Malachi's Booboo

Last night we had a bit of a scare when Malachi pulled a kitchen stool down onto himself. It landed directly on his big toe. OUCH!!!!! In the short amount of time it took me to pick him up and carry him to the couch to have a better look and to comfort him, it had already turned an ugly shade of purple. I panicked! John was outside attempting to clean up the drivewy, and I was sure Malachi broke his toe. I finally got John's attention and we loaded our screaming child into the car. I felt so bad for him- he cried and screamed in pain for at least 30 mintues without stopping. All of the ER nurses felt so bad, and kept trying to come up with things to distract him. One wonderful nurse found an Elmo video, and that helped. He also was given some ibuprofen and then also some oxycodon. He finally relaxed, we eventually an X-ray, and it turned out it wa not broken. Phew! Even so, it sure looks ugly!

When he woke up today he was just fine, and he's really been playing and walking like normal today, so that's a relief. I had this horrible panic when it happened that he would end up in a cast or something (irrational, I know). I thought, "This poor kid didn't start walking until only a couple months ago, and now we're going to have to hold him back again?!" But, all is well. Thank you, Lord!

A Note from Daycare

I got the following note from Malachi's daycare lady (Jessica) today; I added the bold print. It made me giggle. :)


Individual Notes
Malachi has been pretty good today...he has been pretty busy and discovering things. He really liked the cars today and seems to enjoy those toys a lot more lately. He ate really well today and quite a bit of food. He has a thing about taking his pants off today. If the belt isn’t on just right he pulls his pants right down. I think we have it figured out now but he got really good at taking them off during our play time.

Hmmm... I'm rude

Okay, so that last post was just meant to be some of my rambling thoughts. I've since come to the realization that it could be read as me complaining that my birthday was not fun. Since I spent it with family down in sunny Arizona this year, let me point out that this year was definitely great! As I said- I got cake! I'm just saying that nothing can really come close to the little kid birthdays you have. You know, the kind where all of your friends come with beautifully wrapped TOYS, and you get to play games like "Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey" and "Clothespin Drop." And don't forget the cake and goody bags! It's just, no matter what, nothing will ever come close again. I guess that means I'll just have to continue on with the tradition and live vicariously through my kid! ;)

Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na Yesterday was my Birthday!

Hello Readers! Yesterday I spent my birthday traveling to Arizona. It's much sunnier and relaxed here than it was at my home, so I'm happy to be here! However, as I turned 30 (!), I couldn't help but be reminded of the fun times a birthday brought when I was younger. Growing up we had parties, and cakes, and fun-fun-fun! There's something about being an adult that makes birthdays seem, well, a little drab (if I'm honest). I got a great dinner and a cake with candles this year! I don't believe I've had anything like that for the last couple of years. I guess the point is, if we have to continue to get older and keep track, how come it's only fun to do so when you are little? Why does it stop being a huge big deal? Just my rambling thoughts on the subject.... Now, I think I will go find a sunny spot to relax in. ;) Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. There is a new little box on the right side of my blog. If you're an on-line shopper, please consider shopping through my link to help raise money for my students who can't afford the 5th grade Eagle Bluff trip in the spring. Thanks!

The Joys of H1N1

So I thought I'd pop on here to share the joys of sickness. I went down like a ton of bricks on Friday. I dropped Malachi off at daycare and came home. Then I sat on the couch and slept for 3 hours-- totally strange for me. I checked my temp-- yup, past 100. So I continued to be sick all weekend, and spoke with a coworker Sunday night. She came down with the same symptoms starting on Friday! So, she went to the doctor today, and found out she has H1N1. So I thought maybe I should go too. Yup! They tell me it's H1N1. So far the boys don't have it, but oh dear Lord, I pray they don't get it! Anyhow, I feel a little like I am whining on here, so I'll get off now.
-Sarah

He's Walking!

Hello Everyone,
Here's a little video clip of our little man doing some walking. He's still wobbly, which I find adorable. This video was taken last week.

I'm back with pictures!

Here are some of the aforementioned pictures from late August!

Holding him so he doesn't crawl away!

Melting down, but still cute!

A prop he wished actually rolled!

With one of his favorite toys!

Oh, what fun!

After These Messages I'll Be Right Back

Hello Friends! It's been a while again. I've been busy back at work, although I do need to say that so far things are going better than last year. Even so, there are always the growing pains of turning 4th grade "babies" into 5th graders. It's definitely a bumpy experience...

