Election Day!

I am most certainly not a politics person; I refuse to join any political party and I feel as though I am always picking the candidates I despise the least. But I do feel as though it is my duty to vote.

So, Mal and I got up extra early on Tuesday and drove over to the local elementary school in order to vote as soon as the polls opened, so mommy could get to work on time.

Of course she was an absolute angel; she was so good in fact, that I let her help me vote by using the touch screen. I'm pretty sure that is probably illegal, but oh well. I double checked the selections before I submitted them.

She even got her own "I voted" sticker, which I was planning on putting in her baby book...but, I seem to have already misplaced it....guess since it's politics, it's not really that important

Happy Halloween!!!

Mallory got spoiled and got to go trick-or-treating twice this year. Here a shot of Mal (ladybug), Coop (Bumblebee), Ky (Minnie Mouse), Adam (Police Officer) and Katie (Twix Bar) trick-or-treating in Uncle Ry and Aunt T's neighborhood.

Sitting on the hay at Gummy and Pop Pop's house
My little cutie...

Wearing her 1st Halloween shirt...I'm so cute it's scary!

My little vampire

So, I don't know if it is the third tooth that is popping through, her age, or if there is no reason at all, but today I encountered my little vampire.

She loves playing with her big brother Acey and she is starting to understand that we pet him and not yank his fur...though Acey is very understanding and doesn't seem to mind either way. But today, as she was patting away, she leaned down and started to chomp down on his back. I quickly stopped her before she could really take a hold, but it still worried me because I am not quite sure how Acey would react to being bitten.

Then tonight as I was talking with Gummy and Pop Pop just prior to the start of the Phillies game (GOOOO Phils!), she crawled over and started to climb up me and leaned in like she was gonna give me a hug.....but instead, those little teefers bit right into my boob! OUCH!!!! She got a teeny tiny little spanking and a stern NO NO NO, WE DON'T BITE! She started to cry (I'm sure I scared her a little) but I think she got the point.

Gummy told me that I was a biter when I was little, so maybe this is just payback...we will see what the morning brings...

9-month checkup

Miss Mallory had her 9-month checkup on Wednesday. Overall, everything is fine; her ezcema is cleared up significantly (thank goodness for that prescription!), though Dr. Hirsch did warn to take extra care during the winter months as her skin will dry out more. We are supposed to start weaning her from the bottle (yeah, like that is going to happen when she pretty much hates her sippy cup!) and to incorporate more table food in to her diet (That shouldn't be a problem because she loves to eat off mommy's plate; we had some broccoli cheddar soup from Panera Bread for dinner).

As far as her measurements, she is now up to 17 pounds 10 ounces and she is 28 inches long...which puts her in the 28th percentile for her weight and the 67 percentile for her height. She's gonna be taller than mean in just a few years, I am sure of that!

The best part of the checkup was that no shots were needed!!!!

I can't believe the next time we go back, it will be for her 1 year checkup!!! Time is going by too fast!!!

Third tooth!

Well, I am not quite sure what Mike was seeing back in July when he told me Mal was getting a third tooth, because until yesterday nothing had popped through.

But I felt it; her top left front tooth just popped through her gum! You can't see it just yet, but you can feel it and you can hear it when she scrapes it against her bottom teeth! (oh, it's like nails on a chalkboard!)

Cutest Steelers Fan!

Ok, so I know the Steelers don't have cheerleaders (one of the reasons I like the team!), but I just couldn't resist getting a Steelers cheerleader outfit for Mal.

I had gotten it last winter before she was born and the only size they had at Babies R US was 6-9 months. I was soooooo concerned that it would be too small by the time football season came around, but alas, Mal is a peanut and it fits.....it's actually too big on her!

I know it's not the greatest pic, but Miss Mobile wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get a good pic.

Mal's first good deed

Every year my parents' church makes up Thanksgiving baskets for the less fortunate. So yesterday at the grocery store, Mal and I decided to do our part to help out. When we got to the vegetable isle, I got Mal out of the cart and carried her just close enough to the canned veges so she could reach. I let her pick our 6 cans of veges all by herself; Thank goodness she didn't take out the whole shelf with one swipe of her arm!

