What, Two Posts in One Day from Marcia?

Don't get used to this kind of wild and crazy activity from me. My dad just sent me these pictures. Since they went with the last post, I thought I would go ahead and share them.

Mallory and my Grandma.

Grandma Clara is Mal's only great grandparent she's blessed to know.

When we saw Grandma this summer I was mad at myself for not taking any pictures. This time, I didn't make that mistake. Maybe next time I'll wear make up.

During the whole time we spent with my parents after Ike, this was the only picture we took of Mallory with them.

Bloggers Block

If there is such a thing as blogger's block, I think I have it. It feels like I've been slacking at the blogging lately. Since I definitely have not been slacking at the blog reading, here is my contribution to the blog world.

I think I'm finally starting to feel settled here in our apartment. Mallory and I are going to Bible class at a Baptist church in the area on Tuesdays. I'm enjoying the study and she is doing great in the nursery.

I got my cast off about a week and a half ago! It is so great to be rid of that thing.

We visited a different church this morning. I think we will be going back there, even though we miss West Houston. It is a good feeling to be closer to finding a new church home.

When we moved we got U-verse for our Internet and TV. Sadly, I love the DVR because we can record 4 shows at a time. This will come in handy on Thursday nights when Lost comes back on since we already have The Office, Gray's Anatomy, Er, and Life on Mars to watch. Yes, I may be a little of an addict. (Matthew wants me to clarify that WE only watch The Office and Lost, the rest are just me). I did get rid of one show...Private Practice. It just wasn't getting me that excited and I was getting tired of Addison Forbes Montgomery the super doctor. Seriously is she a neonatologist or a obgyn? This is just one of my pet peeves, because in the real world I don't think these medical specialties overlap. While I'm at it, here's another. On Brothers & Sisters Holly went from being a moderately successful actress to a business genius overnight! Do these things bother other people, or am I just a little crazy?

For someone with blogger's block I sure am blabbing on and on about nothing. So, here's what you really want to see.

Mallory wore a sweet dress to church this morning that was Abby's. I can't find the charger for our good camera, so sadly these pictures aren't as good as they could be. So trust me, SHE WAS CUTE!

On of her habits is chewing on the edge of her crib. There are scratches all around the rim from our little woodchuck.

Matthew worked extra jobs last Saturday and Sunday morning. Since he was going to be working from about 6 am to midnight all weekend Mallory and I hit the road. We went to Anita's and then to Muenster for a family reunion. We got to see lots of family. We spent Sunday night with my parents at my Aunt Paulette's. Not that I am pushing Mallory to walk right now, but we thought it would have been special if Mal had taken her first steps at Paulette's since I walked for the first time there. Mallory did great on the car ride. We even made the trip up without making any stops.

Mallory continues to love maneuvering her way through tight spaces. We hadn't been at Anita's an hour last week before she was trying to crawl behind the couch.

This is one of Mallory's favorite toys. Don't recognize it from the toy department? That's because its the strap to attach her paci to her shirt. We have two of these and she will play with either one endlessly.

She prefers feeding herself these days. Maybe because when she feeds herself she can pick out the all the chicken sticks and leave the peas? Last night I watched her discover that she could reach the kitchen table from her chair. After that she sat there and pick up peas one my one and sat them on the table. She did eat some peas too so don't worry about her becoming malnourished. ;)

Well now that I've gotten rid of my bad blogger guilt, I'm giong to try and take a little Sunday afternoon nap before Mallory gets up and we go to the park for some swinging. My blanket is fresh out of the dryer since I spilled dr. pepper on it last night. Oooooo, its going to be cozy!

Nine Months

Since Mallory turned nine months old last week, I guess its time for a 9 mo post. She is just more and more fun every day. We love her to pieces.

