O, Christmas Tree!

We bought our first real Christmas tree! I'm so excited to finally have a real Christmas tree. Kevin and I typically travel so much during the holidays, and/or we were in small apartments, so it didn't make much sense to have one, but Malachi was excuse I needed to get a REAL tree. Brian and Kevin put it in the stand for me, and then the boys watched football while I decorated and listened to Christmas carols. Malachi doesn't seem too interested in the tree, yet. Neither does Foster. I think I'm the only one who cares about the tree, but that's okay! :)

Here is Malachi's first ornament that my mom made for him last year.

Go Steelers! Is that a mini-Bus I spy? It was a sports-filled Sunday with the NCAA Women's National Championship soccer game (UNC women won against previously undefeated Notre Dame) in the afternoon and a Steeler win in the evening. He's starting to look so grown up, I can't believe it.

Taylor Thanksgiving

Malachi's first Thanksgiving with the Taylor clan was a lot of fun. Of course, Thanksgiving morning began with a chilly Turkey Trot. He "ran" in the kids Turkey Trot. I say "ran" because despite much prompting from Daddy and the rest of the family, Malachi remained on the starting line with a great big smile on his face while all the other kiddos ran, toddled, and crawled toward the finish. Daddy gently nudged him forward, resulting in him falling down and crying (no worries, he was not hurt). The whole thing was rather funny. Here is Malachi doing his best to stay relaxed just before the big non-race.
King of the World!!! (as Daddy always says when he puts Malachi up on his shoulders)

Malachi had a great time with his cousins...

and enjoyed feeding the dogs.

Playing the piano with Grandpa was fun!

Reading books with Grandma was cool, too.

The walk in the woods was great!

Malachi and I played at the park while the grown-up Taylors played touch football and volleyball.

We had a check-up today. He's now 33 inches tall and weighs a little over 26 pounds (55 percentile for both height and weight, 92 percentile for head circumference).

Referral-versary

On November 9, 2007, Kevin and I received a phone call and a picture that changed everything...

I received a call at work at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon. The secretary buzzed me and said Marianne Adams on line one. I guess because it was out of context, I didn't even recognize the name as that of our adoption case worker. I picked up, heard Marianne's voice say hello, and I knew. This was THE CALL. The one we didn't think would come for many more months. I raced down the hall to announce the news to a few co-workers, and dashed off to find Kevin at the dental school. I waited and waited for him by his locker. He saw me and knew right away...he was a dad. We laughed and cried and hugged, and then we sat down together at his computer to look at the face of our son for the very first time. It was amazing.

Looking back, it's funny how in all the pictures we received of Malachi before we met face to face he wasn't smiling. Funny because it's really hard to catch this kid NOT smiling (okay that's changing a bit now that he's entering toddler-hood, but still).

The boys donned their Ethiopian clothing and we did a little photo shoot down by the lake.

(Yes, he's running now!)

Enthusiastic Reader

Lately, Malachi has been really into his "That's Not My Truck" book (by Fiona Watt).

And now introducing "Kung-fu Panda Gone Country," the scarecrow we stuffed last weekend.

Halloween

Malachi's first Halloween has been fun so far (the festivities continue today with a scarecrow stuffing event at the park and a party). He was a dragon. Many thanks to my Mom for sewing this very AWESOME costume! Kevin was a dragon slayer (yes that's a shield made from a Pampers box). And, I was a princess.

Malachi wasn't too crazy about knocking on doors and getting candy...until he got home!

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa

Grammie had to leave, but Grandma and Grandpa soon arrived. Just in time for a trip to a pumpkin patch! We went on a hayride, walked through a corn maze and a hay maze, picked cotton, and feed the animals.

Oh, yes. Malachi is in a biting phase. I have the bruises to prove it!

Malachi and Daddy picking cotton...until Malachi decided to eat the cotton.
Malachi lovin' on his Daddy.
Three generations of Taylors...

