13 Month Comparison

Ezekiel

Malachi

The Boys Today

Ezekiel-isms

"bop, bop, bop" - his pacifier (what Malachi calls all pacifiers)
"ba, ba" - bye, bye
"da, da" - Daddy

I swear that he knows what he is saying. He also tries to repeat certain phrases like, thank you.

Ezekiel is growing much faster than expected. He is getting better and better at walking. He wants to run, not walk. He can turn in any direction by basically using a pivot foot. He loves to lift both his hands way up in the air when we say, "Praise the Lord!" He will also do it all on his own when he coughs. He still loves his big brother. He wants to be in the middle of everything, especially what I am doing. He is still a Momma's boy, but he is getting better at being content with Dad and others. He has 6 teeth still. He is actually growing and gaining some weight. He normally eats like a horse and much more than his big brother.

He is such a joy, but he makes it difficult to make dinner. He is still very clingy and wanting to be held. I remember this stage with Malachi now and how difficult it was to make dinner or do anything else while he was awake. I can't wait for him to get a little bit more independent (and listen better). He is much more mobile and in to everything that he's not supposed to be into, than his brother. Malachi was a much better "listener" at this age and doing the "right thing." He definitely gives me a run for my money.

He also loves Kiev! Any time he eats, I think the two of them have certain visual signals that I don't see. He likes to giver her food, and she will not leave his side while he is sitting at his seat. Go figure!

Ezekiel's first ride in a forward-facing carseat (Sat., March 15)

Malachi-isms

• "Zee, hap-py" - Z is happy. He also tells us when he is crying ("ty-in"), he is sad, or silly ("see-eee").
• "Da-doo" - Thank you
• "Well-wum" - Your welcome
• "Paw-srill" - Paw-Paw Phil (this one just cracks me up the way he says it)
• "My pay Paw house" - Malachi (I) am playing at Grandpa's house - anytime he talks about someone or uses their name as an Possessive noun adjective, he shortens it to one syllable (like "Da in Da bed" - Daddy in Daddy's bed)
• "Yes, mam" - Yes, ma'am (sir) - last weekend he just started saying "yes." Before he would repeat the phrase if he meant yes. Now he will answer with yes and starting about Thursday this week, he started adding ma'am most of the time. We are working with him on addressing men by sir, but right now "yes, ma'am" is cute even to his Daddy.
• "Shh, Zee, see-peen" - Shh, Z is sleeping
• ***He is using the G and K sounds more often but still not on a consistent basis. I am encouraged, and I know others are because he is getting better to understand with each day.***
  

"Ezekiel-isms, too"
Ezekiel is also babbling more and more. He doesn't seem to say mom & dad with purpose but he does have the ma-ma, da-da, ba-ba, and few other occasional sounds. He has just turned the corner to toddler-hood. He has always been flexible, but he is getting better at playing and being happy until he is tired. Then, he lets you know it is naptime. He loves life and lives large. He listens to our "no"s a little better and enjoys being part of the whole part of play-time with Malachi. He loves to push cars around and give everything the taste test, still.

Happy Birthday, Aubri!

Ok. So I wanted to give a shout-out to my new "official" niece, who just had her first birthday party today!

I don't remember her birth date exactly. I need to put it in my calendar, but she is 2-3 weeks younger than Ezekiel---imagine me not remembering something! I have a friend who teases me about not even being able to remember how old I am (which is totally true).

I also didn't realize that I had been misspelling her name for a year until I saw it spelled out on her cake. I wish someone would have corrected me. The English teacher in me always likes to spell words and names correctly. Well, now I know---and knowing is half the battle (GI Joe)!

Happy 1st Birthday, Aubri! Malachi and Ezekiel had a blast at your party. Enjoy all your presents, oh, and welcome to the family (officially). You have always been a part of the family, but I'm glad it is official. You have a great mom & dad (and the rest of the family, too:)!!!

