LONG LONG overdue Father's Day Post!

I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted...things have just been SO busy - as you will soon see!!

Father's Day was Sunday, June 21st and we had a wonderful day. Especially since it was a year, exactly, to the day since we first introduced Malachi to our extended family at Arden Road Baptist Church and had our wonderful, incredible Pastor pray asking for God's grace in our sweet baby's life!

Our Father's Day began rather quietly! Me and Daddy woke up a little early and spent some time reflecting on his first full year of being a father. What a journey we have taken together in this past year and what an incredible Dad he has been the entire time! However, our walk down memory lane didn't last too long before Malachi decided he wanted to join in the fun! So, I went to get him and daddy's cards and daddy got to open his cards while Malachi climbed all over him, banging on his belly and giving him lots of good kisses!!

After getting a little snuggle time in between the 3 of us, it was time to get ready for church and we were off! However, after church is when things got really fun! First, we headed for Medi-Park in Amarillo to feed the ducks (and Malachi...haha) Cheetos! This is a tradition that began with my grandmother and I and it appears as though the ducks don't like Cheetos as much as they used to...DARN. BUT - Malachi did, so all was well! We hung out for about 30 minutes before we headed off to lunch with our extended family! Now...it is at this point that I must apologize for the TERRIBLE quality of the following pictures. As stated previously, my beloved camera that I always carry with me has, well, left the building...Last time I saw it was when I left one afternoon and it was on my desk at work. Now...it's gone and I have no idea where it went or who I mean, HOW it got there...So, the following pictures were taken with a crappy, cheap disposable camera we got from Toot 'N Totum before we headed to the park. And then...I had to scan them in! Man...what did we do before digital pictures???

Here's Daddy and Mali by a beautiful tree!!

Feeding daddy Cheetos!

A Daddy and His Boy!

My Family - Such a Blessing!

After the park we headed over to the Country Barn for a buffet lunch with our extended family and had a GREAT time! Happy Father's Day to my daddy too! I didn't get a picture of the two of us, but please know that I love you so much and I am so thankful that my son has such a Godly, caring, wonderful Pops to look up to that loves him so much!!!

To the father of the most beautiful little boy in the world and husband to the most blessed wife,

A thank you doesn't seem to be enough to tell you how I truly feel. Throughout almost 11 years of love, I can't think of time I have been more in love with you than I am at this very moment. I see so much of you in our little boy and the similarities seem to mount exponentially every single day! Everytime our precious Malachi smiles, I see the light in his eyes...that same light that drew me to you. In you I see a love for a son the likes of which the world doesn't see too terribly often! I see a man who has learned what it means to be the head of a family and who loves his family above all else! I see a man who loves me, with all my flaws and a man with whom I hope I have another 50+ years to spend on this Earth. I see a man who comforts me when I need it, who builds me up when I need it and who holds the world when he holds his baby boy. In you I see the man I have and will always love with all of my heart!

Though this post is late, and though I know Malachi can't quite put into words how he feels about you, know that we both love you more than words could possibly express and are so thankful to God above for giving you to us!

13 months old!!

Malachi, you are now 13 months old and here are some of the new "happenings" in your sweet little life!

