The Byrd Family

Our Growing Family

2009-08-25T11:38:00.002-05:00

Mr. Brooks Warren Byrd is here!!

2009-08-16T08:34:00.003-05:00

Brooks Warren was born on August 14 at 2:58am. He weighed in at 6lbs 6oz and was 20.5 inches long. Just like with Mallory, Jennifer had Brooks all natural with no epidural. She was such a trooper. She labored most of the time at home on Thursday but from about midnight to 1:30am, the contractions got a lot worse. We decided to call my parents so they could stay with Mallory until she woke up (it takes 15-20 min. to get from their house to ours but my Dad made it in about 5-10 min. So we finally went to the hospital to find out she was 9 cm. The nurse got real anxious and immediately called for the doctor. Shortly after that, Brooks arrived with no complications. We cut it pretty close this time but it was nice for Jennifer not being in the delivery bed very long.

Mallory is adjusting to having Brooks around. At first, she definitely sensed something was different and that he was here to stay. She likes to hug and kiss him but also likes to crawl up in Jennifer's lap when she is nursing Brooks. You quickly forget how small they are at birth because Mallory looks like a giant next to him.

Here are some pictures of everyone.

Summer Fun

2009-06-04T13:57:00.004-05:00

Surfer Chic Mallory

I just love this swimsuit on her! I got it so it would protect more of her skin from the sun and I think she looks just like a surfer girl in it!

This is from our "Babymoon" we took recently to Hot Springs. The weekend was also known as "Mallory Fest" to her grandparents! It was the first time for us to leave her for that long, but we thought if not now, it would be quite a while before we could have time like this together again.

Playing some bball with her cousins at the camp on Memorial Day weekend.

We call the slide "wee!". Mallory goes down all by herself and says "agin".

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The long awaited wedding picture. This is Mallory taking pictures with Sarah & Jake before the wedding. As you can see, she was loving all of the attention.

4 Years Ago...

2009-05-14T11:12:00.003-05:00

I married a wonderful, Godly man. He is the greatest gift God has given me besides Salvation through Jesus. God has blessed our marriage so much and we are so excited to see our family growing. Here is a picture of that young couple from 4 years ago on our honeymoon in Gatlinburg, TN. I am a dork and brought my little tripod around with us so we could have pictures with both of us in it.

I trust that our marriage will go the distance because we are Christians and understand that the Bible teaches that we choose to love. Our love is more than a feeling. I am forever thankful to God for providing Warren as my husband and the spiritual leader of our home. God's grace overflows!

It's a Boy!

2009-04-16T15:54:00.008-05:00

We found out last week that we are going to have a baby boy this time. The planning has already begun and Warren is giving a lot more input this time for some reason...this is the baby bedding we've decided on:

The only one "man" enough for Daddy! He insisted on a road construction theme for our little boy. He also says his "coming home" outfit will be camouflage. Since he didn't get his way with that with Mallory (he wanted camo for her too), I am going to give in this time around.

We have decided to name our son Brooks Warren Byrd. We like picking a name early so we can begin calling the baby by his/her name as soon as we know what we're having. We did that with Mallory and enjoyed it and so we decided to do it again with Brooks.

Here is a family Easter pic taken during the egg hunt at Honey's house (my Grandmother). It had gotten pretty cold and it stormed soon after the hunt. Mallory was a champ at picking up eggs and putting them in the basket. Warren was trying to teach her how to steal other kids' eggs out of their basket...

I recently went without my Mac for a while because my friend Jenny's husband, Richard, was helping me install some updates. Thank you Richard, I'm really enjoying my "new" iMac and appreciate all of your help. He is quite the IT guru, you should check out his site that showcases many of the websites he's created: www.shiftedfrequency.net

So ready for Springtime!

2009-03-10T17:08:00.008-05:00

We went to Ruston this past weekend for Sarah Elshout and Jake Leger's wedding. The Elshout's are great friends of ours from Cook Baptist Church and have adopted us into their sweet family. The wedding was gorgeous! Mallory made her first appearance in a wedding as part of the Bridal Entourage. It was a small group of children going down the aisle ringing bells and repeating "The bride is coming!" Of course, Mallory didn't say all that, but she did an excellent job walking down the aisle holding onto Kenzie's hand. We stayed the weekend with the Nutts, no really! LOL, just kidding Katie & Stephen! We had such a good time visiting with their family and Mallory really enjoyed playing with Rylie and Morgan. I regret to inform you that I have no pictures of the wedding or our visit with the Nutt family at this time...but I do have some incredible pics to share!

While we were in Ruston, we decided to get pictures taken of Mallory by our friend and fabulous photographer, Crystal Garcia. Her site is www.crystalgarcia.com. She's located in Ruston, but is willing to travel to other areas to photograph.

