Malcolm is Four!

Happy birthday to my wonderful, goofy, creative, smart Malcolm.

You have grown so much in the last year, and I can't wait to see what comes next.

I am so grateful that I get to share all my favorite things about this world with you, like blueberries, gardening, bird watching, books, and tennis (although we don't always share a fashion sense).

Never stop sparkling, little super hero!

Fun in the snow (and ice)

The first two weeks of February had us fooled; there were several gloriously sunny and warm days that made us think spring was coming early this year. And then, winter decided to make an appearance. At least one of us was happy about it.

Last year Malcolm was about 18 months old when we had enough snow to try out the sled, and he hated it. This year, at two and a half, he loved it. We took him down our street, which is a cove and was far too slick for cars, and which had the perfect combination of snow and ice for a runner sled.

The sled was my mother's when she was a child, and it still works, and didn't have any problem holding both Malcolm and me as we sped down the hill.

The snow wasn't very good for snowmen, but it was good for snow angels. He made me make one too, but all I really accomplished was getting snow all over my coat!

For children, even chores are fun when they are new. Here Malcolm is helping me clean off the steps so they will melt when the sun comes out. And when the sun does come out, everything melts pretty quickly around here. Thank goodness! Arkansas does not deal well with snow.

After watching snow blower videos on YouTube, Malcolm decided to make one of his own, and spent quite a bit of time snow blowing the back yard with his shovel.

And now, the adults in the house all quite tired of snow and ice and winter - just in time for another potential round tomorrow - but Malcolm is cheering for more. I say it is time for spring and garden planting and sunshine and tennis outdoors!

Wait, it's February already?

Male cardinal, eating seed from our feeder

I can't believe it has been over a month since I last sat down to write here. I know I thought about it, but kept thinking it hadn't been that long since my last post, surely. Well, here are some of the things that have been keeping me busy since the beginning of this year. 

Open kibbeh, from Jerusalem by Yotem Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

 Cooking, of course. I have so many good cookbooks now that I am really making an effort to try new recipes. Weekends tend to be the best time for that around here - more people to help with complicated prep work, or just keep Malcolm out of my hair while I do it.  For the savory side of things, my current crush is Jerusalem by Yotem Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. There are some recipes I know I will never make, but all the ones I have made have been amazing. This open kibbeh was so very good - lamb, bulgher, and some tahini, essentially - there was hardly any left for the next day.

Sticky Toffee Pudding from Jamie Oliver's Comfort Food

Last summer, while watching The Colbert Report,  we saw Jamie Oliver bring out this sticky toffee pudding and my mother-in-law was drooling over it. I told her if she bought me the book, I would make it for her; she remembered and gave it to me for Christmas. So, I made sticky toffee pudding for a New Year's treat. Oh. My. Goodness. Rich and flavorful and oh so good. I probably won't make it again any time soon, just because we really don't need that much cake in the house, but I might break it out for the next potluck we go to.

Chocolate sables from Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan

 Another reason I probably won't get around to making another sticky toffee pudding soon is that I also got Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan for Christmas, and I am attempting to bake my way through it. It will take a long time, since there are so many recipes and alternate variations, and I can't quite justify baking dessert every single weekend, but I don't really mind. Everything I have make so far is delicious.

Who can resist that face?

And of course, in addition to cooking, Malcolm is keeping me on my toes. At two and a half, he is far too smart for his own good, too good at getting into things he shouldn't, and just adorable enough to stay (mostly) out of trouble.

We are out riding bikes without coats, in February!

 He got a balance bike for Christmas, and has almost completely mastered it. He rides down our street without touching, rides circles in our cul-de-sac, and is generally getting set for a life on two wheels. It isn't so bad when the weather is warm, like it has been this week, but he was insisting we go out when it was 35 and windy, and that was a bit much for this mama. (Not that I should complain, since I made him go out in the stroller for runs with me when it was equally cold and windy. The difference is that he was swaddled in blankets and sleeps through most of the runs, whereas I have to stand around and watch for cars while he is bike riding - no blankets or naps for me). It is exciting to see how fast he learns and figures things out.

