Happy Valentine's Day to ME!!

I love flowers just as much as the next girl, but Casey knows they're not my favorite gift because it makes me sad when they're gone. Well, he also knows I am a fruit FANATIC and food in general gets an A+ in my book! So, here is the perfect solution and my Valentine's Day gift! A bouquet I can EAT!

Have you SEEN these??

Each piece was sweeter than the next - especially the strawberries, but maybe that's because most of them are covered in chocolate! Needless to say, I had fruit for breakfast today and it's pretty safe to say this bouquet will be around for even less time than flowers!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Reading is FUN!

Extra! Extra! Mallory can read!! Okay, well, not really, but it looks like she can. I'm sure I'll scream "new mom" when I say this, but the way she looks at the pictures and tries to "turn the pages" is fascinating to me. I am amazed and excited by every little thing she does. She's a great "supported sitter" now and is very intrigued by pictures - she seemed to be specifically interested in the faces of the babies on each page. I wish I could be inside her head. I wonder what she thinks as she looks at the different colors.

(Mo, you asked if she'll ever take a pacifier. From time to time we give her one just to see what she'll do. Can you see the one in this picture? That's where it stayed after she SPIT it out. :))

Lover Dog

When I'm home during the day, the dogs generally roam free. Sometimes I look around and don't see Claddagh. Where could she be, you ask? How do you lose a 140-pound dog?

Where there's a Mallory, there's a Claddagh. In this picture, Mallory's sleeping in her crib.

Speaking of ExerSaucers...

Sunday night I put together the saucer we got from Mallory's shower - thank you, Mrs. Miller! (And when I say "put together"...my goodness, it took a solid 30 minutes...) It looked very cute in the picture on the box but is even cuter out of the box.

It's easy to tell how much more aware Mallory is now. She welcomes bright colors (who doesn't?) and bounces from the stimulation. It's PINK - why wouldn't she love it?? As soon as I put her in the chair she went to town checking everything out and pulling on all the fun toys - it's a tea party theme with a purse, mirrors, a musical teapot, flowers and even a cake (which she successfully pulled apart in no time).

"So much to do, and so little time..."

"Hey Mom, check this out...it spins!"

Love, love, love this - so cute!

Week Two

We're back! Another fun-filled week at the Miller's, followed by a birthday weekend with the Kanes in Galesburg (of which I have not one single picture........)

We discovered, not that I'm surprised, that Mallory LOVES being in an exer-saucer (and there is some definite truth in calling it a "poop chair"...you figure it out.)

Steve's parents joined us for dinner. Yummy, yummy white chicken chili (well, dinner AND the Super Bowl, I guess...) Mallory was sleeping with her eyes open in this picture.

This is what happens when the pigtails are removed, Aunt Mo... quite impressive, really.

Cole might have a rep for always wanting/having a snack...let me just say this though, he never fails to SHARE. I love it!

Mallory got a taste of pre-mixed rice cereal with applesauce. Whose head is that you ask? Coley, would you like to try a bite?? He was not a fan. :)

Casey loves this story...when Kane was, 6 months? 9 months? Well, less than a year old, he had a thing for biter biscuits. He would suck, chew, gum, drool on one until it was a mushy, gooey mess...it's kind of what a biter biscuit does (which, if you know Kane now, is quite funny to think about...he's not a mushy, gooey mess, kind of guy). Good ol' Uncle Rock (Casey), being the loving, torturing (the only time those words can be used interchangeably) uncle that he is, would wait until Kane was well into a mess with the biscuit and TAKE IT AWAY. Kane's expression would quickly turn from content to shocked to angry.......his fists would clench and his face would turn red as he started to cry. Lovely, isn't it? Uncle Rock would wait just long enough to enjoy the reaction and then slip the biscuit back into Kane's hand. Then...instant calm. Re-insert biter biscuit into mouth. Twisted? Maybe. But his parents can't deny they laughed a little too. I'll admit, I did. Annnnyway, here is Mallory with her first biter biscuit. We'll see how he feels about stealing her fun. :)

My favorite part about watching Mallory with her IL cousins is hearing any of them get so excited.... "She smiled at me, Auntie Kari!!" or "I made her laugh!!" Of course, there's Finley's ever popular, "She's so tee-ute!"

Pigtails!

Miss Mallory's hairstyle of choice:

Show me another 5 month old who can rock "the pigtails"...

Feet

Check it out peeps...I found my feet!

Hot Mess

This is another hair picture for Aunt Mo. (I can hear Finley saying...Mama...I a hot mess.)