The Allen's

Harper Loves....

2012-02-16T21:09:00.000-08:00

1 - Shoes. She is very picky about the shoes she wears each day. She usually picks shoes that match her outfits. On those few days that her shoes look crazy, well I just let them look crazy. It's not worth the fight. When she is set on the shoes she wants to wear, that's it. There is no changing her mind.

2 - Monsters - She like playing monsters with Dax and Lani. Especially at Gigi's and Rick's house. She also loves reading "Where the Wild Things Are", "The Monster At The End Of This Book," and "I see a monster" (This book has had it - the lift-a-flaps no long exists, pages are ripped, and the cover is ugly.

3 - Diamonds - Well, this is a crazy story. The other day, I decided, at the last minute, not to wear my diamond. My fingers must have been a little swollen and it just felt tight and uncomfortable. Well, instead of taking my ring upstairs and putting it in it's usual location, I put it on the table under our tv. I was being lazy and didn't want to walk upstairs. ~~So when we got home~~ About an hour after we got home, I thought to muself, I better put my ring up. But when I went to get it, it was gone. I began to panic and cry. Lani was helping me look, Dax was asleep, and Harper would just grin when I would ask her when my ring was. I had cried, called Jarod, and looked everywhere. As I was praying to God to help me find my ring, I saw a twinkle under the edge of the couch. At first, I doubted that it was my ring. then it caught my eye again, so I decided to look. YAY!! I found my ring!!! Harper starts clapping and says "my pretty, my pretty." As I am putting it on my finger, she says, "that's mine, that's mine." So I then ask, "Harper were you playing with my ring?" She says no, which in Harper language means YES! She continued to cry for my ring, saying mine, mine, mine. When I asked her who hid my ring under the couch she laughed and said "daddy." I am so glad I found it. Next time I decide not to wear it, it is going to be safely placed in my jewelry box.

This Girl...

2012-02-09T14:22:00.000-08:00

Is Potty Trained!!! She even went to church last night in panties and didn't have an accident. WOOOHOOOO! Let's All Do The Potty Dance!!!! (We have been doing it for several days now !!)

Kid Update

2012-01-18T20:19:00.000-08:00

Lani loves school, being crafty and peace signs. She loves to learn new things. She comes in everyday and does her homework right away. Well after she has a snack. She became concerned over people having real trees over Christmas. She thinks it is terrible to cut down trees. I think she is going to be our peace sign loving hippie. :) She is a great reader and loves Jesus. She has started asking questions about salvation and ask why everyone just can't ask Jesus to come live into their heart and why people wouldn't want to go to Heaven. She has lost two teeth and gets excited about what the tooth fairy leaves her. Lani can't wait to go to the dentist next Tuesday to show off her pulled teeth.

Dax is all boy. He loves his sister's, riding his bike, attempting to ride a skateboard. However, his biggest love is BASEBALL! He would watch the Sandlot, Rookie of the Year, Every one's Hero and The Bench warmer's everyday if we would let him. If baseball is on TV, he stops and completely focuses on the game. He watches other sports too, but doesn't get as involved as he does with baseball. We signed him up for T-Ball yesterday and he is so excited! He also says he would like to take Karate and loves, loves, loves the new Karate Kid movie. Dax also enjoys going to school and playing with his friends.

Sweet Harper. Where do I start. She definitely knows how to take up/defend herself. If something is wrong, or something has happened, Harper usually gets blamed. Who unfolded the laundry? Harper. Who pulled all the books out of the basket? Harper. Who splashed all of the water out of the bath tub? Harper. ~~Lani~~ Dax blames everything on Harper. Harper loves school and loves to sing. Her favorite songs are Who built the ark?, If You're Happy and You know it, and The Wheels On The Bus. She has been asking to use the potty and today she wore panties to school. She had one accident, which I didn't think was bad at all. She also loves baby dolls, balls and sweet tea. Yes, sweet tea. She will open the fridge and beg for it.

Too Fast

2012-01-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

There is a disassembled baby crib in my living room. It has been here since December 29th. It has a place to go, but I haven't been in such a hurry. 6 years ago, we put that crib together for Lani. It stayed in her Ladybug themed nursery for 16 months. At that time, we found out we were having a boy and had to get a boy, sports themed nursery ready. We could have held off a few months, but we didn't want Lani to feel like she was getting kicked out of the crib for Dax so we decided to transition her to a big girl bed early. For 24 months, the crib stayed in Dax's room, with a sweet little baby boy in it. Then we find out, baby number 3, girl number 2, was on her way. The crib goes back into Lani's room. Not much of a theme this time. Just tried to find accessories to match Lani's lavender room. So sweet Harper slept in this same crib for 18 months. Their room is not very big, and with two beds in there, not much room to play. So for Christmas, Lani and Harper get bunk beds! YAY! Time to transition again. I was so excited about it. Until I started taking the crib apart. This is the first time in 6 years that crib has been taken apart and unoccupied and it made me a little teary, which caused Jarod to roll his eyes at me, but I don't care. It seems like last year that I had Lani, not almost 6 years ago. It is not like me to hold onto things like this, but I think this one little thing is OK to get a little sentimental about. However, it is on my to-do list - take the crib back to Wendy. On a more positive note - Harper loves sleeping in a big girl bed and Lani loves sleeping up top. Dax is next on the list for a new bed. He can't wait to sleep "up high." Maybe a loft bed for him. We will see.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T09:39:00.000-08:00

And A Happy New Year! We hope you all have a great Christmas and enjoy celebrating Jesus' Birthday!

Love, The Allen's

Tooth Fairy Time

2011-12-19T19:59:00.000-08:00

This isn't the best picture, but Lani was proud to show off her missing tooth! We had our first visit from the tooth fairy Saturday Night. She left Lani $2 for her tooth. Lani was so excited, she said it must have been a pretty good toot since she got $2!

We Love Santa

2011-12-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

Woohooo for the first year of NO TEARS when we saw Santa!

Merry Christmas!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-30T19:34:00.000-08:00

A Sneaky Little Elf

2011-11-29T13:05:00.000-08:00

Zeke, our elf, arrived Thanksgiving Night. Lani, Dax and Harper were very excited to see him hanging on a closet door knob. He also wrote a note and mentioned all of the things L, D, and H have been doing this past year. They were amazed at all of the thing he knew about! Check out what he has been doing while we were all fast asleep....

We woke up one morning and found toilet paper hanging from our ceiling fan. This made for lots of laughs!

The next morning he left a special breakfast. Powdered doughnuts and chocolate milk! Elves love sugar and he wanted to make sure we loved it too!

Zeke decided to leave an early stocking stuffer! L,D and H all received a 10 minute stay up past your bed time pass. This pass can only be used once, so we much choose the night wisely!

This morning he was just sitting on a shelf. Wonder what other Elf suprises we are in for this year?

Day 2.....

2011-11-15T07:13:00.000-08:00

......Home with a sick baby. Harper has been diagnosed with a type of strep. She has a terrible, yucky itchy rash across her lower back that goes down to her little bottom. One part of the rash, which is in her diaper, has developed an abscess. :( She has been sleeping a lot, but when she is awake is playing like her normal little self. I have managed to get a lot done during her little nap this morning, washed and folded clothes, made the beds and swept and mopped the floors! If you have the chance, say a little prayer for Harper - that this rash will go away and that these germs will stay away from the rest of us.

Growing Up

2011-11-10T21:14:00.000-08:00

In just a few days, Dax will be 4! I can't believe it. So what is he up to these days. Dax is still a lover of baseball. He loves everything baseball - The Sandlot, dirt, sliding, batting, throwing. He is an awesome little and big brother. He drives his sister's crazy at times, but he also loves them so much and is very protective over both of them. Dax loves cuddling with his mommy, but playing baseball and building things with his daddy. He likes to socialize at school, he doesn't love coloring or counting that much. Dax is a great friend and is friendly to everyone. He has an amazing imagination and makes us laugh with his crazy stories. Happy Birthday Sweet Boy! You have been such a blessing to us and we Thank God everyday for you!

