8 months

Again, we're skipping months...it's called "life".  Malachi is 8 months now...and SO MUCH has happened in the past two months!  So much...crazy. 

We'll start with the not-so-good: sleep.  Sigh...Malachi has been a good sleeper from the first day.  Really.  Awesome.  Until about month seven.  Why?  Maybe because swaddling ended...teething (he got two bottom teeth at seven months)...ear infections...mobility increased...growth spurt...who knows.  All I know is sleeping through the night no longer happens.  He's still easy to get back to sleep, but it's still not so fun getting up to either lay him back down, find his pacifier, or nurse (only once a night) several times during the night.  Hopefully, fingers crossed, sleeping through the night will happen again soon.  (update -- I wrote this blog about a week ago -- in the past week, he's slept through the night twice...a good sign!)

Now, the positives!  Malachi is rolling both ways (finally!), sitting up unassisted, as well as crawling (starting two days before 8 months).  All of a sudden, things just happened!  He enjoys standing (with assistance), so I imagine walking will happen sooner rather than later.  Now, he is getting into everything.  Keeping me on my toes lots more now!

Malachi has been SO healthy so far...up until Noah got the croup, and Malachi ended up with it the next night.  I HATE croup.  Tristan has had it several times.  This was the first time for Noah.  But a seven month old with it...scary and no fun :(  I was up all night with him in our bed.  We ended up in the doctor's office the next day.  He was given oral steroids and antibiotics for a double ear infection.  But he recovered quickly, thankfully!

Malachi is still nursing.  Honestly, he's had three bottles so far.  Three.  And two of those have been from me.  My mother has been the sole other person to feed him...once.  Sigh.  Nate and I haven't even had a date yet without him.  Soon...and very soon...I hope :)  I'm actually going to Dallas with a friend for the day at the beginning of June to see a play, so that will be the first time that he's not with me for more than a couple of hours.  It's going to be interesting! 

Tristan and Noah still ADORE "Baby Malachi".  Malachi may always be "Baby Malachi" to Noah :) 

I don't know about weight, but I do think he's healthy looking!  I'll be anxious to know at his 9 month appointment if he is still on the lower end of weight/height.  He definitely doesn't look on the smaller side to me!

Tornados 2016

I hate bad storms.  I am a wimp when it comes to storms.  Nate can tell you...if I wake up in the middle of the night and a storm is brewing outside, I'm in the living room, checking out the weather.  A couple of weeks ago, there was a tornado warning in Lindale.  I was at home with the kids, Nate was still at work.  They were saying a possible tornado on the ground on FM 16 (I live on FM 16, fyi...).  I had the closet completely cleaned out, all the stuff piled on our bed, ready for us to crowd in together if needed.  I had Nate on the phone, me almost in tears, saying "There's a tornado on 16!"  He told me, "It's near Lindale on 16, don't worry."  I yelled back, "I live on 16!"  (like he didn't know that).  Then Tristan comes to me and says, "The warning is off."  Poor kid...he's learning too much about tornados at such a young age.  So, nothing actually happened there.  Just a warning...and a scared momma. 

So, fast forward to two days ago, Friday.  Nate was actually supposed to go camping at the family farm in Hawkins with the boys and I was supposed to go (with Malachi) to a ladies retreat on Saturday.  We saw that there was a risk of storm, so the camping was off, but they still planned on going to his parents' house to eat while the babe and I stayed home and prepared for the next day.  About 5:00, we saw the warnings on the TV, and Nate asked if I wanted him to stay home after all, knowing how scared I am of storms.  We decided it was best if we all just stayed put.  We kept the news on, and the tornado warnings continued to get closer and closer to us...but then it looked like it would might pass us.  A few minutes later, it becomes really dark outside, and I see Nate grabbing the flashlights and lantern and checking out the closets...which when Nate is concerned, that means it's time to get concerned.  The wind starts picking up hard outside but the weather on the TV still says we are in the clear...so I'm not freaking out yet.  Then the lights go out, but thankfully the wind stops and it begins to slowly brighten up outside.  The storm has passed, but we are clueless on any of the damage in Lindale (which is 10 minutes from us)...thinking that nothing really got too close to us.  Our lights, thankfully, come back on about 8:00 (then off again from 11:00-1:30), so we were able to check out the weather on the news to find out a little more of what happened, but there weren't too many details at that point.  All we knew was that the Dollar Tree and Hibbett Store in town was destroyed. 

Saturday morning, after talking with my mom, we find out, through Dad's cousin who lives on 16 as well, that FM 16 was actually hit pretty hard by an actual tornado.  Nate took the boys to town to run to the store, and when he returned, he said that starting about 2 miles from our house, there is damage everywhere.  Trees down, power lines down, several houses destroyed.  One large tree fell across the road at about that 2 mile mark from our house (it had been cleared by that point).  Later that day, we went to Hawkins to Nate's parents house, and about two miles north of them, same thing.  Trees down, houses damaged...you could see the tornado path.  We found out later that the same thing at Lake Hawkins and Holly Lake Ranch.  Lots of damage because a tornado dropped in those areas as well. 

This morning, we headed out to church, although we had to drive slowly for all the work crews out trying to fix some of the power lines.  On the way home, we were stopped and was told that a gas line had been hit and they were worried about an eruption from that, so they were advising everyone to turn back around.  We ended up taking another route home, 2710, which, to our surprise, was hit just as hard. 

Saturday morning, when we got up, we went outside to survey any damage, and we had one semi-large limb to fall, barely missing our fence.  That was it.  One limb.  An easy fix, while 5 minutes away, friends and fellow church members were faced with uprooted trees, trampolines wrapped around trees, fences down, trees blocking their driveways, holes in roofs, barns destroyed, lack of power, etc...  We found out today that they are estimating that it might take up to a month to get the power lines all working again on our road. 

