Love those Chargers!

Here are some pics of Gavin in his Charger jersey!

Some Recent Photos

An Overdue Update

Wow. It's been more than a month since we've had a chance to update our blog! That's largely due to the fact that we've relocated to a rented house in Temple City - just about a mile from our old apartment in Arcadia. The house belongs to a woman in our church, and she's given us a great deal on rent. She also offered to trade us two months rent for doing the necessary renovations ourselves. And by "ourselves" I mean pretty much all of our family and most of our friends! Here are some of the photos of the transformation (which is, of course, still incomplete...ah, life with a feisty infant!):

Thank you again, a million times over, to our friends and family who put their blood, sweat, and tears into making this little house a home for us. Much love.

Visit Watch Gavin Grow

Hi! I put a bunch more photos on our shutterfly site: http://www.watchgavingrow.shutterfly.com/

Recent Photos

A Bumpy Birthday

Well, we had a bit of excitement this morning as we experienced a 5.4 earthquake. All is well here in Arcadia, with nothing broken or falling off the walls. We wouldn't want Jess to have a boring birthday, would we? Here are some recent photos of the family as Gavin visits with Andrea, sports his Batman onesie, visits with his grandparents, and tours the mall. This kid gets around.

What I'm Reading: In the Time of the Butterflies

Changing things up a bit, I'm starting a new mini-series for the blog, which cannot possibly compete with gorgeous pictures of Gavin, but may still be of some interest to a few of you. I am going to be teaching a new class this fall, AP English Literature and Composition. I'm trying to read threw a large selection of modern fiction to pick a few "winners" for my class. As a Victorianist, I will humbly admit that I rarely venture into the shelves of newly published novels. Well, except to preorder and stand vigil for the Harry Potter books, of course. Still, I'm already enjoying how fast these modern books read! So conversational, so unlike the eight hundred page Eliot or Dickens novel that I'm usually perusing, and so much easier to read in the quick moments I steal during Gavin's naps or in the morning before I pick him up from Bethany. So, anyhow, I thought I'd share with you a bit about the books I'm reading, especially because the two I've plowed through so far have been so excellent.





Julia Alvarez, In the Time of the Butterflies

I read about this book on a discussion board through Bread Loaf (that silly-named school where I'm working on my MA in English). The book is written in a beautifully engaging manner, told through the first person narration of four sisters who lived in the Dominican Republic in the 1960's. It's based on a true story, but is a fictionalized account of their struggle against the dictator who ran their country, suppressed all discontent, and eventually had three of the four sisters murdered (I know that sounds like a spoiler, but it's established in the very first pages). Beyond the outstanding craft of the author, which left me feeling as though I had truly known and dialogued with these four women, what struck me most in reading the novel was how little I knew about the events it relates. Did you know that the United Nations declared November 25 (the day of their death) the International Elimination of Violence Against Women Day in honor of these sisters? In reading the novel, I kept feeling that there's a sense that here in White America, I've spent a good amount of my life insulated from the struggle going on all over the world for a freedom that I take for granted every day. One more note about the book - I especially appreciated the role that the Catholic church came to play in the Dominican Republic at the close of Trujillo's regime - fighting on the side of the oppressed, realizing that Christ brings a radical message of freedom and equality, a song of liberation to those without voices.

An excellent book, and well worth reading. Tomorrow: Ella Minnow Pea

Gavin James

Here are some recent photos of our little Gavin. At his 6 month checkup he weighed in at nearly 17 pounds and measures 27 inches. We're just amazed at how quickly he's growing up!

Greetings to All

Hello! I'm sitting in the lobby of the Redditch hotel in England, paying a pound (2$) for ten minutes of internet, and it occurred to me that with a few minutes I could probably tell the maximum number of people that I'm having a fantastic time and miss you all! The students are having a great time, enjoying the opportunity to climb the castle in Rochester, wander the streets of Canterbury, tour the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, peek at honey colored colleges in Oxford, and stand amazed through the Merry Wives of Windsor performed in the Globe Theater in London. All in all, it's been fantastic. The weather was warm and balmy the first three days and has now turned to authentic "British" clouds and rain, which for some reason always lends more charm to the English countryside. I miss you all so very much and can't wait to post my photos. Much love, Marilee!

Rock a Baby

Probably the two most important arrivals at the Malott household in 2008 have been Gavin James and Dustin's Rock Band game for the XBox 360. Both have brought joy; both have brought a lot of noise. Luckily, the two seem to suit one another! Whether he's chilling out and watching the bright colors stream across the screen or taking a more active role, this baby likes Rock Band.

Update on Marilee

As many of you know, Marilee had to go in for emergency surgery on her gall bladder yesterday. After 12 hours at the hospital I am happy to say that she made it through and is recovering at home. She is exhausted and in a lot of pain, but she no longer has a gall stone the size of a golf ball. Thank you for all the calls, flowers, notes, prayer and extra help you have given. We will hopefully update you all soon.

Two Babies

For two years, Jackie Jones was our only baby. He taught us a lot about taking care of something or someone. Like John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus, Jack prepared us for Gavin. We learned what it meant to have someone depending on us, someone who needed us to put his needs above our own wants. We were home at a certain time so he could eat or play or poop. We realized that all the hassle was worth it when he snuggled up and gave us that goofy look that tells us that he loves us more than anything else in the world, except maybe his blue and green footballs. Jack was the perfect preparation for a baby who would enter the world screaming, refuse to eat, go through three different types of formula before we could find one that works, and sleep no more than an hour at a time. Just like Jack, Gavin was and is a lot of hassle, and there's times when I know my resources are depleted beyond anything experienced to date. But it's still all worth it when that little guy smiles up at me, or looks across the room at his dad and starts laughing.

There's just one hitch in this little bible story, our John the Baptist thinks he's the Messiah. There's no stepping aside graciously. No claims of unworthiness to tie the sandal of the Chosen One. Instead, Jack seems to think the only good thing to come out of Gavin's arrival is the proliferation of rattle toys. To demonstrate Jack's boldness, let me tell you that the other day Gavin was wearing these cute little socks that have rattles sewn to the ends. He'd been kicking rather vigorously in his swing, and the sock on one of his feet was dangling a bit. Jack very nonchalantly walked by, gently sniffed the sock, and when he walked away, Gavin had one bare foot! The little rattle sock had to be rescued.

When I returned home from school the other day, Dustin had the following evidence of poor Jackie's refusal to accept a secondary position: Jack had climbed onto Gavin's little sleeping bed and fallen asleep. Now, who can look at such a face and convince him that he's not our baby, too?