Dax's First Halloween!

First Birthday!

Love his smile!

Happy Halloween

2011-11-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

I have been a bad blogger and a bad photographer. I didn't have nearly as many Halloween pics this year, as I have had on past Halloween's. This is also my 300th post! I can't believe I have had 300 things to says.

I hope you all had a great Halloween. I know my Witch, Ninja and Butterfly had a great time!!

Look at this little butterfly bootie! Harper is so adventurous and cute.

Awwww...

2011-10-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

Who is this cute baby in a pumpkin? Well it is my niece Haley! Her happiness in the pumpkin didn't last long, but it sure did make a cute picture!!

32

2011-10-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

Happy 32 Birthday Jarod! He may be 32 but he can still jump out of a swing like he is 12. :) I hope you had a great day Jarod! We love you and are very thankful for everything you do for us! You are a great husband and an awesome dad! Love you!!!

Completely Random

2011-10-03T13:38:00.000-07:00

I'm a terrible blogger - I have so much to say, or thought I had so much to say and now that I have made time to blog, I don't remeber what I was going to say. Well, this is just going to have to be a random post.

-We love football. I'm so happy it is football season. Wh have been fortunate enought to attend the last 3 Clemson home games. Just Jarod and I. No kids!!! I love taking my kids places and spending time with them, but our football dates have been a lot of fun.

- I love this cooler weather. I am so ready to wear sweaters, boots and scarves.

- We went camping this past weekend and had tons of fun!

-My hubby is getting old. He will be 32 on Thursday. Happy Birthday Jarod! Love you!!!

- We have found a new church home at Mt. Tabor Baptist Church. Now I don't have anything negative to say about my old church home and still have lots of love for Covenant and ALL the people there. As a family, we felt God leading us some where else and followed his lead. I have to say that I know with all my heart we are where we need to be and it was the best thing for our family.

Harper Loves Candy Apples!

2011-09-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

Harper decided to snatch the cnady apple from Lani. I think you can tell that she enjoyed herself :)

~Sweet Prayers~

2011-08-31T19:03:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Dax made me giggle a little while we were saying his prayers. When I asked him what he wanted to pray for tonight, he immediately said "mommy, first you always need to say Thank You to Jesus because he died on the cross for me." (Such a sweet smart boy!) I told him he was absolutely right and ask if there was anything or anyone he wanted to pray for. He said, "Well, my three brothers live at my old house and one of them fell in the dirt and broke his arm." I reply with that's nice Dax, but why don't we pray for your 2 sisters, that are real. He corrected me by saying his brother's were real and that one had really broken his arm. As we begin to pray, he stops me and says, I forgot about my dog mommy. My Doggy has a broken leg, we have to pray for my dog! So why did I giggle - Because Dax definitely does not have any brothers or a dog. Oh how I love this child and his wild imagination.

~Friend Friday~

2011-08-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

It has been forever since I did a "Friend Friday" post. I didn't mean to be so slack, I guess I just haven't been blogging on Friday, or I had other stuff to say. This week's "Friend Friday" is all about........My MOM!! Mom, Gina, Gigi's....You can call her whatever you want :) Not only is she my mom, but I consider her one of my best friends! We have been through a lot together, and yes we argue at times and don't always see eye to eye. But I can always count on her to be honest with me and tell me the truth - even if it is somethinng I don't want to hear. Since I was little, she has always been there for me and supported me in everything I have ever been involved with. It is also her 52nd Birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA!!! I love you! Thanks for everything you have ever done for me! I hope you have an awesome day!

~5k, 4k, 2k~

2011-08-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

My kiddos are growing up! I can't believe Lani is now a kindergartner! She loves school and is anxious to get there everyday! She even walked in all by herself on the second day. Of course, I did have my cousin Wendy, waiting for her at the door, in case she got lost. :)

Dax skipped 3k this year and had his first day of 4k at Covenant Christian Academy. He has a November birthday and will be 4 soon. He was ready for 4k. Dax loves school too. Recess and lunch are his favorite parts of the day :) Dax also loves baseball and I couldn't get him to take a normal pic. He had to pretend he was was playing baseball. :)

Off to 2k! My little Harper, is now in my class at Covenant! She had a bad hair day on the first day of school, so she is looking a little rough. She has had a great first week at school. She hasn't gotten upset with sharing her mommy with her friends at all!

Her bookbag is bigger than her!

The first week of school, wore us out. But we are happy to get back on a schedule. Happy New School Year Everyone!!

Trace Adkins - Just Fishin'

2011-08-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

For the last 2 weeks, I have heard this song everyday. It is usually on everytime I get in the car. I can't tell you how much I love this song! It reminds me so much of my daddy! I loved fishing with him and it was much more than fishing - I have the best memories. I even had a pink fishing rod, just like the little girl in this song. Of course, that pink fishing rod is at the bottom of Lake Hartwell. Daddy had ordered for me and it even had my name engraved on it. So anyways, I love this song and the happiness it makes me feel. Have a great day - Ansley

1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4.......

2011-07-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

C-L-E-M-S-O-N-T-I-G-E-RRRRR-S, FIGHT TIGERS, FIGHT TIGERS, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!

is ANYONE ELSE READY FOR FOOTBALL SEASON? Well, I am now officially READY!!!

Saturday, I attended The Ladies Football Clinic and it was so much fun. Not only did we have a great time, but it was a chance to raise money for Dabo's Foundation and learn about cancer research and breast cancer. This was my first time at the clinic, but I will definitely be back next year.

Tiger Time!

Jenna

My Friend, Jen's, camera. Her digital camera died and she found this in a drawer at her house. It made me giggle that she still had one of these.

Locker Room

My Aunt Carol, who isn't really my aunt. :)

Yeah, not really sure why I thought this was a good idea. This helmet was smelly.

This is Bobby. Bobby reminded us all day that we needed to hustle and not take pictures while walking.

The player is Tony Steward. We learned all the steps it took to recruit him and then we got to meet him and ask him questions. Recruiting was my favorite topic that day. Learning about offense was OK, but not my fave. Defense really taught me a lot. I learned about safety's and how they can trick the offense. I actually began to understand plays and what the X's and O's mean when it is written on paper. I was proud of myself. :)

~Lani~

2011-07-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

In less than a MONTH, my Lani Bug, will attend her first day of kindergarten. Where has the time gone. Is she ready - Oh yes! And pumped up! Am I ready - Yes and No. I have my moments, but everything is going to be fine. My cousin, Wendy, is a 6th grade teacher at Lani's new school, so at least someone familiar is going to be close by. Not that it matter's to Lani, who thinks she is 15 instead of 5! :) So what's going on with Lani these days.....

-She is an awesome big sister. At times, she does get annoyed with her younger siblings, that it quickly passes. She loves them both so much!

-She would rather lay out in the sun on a beach towel than swim in the pool. She does swim, she just likes to get her tan on too.

-She can clean her own room! This might sound crazy, but it's important when there are two others that haven't mastered this skill yet.

-Lani loves Taylor Swift, iCarly, the song "Country Girls Shake It For Me" (I can't believe I just admitted that on here)

-Lani says the sweetest prayers at night and usually doesn't leave anyone or their scratches, bruises or sick dogs out of her prayers.

-Lani takes her bible everywhere in her purse. She says she learned at VBS that she needs to pray and read her bible.

