We've got a new site!

Mommy got a new computer, has embraced some new technology, and has made a new website. The website can be updated from her new compuer OR her phone, OR by email. This makes posting a lot easier. So get ready for more frequent updates! (Like that's never been said before...)

You might want to bookmark this new link, because this is where the new things are going to happen:

www.mallinson.org/tm/blog

Whew- it's been a long week...

The bad- Otto had to get two stitches:

And yes, those are Santa pajamas. In September. He dressed himself for bed and was running into his room with a book to read when he tripped and hit the door frame. Sadly, it did cross Mommy's mind to put him in non-Christmas pajamas before heading to the ER. But then thought the too small Christmas pajamas were just right for bleeding all over. And getting the stitches, VERY traumatic for Otto. And Mommy. But getting to wear Iron Man Band-Aids to school for a couple of days, VERY cool:

(This is Otto's impression of Iron Man.)

And Then it was Mommy's birthday! It was a great day with a great dinner birthday party that Otto helped decorate for followed by a trip to the Chocolate Bar (a dessert place in Rice Village) for cake. It was so cute how excited Otto was to celebrate my birthday!

And what post would be complete without a picture of Colette. It's as if she is saying, "Enough with all the picture taking, Mommy!":

The Stats and Soccer!

Colette had her six month check-up. She weighs in at 14 lbs 14 ounces and is 27 inches long. At Otto's six month check-up, he was 16 pounds 5 ounces and 27 inches tall. So Colette is just as tall but a little lighter. Which is hard to believe because she is doing so well eating solids!

Otto had his first soccer "game" this past Saturday. We say "game" because it's not much of a game when it's 6 four-year-olds running around chasing each other. But it was cute and fun to watch and Otto had a blast!

Omaha 2010 Wow what a great Labor Day weekend we had. Our second visit to Omaha and perfect weather again. We are beginning to think that it's always in the 70s and sunny there! To be honest Mommy was not looking forward to the trip. Colette was still continuing to get up at 6 am and the night before we left she was up every few hours. Turned out she had a double ear infection! So we got her on antibiotics, put here pack n' play in the closet at Becky and Alex's house, and she slept in each morning (one morning she slept until 8:40!). I guess that's what happens when one has a super fun, action packed weekend. The highlight for Otto was a trip to a fair with many fun rides, Daddy enjoyed the farmers market and Mommy loved the botanical garden in walking distance to B & A's house. But most of all, we were just happy to have Alex around, as he provided non-stop entertainment for both kids.  Oh, and Becky's wilted spinach salad and chocolate chip cookies were pretty darn good too!

Happy Birthday Zoe!

Colette's best bud is a year old today. They are just over six months apart in age. You'd never know by looking at them!

And boy does Otto love to organize things. Wonder where he gets that from?

Six months and sittin' pretty!

At six months old, Colette has two new teeth and is a pro at sitting. She has also fallen in love with Kodo and loves to pet him (or rather, grab a fist of his hair). Poor Kodo takes it so well.

And, here is another picture of her all dressed up. This girl has quite a wardrobe!

Colette and Otto just spent a great long weekend with Moma and Grandad. Colette especially enjoyed being held by Grandad. And being fed Cheerios by Moma.

What? TWO posts in three days!

Had to show a picture of Otto's haircut. And since both kids were all dressed up to head out to a nice dinner with Mimi and Pops (to celebrate their Anniversary!) I had to get a picture of Colette in her dress too.

WARNING- super cute baby pics and videos!

Is this baby too cute or what? And see- told you that she loves her brother. She does this EVERY time she sees him:

(Don't mind Otto's bed head. His hair had gotten super long. We'll post a picture with his new cut soon.)

Colette continues to grow too fast. She is learning how to sit:

(Don't mind that she almost FELL OFF THE BED. Daddy was right there. While I was busy laughing.)

Boy does she love to bounce too. And she also totally recognizes her name. Cute AND smart!

Sickies be gone!

Whew. Otto was sick, Mommy was sick, and sadly, baby Colette was sick. (Daddy escaped unharmed because he has been away on business trips!) Fortunately we are all on the mend. Except Colette has this terrible full body rash. What a way to spend her five month birthday! It looks bad (the picture does not do it any justice- it looks MUCH worse in person) but it does not bother her at all and she is just as smiley as ever:

Colette's baby hair is falling out and nothing yet is growing in to replace it. We wonder if she'll be a bald baby soon. Colette has also started to eat baby cereal and LOVES it. But now whenever she sees anyone else eating something she demands to be fed too. So we are all sitting around the table at meal time as a family, with Colette in her highchair. Otto still adores his sister. He is a big help when it comes to entertaining her and can make her smile and laugh even when she is grumpy. Mommy and Daddy think that they lucked out with two of the best kids ever! (Until 6:30 AM rolls around and they both are awake and raring to go...)