The news has stated that 10 tornados touched down last night in our county.  The two in Lindale were both F-2. 

Several things have happened in the past couple of weeks that makes me realize how blessed I am regarding our house, our health, our finances, our children, etc... It's just a pity that sometimes it takes events like this to remind ourselves of our blessings.

6 months

Who needs a 5 month update?!  I just never got to it.  Oh well...nothing much happens at 5 months anyways ;)  Malachi is now 6 months old!  Here is some info (sorry if it is too much...mainly for my own memory...since the baby book never gets written in):

- Weight -- 16.3 lbs (22%)
- Length -- 26.25 inches (29%) -- still on the smaller side of the scale, but trust me, he's healthy-looking!  He's got some nice little rolls going on...those cute chubby arms and legs! 
- Sleeping through the night most nights, around 7:00-6:00.  Sometimes he'll wake up around 5:00, eat, then go back to sleep until 7:00.  Sometimes I prefer it that way...but then, if he wakes up around 6:00, get gets a quicker morning nap!  We don't have a set daily schedule, if you can't tell.  Even at night, sometimes I put him down at 6:30...sometimes he gets put down at 8:00 if we are at church or with family/friends.  He's a flexible baby -- he's had to be!  I was super-strict with naps/bedtime with Tristan and Noah...but I just can't be this time around.  We are on the go too much.  But luckily, Malachi just goes with the flow :)  Still swaddling, although I do keep one arm out now.
- He can sit up for a few seconds, but not too steady yet.  He is rolling some, when he wants to, from stomach to back, but not yet from back to stomach.  He would rather just roll to his side and stay there.  He may crawl before he rolls completely!  He's just not a fan of tummy time...or being on the floor by himself at all. 
- He is a people-person/baby.  He likes people.  He loves for them to talk to him...even if they just LOOK at him.  He reminds me of Tristan that way -- wants contact with someone all the time.  However, he reminds me of Noah in the way of taking his time rolling and moving. 
- He is a GREAT car rider.  Tristan was HORRIBLE.  Even a 5 minute trip was torturous. 
- We started baby food this past week.  Noah wouldn't open his mouth until 7 months, so I was expecting the same, but Malachi seems to enjoy eating a little more.  Not a pro yet, but we get the food in. 
- Still only nursing.  I haven't been very smart this time around.  I should have learned with Noah.  We tried a bottle with Noah at 5 months, and it was a BATTLE getting him to take a bottle.  I tried with Malachi last week with no luck.  However, I haven't had anyone else try.  I did give him one bottle at about 3 months because I was sick and not producing well, and he took it wonderfully...so I took it for granted that he would take a bottle whenever.  Oh, well...Nate and I'll have a date eventually without a third wheel ;)
- He LOVES Tristan.  Noah...not as much. 
- He LOVES bathtime.  Even just hearing the water, he gets SO excited.  Nate turned on the faucet the other day in the kitchen, and Malachi started kicking around like crazy.  He's going to love this summer at the pools! 
- Other than crying and laughing, he's a quieter baby.  Not much babbling yet.  Just squealing! 

I'll have to say, I think he's an adorable baby :)  I get comments about his rosy cheeks all the time.  He's a keeper! 

Four Months Old!

Four months old.  A third of the way to one year old.  Crazy.  But just as my other two boys did...they grow so fast! 

I "bragged" a little too soon with Malachi sleeping through the night.  He decided to stop.  For various reasons.  My swaddling wasn't working...he kept unswaddling himself.  He (may have) went through a growth spurt, so he was hungry.  I wasn't swaddling him enough, so he was getting cold (I think).  But I've realized that if we swaddle with two blankets and make sure the ceiling fan is off, then he sleeps much better.  The past three nights have been glorious!  7-6:30.  Hoping it continues!

He went to the doctor yesterday.  He is 14 lbs (18%) and 24.75 inches (29%).  So, still small-ish but growing perfect according to his growth chart. 

We tried size 2 diapers, but size 1 still fits him best.  Just a little longer... 

Some 0-3 months clothes still fit him but needing more 3-6 month clothes. 

He's doing a lot of laughing and giggling now.  So stinkin' cute :)  Tristan can definitely make him laugh -- he loves being a big brother to Malachi. 

Finally started rolling over from his stomach to back this week...when he wants to, of course. 

Still a tummy-sleeper for naps.  When he gets cranky, just put him on his tummy and make sure that paci is in, and he is OUT. 

He's just overall a cutie-patootie!  (although I couldn't get him to smile for anything for the pictures!)

Nature Learning

We live on 10 acres of land, and while some days I question why we have this much land, other days I love it when the boys gets to go out and enjoy it.  Lately, with the cold rainy weather, we haven't been able to get out much, but there have been some beautiful days lately where we did get to go out and enjoy nature and God's creation.  Having boys, I've learned that boys need to go outside and explore...more than what a backyard can give them.  It's so fun and interesting to see what they come up with or what they find the most joy in doing/seeing while in nature.  Charlotte Mason (a late British educator that specialized in education and homeschooling) suggests that children need to be outside, with opportunities for learning, at least four hours a day.  We don't even get close to that...but we do the best we can.  Here is some pictures of our last exploration!

This is our "second pond" -- which is usually completely dried up during the summer.  However, it has been quite full lately.

 Finding rocks to throw in the pond and creek!

 Tristan looking at a spiderweb.

 Tristan pretending to row in a boat :)

 Malachi sleeping away...he doesn't get into the nature as much as his brothers :)

 Finding a Sycamore tree leaf!

 Playing in the mud in front of our bigger pond.  Because of all the rain, there is A LOT of mud!