Happy Holidays!

Mallory turned 6 months old earlier in the month and really has started to come out of her shell. It seems like every day she does or "says" something new and it is the most hilarious thing to see. She can makes you completely forget about the craziness of work...Here are a couple of funny pictures from the last couple of weeks:

This book is boring!

Getting ready for the big day!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

All I Want For Christmas...

Mallory had some face-to-face time with the big guy on Tuesday night. We took her to iSmile in the Colonie Center Mall for her "5-month" photo shoot (she'll be 6 months old on the 9th). Through the first 4 months of photo shoots, Mallory refused to smile for the photographer but this time she managed to flash us a quick one which we were lucky enough to catch.

Bedtime?

Laila always finds a way to steal the camera...We were getting ready for bed the other night and she apparently did not want to go upstairs.

Mallory, on the other hand, found a new friend in her pack n' play and couldn't wait to hit the hay.

Little Turkey!

Check out Mallory's new fleece vest. She seemed to like it so much that she was trying to "tell" us in this short video clip.

We had a great Thanksgiving with our families. It was so nice seeing everyone and Mallory did really well throughout the extremely long day. Michol and I took it easy on Black Friday. We went out for breakfast and then did some walking around the mall to walk off our food. Putting up the Christmas tree and decorations this weekend...pictures to come.

Here are a couple of more videos for your viewing pleasure:

Oscar loves to lick!

Future Kickboxer?

It's Cold!

Mallory is getting geared up for the winter by sporting one of her many hats. It's hard to believe she is already 5 months old. The holidays are right around the corner, so you can bet there will be plenty more pictures on the way.

She has been doing great these last couple of months: started eating rice cereal & vegetables, sleeping most of the night, making lots of new vocal sounds, and smiling all the time! She certainly has been keeping both sets of Grandparents on their toes!

Here are some more updated shots for your viewing pleasure:

Happy Halloween!

We decked Mallory out in a cute pink bunny outfit for her first Halloween. Although she didn't make it out for trick or treating, her grandparents soaked it all in!

Here are some more pics from her busy night:

Time is Flying!

Michol was in Nebraska for a couple of days this week for work so it was just me, Mallory, the pups, and the cats. This was the first time I had to hold the fort down by myself and everything went as well as can be. Mallory found some time to take a nap (pictured above) on Monday night while I ran the pups around in the yard.

It's been a pretty crazy month of October with work being insanely busy and stressful but at the end of the day we can always count on that big smile from Miss Mallory!

Stay tuned for Mallory's next video...coming soon!

Here are some other pics from the past couple of weeks:

Bath Time!

Love My Bouncy Chair

Oscar Waching Over His Baby Sister

Alive and Kicking!

Mallory was in full voice this weekend. She was making sounds that we haven't heard before. She also is making every attempt to turn over and is really starting to show her kicking skills. If only we can convince her to work on all of this during the day and not in the middle of the night :)

Bath Time!

The weather outside wasn't so great today so we decided to give Mallory a bath after work. It is getting much easier to bathe her now that she is getting bigger and less fragile. After her bath, we fed her, and she fell fast asleep on her bouncy chair while we had some dinner...nice relaxing Thursday night.

Here are some more pics from her cleaning session:

On her own!

Hopefully you can make out Mallory in this picture from our video monitor...She spent her first night in her crib (alone in her room with the door shut) this weekend! It definitely felt weird not to have her in our bedroom after 3 1/2 months, not to mention the bright light from the video screen blasting us in the face all night. The pups didn't seem to mind as they stayed asleep all night.

All in all, Mallory did great. She slept very well Sunday night into Monday morning, only fussing a little bit. Amazing how far she has come since day 1!

Case of the Giggles!

Someone has a case of the giggles!



No smiling at iSmile!