I want her to grow up and realize how lucky we are to have everything that we do and that it's important to give back and help out those who don't have all the luxuries that we have. Happy early Thanksgiving!

Williamsburg

Last weekend Mallory and I, along with Gummy and Pop Pop, took a trip to Williamsburg. It was a fabulous weekend and the weather was perfect!

I worked a half-day on Friday; Gummy and Pop Pop had Mal in the morning and picked me up at the office. I drove the first leg of our trip, navigating our way through the Beltway, I-395 and a busy stretch of I-95, because I didn't want Pop Pop to have to drive through all that traffic. We made it to our destination around 4:00, unpacked and then headed to the Williamsburg Lodge for dinner. That was the best buffet ever! They had all sorts of salad, seafood, sushi, and of course desserts. Along with her baby food, Mal had some Brie cheese and whipped cream; loved them both and really couldn't get enough of that cheese!

Saturday was soooo much fun! Mal had her first bus ride on our way to Yorktown, where they were having a children's festival. But first, we stopped in at the local pub for lunch and I had the best BLT ever! At the children's festival, we went on a hayride around the town. She would have had a little bit more fun if she was just a bit older; she could have gotten her face painted and jumped in the moon bounce. But she definitely was all smiles on the hayride. We walked around Merchant Square in the evening and I found some adorable Christmas ornaments for her.

Sunday was very relaxing. Mal had her first visit to IHOP. We though about going to Jamestown, but decided that Mal had such a big day on Saturday that we didn't want to push our luck. Soooooo, we decided to go outlet shopping! Those were the biggest set of outlets I have ever seen and they were jam packed. Somehow we managed to pack on the end that had all the awesome children's stores...Let's just say that I got enough stuff for both Christmas and her Birthday!

Mal got to meet Uncle Ike on Sunday night when we met him for dinner. And we also cheered on the Phillies! We made the trek home on Monday. I have to say that I am probably super lucky because Mal is the best traveler. All that time in the car seat driving down and back and she was an angel. All I hope is that she is this good on our flight to Florida!

First trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Mal and I had a nice relaxing Saturday, so I didn't want to sit at home all day today. I googled the closet pumpkin patch a few weeks ago, and so we made our trip to Summer's Farm this morning.

Well, Miss Mallory had sooooooo much fun there. First, we took a ride through the corn field in the pumpkin train. She kept honking the horn (one of those awful sounding clown car horns!) on our car and smiled the entire time. We walked around and did some of the small mazes and then made our way to the corn pit (like a ball pit, but filled with dryed corn kernals). I was a little unsure about letting her in there because she puts everything in that mouth of hers, but I just decided that I would climb in there with her. She wasn't too sure about it because she kept sinking in and just kept reaching for me.

We started to make our way back around to the front so we could go on the hayride. There was a giant moon bounce in the middle of the field, which I avoided on the way in, but there was hardly anyone on there now. We took a little corner for ourselves and just sat. Well the bouncing from everyone else was more than enough. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her because I don't think I have ever seen her smile so much!

Our final stop was the hayride, which I didn't realize dropped you off in the middle of the field to pick your pumpkin (I had planned on getting one right before we left, so I didn't have to carry it along with her). So Mal and I (and the diaper bag) made our way through the big field in search of a pumpkin. I plopped her down in the middle of a few and she crawled right to one (thank goodness it was small!). We paid for the pumpkin and had only one thing left to do, the corn maze. I was tempted, but I decided not to push my luck. We had been there for 2 and a half hours already and she was an angel; It was getting close to lunch and nap time, so we headed home. And mommy is sooooo smart; we were barely out of the parking lot and she was already asleep.

Can't wait to take Peanut back next year!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well it's been a while since my last post because, well, Mallory and I haven't been home very much. Last Saturday we had a morning full of errands, and then spent the afternoon at Kristin and Matt's house having a playdate with Molly. The girls were really cute together, though they have the same pacifier, so we had to keep track of them since they like to take them out of each other's mouth.

We then trekked a little farther down the road and had dinner with Auntie Kristin at Fridays. Mallory was her usual perfect self, though she was definitely getting a bit tired, so we didn't get a chance to go in and see Kristin and Terrell's apartment. Looks like we will just have to make another trip!

