5 Month Update

5

5 Months

7.8 kilograms ( 17.2 pounds) 

Likes:

laughing and smiling

music & singing 

sucking his thumb 

snuggling 

bath time

being near Mommy 

looking in the mirror

Well, this is Isaiah's last monthly update to be written from the Philippines. Excuse the ugly sheet as the backdrop of his pictures. Most everything else we own is packed up. We begin our long journey towards America tomorrow. The past month has been so fun. Our boy is so loved here and we've enjoyed watching him interact with his Filipino family. We're excited now for him to meet his American family. We know the feeling is mutual :) 

This month Isaiah really began to get active. Sometimes it's hard to even hold him as he wiggles and kicks and bats his arms. He loves to be the center of attention. He lights up at familiar faces and smiles and giggles as they talk to him. He's quite the charmer. We've all fallen in love :) My favorite new thing this month is when he lays his sweet little head on my shoulder and nestles into me for snuggles. I could literally sit and snuggle all day if he'd let me. 

As for the more serious stuff, he is still exclusively breastfed and eating every 2-3 hours. We're excited to start solid foods at 6 months/when he's able to sit up well/when he shows an interest. He doesn't really seem to be intrigued by food yet, but he's practically begging for a drink of water every time I take a sip ha! We're thankful he's a healthy growing boy. And this may be t.m.i. but for my own record he only poops about once a week now, and they're killer :) We're still loving cloth diapers, though. We haven't had a single booty rash. We are, however, ready to move up to the next size and have those waiting for us at my parents house in Mississippi. We'll be using disposables for our travel days. 

He is still a great sleeper. Sometimes I feel bad because our lifestyle is so inconsistent and I wonder if he's getting the good sleep that babies need. But, he's a trooper; he can practically sleep anywhere. He usually takes 2 short naps in the morning and a long afternoon nap. Around 7:30pm or so he's restless and ready for bed. He sleeps until midnight when he wakes to eat and usually wakes again at 3 and either puts himself back to sleep or eats. He's up again at 5 and then for good at 7. He's still sleeping with us so it's pretty easy to wake and get back to sleep. I'm sure we'll transition him to a crib (and hopefully sleep through the night!) sometime after we get to the States, but we'll take our time since little man will be facing a lot of transition with the move across the world! 

Isaiah's developing into a smart little thing. He finally enjoys toys (or at least enjoys chewing on them) and will play contently for about 10 minutes or so before he becomes bored. He loves to swat and grab at toys that hang from his bouncy chair and my hair is a new main attraction. He likes to pick up anything in reach and put it in his mouth. He's had a few days where I feel like his gums have bothered him and I can see tiny white specks under his bottom gums, but I wouldn't say we're full swing teething yet. We are full swing thumb-sucking, though. He pretty much hates a paci now and sucks his thumb when he's tired. It really could not be any cuter. He's practicing sitting up, but it's quite the challenge. And the highlight of this past week is...he found his feet! It is so funny to watch him grab his foot, eat his toes, and laugh about it. 

As for looks, he still looks more like Dad, but he's gotten a few "you look like your mama"s lately. Most people here say he looks like his Randaddy, Josh's father. One neighbor here even nicknamed him "Randy Boy"! We're planning on leaving that nickname here :) He's lost most of his hair besides a little mullet in the back and what hair he does have seems to be turning blonde. His eyes are still a blue/gray color (which makes the Filipinos go wild!) and his chunky little legs are absolutely adorable.  

 Isaiah, 

This month I spent a lot of time reflecting. We're moving back to America soon so I've had lots of thoughts in my head about our memories here in the Philippines. I remember finding out that I was pregnant with you. I was so surprised but I praised God, because I knew His plans were better than my own. As you grew in my belly, sometimes I feared. I wanted so badly for you to be healthy and I did everything in my power to give you what you needed while you lived inside of me. My love for you was so strong and I hadn't even met you! I prepared our house and my heart for the day you would arrive. I rocked in the big wooden rocking chair in our room and imagined holding you there. Now I've sat in that chair a million times with you in my arms. We've rocked, we've read, we've slept, we've laughed, and we've cried there. Sometimes I still fear. When you cough or when I peek in at you to make sure you're still breathing and it takes me a minute to see your little belly move up and down. Being a parent is a lot of responsibility, but I sure am glad God has trusted me to be your mama. As we prepare to move you to a new home, I'm a little nervous. But I'm thankful that the God we serve has prepared the way for us. I hope, Isaiah, that you will put your trust in God alone as you grow. He's been faithful, and He always will. I love you more and more all the time. 

Love, Mama

Isaiah,

We're moving back to America, and it scares me to see the the USA since God has continued to refocus your parents' lens.  I'm thankful for Him bringing us here, and I believe we'll be able to follow Jesus better there because of our time here.  Unfortunately, you probably won't remember much of Aurora, but Lord willing, we'll bring you back to see the family that took you in when the rest of yours was a world away.  As I type, you're asleep, and our room looks a little bare.  We'll be starting our journey to Manila tomorrow morning so tonight is your last night in this bed as our baby Isaiah.  You have no way of knowing (obviously) the affect you had on this community of people.  I don't think we have a clue how much they've affected us either.  Tomorrow, most likely, we'll see a lot of people hold you and cry.  I guess some of them have helped make you cry, so you'll be returning the favor.  It's going to be hard leaving here son...it just is... and it should be.