You'd better be ready for an update, because it's going to be a long one!

We just got back from a wonderful Fourth of July weekend in Dallas with cousin Evan. Apparently, none of the kids can smile correctly in one single picture together. So you get a trio of photos:

If you look closely at sweet Colette you will see that she got her ears pierced (as well as two shots) at her four month check-up. What a trooper! Colette weighed in at 13 lbs 1 oz and is 25 inches long. Which means she is tall and skinny just like her brother. And speaking of Colette, Mommy will take a few minutes to again say what an easy baby she is. She traveled so well on our trip to Dallas and gave plenty of love to cousin Evan who kept her thoroughly entertained with all his goings on. Full size photos and some additional shots from the shoot can be found here, http://mallinsons.smugmug.com.

We also spent some time with friends at a lakehouse north of Houston a few weekends ago. Otto had a blast swimming and playing:

And we've been way behind in posting some videos. So here is one of Otto saying some of the cute things that four-year-olds say (yes, I'm prompting him a bit, I was trying to recreate our conversation. Sometimes I wish we could just replay life- he's at such a cute age!):

And here is one of Colette and her cute laugh:

And for some sad news, Mommy went back to work today. Boo.

Four months! Can you believe it?

We can't believe how fast she is growing. Theo was gone two weeks and swears she doubled in size! In our photo shoot this month, I put her on her bed. Thinking it might be  cute to snap her picture with a stuffed animal, I placed the frog a little closer. This is what happened. Poor Miss Froggy. And I have the hardest time getting a smile with the big camera. She can be laughing and smiling and as soon as I put the camera up to my eye she stops (it's an SLR so I have to use a view finder). Guess I'll have to pull out the small camera, because that smile is too cute to miss.

We've been gone a while.

Because we've been in Florida for TWO weeks! We had an absolute blast. We stayed with Mimi and Pops again and were lucky enough to have our good friends, the Walkers from Dallas, visit as well. Sadly Daddy could only stay for one week because he had to go off on business to Germany and Scotland. But not before he went fishing with Mommy and Ray and caught enough fish for a yummy dinner.

Mommy is really good at getting Colette to smile. And her smiles are so cute and big, we call them full body smiles:

ARGH! It's a pirate! Mimi and Pops got to spend a lot of time bonding with Colette while Mommy and Otto did a bunch of fun stuff with the Walkers- like a pirate cruise, a Tampa Devil Rays baseball game, and TWO visits to Busch Gardens. Colette did get to have her share of fun too- she loved the pool and the beach. Check out http://mallinsons.smugmug.com for a few more pictures.

Colette is really the most perfect baby. The only thing that drives Mommy crazy is her short and numerous naps. We call them snaps. But other than that she is the easiest baby. And Otto is the perfect big brother. Knock on wood, he has taken this life changing event so well. We were on the subject of nicknames the other day and we asked Otto what Colette's nickname should be. And he said, "Cletty my best friend." (Otto pronounces Colette as one syllable,  more like Clette, and I guess he doesn't really get that, as a general rule, nicknames tend to be shorter than actual names.) How sweet is that?!

Three Months!!

Colette is now grabbing onto things. Most of the time it's just by accident, but she is just as pleased as can be when she actually gets something in her hands! And she loves talking to her toys.

Otto, Mommy, and Colette took a trip to Mimi and Pops house in Florida. The trip got off to bad start when when all major airports in the state were closed the night before due to storms. The airport was a MADHOUSE and I thought for sure we'd miss the flight. But we did a super stealth line cut after an hour an a half of waiting, and after Colette got a full body search at security we made the flight with a whole 45 seconds or so to spare! But the rest of the trip was relaxing for Mommy and super fun for Otto and Colette.

Otto of course loved playing at the beach. He also loved hangin' with Pops. Every morning, they would head to the 7-11, get a Big Gulp (with Gatorade), a donut, and the newspaper and then head to the beach to feed the birds. Otto was in heaven. And I think Pops enjoyed the company! Check out http://mallinsons.smugmug.com for a few more pictures.