Mommy had a loooong drive up to PA saturday night (ok, I will never complain about the drive up 15 from my condo because the drive up 83 is just awful!). Mal and I skipped church Sunday morning so we could catch up on our sleep (much appreciated Gummy and Pop Pop!) and then we spent the afternoon celebrating Pop Pop and his award from the Demolay (ok, I really hope I spelled that right).

We continued our stay in PA this week because mommy had a recruiting event at LVC (so, I feel so old compared to those kids) and CPE in Harrisburg. It was my day to work from home today and I felt very productive; I can't see the light at the end of the work tunnel yet, but we are making progress. I hope this productivity continues into Thursday and Friday because I am soooo looking forward to having a very relaxing weekend with my little BFF. For the first time in I couldn't tell you how long, we don't have any plans; phew!

Go Phillies!!!!

Well, the Luckenbaugh family may be divided on their football teams --Steelers, Eagles and Cowboys, but we are certainly united on the baseball front....GOOOOOO PHILLIES!!!

I searched for a phillies shirt for her, but came up with nothing. Gummy came to the rescue and even found a shirt for her that matched mine. Gotta cheer for our man Utley!

On Sunday, Mal's 8-month birthday (gosh, how time is flying) we took her to her first Phillies game. She even got a first game certificate! (Thanks AmyJo for letting us know about that). The first few innings were a bit slow, but she certainly kept us (and the people in the row behind us) entertained. She decided to take snooze mid-way through the game and actually made it up on the big screen in centerfield! Gee, I got a celebrity on my hands.




The Phillies were down going into the last inning, but they came through. Jason Werth hit a walkoff homerun!!! We couldn't have asked for a more perfect first game! We're looking forward to the playoffs...Mal's gotta get some more wear outta that shirt!

Bodily Functions

Now, I can always count on my little girl to make me smile and laugh. Usually it's because she is smiling or laughing with me or playing with big brother Acey.

But just last night, as I was trying to catch up on work...I'm sitting in bed with my laptop working on a dreaded LM-2 (for those of you not in the accounting field, this form is just AWFUL! and completely pointless in my opinion) and I hear her start to stir through the baby monitor. She settled down on her own pretty quickly and just as the monitor goes quiet...I hear her tooting away. I about rolled off the bed laughing. I went over to check on her and sure enough, she is out cold.

And tonight, we were getting ready for her bath. I had her all wrapped up in her towel like usual and just as we get to the bathroom I feel warmth coming through the towel. I got her all settled in the tub and looked down at my soaking wet shirt. I totally got peed on!

But that wasn't the only issue we faced tonight. We got out of the tub and got all changed into pj's. I put her in her playpen, so I could clean up dinner, wash bottles, pack my lunch for tomorrow, etc. About 10 minutes later I start to smell something coming from her direction. I look down, she is just sitting there playing with her toys, but on the other side of the playpen is a huge brown stain on the carpet. At first, I yelled at Ace for going in the house (which he never ever does!) but then I realized I always shut the door to her playpen (and it was shut now), so there was no way for him to get in there. I picked her up and her legs and butt were just covered with poop. She had pooped soooooo much that it came out of her diaper, through her sleeper and onto the carpet! Good thing I had some Resolve Shot Spot on hand!

It was quite a challenge to change her after that, as to try to get the sleeper over her head without getting poop everywhere....and we had to take another small bath in the sink. Of course my shirt was dirty from carrying her back to her room to change her, so we just decided to do a small load of laundry to wash all mine and her pee and poop covered clothes!

She is peacefully sleeping now....8 o'clock on the dot with her. We will see what tomorrow brings. It's never a dull moment in this house!

Acey is home!

It looks like in all the craziness of the last week, I forgot to mention that Acey is finally home with me! Gummy and Pop Pop were wonderful for watching the little guy while the A/C was getting fixed and until I had settled into a good rountine with Mal, but he is finally home with me.

He is so good with Mallory. She pulls his fur and yanks his tail and he just sits there and acts like she isn't doing anything at all. He does like to give her kisses...a lot...but whenever she is annoyed by them, she just pushes him away and he goes and minds his own business.

