Since the last post was in October of 2013 and was a about Mallory's surgery, I guess I will start with a short update on that. The first few weeks after the surgery went great! All of the symptoms Mallory was having before were gone, until she got a cold. The difference this time was instead of congestion, her nose was running like an open faucet. I've been told that's a good thing. I don't know though, going through an entire box of kleenix in a weekend doesn't seem right to me. Once that cold cleared everything seemed to be better. She no longer snores, falls asleep quickly and well, when she isn't suffering from a cold, her nose does not run.
One thing that is still a bit of problem is the nose bleeds. She is still getting nose bleeds from time to time, even though she had the blood vessels in her nose cauterized. I have learned that even with that cauterization, she can and most likely will get nose bleeds. As of this writing, we seem to have it under control with a good combination of saline, hot baths and a humidifier. She's gotten so used to them that even when it's just a little runny nose, she tilts her head back, runs to grab a kleenix and then comes to us to confirm it's not a runny nose. Poor baby! I am glad she recovered well and the desired outcome seems to be in effect.
Shortly after her surgery, Mallory had her first cheerleading competition of the season. Last fall we signed Mallory up for Competitive Cheerleading with the Farmington Competitive Cheer Team. It was a quick season, PACKED with excitement. Mallory was on the Pee Wee team and while this program is relatively new to Farmington, it's been quite successful in it's short existence. The varsity team earned a bid to the UCA National Competition which was held last week. They placed 17th overall which was well received by the cheerleaders, their parents and coaches. There are A LOT of competitive cheer teams across the country. Big, small, private and public. The whole season was a big learning experience for us and Mallory but boy did we have fun! It's complete now but we will be back at it this fall. When I asked Mallory if she liked it and wanted to do it again next year her was answer was "OH YEA" and very animated.
Here are some pictures from the season followed by a video of her performance.
Apple Valley Beach Bash ~ December 14th, 2014
Mallory is also dancing again this year but we switched companies. If you recall for the past two years she has been dancing with Just For Kix. At the end of the season last year Mallory expressed interest in tap dancing. JFK didn't offer tap because they do not have a studio, they lease the school gyms for dance practice and cannot tap on those floors. I wanted to stay local in Farmington so I did some research and settled on Synergy Dance Studio. Our next door neighbors decided to enroll Lucy there as well so the girls are once again dancing together. Mallory has practice once a week for one hour where they combine ballet and tap. Usually 30 minutes for each skill. One BIG difference is they only have ONE recital at the end of the season in June. I actually like this better then a winter show AND a spring show. Having only one recital gives them a lot of time to practice and perfect their dances and allows time to learn other skills like ballet positions and tap moves. The bottom line is Mallory is having a blast and she is really enjoying the tap portion of her class. At Synergy they do not let us into the studio to observe practice. Their is an observation hallway but if the teacher feels the students are at all distracted, they will close the blinds. The blinds are closed more often then they are open so come recital time, I will be just as excited and surprised to see the performance as anyone else in the crowd. Because we are not allowed into the studio to watch, I don't have many pictures to share. I will show you one I do have which was taken on the night Synergy dancers were allowed to bring a friend to practice with them. Mallory chose to have her friend Kalli from school (three years in the same class now) dance with her that night.
Halloween this year was kind of a big deal. It was the first year Mallory didn't have a hand me down costume. After a lot of back and forth, she decided to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I think her costume was super cute and I just loved that wig. She didn't like to wear the wig but promised me she would (since she begged me for it in the store) keep it on at school and while trick or treating. I am pretty sure she was back from trick or treating less then two seconds and that wig had been ripped off. Here is Belle....
Here is Belle's haul from the night. Notice she is not wearing the wig!
After Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping we went to the Shrine Circus! Both Christopher and I have been to the circus before but when we were kids so it's been just a few years. We figured it was something new and unique to check out. We didn't tell Mallory we were going until we were in the car on the way there. She wasn't really quite sure what to think of our little surprise until we got there. When she saw the set up, the lights and the animals, she was sold! We saw an action packed two and a half hour show with a short intermission where Mallory was able to get a camel ride in. The camel ride was so cool, she still talks about it. Here are some pictures of our circus adventure!
Before you knew it Christmas was upon us. We had actually had some conversation about traveling to Texas this year but after putting some serious thought into to, turns out it wasn't going to work out in our favor to travel. Good thing too because the week of Christmas, the entire Texas clan got sick so it would've been no fun anyway. Bah Humbug! Christmas went pretty much as usual. We had a pretty serious visit with Santa....
This year she asked Santa for a Flutterbye Fairy and a Barbie stuff. She received both because even tho this little lady occasionally pops her thumb in her mouth, she has tired VERY hard to stop sucking her thumb. I am pretty sure this was the topic of conversation in that first picture with Santa. Just look at how serious she is! The few days before Christmas Mallory stayed busy helping me with Christmas goodie baking.....
We went and had mother daughter manicures and pedicures.....
And on Christmas Eve, she prepared the plate of cookies and carrots along with a glass of milk for Santa, all by herself!
We hosted Christmas Day at our house and while our family is small, the love was all around and the house was full. Here are some pictures from that great day.....
As for Barbie stuff, Mallory got more Barbie stuff then she can handle. Seriously. She has been asking for the Barbie and her Sisters Camper since her birthday and well, let's just say Santa didn't disappoint! Nothing but Barbie Bliss!
The days following Christmas were loaded with play time with all those new toys. I am pretty sure it was the last time it was warm enough to be outside for any lengthy period of time so we took full advantage of that and took Mallory tubing for the very first time. We went to The Trapp Farm in Eagan. This was perfect for Mallory's first time as the hill is not very steep or big so she can manage the walk up multiple times and didn't gain to much speed going down where she would be in danger. It was a lovely sunny day and after many, many, many passes down the hill, Mallory and Christopher built a snowman. It was such a nice day to be outside and like I said, it was the last time it was warm enough to be outside for some time.
On New Years Eve we attended a small party at our next door neighbors house. It sure was nice to be so close to home and not have to worry about traffic! The Stovall's threw a small kid friendly party with enough food to feed a small army. We all had a great time! Mallory made it to midnight for the first time!
Happy New Year from The Ludgate's!
We are now caught up through the end of 2013. I will be working on updating this blog for the beginning of 2014 later this week. I hope you have enjoyed the post and stay loyal!
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