Recent Events in Our Life

Ezekiel has been taking more and more steps lately. He just gets so excited or wants to run much faster than his little legs can carry him that he gives up and does his speed crawl. I don't know if I have ever seen a baby crawl that fast. He went in to the doctor on Wednesday this week for his 12 mo. check-up. He was 16 lbs. & 14 oz. and 28 3/4 in. long. That means that he has gained around a pound in 6 months! I am absolutely baffled. Ezekiel eats more and better than Malachi. He's no where close to being turned around in his carseat. It is kind of sad, he's a year old, and we are still using the carrier carseat! I guess we'll start slipping Carnation Instant Breakfast into his soy milk to get him to gain weight. He eats well and is happy, but I guess his metabolism is extremely high due to his high level activity at such a young age. He is in the bottom 3% in weight, like the top 10% in height, and almost at a learning level of 18 mo. He really is smart for his age, just tiny!

Malachi is talking more and more often and speaking more and more clearly. He's really starting to SING and catch on to things quickly. He likes to sing his ABCs, Happy Birthday, Jesus Loves Me, Hot Dog Song (from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse), Little Einstein's theme song, and two songs from My Friends Tigger & Pooh. On Wednesday evening as we were leaving for church, one of my favorite songs were on the radio (Amazing Grace [My Chains are Gone]) and Malachi starting singing the song. It probably helps that I like to belt the song each time it comes on. I love it! This evening, when we were leaving Lowe's, a song was on about Christ being "Holy, Holy, Holy." Malachi was singing along with, "holy, holy, holy." This realization of how impressionable my children are and how hard I have worked to make our lifestyles to be those that are excellent examples to our children, is mind-blowing! I love to hear him sing. It melts me through and through.

Last week I noticed that he had cut 3 of his 4 two-year molars. It's about time kid. Ezekiel has had 6 teeth for at least a month now. Daniel & I still have all our teeth. He, he, he:)

In just a few days, Daniel and I will be traveling with 187 eighth graders to the Outer Banks for 3 days. The boys will be with grandparents (all different ones at various times).

I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown but am working to resolve that this week. I'm just too stressed & tired. I have been more sick in the past 6 months than I have been in the past 6 years. It's not fair to my family or to my students at work. Daniel has a different possibility of a job change to what he wants and is called to do. Please pray!

We just bought a new dishwasher and disposal for our house. The dishwasher sounded like it was about to fall apart into a gazillion pieces and spill water all over the place. We got a good deal, and Daniel installed them both. The boys had fun today playing in the box (or should I say, house).

Malachi is using the g and k sounds some now but not always. He's impressing me with his memory and how attentive to certain things that he is.

Here are some birthday pictures as well as some others!

Oh, look Mommy! A forward-facing carseat that I can't use before I gain at least 3 pounds!
It was just what you asked for me, before you learned that I just don't gain weight. Ha, ha!

I love my cake, Momma! Thanks for letting me feed myself with a big ole spoon.
I enjoyed every bite, once I finally figured out that being messy was ok.

From this (Feb. 2007)

To this (Feb. 2008)

What a big boy!

Happy Birthday, Ezekiel Luke!!!

Ezekiel,

Today is your first birthday! I sang Happy Birthday to you this morning right before I left for work. You just smiled at me as I sang. I know that you didn't understand, but I want you to know that I didn't forget in the midst of life and that I will love you forever. I'm planning to make or buy your favorite meal for dinner tonight---mashed potatoes! Daddy has to work, but we are planning on having fun tomorrow night and Saturday at our combined birthday party with Kyla.

As I was singing to you this morning, I realized that it was a little ironic. You were born at 11:54pm on this day one year ago. I am still a little amazed at how quickly and easily you came. I didn't have any clue that you would be here today until about 1pm (in about 5th or 6th period). I was at work, doing what I was hoping to be able to do for 2 more days, but you had a different plan. I was making sub plans for the next few days and weeks at this point in time exactly a year ago.