• You now have 5 teeth (two on top and 3 on bottom) and have never given us an ounce of trouble with ANY of your teething...
• You LOVE to swallow Cheerios whole, but mom and dad have stopped giving them to you because of this very reason...
• You grind your teeth (mostly when you're sleepy) and we are working VERY HARD to break you of this VERY BAD habit...not sure where you picked it up!
• You BIT for the first time yesterday at daycare...Lolli called to tell me that you bit your friend Collin after y'all were fighting over a toy, but when we dug a little deeper, it appears as though Collin put his hand in your mouth trying to push you away and that he's pretty bad about that...STILL, though, looks like we'll have to keep an eye out for this nasty habit too!! ;o)
• You are pulling up and "cruising" on EVERYTHING and last week you took two steps to me (from the desk in daddy's office to the chair I was sitting in) - but for the life of us, we can't get you to do it again - AH WELL...all in good time!
• You have started to crawl like a bulldog and it's hilarious...Then, you'll come up to your knees and then FALL ever so dramatically with your hands down and then start crawling again...VERY FUNNY and entertaining! (on a side note to that, when I dropped you off at daycare this morning, Lolli was sitting in the TV room with all the kids so I put you down...you pranced in front of all those kids laughing like you were Mr. Big Shot!! They clapped, you clapped, you laughed, and then you pranced some more! You are such a cutiepie)
• You are saying mama, dada, nah nah (no no), uh oh, ball, bye bye but you STILL won't say Lolli...haha!
• You LOVE to hear yourself scream!
• You are eating table foods great, so much so that we are beginning to let you eat even more lunches at daycare...I can't believe you're growing up so fast!
• You're still not sleeping through the night consistently, but most times if you do cry we just give you your paci and you go right back to sleep...so it's not bad!
• On that note...this month we're working on you ONLY getting your paci at night (or naptime) and we're going to start REALLY working on weaning you from the bottle!
• You take your sippy cup GREAT and drink 2-3 full sippies of juice/crystal light per day! You're not dribbling it like you used to and you've finally learned to tip it up as HIGH AS YOU CAN to get every last drop!!
• You LOVE to BEAT ON EVERYTHING - your highchair, the floor, daddy's belly when he's laying down (haha), the end table, the TV cabinet...EVERYTHING!! Last night you even got a spanking at Feldman's because you wouldn't quit banging your cup on the table after mommy told you no...your xylophone is one of your favorite toys!
• You've learned what night night means and you'll lay your head down on a pillow or blanket anytime we say that!
• Your stranger anxiety seems to be at an all-time high right now and you love to lay your head on my chest if I'm holding you and a stranger comes around!
• You LOVE puppies! (But no, we're not getting one anytime soon! You'll just have to enjoy Daisy, Aunt Gra's puppy!)
• You're starting to fight sleep at night, thus, you cried yourself to sleep last night. (It only took about 10 minutes, though...you were VERY sleepy!)
• You eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast (and this morning momma sweetened it with some ground cinnamon though most of the time you get a flavored oatmeal so I don't have to do that!)
• You like Curious George and Syd the Science Kid on PBS - you're not so much into Veggie Tales yet - we're working on this though! Mommy wants to get some more videos and also wants to get some Praise Baby DVDs to see if you like that!
• You will dance to anything - music on your toys, us singing to you - ANYTHING!! You rock from side to side and clap your hands and it's SO cute!
• You love to play Patty Cake and are JUST figuring out how to "pitch 'em in the pan!" and you REALLY like the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" but you can't quite figure out the hand motions!
• You play peek-a-boo with your blankie in the morning when mommy changes your diaper before breakfast!
• You love your Daddy SO MUCH and me and Lolli don't exist if Daddy or Pops are around!
• You are the light of my life and you have GOT to be the hammiest, sweetest, happiest baby I've ever met!

Here are some pictures of you from our recent outings with your cousin, Angela!

You and Angela's Daughter, Sophie of sophiessassystitches.com

Cousin Haha, You, Lolli and Grandmommy (kind of...haha) at the park while mommy had to work :o(

Eating a cookie with Cousin Haha and a better picture of Grandmommy (well, kinda)

Oh yeah...and one more thing...You DON'T like it when we take food away from you! (I think you were trying to eat too much at once so they HAD to take it away...haha!)

Tough week!

For the second time in his short little life, our sweet baby Malachi is dealing with some sort of illness that has baffled doctors. Let me back up...

