He has also changed his sleeping position.  Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, he is sleeping on his back.  He won’t let me lay him on his tummy.  When he pretends to be going “ni-ni” he lays down on his back.  No more little tush sticking up in the air. . . so sad.

The other big change is in his vocabulary.  He is saying more words every day. Today he said “Sorry” so clearly, I could hardly believe it was him.  He says, “ice” “rice” “orange juice” “thank you” and lots of other words that still aren’t quite recognizable.

The other day when he found something funny he covered his mouth with both hands and laughed.  Cuteness.

I love it when you yell “Da-da!” while marching down the hall to find daddy.

I love it when you walk fast and only your left arm goes swinging back and forth.

I love it when you give nose kisses.

I love it when you say “bye-bye” to objects when you are walking away from them, like your fish nightlight, or the water fountain in Canal, or the pretzels in your bowl when you put the lid on.

I love it that you never forget when we are walking by the mulberry tree and say “mmm some!”

I just put him down for his nap and before I laid him down he looked at me and smiled and said “ni-ni.” I said it back and then he realized he had said another word and said it over and over, giggling.

We’re still nursing, although I’m not sure how much longer that will last as I think my supply is dwindling. I am a firm believer in continuing to give breast milk as he has been so healthy.  No sickness for a LONG time.

Malachi has 14 teeth that have come through now.  He has a sandbox that he loves playing in. He also loves to play WITH the hose, not so much in the water that comes from it.  He loves finding airplanes in the sky and pointing at the moon.

He has also started closing his eyes when we pray at meal times.  So cute!

He’s become a speed walker and will probably be running before we know it.  He loves being outside again now that the weather has warmed up… thank goodness spring is here!

He is just over 21 pounds(8th percentile) and 31 inches(47th percentile). Not that percentiles matter, but they are interesting.

As far as talking, his favorite things to say are “all done”, “bye-bye”, “hi”, and “hot”.  Still not saying “mama” or “dada”.  When we tell him to say “mama” or “dada” all that comes out is “bye-bye” : ) He can roar like a lion, bark like a dog, and flap his arms like a bird on command.  He likes to blow on the fire, blow out candles, and imitate our sneezes. He loves to dance to music.

Last night he was lying on the kitchen floor and started sliding himself backwards on his tummy all the way across the floor.

You often wake up before mama and daddy; we open our eyes to find you sitting up with an endearing grin.  What a welcome alarm clock you are!!   We love how you scrunch up your face and breathe loudly through your nose when you are being silly.  We love how you “chatter” as you crawl high speed across the room.  Getting around on your own has made a huge difference in your contentment.  When you hear Trent upstairs you make a beeline for the stairs.  When someone is in the laundry room you can’t wait to go investigate.  You open and close your hand to wave bye-bye.  You like to watch Daddy play the guitar and you bounce when music is playing.  You love being outside and do not like coming inside.  You love to be on Daddy’s shoulders. You LOVE taking baths in the shower and in the big bathtub upstairs.  You’ve grown more affectionate and will wrap your arms around our necks and lay your head on my lap or chest when you are starting to get sleepy.

You are still doing your mysterious vomiting thing if left to cry for even a short length of time.  Mama is stumped on what to do about that. And you STILL are not interested in eating solids.  Cheerios and bread you almost always accept and I can usually feed you a few bites of whatever we are eating at dinner but only if it’s with my fingers.

You are generally very happy and make lots of people smile.  We love you!

How I want you to know how sweet it is to trust in Jesus!   I held you a few nights ago for about two hours while you struggled to fall asleep. I don’t know why you had such a hard time with it, but I thought to myself that I would willingly sit and rock with you all night if need be.  I love to be your comfort, your safety.  And as I thought about how precious you were, I was reminded how the Father feels the same toward me.  He gently says to me, “I will hold you as long as it takes.  Whenever your heart is troubled, come, rest in me, lean on me. I long to be your comfort, your safety, your strength.”   O Father, thank you.  You are so good!  You are my comfort, my hiding place.  Right now Malachi, you don’t want me out of your sight.  Tears soon appear if someone is holding you when you want your mama.   I feel like that with the Lord.   I want to be held by Him and Him alone.  No one else can satisfy me as He can.  Little one, I pray you will come to know the sweetness of trusting in Jesus.