Happy 2 yr family-versary!

Today we celebrated 2 years of being a family! All day I have been saying and singing HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! to Malak. He was immediately singing along with me but after a while I realized that he was saying HAPPY IT'S A MYSTERY! Not quite the same... but cuter and much funnier.

I tried to spend then entire day focusing on Mal and making sure he knows how much we love him and the treasure he has been for the last 2 years. Obviously, he gets my attention every day but on a normal day there are errands to run, places to go, people to see and chores to be done as well. So I blocked off today with nothing to do but play with my baby. It was fun to give him every ounce of my attention and let him know how much I adore him.

After playing at the house all morning we went and met Eric for lunch. We ate, we played in the play area in the mall and he "drove" some cars- a few of his favorite things to do.

Malak's favorite thing in the whole world is helicopters. They make his life worth living.

So after lunch I took him to go see a helicopter. It may have been the best moment of his life. Well, until I wouldn't let him get in it. And then it turned into the worst moment of his life. But let us not focus on that part...

Malak's second favorite thing in the whole wide world is bikes.

(Okay, he thinks that bikes are motorcycles, so we just go with it cause it's funny)

Today we got him his first bike. And I'm pretty sure it is the baddest tricycle in OKC. It's a low rider. It has leather tassels. It is chromed out.

That's how he rolls.

All he needs now is some gold teeth and we'll be good.

After cruisin' around on his sweet ride for a while we ate dinner- his favorite foods: Homemade pizza, strawberries and raisins. Random? Yes. But who am I to not add raisins to the dinner menu if it's his fave?? On May 25th the Silvestri's eat raisins for dinner. Deal with it. ;)

After our funny little feast we headed off to the park for some serious play time.

He loved swinging with daddy...

And jumping with mommy...

After the park we met friends for some coffee and let the kids run around together. We also attempted a few family pics... Which was kind of a joke. :)

Fun, fun day celebrating life with my sweet baby.

Our story...

Every Sunday our church shows a video of someone in the community who is living out a mission. Someone who is actually DOING what we've all been asked to do and are being Jesus to Oklahoma City and other parts of the world. Nearly every Sunday we walk away moved, inspired or with a new vision of ways we can get involved.
This month our church is focusing on orphan care, adoption and foster care. We LOVE being a part of a community that is passionate about the things that we are passionate about, a place that sees the value in caring for the orphans, widows and the lost. These are things that prick our hearts and knowing that our family at Skyline feels the same pull makes us feel right at home and eager to do more.
So when they asked us if we would share our adoption story we were super excited! While our story is simple and not a huge deal to some, it is ours and we love to tell it to anyone who will listen. If there is any chance that our little journey to adoption and throughout the process of bringing our son home will push someone even a tiny bit closer to adoption, then heck yeah, grab a cup of tea, get cozy and let me talk! That being said... I was definitely NOT excited about seeing myself on video- You know how you get all awkward and weird when you're nervous? That was me. It wasn't pretty, folks. I was trying desperately to hold in the tears that were threatening to pour out of my eyeballs. You can kinda tell, but oh well, I'm setting my self dignity aside and hopefully letting God work through my awkwardness however he wants.
ANYWAY! They did an amazing job on the video and I love that we will have this little chronicle of our adoption journey and where are hearts were at at this place in time.

After the video showed they prayed over and laid hands on our family and talked a little bit about our future with Sierra Leone. We feel so embraced and blessed by this community and are excited to see what else the Lord has in store for us! The good news is that we have now had so many people wanting to talk about adoption and how their hearts are feeling pulled in that direction, so mission accomplished! :)

Easter and hair...

My sweet boy on Easter Sunday...

He makes my heart full...

Good news! I did Mal's dreadlocks ALL by myself! We have been going to the salon to have them re-twisted and cleaned up every 2 weeks which is kinda INSANE. Reason #1. It takes almost 3 hours every time. (that's 3 hours of me having to hold him still and keep him quiet and happy. Tricky, my friends, very tricky) Reason #2. It costs $40 (plus a hefty tip because well, anyone doing the hair of a 2 yr old deserves a big fatty tip) So, this means we're spending over $100 a month on THE HAIR OF A 2 YEAR OLD. And that is just re-freaking-diculous. So last week I decided it was time to attempt it. And it worked! It was a pre-Easter miracle! And as an extension of the pre-Easter miracle it only took about an hour. Cause I have mad dreading skills. (Or cause I don't do it as thoroughly as the hair dresser did but whatever)

So let us rejoice that our Lord (and the Easter Bunny) has risen from the grave and also that I am saving $100 a month! Woot!

