Getting ready for the holidays

Before Christmas, there's getting ready for Christmas. Like...



...baking and decorating cookies with cousins, and eating them with Auntie Katie...





...and making paper snowflakes for our front window...






...and getting and decorating the tree with Mom and Dad...



Now we're ready...

Winter wonderland

Malcolm ventured out for a few snow walks, some slides in his sled, and some winter fun during the first snow falls (when the snow is still fun).













He likes his sled both for going down hills and getting a ride around the neighborhood.



He likes the snow, but would have more fun if he could use his hands more. Little hands inside little mittens don't really function. I guess that gets him out of shoveling. He does pretty good being all packed in his snow clothes with limited mobility. Sometimes though the time it takes to get all bundled up is longer than the time we really spend outside. His smiles are worth it.




And the scenery is worth it too.

A little visit

Our friends Alex and Chiara who both attended UW were back through town for a visit. This time through, they brought Sofia, who wasn't shy about exploring Malcolm's toys. And Malcolm was glad to share.





Malcolm did try impress her with his limited Italian by saying "Ciao" as they were leaving. So we asked if next time around she'd be willing to teach him some more Italian. Guess we'll wait and see but hopefully it won't be too long before seeing them again.

Thankful

The Maine Event!

We all flew to Maine for Charlie's baptism right before Thanksgiving. Malcolm and Uncle Paul got to meet Charlie and I got to see how much he grew in one month.

Malcolm doesn't really recall his previous flights, but he did enjoy this flight and still talks about it. Our favorite airplane moment was on take-off when, as the plane gained speed, Malcolm exclaimed, "ZOOOOM!" much to our surprise and delight of those around him. He did great on the plane and got some nice compliments from fellow travelers.

Once in Maine, it was fun, fun, fun! with some relaxing in there, too. Malcolm loved all the toys Laura and Mike dug up for him to play with even though Charlie doesn't play with them yet. Malcolm was only slightly interested in Charlie. I actually didn't get many photos, but Laura did and she has a wonderful summary of our time with them here.

But I did capture a few nice moments:


Actually Laura took this photo too. It was just on my camera. But here's one of the boys all cute:




Now only one month until we get to see them again. Malcolm sings "Charlie, Charlie, Charlie," whenever he hears his name. It's sweet.

At the Edgedome

This past fall college season meant going to the Edgedome to watch and cheer on the Eagles volleyball team and Paul.


Malcolm would cheer for the "team." He'd say, "Go Eagles," and "Go Daddy."





However, Malcolm's favorite things were the flashing lights in a dark gym as they introduced the team. And (number one) was Eddy. Eddy Eagle.







Malcolm would look for Eddy as soon as we entered the building and when he'd spot him, he'd ask to go see him. "See Eddy?" He loved giving Eddy high-fives. Touching his fuzzy head. And giving him kisses.






But when we got home from the gym, it was "Daddy coaching" that Malcolm talked about the most.

Grandparent time

Malcolm's had some nice grandparent time over the past few weeks. He loves his grandparent time!



Like kickin' up leaves with Grandma...









...Sittin' on the stoop with Grandpa...









...being cozy and playing with the farm with Nonna...







...reading with Pappa.

Happy Halloween!

Malcolm got into the festive fun of Halloween this year. He didn't totally understand, but played along. And why not? He was Bob the Builder! And any reason to carry and display his hammer and tools is a good reason.







He took his role very seriously by overseeing the digger at work at a construction site.




But it wasn't all serious work. He went "Trick or Treating" with his cousins, er, I mean with Cleopatra, Clark Kent, and Shirley Temple.

Hanging with Nonna and Pappa

At the end of October, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Laura and Mike and meet my nephew, Charles. We pretty much spent our time like this:

And this:
You get the idea.

It was so nice to meet him and see Laura and Mike "parent it up." They are great! Relaxed, loving, enjoying the moments. Charles made out pretty well getting them as parents. He's such a handsome guy. You'll stare at this pic for hours:










Meanwhile, Paul was traveling to various locations for volleyball. (His season finished very well. Ask him about it). And Malcolm, well, he got to "vacation" at Nonna and Pappa's for a few days.



While he was there, he helped Pappa dig up rhizomes and put them in the wheelbarrow. From this experience, he can now pronounce "rhizomes" and "wheelbarrow." His love of all things garden continues.



But he wasn't working the entire time he was there. He also played. And he got to go to a special play place, the Betty Brim Children's Museum in Milwaukee.

Here he played in an auto shop:

And then with trains:

And he stopped to smell the flowers.



Of course, no downtown afternoon is complete without stopping to eat at Beans and Barley.





Not sure who had the best time, but we couldn't wait to see each other again. After weather stranded me in Maine an extra night, Malcolm and Paul greeted me at the airport. Malcolm even patted me on the back in our family hug. Trips are great when you've got a great place to come home to.