The Estes Family

Our Valentine's Day

2012-02-15T13:15:00.002-06:00

Mallory's 1st Valentine's Day was so much fun! We had a great day and I'm so glad I got to be with her!

This is our shirt we got for Valentine's Day. It says "My Heart belongs to Daddy" which is so true. She always smiles when she sees him. I laugh because this is the best picture I could get - she really didn't care to smile for the camera yesterday morning.

We started out by going to the library and saw our friends there

Not sure what she and Liam are looking at but it must be interesting

Afterwards, we set up a play date with Liam & Karlyn

Love these three cuties! They still don't know what to think of three mommas trying to get a good picture. If I could only hear what they are thinking right now

Valentine's Day treats for the kiddos

After the fun with friends, we got ready to spend the evening with Daddy.

I made Brian's favorite cake in a heart shape. He didn't believe I carved the heart shape and that is wasn't heart shaped pans haha

Mallory got a card and a book from Mom and Dad. She also got some Valentine's day treats!

Brian brought home dinner

Can't go wrong with pizza and breadsticks

And we spent the rest of the evening loving on our sweet Valentine, Mallory

As you can tell, we don't have a tripod so this is our family portrait. I'll take it!

It was a great day!

Our Love Story

2012-02-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

I wanted to jump on the bandwagon of bloggers giving their love story and since it is Valentine's Day, I couldn't think of anything better to blog about.

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

Almost 4 1/2 years - Since August 2007

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

Brian and I met at our church. He helped teach in the college class and I went to our Twentysomething Sunday School class. We became friends and started hanging out together - not just the two of us, with some other friends. We became very good friends and started talking to each other all the time. One weekend, he went out of town for a friend's wedding and I realized that I missed him. Of course, I didn't say anything but August 5, 2007, he swept me off my feet by asking me "if I wanted to do this thing or what??" I said yes and I would say the rest is history but we broke up mid-November because we both knew it wasn't working but didn't want to lose our friendship. That didn't last long - we were back together by mid-December and the rest is history.

(our first photo as a couple)

3. If married, how long have you been married?

Will be 3 years on April 4

4.If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?

We got married at the place where we met - our church. We had about 200 people. Our reception was held at the Center at Rockwall just down the road. It is a day I will never forget!

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another?

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

a. He Loves Jesus

b. He is a Hard worker

c. His humor (most of the time)

7. Tell us how he proposed.

He completely surprised me! He told me he had to go to Miami for work the same time that I was in Tampa for work. I was excited we would be in the same state but sad we weren't in the same city. On Saturday, Aug 15, 2008, I thought he was flying home from Miami but as my event was ending, he called me and told me he was at the arena. I looked up and there he was. I was very shocked but I didn't think anything - I thought he had a layover. We got back to my hotel room and he got down on one knee and proposed. I was definitley surprised. He did good. You can read more about it here.

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

He's given me all of those, except for champagne, so he's a whatever he asks me what I want, he gets kind of guy and that's what I love about him.

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

Well, I wouldn't mind a sunset dinner on the beach but I'll take a movie and snuggle on the couch anyday.

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant other one day? If you could do anything?

I would love to go to Hawaii with him. I've been but he's never been and I think he would love it.

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

Hang out at home with Mallory and enjoy our first Valentine's Day with her

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

I just only wish for a card.

13. Give us one piece of advice on keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Honesty. Tell your spouse how you truly feel and talk it out.

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our Weekend in iPhone pics - February 10 - 12, 2012

2012-02-13T14:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday! To be honest, I was hoping this post would include pictures of us in the snow but alas, if some made it here, it wasn't very much so, nothing pic worthy. We did have a good weekend though!

Friday night, we went to eat at Cotton Patch Cafe with my parents. I love living close to them so we can just call each other up and do something. We had a good time.

Mallory and I waiting for Dad to get home from work so we could go meet my parents. Yes, that is a scratch right between her eyes. Someone needs to cut her nails! Wait, that's me - I file them usually because I'm horrible at cutting and usually end up hurting her more than helping her :/

Saturday morning, I did a little shopping. I wanted to get Mallory a shirt to wear on Valentine's Day and when I got the The Children's Place, I saw this:

I got really excited that I get to buy Mallory an Easter dress!

We played some when I got home and I just laugh when I see this pic:

Mallory has no interest in crawling. She either rolls over or just lays down when I put her on her stomach. Why move on your own when people will just carry you where you need to go???

Saturday afternoon, we headed to see cousin Cade play basketball

Brian and Caleb - these two love each other so much!

Mallory was extra whiney on Saturday so I was happy to pass her off to family. She perked up of course when we got there

And then she crashed on Pop:

Saturday night, Brian went to watch Caleb play basketball so it was just us girls as the house.

I took this picture because it was the first time I took her out of her little bathtub and let her just sit in our bathtub.

She loved it! She scooted around all over the place and loved splashing with her feet. All the while not letting go of her rubber ducky, of course.

After she went to bed, I went to clean up the floor

For a little girl, she does make a mess

And then Sunday, we went to church and went to eat at El Chico with our Sunday School class after church.

You get 10% off of your bill if you bring your church bulletin on Sunday. I say, that's a good deal. And Jill even drew a flower on her church notes! I love our Sunday School class and the people we get to serve with!!

Well that's that! Another weekend in the books. Hope you have a wonderful week!

Joy Down In My Heart

2012-02-10T11:30:00.000-06:00

I wanted to share this video because I just love watching it and I hope it makes you Smile like it does me! My mom has been singing the church songs little kids learn to Mallory and she loves it when her Nana sings them to her. The other day I started singing "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart" and she clapped and loved it!

Note* Please excuse my singing :)

At the end, you hear her say Bye-Bye. That's her first word and the first time she said it was Monday, Jan. 30th. I was playing with Mallory and saying Bye-Bye and all of a sudden, she just repeated it. Brian was sitting at the table and we both looked at each other in shock and I said "Get the Camera!!" :) Now, if we can just get her to say Mama!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

The First Week & Memory Lane

2012-02-09T11:45:00.000-06:00

Finally, time to blog! People have asked how the first week home is and it's been great! Today is actually the first day we will have been at home all day. We've had errands to run and places to go all up until today and I've loved it. I'm trying to find a good routine for us but I know it's the first week so that will come. I've had something every night this week so far so that's kept us busy too. Monday, we ran errands, Tuesday, we went to the library and Wednesday, I went to MOPS.

Lyndsey invited us to the library baby time and Mallory loved it!

And now for memory lane randomness. Today I was cleaning and wanted to go through all of our books and things to see if there were anything and we could get rid of. I ran across these:

My VHS tapes from High School. Too bad we don't have a VCR to watch. I'm sure my bangs would take up the whole screen - they were big and high :)

This is the front page of my Senior Book - proof of the bangs

I smiled when I saw this because I read this book when I was in my mid twenties and 4 of my friends got married in one month so I was busy watching all my friends get married. Brian and I were friends at this time but little did I know he would be my Mr. Right!

Yes, my brother is on the cover of his University's catalog. We all got a copy. It's a keeper.

That's all for this trip down memory lane. Have a great day!

Our Weekend in iPhone pics - February 3 - 5, 2012

2012-02-06T08:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday! First off, I want to say thank you for all of your kind words and support! It really means a lot to me! I'm excited!

Friday was my last day at work so here is my cube one last time with my box of things to come home with me

Now I just have to figure out where to put this stuff at home

This picture was from Thursday but I wanted Janet & Randi to take a picture with Mallory at her last day at daycare.

As you can tell, she wasn't fully awake in these photos :)

Saturday morning we headed over to watch our nephew Cade play basketball

Mallory wore her new tennis shoes and cheered him on!

Saturday was Cade's 9th birthday and he was very excited about his present...

A Bow & Arrow! He wrote this on his list as one of the things he wanted for his birthday so he got it! He loved it!

And yesterday afternoon, we headed to The Watson's house to watch the Super Bowl. The girls were downstairs with the kiddos while the guys were upstairs watching the game.

Mallory and her friends Liam and Layla. They look thrilled to be there!

I hope you have a wonderful week!

The Next Chapter

2012-02-03T08:00:00.002-06:00

Today is a bittersweet day for me. After today, I will start a new chapter in my life and I am very excited about it! Today is my last day to work at Women of Faith. After 5 1/2 great years with this wonderful organization, I am leaving to stay home with Mallory! I am going to just be Mom.

This has been a decision that Brian and I have been praying about for a while. I knew I would come back to work after maternity leave because I needed to work the Fall Event season. Every weekend I had to travel, it was so hard to leave my family behind. Brian was amazing and was Super Dad but everybody knows, it's hard just being one parent for almost 4 full days every other weekend. Our families were great in helping out but it was hard being away. After the fall event season ended, I was promoted to Tour Manager, which was very exciting. I was looking forward to the Spring and not having to travel that much. Then, the Christmas holidays came and I took 2 weeks off and was with Mallory all the time. I loved every second of it. When it was time to go back to work, I was a wreck. I did not want to leave her and the thought of traveling, even though it was less than usual, it was something I didn't even want to think about being away from her. Don't get me wrong - she went to be the best daycare anyone could ask for and I loved that my Dad and Brian's Aunt Pam kept Mallory but I hated dropping her off at these places and not getting to be with her during the day.

After prayers, long talks, looking at finances, etc... we made the decision that I would stay home with Mallory. I gave my 3 weeks notice and worked that time to transition everything over. As much as I'm looking forward to being home with Mallory, I will miss all of my co-workers dearly. They made coming to work everyday fun. My fellow Event Planners: Jon, Amy & Betty Ashley were the best to work with! I have so many great memories and got to travel to so many places, I never would have been able to if it hadn't been for WoF. I've also gotten to work with so many amazing Christian speakers, authors and artists! Memories that will last a lifetime.

I know that many people say that being a Stay at Home Mom is the hardest job you will ever have. I'm ready to take that step and see. I don't know what the future holds for us but I know WHO holds it. I will be looking for something part-time later on to help contribute to the finances so I'm praying to see what that could be so I can still spend as much time with Mallory as I can.

Thank you to all of my friends who listened as I tried to figure out what the next step for me and who prayed on our behalf during this time! Here I go turning the page to the next chapter of my life!

Of course, I wouldn't leave a post without pictures :) This week, they had a going away party for a couple of us that are leaving.

My fellow EP, Amy, got a new job in Nashville!

Loretta (on right) is who hired me at my first job at WoF - I will be always be grateful!

I will miss all these girls in the photos

And last but not least - my fellow EP's ( always serious :) ) - I will miss sooo very much

Mallory's Dedication

2012-01-30T08:00:00.002-06:00

Sunday morning at our church, Mallory was dedicated. This is a time for Brian and I to say to our church family that we, as parents, will raise Mallory in the way the God teaches us to raise children. Our hope is that as she grows older, she will love Jesus and prayerfully one day, ask Him to live in her heart and be baptized.

I've really been looking forward to this day since Mallory was born. They had a dedication in September but we had to miss it because I was traveling home from work. I was so sad we had to miss it so it made looking forward to today even more exciting.

Bro. Steve talking to the congregation, our family and all of the children being dedicated

Mallory wanted to look at everybody and everything

Brian holding Mallory up to show the choir so they could see her

Mallory kept wanting to look at Bro. Steve while he was talking

Praying for our sweet girl

Our church gave Mallory her first bible with her name on it

Our family on Mallory's Dedication Day

I am a picture taker and wanted to take a picture with everybody who came so I could have the pics for memory's sake so enjoy the parade of photos

Both of the Estes families

Our family with my parents

Our family with Grandma Marsha, Gran and Pam

Our family with Foster, Abbi and Baby Miller coming in July!

Our friends that are basically family, Cooper, Jill and Baby Kinsley Crowell coming in June!

After the church service, we headed over to Cole Mountain for lunch.

They reserved our room - Fancy :)

My Aunt Janice & Uncle Paul were at the Dedication and met us at the restaurant

Mallory and Aunt Sherry who came too

Brian was so excited when he got his sweater vest so he could be like his Uncle Jim. Sweater Vest Twins!

Thanks to Shannon for taking the pictures during the dedication! It was a great day and I appreciate all of our family and friends who celebrated with us! Mallory is so blessed to have each and every one of you in her life!

Happy Birthday Papa!

2012-01-26T08:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Dad aka Papa!

You know when you want to set up a picture that will look cute but you really know it probably won't work but you do it anyway. Yeah, I wanted Mallory to hold a sign saying "Happy Birthday Papa" and this is the best I got:

Haha. Didn't work out but here is a birthday smile for you Papa on your special day

Happy Birthday! We Love You!

New Carseat

2012-01-25T08:00:00.002-06:00

Yes, it's true. Everybody says that your baby will grow up so fast and I'm seeing it! Last week, we went to get Mallory's new convertible carseat. We were going to wait but we saw it on sale so we went ahead and got it. I can't believe she's big enough for a new carseat but after carrying her 18lb self around in the infant carseat, we knew it was time!

This was her first ride in her carseat:

Look how little she was - all 5lbs, 12 oz of her!

She took many good naps in the infant carseat but now it is time for something new

She had to check it out to see if it would work

I think she likes it!

And now her old carseat will go to her new cousin who is set to join us in July!

Our Weekend in iPhone pics - Jan. 20 - 22, 2012

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday!

We had a good weekend! Mallory is feeling much better and back to her old self and we are all happy about that! Friday night, we didn't have any plans so I decided to go ahead and do laundry then so I didn't have to do it on Saturday. As I was moving the clothes from the washer to the dryer, I found this:

Yes, it finally paid off to do the laundry :) Thank you Brian!

Saturday morning, Brian headed off to duck hunt so Mallory and I slept in and lounged.

She played with all her toys while watching Sesame Street

She likes when I stand her up next to her toy. She thinks she's a big girl.

Saturday night, we had a family date at Outback and did a little shopping at Firewheel.

She is such a lady!

I did find Mallory's Dedication dress for this coming Sunday at church. I'm so excited about the Dedication!

