Cuttin' Down a Tree

Finally, here are the pictures of our fun, family outing.

There are lots of trees, Mommy!

Let's cut down the tree that I picked out.

Go, Daddy, go!

Daddy, the tree is down. Is it supposed to be laying down?

Sheep are scarier than dogs.

Baaaa!

Time for a hayride!

Let's go, Mommy. What are we waiting for?

I went on a treasure hunt and found two ornaments! I turned them in for a candy cane (that someone else will eat for me).

Loads of Fun

I have so many good pictures that I want to share, but my camera is not cooperating. Our family (just the 3, uhh.., 4 of us) went to a Christmas tree farm in Lincolnton, NC. Daniel is not big on Christmas trees, but he thought it would be a good family outing and maybe a good future tradition. Anyway, we drove about an hour to a place out in the country of the foothills. It was cut your own tree (Leyland Cyprus), any size, for $25. They had free snacks, hay rides, and animals to look at. Malachi had a blast!!! He walked around the uneven ground and when given the choice between two trees "picked" the one that Daniel cut down. He went on a hay ride, looked at a pig, some sheep, and some goats. He even ate half of a cream-filled cookie. He continued his fun at Wendy's eating fries, chicken, and fruit. He napped in the car on the way home and continued that nap when we got home. He acted like he truly did enjoy himself.

On a side note, my car is over 8 years old. Even though the tree is less than 6 feet tall, we strapped it to the roof rack. That was the first time, ever, that my roof rack (on the Rav4) has been used!!! This was also the first time that I have gotten a real tree for Christmas. I guess Malachi wasn't the only one with firsts this year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Malachi's second Thanksgiving was rather uneventful. We had lunch with my parents and David around 12:45. Unfortunately, Malachi's one nap comes around 12 or 12:30. He had no clue that all that cooking going on in the morning was eaten while he slept. He was able to take part in Thanksgiving dinner at his Nana's house with all of his Daddy's family. He got lots of hugs and kisses from his grandparents and aunts. I tried to get him to try turkey, dressing, green beans, and corn, but he wouldn't eat anything but a plain biscuit. Hopefully next year, he'll realize that he's missing out on a bunch of good stuff.

Today we played around and emptied out the storage unit. Yay! We can now save $100 a month! There really wasn't that much left in our unit after David moved all his stuff out. I'm glad that we had the unit. There was a lot of stuff. Now there is a lot of stuff here. Really, it's not that much, but there are boxes and boxes of clothes. Malachi has at least one box of clothes for every size. I have at least two boxes of clothes for every size. I miss my old body! When I got married, I was a size 8. Pre-pregnancy saw me at a 10. 4 weeks after Malachi I was a 14!!! I got down to a 10, but it took 11 months. Right after I had gotten down to feeling good about my body, I got pregnant again! I have really enjoyed this pregnancy, but I am ready to get my old body back!!! I have missed it over the past 2 years. Sure, I haven't missed my period and other things, but I just want to feel good about the way I look. Ok, so I've gone off on a tangent. I truly am thankful for all my family and the things that come with it. I just have a lot of clothes! Now we have clothes and boxes all over the place. We just have to find a place and a home for all this stuff that we can't get rid of yet, especially since there is another little boy to fill those clothes up for a time.

Tomorrow (Saturday), we might be starting a new family tradition. We are going to pick out a small, fresh Christmas tree to bring home. Hopefully, the tree farm we are going to will also have a hay ride and some animals to see. We are looking forward to this little outing with Malachi and to make new memories.

Less Than 100 Days!!!

If you look at the new baby's ticker today, you will see that there are less than 100 days to go! Woo-hoo!!! I need to post a picture of how big I've gotten. I feel huge already and am not technically in the third trimester yet. I've got a little over 3 months to go until the due date. My belly has even dropped some. This is a difficult thing to deal with now, because I can't get my belly on top of the counter. I have to stand at a distance to cook and wash dishes (good thing I don't do much of either:)). This little boy is a very active one. He is constantly on the move. I think that he is more active than Malachi was (in utero). We're still not telling the name.