3 weeks ago, mommy and Mali went outside for 5 minutes to check on daddy who was weeding the yard. Seems pretty harmless right? Well, the next morning when he woke up, we noticed two small red bumps on him...one on his right temple and one on the top of his head. They were little, but immediately I was thinking either mosquito or spider. We watched them for a few days and nothing bad ever happened, so we thought he just had mosquito bites. After 3 or 4 days, the one on his face almost started to look like a small burn, but the one on his head had all but disappeared. So, we started religiously putting 1% hydrocortizone - the secret to smooth baby skin - on both spots and they eventually started to go away. Fast forward 2 weeks - last Wednesday when he woke up, the spot on his face had gotten irritated and red and the spot on his head was back. So, instead of 1% Hydrocortizone, we used some antibiotic cream trying to figure out what the heck was going on and treat it as best we could. By that evening it was pretty swollen and I told Thomas that if it got any worse, I would call the Dr. Turns out, the next morning, it was MUCH MUCH worse. It looked like a white puss pocket with a red ring around the outside and it was VERY swollen. I just KNEW he had Staph or something, so I immediately called the Dr. When we went in on Thursday, I explained to the Nurse Practitioner what had happened and she asked if she could pull the Dr. in for a consult. She thought it was Staph as well and prepared me just in case we had to lance/drain it. The Dr. came in, and when he heard the story, let me know that he thought it was just a mosquito bite and that somehow the histamine had gotten irritated again somehow and to give Malachi Benadryl. We were sent home with strict instructions to give him 3 doses of Benadryl (6 hours apart) and then call back the next day and let them know an update. When I got home that night and Thomas and I were trying to figure out WHY it took 2 weeks to get so nasty, we started to put 2 and 2 together. We had Malachi on allergy medicine starting right around the time that he got the mosquito bites and we stopped the allergy medicine on the Tuesday night before he woke up Wednesday morning with the reaction that prompted the call to the Dr. So, Benadryl it was! He woke up Friday morning and it did look MUCH better so we figured that was that! NOT SO MUCH!

Friday afternoon around 2:00, my mom called me from the daycare to let me know that he had a fever of 102.7 - taken on 2 different thermometers. I was fixing to call the Dr. anyway, so I called them and let them know what was going on. Again, they wanted me to bring him in. We saw the Nurse Practitioner again, and again, the Dr. came in to look at it just to make sure it was getting better! Since it was, they did a Strep and Flu test. The Strep test came back positive and they gave us the option of giving him a shot or doing 10 days of oral antibiotics. We opted for the shot thinking that the short term pain would be WELL WORTH getting rid of the Strep that much faster. Saturday morning, we got up and took Malachi to Aunt Dena and Uncle Jim's house to watch Malachi because we were having a HUGE garage sale! Aunt Dena called around 12:00 to let me know that Malachi's fever was up to 104, but that he had been asleep so he didn't get his Tylenol/Motrin dose until 45 minutes late. I called her about 30 minutes later and she said it was already back down to 101 so I didn't worry too much. We ended up picking him up around 2:00 and kept him wet/stripped down and fed him lots of pedialyte bottles Saturday night into Sunday. Sunday he was consistently running 103 and his fever wouldn't drop below 102 even right in the middle of a dose of Tylenol or Motrin, which we were rotating every 3 hours. So, again, I called the Dr. They called in Augmentin thinking that the Strep must have been protected by some sort of antibody and that if it wasn't better by Monday morning, the Dr. would probably want to see us again.

So, Monday morning Thomas stayed home and I went to work. But, at noon, he called and said that Malachi was VERY lethargic - couldn't hold his head up and was sleeping a LOT. So, I told them just to come to the Dr. and we'd be there when they got back from lunch. The Dr. immediately did another Strep test to see if this was all we were dealing with and it came back NEGATIVE. We then went back to the mosquito bite, which still hasn't cleared up even today, and the Dr. told us that we were going to have to get some bloodwork drawn and to watch out for stiffness in the neck, problems moving the head...etc. as these may be signs of Encephalitis/Meningitis. He was worried that we may be dealing with a West Nile TYPE of virus. We went and had the bloodwork drawn and I went back to work, thinking that if something did happen, I'd need all the sick leave I have. I only had 2 hours left anyway at that point and Thomas and my mom were going to watch him. He was in good hands!

