photo friday: point + shoot

It has been a while since I've done a photo post around here. Mostly because just about everything I post is riddled with photos. Also, I haven't actually sat down to organize my photos since August. I have a lot of work to do!

This week I don't have the usual Canon Rebel camera to work with. It actually belongs to my in-laws, but spends about 98% of it's time here with us. They went to the first game at the new basketball arena last night and wanted to take some photos with the zoom lens.

I haven't stopped taking pictures, but I've definitely been spoiled by the fast shutter speed and photo quality the comes from a SLR camera. These photos were taken with my point + shoot Samsung which is about 3 years old now.

This is the response I got when I asked Malakai to show me his teeth. He knows what teeth are, he can point to them, and he tries to say the word. For some reason, he just kept sticking his tongue out when I smiled at him with my teeth.

{funny kid}

Then he got a hold of this lid. He thought it was hilarious to look at me through it. He'd laugh even hard when I'd say "Does mama look funny!?" 

{"dehyuhyar!"}

This is the pathetic look I got after nap time yesterday when he wanted me to pick him up. How could I resist?

{"upbwease?"}

For about 4 hours this morning I had 3 toddler boys running around my house. We had Henry as usual, and also our friend from church, Jacob. Malakai will be 18 months this weekend and both Henry + Jacob are 20 months old. 

How cute are these boys?!

{ball pit fun + zoned out on a few minutes of "Ehlma"}

Be sure to check out Ben's latest story at Stories for Kiddos. Don't be shy, if you read around here or over at his blog, click the follow button to let us know you're there and leave a comment too!

Happy Weekend!

P.S. Bonus points for anyone who can translate Kai's words in quotes.

Thankful on a Thursday: just the two of us

Today is our slowest of the week, just Malakai + I at home. I plan on enjoying some one on one time with my boy. Once he goes down for his nap I'd love to sit around and eat pumpkin bread and catch up on all my blog reading. But, since the rest of the week has been and will continue to be such a blur, I have to catch up on laundry, dishes, and all other sorts of household chores. I'm okay with that, it's the job I chose.

With now having two part time jobs, I've found that keeping up with things at home is becoming more of a challenge. While having a messy kitchen, a bed full of laundry to fold, and turning the guest room back in to a catch-all space isn't my ideal situation, I still get to spend most of my days with my son and I am so thankful for that.

I'm also thankful for...

461. adorable galoshes that Malakai loves even more than I do.

{the big picture is one I found on my camera after Mima babysat yesterday, LOVE!}

462. the few moments I get to myself to update here + work on a few other hobbies.

463. the surprise blessings received when serving others.

464. watching Malakai catch on to new things so quickly- he's soaking it all up like a little sponge these days!

{we only "taught" him nose, the rest he picked up on his own} 

465. the rewarding feeling of Kai learning something that takes a little more time to master (sharing, not hitting, the usual toddler stuff)

466. a working vacuum, a broom + dust pan,  a washer + dryer and other helpful tools for getting things done around the house.

467. internet friends.

468. The time we got to spend watching the game with family, despite the outcome.

469. all 895 square feet of our home sweet home.

470. hearing my boy chatting to himself happily after a good nap/ night's sleep.

What are you thankful for?

baby-proofing failures

Disclaimer: We keep a very close eye on Malakai and any children that enter our home. For one, because we know that babyproofing doesn't replace parenting. Also, we really believe in teaching boundaries rather than blocking everything off from contact at all times. That being said, in our opinion  some amount of baby-proofing is necessary to keep curious little ones safe from harm.

When we moved Malakai was 8 months old. Thankfully, still young enough to be preoccupied in his room or his jumper while the rest of the house was full of dangers. Boxes towered everywhere, cables + outlets weren't protected, cleaning products were scattered throughout. It was the usual mess from a fresh move.

Nine months later and we are quite settled in. Malakai is now just over 17 months old and figuring out everything, I mean everything!

Go Ducks!

