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!!)