i year ago today...

‎1 year ago I was holding my little man in my arms for the first time all alone! I just snuck into his room to watch him asleep for a minute, he is sleeping so peacefully like a precious little guy - just like he was 1 year ago! We have had many crazy/wild/eventful days since then, but these peaceful, snuggly times still capture my heart as much as the first moment I laid eyes on him! Love my little Anderson man! Can't believe he was 1 today! God is so loving to give us a glimpse of how he loves us!

Lately

I feel like we have had so much going on lately! This past Friday night we had Anderson's 1 year old (2 weeks early) and our Family pictures done! We had SUCH a great time and are so thankful for the fantastic job Audrey Anderson did! We have just seen a few proofs that she posted on Facebook, but will get the rest of them Thursday evening!

I can't believe my baby is going to be 1 one week from tomorrow! He looks so grown up in our pictures - where has the time gone? We have a lot to do over this next week to get ready for his party! I am in the process of making a birthday banner, Tissue puffs, and ruffle streamers! I have to order balloons and BBQ from Mark's, Jon has to finish the big red boat he is making out of cardboard (We are doing a Where the Wild Things Are theme!), not to mention several "projects" I am trying to get done around the house before Jon's mom comes next Friday. I feel like I need a month - not just a week!

For Anderson's actual birthday day (the 29th) we are planning to trip to Huber's just the 3 of us. And then his party will be on Saturday. We are so excited to celebrate our little Man! Here are a few of the pictures that Audrey posted on FB:

We also have an appointment for Anderson to see the Doctor again about his hips (he was born with dis-locatable hips) and we are praying that his x-ray will look like a normal

12 month old! Last time they were really close, but his ball joints were still cartilage and still needed to ossify - so please, if you would pray that for us as well it would be much

appreciated! I will post the stats of our 12 month check up as well as birthday pics after the craziness of this next week subsides!

11 Months and counting!

It has been way too long since I updated! We are loving life and have been so busy! We took a wonderful vacation to the beach the first week of August and Anderson LOVED it! He loved the pool the most and loved being in the ocean and was ok with the sand! He did so great and was such a trooper staying up super late so we could all go out and have lots of fun. We relaxed, ate great food, and got lots of family time in - MUCH needed family time!

Anderson has been growing so much and has officially put all of his baby-ish attributes behind him and is more of a little boy than ever! Here are some new things with him:

• Anderson has become such a talker! He babbles all day every day and is saying some real things too! He says "Hi" everytime he sees a phone and to basically every person that walks past him. He says "Bye Bye" "All Done" "Dog" "Duck" and some others. His favorite word is "That" - and EVERYTHING falls into this category. He points and says "that" and I tell him what "that" is! Another funny one is "Dad" - not dada. When he hears the back door open around 5:30 every day he yells "DAAAAD?" (I added the question mark because that is how he says it, in a very questioning tone. It is hilarious!
• Anderson LOVES his night time doggie! He gets it out of bed with him and drags (literally cleaning the floors dragging) it all over the house with him. I often will put his dog int he position with a toy like he is playing and Anderson thinks this is hilarious.
• Anderson can locate body parts - if you ask him where his belly is he will pull up his shirt and show you. He says the word "eye" with a very country accent mind you - it sounds more like the "aaahhh" and points to your eye - he particularly loves doing this to people with glasses. He can also locate your nose and mouth - but not his own yet.
• Anderson can drink out of his own cup and eat puffs from his snack cup all on his own. He likes a wide variety of different foods now and can even hold a whole banana and bite it himself. He has become a little eater and really is hardly ever full I feel like. Yogurt is probably his favorite food, and he loves toast with jelly for breakfast! (We also found out that Anderson is allergic to eggs - it was a very bad experience with a scrambled egg - yuck! Hopefully he will grow out of this!)
• Anderson has his 3rd tooth that has broken through and 3 more that are very close! My guess is that by his first birthday we will have 6 teeth! I mean these 3 are so close that they have made him pretty grumpy lately! We are very thankful for orajel!
• Anderson took his FIRST 3 STEPS yesterday! He took 3 steps twice - and then he was ALL DONE with that - not even wanting to try anymore! We will see what we can get him to do today but we are super excited for him to transition to a walker!
• Anderson LOVES books and brings them to me constantly to read to him and gets really excited when I start a book. "Eight Silly Monkey's" is his current favorite followed closely by "Tractor's" a touch and feel book his GiGi got him!
• Anderson's play time has really transitioned. He is no longer very interested in stuffed animals. He loves trucks and "drives" (pushes) them all over the house saying "Brrrrrrrmmmm". He loves taking things out and putting them into anything. Buckets, toy baskets, the cart of his train, etc. I sing the clean up song while he puts things away to help him learn to clean up!