30 minutes after I got back to work, the nurse called me and told me to get Malachi BACK to the hospital because they found something abnormal in his bloodwork and we would need to get a blood culture done. So, I immediately called Thomas and told him to head back up to the hospital and I would meet them there. While at the hospital, I spoke to the nurse again who told me that we were also going to have to go up to the PICU to get a Rocephin shot, just in case it was a bacterial infection. So, more bloodwork was done and we headed upstairs for the shot. They numbed his leg with Emla cream and gave him a 500mg shot of Rocephin...That's a HUGE dose of Rocephin for a 23 pound baby...

We brought him home and his fever FINALLY broke Monday night at midnight, only to kick back up again Tuesday afternoon. We have kept it under control with Tylenol and Motrin and it broke last night at midnight again and hasn't come back. However, NOW he has a rash ALL OVER his body...Originally I thought it was just a viral rash/strep rash/fever rash, but now that it's actually gotten WORSE today, I don't know WHAT it is. The Dr. said there's nothing we can do at this point except wait for the blood culture and see if it grows anything. Thankfully, though he's sleeping a LOT more than usual, Malachi seems to be feeling much better. He's eating regularly and drinking a ton. So, other than the rash (which doesn't seem to be bothering him) he's almost as good as new. I'm just terrified that the Dr. knows something and isn't telling me...or at least suspects something. I know God knows what He's doing, but when it's your baby, how can you NOT worry? I've spent the last few nights waking up every hour or so to crawl out of bed and hear him breathing in his crib...I've slept beside his crib on the floor for 3 or 4 hours at a time just for comfort and I've cried more than I have since the LAST time he was so sick and we didn't know why!

This too shall pass - I know...but I'm so ready for him to be better and for us to KNOW what's wrong! It's the unknown that's the worst!! Please Lord - protect my baby and heal his sweet little body...I'd give my life if I thought it would help!

More 1st B-day Pictures

Okay so I've finally gotten around to getting pictures off of MY camera (no, not the lost one, the big one that we rarely pull out anymore, unless, of course, mommy lost hers...ah well, how thankful we are that we are blessed enough to worry about WHICH camera to use...) But I digress!

Here's Mommy and Mali right before the party started!

Aren't his monkey ears just the cutest?

And here's the whole family! I know I'm biased, but aren't we cute? haha!(Oh, and here's a MUCH better view of the T-Shirt Angela over at http://www.sophiessassystitches.com/ made us!)

Here's Mali on his little turtle Lolli and Pops got him! He LOVES to ride on it, even though he can't push himself on it just quite yet! Oh well...Daddy's a GREAT pusher! Can't you just see how much fun he's having? (Okay, how much fun they're BOTH having!)

Cheeks just don't come any more kissable do they??

And - here is Malachi's cake AFTER he tore into it! Once he got past the icing, there was no stopping him!

I wonder if Lolli got rid of that blue ring around her tub??? Just Kidding - it came right off, surprisingly! We sure thought we'd be sending a little boy who looked like he ate a smurf to church on Sunday morning!!

Does anyone ELSE see a future Senior Yearbook picture here?

Mom...enough with the naked bath pictures already!

And, last but not least, mom tried to get creative, but it didn't work! Still...it's a cute picture of Mali all wrapped up in Lolli's beach towel! What a great day! (And, hi to Holly and Collin who got in this shot with us!)

Where have I been???

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I last posted on here...I feel terrible! We've had some HUGE milestones over the last couple of weeks and I have YET to post anything about them! What are those milestones, you ask? Well, Daddy turned the big 2-7 on May 14th! Happy birthday honey/daddy! We love you VERY VERY MUCH and are SO thankful that you're in our life! The big day was pretty low-key - we went to work, then came home and went out to eat at Feldman's for dinner! Nothing major...we've both learned b-days are now a priority for the little man in our life!

