Quick update

Just thought I would give a quick blog update! It seems to be awhile between my posts these days. I blame it on the fact that I no longer have a computer, just an ipad and it is not easy to post from an ipad. But anyways...

Anderson is 20 months old now! I simply cannot believe that in 4 short months he will be 2! Crazy! He talks like crazy and I am fairly certain that there is not any word that he is unable to say! He can basically repeat anything that he is in the mood to say, which make a vocabulary count impossible! Among my favorites are "chime" (he repeats this in unison with our home alarm each time we disarm it - and laughs at himself - haha) "choo choo", "Anderson" which sounds more like An-ner-sin, ""night night","milk" which sounds more like Mulk, and "Chock" which means chocolate - and he is obsessed with chocolate. He thinks about it first thing in the morning when he wakes up - and we have rarely even given it to him. It seems like ever since Easter he has LOVED "chock". He also has started using sentences. Last night he wanted Jon to lift him up so he said "up high dad" and he has started to give everything ownership - "dada's shoes", "momma's cup" (which he says pup instead of cup). He also is starting to know the songs we sing to him. I will sing and leave out words and he will fill in the missing word. His favorite is to say "STRONG" in the Jesus loves me song! He also loves to sing Old McDonald and fill in the animals and animal sounds. Sometimes he says animals I didn't even know he knew! Yesterday he said "Chicken" and "bock bock" which i have told him a million times but he had never said it! Crazy how fast they learn! He has also started laughing at things he sees on tv and saying "Oh NO" when say cars crash on tv. He is so fun and such a joy. I feel like every day it is more of a blessing to be his parents!

Jon's business is going great! He is such a hard worker and I am so blessed to be married to such a self motivated, hard working, selfless man. And I appreciate so much that as hard of a worker that he is, he truly does put his family first! We have had so much fun together lately now that Anderson is a little older and it is so sweet to watch Anderson and Jon form sweet traditions together - like mowing the grass, and walking to 7/11 to get a "fresh" (haha) chocolate chip cookie. Jon is also going on a mission trip to Boston with Sojourn at the end of this month. He will be doing some video work along with getting to minister to families in the community where they will be serving. We are so blessed for him to have this opportunity, but boy will we miss him being gone for a whole week - it is the longest we will have ever been apart! Crazy!

I am doing great too! Working 1 day a week at Joseph's and spending the rest of my days with Little Man! I am also starting to teach a class this week at Sojourn. It is a 5 week study called "Methods" that teaches women to study God's word on their own using the method of Observation, Interpretation and Application. I am excited and a little nervous about it! I really look forward to getting to know some ladies better as we study God's word together!

We are loving life and looking forward to what the Lord has in store for our family!

18 Month Stats

We had Anderson's 8 month doctor appointment on Tuesday. I was anxious to see how he has grown since it had been 6 months since his last appointment. Here is the comparison:

12 months:
Weight- 19lbs 10oz (10th percentile)
Height- 29 3/4 inches long (between the 25th and 50th percentile)

18 months:
Weight- 23lbs 4oz (between 10th and 25th percentile)
Height- 33 1/4 inches (75th percentile)

So we have had a big growth spurt, especially in height!

He is now wearing 18-24 month clothes and is in a size 3 diaper!

We love our little slim Jim :)

In other news, we are heading to Fort Myers this coming Monday, the 16th through the 26th. We are so excited to have this vacation coming, to visit family and friends and to have some time together to relax. Anderson has grown so much since Christmas and we are really glad for his Florida family to get to see what a big boy he is becoming. We also are so excited to get to see so many of our sweet friends in Fort Myers and Naples, and to visit with Will, Alyssa, Liam, and baby Penelope (who will be born this summer) in Arcadia for a few days!

I will be sure to post some pictures from our trip when we get home!

18 Months Old

I seriously cannot believe that my son is 18 months old! He has transformed right before my eyes from this tiny, helpless baby into this smart, capable little boy! There is no greater joy than being his momma and watching him grow and learn and kissing on those sweet cheeks! The Lord is so gracious to give us children, not only for our own sanctification, but also for a small taste of his overwhelming love for us!

