Holiday Photo Shoot

Here are a few pics from our Christmas Card photo shoot by our friend Michele Wagner.  Who knew it would be 70 degrees on 12/2 - Mal might have been a bit toasty in her cape & hat!

Tis the Season!

The Melson family is enjoying a very busy December.  We kicked off the Holiday season with a first visit to Zoolights at the Lincoln Park Zoo with the Petersons & Bhagwanjees.  Mallory is fascinated by the Christmas tree and has been really good to not pull ornaments off the tree.  She can locate the Santa, fish, walrus & other ornaments & always gets excited when she sees it lit up!

Thanksgiving in Chicago

This year for Thanksgiving, Nannie & Boppo came to the city for Thanksgiving dinner at our new place!  We had a wonderful time with them and Mallory enjoyed her first T-Givin where she got to actually eat! 

Mal at 16 Months

Mallory is 16 mos & growing every day!  She's learning all the motions for songs in her Wiggleworms class - the Wheels on the Bus & Itsy Bitsy Spider are big hits in our house!  She enjoys a lil bit of TV time w/ both parents - when football is on she enthusiastically yells 'GO!' at the screen & dances & claps w/ mommy when Dancing with the Stars is on.  She loves all animals - at the zoo or dogs around the neighborhood - she's never met a furry friend she doesn't like.  Melsons may be on the hunt for a (hypoallergenic) pet soon.  She's making lots of friends at music class & weekly playgroup - Boo & Elmo are still her very best bffs. 

Mallory loves to play!  We go on family outings in her pink car and riding on her rocking horse.  She's really good at stacking building blocks & learning her animals via flashcards.

Fall Fun - 2012

The last few months have been flying by - we've been pretty busy but had some great outings to the Lincoln Park & Brookfield Zoos, to Purdue for the Wisconsin game, Goebbert's Pumpkin Patch and Halloween parties at Mommy's work & on Southport. 

Love at first sight!

Mallory has fallen pretty hard for a lil red monster!  It all started w/ the Elmo ABC's iPad App and we're pretty sure one of Mal's first 10 words was Elmoooooooo - she's also seen him on the Elmo Calls app on iPhone, on Sprout,  Elmo's World movies, and in person at the pumpkin patch & Halloween parade! 

Dancing & Laughing

Mallory is just tons of fun & keeps us on our toes!  She's a true toddler who is exploring the world around her - which forced us to do some serious baby-proofing!  She loves music class and is learning how to do The Itsy Bitsy Spider hand motions!  She loves all music (even the kind Daddy plays in the car) and dancing around the house. 

Mallory playing piano at music class:

 

 

Dancing at lunch:

 

 

Amusing herself in the car:

 

 

 

 

Mommy & Daddy Have Been Slackers!

We haven't posted in 5 mos - and what a 5 mos it has been!  Mallory turned ONE year old in July and the Melson Family moved to Wrigleyville in July too, we had a great summer vacation at Lake Wawasee in August, Mallory has started walking, talking and developing her own lil personality SO much!  We're going to get better about posting regularly but here are a few great photos & videos we wanted to share from the last five months!

First steps caught on video!

 

11 Months Old!

We can't believe that Mallory is almost one year old - time has truly flown by but we enjoy all of her milestones and every phase she's gone through this year.  Mallory is cruising all over the condo and very verbal - she's just dying to communicate with us.  She raises her voice and moves her hands around to get her points across.  She's still a very smiley baby who loves to go to the park, dance around the house and read books w/ Mommy & Daddy.  We're so proud of her & all her accomplishments this year!

Drum Circle

Mallory's taking another session of Wiggleworms and has a whole new class of friends (with interesting names like Jubilee & Maverick) and a new instructor who brings out a drum at the end of class each week.  Mallory can get a bit distracted during class - tends to hang out by the mirror - but she loves the 'drum circle'.  She likes to hit the drum and shake her booty!

Mal & Nik

It's summertime and Mallory is enjoying al fresco dining as much as her Mom & Dad do.  She invited her birth week buddy Nik along and they had a great time eating french fries and mingling. 

9 Months Old!

Mommy & Daddy can't believe that MalMel is 3/4 of a year old already - seems like just yday we came home from the hospital.  Mallory is perfecting her standing techniques and likes to practice walking around the house.  She has so much personality - loves to smile at everyone and she will let you know when she's frustrated too.  Still no teeth but eating new things every day - chicken & pasta meals, yogurt, fruit, and even ate french fries off Mommy's plate the other day.  She's a sweet girl who loves just taking in her surroundings.  Lately she loves looking outside our sliding glass door and watching the weatherman & Caillou on TV. 

Mal's First Easter

Mallory went down to Indy to celebrate her first Easter with Nannie & Boppo, Mimi, Aunt Kerry & Uncle John & her crazy cousins.  We had gorgeous weather & she did very well with her first egg hunt.  She also met Baby Eliana Schizas who will show her around the Greek Islands someday. 

Applause Please

Like Eric B. and Rakim say 'Make em clap to this'.

Mallory is 8 months!

Mallory is getting so big - she has new tricks to show Mommy & Daddy each day.  First it was crawling, now standing up while hanging onto the furniture, chatting it up, making funny noises w/ her mouth - raspberries, Zerberting Mommy & Daddy (getting them back for doing it to her for so long).  It's been such a whirlwind 8 months and we are enjoying every second of it! 

Mallory showing Nannie how she can do raspberries!

Standing on the bridge at the park like a big girl.

Trying on a really cool outfit...

Chatty Cathy

Mallory is very chatty and loves to hear herself talk.  She will be a big gabber - no shrinking violet here!

Wiggleworms - St. Patty's day

We love Mallory's weekly music class at Old Town School of Folk Music in Lincoln Square.  Nannie & Boppo got to join in on the fun on St. Patty's while Mommy & Daddy went downtown to the festivities.  Mallory loves to hear the live guitar & socialize with her fellow Wiggleworms.

Spring (Summer) Comes Early - March 2012

We've had an unseasonably warm winter and practically skipped Spring w/ temps in the 80s in mid-March! Mallory has been able to get to the park almost every day - loves the swing the best but checks out the slide and bouncy chair too!  We also made it to the Lincoln Park Zoo to check out the monkeys.

Mexican Vacay - February 2012

Mallory took Mommy & Daddy and Aunt Renee to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico to escape the Chicago winter for awhile. She was an EXCELLENT traveler - was a better flyer than her Mommy and enjoyed the fun in the sun for 7 days. She used her skills from swim lessons in the pool each day and even went in the ocean!

Mallory's Baptism - 1/29/12

Mallory celebrated her first holy sacrament at St. Benedict's Church in our neighborhood.   Friends and family came out to help celebrate at the church and a cake party afterwards at home including her Godparents - Aunt Renee & Tommy Fazio.  We didn't time her lunchtime bottle very well so she was pretty hungry and fussed through most of the ceremony but had a great day with everyone - especially her new bff Isabella Steliga. 

Woman on the Move

Well, for the past week or so Mallory has decided that rolling around on the floor wasn't good enough and she decide to start crawling.  Now Megan and I have the added fun of putting her down on her play mat only to find her on the other side of the condo.

We are very lucky that Mallory is such a happy baby.  Here she is playing with dad.

More pictures of our smiley baby: