April 2012

We had a busy April -  here are some of the highlights!

Someone found a stool... and the Easter candy.

Coloring is an impromptu sport -
it happens wherever there is room!

We have experimented with the potty.
Small successes, but mostly she thinks it's a toy. ;)

I am the luckiest momma around!

Casey took Mallory to the dollar store so she could pick out my birthday gift... $14 later, I was the lucky recipient of everything shown here! Complete with a card that read "Happy Birthday 4-year-old! (Oh, don't forget the mocha from McDonald's which was Daddy's addition to the gift and the only thing that didn't end up in Mallory's toy box, haha.)

 Birthday festivities.
The girls were using sand for lotion..................

Mallory picked out the cake - yes, that's a guitar.
Hey, it was ice cream cake. You didn't hear me complain. :)

The following week was my dad's 60th.
We had him and his wife along with my brother and his family over for dinner and cake.
It's not 60 candles, but it sure was a lot of flame. ;)

 

Stay tuned for Easter pics and a trip to the zoo!

Magnadoodles by Mallory

"Momma, WOOK! A spider!"

I was seriously impressed by this! She used the shaped magnets for the flowers and then used one to make the "grass". I also love that she doodled in the center of the flowers and added lots of leaves. This girl loves the details.

Happy 1st Birthday, Abigail!

Happy Birthday to our baby girl!

It's been a year full of smiles for all of us!

We love you, Abigail!

So proud of herself!

Mallory's First Haircut ... EVER.

Well. She's almost three.
Her hair is long.

People often think she's older than she is solely based on the length of her hair. Weird, right?

My cousin was coming over to cut Casey's hair, so we threw around the idea of Mallory's first haircut. Her hair is gorgeous. I love it. It's thick. It rarely gets tangled. It air dries flawlessly. If she goes to bed with wavy hair, it's perfectly straight when she wakes up. Casey always jokes it's the kind of hair girls will be jealous of when she's older.

Anyway, decision time. Cut it. It will grow back. After looking back at pictures of her shoulder length hair from a year ago, we wrapped her up in a cape and went for it.

The first cut.
GASP.

Look at that curl.

It's been three years, we had to cut it eventually.
(I keep telling myself that.)

Entertained by Daddy's phone.

Just finishing up.

Super cute!
(It looks crooked here ... I promise it's not.)

The celebratory "sit still" popsicle.

It was a little sad at first,

but I really, really love it.

And now we shouldn't need to cut it until she's four. :)

it's not as easy as it looks...

A recent excerpt from Abby's journal:

being 11-months-old is hard work. if i had known months ago what i know today, well, i may have waited to start crawling and exploring. there is never a dull moment around here... if i'm not being chased by my sister, i'm being licked by dogs or picked up by my mom and dad riiiiiight before i get into something that is bound to be a lot of fun and no doubt entertainment for hours. anyway, my daily activities include, but are not limited to:

... inspecting the dogs ...
after all, they lick me.

... putting random objects in my mouth ...

the things my mom has pulled from my mouth
in the last few days alone would be
enough to turn her into our local DCFS.

(mallory is pretending to be asleep.
what an attention hog.)

... eating lots of fruit and...well, anything really ...
my mom calls me garbage guts,
but maybe that's because I had chili for dinner tonight.

... driving ...
and believe me, i'm good.

... clearing toys off shelves ...
seriously. if this was a sport
i would take first place every time.
(do you see me putting that thing in my mouth?)

... emptying the pantry ...
(see "clearing toys off shelves")

... putting things in my nose ...
i didn't even do this on purpose,
but doing it occasionally will keep life interesting.
i just know it.

... splashing in the dog water ...
are you kidding me?
it's a bucket of water waiting to be splashed in.
could you resist?

as i said, exhausting.
it's the only possible explanation as to how i fell asleep...

... folded in half.

i can't even imagine what 12-months-old will be like.
or what about being two-years-old?

my mom and dad are always telling my sister,
"ohhh, being two is sooo hard."

yikes.
sounds scary.

Eleven Entire Months

It's true.

She's 11-months-old.

I swear Mallory didn't turn one this fast.

My eyes will be wide open for the next four weeks.

I just know if I blink even one time...

...she'll turn one.

So bittersweet.

But mostly just sweet.And curly.
I love her curls.