Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Is this what the manufacturer intended?

Dump Truck + Dump Truck with back pushed up =

A boy who finds a way to turn a push toy into a riding toy


And in case you didn't know...

This is where all your tools have to go when said truck is used in this manner. Notice the poor driver who got relegated to the floor.


Wordless Wednesday















Monday, December 27, 2010

4-Wheeler Fun!

Aaron, you sure did love this 4-Wheeler from Grandad and Mimi! You couldn't get enough of it, so you and Daddy were bundled up in the evening after Christmas outside riding it. Mama went inside because it was cold, but Daddy was a trooper. Now when you see your 4-Wheeler, you say 'Car...DaDa'




Sunday, December 26, 2010

Abby's Christmas Presents

Kimmie and Papa John brought Abby some sweet presents yesterday. This outfit is a precious 9-Month outfit that I absolutely adore. And this is Awesome! Papa John bought this for Abby when he was at Academy a while back looking for Rangers T-Shirts for the World Series. It is a 2T Aggie Sundress with matching bloomers! I just about died!

We had such a fun and blessed Christmas. Aaron got to spend time with his grandparents and he also spent lots of time reading about Jesus and listening to Daddy tell him the story of Christmas. It was a precious day and we have wonderful memories. I hope your Christmas was beautiful.

Christmas Day - Part Two

After a very long nap, we got dressed to head to Grandad's You got this McQueen 4-Wheeler there and you loved it! You also got a garage track with cars and you loved that so much you hardly noticed anything else.

You took Grandad the big truck book that Grandma Beth sent you and asked him to read it to you. He knew what all the different trucks and equipment were!


You rode your new 4-Wheeler all through the house!



You had so much fun with your grandparents on Christmas!



Christmas Day - Part One

Your first picture of the morning! We had just changed you into your Christmas PJs and were ready to go see if Santa had come. He did! He ate your cookies and drank your milk and left you a note and...

a dump truck! You loved your Santa gift!


Kimmie and Papa showed up just as you were waking up and brought presents, including this enormous bear...



which you loved!






We tried so hard to get a picture of you with the bear's hat on, but you weren't in favor of that.





It was a fun morning and you were so tired!

Christmas Eve

Daddy was off all day on Christmas Eve and we so enjoyed having him home. We went to Chick-Fil-A in the morning to support the Christmas Wish for the local Christian Radio Station and then we spent the rest of the day at home. It was cold and rainy and we had a fire all day and enjoyed each other.


In the evening we went to Christmas Eve service at church. Afterwards, you put out cookies and milk for Santa and Daddy helped you write a letter to Santa.








Christmas Week

The week leading up to Christmas was relaxing for us. We didn't have a lot of reason to get out of the house and we really just enjoyed some calm and quiet.


Saturday December 18, 2010


Papa and Kimmie came over in the morning to see you and give Mama birthday gifts. We had lunch with them at the house and then spent the afternoon hanging with Daddy.
Sunday December 19, 2010


Home from church





We went to Grandad's in the evening for the Allen Christmas party and everyone enjoyed you so much.




Monday was Mama's birthday and you and I just hung out together all day. It was really nice outside and you got to play outside a bit.


Tuesday December 21, 2010


We met Ann and the kids at Chuck E Cheese. You had woken up early and were pretty tired, so you didn't have as much fun as I'd hoped, but you rode some rides and we had a nice lunch.



On Wednesday and Thursday we stayed home and cleaned and cooked and got ready for Christmas. I didn't want to get on the road with all the shoppers!

Friday, December 24, 2010

32 Weeks

I am 32 Weeks. The top picture was taken today, the bottom picture was taken at 32 weeks with Aaron. I have gained 20 pounds and I have 7 1/2 weeks (or less) to go.

It is very interesting to me to have a baby actually in my stomach. Aaron crawled up under my ribs and stayed there the entire third trimester. As a result, I never saw him move. I saw him kick only a couple of times. Due to his tight quarters I felt a whole lot less movement with him than with Abby. Abby is not in my ribs and I see her moving across my stomach constantly. My stomach is always really uneven depending on which side she is on. I never had any of that with Aaron. I never, never have had to do 'kick counts' with Abby. I am always very aware that she is active. It is all very strange compared to how pregnancy with Aaron felt, but I love
feeling her all of the time. We have had a wonderful Christmas Eve. We just returned from church and the cookies, milk and letter are out. We anticipate a lovely and blessed Christmas and wish the same for you.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The Allen Family Christmas Party

Sunday night was the family Christmas Party at Grandad's. You had so much fun and everyone loved you! Here are some good pictures.








Abby's Room

There is nothing on the walls and we still have a table cloth and a crib blanket coming, but here is a sneak peak. The outfit on the changing table is her coming home outfit
I could not get a good picture of this, but it is Papa John's Great, great-grandmother's rocker. That makes it Abby's Great, great, great, great-grandmother's! We are afraid to sit on it, but it looks really nice by the window!

The pink blanket in the back was made by my great-grandmother


Round table waiting on a table cloth - and the sound soother I haven't pulled from Aaron's room yet.

Close-up of the bedding


Abby's C-Section is scheduled for eight weeks from today! I'll post 32-week pictures this week.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Happy Birthday, Sara!

December 20th, a day that changed the course of history. That was the day that Sara Elizabeth Hartley was born. A beautiful, wonderous creation of God that never was, nor ever will be, duplicated. This little girl has grown up into a amazingly special woman that surprises me and blesses me on a daily basis. I watch her as a mother and a wife with equal parts amazement and admiration. She takes on so much in taking care of Aaron and I, and absolutely loves every minute of it. Aaron is so happy and healthy because of how great of a mother Sara is. She is so aware of what is best for him and what conditions and routine he thrives in. Much of this comes by instinct, but also through a lot of hard work in terms of researching and studying different thoughts and ideas about raising children. She has made this her "profession", and devotes herself to it like any other true professional.

All the while, she takes care of me with the same dedication and energy that she always has. I've not had to fend for myself just because Aaron has come into the picture. I would have certainly understood if this was necessary. After all, there is only so much time, love and attention that one person has to devote. Or so I thought. We've not reached the limit of these things for Sara, and the limit is nowhere in site as we eagerly anticipate adding our daughter to the mix.

She is, to put it simply, amazing. I am so blessed to have her as my wife and the mother of my children. December 20th- a day that changed my history forever.

Happy birthday, honey! I love you.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Lunch with Mama

Aaron, I took you to lunch today and just had a wonderful time. You were so sweet and good. You patiently waited for your food and then you ate your sandwich before you got your fruit and you didn't fuss at all about that. Then you had your milk. You were such a pleasure to take out. I love that I can take you to restaurants. I so enjoy you!

Abby's Stats

This is my 7 Month Picture with Abby:
We had our doctor's appointment yesterday. Abby's heartbeat was 150 and my blood pressure and weight were still great. We actually had a sonogram today and Abby weighs 4 1/2 pounds and seems to be doing great. Her length and weight are right in the middle of the normal range. Her C-Section is scheduled for Tuesday February 15 at noon. That's four days before her due date, so she could come early. We'd like her to get the memo and stay on schedule, but we're prepared to roll with it if she doesn't.