Here's another unfinished post from - gasp - July, 20, 2010. So, what happens is I start them, mean to get back to them and don't. And they sit in my "unpublished" folder for, um, years. I obviously have NO idea what else I was going to add to this little post. So, here's a blast from the past. With more to come... Oh, and this is baby Allyson as Mallory wasn't even a thought yet!
We spent the majority of our trip swimming at Frank and Dusty's or Jeff and Gina's pool. (Unfortunately I didn't have a camera at Frank and Dusty's!) Allyson definitely had no fear and would not hesitate to jump in
the deep end. So we had to watch her very closely!
Nicole was so excited to actually swim on her own for the first time! The video shows Allyson jumping on the trampoline while Nicole and Grandma practice swimming.
Tonight Nicole and I started an eight-week parent-child soccer program. Unfortunately, this is the first time the "parent" option has been offered and, for whatever reason, it's not proving to be too popular. There was only one other mom on the field with me! (There were plenty of lazy parents sitting on the bleachers.)
After doing several exercises with our girls, the other mom, Tracey, and I realized we weren't really going to be able to participate much. It was abundantly clear when the kids were told to choose partners and, instead of picking their moms, our girls picked each other! So, Tracey and I joined the lazy parents. We were a little bummed by not really being able to participate but were really glad to have been able to meet one another. Nicole and I are both looking forward to seeing our new friends next week!
So, then ...
"So then," is where I left off writing this post. And we will never know what happened. Because I can't remember!
Earlier this year Nicole decided to take her little sister for a joy ride. But it's obvious Nicole was the only one finding any joy. Looking at this I can't believe I didn't stop it! Will definitely be showing future driver's ed teachers. Video might not work...
Nicole, Allyson, and Mom had a very unexpected trip to California when Uncle Jeff had a charter flight to Springfield. The people chartering the plane are close friends of his and let us ride along back to Bakersfield for a visit. We had a great time visiting family there and made a quick trip to Fresno to see Britt's side of the family. Saw cousin Chase (who is HUGE!) play football, and got to love on baby Morgan. Before leaving we had an early 1st birthday party for Morgan and Allyson.
Obviously I have some missing pictures! Will try to update this post later...
We received a note the other day that Nicole's artwork was chosen as part of a small group from the school to be displayed at the Discovery Center Science Museum downtown. I took the girls the other day so we could see the picture and have some fun at the museum as it's been a long time since we've visited. (Dad was working but was able to stop by to see her picture.)
We were a little surprised. As I looked over the pictures I couldn't immediately pick out which was Nicole's. I was drawn toward paintings with lots of blue as that is her favorite color. I was thinking it would look something like this:
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But she went with a "haunted" picture. You can only imagine the look on Britt's and my face when we saw the tombstone and she explained that the red roof was blood, the laughing was the witch and the black dots on the door were spiders. We must say it was definitely the most creative, unique, (and scary) of all the artwork!
When we asked what the number was in the corner, we had to laugh. Her friend, Kylie, wanted to write her phone number. Not sure if her mom is thrilled to have it on display downtown!
I love waterskiing. At least, that's what I remember. It's been over 20 years since I've done it. And every year I talk about it. Well, we finally planned a date to go with our neighbors who own a boat! Would you believe just hours before we were to leave Nicole came down with a high fever? Agh!! We had to cancel the day!
A few weeks later we rescheduled. It was a very hot day so we waited until the evening. This was the first try and I got up right away! Of course, we hit a boat's pretty strong wake not long after and it took me down pretty quick. You can hear Britt laughing and Nicole screaming when she sees her mom is falling. LOL!
This is my second time up. Shortly after the video I just had to stop skiing. I was disappointed that I was exhausted after about just ten minutes of skiing! Oh well. It was worth it and I hope to go again before the decade is over!
Somehow I never realized Britt had never been waterskiing before. So we let him give it a try. For some reason he had a really hard time getting the skis on. In fact, our neighbor, Rick, ended up jumping in the water to go help him out! This is his first try. :)
He tried one more time but his ski fell off and, because it was getting late, he decided to go tubing with the girls. Allyson decided she was too scared so it was just Daddy and Nicole. Listen to her laughing!
