Andrew's BIG day!!!!

Andrew just graduated, oh my goodness it was so exciting! I screamed, I cried, it was great! Pictures to come...

Just a few things

Sorry I've been a blog slacker! But there are exciting things going on in the Yoder household. First, and most important, Andrew is graduating a week from tomorrow! I can not tell you how incredibly excited I am (really, there are no words to describe my joy)! We are still waiting to hear from Border Patrol, basically we're just waiting to hear when and where, they sent us a letter saying, basically, that he passed everything and we should be hearing from the place that tells you where you're going soon, so that's exciting.

Malachi is learning and growing by leaps and bounds lately. He knows a lot of animals now and the sounds they make, right now he's obsessed with the nativity cows, he'll wake up and say "Cow? cow? mooooo" it's so cute. He'll walk around the house and point out all the things that he knows how to say, it's like he's telling me as if I don't know what they are, comical! He's running everywhere, there is no stopping this kid. He still eats like a champ, and after he finishes his food he still wants to eat my food, I guess that's one way to diet. He's 15 months, and
I'm counting down the days to nursery, we've gone the last couple Sundays, and he loves it! He drew his first nursery picture, I'll post it sometime.

I'll post some pictures later, I just wanted to fill you all in!

My favorite moment is...

when Malachi wakes up and I go get him out of his crib, I hug him, and he hugs me back, rests his little head on my shoulder, and pats me on the back with his little hand, he's so sweet.

So thankful!

The Thanksgiving season is upon us! I can't believe it's here already. Recently my cousin got married and my friend had her baby, and it's just reminded me how thankful I am for eternal families, and that I am a part of one. It brings such comfort and makes the hard times seem not quite so dire. I love my little eternal family and am so grateful for the gospel in my life! What are you thankful for?

Favorite new trick

Take out all the movies, open as many as I can, then put the DVDs on my pointer finger like a ring.

Caught in the act!

My little helper

When we're helping we're happy and we sing as we go for we love to help Mommy for we all love her so!

So cute.

Pig Roast

We went to a family in our wards house on Saturday night for a real pig roasting! He cooked the pig whole in a giant grill thing, the grill was at his brother's house so we didn't get to actually see it, but we saw the pig and oh man was it cool/gross/delicious (I wasn't really sure how to feel about it.)

Malachi didn't know how to feel about it either, he sure did like eating it though!

I think there might be a certain cousin in-law who would have enjoyed this event more than I ever could (you know who you are).

Tagged

My friend Emily tagged me, this is my first tag, thanks Emily!

8 Favorite tv shows
What not to wear
The biggest loser (sometimes I cry)
America's next top model (don't judge me!)
So you think you can dance!
The Office
Friends (I have them on DVD, we only have bunny ears ok!)
Seinfeld re-runs
Grey's Anatomy (pre-lesbian stuff)

8 Favorite restaurants
El gallo giro in Kuna
Costa Vida
Chili's
Epi's
The Brick oven downtown (best mashed potatoes ever!)
Olive Garden (this is actually Andrew's favorite, but I'm starting to run out of ideas)
Subway (I worked there in college, then craved them while I was preggo)
Coldstone creamery (ice cream can totally count as a meal)

8 Things that happened today-these aren’t in order
Went to Bajio with the madre and JayJay (that's what I'm trying to get Malachi to call James, James is not too happy)
Went for a walk with Malachi
Got Malachi dressed
Got myself dressed (quite the feat)
Saw Amyjoy pre and post haircut
Talked to Rebecca about mutual
Kissed Andrew goodbye
Brushed my teeth (aren't you glad!)

8 Things I look forward to
Andrew graduating!!!!!
Andrew getting a job, that's not roofing!
Having more babies (someday, this is not an announcement!)
Owning our own home
Being able to decorate and paint my own house however I want (I want it to be very Martha chic)
Naps
Showers all by myself (no Malachi, in or around the tub!)
New clothes!

8 Things on my wish list
New sofas (ours were free and I'm so grateful, but can't wait to buy some that I love)
A beautiful bed set, with all the pillows and bed skirt and beautiful comforter
A personal chef (probably will never happen)
That Malachi will grow up healthy and smart and make good choices
That Andrew will have a job set up before he graduates (fingers crossed)
That Emily's baby will be so healthy (Yep, I think about you all the time! and you are totally on my wish list!)
That my mom could follow me wherever we move to (I'll miss her)
That Kimmy will be so happy with her four little boys and one big one! (yeah, you're on my wish list too!)

8 People
I tag anyone who want to do this, it's harder than I thought it would be!

Little pleasures

I put on my favorite pair of jeans this morning, I haven't been able to wear them since I was like 4 months pregnant (not showing at all!), and they FIT!!!!! Made my day! Hurray for enjoying the simple things! Off to Blackfoot we go, me, Malachi, and my jeans!

Funny faces and words for the "week"

I don't know where he got this, but when we say something is cold this is the face we get, hilarious!