You have added so much joy to my life. It hasn't been easy, but you are sooo worth it. You may have been a "surprise," but you better never think that you were not wanted! You are a wonderful surprise gift from God. I can't imagine life without you. I love to cuddle with you and make you laugh. You love to hold onto my fingers to walk. You crawl so incredibly fast and can climb almost as well. You love to "Praise the Lord" by throwing your hands over your head and smiling that huge toothy grin. You'll keep doing it and knowing you are cute. The look on your face is priceless.

I love you, Ezekiel Luke. Happy Birthday!!!

Since I can finally get to a post page...

"Hep me, Momma! No ti-ul"

Daddy is a good tickler.

"Get Malachi, Z! Get him!"

The boys love to "wrestle" with each other, especially when Daddy helps.

"Playing together" - Malachi likes to set his toys up this way. I put Z up there (he loves the bike) and Malachi hopped on the block wagon. His imagination is really starting to bloom. Choo-Choo!

"Matching" jammies

How cute is this boy?

I've been having a huge issue of Blogger actually letting me get to a post page. This is the first time I've been able to finagle it to get there, and it took me forever! Oh, well.

This is a rather long post and may be the only one for a week or two, so if you feel the need, please pace yourself:)

We've been busy, as usual, lately. After Christmas, we had a few more "parties." One was with our friends J&L and Kyla and W&J (and first baby on the way). The children had a blast playing together (as they normally do), and the adults had a great time chatting. Ezekiel would not go to sleep until everyone was gone. It was a blast! Malachi wanted to help me make green beans for the dinner, so I snapped off the ends, and he would snap them into smaller pieces. None of the pieces were near the same size, but they tasted great, and Malachi had a great time helping.

Malachi now has eczema, too. He's had some bad rashes for a while. I thought switching the detergent would help, but it didn't. He's done very well at letting us put on the special "lotion." It has cleared up quickly. I think we just may have to apply it only after baths (which are still every other night [or more]). He's definitely not itching as bad as he was. His skin is soft again.

Ezekiel is cruising furniture and pulling up like a pro. He loves music, too. When something comes on that he likes, he'll just smile and bee-bop his little body and head around. It is soooo cute.

Malachi can count to ten and is beginning to say his ABC's. They are not very good, but he's getting there. He can recognize M for Malachi and K for Kyla. He's getting a few others, too. He typically listens to his personalized VeggieTales CD when going to sleep. He knows most of those songs (or at least portions of them) and a few other children's songs that I think they do at church. I asked him last Sunday (I think), if he knew that, "Jesus loves you." He starting singing, "Bible tells me SOOO." It was so precious. He has always, always loved music and to have him learn songs and be able to sing them with me is totally awesome and amazing!

Ezekiel is totally and completely weaned. Right around his 11 month birthday, I got tired of nursing, pumping and all that comes with it---plus another reason that I'll talk about later. So, we starting introducing bottles of soy milk. After about a week, he was totally on soy milk. I thought that he would be more difficult to wean, but it was very, very smooth. About a week of washing bottles, I decided that it was time to do the Nuby sippy cups full-time. For about 2 days, he acted like he missed the bottles, but he did just fine. He loves them now, and so do I---much fewer parts and dishwasher safe. Woo-hoo!

For my birthday, my sweet husband took me to one night at a bed and breakfast in Boone, NC, Lovill House Inn. It was just enough time to get away from the boys and have some time with my hubby. That was about the first "date" or time alone without the boys that Daniel and I have had since Ezekiel was born. Boy, was it great to not have to worry about a baby crying in the middle of the night! Daniel even got the little romance package. We had a great dinner and a wonderful breakfast at the house. We got a late lunch and headed back to Concord to pick up the boys from a very exhausted Grammy---Thanks sooo much!!!