We first got to know Crystal through one of her other entrepreneurial tasks, Bradley Method Childbirth Instructor. We were expecting Mallory and were really interested in having a natural childbirth, but weren't really sure if we could do it. We were so glad we took her class! We did have a completely natural birth with Mallory and Warren was an excellent coach/supporter! I really don't think we would have had the strength, courage, and knowledge to have a successful natural birth had it not been for Crystal's class. If you are in the North LA area and are expecting, I highly recommend taking her Bradley Method class.

Here are some of our favorite pictures of our beautiful baby girl:

Me with my new Mommy 'do!

Missing Them Already!

2009-03-06T10:05:00.003-06:00

This is a Byrd family photo taken a couple of weeks ago. We wanted to get a pic of the whole gang while we were all around. Scott, Rebecca, Landon & Patrick all left this week to return to their work in Turkey. We really enjoyed having them in the States for 6 months and are already missing them so much! Mallory loved playing with her cousins and it's so weird to think how much all of the kids will have grown when they return in a couple of years.

Tickle, Tickle!

2009-02-19T16:02:00.002-06:00

This is our friend, Mei Mei. We went to the park together this week.

Mallory is crazy about Mei Mei! She is very special because she taught Mallory one of her first words. When Mei Mei would see Mallory, she would come up to her and pretend to tickle her arm and say "tickle, tickle, tickle". Mallory always thought this was so funny. Then, one day at home I kept hearing Mallory muttering something kinda low...it sounded like..."tick-ul, tick-ul, tick-ul" and then I noticed she was wiggling her fingers when she said it. This was so hilarious, especially because she was only about ten months old. Playing "tickle, tickle" is still one of our favorite things to do. Thanks, Mei Mei!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-10T15:46:00.005-06:00

We wish you a very Happy Valentine's Day!

We went to the park this weekend with some family and friends. Mallory is inviting Patrick to join her in the ladybug.

She's not too sure about this big slide...

Yay! We love to swing! Mallory loved meeting her friend Lauren.

"Hat" is a frequent word around our house these days. She loves to bring me her hat so I can put it on for her. Before she hated them, but now we wear hats indoors and outdoors no matter the weather.

Random Fun Things About Mallory:

-Words she can say: hat, baby, eat, pease (please), tank ooo (thank you), ball, hello, no (for no) and noo (for nose), uh oh, bye-bye, duck, daddy, mommy, pawpaw, nini, poppa, ganny, several other family members names (in her own way, of course) and probably a few more words and phrases that I can't think of right now. She also jibber jabbers all the time, so we have lots of fun making up what we think she is saying.

-She has 11 teeth.

-She loves to eat all the time. Breakfast is her favorite meal of the day.

-At her 1 year checkup, she was 22 lbs (75th%), 30 3/4 in (90th%).

-She can sign "please", "all done", and "eat".

-She walks around all day long, sometimes in circles...

-We bought Mallory some flash cards with the alphabet on them at the dollar store. She loves to have us go through them with her and describe what's on the card. Then, we let her look at them by herself on the floor. Every time she goes through the whole pack and picks out the same two cards--G and Z. G has a picture of a "girl" and Z has a picture of a girl wearing a jacket with a "zipper". I think it's so sweet that she picks out the little girls...I think this is why paper dolls were invented.

-Mallory can count! We say "onnnne, twooooo" and pause and she says "phwee!" This is one of our favorite games.

-She blows kisses, but she licks her hand when she does it...guess it tastes good...

-She calls Elmo "LaLa" because that's how the Elmo's World song starts. She has a toy that plays the song and she loves to sing and bop her head to the tune.

-One night we heard her talking in her sleep. She said "baalll" (for ball) and then giggled. What a fun dream!

-She says "hello" every time she hears a phone ring. It cracks me up every time.

Hope you enjoyed these fun facts about our precious little girl. We are crazy about her and thank God for her and all the joy that she brings to our lives.

Number 2 is on the way!!!!!

2009-01-27T21:54:00.006-06:00

That's right.....we are having another baby!!!! Jennifer is about 9 weeks along so we (or should I say Jennifer) have just begun. Mallory was the one telling our parents because we put a shirt on her that said "I have a secret, I'm going to be a big sister." It was so funny to see everyone's reaction. Here are some recent pictures of us and Mallory.

So tired!

I love my dolly!

Opening a birthday present.

"Happy Birthday!"

Eating her first sweet-a strawberry shortcake cupcake.

Happy Birthday Mallory!

Resting with Daddy.

Mallory loves riding in her wagon in the yard!

Just after Daddy put it together. Mallory approves.

