For this Halloween, Mallory was an angel, my perfect little angel. I bought this costume from Target and I thought it was very cute. Shockingly, we made it through the entire night without getting dirty. The man in the picture is Mal's Pappy, Daniel's step father.
On Saturday night we stayed in a nearby hotel. As soon as we got there, Mallory begged to go swimming. I was a little surprised because she awoke all through the night, wanting to wake Grandma up. I finally let her at 6:22. Anyway, we got to the hotel around 6:00 pm so she should have been tired (she had no nap). We went swimming in the cold pool but ended up in the hot tub because it was warm.
As soon as we returned to SeaWorld, mom and Steve signed up to feed the dolphins. I was not interested because I had no desire to touch dead fish. Since they paid the mandatory fee they were allowed to get extra close to the dolphins. Mom, being the awesome grandmother that she is, paid for Mallory to accompany them. Mal did better than I expected. I knew she wouldn't want to touch them or feed them but she did get close to them.
The second picture is of her watching the dolphins from the underground viewing area. The dolphins are bigger than what they appear on television. I think we all enjoyed watching them swim.
The third picture was taken by Steve. We were in the Artic Blast center. This is my favorite part of SeaWorld. It is exactly what I imagine the Artic being like. It is cold, grayish in color, and there were polor bears, walruses, and beluga whales. In this picture, Mallory and I are posing next to a huge block of ice. At first I thought the block was fake but as I was getting ready to sit Mal up on it, I realized it was VERY real.
We couldn't leave SeaWorld without taking another trip to the water park. Besides, us adults were ready for a break. We were also starving but didn't eat until afterwards.
We spent Saturday and Sunday at SeaWorld in Orlando. We had a blast. Mallory was able to partake in the "Spooktacular" event. She trick or treated all through the park. As a result she received a bucket full of candy. In the first picture you can see that she was more concerned about posing for the camera than getting candy.
Luckily SeaWorld has a small water park for children. It was a place for kids to cool off and adults to rest. We were able to sit at a nearby shaded table while watching Mallory play. It was a great experience for all.
I have always thought of Mallory as being cautious. After all, she didn't walk until she was 14 months and didn't jump off of things until 4 so you can imagine my concern when she said she wanted to get on this ride. I took her and she truly enjoyed it. She wasn't afraid at all. In fact, she laughed the entire time.
The last picture was taken by me. I took it while we were waiting for the Clyde and Seymore show. Clyde and Seymore are walruses ( I think) and they were the second show we saw. The first show was Believe (Shamu). During this show, I actually insisted that Mallory and I sit in the splash zone. I thought she would enjoy getting wet. I was soooooooooooo wrong. She did like watching the whales swim underwater but when they splashed us, all I could do was chase after her. She immediately jumped up and started running up the steps. To my amazement, she ran straight to where Grandma and Grandpa were sitting. When we first saw Clyde and Seymore, she asked, "are they going to splash me?"
Tonight Mallory and I packed our suitcases. We are leaving tomorrow afternoon to go to FL. We will spend the first night with mom and on Saturday we are all getting up and going to SeaWorld. We will be at SeaWorld on Saturday and Sunday. Mallory is excited. While packing her bathing suit, she said, "so I can swim with the dolphins like Grandma". She will also be going trick or treating inside the park.
Yep, Mal went to the store after she had her bath. She wore her pajamas, flip flops and her beach hat to cover up her wet hair.
Halloween 2005 was the first Halloween that I had a digital camera. Therefore, it is the first Halloween that I have pictures of on my computer. I thought I would share some old Holiday pics with you. On this Halloween, Mallory was Sleeping Beauty. She was 2 years old and it was the first time she enjoyed the whole "trick or treat" concept. She totally understood it after the first house. The picture of her eating a sucker was taken right after the first stop, which was a neighbor's house. She couldn't wait to eat it. She kept saying "open it, mama".
The second picture is of her trick or treating at her Uncle Greg's house. I am sure that you recognize my Grannie in the third picture. She always has good treats! While at Grannie's, we met the Raulerson's. Kirsten was a bunny rabbit that year.
Do you remember that year Lealane? We stopped by your house to.