Sharp-shinned hawk (I think), staking out our feeder

 Malcolm and I have been participating in this year's Feeder Watch program, conducted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Basically, we watch our bird feeders two consecutive days a week and try to identify and count the various birds we see, then we report that data and it helps the scientists get a picture of bird migration and numbers. Last week, this beauty showed up and scared all the little birds away. I didn't mind, because it stayed around long enough for me to get out my camera and take a few pictures.

So, there is my year so far, mostly. I am also training for a 10K in March, partially in order to be able to eat all the delicious things I bake, and tennis season is just about to pick up steam. I'll try not to let things go for another month this time!

Grandpa's visit

A couple of weeks ago, my dad came to visit Malcolm (well, us too, but mostly Malcolm).

We did all sorts of fun things, like gymnastics. Malcolm loves swinging on the bar. We go almost every week, and today he was practicing letting go and falling on his bottom, which he thought was hilarious.

There was story time at the library. Malcolm enjoyed showing Grandpa the cars that he was playing with before it started, and the scarves and shakers they play with every week.

 

As usual when he comes to visit, my dad also had to do some yard work. Even after all the raking I did in the fall, there were still plenty of leaves to be raked. Malcolm is getting to the point where he can almost be helpful, instead of just a hindrance.

And of course we had to have some Southern food, so we headed to Cotham's for burgers, fried okra and fried green tomatoes, in matching Hawaiian shirts. Malcolm loves fried okra, Grandpa loved the fried green tomatoes. 

Two of my favorite guys.

He's a climber

Malcolm has entered the climbing phase of toddler-hood. For a while, his favorite thing to do was to climb into this basket, even when it was filled with old tennis balls. It took him a little longer to figure out how to get out without falling over.

Next he mastered climbing onto the coffee table, using objects for a boost. Now he doesn't even need anything to stand on, but he will happily use my leg if I happen to be sitting on the floor in a convenient position.

One day, he surprised me but climbing into his rocking chair while my back was turned. It is quite a stretch, even with the stool, but he's only fallen once or twice. At night, he will climb into the chair when he is ready for storytime to be over.

And of course, he climbs onto the bookshelves. Good thing we finally got around to securing them to the wall earlier this summer. 

He didn't stack the boxes, but he was quick to realize their potential and used them to get to an entirely new set of shelves. 

Malcolm the Lark

I have always considered myself a morning person, an extreme lark even. At sleep-overs in junior high and high school, I usually woke up before the host parents and hours before my friends. On camping trips, I would be up long before my father - in order to keep me from bugging him to get up and light the fire, he started making giant piles of shavings the night before, so I could at least try to get it started on my own. When I was working, I would get up at 5 AM to go the gym before work, and would get up by 7 on weekends.

Lately, Malcolm has been showing us that he too is a morning person. Every morning for the last two weeks (at least - I am sort of losing track of time at this point) he has been up before 5:30. No amount of singing, nursing or cuddling makes him go back to sleep, and usually just makes him annoyed and prone to kicking. Since I am the one doing the nursing, I am the one who gets up with him most often. He's beginning to make me question my morning person designation.

After thinking about it for a while, I have decided that lack of sleep and his inability to recognize a weekend aside, the real problem is that I am not getting up of my own volition, and I am not getting up to have time to myself; I am being forced to get up by the most demanding drill sergeant ever. There is no peaceful contemplation of the sunrise while sipping tea. There is no meditation or tai chi. Just a very awake Malcolm. It isn't all bad - we are easily able to get our daily walk in before the sun is up enough to require sunblock, at least - but I wouldn't complain if he suddenly decided to sleep in as late at 6 AM.

Now we are one!

A favorite new toy

Sheesh. I didn't realize that it had been almost a month since I last wrote anything. Having a one year old will do that to you, I guess. Yes, a one year old. Malcolm turned one last week. 

Cupcake, pre-Malcolm

It has been a roller coaster year for his parents. There were days (weeks, if I am honest) when I wasn't sure I'd make it as a parent. When it seemed as if we would be stuck in purgatory with a crying, non-sleeping, always hungry baby. When I couldn't imagine being able to eat out again, do things with other people, have an adult conversation.

Grandma came to visit, bearing books!

