Fun Times

Mallorie LOVES Roxi and gets the most excited to see her when she wakes up in the morning.  The other night she just chased her around the house with her arms open waiting to give her a hug.  She also loves to feed Roxi.  This gives me EXTREME anxiety because every once in a while she tries to sneak a piece in her mouth.

 

This is "MOO COW".....Mallorie loves to push her over and laughs hysterically about it.  She now climbs on top and bounces and sometimes even tackles her.  I think she is going to give her big cousins Remi and Roen a run for their money the next time she sees them!

Happy Halloween

Baby It's Cold Outside

This weather has gotten really chilly in the last two weeks.  I just love seeing a baby all bundled up....especially mine.hehe  If only she would get all snuggled up with me!

Miss Mallorie

Well since my last blog Mallorie has turned 14 and 15 months old!  I missed both of those posts!  Oops!

Her little personality is just blossoming and I LOVE it!  She is very opinionated and can now shake her head NO!  She use to wave her finger back and forth, but her communication skills are growing!  She loves babies right now and even said baby the other night.  She is probably around 18 lbs and is wearing size 3 diapers and 12 month clothing (although somehow these are getting too big too).  My once chubby little baby has slendered down!   She is a pretty good eater and her taste buds are expanding.  She LOVES blueberries, strawberries, bananas, bread, and green beans the most though!  She is still doing a great job while I am at work and I am doing good too.  I am so thankful for my supportive family who encourages me daily!  Enough chit-chat already, right???? Here is my sweet baby girl whom I am so proud of!

Finger Painting

Mallorie finger painted for the first time the other day with her babysitter and it appears she had a blast!  I haven't seen her paper yet....maybe that's because no paint got on the paper!! hehe

Gir's trip

Two weekends ago us girls went to San Antonio to celebrate my sister's 30th birthday!  We had a blast.  Mallorie was such a trooper and is defiantly like her Aunt Lauri and Aunt Kim.....those girls can shop till they drop!!! We got Mallorie one of these cows in purple and she loves it!!

 

Mal and her Daddy!

Well in this last month Mallorie is really starting to turn into a Daddy's girl.  I'll admit at first I was a little jealous, but now I have decided it's WONDERFUL!  That day he stayed home with her created lots of new habits...that are AMMMMMAAAZZZING!  So, one of those things his he just walks into her room at bed/naptime and they read a quick story and she will just lay right down and close her eyes.  But, if I do it...oh no ...lots of crying is involved and it just breaks my heart!  So, I am so thankful that she goes to sleep so easily now for him!  She will also wake up in the mornings saying DaDa in her crib. ( those are the times I don't have to wake her up) It's super sweet. It has been amazing to see their relationship grow.  I think that first year is hard on the Dad's.  They don't have much they can do with them yet.....or so some of us think.hehe....I look back now and OMG I think I was a baby hog for at least the first 4 months! I am happy to share now and I'm so glad I did. 

 

Also, Mallorie's babysitter started teaching her sign language and she can now sign eat and more.  It's really cute!

.

What's Mal up to?

Well Mallorie is really coming to life around these parts.  She jabbers all the time and is really trying hard to walk EVERYWHERE!  She will take about 5 steps then fall or grab ahold of the wall.  I am guessing any day now she will not be holding on much anymore. 

She also has 10 teeth now.  Her top molars finally broke through. I'm not sure when this happened, but I just felt them this weekend.  I try not to poke around too much in her mouth b/c you WILL get big!

She is weighing in around 17 1/2-18 lbs.  I think she is hitting a growth spurt though because she ate a TON this weekend!

She is going to bed around 7 and sleeps until I have to wake her up in the morning to get ready which is by 6:30.  That's right....I'm a working woman now.  This is my 6th week back at work and I am proud to say that we are making it!  Mallorie still loves me just as much (which is what I was so fearful of).  So silly!  And we are in the routine of things no

Isn't that kinda ironic....my baby hardly slept at all her first year and now that she's sleeping I have to wake her up!!!haha....oh well...I'm just glad she's sleeping now!

w.  It is still very hard to be away from her and I miss her dearly, but honestly the month before I went to work was the hardest b/c of the anticipation.  I would just cry and cry in fear of how it was going to be.  I still have those mornings where I cry, but I just pray ALL DAY LONG that she is happy and safe and then when I get my arms around her I know we made it! 

I'll tell you what though, that saying ,"It takes a village...." is absolutely true!  We have had to rely on everyone (friends and family) to help us in this transition. 

My first week at work my Mom kept her and everything was great!  Then, the second week she had to start her day care...and well......let's just say NOONE was happy!  I gave it about 2 weeks thinking that she was just adjusting to being away from me.  Well then disaster struck and needless to say we pulled her out on a Tuesday and she was NOT going back to that place! 

Thankfully God had a plan and Nathan and I met with this wonderful couple who has 2 kids and she was so willing to start keeping Mallorie that next day (rash and all....that was not contagious).  Everything has worked out wonderfully and I am so thankful she is in a place now where she is happy and being loved on while I cannot. 

Then Mallorie got sick with a little cold and it turned into an ear infection (poor thing)...all while cutting those molars!  So, thankfully Nathan was able to take off as well as my aunt and Mal was taken care of.  That was actually the first time Nathan and Mallorie had been alone together for more than like 15 min. all year long!  hehe....and they did great!