Sunday morning, we headed to church. Mallory wore one of her new dresses she got for Christmas

I just noticed that it does look like the bow she has on looks like bunny ears...haha

I went to my bible study last night and Brian is starting a bible study on Sunday nights too. I'm excited that he's doing a bible study too. My bible study ends at 6pm and his starts at 6pm so we have to do the quick baby swap but it works and I'm glad it does so we can have the bible study time!

There you go, another weekend down! Hope you have a wonderful week! God Loves You!

Mallory is 8 Months Old!

2012-01-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

Mallory is 8 Months Old!

Weight

18 lbs, 10 oz

Height

25 1/2 inches (estimate)

Diapers

Size 3 still fit perfectly

Clothes
Mostly wearing 6-9 or 9 month clothes, but some 6 month clothes still fit
Feedings
You are still loving all the new foods. You would eat puffs all day if I let you but we do try to throw some nutritional stuff in there from time to time :) Along with your bottles you are eating all kinds of veggies and fruits and depending on what Brian and I are eating, you try things off our plate. It's so fun to see you try new things!
Sleeping
Well, with teething and RSV, you haven't been the best sleeper in the world but it's understandable. You still like your morning nap but your afternoon naps aren't as long as they used to be. Depending on the day, there might be a late afternoon nap. You still like to sleep on your stomach. You are an early bird and like to get up early hence, why you like a morning nap.

Other fun things
You have two bottom teeth! It was hard work to get them there but they are there! You will clap your hands when we say "Yay Mallory" because we are clapping for you so you try to do the same thing. You still have no interest in crawling but you like to stand up. We watch Wheel of Fortune every night because you love the colors and watching the wheel spin :)

Look at you Grow!

Happy 8 Months Mallory! We Love You!

11 Questions

2012-01-19T13:40:00.003-06:00

With work, a sick child and not going anywhere, there hasn't been much to blog about so I was glad that Lyndsey tagged me in a recent post to answer some questions. Here you go!

1. What is your favorite thing to search for on Pinterest? (Assuming you use Pinterest. Which you should if you don't.)

Recipes. I really like finding easy Crock-pot recipes but I usually just search "easy recipes" because I'm not much of a cook.

2. Have you ever been outside of the country you currently live in? Where?

Yes, I went on a mission trip to Austria and it was beauitful! We went to the Czech Republic for a day and we had a layover in The Netherlands so I got to see some of Amsterdam. Brian and I have been to the Bahamas and went on a cruise to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Mexico for our honeymoon.

3. If you could speak a second language fluently, what would it be?

Spanish - wish I could remember all I learned in High School.

4. Are you a cat person or a dog person?

Neither. And our families know to not to get one for Mallory as a present :) Sorry pet lovers

5. What type of house is your favorite? (colonial, ranch, tudor, etc.)

I really like the colonial houses. I also love the cottage from the movie "The Holiday." It looks so cozy

6. What is your dream car?

I always wanted a Mustang convertible. It's not very practical now with Mallory but I would have loved it when I was younger.

7. If you were vacationing 10 hours away - would you drive or fly? (and not because of money)

Fly. I think my answer would be different if I didn't travel for a living. We always drove to places on our vacations growing up and I loved it but now that I know my way around an airport, the quickness of getting there seems more appealing to me.

8. Would you relive high school if you could? What would you do differently?

No thank you. I enjoyed high school and think I've learned from my mistakes. I would definitely rethink my bangs. What was I thinking???

9. If your significant other had an accent - what would it be?

I've always liked the British accent

10. Would you rather not shower for a week or not brush your teeth for a week? Ew! :)

I'd rather not brush my teeth. I would rather one part of my body not be clean than the whole thing. And I would chew gum the whole time to cancel the bad breath :)

11. Would you rather have all boys or all girls?

When I was younger, I thought I only wanted all boys but now that I have a girl, I would like all girls. It would be nice for her to have a sister because I was the only girl and always wanted a sister.

Thanks Lyndsey for the fun! I would tag 11 other people but most of the people you tagged are whose blogs I read :)

Our Weekend

2012-01-17T10:25:00.000-06:00

Happy Tuesday!

It was very nice having a 3-day weekend! Mallory and I did a whole lotta nothing. My goal was to help her get better all weekend. The beginning of the weekend was rough because that's when RSV was at it's worst but Saturday afternoon, she started to feel much better and the smile came back. We took this photo after her bath:

Her hair is getting longer and can hold a little bow. It's so cute!

We went to the Dr yesterday to follow-up and they said she looks good and is on the path to recovery! She still has a cough but she is getting back to her old self.

This is how we have to sleep when we need to be propped up to breathe easier. She's a stomach sleeper so getting used to sleeping like this wasn't the easiest but she does rest much better when she's propped up.

Thanks for your prayers and here's hoping we can kick this RSV out the door very soon!

Have a great week!

Boo Sickness!

2012-01-13T09:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday to You! Today's blog is brought to you by RSV. Yes, Monday Mallory started coughing and Tuesday I stayed home with her and it didn't get any better. She didn't have a fever, just a bad cough so, Wednesday, we headed to the doctor and got the diagnosis = RSV.

Mallory did not like the doctor this time. Usually she is smiling and will be ok but she did not want to be there. Understandable - who does?

The doctor said that it didn't look bad and that she's seen much worse and told us to let her know if things she started to feel a lot worse.

Even though she had a cough, she felt she could still play with her toys :)

And there is the extra snuggle time

Last night, she didn't sleep well though and it really hasn't gotten any better so I'm hoping that it just gets worse before it gets better as people say. We will see and if not, then we will head back to the doctor again.

It's so hard to see your child not feel good. You just want to take it all away. I wish I could. So our three-day weekend will be at home but I'm grateful for the extra day to have to be with her.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Our Weekend in iPhone pics - Jan. 6 - 8, 2012

2012-01-09T09:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday to You!

I really think this past weekend happened in a flash. It went by so quickly! Friday night we stayed at my parent's house. Brian had left to go to Arkansas on his annual duck hunting trip earlier in the week so Mallory and I enjoyed staying with Nana and Papa.

My mom rocked Mallory to sleep.

Saturday, we headed back home to do the fun laundry, cleaning and other things. That afternoon, we got to do Christmas with my BFF Julie, Jill, their mom Pam and Julie's daughter, Emmalyn. I couldn't wait to see them!

Mallory still loved the paper

Emmalyn couldn't wait to open up her present.

The best pic we could get. I'm so glad they get to grow up together! And soon, Jill's daughter, Kinsley will join us and be in the group!

Brian got home Saturday afternoon and he had presents for us. I got a nice long sleeve shirt and he got Mallory a cute shirt & onesie. And then, he showed us what his friend Jay bought Mallory:

Yes, her very own Daisy BB Gun.

I told Brian she can definitely use it when she turns 16. Brian said 8. We will see!

Sunday morning we went to church and then Sunday afternoon I started a new bible study series with my gal pals from church. I'm so excited about it

The first session was great and I can't wait to dive in more.

There you go! Our weekend recap! Hope you have a wonderful week!

Finally

2012-01-04T09:30:00.002-06:00

Finally Indeed!

It all started around Christmas. We had a great time with the family but I could tell Mallory wasn't her fun self all of the time. She wasn't sleeping well but she held up through the holidays. Then, the day after Christmas, it came on strong. We had some symptoms of teething but that Monday, it came full force and Brian and I were not prepared for it. Our happy baby turned into a whining, clingy, not sleeping child.

Everything pointed to teething and as my friend Kati put it best, they turn from normal to psycho. I hated seeing her in pain but like they say, no pain, no gain and last night I felt Mallory's first tooth poking through! Hallelujah!

I wish I could show you a picture but Mallory hates it when we try to open her mouth to look so we just have felt it and that's good enough for me.

We've finally gotten our good sleeper back...

until the next tooth and we do it all over again!

Ringing in the New Year

2012-01-02T08:00:00.005-06:00

Happy New Year friends!

We rang in the new year at The Ivey's house and had a great time! We've been going there for years to ring in the new year and we look forward to it every year!

Yes, he wore his New Year crown well

Last year, Karlyn was only a couple of weeks old so we didn't stay until midnight - this year, we were happy to get to celebrate with both our girls.

What a difference 1 year makes

Ready to celebrate!

Mallory chewed on most of Karlyn's toys but Karlyn didn't mind. She was a good friend to share her toys!

Nothing better than long lasting friendships, especially with these two!

Love this woman! Answers many questions of mine when it comes to raising my child.

Gotta love Sparkling White Grape Juice!

Happy 2012!!

Yes, I set up this pic and the husbands gladly abliged to take it.

Another great New Year's Eve with our friends! Can't wait to see what this year holds!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T00:01:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year from the Estes Family!

My goal for 2012:

To become more like the Proverbs 31 Woman

Here's to a wonderful 2012!

2011 Year in Review

2011-12-31T08:00:00.001-06:00

2011, you have been a good year to The Estes Family! As we look back to what this year held, we cannot thank God enough for all of his blessings!

January 2011

We looked forward to 2011 because we couldn't wait to meet our child. We found out at the end of January that we were having a girl!

Mallory Anne Estes! We couldn't wait to meet her!

It also snowed for many days and Brian and I enjoyed playing in the snow!

February 2011

Since we knew we were having a girl, we decided it was time to register. I know I'm smiling here but I had no clue what to register for :)

I also traveled to Nashville for our All Access Event and to Denver for our Revolve Tour event for work.

In Nashville at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel

March 2011

March was probably the most trying month of the year. I got to see Mallory growing but I also found out that I had to be put on bed rest until delivery due to high blood pressure.

I wish I could say I handled the news well but it was very hard. For someone who enjoyed going ot work everyday, it was difficult for me to be homebound. I know God used that time for me to grow in Faith! Brian was such a good caretaker and I had the best family and friends who came by to visit. I knew what I had to do to make sure Mallory would be ok when it was time for her to come.

So thankful for all who stopped by and brought food or just came to visit so I would have someone to talk to!

April 2011

Brian and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary!

We watch our wedding video every anniversary and we enjoyed dinner at home to celebrate

Mallory's nursery was coming along well too. My friend Andrea came over and helped with the wall decor. I love how it turned out!

May 2011

Our beautiful daughter, Mallory, was born on May 21, 2011 at 7:49 pm

Welcome to the World!

Our first family photo

Newborn photo

June 2011

The month of June was filled with sleepless nights, poopy diapers and lots of love.

We cheered our Mavericks onto victory!

Brian celebrated his 1st Father's Day!

July 2011

Mallory celebrated her 1st 4th of July.

It was a hot hot summer so we had to put our swimsuit on and hang by the pool

I celebrated by 29th birthday with my little girl and family

August 2011

I started back to work on August 15 after maternity leave. Including bed rest and maternity leave, it had been 5 months since I had been back in the office. It was hard to leave Mallory to go back but I knew it was best for our family plus I knew we had great places for Mallory to stay while we were at work

My first week back at work, Mallory got her first sickness. Poor little thing.

September 2011

We welcomed my niece, Eva Kate, into the world on Sept. 8

Me, Mallory, Eva and my brother, Ryan

I also had to travel for the first time since Mallory was born. It was soooo hard to say goodbye but I'm so grateful for technology so I could FaceTime with Brian and her

October 2011

Mallory turned 5 months old and she started changing so much. It's so fun to watch her grow.

She was also a bumblebee for Halloween. I loved her outfit!

November 2011

I traveled to my lsat event for the year and was happy to be home. We celebrated Mallory's 1st Thanksgiving!

December 2011

It was Christmas season and we enjoyed every bit of sharing it with Mallory. We went to see Santa

So many new memories were made and we look forward to all the Christmases in the future!

The Estes Family - Christmas 2011

Thanks for sharing this year with us on our blog! We look forward to seeing what 2012 holds in store for us! God Bless!

Christmas 2011 - Part 3

2011-12-30T08:00:00.002-06:00

I decided to break up the Christmas blogs by part 1 being with my side of the family, part 2 being Christmas morning and part 3 being with Brian's side of the family.

Christmas Eve night we headed over to Rob & Stephanie's to celebrate Christmas with them. Stephanie made chili and more and all the food was great!

Mallory couldn't wait to show Auntie her Christmas onesie that she had gotten passed down from our friend, Emmalyn.

I think Auntie liked it!

After eating, we knew it was time for presents! Mallory got some great gifts but this is what happens when you take the paper away from her

She was not happy but we had many more presents to open, we had to move on :)

Cade was excited about his new Nerf gun!

More Rockwall orange for Caleb

Caleb and Cade were excited to shop for their B and they got him some great gifts:

A construction hat, some duct tape, some bungee cords and some Princess Wall Art - he loved it!

Christmas afternoon, we headed over to Brian's aunt and uncle's house

Mallory and her great-grandmother

Such a happy girl on Christmas

This is what happens when you give Brian the camera

Mallory and I ready to open her gifts

Brian's cousin, Kennedy

Brian's cousin, Stephanie and her boyfriend Josh invited a friend of theirs, Bob, over for Christmas because she knew he didn't have anywhere to go on Christmas day. He was so nice and I'm so glad he came!

Stephanie and Bob

The Grandchildren and Great-Granchildren

The Estes Fam

The Barnett Family

The Miller Family

All of the Estes'

Yes, by this time, Mallory was ready to strip down and get comfortable.

This wraps up our 2011 Christmas. We enjoyed every minute we were able to spend with our family. We are so blessed and this is truly a Christmas we will never forget!

Christmas 2011 - Part 2

2011-12-29T08:00:00.003-06:00

Christmas Morning 2011

Brian and I were looking forward to our first Christmas morning with Mallory. We all slept until 8:00 am and then it was time for presents.

Mallory couldn't wait to get into her stocking and presents

But, we had to wait until after Dad read the Christmas story from Luke

Now, it's time :)

She knew to pull the paper out of the bag. What did she get?

She got a piggy bank. Don't you try and eat your piggy bank too? :)

She did like the bows and that wrapping paper

Looking at her Jonah Veggietales DVD

She got another DVD and a God's Little Princess Devotional Bible for Brian and I to read to her as she gets older

She also got some blocks

And she was putting the blocks in the appropriate place. Haha JK - not that advanced but she did love playing with them. She also got some shoes earlier in the month for Christmas - they were much needed and had already been opened and used :)

Brian and I did get some presents too. We decided just to do gifts that fit in our stocking this year. Gift Cards are a great gift!