Malachi is busy growing and learning at home and at daycare. He's trying to say more words all of the time, and we figure he now has more than 20 words (if you count what animals say). He also enjoys books a lot more than he used to, especially the ones with lots of pictures to point at. I got him a used Little Tikes Cozy Coupe a few weeks ago, and he loves his car! The way he says "caaar" is super cute, too.


We took the above pictures on one of the warm and dry fall days of September. Now it's rainy and wet, and he doesn't have much opportunity to play with the "caaar." Soon he'll have an indoor playground, though, as I also found a used one of those that I cleaned up and now need to put back together. As soon as that is done I will get some pitures of him with it.

Speaking of pictures, about a month ago we took Malachi in to take 18 month pictures. Uh... not as easy as it used to be! He is too busy, and didn't want to sit still for the camera. It was quite the ordeal. I'm having trouble with adding pics to this post, so I will post some in a separate post when I'm done. They turned out very cute!

The biggest new is that Malachi is beginning to walk!!! He walked a couple of steps for me a week and a half ago while John was gone, and then he returned the favor by walking for Daddy later in the week while I was gone. Grandma and Grandpa Carlson were here on Tuesday, and he was showing off by walking a few steps for them, as well. It has been very exciting! I'll try to take some video of him to put on here.

Another important event is that we went to see Malachi's cardiologist about 2 weeks ago, and things are looking great. There have been no negative changes, so we won't need to go back for another 6 months! We are very glad about that! God has been good, and we continue to give Him the glory!

Time Flies- again!

Hello to all of my friends. I'm sorry there haven't been any recent updates. I kept thinking I should write, but I really had nothing to say. What I wrote in late July still seemed true for me through August! I continued house projects and playing with Malachi, and there was really nothing exciting to report. My computer also died in August, so that complicated matters for updating purposes. Dr. Dad brought the computer back to life, though, and I'm in business again!

Now we're in mid-September. I'd like to believe it's early September, since school just started, but the calendar is telling me a different story. I have to be honest with you, too- the cool summer really messed with my head. Although I normally love the fall and going back to school, I dreaded it this year. That could have been for more than just that reason, but I know the cold didn't help. I am starting to embrace the Fall now, but it's certainly been less of a smooth transition than most years.

I have spent 4 days with my new class- and PTL! I think I'm in for a magnificent year. We really had a fun week filled with smiles and new inside jokes. If you spoke with me over the summer, you know I was dreading teaching 5th grade again, but God knew what I needed, and HE directed the way. I really have a positive outlook after the last two weeks. :)

Another thing that happened in august- I bit the bullet and joined Facebook. I know, I know! I wrote a whole post about how I wouldn't! I found that I wasn't connecting with some friends who had moved away, and that they used Facebook to keep in touch. I figured I would try it. I am certainly not addicted, and am only visiting it about 1-2 times per week, so I'm feeling okay about it. I also am writing a post here on my very own blog, so I haven't abandoned my true love of blogging. :) I think it'll be okay.

Malachi still isn't walking yet, but it's more of a confidence thing, we think. He's practically running when holding on to something, and he can stand if you let go, but as soon as he figures out he's on his own he panics and squats to the ground. He's picking up new words all the time. He likes to say "beh-ba" for belly button and "mou" for mouse. He also loves his mommy and daddy very much, and hates to see them go. He usually gets over it about 2 seconds after we leave, though.

Well, here's hoping that you are finding joy in the Fall season! Here's hoping I also don't wait so long to write again! :) I'll definitely be writing again soon- we took family pictures again, so I'll have new ones to post soon!

Summer Projects and Fun!

I've definitely stayed busy while I've been at home lately. I must say that it has been SO fun to be home with Malachi to play, walk, wrestle, and hang out (among other things)! When he's napping or when he's at daycare on Wednesdays, I've been working on house projects. Below is the living room that I painted- it's a fun burnt orange color (it looks brighter in the picture than in person). I also decided to do an accent wall in our office the same color. Now I'm working on choosing paint for our hallways and kitchen. This week I also installed more shelves in our pantry, and added shelves to our coat closet to better utilize the space. It feels good to get the house in shape and organized, and it's also very satisfying to build something with your own two hands. :)

In other news, here are some fun videos of Malachi. I'm so glad I figured out I can record short videos with my camera. These are some of the fun things he is doing these days. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Here is Malachi barking like a dog (sort-of). It's the best one we've gotten on tape yet.

Enjoy some nose picking, meowing like a kitty, and a stupendous drum solo!