My back has been in really bad shape the past few weeks. I started seeing our local chiropractor (from FA) a month ago. I only visit once every two weeks, though. The visits help, but I don't feel like they are close enough together. I am trying my best to not pick up Malachi as much and to make him do things on his own. This is difficult at times when he won't do what I want him to do. He is getting better. He will hold your hand (or finger, rather) most of the time when you offer it. He will sometimes hold my hand, walk to the car and wait patiently for me to put him in when running errands. This makes me very thankful. In some ways, I am not rushing this pregnancy at all. I am enjoying giving Malachi my attention and watching him grow. I also know that one child changes your life, but when the second one comes, it REALLY changes your life! I wish that I could be home more to see Malachi grow and mature. He's beginning to form words now, I think. Of course, it is all in when he feels like it. All in all, we are doing well. I know I sound like I am complaining at times, but I have been through 1 and a half pregnancies. Neither of them have been very difficult or complicated. God has blessed me with two easy pregnancies (minus the back pain). God is always good!!!

Many Teeth

Today, yes I said today, I am actually posting something on the day it happened. Anywho, today Grammy discovered that Malachi has a new tooth. This puts him up to 11 teeth, 7 teeth and 4 molars. It is also comforting to me. The tooth that is coming in is next to one of the first teeth that he got. It is on the bottom and only the third one on the bottom (not including his two molars). Way to go Grammy and Malachi.

I think this explains his clumsiness the past few days. Almost every time a tooth is about to emerge, he loses all sense of balance. Unfortunately, this is the first time he has lost all balance while walking/running. He's taller now, too. That means that he has farther to fall. I say all this to tell you that he has had a few more spills and a few more bruises. Thursday he was walking on the driveway and just fell. He busted his lip open on the top. It is still pretty nasty looking, but Malachi doesn't show that it bothers him. Then, Sunday, he was playing in the nursery and fell. He got a pretty nice bruise on his head from that one. After noticing his tooth this evening, it all makes sense. He normally has good balance and can catch himself but not when a tooth is coming in. I don't think that they list that symptom with teething. It should be added. It is a proven fact with my little boy. I don't know how much more I can take, though! I can't stand seeing my little boy all banged and bruised, especially when there is nothing that I can do to help or change it.

New Shoes

We broke down and bought Malachi brand new athletic shoes. He had none that fit him, and it has been getting cold lately. We didn't want to buy him "character" shoes, but Spiderman was the only pair we could find that wasn't lace up and over $20. The main comforting thought was that, "I can use these shoes again in about a year or so with Malachi's little brother." Well, Malachi loves his shoes! He acts like he can run when he puts his shoes on. It,s like his Spiderman shoes give him "super powers." Go figure! It truly amazes me sometimes to see him like to wear shoes so much. It's not like he ever wore shoes, ever, before he was a year old and walking. I'm just glad that this battle was nonexistent. What a great kid!

The Accident (from two weeks ago)

Here are the pictures of his nose from two weeks ago. Uncle David was feeding Malachi some of his soup, since he was begging anyways (Malachi, not David).

Saturdays are the Greatest!

Last Saturday (as in over a week ago) we had what I like to call "Saturday." Daniel wasn't working. Mom and Dad had made their breakfast. Daniel and I cooked our breakfast. Then, because it was cold, Dad made a fire in the fireplace with his newly purchased firewood (thanks to Uncle David manning two Saturdays of yard sales). It was great. No one was rushing around to clean anything. Malachi was having a blast playing with everyone around to watch him. I purposely put him in sweats to be comfortable, especially since I was still in my pj's. I snapped a couple of pictures. Malachi just loved showing all of us his toys and how he played with them. It was so nice! What a relaxing morning!

Growing Up (sniff, sniff)

This little man is almost gone from baby to toddler to boy in a matter of months. I feel like I can't close my eyes at night or I might miss something.

More Eating Pictures

Finally, One Nap!