So happy in her Christmas pj's.

Christmas with her cousins.

A little update...

2008-12-09T13:32:00.004-06:00

My sister came over one day and took Christmas pictures of Mallory. Thanks, Julie!

This is Pawpaw and Nine with all their grandkids: Mallory, Landon & Patrick. We are so excited to have them back in the States for a little while.

Mallory loves having friends come over for play dates! Our friends David & Mandi came over with their little girl, Kylee.

This is Granny & Poppa (my parents) with all of their grandkids. From oldest to youngest: Cassidy, Cody, Madison, John Scott, Mallory.

Mallory dressed as a super cute kangaroo for the church's Hallow Him. She was so adorable!!

Mallory took two steps the other day, then decided it was better to keep crawling, ha! She still isn't brave enough to just take off walking, but we think it will be very soon. She is now 11 months old and has 5 teeth (2 on bottom, 3 on top). She will eat just about anything, which has made things easy for us so far. For a while there she was keeping runny noses and coughing, but it's been a long time since she's been sick and we are very thankful! She talks all the time!! Her favorite word is definitely "DaDa", but also says "DaDee" very loudly when she's ready to be picked up after a nap. I guess she knows how much he loves it when she calls for him when she wakes up. The other day in the car on the way to church, she said "NaNa" the entire 15-20 minute drive there!! Not quietly either, our child is very LOUD! She is so very social too, she loves other babies and will almost "attack" them to get close to them and play! Mallory loves playing peekaboo and will cover her face randomly and we say "Where's Mallory?" and she will fling her arms to the side and say "dereseeizz!" (there she is!). It is so very sweet! Her favorite thing to do is probably dance. If she hears any music at all, away she goes just a bouncing, swaying, or clapping. So, dance may be in her future if she is any better than her parents.

We have been enjoying the new home. Many of our projects are beginning to get completed...we have a fence up around the back yard, Warren has spread dirt with the tractor and is planting grass, and we finally cleaned out the carport (it still had lots of tupperware boxes, stuff we decided we didn't need anymore, etc. stored in it from the move). We have decorated for Christmas, but still haven't put up the tree. I am kind of nervous about doing that with Mallory at her crawling/pull up on everything/touch everything/put everything in her mouth stage. She usually listens when we say "No, ma'am!", but I know she will get it sometime while we're not looking!

We are also enjoying being members of the church that we grew up in again. It has grown and changed a lot since then, yet it still has all the wonderful people that we love so much (and new people that we enjoy getting to know!). We are involved with the College Ministry called Philly 101 and are actually having our Christmas Party tonight. Well, I guess that sums up what's been going on with us since the last post. I know we don't update often, but I'm a phone person, so if you ever want to know what's been going on, just call us! Talking is so much more fun than typing! Also, if any of you out-of-town friends ever pass through the Pineville/Alexandria area, please let us know, we'd love to catch up and hang out!

Byrd Family Adventures

2008-10-29T23:34:00.006-05:00

Mallory's Uncle Jeff has been alligator hunting!

Daddy caught some big bass! I love Mallory's "Popeye the Sailorman" look in this pic.

Mallory says "Don't forget to vote!"

We had a great time at the pumpkin patch.

We actually went twice because it's not far from the house and little munchkin liked playing in the pumpkins...she does NOT like wearing hats!

We went on a camping trip in Arkansas; Pawpaw is carrying Mallory to see some pretty falls.

So happy!

Definitely a daddy-daughter moment--Warren and Mallory both had fun with the sprayer during her bathtime in the sink.

Growing Up...

2008-10-08T21:44:00.006-05:00

Well, things are going good here at the Byrd house. It still feels like we are settling in at our house. I have been spreading some topsoil around the front and back yard. And of course, Mallory helped as you can see from the pictures. I wanted to fence in a small piece of the back yard so Mallory can have an area to play without roaming around too far.

This is definitely Daddy's little girl.

Mallory at Buckeye's Homecoming Game

Mallory playing with her Granny.

I had to attend a conference in New Orleans and my co-worker got her this shirt. It says, My first New Orleans shirt.

Mallory helping me on the tractor.

We visited the Alexandria Zoo and had a great time.

Mallory having fun.

We're Home!

2008-09-18T14:33:00.010-05:00

Well, after being "homeless" for a couple of months, we are finally settling into our new home. I will have to show pictures later after we get a chance to do some of the decorating...I just unpacked the last box this morning! Mallory is doing great-she now has 4 teeth, is crawling everywhere at super speed, can make more sounds (including ma-ma-yea!!), and is eating like a champ. She eats fruits, veggies, yogurt, some meats, and Cheerios. She does not like getting dressed or having her diaper changed, so if anybody has any good distractor ideas or games to do during those activities, let me know!