She got another good check from the doctor this week. She weighs 21 lb 5 oz so she isn't off the charts anymore. For whatever its worth, she's somewhere in the 75th and 100th percentile
She and I went to have dinner with my friend Monica last night. We met at Monica and Penny's apartment first. Penny is her bulldog. Penny and Mallory were very interested in each other. Mallory would have loved to kiss and hug Penny. She laughed big time when Penny licked her tummy!
Mal sill has just the two bottom teeth, but there are two on the top ready to pop through any day now.
Mallory is an expert at getting into tight spaces. Here she is under the kitchen table yesterday. Last month she and Matthew were in the living room. I thought Matthew was awake. I went to our room for just a second to put something up. When I came back I couldn't see her anywhere. I went into a quick "Baby Jessica in the Well" panic for a few seconds as I woke Matthew up asking where Mallory was since we could hear her but not see her. I think I even looked in the fireplace before realizing that her sounds were coming from behind a chair. She had crawled behind it and was stuck between it and the wall. I look at it now and have no clue how she got back there because an air conditioner filter is filling up the space now.
I'm just a sucker for any picture of these two together. Watching them play and laugh together is the best.
This girl LOVES to eat! If you put her in a high chair you better have some food. She knows what a high chair is for and is not happy if it is not being use for eating. Here she is eating a biter biscuit. They are soooo messy, but sure do keep her happy for a long time.
This girl does NOT like to be still. We have pretty much abandoned the changing table for diapers and dressing. The only way to get her somewhat still is on the floor with a leg across her like Matthew is doing.

Thank you Hannah

My mom gets A LOT of catalogs at her house. She had one from Hannah something. It has some cute things in it, but Mallory has gotten much more joy from the catalog itself this week than if we were to order the $30 sleeper for her.

She also loves this bookmark. I put it away, but she keeps pulling it out of Dee's books.

Happy Birthday Constitution!

With all of the Ike craziness you may have forgotten that today marks the 221st birthday of the US constitution. Mallory is so proud to be an American that she has been celebrating this important day for almost a week. My parents got a pocket sized copy of the constitution in the paper since we've been here. Mallory has been having a great time "reading" it.

I just couldn't keep this picture to myself.

In other news...I am now the owner of a fluorescent pink cast! I was supposed to go back to the doc at home today. Obviously, I wasn't going to make that. I was lucky enough to get in with a doc in Tyler yesterday and he gave me a pretty new accessory. I should only have to wear it for 3 weeks. The best thing about my new cast is that the doc said that I can run with this one. That would be even better news if I had packed my shoes. The worst part of the new cast is that it is scratching Mallory. Seeing little scratches all over her arm and leg make me so sad!!!

The Life of Refugees

Mallory and I are still here at my parents after the storm while Matthew is back home working. He said the storm was pretty rough and that a hurricane is not something he wants to experience again. Thankfully, our apartment seems to be ok. Several other buildings in our complex were damaged, so we are very blessed. Watching the coverage of all of the damage is just amazing.

There is very little power in our part of town, so we don't know how long we'll be here. Until then, Mallory will keep enjoying all of the attention she is getting here from me, Dee, PaPaw, and Aunt Ruby while we miss Matthew.

I thought she was too cute in her blue jean skirt!

One of my favorite pictures ever!

Mallory getting some wisdom from PaPaw...or was it the other way around?

Mallory has been very interested in the end table between mom and dad's chairs. Her she is squeezing to check things out.

I gave Mal some banana tonight for the first time. She had to work VERY hard to pick the pieces off of her tray. I never realized bananas were so slippery. i let her pick them off of my hand and things went much better.

Dad was standing behind me getting some big laughs and smiles from Mal.

In Case You Are Wondering...

Mallory and I left town this morning to get away from Ike.

We were not in an evacuation area, but Matthew will be working 12 hr shifts for the next several days. I did not want to sit through a hurricane with Mallory alone with one good hand. So, we left town this morning and made it to my parents house with no problems (except for the majorly poopy diaper in Conroe).