It's a little crazy trying to take him out at night and first thing in the morning because obviously I can't leave Mallory in her crib all alone. So, I end up packing her in the car seat and plopping that in the big stroller; we have to take the elevator up and down (which adds significant time to all our trips!) and getting in and out of our locked front door with everything was a bit challenging at first; now, I got it down like it's nothing.

Though it is definitely a big challenging, I love my little Acey and I am soooo happy to have him home!

Mal's first Labor Day Weekend

With being off on 3 months of maternity leave and using everything that I had saved up going to Stone Harbor for a week, my vacation time at work is zilch. So I am always excited when a holiday approaches because it means I have a free day to spend with my little BFF.

It was a wonderful, wonderful weekend! Mallory I and slept in on Saturday(yes, I brought her into bed with me, because I wanted to snuggle!) and then make our usual short time to Gummy and Pop Pop's house.

We spent the day shopping with Gummy and found Mal's Halloween costume (she's gonna be a cute little lady bug!) and of course did some fall clothes shopping using all of the coupons I have hoarded over the last few months.

Sunday was an extremely fun and relaxing day. We went to Little Buffalo State Park, a place I hadn't visited in probably a good 10 years. We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, took walks around the grounds, snoozed a little and just enjoyed everyone's company.

Monday, Mommy got a free day and went to the US Open with Pop Pop. We saw some great matches and for the first time in a few years, the heat wasn't all that bad. I did get a little sunburn on the right side of my body, but it disappeared within a day. Mallory had a fun day with Gummy and Acey and Gummy was able to get her to sleep in their PacknPlay all night for the first time! Gooooo Gummy!

Here's looking forward to our next three day weekend....We're heading to Williamsburg!

Big Surprise for Mommy

So yesterday I was trying to catch up on all of Miss Mallory's laundry (I cannot believe how many clothes this child has!). Mal was playing in her crib and I was folding and getting everything put away. I turned around at one point and them this little laugh/scream came from her. I turned around and...

It was kind of late, and I was a little sleep deprived from being at the US Open the day before, so I made the executive decision to let Mal sleep with me (good thing I got the bed rails for my bed over the weekend!) and worry about dropping the crib tomorrow. I did get around to lowering the crib today, so her view when she stands is a little more like this...

The Zoo

Yesterday Mallory had her first metro ride as we made our way in to DC to go to the zoo. There were a lot of animals, lions, leopards, pandas, elephants, monkeys, etc. However, it was a hot Sunday afternoon, so they were being lazy and sleeping the day away.

After about an hour and a half of walking around Peanut decided she wanted to join their ranks and took a nice long snooze herself.

Perhaps, the next time we try the zoo, we will go in the spring or fall when the animals might be a little more active. Hopefully the aquarium will provide a little more entertainment!

Ear Piercing!

Last Thursday was the big day! We got Mallory's ears pierced! She was such a big, brave little girl! I think the shock of the piercing mostly just took her breath away and she only cried for about a minute afterwards. She got calmed down, had a bottle and has not fussed with them since. She is such a little mover now, it's hard to get good shots of anything. Here's the clearest shot of her little studs.

A busy week for me and the Peanut!

It's been quite a busy week for me and Mal; dinner with the girls from grad school, family reunion, Hersheypark, two days of CPE and 6 month pictures.

Friday night was such a blast! Sherry, Brent and Peyton drove up from South Carolina to visit for the weekend and all the girls from UMD got together for dinner. Mallory and Peyton played so well together and boy, do Sherry and Brent have their hands full with Peyton! She is a handful, but oh so adorable. We had a lovely dinner, followed by about 20 thousand different conversations! It was wonderful to see everyone and catch up; I seriously hope we don't wait too long before getting together again!

There was one downside to Friday night. I loaded up the dishwasher and ran it during the night, so I could have clean dishes in the morning. But I awoke to a dishwasher that was full of water and dishes that were still dirty. I scooped out all the water cause it was starting to get a bit stank, and then proceeded to hand wash an entire dishwasher full of dishes! I will survive for a bit without the dishwasher (until I pay off the brand new AC unit I had put in two weeks ago!) and think I will be using a lot of disposable dishes and utensils (sorry to the environment for a little while!)