Daniel started Malachi on one nap last week. I was concerned it would flop like last time. He seems to be doing fine now. He went with his great-grandma today. I asked if she could put him down between 11 and 12. She got him down about noon. He napped for about 2 hours. Now he is going to bed about 7:30pm. Anyways, the point is...

I had a blast today. Normally I am rushing home to get Malachi down for his second nap. Many times he is going close to bed time with an extra long second nap. Now that he's on one nap, I can have a few more minutes after school to wrap up. Plus instead of sitting around for a few hours, I get to play. Wow! I had so much fun! I had forgotten how much fun it was. You see, Malachi's uncle moved out this weekend, and Grammy and Grandpa are on the Junior trip to DC. Daniel had to work. Malachi and I got home about 4:30pm. We played outside for a few minutes and got the mail. Then, Malachi played while I made dinner. He was so happy! He did whine for a little bit, but that was quickly fixed once I gave him a snack. We played and danced and played some more. I had so much fun watching him play and participating in his laughter. I just can't get enough of his smile!


Here are some random pictures from about a month ago of Malachi feeding himself chunky applesauce.

Accidents Happen

This past Sunday was a rather traumatic day at our house. You see, Daniel, Malachi, and I went to a church leadership conference on Friday and Saturday. I learned some good things. The only problem: Malachi got about 45 min. of nap total on Friday. He then got about 7 hours of sleep (most nights, it is 11-12 hrs.) that night in the middle of a king-sized bed that should only have been shared by Daniel and I since we did had a pack 'n play set up. He did get about 2 hours nap total on Saturday in the car, but do you see where I'm going with this? The kid was severely off schedule, and to his credit, he wasn't that unpleasant. He was able to roll with the punches.

Then...we have a time change Saturday night/Sunday morning! Needless to say, Malachi was not his normal self. Well, due to all the lack of sleep, Sunday morning was a little difficult for our son. He started throwing an unneeded temper tantrum in the bathroom while I was trying to put in my contacts and Daniel trying to get in the shower. It was one of those tempers where he would hold his breath as long as possible. To try to make a long story short, Daniel and I both had a hold of Malachi while he was standing during his tantrum, but a few moments later, neither of us had control of him (not anyone's fault).

He ended up planting his face on the hard linoleum floor. His nose immediately swelled a little and turned pick and purple. Thankfully, 5 minutes later he was back to his normal self. He wouldn't allow me to put any ice on it. We were going to rush to the hospital, when Daniel and I both came to our senses and said, "What in the world can a doctor do to a bruised 15 mo. old nose?" and "What do doctor's know about my son that I don't already know?" The answer to both of those: nothing. Someone made a point to me today (or yesterday, rather) stating, "That's why doctors 'practice' medicine." I'm sorry. I know that some doctors may be fabulous, and obviously they have more knowledge of the human body than I. It is just that in the last 16 months I have come into contact with one too many incompetent doctors (like the one who told us Malachi's food allergy to milk was actually a virus). So, I err on the side of "let's not go."

Anywho, I digress. We waited out his injury. His nose (and mouth) seemed a little tender for Sunday and Monday. By Wednesday, he was pressing his nose and whole face against all kinds of surfaces with no notion of pain. His bruising is almost gone now. He is doing just fine. Sunday I felt like a failure as a mother. My mother told me that "those things happen," and she's right. The only problem is: I feel like they should happen to everyone else but not to me. I think most mothers (and fathers) feel that way. It's ok to comfort someone in their accidents with children, but it is not acceptable to have those accidents with your own children. I am learning to forgive myself and move on, but I am definitely more on my toes if even a small temper arises.

I just have to say now, Praise the Lord! The injury could have been much worse. God was protecting our little boy. Satan was trying to distract us from the teaching of the word to children (in Kids World), but God won in that situation. We had three children raise their hands for salvation!!! What if we had not been there? Would the children have been given that opportunity? I don't know, but what I do know is that frustrating morning and day turned into a celebration. God was glorified and is quickly healing the hurt that was done that morning. Thank you, Lord!

Why?