I'm not sure how long we'll be here. We had a steak dinner tonight where Dad even cut my meat for me (remember, one good hand), so we knows how long stay. Hope you're all safe.

Eight Months

Our baby girl is 8 months old now! I read a description of 8 month olds on a web site a few days ago. It said, "Your baby's now exploring objects by shaking them, banging them, dropping them, and throwing them before falling back on the tried-and-true method of gumming them." That perfectly describes how she likes to play with her toys these days. Here are a few other things about her.

• Mallory is a very speedy and sneaky crawler. We call her our little iguana because she kind of looks like one when she crawls.
• She is pulling up on everything these days.
• She does a pretty good job walking along the couch.
• She is always very interested in what Matthew and I are doing. We love to watch her peek her head towards yot to get a good look at you.
• She does NOT like to sit still. She especially does not like to lay still while getting her diaper changed. This is especially challenging for me since I only have one good hand. If anyone has any tips, please share. Yes, we've tried giving her a toy, hanging something over the changing table, and even strapping her down.
• I fed her some chicken baby food tonight. I'm considering her being a vegetarian for a while because the stuff is so stinky.
• She loves her bottle and her "puffs". We were relieved when we looked at the package and saw that it takes 90 to make a full serving since she will eat a ton of them. It is funny to watch her eat them because she grabs them and stuffs them in her mouth like someone is going to steal them from her.
  

Now what you really want...

Matthew decided to give Mallory a lesson on stairs when we were at Anita's.
Me and my princess at Abby's party.
The princess and her daddy.
Unfortunately Mallory got a cold for her birthday. It made for some very snotty days around here. She's doing much better now.
Dessert!

She discovered how to crawl into the bottom of her saucer this week. Yes, that toy in her hand is a syringe (is that what you call the blue booger getter thingy?). She loves the thing. If you look closely you can see a T on the bottom. That helps us keep the toy one apart from the one we use for snot in case you were worried.

Miss Me?

So, August was a slow blogging month for me. We had a lot going on. Even though it seems like ages ago, it was about a month ago that we moved. I think we are about as settled as we are going to get here in our apartment. Its a small little apartment, but its all we need. I guess it will just make us all the more thankful when we get back in a house.

So, for all who are wondering about my hand. I got to see the ortho last week and thankfully don't need surgery.

That's enough for this boring post. I'm moving on to a Mallory post.

MY CAREER AS A BOXER

So, its been a while since my last post. Our last few weeks have been filled with moving and all the fun associated with it. I could go on and on about all the fun we had moving, wont. we went a few until yesterday without internet at home, now i have a new reason for limited blogging. take a look at this.
I was out for a run last night and tripped. Yes, I am a klutz! Well, my hand was hurting pretty bad and was looking very swollen this morning so we went to the doctor just to make sure it wasn't anything. I had Matthew escort me so he could be my "Joey". (Joey went with Ross to the doc and filled out his forms when he hurt his hand.)

After the dr looked at my x-ray he asked who i punched, because i have a "boxers fracture" in my hand. he went on to tell us that this kind of break often needs surgery if i want my pinkie to work properly. so, i get to see an orthopedic surgeon Tuesday to see about that. until then i have a lovely splint to wear while i try to learn to be left handed while enjoying pain meds. in case you are wondering, i have to wait until Tuesday because of the holiday weekend. if you have any connections to get me in sooner, feel free to share.

when i was four and i broke my arm i thought it was cool that i got a latex glove blown up as a balloon for a souvenir, this time i got a lovely cd with my x rays on it to take to the ortho. after we left matthew said how he was excited we could look at my xrays. i got even more excited when it hit me that i would be able to put them on my blog. matthew said why not since tiffany had tonsils on hers.

sorry about the lack of capitalization. its just too hard one handed. you'll probably have to get used to it for a while.

I Just Can't Resist...

this face

or this sound.

