It really is difficult to believe that it has been 10 months since we were in the hospital that Sabbath…me, laboring away, and Israel sitting on the little recliner chair.  (That’s really all he did for about 24 hours.) Anyway, it sure has gone by fast!  The baby has changed so much that sometimes he seems like a different baby altogether.  I mean, when he was a newborn, he was so helpless and skinny.  Now, he is neither of those!  Granted, he has slimmed down over the past few months, but he’s still pretty thick (& heavy).  And he is so active- climbing up onto everything and crawling around the house like he’s on a mission.  It’s been so much fun, though!
I think overall, Imanuel has been an easy baby.  Much of this can be credited to the fact that he sleeps so much at night and he started doing that early on.  I just cannot imagine what it’d be like if Imanuel didn’t sleep through the night yet.  Anyway, I think it’s directly a result of his eating habits– he eats a lot.  Since he started sleeping through the night at 9 weeks, we’ve gradually upped his bedtime from 10pm to 7pm and his wake time has gone from 6am to around 8:30-9am.   I know, it’s almost ridiculous that he sleeps close to 14 hours a night.  Anyway, now, the most fun part of raising Imanuel is seeing his rapid mental development and exploration.  It is so incredible to see his little brain working, especially when he is playing with interactive toys and romping around with the animals. 
(John, maybe you can come and observe sometime, then give us a counseling session on this…)
The dynamics between IA and the pets has been really interesting!  We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome, though.  The cats were always pretty cool with the baby even as a newborn.  Aroe definitely spends more time with the baby than Chance, but both are very patient when IA tries to do things like grab their  tails and suck on it.  Chance just walks away.  Aroe likes it, so we usually have to intervene.  Now Bentley, at first, didn’t know how to react.  But now, he has really been a part of Imanuel’s life and learning.  A couple times when I was pregnant, the dog barked really loudly and I could feel the baby actually shake inside me.  Now, it is rare that Bentley’s bark can startle the baby.  It’s amazing to see how Imanuel has gotten so accustomed to having Bentley around.  They play together (or near each other) all the time.  Toy stealing happens a lot and it goes both ways.  IA tries to steal Bentley’s toys, but usually Bentley just picks it up and relocates farther away.  And of course, Bentley is always looking for opportunities to steal the baby’s toys, even if the baby has it in his hands.  But, I have never seen the baby get fussy when this happens.  They interact so much on a daily basis that I think Imanuel is actually learning how to share and be more independent because of Bentley!  I kind of see the relationship (at this point) as Bentley being the older sibling who is struggling for attention.  Bentley has some issues with jealousy and selfishness, but I think he understands his role.  We’re so proud of him because he’s always been so good with the baby.  The pets have also given me opportunities to extend IA’s vocabulary since their schedules consist of mainly the same things each day – eating, drinking, being pet, sleeping, going outside.   I know it’s crazy, but I think IA knows what “go home”, “down”, and “no” means, since we say that to Bentley so much.
So anyway, I didn’t even mean to go off like that, but yeah, it’s been fun.  Once in a while, at the end of a long day, Israel and I find ourselves thinking about how crazy it is that we are married, pastoring, have a kid!, up in the U.P….  Then we can’t help but thank God for His faithful guidance and the many blessings that we just don’t deserve.  It’s been a crazy 10 months, but we definitely wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

Here are some pics from the past couple weeks…

Baby has taken a liking to biting on shirt strings/zippers…(and his mommy!)

REAL FOOD!  I’ve been trying to incorporate new foods into the diet (lentils, potatoes, olives) but still no seasonings…sorry baby!

But, he still likes it…a lot.

We had never let him go in the cage, so this once, we decided to see if he’d actually do it…and he did.  Bentley was super-confused.   

This picture was taken today.  We have a lot of snow and it’s coooooold.

Until next time!