Why is it that when I wake up at 12:30 to go pee, I can't get back to sleep?

Why does my mind insist on suddenly kicking into overdrive and keeping me awake?

Why does my mind insist on dwelling on matters that I cannot change?

Why am I awake right now over a matter that I should honestly lose no sleep over?

Why are my frustrations from work keeping me up in the middle of the night when I try not to give them a second thought at home?

Why is it that I try my best to leave work at work, but my pregancy hormones require that I "bring it home" in the middle of the night when sleep is what I really need?

Why is it that the only thing that I can do to calm myself is type (since there's no one to talk to)?

I just want to sleep!!!!!!!! Is that too much to ask?

Finally Growing

A week ago today, Daniel took Malachi to the doctor for his 15 mo. check up. Yes, I know it was at least two weeks after he should have gone. I guess I just need to get used to things not happening when I want them to. Anywho, he was a big boy and stood on the scale instead of laying on the baby scale. He also stood up to be measured. He is at least 23 pounds and is 29 inches TALL. This is great! He had stopped growing around 10 mo. He was actually a few oz. shy of 20 lbs. for his first birthday. I knew that he had been growing taller (especially evidenced by the fact that his pajamas were not fitting anymore. I was just concerned by his fickle eating habits and increased movement that he still hadn't gained any weight. Even though he has started almost running and doesn't always get the right nutrients, he is growing! Yay!

I also have to share a wonderful moment! My son is a worshipper already! Last night we had a "super" growth group night at our church. We all gathered at one house on Tuesday instead of three houses on Wednesday. We were doing some simple acoustic guitar worship songs. Malachi kept walking around the center of the floor. Then, he got near the guitar and stopped to look at one of the men in our church. This man had both hands raised high to heaven. Malachi then copied him for several seconds. It was so precious. I wish that I had had the camera available, but then I wouldn't have wanted to disturb worship. It made me laugh and cry all in the same moment. He is growing up and becoming more impressionable. If he wants to be an imitator of a man of God, that is fine with me. I think it is funny, though. I tell him all the time to raise his hands and praise the Lord. He never does. He didn't want to copy me. He wanted to copy someone else. Go figure. Thank you, Lord, again for this wonderful blessing from You. I just can't get over how truly blessed I am to have Malachi (God's messenger) in my life.

I'll try my best to get pictures out soon. The computer decided not to cooperate last time. Also, for those of you who can be taunted...I think that Daniel and I have decided on the first name for our new little boy. Just thought I would share, but that's all I'm sharing:)

Dear Malachi,

Each and every day I love you more. Even when you are tired and fussy because you woke up early from your nap, I just have to look at you through my frustration and smile. You have been on this earth for 15 months. Wow! It sounds like such a short time to others, but I feel like we have already taken several adventures together. Friday, your Daddy and I went out for our monthly date night. I never even saw you that day. You were sleeping when I left for work and sleeping when I got home from work. It didn't seem to phase you. Your grandparents, however, got to reap the joy of watching you eat and play while we were out. It thrills me to know that you are safe and comfortable when you are with your extended family.

The first nine months of your life, you grew in body. And, boy, did you grow quickly, continually topping the charts. After that, you stopped growing in body, and the mind took over. The past six months have proved to be the biggest change in your abilities and attitudes. You have always been a pretty laid back kid. You go with the flow of our lives. This is so reassuring since we are busy being pastors and many other roles. I love your smile. It comes out often. I love to watch you play with your Daddy. You give him the biggest laughs. No one else, not even Mommy, can get the laughs and giggles that your Dad can. You can easily climb the steps now and like to show off that skill. You are being Mr. Independent when walking. You rarely will hold someone's hand to lead you in the right direction. That's ok. You are building those skills needed to be a leader, but you still love being held. Some nights you let me rock you like a baby. You will cuddle me closely and look at me with such adoring eyes. I know that you won't always look at me that way, but I cherish each moment now and look forward to more time with you.

