Obama Pics

I am so glad that we took him to this rally, and that we had the opportunity to participate in history. I was so proud of Portland that day, and Malcolm learned to chant "Yes, we can!

There were 75,000 people in this historic march which was in May just before the primary.

Malcolm's Hospital Photos

On June 5th, 2008 Malcolm had surgery on his teeth. He healed, but we just endured.

Malcolm Before Surgery on His Teeth

This experience was so hard. No breastmilk or food for our Boo from 11:00pm until after his surgery and recovery at around 4:00 the next day. One sad, sore, drugged toddler, one completely worried and nervous mama, one traumatized daddy and one fairly calm uncle.

Malcolm's Easter Eggs

Catching UP

This spring has been so full of commotion and activity that I have had no time at all to keep up with the blog. I have really missed it, and kept thinking I would find time overall Memorial Day weekend or 4th of July, and now we are in the middle of summer and I have not even posted the Easter pictures,missed pics of the beach because I did not have the right batteries and are just sitting down to talk about how my family has completed fallen for Obama.

We had fun at Easter, and colored Easter eggs. That was a messy process, but fun but not like last year's Easter. I missed our friend's ritual of thinking about what we wanted to accomplish in the next year. In Easter of 2007, I said I wanted to go back to Kenya with our family in 08 without using a credit card. We didn't make it. Instead, Boo has had to have surgery on his teeth, and I am still trying to figure out how to pay for my root canal. Between the two of that is $6,000 in medical bills if I get mine-so much for Kenya.

The presidential primary season in Portland really heated up this year, and we all caught the Obama bug. We all had it already, we have since long before he announced but the Hillary/Obama stuff had us worked into a fervor. We were surprised to see Oregon playing such a key role in the election.

We took Bugaboo to the Obama rally in May that drew 75,000 people. It was pretty unbelievable and my pictures don't do it justice (refer back to previous battery issues), but it was really amazing to see people just keep coming. Baba Malcolm, Malcolm and I arrived downtown at around 10:15. The rally was supposed to start at 12:30, and people were already wrapped around the block. All over the place there were people selling all kinds of things with Obama's picture or name on it. It reminded me of the little kiosks in Nairobi where you could buy everything Nikes to 1 cent candies and cigarettes to fish for tonight's dinner.

What was really shocking to me was that it was not a predominately African-American crowd. It was very mixed ( well for Oregon anyway), and people stood patiently in 90+ degree weather waiting to see Obama. While he spoke,well-organized Campaign activist sprayed the crowd down and offered us cook drinking water. Malcolm sat on our shoulders and learned the expression "Yes, we can." He still says it whenever he sees a picture of Obama on TV or something. We put an Obama sign in our yard, and somehow he learned to read it on his own, wherever he sees the word Obama in whatever context he reads it. That's my baby boy. Yes, we can Malcolm.We can.

After the May Primary then June arrived and so did my mother and my birthday. This year, I actually wanted to do something and we had people over for a party in our garden.

I have gotten addicted to garden. We have chickens now, and hopefully soon we will have a beautiful coop as well so they can get out of our basement! Malcolm loves the plants, and eats anything green he finds growing.

He is really enjoying a few weeks off of school hanging out with our church community. You know before he was born I really thought my activist community would step up and be a family for my little one. It did not happen that way, instead I got an entirely new family, and I am totally grateful that God sent them to me every single day. I do not know what anyone does without a faith community, and feel that ours is striving very hard to become the Beloved Community that Dr. King dreamed of. Malcolm knows more peace and love and community in a rainbow of people than I ever have. I hope that we continue to keep the balance of his experiences on the safety and community side and not the pain and hurt that so many of us have felt under the stings of racism here.

Malcolm cooking vegetables

This is Malcolm cooking vegetables-kale to be precise-at school. I told y'all he eats green stuff as long as he knows I can't see him! See how happy he is about it too?!
Now the chef is really concentrating!

All About Being a Superhero and a Fireman

Malcolm and Sophie love each other. They are about the same size and body type and temperament so they spend lots of time together, hugging, and pretending. It is sooo adorable it makes me want to burst and this picture of the two is just too much, pretend time, best friends and music. Who could ask for anything more?

"Ok, I got rid of Ms. Sophie. Now it's time for some serious business!"

Malcolm and his Friends

Drummer Boy!

He can barely reach the drum, but he can sure play it!

