given him his Korean name — it’s
pronounced “Sun-oo” which is roughly translated “good samaritan”
And the most exciting of all…*drumroll*…
6)  the baby has learned to roll over!  The sad part is that
we never saw him do it.  Two times when we put him down on his
tummy and when we checked on him, he was on his back!  Hopefully
we’ll get to witness it sometime soon.

It is crazy to watch how Imanuel’s brain is soaking up
everything.  Physically and mentally he is developing at such a
rapid pace.  He is about 27 inches and weighs over 18lbs. 
Just 4 months ago, he was 21 inches and 7lbs 3oz.  His vision,
hand-eye coordination, voice, and even feet/leg movement have really
come a super-duper long way. 
But despite the importance of these things, our prayers have always
been focused on his spirituality.   I wonder to what extent
our morning and evening worships are affecting little Imanuel’s
heart.  I believe the greatest fear that a mother can have is her
children not making it to the kingdom.  But, by faith, and through
God’s mercy and strength, even a baby raised completely dependent upon
humans can learn to love and accept God as his personal Savior! 
What a miracle…God is so good to us!


Imanuel Alexander at 4 months


Aroe and baby’s feet playing together


Baby has “discovered” his tongue.  He likes to play with it during his free time.


Using the “cold carrot technique” to aleviate baby’s gums…(or so he can play with it).


IA chillin’ in his jumper.  He can literally hang out in there for an hour with no complaints!


Analyzing his toys on his saucer.


“I am having so much fun!”


Baby sporting a Tim Brown jersey which has been passed down from his
big cousin, Jacob.  He doesn’t look too happy and I wouldn’t mind
it a bit if he stayed away from football…he’s going to play tennis
like his mommy.  🙂

God bless you all! 

Back From Cali

Yesterday, our family came back from a two week vacation* to
California.  We had so much fun and we were reluctant to
leave!  The first weekend, we went to Justin McNeilus and
Stephanie Jaeger’s wedding up by Sacramento.  It was very
beautiful and all of the Adventist super stars were there.  Israel
kept asking me to take pictures while he made funny faces behind them,
but I resisted.  It was really weird because we left the baby with
Israel’s parents and we had never been away from the baby that
long!  I took along my trusty pump and took the 7-8 hour road trip
both ways.  It was a nice time for Israel and me to be alone and
spend time together.  It had been a while.  Four months to be
precise.   We hung out with Chester, Dr. Mike, the Parkers,
and Dr. Pipim.  Remind Israel to tell you guys about the “short”
Sabbath hike with Mike…
After that weekend, we made a few trips to Loma Linda and were able to
visit with my bro and sis, my cousins Angie & Ted, and it was also
a nice surprise to see my cousin Julius and his family.  They were
visiting southern Cal.  Most of the time, we just chilled at
Israel’s parents’ house. 
Something Exciting Happened on the Afternoon of July 9th, 2006!!
We were hanging out at the house…I was sorting papers, Israel was
checking email (taking a break from watching Emeril Live), Israel’s mom
was outside holding the baby…when we felt an EARTHQUAKE!!  It
was my first time (and obviously the baby’s too)!  At first, I
thought someone had dropped something really heavy on the ground- (I
don’t know, like a refridgerator, for instance).  The whole house
just shook!  Evelyn said it was like a 3.5 on the richter
scale.  That was pretty exciting.
Anyhow, here are some pictures that we took with the family.  There are more that I’ll try to post later.

*This vacation was made possible by the kindness, generosity, and
patience of Alanna Knapp who so willingly watched our zoo back
home.  Thanks so much, Alanna!!!


The baby has found his thumb and sucks away until he falls asleep…


Imanuel Alexander met Abuelo for the first time!  Can you see the excitement?!


Dinner with the Nams & Namms (& Ramoses).   Yum, Thai food.


Baby and Tio Juan


Three generations – Ramoses


Farewell breakfast cooked and prepared by the crazy girl with the
omelette hanging out her mouth.  Israel and his bro stare in
disbelief…


Baby loves Abuelo!