Not much to report. On Saturday morning Mallory and I went into town for our regular breakfast outing. As usual, she chose to eat at Jerry J's. She had sausage patties and cheese grits and I had a chicken biscuit. I spent $11.00 and we barely touched our food. Afterwards we went grocery shopping. Big fun, right?
The highlight of the day was a birthday party. We went to Olivia Sanders' party. Olivia is the daughter of Lealane, my good friend. Mallory had a blast! Lealane threw a great party. We had Carter's Fried Chicken. It's as good now as it was back in the good old days. She also had a pinata and we all went on a hayride. See the link to the Sanders Family Blog on the left for pictures of Mallory.
Today we did nothing special. Mallory went to church with Paula and Yancy, Daniel's parents. I picked her up and we made tacos.
I am proud to report that Mallory is doing well with the eye drops and the cleansings. She is making no complaints regarding her eyes and they seem to be adjusting well to the treatment.
For her 5th birthday, Mallory's Uncle Greg and Aunt Shelley bought her a set of golf clubs. She tried them out this afternoon and had a great time!! She was accompanied by her daddy, Uncle Greg, and cousin Blake.
I didn't mean to make anyone worry about Mallory's eye exam yesterday. We got home late so I was unable to post anything. Both of Mallory's corneas are irritated and the doctor was unable to tell us why. He said it could be a number of things including allergies, something within, or some type of bacteria. He stated that with the corneas in such bad shape, an accurate eye exam is impossible. However, he did confirm that her right eye does go inward. According to him, we first have to take care of her corneas. He prescribed eye drops, an ointment, and has instructed us to use diluted baby shampoo to cleanse the eyes. We go back on 10/29/08 to check progress and to have another eye exam. I guess more plans will be made then. When asked about her vision, he said that she has good eye sight but the irritated corneas are very uncomfortable. He also told us that since her eyes are a little misaligned, her depth perception is lower than average.
I was very proud of Mallory. We were at the hospital for a long time and she was a very good sport.
Mallory's big birthday present from us finally arrived. I had ordered it from Wal-mart.com and it came this past week, making it too late for the party. Anyway, Mallory loves the bike!! Luckily it has training wheels so she can easily balance on it. She is not good at pedaling yet, she keeps trying to pedal backwards, but we will keep practicing.
I took Mallory for an eye exam last week. I was told that her eyes are misaligned and if not corrected by age 6-7, the problem can become permanent. The doctor recommended surgery. Since she is already 5, he feels that we should start a treatment plan immediately. We go this Thursday for a surgical consult in Jacksonville, FL. I was so shocked that I didn't really ask a lot of questions but on Thursday night I will have details.
Today my schedule was a little off. For starters, I had to work through lunch so I left work at 4:00. I went straight to the gym and did my 45 minute cardio workout and 20 min of weight lifting. Afterwards, I ran through Taco Bell. I spent $17.12 on 7 plain chicken soft tacos!! Tacos have certainly gone up since the last time I ate there! Since I had dinner, I didn't notice the blanket on the floor covered with food. As soon as we finished eating, Mallory begged me to play picnic. How could I say no? Luckily she allowed me to take a quick shower first.
The top photo is of Mallory right before she left for church. She wore a new dress given to her by grandma Brown. I personally love this dress and wished I had one like it. Anyway, we had trouble finding shoes that fit. She has two pairs of brown mary janes. One pair is too small and the other is too big. Luckily we had her brown sandals but they really are a tiny bit too small. I told her to not let her feet grow anymore, after all I just bought her a new pair of school shoes! She looked down at her feet and said, "Stop growing!" I guess next weekend we will be shoe shopping!
I took the second photo yesterday morning, right before we left for our weekly breakfast outing. She was decked out in her new Georgia shirt and used her Georgia purse. The shirt proved unlucky because, as you should know, the Dawgs lost.
A few nights a week, Mallory and I do "homework". It usually consists of counting, learning numbers, and writing. It is a totally fun time where Mallory "thinks" she is choosing her activities. Mixed in with the studying, she is cutting and gluing, which are some of her favorite activities. I like to think of it as "sneaky learning".
Mallory received this new leotard for her birthday. She wore it to gymnastics tonight and I think it was fab!! Tonight I watched her walk on the balance beam (she calls it a stick), attempt to do a rolling flip except she lands flat--she does not roll!! She also hung and swung on the uneven bars. The big news: She turned a flip on the bars (with help of course). I am such a proud mother. Each time she did a trick, she looked directly at me and said, "I did it mama".
