Mali and the raspberry

Mali loves fruit.  Loves it!  He will eat almost any type, but his favorites are bananas and berries.  During the summer Jesse would fill up Mali's stroller cup holder with berries and Mali would just munch away, happy as a clam!  I love that he loves fruit.
At the end of August my parents came down to visit and we ate lunch at our house.  My sister brought a bowl of raspberries and those were the main thing that Mali ate....I'm pretty sure he ate the majority of the bowl!  This series of photos reminds me (and my mom) of Little Jack Horner.
(A few weeks before this, Mali experimented in eating food by sticking his finger in it (Cheerios, fruit, etc) and then transferring it to his mouth.  He decided to try it again with the raspberry!)

 I love his concentration lips in this photo!  Trying so hard to get his finger in without the raspberry falling off.

 Still trying....

 Open wide!

 Fish lips!  "I'm pretty cool with this raspberry on my finger!" Yes, you are Mali!

 The raspberry finally made it to his mouth.

 His face looks like the raspberry was sour, but it didn't deter him because he kept eating.

"Oh, that was good!"

Photos! Finally...

This was taken on Mali's 1st birthday, June 12, 2013 at IKEA.  Oh my gosh, I love how happy he is in this photo!!

He really enjoyed sitting in the sink (though this photo doesn't quite show that).  This sink would be perfect for baths!

This was taken on June 19th (one week after his birthday).  Mali and my sister's birthdays are one week apart (different years, of course!) so my parents came down to celebrate her birthday as well.  We were at a park where we ate lunch.

Mali had a cake on his actual birthday, but sadly my parents and sister weren't able to see him eat it.  So I decided to make him another cake and we gave him it to him when my parents came back down for my sister's birthday.  (His hair was kind of long and he was kind of sweaty so my sister decided to kind of spike it up!) 

Here he is trying the first bite.  He was more willing to eat this one than his actual birthday cake!

Digging in!

He is sure enjoying it!

He's waving in this one...!  I think he is also admiring his cake-y hands as well!

He looks so serious!  But he is definitely enjoying the cake.

He is really good at sharing!

"Yum!  That was delicious cake!  I'm stuffed!"  (He didn't eat the whole thing- he had eaten about half of it when I took the rest away because I could just imagine a sugar coma in the making).

My sweet baby!  I love him so much!  And time really does fly.  I can't believe as of this blog post, he is almost 16 months old (in about two weeks).

Hopefully you enjoyed these photos!  I will try to post more soon.

Guess who turned a year old?

My sweet baby turned a year old on June 12th. (This post is late!)  Oh, my heart!  He is growing up so fast it makes me wish I could slow down time.

On his birthday, Malachi's grandparents (my parents) came down and we all went to IKEA to celebrate.  He had fun, but didn't nap during the day so he was exhausted by the time we got back home.  He opened his presents then he had a mini cake.  He wasn't sure what to think of the cake at first- I had to put some frosting to his lips...then he bent his head down and got frosting all over his face!  It was so funny.  Photos coming soon....

Now at 14 months, Malachi...
::  Has 8 teeth- 4 top and 4 bottom.
::  He has an infectious laugh.  He is such a happy baby toddler.
::  He loves to give hugs and kisses.  Any time I ask for either he willingly obliges!
::  One of his favorite times of the day is when Jesse comes home from work.
::  Is weaned, but still periodically asks to nurse.  It makes my heart break to tell him he has to drink cow's milk now.
::  Loves to climb on and off the couch.  I've taught him how to climb down safely (feet first) but it still makes my heart jump when he's on the couch.
::  Sometimes takes only one nap during the day.
::  Does really good at taking bites of food and chewing.
::  His favorite foods are cheese (which he could eat all day if I let him), tomatoes, yogurt, cucumbers, and all fruits, especially berries and bananas.
::  He is a walking pro!  He started walking about a week before he turned 14 months and he is doing so well!  I love the happy look on his face when he's toddling around!
::  He still sleeps with his hands behind his head and his elbows sticking out.  I hope he sleeps this way until he's 10.
::  He drinks out of a regular (adult) cup.  I tried a cup with a spout (i.e. sippy cup) and he just preferred a regular cup, so that's what we've stuck with.
::  He knows a few words:  "ma ma", "da da", "dig", "tickle" (which he says together like, tickletickletickle!), "up" and "yum".
::  He also knows some baby signs:  "food/eat", "more", "milk" and "all done".  I'm working on a few others with him.
::  He's learned the fun of talking into a fan and hearing his voice get all choppy!  It is so cute to watch him.
::  He loves bath time!  We're still working on him sitting during baths though.
::  He got his first haircut from Jesse on his 14 month birthday.  There was lots of movement (on his part) and bribing (on our part) involved, but it got done.  I saved pretty much all his hair...
::  I'm pretty sure he gets tired of me giving his cheeks kisses almost all day long.  I just can't help it!  They will only be baby cheeks for a little while so I have to get the kisses in while I can.