Speaking of...the next big milestone was, Mali's 1st B-DAY!!! And it went smashingly! First, let me give a shout-out to my cousin, Angela over at sophiessassystitches.com for the absolutely adorable t-shirt she made for the occassion! I sent her a picture of the invitations for Mali's b-day and here's what she came up with - ALL ON HER OWN!

Okay - I know this isn't a very good picture, I'm still busy compiling all of them! BUT, she hand-sewed this design after only looking at a picture online! CHECK HER TALENT OUT FOR ONE OF A KIND PIECES!!!

Thanks to Angela for the adorable shirt - it was perfect! I absolutely fell in love with this design for his b-day and thankfully I was able to coordinate everything the way I wanted to!

Here's the cake/cookie table! You can see his "smash cake" there in the center, the traditional cookie cake off to the left and little "1" and "M" coordinating cookies spreading the gap! The bakery we used was AWESOME, and, AGAIN, from a plate I took them, made the cake and matched the colors for the cookies perfectly!!

A Close-Up of his "smash cake!" Isn't it a dead on match for his decorations???

Every year at my b-day growing up, I would get a cookie cake and now the tradition continues!
The "Accessories" Table - haha
I'm 1!!!!I ordered this plate online and the tradition began for him to eat his b-day cake on it EVERY YEAR!! Isn't that fun?

Digging in - HINT: Blue Icing = Green poop - haha!

MMM...Tastes good, but I do NOT like having my hands dirty!

Here Mom - you can have some!
Malachi - Why are your boogers blue?
Laughing at Cousin Karter!


Pre-Blue Icing Takeover - we opened presents! (Okay, Mommy opened presents while Mali crawled around, played with his old toys and Cousin Karter chomped at the bit to help!!)


The Three Amigos - L to R

Malachi, Connor and Grayson - all born within 6 weeks of one another and destined to be Best Buddies!

Watching Mom open presents while I chew on my rings!
Hello? (Newest trick! Everything's a telephone!!)
Can I PLEASE just go play?

Okay Karter - help him out!

My dear sweet baby boy -

Mommy cannot believe you are already a year old. It seems like just yesterday you were only a dream of what we hoped would one day be a reality. Then, life changed. That first positive test showing us that you were on your way, the first sonogram seeing your little heartbeat, watching your toes curl on a tiny screen, watching you kick, while I felt it...it all seems like yesterday. Then, going to the Dr. begging him to just let me meet you already...then crying because he said yes!! Waiting anxiously to see if you would have hair, and who you would look like (even though we knew you were a daddy's boy) and finally holding you for that first glorious time. Having your daddy hand you to me and burying my face into your chest crying and thanking the good Lord for his miracle. Thanking Him for letting me keep you for a little while and begging Him to make me a good mom. Malachi, you are incredible. This last year, as quickly as it has flown by, has been more fun than I ever could have imagined. Your daddy is so good with you and has ALWAYS been, even since the day we brought you home. Yes, I've been anal at times, but I'm your mommy and I won't apologize for it! And now, when most are bragging that their children are sleeping through the night, and I come to work very tired sometimes, I cherish each moment I have alone with you! Just last night you woke up around 1:45 and wouldn't go back to sleep without your bottle...and while I was sleepy, I sat in the rocking chair holding you, watching you drink, watching your eyes as you fought SO hard to stay awake and held your sweet little hand so THANKFUL for the opportunity I have to hold you like this. It won't be long before these late nights are distant memories and I will miss rocking you. I already miss so many things about you as a baby, but your laugh and smile and new tricks replace that feeling of missing you with an anticipation I've never felt before. The anticipation that I get to see the new things you're doing every day. The anticipation of watching you figure out how to crawl just right to get to your favorite toy (daddy's yellow golf ball) after it's rolled under something. The anticipation of watching you learn to stand on your own...soon you'll be walking and crawling will be one more distant memory. So for now, I cherish the moments when you pick up the TV control and say "hello" waiting to hear a voice on the other end, and the moments when you still need mommy to move the laundry divider to get your ball and the moments when you cry for mommy and all you need is to lay down with me and everything is right with the world. I cherish the times when you cling tightly to me SO not wanting to go to the nursery at church, and the times when I leave you at daycare in the morning with a "bye-bye" and a smile as you pull up to the toybox or crawl to the big blue bouncy ball! These are memories I want to always remember, but moments I want to enjoy as I live them with you! You are a treasure, my son and God will use you for mighty things! Please know that my life is nothing without you in it and daddy and I cherish, love and adore you!! Thank you God for giving me this little miracle to protect and love for as long as you choose - I am so unworthy of being this little Monkey's mommy, but so thankful that I am!

