Fun at the Zoo

We went to the zoo yesterday (5/27/11) for the first time with Allen and had a great day! His favorite animals were the elephants but the gorillas came in a close second. We got to feed and pet the giraffes, so that was really cool too. When we gave Allen the leaves to feed the giraffes, he wanted to take a bite for himself first. Once he realized what to do, he loved it and wanted "more, more more." It was such a fun day!

Easter 2011

This Easter was absolutely wonderful! We celebrated all weekend. On Saturday, we went to a helicopter egg drop at a park in Sachse. We got to see the Olthouses, the next-door neighbors, and Braylon (Allen's day care buddy) even with all the people there. Allen loved all the kids, the egg hunt, and the helicopter! Allen was recovering from an ear and sinus infection, so he snuck in an extra nap before church on Sunday morning. When he woke up, the Easter Bunny had filled two baskets! Allen was a little spoiled this year. He got a quick peek before heading to church. I tried to capture a picture of his dressy outfit, which was a Christmas gift from Uncle Uli, but the only time I could get him to stay still was in his car seat. He stayed with us during the service instead of going to the nursery and was great! (The goldfish and raisins probably helped.) It was a joy to celebrate the resurrection of our savior with our little family. After we came home, we got a turkey lunch ready and soon had lots of family visitors. Gigi, Grandad, Olthouses, and Diana, Jason, and Asher all came. What a blessing to have the whole family together for Easter! The kids had a great egg hunt in the backyard. Allen found a few eggs but was more intersted in playing baseball. Any eggs he did have he would put in one of the other kids' baskets. Notice the progression of his clothing thoughout the day. :) The girls were keeping tabs on Allen as they played in the other room. When I went in to check on him, Alyssa said, "Allen is having a GREAT time!," and he was. We all were. We are joyful and blessed to have such precious times with family and even more so to celebrate the life of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

9 years, 18 months, & 1 moment

Today, April 16th, is our sweet niece/cousin Alyssa's 9th birthday, Allen's 18 months birthday, and may have been the most precious moment of my life. We were lucky to get to see Alyssa today on her birthday; Allen loves his cousins Alyssa and Kayla. I tried to get some pictures of them together, but Allen doesn't sit still much these days. We went for his check-up yesterday, and Dr. Rosen said everything looks great! He has grown an 1 1/2 inches since Janurary and is still in the 90% for height and 60% for weight. We are very blessed and thankful that he is so healthy and that all of his development looks great. It was an easy appointment, and after Dr. Rosen finished his exam, Allen said "more?" We all laughed (that was before his shot.) A couple of weeks ago Allen had so much fun playing on bikes at another house. I mentioned it to his Daddy on the phone, and Christian comes home with one that night. :) It was supposed to be his "birthday" gift, but Christian couldn't wait for that either. Allen loves it! He rides it out to the mailbox, then gets off and puts the mail in the cubby in the back, and brings it back to the house - so cute! He also got his very own toolbox to help Daddy out around the house. That didn't wait for today either. :) It is so much fun to watch Allen develop and learn - he really understands so much and can do so much now. He's starting to talk more too, but his favorite word, by far, is ball. We probably hear it 100 times a day! And now for the most precious moment - this morning Allen and I were snoozing in bed. He was already awake and sitting up, and I was still lying down, hoping for a few more minutes. Allen was very sweetly and patiently letting me lay there. Then totally out of the blue, he takes his paci out of his mouth and leans down and kisses my check. He sat back up, popped the paci back in, and let me lay there a few more minutes. I thought then that it might be the most precious moment of my life. We are very blessed to have Allen fill our lives and hearts for 18 months!

Allen Loves Shoes

Here are some of the many moments of Allen and his shoes. The boots are from Uncle Rob; they were his when he was a little boy. They don't fit yet, but Allen still wants to wear them all the time. Sometimes when we get home from the day, he asks to put on his dress shoes - notice the picture with black dress shoes as he's asking to go outside. Crazy boy! If any shoes are left out, he makes sure to hand them to you or put them where he thinks a good spot for them are. He gets a little annoyed that he can't put on his own shoes, and definitely has an opinion about which shoes he wants to wear everyday.

Mid-Lunch Nap

Allen got a little tired during lunch yesterday. I was trying to prepare my own lunch when it got very quiet. I looked over and this is what I saw. Poor baby fell asleep mid-bite (notice the fork in his hand). Maybe that's why the highchair seat can lean back?