The Mallorys in Kyiv: Random Summer Happenings and a Visit from Grammy

This post is going to be a random hodge-podge of photos from our summer activities. From swimming lessons to celebrity sightings with a little potty training thrown in, it has been a fun and busy summer. Here are some of the highlights........

We did a mommy and me swimming class at the community center. It was so fun and Susannah loved it. Especially the water toy time at the end of each session.

Her best friend Leyton was in the same class, so they had lots of fun sharing their cheerios and kisses. And germs.

Mommy enjoyed the time in the pool every morning too. It was a really fun two weeks.

This summer we had a breakfast development.....we now eat "big girl cereal." AKA we are finally drinking milk!

And LOVING it!!


We have spent lots of time at the park.

So much time, that Mommy decided it was time for new playground shoes that kept the little mulch pieces out.

We also spent some time at the library, watching the train display, which Susannah adores.

This summer has also marked a significantly increased dependence on blankie.

When our friend Leah came to visit, we took the train north to LA to visit another friend. Susannah was so excited that we brought her car-seat along.

And she loved being at her new friend Brooklyn's house. Brooklyn had so many fun toys, including this chair that Susannah loved.

Brooklyn's Mommy, Becky, took us sightseeing. Here we are in front of the famous Hollywood sign.

And the El Capitan Theatre.

Here are a couple of the famous stars.

We had lunch at Villa Blanca in Beverly Hills. It turned out to be quite the celebrity sighting spot, as we saw a whole host of b-list reality tv stars. This, embarrassingly enough, was super fun and exciting for us.

Here are two of the celebs we saw....Rob Dyrdick and Dwayne Wade (who, please notice, is wearing a t-shirt with himself on the front.) Dwayne Wade walked over to Dyrdick's table and introduced himself as a fan. They took a pic together and TMZ was there.....it was so fun to watch.

Here we are on Rodeo Drive.

Leah and Becky on Rodeo.

After lunch we decided to decompress from all the celebrity excitement with a bike ride along the coast. We parked on the famous Santa Monica pier and headed south to Venice Beach.

We rode inland from Venice Beach a couple of blocks to check out the cutest neighborhood that they call the Canals. All the houses are so charming and right on the water. I guess it is supposed to be like the real Venice?

The bike ride was definitely the perfect end to the day.


And the best part was that Susannah and Brooklyn had a blast with their baby-sitters.

The sitters texted us this pic. She was clearly missing her Mommy so much, right?

She even ate peas!

After we got home, the girls were ready for bath and bedtime. Thanks Becky, Joe, and Brooklyn for being such gracious hosts!

Back in San Diego, we decided to take Leah for a bike ride around Coronado. We didn't have a sitter this time though, so Susannah got to come along in her trailer. She wore her helmet and had a great time.

We also took Leah to the zoo where we met this character who Susannah wasn't too fond of.

She did like looking at the elephants though.

So did Leah.

Leah and Brittany helped Susannah play on the toy bulldozer.

We had a great morning and saw almost the entire zoo.

As soon as Leah left, we tried the 3 day potty training method. Without going into too many details, lets just call it a disaster and keep moving to the next photo. (Notice that while I was concentrating on training Susannah, she was concentrating on training Monkey.)

She loves sitting on the potty, but sitting is all she will do. We are going to try again next month. Prayers are appreciated. ;)

We had a fun afternoon last week at a friend's house. I thought Susannah would be intimidated by the bigger kids splashing in the pool, but she wanted to get in as soon as we arrived. She is getting so big so fast.