Our Happy Girl

Andy's Birthday

Happy 32 to my sweetheart! I am so grateful to have you in my life. Your smile is contagious, your silly giggle makes me laugh, your strength always impresses me, your soft touch makes me feel safe and loved, your gentle kisses on the heads of our children melt my heart. Thank you for sharing your life with me, and happy birthday!

Happy Halloween

Halloween, or Halloweeney, as Ethan calls it, was so much fun this year. Ethan had a ball helping to put up all the spooky decorations, carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating, and even answering the door on Halloween night.

Andy had the house all decked out with every spooky thing you could possibly imagine. He even had a dummy on the porch. We found all sorts of things on it the next morning. It looked as though people threw rocks, etc at it to determine whether there was a real person in it waiting to scare them. He also had the music video of thriller projected on the house. The parents of the trick-or-treaters seemed to enjoy this the most, and many sat out on the lawn and watched the video and did a little dancing. It was quite a site, and Andy loved every minute of it.

Ethan, of course, was spiderman. He LOVES superhero costumes, and always wants to be dressed up as Superman, Spiderman, Batman, or Buzz LIghtyear. He looked super cute, and has almost wore the costume right out, because he has worn it so many times. There aren't too many 2 month old Halloween costumes, but Addy wore a cute little ladybug outfit. She looked darling in it. I was a witch, but shame on me, I didn't get pictures of all of us together. My mom did though, so I'll have to get a pic from her to post later on.

Addy's 2 month appointment

I knew Addy was getting big, but I didn't realize how big until we went to the Doc on the 18th of October for her check-up. She was already 12 lbs. 8 ounces, and was in the 92% for weight! Good heavens. We couldn't love our little chunk any more though. She is just perfect, and is such a sweet baby. She is cooing and smiling, and loves for you to talk to her. She is just pleasant and happy 90% of the time, and her little spirit is a welcome addition to our home.

Dreams

I am a sucker for Sports movies. You name it . . . I love it. Hoosiers, Rudy, the Blind Side, Coach Carter, Glory Road, The Rookie, For Love of the Game, the list could go on and on. I always get a little teary eyed at the end of these types of movies, I guess for a few different reasons. First, because someones dream has come true, and second, because I love sports.

As a little girl, I had many dreams, many of which never came true. For instance, I am not an archeologist, or an astronaut, a famous basketball player, or even a doctor. I am a humble teacher for my profession, but one of the most important dreams I had, did come true. I am a mom, and am so grateful for the opportunity to be one. My children make my heart leap for joy, and give me such great happiness.

Last night, Addy only woke up once. While I was holding her, rocking her back to sleep, I couldn't help but think that I just might miss the quiet alone time that the two of us get with each other in the middle of the night. Crazy I know, but every minute is precious. Especially now that I've witnessed how fast they grow up.

My favorite time with Ethan is night time. He snuggles in bed, and I read him story after story, until he finally asks for his favorite . . . Mommy's Best Kisses, and then he is ready to go to sleep. I love these little precious moments with my babies, and hope that there will be plenty more to come.

Baby Doll Dress Up

I love my little Ethan with all my heart, and having a boy is so much fun. We play guns, pretend to be super hero's, (I get to be a damsel in distress on a regular basis), drive cars around the house, and throw balls to each other. With that said . . . I am just loving having a little girl to dress up. The bows, the pink, and the darling clothes just melt my heart. I feel as though I'm dressing up a little doll to parade around just to look cute. Poor little Addy will probably hate pink when she gets older, because I just can't get enough of it! Here she is sporting one of her darling pink outfits!

incredible pizza

It's been hard to keep Ethan entertained while managing a new baby, but we've done our best to get him out to do fun things. One of our adventures was to incredible pizza. Ethan had so much fun riding on the rides, bowling, playing mini golf, playing games, and collecting tickets to earn prizes. I think mini golf was the funniest part. Ethan would hit the ball once, and then pick it up and put it in the hole. Grandpa T would have a fit if he knew that Ethan was cheating at golf. We need to teach that boy some patience. But the best part . . . it was just as much fun to watch him as it was for him to play!

The Princess and the Mobster

Well, it's no secret that Ethan LOVES guns. I know that we'll be arrested one day for carrying a facsimile of a weapon in a store or something. Anyway, this morning, he was walking around the house in his suit, waiting for me to finish getting ready for church, shooting his machine gun. He totally looked like a little Mobster!


I also got Addy all dolled up in this cute little dress that Grandma T bought for her. It's a hair too big, and the brown headband that I bought for her didn't fit, so we had to go with white, but I still think she looks pretty darn cute.

State Fair

Last weekend we went to the state fair with our friends Andy and Melissa, and their kids Ayden and Morgan. We all had a great time, and I have to admit, it was just nice to get out of the house for a while. The kids especially enjoyed looking at all the animals, and just enjoyed one anothers company. Thanks Andy and Melissa for inviting us to join in on your family home evening. We really had a great time.