He is growing up so fast and there is nothing I can do except enjoy every minute!  I love my sweet baby!

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Malachi turned 11 months on May 12th (Mother's Day), so I guess technically he is 11 and a half months and he will turn 12 months on June 12th, but I don't count half months since my baby is growing up too fast as it is. 
We came up to my parent's house for Memorial day weekend and have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them!  Malachi sure has grown a lot since they last saw him in February and he has definitely had fun with Grandma and Grandpa.

My sweet sleeping baby napping after church.  It's cute because sometimes he naps in just a diaper and puts his hands behind his head like this- we say he is our little beach boy sunning himself.  He looks like a little surfer dude with no cares in the world.  I love it!  Notice his crossed ankles too. :)

He loves putting just the tip of his tongue out.

Definitely all boy! Playing with a Tonka truck.

He is getting sleepy here.  He tends to put his hands behind his head briefly when he is tired, whether he has food on them or not!

Malachi is sure enjoying his food!  "I love food, but I love Mom's milk best of all!"  He ate almost a whole banana by himself!

"Stop.  Don't come any closer...I am warning you..."

Holding a ball of tissue.

I love the back of his neck.  His hair and neckline 

are just so adorable.  My sweet baby! He is growing up too fast.

Houston, we have a crawler!

Last Friday, March 15th, Malachi crawled forward for the first time!  There was a toy he wanted and he crawled right over to get it.  What the video doesn't show is the smile and surprise he had on his face once he lifted his head back up!
My baby is growing up!

And now for some photos...and the video!

The day of his first crawl!

 My sleeping, sick baby.

 Modeling (and trying to take off) the crown he/we made at baby story time at the library.

 A better view of the crown.

 Happy Malachi.

 9 months old!

 My 9 month old!

 The face he gives us often when he is getting excited about something!  I love it!

 My sleeping baby in his car seat.  He normally sleeps with his hands behind his head on the bed, but this day he did it in the car seat too.

Update

It's been over a month since I last posted and I apologize for the absence to those of you who are still reading this blog...

In this past month or so...

Malachi is growing and learning and he is oh, so smart!

He celebrated his 8 month birthday on February 12th.  He is almost crawling!  He hates being on his tummy, but if there is something he wants to reach he will arch his back and roll over and scoot to reach it.

We think he might walk before he crawls.

He is so curious and wants to reach and explore everything that he can.

He learned how to wave in his 7th month!  He doesn't wave at everybody yet, but if you're patient he will wave at you.

He gives high fives!

And kisses!  Open mouth baby kisses!  I love them! :)

He knows how to give the sign for "more" which he uses often.  I sometimes peek in on him when he just wakes up from his nap and see him practicing "more" to himself.

He can clap his hands.

He says "mmmm"  "mmm"  when he is eating.

He's very smart.

He usually wakes up smiley from his naps.  It's so wonderful!

His tongue is almost constantly out and he spits sometimes.

He babbles "ohma ohmama" when he wants me and then reaches his arms out towards me.  It is the sweetest thing!

He loves books!  He has ones that he likes more than others.  He learned how to boom from a book and now he booms a lot!

His favorite songs are "The Itsy Bitsy Spider,"  "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and the nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty".

He is very observant.  If someone is speaking, he watches them like a hawk and then smiles at them when they are finished.

His pincher grasp is the cutest thing!  He is really good at getting food to his mouth but has a harder time letting go of it once his fingers are in his mouth.  He has tried to pincher grasp pureed squash to his mouth.  It worked...sort of. 

On Saturday he pulled the pincher off a crawdad.  He's learning young...I guess that's typical boy!

He loves squash!  And sweet potatoes and carrots.  He is not a fan of plain yogurt (even with sweet potatoes mixed in).

Last Thursday he weighed 17 lbs. 7.4 oz.

He is so ticklish! I walked in the other day to Mali and Jesse playing and Mali was just laughing and laughing as Jesse was tickling his belly.

Last Thursday he was diagnosed with his first ear infection and given antibiotics.  We thought he might have RSV, which thankfully he didn't.  He is starting to feel better.  It is has been a rough winter.  It feels like he (and Jesse) has been almost constantly sick.

He is such a joy and such a lovey baby.


Pictures to come soon...