Dreadlocks...

I thought I'd show you the latest on Malak's current hair situation.

Eeks.
There was period of three weeks when his hairdresser told us we couldn't wash, touch or even get his hair a little bit wet... Oh sweet Jesus, it was unreal. No words can describe the ugliness.... We made a beeline for Baby Gap and got that kid a couple super cute hats to hide the atrocity that lied beneath. When he would take his hat off, children screamed and mothers ran.

(Yeah, that's right, don't even pretend like it's not that bad. It's bad.)

And after those first three weeks we went back to the salon for ANOTHER 2 1/2 hour hair session. Oh my word. He did awesome for the first hour or 2. A complete angel. And then we had to sit him under the giant hair drier thing and all hell broke loose. He screamed. He cried. He threw food. Of course the salon was full of other customers and I felt horrible about the unfortunate day they chose to go to the salon. For some unknown reason they were all super sweet and understanding and were generally laughing at us more than wanting to poke our eyes out with those sharp little silver scissors. Although, I have no doubt that as soon as we left they danced and sang and rejoiced.

No doubt.
The good news is that our sweet little hairdresser gave us some great locking product to control the craziness called dreads and also told us to get him a do-rag to sleep in.

He's so gangsta now.

But man, does it make a huge difference in the cuteness of the dreads. No more crazy horns and hooks poking in a million different directions- they all lay flat and I'm not embarrassed to take the poor boy out in public.

(Yeah, I laugh every single time he wears it. Sometimes it pushes his eyebrows down over his eyes so he can barely see... And he looks like Chunk from Goonies. And then I laugh more. But luckily, this awesome accessory is just for the non-waking hours)

But then the scary hair started getting cuter!!

He's really working on perfecting his ginormous fake smile.... It's going well, I think.

Almost perfect....

There it is. The biggest, cutest fakest smile ever. Ugh, I want to eat that kid.

And here is his pouty Don't-bother-me-I'm-putting-on-my-lipstick, face.

He looooves to draw these days. Everyday we spend SO much time coloring dinosaurs, airplanes, helicopters, trains and writing out the names of every single person we've ever met. Or come in contact with. Or even just seen.

This is Mal and his best friend Eli...

Unfortunately, Malak thinks it's funny to push him down. A lot. Or slowly walk up him until his big fat belly is almost touching Eli's cute little belly and then knock him over with a gentle belly bump.

Or sometimes it's just easier to wait until Eli is laying peacefully in the grass and then walk up and give his head a little nudge with his shoe.

Poor sweet little Eli! Mal has taken on the predator role. He is an angel with most kids... But he waits for the little guys, the toddlers, the ones who just learned how to walk and he takes em out. Picks off the weak ones of the herd. Usually, it's just a gentle shove or a tiny pointer finger poking them until they teeter over... it's so sad. I secretly laugh a little (cause come on, using his big round belly to knock things (or people) over is a teensy bit humorous), but I'm obviously also trying my darnedest to get the kid to ease up. Ugh.

Amidst his funny hair and ridiculous quirkiness, I love this child more than life.

He owns my heart.

Anyway, the dreads are getting kinda cute, right?? Everyone says it takes 6 months to a year for them to get cute... But I love them already. I already think they fit his crazy little personality perfectly and am excited to see how they'll look down the road. Fun!