Thanksgiving

Thankful for everything including the yummy first Thanksgiving meal.

9 Months: And no shortage of words

The plethora of words are ours, not Malcolm's. Not yet. He still seems to have a "mamamama" and a "dadadada" among other babbles. But nothing else yet that makes sense to us anyway. He does what we call "whisper" and he also will raise his voice to get our attention. He will often add a little frown to emphasize his scolding. And a great big smile with kicking feet and waving hands to augment his excitement.











At 9 months Malcolm has five teeth to show and is cutting a sixth. He keeps his tongue busy trying to understand what those things are doing in his mouth. During this past month, he also spent about a week with a cough and cold. The teething and congestion interrupted his sleep and for the first time that we know of, he complained for a few hours. Yes, we know, from our friends with colicky babies and stories from parents who babies are now grown, how really fortunate we have it with an otherwise good-natured Malcolm. Not having had to deal with too much crying from Malcolm, we quickly fatigue of his short crying fits. But now that volleyball season is over, we can tag-team the evening calming efforts, and we do pretty well. (But we're glad the cold has past.)


He rapidly crawls and he likes to stand up with the help of hands to hold onto for balance. He's starting to pull himself up on tables and ledges to give himself another view of his world. We can see the wheels at work in his mind about how he's going to make it from point A to B and then L,M,N...Y,Z. We think we'll have a busy guy on our hands. But all his busyness tires him out and makes his naps very necessary and are a welcomed part of the day for us (and him). He generally wakes with a smile and a renewed sense of adventure after sleeping.


One of his favorite games is "chase." While he's being held he likes that person to run away from someone or he likes to run after someone. We've started to chase him while he crawls and he likes that too. I think he gets caught on purpose because getting caught means getting hugged.


Now that Malcolm's on the go he likes to make his way towards electrical cords, glass bottles, and book shelves. He pretty much prefers everything that he can't have. He'll spend time with the phone seeming to try and understand how hears voices through it. And to keep his hands busy we let him tear up the junk mail. He also enjoys our old academic books that made their way to the bottom shelf of our bookcase. Currently he keeps reaching for the sociology books - Social Psychology being his favorite. I think he's studying to know how to best manipulate his parents. He also enjoys Paul's Intro to American Politics textbook. Here we think he's readying himself for many political debates.

Malcolm gets three "meals" a day and has had some adventures in eating. He loves sweet potatoes, avocado, pineapple, and a jar of food with a chicken, tomato, and pasta blend (baby style - so very pureed). But his most adventurous fare so far has been his tastes of a curry Thai dish. It must be the coconut milk that he likes about it. But the food he shows the most love for so far is toast. Just plain toast broken into little pieces so he can feed himself. Putting the pieces on his highchair tray is like feeding an animal at the zoo.








He still loves little kids and every and any moment he can spend watching and interacting with children is time well spent for him. But now that he's 9 months, he's more leery of adults. He looks for us when we're in a group of people and makes sure we're nearby and in his sight.


At the 9 month old milestone, we remember a conversation we had right before Malcolm was born. Having been pregnant for 9 months, we wondered what this person would be like after 9 months post birth. That conversation is funny to think back on because we had no idea. No idea the difficulties and no idea the joys. And how those joys out weigh the difficulties every time over those 9 months.

Grandparents Galore

Malcolm's had some nice grandparent time lately.

Like getting photographed by Grandma...

...Laughing with Papa...



...Tickling Grandpa's feet...

...And getting smothered by Nonna's kisses.

Hanging out New England style

So Malcolm escaped the clutches of the lobster and did a great many things while out East.




First, Papa helps Malcolm get dressed.





After breakfast, he reads the NY Times with the guys before heading out.


We got in and out of the van at each of our stops. Mike and Papa are always ready to pick up Malcolm when the door opens.





Uncle Mike and Malcolm take a look at the ocean.

Laura, Malcolm, and Mike look over some photos.

Linda and Laura give Malcolm a little taste of apple.

Nonna and Malcolm play along the shore.

We stop for a drink and some eats. And while Auntie Laura smiles for a picture, Malcolm tries to get her pint.








At the Head Light in Portland, Malcolm and Laura keep each other warm from the wind.



Whew! That's a lot of hanging out. And it was all fun!



Finally, Malcolm reflects a bit on the whole trip on the car ride back to the airport.

What a great time.

The Maine Attraction

We made it to Maine right around the peak time to view the best fall foliage. It's sorta like Wisconsin, but with many more trees, pines dotting the landscape, and oh, that ocean, where Malcolm napped...

...when he wasn't exploring.

We also went to an apple orchard to pick the few remaining apples at the very tops of the trees.










And we saw the Portland Head Light.








But no trip to Maine is complete without going to Freeport and LL Bean. They have a small indoor aquarium, so we watched some fish.

You can make up your own captions for this picture and what the fish might be saying to each other.

Then, Malcolm was attacked by a huge lobster, though be it soft and cuddly...(to be continued) [cue danger music]

And for a real moment of zen

Just in time for the weekend, here's Malcolm along the Atlantic Coast from Peak's Island, a short ferry ride from Portland.

Malcolm Minute 11: Laughing at Leaves

Thanks to a dry bunch of fallen leaves and Linda creating some "leaf noise," Malcolm loved his first leaf pile in an apple orchard in Maine.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

I know that this is a couple days late, but Malcolm wanted to say a blog "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to the best mommy he knows. I think she is pretty awesome too. She looks good for 30.... :)

and away we go...

Malcolm took his first airplane ride from Milwaukee to Boston. We traveled with Papa and Nonna and also my aunt Linda (my mom's sister).

Before take-off, we watched planes land and take off in the wee hours of the morning.

When we boarded the plane, Malcolm got a mix of smiles with suspicious looks by passengers wondering if they'd have to listen to a crying baby the entire flight. He smiled back and then slept for the most of the time. He did great on the plane (and saved his crying for bedtime).


Once in Boston, we rented a van, met up with Laura and Mike, and hit the town...



...First, to Faneuil Hall, where Malcolm learned some history....






...Then, to North End where Malcolm found something in common with this chef statue...






...and where he got his first taste of gelato which he couldn't get enough of...








...Then onto the oldest street in Boston to get our picture taken with Benjamin Franklin. THE Benjamin Franklin. For $2.




After all the city sightseeing, we stopped by Mike's parents, Tom and Diane's, to say hello. They generously helped us to refuel with some nice munchies and friendly conversation in their wonderful New England home.

After our visit, it was North to Maine...