The Mallorys Online

We had an absolute blast this Christmas.  It started with day one with Nani and great grandparents coming over for gifts and dinner.  Then we celebrated with Grandpa Shestak by seeing lights, going to Bayside Church Jingle Jam and waking up to gifts from Santa.  Finally, we had gifts and cheer with Grammy and Papi and wrapped up more fun than some people pack into a year.  Check out the photos and the video at the bottom of Jacob preparing for Santa!

Jacob eating whipped cream with the Simpsons	Jennifer's #1 girl, Mackenzie	Kristine and Jennifer, BFF for more years than I can count!
Jacob at daycare waiting for Santa	Jacob getting his gift from Santa	Is it OK, mommy?
Santa was nice enough to stop by daycare to visit the kids!	Jacob celebrating his new tool set with his buddy Mikey	Jacob got a new workshop before daddy!
Mommy stopped by to visit for Santa's stop	Christmas #1 of 3, we're ready!	Jennifer's table; She did an amazing job.
One of her appetizer plates, awesome!	Grandma McCoy opening presents.	Up close and personal
He's getting in the spirit	Nani opening her card from Jacob	Nani reading Jacob one of his new books
Jacob only wanted to eat sour cream… so we let him!	He wanted to make sure he got every little bit out	Jennifer and her dad during our Christmas light walk
It was cooooooooooooold	Too many lights to focus, mommy!	Jacob and Grandpa with Yosemite Sam
This guy had a complete workshop scene in place of his third car garage	Grandpa reading The Night Before Christmas	These Shestaks are out by 8
Giving Grandpa a biiiiiiiig hug	The dudes	Three generations of great people
On our way to Jingle Jam at Bayside Church	We're happy to celebrate Jesus' birth!	Just lounging waiting for the jamming to begin
Jacob's new car from grandpa… awesome!	Are you old enough to drive, sir?	Grandpa making sure the test drive goes smoothly
Christmas #3, still rockin!	All cleaned up and ready for Grammy & Les	What is this huge sock?
Just woke up, still sleepy, but getting presents so it's all good!	Checking carrot, Rudolph ate half of it!	Checking out a new book
Are these mine, too?	That's a proud papa	I'm so excited! do-do-de-do And I just can't hide it!
The boys	Would you like to go large?	One of many presents for Jacob
Jacob checks out his new train	Grandpa loved his gift – a canvas of a photo I took of Jennifer, Jacob and him.	Showing off our new family nutcrackers
Jacob helping mommy vacuum	Elmo tells great stories	Jacob is so funny when Elmo starts talking
I'm a dude	This is my country boy look	Grammy helps Jacob cruise the backyard
Jennifer Betty Crocker Mallory	Hanging out with Les	A Mouse and Cheese cheese set, Jennifer was the Mouse on Cheese as a child in the Nutcracker
Jacob's new trike from Grammy	Now I'm official with my conductor's hat

WHEW!  Where should I start this post?

Jennifer and I have had the greatest time over the last couple months.  The last post was our Halloween photos and so much has happened since that day.  We have spent a good portion of this year planning how we would get out of our house and into a bigger place in an area with better schools for Jacob.  We only planned on being in our house for three years or so and then the bubble burst and trashed any hope we had of selling our house any time soon.  Well, we persevered and worked with an amazing realtor, Mike Bailey, who was able to put us in the house of our dreams.  We moved a few miles east of Sacramento to Roseville.  Our neighborhood is everything we wanted with highly ranked schools and families all around us.  We are at the end of a cul-de-sac with a huge yard for Jacob.  We are blessed that it all worked out in the end.  We are still settling into the house and will get some photos up soon to show our friends and family that are out of town.

Thanksgiving started with our annual tradition to participate in the 5k walk for the Run to Feed the Hungry.  Jacob woke up with a cold, but we faced the elements (foolishly) and Jacob let us know how unhappy he was with our decision the entire walk.  I ended up carrying him over half the walk, adding a quick 25lbs to my body for a couple miles… ouch.  After the walk we headed over to Grammy Barbara’s for a great traditional meal.  Her boyfriend Les greeted us with some of the best egg nog we’ve ever had.  Jacob had a good time relaxing after our tough morning.  The next day we headed out to Nani Karla’s for a second round of Thanksgiving with Jacob’s great grandparents and cousin.

Our trip to Santa Cruz while Alicia was out visiting.

