Kindergarten Registration

We had quite the busy day today.  Our first stop was at Dr. Daniels office for Mallory's five year old well check.  As usual, I was not looking forward to going because Mallory typically starts crying and thinks the world is going to end.  She surprised Nurse Debbie, Dr. D., and me with how grown up she was.  She didn't flip out over getting checked out and did her hearing and vision test with no issues.  Dr. Daniel told her "wow Mallory you have really mellowed out over this past year!"  Mallory responded "well I didn't get any shots!"  Out of the mouth of babes.

After we left the doctors office we headed over to the elementary school to register for Kindergarten.  I took a different route and we passed by the front of a house we pass by each time we go to church.  This house has peacocks and an emu and we always try and see them when we go west on Park.  We rarely see the peacocks and if we do their tail feather are always down.  Today, the peacock was out where we could see him on Dublin Road. I pulled over on the side of the street and the peacock performed.  I flipped out with excitement. I love peacocks and have never seen one do this in my entire life.  I got the girls out of the Tahoe and we went over to watch him.  It really was like he knew we have been waiting for this for about 18 months and he turned around three times so we could see him.  It was amazing!

When we got to the school, it took about twenty minutes to register Mallory. I had to read a bunch of stuff and fill out eight forms or so. I felt like I was at a new doctor filling out the same information over and over again on many different sheets of paper.  We didn't get to see the school  (beyond the office) but I was impressed with the secretary. She seems very nice and easy to work with.  Our first official meeting will be on May 20th and we will meet the Kindergarten staff.

We decided to end our morning but having a fun lunch at Chick-fil-a. The girls played and played and I got to sit and relax. It was quite nice.  We will have to have a few more of these adventures before it's just Maggie and me during the day next fall.  Makes me both happy and sad just thinking about it.

Maggie's Big Girl Bed

Last night, Grandma and Papa Nick came over to help us put Maggie's big girl bed together.  Here it is!  Maggie loves it and she did so well staying in bed.  We still need to decorate the room but that will come with time. Looking for some perfect artwork etc!

Such a happy little girl. We love her so much!

Mallory wanted to make sure she was included in this exciting time as well!  She absolutely adores her little sister.

Last Day In A Baby Bed

Today is the last day that Maggie will sleep in this baby bed.  It's a sad yet happy day. I'm so glad she is a healthy growing girl, but sad she is moving to a big girl bed.  This baby bed has been in our little family for five years now.  The sides look like a beaver has gotten hold of it, but it is still a really nice bed.  We will be storing it up in our attic until our sweet friends Chase and Ashlee will need it.

I had to remember this moment and take a few pictures of Maggie this morning since I won't be greeting her like this ever again.

Maggie never has climbed out of her bed. She has tried a couple of times, but just couldn't do it.  I told her to give it one last try before it was too late. This was as far as she could get before getting stuck.

One last look at her baby girl room.

Mallory's First Musical Experience

Mallory loves the movie "The Wizard of Oz." She wants to watch it all the time and HAS to reenact the entire movie. (For example - when it is time for the tornado the fan has to running on high so it is cold and windy in the living room.)  I knew that it was coming to Fair Park, but didn't think much about it because she is still a little young for musicals.  We were watching TV one day and a commercial came on for it and I decided let's do this! I talked to Matt and he was okay with us going so I went online and bought tickets.   

I wanted Mallory's first musical experience to be special so I went and purchased her a new dress.  I also taught her that you must always dress up when you are going to see something on stage.  The day of the musical came and we got dressed up and went to lunch first.  We went to Taco Bueno (her choice) and then headed off to Fair Park Music Hall.

Mallory wasn't to sure what to think about the huge hall and all the people.  Overall she had a good time, but the musical did scare her some.  Not quite sure why because I didn't think it was too scary.  No more scary than on television.  We had a good time together and created a memory and that is what is most important.

Cousin Sam Spends the Night

This week was Sam's Spring Break and Aunt Betty had stuff she needed to do so we offered to have Sam come over and play with us. We even said he couldn't spend the night here, but he wasn't ready for that just yet. We met Betty and Sam in Richardson (the half way point) and headed back to our house for some fun.

 The first thing they did was play Lego's.  Sam and Mallory made a fire station and then Maggie decided to knock it down.  That didn't go over well with Sam, but he was very sweet and gave Maggie a lot of grace.  We had a good chat about how little ones don't do exactly what we want them to do, but it is important to show grace and forgiveness.  I must say Sam has one of the most gentle spirits I have ever seen in a child.