This experience has defiantly had me put my trust in others for sure!  It's not just me taking care of Mallorie in our bubble anymore...it's "HELLO WORLD, I'm HERE!"....and I think she truly is liking it!

So, as we start a new week say a prayer for little angel that she has an absolutely wonderful week!

I'm back.....

Well, so I have absolutely neglected the blog this past month.  A lot has happened too, so I decided I wanted to get on and share.

First things first though.....Mallorie's First Birthday!  I still cannot believe my itty bitty baby is now a ONE YEAR OLD!

Her party was absolutely perfect.  It was filled with delicious food, bright colors, water-play, and lots of friends and family. I am so thankful for everyone who helped me prepare for the day and for everyone who came to love on my baby-girl!

One Year Old

Wow! I can't believe it has come and gone!  My sweet baby Mallorie turned ONE YEAR OLD on the 6th!  She has blessed our life in so many ways this last year.  I love her more than words can describe.  Here is a little bit about Mallorie at 12 months old.

She weighs 17 1/2 lbs and is 27 1/2 in. tall.

She has 8 teeth.

Wears size 4 diaper and size 2 shoe.

Wears 12-18 month clothing.

Says Mama, DaDa, Nan-Nan, Hello, Ball,

Loves Spaghetti, Pizza, and Cinnamon Rolls.

Walks with us and can walk along furniture by herself.

Loves playing with other kids.

Completely Weaned-  I couldn't have asked for this process to go any better!  It was such a smooth transition.  She had milk for the first time on her birthday.  She doesn't love it but doesn't hate it---which is a shocker.

We had her party last weekend and it was a blast!  More pictures on that to come.

On the day of her party we woke up and went to my Mom's house.  She had cinnamon rolls and milk and then spaghetti for lunch.  We played and then Nathan and I took her to get her first SnoCone at this amazing place I used to go to as a kid.  She loved her Sno!

I can't wait to see what God has in store for my sweet baby this next year. 

11 Months Old

My little baby is growing up!  This past month she has really blossomed!  She has the sweetest personality and is such a joy to be around.  Here is just  little bit about Mallorie at 11 months old......

-wears size 12-18 month clothing

-size 3 diaper

-still around 18-19 lbs I think

-has the sweetest softest voice... can say, "Mama, Da Da, bye bye, and Nan-Nan (this I really cute and funny because my Mom's grandma name is supposed to be Anne an all three of her grandkids call he something different.  Remi calls her Anne, Roen calls her Nanny, and Mallorie calls her Nan Nan.

-has 7 teeth (She has had her 4 bottom teeth for  a while and 3 on the top have all broken through in the last 2 weeks

-loves Yogurt Melts!  Likes Puffs, Mum-Mums, Goldfish, and Waffle Wheels, Green Beans, Rice, Beans, Spaghetti.....I'm having trouble getting her to eat any soft textured food, especially with a spoon.  She will eat fruit a little, but I haven't found anything that she will go to town on.  If anyone has advice on food please let me know!

-Will give kisses on demand to people/toys

-Lays her head down on a pillow when you ask (cutest thing ever!)

-If I say I'm going to get you when she is crawling away she will speed up. Really funny!

-Wait for it........My baby girl SLEEPS now!lol  Shortly after 10 Months Mallorie started sleeping through the night MOST nights.  She still has some nights where she wakes up once, but for the most part she is sleeping soundly! Praise the Lord!!!!

-Today was our first official day of weaning...it's so hard for me to fathom her not nursing anymore. I think it will go okay, but prayers are definitely appreciated...especially since she has nursed on demand for the last 11 months. It will be a change for both of us.

I just feel like this last month was so fun and can't wait to see what the month ahead of us brings.  I love this baby girl more than words can describe.  She is my sunshine!

 

This picture is technically on her last day as a 10 month old, but I just love it so I'm sticking it in today's post.

Babies all around

One of my best friends Amanda just had her baby boy Cutler last week.  Our whole group now all have babies or have them on the way! Here is Katie with her youngest Bowen...Tate her oldest was there, but was not in the mood for pictures.  They are precious!  Amanda is next holding baby Cutler- he is gorgeous! Then Mallorie and I.  Then Ashley with her youngest Attli.  She has two older boys Augden and Slayton.  We have another friend Tiffany who has a boy Harper and then Shauna has a baby boy on the way.  Right now Attli and Mallorie have their pick of future boyfriends!  The only girls in the group. I can't believe we are all married, much less have kids!

 

The Life of an Explorer

Now that Mallorie is on the move she is exploring everything.  She started chasing this ball under a bench and quickly got stuck and DID NOT like it.  Getting her out was quite a task because she doesn't quite understand duck your head and I can get you out easier. hehe

 

 

Groovin' to the Beat

Mallorie has loved music from the moment she came out!

 

Especially JUSTIN BEIBER!!!!  She loves "Baby".  Since birth this song would always calm her down and still to this day she recognizes it.  The other day Nathan was playing some country music and she had no reaction to it....then "Baby" came on and she gave the biggest grin.  We tried to catch in on camera but didn't have much luck.  This is the best we could do. 

 

Then,  We were at Nathan's parents house and his Dad got out his violin and started playing it for Mallorie and she loved it! 

Just a Swingin'

 

Mom hung up a swing at her house and Mallorie LOVES it!  Thanks Mom!