Gianna Massena's 1st Birthday

This past Saturday, Yuri attended her friend Gianna Massena's 1st birthday party! It was great to see the Massena's again, and we can't wait for them to move back down to the St. Louis area again (keep your finger's crossed!). This was Yuri's first time to meet Ben, Olivia, and Gianna, so that was very special. What a cute little girl Gianna is...

Hiking in Missouri

Yuri went on her first hike a couple of weeks ago! Lots of fun riding around on daddy's chest, although if she gets much heavier that could be a bit of a problem. We went hiking in Babler State Park in western St. Louis County along with mommy cousin Will, Uncle Rodney, and the dogs. It was a great time.

Not to brag, but...

I got this from Nicole's blog. I hope you can understand my blog, Nicole:) It's a little ironic since I can't even figure out how to space things correctly on my blog.

Get a Cash Advance

Until I was a mom...

There are a lot of things I didn't realize that I could do...until I was a mom. I've learned to....

make up about 12 verses to my very own "Scrub-a-dub-dub" song to make Yuri happy while taking a bath.

feed Yuri while...

-typing with one hand

-grading papers and completing lesson plans

-clipping her little fingernails

-attending a work meeting

walk two dogs and a baby with few problems

make up ridiculous nick names

decipher my baby's cry from that of the other kids in the daycare.

I can now...

pump and eat lunch at the same time, all in less than 20 minutes.

carry a car seat (with Yuri in it) and 4 bags(breast pump, lap-top bag, diaper bag, and purse) in one trip.

take off my seatbelt, find a binkie wedged in between Yuri and her carseat, put it in her mouth, and put my seatbelt back on before the stop light turns green.

pick boogers from another human being, and not be at all grossed out (I actually find it satisfying).

I find myself...

talking in a high-pitched voice and saying "lu-you, lu-you" to people that are not my baby, and sometimes just to myself.

humming "Baby Einstein" music randomly.

looking in my rear-view mirror to see Yuri's reflection in her car seat mirror-even when she is not in the car with me.

skipping the women's clothing section and making a bee-line to the baby-girl clothes.

checking in on Yuri multiple times once she has gone down for the night, just to make sure she hasn't gotten too close to the bumper on her crib.

turning up the monitor every once in a while just to hear the little breaths.

obsessed with the amount of poops Yuri has each day.

excited about the Bumbo (thanks Summer and Briley) and the Jump-a-roo.

obsessed with kissing her little cheeks.

amazed that I have been so blessed by this little Gift from God!!

Knock, Knock...

Who's there?



This is her Halloween outfit. It says "I love mummy".















Today at daycare, all the kids got dressed up and paraded around school. It was very cute! Here is a group picture.

Gus (6 months) was a monkey so we took advantage of the photo-opp.

We went to community group tonight with Yuri in her costume. She got sleepy!

Party Animal

Tonight Michael, Yuri and I went to our first block party. Not that we have lived many places but this it the first time we have experienced this. They blocked off our street with cones this morning and set up tables. People brought out fire pits and a grill. We all ate and drank together. We got to know some neighbors that we hadn't had a chance to meet and I even found out that we live down the street from another Lutheran South grad! We had a really nice time and made some new friends.
Here is the party animal:
When she wasn't sleeping, she was mezmorised by the fire. As the sun went down, it got cooler which was the perfect opportunity to sport a new winter hat:

Daddy's little bean burrito:

Mom and Dad:
What is it about becoming parents that makes us start to call each other "mom" and "dad" instead of by our names? I remember growing up and hearing my grandma call my grandpa "dad" all the time. Maybe it's just something that I do...

Last night, our school had its annual Fall Festival. The family went and Yuri helped us run our grade level boothes. My grade level did "Target Ball" and Michael's had the "Cake Walk". I propped Yuri in the Bumbo and later in a bouncy seat when she got tired (thank God for the on site Day Care-I didn't have to bring these from home).

