dedicated

June whizzed right by.  We had a full first month of summer: T Ball, a visit from my brother and his family, an extended visit with Dexter's parents.  There's so much to talk about, to remember, to be thankful for.  But first, I'd like to start in the middle of the craziness.

With Dexter's parents visiting for a couple of weeks this summer, we thought it would be special for them to be a part of a dedication service for Malaikah.  We've been going to a local community church since we moved here a year ago (!!!), and it is likely that we will call this our church home for the foreseeable future.  Having Malaikah Dedicated or Baptized was important to me, and having both sets of grandparents here made it extra special -- and actually made it happen :)

Also nice was that it fell on Father's Day.  A nice gift of sorts, I guess.

Here's our darling girl, in a cute little eyelet dress.  This look makes me think she already knows too much!  I think we're in trouble.

a picture of the four of us and Malaikah's not looking, and Kyalo looks sour.  Typical.

Dexter and his parents

everyone!

After church we headed out for lunch, and before my parents headed down to MA again, we got some more pictures.  It was a dismal day, which was too bad, but we still had a good time.

 the grandparents

 Kyalo's been wearing this too-small fireman's rain jacket every where this summer (rain or shine).  I guess we need to get one in his size, he loves it so.

grandfathers

is it just me, or do they kind of look the same here?

here we all are again!  These are such sweet pictures; we don't know the next time we'll all be together again.

The day was a good reminder that children are a gift from God, and to raise them up to love Him.  We are grateful for the rich heritage that surrounds us and our children.

nine months

We're moving at a fast clip these days, with visitors and trips to MA, but in the midst of the crazy days, I want to take a minute to mark this past month for Malaikah, because there have been a lot of big changes for her!

It is hard to know where to start...

She began sitting up on her own.  It was quite alarming to come into her room and to see her sitting up in her crib after a nap.  Now it is pretty typical to come in and find her playing with the few things in her crib.  Because of sitting up, we had to lower the crib mattress a little bit.  And my heart broke into a million pieces!

She has quite mastered clapping which I, of course, think is adorable.  Also, having her clap when I walk into a room isn't bad, either.

 The big change is that she's really on the move now!  I hesitate to call it crawling because she kind of drags one of her legs behind her a little bit, and I kept waiting for it to become 'normal' but when I put her down in the corner of the kitchen, turned around and found her on the other side of the room, I decided to declare it official.  Life is more challenging now, but more fun, too.

Also, I've finally started giving her more food.  She LOVES (!!!!) food.  I don't think there's been much she hasn't liked -- blueberries, perhaps? -- and I've been impressed by the things she has liked:  red lentils, vegetable Korma (a potato stew with a lot of spices, though not spicy), beef stroganoff, chicken, etc.  Plus the usuals: watermelon and most fruit.  Seems like she'll be a good eater which is great.  My little foodie!

feeeeed me!

We go to the doctor again next month so I don't know the stats till then, but I've moved her up to size four diapers, so I know she's growing well enough.  And with all she eats, there could be no doubt!

This is kind of a funny picture, I know, but I love the the real-ness of candidness of it.  So much love, joy, laughter.

I'm feeling a little sad about nine months -- it is just going so fast.  Where has our tiny little baby gone? Suddenly she's all over the place, eating, laughing, much more engaged.  It is so hard to imagine life with out her, and these days have just been SO good, and - dare I say it? - easy with her.  She continues to be a (generally) good sleeper. She sleeps through most nights, and takes several good naps a day.  But, if we're not home for nap time, she's chill enough to go with the flow (with in reason, of course). I really do love the baby stage so much. She is sweet, easy going, happy.  Is super ticklish and has a great little laugh, so of course, I like to tickle her a lot.

I say it every month. The days are full and rich.  We are blessed beyond measure.  These little monthly recaps just make that all so much more apparent.  

T Ball !!!!!

It was a no-brainer to sign Kyalo up for T Ball this spring.  The kid lives and breathes baseball.  I didn't expect that the hour or two of practice would be my favorite times of the week!  The first game was a couple of weeks ago and it was nothing short of awesome and hilarious.  Kyalo loved every minute of it.

 looks likes he's working on the hand signals

 look at that determination!

