Halloween 2009!

We had so much fun chasing Maletch around the Halloween Festival! Grandma and Pops Pollard had sent him the cutest costume that they picked up in Vegas at Caesar's Palace, a Roman Soldier costume (just like they wear at the casino). So John and I went as the Roman Emperor and Empress, (with our little soldier protecting us) lol!

He even got to ride a REAL horse! He LOVES horses, but we weren't sure how he'd do riding a real one, especially since John and I had to watch from outside the pen.. but he was giggling and laughing the whole time! He didn't care where we were a bit, haha! He rode it like a true cowboy too! Some of the older kids were having trouble sitting up straight and appeared to be almost falling off, but Maletch was holding on at times with only one hand with perfect posture- it was too funny! The other parents kept commenting on him (like he was a bull rider or something) LOL!

He also got to go to the petting zoo area where he saw some of his other favorites: cows, sheep, goats, more horses, and chickens! He was petting them through the fence, but he nearly jumped it trying to get inside! We were constantly pulling him off of the fence! He had fun since he knew all the animals names and noises, so he talked to each one in their language, hehe! He moo'd at the cows and baa'd at the sheep and eeeiiigh'd at the horses! He also told the chickens "bawk bawk!"

He also grabbed a large wagon and pulled it over to the pumkin patch and loaded it up with pumpkins and dragged it around (this was entirely his idea) we didn't tell him or show him how. We were really tripping on how he thought of it, and we took a short video of him picking his pumpkins!

The video is posted below the slideshow!

Halloween 2009 Slideshow!

Maletch Picking Pumpkins Video! Halloween 2009

What Do Superheros Like To Do??

'Lil' Batman' says, "I want to go fight crime, mommy!" "There is lots of work to be done!"

What Do Superheros Like to Do in Their Free Time??

They love to drive fast cars...


They like to scale tall buildings, er, I mean funrniture...

.... and they like to color with crayons!!

I wonder why superheros don't like to clean the house??

YAY!! Aunt and Uncle Came to Town!

'G' has her hands FULL!

My brother, his wife (my sister) and my niece came out last week and stayed for 5 days! YAY!!! We had such great time with them while they were here, and we just adored lil A! She is such a sweet, beautiful, and happy girl! M and A are only 3 months apart, how cool is that?

We had a 'Jam Packed' week:
Wed: They came to our house and we went swimming!
Thurs: We went to my mom's house, then to the O.C. Fair!
Fri: My Mom came over and helped John and I with the preperations for the garage sale we were in at my favorite scrapbook store! The items had to be ready priced, packaged, and "turned in" to the store by 7:00pm - we cut that very close and almost didn't make it! Wheeew!
Sat: We went to my dad's house for a family reunion with lots of my cousins and we spent the night!
Sun: We hung out at dad's for the day, then went to visit my Grandma ("Mamma") and got back late (1:00 am)
Mon: We picked up the items that didn't sell from the store, and I now get to go on a $350.00 shopping spree- YAY! Plus we got rid of a lot of unwanted stuff! Double YAY!

I know you want all the deets- so keep scrolling! :)

Below each post is a Slideshow!

First Day: Our House SWIMMING!

Oh we had a blast watching the kidos swim and the kids had so much fun! I don't think Maletch stopped smiling the entire time! I was sad that John missed it because by the time it cooled down enough to go swimming, he had to leave for work. But at least my mom took lots of pics for us!
This was my second time taking Maletch to the pool, and he surprised me AGAIN! This time I tried to hold him up with just- 'one hand under his stomach' and he started swimming- he had like a 'swimmer's stroke' and a pretty good kick- it came to him naturally! My mom suggested that I sign him up for swimming lessons since he is ready. I think that is a neat idea, and I will look into local classes for him. He also started getting brave in his 'inner tube' and cruising around without me holding him. I was nervous since he didn't fit it- he could slip right through it- but he got the hang of 'holding on' real quick. He positioned himself to 'lean forward' and he got himself going!
Jae and Britt started a 'toss game' with Addie and it looked like so much fun, so we did it with Maletch too- they both LOVED that!
They brought a wagon with them, and it was fun to pull the kids around in. Then Maletch decided to push and pull it around and he gave his lil cousin rides in it- that was cute to watch... that is... until he came close to pushing her and the wagon INTO the pool! Uncle Jae had to "run interception" on that one!
Oh and that 'toy dirt bike' that you will see in his hands was a gift from them. It makes real dirtbike sounds when you press the shocks or push it along- too cute!! And Maletch just LOVES that thing- he still hasn't put it down!
Below is a slideshow of the first day, with lots of pool pics and hangin out fun! To see The Fair and Family Reunion pics keep scrolling!