Warren really likes his new job and I think they like him a lot too. He had to work a good bit during the hurricanes, but I think it was an interesting learning experience. After the flooding that occurred in Alexandria, he was rescuing people out of their homes with boats, dump trucks and other street equipment-crazy times!

Warren is our hero! This picture was taken by a photographer from The Town Talk. Here's the link to the photograph on their site.
http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=DK&Date=20080908&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=809080801&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=48

Here are some more recent photos of our little angel. Mallory is now 8 1/2 months old!

Here is Warren and Mallory having fun with how much they look alike.

What a pair!

So it's been awhile....

2008-08-02T08:43:00.005-05:00

Well, it has been a long time but we are finally getting around to update our blog. It's hard to even know where to start.

I will start with bragging on my very own expert realtor. We had about one month before I had to start my new job in Alexandria, we decided to try to sell the house on our own while we were still living in it. If we hadn't sold it by the time my new job began, we would just list it with a realtor. We had so many calls beginning on the first day. Within the first week, we had a buy/sell agreement on the house and the next week we had a back-up buy/sell agreement with another family. And then about 2 and half weeks later, we closed on the house on a Friday and I started my new job on the following Monday. I have a feeling that even though we saved money by not paying a realtor fee, Jennifer will make that up and then some at the Mall. Anyway, I just wanted to brag on my great wife/realtor.

We have been living with Jennifer's parents since we moved back to Alexandria while our house is being built. The walls have been painted and the tile guys finished up their part yesterday. The electrician moved back in and is finishing all the receptacles and switches and lights. Hopefully the house will be move-in ready in about 2-3 weeks.

Mallory is just a growing. She got her first tooth about 3 weeks ago (at 6 months and a week). We were so excited for her. She should be crawling any day now. You can put her on the floor and she gets on all fours and rocks back and forth. She can go backwards pretty good but not forwards yet.

My new job with the City of Alexandria is going good. There is alot to learn because my department is so big and Alexandria is a pretty large city.

Returning Home

2008-06-18T15:14:00.011-05:00

The Byrd Family will be moving to Pineville in a couple of weeks. Warren and I both grew up in the Pineville/Deville area and are really looking forward to being near family and friends again. We will definitely miss Ruston and all of the people here. We will miss our church and neighborhood the most, and after 8 years of being here, it really does feel like a second home. We still plan on visiting from time to time and hopefully, in about 18 years, we will be making frequent visits here to see Mallory attend our alma mater, Louisiana Tech!

Warren starts June 30th as the Superintendent of Streets for the City of Alexandria. It seems like he's going to like the job a lot. I will still be staying home with our sweet Mallory. She is 5 1/2 months old now and has been sitting up by herself for the last couple of weeks. She's really good at it! She's making new sounds too and loves to talk to anybody who will listen.

Here's a picture of our completed kitchen that somebody else will get to enjoy now! We are in the process of selling our house and it's going well.

We are going to buy a house that is still currently under construction...so here's the only pic I have right now.

Mallory had a playdate with Jackson at the park. They love getting together!

On Father's Day, Mallory took her first dip in the swimming pool. She loved it!!! We plan on going swimming at Granny and Poppa's a lot more now that we'll be nearby.

Mallory showing off her new trick...sitting up by herself!

An Update From Mommy

2008-05-24T10:38:00.009-05:00

Mallory is napping and Warren is busy painting the kitchen cabinets, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to share what's been going on with us lately. So much time has passed since the last post, so I'll just try to cover the basics: We are on a healthy eating kick and have even given up Cokes! Mallory's 4 month checkup was great-still in 50th% for weight and 90th for height. She wants to sit up on her own so badly and we think she will be able to do that soon. My first official Mother's Day was wonderful-Mallory gave me a beautiful bracelet with her name and birthstone on it and Warren gave me the cutest pink apron that says "Jennifer's Kitchen" (for all of you women saying, "how dare he give you an apron!", I actually asked for one, LOL). Then, we had our 3 year wedding anniversary. I am so thankful to have such an incredible husband. We are both so thankful for the wonderful little addition we have to our family now. God is good! Here are a few pics.

Mallory in our church nursery where they take very good care of her!

We took her for a stroll in Lincoln Parish Park one Saturday.

Yummy Rattle!

Mallory with her Poppa (my dad).

Sleeping so sweetly...

Mallory meets a ferret at the pet store.

Mallory's Nine (pronounced nee-nay, Warren's Mom) made her this adorable dress.

She likes her Johnny Jump Up and loves eating it too!

Mallory's checking out the blooms on our agapanthus.

She loves rolling around and playing with her feet!