I look forward to the end of each weekday when I can come home and be with you. Playing is the name of your game, and right now your toys are not number one on the list. The TV buttons, kitchen cabinets, and bathroom drawers top the chart. We are now preparing to make everything as child proof as possible. Just 4 measley months ago you started crawling. 3 months ago you started walking. Now, you seldom crawl and love to walk. You have started doing what I like to call your "happy dance," where you sort of run in place when you are super happy. You just got 3 molars and have the 4th on the way. Those teeth were a cake walk compared to the four front teeth that emerged in your mouth in July.

Malachi, you still babble on and on. You don't really say any words yet, but you are understanding most of the concepts. Your Daddy and I are trying hard to work on your labeling skills. I think you have some comprehension of what your head, mouth, and nose are when asked. You definitely know names like grandma, grandpa, grammy, mommy, daddy, and Uncle David. You know what milk, grapes, and raisins mean for sure.

I sure do miss you during the week and especially on those days like Friday where I don't see you at all, but I am very glad that you can be happy with the other people that you love and love you back. Not having a date night with your Daddy for a year was difficult, but now I see the importance of spending quality time with you, and that it should also be important to you that I spend time alone with your Daddy. One of the many presents that we will try to give you is a good, Godly marriage example. We are Christ's bride, and He loves us more than any words could express. I know that you won't be able to grasp that concept for awhile, but I pray that you will begin to see the love of Christ through us. Thank you for being the precious gift from God that you are. I can't tell God enough how grateful I am for giving us you, Malachi. You are a true blessing. Many changes are coming your way. Don't ever forget that we love you. We won't ever love you less because of your brother or sisters. We will love you all (no matter how many there are). I love you, Malachi James!

Mommy

Updates on the boys

Malachi now officially has 9 teeth (3 of them being molars). The last time I talked about his teeth he had just gotten his first molar. Now that molar is getting much bigger and has been joined by one molar up top and the other one on the bottom. It is strange. He had two teeth on the bottom and now two molars added to it. He skipped like three or four teeth on either side. I just don't get it. He skipped spots up top, too. I'm assuming that he will eventually get the other teeth that go in between. He doesn't seem to mind, so why should I?

When did your child switch from two naps a day to one? Malachi seems ready to switch, especially since he sleeps 11-12 hours at night. I heard that most toddlers won't switch until close to 18 months. I'm not sure what to do. He is laying in his bed right now playing and making noises but was fussy and whining while playing earlier. Is the transition usually somewhat difficult? Does it happen overnight? I don't know what to do, especially since I'm not with him during the day, 5 days a week.

Secondly, I put the bumpers back on his bed. I just took them off about 2 weeks ago. You see he sleeps with a pacifier still. He doesn't need the pacifier any other time except nap/bedtime. Thank goodness! When I took the bumpers off he would start losing his pacifier in the middle of the night. It would end up on the floor. He sleeps really heavily until about 5am. At that time he needs a pacifier to get himself back to sleep. I have had to go back in there and find a clear pacifier in the dark with sleep still in my eyes several mornings in order to get some rest from his whining; plus he has gotten his legs stuck in between the bars on the crib recently. He moves so much while he's sleeping. I wonder if he'll ever be ready for a toddler bed. That is the least of my concerns, though. I digress. The bumpers went back up two nights ago. I have barely heard a peep out of him for the past two nights. His pacifier hasn't ended up on the floor, and I no longer worry about legs or heads being thrust into those hard bars. I know most infant's bumpers are long gone, but I guess I just need to continue to do what is best for my and Malachi's sleeping habits. Everyone knows that my sleep will be sporadic come the end of February.

Speaking of the other little bundle of boy. He is extremely active! It is so strange. I didn't feel Malachi move until about 20 weeks. Now I am 21 weeks and can feel him moving a ton. Do I notice it all the time? No, but I definitely notice it much more often than even 2 weeks ago. Daniel can even catch some movement occasionally if he is close enough to feel it. My belly button is already sticking out like a third nipple, waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy earlier than my first pregnancy. I go back for my next appointment at the beginning of November. I'm still on the appointments that I get to pee in a cup, check my weight and blood pressure, and then check the baby's heartbeat. Short, sweet, and to the point. I like it that way. Everything is going smoothly thus far.