Yesterday, Yuri and I went to visit the Leftridges. I work with Julie and she just had Logan about a month ago! It was so great to see her and her new baby girl! She looks fabulous! Logan was so presh, and she made me miss little baby Yuri!

Here are some photos from last weekend at the Pumpkin Patch with Brad, Renee, Jacob, Cole, Cooper and my mom. We went to Eckert's to pick out a pumpkin.

To Grandma Malone

Marathon (and half) Madness

Wow, been a long time since you've heard from the Malone Family. In order to keep up with all the action, we've employed a new member of the Malone Blog team...Michael. That's right, Daddy Malone is now a contributing member.

Since its one of my first blogs and since I'm so wrapped up in myself...this first blog of mine will be reporting on the Chicago Marathon. Good news, we have lots of great picture of Yuri during the race and daddy did finish before they called the race off (4 hours, 1 minute for those keeping track at home).

Yuri had a real cute shirt cheering her dad on.

On a more impressive note, the next weekend EJ finished in the 2nd Annual SLCS Half Marathon at our school. Since she had a baby less than 4 months ago, it was even more impressive than Michael training for his marathon.

At present, we are done running. We are now fully resting until we become a bit chubby again (Skinny Yuri is not included in this). If you want to give us all a complex, mention how out of shape we are getting the next time you see us and that should get us jumpstarted again.

Been a while...

I realize that it has been a long time since I have posted. I really don't have much time right now b/c we are going to spend the weekend in McPherson, Kansas to visit Michael's family. Yuri is going to meet her great grandma and grandpa Newell. We'll be sure to post pics. Tonight we are leaving to travel part of the way. We are going to stay at the Laughlin's in Columbia. Traveling to McPherson is the perfect excuse to make a stop to visit them and I am excited to see them since it has been a while.
I just wanted to give a quick Yuri-update. She is growing so fast and each day I am so blessed by her. She is a talker! She loves to babble to anyone that will listen. Here is a video of her talking. Sorry that it is sideways, I can't figure out how to rotate it.

Also, here are some pics of Yuri's room. We just got the bedding (thanks, Mom!!). It is beautiful! I also finished her letters. They turned out great, thanks to the great advice from Nicole and Heather! I wish you could see them better but this will have to do. Slowly, her room is getting done. That is good b/c she is sleeping in her crib now and has been for a week and a half. We kinda miss her in our room!

Weekend of Firsts...

I know, with a new baby, everything is 'a first'. But, growing up in St. Louis, I can truly say that we encountered a true milestone: that is Yuri's first Cardinal's baseball game. We got tickets from our good friends, Matt and Evie, for last Friday night's game. The tickets were fabulous: a party box. Yuri was an absolute hit. She was on her best behavior and wasn't even phased as 50,000 fans screamed when Rick Ankiel hit a grand slam. Although it hasn't been confirmed, we're pretty sure that Rick dedicated that grand slam to his youngest fan, who was eagerly watching from her daddy's lap. Yuri fits right in here in the Lou.
Saturday morning, we woke up and got ready for another first: a vacation. We spent Labor Day weekend with the Crowders, the Schrimpfs, and the Wohlgemuths at the Lake of the Ozarks. The Schrimpfs came to pick us up and we rode together. Yuri was the only one who didn't get car sick on the way down. We stayed in a roomy condo at the Lodge of Four Seasons. The guys played a round of golf everyday while the girls shopped at the outlet mall. I got some great new clothes and so did Yuri. She, by the way, was a peach. She was complimented often on her calm demeanor. We are very blessed! BTW, she slept through the night for the first time on Saturday night! Anyhow, we had a very relaxing time, playing games, hanging at the pool, and eating great food.
Finally, today, we had Yuri's 2 month check-up. She had to get 4 shots (yuk). Yuri is 10lbs14oz. (50th percentile) and 23 in. long (75th percentile). Dr. Whiteside said she is a very healthy little girl.