First Walk of the Year

Earlier this month, Mallory and I ventured outside for the first walk of the year. Since then, we have had much warmer days, but this particular day was warmer then any for awhile which meant we were getting out of the house.

In addition, I had just gone shopping and purchased a new hat and two pairs of sunglasses for our upcoming trip. Since the moment I pulled them out of the bag and showed her, Mallory has insisted on wearing her hat and glasses everywhere. As you can tell, the weather was overcast, but in Mallory's eyes, it was still necessary to wear her "pul-ple" glasses (which coincidentally make her look a little like Elton John).

On our walk around the short block (which took about as long as it would take me to walk a mile or so) consisted of stopping to pick up rocks, explore acorns & "prickly'," and to stop and look up at the sky to exclaim "PLANE!! MOMMA!!! PLANE!!!" Oh to be two again....

Brotherly Love

If I ever have little boys, I hope they are as lively, sweet, creative and fun as these boys. I had the pleasure of watching the boys while Mommy & Daddy had a date. At first, I was very disappointed that Mallory couldn't join us. She was home ill and I didn't want to expose the boys to whatever she had. Although I wish she could have played with her cousins, I really enjoyed my time alone with the boys. My favorite thing to watch was them interacting with each other. Everett spots Ivan out of the corner of his eye and immediately begins to smile. He is so fond of his older brother. In turn, Ivan is so aware of Everett and plays the role of older brother with great ease. He knows how much Everett adores him and eats it up.

I could watch these two play together for hours.

My Valentine

Valentines Day 2011 consisted of chocolates, hearts, and a special heart Dora book. This combination made for a happy Mallory. Not expecting anything special, when I told her that Mommy and Daddy got her a present, her eyes popped wide open in pure amazement and wonder. "Present???"

After opening the bag of goodies and getting over the initial excitement, Mallory was even kind enough to share with Daddy.

Happy Valentines Day.

Bye Bye Binky

After running out of excuses to put it off, the dreaded day finally reared it's lovely head. A day we had been preparing for (as much as possible) in the Poland household, the day that the Binky Fairy comes and takes away all the binkys for little baby girls and boys that need them.

This was something we tried to get Mallory ready for by explaining that she was big girl and that she needed to get ready to give her binkys to babies that needed them. She would sometimes humor me by saying "Okay Mommy," nodding her head, and then scampering along her merry way.

However, the time had come and after her well visit to the doctor, I decided we were doing it the following weekend. After a short conversation with the doctor about her very obvious binky effected teeth, I got some advice from her and decided now or never. Thanks to a great suggestion by Aunt Lori, we prepared a box for the binkys and had Mallory decorate it for the Binky Fairy. She was very excited and got very into the idea of giving her binkys to the fairy in exchange for a gift.

The first two days were difficult and just recently she stopped asking for her bink when laying down to sleep. However, the whole process wasn't too horrible considering how dependent she was on them. When waking up the next morning she immediately asked to go see what the fairy had brought and was extremely excited to find a dolphin balloon and a set of play-dough. Needless to say, we had to play with the play-dough before breakfast. That's okay, it was worth it :)

Decorating the box....

Watching Mickey (with Mickey) before bed, getting ready to say goodbye to the bink...
Play-Dough before breakfast :)

Two Unexpected Days Off

Last week I had my usual Wednesday off and then received a call from the sitter that due to a flu bug that has been making it's way around the city, it was probably not a good idea to bring Mallory to her house on Thursday. I attempted to find another option, but when all was said and done, I had to take the day off and stay home with her. Although I didn't want to have to miss work, I took advantage of a situation that I had no control over and tried to make the most of the day with my little girl.

On Wednesday, the weather hit us hard so leaving the house was not something I was willing to do. So, we stayed in (got a bit stir crazy) but still had fun. One of the things we did was the Giraffe Puzzle. Mallory had been really into puzzles lately and the giraffe puzzle was the one she wanted to do. This particular puzzle was a gift at my baby shower and although it sat around for awhile, we are getting a lot of use out of it now!

On Thursday, we ventured out to the grocery (the house was near bare) and then we came back and attempted to clean. I gave Mallory a spray bottle of water to help and she did a great job and made sure just about every surface in the house got sprayed including the dogs, me, and her face. How I wish a spray bottle of water could make me laugh that hard!!

Daddy's Favorite Song

Catching Up

Catching up on the blog in one post. Here goes....

A typical Sunday morning before breakfast. Couch, blanket, sippy cup, and Mickey Mouse.

Hanging out with Uncle Dan and reading her new favorite book, "Duck on a Bike"

Little Ev pulling himself up on furniture! Such a happy little boy.

One of the many faces Mallory makes while pondering her next move.

This is right after Ivan told me he was going to read the instructions for the play dough barn animal maker. He looked at them for awhile and then said "oh...."

Grandma and Ev playing

Mallory playing her favorite game which she calls "flies." They are a bunch of little paper butterflies that fly in the air while you try and catch them with nets.