It's a long one folks!

We have had a fun week and a half...too bad Brad hasn't! He is at his 6th (if you count each session individually) and final soccer camp of the summer. Poor guy. It's good money, but it really has worn him out this summer.

The fun part was getting to go with him to Abilene last week while he worked at Hardin Simmons. Mallory and I stayed with Tim and Kara while Brad bunked in the dorms on campus. I am now on a detox diet from Ding Dongs and Coke! Holy cow. This next doctor's appointment shall be interesting. I hadn't gained any weight yet as of my last appointment...I think I gained 5 pounds just in the last week...thanks Kara!

Anyway. We had a fun 4 days with the Richardsons. No trip is complete without bath pictures of the kiddos. Here is Mallory and Brooke bonding and being modest.

Since none of us were able to come to any of the birthday parties for the girls, we had a belated (and early) birthday party for them. Kaylee turned 2 in March, Mallory 1 June 5, Brooke 1 June 16 and Noelle just had her first birthday July 18. Fun! We put 5 candles on the cake and let them dig in. The tricky part was keeping their hands out of the fire from the candles. Why do babies grab everything???

Kara has the coolest tunnel for the kids to play in. It's especially cool because it is cute! Isn't that a girly thing to say? Mallory was scared to crawl through it at first, but once she did, she loved it! I didn't plan it, but notice how well coordinated my child is in her orange dress???

Our only trip out with all 3 girls was on Friday. We went to Hickory Street Cafe (for all of you Abilene folks out there) for lunch, Classic Collections for some shopping (where I accidentally shoplifted some recipe cards...oops!) and then home because everyone was tired and it was raining. Kaylee sat in the middle to keep an eye on Brooke and Mallory for us. She was being very sweet and held their hands. Brooke wasn't really in the mood...typical younger sister!

Later on Friday, we went by HSU to see Brad in all his glory during the "World Cup Night". He has become quite famous for his politically incorrect costumes over the years. This year, his team was from Kazakhstan and he attempted to dress as Borat. It was pretty humorous. Some of my favorites from the past years: Saudi Arabia (he dressed in a red bathrobe, curly black beard and completed the look with a turban...all while the news came out and caught him on video...lovely) and Cuba 2 years ago (he was Fidel Castro and shaved his goatee off but left a moustache....yikes!) Here's a family photo. Mallory wasn't too sure of who this man was with her mommy....

We left Abilene last Saturday and headed to my parent's house while Brad left Abilene to head to A&M again. There aren't any pictures of our time there because the grandparents do such a good job, I always forget to get out my own camera. Oops. Mallory enjoyed her time with Mimi and Grandpa. She got to go swimming and dunked her head under water! We got to see Tate a lot and ate at yummy restaurants with Aunt Kelly.

We also saw more of my friends and Mallory's friends. On Tuesday, we met Brooke (and baby Hall), Lori and her little girl Faith for lunch. It was a fun time and will just get even more fun after December with the new babies in the group! I will second what Brooke said on her blog, we missed you Meredith (and Hayden and Ella). It wasn't the same without all four of us together.

And literally since last week, her vocabulary has grown quite a lot. I'm thinking hanging out with a 2 year old helps a lot! Over the week she said (for the first time): Night, night (nigh, nigh), Tate (you have to listen kind of hard for this one), Banana (nana) and Doggie. That doesn't look like a lot of words, but it seemed like she just all of a sudden started talking...a lot!

And now we are home. It's nice to be away to have help with the kiddo, but I am usually ready to sleep in my own bed and get back to our routine. So, last night after I put Mallory down for bed, did I sit back and watch TV (yes, I watched the Victoria Beckham show...shameful!)? And I also re-organized my kitchen! I have been meaning to do this for quite a while, but found the time last night for some reason. So, my pantry and cabinets are now pretty. We'll see how long that lasts.

The above picture probably needs some explaining. Mallory is really into sorting things. She will hand you blocks one by one and then put them back in the container the same way. So, while I was blow drying my hair, I thought this box of feminine supplies would keep her busy...and it did!

Here is my first belly shot at 18 1/2 weeks. I think when I was pregnant with Mallory I had already taken 3 pictures by this time. Poor second child! Speaking of second child...we find out what Froggie is in exactly one week! I can't believe it's almost here. It's gone by really fast so far. Crazy. And, since we are talking about upcoming events, our new Target opens one week from Sunday! I might be just as excited about that!



One last picture. Mallory has started signing "Please" without us even asking. I was sitting on the floor with her and she handed (threw) me a book and then signed please for me to read to her. When she first started signing, I didn't really think she knew exactly what she was signing (I thought she would just equate it to food), but now I'm convinced she has put it together. I was taking her picture earlier and she kept signing please for me to take one more. So smart!