Malachi walking with the help of his Pooh walker. Notice he'll only do it on-camera when I'm not right in front of him. As soon as I move to be in front of him he gets down to crawl! :) Sorry if my moving-while-filming makes you a little nauseous. :P

Malachi's Cute Things

Malachi's been doing a variety of new things since the last time I blogged in APRIL. Uff-da! Anyhow, here're the highlights:

• He started getting serviced through the school district's "Birth-3" program. His first Physical Therapy session he went from exclusively army crawling to pulling himself up on furniture. It only took 5 minutes- amazing! I believe that was May 11th. We were hoping to see him improve in his ability to move to a sitting position after crawling (he couldn't do that in early May), pull himself up to a standing position, and eventually "cruise" along furniture. He was doing all of those things within weeks of the therapy! :)
• On June 8th he started climbing stairs. It was so out of the blue, and totally caught me off-guard. Here are 2 pictures from the second day of climbing:

• While we were in Cancun he started walking while holding on to someone's hands. I think he's very close to walking without help (gulp!).
• He started saying some words a few days ago. He now says "uh-oh!" The first time he said it was in the airport on Saturday. I dropped the wipes while changing him and said "uh-oh," and he repeated it. We think it is so funny! See for yourself- I caught it with my camera:
  
  
• He also now says "no" and tries to meow like the kitty. It's more like a "neow" but he changes his voice to be all high-pitched, and it is super cute! Also, when I point to the cows in his room and ask him what they are he says "Moo-ca," which I think is moo-cow. So many words and things in such a short amount of time.
• He's super giggly these days. It seems that everything we do there's a giggle with it. :)

Huh?!

I just brought up my blog, and let me tell you, denial ain't just a river in Egypt! I can't believe it's been since April since I've updated! That's just plain ridiculous. And yet, here's how my brain works. I'm busy, so I don't have time to update. Then when I have a minute, I think, "Oh! There's too much to talk about to sit down and do it now. I'll update later when I have more time." But then, later when I have more time, more has happened, and again I think, "Still too much to say, maybe later I'll have more time to get it done right." And this quickly snowballs until it's ridiculous how much has happened in life, and I can't update it all anyways.

So I think I'll try to just list some of the important events so that they're at least mentioned. If I ever find more time, I will do a proper post about them. :)

• The TeenMOPS fundraiser I last mentioned went very well. It was a lot of fun, and was a success!
• American Idol finished, and I was happy with the result (although totally and completely bummed that my man Danny didn't make it to the very end. At least Adam didn't win the whole enchilada!).
• I finished the school year, and am HAPPY it is SUMMER!
• I will be teaching 5th Grade again next year at my same school (L-O-N-G story).
• I threw John a surprise birthday party at the end of May.
• John had his 31st Birthday on June 1st.
• We went out to Michigan for Jared's wedding (my brother) to Becca on June 13th. It was Malachi's first flight, and we were there for a long weekend. Malachi did very well.
• We went on a Carlson family vacation to Cancun last week (June 20-27). It was gorgeous and fun! John's parents, sister and her daughter, and brother and his wife all joined us for the week. This was Malachi's first International flight (which was less smooth than the Michigan one, but not bad). Malachi also enjoyed going to the pool just about everyday, but hated the ocean.
• Malachi's started doing some fun and cute things, which I think I will need to do a subsequent post all about.

I think those are the main things. We are getting ready to go enjoy an Independence Day weekend up north- should be fun!

Ahhh... I feel so much better now that I have this off my back! Relaxation, here I come.

Silent Auction and Dinner!

Hello Friends! I want to invite you to a very special silent auction and dinner to benefit Teen MOPS. My church runs this awesome ministry to encourage pregnant or parenting mothers ages 13-19. It helps teen moms become more self-sufficient, confident, mature, giving, and self aware young women. I am helping organize the silent auction portion, and there are some wonderful items up for bid! Tickets are $8 for adults, and $4 for children ages 2-10. It will take place this Friday, April 17th from 6:30- 8:30pm at Christ Community Church. Oh! And the dinner is catered by Olive Garden- yum! Please register on-line prior to the event (the sooner the better!!!) here: http://www.icebrrg.com/Public/EmbedForm.aspx?formID=27114. If this link doesn't work for you, please let me know.
Thanks for considering this, and maybe I'll see you there!

American Idol "Top 9"

Last Night was the "Top 9." I'm watching it this afternoon so that I won't be so far behind, but I'm bummed I haven't been able to vote in a few weeks.
FIRST- I have to say I think the introduction of the judges at the beginning of each show is super cheesy, and I am SO over it! Also, as one of my friends pointed out, I'm irritated that Simon doesn't take his turn critiquing first. Hmm...

