Dear Malachi,

You are growing leaps and bounds everyday. Your smile melts my heart everytime I see it. Even when you get upset, you never get rid of the cute, loving look in your eyes. I love how you are beginning to reach for me and your Daddy when you see us.

You sit up so well now. You play with toys now. Today, you held on to toy keys for at least 30 minutes. You love to watch the keys dance and jingle in your hands. You sat up on the floor playing for almost an hour this evening while your Mommy and Daddy ate with friends. You can easily roll from your back to your tummy and tummy to back. You almost always sleep on your tummy in your crib now. We are starting to get you back on a schedule again. Vacation and teething really threw us all for a loop and has taken us over 2 months to get back on track.

Pearly whites? Not yet sweet boy. You have been showing signs of teething for about three months now. You drool and like to chew on things. Nothing is coming up yet, but that is ok. You can now eat a small jar of baby food a day (any flavor of fruit or vegetable). You like to snack on bread when we are out at restaurants or different places.

I cherish everyday with you. I only get to play with you an hour or two each night during the week, but Saturday is our day to play and hang out while it is Daddy's turn to work. I simply love the way that your face lights up everyday when I walk in from a hard day's work. You bring joy to the chaos in my life. Thank you for being so sweet. Your nature is so laid back and content. You roll with the punches and will be a friend of anyone who wants to hold you.

I love you Malachi James. I pray that you will grow up to be an incredible man of God. You are so precious to me and your Daddy. You are even more precious to God. We have always and will always love you.

A Braves fan whether his Daddy likes it or not

Thanks to Aunt Donna, Malachi is able to sport his Atlanta Brave pride. I have dressed him in his wind suit several times when Daniel would have no say in what Malachi would be wearing. Thanks Donna!

Just say "no" (to crack)

(Future Plumber of America)

Baby butt-crack is so cute. Nothing like the adult version.

Welcome to the world!!!

Avery Claire (Malachi's newest cousin) was born Friday, February 17th around 1:30pm. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 15 oz. Her Mom and Dad seem to be doing very well. Her big sister, Callie, also seems to be excited. Welcome Avery! Malachi can't wait to come and play.

Kyla Alexandra (Malachi's newest friend) was born Wednesday, February 15th around 1:30am. She weighed in at 8 lbs. 5 oz. Her Mom and Dad are doing well and are so excited to finally hold their little girl. Welcome Kyla! Malachi needs a buddy for play dates and other fun stuff. We can't wait until you are old enough to hang out with us!

I found it!

I have found the cable to connect my camera to the computer. I will soon be uploading pictures for you to view! It is so nice to find the stuff that has been missing for several weeks. I just had to look a little bit.

Malachi is doing well. He has seemed to have come down with a little cold again. We have been keeping medicine in him and giving him lots of cuddles. It has not been as bad as his first cold, especially since he shared it with his father and mother. He just didn't seem to want to sleep well. The last two nights I spent holding Malachi on the comfy chair and ottoman. Malachi did not sleep well, and neither did I. Thankfully, it has been the weekend. If it would have been a weekday, I would not have made it to work. I also want to say a HUGE thank you to Malachi's Grammy and Grandpa. I came downstairs Saturday morning looking rough. I simply asked if they could watch Malachi for an hour while I slept. They let me sleep for 3 hours! I felt so much better. They also took him for an hour today so I could nap after church. THANK YOU! I guess there are plenty of wonderful benefits to living with your parents when you have a small child and a husband who works the opposite hours that you work.

Updated pictures to come!!!

More 6 month pictures

I tried to make a link to Faith's website, our photographer, but i just couldn't get it.

Six Month Pictures

Here are a few pictures from Malachi's six month portraits. If you are in the Charlotte area, we give big props to our photogropher. You can visit her website by visiting www.imagesbyfaithcom. Just tell her that we sent you:)

As if life wasn't already crazy enough...!