Yes, those are 3 tubes of carmex (can never leave home with out it) and a Wheel of Fortune Wii game that was being delivered this week. Mallory and I watch the Wheel and love to play!

After we opened our presents, we got ready and headed to church. Our church had 1 service on Christmas morning and my parents came with us. I was glad we got to go together!

Nana, Papa & Mallory

The Estes Family on Christmas morning

It was a great morning and even though Mallory won't remember it, I know we will forever!

Christmas 2011 - Part 1

2011-12-27T08:00:00.003-06:00

What a wonderful Christmas we had! We are so blessed to be able to live close and see all of our family to celebrate Christmas. We started by staying the night at my parent's house Thursday night with my brothers and their families.

Note* I did take many many pictures so prepare for photo overload

Every year I always say how much I love my parent's Christmas tree and Christmas decorations. I got ready to take this picture and this little girl decided she should be in front of the tree so this is what I got first:

Love Her!

I love it when Dad has a fire going

Mallory and I excited to celebrate her 1st Christmas

This is the first time all 4 grandchildren have been together so we had to take many pictures. Mallory and her cousins: Kiersi, Kayden and Eva

My brothers and sister-in-laws decided to do white elephant gifts with each other so I got some pajamas and Ryan got a shirt with uneven sleeves.

We decided to model them and do our awkward poses

We woke up Friday morning and had Christmas. Dad started by reading the Christmas story

Eva loved her bumbo and could not wait to open her presents

Mallory went right in for her present

Kiersi & Kayden got a Kindle fire from Nana and Papa - they were very excited!

Eva opening her present from Mallory. I think she loved it!

Mallory wasn't sure what to do with some toys but she loves that they light up and sing

So she just decided to eat a box

For my parent's gift, we decided to do a collage that I saw my friend Joy do on her blog for her dad. We each took a picture with a letter for Nana and Papa's pictures. I think they turned out great!

They Loved The Pics!

They also got a frame with each of our family pictures that turned out so good!

Once all of the presents were opened, it was time to find the pickle on the Christmas tree. I really thought it was my year but alas, the winner was:

My brother Ryan

Then, it was time to take photos in front of the Christmas tree

1st up was Mallory

Then it was time for another picture of all of the girls in their pajamas. So Cute!

Nana and Papa with their granddaughters

The Ryan Bradley Family

The Greg Bradley Family

The Brian Estes Family

After opening presents Friday morning, we headed over to my Aunt's house to celebrate Christmas with my family on my mom's side of the family

I didn't take too many pictures there because our family has grown so much now that there are people everywhere and this is mostly what is going on :)

My cousin Chris and his son Andrew

Kiersi and I ready to celebrate!

Mallory and Aunt Sherry

Mallory was getting good at opening presents by now

We tried to get a picture of my grandmother with all of her great grandchildren but as you can see, trying to get this many kids to smile or at least look at the camera is a challenge

Me and my grandmother - I love her!

It was a great time celebrating Christmas with my family! I love them all so much!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T07:00:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas from Brian, Amanda & Mallory!

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:1-20

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Christmas Lights Fun

2011-12-22T12:40:00.001-06:00

Last night, The two Estes families loaded up and headed out to look at Christmas lights. It's a Christmas tradition that I love our families do together!

Everybody ready to go!

I'm a bad photographer and accidentally deleted the pic of Brian and Rob in the front leading us. Sorry!

Mallory was really excited for her first time to look at lights - had her Christmas attire on and her mum-mum in hand.

We first went to Highland Park and there were some really pretty houses with lights and then there were just really pretty houses.

I love all the lights at Highland Park Village

Then, we headed to Farmers Branch. Isn't this pretty?

You could drive around a certain part of Farmers Branch to look at lights but the line was forever long so we decided, we would be ready for that next year.

All the looking at lights was exhausting :) so we had to stop for a pick-me up here:

Rob experienced his first In-n-Out burger and said it was overrated. :) To each his own but his son, Caleb, thought it was good!

While we were inside getting the food, Brian and Cade took the camera over and took pics of themselves

After we were fed, we headed back home to look at lights in town. Here are some of my faves:

And my personal favorite every year:

Too bad my camera doesn't it do it more justice but I love it!

We had a great time and can't wait until next year!

Mallory is 7 Months Old!

2011-12-21T08:00:00.001-06:00

Mallory is 7 Months Old!

Weight

19 lbs (estimate)

Height

25 1/2 inches (estimate)

Diapers

Size 3 fit perfectly

Clothes
Mostly wearing 6-9 or 9 month clothes, but some 6 month clothes still fit
Feedings
You love to eat! In the morning you have a bottle and enjoy your oatmeal. At lunch time you eating a veggie such as peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots - you really love sweet potatoes and you have a bottle before nap time. After your nap you have a bottle and then at dinner you will eat more good veggies and/or fruit and then you have a bottle before bed. You like your puffs to snack on and I love seeing you try new foods.
Sleeping
Still on a good schedule as last month. You still take a short nap mid-morning, long nap in the afternoon and depending on the day, you will take a short nap around 6 or 7pm. You have been going to bed a little earlier 8:30 pm - 9:00 pm and You you will sleep until around 7:30 am or 8am.
Other fun things
You have found your voice! You love to hear yourself and are a very loud talker. Your jibber jabber just makes me smile. You love to sit on the floor and play with your toys. You still love to play in the exercauser. Everything still goes straight to your mouth and you are doing a good job of feeding yourself. You are a very happy baby and people say how wonderful you are all the time. You only really fuss if you are tired and have a smile on your face most of the time.

Look at you Grow!
Happy 7 Months Mallory! We Love You!

Karlyn's Birthday Party

2011-12-20T13:00:00.000-06:00

Saturday morning we headed to Mallory's BFF Karlyn's 1st birthday party. She was dressed in her cute 1st birthday outfit above.

I was excited that this would be Mallory's first birthday party to go to. And especially the first of Karlyn's birthday parties. We've look forward to this day for a while.

Kati did a great job of decorating and all the food was so good.

Love the cake!

Karlyn and Mallory ready to party!

She was telling her Happy Birthday :)

Look at all those presents...where to begin??

Here we go!

Mallory loved playing with the ribbon the whole time. I love that it doesn't take much to entertain her. Look at her smile

Is that all of the presents???

Now it was time for the birthday girl and her cake. We sang to her and then it was time to eat!

And it was good!

Our good friends, The Iveys

I love that we get to share this time with our daughters together. It is truly a great gift.

And Kati was sweet to give Mallory a party gift. She loved it!

Happy Birthday Karlyn! We were so glad that we got to be there to celebrate with you! I'm so glad that you and Mallory will grow up together and become great friends! We Love You!

Our Weekend in iPhone pics - Dec 16 - 18, 2011

2011-12-19T08:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Monday to You! We had another busy but really fun weekend! Friday night after work, we headed to Target & Payless to look for the little girl new shoes. She's needed some for a while so she got two early Christmas presents - 2 pairs of shoes. We then came home, gave Mallory a bath and all relaxed. I took this picture below because we were having so much fun:

She loves her Daddy

Saturday, was a day on a our calendar that we new would be busy but we were looking forward to it! 1st stop was our friend, Karlyn's 1st birthday party (more pics to come later). Mallory had so much fun!

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Girl!

After the party, we headed to our church to see our friends, Mark & Liz get married!

Me & My Man ready to go to the wedding

Liz graduated Friday morning and got married on Saturday! It was a sweet wedding and the Christmas decorations were very pretty. We are so happy for them!

And here is my weekly picture of Mallory sleeping - she was so tired after her busy day that she fell asleep on our way home after we picked her up after the wedding

She fell asleep for the night much earlier than usual also. She partied hard.

We are working on picking up her puffs and feeding herself. She is slowly getting it. She mostly just looks at the puffs and plays with them. Yesterday, I sat her in her highchair to give it a go and still the same but we are learning!

Sunday evening was our last night of our "So Long, Insecurities" Bible Study. I can't say how much I've learned and grown since I started that book. I feel I am much more secure in some areas in my life and it is so great. I still have a lot to learn but it's been a great study! We did a cookie exchange to celebrate the end. I have more peanut butter/kisses cookies because those are the ones I made and I didn't give them all away.

So many sweets, please come by and get some for yourself!

Hope you have a wonderful week!

2011 Christmas Card

2011-12-15T08:40:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas from the Estes Family!

I love sending and receiving Christmas Cards! Our card includes a picture of the three of us at Thanksgiving. I love Mallory's smile!

I enjoy looking at other people's cards and some people are so creative! I really like her idea of sharing Christmas cards - Faith

Our Weekend in iPhone pics - Dec 9 - 11, 2011

2011-12-14T11:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Wednesday to you! I'm just now getting to my iPhone pics because our weekend was very busy and I do break out my real camera from time to time (except for the SS party, I used my iPhone as the official camera). Here are some random shots from last weekend:

Mallory stayed at Aunt Pam's on Friday and Pam put her to work - got to earn her keep by folding laundry :)

While we were waiting to see Santa, we walked around Bass Pro and Brian found what he wanted to get Mallory for Christmas. My answer was a big, fat NO

Mallory stayed at Papa and Nana's while we went to our SS party and Royse City had their parade Saturday night so Mallory got to go. I think she was in awe of it all

I love taking pictures of Mallory sleeping. She was so tired from all the fun with Papa and Nana that she fell right asleep on the way home. I love how she still holds on to things tight when she's asleep - she was not letting go of her paci!

And Sunday afternoon, I woke up from my nap to find this picture sent to me from my friend, Leilani! I was so excited that she and Keith are now engaged - it's been a long time coming and now it's here! I love weddings!!!

That's it for now - Hope you have a great day!

Sunday School Christmas Party

2011-12-13T10:40:00.001-06:00

Saturday night, Brian and I headed over to our friends - The Lofland's house, for our Sunday School Christmas Party. I love being able to serve alongside all of these people. We are truly blessed to call them friends.

Will & Lyndsey were great hosts and all of the food that was brought was Amazing!

Lane cutting the turkey he brought - Yummo!

We had so much food, there was a lot leftover

Everyone enjoying their meal

Once we were eating, it was time for presents. We did play the game where you can steal the others gift - thankfully no one was hurt :)

I tried to still a gift from under the Loflands tree but didn't get it :)

Next up, Lyndsey had planned for the girls & boys to play against each other in a couple of games of Minute to Win It.

1st game - you had to stack the cups as high as you could with one hand behind your back. Shey decided to try another way that the usual. When our friends Justin & Melody Ballard got up to play, she had built hers so high, he blew it over because he knew he had lost. It was pretty funny

2nd Game - who could throw and make the most marshmellows into the bucket. Brian and I played this game and he beat me. I admit it. But it was fun playing.

Last but not least, Lyndsey had wrapped a present in a present in a present and you had to open them all to get to the bottom present using a stocking. Jimmie & Amanda Duquette tore up the boxes so fast. I'm interested to see how Christmas morning is in their house :) Thankfully, no stockings were harmed in this game. All in all - Girls Won!

We finished just in time for the Heisman Trophy presentation.

We had a great time and are really grateful for our Church Family!

Merry Christmas Yall!

Mallory meets Santa

2011-12-12T08:00:00.002-06:00

Friday night after Brian and I got off work we headed to see Santa. I wasn't really sure where I wanted to take her but Brian had mentioned that Bass Pro had a Santa and we could take her there. I was hesitant to say the least. When I think of Santa at Bass Pro, I'm thinking he's in a Camo Santa suit and hunting decor everywhere but because I love my husband, off we went. And...I was pleasantly surprised. It was decorated very well:

There were lots of places for the kids to do things and crafts to make. We got there at 6:30pm and I thought we would be able to get right in but we got a 7pm Bass Pass to come back and see Santa then. So, we walked around for a little bit and came back to meet Santa.

Mallory was a little tired so I wasn't sure how this would go. She usually goes to other people fine, but never anybody with a long white beard and a red suit.

Then we got there and Brian sat her on Santa's lap while I got into my position to take pictures.

She wasn't sure what to think at first

Then she wanted to look at something going on to her right

And finally she looked at the camera :)

I was impressed with the Bass Pro Santa. It was a nice set-up.

I love creating all these new memories with Mallory. I know she doesn't understand what is going on but we are having so much fun.

I hope you all have a great week!

Friday Fun

2011-12-09T10:25:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday! Yes, we made it. I do think this could have been the slowest week ever but we have made it to the weekend PTL!! I wish I had a lot more to say today but I don't. So, I will leave you with a video of Mallory "talking." She has found her voice and she loves to hear it so we get to enjoy it every night! I do love it and I just smile listening to her.

And just for laughs, I saw this today and wanted to share.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Santa's Little Elf

2011-12-08T08:00:00.001-06:00

Last night we found a Santa's hat in a box of things my friend Julie had given to us. So I just had to put in on Mallory, as well as, her Christmas footie pajamas and take some pics

She really didn't know what to think about the hat but I thought she looked sooo cute!

We must get her to Santa soon so he can see his little elf!

Eva's Dedication

2011-12-06T08:00:00.001-06:00

Sunday morning, we headed to my brother's church to witness my niece be dedicated. We were happy that we could go and hopped in the car with my parents and headed that way!

Eva is getting ready for her big moment. Her dress was sewn by my sister-in-law, Kate's, mother. It was really pretty.

Both sets of grandparents joined Ryan, Kate and Eva at the front of the church for the dedication

Eva didn't close her eyes during the prayer but it was ok :)

Mallory sat with my Mom most of the church service and she did a good job. She wanted to make noise a couple of times because at home, she can just do it but this was the first time she was ever told to shush. Probably won't be last :)

The Bradley family

My parents with Ryan, Kate and Eva

And now, all of us!

After the church service, we headed over to Mi Cocina to eat lunch. It was so coooold out side so Mallory had to put her toboggan on.

Nana and Mallory all bundled up

Brian and Eva

Happy Dedication Eva! We will be praying for you and we glad we could be there with you!

Our Weekend in iPhone pics - Dec. 2 - 4, 2011

2011-12-05T08:00:00.001-06:00

It's Monday again and here is what we did this weekend told from my pics on my iPhone.