But, as with all things, those days passed. The most important lesson I have learned (and still have to be reminded of, at least when I have been getting up at 5 AM several days in a row) is that every phase is temporary.

Malcolm is growing into a real person, complete with a definite personality. He's stubborn, smart, and funny. There are still days when I am not sure I will make it as a parent, but I guess we all have those. 

Cupcake, mid-Malcolm squashing

Happy Birthday Malcolm! I can't wait to see what year two brings!

Visiting All the Grandparents

We spent two weeks in Idaho and Washington last month, visiting all the grandparents. Malcolm was, apart from some sleep difficulties, a great traveler, and the grandparents were all thrilled to have him. The weather was mostly good - cooler than Arkansas, and rainy at times, but not depressingly so. I got some very good flower pictures, since everything was blooming profusely. Here are some pictures of Malcolm with the grandparents; I'll save the flowers for another day.

Malcolm reached 10 months while we were there, so he let Grandpa Rider help him with his month card picture.

Three generations of Benjamin Riders at Lake Coeur d'Alene. In this picture Malcolm is starting to look a little more like Benjamin now, although a lot of his expressions are still very much like mine.

Malcolm got to meet his Oma Jennie for the first time ever, and despite the look on his face in this picture, he did get along well with her.

There, that is a happier look. Jennie was, of course, in love.

Malcolm does love to chew on rocks...

Grandpa Mikey and Malcolm in a quiet moment. Usually, they were winding each other up instead.

Malcolm and Grandma Candi, reading the same book. You'd never know it by these pictures, but my mother does have a large collection of children's books - she was a children's librarian after all. But Malcolm really liked that one - it was one of my favorites as a baby too.

The drive from Bellevue to Idaho and back can get rather long, especially if you are strapped in a car seat facing the wrong direction, so it was lovely to be able to stop and visit with our good friend Ellen along the way. As a bonus, she gave Malcolm his first piano lesson on a real piano!

Malcolm's 9 months old!

Wow. Malcolm has managed to survive 9 months of my parenting, which I often fear is too inept and inexpert. Obviously, Benjamin and I must be doing something right, since he is happy, healthy and, if you will forgive a parent's partiality, pretty much the best baby ever. (Except when he won't sleep, and then he becomes Malcolm the miscreant).

The dog and cats are remarkably patient with him, now that he has discovered they exist and are fun to chase.

I am so eager to see where he takes us as he learns to walk and explore this world (now, if I could just keep him from putting everything into his mouth...)

Malcolm in Bellevue, Part Deux

 Here are some more pictures from our recent trip to visit the grandparents.

We didn't even coordinate our outfits on purpose! One of those mysterious family occurrences, I guess. Malcolm is taking after his grandmother and closing his eyes in family photos, although this time Grandma actually kept hers open.

I guess Grandpa didn't get the memo about wearing blue.

Grandma Betty and her dog Chi Chi go down to this park at least once a week to walk. This morning it was cold enough that Chi Chi needed her jacket. Malcolm took the opportunity to catch up on his morning nap.

Malcolm gets to Skype with Grandma and Grandpa almost every day, so he recognized and remembered them this time and didn't act all shy. But they don't get to hold him over Skype, so they were very happy to have him around for a few days.

Grandma's owl made him laugh. 

Grandpa let his beard grown out (much to grandma's dismay) just so Malcolm could pull on it. Malcolm duly obliged, although he doesn't look too sure about it here.

Another new experience on this trip was sitting in a high chair at a restaurant. We've taken him out to eat before, but until now he always sat in someone's lap. To him, the best part was the mountain of napkins to shred. He kept me busy, picking up the confetti, making sure he didn't eat too large of pieces. He behaved very well - no shrieking.

He also got a stroller upgrade while at the grandparents' house - now he can finally see where he is going! We really needed a new stroller- he only tolerates the old one, and won't let us use it for walks. It is not really meant for anything more vigorous than a stroll around the grocery store or the mall anyway. And he is getting too heavy to carry in the snuggli on long walks. This is much better, and assuming he will allow himself to be held down for that long, should last until he is 4 or 5 (I doubt he will allow that - I certainly didn't!).