progress & personality.

Manny crawling to me!

As many of you know, the last few days I have spent with the most precious baby boy in the world. Emmanuel [Manny] is 15 months old and weighs about 13 lbs, and currently has typhoid fever. You can read more about him here. [btw, for anyone who cares, I looked up typhoid fever and it's from salmonella poisoning from dirty water] On top of his terrible cough, rather persistent fever, and lethargy from the typhoid, Manny is extremely malnourished. You will be so happy to hear though that he is getting so much better! With a little more medicine and a lot more loving on, Manny will be just fine. Except for the fact that we have spoiled him rotten in a matter of 3 days and he no longer will sit in the floor by himself haha.

Tonight I have 2 lists for you! First, the progress Manny has made. You should know when we got him he was like a limp ragdoll that just laid in your lap and didn't really move at all. And now...
-he crawls on the floor, and when I say "vit vit vit!!" which means "fast fast fast!" he goes quick!!
-he loves to walk around by himself but you have to let him hold one hand to keep his balance.
-today he fed himself with a spoon for the first time with us
-he has started holding his own bottle as of yesterday!
-he cries violently when you put him down [b/c he's so spoiled haha]
-he laughs and giggles when you throw him in the air or tickle him
It is so amazing how quickly babies can bounce back! It's awesome to watch. He is a different baby from 2 days ago.

Second list is things that I have learned about Manny while caring for him the last few days, just so you can know him a little better:
-he prefers to sleep on his stomach
-when he gets sleepy he starts pinching tiny pieces of your chest
-his left leg is slightly curved and his left foot turns in a bit
-he only knows 2 words that I've understood: "Abwe"="drink" and "adem"="leave me alone"haha
-he LOVES water. [in Haiti babies drink water in their bottles instead of juice or milk]
-he sucks his bottom lip in place of a pacifier and it is precious... but I keep lecturing him on how he's gonna have buck teeth if he doesn't stop!

I hope to be able to put more pictures up of him soon, but our internet really doesn't like to load photos, so we'll see. Thank you so much to anyone who has thrown up some prayers for sweet Manny's health... God is moving! Tonight I'm asking special prayers for his future. It is currently uncertain what his living arrangements will look like... it's a long story but basically there has been some confusion and switching of stories between his mom, dad, aunt, and some other guy who claims to be his dad. Essentially right now the mom may want him back, which is good I think because we aren't trying to tear families apart on purpose. But, like I said, there is some confusion so we are waiting for identification and forms of proof [such as a birth certificate] of parenthood before we do anything with him. At least for tomorrow he will still be with us! We know that Jesus knows Manny and holds him close... and that He knows what is best for him. Prayers for peace and good decisions are so important! Thank you!

I hope all is well, wherever you are. I'm praying for you tonight, and I'm so thankful for you. May the Lord bless you and keep you!

Love,
Chelsey