Water Baby

As mentioned in a previous post, Mallory had her first swimming pool experience this past week. Yes, we made our baby get in an outdoor pool in the month of December. Hey, you gotta be a member of the polar bear club sooner or later! I kid, I kid. The pool was heated and actually the weather was sunny and pretty warm (just how I like my winters)! We had a blast and are definitely looking forward to this summer. Bring it on SPF 70!

She's ready!

Getting her tan on

Now this is the life!

Uh Oh Santa...

You left an elf behind!!! Don't worry, I'll look after her (and in return, you put me on the nice list no matter what)!

Thanks Ms. Andrea for my super cute stocking cap!!

Hands On Activities

Mallory is starting to realize that those two long things on either side of her are actually her arms and she can control them. And the more exciting fact is that those two arms have the best things at the end of them... Hands! I love it when Mallory rubs her hands together like she is an evil mastermind plotting her next move! Mostly she loves for her hands to be in her mouth; and when I say hands I mean an entire hand inside her mouth! But don't worry, she has learned to put those hands to good use. See below:

Fist in mouth = Happy Baby

Plotting...

Saying her prayers!

It's Time for a Vaca!

We knew Mallory was a beach girl before she was even born. When I was 8 and a half months pregnant, Brian and I decided to have one last "just the 2 of us" mini vaca and headed to the beach. The moment we drove over the bridge and onto Hilton Head Island, Mallory started doing somersaults in my belly! Since she can't actually remember that trip we figured it was time to take her back (cause we're positive she'll remember this time) . We headed out on Christmas day and Mallory was an awesome travel companion (although if your looking for stimulating conversation you better learn squeal-ese). We had beautiful weather and got to spend lots of time walking on the beach. Mallory saw some dolphins swimming, got lots of nice compliments wearing her stunner shades and even made a friend (who was traveling in style in his Baby Bjorn too)! And its official, Mal is a water baby! We all know she loves bath time so when we suited her up and took her for a swim in the heated pool, she was in heaven! I've promised her this will the first of MANY beach trips (subtle side note to Brian) but for a first beach trip, this one rocked!

Her first sight at the ocean (i guess we should turn her around to actually see it)!

The O'Neills

Grandmama and Granddaddy came too!

Travelling in style

That's the coolest dad I know!

We are a beach lovin family!

Ho Ho Ho!

What a fun 1st Christmas! We celebrated with The O'Neill's last night, had our own little family party this morning and are now headed to the beach for a week! We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! May it be filled with love, laughter and a jolly Ho Ho Ho from our little Santa Mallory!


Christmas Morning with Dada



Mama and her little Santa

Mallory made it on the "nice" list and got a new light up, music playing seahorse!

Merry Christmas!

Playing with Fire

We took Mallory to our church's Christmas Eve Candle Light Service. She was a very cooperative little church goer. She did fall asleep during part of the service but we let it slide this time. She woke up towards the end just in time to light her candle and help sing Silent Night (which is what Mama and Dada are hoping for tonight since she just took a long evening nap during said service :) ! It was fun to think that this will be a tradition we keep every year. I loved going to my church's Christmas eve service and can remember when I was old enough to hold my own candle and sing along. Mallory has a few more years before we trust her with fire (Brian, we means you) but I look forward to the day where Mallory knows that on a silent night many years ago a Saviour was born just for her!

Surprise!

Mallory is known for one specific look and it is that of shock! She makes this face all the time, in all different situations and looking at a wide variety of things. I so wish I could know what was in that big, little head of hers (an oxymoron I know but I was conflicted on what to call it. I mean it's a small head compared to say her Dada but it did rank in the 96th percentile of kids her age...) Anyways, I digress! Here are a few occasions where Mallory has expressed her utter surprise!

Who are you?!
(BTW- her buggy friend hangs on her car seat everyday but everyday she is SHOCKED that he is still there!)

What? Christmas is tomorrow?!?!

Where are you taking me? And why am I dressed like Waldo?

Hey! What's this? And where is my buggy friend?!

3 Months!

Say good-bye to those newborn days cause Mallory is officially an infant! I can't believe it's been 3 months and that our tiny 6 lb 15 oz baby is now almost 14 lbs! So, Grandmama was in town for our 3 month photo shoot and I thought things would go so well since I had a helper. Well... you can have a helper all you want but if your subject is not feeling it, it is tough luck! After looking at the photos that night Brian asked if maybe a re-shoot was in order but considering the fact that Mallory licked her 3 month sticker and it got wet and tore, we decided to just be thankful for what we got! Oh well, there's always next month...

That is one cute 3 month old!

Grandmama- save me from the picture taking lady

I said take me away not give me to her!

I AM OVER IT!

Holiday Happenings

Just a little compilation of some Mallory cuteness over the last couple of weeks!

Lovin her some bath time!

Hold on! It's going to be a bumpy ride!

Here's looking at you kid

Sometimes you gotta get serious!

But most of the time you just gotta be happy!

Inconceivable!

The Intellectual

Mallory cannot just rely on her good looks to get by. That's why we here at the O'Neill Institute for Higher Learning place a lot of emphasis on brain power as evidenced below:

Reading a very serious picture book

Molecular theory class

And hey, if it doesn't work out, at least look the part!