-Lani has decided that she doesn't want to take dance again next year. She has decided that she might try baton. Why? Because she doesn't think she will have to move her legs as much. Oh my.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

This post....

2011-07-11T20:48:00.000-07:00

.....is completely random! You have been warned! :) A lot has been going on since my last post and the NKOTBSB concert. So much, that I haven't had a chance to blog!

We have spent, like most of our summer's, a lot of time at the pool or at the lake. The weekend of the fourth was basically a pool/lake weekend and it wore us out! The kids love it and it was a fun weekend. Jarod also put new flooring down in our living room, which I LOVE, so he was really the exhausted one.

Lake time - Watching the fireworks in Clemson!

Fun on the tube!!

I told you everyone was tired! She takes the best naps on the boat - even in the life jacket. Lucky for us, she doesn't seem to mind the life jacket and doesn't fuss when we put it on her!

Lani took this pic, which turned out pretty good.

Who is this baby?? Well, I have a new role in my life - I'm an aunt and this is my niece - Haley Parker Forrest. She was born 7-11-11 and weighed 7 pounds and 8 ounces. She is super cute!!!

The Best Night Ever :)

2011-06-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

Hangin Tough....

2011-06-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

So guess where I will be tomorrow night .......In ATL at the New Kids On The Block and Backstreet Boys Concert! Pictures will follow :)

Take Me Out To The Ballgame....

2011-06-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

We celebrated father's day Friday night and went to a Greenville Drive Baseball game! We all had a great time! After the game, there was a great firework show. Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there - I am so blessed to have a wonderful husband that is a great father to our children!

Lani and Dax with Reedy Ribbit!

Harper before the game

~Fireworks~

I love the look on Dax's face! He was so excited about baseball and fireworks! It was a great night!

Harper's 1 Year Pics!

2011-06-10T07:50:00.000-07:00

I love Portrait Innovations and I am so happy we have one in Anderson now! I told myself I was only going to get the $9.95 package and, as you all know, that was NOT all I bought! I should have known better!!

~Sweet Summertime~

2011-05-28T06:03:00.000-07:00

- I had a happy/sad day yesterday. I finished my first school year of teaching pre-school, and I'm going to miss those little boogers. I'm so happy I decided to work some this summer and get to spend a little more time with some of them. A few of them are going to go ahead and move up to the next class and I'm really going to miss them!

-I love that it is a long weekend, which means more time with my sweet family! We really don't have many plans this weekend and it feels really good. We got to sleep in this morning, but for some reason I was wide awake at 7:30!

-Thanks to my sweet pre-school parents, I get to have a FREE date night with my hubby tonight....Olive Garden and a movie! We don't get to have date night very often so I'm excited!

- We have pool plans for Sunday!!! WOOOOHOOOO! I have been dying to get my toes in the water! Aunt Betty will soon have regular visitors at her pool!!!

- I'm Happy for some friends......and I'm just going to leave it at that!

Happy Sweet Summertime Everyone!!

Just Dance

2011-05-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

Lani had her first dance recital this past Saturday! She danced to "I like to move it, move it" and to be the youngest in her class, she did a great job!!

She was shaking her hips before the music even started!

She was very proud of her trophy. She had fun dancing this year, but has decided not to do it again next year. She says she wants to do gymnastics again.

Harper's First Birthday Party

2011-05-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Harper's 1st birthday, Sunday afternoon at Barret's Place Playground. We had so much fun and Harper had a great party!

The cake! My friend Sarah made this cake!! It was Awesome!!

Harper's mini cake to dig in!

She loves to swing

Dax playing with his favorite toy - a stick! It is his gun, sword, walking stick, and baseball bat.

Lani bug

Checking out her cake

~Harper is 1~

2011-05-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Harper! I can't believe how fast this year has been!! Harper has been a blessing and we couldn't imagine our lives with out her!

She is so blue in this pic - this is right after she was born! Durin the c-section, she got stuck (didn't know this could happenin a c-section) and Dr. Hearn had to really pull on her. She had bruises on her face and her little ears :(

Not so blue anymore :)

I know ya'll have seen this pic, but I just love it so much!

Sweet girl crawling at Christmas - She didn't crawl for too long, she was walking at 9 months!

Such a happy girl!

Happy Birthday Harper!! We love you so much!!

Change of Plans

2011-05-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night, Lani was ready for her first dance compitition. Until something bad happened - - A terrible stomach virus. I had it too and it was awful!!!! Friday night we had her hair curled (this was a requirement) and she was ready. I was so sad that we didn't make it, but her recital is Saturday the 14th, so we are looking forward to that too.

Sweet Harper had too much fun. One minute she is sitting up, the next minute she is asleep.

A Tuesday Smile

2011-05-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

While I was eating my lunch today, (Lani and Dax eat lunch at school/Harper has lunch with Sarah) Dax decided to climb up onto the table. This is how the conversation went:

Me: Dax you need to gett of the table, we don't sit on the table.
Dax: Ok, Mommy! (While he still sits on the table)
Me: Dax, do you see these chairs. God gave us these chairs to sit in, you need to sit in the chair.
Lani: (Who always has to throw in her opinion :) ) Mommy - Do you think God made the chairs? A builder made the chairs, God makes things, but it doesn't say in the bible that he makes chairs.

Easter - A week later :)

2011-04-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had such a fun weekend. Friday we ate and dyed Easter eggs with friends. Saturday, we attended our church's annual egg hunt, then spent the evening with friends. Sunday we had a great day at church and spent time with family.

Harper decided she liked taking the eggs out of the basket more than she liked putting them in.

Lani, Dax and Jarod ~~looking~~ picking up eggs. :)

Norah Brucke's first egg hunt!

Sweet Harper is her Easter dress.

My little Lani is growing up. When I told her the other day, that I was sad she was growing up so fast, she asked me why, then said "When I am married and have babies I will come visit you." :(

Sweet Dax wouldn't be still long enough for me to get a good pic of him.

Love this!

And love this of Dax checking out little Laira.

Boooo-Yahhhh

2011-04-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

Booo-Yahhhh: Lani's new favorite word. Where did it come from? I have no idea. Seriously - I really have no idea! When does she say it: When she wakes up in the morning, when we are getting in the car, when she is fastening her seat belt, when we arrive at school, as we are walking into school, when sh eis walking to her classroom, when we are leaving school, when we pick up Harper, when she like's whatever is on TV, when she is playing with her toys, when we go outside, if sh elikes what we are having for dinner, when she is brushing her teeth, and when she is getting in the bed. I haven't heard her say it in her sleep yet, but it is probably coming.

Some Sillyness

2011-04-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

Something else we did at the beach ~ Be Silly!!

A silly balloon making man at Margaritaville

Silly times on the tea cups

We couldn't resist putting our heads in every single one of these things!

Lani trying out the surfboard bench.

More of these...

Silly kisses!

Sand n Sun

2011-04-16T05:21:00.000-07:00

Harper's sweet little foot print

This is her "it's really hard to walk in the sand" face. She never got upset, she would just fall down and get right back up and try again. I finally put her on the wet sand and it was much easier for her to walk around on.

A Little Beach Fun

2011-04-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

I thought I would break our Spring Break beach trip into a few posts. We left last Wednesday for Myrtle Beach, with My mom, Rick and Emily. Jarod couldn't join us :( he had somethings at work that he couldn't leave. When we arrived at the beach, our room wasn't ready, so we decided to play putt-putt to pass the time. Lani is getting the hang of it, Dax still believes that he is Happy Gilmore and that when you putt, you are playing hockey and Harper was very content (for half of our game) riding in her stroller. After the 5th hole, we decided we didn't need a score card, we went in whatever order we wanted and just went with the flow.

Dax having a "waiting on the hockey puck moment." :)

Lani and Dax with Emily

He also enjoyed climbing on all of the rocks.