 On Deck!

 First at bat

can you see the joy?

 ready to run to 2nd

Without a doubt, though, Kyalo's favorite part of T Ball is the sliding.  I'm not really sure where the idea came from - perhaps he saw it at a SeaDogs game or watching the Sox on tv? - but whatever, he takes any opportunity to slide.  

I know it is hard to see him in the crowd, but look carefully, you'll see him sliding...

This is my absolute favorite video, though.  If you can see through the chaos, you'll see he just runs and sort of falls down (dramatically) while everyone else is trying to go after the ball.  

Cracks me up every time.

Go Blue Jays!

The 'games' are basically organized chaos - the kids have to be dragged back to their places, reminded where to go, and so on.  I think we spent the whole hour laughing.  Kyalo is just so happy about it all.  

We have had a few more practices under our belt now (two a week!) and I've been impressed by how much more the team is coming together.  Most of the kids are 4, of course, so we're not going to win any major league awards, but we're coming together.  Another game tomorrow.  It is a good Saturday!

Feel free to come watch!

Baking Fridays!

When I moved here last summer, I made sure to visit the library first thing, and get connected to Story Hour.  Judging from my experience in NJ, I knew I would find other mom friends there.  I had no idea, of course, just how much a weekly visit to the library would enrich our lives.

First, the women helped me get acquainted with the area - finding things, knowing what meets where & when, then, once we all became Facebook friends, started sharing recipes and talking all about food.

Obviously, these are my people.

And after talking all about food, it evolved into 'Baking Fridays!'  And the last few Fridays have included themes of delicious items - enchiladas, fondue (chocolate & cheese, which I missed so am hoping for a repeat), pasta, and, last Friday, peanut butter.  Which naturally includes chocolate.

The great thing is that the kids usually play so well together and the moms can TALK.  That is really a gift like no other.

While the older kids played on the cool climbing structure (Kyalo was probably playing in the dirt somewhere)...

 Malaikah and Trent (just a few weeks younger) were getting acquainted.

Which left the ladies to take care of things like:

peanut butter muffins

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

{one of my long-standing favorites}

To kind of off set all the sugar, we also had this colorful and flavorful

 Thai Peanut Crunch Salad

and veggies, of course.

Not pictured, PB & Fluff sandwiches (the state sandwich of Mass, thank you very much)  and another favorite cookie: Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.

But the real star of the show was this:

 Katrina weilding a big knife to cut this bad boy.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake on a Brownie Crust

Did I mention we've all made a pact to gain a lot of weight together?  I could only handle a couple of bites of the cheesecake.  The salad was a lot of work but super yummy (and probably adaptable to what you like/have on hand) and we had it for dinner again tonight.  

Before the end of the day, I grabbed a few shots of all the kids:

 silly

serious

Moms and Kids!

these women have helped to make my life in Maine richer and much more interesting {and tastier}

me, Krystall, Katrina, Tiffanie

Looking forward to many more Fat Fridays, ladies!

Mother's Day

Last week was Mother's Day which meant I got a few pictures of me with the kids! And it meant that there was a little 'tea' at Kyalo's school.  There wasn't any real program, as I was expecting, but a good spread of snacks and a little gift from each of the kids to their moms.  It was fun to be in his environment and to see the things he's been up to this year.

 taking advantage of everyone dressed up

After the morning at the school, it was so nice we SAT OUTSIDE for a while.  Snow is {kind of, almost} a distant memory here, and we are really relishing being able to be outside.  I was sure to grab some more photos.

 Malaikah's little expression - and not so little rolls - I love!

After all this, it was nap time:

have I mentioned Malaikah sucks her thumb? Only when she's tired/falling asleep, and I think it is so cute!

On Mother's Day, I wanted to get a few pictures again since we were all dressed up.

Kyalo was in his baseball gear, of course.

needed to work on a few pitches before the real photos.

My first Mother's Day as a Mom of two was pretty great - no cooking or meal planning for me that day!  

Life is good.