The Mallards

Cooking Lesson: Chicken 'n' Dumplin's

2012-02-01T18:20:00.000-05:00

Computer Time

2012-01-31T19:38:00.001-05:00

Evie loves to play on the computer with Pops.

(Today is her half-birthday, by the way. Three and a half. Sigh. Where does the time go?)

First Day

2012-01-30T20:18:00.000-05:00

Today was Darcy's first day at day care (so far her caregivers have been Daddy and Grammy). Though we were all afraid she would cry all day long, she did remarkably well. Her teachers said she ate really well and played really well, but she never took a nap. This evening, she was on fire! It's like if she stopped moving she'd fall asleep. So though this photo is a little fuzzy, it captures the manic mood she was in today. (Mohawk courtesty of Grammy.)

Opposites

2012-01-29T20:34:00.000-05:00

Grammy made a delicious pot roast for dinner tonight.

Evie acted like we were asking her to eat liver and onions.

Darcy couldn't shovel it in fast enough.

Sigh.

Little Red Basket

2012-01-28T20:29:00.000-05:00

Hair Raising

2012-01-27T20:25:00.001-05:00

A Room with a View

2012-01-26T20:19:00.000-05:00

The view from my office window. I am a lucky girl. :-)

Pop Quiz

2012-01-25T20:16:00.000-05:00

What do Darcy's pajamas say?

Hoodie Obsession

2012-01-24T20:37:00.000-05:00

Evie is obsessed with hoodies. She's even taken to sleeping in this one fairly regularly. One time I tried taking it off of her after she went to sleep and she woke up and had a fit. So I just let her be as I figure it's not harmful. Such a weirdo. (But in a good, sweet way.)

Time for Jammies!

2012-01-23T20:14:00.000-05:00

Happy First Birthday, Lucas!

2012-01-22T20:48:00.000-05:00

Although his birthday was Jan. 3, we celebrated Lucas' birthday today with Ken, Tiffany, friends and family.

The birthday boy. Look at those pretty eyes!

Darcy and Lucas

Evie enjoyed a blue raspberry ring pop at the party.

Camped Out on the Back Patio

2012-01-21T20:12:00.000-05:00

(For anyone who's worried, we didn't really let her sleep out there. This was just for pretend play.)

Ponytail

2012-01-20T20:31:00.000-05:00

I can put my hair up in a ponytail for the first time in three years! (It's the little things people.)

January 2012

January 2009

Slippers

2012-01-19T20:10:00.000-05:00

These are Evie's new slippers.

Why is it that the cutest clothes for kids are miniature versions of things adults wear?

(Thank you to Grammy for getting Evie these.)

Snuggles with my Evester

2012-01-18T20:29:00.000-05:00

Goodnight Moon

2012-01-17T20:16:00.001-05:00

2012-01-16T20:20:00.000-05:00

Darcy and Dorene were wearing the same outfit today (totally coincedental).

While waiting for our supper, Pops got Evie to give different spices and food a try. (Nobody else would be able to get her to do this!)

Transitioning to Table Food

2012-01-15T19:47:00.000-05:00

Darcy has been showing less and less interest in baby food and more and more interest in eating whatever we're eating. Tonight, I was eating a piece of cheese and she was screaming and grabbing for it! So for supper she had a slice of cheese, a half slice of bread, peas, a chopped up banana and then for dessert some yogurt melts and a ginger snap. Kind of nice not to always have to have pureed food on hand!

Movin' On Up

2012-01-14T20:16:00.000-05:00

Evie likes her new booster seat*...

And the box it came in!

*We had to move her up to a booster seat to free up her convertible seat for Darcy.

It's going to be a chilly night!

2012-01-13T20:21:00.000-05:00

Thank goodness for footy pajamas!

I Can Hear Her...

2012-01-12T20:22:00.000-05:00

But I can't see her...

(Darcy loves her sister and will look for her whenever she hears her voice. Here we were in her bedroom and Evie was in the bathroom they share. Evie was jabbering to Grammy and Darcy was trying to peek under the door to see her. So sweet.)

Evie's Perspective on Things

2012-01-11T20:33:00.000-05:00

(There were 36 photos in all, including the last one from when I walked in and discovered this impromptu photography session. Thank God for digital cameras!)

Sniffles

2012-01-10T20:13:00.000-05:00

Darcy has a little cold.

This picture sums up how she feels...

This is my aresenal of products to try to make her feel better: Johnson's Vapor Bath, saline spray and a nasal aspirator and Vick's Baby Rub.

Fingers crossed we will all get a good night's sleep tonight!

Crazy For Nick Jr.