Love,

Mommy

What a great 1st Mother's Day!

My 1st Mother's Day was absolutely nothing short of wonderful and memorable! As you know, my mom, Lynn Brown, won in the News Channel 7 "My Perfect Mother" contest and Sunday she was treated to brunch at the Big Texan...you know the one...home of the free 72 oz steak dinner if you can eat it in an hour! So, Sunday morning, I awoke to two beautiful cards, one from my handsome son and one from my wonderful husband thanking me for being such a good mom and other sweet words! I also got a new cook book from Taste of Home Magazine and a wonderful spice rack with 20 spices on it!

The cookbook has recipes for ALL SORTS of foods, but the best part is, it teaches you to cook each recipe (for main courses, anyway) 4 different ways! You can cook it the traditional way for a large family meal, the 30 minute version, the 2 person version and the lighter side version! Although a cookbook wasn't what I was expecting, it was a nice surprise since, most of you know, I don't cook. But, I'm trying to change that and my sweet husband put a LOT of thought and effort into his decision! I've been trying some new recipes out over the last 2 weeks in an effort to save some SERIOUS money on eating out since that's our BIGGEST snafu every month! I even used one of my spices last night when I made a new recipe. Pizza dip with cream cheese! YUMMY! (Okay, Thomas thought it was yummy, I thought it was just okay!)

Then, after getting ready for church and attending Sunday School, it was a mad dash to get back home to await our limo ride to the restaurant! I was a little bummed that I couldn't attend church on MY first Mother's Day and finally get to stand up during the special prayer for Moms, something I've waited a LONG time to do, but it was worth it to honor the woman who raised me!! Malachi LOVED the limo ride, and had a BLAST looking out at everything! (And yes, it was the limo with the longhorns, for all of you locals!) We then got to the restaurant and that's when the CRAZINESS - CHAOS - ANY OTHER WORDS I CAN USE TO DESCRIBE THIS memories were made! We took shots at the shooting range waiting for our table (we had reservations, but still had a 20 minutes wait) and then took lots of pictures. (none of which I have, but as soon as I get them from my mom, I'll upload them!) We sat down, at separate tables (yeah, 'cause we weren't celebrating or anything) and were handed our meal tickets. Let me just tell you, thinking that an approximately 8 or 9 year old boy can handle taking tickets from multiple adults, and hand them plates on MOTHER'S DAY...is STUPID. Okay, I don't like that word, but it was ridiculous. This poor little boy had 20 HUNGRY people standing around him waiting like wolves to get their plates (1/2 of which were dirty) before they could get to the buffet line! It was CRAZY! But, the food was good and it was an experience! Word of caution, though, I wouldn't suggest trying to go to the Big Texan on Mother's Day...or any other holiday for that matter!

Once we got home, Malachi, of course, had taken his nap in the car and was up and attem! So, I stayed up for the first 2 hours of the afternoon while Thomas laid down and then Thomas got up so I could lay down. Of course, Malachi fell asleep 10 minutes after I went to sleep, but that's alright! Daddy pulled some weeds, we ate a little more dinner at Lolli and Pops' house and then called it an early evening!