We got moved into Mom and Dad's house two weeks ago (sort of). We all finally got better from our colds. Malachi still has a little bit of a cough every now and then, but that is it. Me, on the other hand, started coming down with a second cold. Only this time, it came back with a vengence. I had fever and aches and had to lay out of work for a day in order to try to get myself better. I still feel kind of rough after sleeping in and taking two naps with Malachi, but I have a feeling I will be able to make it back to school tomorrow.

Malachi has been able to sit up on his own for about two weeks now. He has become a real pro. It didn't take him long to catch on. I want to post some pictures, but I don't know where the cord for the digital camera is. So, until I can find the cord, I will not be posting anymore pictures. Sorry.

There is a first for everything!

Well, I am officially "one of them." This past Sunday, we did our normal routine of church at 9:30am to approx. 1:30pm. Malachi had his bottle while he was in the nursery. We never really got to "celebrate" my birthday because of moving. I decided that I wanted a nice lunch with my husband and son. Directly after church we headed to Cheddar's. We had just gotten our appetizer when Malachi decided that he was extremely tired and wanted to be fussy. We couldn't get him to calm down. So, I gave in. I breastfed in public! It was very discreet. We were sitting in a booth. I had a light blanket to cover up with. Malachi went right to sleep, but he would wake up every time I would I tried to pull him away. So, I had to eat my lunch with a baby attached to me. It was interesting but very natural. If you would have told me before I had children that I ever would have breastfed in public, I would have cringed. Now, it just seems to flow. I carry all the milk with me anyway:)

I have to keep reminding myself...
God doesn't give us more than we can handle! It is just more difficult when it all happens at once!

We found out about a week and a half ago that we would be moving out of our house by January 27th. From the time we found out, we have been trying to pack up boxes and get stuff ready for storage. We have exactly one week left to get EVERYTHING out. We have decided to get it all out by Sunday, Jan. 22. Basically, we will have had three weekends to pack up all our belongings and decide what goes to Mom and Dad's house and what goes to storage. That's right, folks. I said that we were moving back in with Mom and Dad and that we are moving again for the third time in less than 2 years. We don't plan to stay with the parents for an extended time. We plan to stay with them for approximately 6 months (give or take a couple). We plan to pay off most of our debt and find a house that we can afford and stay in for several years. We would like to find something with more than 2 bedrooms since our family is not done expanding. Don't panic! I'm not pregnant again, yet:) That's at least another year away.

Any who! We will be moving out completely next weekend. That means that I get to move for my birthday. Woopee!!! I always wanted to have to nurse a baby, carry heavy boxes, tear down and set up heavy furniture, and get everything ready for Sunday morning church and nursery. Ok, so sarcasm has become quite the tool now that I work with middle schoolers. Sorry, I'm beginning to ramble like my sister-in-law! Just kidding! I love you, Erin.

The other thing that has made moving very difficult has been that Malachi, Daniel, and I have had to deal with Malachi's first sickness. His "surgery" was a walk in the park compared to his little cold/virus. Monday, he went in for his 6mo. check up. Wednesday, when Malachi and I arrived home, I noticed that he was hot. He was not acting sick at all, just hot like the sun. He had a temperature of 102.4 degrees F. We called the doctor. They told us to come on in. Thankfully, our doctor's office has after-hours so we didn't have to pay the $100 ER copay, just the $25. After waiting almost two hours with a tired baby, the doctor told us it looked like a cold/virus. Isn't that what they always say when they don't know what is truly wrong?!? Well, we gave our little man some Tylenol and went to bed. He didn't sleep that well, but I thought all was well. The next evening he came down with a horrible cough and congestion. Daniel went to the only open drug store at 10pm to get some infant cough/cold medicine. He got worse before he got better. Beginning yesterday (Sat.) morning he had no fever, just some coughing and a little congestion. He has continued to get better, but it has been rough. I got about 4 hours of sleep Thursday night. Thankfully, Friday was an easy day at school. I was able to sleep in Saturday morning with Malachi.

