May You Stay Forever Young...

Ever since becoming a parent I've always maintained that every stage of development is fun and exciting. While that still holds true I must admit that these early toddler months are so incredibly endearing that it's quickly becoming my favorite stage thus far. Mallory has such a great disposition ( I know every parent feels that way about their kid) and her personality simply shines brighter each and every day! I literally just want to bottle her up at 22 months and hold onto all her cuteness and wide eyed perspective of the world around her. I know I can't really bottle her up but in an effort to hold onto this stage I thought I would jot down a few of her characteristics at the grand old age of 22 months.

To Mallory at 22 months:

Your face lights up when you see a ball...you love them!!
You absolutely love Elmo. Sesame Street is the first and only (currently) show you watch. It's usually on around snack time so every time I put it on you say "juice, crackers"
When someone new comes in the room you say "Sit down (insert name)". You think everyone comes over strictly to play with you.
Your favorite books are If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, Tumble Bumble, and First The Egg. Daddy buys you and gives you cookies for dessert! You love them of course and say "Cookie Daddy".
Puzzles are your most played with toy.
You like to sing songs but are very opinionated about which specific songs you want to sing...current favorite is The Wheels on the Bus and your favorite part is "The mommy's and the daddy's say sh sh sh".
You like to count and you often count the stairs while we're going up them.
You love to help mommy and your favorite helper job is emptying the dishwasher. You say "Malo help mommy dishes" Oh yea, you call yourself Malo.
I can't believe you are 22 months, almost 23....it just keeps getting better and better!!

A Walk in the Park

It was a beautiful spring late/afternoon evening, a bit chilly but overall it was lovely outside so I decided to take Mallory to our local park. Jillian stayed home with daddy. I pushed Mallory in her favorite red car ride on toy, she calls it "Malo's car" and off we went...

Typically Mallory loves the swings but this time we focused more on the slide. She's learning to climb up the stairs all by herself and is getting braver at trying to go down the slide by herself. It's so funny to think last spring/summer we were pretty much limited to the swings because she wasn't even crawling yet at this time last year.

This time we also walked a little of the path leading into the savanna near the park. We explored dandelions, sticks, and grass. Mallory is still a little unsure of her outside elements but it will be fun to watch her as she discovers the beauty of nature. I hope to provide her as many opportunities as possible to expose her to the great outdoors. I want her to love it like I did; to splash in rain puddles, catch fireflies, pick bouquets of dandelions, make mud pies, and to see the outside world in a way that only a child could! I'm not sure why but we somehow seem to lose that wonderment of nature as we get older. I can't remember the last time I picked up a dandelion blew the seeds and made a wish, however there's nothing like a walk in the park to give you those moments again and there's nothing like sharing it with your 22 month old daughter!

Chocolate Fest

It's been a couple of weeks but I still wanted to post pics from Chocolate Fest in Long Grove. It was our first family of four outing and we had a great time on a beautiful day! One of my goals this summer is to try and get out and about, taking advantages of the free events (or mostly free) in the Chicagoland area. This was our first fest of the season and hopefully we will attend many more throughout the summer.

Baby Jillian slept the entire time in our new double stroller.

Mallory loved riding in the front like a big girl!

Mallory loved her first chocolate covered strawberry!

Waiting in line for Mallory's first pony ride!

She had a great time until the very end when she cried

because the pony shook it's whole body and it scared her.

Daddy showing Mallory that the ponies are fun and friendly even though they shake!

The day ended with a ballon guy making Mallory a monkey balloon!

When swings could make you fly...

When swings could make you fly... Originally uploaded by trishm2girls

This photo reminded me of an oldie from the archives... When swings could make you fly and the sand filled up your toes. When grass asked you to run and the flowers touched your nose. Pictures weren't for poses and laughter wasn't planned. Friendships weren't for sale and freedom was the land. I can still remember when a watch was worn for fun and the only time we kept was determined by the sun. When before our hearts were broken and the pain took up the time. We loved without the fear of being left behind. I can still remember when a secret could be kept, and our hands were held through thunder on the nights we never slept. Pictures weren't for poses and laughter wasn't planned. Friendships weren't for sale and freedom was the land.

She's here....

And we've fallen in love....Jillian Faith was born March 22, 2010 and we couldn't be happier with her arrival!! She resembles Mallory but definitely has her own look. She's tiny and fiesty and keeps us up all night but after 5 weeks we already couldn't imagine life without her. It's funny how quickly you forget that newborn stage, the smell, reflexes, crying, cooing, sleep deprivation... having gone through all this with Mallory not too long ago you would think it would be fairly familiar but there really is a lot you don't remember. I also think with Mallory I was a first time mom and more focused on making sure I was doing everything right and less focused about taking it all in. However, since we brought Jillian home it's all coming back to me and this time I'm savoring every coo and wiggle a little bit more because I know all too soon this teeny little baby will be walking, talking and growing uo way too fast!