Here Rick starts having some fun with them.
It was getting dark and I wanted Allyson to give it a try. I convinced her to get on the tube with me.... and Mallory! Yes, Mallory. We took the boat super slow, more cruising than tubing. But, as you can see at the end of the video, Allyson wasn't having it and I told them to stop. She's been tubing before and loved it. Today the bravery just wasn't there. Mallory seemed fine with it. She still trusts me. LOL
Sweet Allyson lost a tooth this afternoon. She's been very anxious about it hurting. But she was very brave and let Mommy pull it. (It was practically falling out.)
She was so excited getting ready for the tooth fairy. Nicole wanted to leave a note on Allyson's behalf.
They told me they left the Tooth Fairy some money because "she works so hard." How precious is that?! Such good hearts!!
As I went to kiss them good night Nicole began asking some questions. She said she believes in the Tooth Fairy but was obviously having some doubts. (It's kind of sad to see happening in her heart. I love the pure trust and joy of unquestioned faith.) She asked, "What if I'm a mom one day and I believe and the Tooth Fairy doesn't come?"
Allyson is laying right next to her as she talked.
I told Nicole if the Tooth Fairy didn't come for Allyson I would give Allyson some money.
Nicole is growing up. But not too fast. And for that I am thankful.
We had a rough night last night and a rough day today. Mallory isn't wanting to sleep. (Nicole is the one who noticed she's getting a new molar so maybe that has something to do with it.)
This afternoon I felt forced to let her cry it out. And, boy, did she ever. I occasionally went in to reassure her but insisted she stay in her bed. It just made her more and more mad!
I think she fell asleep for 20 minutes in the two hours we battled. When it was all over I recorded a little talk about nap time. Look at her poor red eyes and the tear still falling down the side of her face. Such a tough day!
I am so behind on blogging. My computer wasn't working during the entire trip to California and then it was being worked on for several weeks. New hard drive and a bunch of other new parts. Now I'm trying to figure out how to get everything back to normal from a backup. (Nothing is in the right place!) Add this to back to school and... well, you just have my promise that I'll do the best I can!
We were on the way to "Meet the Teacher" the other day and Allyson insisted on bringing her bible and "reading" John the Baptist. I held the camera/phone up while I was driving. The girls could see themselves and... well, Nicole's faces are hilarious. So is Allyson's take on "John the Baptist." Did you know they held their nose before getting dunked?
Wine or grape juice? How about neither! Find out what they were REALLY drinking at The Last Supper. (She says it rather quickly at :56 in case you miss it.)
(There is a lot on this one I just can't follow. Maybe you can! Not completely sure which story she was reading... )
Sweet Allyson promoted at church from the preschool department. They held a graduation ceremony that was beyond adorable. See for yourself.
A picture of Allyson being shown on slideshow prior to ceremony
This was a picture on the slideshow of Allyson and me racing down the slides in play land. I took a bunch of pictures inside this play land but they were lost when I got a new phone. This is simply the coolest play structure ever. I was so bummed to find out she doesn't go to play land now that she's in kindergarten. I love getting to be a kid and race around the slides and in the ball pit, etc. There's one corkscrew slide that's so steep… honestly, it's so fun!
Waving at Mommy and Daddy
And… Ta Da! The big performance. I have to say, she's been singing these songs for a long time. And she talks about the lessons. I'm so grateful for the teachers and programs and all that she's learning. I can see it in her little life already. I put a bunch of snippets together so it's a bit choppy and, evidently, the final "applause" video didn't make it… but you still get the idea. I love, love, love my little girl's enthusiasm for life!!! (Make sure to enlarge the video… bottom right corner.)
Our church life group took an evening to volunteer a Convoy of Hope, an amazing A/G ministry that was started by two brothers. It feeds people in the U.S. and overseas when disaster strikes. The headquarters is here in Springfield and I've been meaning to volunteer with the kids but finally had the opportunity. Britt, unfortunately, had to work late this night. So Mallory stayed with a sitter and the big girls got to work.