Friday night, we were bums and loved it. It had been a long week so in the early evening Mallory and I got in our pajamas and relaxed with Brian. I know the pic is blurry but I was happy to get us both smiling. It was a good evening.

Saturday morning, Brian and Mallory headed to DFW Airport to pick up our favorite Estes' as they arrived from their trip to Disney World. Mallory was happy to see her Auntie and cousins.

While the other Estes' were at the airport, I was determined to get a lot of Christmas shopping done. I'm thankful we live in a city that has lots of stores so I don't have to go far for most Christmas presents. I am happy to say that I did get most of it done! Yay!

I also had to do a little grocery shopping and now that I have a baby eating baby food, I had to stock up

Once I got the groceries put up, I headed over to the tree to start wrapping the presents that I had just laid under the tree. Brian and Mallory both napped while I wrapped

In the middle of wrapping, there is stuff everywhere

And done.

Sunday morning, we headed over to my brother's church to attend our niece, Eva's, baby dedication. I'm so glad we were able to go. I took a lot of pictures and you will see them in my post tomorrow.

We went to eat at Mi Cocina after the church service. My mother is holding Mallory's hand down because it still goes straight for Eva's headband. She just wants to touch it and put it in her mouth haha.

My parents asked to keep Mallory Sunday night so after bible study we went to Palios to eat with Jill and Cooper. We love hanging with them and we ate and talked for 2 hours.

Good times with Great friends can't be beat!

So here's to another weekend gone and to another week ahead! Blessings to You!

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-02T09:20:00.000-06:00

The Christmas Tree is up at the Estes Household. We put it up the day after Thanksgiving. We love our little tree and as you can tell, it needs presents underneath it. I hope to accomplish that part, this weekend.

We put up the tree while Mallory was taking her nap and I couldn't wait to show her the tree when she woke up. I was hoping that Brian would bring her in and she would just be in awe of the tree...haha. She looked at it once and then turned around. She wasn't that interested but hey, that's ok!

Mallory seeing the Christmas Tree for the first time

She doesn't really know what to think about it but she likes to look at it from time to time. I set her in front of it the other day and below is my favorite shot of her looking up at it.

She went straight for the tree skirt.

Loving this Christmas season with this little one

I tried to sing the song "O Christmas Tree" to Mallory but got through O Christmas Tree and didn't know the rest of the words of the song :)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

They Are Having A...

2011-12-01T08:00:00.002-06:00

Last night we headed over to our friend's, Nancy's house to hear if our friends Cooper and Jill are having a boy or a girl. It was my first Gender Reveal Party and I couldn't wait to find out!

Nancy holding her new grandson, Kamdyn, born in October. She couldn't wait to see what her newest grandbaby would be

Brian and Mallory were ready to know too...

My BFF Julie Face Timed on my phone so she could see what the baby would be

Jill told me she found this reveal idea on Pinterest. When they opened the box, pink or blue balloons would come out and that's how we would know what Baby Crowell was!

Here we go...

And as the great photographer I am, haha, I got one little pink balloon at the top of photo. Good timing!

They are having a GIRL!!

Mallory and I cannot wait to meet Baby Girl Crowell! No name has been agreed upon yet but that's ok! We are so excited for our friends and this new life coming in June!

Mallory is 6 Months Old!

2011-11-29T11:15:00.000-06:00

Mallory is 6 Months Old!!

We are posting this today because we had our Dr.'s appt today so now we know the stats!

Weight

17 lbs, 14.5 oz (5lbs, 12oz at birth) | 80th percentile

Height

25.25 inches (18.75 inches at birth) | 25th percentile

Diapers

Size 2 fit but we are about to move in to 3's

Clothes

Mostly wearing 6 month clothes, some 6-9 and a couple of 9 month things. Depends on the brand.

Feedings

You love eating baby food. So far you've had peas, carrots, green beans and sweet potatoes. You just started eating baby food consistently but we are trying more things as the days go by. You eat 6-8 oz each bottle feeding. I love how you open your mouth big and wide when you see the spoon coming with food - such a big girl!

Sleeping

Much better! You still take a short nap mid-morning, long nap in the afternoon and depending on the day, you will take a short nap around 6 or 7pm. You are sleeping much better at night now that you are sleeping on your stomach. You slept on your stomach for naps but I was hesistant to lay you on your stomach for the full night but now that you do, it has worked well! You go to bed between 8:45pm-9:30pm most nights and when we don't have to wake you up to get you ready for daycare, you will sleep until around 7:30 am or 8am.

Other fun things

You are sitting up so well. You are getting stronger everyday and try so hard to pull yourself up to sit if you are laying down. Everything still goes straight to your mouth - especially all toys and your feet. You love sitting up and playing with all the things on your activity mat and you love your new exercauser that your friend Karlyn let you borrow. You really want to crawl, you move like you want to go somewhere so I know soon it will click and you will be on the go. Until then you just move your legs and arms all the time whenever you are sitting or are being held.

Thankfully you are a pro at looking for and picking up your pacifier and putting it back in your mouth. It has saved me many trips to your bedroom in the night because you reach around for your paci and put it right back in your mouth and go back to sleep. Thank You!!

The Dr. said everything looked great and you are growing well! You are a chunk of love! We are so thankful for a good, healthy report!

Look at you Grow! (click photo for better viewing)

Happy 6 Months Mallory! We Love You!

Mallory's First Thanksgiving - 2011

2011-11-28T08:00:00.003-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day! I remember last year's Thanksgiving Day so well because that is when we told Brian's family and my family. I knew that this year's Thanksgiving would be so fun because we would have our child with us! And it was great! We did our usual visits - first with Brian's family and then later in the day with mine. Let the photos begin:

The Estes Family - Thanksgiving 2011

Our host and hostess - Uncle Kam & Aunt Pam

Lots of food! It was very good!

And this year - Brian's cousin Foster and his wife Abbi announced they are expecting a baby in July! Mallory will have a new cousin to play with next year!

This is Brian's grandmother's reaction to the news - she was very surprised and happy!

I meant to take a picture of my contribution every year: Sausage Balls but they all disappeared fast - I guess that meant they were good

Brian was really excited about the mashed potatoes

So he decided to share with Mallory :)

Mallory's baby food of choice on Thanksgiving was carrots and sweet potatoes - I bought the sweet potatoes baby food so she could enjoy her Thanksgiving food too :)

Brian's grandmother and all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren

About mid-afternoon we headed over to my Aunt's house to see my family. We got there right as the Cowboy's game started so that's where Brian headed.

Playing games is what our family does!

Mallory and her cousin Eva

My grandmother with her great-grandchildren

My cousin Tyson and Tori got married in September but we didn't get to have a shower for them so we did a little one since all of our family was together. Gotta have a Crock-Pot!

Thanksgiving evening we went to my parents house to hang out with my parents and my brother, sister-in-law and Eva

And then my BFF Julie and Jill dropped by! I was so excited to see them! I can't wait to have Baby Crowell to play with next Thanksgiving!

We also got to see this pretty thing - Emmalyn

And just like we always do - we played a game - Scattegories. I lost :/

It was such a full day of family, friends, food and fun we were just all tuckered out.

We are truly thankful for all God has blessed us with!

I hope you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T08:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving from the Estes Family!

May you and yours enjoy today and join us in thanking God for all of our blessings!

God Bless!

Who Needs a Pacifier?

2011-11-23T14:55:00.000-06:00

When

You

Have

Your

Hands?

Yes, Mallory's hands are in her mouth all the time. And if it's not her hands, it's her pacifier or something that is easy to chew! I took these pictures Monday night because I couldn't decide which bow for her to wear for our church directory picture so I wanted to take pictures to see what look best. Haha - Just so you know we went with the black & white flower. And of course, when it came time to choose the photo for the directory, we went with the one without her hand in her mouth.

Happy Wednesday!

Our Weekend in iPhone pics - Nov 18 - 20, 2011

2011-11-21T08:00:00.005-06:00

Mallory is 6 Months Old Today!

I admit this is not an iPhone photo but today our little girl is 6 Months Old! We don't have our 6 month visit until late next week so once I get all the stats, I'll do a separate blog post then.

We had a great weekend! It's nice to be home without knowing I'm going somewhere the next weekend. Brian, Mallory and I headed to Firewheel to look for a dress for Mallory and a new top for me because we get our church directory picture made tonight. Gotta love Olan Mills! We decided to eat at Outback and Mallory decided to look at everybody except us all night.

She just had to see what everybody else was doing.

All day Friday, my Mom texted me pictures of our nieces and them at Disney World. This is before they got on the plane for their first plane ride.

They kept telling me how excited they were. And then, they made it here:

I can't even imagine their faces when they saw this. So fun!

Saturday, Brian headed out to play paintball with people in our Sunday School class. I saw a lot of war wounds - don't think I will be joining them anytime soon!

I didn't find anything at Firewheel for Mallory and I so after Brian got back, I headed to find something to wear. I also stopped by Hobby Lobby because I wanted to find a Baby's First Christmas ornament for Mallory. I really wanted to find a round one with that written on it but I didn't see one anywhere. I did get this one but if someone knows I can get one that says Baby's First Christmas and has the year 2011, let me know!

Also on Saturday, Mallory got her first birthday invitation for her friend Karlyn's 1st birthday party! We are so excited!

Sunday morning, we got all dressed and headed to church. Mallory and I both wore purple

And finally, on the way home from church, Mallory usually does something to make us laugh and yesterday, it was that she kept trying to eat her shoe. She usually doesn't wear shoes, just socks and she decided to try and put them in her mouth.

I took the picture from the mirror in Brian's truck. She was just chewing away! Such a lady :)

It was a great weekend and we look forward to this week because of the time off work and getting to be with family and friends!! Hope you have a fantastic week!

Everybody's Going...

2011-11-18T08:00:00.003-06:00

Well, it seems that everybody in our family is going to Disney World!

My parents, brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces are headed to Disney World. I know they will have a great time and Kiersi & Kayden will love seeing all the princesses. I got them an autograph book for their birthday so hopefully they won't be too shy and will get some autographs and pictures taken with all of the princesses and characters! I cannot wait to see Kiersi & Kayden and hear all about it. The last time I was at Disney World was in 2004 with my family. We had a great time and I can't wait to take Mallory one day when she gets older!

And soon, our nephews head to Disney World. As soon as some of our family gets back from Disney, some more head that way! I know Cade & Caleb are so excited and it is so neat that all of the Grables get to go! I'm wishing The Gillespies, The Killoughs, The McIntires, The Estes' and the Grables a fun and safe trip! I can't wait to see all of the pictures!

A dream is a wish your heart makes...

Peas Please

2011-11-16T12:30:00.000-06:00

We know that Mallory enjoys her some rice cereal and oatmeal so last night I decided to pull out some new food just to try and see what she thought. Last night's food of choice was:

At first, she wasn't sure about it and then, I think she started to like it

Sorry for my finger in the shot - that's what happens when you've got to grab the iPhone fast to make sure you don't miss the picture!

She actually did enjoy the peas and didn't make too much of a mess. I love that Brian and I can sit down to dinner and she sits by us in her high chair and we all eat together at the family table!

This morning Mallory and I headed to the Dr for a follow-up. Like I said, the breathing treatments really did help and the Dr said that she looked and sounded much better! She is so active, she didn't want to stay still for them to look in her ears and listen to her breathe but other than that, she was a good patient. Even after spitting up all over me :)

Me and my girl playing around before the Dr came in!

I hope you have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Bronchiolitis

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000-06:00

Bronchiolitis has been the word around our house. Mallory has been congested but she started getting an ugly cough that just wouldn't go away. Of course it decided to get worse as soon as I left for OKC - so Brian being the super Dad he is, took Mallory to the Dr on Thursday. She had a small ear infection and Bronchiolitis - which explains the cough. Thankfully no RSV! So to make it go away - we got Sammy the Seal to start breathing treatments.

Don't let his smile deceive you - breathing treatments aren't the easiest thing to do with a 5 month old. Brian said the first time she didn't like it all and then the next time it was fine. And everytime since then, it has been screams everytime. No fun. It's always hard seeing your child cry but I keep telling her it's to help her feel better and it really has. The cough is gone and she feels so much better!

So yesterday morning, I decided to try a new way. I set her in my lap and rocked her while the treatment started and .... no tears! She's not smiling but she's not crying and I'll take that! I'm so grateful for doctors and medicine! I'll do whatever it takes to make the little girl I love so much feel better! Here's to more smiles and less sickness!

Our Weekend in iPhone pics Nov 11 -13, 2011

2011-11-14T15:40:00.000-06:00

Done. As in, the event season over = no more traveling! This past weekend we finished up our tour in Oklahoma City! I was excited to be the Event Planner for this one because I knew we could drive up there and come home after the event Saturday night.

There were 5 of us in our van heading to OKC on Wednesday. I worked most of the time there but did enjoy the occasional fun road trip songs!

Thursday night I went out to eat at Toby Keith's I Love this Bar & Grill with all of our contract staff - the staff that doesn't work in the office -just on the tour. I had Steak & Shrimp and it was very very good!

I made sure to go out and listen to Amy Grant live one more time. I've had so much working with her and her management this year! She did sing some "Heart In Motion" as well as "Better than a Hallelujah"

This is my co-worker, Nicole, showing us how to properly eat a cupcake. Defintely, not a way I had thought to eat it but it makes sense!

Saturday night, I came home to this little girl! I'll tell you more about Sammy the Seal behind her in the next post but she was sick while I was gone and is feeling so much better!

I was pretty busy this weekend and didn't have the opportunity to take too many pictures but I did have a good time enjoying our last event with all my wonderful co-workers. I am very blessed to be able to do what I do and work with the people I do! 236 ladies made first-time decisions to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior this weekend and that makes it all worth while!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

While I'm Away...

2011-11-11T10:40:00.000-06:00

I'm thankful for FaceTime so I can see this face:

Poor little girl has been coughing a lot and not feeling well lately but she just keeps on smiling and playing. Brian is off today for Veteran's Day and he and Mallory are enjoying the day together.