Um... Where did ten weeks go?

Here we are on Colette's eleven week birthday, with week ten past and forgotten! Oops. Mommy will try to not let that happen again...

Here is a picture to make up for it:

Colette is working on tummy time and smiling, and is becoming quite good at both. Next week we shall work on getting her to look at the camera!

And Otto continues to crack us up with all the typical stuff that four year olds say. Here are some fine examples:

Otto says "grownuts" instead of grownups. So we hear a lot of "when I am a grownut..."

Otto is also very keen on daddy getting a bigger car. With four doors. He jumped on the bandwagon even more when Aunt Leslee and Uncle Luke drove into town with their three row SUV that Otto fell in love with. That is until he saw a limousine. Which was way bigger. So now we are quite often reminded that he wants us to get a "lemonzine".

Otto and I were discussing one morning that Daddy would not be there that night to tuck him in. So he turned to me and said, "So there will be two girls and one boy tonight and the one boy big loves his Mommy and that's me!" Melted my heart.

Here are some shots of Otto playing with a toy razor kit, he enjoyed pretending to be just like his Daddy:

Nine Weeks

This is how I found Colette on the morning of her nine week birthday. Otto was just talking away to her and she was busy staring at her mobile, which she loves. (The crib is right next to a twin bed, so Otto hops on the bed and can step into the crib. He does a good job at entertaining her while Mommy summons her energy to wake up in the morning.) Yesterday was the dreaded two-month check-up and four-year check-up for the kids. Both involved SHOTS. Colette was first, with three shots. Then the nurse arrived with a tray that had FIVE Band-Aids on it- and since Otto can count he was NOT HAPPY AT ALL TO GET FIVE SHOTS. It was very traumatic. Mommy is very thankful that Daddy was on hand to help as Otto had to be held down while he screamed AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS. After the shots were over and Otto had stopped hyperventilating, we headed home. (Otto even passed up an offer of going out for ice cream!) Otto was carried to the couch, given some Motrin and a snack, and by the end of Shrek, he was up and about playing with his toys. The Band-Aids were removed and the wounds were inspected. After asking if he had to get shots when turning five and finding out that there wouldn't be any until he is eleven, he told me that it wasn't really that bad after all.

Otto's Fourth Birthday Celebration

On April 24th Otto turned four. On the same day, Colette turned two months old. Everybody is growing too fast around here. We celebrated Otto's birthday by having a Spider Man themed party at a local indoor play area. He had an absolute blast.

For more birthday pictures see http://mallinsons.smugmug.com.

And since Mimi and Pops are in town, Otto got to skip school on Monday. So we all (minus Daddy- he had to work...) headed downtown to Discovery Green where we enjoyed lunch and Otto got to play in the water:

Then this morning, Otto got a super big smile from Colette. It made him soooo happy. Too cute!

Eight (Really? Where did all those weeks go?)

Eight weeks old already. And still trying to catch that smile with the camera. Unsuccessful?

Yep. That's just a smirk. So we moved the photo session outside. But it was windy. And Colette has this thing where she sticks out her tongue when it's windy. So this is all we got:

Seven!

Colette is seven weeks old and is finally starting to enjoy her baths. Mommy thinks that she has also spotted a smile or two, but they have not been frequent enough to catch them on camera.

Dear sweet Colette is still sleeping great at night. But the naps, oh the naps, they need some working on. Right now she likes to take many small naps. This does not bode well for being able to get things done around the house! Fingers crossed that this gets better soon.

Otto has a big day coming up next week- his birthday! He is getting VERY excited.

Six weeks and counting.

Can you believe it? Six weeks already! Colette is now tipping the scales at over 10 pounds. She is starting to be more alert during the day and sleeping better at night. Yeah!

Here is a picture of Otto helping Colette play with her toys. (Poor Colette!)

Are here are some pictures of the two of them from Easter Sunday:

Happy Easter!

Eggs by Otto (and Mommy):

We were supposed to have a busy weekend so Mommy had miss Judy the babysitter stay over Friday night to spend the night with Colette so that Mommy and Daddy could get a great night sleep. So what happened? Otto woke up twice and it turns out that he got strep throat for Easter. Luckily we were able to get an appointment with the doctor first thing in the morning, but that meant that we had to miss the neighborhood egg hunt and the Easter Bunny. But we are all doing well now and plan to have a fun Sunday!