Little Man

I just had to show off these pictures. Since it is beginning to get cold, we are now putting shoes on Malachi everytime we go out. I know what you are thinking, we are actually making a son wear shoes for like the first time in his life! Wow! What an accomplishment! I found the shoes at a church's consignment sale. They do two sales a year, and that is where I stock up to get Malachi's wardrobe for the season. Anyway, I just wanted to share. This is what he wore to church last week. He has really gotten to like those shoes. He doesn't have to wear socks, and the shoes make a cool sound on the kitchen floor when he walks. I love them. They are easy to keep on and keep his feet warm without socks. What more could a mom ask for?

This second picture is a little blury. If anyone wants to donate to the new digital camera fund, it would be greatly appreciated.

Frustrating Foods

I haven't really talked much about my frustration with Malachi's eating habits. About a month or so ago, he decided that he would step into a stage of life that I just wasn't ready for. You see, he has been refusing to eat all vegetables and almost all meats. He went through a time where all he would eat were strawberries. Then it was grapes. Now, he will eat grapes and raisins (his personal fave right now). He will eat almost any kind of bread. He normally won't eat rice or pasta. Today, though, he wanted to eat my pasta that I was eating for lunch. I was very cautious to see how he would react. It had extra cheese thrown in. He is still allergic to cow's milk, so that even more limits our selection of what we can feed him. Anyway, he loved the pasta. He kept eating it and had no reaction to it. I wonder if the cheese that we added to the dish was not derived from a cow (like a goat or buffalo). If that is the case, I might have to season other things with that Romano cheese to give Malachi some options. He usually wants to eat what we are eating but can't due to his allergy. One day he will like something, and the next day he will not. I just don't know what to do with him sometimes.


His newest hang up is that his food cannot be "baby food." I can't buy a jar of stuff to feed him. It has to have texture. This morning, I gave him the spoon to try to feed himself chunky applesauce. He felt the need to drink it like from a cup. He actually enjoyed this method a lot and did eat the food. Now I just have to get him to eat vegetables.

It's a........................Baby!

Ok. So, we did find out for sure that we are having a BOY. There is no way that there could be anything else in the picture below but his jewels. Just look down in the circle. The technician labeled the legs and bottom. It should be easy to get your berrings from there.

Our little boy was pretty cooperative for most of the time, but he didn't want to give us a good profile shot. Here is the picture of the face. It just looks a little like a skeleton, but you can definitely get the picture. Our boy's left hand is up by his face. Enjoy!


I am at a different doctor's office with this pregnancy. I have been much more happy with them than my family doctor. The technician did a wonderful job. She explained so much more than the technician for the hospital who allowed us to view Malachi. I hope the birth will be as good as my experiences with this group.

Daniel says that this baby looks like me. Go figure. He implied that he looked like me due to having eyes, a nose, and a mouth. He supposedly has my "eye sockets."

Oh, the suspense

Monday is the day that we will find out if we have a little boy growing or a little girl! I am so excited! I will try to let you know Monday night what the result is. I can't guarantee that I can scan the ultrasound pictures. Our scanner doesn't work very well anymore. More to come...

And then there were 7

I think that Malachi has 7 teeth. He doesn't like to have his teeth brushed anymore or to let me put my hand in his mouth. The even funnier thing, the placement of the tooth. Malachi has 4 teeth on top and still 2 on the bottom (which he got first). The seventh tooth is emerging on top. It is not even on either side of the four. It is two spaces from the next tooth on top. I know that he is growing at his own pace, but I'm starting to be concerned about the teeth and how they are coming in. I guess, eventually, he'll get all his teeth. My goodnesss, one day he'll loose all those teeth and get new ones. He won't start Kindergarten without a mostly full set of teeth, right?

No more Running on the Bed?!?