I Love Spring

2011-04-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

Friday, Lani went on a field trip to the Greenville Zoo. (Dax went with us too!) We had a great time seeing the animals, having a picnic, and playing on the play ground.

Lani~Taylor~Laney

Getting to pet a baby crocodile!

Saturday morning, J ran in his second 5k! We went to cheer him on!

We then headed to the Spring Jubilee. I love the Spring Jubilee and I don't think I have ever missed a year! I love this time with my mom! Lani and Dax had a fun time too! Harper would have had a great time too, but she decided to take a nap and slept the entire time we were there.

Party Time

2011-03-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

March has been birthday month! First, we celebrated Gavin's 2nd Birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. It was a fun party. There were 4 other parties going on at the same time, so it was a little crowded, but the kids really enjoyed it!

Gavin's Cake

Birthday Boy

Sweet Harper loved Chuck E. Cheese and riding all of the rides. I had to pull her off of them - She wanted to ride with Barney in his car all day, but there were so many kids we only got to ride it twice.

The next weekend, we celebrated Hayley's 4th Birthday with a Circus Theme. The circus idea was such a good idea! I may have to steal the idea for a future party :) L, D and H all had a great time.

Hayley's cake. Andy and Joy did a great job on the fondant!!

Birthday Girl

Clown Noses

Face Painting

A visit from Buttons the Clown

Harper loves to party!

Love this of Asher! Melissa thought he might be afraid of the clown, and it did take him a few minutes to warm up to him. He never moved off Melissa's lap, but he wasn't upset about the clown being there. Buttons gave out balloons to all of the kids and Asher gets the Clown balloon, which he loved for a few minutes......But....That...Didn't...Last...Long....

HAHAHA

Last weekend, I had a SuRpRisE PaRtY (Which I kind of knew about, just didn't know the details - My family doesn't keep secrets too well) My 30th Birthday Party was held in the upstairs room at Matty's and involved a DJ and Dancing! Fun Times. However, since it was a surprise, I didn't have my camera and I haven't gotten any pics from family or friends, so those will come later! It was such a fun night and I loved being "Surprised"

~The Big 3-0!!~

2011-03-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I turned 30! Happy Birthday to me!!! I got $$ for new clothes, since last year's wardrobe no longer fits since I had just had a new baby, and my mom got me this new MiXeR! I have wanted one of these for so long! I love to bake and can't wait to use this!

Tubes

2011-03-10T13:25:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning, sweet Harper, had a set of tubes put in her ears. Lani had tubes at 9 months and Dax had them at 21 months. Harper has to do everything they do, which obviously includes tubes too, so at 9 months old, it's tubes for her too. Dr. Reister said her right ear had fluid, but that her left ear was "just a mess." Actually, the left year is still draining. I know this will help with all her ear issues though, so tubes are a good thing.

Harper right before surgery.

Harper slept most of the day after we got home. But not until she was able to steal one of Dax's toy. She even had a bottle and fell asleep holding it.

This and That

2011-03-06T19:15:00.000-08:00

Lani: Well she is a good listener! She listens to everything. OK, not everything, Like when I say clean up your toys, take your dishes to the sick, put your clothes on. But if people are talking, or if someone is reading her a story, she listens. I learned today, that she is also a good listener at Church. Wooohooo! Well, I poked myself in the eye and Lani was trying to get my attention. I said, "hold on Lani, I can't see." Lani: OK, I will go get the dirt. I kind-of give her a strange look and she then tells me about Jesus healing the blind man, rubbing dirt in his eyes and telling him to go to the water. I love her! She was so ready to fix my eyes, just like Jesus!

Dax: We try our best not to give Dax anything to drink after 7:30, so he won't have an accident when he goes to sleep. Well the other night, Dax walks up to me and Jarod and is making this funny coughing, hacking noise. I asked him what was wrong and he said "I have a frog." I said, "A frog" and Dax responds, "I have a frog in my chest, listen daddy." He then gets close to Jarod's ear and says "Ribbit! Did you hear my frog, I need water to get rid of him." We gave in. How could we not, that was a pretty creative story. He is so funny, I love him so much!

Harper: Well, she is so much fun! She is walking everywhere, waving and saying bye-bye, blowing kisses. She is also very independent and wants to feed herself. She also loves me cell phone and holds it up to her ear and talks baby language. I can't believe she is going to be 10 months old soon. She is the sweetest baby ever and we all love her so much!

~Friend Friday~ Jenna!!!

2011-03-04T13:04:00.000-08:00

Friend Friday is all about JENNA this week! Jenna and I have been friends since the 5th grade! Jenna is someone I can tell everything too! We also have a lot of inside jokes. One funny story about Jenna - In the sixth grade, she came to my birthday party a week early! Jenna loves my children and they call her Aunt J. Over the years we have played softball together, attended countless football games, several Corey Smith concerts, as well as, Brad Paisley, Alabama, and Daughtry. Oh and we are distantly related - my Grandma and her Pop are cousins. And my other grandma and her Nanny were friends when my dad was young and went to Hawaii together. (I think we need to add this to our things to do list) We have also visited Niagara Falls together, where she witnessed Lani jumping off a table in the airport and me catching her by her leg! I Love Jenna and we always have a great time when we are together and I'm glad we have been so close all these years! Oh and I got a little slack and didn't get a chance to find old pics. Maybe I will add those later.

This is a pic from a trip to Myrtle Beach this summer.

Jenna and Justin came to watch Lani dance at the fall festival in Pendleton.

Every October, Jenna's mom has us over to carve pumpkins and eat soup. This year we carved a Tiger Paw Jack O'Lantern

Everyone's Pumpkin

Happy Birthday!

2011-02-23T20:00:00.000-08:00

Five years ago, God blessed me with a 9 pound 2 ounce bundle of joy. My life changed that day and it has been awesome! I can't believe we will be going to kindergarten registration in just a few days! Happy 5th Birthday Lani! We love you so much!!

WOW!!

2011-02-20T16:27:00.000-08:00

Harper is walking! I was hoping she wouldn't walk as early as the other two did, but there was no holding her back! Harper turned 9 months on Valentine's Day and she just seems too young to walk - I don't want her to grow up so fast!!!

Completely Random

2011-02-15T12:42:00.000-08:00

2 weekends ago, we were very busy! (This past weekend, I didn't get off the couch, because I have been sick) I have been meaning to post this adn uploaded these pics several days ago, but I just haven't had the chance.

Lani and Dax love skating!

Harper had fun watching them skate.

On Sunday, we went to the circus. I was a little disappointed, it wasn't that great. Lani, Dax and Jarod fell asleep!

This was the best act we saw!

This is completely random - Dax decided to wear his camo shorts, baseball shirt, Lani's pink cowgirl boots and he is using my hair dryers as (in his words) "a shooter."

Lani loves being crafty! She was excited about making her valentine box for class!

On Wednesday afternoons, we keep Jace and Laira. Here is a pic of the sweet kids I get to have fun with on Wednesday afternoons!

Jace

Laira

Friend Friday ~ Kate

2011-02-11T14:01:00.000-08:00

This Friend Friday is all about......

KATE!!!

Kate is a great person and an awesome friend! Kate is very caring and creative. She is great at giving unexpected gifts and notes. This past year, on October 1st (this is the day my dad died) - she brought me flowers and the sweetest card. She is always thinking of others, and I strive to be more like her in this way. For a while, Kate moved to North Carolina. I'm so glad she is back in SC, and I think we are better friends now, than we have ever been!

This is one night during a cookie baking experiment.

Before, junior prom. On the way there, our driver got a speeding ticket. I took a picture of that unforgettable moment, but I don't know where it is. Oh I wish I could find that picture.