All This For Flair

So, I cave this week and joined Facebook. I was so inspired (jealous) of Kara, Tiffany, and Ashley's flair that I had to join the party. I was very freaked out at first by FB's psychic powers. I couldn't understand how it knew who I knew. Anyways...here's my flair. Good thing my friends aren't into worse things since peer pressure seems to get me. Silly me didn't know all the ins and outs of flair. I signed in and when I saw all the flair, I started adding away. I quickly realized that you have to send flair to and from your friends. I felt a little like I was cheating on blogger by spending so much time on facebook. :)

Don't worry, I still found time to take pictures of Mallory even with all the time wasted on Facebook.
" C'mon Mom, I'll help you pack"

Just as I predicted, Mallory stood on her own yesterday. She's still pretty wobbly, but can get herself up to her leapfrog table all by herself.

One night this we were sitting at our dining room table going over house selling issues with our realtor, Vicky. Mallory was hanging out in her jumper right next to us. Before we knew it, we looked over and found her resting her head on the toys sound asleep. Too bad the flash of the camera woke her up.

SEVEN!

Today marks Mallory's seven month birthday. Life with her just gets better and better. Her biggest accomplishment these days is that she has started to crawl!!!!! On Thursday, I was in her room packing for the weekend. Matthew put her down and started talking to her. She immediately crawled a few feet to him. We were so thankful that we were both home from work to witness this big moment! There is a video of her crawling at the bottom. (I didn't want to move it up and risk losing it).

I love her expression in this picture! Don't let the picture fool you, she is not standing at the leap frog table. But, that might be her next accomplishment.

Anyone want to wager who won this wrestling match?

We weren't sure if Mallory was intentionally sitting herself up or just doing it by accident with all her wiggling. When I found her sitting up in her bed chewing on her flower instead of napping, I knew she knew what she was up to!

This is what her bed looks like most times when she wakes up. She loves to cuddle up in the corner with her arm wrapped around the bumper. I think she must be imagining that the bumper is her mommy! She also like to sleep curled up with her bottom sticking up in the air. Her doctor told me this means she is ready for a sibling. Better keep waiting for that one Mal!

" Just lookin' cute and lovin' my paci!"

TIME TO CHANGE

I’ve been trying to write this post for a while, but haven’t been able to make myself do it. So…here goes. We’re moving! We put our house on the market back in the first half of June. We got an offer this weekend and after going back and forth a bit, we have a contract and are scheduled to close on August 15th. That is sounding really soon to me and there is so much to be done to move, so if you don’t hear from me for a while now you will know why.

We love where we live now. We have great friends and a great church. We love our house. Unfortunately we are 40+ miles from where Matthew works. So, we’ll be moving to an apartment in the “stinky” city where he fights crime. The good thing about this move is that I will get to stay at home with Mallory! Matthew will get to have more time at home with us too since his commute will be so much shorter.

So, like Peter and the rest of the Bradys sang, “When its time to change, you’ve got to rearrange”.

Do-Nuts in Heaven

This morning Harriett brought some do-nuts to the office. As several of us were gathered in the kitchen eating the sweet warm circles of perfection, someone asked "are there do-nuts in heaven?" We quickly decided that YES, there must be Shipley's Do-Nuts in heaven because they are just that good. So what do YOU think is so yummy that we will be enjoying it with God in heaven someday?

Just so you aren't concerned about your church staff, we also decided that if there are no do-nuts in heaven we won't miss them one bit. Who could miss do-nuts when you are spending eternity with God?

What A Catch!

My dad went fishing a couple of months ago and was very proud of his catch.

I went fishing last week and caught me a cutie too!

Now just a few pictures of Mallory looking cute this week.

The Fourth

Mallory and I spent the holiday weekend at my parents house. It was a great weekend full of Fourth of July decorating, watermelon, ice cream, fireworks, and more. The only sad part of it was that Matthew had to stay home and work. We all missed him (and I think he missed us a little too)!

Its getting late, so here's a slide show of some of the highlights from the weekend.