Our house is still not normal. We have toys scattered everywhere and torn boxes in the laundry room. Mallory is a very lucky little girl. All of her favorite people came to her birthday party. Fortunately for her but unfortunately for me, they all brought gifts. Mallory received so many nice presents that I fear we will never again have room to walk.
Mallory had a great birthday! She awoke ready to go to school. I didn't have to nag her about brushing her teeth or hair! In fact, she asked me to do it! She also kept telling me to look at my watch to see if it was time to go. I think she was ready to bring her cupcakes to school.
Since it was Wednesday, Mallory had gymnastics. I arrived in time to watch her for a few minutes. I saw her walk on the balance beam, first frontwards, then on tip toes, and finally backwards. She did such a good job. I was so proud of her!
She chose to eat at Chic-fil-a for her birthday dinner. She quickly ate and was ready to eat cake and ice cream. We sang happy birthday and she opened the small presents that Daniel and I bought. She got a baby doll that crawls, new underwear, and new pajamas.
She had such a good day that she fell right to sleep and didn't want to get up this morning.
Tomorrow our busy weekend will begin. Kirsten and my mom and Steve are spending the night. On Saturday we will have 2 birthday parties, including Mal's, to attend. Don and Ann, Daniel's parents, will also be visiting.
Tonight Mallory was so tired. I guess she skipped nap time. At 7:30 she brought me a blanket and asked me to rock her. How could I refuse? It maybe the last time she will ever ask, after all, she is 5 now!
After working serious overtime last week, I decided to take today off. I will also be leaving work early on Friday to prepare for our guests--mom and Steve. Daniel's dad and stepmom are also coming but will be staying with Daniel's brother, Greg.
Although I am off today, I have a lot that I am hoping to accomplish. My goals include: spin class at noon, weight lifting, pick up cupcakes (for Mal's school party), pick Mal up, drop Mal off, go grocery and present shopping, bake birthday cake, cook, clean, and prep for bed.
Early on Saturday morning, Mallory said, "Mama, I'm awake, I sleep good, you get up now".
Once we did our Saturday morning chores (put dishes away, put bed sheets in the washing machine) we dressed and headed to our weekly breakfast date. Mallory once again chose Jerry J's. She had cheese grits, eggs, and sausage patties. I had a pancake.
Afterwards, we went to a "kids fun day" sponsored by our local police department. They had about 8 bouncers so Mallory had a BALL. We stayed there for over an hour.
Once home, it didn't take long for Mal to go to sleep. Bouncing is hard work. However, today, she asked if she could wear my sleep mask. I retrieved an old one and she actually fell asleep with it AND she slept for over an hour!!
Later, after GA won, we went to a street dance. The live band was okay but Mallory had a ball. She actually got in the street and danced. She was so cute but after taking this one picture, my camera went dead. Go figure!
Here is Mallory eating the gourmet pizza that I served last night. The pizza was actually of the frozen variety and cost only $.99.
In my opinion, it is better than a happy meal from a fast food joint!
Thank goodness for Mal's Barbie doctor kit. Without it, Daniel would have been in trouble. While Mallory was chasing me, I slipped and landed hard on Daniel's ankle. Like a big baby, he started whimpering so I told Mal to get her doctor kit.
Tonight at dance/tumbling class, Mal's teachers said that she loves gymnastics and does really well but doesn't seem to be interested in the dancing part. I was instantly heart broken. I would have preferred dance (because I want Mal to wear costumes and be in productions) but whatever floats her boat. I guess we will switch to 1 hour of gymnastics per week starting next month. At least it's cheaper.
Tonight we talked to Lealane. She asked Mallory what she wanted for her birthday. Mallory said she wanted a puppet for her finger. Where this idea came from, I have no idea!
Just received a letter from one of my aunt's. It was an invitation to the Thigpen family reunion. The reunion is October 11, the same day that we will be in SeaWorld with mom.
There was a time when I thought Mallory would never talk. Now, I believe there will NEVER be a time when she will stop talking. The room was too dark and I do not know how to edit videos so you can't see her too well. However, you can definitely hear her.
