Malachi update

Malachi is getting so big. He's 22 months now. He is the exact same age Levi was when he was born.

He is starting to talk really well. He says understandable words and can repeat anything you say. He understands and comprehends everything we say and do. 

His most common word is "no". That seems to be his automatic answer to everything we ask him. He'll say "no", then think about it and answer how he really wants. 

One really cute phrase he says is "uh-huuh" and while he says it he does a little excited jump. 

Another common phrase is "what's that". Over and over.

He also commonly says "a hat" and puts things on his head, whether it's a hat or not.

A few times as he's helped me unload the dishwasher he'll pull out bowls or plates and put them on his head saying "a hat". 

Malachi has a good appetite, but he is such a picky eater. He'd eat bread all day long if we let him. Often I have stubborness wars with him when he won't eat what I put in front of him. I won't let him eat anything else until he finally is hungry enough and gives in and eats the food I give to him. 

He commonly will put his hand over his food and say "it's hot", whether his food is hot or not.

He has learned to bow his head and fold his arms when we pray. I did not teach him this. He just picked it up and started to do it.

He loves to read books. He'll sit on my lap and we'll read. And he just as much likes to flip through pages of books by himself. He especially likes books with animals. 

His favorite animal is a cat. We have a couple cats that wander the neighborhood and he gets excited when he sees them out the window. 

He's also got his animal sounds down.

He's been binky free for 4 months now. It was a rough transition at first, but now he doesn't look back.

He gotten to be whiner. He's learned if he whines he usually gets his way. Levi still pesters him and Malachi knows if he whines Levi will get in trouble.

There was a month when he would get upset and literally throw himself facedown on the floor and throw a fit. It was quite funny to see.

He likes the snow. And he probably likes the mud even more. Yesterday he got stuck in the mud and couldn't move. As I pulled on his hands he slipped right out of his boots. We all got a good laugh. He stood by the mud for a while saying "mud" and "stuck".

He likes to ride his little 3 wheeled bike.  He putts around as we go on walks and follows Levi around. He doesn't last as long on his bike as Levi does. I often end up carrying his bike home.

He really likes to brush his teeth. He knows which toothbrush and toothpaste is his. He also likes to sneak a taste of Levi's toothpaste whenever we're not looking.

He's been able to go to nursery at church for 4 months now. Some days he does well and Adrian and I can leave him and attend our meetings. Other days we have to stay with him the whole time in nursery. There was even a few times as we would turn down the hallway heading to nursery he would recognize where we were going and he would immediately turn around and whine and want to be held, knowing we were going to leave him.

He loves grandma and grandpa. Whenever we're at my mom's house he will prefer my mom over me. Makes me feel kind of bad sometimes. 

He loves going on 4 wheeler or motorcycle rides with my dad. 

He loves wearing any shoes he can find.

He's been taking one nap a day for a while now. That was nice because he and Levi would nap at the same time, giving me some alone time. Levi has since stopped taking naps. Two nights ago we moved Malachi into Levi's room so they could share a room. They've both done really well. Malachi is still adjusting to a new room and will play for a minute before he goes to sleep.
One of my favorite things he does is blow me kisses as he's going to bed. I'll say "I love you" and he'll blow me a kiss in return.

At a BBQ picnic at the park with Jana and Joe.

Malachi loves the vacuum. He gets excited when he sees me get it out and he follows it all around the room. He'll even put his on it to help me vacuum.

This mess seriously took 2 minutes to make. By the end of the day my whole house looks like this.

Road rash from taking a tumble on his bike. This kid is always falling on  his face.

I taught him to put his hands in his pockets when they get cold. He does it all by himself now. This was a very cold day. We went to the park and I lasted 5 minutes before I wanted to head to the car and warm up. The boys on the other hand lasted a good half hour and acted as if it wasn't freezing cold. I sat in the car while Adrian played with the boys outside.

Malachi loves his papa. Whenever Adrian is around he will always prefer Adrian to help him over me. He sometimes tells me "no", "stop", or "back" if I try to help him.

Malachi has such a sweet spirit. He has moments when he needs to be cuddled. In the mornings after I pull him out of bed I know I'm going to have to hold and cuddle him for 15-20 minutes. If I put him down before gets all his cuddles in he'll follow me around crying and beg to be picked up. I've learned to hold him until he hops off my lap on his own terms. He is also very, very stubborn. He will protest if he does not get his way and throws a huge fit if he never gets it.

Levi likes to play with the car ice scrapers and sweep the snow off the cars. Malachi frequently copies Levi. Another thing Malachi copies from Levi is undressing. Both boys are hardly ever dressed when they're at home because they love to have no clothes on, despite me dressing them every morning. He also pretends his hands are airplanes, just like Levi does.