Bloody Boy

I'm not sure how it happened... my back was turned and Charlie was playing with one of his walkers and all of a sudden I hear a scream, crying and turn to find a bloody Charlie.
Blood just kept coming out of his mouth. He wouldn't let me in there to see what was hurt, but I think he must have fallen into the toy and scratched his gum. Poor little guy. He cried and cried...but popsicles make everything better. Right?

Pink Pancakes

I recently bought the cookbook Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. It gives all sorts of ideas on how to incorporate veggies and friuts into your meals without your kids/husband knowing that they are eating it. You basically puree any veggie and slip it into whatever you are cooking. So, yesterday I tried the Pink Pancakes:

Recipe: 3/4 c. water; 1/2 c. ricotta cheese (I used plain yogurt since that is all I had on hand); 1/4 c. beet puree; 1 tsp. vanilla extract; 1/2 tsp. cinnamon; 1 c. pancake mix; 1/4 c. grated apple; 1 egg



Happy boy:

Last night we also tried our friend's recipe of Spagetti Squash and Homemade Marinara. It really was delicious.

That kind of day...

This week has been "Mission Bathroom". In our guest/Charlie's bathroom we had, what looks like, the original faucet. I thought that I could easily go to Lowe's, buy a $100 updated faucet and replace it myself. I attempted to replace the faucet three separate times all without success. (One time I even accidentally turned off the gas water heater thinking it was water, the house started smelling like gas (or so I thought) and I had to remedy the situation). Anywho, it was suggested that maybe we should just get a handyman to help us out. So, admitting defeat, we called our friend, Mr. Handyman, who regularly helps us out with odd end jobs that we won't tackle for fear that we will screw something up. Mr. Handyman came over and worked on the faucet for 2 hrs, was sweating and cussing the whole way through, and finally admitted that he just couldn't do it. Oh, and by the way, there is now a leak under the sink which might or might not need immediate attention. He leaves and within 2 hrs. I had a bucketfull of water underneath the sink. We call a plumber who has also done some work for us in the past and, thankfully, he has time that day to come help. Faucet repair and installation- $350, installing up-to-code water valves-$150, installation of something else that I didn't quite get-$60. We are now up to $630 for a simple faucet update that I was supposed to be able to do myself for $100. Boo. They were here for about two hours when I hear "Um, Jennifer, Can you come in here please?" Uh oh. Apparently the previous owners had tried to replace the faucet as well and had damaged the sink in the process. They had used calk to "bandaid" it. My options were that we could just re-calk it and pray that it doesn't leak or we were looking at replacing the sink, which would ruin the countertop, essentially leading to a bathroom remodel. Um, no. We aren't prepared to do that at the moment, especially with my kitchen dreams hopefully coming true in the near future. I told the plumber "You calk that sucker up and we will just hope and pray that it holds". We now have a bethroom that looks like this:




It's pretty, but had I known that it would be this much of a headache I would have just lived with the original faucet. We have yet to turn on the faucet to see if it leaks. I'm too scared. Obviously, we will probably have to replace everything before we ever move, but we'll cross that bridge when/if we ever come to it.

Eleven

Our boy is 11 months old as of yesterday. I can't believe I am now counting weeks until the big 1 year birthday! These pictures pretty much sum up what is going on with Charlie at 11 months:

"No! I do not want to sit and pose with that stupid lion. Why do I have to do this month after month?"

"I will push this lion away as soon as you put it next to me!"

Enter dog toy. "I will calmly play with Hank's ball and bonk the lion on the head with it so that you can get a decent picture."

