Activity Boxes for Our Drive

Being that we are going to be traveling in the car for about 12 hours with Malachi on Friday, I've been looking online and talking to some friends about things to keep him entertained and happy. One idea is to have busy bags of new and old toys or just random things to play with. 

We had some computer boxes and a couple sturdy bags that I didn't know how to use, so I decided to fill them with randoms such as pipe cleaners, dollar tree toys, and clothes pins along with books, straws, stuffed animals, and a wallet with fun things in each pocket. I still want to add a snack to each one and am hoping they help on the long drive. 

M is Growing Up!

In the past week, Malachi got his hair cut...

and went to the dentist!

He hated his haircut (Sorry, Kelsey!) and cried the whole time! The dentist was a little better, but once they started looking in his mouth, he cried and cried too. He did love picking out a squishy ball from the treasure box though on our way out!

Malachi Update

Malachi is now 15 months old, so a quick update...

The first exciting news is that he's going to have a cousin - a boy cousin at that! 

When we were in MN at the end of March he got to eat his first kolache!

 Significant because of my family's heritage and that we often call him Malach the kolach. 

His new sign is "help" which often gets used when he wants to go up or get onto something.

Playing in his room - with the toy of the day (grill brush) and in his jumper that's too small. :)

 His best friends (besides his mom of course) are definitely the neighbor kids. 

This is also the face he has been making lately - my sister calls it the "cod fish".

 Visiting our relatives in Pella for a few days.

Stats:

Clothes: 12-18, 18-24 months. Into size 5 shoes. Can finally wear the Reeboks he got for his birthday!

Food: Eats whatever we eat unless it's salad. Doing better with the green vegetables. Discovered my neighbor got him to eat green beans by putting butter and salt on them. Ah... Loves Trix and strawberries. Getting tooth number 13!

Sleep: Sleeps all night from 7:30 pm to 6 or 7 am. Still taking two naps - 9:30 and 2 each for a little over an hour.

Activity: Loves to climb and explore everything. Everything. Likes going down the twisty slide at the park feet-first on his belly.

Speech: Ma-ma, da-da, nae-na, ball

Personality: Really outgoing most of the time but has been very clingy lately. Because we're getting ready to move and he can sense a change? Or because he's getting teeth?

Likes:

Food - Trix, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and cheese quesadillas

Toys - Non-toys like the silicone grill brush, a funnel, bag clips, pots, cell phones

          Real toys like his school bus, percussion set, and wooden puzzle

Books - Max Lucado boxed set

Games - hm... I don't know

Dislikes: Playing in a room by himself for very long. 

More Packing

Packing continues. I feel like we're making good progress, but it always takes longer than you think. The "last few things" turn into another 10 boxes. My mom is coming next week to help which will be nice. I'm saving books and Tupperware for her and then hoping she'll want some grandma time with Malach so I can work on stuff in our room. 

 Why the pic of a roll of tape? Because it's almost gone! The first roll is almost used up, and the piles of boxes and tubs grow. I'm so glad we reserved a big truck. 

14 days and counting. Yikes! 

Taking a Break

Despite all the work packing, we took a morning to use our Groupon and visit the Blank Park Zoo! After visiting the San Diego and Omaha Zoos, the Des Moines Zoo doesn't quite compare... but it was still fun! We got to go with some friends which was great too.

Malachi liked to reach in and touch the goats!

He also got out of the stroller to check out the fish.

Ready to head home!

Packing Begins!

One of my goals for the month is to pack two boxes a day. It seems to be an easy low-stress way to attack the huge project. Yesterday was fairly simple as I packed two boxes of china. The boxes had been saved from our last move, so I just had to repack the sets inside.

A friend gave me a good packing tip with kids. She has moved a LOT and said one time when they had a garage they backed the car out and piled all the packed boxes inside the garage. Then the kids didn't get into them and they were all ready to get stacked in the moving truck. 

At this place we've been blessed with a garage, so I think once I get a few boxes packed, they're moving down there. Any other packing/moving tips?

A New Chapter

Today a new chapter of our life begins. On Monday two of Eric's summer classes start at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY, and off we go! 

Over the next year he hopes to finish his masters degree while I go back to teaching. I imagine it's going to be challenging in so many ways. I won't be home with Malachi every day anymore. Eric is going to be so busy with classes, school work, and just seminary life. We'll be adjusting to yet another new city. I have a lot to pull back into my mind about teaching after three years away. We'll be away from family and friends.

 

So I'm going to attempt to blog about life as a working seminary wife and mom. Stay tuned! First up, a new photo for our blog. It's probably about time Malachi joined us.