Go Fish!

I love watching Aaron and Malachi together:)  Aaron is such an amazing dad and it is so apparent to me how much little boys need their dads.  Over the last couple of summers Malachi has LOVED going fishing!  He started out with a kids fishing pole, no real hook and got to where he could cast it easily.  So we upgraded him to a full size fishing pole and he and his dad spent many evenings this summer fishing together.  At this point the closest Malachi will get to a fish is touching it with one finger and saying "Nice catchin' ya!"  Oh but he's definitely not afraid of worms.

I have to point out in this video that I noticed Malachi's buff shoulders and when I showed Aaron I thought his grin might break his face:)  Like father like son!  Is it bad that at 2 1/2 yrs old I'm legitimately afraid of Malachi's tackles??  Oh the fun to come...

On another note here's a conversation Malachi and I had yesterday.  To set the scene I was packing my lunch for work and Malachi was playing with some puzzles in his little brother's room.

Me: "Hey Malachi it's almost time to leave for Grandma's!  Can you please pick up your puzzles before we go?"

Malachi: "No!"

Me: "Bub you don't tell me no, please pick up your puzzles."

Malachi: "I don't want to."

- at this point I walk into the room and find Malachi laying flat on his back, arms and legs all stretched out -

Me: "Hey Bub let's go ahead and pick up your puzzles please."

Malachi: "No thanks, I really don't want to."

Me: "Let's do it together like a team - I'll help you!"

Malachi: "Okay mom, why don't you go ahead and start and I'll watch."

Me (laughing): "No I don't think so bub"

Malachi: "It's okay Mom, you go ahead I'll be there in a minute."

Me: (still laughing) "Nice try Bub."

Thankfully he did end up picking up his puzzles - please tell me I'm not the only one who has this kind of conversation with their toddler??  If only I was better at keeping a straight face...

Mmm cookies....

Do you ever sit there and watch something happen, all the while your insides are screaming "Clean up that mess! Don't let it happen! Ooh there goes the flour..." Welcome to my world of making cookies with Malachi:) He has always enjoyed "helping" but even more so lately. If I give him a job to do he is content to do it for a long time. So today it was scooping flour. Not actually into the cookie dough, just scooping. And scooping. And scooping some more.

Now don't misunderstand, I am not a clean freak. Actually I almost laughed out loud right then at the thought. But as good as Malachi's aim is, it got lost every time he said anything. "Hey Mom!" equalled flour on the floor. "Mom look at me!" Another scoop on the counter. "Look at me scoop Mom!" And Jaxon (our dog) suddenly had a very nice powdered toupee. To which I responded "You're doing an awesome job bub" and I laughed.

So here's a little slide show of my ever-so-eager helper. And although I forgot to take pictures of the final product, the cookies were delicious:)

Now that you're all sufficiently hungry, I'll satisfy your appetites with another list of all things Malachi:

• You get smarter and smarter every day. Two nights ago you were playing cars with your dad in your room, and when you came out you showed me how subtraction and addition work with your cars. Your teacher dad was so proud:)
• Since I already mentioned cars, I'll say that you are obsessed right now! You love anything on wheels but especially the endless supply of hot wheels at your Grandma Susie's house and your growing collection at home.
• You skied behind the boat all by yourself on vacation. As your mom, I was freaking out (but I'm sure I acted cool as a cucumber) and you did amazing!! You skied around the entire lake and loved it!
• You are fighting nap times and bed times right now. You usually have to be put back down a couple times before you'll stay. And you do fight it more for mom than anyone else. It's awesome.
• You are doing so good being potty trained! We still have some poop issues but they are so so so much better.
• The other day I commented that we needed rain, to which you said "Yeah! The grass and plants are dry and they need rain to drink through their roots!" I love your brains. And I love that you're learning from others - thanks Gma's and Gpa's, Aunts and Uncles for being such good teachers.
• You are FAST.
• I am SLOW.
• We were snuggling on the couch and you felt Jericho kick you from inside my belly:) I pointed out that he had kicked you and was saying "hi!" The next day you ran up and said, "Remember when Jericho kicked me?? I want to kick him too!" I said no.
• Your favorite Bible story is David and Goliath. We have an amazing kid's Bible that makes it easy to understand but stays really accurate. However, your favorite quote from that story is Goliath telling God's army, "I'll rip your heads off and have you on toast!" I really love when you yell that at the pool. Once more, we want to be like DAVID. Not Goliath.
• You are going to be an amazing big brother:) You talk to my belly and hug on it and kiss it all the time. And you can't wait to teach Jericho SO many things! How about we leave Goliath out of it though?
• I'm so proud of your manners. You do such a good job of saying "May I..." and "Please and thank you." It's amazing what a difference those little things make day to day.

Goodness. When I don't post for 4 months my lists could go on forever! The first 16 wks of this pregnancy I was extremely sick and couldn't handle looking at a computer screen. So here's hoping that the holidays/giving birth/having a newborn will provide much more free time for updates! I'll get the hang of this someday...
I hope you all have a wonderfully blessed day!!!