These are my beautiful anniversary flowers. Warren had them waiting on our table at Copeland's when we arrived. Such a romantic!

Our little ballerina!

Princess Mallory fresh out of her royal bath.

Strolling with Mallory...

2008-04-21T21:46:00.006-05:00

Just about everyday, Jennifer and I take our daily stroll around the neighborhood. Mallory loves looking at all the trees and scenery. Plus, we get to visit with alot of the neighbors.

Shane, Casey and Masey came to our house last week and Jennifer cooked her famous lasagna (famous in our house anyway). Masey and Mallory got to visit each other but Mallory wasnt real sure what to think about another baby in her domain. We tried to get some pictures of them together but I think Mallory was getting tired.

I took these pictures last Sunday morning. I was supposed to be watching Mallory while Jennifer finished getting ready. I played with her for a little while and then I decided to put her in my recliner to see how she would react. I do believe she has the same reaction as her daddy when sitting in the lazy-boy.

Jennifer took these pictures during one of Mallory's bath times. We think she just looks so cute.

More pictures of Daddy's Little Girl....

2008-04-14T21:01:00.007-05:00

I finally finished the tile in the kitchen. I kinda drug it out because of my limited time in the evenings to work on it. Jennifer sure is glad she can finally use her countertops again. And Mallory doesn't seem real excited that I am done for some reason. I also installed a new cooktop, sink and over the range microwave. Next, we are going to redo our cabinets. We would like to paint them a toasted almond color....whatever that is. Here are some before and after pictures.

Before:

After:

Mallory has been grabbing and holding her toys alot better these days. And drooling.......man does she drool. She must get that from her Mommy. Here are some recent pictures of daddy's little girl.

NEWS FLASH!!!!

2008-04-07T21:42:00.004-05:00

Well, Friday was a momentous day in Mallory's life.......she rolled over all on her own. She has actually done it several more times since then too. Jennifer got one on video but we would have to either edit it or use the blurry screen to censor it. Apparently she likes to roll over only when she is naked. In fact, she seems to be alot more active with no clothes on.

We also had baby dedication at church this past Sunday. Our parents came up for Mallory's big day.

Mallory has been sleeping all through the night for the last few weeks. We have been putting her to bed around 8:30 - 9:00 pm and she wakes up about 6:30 - 7:00 am. Now if we could just get her to sleep to about 9:00 am on Saturday mornings I will be very happy.

Easter Time....

2008-03-26T20:37:00.005-05:00

Mallory had her very first Easter this year. As you can see from the pictures, she was VERY excited about it. And talk about having skills, she found her first egg while sleeping.

I can think of three things that could possibly be going through Mallory's mind in this picture:
1. Just one more picture mommy......I dare you
2. I've got a little something for daddy when he gets home from work
or......
3. Bon appetit!!

More pictures of Mallory...

Happy Easter!

2008-03-20T12:33:00.000-05:00

Back By Popular Demand.

2008-03-15T22:26:00.006-05:00

I have answered the viewing public and have decided to start creating the posts again. Jennifer's posts were nice and everything but everyone knows that my posts are much more enjoyable. Mallory has grown and developed so much in the past several weeks. She is totally out of the newborn stage and is in....some other stage now. She loves seeing daddy in the evenings when I come home from work. She asked me if I could be the one to stay home with her everyday instead of mommy. Needless to say that conversation stayed between Mallory and me because mommy might get her feelings hurt if she knew Mallory said that. Speaking of mommy; words can't describe how good of a job she is doing. She works with Mallory everyday teaching her new things. I just hope she can un-do the bad habits I teach her when I get home. Here are a few recent pictures of Mallory. Mallory taking a nap in her big girl outfit. Waking up from a nap.

A SNOW Day....Hooray!

2008-03-10T13:46:00.008-05:00

It snowed for several hours on March 7th. It was lots of fun!! Warren made a snowman with our neighbors and we took Mallory out to meet him after her nap. She wasn't too crazy about the cold weather, but how wonderful to get to see snow her very first winter! You can click on the title of this post to see a video by TechTV of it snowing on Tech's campus (for all those TECH fans out there).

She is really getting good at holding her head up!

Mommy & Mallory Marie

Daddy is great at story time!

Our stroller rides around the neighborhood can put her to sleep...sometimes before we leave the driveway!

Mallory loves her Daddy!

Note: I am having some trouble uploading videos to the blog (any advice appreciated!). However, if you are on facebook, you can view new videos from Jennifer's page.

2 Months!

2008-03-03T15:14:00.010-06:00

We had Mallory's 2 month check-up today. She now weighs 10 pounds 10 ounces (50th percentile) and is 23 1/2 inches long (75-90th percentile). Everything else was great too! We got our first round of immunizations and will return to the doctor at 4 months.

