Bubble Guppies Birthday Party

This year, Mallory and I both agreed that Maggie should have a Bubble Guppies themed party.  Maggie doesn't watch much television, but she definitely knows when Mallory is watching Bubble Guppies. She can be in her own little world and as soon as she hears Molly talking she runs up to the TV and squeals  "bub-els, bub-els." Maggie watches the show for about ten seconds and then is off playing again.  If you have never watched this show, you should.  It teaches children about math, reading, and the arts and is one of the few shows that is enjoyable for parents to watch as well.

When planning the party, I decided it would be in the morning and outside.  Best decision ever!  The weather was great, the party was over by nap time, and everyone had the rest of their day free.  I used balloons and table clothes that went with the color scheme of the girl Bubble Guppies.

Here are my centerpieces for the two tables.

The birthday banner that I made.

Matt blew up two pools for the kids to play in. The water was pretty cold, but that didn't stop them.  Here is our friend Ethan ready to jump in for some splashing around.

Sweet Everly

Enjoying the hot dog lunch.

Maggie getting ready to blow out the candles.  She is not afraid of fire!

Mallory wanted her picture taken with Everly. I love this picture.

The sweet birthday girl holding on to one of her gifts. She had no idea that the presents were for her and just wanted to play.  Mallory was so excited to be able to open all the gifts.

Our party favors.  One of Mallory's favorite episodes is The Legend of Pinkfoot.  The guppies go camping and have s'mores to try to get Pinkfoot to come and visit them.

Two Years Old

Oh sweet Maggie, you are TWO!  It really does feel like you went from looking like a baby to a little girl overnight.  You are a joy to be around and typically very easy laid back and easy to deal with.  I will say that you have been really frustrating me at meal time.  I never know what you are willing to eat and you get very upset and mad if I force you to sit at the table.  I end up letting you stand and eat or eat, play, eat.  Not smart on my end and I always tell myself "I would have never let Mallory do this."  At this point, I just want you to eat and really don't have the energy to care where you eat.

You continue to enjoy sitting right by me or on my lap and we have great cuddle time.  One of your favorite words is "shhhh." Every morning you put your finger to your mouth and say "shhhhh," when we walk past Mallory's room.  You also do this when we see birds outside in the bird feeder so they won't get scared and fly away.  These days you aren't getting baby wipes and cleaning everything, but you do continue to pick up your toys and pick up around the house.  Blowing bubbles, building towers with Legos, and playing with babies are three of your favorite things to do.  Giving sloppy kisses is something else you are very good at.

You love Mallory more than words could ever describe. You want to be just like her and do everything big girls do.  She loves you just as much even though she doesn't always show it.  It's hard sometimes for little sister to want everything big sister has.  My heart melts each time the two of you love on each other and play side by side. This is when I hear Mallory talk and say the sweetest things to you.

Two year old stats:

28 pounds - 65% percentile

33 1/2 inches - 35% percentile

Last Day of Preschool

Today was the last day of Mallory's first year at preschool.  She has learned so much and loved both of her teachers.  Music class was her favorite and she had many notes written in her folder about how she loves to sing at the top of her lungs and dance.  She typically was the only kid who sang the songs correctly and loud...which is interesting since she always told me she couldn't remember what songs they sang.

Here is Mallory in her Olympics shirt that Ms. Chelsea and Ms. Cindy made her.  I asked what she did for the Olympics and she said she did a relay race, played basketball, and was a pom pom girl.  After lunch, I came up to the school to help with the last class party.  As always, it was fun seeing the kids do crafts, enjoy a snack, and play.  

Here is Mallory working on her visor and putting stickers on it.  I wish I had more pictures to share, but there is a rule that we can't post pictures of anyone besides our kid.  Some parents didn't sign the waiver to have their child's pictures online...sigh.

Road Trip to San Antonio

This weekend was Mallory's first road trip and the first time for all of us to go to San Antonio and visit Dan, Angela, and Abby.  We had been waiting until Mallory got old enough to be able to handle the long drive.  She did great for the first six hours and then kept telling us "get me out of here," the last two.  We were all saying that actually.  The drive should have lasted about five hours and it took EIGHT.  The traffic was horrible and we (Matt's dad) decided we needed to get off 35 and find another way.  We did and ended up lost and then it went downhill from there.  We FINALLY got to San Antonio though and we had so much fun.

After we checked into our hotel, we all went to Chuy's and had dinner.  Then we went straight back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep.  Saturday mid-morning we headed over to Main Even for the birthday party.  Mallory had a great time bowling until she fell on her bottom and then she wanted me to bowl for her.  It was fun granny bowling, with bumpers, but I was a little sad we didn't win.  I made sure to bowl worse than usual so I didn't beat a bunch of seven year olds.  Once bowling was over we played a few arcade games and then headed over to Abby's house.

Later in the afternoon, we went to downtown San Antonio.  Our first stop was the Alamo.  We didn't take a tour, just had our picture taken. Mallory didn't want her picture taken as usual.

After checking out the Alamo, we headed down to the Riverwalk.  We were able to get a great table, have dinner, and enjoy the river parade celebrating the men and women in the Armed Forces.  We enjoyed some ice cream after dinner and then headed back to the house. Mallory spent the night with Abby and had a blast.  Our trip was short, but we all had a wonderful time.

Bedtime Ritual

Maggie is still very fond of her crib, but loves to lie down in sisters big girl bed. Each night our bedtime ritual includes lying down with Mallory for a couple of minutes. That is all Maggie needs and then she is ready to go to her room.

My cup runneth over as I watch these girls love on each other.

Asked that Mama join in the fun. Thankfully we can all squeeze on the bed.

Traditional Mother's Day Lunch

This year we decided to try a new tea room for our traditional Mother's Day lunch.  Mammy and her friend Judy Murphey had gone to Into My Garden last year and she thought Mallory would enjoy it.  Boy did she ever.

When we arrived we were taken to a table that was fully decorated with Disney Princess figurines and china.  

Mallory received pink princess tea to drink and had a crown shaped Nutella sandwich for lunch.

The three of us had a wonderful time at lunch.

Maggie will be old enough to join us next year for lunch and we are all looking forward to that.

My Prince

Tonight Mallory and I went to see cousin Sam in his church musical.  This was the first time that I have ever taken Mallory to an event where she has to keep quite. She did so well and paid attention despite the fact the story was a little over her head.  After the performance, we had coke floats and watched pig races.  It was an exciting time for all of us.  As we left Mallory informed me that Sam was her prince.  She loves him so much!