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!