Kate, Me and Mel having a silly moment.

This was during Service Learning class in high school. We were planting trees. Not sure if we were laughing at ourselves, or if we were laughing at Joy. I just remember, I was not excited about digging that hole early in the morning.

Go~Fight~Win! Cheerleading was one thing we did together in high school. We would always get in trouble by our coach at games because we would talk to each other during the game. She would separate us each week, but we would always manage to end up beside each other ~~talking~~ cheering on our team! We also ~~played softball~~ sat the bench together in softball.

We have also attended many weddings and showers together over the years.

Happy Friend Friday Kate!!

Friend Friday!

2011-02-04T13:41:00.000-08:00

I have decided that Friday's are going to be all about my friends! I love my friends!! This week is all about

MELISSA!!!!!

It all started in the 6th grade! High School we were always together! My parents basically had another child, because she was always at my house! We have had some fun times, gotten into a little bit of trouble and had some sad times as well! I have priceless memories with Mel and am so glad we are still great friends!

~Me and Mel - November 2010~

Did you and your BFF ever dress alike? Well we did, and we wore this outfit a lot, as well as, many outfits from County Seat! Does anyone else remember that store? Well back in the day, we loved it! The night we wore this outfit, we got into a little trouble! If you remember me and Mel from High School, then you probably remember our obsession with Camelot Boy! Well, we were invited to hang out with Camelot Boy and his friends and so, well we went. Until my mom paged us (Yes, she paged me on my pager and I called her back on my cell phone that only had 30 minutes per month) and told us it was time to come home. We did come home, but we brought CB and his friends with us, in my car. When we walked in the door, mom was not thrilled, and after about 15-20 at our house, she made us take them home. Which we did. It was part of our plan - to stay out a little later. Since we are talking about getting into trouble, I will throw in a few more stories. When we first started driving, my mom sent us to the grocery store for two things. I know one of the items was bread, I don't remember the other one. Well we thought we would be helpful, by just buying a whole buggy full of groceries and we spent $88! Mom was not too happy about that one either. We also ran into a pole at the gas station, left a huge line of white paint on the red truck and lied about an ambulance running us off the road in a hurry to get to an accident. But that's a whole different post, that I might write about later! After that, I missed my BFF for about a month!!

One thing we didn't do together was cheer. I was a cheerleader, Mel was not. This would be Mel, making fun of my cheerleader abilities! :)

Mel, Ans and Kate at our High School Graduation!

Here we are again, sporting the same shirt playing with sidewalk chalk. I just wish I was this skinny again :)

We always had people over!!!

This was when we decided to have our own jewelry business. As you all know, we have different professions today. We sold maybe two things to some people at Outback, but we never made any more money.

Anytime we left the house together, my dad would tell us to "think." I love this pic, because the look on my dad's face would look like this when he would give us the "think" advice. Not sure why I am posing like that by the tree :)

I know this is not a pic of me and Mel, but it has a story. The summer before our senior year, my parents took Me, Mel, Sara and Jenna to Myrtle Beach. On the way there, my transmission in my car broke, which meant 6 people had to survive the week with only my mom's Honda Accord!!! Mel got a broke rib, kind-of and I'm pretty sure we drove my mom and dad crazy!!! The hand on my dad's face, makes me think he was thinking - did I "think" before I agreed to come on this trip!!

Catch Up!

2011-02-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

We have been pretty busy around here and I haven't had much time to blog. Here's what we have been up to lately!

Lani decided to use Harper as her baby doll and take her for a ride in her baby doll stroller!

And she seemed to enjoy it! I have a feeling she is going to have many more days just like this!

We went bowling with Aunt J and Justin!

Lani and Dax had fun cheering each other on!

Every Saturday in January, we had a Birthday party to go to. We had fun celebrating with Alyssa, Emma, Isley and Madeline.

Lani had fun at Isley's Princess Party!

We went to the Riverside Middle School Basketball game, to watch Mara cheer and Brett coach!

I think I was related to 90% of the people at this game.

One of my cousins was even dressed up in the Bulldog suit!

Lani always loves a photo shoot with the Bulldog.

Dax didn't care too much for the Bulldog. He just likes to wave to the Bulldog from far away.

Harper enjoyed watching the game.

Lani jumped right in with the cheerleaders, and thought she was one of them!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-19T13:36:00.000-08:00

Happy 8 Months!

2011-01-15T19:30:00.000-08:00

My Harper bug was 8 months old on the 14th! She is growing up so fast and it makes me a little sad!

Here are a few things she started doing over the past month.

-Crawling EVERYWHERE!!

-Pulling up and cruising on the furniture.

-She gets brave, let's go of furniture, and stands on her own for a few seconds.

-Wave and Clap

-Push away her baby food and beg for whatever we are eating. She did try pancakes, noodles and small (I mean they were tiny) pieces of Chick-fil-a nuggets.

-She has mastered MaMa, Dada, and BaBa (bottle)

Happy 8 Months Harper!!!

At The Allen House....

2011-01-11T17:35:00.000-08:00

I just realized that it has been a few days since I blogged. This is what we have been up too.....

-Cootie and Candyland have been played a few times. It took the four of us (Me, J, L and D) forever to play Cootie!! Every time Dax got to add a piece to his Cootie body, he would yell "I won, Give me Five!" So cute!

Friday Night, Lani and Dax had a camp out in our bedroom floor.

Saturday, we helped Alyssa Celebrate her 6th Birthday.

Buzz: Every time he would jump, he would yell "To Infinity and Beyond"

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Well we have watched movies, ate a lot of snacks and played in the snow!!

Lani with her home made snow boots. At least they kept her feet dry! :)

Such a cutie!

I've got my mind on the water, my mind on the sand!!!

2011-01-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

I can handle the snow. I actually want it to snow one more time. But I want the sun to melt it quickly and the temp to be around 75 degrees. Lani and Dax are ready to play outside on a more regular basis. Oh and how much fun is Harper going to be in the pool this year?!?! Can't Wait!!!

Because I'm the Favorite :)

2011-01-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

I promise, this is my last Christmas post! Christmas morning, after the kids see what Santa brought and after we open our presents, we head to my Grandma Brown's house. We have been going to Grandmas Brown's on Christmas morning my entire life. We only changed it one year, because everyone in our family had the flu! The only other thing that has changed is the time. When I was little, we would get there around 8:30. Now everyone comes in around 10:30!

Grandma Brown

Lani and Laira is their matching zebra print

Dax and Jace. Dax likes the fact that there is another boy around. Dax was the first boy in ~ 35 years on this side of the family when he was born.

Christmas Day Night, we head to my aunt Betty's house. Betty is my dad's sister. My dad dies 9 years ago and ut is such a blessing that my mom still attends this Christmas celebration. She has remarried and everyone welcomes Rick, Emily and Scott and I love that!!

Me and Harper - Her First Christmas was a White Christmas!!!

My dad was a big fisherman! This was a fishing lure he made and me and my mom gave these out the first Christmas after he passed away. I didn't notice it on Betty's tree. Emily was playing with my camera and took this picture. It was a nice surprise to see as I was looking through all my pics!

Now for the funny stuff. Kayla (my cousin) and I have always had this running joke about who is the favorite grandchild. (By the way, it is ME!! :) This is a picture of my MawMaw, sneaking a peak of the present I made her!

This is Kayla's reaction to MawMaw's gift!

Betty and Emily breaking out their Dance moves on the Wii, with Just Dance 2!!

I Love Santa!!

2011-01-04T11:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning was a lot of fun this year! Zeke (Our Elf on the Shelf) only had good things to report to Santa, and in return, Santa was good to us!

Lani's gift's from Santa! She loves her Unicorn pillow pet! It was basically the only thing she asked for this year!

