Two down, how many more to go?

It's been a tough month here at work. Why? We've lost two people out of our practice, both of whom are very close friends. I don't want to feel like their leaving is a betrayal, but honestly it's hard not to. I keep telling myself, as I have done many times before, it's just business. But, we all know it's not always just about the business. It's about the people.

Most of us just manage to muddle through our jobs on a daily basis. Honestly, how many people can say they really love what they do? Not too many. The only reason we typically stay in a job is because of the people. Now, I have to start all over with a new set of "people." I am not one for change these days and I'm being forced into it. Maybe change is good for those who left, but what happens to those you leave behind?

Round and round she goes

One of Mallie's new favorite pasttimes is twirling. Luckily she gets dizzy pretty fast so the circling doesn't last too long. But, it is funny to see her throw her arms out to the side and tilt her head back. Then, as she starts turning she just giggles and giggles. It's one of the best sights in the world!

Sail Away, Sail Away

I hear strains of Enya in my head when I think of sailing away. Maybe it's that darn song that was so popular many moons ago. Do you remember it?! Anyway, back to my point here. We scheduled our first family vacation that doesn't involve visiting other members of the family. We're moving up in the world!

September 24 through October 1 Shawn, Mallory and myself will be sailing the Seven Seas (hey...that's an OMD song) with our friends Melody, Adam and their little boy Christopher. So maybe Seven Seas is exaggerating. We'll be soaking up the sun in the Western Caribbean on Royal Caribbean cruise lines. Our ship is the Rhapsody of the Seas.

We're all very excited. Okay, just mommy and daddy are excited. Mallory doesn't know what's hit her yet!

Lovey Talley

It's been a bitter election season and it shows no end in sight. A dark horse candidate has emerged onto the scene. Apparently Lambie has been bad talking Dollie because she's made no headway in the polls.

Here's the current score:

Lambie: 9
Blankey: 10
Dollie: 4
Monkey: 0

The Biter is Back

Daycare has politely informed us that Mallory has taken up (again) the sport of torturing fellow toddlers by biting them.

-- The good news: all the toddlers in the room are doing it because those darn teeth. That means the reputation is still intact.
-- The bad news: how do I stop it?!

I blame it all on that little boy. I'll call him "B" to protect his identity. Yep, he started the biting trend and the others have just jumped on the bandwagon. You know that famous line uttered by all mothers: "if so and so jumped off a bridge would you too?" Well, apparently in this case the answer is yes.

How many teeth can one girl have?

Teeth seem to be a recurring theme in this blog. The basic point: I wish they would just come in already. Seriously, I am so tired of the whining, crying and clinginess. On the other hand, I feel so sorry for her. She's got four coming in at one time. Gotta hurt.

So, what is prompting this post tonight? Well, it's 10p and we've had to listen to Mallory cry for two hours while we've been trying to get her to go to sleep. The motrin hasn't worked. The rocking hasn't worked. The quiet dark room hasn't worked. What else can I try? (maybe a little whiskey?! just kidding).

To top it all off the AC broke today. Yes, it's hot and humid and we'll all sitting here sweating. It's uncomfortable to say the least. Know when the air conditioner people are getting here? Friday. Yep, 48 whole hours from now. As I told someone earlier...just stick a fork in my eye and get it over with already.

It's been a long day for all of us and it's only just the beginning.

UPDATE: What is that sweet sound I hear? SILENCE! This last time took about 15 mins of crying before she finally gave out for the night (okay, that's my wishful thinking). Cross your fingers for me.

My house is a zoo

Since my last post was about the zoo, I started thinking. Hey, we don't need to go to the zoo to see animals...I've got a few of my own. Just look at my cute little giraffe and bunny!

Zoo no more

I admit it: I am a HUGE Baylor Bear alumni. Love me some Bears. So when an email announcing Diadeloso in Dallas appeared in my inbox one day you couldn't contain my excitement. Diadeloso = day of the bear. On campus, students get the day off of classes and the school provides lunch and fun activities like rock climbing walls, concerts, hypnotists, etc. Hey, anything to avoid class, right? So Baylor has started Diadeloso Dallas and it was going to be at the Dallas Zoo.

My first thought: kill two birds with one stone. Reconnect with Baylor and take Mallory to the zoo for the first time. Win win, right? Ummm...no. I didn't need to look at the monkeys cause I had one in my stroller. We're not quite ready for the zoo just yet.

Summer days

The weather has been beautiful the last few weeks so we've been spending many evenings outdoors. It's fun for mommy and daddy to hang out and BS with the neighbors. Mallory absolutely loves to be outside and explore for different reasons. I'm not sure if it's the idea of freedom or if it's because outdoors is a new, fascinating world.

Somedays she'll sit quietly in the grass and watch the birds fly by, listen to the wind in the trees and remain generally content. Other days she's running around like a banshee and is the dirty neighborhood kid you always dreaded coming to your doorstep. You know the one who you didn't want to invite in because they might put their grubby little hands on your toys.

So now that she's been conditioned to love the outdoors we have a little monster on our hands. She got at time-out at school this week because she threw a tantrum when they tried to come indoors. At home she'll sit in front of the glass storm door and whine to go out. It's going to be a long summer for mommy and daddy.