2012-01-09T20:18:00.000-05:00

Watching Wonder Pets while wearing Ni Hao Kai Lan pajamas and a Dora the Explorer back pack. Like her dad, Evie loves her cartoons!

Hot Flash

2012-01-08T20:56:00.000-05:00

Dorene unfortunately suffers from hot flashes throughout the day. For Christmas, she got a Maxine hot flash button that says four or so little quips about hot flashes. Evie loves to push this button and has memorized all of the sayings, as evidenced by the video above. Cracks. Me. Up.

Where's Darcy?

2012-01-08T20:46:00.001-05:00

Ruffles

2012-01-08T20:42:00.000-05:00

(Thank you to Aunt Kim for this adorable outfit.)

After Nap Snack and Cartoons

2012-01-07T20:12:00.000-05:00

We always let Evie watch some cartoon after her afternoon nap while she has her snack. She always insists on Kitty and blanket being a part of this ritual.

(Also, happy birthday to Grammy!)

Cheating

2012-01-06T20:26:00.000-05:00

I am cheating tonight. I did not take this picture and it was not taken today. My dad is an awesome photographer and always manages to capture the grandkids beautifully during our family gatherings. This week he posted pictures from our visit at Christmas and tonight I decided to share these with you. This is one of Darcy on Christmas morning, but there are many, many other great ones on his SmugMug site, which you can see here.

Reliving Her Babyhood?

2012-01-05T20:16:00.000-05:00

Lately Evie has enjoyed playing with Darcy's toys just as much as her own. Evie's great grandmother (and namesake) gave Darcy this little piano for Christmas and, so far, Evie seems to be enjoying it more than Darcy!

Guess who's 10 months old today...

2012-01-04T20:22:00.001-05:00

Bathtime!

2012-01-03T20:33:00.000-05:00

Darcy loves bathtime. Loves it. She crawls into the bathroom and dances along the edge of the bathtub while I fill it up. Once in she's a splashing, how-many-of-these-toys-can-I-get-in-my-mouth fool. Cracks me up.

Crosswords with Grammy

2012-01-02T20:37:00.000-05:00

Grammy was doing a crossword puzzle this evening and Evie decided to "help," which turned into drawing circles all over the newspaper.

First Ride of the New Year

2012-01-01T20:29:00.000-05:00

Evie's Mallard grandparents gave her this tricycle for Christmas (it is a Gators tricycle so it will be living at Grammy's house ;-) ), and we have been going for rides everyday. She looks so adorable and grown up pushing those little pedals. I think these rides will become a regular occurrence...

Budding Photographer?

2011-12-31T13:29:00.000-05:00

Or what happens when a three year old gets ahold of Mommy's camera?

Blog Revamp

2011-12-30T16:12:00.000-05:00

We've been doing The Mallard Family blog for about three and a half years now. We started this blog as a sort of baby book for our first born, Evelyn. With a new year approaching and having made many, many changes in 2011 (the addition of our second child and our move to Tampa, among other things), I thought it was time to revamp the blog a bit.

So for 2012 I will be doing a photo a day, with or without explanation, to try to capture a true year in the life of our little family. I'm looking forward to the challenge and hope you enjoy seeing what we get up to this year!

Sweet Darcy

2011-11-03T15:42:00.000-04:00

Halloween 2011

2011-11-03T15:38:00.000-04:00

Evie's school had a Halloween Party. Here she is with some of her friends in her classroom.

Our little girl can ride tricycles all by herself. She can really scoot on these things!

Baby Lucas and Darcy got to ride in the wagon while the adults were trick or treating.

The above video is of Evie trick or treating one of the local houses. They had a very scary garage. You can't see the man in the mask in there, but Evie did and promptly leaves when she spots him.

Head Injuries & Haircuts

2011-11-03T15:26:00.000-04:00

We had two milestones this week. First was Evie's first stitches. She took a bad bounce off the couch and cracked her head open on the corner of the coffee table. It was bleeding really badly and required three stitches to get sealed up. She had them off in a week, but it scared her mom and dad something fierce. Also, while playing outside she got a mosquito bite to the right eyeball which caused her to look like Rocky for a few days. You can see her scar from the stitches in the center of her forehead.

Secondly, and more happily, Evie had her first haircut. Below are the before and afters. Her mom could only stand to have the back trimmed by an inch, but on her little head its very noticeable. She was really good at the salon. Didn't squirm or nothing!

Fall Festival 2011

2011-11-03T15:11:00.000-04:00

We went to the fall harvest festival in Bradenton several weeks ago. By far Evie's favorite thing was the pony rides.

This was Evie's reaction to the fire juggler.

Playing carnival games for prizes and candy!

