Pumpkin Patch

During one of the last warm October weekends, the Helds visited Scherer's Pumpkin Patch, out in Medina near where Steve plays golf. Mallory was tasked with picking out the pumpkin for her first Halloween.

Early on, it appears that she is overwhelmed by the amount of choices offered.

But her and Mom were able to find a nice squash for dinner later that day. She would not let go of that thing the rest of the time there.

Here she is in the pumpkin patch with her squash and a couple other candidates. As you can see, it was pretty well picked over already.

Mallory and Dad were both able to find something to their liking.

Once Mallory finally picked out the Great Pumpkin, she was so tired that she needed a ride in the wagon back to the car.

Joel Seleskie's Wedding

The weekend after we got back from Italy, the family made a trip down to the southern suburbs to attend the wedding of Steve's college buddy, Joel Seleskie. As an added bonus, Mallory got to spend the night and Grandma and PaPa Held's house.

Here she is on the drive down to Savage, before getting all dolled up.

This family cleans up pretty nice.

This is Mallory immediately after her dad asked her for the first dance.

8 Month Photos

While in Italy, Mallory turned 8 months old. Right before we left she was 27 inches long and weighed 16 pounds, 12 ounces. However, we think she was substantially heavier by the time we got home, thanks to all the gnocchi and gellato that she ate. But hey, she was on vacation.

Mallory is very good at sitting up on her own and playing. She is even able to lunge for toys that are just beyond her grasp while keeping her balance.

Her favorite toys are her plastic measuring cups, she particularly likes to bang them together and make lots of noise.

She is now able to get onto her hands and knees in the crawling position. However, she falls to her tummy pretty much right away and then waves her arms and legs frantically trying to move.

Usually her inability to crawl gets her rather frustrated, but not this time...

Italy - Heading Home

We had a 7:15 am flight leaving Florence, which meant an un-Godly early wake up call. Of course, a Held trip wouldn't be without its problems, as Mallory's stroller was nowhere to be found. Finally, we made it to our connecting flight back to MSP by sprinting across the Amsterdam airport. Good times!

The flight back to MSP was a bit more challenging since it was during the day and Mallory was up a lot more and axious to move around. But Mallory did really well for the most part.

Looks like Mom lost her seat when she got up to go to the bathroom.

These two appear to have no problems flying together. Although this was one of the rare times that Mallory wasn't grabbing at: pillows, headphones, seat cushions, cups, food, or some combination thereof.

From the looks of their clothing, it appears that these two are ready to head back...

Italy - Day 8 (Part II)

After picking up Jamie at the end of the conference, the family was off to enjoy their last day in Italy. On the agenda was some serious shopping in San Lorenzo, one last authentic Italian meal, and then a trip back to Piazzelle Michelangelo for Jamie to be able to see it.

On the way over to San Lorenzo, we came across an Italian singing group. They drew quite a crowd.

After catching a few tunes, we headed over to the San Lorenzo leather markets for a power hour of shopping. Jamie was like a whirlwind, hitting stand after stand. The other highlight was Mallory being hit on by a young Italian boy, who was offering her his toy. Steve kept a close on on him. Here is Mom and Mallory before starting the shopping, notice the lack of shopping bags. That would soon change.

Here is Mom and Mallory on their way to find a nice restaurant along the Arno. We stumbled upon a great little place and had Jamie (and Mallory's) favorite: gnocchi. After getting our bellies full, it was off to Piazzelle Michelangelo to check out the nighttime views. Moreso, Steve wanted to make Jamie take Mallory up all the steps so she could see how tough it was. Suffice to say, Jamie demanded a treat (gelato) when she got to the top.

One more family picture with Florence in the background. Again, Mallory was more interested in the surroundings.

Here is the replica of the David, with an almost full moon behind him. Not quite the same as the real thing though.

Italy - Day 8 (Part I)

The last full day of the trip. Jamie had a shorter day, with her conference concluding mid-afternoon. But Steve and Mallory still had a couple more major sites to see: Piazzi Pitti and Piazzelle Michelangelo. Steve and Mallory went to Piazza Pitti for lunch. Pitti is a series of large museums, but also has this great Piazza in front. So the two decided to throw down a blanket and eat some puree'd bananas (Mallory, that is. Steve had a more traditional Italian meal, pizza)

Luckily there were a few pigeons nearby to garner Mallory's attention and allow Dad to finish his lunch.

From there it was up to Piazzelle Michelango. This attraction is known for two things: 1) Its replica statue of the David and 2) its breathtaking views from up above Florence. Of course, Mallory and Steve had to get all the way up there, which included a series of about 200 steps. Not the easiest to navigate with a 17 pound baby on the front and a full pack on the back. On a 75 degree day. Needless to say, Steve was in need of a cool beverage when he finally got to the top.

But the views were absolutely worth it. You can see all the major attractions (Duomo is the large cathedral towards the right-center of the picture) in the city, as well as the surrounding countryside.

After spending a little while taking it all in (and for Steve to catch his breath), Mallory and Dad headed back towards the city, stopping to take a nap in a park along the river. They eventually met up with Mom at her farewell lunch, since she wanted to show Mallory off to her colleagues.