Our job was to fill pasta bags.
Nicole loved running the tape machine.
Other friends from the group and their kids.
This would have been a perfect evening except I started not feeling well. Ended up tossing my cookies at Convoy of Hope. And… we had to leave. Almost made it to the end! We will definitely go back. It was a great experience. (Mostly.)
I took Mallory to the doctor the other day to check her ears before we fly out to California for a visit. (Her nose has been runny… but it's just a cold.) Allyson took Bailey, the infamous striped tiger that was given to us at the Kirby Van Burch show while I was writing my book on Branson. It's probably the most loved toy we own. Allyson has pretty much adopted her and claims she's not a tiger but a striped dog. Anyway, Bailey was "throwing up" and our sweet pediatrician was kind enough to examine her.
A couple of weeks ago I took Mallory to Urgent Care and had to mention Bailey to them so that I could bring home medicine (a tongue depressor and band-aid.) LOL
I was in a 70's music mood this afternoon. Mallory loves music. She started shaking her head to the beat so I pulled out my phone. She stopped. But she would do it a little. I just had to share. She. Is. So. Cute!
I truly can not believe a year has passed since Mallory came into our lives. What a blessing. I think back to last year and that crazy day when she surprised us by coming almost a month early. I think of watching Nicole and Allyson fall in love with their baby sister and how they've grown to care for and protect her. There are so many memories and so much to celebrate.
They say first birthday parties are unnecessary. We had a wonderful party filled with family and friends for Nicole's first. But, without grandparents and cousins here, we didn't have anything more than cake for Allyson's first. And, it was fine. We were so grateful my parents could be here and that made it special! But I look back and wish I had done some kind of party. So, for Mallory, that's what we did.
My friend, Katie, is a photographer and she came with camera in hand. These are just some pre-party pictures and a few videos we took. I'll share more when I get Katie's pictures!
The night before her party!
Cuddling my one-year-old for the first time
A birthday morning song from her sisters
As you entered the front door
Favors were baby food jars. Britt spray painted the lids pink. I added jelly beans inside and tied some tulle around the top with a "thank you" tag. We also had water bottles with Mallory's name or "Happy 1st Birthday" written on them.
Walking into the living room
I found a baker who made these little "smash cakes" for just $7!! And, almost exactly like the Pinterest picture I showed her. I loved the cupcakes she did, too. Each a little different.
We used mason jars for glasses and served raspberry lemonade.
It's hard to see the straw flag but the pink ones say "Mallory."
The blue ones just say, "Happy Birthday."
The lighting wasn't very good. Hopefully Katie will have better pictures.
We served chicken salad sandwiches, chips and veggies. (I would normally do an afternoon "cake and ice cream" party but, since it was a church day we had to do an evening party so Mallory could get a good nap.)
For the Birthday Girl
The baker made her a special cupcake so she could get messy.
(The other cakes were fondant which doesn't lend itself to "messy.")
About to go to her party. (Just woke up.)
Mallory and Blake.
Our friend, Jon Vint, was playing Peek a Boo behind Katie's back trying to get a smile. It didn't work. Mommy tried. It didn't work. Nicole came down and was able to get one from her.
Singing Happy Birthday to Mallory. So precious.
Time to cut the cake!
She didn't really care for the cake.
(I know… but her sisters will teach her the way)
Time for presents!
From Nana and Papaw (via Amazon)
(Forgive all the talking… it really was chaotic!)
We were all shocked that Mallory figured out her walker so soon! She has shown zero interest in walking. I'm not necessarily ready for that yet … just thought it would be good to have for a few months down the road. Oops. It wasn't even all put together yet and she was taking off!
I love this video where she's talking and waving and walking… already multi-tasking! Of course, in the end, crawling is just faster when you have somewhere to go.
Aunt Becky (my mom's cousin) is our only relative in the area and she is wonderful. She always brings the girls books for their birthday. This "Peek-a-boo Bunny" was a hit!
After the party, Mallory decided to try out the stairs. Can you believe this?
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