Saturday morning Mal and I made our hour long drive up to PA. I had avoided the Luckenbaugh family reunion for a few years, but thought it extremely important to take Mal for her first reunion this year. I have to admit, it was pretty fun! Though we probably are the only family who needs to wear name tags at a reunion! Kathy and Jessie came in from Oregon and the twins, Drake and Abigail were too adorable (ok, so they are two now and I seriously feel like I was just at their first birthday party!). Mal had some playtime with Rachel (who is almost 5 months now). It will be fun to see them running around next year.

Sunday was another fun trip to Hersheypark. I got in some quality cousin time with Jessie and was able to ride some roller coasters and "big kid" rides as opposed to the train, monorail and lady bugs. It's not that I don't love riding everything with Mal, but a little adrenalin is good every now and again!

I had to make the trip back to MD on monday for work and then trek right back up to PA that night since my two days of CPE were in Hershey (though I did get some yummy food those two days). So Mal got in some quality time with Gummy and Pop Pop for a few days. And boy, did she ever get spoiled and surprised Mommy with all she learned. Gummy worked hard on perfecting "Mamamamamamamamama" and Pop Pop taught her how to clap along with "Little Einsteins."

Tuesday night was a busy night. We got Mal's 6 month pictures taken (and yes, they still count as 6 month pics, cause she didn't turn 7 months until today!). She was soooooo good and cheerful! Then Mommy got a little break and some quality girl time with Lauren, my roomie for life! It was a fabulous three hours of flirtini's and girl talk, who could ask for anything more!

We got settled back in this evening, but of course it will be short lived. We will be heading back up to PA this weekend for two birthday parties! It's never a dull moment in this house!

Starting Out On Our Own

Well, Wednesday evening it became official. Mike and I ended our two and a half year relationship. At first, I was sad about it (and cried a lot; it's slowly getting better) and couldn't understand how someone who said they loved me (and promised to take care of me and our child for the rest of our lives) and was going through counseling with me to try to work on our relationship could just overnight flip a switch and say nope, I'm done. Taking the ring off my finger was probably the hardest thing I have had to do in quite a long time. I honestly still wish I hadn't.

It's going to be super hard for a while because I know I have to see him almost everyday. I just keep wishing that there was something alone that I could do to fix the situation, but I can't. I was willing to put forth the effort and change the things that I needed to change (cause I know I'm not perfect and having a baby changes so much!) and all I wanted was the same effort from him. I believe all that was needed was some simple tweeking of our schedule, make sure we make time for our friends and family and make sure we make time for each other (remind each other of all of the fun we can have together and share our intimate time together) in between all our time and effort for Mallory (cause of course, she is the most important!). I'm hopeful that we can come to terms with a schedule and time together that meets both our needs and wants.

But for now, I know that Mallory and I will be just fine. She is my rock and my number one priority! And the outpouring of concern and support I have recieved in just this short amount of time is tremendous; I have such amazing friends and family! I know being a single mommy isn't always going to be easy (duh), but I know beyond a doubt that I am one strong woman and can handle anything life decides to throw at me.

Two Big Firsts Today

Well, after two weeks of sitting in the corner of my dining room, I finally decided to assemble the high chair. And boy, that was the easiest of all the baby things to assemble! Only 2 pieces! And Peanut sat in the chair and enjoyed her first try of sweet potato "Puffs". She liked them, but the hand to mouth coordination isn't quite there yet. I give her two weeks max before she figures it out.



And last night I found out that little miss could pull herself up onto her knees and get her head above the rails of the crib. Sooooooo, this afternoon after work Mommy lowered the crib to the middle level. Now when she gets to her knees, she just peers through the bars in the crib, looking like she's in prison. I will have to try to snap a pic tonight; she looks so cute!

First Word...

Well it's official, Mal said "mama" twice last night! So super excited for that, though I have to admit, it's not her first word...she has been saying "baba" for at least two months now. But at least I beat out "dada!"

Tooth Update

Mike has Mal at the beach for a few days, and I got a text this afternoon saying we have found a third tooth! The first two (middle bottom) are through and you can definitely see them when she gives ya a big smile (though she's been too quick for mommy to snap a pic of 'em) and the third is poking through on the bottom left (maybe the incisor?).

All I can say is no more chewing on Mommy's hand; it actually hurts now!

Stone Harbor 2010

A few weeks ago, the family mades its annual trek to the best beach on earth, Stone Harbor, New Jersey. I was especially excited this year since it would be Mallory's first trip. And boy, did she have fun!

She loved the sand (though she did try to eat the sand a lot!),

ocean (jumping waves with Mommy)

and the pool (floating around in her cute goldfish floaty)!

She had her first taste of Springer's ice cream (Yum Yum!) and successfully endured the family picture night.

We also experienced some firsts while we were there. Mal sat unsupported for the first time (for more than just a few seconds) and she got her first tooth (we discovered this after she chomped down on my hand one day at the beach).

Overall, it was a very fun time shared by all. We cannot wait to go back next year!

Who's got the best co-worker? That's right, I do!

Not that I need an excuse to post cute pics of Mal, but I have to say, every Wednesday, I get truly blessed; she is the best co-worker ever! Who could complain about doing work with this cute face next to you.

Daddy is getting old!

Happy 30th Birthday Mike!

We spent Mike's birthday weekend in Ocean City, Maryland with his family. We left on Friday after I got home from work and to our surprise traffic was awesome! It was still late when we got there, so basically we just unpacked and went to bed; though Mallory decided she didn't want to sleep in the pack n' play, so she spent the night sleeping on Mommy.

Saturday we decided it was pool time. Mallory liked the water as long as it was just her feet. If she got any other part of her wet, she was not a happy camper. The water was pretty cold; even I was just sitting on the top step down into the pool. Overall, it was a nice day, though pretty hot. And poor little Mallory's face and elbows paid the price for that. No sunburn (since we were using SPF 60) but her ezcema flared like crazy!

We decided no more outside time for her for the rest of the long weekend. Mommy took full advantage and we snuggled, watched tennis, and Mommy finally got some down time to read while Mal napped. I think we used almost an entire tube of Aveeno lotion to try to get rid of the redness and by the time we left on Monday, there was some definite improvement. This week we are testing out "California Baby" cream. After only one day of use, we are almost ezcema free. This little jar might become my new best friend!

Daddy had a nice birthday and we know he will enjoy his presents! A giftcard for a massage from Mommy and "Daddy Day Care" DVD from Mal. Here's to many, many more birthdays to come!

Baby's First Fever

Last Tuesday I got a call mid-day from Mike, "I think Mal has a fever. She feels like she's burning up." He took her temperature while I was on the phone with him and sure enough, 100.4 degrees. I spoke with Dr. Hirsch and he said we could give her Tylenol or Motrin (though Motrin works better with fevers) and if it doesn't go down within 24 hours to bring her in. It was close to the end of the work day, so I wrapped up my stuff and booked it out of there. Mommy just had to get home to the little princess. Of course it had to be the day I was working in Virginia, so I had at least an hour and a half long drive ahead of me.

I finally got home and surprisingly little miss wasn't fussy or crying, just tired. So we snuggled until it was her bedtime. It took about two days, but the fever was completely gone. Then her nose got all stuffy and yesterday she was just so out of sorts, screaming and crying, which is totally not like her at all, I decided we should take her to see Dr. Hirsch just to make sure she didn't have an ear infection or anything. She got checked out and everything is just fine. He said she had a little fluid around her eardrum which is normal when having the congestion, but no infection. Phew!! We made it through our first bout of baby sickness just fine (with just a small bit of worrying).

Vegetables and Father's Day

On Saturday (Mal's 5 month bday!) we made the big step and started giving Mallory vegatables. Mike wanted to start with sweet potatoes, but I thought she might like them toooo much and not want to eat anything else, so we started with carrots. She had three days of carrots and she seemed to like them more and more each time she ate them (but overall, I don't think she was impressed). Today we gave her squash, and boy oh boy, she likes squash! I had been giving her about a half a tub of the food since we are just testing out each type, but ended up giving her the whole thing because she just wasn't satisfied with half.

And now, I know exactly why we got 40+ bibs at our baby showers! Talk about yuck!

