Crazy Month!

By the looks of Mallory in the above picture, one would think things at the Merriman house have been relaxing and low-key. Well, we have had some moments of downtime (mainly when Mallory is napping or in bed for the night!), but things have been quite busy over the last month. For starters, I completely forgot to post a Halloween update so I will do that here. But before going any further I just want to explain the picture above. If you look closely at the book that Mallory is holding, you will see a little girl sitting on Clifford's (the Big Red Dog) legs. For some reason, whenever she flips through this book and the dogs are nearby, she likes to "imitate" what she sees on the page with Oscar. Luckily, Oscar doesn't seem to mind but he will get up after a few minutes of being used as a canine chair.

For Halloween, we did the same thing we did last year, where we dressed Mallory up and took her over to our parents house for dinner and pictures. She still seems to young to go door-to-door, so next year should be a whole different ballgame. We went with the Bee costume and were able to keep the headpiece on long enough to get some "ok" pics:

With Winter approaching fast, we had to start getting Mallory used to wearing hats and gloves. This proved to be a little stressful since the first couple of times we tried to put them on her, she was not having it. We needed to nail this down because her school takes them out once a day in the playground as long as it isn't below 32 degrees. Luckily Nana and Papa Merriman  had better results when taking her to the mall on a couple of occasions. She put them on no problem and hasn't had a problem with them on to this date. Go figure!

Unfortunately over the last week, Mallory has been battling illness. It started last weekend with her stomach giving her some issues and then over the course of the week, she did not want to eat or drink much. The doctor checked her out and was 99% sure it is a viral infection. She said Mallory just needs to keep drinking fluids and eventually it should work itself out. As of today (Saturday), she is showing signs of improvement starting with a good breakfast, a decent lunch, and hopefully a substantial dinner.

Hopefully I will be able to get my act in gear and post some more frequent updates :) Thanksgiving next week!!

Another Lefty?

We have been working with Mallory on using a fork and have finally had success! This really comes in handy especially when she is eating food that is messy :) In the above video, she is enjoying some hot dogs and mac & cheese while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She was a little distracted with her favorite show but still made the attempt to stab the food without looking. We normally do not have the TV on when she is eating and we try to all eat in the dining room, but last night was an exception.

For breakfast this morning, she wolfed down her pancakes....but at least did it with the fork!

Definitely a lefty...just like her Daddy :)

Pillow & Blanket

For those who don't know, Mallory has always slept in her crib without any pillow or blanket. Oddly enough, she has slept through mostly every single night since we started putting her to bed at 7. She has always been a superb sleeper. Just a couple of weeks ago, we hung up a blanket on the side of her crib and she immediately took it off the rail and began sleeping with it. Seeing how quickly she adapted to the blanket, we decided to add a pillow which Aunt Duffy made for her. Here's what she did with it the first night we put it in the crib...sorry for the video quality:

 

Run, Run, Run

As mentioned in the last post, September has been a busy one for everybody....

Mallory started her new "next level" at school and has been doing great so far. She seems to be acclimating very well with her classmates and we have received nothing but positive ratings on her daily report sheets. The dropping off (handled by Michol) has continued to go well. Mallory seems to jump right into playing from the moment she steps into the classroom. She does manage to let out a quick "bye" to Mom as she throws off her coat. I still have the easy job of picking her and she seems equally thrilled to go home.

Aside from that, Mallory is doing great. It seems like she is learning new things every week (or day for that matter). It's amazing how fast they can pick things up. Unfortunately, we do have to deal with some "terrible two" episodes from time-to-time, but they seem to pass over pretty quick. Recently, we took her over to a local park to run around and let off some steam. Of course, the one area she seemed most interested in was near an apple tree. We had to keep telling her not to pick up the rotten apples that were squashed on the ground. Luckily nothing went in her mouth!

When we weren't keeping Mallory busy, Michol and I both participated in a couple of local races. I completed my first half-marathon in Saratoga a couple of weeks ago in a time of 1 hour 42 minutes (229 out of about 1,500 runners) which was only a couple of minutes slower than the time I was shooting for. Next year, I am going to run the same race again and shoot for 95 minutes...here's hoping! 

Michol had her own challenge in the Color Me Rad race she participated this past weekend. The course was set over a 5k distance and throughout the race, runners were sprayed with colorful paint. She had a great time and pushed through to a great finishing time! After the race was finished, the challenge wasn't over as she had to get the paint off. An initial pass with baby wipes did not work very well so she was really hoping that soap and water would do the trick....luckily it did work and most of the paint came off.

On the same day as Michol's run, we attended my 20th high school reunion. It was a very small group, but it was great to catch up on old times...and reminding ourselves how old we are really getting!

Till next time! 

Busy Bs!



Getting a little Silly!



Based on the date of this post, you can probably guess that the Merrimans have been a little busy this Summer :) It seems this month has flown by so fast...soon enough we'll be breaking out the rakes and leaf bags. Mallory is doing great and continues to do well with her 3-day-a-week school schedule. She seems to be warming up more and more to her classmates and even managed to give one of the boys a "neck hug" on her way out the door the other day.

