Mama's Little Helper

 Now that I'm all caught up with back-logged pictures, I can start sharing current ones.  I also recently received a request from my dear cousin (shout out to Liz!) for some Malcolm daily anecdotes.  So here's today's story . . .

A couple days ago, I went to sit on the floor and play puzzles with Malcolm, only to realize our dogs had tracked in an inordinate amount of dirt that morning.  Yuck!  So I hoped up and grabbed my broom, and attacked the floors with gusto.

Well, Malcolm Bear decided that if Mommy was doing it, then it must be fun, and promptly demanded that I hand over the broom to him.  So I did.

Meanwhile, I grabbed the swiffer, as that works just as well on our hardwoods.  While I swiffed, he swept, doing a remarkably skillful job of it!  Dirt being too small to see with the toddler eye, he chose to sweep the shoes around the house, then into a pile by the door.  

Mama's Little Helper!

Malcolm Pictures 12-18 Months (3 of 3) -- Grand Adventures

With Malcolm's new growing skills, and social curiosity, we began taking him on a lot more Malcolm-focused adventures.  Like trips to the playground, petting zoo, and festivals (complete with costumes!)

Malcolm Pictures 12-18 Months (2 of 3) -- New Skills

Malcolm mastered (or at least started to!) many skills during these six months of life.  Things like interactive play ("Daddy eat my belly!"), imaginary play (Ring Ring!  It's the Banana Phone!), eating cold foods (We enjoy popsicles in the bathtub, where clean up is a breeze!), fine motor skills (like "High Five" and fist-bumps), and self-feeding skills like using a sippy cup, spoon and fork (still works-in-progress a year later!)

Malcolm 12-18 Months (1 of 3) - Smiling Faces

After his first birthday, Malcolm's physical growth slowed down a bit (finally!) and his social/emotional growth exploded!  His pediatrician said that "Malcolm will now experience a full range of emotions," which really just means "will throw tantrums," and he was right.  But in between the little storms, Malcolm mostly showed us sunshine and clear skies.

Here are some of my favorite smiling Malcolm pictures from these 6 months of life.  From silly faces, to first haircut; playing at home, and in the park.

Malcolm Pictures 9-12 Months Old

Wrapping up his first year, Malcolm continues to prove photogenic -- the hard part isn't taking pictures, it's deciding which of the millions to keep!  He does love to crawl up into the camera, though and try to lick it!

Pictured below, you can see Malcolm making cookies, sitting on the incredible blanket his Grammy (my Mom) made for him, playing in his ball-crawl (which has since been destroyed by the dogs), and smiling for the camera.

Malcolm Pictures 6-9 Months (part 2 of 2)

Our first year in Atlanta was . . . .  pretty challenging.  Despite the many illness, one ER trip, housing frustrations, job struggles (for me, not Matthew!), commute annoyances, traffic headaches, utility companies run by the devil . . . .  Well, that first year was a lesson in patience, perseverance, and helped us develop our inner sense of calm.  We survived it by focusing on the high points -- like introducing Malcolm to swimming, watching him try to feed himself, his efforts at helping us unpack, and most especially his developing sense of humor.  You can tell from these pictures that he loves to laugh, and will get into just about any mischief in the hopes of making us smile.

Malcolm Pictures 6-9 Months (1 of 2)

These three months showed some major changes in our lives.  Malcolm, of course, grew like crazy.  One friend kept asking if we put Miracle-Gro in his bottle!  Matthew completed his graduate program, earning his PhD in Pharmacology.  Congrats Doctor Matthew!  We also packed our family up, and moved to Georgia, where Matthew began his post-doc at Morehouse School of Medicine.