Slideshow Swimming with Uncle and Aunt!

Day 2: The Orange County Fair!!

We started off at my mom's house for a bit, where Maletch got to see Uncle Jae's dirtbike! I wanted Jae to take him for a ride on it, but Maletch wasn't too sure about it- so maybe next time! Funny while I was trying to pose for the pic with Maletch on the bike, we almost crashed!! Haha! I couldn't touch the ground, so we had it next to the curb, and I was only touching on the one side, I lost my balance and we almost tipped over- Jae had to come over and help while I was wobbling- it was HILARIOUS and I felt retarded! It's been a long time since I've been on a dirt bike, and my riding days are LONG over!

We later headed to the O.C. Fair. We had such a blast and YEP we even took the kids on some rides!! That took a little 'manipulation' since there was a height requirement of 36" for every ride, and our 1 year olds are not as tall as 3 year olds... so send in the '2 blondies' to smile and ask them to please 'make an exception.' Worked like a charm!
Since it was Thurs night, of course John had to work, which really felt weird to have him missing out on such a fun time and Maletch's first Fair, but he would rather us go without him than us not go at all- he is so sweet! And again- at least we got lots of pics. We will be taking Maletch to Disneyland and the Zoo soon, and I can't wait for that!

Our Group:
Let's see there were 9 of us total (6 adults and 3 kids). It was: Jae, Britt, Addie, Reed, Shannon, Audrey, Maletch, my mom, and me- so we were quite a lil bunch! Maletch got to 'ride' on Reed's shoulders for a while and he walked holding my hand for the most part. He never asked to be carried a single time- which was so nice especially considering how long we were there and how far we walked! We got carried away and stayed until they closed which was midnight! We popped him in the wagon a few times for a little bit just when we wanted to walk a little faster. He had many distractions while we were walking which would pull him 'off course' and slow us down (I would have to chase him)... like anytime he spotted bubbles, balloons, stollers, and scooters... he loves to CHASE old people on their scooters! Don't ask me why he does it, but it's funny! LOL!

The Rides and Stuff:
We took Maletch and Addie on the Carousel (Merry Go Round), an Airplane ride, and a very fast Roller Coaster. Jason also took Addie down a huge "super slide." The kids really enjoyed the rides, but I think they enjoyed looking at all of the lights, people, and animals just as much!
I think the Airplane ride was Maletch's favorite (it was like the "Dumbo ride," going around and up & down). Jae wanted to take Addie on it, but he couldn't fit inside properly, so the ride attendant "kicked him off'" LOL- so my mom was happy to take her on it! Lil Audrey is only 6 months so she wasn't quite ready for the rides, she was busy eating, sleeping and looking around though.
I regretted the Roller Coaster since it was faster and jerkier than I expected- it was weird and dangerous because it only had a 'lap bar,' NO seat belt, so we were both clutching our kids so they wouldn't slide out, and it made my neck sore. Oh well at least he enjoyed it, well, until the kids in front of us started screaming like we were gonna die- that seemed to make him nervous, LOL!

They had 3 areas with animals, 2 were petting zoos, which is what we were looking for, but we ended up in the one that you couldn't go inside the enclosures. A silly goat squeezed his head with horns through the slats in the fence, to take a peek at Addie and Maletch who were standing right there. I didn't get a good shot of the kids with the goat, since we were unsure if it would bite, we were pulling the kids back a little ways. It was so cute, Maletch thought the goat was a horse and he kept saying "hor" and Addie thought it was a dog!