Ouch! Shots are no fun! Thanks Oma (Mrs. Kakie) for coming with us to the doctor.

Bathtime fun!

This outfit is special because I wore it when I was a little girl and now my little girl is wearing it too!

This past Friday was Mallory's great-grandpa's 18th birthday and she loved visiting with her Mama and Papa Byrd. (Papa Byrd was born on Feb. 29th!)

Mallory and Rock get better acquainted.

We love seeing her smiles now.

Playtime in the bouncer...

All Smiles For Daddy

2008-02-29T15:02:00.004-06:00

This is Daddy and Mallory's daily routine when Warren arrives home from work. She's so happy to see him!

Still growing...

2008-02-21T19:36:00.007-06:00

It is amazing how much she has grown in the last few weeks. She has been showing great eye contact and movement lately and she has been smiling alot too (mainly for daddy). We try our best to get some good pictures of her when something funny or exciting happens but I think we are going to have to upgrade our camera. It's not quite fast enough to get those quick shots. She has been eating good (as you can see from the pictures).

Me, Dad, Jeff Porter, David Brady and Kerry Paulk went to Lake Guerrero in Mexico a few days ago for some bass fishing. We had a great time and caught alot of fish. No "grande" fish but we still had alot of fun.

Born To Be A Bulldog

2008-02-13T22:21:00.006-06:00

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Getting ready for her visit to Louisiana Tech University.

Mallory is all TECHed out!!

TECH is #1!

Meeting the President, Dr. Reneau.

I know she will just love these one day...shortly after this picture we went to Admissions to apply for enrollment for the year 2026.

P.S. We are sorry we didn't get to see everybody who means so much to us at Tech and will be back again to visit more later!

Can you guess who this post is about?

2008-02-07T12:02:00.000-06:00

So, I guess all new parents really do just talk about their kids. I promise it's not because we're overly proud (ok, so maybe we are), but it's also because as her daddy says "It's Mallory's World, we just live in it." For right now anyway...

Mallory had her one month checkup last Wednesday and it went great. For those of you interested in numbers, she weighed a whopping 8 lbs. and was 22 1/4 inches in height. Her height is in the 90th percentile, so maybe she will be a Lady Techster baller one day!

In other news, we found out that she does great on car rides (for now that is- we've also learned that babies change their preferences a lot! LOL).

Getting ready for her car trip.

Mallory also loves to be entertained. We can't wait until the weather is warmer and we will spend more time outside together-it will be more fun for both of us!

We went to Deville this weekend to introduce Mallory to some of her family members that she hasn't met yet. Here are some pics below.

Mallory around the house last week.

Learning More Everyday.....

2008-01-27T20:17:00.000-06:00

Everyday we learn something different about Mallory. We "think" we are starting to learn her cries alittle more and mommy is establishing her schedule now. She got real used to being held when sleep time came and that is one thing we are working on now. Here are some recent pictures of Mallory. On January 30th she will be 1 month old....and still no job....not even any prospects.

A Day In The Life Of Mallory

2008-01-19T10:52:00.000-06:00

Well...so far play time has been pretty boring. No running around the house, playing outside in the woods or anything fun like that. She takes a lot of naps, eats every so many hours (like her daddy), and gets waited on hand and foot (unlike her daddy).

She is definitely more alert and responsive now than before. Tomorrow she will be 3 weeks old and still no job! I don't know how long I will let her live here like a freeloader...

All joking aside, she has been a wonderful addition to our family. Life definitely changes, but it is for the better.

Here is a picture of Mallory with her Grandparents and her Great Grandparents.

A few pictures of Mallory just being Mallory.

I've grown so much!

2008-01-10T11:02:00.000-06:00

Mallory had her first doctor appointment yesterday at 10 days old. She had a great checkup and has grown a lot since birth. She weighed 6 lbs. 11 oz. (she's a good eater!) and was 20 7/8 inches long. We couldn't believe she had grown over 2 inches in length already-wow! We go back for another checkup in 3 weeks.

I had to include a picture of Mallory in her "tax deduction" bodysuit. One of Warren's co-workers gave it to her and her daddy is so proud she decided to make her appearance before the New Year.

M & M...Mallory Marie

2008-01-08T11:58:00.000-06:00

I love hanging out with my daddy!

Say what?!

Goodbye to Granny....mom left today and we're going to miss her lots!

The cutest smile you have ever seen (to us anyway)

2008-01-05T19:13:00.000-06:00

Here are few pictures of Mallory smiling. Jennifer was trying to make her smile while I had the camera ready. Luckily our camera was able to catch a few of them. Doesn't she look so happy...