We have Anderson's 18 month check up on April 10th so I will post his stats then, but for now....

Here are a few of Anderson's favorite things:
- His dog (or doe-ga as he says it)
- Cows - he loves cows and asks daily to watch videos of cows on youtube. He also has a very enthusiastic "Mooooo" in his vocabulary.
- Motorized vehicles - he is obsessed with cars, trucks, airplanes, motorcycles, and anything else that goes "bbbrrrrmmmmmm". The garbage truck is a particular favorite. We watch it every week!
- Mowing the lawn - I guess this sort of goes along with the last one but he has a special love for mowing. When we go on walks we always take the path that passes the nearest mower. Anderson also loves to beautify our neighborhood with his bubble mower, and help daddy when our yard gets mowed!
- Goofiness - nothing makes Anderson laugh more than a silly face or someone falling or dropping something. He loves when we talk in silly voices or sing crazy songs. He has a class clown personality... We are really going to have to learn how to choose wisely when silly is ok and when it is not. But right now it makes life so fun!
- Thomas the Train
- Being outside - so thankful for this early spring!
- Watching other kids - when we go to the zoo Anderson prefers to watch the other kids instead of the animals!

These are just a few of the things we are loving these days! His favorite foods are peanut butter, yogurt, sweet potatoes, and macaroni and cheese! He is also a really big talker! I was writing down all the words he says in his baby book and I thought of 48!!! Some of my personal favorites are "po-bo" which means peanut butter, "zuessss" which is shoes, "bau-bols" (bubbles), and when you ask him what a pirate says he enthusiastically says "Aaarggg" with a deep scratchy voice! I laugh every time!

Another thing that Anderson loves to do is use the word "up" and "down". He does it all the time either by squatting and standing straight over and over saying "up, down, up, down" or with his toys lifting them up and down! I think he is so smart :)

He is such a little bundle of joy! But I will go ahead and admit, I may have a little baby fever now that he seems like such a little boy! But I just love him so much I can't imagine loving another one! Of course I know I could, it is just so hard to imagine!

But for now we are loving life as a family of 3! And I am one blessed lady with a precious son and wonderful husband who is an amazing daddy to that little man!!!!

Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

6 months in pictures

The last time that I blogged was Anderson's first birthday, and at the end of this month he will be 18 months old, so needless to say I am WAYYY behind! So starting with October I have posted some pictures all the way up until today (not a ton just- just the big stuff). We are all well in the Malko family, but 2012 has brought about some BIG changes. Among the biggest, Jon stepped down from his position at Highview to pursue his own business. The whole process brought about a big transition for all of us, but after much prayer and seeking we knew that this was what was best for our family. The Lord has truly blessed us through this process and given us so much confirmation that this was the right choice. Jon's business is going so well, and it has freed our family up from some stress and allowed us to spend so much more time together! Another major change is that we have become members of Sojourn Church here in Louisville. This was another tough decision for our family since we really do love Highview and the church body there have ministered to our family in so many ways. We prayed through this decision for a while. We live quite a way away from Highview and Sojourn is just about 3 minutes from our house. We really felt that distance was hindering our community and involvement so much. After visiting Sojourn, talking with some of their staff and finding a community group that we were excited about we knew that this was the direction that the Lord was leading our family. We officially became members about 2 weeks ago. We feel so blessed to be apart of the Sojourn community and are excited about the opportunities to serve that the Lord has in store for us.

Anderson is getting sooo big, but I think I will wait to post all the new things he is doing until he is officially 18 months old!

And with no further delay, PICTURES!

For Halloween Anderson was a Spider. I made his costume and he LOVED wearing it! He even wore the hat the whole time without trying to take it off!

At the Fall Festival at Highview

Spider Boy and Us :)

So Handsome!

Helping decorate for Christmas

Our sweet little man in his Christmas PJ's

Swimming in December - We had so much fun visiting Jon's Family for Christmas :)

Petting Baby at Grammie and Papa's House

So cool at Granna and Pap's House

Fro-yo at the Summit

Anderson outside today!

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!