I think that is about it as far as new stuff goes. We are loving our little man, that is for sure! He is such a blessing and a constant source of joy and laughter in our home! I cannot believe in a month that he will be one year old! My how our lives have changed over this past year! Looking forward to celebrating his little life!

~Brooke

The first two members of the Malko Family

I have noticed that the theme of every blog post has been Anderson! Being parents is pretty much an all consuming job that steals away your time, your thoughts and your affections - and it is wonderful. But I also have to be intentional in remembering that there were 2 of us that began this family! haha! I thought I would give a quick update on what has been going on with Jon and I!

Jon:

• Work, Work, and more Work! Jon is still working full time at Highview Baptist Church as the Director of Video Production. He not only produces the broadcast that plays live online and also on a local channel here in Louisville, but he also creates videos that play each week during worship. In addition to filming, writing scripts and editing Jon also built and maintains Highview's website. AND in addition to all of that Jon does some freelance work on the side! - needless to say he is a busy man.
• Jon is a fantastic dad and LOVES spending time with Anderson! When he is not working he loves to take Anderson with him wherever he goes. Some of their favorite activities are trips to Lowes or walks to the grocery, throwing Anderson's big red ball up and down the stairs (I am not the biggest fan of this one), and just playing in general - hearing Anderson crack up laughing with Jon has to be one of the greatest joys that the Lord has given me!
• In his "free time" Jon likes to go to auto-cross, play video games occassionally, and hang out with friends!

Brooke:

• I am so blessed to be able to have our family as my main priority. Spending my days with Anderson is such a joy. We take regular trips to the zoo, the park, the pool, Granna's house, and any other errand that comes our way. He is so much fun and the more and more his personality develops the more I love being his momma!
• I do work outside of the home 1 day a week at Joseph's Salon and Spa answering the phones and taking appointments. I really consider this more of a break than anything. It is also nice to be back out in the world where I have the opportunity to show Christ's love to others!
• In my free time I enjoy reading, spending time with some friends and my family, cooking, spending some down time on Pinterest, or catching up on some way old shows I never watched on netflix or hulu!

Together:

• Jon and I recently joined a new Sunday School class for young couples at our church. We have really enjoyed it so far! Jon has started going to a Men's Accountability Time every other week, and the women will be starting one in August! We look forward to getting more plugged in.
• For our most recent date night this past Saturday Jon surprised me with tickets to see "Guys and Dolls"! We had such a fun time and were able to try a new restaurant we had been dying to go to before - Doc Crows! The food was delish and the show was fabulous (we LOVE live theater) and some one on one time with my love had to be the best part! Thanks babe!
• We are headed to the beach!! Destin, FL is calling our name August6-13! My family is whisking us all away (if a 12 hour car ride counts as whisking) to a condo on the beach for a week. My mom dad, sister, brother, Autumn and the 3 Malko's are going. - We are still trying to work it out so Chad - our brother in law - can make it down for at least half of the week! It will be Anderson's first time at the beach and we are super excited for Jon to have some much needed time away from work!

Well, that is what we have going on in a nutshell! Anderson will be turning 10 months old this Friday so I'm sure an update with plenty of info about him is coming soon!