The Big Girl Initiative

2011-10-09T17:42:00.000-04:00

Since her birthday in July we have been moving Evie away from baby mode and into big girl mode. Kiley and I believe this happens in three steps...

STEP 1: Dress yourself.

Evie has learned to pick out her clothes and dress herself. This is good and bad news as she now takes FOREVER to get dressed. She has learned that the "taggies go in the back" when she puts on her pants and to put your head through the hole first (a very important life lesson). An unfortunate side effect to all this is Evie will now pitch a tantrum if you try to dress her ("I want to do it!"), which makes life difficult when we are in a hurry.

STEP 2: Poop in the potty.

Potty training has been an interesting journey. Evie got peeing in the potty pretty quickly after seeing all her friends do it. However, she still has occasional accidents. Pooping has been a little more difficult. She would poop in her pants and then say "I've got poops in there!" (which is what we used to ask her when she had a dirt diaper). We were getting frustrated because most of her friends and kids her age were already potty trained. Lately it seems as though our persistence has paid off. It has been two weeks since Evie has used a pull up and is in big girl underwear 100 percent of the time. And while she does still have poopy accidents at school she does go regularly at home (mostly because she has discovered the joy of reading on the pot).

STEP 3: Eat what we eat at dinner.

In all honesty, unless she's eating spaghetti or ice cream there's not a whole lot she'll eat readily on her own. It takes some prodding to get her to pick up the fork and even then we find ourselves having to put the food in her mouth at times. She'll eat her veggies and meats, but it takes a lot of work. So we count the small blessings.

Overall two out of three isn't bad. The hardest part is knowing that in three years, we'll be going through this all over again with Fussbucket (aka Darcy)!

Halloween Costumes

2011-10-09T17:07:00.000-04:00

Evie and Darcy have chosen their costumes for Halloween. Evie will be going as a bumble bee and Darcy will be the flower. Evie loves her honeypot candy bag and Darcy is very snug in her flower bud (literally, they only make this costume in 0-6 months and she barely fits in it). The preciousness is almost too much to bear!

Snaggletooth Becomes SnaggleTEETH

2011-10-07T10:48:00.000-04:00

Darcy now has two teeth poking through those purty gums!

Two Girls at the Same Age

2011-10-05T13:57:00.000-04:00

Here are pictures Evie and Darcy taken when they were both about 6 months old. This is also about the time they had their first boat ride in Pops' boat. It's amazing to see the differences between them at this age, even though they are both our babies.

Look-A-Likes?

2011-09-26T12:20:00.000-04:00

As Darcy's personality and appearance begin to take shape, people (we're not pointing any fingers) have begun to speculate who she looks like -- and we don't mean her relatives!

Here are some pictures (in some cases obscure) of what our precious angel has been compared to by her extended family:

"Who do you think I look like?"

"Gizmo?"

"Sloth... Really?!"

"Now, you're just being cruel."

"Okay, I have put on a few pounds..."

"Wait, are you saying I'm the boy or the girl?"

"I look like what?!"

Baby Lucas

2011-09-26T11:45:00.000-04:00

This is our newest nephew, Lucas Daniel! He is Ken and Tiffany's son born January 3, 2011. Not surprisingly, this little marshmallow is 90th percentile on all measurements!

Cute Pictures of the Sisters

2011-09-26T11:18:00.000-04:00

The chubby monkey on the right is their cousin Lucas on Blake's side of the family.

"Da-Da"

2011-09-26T11:04:00.000-04:00

Darcy is starting to babble. Here she is saying da-da. (Now to work on ma-ma!)

Mirror, Mirror

2011-09-17T12:44:00.000-04:00

Darcy just loooves looking at herself in the mirror. Such a girl!

Evie's "Put Me in the Zoo" Party

2011-09-17T12:25:00.000-04:00

For Evie's third birthday party, we decided on a Put Me in the Zoo theme (For those who don't know, Put Me in the Zoo is a children's book by Robert Lopshire). Blake's mom and dad and his brother's family came up to Tallahassee to celebrate with us. Here are the highlights...

Blake and Ken took Evie to the pool while we decorated the house...

We read the book Put Me in the Zoo, then decorated our own zoo leopards with Evie's Do A Dot Markers.

Evie's loot.

Putting spots on her zoo leopard with Pops.

Uncle Kenny, Aunt Ti Ti and cousin Lucas.

Darcy is ready to party!

Here's a video of Evie blowing out the candles:

The aftermath: Wearing one of her new outfits, some dress up jewelry and shoes and playing with her three balloon. This balloon was by far Evie's favorite gift.

Willy Nilly Silly Old Bear...

