He's Here!

Cadence was born at 37 weeks, so I was bracing myself for an even earlier delivery the second time...but then I didn't pop until 39 weeks...and since then it has been a wild ride of sleepless nights and days! 

 Shiloh Judah Blanton made his presence known on December 3, 2015.  We all love him...but Little Miss Big Sis absolutely adores him!

Destination Delivery

Today as I drove Cadence to school for the last time this year, I became a bit nostalgic as I thought of all that was about to change.  For 5 1/2 years she has been our princess and now she is about to be dethroned by an even smaller princess...or prince.  Our "normal" is about to change.  As expatriates we lead a transient life, so "normal" for us is different from most of our friends.  In anticipation of Cadence's arrival we traveled half way around the world to deliver her in America.  It is such a beautiful memory that will forever be etched in my mind as Jody and I waited for hours in labor and delivery to hold her and hear the sound of her sweet voice.  We were surrounded by family to celebrate with us.  And because she was born on American soil, she will have a good shot at the 2046 presidential election.  This delivery will be different.  In two days I will travel, alone, 4 hours to the the capital city of "Paradise Island" to wait on this little one to make an appearance.  Jody will stay here at home for a week or two to keep Cadence's routine normal and to wrap up his ministry for this year before joining me.  As with any delivery, there are lots of unknowns.  Baby seems set on staying in a  transverse position with the head on one side of my belly and bottom on the other side (instead of the more conventional head down position that would make a normal delivery possible).  I've been warned that it will be a C-section unless my stubborn child can develop a better sense of direction and turn a summersault ...soon.  So every day Jody helps me to stand on my head in the hopes that this will jolt baby from being cradled in my hips and cause a change in direction!  I know that God can do this for me...will you join me in asking Him for a natural childbirth?  I am choosing joy even in the unknown.  God is good, even if this takes a different direction than what we had hoped.  I feel so blessed with an amazing, supportive husband and a healthy preschooler.  I am looking forward to the blessing of this tiny, new life.  I can't wait to introduce you in the next post to Baby Blanton.

Anticipation!

We are thrilled to announce the addition of another Baby Blanton in a few weeks!

Somewhere over the Rainbow!

Because we live half a world away from America, it is a very rare occasion that Cadence gets to play with other American children...or anyone who speaks English.  This year for her Birthday we got to celebrate with some of our "besties" from America, Olivia and Caleb, who also live in Asia, only a 2 hour plane flight from us.  We were also joined by 8 summer college students from the US.

We celebrated with a rainbow fairy theme.

Cadence chose one of her favourite dishes for the menu: plain noodles.  They were a big hit.

We've had 5 blessed years with our princess.

Back to School

Another year has flown by and Cadence is back in school.  This year she will attend the same preschool that she attended last year to get the local language.  She will also work through a kindergarten program in English at home with Mommy.

This was her first day of local preschool last week.  She is so proud to be 5 years old!  We love her school, but it is challenging for her to be the only native English speaker in the school and the only child who is not Asian.

Here she is in her other school uniform.  She enjoys getting to interact with other children her age every day and was happy to be reunited with friends from last year.  She is now the smallest one in her class although she has grown 3 inches over the past year!

This week we started homeschool... brought to you by the letter "C"!  She surprises me with her desire to sit down and "do school" with me each day after already spending 3 hours in her local school.  So far, her favorite is math, but she also enjoys writing her letters in her sandbox and out of play dough.   It is important that she learns to read in both languages.

Anniversary

On July 23rd, Jody and I celebrated 9 years of marriage.  

We took Cadence to lunch to celebrate as a family.  She loves fresh flowers and manages to find and pick them wherever we go.  She spent most of the meal using sea shells to  crush the flowers just like the women here would use a mortar and pestle to grind fresh herbs for a meal.

We had 4 college girls with us from the US for two months this summer.  They were so sweet to offer to keep Cadence over night so that Jody and I could get away.  We stayed at a little dive spot, 1 hour down the beach from us, where Jody used his morning off to go diving, where he saw sea horses for the first time.  I used my morning off more wisely...to sleep in!  Cadence had a blast with the "Big Girls" as you can see from the chocolate on her face.

First day of Preschool

In an effort to raise a bilingual child, we decided to enroll Cadence in a local preschool where she would not hear English for 2.5 hours per day, six days a week.  We ordered her uniform and told her that she could not wear it until she turned 4.  So on the morning of her birthday she came out in her uniform.  School started the following week.

On the first day of school we ate cinnamon rolls with pink frosting!  The school was gracious in allowing the parents to attend school with their student for the first week, if we wanted to do so.  This helped Cadence adjust as she was hearing a lot of new language.

She got a new backpack for the occasion and was so proud of it.  

On Monday and Wednesday, she wears this uniform.  Tuesday and Thursday she wears the red plaid.  The other kids wear sneakers, but she insists that her pink sparkly shoes look better.  Friday she has to wear gym clothes.  I don't have a picture of her in gym clothes yet because every Friday she is crying on the way to school, begging me not to make her go "dressed like a boy."

Either I take her in the car at 7:30, or Jody takes her on his bike.  We are one of the very few families from her school who even own a car.  Most families here just own a motor bike and it serves as a family vehicle.

Then on Saturday, she gets to pick her own outfit.  All schools here go 6 days a week, but Saturday is the fun day when students get to do extra activities.  It may be the swimming lessons, or local dance lessons, but I think that the reason Saturday is Cadence's favorite day of the week is because she can wear whatever she wants.

Of course, as soon as she gets home, she has to take off her uniform so that it doesn't get dirty and she usually spends the rest of the day like this!