Back Bangs

One of my favorite things about becoming a mom has actually been watching Matthew be come a dad. I know it may sound strange, but there is something truly magical about watching Matthew (a not-so-delicate, rugby-playing, beer-drinking, flannel-wearing MAN) turn into a sweet, quiet, snuggling father who picks out cute dresses and outfits to put Mallory in. It puts a smile on my face watching the two of them. Mallory LOVES her daddy! Noone puts a smile on her face like he does. She just lights up whenever he talks to her. I have to admit I'm a little jealous at times.
Mallory has started to lose her hair in a little semicircle around the back of her head, which has left a nice full patch of hair under it. So the other day Matthew was looking at her (as I was brushing her hair after a bath) and he said... "So what are we going to do with her back bangs?" And it's true, her full hair on the back of her head looks just like bangs... so now when we get her ready to go somewhere we make sure to pay special attention to her back bangs too!

Ladys Night

Oh yeah baby! Last night Liz and I went out on a date! No, not with our hubbies, but with each other! It was so fun to leave each of our little ones with or loving husbands and enjoy a night out on our own! It was great! I drove to her house and as I was walking up to her door, she was practically running out of it! We were both giggling like little school girls who where sneaking out... not that I would EVER have done that! ;) Liz and I both LOVE Italian food, so we went to a place in Windsor, where we had a lovely window seat and enjoyed an appetiser, wine (well, I did) and a nummy dinner. Think Lady and the Tramp, but without the pushing of the meatball with our nose. We then hit up the candy store next door and stocked up on sugary goodness for the movie. (Not that I'm saying we snuck candy into the theater)... Oops!
We went and saw Life As We Know It. It was a total chick-flick. Cute and predictable, like ever good chick-flick should be. Both Liz and I cried, laughed, cried some more and laughed again. There were some really clever parts!
So needless to say the date seemed to be a success, and if I'm lucky she'll want to go out with me again! :)
Thanks for the fun night Liz!

Sac Trip

So like I said before, last weekend the three of us went to visit Russell (Matthews older brother) in Sac. We were just there Sat-Sun, but it was really fun and felt like we were there longer... probably because it was so nice to break up our typical Sonoma County routine! On Saturday night Russell took us all out to a place called "The Shady Lady". It's a bar (that serves food, so Mallory was allowed in). It was a neat place, all the worker and the decor looked like it was back in the 1920's. So fun. The drinks were yummy too! There was another baby in the bar, a cute 6 month old little boy wearing a golf cap. I swear he and Mallory were making eyes at each other... or was that just the milk talking?



This was Mallory's first overnight trip, and she did pretty darn well! She just slept in the pack-n-play, but woke up at 3:30 and was hungry. Sunday morning after a nice walk to the grocery store (Man, do I miss The Nugget), we went with Russell to his soccer game (It ending up as a tie game... the other team scored with just 2 minutes to go).





Jeralyn met us out at the field. It was wonderful to see her, and watch her and her boyfriend John interact with Mallory. So cute! I miss Jeralyn so much, and I keep thinking at since we are only 2 hours away from each other we really should be able to see each other more often... but each of our lives are so hectic that it's only about ever 4-6 months that we actually get together. Sad. Maybe that'll change once both of our lives settles down (hahaha)!

What a Morning!

This morning as I was sitting on the couch feeding Mallory and I was watching Krush (our cat) go slinking across the floor, behind the chair. I thought that he was just being neurotic, when all of a sudden a large bird (I think it was a Nuttall's Woodpecker) flew out from behind the chair. Krush went zipping after it, followed by Sonny who was whining and barking at this uninvited guest. I sat there watching this whole thing and I couldn’t help but laugh as I started singing the “there was an old woman who swallowed a fly…” song to my little baby. Mallory was a trooper, and didn’t get too distracted.
The funny part came when I tromped around the house trying to catch the wild bird. I swear, between Krush, Sonny and me we had that poor bird fighting for its little life. It flew on to the fan, so I turned it on, thinking it would fly off. Nope! So I was there, standing in the middle of our coffee table trying to scare the bird down, while at the same time telling Mallory that standing on the furniture is not allowed and mommy is just being silly. Mallory sat there cooing and smiling as she watched the entire circus act. Finally the bird flew behind the microwave and I was able to throw a towel over it and let it go outside. Miraculously I made it to my mom’s to drop Mallory off and was still 10 minutes early to work! Wahoo, what a morning!