Jacob steering the ship	Jacob is a great captain	I can see daddy!
This is too much fun!	I am having a blast in the backyard!	I can't wait to see aunt Alicia
I'm not so sure about these waves, mommy	I'm happy in mommy's arms	I'm happy in mommy's arms
I'm happy in mommy's arms	Spitting image of mommy	The Mallorys in Santa Cruz
They just rescued the shoes after the tide swept them out!		Such a happy little dude

It’s been over a month since we posted an update on here and there is a great reason for it. You know that saying, “If you can’t say anything nice then don’t say anything at all”…? The Mallorys had a rough May/June thanks to constant ear infections ending in Jacob getting tubes and then a head cold that lingered for weeks. So we chose to stay away from the negative and not post updates on our frustrations.

Well we are in a new month and Jacob is a new boy! The tubes have cleared up all of his issues and we are thrilled to post a happy update. We spent the Fourth of July in Southern California with our friends Grant and Heather and Grant’s parents Wayne and Elaine. Read the rest of this entry »

Jennifer went all out for me this weekend for my 30th birthday. It started Saturday with a professional bass fisherman trip on the Delta for largemouth bass. Grant joined me for the trip and we got into some big fish. I had the time of my life out there. Sunday we had fun on Folsom Lake with Grant and Heather and then came home for a family birthday dinner where Jennifer and mom prepared my favorite dinner… cheese stuffed shells. To wrap it all up we headed to the Giants vs. Braves game at AT&T park in San Francisco with our closest friends. The weather was great, the Giants won… what could be better?! Click the read more link for the full photo gallery. Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you that know us, you know that we have given Austin/Susie/Momma/Kwazy/Eep many names over the years.  I honestly can’t remember how her latest name, Eep came about, but it’s been her name for 5+ years now.  We call her Eep-a-neema, Guad-al-Eep-ay, Rumple-Eepskin, etc.

Well, Eep has been a house cat for all ten years of her life.  She has always been extremely curious and very daring when it comes to venturing outside.  We had to remove her brother, George, from our house a few weeks ago for reasons I won’t go into here.  Ever since he left she has been more eager than ever to go outside.  Over the last two weeks she bolts out the door at any given opportunity.  Yesterday Jennifer was getting Jacob ready for his 1 year checkup and left the garage door open.  We have a cat door leading out to the garage because we keep the litter out there.  Jennifer didn’t realize it until I got home later in the day, but Eep took the open garage opportunity to venture out into the world.

It just so happens Sacramento is experiencing a rare April heat wave with temperatures in the 90’s.  Eeps a dainty cat and isn’t really built for outdoor living so I was worried when 6:30pm came around and I realized I hadn’t seen her since I was home.  I canvased the block and asked a few people, but nobody had seen her.  Jennifer and I were worried and trying to convince each other that she’ll be ok.  Afterall, she has a tag with my phone number on it and she’s friendly enough to wander up to someone if she needs to be rescued.  We went to bed with the garage door cracked enough for Eep to squeeze back in the house if she could find her way back.

Low-and-behold at 2:30am we woke up to the beautiful sound of Eep meowing at the foot of our bed.  We got up and checked her out and the only evidence of her eventful day was a few leaves and sticks in her fur.  We put down some new food and water for her and went back to bed thankful she was ok.  Now that Jacob is getting older and our lives get busier every day I think this won’t be the last time Eep goes out to play.  I just hope she always returns safely.

The Mallorys had a great Easter with Nani Karla and cousins Kaiya and Aiyana. The day started with a special, surprise delivery from Grandpa on our doorstep.

We then took a few pics outside before Nani & Co. arrived.

Then it was time for Jacob’s first Easter basket!

And then it was time for an Easter egg hunt for Kaiya and Aiyana!

After that wrapped up we headed to Haggin Oaks golf course for a free pancake breakfast and Easter egg hunt.

And finally back home for some of Nani’s home cooking. Jacob looked like such a dude!

Jennifer and I take Jacob out to the park any chance we get because he loves to play on the swing. We wanted to get him something for home that wasn’t so big it would stick up above our fence line. We found this Little Tikes slide and swing at Toys R Us and these are shots from Jacob’s maiden voyage. Needless to say he had a blast!

From Jacob's New Swing and Slide

From Jacob's New Swing and Slide

From Jacob's New Swing and Slide

From Jacob's New Swing and Slide

From Jacob's New Swing and Slide

From Jacob's New Swing and Slide

From Jacob's New Swing and Slide

And here are shots of him chasing black beans and corn around his high chair tray… good times.

From Jacob's New Swing and Slide

From Jacob's New Swing and Slide