9 Months and 1 Week

Today Anderson is 9 months and one week old! We love our little man! He has gotten so big and is able to do SOOOO much! Here are some of the new things he does since his 8 month post:

• Anderson EATS real food! Bananas and green beans are his favorite - cubed into little bites he chews them and says mmmmm the whole time! He has eaten tons of other things too: turkey, ground beef, cheese, avocado, yogurt, carrots, squash, zucchini, corn on the cob, etc...
• Anderson can feed himself! Mostly he feeds himself puffs, but he can pick up other things and put them in his mouth too. He doesn't quite have the pinch and grasp yet, he more just grabs it in his palm and stuffs it into his mouth - he LOVES eating!
• Anderson has figured out when we say "I'm gonna getcha" to crawl FAST away from us! This has made for much fun in the Malko house!
• Anderson talks non-stop! Mostly just jibber jabber but he says some real words that he actually understands! His favorite is dog! If he sees a dog or a picture of a dog he says the word dog very clearly. He understand mama and dada when he says them now. He says uhoh - but it sounds more like a grunt, and he also says "hi" on the phone!
• Anderson also loves making noises. He barks for a dog, he tries to copy the monkey sound I make when we see the monkeys at the zoo, he says brrrmmm brrrrmmm for a truck, and mmmmmm pretty much every time he eats.
• Anderson Waves!!! He still isn't doing it every time but more often than not just in the past couple days he will wave back at you!
• Anderson is a good obeyer. He responds very well to "NO" and normally just stops what he is doing, looks back at me, grins, and comes towards me. Love it! We always celebrate his obedience.
• Anderson loves singing and will "hum" along with us when we sing. His favorite song is "This little light of mine" When we try to hide the light under his bushel he pulls his hand away and shakes his head no! I pretty much die every time he does it! He also loves "Old Mcdonald" and when he is fussy in the car I can sing it to him and it helps him to be calm.
• Anderson loves other kiddos and plays really well. We just spent some time tonight at the Laing's, and Liam and Anderson did so great just playing together but not hurting each other! Liam kept hugging Anderson and it was so sweet!
• Anderson can climb the steps from the bottom to the top! He does it very quickly and kind of in a zig zag pattern which we think is funny, but he is only allowed to do this with mom or dad right there of course!

Those are just the things I can think of off of the top of my head, but it seems like so much to me. There are few days that go by the Anderson doesn't blow me away by something new he has picked up. I love to watch him learn and grow. Of course I think he is so smart - but I may be slightly biased. We love our little one!

OH - and his 9 month stats from our apt last week are: 17lbs 10oz and 27.5 inches long (he is only in the 10th percentile - but doing great developmentally - the Dr gave him 2 thumbs up!!)

Father's Day

We had such a wonderful Sunday celebrating Father's Day! We started off worshiping with our church family. We rarely get to worship together since Jon runs the broadcast, but we have decided to plug into a Sunday School class last hour and went for the first time this week and really enjoyed it! We have missed being in a Sunday School class together so much , but with Jon's responsibilities on Sunday morning it has been a challenge to make it work! We really are hoping to be able to plug in without too many interruptions!!

We then went to my grandparents house and had a nice lunch, some homemade ice cream and great fellowship! Anderson and I are so blessed to have Jon! He is a wonderful dad and loves Anderson so much! Anderson lights up when Jon walks through the door and there is nothing sweeter! Thankful for a godly, loving, thoughtful, passionate, hardworking husband and father! Here are 2 of my favorite pictures from the day... Best Buddies!

Most recent project

I have been dying to have a chalkboard wall in our house - and we finally do!!! Here are the steps:

1. Wash your wall

2. Paint 3 coats of chalkboard paint letting each coat dry

completely

3. Wait 48 hours

4. Using the side of a piece of chalk draw all over your wall and then erase it

5. Repeat step 4

6. Get creative! Your chalkboard wall is READY!

I painted a calendar on our wall because I want it to always be there! I seriously can't stop staring at it! Can't wait to erase it all and start over again :)

~Brooke

My Water Bug!

