Malcolm has this habit/need to hold things in his mouth. His favorites; wooden puzzle pieces and his blanket. He will stand, sit, or lie down with the object in his mouth with his eyes wide and bright, and hands outstretched. It is like he is looking for praise for performing a trick (which I'm happy to give)

Eleven

My little baby boy is 11 months old today. Only one more month until the big first birthday. I mentioned that Malcolm had pulled himself up to a standing position a few weeks ago, well today he decided to master the trick. Pulling himself up to stand at the orange couch at least a half a dozen times this afternoon. There was only one tumble that came with tears, but I don't see any bumps or marks to go along with it. I put Malcolm on the scale today too, this is something people always ask about and frankly I usually have no clue. Well now I can definitively say that he weighs 19.8lbs, almost at the 20lb mark, just in case you wanted to know.

As Ashley and I were getting Malcolm ready for bed tonight we both distinctly heard him say "Bullshit". Will that be his first word? I'm somewhat doubtful as it is not part of the vocabulary he hears, but wouldn't that be something to add in his baby book!

We took a mini break from the little blue door, and are back from a fun weekend of camping with Laurel, Marc, Clara, and Leo at Park Voyageur. It was the first time we've been camping since Malcolm joined the family, but it turned out great. I would have liked it if Malcolm had fallen asleep easily instead of fighting it with every last breath, but other than that it was fine.

The weather cooperated with sunny blue skies the whole time. We cooked hot dogs and s'mores over the fire, and ate in the fresh air. Apparently Leo stole the show at the beach (and most certainly at our campsite) in his Superman bathing suit. Clara has a bit of a bug phobia which may be problematic while camping, but over the weekend I saw a great improvement. I'm still glad we had the kitchen tent to act as a bit of a buffer.

I'd do it again but plan for a longer weekend, it was a lot of work to organize and pack up for one night. I'm certainly glad we had the Thule box for additional space to transport all the equipment.

Clara & Marc
Laurel & Leo

Ashley & Malcolm

All about Malcolm (isn't it always)

I thought it was about time for a general update on Malcolm's newest developments. He is growing and changing so much each day it is hard to catch up and to even notice. I'm finding myself saying, "When did he start doing that? Is this the first time or did I not register seeing it before?".

Tooth number five cut through last Thursday, on the bottom left. I'm sure that number six, seven, and eight are not far behind. I'm guessing that if he gives me the chance to look I'll see or feel one of them coming through. Along with all the new teeth his face is changing, looking more like a little boy than a baby.

Malcolm is still rocking his style of crawl (I know, I know I need to post a video as it really is quite amusing to see him push and pull himself across the floor flat out on his belly). He is getting up on his hands and knees more often, but chooses to flatten out when he really wants to move. What he really wants to do these days is crawl over small obstacles. Mummy or Daddy's legs and bodies are good choices as are low lying boxes and toy bins. Along with the climbing comes the pulling-up. You know where I'm going with this one. He pulls himself into a keeling position quite easily, and on two occasions he has managed to get his feet underneath himself and get into a standing position. The first time was in Kentville on the Friday before we left. Malcolm was reaching into the cradle to pull out another toy. My prediction, he'll be walking right around his first birthday.

He is still getting lots of comments about his 'red' hair from strangers. It's more of a strawberry blond shade, but there is no denying it can be considered part of the red family. Malcolm's hair is getting thicker, and with the humid weather I notice a few little curls developing in the back.