He has been sleeping part of the night in the bed with us. Apparantly, while he is sick, he doesn't like to sleep by himself. Praise the Lord, that I finally got him to lay in his crib a few hours ago, and he is still soundly sleeping. I should be in bed right now, but I wanted to let the family know.

Malachi also loves to share! He seems to have shared his cold with his father and mother. Daniel and I both woke up feeling awful. It just seems to be the icing on the cake of the last few nights of getting up every 1-3 hours. Thankfully, we have no fever. I just have a sore throat and a drippy nose. I am trying to keep it to myself so that I don't share it with Malachi again (since he probably caught it from me bringing middle schooler germs home).

To make a long story even longer, it has been hard to cope with all the sickness, work, and trying to pack up as much of our lives as we can. We have not been too terribly successful so far. Thank you, Lord for sending me a wonderful church family. I have three ladies who have volunteered to help me pack and take care of Malachi tomorrow (Mon.). I'm off Monday and Tuesday. And what do I get to do for my 4 day weekend? Pack, of course! Every exhausted, working-mother's dream! Sorry about the sarcasm again. Thanks for listening to my ranting and raving. I promise that I'll be more pleasant next time. My sister-in-law is right. Blogging is a good outlet. Maybe, I ought to do this more often. Then, you probably will read less often. I'll try to type it into my own journal next time. The English teacher is coming out in me again. I just want to thank You, Lord, again for sending Daniel and I such a wonderful church family, extended family, and the most beautiful boy in the world. We couldn't have asked for a more wonderful child! You truly do know exactly what we need!

Signs of Teething

Malachi's cousin Lilly was trying to love on him before he went to bed, but fussy, teething babies just don't want to be held by anyone but Mommy and Daddy (and sometimes nothing will help). December 29, 2005

Happy but oh, so, drooly!

Malachi woke up from a nap in the car soaked with drool. Not only is Malachi fussy most of the time, but he also drools twice as much as before. January 2, 2006.

Swimming in Florida

Our little man got to go swimming for the first time last week. Since Florida is so warm, even in December, we got to go swimming. Ok, not really. It was an indoor pool at the RV park where Grammy and Grandpa were staying. We bought him a little float and some swimmy diapers (even though the swimmy diapers serve no purpose). He was enjoying himself immensely! He kicked back and relaxed. He enjoyed swimming with Grammy, Grandpa, Daddy, Mommy, and Cousin Callie.

More Christmas (New Year's) Presents

Malachi received a VeggieTale's CD from his Aunt Miranda that sings his name several times. "If Malachi likes to waltz with potatoes..." and so on.

He also got a very cute little outfit from his great-grandma Carol and great-grandpa Bill. It had a little hooded sweatshirt with jeans and a shirt.

Malachi also enjoyed some pork roast, mashed potatoes, greens, and key lime pie (all second hand of course). He did get to eat some strawberry/banana baby food while we ate lunch. Thanks for the delicious food Grandma! Your cooking is the greatest!

Sorry that there are no pictures. I forgot my camera.

Still more to come!

Christmas-time Fun!

Malachi enjoyed getting love from all of his family members. He got to play with his big cousin and pray for his little cousin to arrive soon.



Great-grandma Geraldine loves getting cuddles from her favorite (and only) baby!





Daddy is about to open presents with Malachi.








Being festive with a "Baby's 1st Christmas" bib for his Christmas day feast of bananas (Yum)!

Grandparent Heaven

Grammy and Grandpa are in grandparent heaven! They won't know what to do when baby Avery arrives!

Rounds 1 and 2 of Christmas

We have officially had two rounds of "Christmas" giving with our family. We still have a few more rounds to go. We are still currently on vacation in Florida. When we return, the joy of giving will continue. This is, of course, Malachi's first Christmas. All the grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends have all be so excited to give Malachi presents. Daniel and I have enjoyed the showering of gifts on our son, especially since we were unable to get him a big present for Christmas.