Nick-Names

This weekend my good friend Jeralyn met Mallory for the first time (I'll write more about that as soon as I get the pictures uploaded). She asked me what nick-names I call her... to MOST people a nick-name is some shorted version of a name but for those of you who have ever payed attention to what I call things, you will know that to me a nick-name is a elongated version of your name. I don't know why I do it, I just do. Rarely do I actually shorten a name, adding to it is much more fun. Here are a few examples: Matthew= Matthew-Man, Sonny= Sonny-bear, Krush= Krushtapher, Janie= Janie-Baker, Brie= Brie-silent-anna, Jeralyn= Miss Jeralyn... you get the point. It's fun... to me at least!
So it was cute that Jeralyn knows me well enough to know that I wouldn't JUST call Mallory, Mallory. The three nick-names that naturally come out of my mouth are; Mallory Rose, My Little Love Bug and Bright Eyes. Sometimes she even gets Stinky-Pant-McGee or Cranky-Pants-McGee, if the situation calls for it! :)

Wedding Day

This past Saturday Kristen Klein (Matthews cousin) got married! It was such a beautiful wedding and a great party! Kristen was a stunningly beautiful bride, and lit up the room! It was fun to watch Tony (the groom) looking all nervous as he stood in the front of the church, then finally relax as soon as his bride was by his side. The wedding was in San Francisco and almost the entire Klein family was there. They are such a wonderful and fun group of people.... and ALWAYS are the life of the party. Mallory apparently is no different! She got to meet, mingle, and snuggle with all sorts of relatives (some that she had yet to meet)! She was such a good little girl, never got fussy, and seemed to love the music/dancing and colors! Genetics are pretty amazing, because as Matthew and I were looking at Mallory, with her tan/olive skin, and large but deep set eyes we realized how much she looks like Kristen! I swear, It's like I was looking at a little Kristen... or maybe I just carried Kristen's baby for her! It is strange and amazing to see the different familial features come out everyday.

We all danced the night away. I had forgotten how much fun it was to dance! Especially now that I don't have to worry about peeing on myself.... sorry that was probably too much information, huh? Dancing is such a great work out too, my calf's were screaming by the end of the night! Ooh feel the burn! We didn't get home until around 1 am, but it was worth it, I had such a wonderful time. Congratulations Kristen and Tony! We love you guys!!!!

Somebody Slap Me!

Ok, to all the ladies out there, I think that you all will totally relate to what I'm talking about. (Heck and maybe some of you men too...) You know when you just can't get out of your own head? I mean, no matter what someone/anyone says you are there, in your head, over-thing everything????? I know it's just not me... right? For example, this has been happening A LOT since I've been back at work... I go into a room to see a patient, and the client has found out that I have just had a baby (either from the receptionist, or the tech, or they had seen me before)... with out fail the client will say something to the effect of "Wow, you look great!" So no there I am thinking to myself 'do they mean wow I look great...PERIOD, or wow I look great...considering I just having a baby, but if I hadn't just had a baby they would be thinking that I look like I need to be spending more time at the gym...you know some more squats, a few more tricep dips and a handful more sit-ups wouldn't hurt... oh and while you're at it add a few more miles to that run your doing...'
So there I am KNOWING that they are probably being really, really sweet, but paying me a genuine complement... but there's that crazy woman inside of me that just can't stop OVER thinking it all.
One client actually said that 'you look great for having a 2 month old'... so nice, right? Well all I could think was, 'what if I had told you I have a 2 year old... would I STILL look 'great'?' As I am typing this I sort of want to slap myself for being so silly... but I'm just trying to be honest about it all (the whole pre/post baby experience).
I know it's silly, but there are times when I can't seem to get out of my own head. So my goal for the rest of this week (and hopefully forever) is to just realize that a compliment is a compliment and I don't have to analyze it! Maybe you can all help me be accountable for this goal... please! :)

Baby Dedication

Now to finish up this wonderful weekend (before another one starts), Sunday morning Mallory Rose was dedicated in our church! It was a great service and a very sweet dedication, for both Mallory and my good friends Liz's kids (Jackson and Annaliese). During the dedication the pastor asked the church body if they were/are willing to help raise Mallory to follow God and if they are willing to help Matthew and myself in any way we need, say 'yes'. The 'YES' that came from our "little" (hahaha) group was amazing. It's wonderful and humbling to know that we have so many people out there that want to help/be a part of this little girls life! Around 25 of our closest family and friends were able to come to the event (we missed all of you who didn't make it) and Mallory's godfather (Russell) and godmother (Brianna) were able to stand up there with us and pray for Mallory. A fun little side note about the dedication gown that Mallory is wearing... The lace that is on it is made from flax that my grandpas grandma (so Mallory's great, great, great grandma) planted, grew and then turned into lace!!!!! Isn't that AMAZING?!?! The gown itself is only around 32 years old, but it was worn by Jeff, myself, Tyler and Thomas during our dedications! Ahhhh tradition! (It makes me want to break out in songs from Fiddler on the Roof)! Any way, after the service there was a lunch at the church, then the crew all trekked over to my folks house for dinner. It was a whole day of Mallory-based fun!
At one point I walked down to hall way to see where everyone (including my baby) were, and THIS is what I found...