A funny photo session:

Colette is five weeks old and weighed in at 9 pounds 13 ounces today! She is growing too fast.

Mommy and Daddy are celebrating- the tests are OVER! (Now keep your fingers crossed that we passed them, okay?) Just two projects left and then you will have to address us as the Masters Mallinson.

The other night Theo made some delicious semifreddo for dessert. Last night while Mommy was putting Colette to bed, Daddy and Otto decided to have some of the leftovers. When Mommy asked Otto what he had for dessert, he thought a second and then said, "Frito! Frito pie!" That made Mommy laugh.

One Month (plus two days...)

Colette turned one month old! But this post comes two days late because Mommy and Daddy are super busy studying for their last two exams for their Masters in Petroleum Engineering. Whew- whose great idea was that to have a baby and then take TWO tests. Oops- it was Mommy's... Colette continues to grow and explore the world more. She is also a poo factory. She likes to save it all up and have one giant one every day or two that gets EVERYWHERE. Too much information? Otto continues to grow accustomed to having a sister. He asks to help out every so often and is very sweet to her. He now understands that it is going to be a while before she will interact with him. And speaking of Otto, we have to be very careful these days when doing his laundry. He likes to collect random things in his pockets. This is what we found yesterday: a bead, a pompom, and a pencil eraser

March 17, 2010

Sweet Colette Ingrid is three weeks old!

It's been three weeks since Colette joined us. The time seems to be going by so fast! So far, she is a good eater and a good sleeper (and by good I mean that when she eats at night she goes right back to sleep). She lost her umbilical stump yesterday so tonight she will get her first real bath. We'll see if she likes it more than the sponge baths that she has been getting- which she HATES. And yes, she still has lots of hair- so Mommy can have all sorts of fun with barrettes and bows!

Happy Two Week Birthday Colette!

You have enjoyed being spoiled by your family:

And so has Otto! (Someone need to tell Evan that his hugs look more like headlocks though.)

Otto's school had a carnival over the weekend. Otto especially enjoyed the cotton candy!

Moma and Grandad are in town next week. We look forward to spending some time with them!

Happy One Week Birthday Colette!

Colette will celebrate her birthday with a full belly of milk and a nice nap, the two things she enjoys doing the most.

Otto is still enjoying being doted on by Mimi and Pops. Here he is ready to head off to the park for a picnic and some scootering:

Home!

Colette and Mommy returned home yesterday. All is going well. Otto is happy to have his Mommy back home but is also enjoying being spoiled by Mimi and Pops.

At Colette's final hospital checkup the Pediatrician was a little concerned about jaundice so today's adventure was a trip to the Pediatrician's office to have her bilirubin level checked. It was within the ok range so we will report back next week for her one week well baby checkup. Go Colette!

February 25, 2010

Welcome Colette Ingrid!

(Sorry for the delay- for some reason we could not publish using the hospital wifi.)

We welcomed Colette yesterday. After a slight delay in checking into the hospital on Tuesday night (we didn't get a room until after 11pm) all proceeded smoothly and Colette arrived at 11:46 am Wednesday morning. She weighed 8 lbs 13oz (!) and was 20 3/4 inches.

Colette shortly after arriving:

Otto came for a visit later in the afternoon. He was not sure what to think of her but Colette gave him a new toy which made him very happy:

And yes, Mommy has already started to play dress up:

As ready as we're going to be...

As you can see, there are going to be some changes around here! We've streamlined the website so that all the Houston Mallinson updates can be found on one page. And perhaps, we'll even update more often!

Michelle had her last day of work this past Thursday and has been getting help from Theo and Otto to prepare for the baby. Colette's arrival is planned for Wednesday! Michelle will check into the hospital for induction Tuesday night and if all goes we'll Colette will join us the next day. But you know, as much as you plan, things change, so we'll keep you updated.

Colette's room is also ready. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, but we are now prepared (for the most part) for her arrival:

Theo is not a big fan of the color pink, but Michelle managed to get some in there without disturbing him too much.

Getting all the baby stuff out of the attic has been fun, as Otto has been discovering a bunch of other neat things up there too. Such as one of Michelle's old hardhats from work:

Yes, Otto is still a goofball! And speaking of Otto, he had his room redone as well. His favorite color is orange, but Mommy was not brave enough to paint the walls in his room orange, so he got an orange chair and some orange accents:

More to come soon, so keep checking back...