2011-07-23T16:40:00.000-04:00

Our little Evelyn is turning 3 years old next week. To celebrate and as part of our "big girl" iniative (more on that later) we are taking her to her first movie theater experience. This morning she went to see Winnie The Pooh which was the perfect movie for her. Not only does she love all the Pooh movies (we have 7 on DVD that are on heavy rotation!!) but the movie itself is only an hour long with most of the showings in the morning. So we hyped it up as much as we could, hopped in the car and drove on over to the theater for a 10:30 showing. Here are pictures and video of her little outing:

Evie was very excited to see the movie. She kept saying: "We're gonna see the big screen!"

Anxiously waiting in line for our tickets...

You gotta get your snacks! All that candy was almost too much for her.

This video is of Evie practically pulling me to our theater.

Snuggling into our seats with some coke and popcorn.

Evie after the movie was over. She is truly the sweetest thing ever!!

Evie holding up her ticket stub.

Evie must have liked having her Daddy take her out cause she wanted to wear his hat. My sweet princess....

A Visit to Grammy & Pops

2011-07-23T16:11:00.000-04:00

Darcy's New Hat

2011-07-23T16:06:00.000-04:00

Look Who's 4 Months Old

2011-07-04T11:10:00.000-04:00

Darcy is all giggles these days...

Can you count all the fat rolls?

She loves sucking on her little fists. She drools enough these days to water the gardens of Babylon.

Hallelujah!

2011-06-25T17:23:00.000-04:00

Darcy slept from 8 p.m. to 5:15 a.m. last night! That is most definitely the longest stretch she has done so far. Of course, I am so used to her being up at all hours that I woke up several times waiting for her to wake up. Finally at 4:30 I decided to go check on her to make sure she was still alive! (She was obviously.) I am hoping for a repeat performance tonight, but I am not holding my breath. At least I know it is possible, a light at the end of the tunnel. Hallelujah!

Why God Makes Them Cute

2011-06-23T08:29:00.000-04:00

Darcy woke up at 2:30 this morning and did not go back to sleep until 5 a.m. She was not hungry. She did not need a diaper change. She was not too warm or too cold. She just wanted to grab her toes and practice saying "Ahh" and she wanted us to be there while she was doing it. Sigh. Needless to say, Mommy and Daddy are tired this morning.

Cracks me up, just like her dad...

2011-06-06T13:10:00.000-04:00

Words cannot express how much I love my lil' Evie.

Darcy Lately

2011-06-06T13:05:00.000-04:00

Darcy turned 3 months old this past Saturday (June 4, 2011). If I thought Evie's babyhood went fast, Darcy's is going by at superspeed! Her latest accomplishments include smiling, cooing, drooling, reaching for her feet and toys, holding her head up when on her belly, sleeping for a 5-6 hour stretch (almost) every night, and just being generally adorable. She has the most kissable cheeks and rolls on her thighs that would shame the Michelin Man. Oh, and she is fascinated by her big sister (something I can totally relate to).

(It's hard to get them both in focus sometimes.)

Long Overdue Easter Post

2011-06-06T12:56:00.000-04:00

This year was the first year Evie really got excited about Easter. We attended Easter parties at her day care and our church, where she was a champion egg collector, and the Easter bunny brought her a basket full of goodies and hid yet more eggs around the house. Here are some pictures of the festivities...

Faces of Darcy

2011-04-22T11:16:00.000-04:00

This is the face of Darcy that Mommy sees the most...

This is the face of Darcy that Daddy sees the most...

But, truthfully this is the face we BOTH want to see more often....

Sisters!

2011-04-22T11:01:00.000-04:00

Family Portrait

2011-03-31T15:49:00.000-04:00

Thank you, once again, to Lauren Kinsey of Lauren Kinsey Photography for so beautifully capturing the latest addition to our family. For more photos, click here.

Thank God for Grandparents

2011-03-23T17:18:00.000-04:00

Over the past month, all of our parents have come to stay with us to welcome Miss Darcy to the family and help us with the transition to a family of four. First, my dad came to stay with us for two weeks before the baby was born just in case Darcy decided to make her appearance early. He took care of Evie for us while we were in the hospital with Darcy. Then, my mom-in-law Dorene stayed with us for over a week when Blake went back to work so I could continue to rest and recover from the birth. She made us a delicious dinner every night (including dessert) and was a huge help with Evie. During Dorene's visit, my dad-in-law Dan came up for a brief visit to meet Darcy and see Evie and seemed very smitten with his latest grandbaby (see photo above for evidence). Finally, after Dorene left, my mom flew down from North Carolina to help me out for one more week. She has been a huge help with holding the baby (see photo above) and taking care of dinner so I can get back into the swing of things with Evie and household chores. Blake and I are so thankful that our girls have such loving, helpful grandparents! Thanks so much to you all!!