The kids were so cute together, Maletch was so curious about Addie and he kept wanting to touch her and stare at her. Funny at this age, they are curious and want to inter-act or do SOMETHING, but they don't know exactly what to do... I got pictures (2 different times) of him reaching across the wagon and sticking his fingers in her mouth- I guess that is what he came up with!
Below is a slideshow of some pics from the Fair. I threw a few of my not-so-favorite shots in for now and will probably take them out later.

Slideshow O.C. Fair!!

Mini Family Reunion

What was supposed to be a "small BBQ," quickly turned into a "mini family reunion" once the word 'got around'. We had no idea that many people were going to be there, so it was a neat surprise to walk into! Somehow we didn't manage to get photos of everyone that was there, only about half. Those of us with kids were outside most of the time, and those that stayed inside (where it was cool) were missed.

Who was there:

In the first photo: Dad, Denise, Uncle Lini, Aaron, Britt, Addie, John, Maletch, me, Aunt Barbie, Uncle Kerry, Adam, Keri, Lucas, Eden
Were there, but not in photo: Grandma, Bill, Ian, Leslie, Angel, Shaun, Jesse, Anthony, Jordan, Jason, and Reed

It was so funny trying to get 'just the kids' in one photo- YEAH RIGHT! There wasn't THAT many of them either (OK there was 7). The older kids "didn't want to" and the little ones were just busy playing and weren't paying attention, and Maletch kept 'wandering off' pushing a little truck. We have a series of so many hilarious pics, there was always 1 or more "goofing off" or acting silly, and at least 1 or more looking the opposite way with their BACKS to the camera (OK that was usually my kid). Keri tried to assist us with the shot by keeping Maletch in the picture, and faced the right way, but we could just never get that good pic of all of them! In this shot (above), you can barely see Lucas who is so cute- he is laying in front of Keri and Maletch. And of course 2 have their heads turned. These were the best 2 pics, pretty sad!

Look closely at this pic: Notice that Maletch was rolling the truck on Lucas's head!

The 3 one-year-olds:

It was cute watching Eden, Addie, and Maletch play and they seemed to attract/gravitate to each other. Maletch and Eden shared toys and passed them back and forth. Lucas and Jesse are about the same age as each other (3-4), so they are best buds too!

Highlights:

They started by having a belated celebration for Addie's birthday (which was last month). She got a cool Electric Quad. One of Addie's 1-year old friends (Ben) has a similar one, so she already knew how to ride it. She had a blast 'putting around' on that thing most of the day! It is really cool and we are going to get one for Maletch- OK- not the "Barbie" one, we will find the 'boy model'! These pics were mostly taken in their front yard. Although, my dad, John and I took Maletch for a walk later in their gorgeous backyard (which is on a couple acres) and looks like a farm- there is something to look at everywhere! They have a custom garden, greenhouse, gazebo, wishing well fountain, and so much more! It was so fun watching lil Maletch run around and explore everything- it made us wish we had a yard like that!

What happened to Us Being Color Coordinated??

If you have been paying attention to my recent posts and are wondering- why we weren't color coordinated... first I would have to say "good eye" (and thanks for paying attention)... BUT... we actually were when we arrived. I had on an orange & white dress, BUT, Lancaster is too windy for a dress- and I had a "Marilyn Monroe situation" happening while we were outside, LOL! So I had to change- that sucked! So John and Maletch were still coordinated, and I was the odd-ball that 'clashed', (Eeeew! Pink and orange- not a good combo) Yep, I'm a dork and proud of it! Hahaha!

