Happy Independence Day!

Our friends, Ellen, Jeff and daughter Alex, have an awesome July 3rd party every year at their house on their 4 acres. It's the perfect setting for a great big get together in the heat of the summer.
This year included nothing short of volleyball, kiddie pools, slip-n-slide, moon walk, little tikes bouncy, and plenty to eat, drink and be merry.

Here's Mallory watching the fireworks from the comfort of Daddy's lap.
She'd explaim, "WOW" and point at the bright colors illuminating the sky.






high stepping...

water baby

We went to a local water park with some friends and Mallory had a great time...
She was the youngest but it didn't take her long to catch on and get in!

READY


SET


DRINK


but she wasn't ready to go down the slide with the big kids just yet!

big girl = flower girl

Mallory did great! As great as can be expected of a 15 month old flower girl...



she made it half way down the isle and dumped all the flower petals on the floor. When the guests laughed, she thought she was cute and threw the basket on the floor. After a few seconds (what seemed like minutes) I left my post as a bridesmaid and took her hand and escourted her the rest of the way down the isle.





She sure was cute trying!

SHHHHHHH, don't tell...

MOM's 30!!!!!!!!!!!

15 months old...

How did you get so big so fast, baby girl?
At 27 pounds and 33 inches, you're off the charts!



This spring has been so fun! You love to be outside exploring the yard and walking all over the neighborhood. You have a mind of your own and are learning everyday how to express yourself. You take my finger and say, "Come on," and walk me across the street to your friend, Sophia's house. Then you climb up the stairs and run over to the swing and point relentlessly until I put you in it. I ask, "Do you want me to push you?" You grab onto the rope and say "Yeeeeeeah!" When we drive by the park, you point and make noise so we'll stop and play. You LOVE the slide and are such a big girl you go down all by yourself!



You're becoming affectionate! This may be my favorite milestone yet! You give the best kisses in the world... you lean way in and make a fishy face complete with kissy sound effects ;) You give hugs and high-fives too! You also bring us books, turn around and back up and plop into our lap. Then you turn the pages as we read and point to all the things on the pages. For now, all animals make a "ruff-ruff" noise. We're working on that ;)



You're using sign language consistantly. Mostly at meal times for "more" and "please."

Your vocabulary is growing too... it started with Momma, Dad, Ball, Dog, and Ruff... and now you say Water (wa), Kitty, Hi, Bye-bye, Thank You (da-doo), Come on, Boo (peek-a-boo), Nose, Eye, Uh-oh, Hot, and of course you say No... even though sometimes you mean yes. You even know some of your body parts and point to them when we say them: belly (you lift up our shirt), feet (you stomp), toes (which are very ticklish), hands, eye, ear, nose, and tongue (you stick it out). You know where your shoes go, and like to put ours on our feet. And although you can only say a dozen or so words, you understand sooooooooooo much more...



To top it all off, you're gonna be the best big sister ever! Yep, that's right... you're gonna be a big sister sometime around Thanksgiving... so keep practicing feeding your baby dolls and rocking them, and kissing them, because Momma and Daddy are going to need your help! But don't worry, you'll always be our baby girl!

Sleeping Beauty

She is the most beautiful thing in my world!

First Family Vacation

We went to South Padre, Texas, where Grandma & Grandpa Kelker spend their winters, to get some much needed R & R. We are invited to visit every year, but it had been 3 years since we were able to make it due to new jobs, vacation time, pregnancy, yada-yada-yada.



Mallory did wonderfully on the airplane, which was a huge relief, but no major surprise, as she is an easy going little girl. We totally over packed our carry-ons with books, toys, and lots of snacks. For the most part, she sat in her carseat next to the window while Daddy kept her entertained, she took a nap, and of course we did lots of people watching.

She liked the ocean but loved the seagulls!!! Apparently they like animal crackers too.





She had a blast playing with her sand bucket and shovel from Mimi.





We went for evening strolls in the surf at dusk and Mallory ran up and down the beach for hours. She made friends with strangers, blowing kisses and being her usual flirtatious silly self.





While fishing on G-ma and G-pa's boat we saw multiple groupings of dolphins. Several got within arms reach of the boat.

We even took a trip to the Brownsville Zoo, one of the top 10 in the country. We saw monkeys, kangaroos, giraffes, zebras, a dinasaur exhibit, flamingos, and lots of other animals. Mallory makes "ruff-ruff" noises at most of them... since she thinks that all hairy animals bark. Guess we need to work on animal noises some more. Hahaaa.

One particular Orangatang and her baby followed Mallory and Mom from viewing window to window making eye contact with us. The Orangatang mom handed Mallory a handful of grass threw the glass. It was very moving.





Mallory even let us sleep in until 9:30 or 10:00 most mornings, which never happens at home. What a sweet little girl!



We spent lots of time w/ G-ma and G-pa going swimming in the neighborhood pool, fishing off the dock, hunting seashells, and eating dinner together!

Heck, they even watched the baby for us a few nights so we could get some alone time. We forgot there was such a thing, but quickly remembered how nice it is to eat at a fancy restaurant and not have to pack a sippy cup, diapers and wipes.

We had a great time and made many, many wonderful memories!