We of course, did the traditional Easter egg hunt... He didn't really care about finding the eggs as much as he just wanted to eat the glorious treats inside. It was his first M&M experience and it was too delicious to be able to hunt whilst eating. So we mostly just ate.

Come on, Mal... We're giving you a few subtle hints here...

But who cares about dumb ol' eggs when you can play in the mud??

And moisturize your squishy little face with it...

We took a few Spring pics... Cause that's what you do on Easter.

Random addition:

Malak likes to play with my hair a lot these days, which I love and highly encourage. It is beyond me as to why he is eating it in this pic... and why I am apparently oblivious to it. 

Wierd, wierd kid.

Yum. Shampoo-y.

The pit...

I have a feeling you want a play by play of my day yesterday... So I am going to give you what you ask for...

Cause I'm a giver.

Yesterday was glorious. The weather was perfect. Mal and I played at the park with friends, then while he napped I laid a blanket out in the grass and read until I fell asleep. Divine.

When Eric got home from work we went to film a video about our adoption journey to be shown at church as we focus on adoptions, foster care and orphans this month. VERY excited about that!! (Seeing our church get so involved in things that were passionate about- NOT excited about seeing myself on video... In front of a few hundred people. Pretty sure I'm going to be the William Hung of church videos. Oh well, I'm letting it go.. Letting it go...)

ANYWAY! For dinner we went to my new favorite restaurant, Cool Greens. It is ridiculously fresh and delicious and makes me happy. After dinner we went to the park and let Mal get some more energy out and then went out for ice cream with friends.

Once Mal was in bed Eric and I made a fire in the fire pit, busted out some hot chocolate, roasted some mallows (yeah, I call em mallows) and cuddled up for a movie by the fire. SO fun!

I am pretty sure I want every day to be like today.

Oh pit, how I love thee...

Very attractive. I know.

   

Chalk it up, punk.

After a trip to the store the other day I came home with some sidewalk chalk for Malak. He LOVES to color these days and whoa buddy, sidewalk chalk was the jackpot. He has been chalking his little heart out on the patio. It is also apparently, very fun to paint your face with it. I like him with his war paint on....

    This is his drawing of a helicopter. Obviously. I know, I've got a freakin Picasso on my hands. Genious...

Does this sweet painted face make you gasp and sigh and swoon all at the same time?

No? Just me, I guess....

We've had such great weather lately and have spent every available moment out in it. The only down side is Malak is apparently a big boy now cause he comes in smelling... boyish. He smells like a wet dog who's been rolling around in pennies. Ugh. It's gross. More baths. Must give the kid more baths.   

Random things...

So.

I cook A LOT. I love, love, love to cook and bake and make fun things for my family. But because of this I have worn out some of my kitchen appliances. Malak and I have a green smoothie (spinach, berries, bananas) every morning and apparently that's hard on a blender cause I've gone through 3 blenders in the last few years. Some of the blenders were crappy but the last one was a Cuisinart and last week while making our smoothies, there was black smoke pouring out of it and started melting. Woopsy daisies! So this week I got some fun new things from Kitchenaid! A food processor and blender. Woot!

Another fun purchase was made last night...

I know, I'm a real babe in this pic.

But let us focus on the fact that I have a SWEEEET camera in my hand! We got a Nikon 3000 and am pretty sure we're going to love it.

And of course, every girl has to have a pretty strap to make her camera look cool and original.

~~~~~

Random story: Today Mal and I were at the grocery store and a man walked up to us (after staring awkwardly for a long while)... We had this convo:

Him: Are you babysitting that boy?

Me: Nope.

Him: He's yours??

Me: Yep.

Him: I mean, is he really yours? Your actual kid?

Me: Yes. He is my "actual kid".

Him: But... Did he... You know... Come out of you? (He then points to his crotch)

(I am amazed and baffled and laughing because he actually felt the need to point to his crotch to ask this awkward question)

Me: Um, no. He is adopted. Welp, see ya later!

Wierdish? I thought so.

~~~

And now some random pics...

                                                          This is Malak's sultry pose.                                    

See food.

Bestill my heart...

I adore this boy with every fiber of my being. Every. Single. One.