Play Date with AnnaLee

Kevin & Andrea are in town with their new baby girl AnnaLee! We went to Arthur & Debbie's house for a cookout and some fun baby play time. Mallory and AnnaLee are only 2 months apart. They hit it off really well! Next time they see each other, they'll really be able to play with each other. It was SO good to see Kevin, Andrea, and AnnaLee. We miss them SO much!!!

FIVE Months!

Happy 5 month birthday, Mallory! You're getting SO big!

Oh, how we love summer!

Today has been much better for Mallory than yesterday. Although she's still a bit sore from her shots yesterday, she's still managing to enjoy the beautiful weather. What a DOLL!

4 Month Doctor Visit

Mallory had her 4 month checkup with Dr Yeiser today. She was given 5 immunizations today -- quite a traumatic event for such a little tyke! But she was very brave and handled it like a champ (she takes after her mother). Here are a couple of pictures from her visit.

Mallory waiting for the Doctor to come in....all is well!

She's not sure why she's laying up high on that bench, but she's ok with it because she has her favorite toys...uh oh, why is that nurse coming in the door, and what is she holding?

This is the hard part.

Whew! It's all over. That wasn't so bad! Mom & Nana came to my rescue and those cute little cartoon bandaids help a lot.

Trip to Harrisburg

We finally made it to the infamous Harrisburg, IL -- the hometown of Drew Watson & Brian Wilborn. We have heard SO many stories about this lovely little town. Together with Luke & LeighAnne, we headed north for Brian & Jessica's wedding shower.
It was nice to visit and see what it was all about.

ROLL OVER Baby!!!

Wow, our little Mallory amazes us each and every day. Today, she rolled over from her tummy to her back several times!! We got one of her amazing rolls on film. I was so excited...I called my mom to let her know she had the most talented 4 month old on the planet! Of course, being the wonderful mother (and Nana) that she is, she completely agreed with me!

Way to go, Mal!
Mom and Dad are so proud of you!

Talk To Me

Someone is learning to talk! She is one very talented little girl!
The video is a bit dark...Be patient with me, as I'm learning to use my camera.

Mallory can sit up like a BIG girl!

Mallory can sit up (with a little help)! Poppa found a new use for the swimming float. Only my dad could come up with this ingenious idea to help Mallory keep her balance.

She found her feet!

Mallory discovered her feet this weekend. She's grabbing at them every chance she gets! I love sitting and watching her play. She it learning to hold things (her black and white ring is her favorite), grab her feet, and laugh out loud! She amazes me more and more each day.

Find the Pacifier...

I don't know how it happened, but somehow Mallory managed to drop the pacifier out of her mouth and it happened to land on her TOE! I promise she got NO help from us on this. Can you see it?!? Bizarre. She's already proving my point that her toes are like little fingers. She can hold things with them!

She's got PERSONALITY!!!

Mallory's little personality is starting to show! She gives us a little more each day. Here are a couple pictures from this past week. Thanks, Andy, for taking pictures of her while I'm at work. Keep doing it 'cause I don't want to miss ANYTHING!

3 months old!

Mallory turned 3 months on July 21st. Here are my favorite 3-month pictures of her.

Back to work...

Well, I did it. I went back to work. Leaving Mallory for such a long period of time was VERY difficult for me. I felt like it ripped my heart out. But when I got home she was still alive and she still knew who I was. So, I guess she CAN survive without me. Who knew!

I have to look at it like it's only 4 hours at a time. I get to visit her during my lunch since Andy's watching her now, and my parents will watch her when school starts back up.

It wasn't easy, and I didn't like it, but I have to tell myself that millions of moms do this every day. While I realize moms work all the time, it still doesn't make it any easier. Hopefully, I'll adjust and the pain will ease up soon. I miss her all the time.

Dad and Mallory...

Here's a cute picture of Andy and Mallory walking on the beach.
The family going out to dinner in Florida.
Mallory slept through most of her beach time, but I know deep down she enjoyed it!

Home Sweet Home

We've done a lot of traveling over the past 2 weeks. We've been out of town for 11 of the past 14 days. We traveled to Florida, Rough River, and Louisville. Mom, Dad, and Mallory are done traveling for a while. It feels good to be home, where we have everything we need. Maybe we can get back on a schedule before I go back to work on July 15th.

