9 months old!

With all of the craziness slowing down I decided to catch up on a few things.  Malina is now 9 months old!  On December 20th we headed to the doctor for a check-up.  She weighs 17 lbs. 12 oz and is in the 25% for weight; she is 17 3/4 inches long and is in the 50% for height.  After being such a large baby (nearly 9 lbs) her growth has surprisingly slowed down.  She is our little angel and we can't believe how much joy she has brought into our lives.  She is by far the best part of everyday!  We love you Malina Violet!

Happy Holidays!

Before the craziness begins I decided to write a quick post.  The past few weeks have gone by quickly and I can't believe we are just days away from Christmas.  I guess the 60-degree weather feels more like early fall rather than mid-winter.   Here are a few pre-Christmas photos.  Once the family arrives I'm sure I'll be posting tons! Grandma and Grandpa should soon arrive followed by Uncle Louie.  There should be plenty of entertaining stories to tell given Lou's little experience with babies (he recently asked me why Malina still wears diapers).  Merry Christmas!

Our happy little family :)

Ready for Santa!

The tree went up in Nov-we were just a bit excited about Malina's first Christmas

An Early Christmas Celebration

Grandma and Grandpa Kuhn visited to celebrate an early Christmas with us.  We jammed as much as possible into the short weekend.  One of our Christmas gifts was a yearly membership to the Phoenix Zoo.  We decided to venture out for our first visit and spent three hours roaming the zoo park.  Malina had a blast watching the animals and all of the people at the zoo.  Towards the end of the trip she just couldn't keep her eyes open and passed out in her daddy's arms.  Later that evening Malina opened Christmas presents and we enjoyed watching her play with the wrappings.  We all had such a wonderful weekend and look forward to seeing G'ma and G'pa Kuhn again soon.

Daddy and Malina at the zoo

Our first attempt at a family picture

Second attempt at a family picture

Exhaustion

Christmas presents!

Ready to attack!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We've started a little tradition of spending Thanksgiving with Lynne and Joe.  I think this was the third or fourth year we've spent the holiday together.  This year Malina joined in on the fun.  Typically, Brian prepares the turkey, Lynne works on the casseroles, and I oversee the production.  Joe brings the beer :)  After the feast this year we spent the afternoon outside playing corn hole and entertaining Malina.  Over the weekend we also had the opportunity to visit Grandma in Sun City.  We lounged and enjoyed a delicious meal with her. 

                                                                        Yummy

                                                     Hanging with Uncle Joey

                                                   

Twenty-one plus seven

Another year has passed! I spent my birthday enjoying lunch with new friends at The Farm near South Mountain. Malina enjoyed being outside on the warm afternoon and mingling with her baby friends. Brian and I enjoyed dinner and drinks at Brio Tuscan Grill while Lynne babysat Malina. So much has changed in the past year with the addition of our new little girl. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family. I look forward to the adventures of the upcoming year!

Additionally, Malina was eight months old on my 28th birthday. She is the most active little non-crawler I have ever met and I'm sure the craziness will only multiple once she does start crawling. We love you Malina Violet!

puppy love

My two babes: Malina 3 months, Pumba 7 1/2 years :)

Malina 8 months, Bella 6 years



Malina is obsessed with our two dogs Bella and Pumba. She directed her first smile at Bella, squeals and yells when either walk by, and delights in pulling/patting/hitting/kicking whichever one lets her. We were extremely nervous when we first brought Malina home from the hospital because Bella stayed up all night whining and whimpering beside Malina's crib. That was the last night the dogs slept in the house...I couldn't handle more than one crying baby during the nighttime hours. Over the past eight months Malina has developed a bond with each of the dogs: Bella is Malina's companion and protector, whereas Pumba is entertainment (Malina thinks it's funny when he attempts to bite her).

Fall in Colorado

This past weekend we ventured on a mini-vacation with Malina to visit Brian's family in Colorado. Surprisingly, Malina was great on the plane (despite a delay on the way out). However, sleeping in a new place was an utter disaster and led to some long nights for the whole family. Even with a lack of sleep we managed to fit a lot into our short five-day stay. Malina met her great aunt Diane and uncle Ed along with cousins Tiffany and Dustin; great aunt Valerie and uncle Steve with cousins Kaila and Bri; and, family friends Vonnie and Neil. Kenny and Jason (aka the godfather) visited with Malina, and Great grandma and grandpa Haile were gracious enough to allow us to take over their house for the trip. We visited a pumpkin patch in Fruita, ate some delicious bbq, played games with family, went shopping, and enjoyed the cool weather. We all enjoyed our time with the Kuhn family and look forward to seeing them soon!


Playing in the fallen leaves...


Still not crawling but can pretend for a photo


Malina posing next to a giant pumpkin


Daddy and Malina were the only two brave enough to try out the giant slide.


"Yeah, I like to eat straw, so what?"






Not so fond of the giant horse

Grandpa to the rescue

Where have the past 6 months gone?

Malina was six months on September 16. Time sure does fly. I remember when she was just a couple weeks old and thought that the big six months was so far away...boy, was I wrong! What an amazing six months it has been! Malina had her six-month check-up on Tuesday: She weighed in at 16.2 pounds and measured 26 1/2 inches long. Malina's recent accomplishment include sitting up (still with a little support), eating and loving fruits and vegetables, and standing with support. She enjoys swimming, long walks in the stroller, and playing with her doggies Bella and Pumba (this sounds more like an entry on match.com than a baby blog). We can't wait to see what the next six months brings!

Summertime in Arizona

We are so fortunate to live in such a wonderful neighborhood...one of the biggest perks is our amazing beach club pool. The pool sits on the lake and offers beautiful views (maybe I should become a realtor). We have been visiting the pool quite often in the mornings when the temperature is still below 100. Malina loves the water and has been practicing her breaststroke kick as Brian or I hold her up.




Malina modeling a suit before we head out.



Finally in the water perfecting her kicks.



Lounging in on the deck and in the sand as she watches the water.



Getting dunked by Daddy.



Checking out the sand at the beach pool.

Sedona 2011

Every time Mom and Dad (Gma and Gpa Ullrich) visit we try to make a trip up to Sedona to hike, shop, and get out of the Phoenix heat for a day. When Mom and Dad were here in August Sedona was still quite hot, nearing 100 degrees, but it was nice to get out of town for a day trip. We packed the car and headed North. This trip was a bit different from all of our previous Sedona trips...we now had to pack a stroller, diapers, and toys to entertain a baby on a the short two-hour car ride.









Grandpa introduces Malina to butterflies! She wants to eat this particular one. We enjoyed the day hiking and relaxing in the cool(er) mountain air.



Queen of the mountain (or rock).

Malina's Baptism

We celebrated Malina's baptism on Saturday, August 20th. Malina wore the same dress that was passed down to me from my grandma; Grandma wore the dress over 80 years ago!




Surprisingly, Malina was an angel at the church and during the ceremony.






Malina with her godparents, Aunt Lynne and Uncle Jason. Jason drove down for the ceremony and stayed for the day to celebrate. Malina is so blessed to have such a wonderful family.