Ezekiel had still been struggling to sleep through the night. Most of it was my fault of not letting him cry. I didn't want him to bother Malachi with his crying. Plus, in the middle of the night, when you are so tired, it is hard to let him cry. The past week we have really worked on him going back to sleep even if he's crying. He now goes to bed about 8:30pm and will sleep until Malachi wakes him up playing (around 7-8am). I know now (since he drinks tons of soy milk during the day) that he can't be too hungry. He's doing great, and Malachi did fine with the 2 nights of crying.

Malachi did wake up at 3am about 2 weeks ago (when we had snow) and turned on the light (and woke up his brother) to find his bop. It was not fun to try to get 2 boys back to sleep. I really didn't think that Malachi was that serious about finding his bop when I heard him talking through the monitor, "Bop is? Bop is, Momma? Bop is?"

Ok. I think I'm done with all my ramblings. Daniel did have a job interview at a church last week. We hope to hear something soon. Please pray. We are all happy and mostly healthy. God is good!

Update on the Z-man

Ezekiel is changing by leaps and bounds!

He can...

• sit up on his own (he started doing this about a month ago---the weekend Uncle David & Aunt Chelle got married)
  
• crawl really, really fast.
• crawl into the base of his saucer and over some smaller things (like Malachi's bean bag chair).
• pull to standing pretty easily.
• push his "walker" around the house, walking behind it.
• sit up in the bath tub without the assistance of his seat.
• copy some sounds (especially bye-bye = "ba-ba")
• crawl to me and pull up on my pants/legs and whine for me to pick him up
• down 2-3 cartons of YoBaby yogurt a day
• hold and feed himself his bottle if he's really hungry
  
• try new things and chew up some "larger" bites of softer foods like bread, oatmeal, etc.
• shake his head back and forth in the no motion to show that he is full of food
  
• cuddle with the best of them
• drink soy milk instead of breast milk once or twice a day(which is good b/c I am working on weening him soon---I am so ready to be done with nursing, pumping, and all that jazz).
• give EVERYTHING the taste test
• get into whatever he sets his mind to do---he defies the impossible very often

***Malachi was just figuring out how to crawl at 11 months old. He was very smart and took things in, but nothing compares to how much Z likes to be in the middle of everything.***

Malachi-isms

"my zhames HUN-TUT" - Malachi James "Last name"
"zee zoot HUN-TUT" - Ezekiel Luke "Last name"
"da-da HUN-TUT" - Daddy "Last name" --- you get the idea:)
"day-days dut" - Daisy Duck
"don dut" - Donald Duck
"doo-ee" - Goofy
"poo dog" - Pluto dog
"mi-mi mouse" - Minnie Mouse (Mickey is still "hot dog mouse," most of the time)
"my nuts" - Malachi's donut

He has mastered his colors. He has a very good grasp on his animal sounds. You should hear him say ribbit or the noise an elephant makes. We ask him what the animals say. He'll usually answer with gusto. We starting asking him, "what does Daddy/Mommy/Z/Malachi say?" Here is his list of our "animal sounds." Dad - "Oh, Wow" Mom - "Hoo-hoo," (supposed to be Woo-hoo) Malachi - "Ah, Man," Z - "waaaaaaaa."


About a week and a half ago we had our annual Moore Hall girls' Christmas party. Malachi wanted to be in the middle of everything. He totally and completely surprised me. Anytime that we have had guests over to the house, he's been pretty shy. This time, he was around basically a bunch of "strangers." He was a HUGE SHOW-OFF! He had never acted like that before, but I digress. All the girls were sitting around the kitchen table talking while the boys were watching football & basketball. Malachi kept wanting to sit next to the new people and play with them. Someone looked at him and said, "You are going to be a ladies' man." He looked at the 2 "single" girls in the group (meaning no steady boyfriend or husband) and said, "Oh, Wow!"