I'm glad to report that Anderson LOVES the pool! We went Thursday and he had a blast! He loved the water fountain in the baby pool, was not afraid to splash or be splashed, and didn't even mind getting floated on his back. When I put him on his belly he naturally kicked his feet and used his arms! Maybe a future swimmer??? His favorite part was probably watching the big kids play! We see much fun in the sun in our future!

I think this picture captures his excitement about swimming!

8 months and 4 days

I had to give you a quick update! Last night Anderson did 3 new things...

1) Sprouted the tippity tip of a tooth through the gums!

2) Actually chewed and swallowed a puff - he normally just plays with them or spits them out!

3) Said "mama"! Obviously he doesn't know what he is saying but it was music to my ears!!

I also forgot to mention that Anderson loves animal noises! His favorite sound to hear me make is a cow - he grins and laughs every time! He will try to imitate a few too! He will do a cat almost every time and occasionally he will imitate a dog if there is a dog around but it sounds more like he is doing a deep cough and he get a really funny face when he does the dog sound - he furrows his brows and looks kinda mean! haha!

8 Months

Anderson is so big!! I cannot believe 8 months has passed since we brought him home from the hospital! And I cannot believe how much he has changed and all the things he can do! Anderson now crawls on his knees! He can get anywhere. He has learned that he can come to where mom is instead of crying for her to come to him. He imitates noises and sounds that we make. He says "DaDa" all day long. Besides blowing raspberries that is pretty much what i hear all day every day. He loves bath time more than ever now that he can get in the big boy tub all alone. He plays in the tub on his belly and sitting and with all kinds of toys! He also has started the early stages of cruising and I have a feeling in a week or so he will be a full blown cruiser! Our little man is a busy boy and on the go all day long. He chatters constantly too! He also loves to explore - in the tupperware, trying to help momma unload the dishwasher, he can basically get anything anywhere and we have had to start paying close attention to things laying around, especially his 3 favorites - outlets, cords and shoes!! He also has become quite the wild sleeper. I love to watch him in his moniter roll and twist and even crawl in his sleep! His favorite sleep position is on his side cuddled up to his puppy "jellycat" toy! We love life with our little booger. He is so sweet, has the most gorgeous smile, tons of thick course hair, and a crazy funny personality! We are so thankful for the gift of Anderson! The Lord is truly gracious!

Recent Celebrations

The Malko home has been full of celebration lately! Last weekend we had a wonderful Mother's day - or i guess I am the one who had a wonderful Mother's Day! My guys were so sweet to me and I was so blessed, as I am every day, to be Anderson's mom! We enjoyed church first thing Sunday morning and I was able to serve in the nursery. Anderson even had a flower waiting for me when I picked him up from his class :) When we got home Jon and Anderson had some gifts waiting for me! Godiva Chocolates from Anderson and new PJ's from Jon. Then we went to my mom's house for a wonderful lunch with the whole family! It was a joy to celebrate my first Mother's Day and a joy to celebrate my mother for the first time as a mother myself!

Monday will be Jon and I's 3 year anniversary. Since it falls on a Monday this year we celebrated last night (Friday). For the first time Anderson stayed the night with his Granna and Pap. We dropped him off around 4 and then came back home to finish cleaning up and exchange gifts before we headed to dinner at Ruth's Chris! I got Jon a Dovo Straight Razor, a strop and a travel case for the razor. He shaved with it before we left and his face was soooo smooth! Jon got me a beautiful ivory throw from Arhaus and a beautiful dress from Loft - which I wore to dinner! He did such a great job picking it out all by himself!!! I am so blessed to be married to such an observant and thoughtful husband! Our dinner was fantastic and Jon declared it officially the best steak he had ever eaten. We then headed to the movies - thanks to the living social deal we got several months ago. We saw Water for Elephants and we really enjoyed it. It had been quite some time since I had been to a movie, and it was nice to stay out late together - even though we missed out little buddy and checked in on him often :) This morning we "slept in" and then headed out for brunch at Toast on Market. After our yummy meal we walked around the cute little shops downtown and then grabbed a cookie from Blue Dog cafe to enjoy as we walked around Frankfort Ave. Mom and Dad had agreed to keep Anderson until 3:30, but we couldn't wait - we headed to their house to love on our little man around 2! We were so excited to see him but thankful for a full nights sleep and some much needed time together.