More pictures of Mallory...

2008-01-04T18:29:00.000-06:00

Here are few more pictures of Mallory. You can see her "coming home dress"...I learned this is a very important part of having a baby. I preferred bringing her home in camouflage but Jennifer had other plans. But I think she did a good job picking out the pink dress.

The last several days with Mallory

2008-01-03T19:59:00.000-06:00

Well....the last few days have been amazing. Motherhood seems to come so natural to Jennifer. I admit she does all the feeding and diaper changing and most of the burping; but when she gets ready for play time one of these days, I will be there.

Mallory has been such a joy to have around. We catch ourselves just looking at her for hours. She makes the funniest faces when she sleeps. And boy does she sleep. You have to try pretty hard to wake her up.

We have been trying to figure out this jaundice thing. We have been going back to the doctor everyday to see what her level is and it keeps rising. Every time it goes up, they just tell us to come back tomorrow to see what it is. Mallory hates it because they have to take blood everytime. It takes about 1-2 hours for the results to come in. As of today, her level was a 12. It started out at 7. I really have no idea what all this means but I guess if it keeps going up, she will have to have that blue light treatment. Her complexion looks great to us, but we are not doctors.

She also had her first bath yesterday. If you call wetting a wash cloth and wiping her down a bath. I wanted to lather her up into one big soap bubble but Jennifer didnt think that was too funny.

Our little tax deduction has finally arrived!!!

2008-01-02T12:05:00.000-06:00

Mallory Marie Byrd entered this world on December 30, 2007 at 8:24pm at the Northern Louisiana Medical Hospital. Mommy and Daddy are doing wonderful.

If you ask me, I would be quick to say that her labor didn't last too long and wasn't that bad. Jennifer might tell you otherwise. She started having her first contractions at 10:00pm Saturday night. She didn't even wake me up to tell me because she wasn't really sure how serious they were or even if they were real contractions at all. When I woke up Sunday morning, she told me all about them and we became very excited together. The contractions started fading for a while but eventually got worse. So after laboring at the house for a little while longer with the contractions getting worse, we decided to visit the hospital to see how far along she was. We arrived at the hospital around 3:45 Sunday afternoon. After the check-up, they decided to keep us there. And 4 hours later, Mallory was born. Jennifer was a trooper and I was so proud of her. We went into this hoping to have a natural child birth (no drugs!) but knowing the epidural was on stand-by. Everything went as we had planned and Jennifer accepted no drugs. Here are some pictures from the proud father with many more to come.

Mallory's Room

2007-12-29T07:55:00.000-06:00

Waiting for her arrival

2007-12-29T07:03:00.000-06:00

We've got one week left to go now and we are really anxious to meet our little girl. Her room is ready and it's so cute! Warren really did a great job with everything. Since it's been so long since the last post, I'm going to include some pictures from our showers at our home church and local church. I'm also including a couple of maternity pictures we took.

Katie is helping me open a present.

With mine and Warren's moms at the Deville shower.

I'm 37 weeks in this photo.

The crib has arrived!

2007-11-14T20:25:00.001-06:00

Our crib arrived yesterday and Warren put it together tonight. He's a pretty handy guy to have around! We really love it and can't wait to have a little baby to put in there!

We have almost finished the room-we're just going to do some touchup painting and then I'll be ready to start decorating! So, more pictures of the nursery are to come...

Mallory's Shower at Work

2007-11-07T19:04:00.001-06:00

My co-workers hosted a nice shower for us at the office. Baby stuff is so much fun!

31 Weeks

2007-11-07T19:01:00.000-06:00

Due date is getting closer!

Mallory is Growing and So is Mommy!

2007-10-02T20:34:00.000-05:00

26 Weeks

We can't believe how fast the pregnancy is moving. Mallory will be here in 3 months!

We got a lot accomplished around the house this past weekend; no baby stuff, but it still feels good to get things checked off our "to do" list before she arrives. Warren stained the concrete ledge by our front door and he finished up some work on the sprinkler system he installed this spring. The sprinklers have really improved the look of our yard. We enjoy it a lot more and so does Rock! We are so glad that Mallory will get to grow up with a sweet dog in the family. He's 2 1/2 now and as cute as ever!

And She Will Be Called...

2007-08-18T15:10:00.000-05:00

Baby Byrd is now Mallory Marie Byrd. Here is what her bedding looks like.

We will post a picture of Mallory's room when it's ready. Daddy is still working hard on it right now.

Baby Byrd is a Girl!

2007-08-17T08:34:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorites. It's very easy to see her spine and her legs extended. It's almost like she's sitting down.

So, who does she look like?

