Weekend Playtime

Mallory's favorite time of the week is the weekend, since both Mom and Dad are around and there are plenty of fun things to do.

It isn't all fun and games though. Here Mom and Dad make Mallory help out with the grocery shopping at Trader Joe's.

After getting home and getting everything unpacked, it was time to get down on the floor for some playing.

Today's special activity was a light saber duel with Dad. Mallory won, of course.

Then it was time to hit the stairs so Mallory could show off her climbing skills.

After this, time to head up the rest of the stairs and up to bed. All in all, it was a pretty good Saturday.

Holiday Fun

On one of the Fridays Jamie had off in December, Mallory, Jamie and Nani Judie decided to head downtown to Macy's to check out the annual holiday display.

Here is Mallory modeling her new Santa hat (while still in her jammies).

Luckily, Jamie also brought her Santa hat (Samesies!).

Mallory was enthralled with the display: the lights, the activities, and all the other kids around.

Here the three pose after a successful holiday trip.

Decorating the Tree

The weekend after Thanksgiving, we put up the Christmas tree in preparation for Mallory's first Christmas. The only change is that we put it upstairs this year, to limit the amount of damage that she could do.

Before she would help out, she wanted to get the lay of the land first.

Here are Mallory and Mom. The tree is up, but looks pretty bare. We need some lights and ornaments.

Luckily, Mallory agreed to help with the lights. Here she is testing the lights before they go up on the tree.

And now she is trying to figure out how she is going to put them on to the tree.

Hide and Seek

So Mallory is completely mobile now. She has mastered crawling, and now like to pull herself up on anything she can reach. She can even stand on her own for a few seconds.

Here she is pulling herself up on the coffee table, which as you can see have been babyproofed.

And she loves walking around her exersaucer.

With all this movement, this is about the only place Samson feels safe. So he has chosen to hide under his blanket (he is not a very good hider).

But someone is hot on his trail...

"I found you!"

Baby Mozart

Mallory has already started to show some of her musical potential.
Look at that concentration.

Mallory definitely did not get her musical abilities from either of her parents. She'll be taking after her Aunt Jill if she pursues this activity.

Lunch at BBY

Steve's cousins were in town from Texas and Seattle for Thanksgiving. Before they departed, we all met Steve at Best Buy for lunch. Steve's godson Ethan was very helpful. He picked up some of the peas that Mallory dropped on the floor and before I get react, put them back into Mallory's bowl.
Then the two smiled nicely for a photo. They definitely had a good time together.

Great Grandma Betty

For Thanksgiving, the family packed up and headed south...well, to southern MN. We surprised Steve's grandparents.
Here, Mallory let her great grandmother hold her while she ate breakfast.

Iowa - Part 5: Uncle Erik

Because it was a football weekend, Uncle Erik was working hard. Sunday morning, however, before we left, Mallory and Uncle Erik were able to have a little quality time.
Mallory was obviously very excited to see Erik. She told him all about the fun she had the night before at the game.


We had a fantastic trip with Uncle Erik and Aunt Jill and we look forward to many more to come. Thanks guys!

Iowa - Part 4: Game Time

Mallory and Grandpa had front row seats as the teamed marched to battle. Mallory just stared in amazement at the size of some of the boys.
Several of the players gave Mally bumps and high fives as they passed. Grandpa loved that.

Mallory, Grandma, Aunt Jill and mom were able to view the game from the athletic building while dad and Grandpa had sideline passes. Mallory obviously enjoyed herself.

Mallory even got to meet the Cyclone mascot, Cye.

Iowa - Part 3: I State v. Missouri

Uncle Erik hooked us up with some great seats and passes for the game.

Jill and Mallory watched from the athletic building balcony as the team warmed up.

Grandma and Grandpa joined in as well. Someone forgot to warn us of the canon being fired off before the game but Mallory didn't seem to mind one bit.

Mallory was so interested in the band playing before the game that she wouldn't take her eyes off them.

Iowa - Part 2: Go Cyclones!

Thanks to Aunt Jill (and much to dad's dismay), Mallory fit right into Cyclone country.

Here, Mallory practiced cheering on the Cyclones while wearing her red and gold with pride.

Dad claims to be loyal to maroon and gold only but I caught him wearing some red and gold and trying to hide behind his daughter.

Feeling overly confident in her new digs, Mallory undertook and learned a new skill while in Iowa - stair climbing.

Everyone took turns helping Mallory explore all corners of Jill's house. Grandma was on stairs duty here.

Iowa - Part 1: Link's House

We packed up the car and headed south in search of the last few days of warm weather, but instead, we found ...
the first fully decorated Christmas tree of the season. Mallory was intrigued and inspected several of the ornaments.

In true Mallory fashion, a taste-test was required.

After examining the tree, Mallory also said hello to Aunt Jill.

Crib

Mallory has discovered how to kneel and stand in her crib.

Luckily, she doesn't mind hanging out in there from time to time since now it is just about the only safe place to put here while you try and get a bathroom break.

Bundled Up

With winter approaching, the family went out shopping one weekend for a winter coat for Mallory.

She seems lukewarm to the new jacket early on...

...but eventually came around.

Now Mallory can join the rest of the family on Samson's nightly walks (although Samson wouldn't mind staying home on his nice, warm chair).

9 Month Photos

Mallory recently celebrated her 9 month birthday by making another trip to the doctor's office. She was 28 inches long and 17 lbs, 10 oz. She is in the 25th percentile for weight (skinny, she gets that from Jamie) and the 75th percentile for height (tall, she gets that from...um...)

She enjoys playing on the floor with her toys, and is especially fond of her books.

She is pulling herself up quite a bit and can stand with little assistance for short periods of time.

Told you she was quite fond of her books. Couldn't get her to look away.

She has added to her vocabulary quite a bit and can say: DaDa, MaMa, NaNa and various other sounds.

But the biggest milestone for the month is that she learned how to crawl. It took her a while to get going, but once she did...look out. She is all over the place now, finding all the places she isn't supposed to go. Add this with her pulling herself up on things, it keeps things interesting for Mom and Dad.

Friday's with Mom

On Friday's Mallory gets to spend the whole day with Mom, and they try to pack in as many fun activities as possible.

In the mornings they go to Ridgedale Library for storytime. They read some books, sing songs, and then have a little playtime. Here is Mallory with her new favorite toy.

Over the course of the day with Mom, Mallory has quite the range of emotions. Happy to be crawling around and playing...

...or sad (she was disappointed with the ending of her book).

Cead Mile Failte

With winter quickly approaching, Mallory decided it was time to break some of her winter clothes out of the closet. To her mom's joy, she was finally able to fit into the present we got her 2+ years ago from Kenmare, Ireland.

It looks like her Ireland stocking cap is a perfect fit.

It stays on well while playing (and eating her toys)...

..and it appears that it is already her favorite accessory.