This afternoon I also got a spare of the moment opportunity to grab a mani pedi with my mom before she heads off to Florida tomorrow! All and all the past week has been fantastic! But honestly - every week feels full of celebration with my family! So bring on the celebrating! Can't wait to see what is in store for us this week :)

7 Months Old

I feel like so much has happened over the last month, and that my little baby is turning into a little boy right before my eyes! The weather has finally gotten nice and going outside is one of Anderson's favorite things to do. We go on walks a lot - to Aunt Lo Lo and Uncle Chad's house, to the park and to Check's - a local dive that we love to go to for lunch. Anderson also had his first trip to the zoo! Everytime we go I feel like he notices the animals more! It is so much fun. Anderson also had his GiGi come to visit from Florida and went to his first birthday party - for his buddy Liam! Here are some new things Anderson does:

• He Army crawls with ease - and we are starting to see more time with the tummy off the floor
• He can pull himself up on just about anything! He loves standing!
• He eats anything and everything! And lots of it (still just baby food though)
• He takes great naps - and apart from a bad spurt last weeks is sleeping much better at night - still not all night though :(
• He rides in his stroller great!
• He plays better on his own but we are still working on this!
• He loves to drink water from mom and dad's glass and is trying really hard with the sippy cup.
• He loves to play in the grass.

All and all we are having a fun spring! And loving are 7 month old boy!

6 months old!

I can't believe my sweet little man is 6 months old already! He is so much fun and full of a outgoing and adventurous personality! He likes to be busy and, though he can sit now, he never sit still - he likes to be on the move and is anxious to be able to get on the move by himself - but no crawling yet! Here are some new things in the life of Anderson James:

• He sits all alone - no problem and no toppling!
• He can move easily from sitting to his belly and can spin all the way around and scoot a little too. He can even get his knees up but can't move on them yet.
• He can sit in a high chair when we are out to eat and TODAY he rode in the cart at the grocery for the first time!
• He EATS!!! I wasn't sure we would ever get there but he eats so good! So far he likes Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Apples, Bananas, and Pears. Today we bought Mangos, blueberries, Butternut squash, spinach, broccoli, corn and avocado (round 2) for him to try! We want a well rounded eater on our hands!
• He LOVES to look at pictures of our family. I recently hung some on the wall in our hallway and he reaches for it every time we walk past and get so excited when we stop and look at it.
• It takes him a LONG time but he can flip the light switch off.
• He loves to explore and the bathroom is one of his favorite places. He can turn the sink on when I hold him down to it.
• He could soak through 5+ bibs a day - he is a drool bucket.
• He loves to hit things with his hand - like bang on the table or pick up a piece of paper and sling it around.
• He can play with his toys more than ever!
• He is still the most precious little boy we have ever laid eyes on :)
• Stats: He weighs 16lbs (25th percentile) and is 26 inches (just under the 50th percentile). Dr said he is right on track for a breast fed baby (they normally drop off in weight around 6 months because they are preparing to transition to more calories in solid food)!

We are taking Anderson to get 6 month pictures made this weekend! But for now here are a few more recent ones.

Spring has Sprung

Spring has Sprung! At least that is what the past two days have felt like! Yesterday Anderson and I went to the park with my sister Lauren and her puppies! Anderson got to swing for the first time and he LOVED IT! I also took him down the slide in my lap! We love our neighborhood because we can walk to George Rogers Clark Park and it is so nice and never crowded! We had a blast and then waled to Check's restaurant and ate while my little buddy took a nap! It was a long fun day! Here is a picture and video!!







Another really funny thing Anderson has been doing lately is scrunching his nose up when he thinks something is funny! He started yesterday and we have pretty much been laughing about it ever since. He does it ALL THE TIME! I managed to catch it on camera...