Great Having Babysitters:

Once the BBQ was over, everyone went to where they were staying (different houses) to get the kids in bed and later that night- since we all had babysitters (all of the grandparents), 11 of us met for cocktails at El Toreo, a Mexican restaurant down the street. Jae, Britt, John, me, Aaron, Adam, Keri, Shaun, Angel, Reed, and Donnie went. It was really fun getting a chance to visit everyone and have just the adults together. It was endless joke telling and reminiscing, so basically constant laughter! Good times!!

Our Motley Crew!

Hot Mammas!

We spent the night on Sat, then Sun we went to visit my other Grandma 'Mamma.' The kids had fun playing in her HUGE yard too! It's a shame that our camera died just before we went over there, and I forgot to bring the charger. So we took a few cute pics on our cell phones, I will try to upload those soon. I love hanging out with Mamma! We had such a good time over there- we gpt carried away and didn't leave her house until about 10:30pm and we had a long drive home.

Slideshow below!

Slideshow Mini Reunion!!

Maletch's Words and Translations!

It is so fun listening to Maletch talk. It is nice that we can communicate with him, and he understands so much now! He understands way more than he can speak. He has 50+ words he says regularly.

Here's a list of the ones I can think of along with his pronunciations:

baby "baybi"
balloon "bawoon"
banana "nana"
Bambi "bimbi"
Bert "ber" (Sesame Street character)
bottled water "bawa"
Bruno "nono"
Bob's Big Boy "bobibo"
bubbles "bubba"
cat "nono" (he thinks all cats are named 'Bruno')
cracker "cwacka"
daddy "dadde"
diaper "dipah"
Elmo "mo" or "momo"
Ernie "ern" or "nini"
flower "fower"
grilled cheese "ger cheese"
horse "hor"
juice "tuce"
Mickey Mouse "mou" or "mimo"
mommy "mamma"
monkey "mong"
over there "o'dere" (while pointing)
star "tar"
thank you "tank you"
water "wawa"
zebra "bra"

These words he can pronounce perfectly:
"ball"
"book"
"bye bye"
"car" and he makes "engine noises" while he plays
"cool"
"dog"
"duck" and he makes the noise "wack-wack"
"go"
"good"
"hat"
"hot"
"more"
"oink oink" (when he sees a pig)
"Pooh" (winnie the)
"shoe"
"uh-oh" (when he drops something)
"wow" and "oh wow"
"what?"

He puts some words together like:
"more tuce?" (when his cup is empty)
"more cwacka?"
"what's dat?"
"bye-bye car?" (when he wants to go bye bye in the car)

He just said his first complete sentence:
"I get da bawoon!"

Here are some of the "instructions" that he understands:
"Can mommy have a kiss" (he will lean and kiss me- and he melts my heart every time!)
"Come here"
"Hop on" (his big riding toys)
"This way"
"Go get your ____" (fill in the blank with specific toy or object names)
"Give that to mommy"
"Watch your step" (He will look down)
"Be careful" (he will pay more attention to what he is doing and/or slows down)
"That's hot" (He will blow on his food)
"Let's go change your diaper" (He runs and plays a hide-and-seek game, while laughing)
"Let's get your jammies on" (He will walk to his room for me)
"Wanna go nite-nite?" (We are lucky, he actually likes to go to bed- weird huh?? I keep thinking that has to change, so I'll enjoy it while it lasts!)
"Are you hungry, are you ready to eat?" (he will pull his high-chair out and hop in)
"Throw the ball"

I have seen lots of mommies make a blog list like this, with 'words they say up to 18 months' as a treat for the Grandparents. Plus, the next time you see him, you'll be able to understand him- LOL! He sure has came a long way from his first word (which was "tuce") at about 10 months of age. I don't count the words he said 'earlier on' when they were used "at random" or "indiscriminately".

It's funny that Maletch's first words were so completely different from the typical first words like: 'mamma', 'dadda', 'baba'... his first 3 were: "tuce," "uh-oh," and "cwacka." I guess he always 'wants to be different,' like his mommy, HaHa! I even remember his doctor's reaction, "He says juice??" then there was a long pause, and then, "Really??"