Last event this weekend in OKC and then I get to come home Saturday night! Woo Hoo!

Thank you to all of the Veterans for your service!

Happy Friday and Weekend to all!

Our Weekend in iPhone pics - Nov 4 - 6, 2011

2011-11-07T08:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Monday Morning! Sorry for my lack of blogging lately. After work, I come home and love on my baby girl until it's time for her to go to bed. Then, I usually get everything ready for the next day and then hit the hay. Unfortunately, Mallory hasn't been sleeping the best at night lately so Brian and I are taking the rest when we can get it :)

This past weekend, we did have a good time. I only have one event left in OKC this weekend and then I'm home for a good long while - Hooray! Our weekend started off by this being on our doorstep when we got home from work:

I was so excited to order this for Mallory. This stocking will be with us for many years to come!

Friday evening, we headed to Royse City to meet our family at Fish Camp to eat and then we went back to my parent's house. My brother, sister-in-law and baby Eva were in RC so we got to go see them!

It was chilly on Friday so Mallory got to wear her new sweatshirt. I got her whole outfit at Kid to Kid in Rockwall. I love that store and this pic - she looked so cute!

Also, she is starting to sit up so good these days. Look at her grow!

Here is our niece, Eva - sweet girl!

Saturday morning, Brian headed to Sulphur Springs with his uncle and cousin to his good friend's Jay's house to chop up some fire wood. We don't have a fire place but he's been able to give it to people who have one so that's been nice. Mallory and I headed to my hometown of Hughes Springs with my mom to go to one of our family friend's wedding shower. Our friend, Kent, is marrying his fiancee Laura Paul on Dec 17 and we won't be able to go so I wanted to get down for the shower to see them.

The shower was held at our friend's house - The Kaslings. They have a lot of land and this is what you see when you pull up to their house. It's so beautiful and everytime I go back to Hughes Springs, it makes me miss it. It is a great place to grow up!

The Groom & Bride to Be! Kent is studying to be a Radiologist and Laura is studying to be a Dermatologist - smart people!

It was fun to see so many friends. They were so happy to meet Mallory and she just sat on the couch blowing bubbles the whole time.

We couldn't go to HS without going by Joyce's house. I wish we lived closer to Joyce but we hopefully see her again around Christmas!

After seeing Joyce, we headed back home. Saturday evening, Brian and I headed to the hospital to see our friend, Ryan Ivey. Please keep him, Kati & Karlyn in your prayers. He had to have additional surgery due to scar tissue that caused problems from his first surgery from his jet skiing accident. Kati & Karlyn have both been sick so she wasn't able to get up to the hospital in the beginning b/c of the sickness. Pray she and Karlyn feel better and that Ryan continues to recover well.

Sunday, we went to church and then ate at On The Border with our SS class. Cheese Enchilada's please! I will remember what Pastor Steve said today: "I am somebody because God loves me" - Don't forget that this week - You are Somebody because God Loves You!

My Little Bumblebee

2011-11-01T13:25:00.000-05:00

It was so fun to dress Mallory up for Trick or Treating. I found her bumblebee outfit at a mall in Sacramento and couldn't wait to see her in it last night. She was the cutest bumblebee I've ever seen!

Me and my little girl ready to go!

She wasn't too sure what to think about the outfit

So, as she does with everything now, she tried to eat it

Our first stop was as the RC Pharmacy to see our favorite Pharmacist (Nancy, above) and our favorite Pharmacy Tech (Jill, below)

The next stop was Nana and Papa's so they could see the bumblebee and so we could take some pictures

We headed back to Rockwall but not without stopping by to see our friend, Liam and his outfite! The bee and the cow!

Liam wanted to hold Mallory's hand - they weren't too sure what was going on :)

Yay - they are both looking at the camera!

And now, my daughter tries to eat him. Poor little cow :(

Final stop was at Brian's aunts and uncles house. Brian's nephews and cousins always go trick or treating together so Mallory got to join them this year. She was thrilled (see her face below):

But then we decided to perk up

Here we have your ninja and spy/robber

Dad pushed Mallory along - she did help her cousin Kennedy get more candy!

And back at the house - lots of candy was received

That's a wrap on Mallory's first Halloween. She was a trooper - I thought she would fall asleep while trick or treating but she kept her eye on it all! We had a great time and I saw so many cute costumes that I have good ideas for next year!

Pumpkin Patch Pics

2011-10-31T08:00:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday afternoon, we headed to the Pumpkin Patch in Rockwall to get some pictures of Mallory with her cousins Caleb and Cade. I was really looking forward to the pictures and was excited to dress Mallory up in Fall clothes. The only thing was, it was 80 something degrees when we took the pics but we weren't out too long and she didn't get too hot. Also, she had just woken up from her nap when we took her so she wasn't real interested in smiling or looking at the camera for pics. We got some good ones and I put a couple below.

Love these pictures with Mallory and her cousins. So sweet!

Mallory and her Auntie - I think Mallory is wondering where her hand went

Got a great picture of the Estes'

And by the time it was time to get our family picture, Mallory was done but that's ok. I'm happy she was a trooper and glad of the ones we got!

Our Weekend in iPhone Pics - Oct 21

2011-10-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

It was a great weekend at home! I love just being with Brian and Mallory and it's extra special seeing all the friends and family! So here we go - here is our pics from the weekend of Oct 21, 2011:

This was Friday at work. During event season, it's like a ghosttown in the WoFfice because if you aren't traveling, then the other people are. This is my fellow Event Planner, Amy and we took this pic to send to our other EP's Jon & Betty-Ashley who were in St. Paul & San Antonio to let them know we missed them!

Friday night, Mallory and I headed over to my parent's house to see my nieces, Kiersi & Kayden. We watched Tangled and then Kayden wanted to watch Toy Story 3 so they got in their pajamas, ate popcorn and we watched it together.

Keeping with the Disney theme, I introduced Mallory to the greatness of "The Little Mermaid" on Saturday. I might have sang the songs along with it :)

Saturday afternoon, we went to the pumpkin patch to take some pictures with Mallory and her cousins Caleb & Cade (more pics in a later post). We did get some great shots like this too of our favorite Estes family

My little girl wasn't too excited to take the photos but I think we got some good ones!

I took this picture Saturday night at Fish Camp in Royse City. I just love God's beautiful artwork - especially at Sunset

Saturday night after we ate with my mom and nieces, we headed to our friend's Jill and Cooper's because my BFF Julie was there with her little girl Emmalyn. Julie had come in to run a half-marathon for Team World Vision! She is a rock-star for running that far - way to go! Emmalyn loved Mallory and wanted to kiss her and take care of her.

She especially wanted to help with Mallory's pacifier - she's such a good helper!

I got my picture with all the girls. It was such a fun night! Just sad the Rangers didn't win :/

And this is on our way home from church on Sunday. I looked back and Mallory had fallen asleep holding her bird that hangs down from her carseat handle. It made me laugh. I love her!

There you go! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Mallory is 5 Months Old!

2011-10-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

Mallory is 5 Months Old Today!!

Weight

Estimating around 15 lbs, 9 oz (5lbs, 12oz at birth)

Height

Estimating around 25 inches (18.75 inches at birth)

Diapers

Size 2 fit perfectly

Clothes

A couple of 3-6 outfits still fit, mostly wearing 6 months and I've bought some 6-9 month clothes for the winter

Feedings

You are eating rice cereal in the evenings. You like it in the beginning and then get over it when you have just a little left. You are eating between 6 - 8 oz from the bottle. You are a hungry, growing girl!

Sleeping

I wish I could say you are sleeping through the night but alas, lately you wake up around 3 or 4am and don't want to go back to sleep or you wake up as soon as I lay you back down. You just want to be held all the time and I'm hoping that we can get you back to sleeping well like you used to. Not sure if it's a growth spurt, teething or what but here's hoping 5 months will make the change back! You still nap well and are so tired when you come home from daycare that you usually take a little evening nap. You have too much fun there you are exhausted when I get you!

Other fun things

You are the blowing bubbles machine! You just love doing it and we love watching you do it. You love to sit up like a big girl. You like to reach for your feet and try to put them in your mouth with you are sitting up and when you are laying on your back. You still love bathtime and love all things about the water. You put your mouth on everything wanting to chew it so I have to watch carefully all you are doing. You smile all the time and it is the prettiest toothless grin I've ever soon!

Look at you Grow! (click photo for better viewing)

And just to think that exactly one year ago today, I saw this:

Happy 5 Months Mallory! We Love You!

Catch-up

2011-10-19T09:20:00.000-05:00

Hello! I'm here - just busy trying to finish our traveling event season and then when I'm at home, just being at home with my family and enjoying that time as much as possible! Last weekend I was in the lovely city of Sacramento and it was a great event! We had 615 first time decisions to accept Jesus Christ in their heart! Makes all the hard work worth it right there! I really did enjoy Sacramento - it is a neat city if you ever make it up there!

So, now I will play catch-up with my Instagram photos because I know if I don't write it all down, I'll forget it all!

Thursday night, Nicole, Chrissy, Tyler & I headed to Taro's by Mikuni Sushi Restuarant and it was wonderful! I had gone there with a group of people when I went to Sacramento in 2009 and loved it then and made sure to go back when I came back this year. They have fun named sushi rolls and the one I ate was the Marilyn Monroll - it was heavenly!! If you are ever in California, give it a try!

When we got ready to leave to go eat, we walked out of our hotel and saw a protest going on. We are used to having some protesters at our event but luckily they weren't here because of us. They were protesting union labor laws or something like that. All I know is that there were police everywhere and I couldn't help but get a picture. Our hotel did make the news that night also - good times!

I took a picture of this creature Sunday morning as I left. If you are ever in the Sacramento airport, it will be there to greet you as you come to the capital city. Not really sure what the meaning of it is - it's just really big!

I got home to this cutie pie Sunday afternoon and snuggled with her all day. I take Mondays off when I travel so Mallory and I can have some Mommy and Mallory time together. I took this picture because I laid Mallory down in her bouncy seat to watch some Sprout TV while I went to get ready to go run errands. I walked back into the living room and she had pulled herself up to the sitting position. She LOVES to sit up and play with her feet. She was smiling so big when I looked at her! I love seeing her learning new things!

I took this picture yesterday after we got home from work because it finally got cool in Texas (Hallelujah!!!) and this shirt was one of the long sleeved ones she had. It's so true - Mallory smiles so big everytime she sees her daddy. He is super-dad when I'm gone - only 2 more events to go!

Last, but not least - GO RANGERS!!! Game 1 of the World Series starts tonight in St Louis and the Estes family will be cheering loud and proud!!!

Hey O, Sacramento

2011-10-13T19:30:00.000-05:00

Hello from the great state of California. Just partying it up in the capital city of CA, Sacramento this weekend. I know you are just riveted to know what I did today but all I did was sit in my little office - which is usually the locker room of the home team or the visitor's team - and work the day away. Today was no different. But I did find this in my luggage when I got to my hotel yesterday:

My husband is the sweetest - he knows how hard it is for me to leave and tries to make it a little better!

There is a mall not too far from our hotel so I decided to go check it out last night - oh the life I lead :). First stop, was to eat at Johnny Rockets. We grabbed a bite to eat there and went on our way.

Don't judge - just enjoy the cute smiley face of ketchup

I was tempted to ride the merry-go-round but didn't. Maybe I'll get to ride some with Mallory one day!

It was a successful trip because I found Mallory's halloween outfit. I can't wait to see it on her. Gosh I miss her more than words can say. Tonight, sushi is on the menu with some friends. I'm looking forward to that and then off to bed before the full week begin. Happy Thursday evening!

Her Father's Daughter

2011-10-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

I know some blog posts ago, I blogged about who Mallory looked like by comparing our baby photos. I guess I was trying to convince myself that she looked like me a little, even when I was a baby. I know every single person that knows Brian and has seen Mallory says that she looks just like him. And then, Brian put these pictures side by side and I guess I admit defeat - she's his twin. Not that that's a bad thing - just hoped to see some sort of trait in her of me!

I mean, I just carried the girl for 9 months...come on! :)

The Weekend in iPhone pics

2011-10-10T11:10:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday! Here's my 2nd edition of my weekend in iPhone pics. The first one was a while ago but I guess when I'm home more often, I can be better at doing the weekend wrap-up!

In my last blog, I wrote how excited I was to see all of my family this weekend and then Friday night, the 24 hour stomach bug came for an ugly visit and I spent Saturday at home. Sad day. I really wanted to see my family but I knew it was best to stay home and rest while I could. I felt fine by Sat night and it was gone but it was no fun while it came.

We were excited about the watching the Rangers play Sat night and Brian called me Sat afternoon to say that our friends had two extra tickets for the game. Talk about double ugh for being sick on that day. I wanted to go so bad but I didn't know if I'd feel any better so Brian took his brother, Rob and they had a great time, even in the rain.

So Saturday night, Mallory and I played...

and did laundry togther

while Dad was here. But eventually the Rangers won and everybody had a good time!

Sunday, we all went to church and Mallory was excited to go.

We went over to Brian's aunt's and uncle's house and then I went to my So Long, Insecurity bible study Sunday night. It was a great first study and I'm looking forward to diving into it more and learning a lot.

So that was our weekend, definitely not what I had planned, but it was still a good weekend in my book because I was at home with my family! I hope you have a wonderful week!

Closeness

2011-10-07T13:30:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday!! I think this week has gone on for long enough - time for the weekend!

I know that I've written how grateful I am for our family but this week I just really stopped and really thanked God for the family we have. I mean, you don't get to choose what family you are born into correct? Now, I know our family loves Brian and I but ever since Mallory has been born, I know we've been replaced lol. And I'm fine with that :) I'm especially thankful that I live close to my parents and Brian's family. I wish I lived closer to my brothers and their families and maybe one day that will happen but we try to see each other as often as we can and I look forward to when we do that - like this weekend!

