Lots of Parties for Hosting

Well, another month has flown by!  My brother got married, grad school finals, 100 Rotary commitments, and a baby girl to raise later, and it is magically December.  SLOW.DOWN.TIME.

Saturday is Malley's playgroup party.  And yours truly is hosting!  Some little girls dream of their wedding day or of pounding the pavement at a Wall Street job.  I dreamt of Christmas traditions with my little family, and hosting parties for my kids.  True story.

Playgroup parties are funny.  None of the moms eat, but every hostess makes a huge display of food. The dads are so involved in our group, and it is wonderful! We always have a blast watching these littles play together.

We will have pictures with Santa and salt dough ornaments to make, and cute holiday snacks.

Here are my plans from Pinterest.....

Who doesn't love a salt dough ornament? 

And Pretzel kisses..... I may use Rolos.....

http://nightbaking.blogspot.com/2008/12/pretzel-kisses.html

These are just too cute and easy! 

Hopefully Malley's 2nd visit with Santa will go a little better than the first.......

Poor baby has some serious concern written all over her face!

Sunday we're also hosting a progressive dinner for our neighbors.  It is truly the most wonderful time of the year!  Now off to menu plan.....

7 Months!

Malley turned 8 months last week, so here is a summary of her first 7 months!

She is eating so much these days!  Her favorites are tomatoes, cucumbers, and pears.  She also likes yogurt.  We are feeding her chicken and fish, too.  She loves salmon!  So far, the only thing that she doesn't like are grits (I know, DNA testing may be required).  To her credit, they were saltless and without cheese, which may make me question my love for them as well.
Month 7 was quite the month for milestones!  Her babbling has really taken off, and her most favorite "words" are dada.  When she's concentrating on accomplishing something (like standing), she whispers "da da da da da da da da." Adorable.  She's standing and starting to take a couple of steps, all while holding on very tight to one of us.  She is still army crawling, but will get into "crawling position" and then get onto her belly.  She may just skip the "official baby crawl."

Malley is loving music class and enjoys kicking her feet to the beat of any tune. The Music Together CD is constantly playing in my car (yes, even when Malley is not with me....oops!), and it is a great way to calm her down if she gets upset.  She also loves to swing at the park, go for walks, play in the yard, and her jumper.  She still LOVES to sleep in her swing, but we've cut way back to 2-3 times a week.  It is literally creaking from the weight of our 18 pounds of joy.  I realize that she's too old and too big, but it works.  And sometimes she just needs a nap!  She has gotten a little better about napping, but I am putting her in her crib for "rest time" even if she doesn't fall asleep.

I am starting to plan her first birthday!  How has this time gone by so darn fast?  I can hardly believe it!


Milestones
Weight: 18 pounds
Height: 29 inches

Teeth: 2 bottom teeth!
Sleep: You are waking to eat once a night (sometimes twice), but sleep for about 11-12 hours
Noises: Da da, la la la, lots of laughter

Getting ready for my cousin's rehearsal dinner in Georgia

Fall is here!

Now that Malley is 8 months, it is about time for a 7 month post.  Hopefully I will be able to get her to kindergarten on time.  More on that tomorrow.
Last Thursday was such a fabulous day.  One for the books.  First of all, it was less than 100 degrees.  Praise little baby Jesus.  Ken was off, so we had lots of great quality time, and got many items scratched off of the list. All while playing, singing, dancing, and laughing.  We went to breakfast before 9am music class (pretty sure that needs to go into my mom-of-the-year file), planted our fall garden and Malley ate the cauliflower seeds (probably negating my mom-of-the-year nomination), cooked dinner together, ran errands, picnicked in the backyard, and went to the park. It was glorious.  Malley also started swim class last week!  She loves the water, so far.  I love our little family!

Standing!

So, Malley Grace is officially standing!  It all seems to be going so fast these days!  I was unloading the dishwasher, and I turned around to find this sweet baby girl gaining traction on the dishwasher door.  She was so proud of herself and so adorable!