Dax was super excited about his Buzz light year and his fire truck!!!

Harper had fun with her new toys too!

And this is what Santa left me....A Canon Rebel Camera! I <3 Santa! These picks were taken with my old camera, but I will post new camera pics soon!!

Snuggie Fun, Drills and Mardi Gras Beads

2010-12-30T06:50:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve, night, we spent with my mom, Rick, Emily and Scott. We ate yummy food, opened presents, and the kids went down to the shop so the kids could use their new toys.

Attempting a family photo!

Lani went to the Dollar Tree and picked out her own presents this year. We tried to get Dax to do it too, but he was more interested in picking up rolls of wrapping paper and playing sword fight. So those presents were just from Lani.

Scott trying to figure out what Lani got him for Christmas....What could it be??

.....A windshield washer!

Lani, Dax and I got new Snuggies...They are great! We keep trying to talk J into getting one, but he is not interested!!!

Em and I had fun with the Snuggies!!

What did Lani get Emily???

An 8 pack of Mardi Gras Beads!!!

Dax loves to build things and help J put things together, So Rick and Gigi's got him his very own drill!! He loves it!

Next post....A Visit

From SANTA!!!!

Reindeer Food, Rock Stars and Kinect

2010-12-28T12:53:00.000-08:00

The day before Christmas Eve was very eventful. Lani stuck a game piece up her nose and told me while I was at the ATM (sure would like to see that ATM camera video) We had to make a stop by Rite-Aid to buy tweezers, so I could pull it out. Emily was spending the afternoon with us, so she witness the nose excitement too. Well, when we got home we did some baking - Oreo balls (I will admit, I am not a professional dipper - as in dipping things in chocolate) and pumpkin roll. The kids also made Reindeer Food. We used Oatmeal, crushed pretzels, and sprinkles (we made our own recipe)

Christmas Eve morning, we went to J's parents house to celebrate. We had breakfast, played Rock Band and opened gifts. The kids racked up with tons of new toys.

Not only has Harper started crawling, she is now pulling up on EVERYTHING!!

Jarod got a kinect for Christmas. We have had lots of fun dancing, bowling and long jumping with our new kinect games. We then went home for the kids to take a quick nap, then headed to Gigi's - More pics to follow soon with the rest of our Christmas Eve

And....Off She Goes

2010-12-26T06:31:00.000-08:00

Well Blog world, I haven't blogged in about 10 days. Where have I been? Chasing this one around :) Harper is on the move!! This past week, she start crawling and quickly progressed to pulling up on things.

I promise to blog about all our Christmas Festivities, in the next day or so, but I had to share this first!

This and That

2010-12-16T12:41:00.000-08:00

1 - Christmas Parade

Lani and Dax participated in the Anderson Christmas Parade. Lani loved it! Dax was not as thrilled. You can tell in the picture below, that he was not happy with me or the reindeer antlers I put on his head.

2 - Disney on Ice - Princess Classic.

Gigi's treated Lani and I to a Girl's Day! Lani had a great time. We also ran into some of her friends there - Taylor Beak and Alyssa McConnell!

3 - 7 Months Old

Time is going by so quickly!! Harper was 7 months old on the 14th. She is changing everyday. Right now, she can say MAMAMAMA! L and D both said DADADADA first, so this makes me excited. she eats three meals a day and is up to 8 ounces in her bottle! She is also trying to crawl. She rocks back and forth, then dives forward, landing on her head. She does that until she gets what she wants.

A Christmas Mistake

2010-12-06T12:34:00.000-08:00

Oh Lalaloopsy Doll - Why didn't I buy you that day in Target. There were three of you there, and now you are NOWHERE to be found. I thought Lani wanting you, would quickly pass, but I was wrong! I hope to find you soon - On Line, or In a store would be just fine!!

My Favorite....

2010-12-04T20:10:00.000-08:00

......Christmas Movie is Christmas Vacation! Elf would be my second fav. Anyways, last night, it was just me and J. We were kiddo FREE!! So what did we do?? I went to the grocery store, J played X Box, then we watched Christmas Vacation together. I love Aunt Bethany - She makes me giggle! Love when she wraps up her cat, says the pledge, instead of the blessing and then sings the Star Spangled Banner. She seems like such a fun old person! What's your favorite Christmas Movie??

Too Much Turkey

2010-11-28T12:42:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving day, Dax had an accident when he tried to go potty all by himself. I had to wash his jeans and he was being very impatient! He wanted to put them back on right away, and was not satisfied when I tried to get him to wear another pair of pants. He eventually got over it and started playing, but then I couldn't find him. (Yes, bad mommy moment) Well, I decided to look in the laundry room, and there he was. He decided to sit on the bench in my mom's laundry room to "wait" on his pants and well he fell asleep. Maybe he had too much turkey :)

Thanksgiving Eve

2010-11-24T10:18:00.000-08:00

This is the first year I have ever been off the day before Thanksgiving, and it has been great! I have cooked, cleaned, folded clothes, entertained three kids and now blogged! I have already finished 2 pumpkin rolls and my next cooking adventure is to make 2 chocolate pecan pies - YUMMY!!! Lani and Dax have dressed up in their Halloween costumes and pretending to be in "Toy Story." Today has been great. I now have a sleeping baby, a sleeping Buzz Light Year, and Lani is watching cartoons. HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVE!!!

Pumpkin roll going into the oven!

The finished product!

She bounced herself to sleep!!!

Winter Pics

2010-11-21T19:48:00.000-08:00

Sunday afternoon, we went to Botanical Gardens and my step-sis Emily tooks some pics of us. they turned out great! We didn't get as many and some of the shots we wanted to get, because the camera battery went dead :( Oh well, that just gives us a reason to go do this again :)

He Loves Her So Much!!

2010-11-20T12:43:00.000-08:00

Yummy!!

2010-11-18T13:46:00.000-08:00

Lani and Dax gave Harper her first taste of chocolate pudding - and- I have to say...I think she enjoyed it!!!

2 Cute Flower Girls!

2010-11-15T11:51:00.000-08:00

I'm a little behind on this post, but better late than never. Lani and Alyssa were flower girls in Amber Dunn and Russell Powell's wedding a few weeks ago! Amber kept Lani and Dax during the summer of 09. Lani loves Amber and Russell. Every Sunday, when Lani spots Russell, she runs and give him the biggest hug!

During the Rehearsal. They were so cute walking out with the ring bearer!

After the Wedding - These two had a great time!

It's A Special Day!

2010-11-11T21:08:00.000-08:00

Novemeber 12th, 2007 - God Blessed us with our second child!! What a fun blessing he has been!!! Happy 3rd Birthday Dax! We love you so much!!!

Oh The Things They Say...

2010-11-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

I will start with Dax today!
-They other day, we walked outside and when we came back in, Dax had a puzzled look on his face, then said - "Mommy, I see C.J. Spiller!" (For those Georgia or Gamecock Fans - CJ Spiller is a former Clemson Tiger) I said "Where Dax?" He then takes me outside and points to a caterpillar. C.J. Spiller/Caterpillar - it's all the same.

Now for Lani - This is embarrassing, but a typical Lani moment! :)
-We, as in - me, Lani, Dax and Harper- were checking out at Target when this lady comes up beside us with this ~~ugly~~ unique hair color - a cross between fire engine red, maroon and purple - you get the idea. Well, Lani looks at her, says Hi and then ask her "Did you dye your hair for Halloween?" Can I crawl under the register now?!?!?! The Lady laughs and politely says no, I just like this color. Lani: Well did you get your hair dye out of a box? What will she say next???

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T06:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from Buzz Lightyear, flower and the Tooth Fairy!