They See Me Rollin'

She finally did it! What was the momentous accomplishment, you ask? A roll from belly to back! Mama has been tried to coax her little dumpling for weeks now but it just took one night with Grandmama and she was a rollin fool! And before you scoff and say "it was probably just a fluke", I'll have you know there were multiple rolls involved that night and last night she rolled the other way so not only is she talented, she's an ambidextrous roller at that! Here is our little steamroller in action:

James and Mallory Sittin in a Tree...

It's funny how life works out sometimes. I think if you had asked my best friend Carrie and me in 1998 when we were graduating high school what we thought we'd be doing in the summer/fall of 2011, we would not have answered "having babies" but the truth is we did everything together back then so why should now be any different?!?! James and Mallory are 2 months and 1 day apart and their arranged marriage has been in the works since Carrie and I found out we were expecting around the same time. This past weekend they had their first date (chaperoned by their moms, of course) and it was love at first sight! James was digging Mallory's funky footy pajamas and Mallory was uber impressed by James' mad sitting skills!

The Lovebirds!

Here Comes Santa Claus

Mama may be on the naughty list. The other night Mama, Dada, Mimi and Papa Bear took Mallory to Lights of the South. It was a really fun evening filled with a hay ride, lots of lights, s'mores and Mal's 1st meeting of the jolly ole guy in red. And just what did naughty Mama do? Well she just walked Mallory up to a total stranger, handed her to him and walked away. Mallory was not sure what to think of this as evidenced below!

"sitting" on Santa's lap!

Mallory apparently only wants one thing for Christmas. I heard her whisper it to Santa. I'll give you a hint. It starts with "M" and rhymes with silk!!! Oh, and I'm pretty sure she wants her Dada to give her Mama a drum set and a swimming pool for Christmas!

Seeing the lights (and while it may look like Mallory slept through the whole ride, I'm pretty sure she loved it!)

What Chu Talkin Bout?

Mallory has become very vocal lately. I'm pretty sure she's telling us some pretty important stuff but unfortunately Rosetta Stone does not sell baby-ese. We guess we'll just learn by immersion and hopefully Mallory will be patient! She also loves to sing along when anyone is singing which is awesome because as Brian will annoyingly attest to, I love to break out in song... a lot! I pretty much believe that my life is a full scale musical and so far Brian has been an unwitting character but now that my supporting cast is growing things are looking up! Now if I can only teach them how to kick-ball-change and have jazz hands! And to steal a line from my brother- here is a clip of Mallory flexing her golden pipes!

Saying "hey"!

Just a singin and a squealin!

Hit Me With Your Best Shot!

Today was Mallory's 2 month check-up. Technically she's 2 and a half months old but as you all know it's impolite to ask a lady her age anyways! First things first... we have a chunky monkey on our hands! Here are her impressive stats:

Height- 24 inches (96th percentile)
Weight- 12 lbs, 9 oz (90th percentile)
Head- 16.5 inches (97th percentile)
Overall Assessment- Dr. Renew said she was perfect and we agree!

Second things second... today's appointment included Mallory's first round of shots. I'll admit I was nervous all morning but thanks to encouragement from Brian and some friends who promised 1.) she would not remember it 1 minute after it happened and 2.) even if I didn't hold her during the ordeal, she would not hold it against me during her teenage years. That being said, Dada held her hand while Mama nervously paced around the room until the nurse said it was over. There were a few tears but we both made it through!

The Aftermath

After drinking some milk and getting bundled in her seat all was well!

Nursery Decor Approved!

Mallory has really started to enjoy looking intently at her surroundings and much to my delight she loves the fabric in her nursery. She enjoys the occasional rattle, her buggy friend attached to her car seat and a book here and there but nothing gets a consistent smile and long periods of serious concentrating like her nursery fabric. She can be mid-squealing and if you put her on the changing pad so she can see the fabric dots beside her, she becomes one happy baby girl! She is equally enthralled by the pillow made by her sweet Gran-Nanny Sherry (Thanks bunches!). Who knew... toys are out and fabric is in!

That pillow is so good she'll even look at it to the right*!
(*see previous blog entry about her left preference)

Those glorious dots!

My Little Pumpy-kin

Mimi has had a beautiful fall scene set up at her house all month and before she had a chance to take it down to herald in the Christmas decorations we took a little time to add our own little pumpkin to the mix. See if you can find her!

Pumpkin-palooza

Mallory was not sure about her turkey companion

I need a piece of that pumpkin pie!

Go Dawgs!

Okay, so maybe the Dawgs lost the SEC championship but at least Mallory looked cute even in defeat. Mama has been a little sad that all Mallory's cute UGA outfits are still too big but since this was a big game I decided to pull some out and take time for a pre-game photo op. But in the end I changed Mallory into some clothes that fit and just stuck a big ole red-n-black bow on her head cause it's one size fits all :) !

Big Bellies for Bulldawgs Club

We bleed red and black!

The cutest little bulldawg ever!

The flower got too heavy to keep lifting that head up!