Pillows!

2011-03-23T16:56:00.000-04:00

Lately, Evie's favorite thing to play with are the pillows on our couch. She'll pull them all off and create a pillow "house" (or "house pillow" as she says). It's gotten to where we don't sit on the couch because she'll kick us off or steal all the pillows from under us. Anything to keep her happy and occupied!

Two Weeks Old

2011-03-23T16:46:00.000-04:00

Can't believe Darcy is over two weeks old already! She weighed in at 7 lbs. 6 oz. at her weight check on Friday, March 18, 2011. The nurse was very impressed that she'd gained 13 oz. in 10 days. It didn't surprise me, however, since the girl loooves to nurse! Currently, she sleeps, poops, eats and makes all kinds of crazy noises (we call them dragon noises).

Bassinet Battle Night ???

2011-03-18T05:32:00.000-04:00

The little crapper won't stay in her bassinet/crib for more the an hour. She's driving Kiley and I bonkers with her clingyness. We give up. Darcy wins. *sigh* To be beaten down by a two week old is a very humbling experience....

Bassinet Battle Night Two

2011-03-15T11:08:00.000-04:00

Last night I successfully got Darcy to sleep in the bassinet all night (with breaks at 9:30, 12:30 and 2 for feedings). When she woke up at 5:15 for another feeding, I finally just brought her to bed with me and we slept together until 7:45 this morning. I'm definitely more tired today from sitting up to feed her all those times, but I slept more soundly knowing I wasn't going to roll over and crush her. Thank God I'm on maternity leave and can rest all day and take a nap this afternoon!

Bassinet Battle

2011-03-14T11:52:00.000-04:00

So for the first week of her life, Darcy has been sleeping in the bed with me. I've been fine with this since I was so sore from the birth and wanted to get as much sleep as possible. Now that I'm starting to feel a little better, I'm determined to get her to sleep in her bassinet. Last night, after two hours of nursing and rocking, I managed to get her to stay in her bassinet for two whole hours! It was heaven to sleep in my own bed without fear of crushing her. (It's the little things people!)

Hopefully it won't take me as long to get her down tonight, and I'll be able to get her to go back into the bassinet after her midnight feeding as well. We shall see...

First "Nap" in the Crib

2011-03-12T11:31:00.000-05:00

This is Darcy's first foray into the crib. She doesn't like to sleep in it or her bassine,; instead opting to rest peacefully next to her Mommy and Daddy. So far no one is complaining because we get to wake up to all sorts of sweet baby noises. Enjoy!

More Pictures of Darcy

2011-03-12T09:17:00.000-05:00

Grandpa and Darcy cuddling up together.

Daddy enjoying some quiet time with his littlest girl.

Darcy makes a screeching tire sound when she stretches like this.

Shh... Baby's sleeping.

The Most Pitiful Cry in the Whole World

2011-03-06T18:21:00.000-05:00

This video is one we took at the hospital. Darcy has this ridiculous little whimper when she wants to eat or have her diaper changed. In this case, she was not liking the light in her eyes. Everyone who hears it thinks it sounds like a small chihuahua begging for a bone.

Its kind of a long video so jump to the 1:00 minute mark for the pitifulness...

We're Home

2011-03-06T12:23:00.000-05:00

After two relatively restful, stress-free days at the hospital, Kiley and I are back home with our little Darcy. We actually got a lot of sleep last night due to Kiley nursing on her side and letting Darcy sleep next to her. Grandpa Bill and the two cats were very interested in the new little squirmer. Evie, however, simply remarked: "It's a baby" and requested to watch Winnie the Pooh. Right now Darcy is napping contentedly in her new swing.

Good to be home...

Welcome Darcy Elizabeth!

2011-03-04T19:02:00.000-05:00

Darcy Elizabeth Mallard was born at 9:21 a.m. on March 4, 2011 after three hours of labor. She weighed 6lbs, 15oz and was 18 inches long. Both her Daddy and Mommy are very proud and overjoyed at the new addition to their family.

Another Damn Week

2011-03-02T09:32:00.000-05:00

Another doctor visit and nothing changed. Still pregnant, still tired and still grumpy. They didn't even mention the word INDUCE and my due date is this Thursday.

We will have to wait another week and see what happens... sigh...

This post may have been written by a certain Blake Mallard impersonating Kiley Mallard. I, for the record, am not grumpy. I am, however, ready for this baby to come already!!

LKP Maternity Shoot

2011-02-22T08:22:00.000-05:00

Blake and I are blessed to be friends with a fabulous photographer, Lauren Kinsey, who has been there to document our growth as a family over the years. On January 29, 2011, we met up with her for a maternity shoot to celebrate the impending arrival of our second child. Here are a couple shots from that shoot (for more, visit her blog here):

Thank you, Lauren for capturing so well this very special time in our lives!

