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.

On the Way Up

Ezekiel is doing much better. He's been on an antibiotic since last Tuesday. I'm hoping that nothing else comes up. Malachi seems completely healthy. Ezekiel is a lot like Malachi. They both have a high tolerance for pain/sickness.

I am unofficially a wedding planner for an upcoming wedding, and I'm so stoked!

I work tomorrow and then not again until next Monday!

Ezekiel is getting his 9 month pictures on Wednesday (and maybe a few with Malachi).

We have a busy Thanksgiving and will have some more Turkey on Friday, and I think that we'll cook for the first time. Woo-hoo!!!

Ezekiel Update

You know how I told you that Ezekiel was sick for the first time. He's had a drippy nose for over a week. He was fine most of the day Monday and seemed pretty happy. Well, he woke up Monday night/Tuesday morning about 12:30. He wouldn't go back to sleep in his crib and kept screaming. He ended up sleeping on me the rest of the morning (and I slept only a little). He didn't feel really warm to me, but I was also very tired, before I went to work. Daniel called me around lunch time saying that his grandmother had called and was concerned. Ezekiel was fussing all morning and had slept a lot more than usual. He made an appointment, and I took my boy to the doctor at 2:30pm. It's nice to have an afternoon planning time, sometimes.

The doctor said he had fluid behind both of his ears, and it would only get worse. He prescribed a mild antibiotic. Ezekiel has been much better since. I'm not one who likes to let my child have a bunch of antibiotics just because, but I sure didn't want to go through many more nights like the one before.

I went home, clipped some coupons, and grabbed my two boys, and headed out the door to Harris Teeter. He rode in the Baby Bjorn in the store instead of the cart to make sure he wouldn't get any more sick. He napped for another hour when we got home (6-7pm). He got up for about 2 hours and was down for the count. He slept through the night that evening. He's a little still off schedule, but is doing much better.

My Boys

The 3 cutest males in the whole entire world!
I love my boys!!!

"Momma, what are you feeding me?"

"Who put this hat on my head, Malachi?"

"I'm cute, and I know it."

"'I'm on a mission' to be potty-trained." (And it's not going too well right now.)

(Malachi tries to boycott naps sometimes by playing in his room. Ezekiel was napping and Daniel and I were ready to nap after a typical, crazy Sunday morning. We put up the gate in the hallway and ignored his knocks at our door. After he got quiet, and we actually fell asleep; THIS is what I found outside my door when I went to get Ezekiel out of his bed to feed him. He slept through the flash of my camera [twice] and the occasional screams of his little brother. "Hey, Malachi, you know if you go to sleep when you are supposed to, you won't have to sleep on the floor in the hall, and you'll be in a better mood in the evening. Just a thought.")

Pictures!!!

We're Here, Still!

Ok. So here's the rundown of what has happened over the past few weeks/days:

• Saturday, October 20th - Ezekiel sat up unassisted for about 5 seconds. He also choked on a piece of plastic that he found on the floor and put in his mouth. Thankfully, he was able to cough enough to get it out of his throat with a little bit of throw-up. Not too much drama!
• Sunday, October 21st - Ezekiel's first tooth popped out (the bottom, middle, right). He also turned 8 months old!
• Friday, October 26th - Ezekiel sat up unassisted for over 30 seconds. He is getting better and better at this when he wants to.
• Saturday, October 27th - Ezekiel gets "sick" for the first time. He's got a minor cough (and no other major symptoms) that Malachi shared with him. I think he might have had a small dose of a stomach virus that he caught from me about the 3rd week of school. So, this might actually be the second sickness, then. ***Remind me to talk about "liquid gold" sometime later.***
  
• Sunday, October 28th - Ezekiel gets his finger shut in a cabinet in the church daycare. It was very deep at first and had me worried about bone and tissues in the finger. A little over an hour later, he was fine. We took him to the doctor today, and it was just fine. It's still really swollen, but it doesn't bother him at all.
• Monday, October 29th - Ezekiel sleeps in his crib for the first time. he's been sleeping in a bassinet or pac 'n play since birth. He really was excited to be in a crib with colorful bumpers.
  