Alright, now that I got that out of my system, let's see if I can sum up each person's performance in 3 words or less...
Anoop- OK, not great.
Megan- Snore... Weird tone (still)
Danny- Gave me chills! :) (Wow, wow, wow!)
Allison- Indulgent; liked (the) guitar
Scott- Still: poor vocals!
Matt- Cool rock vibe! (OR) Growing on me :) (the judges were really hard on him!)
Li'l- Pitchy- not great. (the judges didn't say anything about the pitchy-ness?!!!)
Adam- Amazing vocals; (still) strange. (and what's with the Elvis hair-do?)
Kris- Wow! Loved it!

So- I got close to 3 words each! I am surprised that a few contestants I didn't like much a few weeks ago are becoming my favorites. I suppose that's what makes the show fun each week!

I think the bottom 3 will be: Megan, Li'l, and I don't know. I wish it would be Scott, but I'm thinking it'll probably be Anoop or Matt. :( We shall see!

"Heaven Practice"

We have what my friend Ron calls "Heaven Practice" this weekend at my church. Instead of the normal 3-5 singers leading the praise and worship for the services, we have a big contemporary gospel-type choir with about 30 people. It is so fun to be in, and so awesome to hear. If you're in the area and don't regularly come to Christ Community Church, consider this your invitation to join us this weekend! The services are at 5:30pm Saturday, and 9am and 10:30am Sunday. All services are the same. Maybe I'll see you there!

American Idol- Elimination

So I got to watch this week's episodes on Friday (which means I didn't vote). I was generally unimpressed with most of the performances. I was totally surprised by the elimination, though! I really liked Alexis, and am sad that she didn't at least make it into the touring Top 10.
:( "Jolene" was an AWFUL choice for her though, and even when singing for her life, it sounded horrid. (I personally kept thinking of Brooke singing it last year- loved her rendition!) I'm wondering if they would let them sing the song of their choice when they're "singing for their survival?" Hmmm... We'll have to stay tuned.

American Idol, anyone?

So, one of my favorite shows in the world is American Idol. And I love to gab about it with others, but don't have a lot of fans at my lunch table. I usually go to Kristi E.'s blog to see what she's said and respond, but I think it's time I start commenting on it here, too.

This year I am enjoying the talent, although I'm not happy with the new way of getting to the top 12 (or 13- whatever). I feel like I missed out on hearing exactly how good or bad the people are, since we only heard each one really one time. But, overall from what I can tell, there is more great talent than last year. Here's my take on each contestant who made it to the "top":

Adam- This season's rocker- this guy can sing, but I just don't like it. Everytime he's on I tend to want to leave the room or fast forward (we have DVR).

Alexis- LOVE her! This girl is a blues-y rocker, and I just generally enjoy her. She could make it to the end if she doesn't really mess up some week.

Allison- Red/pink haired young girl- I'm impressed so far. She can definitely sing, but we'll see how she stands up as the competition continues.

Anoop- I'm SO glad he's in the top 12! I enjoy him, and I think he's a genuine nice guy. However, I'm not sure how his "Boys 2 Men" sound fits in with modern music. I don't think he'll make it to the end.

Danny- The guy who is from Wisconsin and is a church music director- what's not to like?! I've loved him from the beginning. Really genuine, and amazing talent! I predict he'll be there until the end... I'd love to see him take it all! Plus, did you see the clip of him with his family? It was so fun, and his dad totally made me smile.

Jasmine- One of the ones who are out. She was young and had talent, but just was not on the same level as the others. Sweet girl, but it was her turn to go.

Jorge- The other one who is out. He had a really nice voice, and I was disappointed to see him out in the first week. I think there are others who should've been out before him.

Kris- Everybody likes him, but I really don't. He just kinda bugs me. I know he'll be staying for a while, if only because of the teenage girls who will vote for him. I just don't think he has the same talent as some of the other contestants. And have you noticed he sings with a really wide open mouth which makes a perfect O? His mouth looks kind of like a cartoon.

Lil- WOW! This woman has mad skills! She is amazing, and another one I'd love to see go far in the competition. She reminds me of Fantasia.

Matt- A fun, blues-y guy who was dubbed the "piano bar guy." I enjoyed seeing him play this past week, and think he has talent, but I don't see him going all the way.

Megan- The girl who dances funny; in fact I'm surprised the judges don't give her a harder time about this. Her voice is weird, which they keep calling "unique" and "current," but I just don't get her. I'm all about interesting singers, but this one leaves me confused.