I died! I don't know where he learned the meaning of that, but it was sooooo incredibly funny! You know how your parents used to embarrass you when you were a teenager? I realized they were able to do that because you (the child) had embarrassed your parents many, many times growing up. This is the first of many!

Christmas Presents - Round Five

We went to Daniel's grandma Hinson's house for breakfast where we usually do breakfast and presents with that side of the family. Malachi probably ate like 3 sausage patties (which were quite spicy) and drank a lot of OJ in his "new race-tar tup" that his great-grandma got for him. Malachi (& Ezekiel) got lots of cool toys and a "choo-choo towch" from grandparents, great-grandparents, and aunts and uncles. This was the last round of presents. Malachi kept wanting to open more presents. He was a little disappointed when it was all over, but he has had loads of fun playing with all the new stuff at home.

Christmas Presents - Round Four

Grammy & Grandpa brought dinner and presents over on Christmas Eve. It was a nice quiet day here at our house. The boys enjoyed the time with their grandparents and playing with new toys. Malachi got his second bike. He got his first bike from his Paw-Paw Phil, but it is a little too big for him to use right now. He will probably be able to use it this summer.

Daniel putting together Malachi's "bike" - it has a handle on the back, so I can push him since he can't exactly reach and use the pedals yet.

Christmas Presents - Round Three

Daniel and I decided that Christmas day was probably going to be pretty crazy, so we did our presents opening with the boys on Christmas Eve morning. Malachi got the Cars DVD, Little People "hair-pane" (airplane), "Hot Dog" (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) Ears that actually sing the song and he can play "Mickey says," and a gingerbread house. Ezekiel got a star-stacking tower. Both the boys received cars that go when pushed. It was a lot of fun, but Malachi kept saying, "open more presents," which sounds more like, "oped more pep-ens."


Daniel wanted Malachi to open one present early, and Malachi chose the gingerbread house. Boy, was he soooo proud of that house and wanted to eat the candy, of course.

Christmas Presents - Round Two

Christmas continued on Saturday, December 22nd at Daniel's Dad's house. We had pizza and a lot of fun with toys and presents. It was crazy with all the presents in their little living room, but Malachi and Ezekiel did a great job opening presents and having fun with the family.

Christmas Presents - Round One

Since David and Michelle got married on Dec. 15th, we had a brief present time with Uncle Josh, Aunt Erin, Callie, Avery, David, Michelle, & Jasmine. Malachi (and Ezekiel, too) had a blast playing with their cousins and opening presents. All the grandkids got slippers from Uncle Josh & Aunt Erin. Malachi wanted to were them out of the house a few times and did wear them to bed a couple of times and slept with them on all night. Ezekiel's slippers are a little too big right now, but Malachi enjoyed seeing him wear them for a little while.

Malachi got a cool set of maracas---anything that makes noise. It's a good thing that their not too loud. Ezekiel likes to taste them, too.

Ezekiel got a frog set for the bathroom. He thinks they are scrumptious!

Dear Ezekiel,

You turned 10 months old on Friday, last week, and you continue to amaze me each and everyday. You are FINALLY feeling better. It took a lot of antibiotics (the third round) and saline up the nose to finally conquer your ear infections and colds. I think it was around 4 weeks that you were sick. You are such a happy baby, and it killed me to see you sick, but you handled it like a pro (just like your brother). You are a trooper. You don't miss much and want to be involved in everything that your big brother, momma, and daddy are involved in. You don't like to sleep when you know that something exciting is going on.


You can crawl (very quickly, I might add). You can put crackers in your mouth and very small items in your mouth as well. You can pull up to your knees easily and sometimes pull up to standing. You have to work a little harder on the latter. You don't cruise around furniture very much, but I think that's because you feel that you can get wherever you want by crawling. I don't worry much about you falling off of your rocking Pooh or anything else. You have always been very aware of your surroundings and fall softly on your appropriate body parts. Unless Malachi knocks you down, you can fall without getting hurt, and growing up with a big brother who is only 19 months older than you, you learned quickly to deal with it.