Italy - Day 7

Jamie had Day 2 of her tax conference, so Dad and Mallory decided to sleep in again. After bumming around the area during the morning, they geared up for their big afternoon event: A 1:00 reservation at Galleria Uffizi, home of many wonderful paintings and sculptures. We made it through the majority of the rooms, although we had to keep a brisk pace to keep Mallory interested.

After a quick nap at the hotel, we went out again for the remainder of the afternoon, over to the market at Santa Croce. Here Mallory and Dad found some Christmas presents for Jamie. Unfortunately, Jamie outwitted us (again) and convinced us to give them to her early.

Again, Steve was unable to take any picture when it was just the two of them, but were able to get some later that evening.

Prior to Jamie's group dinner, Steve and Mallory brought her over to Uffizi so they could tell her all about their museum adventure. Here is Mallory and Dad outside the gallery.

and Mallory with Mom.

Here is one of the rare family photos we were able to get while on the trip. Too bad Mallory was distracted by something off camera.

On the way to Jamie's networking dinner, she decided to do her best Michael Jackson impersonation on a Florence bridge.

And the end to another fun day with Dad.

Italy - Day 6

Jamie went to her conference, while Mallory and Dad slept in a little after a long night exploring the city. Steve and Mallory went over to Fortezza de Basso and had a picnic lunch (Mallory did, at least). After more walking in the afternoon, they were reunited with Mom for a few hours, allowing Steve to take a quick break and get some dinner. The family then walked over to Santa Croce, where Jamie had an elaborate 5 course meal with her fellow tax professionals. Steve and Mallory slowly made their way back to the hotel, where Mallory crashed for the evening and Steve enjoyed a Birra Moretti.

Sadly, Steve was too overwhelmed with his parenting duties to be able to take any pictures this day.

Italy - Day 5

Our train got back into Florence late Monday evening. We got Mallory to bed, then quickly started packing our belongings. We were checking out the following morning from the Waldorf and over to the Westin, where Jamie's conference was held.

Here is Mallory checking out her new bed at the Westin. We think she approves.

Earlier in the afternoon the family went to Galleria Accademia, which is most famous for housing Michelangelo's David. Mallory slept through our first pass through to see David, but got him the second time around. She was very impressed. So after a tough day of checking out paintings and sculptures, Jamie and Mallory decided to treat themselves to some gellato.

We think she did actually get some of it in her mouth too.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon walking around near Ponte Vechhio (the bridge on the left) and walking along the Arno, since our new hotel was right on the river. After that, Jamie was off to her pre-conference cocktail reception, leaving Mallory and Dad to explore the city at night.

Italy - Venice Part III

Before leaving Venezia, the family took one more trip down to San Marco.

Here are Jamie and Mallory enjoying the canal view on a wonderful afternoon.

Mallory is waiting for one of the gondola drivers to offer her a ride.

Who could resist this little cutie?

One more family picture, and it was back to the train station to head back to Florence. Our 2 days in Venice were absolutely fabulous and we were very sad that we had to leave. Especially for Jamie, because it meant that her tax conference was right around the corner...

Italy - Venice Part II

Our second day in Venice was full of fun activities, including visiting almost all of the Sestiere's. We walked a great deal, but our other mode of transportation was...

...the water taxi. We got a 24 hour pass for unlimited use, and definitely got our money's worth. Here are Mallory and Mom with a prime spot right on the rail.

He may look lost, but Steve is just checking out this open marketplace in Sestiere di Dorsoduro. This was one of the many accidental walks that we went on. We took off with no destination in mind and kept going until we found something of interest.

Here is Mallory with one of her favorite toys on the trip, her bag of wipes. This was after an impromptu diaper change down a side alley. It was also after our best meal during the trip, near the Rialto Bridge. Feel free to ask Jamie for more details, she won't stop talking about it.

And of course, the cobblestone was more intriguing than any toy we could have given her.

Italy - Venice

Venice was remarkable - unlike any city we have ever visited.

We stayed at a quaint little hotel, Hotel Canal (pictured center above), which was located right on the Grand Canal. The two windows above the words Hotel Canal were our room.

Mallory loved the view and the constant activity below.

It was amazing to us how you could be walking in a crowd of people and then you turn a few corners and find yourself all alone on the streets. The twisting, turning streets made it exciting as you never knew what was around the next bend.

We eventually made our way down to Piazza San Marco. Mallory enjoyed the Piazza with people moving about all over and the overwhelming number of pigeons. Dad, however, did not enjoy the rats with wings and kept them far away from the family.

Italy - Day 3

Mallory tried all sorts of new foods while we were in Italy. Her two favorites were gnocchis and gelato.
Mallory had some difficulties adjusting to the 7 hour time difference but she was a trouper. She never missed a beat sightseeing during the day.

We took the train to Venice for an overnight. Mallory wasn't so sure about the train at first ...

but she quickly grew fond of this mode of transportation and even made friends with the lad sitting next to us. Thankfully, he thought it was amusing when she jumped all over, chatted the entire way and played with his watch and cell phone.

Of course, the best seat on the train was dad's lap.