Imanuel is now 14 and a half months.  He really is a lot of fun at this stage because first of all, he can walk on his own so he’s in exploration mode, but at the same time, he knows how to obey so he doesn’t get into too much trouble.    (The worst things he’s done so far are calling Mark Finley’s cell phone, digging up a bunch of dirt from one of our plants and, he and Bentley were playing with a wasp that was crawling on our floor and he grabbed it and got a little sting.)  He’s pretty good about not touching things that he’s not supposed to and it is a joy to see him obey.  On the flip side, it is quite heart-breaking when he chooses not to.  He’s become a little chatterbox too.   His speaking vocabulary has literally doubled in the past week or so. 
These are some of his new words that he says:
– ball
– flower
– bird
– cat
– Chance (orange cat)
– Aroe (gray/white cat)
– “bread” in Korean/Spanish
– “orange” in Spanish
– Mama (- FINALLY)
He still uses his signs too so he’ll speak/sign sentences saying nouns and adding signs like “please”, “eat”, or “give to me”.
He loves birds- particulary seagulls which fly around our house from time to time.   I think it’s because they are so big and not afraid of humans.  He and Juan will need to go birding sometime together.  
Imanuel has also improved on his animal sounds.  He can now “baa” like a sheep and “meow” like a cat in addition to the roaring like a lion.  He can also pucker his lips like a fish!  (Poor Nemo didn’t live to see this day…)
I think the cutest thing that Imanuel has gotten into (-thanks to Israel) is that he loves kissing!  He even likes kissing Bentley and Aroe!  Chance always runs away by this point.  When Sikhu was over and he was kissing her good night, he didn’t want to stop!  HAHA.  Israel had to intervene.  Anyway, so that’s been fun. 
So yeah, now is definitely a fun time.   Especially now that the weather is warmer and we can go outside, Imanuel loves walking on the back deck, blowing dandelion seeds, picking up rocks/pine cones, seeing flowers etc.  The only down-side is the bugs.  There are LOTS of bugs here.
So anyway, that’s our update for now.

Here are some pics from the past month or so:

Uncle Sebastien came up to visit for a week!  (Notice the progression of Sebastien’s smile 🙂

His new thing is sitting in boxes or laundry baskets (when they’re filled)

Auntie Sikhu and Imanuel

Israel and Imanuel looking at the tulips in our front yard

Imanuel in his car seat before going into town

Picture of his 3rd haircut (he wasn’t a happy camper)

Imanuel smelling the peony at his grandparents’ house

Hugging his baby mickey that Uncle Steve got for him from Disney World.  Thank you, Uncle Steve!

NEWEST UPDATE:
Our family has decided (as a means to provide further income for the home) to open up our backyard for U-PICK Goh-Sah-Ree (AKA:  baby fern).  There is an over-abundance of this organic-grown-in-the-wild edible plant and we’re thinking that for you Koreans out there, it’s a perfect opportunity to come pick some within the safety of private property (w/out the risk of getting stopped by the police- as is a common occurrance when our moms would make us pick them on city/state property).   I must admit that as I was out picking some today, it was a refreshing feeling not worrying about being a spectacle to the public eye and not feeling like an immigrant who is desperate for food.  For you non-Koreans, this may also be the perfect opportunity for you to get acquainted with this baby edible plant.  Think of it as preparation for the time of trouble when there may be times when food is not readily accessible.    So, the invitation is open, but act quickly because within the next couple weeks, the baby plants will blossom into adult ferns and will no longer be edible (I don’t think).     

The Obituary:
Yesterday, May 2nd, 2007 at approximately noon, Judy found Bentley’s elder brother (right above him), Nehemiah (aka Nemo), our family fish, lifeless on the bottom of his turquoise 2 gallon tank.  The cause of his death is unknown.  He is survived by 3 other pets, Aroe, Chance, and Bentley and of course their owners.

It was Judy and Imanuel’s ritual to feed the fish every day before Imanuel went down for his first nap.  Nemo initially belonged to Israel (-he was a gift from Judy), but Israel gave the fish to Imanuel and the two of them were roommates since we moved up to Houghton.  It was Imanuel’s first fish and will most likely be his last.  Nemo was a good fish and this fall would have been his 3rd year with us.  He was a Betta aka: Japanese
Fighting Fish and was different shades of maroon in color. 

Today Israel will perform the funeral service and Nehemiah will be laid to rest in a porcelain watery grave (and not to raise up to life anew – potentially EVER).  This is the first death in the Ramos immediate household and we are sad, but we trust that even in this, the Lord knew this was the best time for Nemo to go.  

So, the past few weeks, Imanuel has slowly but surely started saying words.  It’s been quite exciting and funny at the same time.  I believe his first official word was “daddy” – (meaning the first word where he was able to use in the correct context).  His second word was “Bentley” which he confidently pronounces “Bet-ty”.  He probably uses that word the most frequently now-a-days.  He says “mama” rarely, but sometimes.  His newest words are “mool” (Korean word for water), “banana” (or more like “nana”), sometimes he says “oo-yoo” (Korean word for milk), and just today, Sebastien taught him how to say “amen”.  It was a proud moment. 
He will roar like a lion too (if that counts for anything).
It’s getting fun because Imanuel is getting into the stage where he will actually try to copy the word you are saying.  He tries to say “Jesus”, but that one’s a little hard for him to pronounce.  He’ll try any word though.  It’s cute.  A lot of words end up sounding very similar to “nana” (or “banana”).  He likes that word…and loves the fruit.
Thanks to Sebastien, Israel is now obsessed with google.  He is as we speak creating his google homepage with his google calendar and google weather and connecting with other people’s google pages.  The very next post you read by him will most likely be about google, just as a heads up.   “It’s ridiculous.  Just ridiculous.  That’s all I gotta say, bro.”  Quote by Israel Ramos on how amazingly awesome google is.
Well, I’m off to bed.  Alanna and Sikhu should be arriving home tonight and so it’ll be nice to see them tomorrow.  G’nite!