Yes, that is her foot above her head! She was also crossing her ankles at another time, so she's already acting like a little lady.

18 Weeks and Counting!

2007-08-06T20:06:00.000-05:00

The pregnancy has been progressing really well. I feel great and as you can see, have begun to grow. We are very excited about the ultrasound we have scheduled for next Thursday. Hopefully we'll get to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. Most importantly, we are praying to see a healthy growing baby.

A New Dad this Father's Day...

2007-06-23T12:13:00.000-05:00

Yea! Warren and I are expecting a baby! I'm due January 5th and we are so very excited. I gave Warren this "World's Greatest Dad" shirt to wear on Father's Day. This is how we told our families that we were going to have a baby!

Midnight Magic

2007-04-08T23:02:00.000-05:00

Warren and I had a reason to dress up! Residential Life hosts Midnight Magic each year. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of hard work too!

A Look Back...

2007-02-19T19:49:00.000-06:00

We miss these two!

2007-02-19T19:42:00.000-06:00

Warren and Maddie

Both So Handsome!

Jennifer and Madison

Warren's Birthday!

2007-02-11T22:10:00.000-06:00

Check out the new grill...

Rock approves!

Warren's Big Buck

2007-01-07T23:02:00.000-06:00

Warren killed this nice 8 point in Catahoula Parish. And, yes, he will be mounted and hanging on my wall in just a matter of time...LOL

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T20:36:00.000-06:00

We celebrated the start of 2007 by cutting down a few trees in the yard.Mr. Stan said that Scott left a few days too soon...
Getting this one down was no small feat!
Warren in Action.

Porter Family Christmas

2007-01-01T20:32:00.000-06:00

Granny and John Scott, the newest addition to the family.

The Grandkids-Cassidy, Cody, Madison, & John Scott

Mr. Stan's Surprise Birthday Party

2006-12-19T18:40:00.000-06:00

Wheelin' In the Old Man
Mr. Stan was really surprised by this "Over The Hill" Party.

Can we make it?

2006-12-19T18:38:00.000-06:00

We did make it through this mud hole, but we decided to quit trying our luck after that big one.

Such cute kids!

2006-12-19T18:29:00.000-06:00

The Two Natalies

Traci and Natalie

David and Landon found out that there was room for two to play!

So sweet!

Goin' Huntin'

2006-12-19T18:17:00.000-06:00

Two brothers going hunting together. What could be better than that?

A hunter in training...

Sock Swap

2006-12-12T21:49:00.000-06:00

Our 2nd Annual DAP Sock Swap!

Scott & Rebecca's Visit

2006-12-12T21:41:00.000-06:00

Trey, Scott, Will & Warren at Tech's University Park

Warren and Landon in their Sunday clothes.

Landon and his mommy

Friday Fun!

2006-12-12T21:29:00.000-06:00

Scott, Rebecca, & Landon came to visit. We were so glad to see them!

Mom finally got her ears pierced!

2006-12-01T22:11:00.000-06:00

Maddie's Costume Birthday Party

2006-12-01T22:08:00.000-06:00

What a cute cowgirl and Tech cheerleader!

A Visit to Columbia

2006-12-01T22:05:00.000-06:00

Warren's a great fisherman!

Tech Homecoming Game

2006-12-01T22:02:00.000-06:00

GO DAWGS!

A New Nephew

2006-12-01T21:59:00.000-06:00

John Scott Porter

Mmm...Ruston Peaches

2006-08-14T21:07:00.000-05:00

I took a group of summer scholar students to Mitcham's Peach Orchard. The peach ice cream was great, but the line for peaches was super long!

Almost Done

2006-07-19T22:16:00.000-05:00

I am almost done with my shop. As you can see from the picture below, I still have to install the garage door. It probably needs one more coat of paint too. Here is a picture of the inside.

New Grass

2006-07-19T22:09:00.000-05:00

Jennifer and I put down new sod. Jennifer was tired of all the dirt that I kept tracking in the house. It wasnt hard to do but my help kept leaving on me.

2006-03-17T20:47:00.000-06:00

This is the 8-Point that I killed on the last day of hunting season. He is in the process of getting mounted right now. He was killed on Larto Island in Catahoula Parish.

2006-03-17T20:40:00.000-06:00

Trey drove down the other weekend to help me put on the shingles for my shop that I am building. We started after lunch on Friday and finished sometime after lunch on Saturday. He was a big help.

2006-03-17T20:23:00.000-06:00

Jennifer and I went snow skiing at Angel Fire, New Mexico during the Mardi Gras break. We went with our church from back home and had a wonderful time. There wasn't alot of snow there; they actually reached their water consumption for the year the very same day that we arrived so they could not make any more artificial snow.