Maletch really learned the 'power' of words with "tuce," cuz he would say it- and mommy would run and get him some juice-and he LOVED that! So ever since, he decided "I'm gonna learn ALL the words" LOL, and look how many he has since 10 months old!
I can't wait until he really gets talking and we can have a conversation.

My Little Dancer... and SINGER!!

Aww, look at my lil helper!

I have been teaching Maletch to "sing into a hair brush" (like a microphone), which he thinks is HILARIOUS! And he sings, "oooh, oooh" (while dancing) and then he giggles, it's so cute! I don't have any photos or video YET, but I will work on it!

Maletch's First Time Swimming!!!

We took Maletch swimming for the 1st time today and he just LOVED it!! He was surprisingly over-eager to jump in without his floaties on OR us! His eyes lit up as soon as he saw the pool and everyone playing in it and he went running straight for it! John had a very hard time holding him still long enough to get his floaties on, cuz he was squirming to get to the pool! I walked him right into the water and he was giggling and in awe watching the bigger kids do cannonballs all around us!

I think he thought we were all in a "big bath tub" together! We all swam around and he splashed like crazy. I was surprised how many times his head went under, or he inhaled some water and he just kept on playing- it never bothered him, even through heavy coughing at times, he was still smiling and laughing! John and I were especially shocked when his head was completely submersed, John said, "He just dunked himself" and when we pulled him up, we were sure, he would be scared and cry a little... NOPE.. he laughed.. this boy has NO fear!

This is something that we will be doing more often, maybe even everyday for a little bit, since he loved it so much! I thought I might need daddy to help me coerce him to liking it and helping in general- but he didn't seem to need us at all! Haha! So I will probably take him while daddy is at work a lot!

He loved his "alligator" kick board a TON and he was trying to ride it like a SURF board (trying to STAND on it), which was way funny and cute, cuz he had a BLAST on it! I have a LOAD of pool toys and float things for him, and I think he will probably like a few others better than the arm floaties, so we will have fun trying them all out. (I have a vest, an inner tube, another kick board, and probably others ready for our next pool adventure).

When it was time to get out of the water, because it was too cold, he REFUSED! He kept running back and getting upset when we grabbed him, he was NOT ready to leave, but the poor baby was shivering in the water, so we needed to get him home!
On our way back home, we walked passed a balloon tied to a parking post, and Maletch pulled daddy (walking holding hands) over to it, saying "bawoon" then he tried to CLIMB the post to get it down. We were holding back laughter watching him try to get it.

Oh and yes, just like in the previous post, you should notice that our swimsuits even color coordinate- yep planned, haha! Yep, I'm a dork alright!!

Below is a slideshow with tons of pics. **Sorry this Slideshow is 'down' for a little while. There is an error in the software that I need to correct. I will have it working soon!

Our Day in Los Angeles!

We went to Los Angeles for a Dr.'s appt. of mine, and since it was an all day event we tried to make it fun. We took lots of photos and had a fun family day. Maletch really enjoyed himself and the sights.

I really love this shot, I love the shy expression on his face and the way he is clutching daddy's pants! Maletch is RARELY shy, but he seemed uncomfortable with the lady taking our picture that time, the more she tried to get his attention, the more he clutched daddy and tried to 'hide'.

Hey, what do you know, a rare family shot! We are all looking in the same direction and we are all SMILING!! OK that NEVER happens! Funny how with just 3 of us, at least one of us is always either: looking away, blinking, or is not smiling, I should do a post of just the family shots that didn't work- I just saw a series of our photos that were pretty funny!

I also like it when we all color coordinate, haha I'm a dork! OK- no I don't like dressing "match-y match" like twins- just color coordinated like this. I always dress Maletch in something that "goes with" what I wear, since we always go out together, but hey matching three of us without looking like twins- I thought I did pretty good, whachya think???

Now you will probably notice our outfits more in our pics, LOL... like below in the 4th of July slideshow, that is how I like us to dress- we compliment (eclectically) but not to look like I tried to do it, LOL! Told ya I am a dork!