Oh and From Punky Brewster and a Rubix Cube Too :)

Rainy Day Fun

2010-10-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

So how do I entertain 3 kids on a rainy day? Tent Building!!! I loved building these when I was little. In fact, the snoopy sheet was made by my Grandma Brown when I was little. In my mind it was specifically made for tent building , oh and for a super girl cape too:) All 4 corners of the sheet have holes, from hanging it on my bed post a long time ago.

Our tent

Playing in the teny

Nap time in the tent

Super Saturday

2010-10-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

If you read yesterday's post, then you can tell we had a pretty busy weekend. Saturday we visited the Denver Downs Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze and had a great time!!!

Look at this sweet girl trying her best to sit up!!!

The Allen's

Lani said she was making a corn angle.

Dax loves a football!!!

Friday Fun Day

2010-10-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

Friday - Jarod took a day off, and so did I!!! It was a last minute thing and we managed to make last minute plans and had tons of fun. We left out house Friday at 7:30am and did not pull back into our drive way, until 10:30 pm!!! We were exhausted!!! First, we went to the Georgia Aquarium! I was impressed!!! If you haven't been, then you need to plan a trip!! Dax was funny - he thought we were going to swim and he wasn't up for the idea of swimming with sharks. We then visited the American Girl Store and added another member to our family. Lani got the girl of the year, who is named Lanie. I'm asking all of you to pray that the 2011, girl of the year is not named Harper :). We then attend our 3rd annual, pumpkin carving party. My BFF's mom cooks soup and invites a few people over to carve pumpkins - Oh Fun Times!!!

Jarod and Dax enjoying the 3D movie at the Aquarium

Lani and Lanie. Not sure what kind of thing Lani is doing with her hands. I think she was just super excited!!!!

Dax was just pumped that he didn't have to ride a horse with a pink saddle. This is his I'm riding a Tiger face!!! :)

Pumpkin Carving Time!!!

The finished product!! Go Tigers!!!

Check this out....

2010-10-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

4 month pics of Harper

capturedmemoriesphotographybyangie.com

You will love the pics of this sweet girl!!!!

Just Because...

2010-10-04T18:47:00.000-07:00

....She is so stinkin cute :)

A Future Cheerleader and A new Haircut

2010-09-29T12:20:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Lani attended the Riverside Middle School Cheerleader Clinic! The girl loves some Pom-Poms! She had a great time! Parents were able to attend at the end to see what our "cheerleaders" learned and Lani didn't really want to perform for the camera, but that's OK. She probably didn't realize what I was doing, since 99% of the time I leave the video camera at home. I wish I could do a better job at taking it places. Oh well.

Lani was excited that she was in Mara's group. Lani loves Mara!

Jarod took Dax to the barbershop! Love his new haircut!!! He looks like such a big boy!!

First Tooth

2010-09-26T10:03:00.001-07:00

Harper has a tooth starting to pop out!!! She has enjoyed chewing her hand, shirt, bib, rattle and baby doll the last few days!

4 Months Old

2010-09-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

Harper is now 4 Months Old - As of September 14th!!! She had her 4 month check up Tuesday and now weighs 15 pounds 8.5 ounces. WOW! Big Girl!!! She has started eating baby food (apples and bananas) She loves them both. Harper can roll from her back to her belly, but hasn't mastered rolling back to her back yet. She also loves chewing on her fist and anything else she can get in her mouth!! Harper is so happy and sweet sweet baby!!!

Oh What A Day!!!

2010-09-19T14:50:00.000-07:00

I remember a weekend a long time ago, when I locked my keys in my car like 3 times in two days. Well, this weekend tops that!!

1-While backing out of my drive way this morning, I backed into a truck. The truck was parked in our driveway. It was not a crash, just a bump and no damage - that was great!!!

2-I get to church and realize I only wore one ear ring - OK, not the end of the world.

3- Lani was helping me with nursery duty, when she lifted up her dress and said, "Mommy, you forgot
to put panties on me this morning!" The good thing: Harper had extra clothes, so I was able to put on a size three month pantie things on Lani!

4- I set my car alarm off in the church parking lot! I pushed the red button to make it stop, I locked my doors, I cranked the car. However, that didn't work! Thanks to Grayson Smith for telling me to put the key in the door, lock the doors, then unlock them! WHOOO, what a life saver!!! I hope I remember what to do if this happens again!

5-Fuddruckers thought they lost our lunch order!

6- My mom was putting Dax in the car and his foot got stuck between the door and the seat in front of him. He kept saying, "My foot is stuck." I kept saying "Dax, your foot is fine." Emily then informs me, not his foot is stuck, so we had to pull over and open the door to get it free. We were giggling about the situation, which embarrassed him :(

I hope I made you laugh, because I have been laughing at myself all day!!!

It was an Apple Kind Of Day

2010-09-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we attended the Apple Festival in Hendersonville. We then went and visited 2 Apple Farms and went on a tour of houses Rick had built while he lived in Hendersonville. We had a great time!

Family Pic

A friendly Llama.

Feeding the Llama

Harper with rosy cheeks - and pretending her fingers are apples:)

Dax enjoying his apple.

The view from one of Rick's houses!

Ornithopter

2010-09-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

Lani and Dax rode the Ornithopter at the Apple Festival on Sunday. The Ornithopter is a cross between a tractor and a helicopter bird thing. They enjoyed their ride :)

I think this is a sweet pic :)

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

2010-09-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy weekend! I will have to split up my weekend in several post, because there is just too much to share! Friday night and Saturday, we kicked off football season! Woohooo - We love football around our house.

Harper went to her first Pendleton football game Friday night. FYI - Harper has on the same outfit Lani wore to her first Pendleton game as well :) Harper stayed awake the entire time and didn't get fussy when people cheered and the band played! Lani and Dax found a friend they knew from school and had fun sitting with him. Lani decided to inform us it was her boyfriend, which almost caused Jarod to have a stroke!!!

Harper didn't go with us to the Clemson game - but she did dress for the occasion!

A little tailgating fun!

Dax loves ball and can usually be found with some type of ball in his hand!

Tailgating wouldn't be complete without a little Corn Hole! My team lost every time I played :(

Too much for one day - A sleeping girl and

a sleeping boy!

The Allen's minus 1

A Dancing Nerd and a Confused Tailgater

2010-09-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

Lani started dance this past Monday. She is taking Jazz and Pom Pom! She loved it!

I don't get mom of the year award for this - Yesterday, I caught Dax feeding Harper nerds! Oh My!! But before any of you panic or call me to ask if she is still alive - She is just fine! Do I feel terrible? YES!!! Will it ever happen again? NO!! I was only out of the room for about 15 seconds - 15 seconds too long! The nerds were purple, but when I discovered what happened, she had sucked off all the color and they were white.

I tried explaining to Lani that we are going to tailgate Saturday and I confused the child - This is our conversation:

Me: Lani, I'm going to make cupcake for Saturday to take when we tailgate.

L: What do you have to tell Kate?

Me: Nothing, we are going to tailgate.

L: Kate is going with us?

Me: No Lani, we are going to tailgate at the Clemson Game, but Kate will not be with us.

L: OK Mommy, but what are you going to tell Kate?

Me: Nothing Lani, we are going to eat before the game on Saturday.

This conversation went on for another 10 minutes, with Lani thinking we were going ot be late to the game, because we were going to eat - What am I going to do with her :)

Sweet Girl

2010-08-30T12:14:00.001-07:00

Now and Then

2010-08-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

Lani and Dax Started 4k and 2k, Wednesday. I now have "big kids". When I asked Lani today if she had fun at school, she responded with - Yes, Mommy! I'm so excited I got to use a pencil!" Dax basically loves to socialize - he loves playing with his friends :)

The new book bags!

This was the first day of school, 2009! They seemed so small :(

Big Girl!

