Ok, so Mallory is really over two months but we just had her two month checkup today. She is 23.5 inches long (85th percentile) and weighs 11.75 lbs. The doctor said she looks great and says to keep up doing what we’re doing. Mallory wasn’t a big fan of the three shots she needed to get – but as soon as I picked her up her tears stopped (so THAT’S what being a mom is all about?). She is really starting to smile at us – it is so rewarding to see her crack a big grin. She seems to look more and more like Rick every day…to which Rick responds “she should be so lucky!” Time really has flown by and it is amazing to look back at pictures from just 4 weeks ago and see how much she’s changed already.We had a wonderful trip to California for the Rose Bowl, with the exception of the outcome of the game. Mallory was a fabulous traveler and we enjoyed being able to get her out in all the warm fresh air. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that all the bars & restaurants in California are non-smoking – we were able to take Mallory with us everywhere when we’d go out. It was so nice.
A recap of our trip:
*Rick left the week before so Mallory & I were on our own on the family charter to LA on the 24th. My 5-yr old nephew was VERY concerned about Santa finding us since we wouldn’t be in our house on Christmas morning. I assured him all was well.
*Christmas Day in LA was the best day we had weather-wise – we were able to get some pool time and Mallory liked kicking her feet in the water. There was a big family dinner that night and Santa brought her an adorable Michigan cheerleader outfit.
*The day after Christmas was spent at Disney where we rode a few rides and got our picture taken with Pooh. The place was PACKED so luckily Mallory is too little to beg us to take her on “It’s a Small World”!
*12/27 – Rick had to work so Mallory & I did some shopping at the mall near the hotel – LOTS of fun clothes on sale. And since LA winter clothes are sort of the same as Michigan summer clothes, we got some good buys for Mallory for next summer. That night we drove up to Thousand Oaks to have dinner with my cousin Susie & her family. I am so lucky to be able to see family when I go on these trips.
*12/28 – Rick had to work (again) but that night we were able to go to the Hollywood Improv with the team. HYSTERICAL is all I can say. There were some big name comedians who have been on Comedy Central and in movies so now I have to keep an eye out for them. Rick’s boss’s wife & daughters watched Mallory for us that night – our first non-family babysitter!
*12/29 – A bunch of our friends from Ann Arbor showed up in LA for the weekend and the game – it was so fun to have them there to hang out with when Rick was working, and to help with Mallory. About 25 of us went to the Saddle Ranch for dinner – Mallory proceeded to sleep through the entire event, even when our friends were riding the mechanical bull. We just had to make sure the waiter didn’t drop a plate or something on her head…
*12/30 – A waitress at breakfast recommended a hike in Topango Canyon/Temesco (sp?) State Park, saying that there is a great waterfall. So Lisa, Chris, Theresa, Keith, Mallory & I all piled in the mini-van to head out for a hike. After hiking for about a mile, up a hill, carrying 11.5 lbs of Mallory, we cross a little piddling river, that is being fed by a little piddling waterfall (Chris likened it to two guys peeing up on the mountain). We weren’t sure this was *the* waterfall, so we forged on. After another 1+ miles, we reached the top of the mountain. We didn’t see any more “waterfalls” but we did end up with a fantastic view of the ocean and some beautiful houses. Oh, I forgot to mention that THANK GOD Keith took over for me, carrying Mallory halfway up the mountain and all the way back down the other side. Thank you Keith! Anyway, after our hike, we headed down to Venice Beach where our other friends joined us for lunch. What a bunch of freaks. Not our friends but the people performing on Venice Beach. That night was low-key since some of the crew got a little crazy the night before ~ but we did go out for a nice dinner in Beverly Hills, where Rick ordered a cheeseburger. Of course. :-)
*Sunday – New Years Eve – there was a big Michigan pep rally out on the Santa Monica Pier. I decked Mallory out in her Michigan cheerleader outfit and off we went. This trip also centered around food and we ate at a place overlooking the ocean. The pep rally was totally packed and apparently not as peppy as it should have been to ensure a win the next day. But it’s still nice to be outside in sunshine & flip-flops in December.
*Monday – Game Day – Rick’s sister & her husband & son flew in from Dallas for the game and my cousin Whitney and her ex-boyfriend drove up from San Diego (actually, the ex-boyfriend is still in LA – if you are ever in the LAX airport, find the bar and see if Ryon is working. He’s a riot). But anyway, again – I’m so lucky to be able to see these family folks on these trips. I think Whitney only wanted to go to the game so she could get the police escort to the game again – she gets a huge kick out of the 405 being “shut down” for our buses. Mallory enjoyed the game to some extent – she wasn’t phased by the fireworks or anything. With about 7 minutes to go in the 4th, she started having a meltdown, as I expect most Michigan fans were.
*All in all – I’d say we had a successful trip travel-wise with a 7-week old. I’m sure this was our easiest travel year ever since she is so portable and sleeps so much!
Oh – I forgot to mention that Mallory has also already been to a Red Wings hockey game ~ they played the Blue Jackets the week before we went to Cali. She is quite the sports fan, I tell ya.
I am back to work and Mallory is splitting time between daycare and staying home with Rick. We are lucky that he is able to take some time off – will be good for them to bond :-) He even took her to the grocery store his first day home with her; I told him I was very impressed ~ I considered that an advanced move and he conquered it day 1!!
Hope everyone had a great holiday and happy new year!