On another note, we had a very nice 1st Father's Day with Mike! We slept in, had a nice lunch with Mike's family and overall just had a nice fun day together. I tried to coax Mal into saying "dada" instead of the "baba" she has been saying hoping to make Mike's day, but she just kept looking at me like I was crazy. Hopefully by next year, I can get "I love you daddy" out of her. Here's a cute pic of them from earlier today.

First trip to the beach

I envy Mike and his flexible work schedule! On Thursday he took Mallory on his first solo trip (for two days) to Ocean City, Maryland. I was a little nervous because I haven't spent a night apart from her yet. But from all the pictures he sent, it definitely seems like they had a wonderful time and Mallory LOVES being in the water.

And though I anxiously awaited their return home this afternoon, I have to admit, it was nice to have a few free nights to have dinner with friends...and sleeping in this morning was heavenly!

We are now scooting...backwards

Wednesday was my day to work from home this week and Peanut was her usual wonderful, well behaved self all day, so that I could get my work done and we could play all afternoon and evening until bedtime.



During the day, I did find that she had learned a new trick, scooting...though she hasn't quite mastered the art of going the right direction (She started out completely inside her play pen with her head waaaay up by the orange monkey hanging off the side).

Wonder how much longer till we start crawling in the right direction.

Poop News and Feeling Blessed

Not too much new on the homefront with Miss Mallory, but I about fell off my chair at work when I got this txt from Mike on Wednesday.

I always check up on her during the day and one of my standard questions is did she poop? I know, but I am always worried that she is gonna get constipated. Well she certainly hasn't been having this problem as of late. One day last week, she had a huge blowout and when Mike went to change her, she got her feet in it and since she is a little wiggle worm, the changing table was covered...and yesterday...when he went to change her...these are Mike's exact words...the poop literally shot out of the side of the diaper. It got all over his shirt, which he subsequently threw out. I did offer to wash the shirt, but it was a no go.

And on a more serious note, after reading about all of the issues some of the babies (and mommies and daddies too) on my birth board are going through, especially little Elliana, I feel so extremely lucky and blessed to have a happy, healthy baby! I will never, ever again complain or question why we have to deal with eczema. Ezcema is absolutely NOTHING compared to microcephaly, pachygyria and polymicrogyria. Please keep Elliana and her family in your prayers as she continues to go through tests to determine how severe her problems are. Elliana, I believe you can fly! Stay strong little one!

A belated first posting

So, I actually created this little blog of ours here about one year ago, right after Mike and I found out about the little miracle that would be coming our way mid-January 2010. But with everything that goes along with getting ready for a baby, on top of our regular day to day activities, and my pregnancy absentmindedness, I just never got around to posting anything until now.

I am going to try to summarize what's been going on during the last year to catch everyone up.

I had a fairly easy/uncomplicated pregnancy, and the only lingering effects are the stinking stretch marks that showed up on Christmas Day (yes, Merry Christmas to me!) and the 12 or so extra pounds I'm carrying around, but I'm completely ok with that. Little Peanut is absolutely worth every extra pound (and Mederma works wonders on those nasty stretch marks)!

And I certainly cannot complain about my labor and delivery, even though Mal was 2 days late! I went to work for a few hours after the long Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend to wrap up a few items before my loooooong maternity leave. I went for my 40 week appointment at 10:30AM and Dr. Margolis scheduled me for an induction the following day. I got home about 11:30AM, ate some lunch and got changed to go to my mani/pedi appointment (one last pampering). Not too long after that, I started feeling some pain/tightening in my abdomen; I did usually get some cramping after my appointments from them checking my cervix, so I didn't think much of it right away.