Round 1 for Malachi consisted of a BBQ dinner (which he got second-hand a few hours later) with his Great-grandma, Paw-paw, grandma Cathy, and Aunt Kristen. He got a blanket, some blocks, some toys, and a furry rocking horse. It is so cute! He had a blast and loved on his family just like he should

Round 2 consisted of church at Niceville AG in Niceville, FL (which he did not like at all! I won't be dropping him off with strangers again anytime soon). We then had a little lunch and opened presents. Most of the gifts and giving revolved around Malachi's cousin Callie, but he didn't mind. Callie is 2 and should be the center off attention. She helped pass out presents and opened all of her own. Malachi enjoyed getting toys, clothes, and an interactive book. He spent the day with his Grammy, Grandpa, Uncle David, Uncle Josh, Aunt Erin, and Cousin Callie. Thanks to Josh and Erin for hosting us for a few days. I hope you enjoyed getting a feel for having 2 little ones in the house. Love ya!

I will keep you updated on all of Malachi's rounds of Christmas when they conclude and will post pictures when I am able to hook up my camera to the computer when we get home from FL. More to come:)

A Little Bumped and Bruised

Yesterday, after arriving at Josh and Erin's house, Malachi and I took a fall down the stairs. Thankfully I was the only one harmed. I tripped down the last two steps while holding Malachi. As I was hitting the steps, I dropped our little boy. He gently rolled out of my arms and onto the hardwood floor (or so observers have reported). He was much more stunned than hurt. He landed face first on the floor and lightly knicked his head on the corner of the wall. He had a tiny little pink bump on his forehead that was gone in a few hours. He only cried for about 2 minutes and then proceeded to smile and laugh until nap time. Jesus was looking out for our little boy, just like always.

I, on the other hand, was not in such great shape. I have 3 huge bruises. One on each arm where they tried to cushion my fall, and the other is located on my sitting cushion! It is a little uncomfortable to sit and rest my arms on things, but otherwise everyone is ok.

We didn't have to take a trip to the doctor or ER or anything. Thank you, Lord!

Eatin' 'Nannies and Rolling Over

About a week and a half ago we started feeding Malachi bananas. This is his first food (besides milk). The first two times I fed him it was a little challenging. Now, he can eat them like a pro. He eats about a third to a half of a regular sized banana once a day. He usually opens his mouth and readily accepts the food. I think we'll stick with bananas for a little while until he either gets teeth or hits six months, and we start him on some baby food. Who knows! We'll play it by ear. He is doing so well. It is still quite comical to see him spit some out of his mouth along with a lot of drool, but like I said before, he does really well for being 5 months old.

Malachi can also roll over from his back to his belly like crazy. He still doesn't like to be on his belly for very long, but it takes him no time to get from back to front. In the mornings or if he wakes up in the middle of the night, he often rolls over in his frustration or light sleeping pattern. He has slept for an hour or so the past few mornings on his belly after I have gotten up for work and am about to head out the door.

Mommy missed it!!!

Today was a monumental day. Malachi rolled from his back to his tummy. Daniel called me at work right before my students were leaving for the day to tell me the good news. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't there to see it, but I was very excited that Daniel watched him and rejoiced with him. Daniel was able to get a picture of him right after he rolled over. You can tell that he just rolled over by the position of one arm still being tucked underneath him. Congratulations Malachi!!! You are growing up so quickly. You better roll over again soon for your Mommy!

Grammy and Grandpa's two grandchildren (but not for long)
Callie got to practice holding a baby for a little while Thanksgiving Day. She did a great job. I can tell that she will be a good helper to her Mom and little sister Avery (when she comes). I'm sure that this is a picture that Grammy and Grandpa will treasure for a long time.