The Klingon

You'd think we were Star Wars: Next Generation fans from the title of this post, but you would be sorely mistaken. Although I'll readily admit that I've watched a few episodes in my day. Gotta love Jean-Luc Picard. :)

Nope, that's what Shawn has taken to calling Mallory these days. She's been stuck to us like velcro. Guess it's still the teeth. Or maybe it's attachment? That's the crazy thing about parenthood ... it's always a guessing game.

#@%$$!

I dropped a bottle of wine on my foot tonight. Right across the toes. @#$%! does my foot hurt. Don't think anything is broken but it's going to be a nice shade of black and blue for a while. Guess that was karma telling me I didn't need to pull out the box of oatmeal creme pies that was sitting behind the bottle.

Taming the Teefies

Ah, the joys of teething. There has been little sleep going on in our house the last few nights. Wasn't sure if it was because her ear infection was back, she just didn't want to sleep or what. But, mommy discovered the culprit tonight while Mallie has having a big `ol belly laugh. A new tooth has popped through and molars are on their way. That makes 8 teefers and counting.

Picking on the Piggies

Here's a pic of my girl with her first piggies. How adorable is she?

Bad things happen in threes

The last few weeks have made me think that it would have been no fun to be a leper. Who wants to be shut away from the world because of a communicable disease?! Okay, so what we've had going on at our house hasn't been that bad. But, I have felt like we've been shut away from teh rest of the world so we wouldn't spread the wealth if you know what I mean.

A few weeks ago, Mallory started off with a cough/congestion (aka bronchial infection), runny nose and pink eye (yeah, that was fun putting drops in her eyes 4 times a day). I picked it up and had fever, coughing, congestion and finally succumbed to the illness and went to the doctor. Acute bronchitis. No fun. A few days after I got sick, Shawn came down with what I had (and you heard it here first, he is a BABY when he is sick!) plus pink eye.

So, does the theory of bad things happening in 3s apply here? Cause if it does, that means we shouldn't be sick for a LONG time since we've gotten a triple dose at my house. Here's to summer and being well.

Chit Chatting

Over the last few weeks Mallie has really started to have conversations with us. For example:

Mallie: Da
Mommy: Yes, that's the dog. Isn't she pretty.
Mallie: Ba
Mommy: Do you want to play with your ball?
Mallie: Ba
Mallie: Unny
Mommy: Where's the bunny? Are you my bunny?
Mallie: Uice
Mommy: I'll get you some juice.

Well, you get the point. She's becoming a little parrot and most likely knows more words that she's letting on. She'll just blurt out a word and shock you.

She's also starting to love on the dogs much more than she ever did. She'll cuddle up to them and just laugh and giggle. It's so darn cute. Jack is even letting her love on him even more.

Auntie Cheryl is coming!

What a surprise for mommy and Mallory. Auntie Cheryl called from the airport to say she's here. Mallie hasn't seen her since late Nov/early Dec. Cheryl is going to be amazed at how much this girl has grown. Mallie's almost bigger than Cheryl now (just kidding...well, a little anyway!).

I sure hope my munchkin behaves herself over the next few days. We're going to be busy shopping and all that good stuff.

We have a genius on our hands

So, every parent thinks that their kid is a genius, right? Well, I'm certainly no exception. Here are a few concrete examples of why my baby girl is headed for the ranks of MENSA.

• Her extensive vocabulary. Bunny (unny) and thank you (tao ou) are just a few of the many words she speaks. Some may say it sounds like Japanese or gibberish, but mommy and daddy know the truth.
• Toothbrush habits. So little miss already knows which tube is the toothpaste when it's time to brush her teeth and just asks for more and more. Nummy is her word for it. She is going to have the best hygeine habits around because she knows that her body is her temple. Mommy knows that it's not just the yummy taste of toothpaste that leaves her asking for more.
• Walking vs. Crawling. Mallie is walking about 98% of the time. But, there are still circumstances where she knows it's faster to drop to her knees and crawl rather than waddle along. She KNOWS!
• Her outstanding computer skills. She is able to use a mouse extensively and open up baby clothing sites and baby bulletin boards. All of this from a 16 month old!

So there you have it. All very real examples of why my baby is the smartest one alive. :)

Told you it was the teeth

So, I can officially blame all the sleep troubles Mallie's had this week on teeth. In between the wailing tonight I actually got to peek into the black hole (her mouth) and saw at least one new tooth that was just bursting through (left front tooth between the canine and middle one) the gum.

In one explosive whine, Shawn got to peek even deeper and said it looks like some of the molars are coming in. Hopefully they'll come in quickly so baby girl isn't in pain too long. Or, mommy and daddy too. We're tired and need our beauty sleep.

Lovey Talley

The recent "election" of Mallory's lovey has taken an unexpected turn, with the incumbent trailing slighly. Not sure if blankey will make it's way back.

Here's the current score:

- Baby doll: 4
- Blankey (incumbent): 2
- Monkey: 0

Lullabye and goodnight

Mallory has been a champion sleeper since she was 8 weeks old. She inately knew to start sleeping through the night before mommy went back to work! But the last week she has been a bear with all the whining and crying when we're trying to get her to bed. Tonight was the worst. She whined in the bathtub, threw an all-out tantrum when trying to put on her clothes. She even cried for 20 mins while Shawn and I tried to enjoy our dinner through the din of wails. Finally, I went in to rock her for a little while. I think it's more of those pesky teeth coming in. Hopefully they'll sprout soon and we'll all be catching up on our ZZZZZs.