Malachi had a diaper explosion sometime last night. He woke up about 6am instead of 8am. I pulled him out of his crib and was instantly wet by his wet-ness. His diaper (a Pamper, I might add) had gotten too full or faulty or something. So the little crystals inside that help absorb the pee had spilled out the top of his diaper. Not only was he soaked, but when I unsnapped his shirt hundreds of wet crystals fell out of his shirt and diaper. Why am I telling you all this, you may ask? To get you to the funny part.

I knew Malachi wouldn't go back to sleep, plus I needed to change the sheet on the bed. I sat and watched SportsCenter while he played (since there is nothing else on at 6:30 in the morning). Since it was Sunday I knew there would be no hope of a nap until the drive home. I let him play. At about 8am, he had breakfast. Then I tried to put him down for a nap (2 hours before his normal naptime). He decided to play instead. After about 10-15 minutes I heard lots of noise from the monitor. I peeked in on Malachi to see him running, and I mean running on his mattress! He was making laps around the bed. The mattress noise makes the effect so much better, I wish you could have seen the look on his face. It was like he was saying, "Hey Momma, look what I can!" I just can't get that image out of my head of my 14 month old making laps around his tiny little bed. Way to be creative kid!

Happy Helper

Scroll down. There are plenty more pictures to see. I had to post in in bulk to catch up, and this way the "blogger police" will leave me alone for a little while.

Daniel picks up food from a local food place to give out to some of the needy people in our church/community. Thursday, Malachi thought that he would help Daniel bring in some of the food. He thought he was the coolest carrying around that box of cake.

Look at all these "real" ingredients.

How come I can't see where I'm going now?

You caught me! I'm not being naughty! Thanks for letting me help, Daddy!

Time to Play

Our church (Real Family Fellowship) meets in a daycare right now. Malachi loves to go on Sundays because there are so many toys to play with, and the room is safe for toddlers. He can go and go and go. Sundays are hard for both Kyla (friend pictured below-7 mo.) and Malachi, because it is right in the middle of nap time. Neither of them will really sleep when there is something else going on around, and when they're not at home in their cribs. So...that means we usually deal with at least two tired children (7 mo. and 14 mo.). That is a call for the...TA-DA...pacifier. Neither Kyla's mom nor I like to see our children with them in their mouths when its not naptime, but like I said before, Sundays are hard to deal with.

Happy with pacifiers!

Post-pacifier picture
(The mean nursery worker [i.e. Me] took them out of their mouths to see what kind of picture she could get.)

3 and one more on the way

All the grandkids

Dad kept trying to get me to stick my belly in the picture. No thanks. It's big enough already. This chair will be too small for all the grandkids at this time next year.

Play food makes us happy!

Callie, who is your favorite?---just kidding
Who is your favorite sister?
Who is your favorite cousin on your Dad's side of the family?

Malachi: "Can you please not interrupt my reading of this book by taking my picture? There are more important things in life."
Callie: "I'm tired of being squished in this chair with 2 babies."
Avery: "Woo-hoo!" (?)

Time to go. We're done with these pictures.

Pizza and other things

Last weekend Malachi began being able to stand up on his own without pulling up on anything. Now that he has found this new skill, he is walking much more. He doesn't have to crawl to the couch or coffee table to get back up. He can do it on his own. This makes my job a little bit easier. Now I just have to convince him to hold my hand so he can walk out in public without being carried (or up the steps). Malachi loves to walk, just not where Mommy ever wants him to go.

Pizza, pizza, and more pizza. The kid is definitely an all-American kid. He loves pizza. The only thing is, is that he is only allowed to eat the crust. We are still concerned about his milk allergy. It seems to be much less than it was a few months ago. I guess that he is already in the process of "growing out of it." I am very thankful. We just try things in small doses. We also make sure that when we give him something that is a milk product, that the milk is cooked/baked. He doesn't seem to have a reaction to cheese or milk that is cooked or baked into a product. Last night I gave him some of my potato soup from O'Charley's. He loved it. If you have never had O'Charley's potato soup, the main ingredient is cheese (and probably milk, too). He had a few small bites and was fine. In fact, I had to put some of my "soup" on the chicken in order for him to eat it. Praise the Lord! That is a true answer to prayer from Malachi's parents who put cheese on everything and have a motto that "you can never have too much cheese."