Valentine's Day 2011

The Malko's celebrated Valentine's Day last Saturday, February 12th! My parents kept Anderson so Jon and I could celebrate with a day together! We dropped him off around 1pm with them, but before that Mommy gave Anderson her Valentine's gift! Here are the pics:

Here is Anderson Pre opened gifts - this picture is hilarious to me - he is making the funniest face! I love it!

Here he is with opened gifts. He got a new book, a little soft toy mouse the plays music and vibrates so it will move on it's own across the floor, and a red and white striped onesie.

After Jon and I dropped Anderson off at my parent's we went to lunch at PF Chang's. We then went to downtown Louisville and perused the Antique/design shops on Market and Broadway! We had a ton of fun just hanging out with each other! For dinner we enjoyed J Alexanders.... mmm! We were going to go bowling to complete our evening, but the wait was so long we decided to just walk around the mall and enjoy each others company! We were SOOO excited to have some uninterrupted time alone together that we totally forgot to take pictures! We did exchange small gifts. I got Jon some candy and Microsoft Game points. Jon got me an iTunes card for some new music, some candy, and some coffee. He also made me such a special card which was prob my favorite part of my gift! All in all we had a great day!

~Brooke

4 and a half months

We have been parents now for 4 and a half months! 4 and a half CRAZY months! You really can never really be prepared to be a parent. We had so many "plans" and "ideas" that were completely naive! We really are just feeling settled into a new norm where regular every day activities can actually take place as expected! Anderson is loads of fun! He can do so many things now! It is AMAZING how fast babies learn and grow. Here are some things he can do:

• Push himself up on his arms while layone on his stomache without ever tiring - he could hold this pose all day!
• Roll over from belly to back or back to belly
• hold himself supported on his legs while we old him steady - he can do this for a very long time!
• trun himself all the way around in a circle on belly or back
• He tries really hard to push himself up out of his Bumbo seat - of course I don't let him push all the way out but I really think he could!
• Sleep all night long!! (9pm-7am) with only 1 wake up to get his paci back in!
• Eat 5.5 oz in one sitting! Not every sitting but occasionally he drinks this much!
• make any noise imaginable haha! He tries new ones all the time.
• Make noise to "sing along" when we have music on! He LOVES music and kicks his feet like crazy
• Ride in his baby bjorn facing outward and loving it - he moves his feet in a running motion which is HILARIOUS!
• Play with all his toys - he especially loves toys that play music and have lights.
• He reaches for anything and everything
• He tries to copy what you do - we are working on waving bye bye! He tries really hard to move his fingers open and closed like we do!
• He can sit up for brief period. Especially if he has his hands on a toy.
• Stay awake for 3 hours or longer!
• He hits with his hand - like the table or his toys.
• He laughs - he has a funny laugh - it is kind of deep and not high pitched like we expected it to be!

Those are just a few things off the top of my head! We are loving life! Our family is so full! We are developing new routines that work best for us - like taking a bath around 10:30-11:30 (depending on our 7-8am wake up time) we have learned that bathing him after his first feeding results in a poopy bath tub! And we now read a book, sing a song and say our prayers every night before bed! It is fun to decide these things, but it is also kind of a lot of pressure! We really have to think and be intentional about trying to help him learn things! He loves to explore around the house and touch everything so we have been trying to say the names of everything - like sink and door and mirror and cabinet. When we touch the refridgerator we say "BRRR cold" and when he reaches for the stove I grab his hand and say "HOT, hurt the baby". And of course not a day goes by without saying "ma ma ma ma" and "da da da da" hundreds of times! It is amazing how quickly he picks up on things and seeing his smile and excitement when we praise him for doing somehting new is the rgeatest joy!

Needless to say being a mom is unbelieveable! It is so much more than I ever expected! The Lord is so gracious to give us this opportunity!

I will update this week with a Valentines day post! (We celebrated Saturday!)

~Brooke