A name and some Christmas fun!

The new baby girl Mallinson has a name: Colette Ingrid Mallinson

Now we have the hard task of getting Otto to say Colette Ingrid instead of Brother when he refers to the new baby. At least we have a few months...

Colette - short form of Nicolette, which is a diminutive form of Nicole, a feminine form of Nicolas meaning winner or victory of the people. We're sure Theo's cousin Nick will receive the honor with pride! We'd like to thank Leslee for suggesting the name, it's perfect.

Ingrid - meaning beautiful, comes from Scandinavia. We can hope that the baby will grow up to be as smart and beautiful as Michelle's cousin Ingrid! We're also hoping that it provides some balance since Nick has been a heavy metal music manager for some time and Michelle and Theo can't really picture going to ear-splitting performances for the next umpteen years.

And speaking of performances, Otto recently sang in his school's Winter Show. Even though we  sang the songs at home and he practiced every day at school, we were unsure as to whether he'd actually get on the stage due to his shy nature. (And the show is quite a production. Otto's school goes through third grade, so the show is in a big auditorium with a stage, lights, sound system, and is TWO hours long.) But Otto was a star. Well almost. It took him until the middle of the second song to take his hands out of his pocks and do his "snow hands".

Mommy also took Otto to see Santa at the mall. This year has been such a treat as Otto is very excited about Santa. So Mommy got all sorts of questions like "How does Santa get here, where are the reindeer, what will Santa eat for dinner...?" And this year there was no fear of Santa at all, and he told Santa exactly what he wanted, "a fireman." (?? Which is different from what he told Mommy he wanted from Santa!) Doesn't Santa look just a tad bit scary in this photo? And doesn't Otto look so big?! Our little boy is not so little any more.

Mommy also had some fun playing Martha Stewart this past weekend as Otto invited a few  friends over to do some Christmas crafting. As usual, Mommy needs to get better at remembering to take pictures DURING the party. Oh well. Here are some before shots.

Ornaments waiting to be decorated (they are resting on upside-down soft boiled egg holders - how crafty is that?!):

Festive kid sandwiches by Martha Mommy:

Neighbor Max's artwork, a festive ornament and a masterpiece of art (the same technique that was used to create our Christmas card):

In all it was as good as an event with 8 kids and paint can be! (Though the crafts kept the kids occupied for all of two minutes and they instead seemed happiest playing in Otto's playroom with his toys. Perhaps Mommy will have a better chance at creating mini Marthas next year... )

December 5, 2009

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

We had all the Mallinsons in Houston again. What a treat to have the whole family together.

This centerpiece was created from leaves found by Otto and cousin Evan:

And, Daddy smoked a Turducken this year too. Yummy:

Then, the weekend after Thanksgiving, Mommy and Moma took Otto to a winter festival where Otto had a chance to play with some snow that they trucked in for the event. Notice that Otto is wearing shorts. It was 70 degrees outside! Moma mentioned that it was her first time standing in snow while being attacked by mosquitoes! Welcome to Houston.

Oddly enough, less than a week later Houston was hit with some real snow and freezing temperatures. Otto enjoyed a day off of school, but alas, the snow was gone the next day as the warm weather returned.

Happy Halloween!

Otto is obsessed with Wall-E. He could watch the movie every day. So deciding what he was going to be for Halloween was an easy choice:

This is the first year where he is very excited about wearing his costume and going Trick or Treating for candy. Mommy says BRING ON THE CHOCOLATE!

On a side note, Mommy moved some furniture around in the dining room for this photo shoot. In the meantime, Daddy managed to whack his head on the dining room pendant light and break the glass. We always knew Daddy had a hard head! (Poor Daddy.)

Goings on around here.

Otto is pleased to announce that he will be getting a little sister in March. When asked what he wanted the baby's name to be, he said Brother. Oh well.

Otto also moved into the "big school" at daycare. He is now in the Pre-K to Grade 5 building, wears a uniform, and feels like a big boy.

Daddy's garden on the roof is going crazy. Otto enjoys spending time up there helping Daddy out. Mommy will occasionally join them for a sunset when it cools down in the the evening or to snap some pictures. Here is Otto stopping to smell a rose and then losing his balance and eating said rose!

Mommy has been spending her time sewing bean bags for Otto's playroom. They are mostly enjoyed by Kodo though:

No, we didn't delete the old site, we just changed the format. Click here to see how organized we were before two kids!