It was like (almost) ALL of the ladies at the party gravitated to Mallory and they were all there talking/laughing/and loving on her! It was a beautiful and funny sight!

New Faces

Saturday, after the car show, Mallory and I went over to Howerth park for a big family (multi-person) birthday party! It was so much fun, but one of the most wonderful parts about it was that Carrie (one of my cousins) FINALLY got a chance to meet Mallory! It was the worlds sweetest meeting, Carrie cried, Mallory cooed and smiled then they became best friends! Honestly! Mallory LOVED looking at and snuggling with Carrie! Too cute!



That night My Aunt Alicia and Uncle Randy flew in from Poway to meet Mallory and visit with the family! This too was a really sweet first meeting... Alicia and Randy were going to be stopping by our house once their flight landed which was around 6 pm ... but with traffic and all they didn't actually get to our house until around 9:30 (about an hour past the time when Mallory usually goes to bed). We had been trying to keep her up for their arrival and needless to say she was a little fussy about that and kept drifting in and out of sleep. Once they arrived, Aunt Alicia stepped into our home, I put Mallory into her arms, and she literally took a deep breath snuggled into Aunt Alicia's neck and clonked out!
Mallory really fell in love with my Aunt (who hardly put her down all weekend)! It was so sweet to see the immediate bond between them! Between myself, Aunt Alicia, mom and others, poor Uncle Randy hardly got to hold her... Until Monday that is! And then she spend the majority of the day getting rocked, snuggled and kissed by her great-uncle! I felt so blessed to have had them come and visit for the weekend, I miss my southern Cali family and wish I saw them all more.

One Hot Babe!

We had a really fun weekend! It was full of all sorts of new people, parties and adventures! It's going to take a few posts to get through, so stay tuned...
The fun started on Saturday morning when Matthew and his dad took their Corvette to the Calistoga Car show! Mallory and I showed up about 9 am so that we could try and beat the heat and still enjoy the festivities.



Mallory really got into the spirit of the car show... I mean no show is complete without a hot babe on a sweet car... right? :) (Don't worry the car was not at all hot)



Then we tried to teach Mallory the importance about never driving while you are sleepy... because you just may fall asleep at the wheel!

I know, I know, I know, children are not given to us to use as props for our own amusement/entertainment.... but it is PART of the fun, right?

Flower Girl

I know, I know, I am SLIGHTLY obsessed! Janie taught me how to make these supper cute flower hair pieces and now look what has happened, I have gone completely wacko! I think that I have made about 25 of them!!!!



I get a idea/project/job in my head and I HAVE to get it all done.... NOW! I can't seem to just do one part of it and do more later. I hate putting things away only to bring them back out. Any way, enough of my craziness, lets look at how darn cute little Mallory Rose looks all dolled up! Seriously, I know that I am just ever so slightly biased, but really, she's just about the cutest baby that has ever graced this earth! (Yes I have see pictures of ALL the other baby girls in the world). Maybe it's those Momma-glasses that I heard that every mom gets when their baby enters the world... either way, I love this cute little nugget of mine!!!!

Our Little Mongolian

Let me start out by saying that this is a 'Mongolian spot' before you all freak out and think that Matthew and I are spanking Mallory already! Mongolian spots marks are a congenital, hereditary developmental condition exclusively involving the skin. Its scientific name is Congenital dermal melanocytosis. Mallory was born with this cute little mark despite the fact that it is extremely prevalent among children of color... aka anything Non-white, such as;East Asians (95%), Polynesians (90%), Native Americans (85-90%), East Africans (90-95%) and Latin American (46%). As far as I know neither Matthew or I are any of the above and the incidence among Caucasians from Europe is ONLY between 1-10%... so Matthew and I are wondering where/who this spot came from!? So we have a request to all of our family members that read this blog, do any of you/ your kids have this spot? We would love to know which side the spot comes from and see if we could track the ancestry of it. A few other facts about Mongolian spots, they normally disappears three to five years after birth and almost always by puberty. The most common color is blue, although they can be blue-gray, blue-black or even deep brown and are found almost always in the lumbosacral area (lower back), the buttocks, flanks, and shoulders.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

This morning, as I was getting ready for work I was torn... Should I be sad that I am leaving my baby girl or happy that I am starting back to work. I know, you all probably thinking that I am crazy... "Happy to be be going back to work?" But really, I LOVE it! Work is exciting! Every day I have amazing surgeries lined up, fun puppies/kittens to play with and the possibility of the unknown that could/will walk in the door any minute! I love what I do and have really missed it over these past 2 months! Now granted, I would not have traded my time at home with Mallory for anything, but I am glad to be back in the swing of things (not to mention excited about getting a pay check again)! :) And it's such a blessing to know that Mallory is with her Nawny (that would be my mom) and that she is only 5 minutes away. I'll get to see/feed her during my 2 hours lunch every day and lets not forget that my Thursdays only last until 11am!!!!! So really I hope that even though I am back at work, I wont feel like I am loosing out on too much time with my little girl.