A Special Thank You

2011-02-07T10:23:00.000-05:00

Blake and I want to send out a special thank you to all of our friends who showered us with gifts this weekend. First, to Jennifer and Susan for throwing us a beautiful shower and to all my coworkers who came out for the event. It was a lovely evening, and I left feeling very loved and blessed to work with such wonderful ladies. Second, to my fellow moms in playgroup for throwing me a surprise shower at our monthly playgroup/brunch on Sunday. All of your gifts were so thoughtful, and I truly appreciate our times together. I hope we can continue our brunches for many years to come (with or without the kids)!

On Saturday, the ladies took a guess at when Darcy would arrive and how big she will be. (Let's hope Meter is way off on the weight...):

Photo credit

Sneak Peek at Darcy's Room

2011-01-27T09:30:00.000-05:00

More Shenanigans

2011-01-25T14:58:00.000-05:00

Monday, January 24

I arrived at Evie's daycare around 5:15 p.m. and said hello to her caregivers, Sharon and Amanda. The room smelled strongly of vanilla so I said something like, "It smells very vanilla in here today." Sharon looked at me and said, "That was your daughter." Apparently, Evie got a hold of the spray can of air freshener off of the changing table and managed to spray herself and the room before they got it away from her. When I picked her up to put her in the car, sure enough, she smelled like vanilla air freshener...and so did my car and myself by the time I got home. Sigh.

Coming soon...

2011-01-21T14:27:00.001-05:00

Special Christmas Moment...

2011-01-01T17:23:00.000-05:00

As we finished opening Christmas presents and cleaned the house up, we began to settle into a relaxing festive atmosphere. Evie being especially sweet grabbed How the Grinch Stole Christmas and walked over to Kiley. "Read it to me," she said.

And read it she did....

Evie's Christmas Presents

2011-01-01T17:16:00.000-05:00

What Santa brought her: a Mega Bloks set, Llama Llama doll, three Yo Gabba Gabba dolls, make up, and a crap load of Winnie the Pooh schwag. Note: Kitty, Lenny the hamster, and her santa hat were always with her.

Evie loved the paints from Grandma and Grandpa. Consequently, Mommy and Daddy are now worried about their furniture. :)

A Dora the Explorer book from Aunt Kim. Evie pronouces her name: "Dowa!"

Her first dollhouse and a favorite of this Christmas. Notice how "mommy" is always lying in bed... *ahem*

Christmas Kitties!!! .... who look very PO'd.

2010-12-31T21:17:00.001-05:00

Christmas Cookies

2010-12-31T16:52:00.000-05:00

I love to cook, but I have never been much of a baker. Now that I am a Mom, though, I feel I should probably learn to bake some basic things. Christmas cookies, for instance. So this year I decided to begin a tradition of making Christmas cookies as a family. I cheated a bit, buying break and bake sugar cookies and store bought cake icing, but hey, you have to start somewhere! The colors didn't turn out the way I'd hoped -- the red was more pink than red and the green was more minty than Christmas usually calls for, but they tasted great and we had a lot of fun making them and that is what really counts.

Luminarias & Holiday Fun

2010-12-14T15:57:00.000-05:00

Evie, Kiley and I set out our luminarias this weekened. It definitely made our home look very warm and inviting. Evie and I have been struggling with a cold for the last week so it was nice just to get out and get some fresh air. Her favorite part was putting the sand in the bags, while my favorite part was making the fudge. I'll always remember my mom making a huge batch of nutty fudge for the holidays and eating 90 percent of it myself. However, once you make it and see how much sugar goes into the recipe you'll start to think twice about that second piece!

A Two Year Old's Halloween Experience

2010-12-14T15:47:00.000-05:00

I meant to put these videos up after Halloween, but I became very sidetracked. Here in a few minutes is what it was like for a two year old to go trick-or-treating in Southwood. First, you have to climb up a mountain of stairs and then stretch to a doorbell only to find out that no one was home. Poor Evie. This happened about a dozen times on Halloween, but her spirits were never dampened. Still very funny to watch though...

Thank Goodness for Grammy

2010-12-14T15:40:00.000-05:00

A while back Grammy came to visit Evie. Here are some pictures we saw lying around that we wanted to share. Evie really loves her Grammy. When she saw her through the door she squealed really loud with excitement. Sometimes I wonder who's harder to keep up with because there's always something to do when Grammy's in town.

Of course, there always comes a time when Grammy must go home. Evie always looks out her window to make sure she gets home safe. Evie sure does love her Grammy.

