First Day!

Mallory has been excited about going to her new school for weeks, and today was finally the day! We had to get up REALLY early to make our long commute across town for school and work. I was worried that I would have a really hard time waking her up, but when I went in her room she looked around and then popped right up saying, "go my new school"!

Our drive across town went about as good as I could have hoped for. I thought Mallory might fall asleep on the way because when we opened up the front door and she saw that it was still a little dark, she said "go night night". She never did. The traffic was surprisingly light and I even had time to grab Starbucks and make a drive by our new house. 

When I dropped her at her school, she did great. She was the first kid there so she had free reign for a while to check everything out.  She gave me a quick hug and was done with me. 

I wondered if it would be a little weird going back to my job at church after being gone for almost 2 years. Nope! Those people I work with are great.

When I went to get Mallory I was thrilled to see that she was happy and still in her same clothes (no accidents)! Her teacher said she did great except for one thing, she NEVER slept. Since she had gotten up at 6 am, this made for one very tired little girl. On the way home she went from singing Itsy Bitsy Spider to sound asleep in about 5 minutes and then slept for most of the hour plus drive.  I really wish she could tell me more about her day at school. Whenever I ask her anything about school, her answer is always "yes". 

Over all it was a great day!  I think I'll even go back to work tomorrow ;)

Big Girl!

There is no baby at this house anymore.  In case you don't believe me, here's some proof.

As soon as school was over, we had a few days of Potty Training Boot Camp.  Mallory is doing really well at it.  Her biggest problem is that going into a public bathroom causes her to throw a complete screaming fit. I don't know if they're too loud or what.  Because of this we have a potty in the back of the car.  We might get some looks, but it works.

She has also been sleeping in her big girl bed for a few weeks now. We unsuccessfully tried this a couple times earlier in the year. I'm not sure what made the difference this time, but she's doing great! She loves to get in her bed with her Dora pillow, puppy, baby, sock monkey, blankets, and 2 pacis.  Yes, its a little full! 

Happy Birthday Ladybug!

Since Mallory's birthday is smack dab between Christmas and New Year, we decided to celebrate her half birthday this year.  It was great, except for it being just a tad hot!  We had a lady bug party at a local park with some friends and family.

She was just a little excited

I LOVED how her cupcake cake turned out. Thank you Target!

Mallory was so excited to blow out her candles, she had both blown out before we could even sing to her

She loved her cake too

Thanks Nathan, ladybug cupcakes can get a little bit messy

Mal wasn't the only one to enjoy the cupcakes

Presents!

playing with Mommy's friend Monica

playing with Mallory's friend Kate

Overall, Mallory had a ball at her party so it was perfect!

First Year of School

Mallory and I finished up our first year of school a few weeks ago.  It was a great year for both of us.  Mallory loved going to school and playing with her friends!

walking in on the last day

my little baby on her first day back in September

Not such a baby anymore!

Hangin' with Daddy during our school dinner

Mal with her teachers, Ms. Denise and Ms. Jeni

This and That

I was downloading pictures from our camera and found this hodgepodge of pictures that I thought I would share.  They pretty much sum up things around here lately.

Mallory has been getting more and more into pretending lately, this is her riding her "horsey".

 

Play-Doh bracelets with Daddy.

Crazy bubble blowing with Daddy

One of Mallory's most favorite activities, PAINTING!

She could paint for hours.

And hours!

Just a sweet girl outside

Mallory and her Dora coat (that's her name for it). I bought this for her before we went to the lake. I wasn't sure if she would wear it or not, but she loves it! This picture may have been the morning that I had to convince her to take it off so we could eat breakfast. 

Crazy girl!

No, I haven't put her to work yet.  Every now and then Mallory asks to help clean.  I give her a paper towel and she "cleans" the fridge.  I tried a real wipe, but it just smeared.

And when she's not cleaning, she just kicks back with her snacks.

Beach Baby

We've been talking with Mallory for a while about going to the beach, and today was the day! She was very excited on the way there talking about the beach and playing in the water. When we parked on the sea wall and opened the door, she said "go home" and freaked out.  Matthew and I did what any kind and loving parents would do...we wrestled Mallory into her swim suit, put her sun screen on and carried her down to the water while she shouted "no, no, no" the whole time.  We stood her in the water to play, and after a few shakey minutes she was in heaven!  Looking back, she probably wasn't the first person who was promised a trip to the beach and got upset at the sight of the brown waters off of Galveston.

I LOVE her expressions!

Our plan was to go to the ice cream shop on The Strand for a treat after the beach. Mallory fell asleep while we were trying to figure out where to park, so we decided to just drive on home and get ice cream later.  I told Matthew don't be surprised if she asks for an ice cone as soon as she wakes up.  Sure enough when we turned into our neighborhood Mallory opened her eyes and in her sweet voice asked "ice cone"!  So, Matthew turned the car around and headed to Dairy Queen to get Mallory her cone. 

Mallory likes to tell us repeatedly about most everything she's doing while she's doing it.  Combine that with the fact that even the small cones at DQ are very large and it gets pretty funny because she doesn't say "ice" very clearly.  It sounds like she's telling us over and over about her "big ass cone"!

On a side note, I tried the chocolate covered strawberry Blizzard today and it was heavenly! Definitely my new favorite.

Fun Times at PaPaw and Dee's

Mallory and I spent last weekend at my parents house.  To say she had a good time is a bit of an understatement.  She and her cousins had a BLAST playing together!

but first, she had to do her chores 

2 monkeys sharing a banana

Abby and Nathan can crack Mal up like nothing else

getting some quick snuggles from Anita

even in just a diaper Mallory knows the importance of accessorizing

 

See, Mallory didn't leave her clothes at home

 

we went to the park twice on Saturday and these twins were in heaven

 

 Abby had some really funny things to say from this window, if only I could remember what they were

3 sweeties (4 if you count Mal's doggie) ready for church

I LOVE this picture, I just wish I knew how to use our camera better so the lighting wasn't so bad