Mountain Valley

We are in love with Malcolm's pre-school Mountain Valley. Malcolm is happy there. He missed his friends over Spring Break and we kept them alive in our minds by naming all his rubber duckies after people in the school during bath time. He had a wonderful spring break though, he got to connect with people from our church community. They took him on lots of field trips including the zoo, the park, The Portland Barack Obama Headquarters, a restaurant where police officers were having breakfast, and the neighbor's yard for flower picking.

He got ride bikes, ooh the Obama people by shouting Obama's name when he saw his picture ( that's my boy!) make flower arrangements, play with trains, and visit the alligator in the zoo. The kid definitely loves community! I am really glad. He is so connected to so many friends and loves so many people.

Mountain Valley also really nurtures that sense of community and I always feel that he is in a safe and nurturing environment. Here is a picture of the school and I am posting other hilarious pictures from his times there as well.

Funny Things Malcolm Does These Days

Today he put his dolly on his little potty, that he himself does not know how to use yet. He said, "Dolly, potty." and then put his dolly on his potty.

He knows how to chant O-bam-Mah in a pretty adorable way, yes I am politicizing my child but what do you expect social change runs in the family.

Malcolm Turns Two!

Stockings, Presents, and Other Merry Activities

All He Wanted for Christmas was a Bicycle!

Yes, this is all he wanted for Christmas, but he still can't quite reach the pedals. I think that we can adjust them, but getting this trike back to Portland will be tricky.

The Snows of Colorado

In these pictures you can see Malcolm with his new little wheely backpack which will make a great diaper bag. His cousin Matthew is also featured in one photo.

Christmas 2007-Part 1-Colorado

Well, I finally have a moment to write. December has certainly been a whirlwind! We moved on December 1st, then there was unpacking, and Christmas preparations, and still need to do more planning about the big guys birthday. We have also had a lot of challenges. Malcolm's Baba has been working nights and I am still working days so we only see each other on Sundays and sometimes Malcolm does not get to spend quality time with his Baba for the better part of a week, but we are making it through. We have had other challenges well, but I have tried to keep the focus on Christmas and love and peace.

We came out to Colorado for about five days while Baba Malcolm is working, then we are going to do a family Christmas in Portland when we get home. That is why the title of this posting is Christmas part 1, but I am now posting several pictures from Christmas so far. It has been pretty cool, complete with a small Christmas miracle, and snow on Christmas Day.

Malcolm made his grandma a very special cup at Mimosa Studios in Portland. We were supposed to pick it up on Friday so we could have it on the plane on Saturday, but their kiln shut down in mid job which had never happened before and they had to ship it. It was upposed to arrive on Christmas Eve, but it didn't and I was worried and preparing my speech to the company, but it arrived on Christmas Day as we were still unwrapping presents so it was great. We will start with the picture of grandma and her cup then, and then post others as we go along.

I hope that everyone out there is doing well, let's hope for the sake of the children that 2008 is a year that brings more peave, more understanding, and some real change and care for our planet.

Catching Up

It has been a while since I have really written anything significant for this blog. Mostly, I have just been filling it with pictures and hoping that they would speak for themselves, but I think that some reflection is in order.

Life has been moving fast lately. I have been increasing my hours at work, and that has been hard on Malcolm. He does not really accept my being away on Fridays well, and that has made having less time off even harder on me, but I think that we are starting to adjust. I may send him to his nursery school on Fridays soon, and that may help. He is so nurtured and loved there and I think that he really needs time with other children now.

Malcolm is also learning all kinds of new things. My favorite thing is that he has started nursing his teddy bear from time to time. I have not been able to catch on camera yet, but one day I will and then I think that I will send it in to Mothering magazine for all the world to see because it is too darn adorable. However, I must mention that he is not fond of me trying to nursing his teddy bears that results in a lot of jealousy.

I have attached a little picture of him a few weeks ago. I was getting his bath water ready for him so he could take his bath in the little basin, and his Daddy called me to ask a question. When I turned around Malcolm had climbed on in clothes and all and was washing his sock! I thought it was pretty funny and that I would share it with you all. We have not had many adventures lately, still recovering from October, but we are moving so there is much commotion on the homefront.

Happy Halloweeen 2007

Check Out My Baby's Fine Motor Skills!

Look at that grip! My baby is going to be a writer like his mama!

It Just Wouldn't Be Pacific Northwesty Enough Without a Picture of a Spotted Owl

.....So here it is!