At the Lake

Thanks to Mike & Jan Martin, we were able to go to Rough River for a few days. Mom and Dad came too! We had such a great time soaking up the sun. Mallory really enjoyed her time in the water. It seems to relax her. Tootsie has also grown quite fond of Mallory's turtle float!

on the beach...

We went to Florida with the Raines family over July 4th. Mallory's first 10+ hour car ride was tough on our little 10 week old baby, who could barely hold up her head. We survived, though, and now her neck is very strong!

Here's a picture of mom and Mal chillin' on the beach. We had a fantastic vacation with Don, Mel, and Christina. We wish Emilie could have come...

Grow Baby Grow!!!

Today was Mallory's 2 month visit with Dr. Yeiser. Immunization shots are NOT fun!!!
He confirmed our realization that she's growing like a weed....FOUR inches in two months!

Height: 23 1/2 inches (87th percentile)
Weight: 10 lb. 2 oz. (29th percentile)
Head Circ: 37 1/2 cm (16th percentile)

Guess she''s going to be tall and skinny-- like her Momma!
After a traumatic visit to the Doctor, Mallory needed some R&R....

Her beautiful smile

Man, she's absolutely beautiful! I'm a little biased, but that is the cutest little smile I've ever seen...she's perfect. Being a mom is wonderful!

PLAY TIME - 8 weeks old

Dad is showing Mallory all the cool things he can do on the computer...she really seems in to it!

Mallory is SOOOOOOOOOO big!!!!!!!

Here she is in her favorite outfit. ALL girls love their tu tu!

She's getting some serious play time in her Bumbo...or as Andy calls it, "the Bimbo." Thanks Nana & Poppa for finding this!

Lazy summer days

As you can see, Mallory has been VERY busy this summer. Here she is sleeping. ..in many different positions.

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day, Andy! We're so lucky to have you as part of our family. You're going to be the BEST dad! We love you SO very much.

~ The Girls

Lets go swimming

Mallory loves to swim! As you can see from the pictures above, she is a little "startled" at first, but comes around and really enjoys the water while her Dad holds on to her tightly.
We're getting some practice in for our Florida trip in a couple weeks.

Our first investment property

It's our first investment property...a condo on Robin Road. Andy and I have been wanting to own one of these condos for the past 6 years. We tried to buy one when we first got married, but it sold before we were able to. We've kept an eye out for these condos because we like the property so much. When this one came up for sale, we took it! The owner had lived there for 20 years....they don't come up for sale very often. We're so excited to own some investment property. We think because of the location (corner of Griffith and Robin Road), it will pay off. Here are some pictures of the outside, kitchen, and basement. We close on the property July 15th.

Six is the magic number...we hope

Last night was a good night. Mallory made it 4 1/2 hours between feedings! It must be a gift from God. He's giving me a break from getting 1 1/2 to 2 hours of sleep at a time--which we all know can make a person crazy!

I'm not complaining. Mallory is a GREAT baby. She's wonderful and really only cries if she's hungry. She wakes up to eat during the night and goes right back to bed. The problem is she's hungry again before I'm ready to get up from bed. By the time I've fed her, burped her and fallen back to sleep, it's time to get up again.

I'm hoping this is the beginning of a wonderful trend...Mallory sleeping VERY good and for long periods during the night. I'm hoping this is something that happens around 6 weeks (she just turned 6 weeks yesterday). That's our magic number. At 6 weeks, we're supposed to have this parenting thing down, right?!?!? If it isn't something that continues, thank you Lord for one night of wonderful, precious sleep!

Good night my princess...sleep tight tonight.

Hello pacifier, welcome to our family!

Thank God for pacifiers! Whoever invented the pacifier should be given an award.

As you can see, Mallory has discoverd the pacifier, and she loves it (and WE LOVE IT TOO). We lasted 3 weeks before introducing it. : )

This picture is hilarious...Mallory looks like she's about to rob someone!

Mallory's first bath...better than expected

Mallory's first bath went better than expected. I was kind of dreading this experience because I thought she'd scream and cry the whole time. It actually went much better than I expected...especially since I had no idea what I was doing. It was a first for BOTH of us!

During her second bath, she puked in the water. It was pretty gross, but we managed to get through it...

Our precious babay

Here are a couple more pictures of our tiny bundle of joy. We can't help but take pictures of her all day long. She's perfect!