You folks in TN or FL probably have not heard how bad our state budget is, so let me tell you. It is REAL bad. In fact, each agency had to immediately reduce spending by 6%. If you have read Lealane's blog, you would have seen that our daycare is closing as a result. Luckily Mallory started Pre-K this year but she was scheduled to return to that daycare during holiday breaks and summer vacations. I have not yet found a replacement.
To make matters worse, budget cuts have hit my state agency hard. In fact, it hit close to home. I work in the Supported Employment Program. My program serves both mental health and MR consumers. We have 5 job coaches and 1 case manager. I am the case manager and my case load consists of only MR people. Our job coaches that serve the mental health consumers were eliminated last week. Their last day is sometime in October. It is really sad and it is scary to realize how unsafe a state position can be. I only hope that this round of budget cuts will be enough to rectify our budget, if not we will be forced to reduce an additional 4%. This reduction will effect the MR side (my side and possibly my job).
Local football was tonight due to the unpredictable weather. Daniel took Mallory to her first game. As you can see, she was all decked out in a black and hot pink Ware County Gator t-shirt.
We had our hair done this afternoon so she had two french braids. She was super cute tonight!!
This is my all-time favorite picture of me and my friends. Every time I look at it, I smile. We have had so much fun together and I know that we will have more fun times.
Lealane is on the left, me, and then Krystial.
About 3 years ago we decided that we would plan a BFF getaway about once a year. The first year we went to a Bon Jovi concert in Tampa and stayed in a super nice hotel.
Last year we went to the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. This picture was from that trip. I think it is safe to say that we all had a blast. I have never before been on a vacation where I kept going. We spent many hours in each park and we would go out at night to eat, shop and hang out. The event was in October and I thought the weather was perfect, not too hot and definitely not cold. Like Krystial and Lealane I ate and drank a lot (well Lealane didn't drink but only because she was pregnant). Lealane was our tour guide and directed us to all of the fun rides and shows. I can't remember the ride's name but Krystial and I rode one in Epcot that made us real sick. Lealane instantly recognized our nausea and gave us time to sit and recover. As well as she should since she failed to mention the deaths and heart attacks that the ride had caused BEFORE we got on. She told us about them as we were recuperating.
This past year Krystial and I went to another Bon Jovi concert. Lealane had to sit it out due to the birth of her second child, a son named Owen (see the link to her blog on the right). When I first started this blog I highlighted this event and shared some pictures.
Krystial is currently pregnant and is due on 2/15/08 and Lealane has her hands full with 2 small children. I'm not sure when we will get away again but I know we eventually will. I also think that it is Krystial's turn to choose a destination and she has already said she wants to go to the Keys.
When she is sleeping, like this, it makes me think that I could mentally and physically handle at least 3 more. Look at her, she looks so sweet and innocent. Its almost like she never causes any trouble. Luckily she takes short naps and my memory immediately returns.
This picture was taken yesterday afternoon. Recently she has become accustomed to not napping but apparently needed one on that day. She crawled into this chair and instantly fell asleep.
I received a note from Ms. Woodard on Friday. Mallory is not listening again so I walked her into her classroom this morning. Mallory is playing "helpless". Apparently while at school, she can't wash her own hands, put her shoes on, or help clean up. I assured Ms. Woodard that Mallory does all of those things at home. On the flip side, she said Mallory is one of the smartest kids in the class. She reported that Mallory has identified all of her letters and numbers, and has recognized and spelled her name. However, she says that when she asks Mallory common sense questions and Mallory just stares at her. She said she asked Mallory, as part of an initial assessment, "what do you do if you are hungry?", and Mallory didn't answer. I laughed out loud because Mallory LOVES to eat so we all know that Mallory knows this answer. Tonight I asked her similar questions such as "what do you if you are thirsty?" and "what do you if you spill something?" and she answered those correctly. My guess is that Mal wanted to play during the time of this assessment. Either that or a relationship was not yet developed so Mal wasn't comfortable talking. Probably the first.
Mallory loves my stability ball and since she started her tumbling class, she has been trying to get enough courage to turn flips on it. In these pictures, you can see what happens. First she rolls, then falls, gets up, pouts, and finally recovers by laughing.