Unfortunately, we did have another ER trip at the beginning of the month for the same condition she had back in April. All is good now and she is on a maintenance nebulizer treatment that she has to take twice a day. Even though she is still too young for an official diagnosis, the doctors are 99.9% sure she has asthma. Let's hope she outgrows it :(

I hate this bed!!

The month of August also brought us a nice surprise visit from Aunt Duffy. She was able to spend a few days during the work week with Mallory...with a little assistance from Mema and Grandma :) Mallory loved teaching Duffy some of her songs and even learned some new things as well.

Other than that, we have been trying to enjoy as much of the outdoors as we can. We took Mallory to the Crossings one day and she had a great time running around the open field and chasing bubbles. For some reason she wanted to hang out right by the restrooms. Thankfully there was a nice landscaped area in front of the building so I was able to get a few nice shots of her checking out the flowers.



Hmmm....what do we have here?
 

Picking flowers....

 

Chasing bubbles!

Not sure what she is doing here

Still love Minnie....

Unfortunately, Fall is really right around the corner and September is shaping up to be another busy month. We have some Labor Day house cleaning on the schedule (ducts and carpets), Mallory begins her next level up in school, my 20 year high school reunion, a Color Me Rad 5k for Michol, my first Half Marathon, and a photo shoot for Mallory (our friend Andrea will be handling the shoot).  I hope to be more diligent with my posts since there is always lots to share! Till next time....

The Three H's are Here!

Heading to the Pool!

Ah, the three "H's" are here...Hazy, Hot, Humid. Luckily, Mallory has been able to enjoy the water from her water tables, sprinklers, and the Astriab's pool. I think these images and videos speak for themselves...Enjoy!

Playing at the water table!

Waiting for a snack

Is this real?

Hanging on to Mommy!

More water fun back at the Merriman Homestead...

Checking out my new sprinkler!

Laughing at the Pups!

Get out of here Oscar!!

More Sprinkler Fun!

Summer?

I have had enough of this weather!

As we approach the 4th of July, we're finding it harder and harder to get into the "summer" mood with all the rain and clouds that have been plaguing us for the last couple of weeks. As you can see in the picture above, Mallory has had enough and just wants some sun!



Oscar guarding the swing set!



A few weeks ago, we put together Mallory's new swing set. It took my father and I just about a full day to assemble the main sections of the set (the fort, the swing bar, and the a-frame). Michol and I finished up the rest of the smaller sections (floor, walls, and slide) over the course of a week. We had a chance to let Mallory deliver her verdict on the swing set and she gave us her approval. She loved the swing (big surprise) and checked out the rest of it while the pups watched over her. 

Taking a break at the cafe

 

Checking out the interior...



1st time on swing!

During a rare sunny day last week, we found some time to get frozen yogurts at Guptill's Coney Express...Mallory enjoyed running around and actually sat on Mommy's lap while enjoying her treat.

Mallory Turns 2!

It's been a little crazy these past few weeks, so I apologize for the delay in getting this posted. Mallory turned 2 earlier this month and we had the family over to celebrate. Similar to last year, we set up the garage with all the decorations and food. It works out better this way since the weather is so unpredictable and the last we want is to make a mad dash inside if a storm erupts. Fortunately this year, the weather held up and it turned out to be a really nice day. Michol did an awesome job with just about every step of the party planning. She made the invites by hand, created all of the table decorations, and found time in between to make cupcakes (as well as some of the other food).

Mallory woke up that morning showing signs of a cold. Seems like her colds like to wait for holidays and birthdays before showing up :) We planned on putting Mallory up for her usual nap around 11:30-12ish so that she would be well rested for her guests. She napped till about 1:30-2 which allowed most of the guest to arrive and get settled. When we woke her up and brought her downstairs, she wasn't quite ready to make her appearance. She was a little cranky for about a half hour and then finally settled in when it was time to eat. The rest of the day went as well as can be. We took the party outside and let Mallory open some gifts and run around the yard. In case you were wondering where about the pups...we decided to let them sit this one out after last year's excitement!  Here are some more pics from the day's festivities. Enjoy!

Sitting in my new Minnie chair!

I like this chair better!

Hug from Mommy!

Reading my new book with Daddy!

Running away!

Someone does not want to stay still!

Thanks Uncle Harry!

Me and Aunt Chiara!

Walking with Cousin Jeanette!



The family photo! :)



Baby, Baby, Baby

Mallory has begun to show her "motherly" side recently by showing us how to rock a baby. All we have to do is ask her "where's the baby?" and she puts her arms in a cradling position and says the word baby over and over. The video is about 4 minutes long but she does it a couple of times throughout. I posted another video on our YouTube channel (link on the right side of the blog) of the same bath session. Enjoy!

1st Day of School!

