Lots of Milestones!

Josiah:

- Turned 3 last week! (Separate post to follow...when I have time. HA!)
- Went cold turkey with his "minky"! We've been preparing him for a few weeks that when he turned 3, he'd throw away all his pacifiers. (Truth: we're keeping one ONLY for an emergency {aka all-out tantrum} on the 15 hour plane ride home.) He hasn't been happy about it. Every time he goes down for a nap or bed, he begs for it. He'll stop asking eventually......right?!
- Is staying dry through the night more often! I claimed he was potty-trained a while ago, but then he took some steps backwards with nighttime. I was tired of washing his sheets and undies so often, so we went back to a pull-up. This week, he's kept it dry several times on his own! 

Malachi:

- Taught himself how to sleep through the night. HALLELUIA!! I've said many times before that this one just isn't a great sleeper. I gave up a long time ago trying to "teach" him how to sleep well. It just hasn't worked. A few weeks ago, he slept til 5 or 6am a few days in a row. My body rejoiced!! Now, some days he'll sleep in til 7am...or even 9am! I barely know what to do with myself.
- Is beginning the switch to 2 naps, but hasn't gotten the hang of it yet, so some days we still do 3.
- Crawling. I know, he's on the late train for this one, but it's partly our fault for not setting him down during his fussy eczema days. (which, by the way is still GONE! PTL) His crawl is hilarious. He scoots on his belly like a seal, but only uses his right leg to push. His left leg kinda dangles to the side or in the air. Hilarious. I'll work on a video soon.
- 1st hair cut! We waited until Josiah was 15mos for his, but Malachi's hair was just getting too crazy and weird-looking. He did great!

"Mooommmmaa, what are you doing!?"

Awkward!

Awkward moment of the day: While out walking with Malachi, a yeye (g'pa) stopped to chat with us. (By chat I mean I could answer about 20% of his questions.) He was particularly adamant about one question I couldn't understand. So he resorted to gestures. What was he asking? If I nursed Malachi. I'll leave the gesture up to you. (Thankfully, he used his own body to gesture.) 

 Reason #458 why we must go to language school next year!!

Malachi's Happy Dance

Most kids this age (almost 9mos) will hold out their arms when they want to be held, or when I hold out my arms, signaling the question if he wants to be picked up. Not Malachi.

 He does a happy dance.

If he's in his exersaucer, he jumps up and down, squealing in delight, arms flailing. If he's sitting on the floor, he just squeals and flaps. I laugh every time.

I promise I don't neglect the child. Actually, he's probably in my arms more than Josiah ever was because it's just easier to hold him than listen to his fusses. He's a mover and a shaker--no doubt about it. But he wants to move and shake within someone's arms. Go figure.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was great! The night before, Michael told me I could escape the house/kids/duties and go have breakfast by myself. I know this sort of defeats what Mother's Day is all about....but it's exactly what I needed!

As soon as I got up and fed the babe, I was out the door. I biked to the McDonald's across town (30 minutes). It was a great, peaceful ride with glorious weather. This particular McDonald's has a McCafe, which is why I chose to go there. REAL coffee!

I got my breakfast (not the healthiest, but still a treat for my taste buds) and tried to eat it slowly. It was hard! I'm so used to scarfing so I can help a little one. Then I ordered a mocha latte. Mm. McDonald's isn't my favorite coffee, but when it's the only legit choice around me, it tastes awesome! Then I busted out my iPod and journal. I don't take the time to write down my thoughts/feelings very often. It was nice to process through some things while listening to worship music. I had to turn up the volume REALLY loud to drown out the noise and music around me. (Despite how innocent they look, the Chinese are very loud people.) A couple of times, I got so wrapped up in a song, I nearly started singing! I should've; everyone was watching my every move anyway! Then I read a bit of John and a few chapters in a novel. I was bummed that my 2 hours were up by the end. But sooo thankful I got the time away and to myself!

While the kids napped, Michael said he was going to run an errand. He came back with a huge bouquet of lilies and roses. They are still perfuming our apartment and hallway. :) He also ordered a box of cereal for me. Sounds random, but good cereal is rare and expensive!

Sunday nights we always have team time and it happened to be "southern" food. YUM. Fried chicken, corn on the cob, mac n cheese, strawberry spinach salad, biscuits, and sweet tea. OH MY. My tummy was happy!

It was a fun day. So thankful to be blessed with 2 little guys!

Goodbye, eczema!

It's almost gone. HALLELUJAH! His face is nearly clear. His elbows are soft. He legs are sooo close! His knees have tiny little patches that keep getting irritated because he's starting to scoot across the floor. We started putting on some "knee pads" (actually those sweat soakers tennis players wear on their wrists--what are those called?!), but he gets his lil fingers underneath them anyway.

Here are some pics to show the how bad it was..and how GOOD it is now! I seriously think he's cuter with clear skin. :)

Getting bad...

At its worst..scaly, bleeding from scratching..yuk!

Yet, still smiling.

Getting better..! Notice it's in a heart shape. haha

HOORAY for clear skin!!!!

 We do have to be very careful, though. This week, after his skin cleared, he must've brushed his cheek against something with soap or chemicals because a few bumps came up. Grr! It's going to be tough this summer with so many wanting to hold him! My aunt had a great idea to make a smock to make people wear. :) Hey, it's either they wear it or they don't get to hold him!! I'm sort of hoping he'll be on the move too much to want to be held, anyway.

Movin' on up...North

Next August, we'll be in a new city (Father-willing). Changchun, northeast of us now. Closer to Russia. Which means cold. I try not to think about the average winter temps and icy roads people keep telling me about. I cling to the fact that they have great indoor heating! :)



We're moving there to attend our company's language school. It's at a local Chinese university and we'll be in classes with our colleagues as well as other foreigners wanting to learn Chinese. The Chinese professors are very well-trained in working with foreigners, which is a plus.

Michael and I both want to learn the language, so we're going to take turns because it's quite demanding. I plan to go first. I'll be in classes 6 hours a day and have mandatory tutor time 2 hours a day. Since I'll be gone so much, Michael will get to fill in the role at home a bit more. He'll be great! The boys will bond, I'm sure. Can't wait to reap the benefits of his secret cooking skills!  He also wants to tutor a few times a week. His hope is to build on the Chinese he already has, then jump in with the 2nd year students after I'm finished. Knowing the language sponge he is, I don't think he'll have a problem with that.

I'm sure you can imagine why we want to learn Chinese. We can't read the signs that surround us. We can't understand what people ask us. We can't ask for things we need. The list goes on and on. We won't be completely fluent after language school, but we will be able to communicate easily with people, read simple signs, and best yet--have the skills to continue learning after we finish the program.

Our lives are going to look very different than they have the past 2 years. No teaching. Fewer contact with students. A bigger "team." More families! Learning + using the language every day. And...no income from teaching.

The last change seems to be the biggest one looming over our heads. Most of you know we raised support to get here and stay the past 2 years. Well, that has officially run out. (Note: To those of you who support us now, we are thankful for you! We still receive that, but it's just not enough right now to keep us afloat.) We are trusting the Father will gather a team of people who will help keep us here for the next 2 years. It will take a lot more money since we will have no income, and we will have to pay for things that are usually paid for by the school, such as a plane ticket and housing costs. Those are some big-ticket items to lose! But, we have faith He will provide. We feel called to stay here, so we know if it's also His plan, He will make things happen.

If you would like to invest in us to help us invest in others, let me know! Email, FB, comment. I'll be sure to get back to you. Also, if you aren't on our mailing list to receive our (mostly) monthly newsletters, let me know. I'd be happy to add you!