Cute Face

I just love this little face

Pumpkin Patch

We had a very cold, wet and very muddy trip to the pumpkin patch yesterday. We learned that Malaki can climb in and out of the wagon and Olivia is getting to the age that she's not such a compliant model for Mom and Dad anymore. Oh, by the way, Malaki is pretty much walking, has been for the last week. He still gets down and crawls but he can stand up from the ground and walk, which added to the messy day!

Unwanted visitor

We live just into the country and we have a greenbelt right behind our house which has given the wonderful opportunity to be one with nature (not) and the nature I'm the least thrilled to be introduced is the snake. Especially since we do in live in an area that has poisonous ones. Since moving in 2 years ago, we have had 2 snakes in the house and 2 in the garage and 3-4 in the yard.

We have had a week of raining and the creek behind us was pretty high, so I'm sure this is why this little guy was up near us and I've never seen this one. By my research, I think it's a Texas Rat snake, if I'm wrong, I don't want to know. But it was on our outside wall climbing (I'm sure from the dogs). Tomas of course grabbed the camera and it actually got away before we could help it out of the yard. We now have snake repellent around the outside of the house.

Monkey boy

Malaki has many nicknames but one that is used often is Monkey Boy. Malaki has been in a hurry to get some where since he was born. It started at him rolling over at 2 1/2 weeks and he hasn't stopped. Almost everyone that sees him crawl comments on how fast he is. He's getting braver with the walking and has almost started running, almost like if he goes faster, he'll stay upright longer. So far, it hasn't worked really well for him Recently we bought a slide for the kids at a garage sale and it's a big hit for both kids. Malaki especially likes the freedom to climb and slide down. He crawls up the slide and then when he gets to the top, slides down on his belly. If he tumbles, well that's just something that makes him laugh even harder. The best $1 I ever spent at a garage sale.

August Recap

Summer of 2009 went by so fast, especially the last month of August. We started the month with Malaki's birthday (see previous post)& we had the Angeli's and some friends join us at Jump Zone, finished the swimming lessons and ended with me being sick.

*cute cake a friend made for Malaki's birthday


*this boy loves cake!

Olivia took 6 weeks of swimming lessons at the local Parks & Recreation and had a blast! The last 2 weeks Logan joined her. They kept trying to graduate her to the next level but she kept demoting herself back to level 1. I think it's because level 1 played lots of fun games and was in 2 feet of water. On the last day of each session (Olivia got to do this 3 times) they turn on the water slides and just have a fun day. For this day, level 1 kids are suppose to wear life jackets but because Olivia knows how to swim, they let her take hers off.





Mid August I was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy. I didn't realize how serious or painful it was until I did my research. I'm doing much better now but it really took me a long time to feel like "myself" and my OB says that it'll be over before I know it. As of right now I have to go into the office for weekly blood draws to check my hormone levels, I can't wait for this part to be over.

And because today is September first, it's the first day of preschool. Along with some moms from church we are doing a co-op preschool. The bad part, 10 kids, good part, my first turn isn't until January. Wish me luck!

Olivia

I haven't talked about Olivia much lately but I just have to say that I love this kid!

Happy Birthday Malaki!

I can't believe this little guy is a 1 year old! In this last month, he has had one more surgery (palate repair), has learned to sign for "more" and has discovered how to play cars while on his knees and my favorite, he's learned to cuddle with mommy (a little bit). He's still a mover and shaker and keeps me on my toes and he does this all by crawling, no walking yet! Malaki is a joy to have in our family and we love him more and more every day. A year ago today, my pregnancy ended with a bang, a c-section and learning to care for a little boy with a cleft. This year has been an incredible journey with Malaki and I'm so grateful that he picked me as his mom. Love you Malaki!

Today we used our home studio and took pictures of Malaki with a smash cake. He loved it! He's a true Cottrell and loves, loves frosting!

At the start


Really getting into this yummy cake


End of the cake