Little Fisherman

Andy is quite the fisherman, and Ethan is following in his footsteps. He doesn't quite have the patience for fishing, but he sure enjoys being with his dad, and reeling in his line. I think it is certainly a sport that the two of them will enjoy together for many years to come.

Splish Splash

Ethan is quite a character. He loves to entertain people, is very outgoing, and will talk to anyone. He also enjoys teasing, tickling, and making other people laugh. He is quite the little comedian. Andy was in with him in the bath tub on this particular day, and he did this all to himself to get a laugh. We love this little guy!

My little Superhero

While Andy was home from work to help me with the baby, he ran plenty of errands for me, and he'd usually take Ethan so that I could have a little nap with the baby. On one of his first outings, he purchased this cute spiderman outfit. It didn't come with the mask, my mom and dad bought that for him in Mexico on their cruise, but he likes to wear them all together anyway. He WOULD NOT take this outfit off for 3 days straight, that is until Andy went back to the store and bought the Batman outfit as well. So, for 3 weeks, Ethan has been a superhero. The other picture is him in a wonderwoman cape. This was my cape when I was little, and I believe my Aunt Colleen made it for me. Anyway, he also loves to wear it. He flies around the house pretending to rescue and save everyone. Too cute.

We let him watch one of the real spiderman movies not too long ago, and he apparantly paid VERY close attention. When he had on his spiderman outfit with the mask, he came over to me, pulled the mask halfway up, and kissed me. Too cute. I love my little Superhero.

Pirate Island

Addy had her first babysitter on Saturday night. Thank you Grandma T and Grandpa T for taking over for the evening so that Andy and I could spend some time with Ethan. He LOVED our pirate waiter, and loved to play all the shooting games. We collected a bunch of tickets and were able to buy him pirate tattoos, an eyepatch, a pirate hackey sack, and a few other little pirate items that he loves.

Ethan kept saying he was scared of the skeletons while we were eating dinner and was pulling the funniest faces.

On our way home, he absolutely had to have on his pirate hat and eye patch. He looks really spooky while sucking his thumb and holding his duckster doesn't he?

Addy's 2 Week Check Up

Addy is doing extremely well, and growing like a weed. She's up a pound and an inch as of her 2 week appointment last Wednesday. The doc said she's as healthy as can be, and hopefully she stays that way!

We are in love with our little Addy! She is a great eater, and is up to 4 oz. a feeding already, and usually eats every 2 hours. She only cries when we change her diaper or she's ready to eat. She sucks on your lower lip while waiting for her bottle to be prepared, and she loves to lay on her tummy. She is a very pleasant and good natured baby. Most nights she'll sleep for 4 hours at a time, and I am thanking my lucky stars for a baby who is letting me get some rest. :)

Ethan has had a bit of a rough adjustment with Addy, but today he was totally cute with her. She was crying, waiting for her bottle, and Ethan went and got her a blanket and put it on her. Such a sweet gesture, because when he is hurt or upset, he wants his blanket (duckster).

We love our two precious little ones. Funny how when they get here, it just seems like they've been with you forever.

addison's birth announcement

Addison's Pictures

She's here!

Introducing Miss Addison Lee Allen. 7 lbs. 3 oz. and 19 1/2 inches tall. We are thrilled.

Not Quite Yet

And the amnio says . . . the bun is not quite cooked enough. So, we have to give our girl one more week of baking time, and then she should be fine. So, the plan is to have a c-section at noon, next Wednesday, August 18th. I'm excited that there is an end in sight, but I was so hoping that we'd have her here today, and I was a little disappointed. Oh well, she'll be here soon enough, and then I can get that pesky gall bladder taken out that's causing so many problems.

Never a Dull Moment

Well, it's going to be quite an interesting week. Last night we spent most of the night at instacare with Ethan. Turns out he fractured a metatarcel in his foot. He tipped over in one of our kitchen chairs, and it the chair landed right on his little foot. He has to wear a little boot around and won't walk on it at all. He keeps telling us that "I hurt real bad."

I've had a lot of bird poop on my porch lately, and wondered where the birds were sitting. Last night when we came home there were 4 birds sitting on the sign hanging on our front porch. So, we were checking them out, and when we walked in the house, one followed along with us. Andy spent quite a few minutes chasing the bird through the house trying to get it back out the front door. Quite a scene.

Today we're off to the surgeon to figure out when we can get my gall bladder taken out.

Wednesday morning we're going in for an amniocentesis to determine if little Addison is ready to be delivered, and if she is, then we are scheduled for a C-section on Thursday!

Cross your fingers for us, because it would be wonderful to be holding our little one on Thursday! That way we can get this stupid gall bladder taken care of earlier than later.

Potty Success

Since I've been at home for a few weeks, I decided it was an excellent time to start potty training Ethan! He'd done super good. We've had a few accidents here and there, but for the most part, he lets me know he needs to go potty!

He chose his outfit this particular day. Notice the big boy underwear, and remember that he's got on a fleece pj top in July, with Buzz lightyear shoes! :) Lovely!