Michael- The guy with the dangerous job- I love his back story, but don't think he will be in for long. He's a nice guy with a good voice, but a fair amount of the competition just seem better.

Scott- The blind guy who plays the piano. I don't quite get him. I really don't think he is nearly as good as the rest of the competition. Granted, his piano skills are great, and he has passion and heart, but his vocals are just okay. Plus, I do NOT get his song choices. I hope he is out in the next two weeks (unless he shows GREAT improvement).

Malachi Update

So, thanks for all of the votes for Malachi in the baby contest. He didn't win, but it was fun to show everyone his cute little face. :)

We visited Malachi's cardiologist this morning to find out how his heart's been doing since he went off the oxygen two weeks ago. His Dr. said that things looked exactly the same today as it did two weeks ago, so we're in good shape to keep him off the oxygen!!! Hooray! We'll check back in with him in a month to be sure Malachi's still doing well, but we're very pleased with this latest development. He still has heart problems and issues, but for now they aren't being treated. :)

Rochester Post-Bulletin Babies 2008

"Baby #495"

This is the picture you can see in our local newspaper today as a part of their "Babies 2008" contest. Isn't Malachi adorable? :) We'd love to have your vote, so please got to (link removed) and vote by this next Wednesday- March 4th. Malachi's number is 495, and each household can vote up to 3 times. Oh! And you don't have to be from the area, either. Thanks!

Malachi's Appointment Update

Today we saw Malachi's cardiologist. Things went well as far as going through the motions of the appointment. Sometimes he gets really fussy and it turns into a long day, but they decided to try it without sedation today (yeah!), and so that seemed to really help. Overall his heart looks about the same as the last time. A couple of things are slightly better, and some others look slightly worse, but each thing could just vary from time to time or with and without sedation.

The biggest piece of news is that we are looking at doing a trial period of stopping his oxygen treatment starting this weekend for about 1 1/2 weeks, followed up with another echocardiogram on March 11th. We are excited to see how Malachi does without this extra help! We are especially excited because he started crawling in the past 2 weeks, and is starting to get caught up with the tubing. In fact, tonight I looked over to see him straining his whole body to try to move forward while the tubing was pulled taught behind him. Ooops! It looks like we may have a busy boy on our hands!

Pictures of the Party and CAKE!

Some picture highlights from Malachi's party!

Malachi loved his balloons!

Yeah PRESENTS!!!
(He's trying to lick the turtle that Aunt Ange and Uncle Joe sent)

A Birthday crown. :) Thanks Grandma Sands!

I call this one "dumb parents."
Let the CAKE EXPERIENCE begin!

Happy Birthday Malachi!!!!

Today was Malachi's 1st Birthday, and what a special day it was! We are so blessed to be celebrating this milestone. All of the memories of a year ago have been flooding back to me as I recall all of the uncertainty surrounding his birth. How faithful God has been to us; how gracious and merciful! A year ago today we found out that Malachi was not going to have an early surgery, that his heart did not have the problems we anticipated, and that we would get to have him near me at Methodist hospital. Shortly after that we found we would get to take him home with us by the end of the week! It is overwhelming for me to recall all of the answered prayers of the past year, as we celebrate the life of a little boy who has made it through his first year! Praise the Lord! We all enjoyed our day today, and I will post pictures of the party separately. Thank you for supporting us for the past year (and beyond). Our little boy is growing up!

Back to Life

So, the 3rd Quarter has officially started, and conferences are almost over, and life is starting to settle back down again. I'm sorry about the blogging dry-spell, but I hoped my message of hate might help you understand what was happening. Wow- was I ever over-committed and worn out!

Well, I think I will keep this post light. Below are some of my favorite pictures that haven't made it on here before. Why? I don't know. Just enjoy!

This first one is my sister Kristi holding Malachi and his cousin Liberty. I just think this is too funny!

Here's Malachi playing with Liberty. He loved hanging out with her on this day in November. They were so cute together!

Here's Malachi enjoying one of his first "solid food" meals. Mmmm... cereal!

I just like how he's sticking out his tongue- plus the shirt from Aunt Kristi is adorable!
Sticking with the theme of eating- Malachi got this book from Aunt Ange and Uncle Joe for Christmas and immediately showed his appreciation by gnawing on it.

Well, life is almost back to normal speed for us. We're getting ready for Malachi's Birthday-- I cannot believe it is less than 2 weeks away! Our baby boy is getting so big!

I Hate

I hate the end of the quarter!