This is just a crazy face, he was probably yelling.

Malachi has some new words, here they are:

• taytoe-tomato, as you all know Malachi loves tomatoes
• mimi-binkie, I don't know where he picked this up from he just started calling it that one day
• cheese-the kid could live on the stuff!
• toys-he doesn't say this one just by himself yet, but he'll mimick it when I say it
• baby-he's obsessed with babies right now, I'm wondering if I should buy him doll (will he need therapy?)
• shoes-he loves shoes
• ball-he could find a ball from a mile away
• wait-he doesn't say this one, but he signs it, he's so impatient I decided it would be a useful sign
• Geez-what everyone calls his Grandpa Yoder

I think that's it, he's a hoot, and makes me laugh everyday!

A visit from Geez

I'm not being rude I promise, Geez is what Andrew and all of siblings (Joel included) call his Dad. We had an impromptu visit from Geez, he called Andrew on Monday and said he was close by and was coming to visit. It's always fun when Roman and Geez come, because we get to go to dinner, thanks Geez, and we always have some laughs.

Here's a picture of the three Yoder boys.

By the end of last night we had Malachi saying"Geez" it was sooo cute! Also (Joel you'll be jealous) he brought Andrew his beverage of choice, Birch Beer (kind of like Root Beer), I think it tastes like Certs mints but whatever, plus some Hartley's potatoes chips, Andrew's favorite. Needless to say it was a fun couple days. Thanks for coming Geez!

Fun pics

I grew this LOVEly tomato

Papa Joe and Malachi, just chillin'.

Papa Joe brings out the best in Malachi

Cookies for Kimmy!

148, that's the final cookie count, for this batch at least.

Mmmmm, don't you just want to stick your finger in there and then lick off the chocolatey goodness.

Before

After
Cookie maker extraordinaire!

We love Kimmy, and can't wait to eat these on her BIG day!!!

No, no, no

One of Malachi's new words is "no!" He's so funny, he'll start doing something he knows he shouldn't and then look at me and say "no, no, no," Sometimes he'll even shake his finger at me! I don't think I'm a mean mom, but the way he says no to me it makes we wonder if I sound that intense. The best is when he tells me no and then shakes his little finger at me, as if to emphasize the point, it's so hard not to laugh.

We're also going through some more teething. He's finally getting more teeth on the bottom, so now he won't just have the two little middle teeth. Poor little guy has the worst runny nose though, it's pretty much like a fountain.

This is just a funny pic. My friend gave me this helmet, it's for babies when they start crawling or walking, to prevent bonks on the head when they fall. I put it on Malachi one day just to see what he would think of it, he really just didn't know what to do with it, it was so funny.

Crazy kid!

Malachi likes to be part of the action, so while I get ready he sits on the counter and plays in the drawers. Yesterday he decided to sit in the sink, then proceeded to turn on the water, he thought it was great!

I wear my sunglasses at night...

He could open and close the screen door at Grandma and Grandpa's all night long!

Mickey, this one's for you!

Here are the jars, I have three of the bigger ones and two of the little ones. And don't worry, they'll be empty!

The Birds

Yes, this bird is dead.

Yes, it's on my patio.

Yes, it's totally creeping me out!

Are we still canning?

Oh yes we are!!!

Latest canning adventures tomatoes and salsa.

Roald Dahl

I had completely forgotten about Roald Dahl, one of my most favorite children's authors ever, and then the other day I was looking at my book shelf and saw his books. I started reading one to Andrew while he was playing football on the X-box (a favorite Andrew past-time), it was Revolting Rhymes, hilarious, I honestly didn't think he was paying any attention! But apparently I was wrong, he really liked it. So I picked up another one, The Twits, and started reading, we didn't finish and I didn't think Andrew was all that interested, but a couple nights later he says "Hey, we never finished that book." In my head I was like "Seriously he wants me to read to him more, this is a guy who I honestly have never seen read a book 'for fun'." So we finished it, and he thought it was great.

So here's to Roald Dahl and his fabulous books, they are hilarious and so incredibly creative!

Happy Birthday Megan!!!

A big happy birthday hurrah to yoderbaby #3! This picture is from our big zoo adventure/sleepover a couple months ago!



<-Megan with a monkey, all the kids got to pick an animal to take there picture with and Megan chose the monkies, excellent choice!

Words for the week

I don't know if I'm doing this weekly or not, I just do it whenever I think about it! Anyway, here are Malachi's latest words!

nana- banana, the kid could eat like 20 nanas a day!

caca-(not what you may be thinking) cracker, also could eat these all day long.

wow-whenever he sees something that looks fun he says "wooow." so cute

mmmmm-when he eats something good he goes "mmmmm" or if he thinks something will be good.

woof woof-he does this whenever he hears a dog, sees a dog, or sees something that could be a dog.

eat-he has been signing this for a while, there are times when he'll wake up and even before I get him out of his crib he's signing "eat!eat!"

