Be Mine...

It was Mallory's 2nd Valentines Day! It's hard to believe it was a year ago that she was wearing her "My First Valentines Day" outfit and not even 7 months old! This year she had fun enjoying all her treats from Papa & Grammy and Grandma Montesano. She received books, a balloon, crayons and markers! Valentines Day is also Grandma Montesano's birthday so in the afternoon Mallory had fun playing with her cousins and celebrating grandma's birthday in Arlington Heights!

I had fun with the camera capturing pieces of the day at the Montesano home....

The Joy of Crayons

Mallory received jumbo crayons in her Christmas stocking but it wasn't until recently that we pulled them out for her. She absolutely loves them! She gets so excited when I ask her if she want me to get her crayons and she takes each one out of the bin and colors a line or scribble onto the paper. Actually the "onto the paper" part we're currently working on....on occasion she's attempted to color on the rug and her clothes but I'm well aware this is all part of the discovery process.

As I watched her hone her artistic skills it occurred to me that one of the best parts of being a parent is getting to relive the wonders and joy of your own childhood through your child. Who doesn't remember the feeling of possibilities and pure bliss from a box of new crayons and paper!

Did I mention that not only is she scribbling but Daddy taught her some algebra as well.....she caught on pretty quickly....:)

Welcome to Toddlerhood.....

It's official we have a full fledged toddler in our home! Although technically they're considered toddlers when they turn a year Mallory just started walking this past month so reaching this milestone seems to have moved her that much further away from babyhood and straight on into being a toddler.

Mallory started taking steps on her own just after Christmas, at 17 months. She was very unsteady at first and was very hesitant but we knew it was just a matter of time before she took off for good. Now at 18 months she's officially walking everywhere and we love seeing her go! We knew she would master this milestone in her own time and she's proven us right!

Everyday we count our blessings and we know how lucky we are to have such a fairly easy going kid. Although I'm bracing myself for the terrible twos, I'm also relishing my time with her in all her early toddler ways: her ever growing vocabulary, her developing sense of humor, her huge belly laugh, her love for books, and the overall joy she shows as she learns all about her little world!

Some of her first steps

It's A Girl

We've known for awhile (about a month and a half) but with the Holidays almost over I've finally had time to write a new post! I realize there's about 2 people who actually read these posts but I love the idea of blogging simply to preserve family memories and events. I've heard many people who turn their blogs into books as a keepsake. So I hope to chronicle more events in 2010 and to keep up with the blogging, knowing full well it's really just for my own family! :)

So yes, it's a girl!! We were sooo excited because we both really wanted a girl. Not because we didn't want a boy but we just really wanted Mallory to have a sister and since they'll be so close in age it'll be fun to have them be the same gender, not to mention all the cute clothes we get to reuse!

I think we've finally picked a name that Tony and I both agree on but we aren't revealing it until the baby is born, we wanted something to be a surprise!

Mallory often points to Mommy's growing belly and we told her that a baby is in there and it's her little sister. So now if you ask her where Mama's baby is she points right to my belly! We realize she doesn't really "get it" but it's the best preparation we can do for her at the age of 17 months!

The Remarkable Sound....

of your baby's heartbeat....it's such an amazing feeling to hear it and see it. I have yet to blog about baby #2 because it seemed like for these last three/four months I was just holding my breath...hoping and praying everything is okay. Finally after two ultrasounds and hearing the heartbeat two more times I finally feel like I can relax and attempt to enjoy my pregnancy. Albeit, I've been feeling absolutely horrible...nauseous all the time, terrible headaches, and exhausted! I know however feeling terrible is a good thing when you're pregnant and I do feel grateful that everything is going smoothly. I've started to feel little movements this past week which is also a wonderful pregnancy milestone! I definitely felt them much sooner than with Mallory, which is common for the second pregnancy. I don't know that I'll ever completely be able to let go of that "holding my breath" feeling during this pregnancy. It seems like there's always something to worry about and it's in my nature to be a worry wort. Nothing ever prepares you for not hearing that heartbeat and once you have experienced that it's hard to let that feeling go. Right now I'm trying to focus on the positives and really embrace the glorious moments where I know everything's okay! As this pregnancy progresses I know that will get easier and I look forward to the day where we get to hold our brand new baby!