As you can see, it's a little difficult to get Malachi to sit still these days. He's very busy.

Bye Bye Grammie

We had to say good bye to Grammie this morning. We had such a great time!

Getting ready for the airport.

While Grammie was here, Malachi learned how to run in place and he's trying to jump. This isn't the best video, but it gives you a glimpse at his newest tricks.

Fun with Grammie

My mom (Malachi's Grammie) came for a visit this week, spoiling us rotten with home-cooked meals and a clean house to come home to after work. She and Malachi had great fun together. Learning "noggin" (see below) and signs and shapes, doing puzzles, trying to color, swinging, and going for walks were just a few of their activities this week while Mama and Dada were at work.



We squeezed in a few walks at the lake, of course.

Malachi showed Grammie how much he loves cell phones.

Malachi in action with his cup. This was taken the first day without his bottles. Luckily, he's gotten less messy as the week has progressed.

We're still working on what to do with the cup when he's finished drinking...

Grammie took us to the children's museum. Malachi LOVES splashing in the water!

Walking

Our little man is finally walking!

Finally, a new post

We've been pretty busy, but all is well. Malachi went to another baseball game recently. As you can see he had a great time--played hard and crashed hard.


We went to a BugFest last weekend. Here Malachi is pushing a ball of "dung" to simulate a dungbeetle, with a little help from Daddy of course.
And, he's walking! On his own! His steps get more confident and quick each day. I'm having trouble uploading video right now, so please check back for a glimpse of our little man's newest moves.

And, arguably even bigger news...no more bottles. We had a check up on Friday, and the doctor, very gently but firmly said, they've got to go. Cold turkey. Many of you know that Malachi will NOT take a sippy cup (yes, we've tried them all--or close to it). We're just using a cup, which is quite messy, but he's getting the hang of it. He's not drinking nearly as much as he was drinking with the bottles, but he's taking in enough to stay hydrated (thank goodness). He get's better and better with the cup each day. His Grammie is visiting this week and helping him practice. We hope to have this skill mastered before the return to daycare next week.

The morning bottle was the hardest to give up; we both cried. Overall, he's doing really well with the transition, and he's now sleeping through the night since he knows he won't get a bottle.

Labor Day Weekend

This is not for those with weak stomachs. Malachi really enjoys clapping his hands and feeling the subsequent spray of food land on his face. What a little goober! :) We were at a park with some friends on Monday. Kevin had the idea to kick the soccer ball around on the bridge so Malachi could see it bounce around. Well, Malachi thought that was hilarious! He laughed so hard.
Then, Mommy accidentally kicked the ball over the bridge railing and into the water. Oops! I don't think Daddy was too pleased about retrieving it, but he did so nonetheless.

Malachi had another ear infection this week. Yes, even with the tubes. Fortunately, the tubes alleviate a lot of the pain associated with ear infections and he didn't experience a fever. Unfortunately, there was so much drainage, he was prescribed a 10-day couse of antiobiotics (usually with the tubes you can get by with three days of ear drops). He's acting his usual self though, just a bit tired.

He's starting to babble a bit. When I was about to scoop him up out of the high chair after dinner tonight he said "BAAAAAAATH" four times with a big smile. Baths happen immediately after dinner. Why? Please refer to the first picture!. We've also hear him saying Mom, Dad, bottle, and Foster (our cat). He's not using anything consistently, just when he feels like it, but it's a start and so much fun to listen to. When he says something that he thinks is a word (which I'm sure is, we just can't understand it yet), he gets a little smile on his face, likes he's proud, a little surprised, and tickled with himself all at once. So much fun.

Phoebe

Please welcome Phoebe, Brian's new kitten, to the family. Isn't she adorable? She's two months old.

I think Malachi must be getting taller. He seems so big in his Pack and Play now.

This happens quite often. I usually pull him out right away and put him in the Pack and Play for a nap, but I couldn't resist capturing this on video.