While Maggie was napping, Sam made this structure with a great escape route in case it caught on fire.

It was a nice day outside so Sam and Mallory decided to go outside and play with sidewalk chalk.  They had so much fun and played hop scotch too.

Here are three goofy people playing after dinner.  Ray Charles (I mean Sam) and Uncle Matt were playing video games and O'Possum (I mean Mallory) was so bored she decided to pretend she was asleep.

At some point in the afternoon, Sam told me that he changed his mind and wanted to spend the night. We called Betty and she said that would be just fine.  When it came for bedtime, Sam decided he wanted to have a camp out with Uncle Matt.  We had so much fun with Sam. He is welcomed to come stay with us anytime he would like.

Five Years Old

It really is hard to believe that this silly girl is FIVE!!!  We have seen Mallory grow in so many different ways over this past year.  She is currently going to Pre-K two days a week at Wylie United Methodist Church. The year didn't start out great (it was a bit of an adjustment), but Mallory is having a wonderful time. She knows all her colors, shapes, can count to 25, and can do very simple addition and subtraction.  She has also learned and can remember the days of the week, the seasons, and months of the year.  We impresses us all the time with her knowledge of school subjects and the use of her imagination to tell stories. 

Besides growing in her learning, Mallory is growing in many other ways as well. She is getting taller and she looks like a little girl, not a toddler anymore.  Mallory still has her sweet little girl voice, but is so grown up in her talking - her vocabulary and just the way she can carry on a conversation. 

Mallory also LOVES Maggie.  Maggie LOVES Mallory too.  Most of the time, Mallory has the sweetest spirit when it comes to Maggie. She wants to make sure Maggie is part of what is going on and when she tells you about her day she always includes Maggie in the conversation "Maggie and I...."  Mallory also loves to hug and kiss on Maggie too. Mallory knows that Maggie is not just her sister, but her gift from God. God CHOSE Maggie for Mallory and vise versa.

The many smiling faces of Mallory. I remember there was a time when she wouldn't even look at the camera, much less smile for it.

5 year old stats: Height - 43 1/2 inches (70th percentile) and Weight - 43 pounds (70th percentile)

I decided to ask Mallory to tell me her favorite things this year. This is what she said:

color - pink

thing to wear - a dress

show - Sofia the First

movie - Frozen

food -ice cream

activity -  playing with dolls, board games, dress up

toy - Sofia the First figurine 

book - Strawberry Shortcake Adventures

animal - giraffe

insect - butterfly

least favorite thing to do - watch dora (i say pick up her toys, but she is getting better at being obedient)

Mallory's Birthday Dinner

I asked Mallory what she wanted for her birthday dinner and she said pancakes. Really?? I mentioned that I don't make super pancakes so was there anything else. Matt chimed in that we should go to Ballard Street Cafe for pancakes. Sounded like a good idea to me.

Matt got chicken fried pork (yuck) and the girls and I all got pancakes, eggs, and bacon.  The food was so yummy and not expensive. We had a bunch of fun.  

Sofia the First Birthday Party

Mallory's favorite TV show right now is "Sofia the First." (Sofia was a village girl and her mother ended up marrying the King and they moved into the castle. Sofia now has a new dad and a step-brother and step-sister. Sofia is typically always very positive, sweet, and kind and the show is actually really cute. I enjoy watching it.) It came as no surprise that Mallory requested a Sofia themed party.  What did come as a surprise was she only wanted to invite two little girls. WHAT??? Fine by me!  

We kept the party sweet and simple.  Had our normal birthday party banner and some helium balloons. I'm kicking myself right now for not having any pictures of the balloons. Oh well.

Enjoying her birthday cupcakes.  She chose strawberry flavored cupcakes.  

Kaylee, Lilah, and Mallory.  All dressed up in princess costumes. The girls had a great time playing and enjoying chicken nuggets for lunch.  Both girls were so sweet to Mallory and gave her wonderful gifts that included a Rapunzel doll with "real" hair and a Holiday in Enchancia themed Sofia doll.

Tricycle Time

We knew we needed to purchase a trike for Maggie and I hit the jackpot finding a nice used one online.   It was January when I got it so way too cold to practice riding outside.  Maggie has spent a lot of time riding inside on the tile and she mastered it really quickly. Here are so cute shots of the girls outside.  We enjoyed the nice weather before Mallory's birthday party started.