2010-08-15T19:10:00.000-07:00

Harper rolled over tonight!!! She started on her back and rolled to her belly!!!

3 Months Old

2010-08-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

Harper turned 3 months old today!!! She is trying her best to roll over! It hasn't happened yet, but it will before too long! She eat every 3 - 4 hours and usually takes about 6 ounces in her bottle!!! Lani and Dax didn't eat this much at this age! However, during the night she will usually sleep between 7 and 9 hours! I have been blessed with three kids that love to sleep at night. Harper has also started playing with her toys a little. She will hold onto a rattle and enjoys sitting in her frog bouncer! Happy 3 Month's Old Harper!!!

Harper, the day she was born!

1 month old

2 Months Old

3 Months Old

Potty Party Time

2010-08-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Dax decides he wants to wear underwear! How excited was I? Very Excited!!! I tried at the beginning of summer to get him to potty, but he just wasn't interested. He would scream and cry if I tried to get him to potty. I didn't push it, but I would bring it up occasionally. Monday morning, I asked "Dax, Do you want to potty this morning?" His response "YES, I DO!!!! Yes!!!!! So we just finished day four of potty training and he has only had 1 accident a day! Also, the past two mornings and after nap, his diaper has been DRY!! I hope diaper buying for two children in over in the near future!!

Happy Girl

2010-08-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

Just Another Manic Monday

2010-08-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

Dax woke up this morning and decided he wanted to wear underwear! Woohooo! We have been working on using the potty this summer, but he hasn't been all that excited about it. So, I decided to focus on this today and this is what happened with the girls.

Harper decided to take a nap in her frog bouncy seat. Must have been too much excitement for her around her this morning!

A few weeks ago, my mom thought she was buying Lani a book of stickers. However, it was 275 temporary tattoos. Lani had fun decorating her fingers and toes today! I'm thankful they are easy to remove!!

A few more from the Beach

2010-08-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

WOOHOOOO!!!!

2010-08-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

OK, so I don't usually write about myself, but I'm proud of myself and I'm going to do it today! Guess what - Harper's baby weight is gone, plus 6 pounds!!!!!! YAY! I'm still 9 pounds away from where I was when I had Lani and 19 pounds away from where I was before I had Dax! I lost a lot of weight after Lani and before Dax, but after Dax, I just couldn't seem to get rid of it. However, I am motivated now and hopefully will be back to before Dax baby weight before long!!! Feel free to comment, text or email at anytime to keep me motivated :)

Wacky Wednesday

2010-07-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was hot! Harper and I went shopping, because she wasn't happy on the beach, but Lani and Dax played and played on the beach. I came back to this. Two kids, peacefully sleeping!!

After my shopping trip, I decided I needed a quick snack. An Orange Breeze milkshake hit the spot. And guess what it was happy hour, so it was half price - which made it even better. I might even get another one today!!

We didn't go anywhere last night. We stayed in, ordered pizza from Hungry Howie's, then let the kids play on the beach and in the pool again! Oh and took pics on the lifeguard stand!

Tales from Tuesday....

2010-07-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning started out cloudy, so we decided to have an early morning photo shoot.

Dax and Lani love each other in this pic! No really, they love each other 90% of everyday.

Lani loves having her pic made!

Love this one!

Dax, well - Dax is Dax and when I say let me take your picture, this is what I get! Love this boy!!

When we officially made it to the beach, we decided to fly kites. This held their attention for about thirty seconds. Dax let go of his kite and ran back to the ocean. Lani held hers for about a minute and then decided I needed to do something with it. So we attached them to our E Z up tent and they flew by themselves for the rest of the day!

This little girl had to sit in time-out not once, but twice. Someone didn't want to use their listening ears today. She was very unhappy when I took this pic. Probably because she knew it would end up on the Internet and the world would know about her time-out!

Dax loves the beach!

Harper had a good day on the beach too. Debbie found a very useful bassinet at a yard sale, and Harper has enjoyed it. We are inside right now though, because there is no breeze and Harper was hot and unhappy. So girl time inside for mommy and Harper right now. Who knows we might go on a shopping trip :)

Tuesday night, we headed to Broadway at the Beach. Let me tell you - I am a people person and love being around people, people watching, I just love people. Maybe I'm getting old, but there were too many people at Broadway last night!!! We ate at Johnny Rockets, Lani built a bear, and Dax built a car.

Lani got a Johnny Rockets pin for dancing with the servers. She loves this place!

Lani introducing the would to "Beach Cat." Yes, this is her official name on her birth certificate.

Dax is very proud of his car. Jarod said he loved building it and when he put on the first tire, he got so excited!!!

Toes In The Water, Toes In The Sand!

2010-07-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

Harper didn't seem to mind her toes in the water or sand today!

First Day on The Beach!

2010-07-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

Harper was happy and loved sleeping in her bassinet!

Lani loved the ocean!

Dax loved the Sand!

Strike

2010-07-21T06:28:00.000-07:00

We have been busy bees this past week. Last week, I took the kids to Chick-Fil-A, where we met my aunt Betty and my cousin, Brett. Well, L and D go play on the play ground and all of a sudden, Dax gives me a surprise. He decides to take his diaper off in the play equipment and bring it to me at our table! The good news - it was a clean diaper. The bad news - I couldn't tell him it was bad because everyone was laughing so hard, which made me giggle a little. I had to take him to the bathroom, put the diaper back on and asked him why he did that and tell him he made a bad choice and needs to keep his diaper on. His response "I wanted to." He has never done this at home and will cry when I try to but underwear on him. Oh well, I hope it doesn't happen again!

I spent Saturday in a phonics training. I have to admit, I learned a lot! What did I learn? That I have a huge southern accent and haven't always pronounced my letter sounds correctly. I came home and quizzed J, and he made the same mistakes I did! We were trained on Zoo-Phonics, so beginning in August my sweet little 2 year old's, will have a fun, animal filled way of learning the alphabet! While I was at training, J went with his mom and dad and took the kids to Gatti Town. I heard Lani was somewhat of a drama queen, but everyone had a great time!

Sunday we decided to take the kids on their first bowling trip! Lani seems to have natural bowling skills! She held the ball correctly, threw the ball hard, and was beating me for most of the game! Dax was so funny! He would throw the ball, the ball would slowly roll, and roll, and roll, and roll and about 1 minute later a few pins would fall down. At that time, he would throw his little arms in the air , yell "I did it!" then, hug or give us a kiss! Too Cute! Harper just enjoyed being there and took everything in.

This week, we have been to the dentist - Twice! Lani loves the dentist, so no big deal there. I did take Dax back in the room with her, so he could see what happens at the dentist. I have made an appointment for Dax to get his teeth cleaned now too! We also made a trip back to Chick-Fil-A and everyone kept their diapers/clothing on this time!!! We also have VBS this week, which has been a lot of fun!!

Oh, and we returned library books and decided to check out some more! When I was in Elementary School, this lady would come and read us books every week or so. Well she used to do this thing and we would "go on a bear hunt." It was so much fun and I have tried and tried to remember how it went to teach it to L and D. Well I found the going on a bear hunt book at the library yesterday and it all came back to me!!! I can't wait to teach it to them!

What am I doing today? Washing clothes and packing for the beach! We will be beach bound on SUNDAY!!! WOOHOOO!!!!

Lani stood like this the entire time - she didn't want anyone getting her ball!

Jarod and Dax waiting for the ball to knock down some pins

Dax giving "I did it" kisses!

~2 Months Old~

2010-07-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

Harper is 2 months old!!! She is growing up so fast! Today at the doctor, she weighed 12.5 pounds! She also got 3 shots, that she absolutely hated!!! She cried and then poked her little bottom lip out :(