Hanging with his peeps

Last weekend Malachi's cousins Callie & Avery came to visit (and his Aunt Erin & Uncle Josh). Malachi was able to play a lot with Avery so Callie could play her big girl games. He loved having the friends around.

Callie & Malachi enjoyed pushing the shopping cart around

Malachi tries to share the car with Avery.

Mommy take my picture!

Aunt Morgan, what are you doing? Only my Mama is supposed to be behind a camera.

Mommy, take my picture now---so I can play with the camera!!!

It's been awhile

So before "Aunt" Donna gets on my case about not posting in awhile, here are some pictures:) I don't want the "blogger police" to come after me again!!!

Some of the pictures are from about a month ago, but he hasn't changed a whole lot in appearance in the past few months. He has just radically changed in ability.

I'm so incredibly tired that I must prop my head up to sleep
(picture taken about 6 weeks ago)

Who's the biggest cheeseball in all the world??? Meeeeeee, of course!

Don't you know that washcloths are the best snack in the world!?!

I'm Sorry

Two posts ago I said an "update on us all," but I neglected one major person in our family---my husband, Daniel. I didn't write anything about him because I figured that he didn't want me to. I still don't think he wanted me to, but he seemed a little upset that I left him out of "us all." So to make amends, first I want to say that I'm sorry. Second, I will give you an update.

You will notice in one of the pictures below that Daniel's hair looks a little lighter than it used to be. He volunteered to dye his hair any color that the kids chose if they raised a certain amount of money for BGMC (Boys & Girls Missionary Crusade). You see, one of his areas of ministry at our church is children. It was a competition between the boys and the girls (K-5th grade). The boys picked red and the girls picked yellow. The girls won, and Sunday Daniel's hair was dyed. He just bleached it. It ended up a little yellow and a little orange. The kids didn't care, though. They thought it was cool. Keep up the good work, kids, and earn a ice cream party!

Daniel has also been working 30-45 hour weeks at the Y. He likes his job, but we miss him dearly. A husband's work is never done, huh?

A Day on the Lake

Today, we went out to Lake Norman with some friends. Malachi got to swim in the pool, once, and the lake, twice. He had a lot of fun---considering he loves the water. The life jacket was a little big for him, but he had a blast (and a nap) regardless.

Update on Us All

Well, we all survived the first week of school with students. I am feeling fine. The past few days I have been way more hungry but fine. I am enjoying being back in the classroom, but I totally and completely feel left out of some of the things in Malachi's life now. I seem to have a great group of students (for the most part). I have great class sizes! I think I calculated that I have 70 total students in 4 English classes. Wow! It's like a middle school teacher's dream (minus having to teach English:) ).

Malachi is doing well. He got a runny nose for about two days. Then, Thursday morning he woke up and decided he would finally feel better. He has been walking, laughing, and smiling nonstop since then. He has also needed Mommy less since he has felt better. This is good for me. It allows me to not feel so tired at the end of the day. He is getting so good at walking. I just can't believe how far he can get without crashing to his little diapered bottom. His poops are still very runny, stinky, and often. Those of you with one child out there...Make sure that you get your first child out of diapers and off of baby food before getting pregnant again. When your stomach is always on the verge of destruction, its nice to not have to worry about that stuff.

Last Friday, August 25th, we felt the baby move for the first time! Wow! A week later now, I am 15 weeks and feeling (and watching) the baby move. It's kind of weird to not know the gender of this little one yet. We had just found out that Malachi was a boy (20 weeks) when I felt him move for the first time. So, I was able to call him little boy the whole time. Now, its just "baby" or "The Deuce" or another name that I can't spell. Anyways, I just thought that I would let you know. I go for my next appointment on Wednesday. Hopefully then we can hear the heartbeat. I think its about a month from now that we'll find out this little baby's gender. So, we'll know whether we have an "Abigail" or a.............We're not telling.