My dad came over to watch her while I had a study group meeting here last night because Ken was working.  Naturally, she performed her standing routine for him.  Oh boy, he was OVERJOYED!  It was precious to get to share this milestone with him.

So, does this mean that she's ready for us to have matching monogrammed aprons and days of cooking and baking together?  Because I am SOOOO ready for that!

These are the days we'll remember!

Love and Marriage

We celebrated 3 years of marriage yesterday.  In some ways it feels like we've been married for 23 years, and in other ways it feels like we were second lining down Canal Street yesterday.  I cannot remember my life before Ken, and I truly love being his wife.  Although we have our challenges, I feel like we were truly made for each other.  We are a great team and he is my soul's mate. Our wedding was pretty dreamy, too. It was a wonderful way to kick off our life as husband and wife!

This year, we threw pregnancy and marriage into the mix, and Malley has been such a wonderful addition to our little family.  However, I do remember having my doubts when she first arrived.  I mean everything was perfect with just the 2 of us (and the dog).  Great vacations, eating out on a whim, 16 hour fishing trips, adventures through various countries....what fun!  And then we were suddenly thrown into the parenthood game.  I think that the first baby, no matter how exciting, is always a shock to your system.  A wonderful, adorable, lovely shock.  Suddenly, going to Target alone seems like a free trip to Hawaii.  You wonder if you'll ever sleep more than 4 hours or shower for more than 3 minutes again.  You begin to plan your days in 3 hour intervals around eating and sleeping.  And then you fall madly in love with your baby, and you realize that this is what life is all about.  We have had so much fun with this precious nugget.  She grows and changes daily, and we look forward to watching her grow!  One of the greatest parts is getting to experience the love that grows between us.  Watching Ken become a father has been one of the most wonderful gifts.  He is a natural, ya'll.  Truly a natural.  Ever since our third date (when I unabashedly asked him if he wanted kids, how many, how far apart, names, etc.....okay, maybe not names, but you get the point.....) I knew he would be an incredible father.  And boy was I right!  He is patient, loving, and kind of obsessed with Malley.  It makes me so happy.  He always wants to hold her and show her off.  I joke that we need to have another one soon so that I have a baby to hold.  True love.  We are blessed and lucky!

Yesterday we spent the day with Malley and ate at Revival Market (amazing!) and went to The Children's Museum, which is one of my very favorite places in Houston.  Malley and Ken had never been, so it was fun to get to show them the awesomeness that is the Houston Children's Museum.  We'll save that for another post.  It was a great day!  Tonight we head out for a date night at Underbelly, which is another one of our favorites.

Here are some pictures from our wedding day.  And some inspiration to continue to hit the gym.  In other news, yesterday marked 1 month until Andrew and Christina get married in New Orleans! So exciting!

Parading through the streets for our Second Line.  One of my favorite memories! They closed down streets so we could parade through with a 7-person brass band, The Storyville Stompers. Fun!

My beautiful wedding party

Bridal picture

Love

We had the Mardi Gras Indians (of Treme fame) come to dance at our reception. Iko Iko!

The send off

Photo Booth fun

My beautiful momma

My sweet parents walking me down the aisle

So many wonderful memories!

It's the Weekend!

The weekend is here!  And this one will be one for the record books.  Perhaps something to add to my medical chart to prove my insanity, but it will be recorded, nevertheless.  It starts with my mom coming to town for a little girl time.  She'll be here for 36 hours, and we plan to go shopping,  dinner, 15 Minutes of Fame Party (picture session), attend my SOON to be sister-in-law's bridal shower, her lingerie shower, bachelorette party, a 15 page paper, and a test for one of my classes.  All by Sunday at 5.  With a 7 month old.  Eh, it will all be great!

These are the little faces that I get to share my days with.  How lucky am I?!

Last weekend, we went to see The Book of Mormon.  I was SOOOOO excited to see it, and it was a good show.  I left a little disappointed, which was probably because I didn't realize how crass the show would be.  Anyway, it was a fun evening!  We had a progressive dinner before the show, which was quite fancy for us!  Babysitter and all!