I think that's all. Can I just say this little guy gets more and more fun by the day! Oh and the picture is Malachi eating a peach that he just grabbed out of a box of peaches, he ate the entire thing, he's out of control!

Goodbye Zoe

Zoe left us last week, no she didn't die, she went back to my aunt Patsy in Blackfoot. We love Zoe, but I just couldn't give her the attention she needed anymore, I'm sure a lot of you can agree she was an incredibly needy dog! Also with us planning on moving when Andrew finishes school it just would be easier to move dog-less. We love you Zoe! And we love Patsy for loving her too!

We made it!

Blackfoot was full of surprises and lots of fun. We got to spend time with family and meet soon to be in-laws, yay Kimmy! There was the always spectacular Blackfoot parade! We got to work hard, which was actually really fun, doing MORE beans and a lot of corn, we love the Lymans!! There was a surprise visit to the hospital, but all is well, thanks to lots of prayers and the tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father. The trip home took a little longer than usual, due to an accident, but Malachi was amazing, didn't cry at all, and was perfectly content looking at his books and playing with his toys. Needless to say we are so glad to be home!

Blackfoot or bust

We're off to Blackfoot this afternoon. Things we have to look forward to:

1. lots and lots of corn
2. the Eastern ID state fair (always a good time)
3. possibly seeing the new Balukoff baby (fingers crossed!)
4. crazy family fun, let's face it the McNeel clan can get a little wild!
5. a very long, possibly boring, drive, but it's so worth it!

Blackfoot, ready or not, here we come!

Mmmmm, tomatoes!

Malachi just picked up this tomato and started chowing down, man that kid will eat anything!

Birthday bash (part II)

After all that fun we had to clean up, oh so sad!

Grandma didn't mind a little chocolate down the drain.

"Dad you're drowning me!"

Look at that cute family

(I don't know what Andrew's doing, kind of looks a little like frog man, not gonna lie.)

Here are the birthday kids! Malachi is soooo ready for bed after all that birthday excitement!

Birthday bash 2008! (part I)

Look at all those presents! Some were for Grandma, but let's face it most were for Malachi.

This one is his favorite, we may have gotten it out earlier in the week, ssshhh don't tell anybody!

"Hmm I think I might try to grab that green thing on top of my cake."

"Oh man this is sooooo good!"

"Look at me Mom!"

Happy Birthday Malachi and Grandma!

Today is Malachi's 1st big day and Grandma's 51st, how many of you knew they share a birthday, pretty sure she'd say he's her best birthday present ever! Stay tuned for birthday party adventures! It's hard to believe just a year ago he was that tiny!

Words for the week

So Malachi has said/done a couple new words/sounds for the week. The first one is .... butt! Yes this was all Andrew's doing! He came in one night while I was changing Malachi and started saying,"butt, butt, butt..." of course Malachi said it right back and now it slips out randomly, uugghh! It was actually really funny though, because that night I was rocking Malachi and he would sit up and say "Dada, ubda oopada (jibberish) butt!" and then laugh and laugh like it was the funniest thing ever.

Malachi's also been copying sneezes, it's the cutest thing. We'll sneeze and then he'll make a sneezing noise and thinks it hilarious! So apparently father and son have the same sense of humor, butts and bodily functions are hilarious!

I almost forgot one! He also goes "mm mmm" like when you're telling someone not to do something, so when I tell him no he goes "mm mmmm," so cute!

Stupid migraine, awesome Andrew!

I had the worst migraine ever yesterday! It made me so grateful for Andrew he took such good care of me, and totally took over Malachi duties. He was so gentle with me and let me just lay on the couch and do nothing, he even did the dishes, amazing! So, needless to say I'm loving him more everyday!

Attack of the green beans!!!

Last Friday we continued a great Bergeman tradition-canning green beans! Now this isn't just a few beans from the garden the is boxes and boxes of green beans, we're talking like 60 pounds!!! It's out of control. I remember when I was like ten and my mom and I stayed up all night watching Lorenzo's Oil and snapping beans. We always have quite the assembly line going, this time James and I snapped all 60 lbs while Mom washed and stuffed the jars, then we put the lids on, at this point I ditched out for a previous engagement and poor Mom was left to pressure cook all 61 jars by herself, she was up until 2:00 am, she's the canning queen!

Here's Malachi making his contribution.

Twin Falls temple

The Twin Falls temple was beautiful. It was so amazing to go there with the Young Women. It makes me so grateful for my forever family. The knowledge that we are sealed together forever is such a comfort and something I wish everyone had. The spirit was strong, but it was different than going to the temple after it's dedicated and everyone inside is in white and there is no doubt that it is the Lord's home. I love the church and the temple and the work that we are able to do there.

The not so secret garden

Malachi helped Grandma in the garden on Monday. Tomatillo anyone?

Malachi makes sure everything is in order and meets his approval "Beets...good...carrots...good...swiss chard...gooood."

Miss Green thumb herself! Holding just a few of the delish cukes.

Malachi takes a break to smell, or smash, the flowers!