We took Mallory to iSmile at Colonie Center on Thursday night, courtesy of Aunt Chiara, for her first official photo shoot. She did really well but couldn't quite find that smile of hers during the actual shoot. Of course when we were walking her around the mall while waiting for the pictures to print, she was smiling all over the place. We go back in a month for another round...we'll see what happens!

On Location at Mallory's Photo Shoot

Wiped out!



After spending time with the family on Saturday, Michol and I chilled out at the house on Sunday and waited for the thunder and lighting to arrive. Once the storm arrived, Mallory ate through the entire event without a flinch. After dinner, while Michol was doing laundry, Mallory hung out on her bouncy chair and watched a little soccer with daddy. Actually, I think she was more fascinated with the red jerseys of Spain.

Come on Irene!

Hurricane Irene was the surprise guest at our annual Luau party and she didn't disappoint! We had a mostly cloudy day and the rain held up when most of the guests arrived, but then it went downhill toward the later hours and all the way into Sunday. We had a few branches on the lawn and our umbrella and table flew off the deck but no major damage.

Mallory spent Saturday morning with Grandma/Grandpa Astriab while Michol and I got the house prepped up for the party. She made an appearance at the Luau for a couple of hours before retiring to Grandma/Grandpa Merrimans for her first night away from home. She had a such a fun-filled Saturday and spent most of Sunday relaxing in her pack n play while Mom, Dad, and Pups crashed on the couch watching endless coverage of the storm.

Laila on Hurricane Patrol

Warrior Merriman!

I ran in my first Warrior Dash race at Windham Mountain. After sleeping a solid 4 hours the night before, Michol and I woke up at 4:30 in the morning, fed the pups, fed Mallory, and headed out for the big event.

The race was broken up into 20 time slots with my slot at 8am. The course consisted of 12 grueling obstacles over 3.2 miles. Temperature was a brisk 50 degrees and no humidity. The first half mile was the worst...all uphill. The last obstacle was a huge mud pit with barbed wire across the top, forcing you to get down on your hands and knees. Michol carried Mallory in the baby bjorn and took some great pictures while waiting at the finish line. Despite all the loud noises, Mallory slept the entire time...she was so good!

The results:
Out of 9,319 participants, I placed 534th and out of the 782 participants in my age group (35-39), I placed 72nd. My overall time was 35:38.80.

After cleaning all the mud off at my parents house, we left Mallory behind and headed up to Six Flags amusement park for Michol's company picnic. The weather was perfect and we both were so tired that we only went on one ride (the gondola ride). At the end of the day, we picked up Mallory, who had a great time with Grandma/Grandpa Merriman, got some take-out, and crashed on the couch for the night. Very long Day!!!!

More pics from the Warrior Dash (official website: http://warriordash.com/register2011_new_york.php)

Survived!

In the home stretch!

The final obstacle....That's me hitting the mud!

Look at me!

Someone is definitely NOT camera shy!





Life is Good!

The pups enjoyed the nice cool air inside on Sunday. Oscar had enough of looking out the window from his normal perch, slid down, and created a makeshift dog bed out of one of the couch cushions. Laila was content with her corner and pillow. What a life!

We love Central Air!



Oscar and his new bed



Hanging out!

During a recent diaper change, Mallory was so fascinated by a hanging scarf on the chandelier, she didn't mind hanging out without her clothes on the dining room table. She is going to be 7 weeks tomorrow and is going through what appears to be a growth spurt...a little fussy, very hungry, and making more and more noises.

Grandma and Grandpa Merriman took cousin Paola, Nicolas, and Lisa to Niagara Falls for a couple of days. They have been having a great time visiting NY and only have another week until they return back to Texas.

It is also someone's birthday today.....Happy Birthday Michol!!!!

Here are some pics from the last week:

Cousin Paola and Nicolas

Paola, Nicolas, Harry, Lisa

Nicolas chilling out at the Merriman's

Uncle Harry

Cousin Paola and Nicolas

Mallory cracking a smile

Getting ready to dance?

Trying to figure out the mobile

Daddy!