Smile and Stick Your Tongue Out

This guy is the smartest

O my Gosh, we turned into "those" parents (Front Yard Photo Shoot)

       Before Brittany and I had our lil Chi-town, we would see parents post pictures obsessively and in large quantities.  Britt and I said we would never be those parents.  Everyone knows a couple like this, who posts like a hundred pics of their baby, and only like 7 are worth looking at.  Well, where we aren't as bad as posting 100 crappy pictures, I am about to post a lot, but keep in mind that I filtered through 145 pics to get these 13 pictures.  I hope you enjoy.  O, and a shout out to Aunt Emily for sending us some cute cubs stuff.  We love you.

 I love my mom

 My mom is the best

 Insert caption

 I am a looker

 Look at my sweater

mmmmmmmmm 

 Big eyebrows

 My Papa kisses me

 We just hang together

 Papa's whiskers are funny on my lips

 I love my Papa

 Thanks for my sock Adeline, Brooke and Mike

Construction Part 3, Fishing, Three Generations, and Baby Bonanza

        Britt, Chicago, November and I are finally back at home enjoying our remodeled rooms.  Dad came up all the way from Honduras to help out with the construction (not really, but thats what we did).  Having him up here was good.  As of now we are trying to adjust to living at home again.  Be praying for us as we are at a crossroads, and we are waiting on God to show us which direction to head.  I had an exciting Thursday, were I went to Seward (a city southeast of Anchorage) and we fished for Salmon which are beginning to run (that means swim up the river and spawn and then die...bad for them, yummy for us) up our beautiful rivers.  Here are the pics:

Sleeping on the Opa

Three generations of Mallasch boys 

Our bedroom with paint almost done 

Trim top cap detail on flat wall

Floor in Chicago's room 

Josiah with his monster catch on Thursday (Josiah is one of our Jr. High students) 

The one the only Don Curry with his 6 limit of Reds (Don is Josiah's Dad)

Big Daddy with his 4 sockeyes, man the reds were hot in Seward! 

Reading with Papa (notice I trimmed?) 

 The family hanging out in front of Sleeping Lady

Leaky Foundation Part 2

      Well, we are still in Palmer, and my Dad traveled all the way from Honduras to help me with the remodel of our apartment (not really, but thats what we have been doing).  The remodeling is going well, and of course, slower than expected.  It has been great to have Dad here helping me, and it has brought me back to the time of Quality First Home Improvement.
     Earlier last week when Dad got here, we attempted to hike through the valley of two mountains to reach a beautiful forest service cabin.  We got about halfway into the 7 mile hike and we hit a ton of snow.  I really wanted to get us to the cabin, so I pushed us into the snow.  I realized after hiking without snowshoes for two hours in waist deep snow, that Dad might not make it.  So we turned around, and headed back to the trailhead.  Almost 8 hours of hiking that day, 2 of those hours in horrible snow:

Crescent Creek Trail 1 Mallasch Men 0

See you in July Crescent Creek trail, I will win next time.

     Those of you who were expecting baby pictures, sorry, you got suckered into this post.  Here are some of the pictures from the remodeling that I will probably finish up next week.

 Our Room, finishing up the framing where the block wall leaked due to faulty foundation drainage and waterproofing.

 There was is no sill seal on the bottom plates of the exterior walls, so in the winter vapor in the air reaches its dew point on the outside of our interior walls as ice.  Thanks for the crappy building standards 1969...great cars, crappy houses.

 There's the patriarch, wiring up some outlets

 Baby's room, with 2" rigid foam insulation, framing, and vapor barrier

 Our room

 Bead Board (I hate nailing masonite)

 Flooring partially installed

 Baby's room

 Baby's room

Foundation dug out, with ice and water shield, proper drainage, and 2" rigid foam insulation

Waiting to be backfilled

A Leaky Foundation with a Hint of Procrastination

        Sorry for the the long hiatus. Recently our foundation leaked and we had to move out of our place.  We are now living 45 minutes north of Anchorage, in a city called Palmer.  We will move back to Anchorage in a month or so.  On top of the foundation leaking and finding mold in the apartment, I just finished graduate school, and Brittany started working full-time this week; so needless to say it has been a little crazy.  Such is life though.
       But I know you don't really care about all these details, as my friend Mike reminded me with a not so subtle message yesterday, "You better post some pictures of your son on your blog, or I will kill you."  Ok, he didn't threaten my life, but he could have.  Hats of to you Mike for being the one who threw the stone to kill my capacious procrastination.  Here is what your really looking for out of this blog:

 With Papa doing homework

 The babe and the bemb

 "I knew these things had multiple uses!"

 Pondering on the boppy

 Tired

 Confused at my papa

 Can you say money shot?

 Eyeball workout

The three kiddos watching the tube, wishing it was the nfl season...go away lockout

Billy Rueben you mean old Bully you!

      On the 20th of March, Chicago was readmitted to the hospital because his Billy Rueben (Jaundice) levels were getting out of control.  While there, they put him under some light therapy.  We were there until Tuesday morning the 22nd.  As of now his levels are stabilizing, and he seems to be doing a lot better.  Everyday he seems to change in one way or another.  This morning when I left for work, he was just laying in his crib, looking around.  I gave him a big ol' kiss and went off to work.  Man, it's hard to be at work away from you kid.  Only 3/4 of the day to go.  

 Getting rid of the mean ol' Billy Rueben

 Hanging with the Grandmother

 Holding Papa's hand

Roaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar

Chicago Athanasius Dawson Mallasch's 2nd Day

      We went home on Wednesday in the afternoon.  Chicago has been having some issues with feeding because of the trauma sustained on the head during birth and the good ol' Billy Rueben (Jaundice).  But he has been crapping his brains out for the past couple of days as we supplement some formula in with the colostrum.  But Britt is a champ, and Chicago is making good strides everyday.
      The night we came home, @ around 9pm, Chicago opened his eyes and was a different baby then we had seen before.  Since then he is becoming more and more alert.  Today, chicago took a 1.5hour nap on daddy's chest.  He is so precious, and we can't wait for you to meet him.

 Doing what he does best

 A true monster of the midway

 About to go home with Mommy

 Nice little hair line

" I love looking at the camera" -Chicago

Yawn!