Delicious beverages at Hearsay.  Great Houston spot!  Plus, I got to tell Ken all about when this place used to be a hot new bar....oh you know, knowledge from my previous life (10 years ago!).

This little cutie is OBSESSED with my MacBook.  OBSESSED.  She has good taste!

Happy Friday!

6 Months!

Well, truthfully, she's 7 months today, but I have never been the early bird!   Malley Grace, you are truly an amazing baby!  You are such a happy baby and you love to laugh and smile.  We could not be amazed by the little girl that you're quickly becoming!

You are just perfect!  You "recognize" people by their nose.  It's the first thing you grab on people you know.  It is hilarious.  We are doing baby-led weaning with you, and you could not be more thrilled with this option.  You started by grabbing a cucumber, and there was no turning back!  Cucumber remains one of your favorites, but you have tried over 20 different fruits and vegetables!  From carrots, apples, peaches, grapes, and tomatoes, to broccoli rabe, radish, beets, and sweet potatoes, you are a lover of food.  The only thing you're not a fan of is banana.  We are so impressed by your exploration of foods and your willingness to try anything!  As a part of baby-led weaning, you have tried "exotic" dishes, as well.

You are crawling, standing with assistance, sitting, babbling, squealing, pulling up, and making lots of "raspberry" noises.  You laugh at anyone who will stick their tongue out and make noise, and you love to read books.  You are a social butterfly, and enjoy being around people.  You love bath time with daddy, and you enjoy singing the rubber ducky song!  You are an explorer, and you LOVE shoes.  It must be genetic.  You will crawl a country mile to get a shoe!  You are fascinated by Nola and love music.  We started your new music class today and you were just delighted and kept singing!  You are starting to develop a little stranger anxiety, but you warm up quickly.

We can't imagine our lives without you, little Malley Grace!  We love you so very much!

Milestones
Weight: 16.8 (54%)
Height: 27 inches (86%)
Head Circumference: 17.5 (93%)
Teeth: 1 finally poking through! (bottom right)
Sleep: You are waking to eat once a night (sometimes twice), but sleep for about 11 hours
Noises: Raspberries, lots of vocalizations, babbling, and laughter

Here are some heart-melting pictures:

We were "touring" our backyard garden the other day, and Malley was fascinated by my favorite hat, so I let her take it for a spin!  She looks adorable in her cowboy hat!  I can't wait for rodeo season.  This girl is going to need the works! Pink boots and all.

How has 7 months flown by so fast?

Memory Lane

My best guy friend from high school, Jeff, just posted this video to Facebook.  He made it for our rehearsal dinner, and I love it!  It is such a fun stroll down memory lane.  Ken and I have had such a fun 5 years, and look forward to many more!  And now that our first little is here, it has even more meaning.  It is fun to see who she favors, and to think of all of the great memories we'll create together as a family.
Jeff was my prom date (we both had significant others, but decided to go together, instead...which was a fabulous decision!), and I introduced him to Maria, who is a very dear friend of mine from college.  And now they're married!  I love playing matchmaker.  They are a wonderful couple and great friends!  Thanks, Jeff!

Happy Grandparent's Day!

I am not sure that this "holiday" existed 20 years ago, but it is nice to have a special day to celebrate grandparents.  Grandparents are such an important addition to the life of a child, and Malley is lucky to have the best in the business!  The relationship between your parents and your child is something that you don't fully grasp until you actually have kids.  It is such a special connection.  When raising kids, you can never have too many people on your team!  It will be so much fun to watch these special relationships grow with our littles.

This is the Smilebox card that we sent to her grandparents.  I love technology!

We had family pictures done in June, and they turned out great!  Ken's brother, David, drove down from Montana to join us for pictures and her baptism.  What a joy it was to have everyone here to surround Malley!

Yep, she's asleep.  Being a 4-month old super model is difficult!