Taking a Saturday drive...thinking about Monday

This past Monday was a big day for the three of us as Mallory started a new chapter in her daycare. We decided to enroll her at North Country Academy for three days out of the week. Michol is now in the office full time and the other two days are at the Merrimans. We did have her in daycare on Fridays only but unfortunately we were unable to get her into more days of the week as we had hoped for and had to look at other options. Luckily NCA had openings and we were really impressed by the facility and program they offer. It's not a real structured school environment, after all she is not even 2 yet, but this will allow her to get more exposure to other kids and learn necessary skills that she needs at her age.

Once we determined the new schedule, we decided to use last week as a dry run in the mornings. Since the school does not offer breakfast (2 snacks and a lunch only), we had to get Mallory used to getting up a little earlier so we could feed her before taking her in. Overall she did well and it took a few days for her to adjust. Michol and I came up with a pretty good routine that would allow us to get ourselves ready in the morning before we wake her up.



Laila and Oscar soaking in some weekend sun!

The weekend before her first day at school could not have been any more perfect. The weather was great and it allowed us to be outside most of the time. We took Mallory to the Crossings on Saturday and she only wanted to be on the swing. We tried to steer her towards the slides but she kept walking back to the swing sets. We somehow avoided a meltdown when it was time to leave...

On Sunday morning we had another 5K at the Crossings so we were glad the weather was sunny and warm. Mallory stayed in the stroller most of the time but we let her loose and she had a good time checking everything out. Afterwards we went to breakfast with cousin Megan & Connor and added the calories back on that we took off at the race. When we got home, we put Mallory down for a nice 2 hour nap. During that time we were able to do some necessary yard work and get the deck furniture out of the shed. The pups had a great time as well...chasing each other all over the yard and catching some Zs on the warm deck.

Off to School!

Monday morning arrived and I'm sure Mallory sensed our anxieties as we were getting her dressed and ready to go. Michol took her in and Mallory did cry a little bit as she walked away but she composed herself shortly after. Michol checked in during the day and they said all was well. Mallory was adjusting well to her new environment and classmates. She didn't eat a whole lot for lunch and had to be fed her "back-up" food (ham/cheese sandwich) since the lunch of the day was Meatloaf and Peas :) I guess she tried a little bit of the peas according to the progress report they gave us at the end of the day. During the day they kept the kids occupied with games, story time, and outdoor play. She only napped for about 45 minutes but I'm sure once she gets settled this will get better. When I picked her up at the end of the day, she looked really tired but was in good spirits overall. She grabbed my hand as we walked out and was ready to go home and see Mommy. Her grade for the day was "Excellent" according to the progress report!

When it was time for bed, Mallory was completely exhausted and ready to hit the sack. Recently we started telling Mallory "it is time for bed" and letting her lead the way. She was more than willing to head upstairs this time as you can see by the video above. She didn't waste any time falling asleep either (see below)....One day down!

 

Got Coffee?



Me and Grandpa!

 This past Sunday, I had a 5k race at the Colonie Crossings. It was really chilly out so Michol and Mallory spent the morning with Grandma/Grandpa Astriab. Mallory had a great time eating breakfast and playing in the living room. She seemed to be really fascinated with Grandpa's cup of coffee that he was holding on to. She walked over and climbed right up on his lap to see what he was enjoying so much. Of course this led to a great photo opportunity...

Taking a quick cat nap!

Back in the saddle!

After a rough couple of weeks, it was refreshing to get back into the normal routine of things over the weekend. The weather on Saturday wasn't as warm as we hoped, so we took Mallory over to the Tiny Tots Tea Room for a little playtime and socialization. It wasn't as busy as the last time so it was nice to have some more room for Mallory to roam around and play. She definitely had two favorite things to play with...the kitchen set (along with all the pots, pans, etc.) and one of the slides that was attached to a big ship. Leaving the place was not as bad as the last time when Mallory had a super meltdown. This time she displayed some discontent with leaving but we managed only a few tears.

Playing with my kitchen toys on the race track :)

All pooped out!

On Sunday we did our normal morning routine of grocery shopping, house cleaning (Michol did a little outdoor work while Mallory took her nap), and some quality play time with Mallory in the afternoon. We had a couple "firsts" (at least with us) that we were able to catch on camera. First, at dinner Michol was feeding Mallory some yogurt and up until that point she had been grabbing the spoon and pulling it toward her mouth while Michol still held on. This time, Michol placed the spoon on the tray and Mallory picked it up and put it right in her mouth. It wasn't perfect every time but it's a start and she didn't launch over the side on to the pups.

After dinner we stripped Mallory down and brought her up for a bath. She doesn't mind bath time but for some reason she refuses to sit down in the tub. We tried many times to get her to sit but she would immediately get up. This time, I got her to sit and she didn't immediately stand up but started playing with toys that were floating around her. We extended the bath by about 10 minutes while she enjoyed a little play time.

It's so nice to see our little M back to her happy self...We'll be sure to keep the video camera close by!