We love you anak,

Dad

The first of many farewells

Our friends in FAT Group had a special going away ceremony for Josh and I (I say ceremony for lack of better words). There is no way that my meager words can convey how special it was.

We played a couple of trivia games: one where two teams competed to see who knew us the best. They answered questions like what is Autumn’s birthday, Isaiah’s middle name, Josh’s favorite Filipino food? Then Josh and I competed to see who has the best Tagalog vocab. A lot of laughs were shared.

 

Then the tears came. Carrying on a tradition that we did for each other on birthdays, they each shared some things they are thankful for in us as well as some “unforgettable moments.” Gosh, we felt so loved. One thing that stuck out to me as I listened was that God used things in us that we didn’t even realize we were doing, or being, to proclaim His own goodness. We couldn’t take credit for half of it if we tried! I was really humbled that God has used us in ways we didn’t realize and honored that He allowed us to see and hear how He had done so.

I’ll share some quotes from different FAT members that stuck out to me. I don’t want it to bring attention to Josh or myself, but I do think it will attest to the difficulty that we are about to face as we leave these precious friends. Praise God for His faithfulness in our time in the Philippines.

Bear with me in some of the following quotes; some are broken English, some were spoken in Tagalog and I translated, and some are verbatim.

“Thank you for teaching us”

       “You fit into our culture even though I know it’s hard for you.”

“I’m thankful for when Kuya Josh bought me free ice cream”

       “I’ll never forget all the new foods we tried with you.”

“Thanks for being Mommy and Daddy”

       “I’m thankful when Mommy cooks us…what’s it called?...snack?...and invites us to your 

       house to talk and give advices . I love that”

“I know God will use you wherever you go.”

       “I know Isaiah will have a good growing up because of you”

“Thanks for teaching me to love God”

       “I feel like we really know you. We are comfortable with you.”

"The me that God intended me to be has come out." 

 

       “We/Me is your fruit.”

"You are genuine friends and that is hard to find." 

       "You are good examples of missionaries for us. Now I know it's possible to have a baby in 
       another country if it's God's will for us."

"We love you." 

 

"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it." 

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

 

Beautiful creation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We can't believe in 2 short weeks we'll be leaving this beautiful, exotic place.

PICNIC

Is it bribery to get kids to memorize scripture to earn a picnic? I don't know, but I do know 5 girls who know a whole lot of the Bible! I'm super late in posting this, but still wanted to share these sweet pictures. These 5 girls live in our barangay (neighborhood) and they worked hard memorizing 20 verses! We're very proud of them and had a blast a couple months ago celebrating with them. We're praying God continues to use His Word to transform their and their families' lives. I had the privilege of visiting 2 of the girls' mom and hearing her talk about how her girls are always quoting God's Word in their home now. She said her daughter's were "better" than her. We got to talk about God's grace for each of us and that only Jesus makes us good. PRAY that God continues to reveal Himself to this mama.

 

picnic day started early as lots of helpers chopped veggies for lunch and talked to Isaiah

 

 

we fished 

  

we screamed with excitement when we caught fish 

 

we ate peanut butter & banana (we rocked their worlds introducing that snack) 

 

we swam 

 

and swam 

 

We ate chicken and veggie adobo, cucumbers, and rice for lunch

 

and swam some more

 

we quizzed them on the Bible verses again and got some sweet video footage. Too bad it won't load with our slow internet, but we have it for keepsake :) 

 

We dug through our slowly depleting toy box

 

and everyone took home a prize for their hard work 

 

even little brother got a car for being so good all day

We're blessed beyond measure to know these sweet girls. We love them with a love that's unexplainable. Praise God for how He's molding and shaping them. 

 "You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes." 

Deuteronomy 11:18

4 Month Update

4 Months

We don't have accurate stats for Isaiah this month, but we know he's gained weight and gotten longer! Typically, we visit a pediatrician every month but this month was pretty busy and now he's almost 4 1/2 months. We'll probably visit again next month but we're just thankful for not needing to see a doctor  :)

Likes: 

smiling at anyone who talks to him 

sleeping on his tummy 

rolling from back to tummy

Mommy and Daddy 

music

swinging in the hammock

his new bouncy chair 

"talking" back and forth with us

sucking his thumb

This month was super busy for this little family. We’ve had visitors all month and we traveled quite a lot. One reason for our traveling was that Isaiah got his US passport and Certificate of Birth Abroad. He’s official!