So, all in all, my first Mother's Day was a success! Tomorrow is Thomas' birthday (the big 2-7!) and then Saturday is Malachi's 1st B-day!!!! I can't believe it! We've got everything planned and ready to go! Friday night, I think Daddy and I will go out for a romantic date and spend some time just the two of us (something we haven't done since the Nutcracker with Aunt Bubzees and Uncle Dub right before Christmas) for Daddy's birthday! Then, Saturday will be busy! Setting up for the party, gathering all the goodies, airing up the balloons...WHEW, I'm tired just THINKING about it! But, I'm super duper Sad/in disbelief excited that my little boy is turning a year old! More to come after our busy weekend! Wish us luck!

My First Mother's Day!

First of all, I have to say a quick CONGRATULATIONS to my mom who won the "My Perfect Mother" contest at KVII, Channel 7 this morning! I nominated her late in April, but thought I had missed the deadline, so I told her about it and posted a quick update on facebook as a sort of "sorry, but I tried" move! Well, it turns out I DIDN'T miss the deadline and my mom ended up winning with 67% of the votes!! WAY TO GO MOM! You TRULY ARE the world's best mom and I feel SO blessed to be YOUR daughter!!




Here is a copy of the letter I sent!

Mom Holding Malachi Hours After His Birth!

As far as moms go, my mom tops them all!

As far back as I remember, my mom has always been my best friend! She has made me the woman I am today, showing me who and what it is I'm supposed to embody as a Christian mother. She has always been fun, but fair - friendly, but firm.

She is an incredible grandmother (Lolli) to my son, but also plays a motherly role to 85 other children at the daycare she owns, Playhouse, in Canyon.

I have always had to share her with those other children (and parents, and teachers) at her daycare but have NEVER felt as though I came in anywhere but the top of her list! She gave me the world's most incredible little brother and raised us both with a wonderful father!
She now keeps my son with her at daycare and I wouldn't have it any other way! He recently graduated from a cradle to a playpen in her office and rarely is he anywhere but by her side! I'm thankful that he has her everyday since I'm unable to be with him while I work and if I could move closer than the 4 blocks away that we currently live, I would!
My life will be a success if I can be half the mother to my son that she has been to me and my brother!

Thanks, Mom - I love you!

~Submitted by Jamie Allen, age 26

The voting was REALLY tough, but we pulled it out and she won! Now, she's getting $1,200.00 worth of prizes! It's SO worth it!! More updates after this weekend and we get to celebrate with her!

Now, onto MY first mother's day!

Malachi is moving SO FAST these days! It seems like just last week I was telling you he MIGHT get his top tooth in...WAIT, that WAS last week! That top tooth broke through the same day I said it might and now we're waiting on the 2nd to come through! Then, he somehow figured out how to give kisses (the BEST EVER) almost on his own and now we can't get enough of them! We tell him to give us kisses and he leans over with a huge open mouth and just lays it on you! Does it get any better than this? I ask you!

He's saying mamamamamamama all the time now, he now says "bye-bye" when he waves, and is saying ba-ba-ba-ba when he plays with his favorite toy (his golf ball!) He will sit for hours in the kitchen throwing the golf ball, laughing, then chasing it down and throwing it again! Last Saturday he sat about 3 feet away from the refrigerator and kept bouncing his ball into the refrigerator, and cracking up when it rolled back to him! Incidentally, thanks to daddy for finding said golf ball this morning! He lost it Wednesday night and we have looked EVERYWHERE for it! Turns out he put it in the basket of whites that has been sitting in the living room for the last couple of nights and lost it in between the socks and t-shirts! Oh well...he got it back this morning and you would've thought he'd found his long lost kitty! He was SO happy!!

He's also pulling up now and starting to get his feet under him! It won't be ANYTIME before he's cruisin' the couch and walking!

We got his pictures made last weekend and just looked at them last night! They are THE BEST! He's smiling SO big! I'll have to post them as soon as I get them!!

Next weekend is the big 1st b-day and we're working HARD at planning everything! I'll post more updates as soon as I get a chance, but just know, I could not be more blessed with a more perfect little boy! Thank you Lord for bringing him through the tough year he's had and for giving him such a sweet countenance!!

I love you Malachi!