Shenanigans of a Two Year Old

2010-12-12T14:17:00.000-05:00

Friday, Dec. 10, 2010

My coworker Mary Beth and her husband Derek followed me home Friday evening so they could use our ink jet printer. Since they were following me, I parked along the street and came in the front door. As soon as I opened the door, I heard Evie say, "I eating a cookie!" She was standing in front of the advent calendar with four candy wrappers around her feet and chocolate all over her face. I could not help but laugh. My first thought was, "Where is your father?" (He was upstairs picking up the den -- at least that's what he claims he was doing...) I quickly cleaned Evie up and investigated the candy situation. It appears she decided to go ahead and eat her candy for the 21st-24nd. She was on a major sugar high the rest of the night.

Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010

I was getting ready to go to my monthly playgroup with Evie, and Blake had run to the store for some groceries. I left her in the living room for two minutes to make our bed and grab my sneakers. When I came out of our bedroom, she had managed to pull every tissue out of a brand new box of tissues and was, again, standing at the advent calendar eating a chocolate bar. (At this rate, she won't have any candies left in her caleandar the last week before Christmas!) I had no one to blame but myself this time. Sigh.

Fall Festival

2010-10-30T08:35:00.000-04:00

We went to the Fall Festival at Evie's school on Friday and had a blast! There were hayrides, costume parades, cookie decorating, pumkin painting, bounce houses and more. Evie was soooo wound up we couldn't get her to bed until after 9pm (she usually knocks out around 7:30pm). Here are some pictures and videos from the night.

Because she had a problem with her original costume we feared she might not wear it, so this was a our backup. This is actually a 3T chearleader outfit!

Caitlin and Kelby as Minnie Mouse and a Ladybug.

Milo in a chicken costume. Hayrides are awesome!

My backseat is covered in glitter-glue now...

Yummy.

Evie being ridiculous.

Hayrides! Wave to the babies...

Evie and her best buddy Lydia (as a kung fu fighter) bouncing.

Watch this one until the end and notice how concerned we all are as parents. Poor Evie...

Thanks to Buck Lake Babies for putting this on. HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!!!

Buck Lake Baby Lingo

2010-10-30T07:58:00.000-04:00

Here's a fun challenge. First take a look at this picture below. Then try to figure out how many belong to our kid. These are odd and quirky sayings that Evie's school teachers write down during the day.

ANSWERS AFTER THE PICTURE.....

EVIE SAYS:

"I can fart" - guess who taught her this one???

"Whatcha doin"

"God our fatter" - a blessing they say at lunchtime "God our father"

"I don't like it" - what she says when she doesn't like her food

"Go away, go away, go away" - sometimes girls just want to be left alone

"I'm stuck"

"Read to you" - when she wants YOU to read to HER

"Gorgeous"

"Its a tragedy" - after she knocks her food all over the floor

Evie's Halloween Costume

2010-10-30T07:48:00.000-04:00

This is Evie's costume for Halloween this year. Grammy and Pops generously decided to pitch in for it. THANKS GRAMMY & POPS!!! She is supposed to be a flower gnome but we've just been telling everone she is a munchkin from The Wizard of Oz (that makes it easier than explaining what flower gnome is). My reasoning for this is that for the next 7 Halloween's Evie is going to want to be a princess or a fairy and we might as well put her in something that we think is cute.

Evie hates the hat, however, and once she becomes aware of it she will toss it off violently:

A Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-26T19:45:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, October 24, we took Evie to the Pumpkin Patch to pick out our pumpkins for Halloween. She had a great time running around and trying to pick up all the pumpkins (some as big as her). When we got home, we let her decorate her pumpkin with water colors, which she took very seriously and seemed to enjoy immensely. Now that we have our pumpkins, we are ready for Halloween!

I look GORGEOUS!!!

2010-10-19T16:11:00.000-04:00

Evie says a lot of cute things during the day. In fact, it is often hard to get her to shut up long enough for you to get a word in. Lately she has been looking in the mirror after getting dressed and saying "I look GORGEOUS!" Describing it doesn't do it justice so I've included a video. Enjoy...

It's a Girl!!

2010-10-08T12:49:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, Blake and I found out we will be adding a little sister to our family. We are very exited to see our little one on the ultrasound. She was moving around very a lot so we both fear she will be even more active than our little Evie. Everything checked out good too in regards to the baby's heartbeat and measurements and we are still on for a March 3rd due date.

Darcy Elizabeth Mallard will be here in five months!

Boy or Girl?

2010-10-01T09:20:00.000-04:00

Next Thursday on October 7th we will finally find out what we are expecting in March. After pouring through several baby name books and combing through family names we managed to find one name for both sexes that we could agree on. Actually when I say we agreed on it I mean we just flipped a coin. Before I reveal what our picks are here are some honorable mentions that were heavily considered before making our decision.