Today is the National Championship Football Game. Eugene, Oregon is buzzing with activity and excitement for our University of Oregon Ducks.

{Kai's 1st UofO outfit, Oct. 2009}

Ben sent me the following tweet just a little while ago:

Before our move last March we lived on University Street. Obviously, we were right on campus. Our house was a short 6 blocks or so from Mac Court. It was convenient to be within walking or biking distance from where we were working at the time, and it was nice to have plenty of restaurants and other amenities. Once we were expecting Malakai, it started to become a nuisance. Our college aged neighbors were loud late into the night, the traffic on game days made it impossible to get anywhere. 

So, while we support the football team on their big day, we are so thankful to not be in the middle of what will surely be a wild + crazy night on campus.

Tonight we'll watch the game on the other side of town with some family. Dressed in our best green + yellow.  

{At the game, fall 2010}

{my fave of Kai's game day shirts, 2009}

We might even have to let Malakai stay up past his bedtime for this momentous occasion. Then we'll head home to our quiet (hopefully) cul-de-sac for a good night's rest to return to the regularness of tomorrow.

Go Ducks!

nothing post

I'm working on a couple posts, but I won't finish them til next week. And since it's so late in the day on a Friday I just decided to share this little nothing post with the few that are reading blogs right about now.

Today was an especially interesting one around here. I got up at 5:45 with a very sleepy and crabby Malakai. He wanted me to hold him (love) but didn't want to fall asleep. I finally put him down to get dressed and he fell back to sleep at about 6:45. Silly bean.

So I had a rare morning to myself to get ready, make coffee, life journal, and even do a little bit of work.

Then Henry got dropped off and even though Malakai had just woken up 5 minutes prior, he went spastic. Running all over, doing this really fast marching in place thing with his legs that he does when he's over the top excited. Then he started throwing toys all over. He was TOTALLY showing off for his friend.

Once he had his breakfast and calmed down a bit I started to clean up some clutter only to spill my coffee all over the clutter, and my laptop, the floor, the raggedy upholstery on the dining room chair...mess. It's really hard to clean up a spill when all your toddler wants to do is put his hands in every part of it simultaneously. My computer survived, the floor is clean, and the chair got soaked with some stain remover and is drying in the garage. I need to reupholster them anyway.

Later the boys threw all 80-some plastic balls out of the ball pit. I tried to get them to help clean them up, it didn't work very well. It was cute, so I let it slide. Then they did it again an hour later. Gotta love boys.

{not a great photo, but I just enjoy the look on Kai's face}

Malakai also decided that slamming a giant plastic blender (toy) into my hand whilst I was changing his diaper would be the best idea. It wasn't. We're still working on the no hitting. Also, the sharing. This is a really difficult stage for teaching fairly complicated concepts. Like, how come I can hit my hand on this toy to get it to make a noise, but I can't hit my hand on mama's face to get her to make a noise?

Anyway, last night Malakai did this really cute thing, and because this post is about nothing in particular I'm going to tell you about it.

Ben was watching something on tv. I can't remember what, maybe Malakai was watching Elmo? That's not the point. Ben was laying on the rug in front of the couch and Malakai climbed up into his lap and laid himself down like Ben was the best ever comfy lounge chair. He did this for about 10 minutes and it was so sweet. I'm pretty sure Ben wasn't very comfortable in this position, but he was enjoying the moment and didn't want to ruin it by moving.

{love this}

This weekend I'm finally redeeming my Christmas gift from Ben from 2009. Yep, 2009. It was a giftcard for a haircut + massage at my favorite salon + day spa. I already used the haircut, but had trouble finding time to schedule the massage. I can't wait! I also scheduled myself a bang trim just before since I'm out doing things for me and I really need it.

And here's a photo of Ben + I at La Perla Pizzeria. It was on our little point + shoot camera, but I forgot about it when I did my update post. I like it, so I decided to share it.

{even though the bottle looks like it's stabbing Ben's eye}

Happy Weekend!