I was the child that was very ready to move out when it was time to go to college (and I'm sure my parents were ready to have a break from me - I know I wasn't the easiest child to deal with growing up :) ) but once I got to college, I did realize how much I did miss my parents and I loved coming home to see them. And now that Mallory's entered the world, having them close has been the best. My dad keeps her a couple of days a month, my parents pick her up from daycare if work makes me run late sometimes and I am so so so appreciative for that but what I love the most is the relationship they will have with Mallory as she grows up. I'm pretty sure her first word will be "Nana" just because my mom always says it to her and Mallory smiles every time. I really hope that Mallory will have a tight bond with her Nana and Papa!

I honestly don't know what I would have done without my Mom and my sister-in-law, Stephanie when Mallory was born. Stephanie texted me and came over often to make sure I was doing ok and to love on her niece. There were times she would watch her just so I could get some sleep and get some rest. She's answered many questions and been the best encouragement when we would have a long night with Mallory. I love she gets to grow up with her cousins Cade & Caleb close so they can be her big brothers and protect her from when boys come her way :)

We love living close to the rest of Brian's family too! Brian's Aunt Pam loves to keep Mallory and while we do love the daycare that Mallory goes to 3 times a week, it's also nice having family keep your little one. She offers to keep Mallory and I know they have a great time when they are together!

We love all of our family soooooo much and we love getting together to see them when we can including this weekend! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

So Long, Insecurity

2011-10-06T09:35:00.001-05:00

This Sunday starts our new bible study - So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore. I remember when this book first came out and I really wanted to read it. We just decided about a month ago to do this as a bible study and I'm really excited about it. I bought the book above and the workbook yesterday that goes along with it and I'm looking forward to diving in.

I love the time spent with my sisters in Christ talking about issues all women go through day in and day out. It's a great time just to be honest and get encouragement from people going through the same thing. Who hasn't felt insecure at one point in their life? I'm praying God will show me how to deal with each insecurity I have so I can say So Long to my Insecurities!

Inspired

2011-10-05T10:00:00.001-05:00

This past weekend in Milwaukee I had the opportunity to go in and listen to Angie Smith speak. It's usually hit and miss on when I get to go in and listen to the event because I'm on call 24/7 all weekend so I never know when I'll be needed. This past weekend I was excited to have the time to just go in and sit and listen.

I got to meet Angie for the first time last year in Omaha, NE when she came to check out Women of Faith. I had first heard about her from my friend Shannon, and I took this picture for Shannon and told Angie that she was a fan. Little did I know, how big of a fan I would become of hers.

Angie joined our Imagine tour this year and although I had followed her blog and read her story about her daughter, Audrey, I really didn't know that much about her. When she got on the platform, she was honest and said she was nervous and then poured her heart out to all the ladies in the arena. She was funny, vulnerable, etc... It felt like she resonated with each lady there. She told the story about Audrey and how even though they lost their little girl, Audrey had weight in this world, even if it was only for the 2 hours she lived. If you haven't read her story, I would encourage you to.

She used the story of Peter walking on water towards Jesus and then as he started to sink he reached out towards the One he knew would rescue him. And that's how she and I want to be. When we are sinking and we are doing everything we can to keep ourselves above water, do we turn back to the ship of the world, our job, drugs, alcohcol, etc... or do we reach out to Jesus and let him rescue us?

Angie's new book "What Women Fear" is now out and I can't wait to read it! As she talked last weekend, she was open about her fear of public speaking and other fears. I think we as women all have the same fears sometime. I know for me I fear that I won't be a good mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, co-worker, etc... I fear that people don't see Christ in my life and that's the #1 thing people need to know - how good He is and how God can work and change your life like He has in mine!

And that's all I got today! Hope you have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Here She Grows

2011-10-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday! I took the above picture as we were flying over Lake Michigan headed home yesterday. It was such a beautiful sunrise as I was headed home. God's artwork is so amazing! I usually take the earliest flight home on Sundays so I can get home to my family. I was thankful to be home by 11am yesterday and spent the day snuggling my little girl. We had a great event in Milwaukee and the most rewarding thing is knowing 488 ladies made a decision to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior into their heart!

When I got home and got Mallory in my arms, it just seemed like she had grown since I had left. Who let her grow while I was gone?? She is just so fun and it was so great to see that toothless grin again. A couple of nights ago, Brian set up Mallory's highchair and last night we put her in it for the first time.

Mallory loved her highchair. She kept smiling!

Getting ready to feed her some rice cereal and she is looking at me thinking why are you taking my picture and not feeding me?

She did much better eating tonight. She did wear some of it but she is learning to swallow the cereal and not spit it all out. My mom said she looked so big sitting in her highchair and I agree!

This week I need to shop for Mallory and get her some fall/winter clothes. We have a ton of onesies and dresses but need to get some long sleeved tops for when it does start getting pretty chilly. I'm looking forward to taking Mallory to a pumpkin patch and taking some pictures too. Anybody know of any good pumpkin patches around to get some good pics?

Last but not least, Happy Birthday to my older brother, Greg! We Love You!

Praying you all have a wonderful week!

Up North

2011-09-30T08:00:00.003-05:00

Hello from Milwaukee, WI.

Happy Friday and Here's my Friday Randomness

I am in the land of cheese

This is the view of downtown Milwaukee from my hotel room

The weather this weekend is high in the 50's - yes 50's. It was very cool last night and I loved every minute of it!

We are at The Bradley Center this weekend and our Transportation Coordinator puts down arrows at each arena every weekend to tell us where to go. I would get so lost if we didn't have these!

While I'm working hard, my heart is with these two. Miss them so much!

Not sure if my video upload will work and if it doesn't, that's ok. It's a video of Mallory talking and smiling. Thankful my husband sends me these little things throughout the weekend for me to see!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

ABC's

2011-09-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

I saw this on Lindsee Lou's blog and it looked fun. Play along if you would like! So, here we go!

A. Age: 29

B. Bed size: A king. I love my husband and at night, I like to fall asleep snuggling with him but then we both part ways and go to our sides of the bed :)

C. Chore that you hate: Laundry - and now with Mallory we have a lot of it but it's always nice to have it done.

D. Dogs: No. Please don't get me one.

E. Essential start to your day: Getting up the first time my alarm goes off. If I don't get up then and snooze, who knows how long I'll sleep and be groggy the rest of the day.

F. Favorite color: I like a dark burgundy. I love the colors of my bridesmaids dresses - black & dark burgundy. Gorgeous!

G. Gold or Silver: Silver - I've never liked to wear gold and I don't know why.

H. Height: 5'7"

I. Instruments you play: At the moment, none. But I did play the clarinet when I was in junior high. 1st chair baby!

J. Job title: Event Planner - planning is what I do.

K. Kids: 1 - Mallory Anne - born 5/21/11

L. Live: Texas. I've lived in this state all my life however I've lived in 4 towns my whole life.

M. Mother’s name: Cynthia Ann Bradley - Mallory's middle name is after her - I just added the "e" at the end because I liked it spelled that way :)

N. Nicknames: In high school, my friend's dad called me "Killer B" since we all played sports together but other than that, nothing!

O. Overnight hospital stays: 6 nights - 2 nights before Mallory was born and 4 nights after.

P. Pet peeves: People cutting their toenails where I can hear, people pulling out in front of me and not going the speed limit. If you are going to pull out and least go the speed limit!

Q. Quote from a movie: “I like smiling, smiling is my favorite" from Buddy the Elf. Anything from Elf and Dumb and Dumber. I know - classic movies :)

R. Right or left handed: Right!

S. Siblings: Two brothers. One older - Greg, One younger - Ryan.

U. Ultimate Vacation: Mediterranean Cruise

V. Vegetable you hate: Celery. Yuck.

W. What makes you run late: Waiting until the morning to do everything instead of doing it all the night before.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Only one. I just remember they kept asking me if I was pregnant and after the 5th time I said No, they started taking the X-ray. Did they just not believe me?

Y. Yummy food that you make: Roast. Mashed Potatoes. My husband's version of hamburger helper.

Z. Zoo animal: Giraffe. I like the loooooooong neck.

Something New

2011-09-28T08:00:00.001-05:00

At Mallory's 4 month check-up, her Dr. said that she could start on rice cereal since she is wanting to eat so much lately. I was excited to try something new since all Mallory's ever had was breastmilk or formula. We hadn't set up her high chair yet and since it was the first time, we just put her in bumbo, grabbed the iPhone for pics and off we went.

What is going on?

It was a messy start and she really didn't know what to think of it. She wore most of it but hey, it's the first time in her life she had eaten anything off of a spoon so we are still learning.

And then she was over it. No more please, give me the bottle!

We've done it a couple of nights after this first time and it is slowly but surely getting better. I love that it's just something new to try in her life. It's amazing to see all the new things that she is seeing, doing, learning, etc... I love it!

Cousin Love

2011-09-26T08:00:00.002-05:00

We had a busy but fun weekend! We went to the Rockwall/Highland Park football game Friday night and Mallory had so much, she fell asleep on the way home! Saturday morning, Mallory and I got up and headed over with my parents to see Ryan, Kate and my baby Eva. We were excited to see her and of course, take pictures of her. You can never have enough pictures!

While we were there, I couldn't help but take pics of Mallory either. We also took some pics of my parents with the girls and some of Mallory and Eva together. These cousins love each other already, event if they don't know they do yet :)

One of my favorites

Mom and Dad with Mallory & Eva

Mallory and Eva

Mallory wasn't real sure why her arm was around Eva haha

Me and my precious angel

We had a fun time with our family and look forward to seeing them again!

Pictures from the Week

2011-09-23T09:15:00.000-05:00

I like seeing from my friends blogs that there is a favorite photo of the week blog and an Insta-Friday blog so I'm joining the two and putting my favorite Instagram photos of the week on here :)

Mallory plays so hard at day care sometimes that she is just so tired at night, that after she's had her bath and has eaten, she just is completely out. Brian lifted her up to burp her and this is all she did. She didn't even wake up when he moved her. We laughed so hard and had to take a pic, of course!

This is more of a sad photo for me - I packed up Mallory's newborn clothes and some 0-3 month clothes that the little girl doesn't fit in anymore. The clothes were sooooooo little and some of her newborn clothes were too big for her when she was born. Crazy how much they grow in 4 months!

Brian and Mallory (not really and instagram pic - just an iPhone pic) at her 4 month check-up on Wednesday. She was as happy as could be rolling around on the table and trying to eat the paper. Poor thing didn't have a clue she was about to get her shots but she was a rock star like last time. Cried when she got them but Dad picked her right up and she was fine!

So there you have it! I'm looking forward to the weekend at home with my family and friends! I hope you all have a safe and wonderful weekend!

Mallory is 4 Months Old!

2011-09-21T10:30:00.000-05:00

Weight

14 lbs, 13 oz | 75th percentile (5lbs, 12oz at birth)

Height

24.25 inches | 50th percentile (18.75 inches at birth)

Diapers

We are finishing out the last few size 1 diapers (still fit but a little snug) and then will be moving to size 2

Clothes

You still can fit into some 3 month clothes but are mostly wearing 3-6 months.

Feedings

About a week ago, you decided you were ready to eat a lot more. You now eat 5-6 oz each time. We will be starting you on rice cereal very soon!

Sleeping

You still nap well. You were sleeping through the night but in the past couple of weeks, you have started waking up about 3:30 am to eat. We are hoping you will go back to your old good sleeping through the night habit :) You still take little naps in the morning and early evening and take a nice, long afternoon nap.

Other fun things

You do not like to stay still. You love to move your legs and I know you wish you could go somewhere. You love to blow your bubbles and like to talk a lot. Everything now goes straight to your mouth. You love to roll from your tummy to your back. You smile very big when I say your name and I love it!

Happy 4 Months Pretty Girl! We Love You!

Home is Where the Heart Is

2011-09-19T14:50:00.000-05:00

And even though I was in Spokane, WA all last weekend, my heart was definitely back at home with my two loves. I'm thankful it was a great event. It felt good to be back in the saddle and see the event all come together. We had a great number of women attend Women of Faith at the Spokane Arena and most importantly, 294 ladies made the decision to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior!

Brian was super dad keeping Mallory this weekend! I know they had great daddy/daughter time but I also know it's hard being the only one keeping her and not another set of arms to hand her off too when you need a break. My parents kept Mallory Thursday night and Friday morning headed off to my niece's Kindergarten class to attend the Grandparent's breakfast at her school. They loaded up Mallory and off they went.

I can't say how thankful I am for technology these days. FaceTiming and just getting pictures throughout the weekend made it a hard time being away, a little bit easier.

Mom sent me this picture of Mallory on their way back home Friday morning

This is the glamourous life of traveling on the road. Hanging out in catering. Good times.

Our friend, Amanda Moore, got married on Saturday. I was so sad I couldn't be there but Brian took Mallory as his date and they had a good time. I laid out Mallory's dress, bow and shoes to wear and Brian put the outfit together perfectly. People we so surprised he dressed her on his own. Have I said he's a great dad?

The beautiful bride and Mallory

Brian and his date

I got home Sunday afternoon and was so happy to walk through the door. Mallory and I took a late afternoon nap together and it was glorious. I was so happy just to hold her and play with her. I know she won't remember at this age that I was gone but it was so great just to do our usual routine of putting her to bed last night. Love being home.

I bought Mallory a snowglobe from Spokane and she didn't know what to think of it.

1 trip down and 4 more to go this Fall. I'm blessed in the job I have and blessed for the family that love to keep Mallory for Brian and I when we are gone. I know our favorite Estes family helped out so much in keeping Mallory this weekend too and I can't say thank you enough!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

On the Road Again...

2011-09-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

And look who wanted to go with me? I love this picture of Mallory in the suitcase. She sat by me as I packed to leave on my trip. I'm back on my first work trip since February. I can't believe it's been that long. That's the longest I've gone without traveling since I started traveling in 2007. I knew this day was coming. The day I would I have to say goodbye to my little girl for 4 days. It wasn't easy saying goodbye but I know Mallory is in the best hands. She will have some great daddy/daughter time and some fun time with my parents. We have the best family that has stepped in and offered to help keep her while I'm on the road.

I remind myself when I travel that 1) I am working for a wonderful ministry that tells women of God's love and I want Mallory to know what her mother's work was all about and 2) Mallory gets to spend quality time with Brian. She also gets to stay with my parents and other family members that treasure that time with Mallory too. So, while it is hard to be away, I can see the good in this time.

