Mallory's haircut- BANGS!

I was so excited to post the Brady Bunch theme song that I skipped a few events and have to back track a bit....

A few weeks ago, I finally made the decision to have a hairdresser cut Mallory some bangs.  I was running out of barrettes that don't slip in her fine hair, and just wanted to see if bangs would help keep the hair from falling in her face all the time.

Here she is before the cut.... she was watching Barbie's "The Nutcracker" and totally mesmerized!

Love how we caught that squished up nose on camera!

And, ta-da!  BANGS!  

I won't lie, I did NOT like them this first day.  But her hair has so much natural wave, that they have NEVER looked this straight and choppy again- and they are cut straight and even.  You will see in all of the posts after this how cute they are!  Glad I don't regret putting her through it!

....the youngest one in curls.....

I just HAD to change the music on my blog in honor of this very post!  My sweet little girl has the hair I have always wanted... let's pray it stays this way forever!

All I can think of is little Cindy Brady when I put Mallory's hair in pigtails.  I tighten the bands, then twirl the hair around my finger one time, and POOF- two perfect curls.  Too darn precious!

 Sometimes, one works better than the other....

 You can really see it from the side!

 Smile, Mallory!  You are too cute!  She is really growing into those bangs!

 ...and to prove those last pictures aren't a fluke- here are some taken a few days later....

Do you KNOW how long I work at getting my hair to hold a curl???!!!  This little girl has NO IDEA how lucky she is!!!

Hangin' with Grandpa!

Grandma went out of town for a few days at the end of September... so Grandpa, Mallory and Mommy were on our own.  It rained every day that Grandma was gone- which was a gift for Grandpa- it meant no watering outside, and LOTS of football-watching inside.

One day, Mallory decided to share a snack with Grandpa and watch the game with him.

 As you can see, JD was hoping she would share the snack with HIM, too!

 They shared Cracker Jacks and watched the game for a bit.

 Later, it was time for bed.  Grandpa read Mallory a story- she was SO attentive!

See her twirling her hair?  That is a new thing.... she does it when she is really focusing on something.  

I love documenting these little moments with her grandparents.  I am so grateful for this time together and the help they give to me and Mallory.  What a gift!

Having fun at the library with friends!

Mallory has become a regular at our weekly library craft time.  One week, our friends, Ian and Jillian got to join us...  The craft was making a snake out of a swirly piece of paper.  The kids decorated their snakes with markers, stamps and stickers.  They were all excited, so we considered it a successful event that they all stayed in their seats and focused for a few minutes.... and we always LOVE seeing our friends!

 As usual, Mallory's favorite part of the craft was the cutting!

 Jillian put lots of different colors on her snake... and she ALWAYS cheeses it up for the camera!

Ian liked the stamps the best... such a sweet little boy!

We consider it such a blessing to have such dear friends here...... 

we will be SO sad when they leave!!!!!  

We'll have to see each other as much as possible until then!  

Love you guys!

Fun in the water.... even in October!

It sure doesn't FEEL like October here in San Antonio!  The other day, Malloy was in the backyard with her water table for over an HOUR!  It is so nice to have something to do here at home that helps beat the heat!  Fall.... get on over here to Texas, will ya?

 Grandma let Mallory mix in some grass with the water... she was mixing up something special for us....

 Have enough toys, girl?

 JD likes to get in on the action, too!

Since Mallory loves the water so much, we have kept her in swimming once a week.  She is really enjoying it, and having a great time!  

We were excited she got Coach Beau again- she really loves him SO much!

floating on her back, and pointing to the octopus on the ceiling for Coach Beau.

 Learning how to do nose bubbles..... ready, Mallory?

....and, under she goes!

 Mallory prefers her goggles OFF most of the time!

Such a cute little swimmer!

I Love BOB!

 The title says it all... I love BOB- my new BOB stroller, that is!

For some reason, I have been obsessed with strollers since becoming pregnant with Mallory.  I haven't purchased many, and the ones I have purchased have been anything but extravagant, but for some reason, I look at strollers as the designer bags of Baby World.

When I became serious about working out, and running became a part of my daily life, I knew I wanted a good high-quality jogging stroller.  I researched endlessly, and listened to feedback form my friends and other moms I have met.  The BOB was the best choice- but $390 for a STROLLER??!!  Gulp!!  The thrifty side of me had a hard time giving in.

Thank goodness for craigslist- and for living in a HUGE city, wit literally hundreds of stroller postings every week!!!  I scored this awesome brown/pink BOB for  a steal- only $250, and less than a year old!!!  It is in FABULOUS condition, and Mallory was as excited as I was to have it... so I of course, tried to document the moment...

 "Mallory.... sit still...."

Mallory: "NO MORE PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!"

Trying to get this girl to sit still was comical at best!  

 Mallory pulled the canopy down, and refused to let me push it back for the picture.  At the last second, she peeked down from under the canopy and said her super strained "CHEESE!"  That was the best we could do!

A few days later, we got our first "action shot" when Snow White and I went for a run around the neighborhood.  You can't tell how super-sweaty I am.... I had to run and run and run "through the forest" to get away from the evil queen and protect Snow White.

Silly to dedicate a blog to a stroller.... but it will be a fixture in our lives, so..... there you go.  

And here I go... off for a run with my awesome BOB and even more awesome little sidekick!

Uh-Oh, Daddy-O!!!

I write an awful lot about Mallory and I and our adventures here in the states, but tend to leave Charles out of the equation all too often on our blog.  Totally not intentional... although, the main catalyst for starting this blog (and keeping up with it) in the first place was merely to keep Charles up-to-date of the goings-on with his girls while he is in Korea.

That being said, there is ALOT going on for Charles..... he will pin on Major in just a few short weeks,   is coming home for his mid-tour leave in a few DAYS (!!!!!!) and he will find out his next assignment before the month is over! On top of all of that, he has some depressing news.

As many of you already know, Charles is an avid soccer player.  He even has coached youth soccer for a few years. While in Korea, he found a great group of guys that would play soccer regularly.... sometimes even twice a day- right up Charles' alley.  Charles has really enjoyed playing and staying as active as possible while getting through this remote tour.  But a few weeks ago, he tore his ACL in his knee while playing.... not fun.

Here is a picture of the damage.  OUCH!  

The left knee is swollen almost twice the size of the right one!

Another view- the short story is that he will have surgery on his ACL in late November.  I am trying to work out plans to be there with him.  We will keep you posted.

***BTW- these pictures were taken just a few days after it happened.... the swelling is WAY down, and he is doing fine managing the pain.  He even has ridden a stationary bike a bit- but is taking it easy, of course!******

Mallory really wanted to send her Daddy something to help cheer him up.  Plus, we have been sending him a box every week- one for every letter of the Alphabet.  It just so happened that this week was "B", so "Band-Aids" fit right in with our theme!  Mommy went out and bought the biggest band-aids we could find- not practical of course, but maybe Daddy will just amuse his little girl by wearing one on his bad knee now and then.....

 Mallory directed the artwork as Mommy drew.... we made one from the dogs....

 Mallory colored in the flowers herself.... can't you tell?

 Mommy helped Mallory make the rainbow, but she held the marker herself!

 She insisted he needed a giraffe on a band-aid.... not sure where that one came from! 

 She of course wanted one with her family on it.... don't you love my long, curly hair?  I followed directions to a tee!  Then she scolded me for not having Grandma and Grandpa on there......

So we made one from them, too!  My dad is always telling Charles 

how important it will be for him to do his therapy.

If nothing else, we hope these made you smile, Daddy!  We love you, and can't wait to see you soon!!!