Easter 2011

What a beautiful Easter weekend! It's hard to believe that last Easter I was in the hospital recovering from a c-section with baby Allyn. We are truly blessed.

Greatest Field Trip EVER!

The girls got to take an amazing field trip today with their school, and baby Allyn and I (along with lots of other mommas and daddies) chose to tag along. Here was the course of events: Aubie welcomed them to the Auburn Athletic complex, complete with a photo opportunity with him. Next was a viewing of the National Championship Trophy, a tour of the athletic equipment room, and multiple "player sightings." Coach Luper and Coach Boulware came out to speak to the kids. We then walked to the baseball field where we got to see the field AND get a personal tour of the locker room. There were even a few players in there getting prepped for tonight's game. Next, we were off to the football stadium. We got to go in through the player's entrance and straight into the Football Locker Room....way cool! The best surprise (to me) of the morning was getting to run out of the tunnel and onto the field. The kids ran up and down in complete awe of how big it all was! We then got to stop by the new Auburn Arena and check out some of the sports memorabilia in the museum and go inside the ticket office. I took way too many pictures to post here, but I tried to pick out some of the highlights. I think the parents may have even enjoyed the morning more than the kids! (There were at least 5 daddies that chose to chaperone this trip:) We are all about to kick up our heels for an afternoon rest!!!

Little Man is One!

We had a blast this past weekend celebrating our little guy turning one! Thanks to our family for celebrating with us....here are some picture highlights from the weekend. Needless to say, Allyn IV was not a big fan of the cake:)

Little Rascal

This little guy has all of us wrapped around his finger. I could just eat him up, he is so cute. I feel like I am raising a mini version of my husband. He is so mischevious with his coy little grins and wicked laugh. I love you little man!

Daddy Daughter Date Night 2011

I have always known what a wonderful daddy Allyn is, but he proved it tonight. He has been under the weather most of the week, with his worst day being today. Despite it all, he managed to pull it together enough to take the girls to their most favorite event of the entire year...truly! They have been so excited that they even coreographed a "special" dance to perform at tonight's festivities. They picked out what Allyn was going to wear and had it laid out neatly at the foot of our bed when he got home from work. The squealing began the moment he set foot in the back door and did not stop until they were buckled in their car seats about 20 min. later. After I got a sick (and pooped) daddy tucked into bed, I had a hard time bringing the girls down from the TCBY sugar high enough to coral them into bed as well. All are now sleeping soundly. Now the countdown can begin for next year!

Christmas 2010

Here are some highlight photos from Christmas. The holiday began with a precious Christmas program at the girls' school where they both played angels. We then made the trips to both Birmingham and Montgomery to celebrate with both sets of grandparents and cousins. We were back at home in Auburn on the 23rd to stay. Some of the girls' favorite presents included the following: everything they got that had anything to do with princesses, the hello kitty karyoke machine from Aunt Lynlee, and their pillow pets from Santa. Other Christmas favorite activities included making/decorating our cookies for Santa, helping mommy unwrap and hang the tree ornaments (pretty much being little "helpers" as much as I would let them), sprinkling reindeer food in our driveway on Christmas Eve, staying in pajamas as much as possible. This was little Allyn's first Christmas. Although he was oblivious to what was heppening, he was fully entertained with the all the festivities. As you can tell from the pictures, he is now sitting on his own and ready to crawl...he can pivot in circles while on his stomach but can't quite coordinate the crawling just yet (so very nice for mommy that he was stationary this year). He is still a very happy boy and loves to eat. As you can tell by the orange tint to his nose, he eats lots of squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Puffs are also a favorite, though he gets as many stuck to his face as he actually gets into his mouth. Also note the RED color of his hair! He and his cousin, Rutland, look so much alike! I am scared to see what this little rascal is going to get into once he starts moving. The Red Rider gun from Papa was a favorite gift (of daddy's...he can't wait for his little boy to be old enough to go hunting with him). Oh, and we got snow on Christmas Day...so crazy! Enjoy the pics:)