I'm also thankful for technology today so I can face time with Brian and Mallory. It is so great to see their faces while we are in two different states!

There are my loves. Not sure why I put my thumb in the shot!

Beautiful Mountains

And, it's not too bad that my first event city this year is Spokane, WA. It is definitely one of my favorite cities and we are staying at one of my favorite hotels. I snapped the photo above as I was flying from Seattle to Spokane. It was so beautiful and I'm ready for cooler weather!

I'm so thankful to my family and friends who have prayed as I begin my travel season. I've felt the love and prayers! Here we go!

What's Happening Wednesday

2011-09-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hello! I hope you are having a great week. This week has been busy busy but we had a great weekend together.

Look at all of that cuteness! Mallory got dressed up to go see cousin Cade & cousin Jensen play flag football on Saturday. I'm sad to say the pants were a little tight on those thunder thighs haha. She also kept wanting to eat her shirt where the ice cream cone was. I had to keep taking it out of her mouth.

Mallory's new favorite thing to do is blow bubbles. She just lays on her activity mat and instead of playing just sits and blows bubbles. I got it on video with my phone but do to my lack of technology sense, I tried to upload it but it didn't load. Sad day.

These two cuties matched going to church on Sunday. I couldn't wait to get a picture of them together.

Baby girl is eating up a storm too. I know you can tell by her chunkiness - she has always eaten well but lately, it is non-stop. We have upped the amount of ounces in her bottle and I'm interested to see what the Dr says at our 4 month appt. I'm wondering if rice cereal will be something we try next!

Other than that, it has been a good week and I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the week holds! All that I do know is that God's knows what it holds and that's the best news I could get!

10 Years Later

2011-09-11T08:00:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it's been 10 years since Sept. 11, 2001. It was such a tragic day and one I will never forget. 10 years ago on this day, I was 19 and was a sophomore in college at Stephen F Austin in Nacogdoches. I had an 8am Radio Broadcasting class and my professor, Mrs. Williford, walked in the room and told us a plane had it one of the twin towers in NYC. My first thought was a small plane had hit it but little did I know, that wasn't the case.

We all walked into our TV Studio and turned the news on. Not too long after we had turned it on, the 2nd plane hit the other tower. It was so surreal and I felt so sick to my stomach. Our eyes stayed glued to the TV as the reports of the Pentagon and the plane in Pennsylvania came on. They cancelled all of the classes the rest of day and I headed back to my dorm room to watch the news and didn't leave there the rest of the day. I called my Mom and talked to my parents off and on the rest of the day. Certainly a day I'll never forget.

It's weird to me that all Mallory will know about 9/11 will be what is in the history books and I hope she never has to go through what our country went through on that day.

I'm so grateful to know that we know that no matter what happens, God is in control of all things. May we never forget what happened on that day and remember all those brave men and women who lost their lives that day. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Eva Kate

2011-09-10T10:25:00.001-05:00

Eva Kate Bradley is here! Our newest niece (born to my brother, Ryan, and sister-in-law, Kate) was born on Thursday, September 8 at 4:56 pm. She weight 6 lbs, 10oz and measured 19.25 inches in length! We headed over to the hospital last night so we could meet this little angel!

Peaceful

Isn't she lovely? Her Aunt Amanda loves her!

My younger brother, Ryan, with his daughter

Mallory meeting Eva - she wasn't too sure what to think

Me and my little girl excited to meet Eva

My mom and dad with their 4th granddaughter

Uncle Brian and Eva

Me and my my brother with our daughters

She does not like to be unswaddled

Look at those pretty eyes

We are so excited to welcome Eva to our family! Congrats Ryan & Kate!

2011 Labor Day Weekend, Part 3

2011-09-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

We made it to Labor Day! But before I get there, I forgot to put this picture up in the blog before. I love dressing Mallory up to go to church. She has the prettiest dresses to wear. This Sunday, she wore shoes for the first time! Yes, shoes! Since it's been 100 degrees or more forever, there's been no need for them but I knew she had shoes to go with this dress and she looked so cute!

She wasn't too sure what to think of them and kept kicking one of them off but she looked great!

Ok, now to Labor Day! What did we do? Hung out with family and friends! We enjoyed having my parents, Cooper, Jill, Rob, Stephanie, Caleb and Cade all over for hamburgers and hot dogs.

All the guys and Mallory eating and watching the Rangers play

Us girls stayed in the dining room to talk

Cade sat outside and ate because he LOVED the weather!

Mallory got her picture taken too, first with Dad

Then, with Cousin Caleb

Later our friends, Cooper and Jill, came over and the Playstation came out

After everybody ate, my parents, Rob, Steph, and the boys left and we hung out with Cooper and Jill. Mallory slept most of the afternoon but decided to wake up to see her friends.

It was a simple, relaxing day with family and friends. We are so blessed! I tried to take it all in because I know soon, I'll be hitting the road and it will be a busy time. And this concludes our Labor Day Weekend blogs. Thank you for reading!

2011 Labor Day Weekend, Part 2

2011-09-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Saturday morning, we got up when Mallory got up - about 7am. She ate and then we all went back to sleep and enjoyed a little more time sleeping in. Saturday afternoon, we headed to my cousin's wedding. My cousin Tyson, married his fiancee Tori at his Uncle's house and it was really simple & nice.

My aunt had asked me if I would take pictures for the wedding. Now, I am by no means a professional photographer and I am the first to say that just because you have a nice camera, doesn't make you a professional either. I agreed though and hope I did a good job for them. I don't know how the professionals do it too, my feet hurt after 1 hour. lol.

My uncle Paul married Tyson & Tori

The happy couple

Tori has a one year old little boy, Aiden, and I love how this pic turned out of him walking to her after the ceremony

All the yummy food

The cakes were wonderful

Cutting the cake

Great picture of Tyson, Tori & Mallory

My crazy cousin, Chris, was the videographer for the wedding. He videoed Brian and I's wedding and I love how it turned out. He's a real pro

And I had to include a picture of the nieces and Chris's son, Andrew. They had a lot of fun with the fake rose petals.

We enjoyed the wedding and seeing our family. I love whenever we can all get together!

Sunday, we went to church and got to see our friends - The McIntire's son, Blake, get baptized. We then went to El Chico to eat with our Sunday School class. We are so blessed to serve with them. After lunch, Brian and our Sunday School teacher, Phil, headed to the hospital to see our friend, Ryan Ivey. Ryan was water skiing on Saturday and fell. He started feeling bad and Sunday morning he went to a local hospital, then they careflighted him to a better hospital equipped to treat him. He had a lot of internal bleeding from his ruptured spleen. They removed his spleen and he is recovering now and will be in the hospital for a couple of more days. Please keep the Iveys in your prayers. Ryan & Kati have been great friends to us and we know they are relying on God throughout this whole ordeal.

That was our Saturday & Sunday of Labor Day weekend. What did we do on the actual Labor Day? See tomorrow!

2011 Labor Day Weekend, Part 1

2011-09-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

We had a great Labor Day weekend! We did so much that I had to divide it into 3 blogs. Our weekend started off Friday night in Wills Point watching our good friend, Cooper, coach. This is his first year coaching and he is the receiver's coach in WP. You know there is nothing better than Friday Night Football in Texas!

Brian pointing to Cooper in the coach's photo in the program

Jill, the coach's wife. She's been a coach's kid all her life and now she starts her new role as the coach's wife.

Me and Mallory

Mallory enjoyed her first football game. I think it was sensual overload. She didn't know what all to look at it but she did a great job and took it all in. She was so excited to be there that as soon as we sat down at the game, she went to the bathroom all over me :) Thankfully it was just #1 so Dad took her back out to the truck to change her. All I could do is just laugh - love that little girl!

This is after WP made a field goal putting them up 3-0, that's all they would need!

Daddy and daughter enjoying their first of many football games together

Wills Point 3, Gladewater 0

Coach Crowell with one of his biggest fans after the game! He won his first game as a coach - Way to go Cooper!

The Crowells

Brian and I had such a good time at the game. I was really looking forward to going to start the weekend off right after a long/hard week. We cheered Coop on with Jill and Cooper's dad, Scott. We look forward to cheering him on at more of his games in the future. It was a great night!

Crockpotalooza - Roast

2011-09-02T10:20:00.000-05:00

I thought I would join in all the fun and give you my favorite crock-pot recipe. It's actually my sister-in-law, Stephanie's recipe. She gave it to me when Brian and I got married and we have loved eating it ever since. And all of you that know me, know that I did not get my mother's cooking gene but I'm trying! This recipe is our favorite Sunday lunch recipe. There's nothing better than coming home from church and smelling the roast in the air!

Before I give you the recipe, I have to suggest the product below:

Slow Cook Liners - Best Invention ever - putting a liner in makes for easy, fast clean-up! Use it when you use your crock-pot and you won't regret it!

Now to the recipe, It is a simple roast recipe and only requires the three following ingredients:

Roast

Heinz 57 Sauce or Great Value - doesn't matter!

20 oz Coca-Cola

Here we go:

Set the roast in the crock-pot

Pour half of the Heinz 57 sauce on the roast

Pour all of the Coca-Cola on the roast

Pour the rest of the Heinz 57 sauce on the roast

Set on low for 6 hours

After 6 hours, you will have the most tender, juicy, tasty roast!

Must be served with mashed potatoes, green beans and Sister Shubert dinner rolls - that's how we do it in the Estes household.

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe Labor Day Weekend! God Bless!

Streeeeeeetch

2011-08-31T11:25:00.001-05:00

Good news from the Estes household: Our baby girl is sleeping through the night - can we get a Hallelujah??? And by sleeping through the night - I don't mean the 6 hours it says sleeping through the night is in the baby books - I'm talking - an 8 hour stretch that her parents sleep. She does squirm around some around 3am or 4am but for then goes right back to sleep!

Usually in the mornings, I get up and ready and then I wake Mallory up to get her ready to go to daycare. Every morning, I lay her on her the changing pad and she stretches for the longest time. It is the cutest. I talk to her and say Good Morning and after she stretches for a couple of minutes, she slowly opens her eyes and smiles the biggest sweetest smile ever!!

So, I decided to grab my iPhone and take pictures of it this morning. Here we go:

What's going on???

Streeeeetch

BIG Streeeeetch

Where am I at?

There's Mom!!! But why is she taking my picture this early in the morning??

I love the morning time with Mallory. I just wish I had more time to play before she goes to daycare but I enjoy the few minutes we have to get her ready to go!

Happy Wednesday!

The Weekend in iPhone pics

2011-08-29T13:25:00.001-05:00

I cannot say how thankful I am for the iPhone because I have been able to capture so many cute pictures of Mallory that I wouldn't have otherwise if I was running to get my camera and get back. It really is nice to have and it takes good pictures!

Anywho, Friday night, Mallory, My Mom, her friend, Danette and I headed to the American Airlines Center for the Women of Faith event being held there. I wanted to take Mallory up there to introduce her to many of my co-workers. Mallory had recieved a really cute pink and black dress and I put it on her for the first time Friday night and I Loved it! Mallory, however, was not a fan at first. I just think she wasn't used to wearing something like the tutu but she warmed up to it!

I love this pic of us together. Look at those cheeks!

I really wanted to get a picture of her in her dress but this is really what she did instead:

She wasn't up for pictures so I gave her the paci and compromised with this:

We had a great time visiting with all my friends. I think Mallory was so exhuasted from being carried around and showed off to people that she was very ready to go at the end of the night. She slept very good Friday night.

Saturday morning, we went to Grandy's to eat breakfast with Brian's family to celebrate his grandfather's birthday! After that, we ran to Target to get a gift card for a wedding reception we had to go to that afternoon.

Brian's old roommate, Cory, got married in a small ceremony on August 6 in Colorado and they had a reception for he and his wife, Rachel, Saturday afternoon.

Isn't that cake beautiful? Cory had a chocolate Dallas Mavericks cake. We didn't stay long though because Mallory was very tired and it was time for her nap. We went in to say congrats to Cory & Rachel and then headed home.

Brian headed to see the Texas Rangers play Saturday night so Mallory and I just hung out and relaxed. I know I've talked about her rolling over but I got to see her do it for the first time Saturday night and loved it! She wasn't swaddled this time either. She just sticks her bottom up in the air and them pushes herself over - so cute!

Sunday, was indeed a day of rest! I went to my bible study with a group of ladies that I LOVE! God knew I would need them now and this moment and I appreciate their prayers and encouragement! It's great to have it on a Sunday night so I can prepare myself to be ready for what the week holds!

And, that's it - our Weekend-Wrap up! I hope you had a good weekend and have an even more wonderful week! God Loves You and is Always there for YOU!

Diapers & More

2011-08-28T08:00:00.001-05:00

It finally happened. After 3 months, we had to go buy our first box of diapers. Yes, 3 Months! From the numerous packages of diapers we recieved at baby showers to the many diapers we handed down from Kati Ivey (thank you Karlyn for growing!), we were completely blessed and were thrilled we could save money in that department!

I'm thinking that we may be moving into a size 2 for Mallory soon so these diapers can be passed onto my new baby niece, Eva, who will be here soon! I remember thinking that Mallory would be 3 months when Eva is born and now the time is here!

As mentioned before, Mallory is loving the TV and sometimes she lays on her play mat and plays and watches what ever is on. Saturday morning I just put her in her bouncy seat and let her watch cartoons. It's nice that she does have something to occupy her so I can be arms free for a bit. Usually she's eating her blanket or burp rag while enjoying the cartoons.

Living the Life

Hope you have a wonderful day! God Bless!

Friday Wrap-Up

2011-08-26T13:55:00.002-05:00

Hello Friday! This week was the week we were hoping we would have last week before the sickness struck but Mallory started her 3 days at day care this week and she did great! I'm afraid I will soon get a speeding ticket because I speed home after work so I can spend the evening with her!

Poor Brian didn't have a home cooked meal this week becuase all I wanted to do when I came home was play with Mallory. She loves just to lay on our bed and we play together. She smiles everytime I say her name and she just talks and talks. We have the best time!