I love to see you smile, and your laugh is soooo contagious. I love how happy you are. You are rarely upset and cry anymore. This is a major change from your first few months of life. You used to cry all the time, but its not that way anymore. You truly are a happy baby.

About this time in your brother's life, he started to experience Momma withdrawals. You are content with other people to hold you and entertain you. However, if Momma is around, you want to be held by Momma. No one else will do then.

I love you Ezekiel, and I can't wait for you to make it to your first birthday! You've got about 4 lbs. to gain until then, but you can do it!

Dear Malachi,

I love you soooo much! I know that I say this every time, but you continue to amaze me at how quickly you pick up on things. After you have spent a whole day with me and/or your Daddy, you listen so much better just due to being the 2 who brought you here and the main disciplinarians (as it should be). You are pretty flexible, but you do much better on a schedule.

You love life to the fullest. Running, laughing, and playing are all #1 on your list. Your motto should be, "Go big, or Go home!" I love to hear your laugh and see your smile. It is extremely contagious.
You have begun to really be jealous of your little brother. It started about a month ago but has taken on different stages. For about 3 days, you felt like you needed to hit Ezekiel when things were not going your way. Now, its ok most of the time. You typically get jealous when Z is being held and you're not. You will sometimes take his "bop" out of his mouth just for kicks and "hide" it behind your back (kind of like we take some things from you so you won't grab it from our hands). Most of the time, when your Daddy or I are holding Z, you try to jump up in our laps beside him and sometimes push him out.

I had a "Momma moment" a few weeks ago. I was tickling you and just realized that you weren't a baby like your brother anymore. I wanted to cry amidst the laughs while the tickling continue to ensue. I look at your 1 year picture on my desk and realize that you are the same kid---just bigger, louder, and prouder.
I love you, forever, and I can't wait to see you reach your 3rd birthday!

9 Month Comparison

Ezekiel
He is much more mobile than Malachi had ever dreamed of being. He is a happy baby, like his big brother, but he is much more easy going and flexible. He's our little skinny guy. He started out bigger and just hasn't gained a lot of weight. We just moved him into 6-9 month clothes about a month ago.

Malachi
He was our chunky baby who loved to eat. He didn't start crawling until around 11 months. He was content to sit and watch and be loved

Fun Pictures

Malachi's best friend, Kyla, came over to play on the observed day of Veteran's Day (since I didn't have to work). Malachi had just discovered a doctor's set that I found at a yard sale. Malachi kept listening to everyone's heart go, "beep, beep," and Kyla was giving Malachi shots in the mouth. It was soooooo cute!

Hanging out with Daddy on a lazy Sunday afternoon

Momma, how is your swimsuit supposed to fit on me?

Daddy, I like this hat you put on my head.
Momma, make sure you show off this picture with my one tooth grin.

I Spoke Too Soon

In my last post, I said that we were on the up and up on our way out of sickness, but I was wrong. I had a nasty cold last week (beginning on Thanksgiving---yeah, that was fun!). I was finally starting to feel better Saturday afternoon and Sunday, but Sunday afternoon my ear started clogging up with fluid behind it. Monday morning I woke up feeling like a Mack truck just hit me. I went to the doctor and got an antibiotic for my horrible ear infection. I went to work on Tuesday, but still felt awful. Since Wednesday, I have continued to feel better. The only problem, starting sometime last night (Friday) Ezekiel started coming down with my cold symptoms. Malachi had been a little snotty, too, but doing well. I put Ezekiel to bed with one red eye (like I had for a few days) and coughing every now and then. You could tell his poor little throat hurt to cough. He would cry or whimper almost every time afterwards. Poor guy. I'm having to spray saline up his nose and suck it back out to hopefully help his snotty nose. He HATES it!!!

The boys have been sick off and on for the past month. I just want them to be better. Please pray that these sicknesses leave SOON.