But after an hour, the pain wasn't stopping, so I cancelled my mani/pedi (I definitely did not want to have my water break in public!) and hopped in the bath to try to relax. Mike got home from the gym and came up to check on me. I told him "I think I am having contractions", so he got a watch so we could time them. From the time we started timing, they were coming 4-5 minutes apart. I labored at home till about 3:15PM when Mike suggested we head to the hospital. We got the Shady Grove around 4PM and I waddled my way to the maternity floor. We got admitted pretty quickly (though it didn't seem that quick while I was having contractions) and got moved to the delivery room around 5PM. I got my epidural almost immediately because the anesthesiologist was getting ready to go into a c-section and my wonderful nurse didn't want to take the chance that he wouldn't make it back in time to give me the epidural. Thank the Lord for epidurals because for the next 5 hours, I had complete peace

Around 11PM I started to feel some pressure like I had to push; the nurse checked my cervix for the thousandth time and sure enough, it was finally time to get ready to have our little girl! Mom and Dad prayed with me for everything to go smoothly and quickly and well, their prayer certainly worked. I was prepped and started my practice pushes around 11:20PM or so and within 15 minutes (though Mike estimates I only pushed for about 5 minutes), Mallory Grace made her arrival. She was 7 pounds 4 ounces and 21 inches long; She was the most beautiful thing in the whole world and Mike and I just couldn't believe it; those 9 long months had finally passed and it was time to enjoy our little girl.

It was a very quick delivery for a first time mom (or so I am told) and Dr. Wolfgram barely made it into the room in time to deliver her. The one downside to the quick delivery was the fact that I tore pretty badly, so I needed some stitches. Mike stayed by my side to try to comfort me, but I quickly told him to go take pics and hold little Mallory. I have to admit, I was pretty mad at him for the next hour since I couldn't hold her until they were done with my stitches. Finally, it was my turn to hold her and WOW! what an amazing feeling! I AM A MOM!!

We went home two days later and began our new life. All I have to say is that no one could ever explain to you how much work a newborn is. Waking every 2 hours to feed the little one was exhausting; thank goodness the Australian Open and the Olympics were on in the middle of the night! And those poopy diapers, YUCK! I tried my hardest to exclusively breastfeed because I know it is what is best for baby, but my body just would not cooperate. For the first month, she would just cry and cry and the only way I could calm her or quiet her down was to stick a boob in her mouth. At her 1 month appointment with Dr. Hirsch, she had gone from the 20th percentile for weight down to the 8th. This made me extremely nervous and Dr. Hirsch said we needed to start supplementing with formula.



We supplemented for 2 weeks and I started noticing she would nurse less and less and she was drinking more and more formula. I decided to skip a feeding and completely use formula to see if I my boobs would be uncomfortably full. I honestly did not feel uncomfortable at all. And that was the end of my breastfeeding experience. I was not engorged at all and dried up quick. At first, I was so disappointed in myself for not being able to give my child what she needed, but after a few days of complete formula feeding and seeing how much more satisfied and happy she was, I knew we had made the right decision.

The first few months of Mallory's life flew by so fast and before Mike and I knew it, it was April 19th and my 3 months of maternity leave were over (booooo!) but thankfully, I work for a wonderful firm and they are letting me work one day a week from home. That definitely helps with my separation anxiety. And I am so proud of Mike! He has Daddy Day Care 3 days a week and does such an amazing job taking care of our little princess!

We have experienced quite a few firsts so far: She can roll over in both directions, she smiles, laughs, coos, and most importantly sleeps through the night. Her normal bedtime is 8PM and lately she's been sleeping till somewhere between 5 and 6AM. We recently moved her from the bassinet to her crib, which has caused no problems for her, but Mommy misses having her nearby, so I'll get her in the middle of the night and bring her into bed so I can snuggle! (Yeah, yeah, I know) Her newest trick is rolling over onto her belly in her sleep, which totally freaks Mike out and he rolls her back onto her back multiple times most nights. Dr. Hirsch said it was completely normal and as long as she was rolling on her own, we shouldn't worry about it.

Mal started eating cereal about two weeks ago and is doing a great job at it! When she turns 5 months we are planning on incorporating some veges and fruits. I have stocked up on various fruits and veges and once we know whether she is allergic to any of them, I plan on cooking the majority of her baby food (hey, if I couldn't breastfeed, I can at least cook her baby food!).

Mallory got baptized yesterday. She wore my baptismal dress (kudos to Mom for keeping is so nice for the last 27 years!) and looked so cute. She was a perfect angel the whole time (like we were surprised)! And we had a wonderful lunch with our friends and family afterwards.

Ok, I think that's the highlights of the first few months of Mal's life...though I'm sure I will think of more to discuss tomorrow, so I will be posting again soon.