Fall Fun

So much has been going on this fall, so I put together a slide show of some of the highlights. Ella and Gray are both loving school and have each had a turn to carry the cross down the aisle in chapel (a very big deal when you are 5)! We got to spend a day in Birmingham for their cousin, Baylor's, 1st birthday. Next was the pumpkin patch, a school Halloween parade/party, and our anual neighborhood trick-or-treat bash. Little Allyn is almost 7 months now! He isn't on the move yet, but he is starting to get that mischevious look in his eyes. I think our days are numbered until he is getting into EVERYTHING! Even still, he is such a joy to be around and has his mommy (really all of us) wrapped around his little finger:)

Little man

Since I have totally neglected blogging, I feel that little man deserves a post. He went for his 6 month check up today, and here are the stats: 16 lbs, 10oz. 26 in. long. He is in 25th percentile for both weight and height. He is rolling, starting to sit up some, and LOVES to squeal and anybody and anything. He is an absulute joy and perfect addition to our family. Here are a few recent pics:)

A star is born

O.k, so most of you know that both of the girls have been TERRIFIED of swimming without their floaties. We have been finishing up swim lessons this week, and I guess something finally clicked with Ella. Yesterday she asked Mrs. Amber if she could jump off the diving board. What? Yes, you read that correctly. She was loving it! I think she actually did it about 5-6 times and was sad when the lesson was over. As for Gray, she's still not so sure about the whole "head under water" thing. I can say she comes by it naturally since I hear from my mom that I wasn't real into the swimming thing when I was little either. Sorry Gray! Here are some snapshots of the little fish in all of her glory:)

Allyn IV baby dedication

We had Allyn IV's baby dedication this Sunday. It really is a special time as a parent to commit to raise your child in a Godly home. What an awesome responsibility and privelage. Thanks to all of our family for coming to share this meaningful day with us!!

Fun Weekend

Here are some pictures from our fun weekend. Our friend, Kirkley, had a pony birthday party on Saturday. The weather was beautiful and the party was a blast. Allyn was able to take the girls to A-Day Saturday afternoon. They were able to go down to the field after the game and meet the cheerleaders and Tiger Paws. They even came home with a few autographs. Allyn's parents and grandparents came to visit on Sunday . We got some great pictures of all 4 generations of Allyns. Allyn Sr. is about to have his 90th birthday and is so proud that the name is still going strong! The girls had a fun little adventure playing outside with their water guns....you can see that KK (Allyn's grandmother) had no hesitations joining in.

He's here!

Sorry everybody for the late post, but we didn't have internet access while in the hospital. Well, Allyn IV is here safe and sound. He was born on Good Friday at 1:11 p.m. Here are the stats: 5 lbs, 14 oz., 18 1/4 in. long. Since his lungs were still a little immature at the time of delivery, the doctors decided to let him breathe a little oxygen for the first day so he didn't have to work quite so hard to breathe. After that, he was in the room with us and was doing great. It's crazy how much easier it is to take care of only 1 baby.....and a baby NOT in the NICU for that matter. We absolutely love this little guy, and he has already made quite and impression on his sisters. Thank you Lord for such a wonderful Easter blessing. Thanks to all of our friends and family for the prayers and support!

Allyn IV is coming soon!

Allyn IV will be arriving tomorrow, April 2nd!! Talk about an Easter blessing! We hope to have the c-section around noon.....stay tuned:)

Snow 2010

Daddy Daughter Date Night

"This is the best night ever" was what the girls were saying as they were getting buckled into their car seats for their date with daddy last night. It was so precious to see how excited they were to spend time with Allyn. They were dressed and ready to go when he walked in the door from work, so they rushed back into the bedroom to help him get changed into his "handsome clothes." Thanks Allyn for being the kind of daddy that our little girls love to spend time with!