Big Laugh

She just laughs like the picture above every evening. I'm so glad because I do miss her so much when I'm at work. I am still praying and figuring out the work/life balance and this past week wasn't bad. Mallory is just growing and changing and I want to spend every minute I'm not at work with her!

Mallory's new trick is rolling over in her crib! The first time it happened, I just called it a fluke because she was swaddled and was trying to get out. This time, she was still swaddled again but I'm just happy to know she's rolling over. I walked in to check on her and she was just laying there on her back (she naps on her stomach) just hanging out watching the fan.

She has no clue why I was taking her picture

When she is on her back on the floor playing, she has no interest in rolling over but that will come in time. It's so nice to see her happy/giggly self again after the sickness. I'm hoping that's our only one for a while!

We have a couple of things planned this weekend but not too much! I hope that you have a wonderful weekend! :)

First Day

2011-08-22T12:25:00.000-05:00

Today is our niece, Kiersi's first day of Kindergarten!

I can't believe she is old enough to start school but I know she will do great and I can't wait to hear all about how her first day went! Our niece, Kayden, Kiersi's sister, will start Kindergarten next year - they are growing too fast!

And here are the nephews:

Caleb is starting 6th grade and Cade is in 3rd! I know I've only been in the family a little while, but I can't believe how much they've grown since I've come in.

We love our nieces & nephews so much! We are praying they all have wonderful school years!

Mallory is 3 Months Old!

2011-08-21T08:00:00.004-05:00

Mallory is 3 Months Old Today!

Happy 3 Months Old Baby Girl! You are a beautiful little thing and your Dad and I love watching you grow but don't grow too fast! You are so alert and love being around people - especially if they hold you - you love being held!

Weight

13lbs (birth: 5lbs, 12 oz) -that was with a full diaper when we were at the Dr.'s Office so maybe a little less than that

Height

Around 22 inches (birth: 18.75)

Diapers

You are still in Size 1 diapers although you may be moving up to Size 2 pretty soon

Clothes

You are wearing mostly 0-3 month clothes and some 3 month clothes, depending on the brand

Feedings

You still eat 4 oz every 3 to 4 hours. At night you usually go 6 to 7 hours before eating

Sleeping

You nap really well. You take a morning cat nap, long afternoon nap & a cat nap in the late afternoon/early evening. You usually go to bed around 10:30 pm, wake up once in the night and then up around 7am in the morning. You LOVE to nap on your tummy and sleep so much more soundly on your tummy.

Other fun things

You love to smile and talk! You love your hands and have started putting everything in your mouth. You love for me to put you in our glider and hold you as your rock back and forth. You are starting to scoot. When you are on your tummy, you stick your bottom in the air and your legs push you forward even though you don't understand what you are doing :). You aren't interested in rolling over yet so that will happen when it does. You love watching TV with us and I will be picking up some Baby Einstein DVDs soon for you to watch.

Look at you Grow! Happy 3 Months Mallory! We Love You!

Back to Work

2011-08-19T13:00:00.001-05:00

Where the work goes down!

I'm baaaaack. At the WoFfice that is and at my cube above. Monday morning came and I started my drive to work. I dropped Mallory off at my sister-in-law's and felt good because I knew she was in good hands. My co-workers were so sweet and told me it would all be ok but if I needed a good cry, that was normal too. Thankfully, I didn't have any meltdowns - I had my moments the week before but this week I tried to prepare myself for what was to come.

To be honest, I was happy to be back with my co-workers. I miss Mallory so much at work but I do love my job too and it was great to be back. I know Mallory is well taken care of when I'm at work. I hadn't been back at the office since mid-March. It had been almost 5 months - craziness. My fellow Event Planners and boss were so great to me during the time I was out and helped so much - I owe them a lot. So, all this to say, the first week back at work went well and I'm back in the swing of things. Event Season is definitley here!

As I said in the previous post, Mallory did get sick for the first time, the first week back to work so that did make it much harder to leave her everyday. I am happy to say though that today, I can see her old smiley self coming back and I'm so grateful!

She's on the mend

We are staying in all weeked to hopefully kick this sickness to the curb! I've just never felt so helpless in my life. She felt so bad these past couple of days but besides giving her medicine, I just snuggled her to hopefully make her feel better. I just prayed and prayed that she would start feeling better because I just wanted to take the sickness away from her! Thank you for all your prayers!

After a crazy, long week, I think Brian and I survived with the help of friends and family. Hopefully next week will be more of the routine week we were hoping we would have this past week.

Here's to the weekend! Have a great one!

Sick Little Girl

2011-08-17T08:00:00.001-05:00

These past couple of days haven't been the easiest in the Estes household. There hasn't been much sleep at all and if it is, one of us is holding Mallory trying to sleep when she finally falls asleep.

Look at that sad face :(

We took Mallory to the doctor yesterday and she said that she has Herpangina - crazy name huh? Thankfully she didn't have a fever or strep throat but she does have a couple of blisters on her tongue and one on her throat. That would hurt me too! I was wondering why she didn't want her pacifier at all and this explains it. I have no idea where she got it because it is viral so she could have picked it up from anybody. I'm just glad we found the root of the problem and can now treat it. How you ask? By mixing baby benadryl & maalox together, putting a little on a q-tip and putting them on the blisters. I just feel so bad for her. Hopefully that will do the trick and hopefully she can rest more.

I started back to work on Monday and I've been a little sleep deprived but thankfully can make it through the day pretty well. I cannot say how completely grateful I am for all of our family. My sister-in-law, Stephanie kept Mallory on Monday and my parents kept her yesterday. She was supposed to go to daycare Tues, Wed & Thurs but I guess she will start next week. Brian's aunt is keeping her Thursday. We seriously do have the best family ever - I can't tell them all thank you enough for their help with Mallory. I know they love to do it because they love her so much too!

Another reason why I love my family so much is the little things they do. Last night, Stephanie dropped by dinner in our fridge so it would be there when we got home. She knew how exhausted we were and said that was one thing we didn't have to worry about.

In the bag in the fridge - the book was in there too - love it!

Nachos - the side with the lettuce is mine. Brian doesn't eat anything green :)

I love the instructions! I'm so tired that who knows if I would have kept it on :)

I would appreciate your prayers as Mallory gets over this sickness. I'm ready for her fun, giggly self to come back. And her sleeping at night self.

Family Fun Weekend Part 2

2011-08-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Friday night, Brian got he and I a room at the downtown Hyatt Regency. My parents kept Mallory for us - it was nice to get away, even if it was just for one night. It was a sweet surprise and some time much needed together before I headed back to work.

Our hotel right beside Reunion Tower

We went to eat at The Spaghetti Warehouse in West End. We love us some bread and garlic butter from there. We ate well!

We walked around the West End a little after and saw this new restaurant. We had seen a news report on this place opening. There were people eating there so I guess they are doing good business.

After walking around West End, we decided to go on a drive. One of our favorite things to do together is to just get in the truck and drive around. Brian was my tour guide for all things Dallas. I know that we go to Dallas for a lot of things but there are still a lot of places, I had never been. It was also nice to photograph the buildings and scenery. We just drove around, chatted and had a great time!

Victory Plaza

I used to intern here at WFAA Channel 8 in the Sports Dept. I worked with Dale Hansen and George Riba because I knew one day I would be a TV Sports Reporter. I'm glad I went the Event Planner route!

Looking down into the restaurants at our hotel

Reunion Tower at night

I love this man!

Thank you Brian for planning a great day and night away! I had a wonderful time!

Family Fun Weekend Part 1

2011-08-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

My wonderful husband decided to take off Friday so we could spend the day together before I had to go back to work on Monday. I was so happy he did because I was looking forward to spending time with them all day before the busyness of work starts again.

We started out by going to the Vera Bradley store. I had gotten a gift card there for my birthday so I was able to get a pretty bag to carry my new camera Brian had gotten me. I love it! We had wanted to go to In-n-Out since it opened but finally were able to go on Friday.

In-N-Out in Allen

Yes, animal style on the burger and fries

Brian was happy about his burger

I was very happy about it too!

Mallory was the most excited about being there :)

Now time to put the hat on!

And when missy woke up, we put a hat on her too!

After we got done eating at In-N-Out, we head over to the Allen Outlet Mall. I was able to get my new Sketchers that I wear every event season. It was a good afternoon of food and shopping with my family!

Play Date

2011-08-12T08:00:00.003-05:00

Yesterday afternoon, Mallory's friends, Liam & Karlyn and their moms, Lyndsey & Kati, came over for a play date. I was looking forward to having this play date with them before I went back to work. All three of these little ones will be in the same grade and I'm excited about that. I'm so thankful for Kati & Lyndsey for all the answers they given me when I had momma questions.

Trying to get them all to smile for a picture was a fun time - at least we got them all looking at the camera!

We had a great time just hanging out and talking. Liam's definitely got his pick of girls around his age. I look forward to watching all of our children grow up together.

They all did good getting their picture made. Then, Karlyn wanted to help take Mallory's bow off. This picture makes me laugh.

Mallory had so much fun that she fell asleep before the play date was over. Unfortunately, before the date was over, we discovered that ants have literally taken over our house. We had some in our sink that Brian had gotten rid of but then we found a hole in our baseboard where they have decided to come in from the heat and to find water/food. I killed the ones I could with the dustbuster but Brian the exterminator is attacking them now. Thankfully we all survived :)

Thanks to our friends for coming over!

Trial Run

2011-08-11T08:00:00.003-05:00

I love that face so much! She smiles so much these days and she's so much fun. Yesterday, I took her to the home daycare she will be staying at. Before Mallory was born, Brian and I both prayed we would find a good, warm loving place for Mallory to stay when I went back to work and he definitely answered our prayers.

I wanted to take her before I went back to work so they could get to know her and so I could do a little work so I'm not completely overwhelmed when I go back. I was a little sad as I drove to drop her off but once I got there and talked to the two ladies that work there, I felt so much better. I also was there when my friend, Kasie, dropped off her daughter, Myka, and it was great to talk to her. I know God brought her in at that time so I would see that Kasie loves sending her daughter there too. When I got in the car to leave, I felt a peace and I thanked God the whole way home for his provision. I went to pick her up and the ladies said she did great! She said she smiles and giggles a lot. I was very proud and happy.

Brian will start taking her in the mornings and I will pick her up on my way home from work. I know it will be hard to say goodbye every morning but Brian and I know that me working is what's best for our family right now. I would appreciate your prayers as we transition into this new time in our life.

I took this video of Mallory smiling and playing. I know I take a lot of pictures but I realized I needed to start taking some videos also to have so here is one. Love her!

PS. I'm not sure why my blog went nuts and rearranged the layout. I'm going to work that and try to get us back to normal :)

Friends & Family Time

2011-08-09T08:00:00.001-05:00

I have no clever Titles anymore :) Sorry! So, Sunday after church we headed over to my second family's house - The Owens. My best friend Julie, her husband Aaron and little girl Emmalyn were on their way and I was looking forward to seeing them! Her sister Jill and husband Cooper were also there and we always love hanging out with them!

Julie and Mallory

Two BFF's and our daughters. Each holding the other one's little girl.

Monday for lunch we headed over to Dallas to meet my sister-in-law, Kate, for lunch! Kate is due Sept 10 and I can't believe we are so close to meeting Eva. Kate looks great and is feeling pretty good.

Kate & Mallory

This is it. The last week of maternity leave. I knew it was coming and I'm trying to live it up as you can tell with all of the lunches and things. I was going to try and start getting up and get in a routine but that didn't happen Monday morning. Mallory fell asleep on my chest so I closed my eyes with her and enjoyed our time together! Happy Tuesday!

Life Interrupted

2011-08-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

I'm really looking forward to doing the bible study below:

Me and some other ladies from our church are reading the book, "Life Interrupted" by Priscilla Shirer. I love the time I get to spend with the ladies talking about God's Word and all that God has done and is doing in our lives. We share our struggles, praises and all that is going on in our life. I love knowing I have the support of some great Christian ladies that I can always call on when I need a helping hand.

Happy Monday to all of you! Remember that His mercies are new Every Morning!!

The One You Need

2011-08-05T15:30:00.001-05:00

I heard this song today by Shane & Shane and it brought tears to my eyes. I know that this is what Brian will be saying to Mallory. Jesus is the One You Need!

Out & About

2011-08-04T17:15:00.000-05:00

Since I don't have too much maternity leave left, I decided to enjoy the time I had left and do things I won't get to do when I go back to work. Wednesday, I went to eat lunch in Greenville at TaMolly's with my best high school friend, Melissa. Melissa is a dentist and lives in Sulphur Springs. I wish we could get together more than we do but it was great to see her and she was so excited to meet Mallory.

Melissa & Mallory

We sat and talked for 2 hours. I'm sure the waitresses were ready for us to leave to free up the table but we just had so much to catch up on. There's nothing better than catching up with an old friend. We promised each other we would get together more often and I'm hoping we do that!

Brian is out in California for work so I decided I would stay with my Mom and Dad Tuesday night and Wednesday night so I would have someone to talk to and they love getting to see Mallory. Mallory must love their house because she slept from 11:15 pm - 7:15 am. Can you please do that at your home little girl??

Nana and Mallory

Wednesday night, we were all getting ready for bed and Dad said the thought the air conditioning wasn't working. Thankfully, our friends, Lane & Lizzie Watson live just down the road from my parents. I called and Lane (who works on air conditioners as part of his job) came over and looked and it for dad. He told him he needed a new capacitor. Thankfully it wasn't the whole unit and can be fixed! It's so nice to have great friends to help you out! So, we loaded up and came back to our house and enjoyed sleeping with the cool air.

This afternoon, we headed to McKinney to meet my sister-in-law, Melody and nieces, Kiersi & Kayden for lunch. Melody had told us about Spoons Cafe in McKinney that she loves so we ate there. The food was really good. I was really surprised because Kayden's hair was much shorter and sooo cute!

Love her new look!

This beauty is starting Kindergarten in a couple of weeks - I can't believe it :/

Kiersi & Kayden love seeing Mallory and I love that her cousins are so sweet on her. It was great chatting with Melody over a good lunch. I'm looking forward to having lunch with a couple of more family and friends before I go back to work. And spending time snuggling my little girl!