Guilty Me

Ok, I did it. I gave in. I am weak and apparently more body conscious then I like to verbally admit (though I am sure if you asked Matthew he would say ‘Duh’). So despite the fact that I am down to my pre-pregnancy weight, my body is, well, different! My derriere region has changed. While pregnant it apparently plumped up nicely, and I think that now that the ‘extra-filler’ has gone away it has left my bum and thighs looking sadly like a bowl of cottage cheese! Uhhhgggg! I am NOT saying that pre-Mallory you could have bounces a quarter off it… but maybe a dime, or at least a nickel. Now, I think that that if you tried, the coin would land there and slowly be sucked in (like quicksand)!!!! I have been running like a mad-woman, doing weight and resistance training and the musclely/firm roundness is not returning!!!! So the other day I gave in, and got some of that Skin Firming lotion. Not the zillion dollar kind, just the Jergins brand, but I was feeling desperate and weak and I HAD to try something else. Now every morning since then I feel guilty while I desperately try to rub all the hard-earned ‘dimples’ away! What is wrong with me? (No, there is no need to answer that!) 

The Fruit Bowl

Ok, it took some time (considering the picture was taken over 7 weeks ago), but I have FINALLY put together the FINAL instalment of the fruit pictures! Looking at them all its hard to believe that she started out the size of that little teeny, tiny apple seed and now here she is, a 2 month old little happy, smiling, chunky baby girl!!! So incredible! The entire process! Each step of the way, as both that tiny baby and I changed and grew in countless way! I have been, (and continue to be) so blessed to have you all as a support group through out it all! Thank you all!!!!
Oh and on a side note, Mallory is feeling MUCH better and back to her happy, non-fussy self, for which I am SO grateful and I think I appreciate her joyful attitude even more now!

Sick Baby Girl

Poor baby girl came down with her first sickness last night! She had been a little fussy all day (which is very abnormal for her) then I noticed that she felt warm when I kissed her little forehead. So the dreaded thermometer came out!!!! (Bum, bum, bum.... pun intended). She had a 100.3 fever, poor girl. I know that's not a gigantic fever, but it was enough to make her cranky and me worried. The baby Tylenol did its trick, and within about an hour her temp was normal... but her disposition was still... 'Off'. She just needed to be cuddled and loved and held more then normal. Poor girl. Its such a helpless feeling, knowing that she's not feeling well and that I can't take all her pain/discomfort away. So as Mallory battled through her first fever I battled through my first baby having her first fever. I don't know who felt worse, me or her! she's doing better this morning, but is still off, so send BOTH of us prayers!!!!!

New Toy

One of the FEW things that Matthew and I did not have for little Mallory was a tummy/back-time gym thingy. And now that Mallory is actually focusing, engaging, touching, smiling and imitating things we thought that she would enjoy one. So the three of us went over to target and spent a good 20 minutes trying to figure out which baby gym was the perfect one (the one with just the right colors, lights, dangley things, music...) There are so many options that it made the decision hard. I'm SURE that Mallory would have loved any of them... but WE wanted to like it too! :) FINALLY we picked one, and boy did we pick right... she LOVES it! She's been playing happily by herself for the past 30 minutes! So cute! I think I had just as much fun watching her enjoy herself as she did playing with the toy!

Date Night

On Saturday Matthew and I went out on a date! It was WONDERFUL! We both got all dolled up, dropped Mallory off with my folks and headed out to paint the town red. We went to the movies and saw Inception... it was really good. Very interesting and action-packed. We walked around Healdsburg for a little while (man, were the tourists out in full force because of Labor day). We finally found a place to eat, this really cute little place called A Divine Affair. The food was great, as well as the company. It was great to be out with Matthew and to feel like a woman again (instead of a walking/talking milk-bag). Hopefully we can try and get out again before another 7 weeks go by.

The Birthday month

August is THE birthday month! Tyler, my mom and Matthews dad, all within 9 days of each other! It was an amazing birthday year... Tyler, mom and Robert ALL turned 24! Amazing! It's always fun because we get to have a party for each one, but bad because we just HAVE to eat cake/pie/ice cream for each one. (Note to self, those sweet treats are not helping me lose those last few pesky baby pounds)! It seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves and once again, Mallory was passed around. It was really fun to watch some of Tyler's friends (those that have had to T-DAP shot) hold her. Some were naturals and others were SOOOOOO awkward. Mallory was great through it all, she is so tolerant.
Oh, I weighed her today... she is now a whooping 11.03 pounds! WOW!

A Star Is Born!

Need I say more?