Malea the Chatter Box

Malea has started to become quite the little chatter box. She is saying anywhere from 1-3 new words a day. She usually just repeats words back to us that we say (we have to be careful that they are nice words - hee hee). I tried to sit down and think of all the words she can say, here's what I came up with:

Mommy
Daddy
Grandma
Grandpa
"Dub" (for Keith's parents, "Dub" for the "W" in Walker)
doggy
hi
no (one of her favorites)
tree
all gone
uh-oh (her 1st word)
help me
I want that (kind of jumbled together)
pretty
mine
up
out
wow
fish
hot
yummy
what's that? (points to EVERYTHING)
yay
ow-ee

I'm sure there are more but I can't think of them at the moment. Sometimes she will say a word once and I won't hear it again for a while. Then there are words that she says all the time. She will also sit there and just talk in sentences but they are just gibberish. At least she gets to concept!

I was a little bit concerned at her 18 month appointment that she wasn't talking more, but the doctor said she was fine and that if by 2 years she's not talking more there might be a problem. Well, it looks like I don't have anything to worry about because she won't be 2 until February and she is really progressing with speech.

She also does this really cute thing where she will point to letters in the alphabet and pretend like she is reading them....she will say "A, E, O, E, etc." She's not really saying them right but I can see that she is trying and understands that each letter is different.

My little girl is just getting so big!!!

Swimming Lessons

Malea just finished a 5 week parent/tot swimming lesson class at the Provo Rec Center, and she loved it! I was really impressed by how much she improved in such a short amount of time.

Throughout the course of her lessons she learned to be dunked underwater, hold on to the edge of the pool without being supported, lay on her back and float (with some help), jump off the edge in to the water, and blow bubbles. We had a really sweet teacher who was very patient and taught us some great pointers. I'm really glad that we put her in swimming lessons, and I'm hoping to do another class sometime in the spring when it gets closer to summer.

Bleeker

This is the newest member of the family, our new fish Bleeker! He is white with mostly orange spots and a few black spots. He is very active and loves his sweet tank with a pirate ship in it.

Bringing Bleeker home

Needless to say, Malea was thrilled, especially since Bleeker's tank was going to be in her room!

Feeding Bleeker - Malea loves to watch

Malea loves Bleeker!

We {Heart} Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays! It is so much fun to dress up, decorate, carve pumpkins, and watch scary movies. It also marks the beginning of one of my favorite seasons....fall! This year was so much fun, especially since Malea can walk this year and was able to go trick-or-treating.

Here is Malea sporting her Halloween PJ's this year

Yummy Halloween cookies (they tasted better than they looked....I'm not much of a baker!)

Carving pumpkins

Malea was such a helper!

Before.....

After!

On Halloween, we started out the day by going to Grandma Vicki's for the Annual Halloween party! It was so much fun, and included something new this year....a spook alley!

Grandma Vicki holding baby Sienna!

The entrance to the spook alley (or "haunted hallway")

Malea with her cousins

The "Walk-Arrrs!"

The yummy food at the Halloween party

Getting ready to go trick-or-treating!

Our house on Halloween night

"Trick-or-treat!"

She was pooped after a very eventful day of Halloween festivities and visiting family. Overall it was a great Halloween!

Family Pictures

The Walker's
September 27th, 2009

Malea - 19 months old

Nunes/Martindale Family

My brother Ben & his wife April with their kids
Taylor, Sienna, Corben, & Gavin

My handsome brothers, Sam (above) & DJ (below)

Jeremy & Whitney Nunes with their sons Bridger & Boston

Shannon & Shane Penrod with their kids Hunter & Ethan

Mom & Rick

All the grandkids!

Siblings with spouses

Siblings

Toddlers are MESSY!!!!

Here is a compilation of pictures I have taken of Malea making a variety of different messes. I've decided that my new motto as a mother is "you have to laugh or else you'll cry!" I'm coming to terms with the fact that my house will never be clean again!

Leaving a pile a crisp, folded newspaper and junk mail unattended is just asking for trouble!

A favorite of Malea's - pulling out all of the storage containers and measuring cups - probably the mess I see most frequently!

"Maybe if I put every toy I own over the gate, she will let me through!"

Of course you can't go without mentioning the many, MANY high chair messes that happen on a daily basis (here are just a few of my favorites!)

You know when you can't see your child and she gets quiet that something is up.....I gave her a piece of bread and when it got quiet I came in to find the piece of bread crumbled all of the chair and carpet.....the poor bread didn't stand a chance!

Usually the way I find out that she can reach something up high is when she actually gets it....


Malea loves to help mommy with laundry!

I LOVE her face in this picture! She was so proud of herself!

Oh, the joys of parenthood!! I wouldn't trade it for the world!