Mallory's 2-month check-up

Mallory sure is growing like a weed! She's now 22.5 inches long (50th percentile) and 12 lbs 7 oz (90th percentile!!!). My doctor said that she looks great and is developing nicely. She's definitely chunking out, thanks to mommy's milk!!! She also received 3 of her immunizations today. She was a trooper and I didn't pass out (I'm REALLY bad with needles, by the way)!!! When the nurse stuck her with the needle, she did one of those "silent cries", where her face was bright red but no sound was coming out and with the next breath she took, she hollered LOUD. She got 2 Bugs Bunny Bandaids on her thighs, too.

She's been sleeping a lot today, since I think the adventure wore her out! I just gave her a dose of tylenol, since she's being fussy during her normal wake time (so, I got her a little messy...)

Happy Anniversary to Gram and Pops

My in-laws celebrated their 31st anniversary on June 27. They came up to our house for dinner and play-time with Mallory!

Busy Days...

It's amazing how much time a little baby can take up in a day! It's hard to believe it's almost been a week since I've posted a message on my blog. Mallory is snoozing right now, so I have a few minutes before I try to accomplish everything on my list to get done today in addition to caring for my daughter!

We were out of town this past weekend, which was the first time we took Mallory on an overnight trip to somewhere other than Grandma and Grandpa's down in Georgia. It's amazing how much stuff we packed for her! And we used everything we packed! On our way to the east Tennessee mountains, we stopped for a brief visit to some friends who recently moved to Asheville. Erin and I gave birth 10 days apart, so it was fun having our daughters meet and share with each other our joys and challenges of being a mommy. Here is a picture of Sophie and Mallory.















Mallory is such great company for me as I go about my day grocery shopping, cleaning, visiting friends, etc. Erin inspired me to talk to Mallory more since she seems to say everything she can think of to Sophie. So, when Mallory and I went to the grocery store on Tuesday, I shared all of my thoughts with what we should buy as I carried her around in the Baby Bjorn. She helped me even decide to have 2 complimentary cookies instead of one, since she wanted a taste too! I love it when she helps me talk through those delimmas. Shee seems to be cooing at me more, too, since I've been prattling nonsense to her more. She's so much fun!!!

Yesterday, she went with me to Duke Energy as I gave my official resignation to my boss. It felt GREAT to have that behind me, though I still have much to do with getting all my benefits in order, which need to get done by tomorrow afternoon, since my termination will be effective tomorrow!!! WOW! I'll be officially unemployed as of Saturday. What a weird feeling. Anyway, after I turned in my notice, my boss took me to lunch at McCormicks and Schmicks, which was yummy! It's not often that a person gets taken out to lunch at a nice place after they quit! Mallory was so cute and hardly made a peep as she was passed from person to person. She's such a joy ! I had a great career at Duke and such a wonderful management team to work for. It was a nice 5 years there, but, I'm looking forward to just being a mom.

Mallory goes to the Pediatrician for her 2 month check up and shots this Friday. I'm not looking forward to having her get shots. I'm not that great with needles, but I'm very excited about hearing her statistics and growth progress.

I've gotta run, but I'll post more pictures soon.

Mallory is 2 months old today!!!

It's hard to believe that Mallory is 2 months old today. It's also hard to image the state I was in 2 months ago today!!! She's a sweet little girl and is growing up so much. I'm going to try and do "formal" pictures of her at every month-old birthday, so today was set aside for photos!!! (...and every time I get out all my equipment, I want more since I lack so much to do what I'd REALLY like to do...). Anyway, Mallory wasn't being too cooperative today...crying almost every time I lifted the camera to take a picture! All the pictures I have of her, she's sleeping, crying, or has opened red-rimmed eyes from crying. After two sessions of pictures, we both had enough!!! So, I'd like your help in selecting her 2-month picture. I know it will be a tough decision (ha ha), but let me know your thoughts...

Option 1



















Option 2














Option 3

Happy Father's Day!

We had a very nice Father's day, as it was Patrick's FIRST!!! Mallory and I got Patrick a Tortilla warmer...yeah, a strange gift, you might say. We eat Mexican quite a bit and Patrick likes his tortillas warm. He asked for one a few weeks ago, and that's what he got!!! So, he broke it in at a Father's Day Fajita Fest at the Teiglands house, along with the Kellers and Becksteins. We had a sumptuous feast of grilled steak and chicken fajitas, homemade salsa, guac, mexican rice, beans...and all the fixin's!!! It was a nice celebration with great friends.

Talking to Strangers

I went walking at the Mills yesterday afternoon and made a pitstop at one of the many restrooms there. When I walked in, I saw a lady changing her baby. After I washed my hands, I commented on what a cute baby that was, and she reciprocated (of course!!!). After chatting a bit, we realized our babies were born on the same day!!! It was pretty cool to meet a mom with a baby the exact same age as mine. It's amazing what you'll learn when you talk to strangers.

PS - if anyone wants to join me for a few laps around the Mills, let me know!

Multitasking

I love seeing my husband spend time with our daughter! It's so sweet to watch him care for and love on her. I also love seeing my husband study the Word and reading books about spiritual growth. As he prepared for small group one night, he was holding Mallory while reading the book we're discussing. I couldn't resist snapping a picture.

Mallory's First Smiles...

Mallory has just started smiling at us in the last week.  She's just the cutest!!!

Cayman, No!

I just discovered my camera has a video feature. What fun! I tested it on my cutie-pie little girl! This is just a brief taste of how my day goes watching my "two girls". :-)

An evening of old movies...

I'm enjoying a quiet evening right now as my husband went to the movie store to pick up some old movies for us to watch tonight. We were looking online at the New Releases and couldn't find anything to suit our interest in over 100 movies listed there. Since we're both in the mood for a comedy, we browsed a few pages and found lots of movies that caused us both to reminisce about the great movies of the '80s and '90s. So, Patrick headed out with a mission to get Cool Runnings (which he's never seen), Ghostbusters (which I've never seen), and Men in Black (which we've both seen, but think is funny). I hope we watch Cool Runnings first!!! When I first saw that movie, I was a sophomore in high school and went to see it with a bunch of my friends from band. I remember laughing so hard I had tears rolling down my face. It's been many years since I've seen it, so it should be fun! But, I wonder if it will be as funny 13 years later AND if Patrick will like it (he gives me a hard time for picking out dumb movies). So, out of those 3 movies, which would you want to watch? Any interesting memories from when you first saw it?

Introducing my family

I just wanted to give you all an introduction to my wonderful family! First, is my new little daughter, Mallory. She's almost 8 weeks old and as cute as can be! She was born on April 19th, 2006 and she's been a joy to have in our lives! God has blessed up TREMENDOUSLY by giving her to us. We just pray that He alone will be glorified as we raise her.

Next, is my wonderful husband, Patrick. He's a great man of God and I'm so glad I get to spend the rest of my life with him! We were married on August 30, 2003 and it's been a wonderful adventure since then. I love him so much!

Last, but not least, is my dog Cayman. She's a beagle-mix and is definitely a handful! She's caused me many headaches over the last 2 years since we've had her, but I can't resist her little pie face and sweet personality...which is when she's tired! :-)

Just Getting Started!

Thanks to the efforts of the Unsells, Kelly, and Nicole, you all have inspired me to be a blogger. I think I might even get a little addicted. Are you all ready for cute pictures of Mallory? What about the musings of a new mommy? Or the gibberish of a woman living with a crazy beagle dog? Well, I'm looking forward to writing and sharing and reading your comments!!!