Malachi is doing very well. He is doing a little better with being flexible, but I have decided that my word for him is "passionate." He handles life well, but it's either all or nothing with him. It's really hard to change his mind or get him off topic. He wants it his way. I know that he's 2, but there are a lot of other 2 year olds that don't show out like him at times. There are also others that are worse. He loves to cuddle and be with the people that he loves. It's not all about Momma, all the time. That's good!

Daniel recently stepped down as children's pastor of our church. He is currently looking for a full-time position, where he can be home more than he has been in the last 9 months. You see he was working 30-40 hours a week at the Y. He was also working 10-20 hours a week for the church. He loved working with kids and the church, but our family was being sacrificed in the process. It was time for God to move us. We thought we had a full-time opportunity, but it fell through. So, we're back attending at the church that we grew up and got married in, etc. It's nice to have some time to spend with the family again. Please pray that God will provide the right job for him.

My volleyball season got over about 2 weeks ago. Praise the Lord! I totally enjoyed coaching, but it was ALOT with two small children, and a husband who is not home in the evenings. Thankfully, I survived (as I always do), and God got to show off (as He always does). My children are healthy and happy. They got to spend time with their two great-grandmas. I got to have some fun and make a little extra cash (and I mean little, for my time). I feel like I have all the time in the world and energy now that I can get home at least 2 hours earlier each day than I used to.

Random notes

• Please pray for Callie D. She was born almost 2 weeks ago in the area. She contracted pneumonia right after birth and should not have survived the first night. God protected that little baby girl, and God is continuing to "show off" in her life and the family's lives. Please pray that she would come home soon and never have to face the things that she has encountered the past two weeks ever again.
• I have 2 weddings to go to on the same day in December. One is my brother's! He's marrying a beautiful woman. The other is one of my best childhood friends. She is getting married in the area and then moving to the Ukraine with her husband. Wow!
• I am totally excited about the upcoming holidays and having two boys to experience it with.
• Our house is starting to come together more (a little). I haven't forgotten about pictures of our house. I know a house is never "done," but we're still at the stage that we don't want visitors yet. Our other two houses (that we never owned) were able to be guest-ready quickly. I hope to maybe have our family Christmas at our house this year, and have the house mostly "done."
• Kiev is doing much better. I had to take her back to the vet about a week or two after getting the drains out. She had fluid built up under the skin. The doctor was "sure" that it would fill back up with fluid, but it never did. Praise the Lord! We couldn't afford anything else.
• God is good, all the time!!!
  

Brotherly Bonding

The boys have started enjoying each other's company even more lately. The past week, I have started bathing them together. Ezekiel always watches Malachi intently and wants to play. Ezekiel still can't sit up unassisted, but that doesn't seem to bother him. He can roll and crawl to get where he wants (not in the water, of course).

Watching "tee-dee" together on a lazy Saturday morning

Bathtime!!!

Ezekiel can...

• "crawl" - He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. He just recently started getting on his hands and knees, then pushing his feet up on his toes, so his bottom is in the air. It is soooo cute. He will do the typical "commando" style crawl to get where he wants to go quickly (i.e. he lays on his belly and uses his forearms and hands to pull his body in the direction he wishes to go.
• grab a small object (like his pacifier) with one or both hands and quickly put it in his mouth.
• put EVERYTHING in his mouth.
• eat almost a whole (small) jar of baby food in one sitting.
  
• not sit up unassisted yet. I just think that he doesn't feel the need to do that. He can move around and get where he needs to go or lunge for a toy. Sitting is not a necessity.
• (and always does) look much smaller than every other baby his age (or younger).
  

Malachi-isms

"hup-ups" - hiccups
"ray-ray" - Rachel Ray
"show-zoes" - Cheerios and any other cereal we eat for breakfast
"cha-cha molt" - chocolate milk
"Z-mats" - one of our nicknames for Ezekiel (Z- max)
"da-doo" - thank you
"peas" - please
"My-my do it" - Malachi will do it.
"bop is?" - Where is my bop (pacifier)?
"Z doin?" - What's Z doing?
"wait" - awake and wait, like "Z wait" (Z is awake)

***Malachi still has no "g" or "k" sound in his vocabulary yet, so it usually turns into a "d" or "t" sound.***