Preschool Time

I've been thinking of putting Mallory in preschool for a while now.  My intention since she was born was for her to start at 18 months old, & well...she will be 18 months next week.  Since she is with a private sitter & is the only child there, my thoughts are that it will be good for her to be around & interact with other kids. 

BUT...with those thoughts comes all kinds of doubts.  Is she really ready?  Which preschool is the best fit for us?  Do I want her sitter picking her up?  How am I going to get her there at 9 when I have to be at work at 8?  She still seems so young...is she REALLY ready?? 

I called the preschool that I've been interested in back in December.  The lady told me that she wasn't sure if there were going to be any openings in January but insisted that I come in & observe.  My thinking is they want to observe me to see if I'm a good fit for them as well.  Which is a good thing!  But it's going to be bad if I don't pass their test!  I never got a chance to go in December so I will be going Thursday & I'm way more nervous about it than I care to admit & I don't even know why.  

We'll see how this goes...  

Black eyed peas, collards & Jack's party

I'm sad that my vacation time is coming to an end.  I worked 1/2 day on December 23rd and only two days since then.  After a busy & stressful work month, those vacation days were much needed.  Sadly, January will be just as busy so I'm not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow at all. 

It has not been a productive weekend for us...definitely more relaxing than anything.  New Year's Eve, Ashley & I went shopping in Greenville.  It was fabulous & we had a great lunch at Olive Garden.  That night, P & I went to Morgan's with five other couples.  The food was spot-on.  Yesterday, Mallory took a super long nap & I joined her.  We didn't get out of our pj's until close to 4:00. 

Found this Mickey t-shirt on clearance at Old Navy!

Then we showered, went to town to pick up a few things & then went to Grandmother's & Grandaddy's for the traditional New Year's Day meal of black eyed peas & collards.  Neither of which are my favorites, but I ate it anyway.  We had a fun family night. 

She saw this doll in Wal-Mart & had to have it.  When she spotted it, she said "haaaaaiiiiiirrrrr!"  She is obsessed with hair!!

 Uncle Joey loves Mallory's new bookbag!

 A moment of bonding ;)

 Grandmother & Mallory

 At church this morning

 Mallory & her best buddy Mackenzi

This afternoon was Jack's 1st birthday party.  It was an owl theme.  Here is his cake which was so cute & sooo good!

 The birthday boy with his parents

 Mallory loving on sweet Mason

 Mallory, Jack, Peyton & Mason (I still can't believe they all sat still long enough for a picture!)

Cute decorations!

 Jack & his mommy

 Jack didn't see Mallory playing with his 4-wheeler ;)

 For some reason, Mallory wanted to play with Jack's carseat the whole time.

 Then, I looked over & she was sitting in it!  Too funny!!

& that's our start to 2011!

New Year's Eve

Another year decade is gone.  I didn't even realize the decade thing until someone mentioned it on Facebook today.  I have always heard that the older you get, the faster time seems to go & that is definitely true!  I have a few New Year's resolutions that I think are very realistic.  With that said, maybe I can stick to them!

• Avoid Target.  Seriously, every time I go in that store I drop $200 & I don't know how it happens.  I think that I feel like their stuff is cheap & therefore I'm getting a deal when actually it's not nor am I getting a deal!  I do get a lot of shirts there for Mallory & myself.  Love their little girl clothes & love when someone asks me where I got an outfit from & I can say Target :)  However, my bank account does not like the hits it takes from me shopping there.  
• Keep blogging regularly.  I am proud of the way I have kept up the past two months & I know that one day I will be so thankful that I did this.  Life is so hectic that everything becomes a blur to me if I don't take the time to document some things.  No matter how tired I am at night, I want to continue to record what is going on in our life at least a few times a week.  
• Lose 10 pounds.  I always have losing weight as a resolution but this year I feel different about it.  I'm so over being a size 2.  But if I could shed 10-12 pounds (go from a size 8 to a 6) I could fit back into so many awesome jeans that I own!  If that isn't motivation, I don't know what is.  I know I can do it.
• Be a better wife.  As parents, Patrick & I put 110% into Mallory.  She is our entire focus so much that we don't focus on each other like we should.  Both of us are aware of it & it is easy to say, we'll do better, but hopefully by making it a resolution I'll be more aware of making that effort.  

     
That's all of my resolutions for 2011.  I am excited about the new year & all the things to come for our family.  Hopefully, it will be the best yet.  Tonight, we are going out to eat with five other couples in New Bern.  I'm ready for a good time....Happy New Year!!

B-Ball

Is Mallory's favorite game to play.  Basically, the way you play is - Mallory stands in her crib & throws the ball while I pick it up a million times & throw it back in the crib.  Repeat over & over.  & she loves it.  She laughs & laughs especially when Mommy gets silly & tries to do tricks like dribble, dunk, etc.   

 

Winter Wonderland

This rarely happens in Eastern NC. 

Our backyard:

My snowbunny {who didn't like the snow}

 Snow fell all day yesterday.  This was taken this morning.  Thankfully, today is a vacation day for me & I didn't have to worry about getting on the road this morning.

Daddy & his girl in front of the pond

Mommy & Mal

Mid-yawn.  Can't you tell how much she liked the snow? :)

& my very favorite snow picture.

We stayed inside the entire day yesterday & ventured out for only a few minutes this morning.  It's nice to stay home, catch up on some things & relax a little!

Our Merry Christmas (& a whole lot of pictures!)

We have had a wonderful Christmas in the Heath household!  Mallory must have been a really good girl all year because Santa came & left a bunch of toys.  We had a little trouble getting Mallory out of bed Christmas morning but when she finally got up & got going, seeing her face light up was the best present we as parents could ask for.  I know as Mallory gets older the gifts will get more & more expensive so Santa kept it pretty simple this year with a kitchen, Dance Star Mickey, 2 baby dolls, a baby doll stroller, books, clothes & pj's, a counting hippo & a magna doodle.  She really seemed to love each & every gift she got & I hope that she will always be appreciative of ANY gift that she receives.

We always spend Christmas Eve with Patrick's family because Deborah works Christmas Day every year.  We had dinner with Granny Pat & played some fun games.  The first game we played, we went around in a circle & rolled dice.  Whoever rolled the number that Granny picked, had to dress up in the Santa hat, coat, scarf & gloves & try to open the present.  In the meantime, the other people kept rolling & if someone else rolled that number, they got to try.  Whoever got the present open got to keep it!  Here is Papa Leroy trying to get the present open.  He was hilarious!

Grandma Deborah's turn to try:

 Mallory got a new BlackBerry looking phone from Granny!

 Daddy modeling the Santa hat

Grandma Deb & Mallory

Granny Pat & Papa Leroy got Mallory a Mickey Mouse tricycle.  She loves it!

Mallory helping Daddy to open his present

Grandaddy Oneal & Grandma Deb bought Mallory this crib for all her dolls.  She fits in it too.

The best we could do for a family photo :/

Santa came & left these toys

Some friends of ours gave Mallory this bookbag.  It's got her name on it & is as cute as can be.  I put it on her back but she was not feeling it!

Mallory & I Christmas morning

Christmas breakfast, yummm

She got a table & chairs from Aunt B

& another pair of gasses

Such a girly-girl

Joseph & Ashley

Grandmother got weights for Christmas!

That's our Christmas in a nutshell!  I am looking forward to spending the next few days at home trying to clean & organize everything.  It is supposed to snow & be cold!!  Merry Christmas from our home to yours!