Mallory's Baptism

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Sweet Mallory Ann was baptized at our church this weekend. It was a beautiful day made even more special by the presence of her entire family. Amazingly all of her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents were there. Considering that one set usually lives overseas, another in Abilene, in Austin, and in Prosper this was no easy feat. We feel truly blessed that her whole family was able to surround her for this sacrament, it may not happen again until her wedding. (in 30 plus years!)

We took up three rows with just our family!

Also making the day special was the presence of Kelley and Joe Newberry. We chose Kelley, who has been one of my best friends since I was 14, to be Mallory's Godmother. They drove in from Austin (with Kelley 8 months pregnant) to be there for Mallory. My Dad, David (Dandy), was chosen to be Mallory's Godfather, we couldn't have picked a better Catholic to teach her about our faith and to help guide her spiritually. Dandy can now also be called "God-Dandy"



She was baptized at the 5:00 Saturday mass and then we headed back to Bebe and Papa's house for Italian food, swimming, and cake. It was a fun and special night!



Remember this scene and this chant from the Lion King? We experienced something similar this weekend!


Picture this music in the background: the "Circle of Life" chant: Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba / Sithi uhm ingonyama / Ingonyama Ingonyama nengw enamabala




Here are some more pictures from the celebration!



We managed to sneak some pink into her Christening outfit with these fancy panties from Kelley :)




Who needs to wait until their first birthday for their first taste of cake? Not Mallory! Grandy and Kelley snuck her a piece and obviously she loved it.


Peyton wore suspenders to the baptism, such a cutie.


Mallory and Peyton's Mimi (our neighbor), joined us for the party with her husband Gary. We are so lucky to live down the street from them!


The Mark Family ALL together!


The Three Mark Men


They are off to Brussels next week :(, so glad we got to see them this weekend!


Tripp (with his sweet big sisters) walked to the party!


The Entire Yates Family! Thank you for letting us have the party at your house Bebe and Papa!

I would also like to publicly thank my Sister-in-law Alice for always making our family events run so smoothly. She is so talented at taking charge and running things, I LOVE her!


Thank you to all of our dear family and friends for making this such a special weekend for Mallory. God has blessed our family!

Drummer Boy

I love how literal 3-year-olds are. Like this summer during Peyton's swim lessons when his teacher told him to reach for his ears with his arms (to get long arm strokes)and he swam with his hands over his ears :) Or this weekend when I told him he needed to play his drum quietly while Mallory slept. (He plays it so loud that it sets off our alarm!) He instantly went to the bathroom drawer and pulled out 2 Q-tips to use as drum sticks. Yes, I would say that was much quieter!

I much prefer these new drumsticks although Marshall did ask why his q-tips were all over the house, they are drumsticks Daddy, duh!

He has also become very independent. Here he is after putting on his own "pants". In his defense, the only drawer he really has access to is his pajama drawer so he has to get creative. He refused to believe me when I told him his "pants" were really a shirt.



Mallory also loves to play the drum (although she rarely gets a chance since Peyton is still working on sharing). It is the best toy ever with lots of preschool themed instruments.


And here are her 9 month appointment stats (I barely got them up before her 10-month birthday in a few weeks!)
Weight: 17 lbs 12 ounces, almost 18! (40th percentile)
Length: 27 3/4 (60th percentile)
Head: 17 1/4 (50th percentile)

This was just a glimpse into our daily life here at the Yates household. This is our last real week of summer since Peyton's school (2 days a week), MOPS, and playgroups will all be back in full force in September. We are ready!

Mark Family Cousins invade Hot Springs!

We love the Yates family lake house located in Hot Springs, Arkansas on Lake Hamilton. It means so much to Marshall and I as a couple (we got engaged there) and love that our children get to make the same summer time memories as Marshall and his brothers made growing up. We decided to head out there a few weeks ago and on a whim invited my brother, sister in law, and nephew who are currently in DC but about to move overseas for 2 years. We didn't expect then to be able to make it but they were! We were so excited to spend uninterrupted time with our baby nephew since we rarely get to see them.


They were supposed to arrive on Thursday but due to the dangers of flying Delta their morning flight was not only cancelled but their re booked evening flight made them spend the night in Memphis. (Super fun with a five month old) They finally arrived Friday afternoon and we wasted no time floating, taking boat rides, eating, and relaxing. Mallory loved trying to get at at her baby cousin, John David- and he seemed to think Peyton was just hysterical.



John David (and his hand) wasn't as big of a fan as Mallory and her teething habits, as evidenced in this picture:


All of the babies did incredibly well on the boat. They slept most of the time and when she wasn't sleeping Mallory was happy to float in her Straight jacket, ie: infant life vest, or crawl around the boat playing with water bottles.

Peyton was in his element at the lake. He loves the boat, the water, and "The Fish"- the huge swordfish that sprays water onto upcoming boats, it is a statue at one of the lake residences.
John David thinking-"Who in the World are these people and why do they keep putting me on this contraption!"


Mallory saying- "There, There John David. It will be okay. I've put up with them about 4 months longer and I'm doing okay."


Mallory- "Might as well use this opportunity to eat a life jacket"


We ate at our favorite restaurant and solved our usual problem of a stressful meal of worrying about Peyton falling in the lake while dining on the patio (He likes to feed the huge catfish, ducks, and turtles that hang around the restaurant.) we just made him wear his Spiderman life vest during the entire dinner- we got some looks while we walked through the restaurant with it but he was adorable and we felt much safer.



Thank you to Bebe and Papa for opening their home to my family. We had such a great time just being with each other and letting the cousins spend time together. Here are some more pictures from our long weekend!

Peyton doesn't have a black eye in this picture. He was playing with the charcoal on the deck :)




Mom This Picture is for you. We might as well just label it "David and Meredith". This is what it would have been like if we had been born twins.


Thank you Mark family for traveling to spend time with us! We love you!

9 Months Old

Happy 9 Months Mallory Ann! Here are some pictures taken of you on your 9 month birthday. We were at the lake relaxing so you aren't wearing a lot of clothes :)





At 9 months old you are into everything. There isn't anything you can't get to. You go head first down steps, slide on your belly, and hoist yourself up over any obstacles. You especially love to unroll toilet paper (like a puppy!) and climb through the baby gate to climb on top of your 100 pound dogs. You have started standing by yourself without holding on to anything, and you like to crawl in a pike position so that your knees don't hurt. You love to eat but do not like baby food. Your current faves are still bananas and cheese and grilled cheese. We have started the weaning process and you are doing pretty well with your bottles. You jabber and screech all day long but the only real intentional word you use is "Mama". You figured out how to use that one pretty quickly :) We have also heard you say Papa, and Pey Pey. You love to get in Big Brother's business and love to laugh and play with other babies. You are a water bug and "jump" into the water without fear, you sit on the side of the pool and wiggle yourself in, and right before you jump you squeeze your eyes shut tight so Mommy knows when to catch you. :)Then you splash and kick your legs in the water. You are sleeping soundly through the night and take 2 long naps a day without protest. You continue to be the easiest baby in the World and we are so blessed to be your parents.

Here is a picture of your fat little legs- I just love your little bottom and legs!


Happy 9 Months Sweet Baby Girl!