TOP BOYS' NAMES:

- Owen Watson
- Aiden Kenneth
- Seamus Daniel (pronouced SHAY-MUS)
- Caleb Andrew

TOP GIRLS' NAMES:

- Charlotte Elizabeth
- Leigh Anne
- Lillian Olive
- Clara Elizabeth

So here we are. If we end up having a boy, then his name will be....

LIAM DANIEL MALLARD

Liam is a derivative of William, Kiley's father and Daniel is Blake's father's name. Evelyn is a very Irish name so this will definately fit with her name.

If we are having another (god help us!) girl then her name will be...

DARCY ELIZABETH MALLARD

Darcy and Elizabeth are, of course, characters from Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice. This is one of Kiley's favorite books and movies of all time. Side note: Blake lost this coin toss.

Well, there you have it. We'll be sure to update and tell everyone as soon as we know!

In case you haven't heard...

2010-09-08T13:30:00.000-04:00

Blake and I are expecting Baby Mallard number two on March 3, 2011!!

Doorknob Experiment Update

2010-09-01T08:20:00.001-04:00

So apparently Evie has figured out how to remove the cover from her door knob, as evidenced by her appearance in our bedroom at 6:15 this morning. Sigh. Never a dull moment...

The Great Doorknob Experiment

2010-08-31T08:48:00.000-04:00

Ever since we moved Evie to a toddler bed, we've kept a cover on the door knob inside her room to keep her from wandering and getting into something while we are sleeping (think of it as her room being a much larger crib). Well, when she turned two, we (and by we I mean Blake) had the brilliant idea to take this cover off to see what would happen.

The first couple of nights, she did fine. When she woke up at her usual time (6:30ish) she simply opened her door and came to our room. It was actually very sweet to hear her little feet slapping on the floor as she ran to our room (ran because she never walks anywhere) and her saying good morning and urgin us to get up. After a couple of days, however, she started to appear in our room earlier and earlier. First it was 5:55. Early, but acceptable. The next day it was 5:30. Definitely pushing it. When she turned up at 4:45 I'd hit my limit.

Needless to say, the cover is now back on her door knob and we are all now sleeping (quite happily) to 6:30 again!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Evie!

2010-08-08T14:23:00.000-04:00

Evelyn turned 2 on July 31, 2010. She had a very busy birthday week. First, her Grammy Mallard came to see her from July 25-29. Grammy kept her during the day while I worked and they had a great time together, playing and going to the store for special treats. Then, from July 29 to August 1, her Aunt Kim, Uncle Steve and cousins Chloe, Ian and Jacob, as well as Grandma and Grandpa Kornegay came for a visit. We enjoyed pizza and cupcakes and Evie had a great time opening her gifts. We went to the pool everyday, which all of the kids (and adults) enjoyed. Overall, I think Evie thoroughly enjoyed turning 2!

Evie needed some help to blow out the candles...

But knew exactly what to do with the cupcake!

"I like this birthday stuff!"

Jacob and Ian attacking Uncle Blake at the pool.

Evie grinning at Mommy after running through the mushroom waterfall.

All photos courtesy of Grandpa Kornegay.

Baby Shower

2010-08-08T14:07:00.000-04:00

On July 15, I left my sweet Evie with her dad and drove to North Carolina to attend my oldest sister Christie's baby shower. I met up with my second oldest sister Kim and her family in Georgia, and we made the rest of the trip together. The baby shower was on July 17 at The Secret Tea Room in Greensboro. The food was delish (Hello, Chai Tea! Where have you been all my life?!), the conversation was lively and Christie and her husband John were truly "showered" with gifts for their soon-to-be born baby daughter. Kim, Christie and I spent the rest of the weekend getting the nursery ready, and Kim and I gave Christie and John all the advice and tips we could think of. Now all we need is a baby!

Photo courtesy of Bill Kornegay.

July 4th Weekend 2010

2010-08-08T13:57:00.000-04:00

We spent the 4th of July in Apollo Beach with Blake's mom and dad. It rained from the time we pulled into the driveway until the time we pulled out! We made the best of it, and managed a couple of dips in the pool when the rain let up for a few minutes. Below are some pictures of what Miss Evie got up to with her Grammy and Pops...

Grammy stocked the bottom drawer of this dresser with toys. Evie thought it would be more fun to put herself in the drawer...

Grammy and Pops decided Evie needed curls, which turned into more of a mohawk. (Still adorable though...)

Do you think she has these two wrapped around her little finger or what?!

Popsicle by the pool. Does like get any better?