Staying Inside the Lines and Cleaning Up

Mallory has developed a slight obsession with all things coloring. First thing she wants after breakfast is her Dora coloring book and crayons. I know this because she will point to it and exclaim "Dooa.....Boots!" In addition to the coloring book, she loves the sidewalk chalk. We will go outside and she will tote around her little bucket of chalk and draw all over the driveway. Well, not only the driveway - the sidewalk, the slide, the garage floor - everything. I have to stop her from drawing on the siding of the house.

As we were playing with the sidewalk chalk, she disappeared into the garage. I walked around to see what she was up to and she had grabbed the broom. She then proceeded to take it to the front porch and sweep up the excess leaves that surrounded the door. I could not stop laughing. She was very serious and determined to sweep up the leaves and keep the area tidy. I will admit, I am sure Marc and I will enjoy having an extra hand around the house to pick up!

Mid-Week Memories 07/21/2010

This is a bittersweet installment of Mid-Week Memories. This was Aunt Lori's last Wednesday on maternity leave. It was nice always having someone to play with on Wednesdays to keep me company and to wear out Mallory. Not to mention it was nice for the cousins to see each other and play every week.

This week we met at McDonalds for breakfast and followed it up with Ice cream at Greaters. It was an incredibly healthy morning. Aunt Kelly joined us as well for our calorie excursion. After breakfast we went outside to play on the playground. This particular playground, although fun, was more geared toward the bigger kids. There was a narrow enclosed staircase that lead up to the top of the structure and the only way to get down was the big enclosed slide or the stairs. Although confident, Mallory is not capable to go down stairs on her own yet and the slide scared her. So...mommy had to crouch down and climb the stairwell that was made for 3ft children, not a 5'6 grown up. Once in this fun house, I was bent over and trying to keep my head from hitting the ceiling. Ivan's voice would echo from all different directions as he ran around enjoying himself. Mallory was happy, but standing still unsure of where to go next. I finally coaxed her to go down the slide. It took some convincing but, miraculously as soon as we got down, she ran right up the stairwell again.

Graeters was a little more Mallory-sized. Ivan and her had a really great time eating ice cream (in the morning) and playing in the play room. Ivan particularly enjoyed the large banana teeter totter and Aunt Kelly was his teeter partner.

Meanwhile, little Everett was content and happy in mommy's arms. He has such an expressive face and he has so many faces every time I see him he looks like he has grown so much.

After a nap at home, Mallory had her 18 month check up and got her last round of shots until she is 4 or 5! So exciting. She did great and reported the following stats:

off the charts in height

55th percentile for head circumference

50th percentile for weight

Until next time...

After a light morning snack before going to McDonalds. Just lounging.

Inside the playground

There he is!

Not real sure about going down the slide...

Hi Everett!

While Teetor Tottering

Surprised to see me?

Goof ball!

More Fun in the Sun

At this rate with all this pool time, I think Ivan and Mallory will be Olympic swimmers by the end of the summer. Okay, not really, but we have had a lot of pool time this summer at Grandma's and they always have so much fun. On this particular day, after swimming Ivan and Mallory played on the porch with all the toys. Aunt Lori grabbed the camera and got some really good shots, hence the collage...too many to post. It you click on the collage it will enlarge for better viewing. It is complete with pool pictures, playing pictures, and Mallory's visit to Ivan's hair salon :) He was so cute trying to comb her hair. I am sure the reason was due to her wild all over the place hair. I too, used to chase her around with a comb until I realized there was just no use. Ivan...you too will learn, her hair does what it wants :)

Happy Birthday Grandma, Here's a Faucet.

A faucet? I know, sounds strange. However, this gift is probably the one thing that Grandma Morley wanted. I can't remember a time where her kitchen faucet wasn't dripping and she wasn't pestering Jim to fix it. There was a trick to making it stop, it took real talent. You had to turn the faucet off just the right way, in just the right position to make the dripping finally cease. I am not proud to admit that I could never get it right, no matter how hard I tried. So, with that being said, the smile in that picture is genuine, pure excitement. Yes Grandma, you now have a new faucet.

We celebrated another year with Grandma Morley. We ate, had cake, opened gifts, laughed and relaxed. Well, some of us did. Mallory wanted to play outside... or play at the chalk board...or play the organ...or find the "duckies." Every time we go to her Great Grandma's house she is in explore mode. She wants to run around the entire house and is unable to remain content in one location. We often take turns following her about. Me, Marc, Grandpa, etc. It is more then a one person job. She definitely likes going to Great Grandma's house.

