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