Although the month was busy, it was also full of really special moments. Isaiah got to meet his Randaddy (Josh’s dad) who came to stay with us for three weeks and his Aunt Alyssa (Josh’s sister) who came for a week with some friends. He instantly loved them!  We also went on our first family vacation as 3 (plus one)! We went back to Baguio City with Randaddy and enjoyed the cool mountain air. This little man of ours is a traveling pro! And finally, we had a baby dedication at our church for Isaiah. We chose ‘ninongs’ and ‘ninangs’ (Filipino godparents) who gave a commitment to holding us accountable to raise Isaiah in a godly home. It was a really special service that we look forward to telling Isaiah about one day. Although we may not live here for Isaiah’s raising, it was important to us to have a dedication here with this community who no doubt sees Isaiah as one of their own. We know they’ll support us in prayer even from a world away. 

Isaiah also stayed with a babysitter for the first time this month. Josh and I went on a lunch date for our 2 year anniversary and we left Isaiah with our neighbor and his Randaddy. Of course everything was fine but it felt like the longest two hours of my life! A million thoughts went through my head, like “what if he gets hungry and I didn’t leave enough milk?” or “what if he thinks I've abandoned him?” I’ve never been so happy to get him back in my arms. Who knew you could love someone so small so much?!  

This month was a pretty big month for development. Our boy finally mastered tummy time. He loves being on his tummy now, which is quite the opposite of how he felt about it last month! I mentioned in his last update that he rolled over for the first time. He didn’t roll again for a week or so, but by the end of the month he was rolling all day every day! He gets tickled with himself every time he plops over from back to belly. He especially loves to roll as he is waking up from his naps. Time to line the bed with pillows! He’s also begun interacting with people a lot more. We’ve all enjoyed playing with him as he ‘sings’ along with us, throws his arms around like he’s dancing, talks and coos back and forth with us, and giggles so hard he gets the hiccups. He is so curious about the world around him and can’t stand to stay in one place for too long. He wants to be walked around so he can look at everything! He especially loves people-watching and it takes little to nothing to distract him.

The next milestone Isaiah seems to be approaching is teething. He is drooling like crazy all the time. I’m preparing for the days of frozen washcloths and teethers. Funny side note: Here in the province, the Filipinos use…drum roll…chicken gizzards as teethers! They boil the gizzard, tie it on a string, and then around the baby’s neck or pinned to their clothes, and voila….an easy access teether :) 

As for sleeping, Isaiah is still a good sleeper. Because of our crazy-busy month, his naps are anything but consistent. They are at different times practically every day, but he does nap. He typically has a morning nap and a couple afternoon naps. He sleeps well at night, but has been waking more often through the night lately. Maybe it’s a growth spurt or the start of teething; maybe it’s the fact that he likes to practice his rolling skills all night. Maybe it’s because it’s still really stinking hot here. I have noticed, though, that when I’m able to get him to bed a little earlier, he sleeps later in the mornings. One big change in his sleeping habits is that he has outgrown his bassinet. He can technically still fit, but he doesn’t have enough room to roll and the boy likes to roll. So…he’s back in the bed with us until we get to America. I never thought I wanted my children to sleep with us, but I must admit he’s a sweet little cuddler. He does end up usually pushing me out of the bed at night, though. Josh has to pull him back over to his side so that I can squeeze back on! All in all, the nights are fine with this four month old.

Isaiah still eats around every 1.5-3 hours. And he sped right through his size 3-6 month clothes and is also wearing 6-9 months now. Can we say slow down?!

This month we also found out that Isaiah looooves the hammock. His Randaddy would sit in it a lot with him and he would usually fall fast asleep. He gets restless staying in one position for too long, but as long as he can see new things, I think he would stay in the hammock all day. He also got a new bouncy chair from his Lola and Papaw (my parents) this month. They sent it to us with Aunt Alyssa and he loves it! Mommy also loves the hands-free time :) We’ve talked about how much he would have probably loved a mobile, but now his bouncy chair has fun toys that dangle over him and he just loves it. He’s figured out that if he kicks his legs the toys will dangle so he’s quite the kicker!

We also noticed Isaiah becoming a "Mama's boy" this month. He went through a spell where he cried when anyone else held him. Thankfully that was short lived and he’s quite the social butterfly again…as long as mama is in sight :)  If he can't see me he's not happy about it. Another one of his favorite things is morning daddy time. Josh has been so sweet to get up with Isaiah when he wakes up at 5AM and take him outside to the hammock where he sings and talks to our boy until he drifts back to sleep. Sometimes that’s not an easy task and I’m incredibly grateful for the help…and extra 30 minutes of sleep! 

I hope you all are enjoying watching this boy grow as much as we are. Only one more update to be written from the Philippines...

 Isaiah, 
I never knew that being your mommy would be so special to me. I had no clue that I could love someone so small so much. Being your mother is the most important role I've been given and I pray that I steward you well. I'll love you forever. 
Love, Mama

Isaiah,
 I'm so glad you are ours to raise.  You're one special boy.  As we move on to the USA, I pray that we will pass on the best of both worlds where we've lived.  Right now your mom is trying to get you to sleep, and you're slowly getting there.  I know she's ready to put you down, and in years to come, she may wish she could hold you again in the same way.  You've really put up some battles lately as she tried to get you to nap.  Isaiah, the Lord has given me some great pictures of who I am in Jesus through observing you lately.  May God continue to teach us through you son.
Love, Dad