So, Happy Birthday Grandma! We love you and please enjoy the faucet.

Caution: The slide is much faster when wet.

The Kenny's came by for a play date last week and it was decided to break out the sprinklers, a tub of water, gear up in bathing suits and try to beat the heat. Mallory and Liam played very good together (as they always do) and splashed in the water until they were wet and ready to play on the slides.

We followed them over to the play set and watched as they climbed the steps and made their way to the slides. Mallory went down first and it was quickly realized that due to the wet swimsuit she flew down the slide faster then ever before. She flew off the end and landed square on her bottom. She looked up in shock, became scared, whined a little, then ran to the steps for another ride. Liam was next. He flew down the slide as well, and wasn't too shocked by the speed or the rough landing.

Now we know (for Mallory's sake) that the slide is MUCH faster and MUCH more fun, when wet!

Mid-Week Memories 07/07/10

Here are some pictures from our attempted photo shoot with the kids at one of the old covered bridges in Marysville. We had good intentions, however I was upset to find that my camera battery died after only a handful of pictures. Here are a few of the ones I got, illustrating our experience at the old bridge.

I have to say the bridge was beautiful and it was a lovely day. The kids had a great time running and stomping and jumping all around. Mallory found a Caterpillar that she proudly is showing off in the third picture and also tried to snack on some rocks that lined the bridge.

The day turned hot and steamy and the kids began to grow tired. We all said goodbye to the bridge and moved along.

Until next Wednesday...

Sunday Swimming with Grandma

Considering the 90 degree weather with steamy humidity here in the lovely Mid West, we are SO fortunate to be able to go swimming in Grandma's pool whenever we need to cool off. Last Sunday we headed up to Grandma's to do just that.

Mallory enjoyed sitting in the yellow raft or for her, a boat. However, the ride in the boat was not complete with out the ball. Mallory would throw the ball into the pool, whine for me to swim and retrieve it for her just to throw it back in the water.

It kept me busy and by the time I stammered into the house, I was exhausted. Mallory, however, slept the entire way home and by the time we arrived at the house she did not let mommy take a nap. It was still all worth it. A day in the sun with my little lady at Grandma & Papaw's.

Boating at Alum Creek

Edie came back in town over the Fourth of July and invited Mallory & I to go out on her parents boat the Monday after the Fourth. I wasn't sure if we could make it considering we didn't have a life jacket. However, I knew we needed to get one for our upcoming trip to Cape Cod in August, so Edie picked one up for us and we headed out to Alum Creek early Monday morning.

Mallory lasted a lot longer then I thought. I was thinking 1 hour tops, but we didn't get home until around 12:30! Mallory was a trooper and really enjoyed herself.

When we first got aboard the boat, Mallory was skeptical, unsure, and unstable. She hated her life jacket and when the boat wasn't moving she got quite cranky. However, the moment the boat started speeding through the water, she laughed and smiled and closed her eyes while the wind blew through her hair. After a small ride, Edie got in the water and did some Wake Boarding while Mallory and I watched. She loved watching Edie surf the wake. She would point and shriek with excitement.

After riding around for awhile, we docked the boat and went swimming at the beach. This child loves the water and could spend the entire day just splashing in the lake with Edie and I. After this adventure I think that Mallory will be ready for the ferry to Martha's Vineyard in August, no problem!

Independence Day

Sticky, sweaty, humid, dry, YET cloudless weather this year for the fireworks. Everyone at our house took a shower (or sponge bath if you were under the age of two) before bed, but compared to the rain last year, I'll take it. The turn out was amazing. There were a ton of people there good for people watching and entertainment for the kids.

When the fireworks finally came on, Mallory was astonished by the amazing colorful explosions in the sky. She would point straight up in the air and exclaim "ahhhhhhhhhh....ooohhhhh." It was a very late night for us, but Mallory was a trooper. Only a couple of minor meltdowns, but nothing the fireworks couldn't take care of.

Every year she seems to get more into the 4th of July which is great considering it is one of my favorite holidays. There is nothing like sitting on a blanket in the grass with family and friends and watching fireworks in the night sky. Lets see what happens next year....fingers crossed she is still not afraid of them.

Just Playing...

Just Playing :)