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!