As you can see, Charlie has a mind of his own these days. He just recently learned to wave and clap. He can walk with me holding just one of his hands. He is getting better and better at standing all by himself without support. (He's up to about 8 seconds now.) He started really having separation anxiety this week. If Patrick or I walk out of the room, even if the other is still in there, he will just cry and cry or do a hurry-crawl and try to follow us. Speaking of, his crawling is SO fast. He can follow some directions such as "Follow momma" and understanding "No". He imitates what we say all of the time. The other day Patrick was "eating" a fake cupcake and saying "mmm" while rubbing his belly. Charlie imitated the whole thing when he got the cupcake back. It was so cute. Charlie has also gotten into the habit of screaming when he throws his luvie out of the crib. I am talking blood curling screams so you think he must be hurt and is going to die if you don't go in there to see what the problem is. The problem? He just wants his luvie back in bed with him. Silly man! We are having so much fun with him. It seems like he does things everyday that amazes us. Happy 11 months Charlie!

Such a follower...

Saturday Morning Tradition

We have a new tradition in the Allen house. Pancake Saturday!! (A little Jon and Kate Plus 8, don't ya think?) We didn't really plan it, but it just sort of hapened over time. Two weeks ago I made pancakes with pureed sweet potato and squash. Last weekend we were in OKC, but still had pancakes Saturday morning. And today I made them with pureed sweet potato, carrots and bananas. No matter what is in them Charlie LOVES them!

Changes in 2010!

The biggest change is that Patrick started his new JOB today at Bank of the Ozarks. I know, I know... we have been pretty hush, hush about this because we didn't know if it was going to work out or not. But, it has! Patrick got offered the position last Monday night, accepted on Tuesday, gave his 2 week notice to Beal Bank on Wednesday... but, since not much is happening at Beal currently they let him have Friday as his last day. He took a few days off and started today at the new job. Quick turn-around. He will be working in the Assets Management group and his new office is just right down the road in Preston Center (Preston and NW Hwy). Much closer to home... yay!

Some other changes have to do with the house. Monday was a school holiday for me, so both Patrick and I had off Monday and Tuesday of this week. We decided to make good use of our time. We stayed in OKC until Monday morning and set off to Winnfield, La to pick up a piece of furniture that we have been meaning to get for, oh, two years now! We drove to Shreveport and met my parents and Jay at the U-Haul place so that they could jump in our car and take Charlie back to their house for the afternoon. Patrick and I jumped in the U-Haul and headed to Winnfield to load up our new china cabinet (at least, it's new to us!) and whatever other furniture my uncle and aunt could throw at us in the short time we were there and then we came back to Shreveport for the night. We woke up early on Tuesday and caravaned back to Dallas and spent the rest of the day reorganizing the house. It was a whirl-wind trip!

The house now looks like this:

The old buffet is our new TV stand

And the china cabinet is now were the buffet was in the dining room

Side note: While in Winnfield, my parents were responsible for feeding Charlie. Guess what my dad got him? McFish-fi-let and french fries from McDonalds! Eeeew!! Apparently he gobbled it right up, though. What did we have for dinner? Homemade lentil and barley soup.... which Charlie would have LOVED!!

Charlie changes include clapping and waving for the first time! Yesterday morning I was going to work while Patrick was taking Charlie to daycare. I waved and said "bye-bye" and he waved right back. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen.

Cupcake Trio

We were in OKC this weekend for the triplets birthday party. It was a "cupcake" theme. Julie and Manny (and others) made mac and cheese cupcakes and meatloaf cupcakes. They also had a make-your-own-cupcake station. Pretty cute ideas!

Julie and Manny made their own smash cakes for the trio:

Julie made all of the kids personalized aprons to make their cupcakes in:
All of the kids helped to open gifts:

Charlie had a great time!

Happy Birthday Isabelle!

Happy Birthday Cooper!

Happy Birthday Sophia!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY sweet babies!

One year ago tomorrow I became an aunt! An aunt to the tiniest little babies that I had ever seen. I remember getting a phone call on Thursday night that Julie was in labor and praying against all odds that the doctors would be able to stop it. She was 30 wks and 1 day. The next day I went to work and kept my phone near. At 11am I got the call that Julie was scheduled for her c-section at 1pm. I wasn't going to make it to OKC in time for the birth. I first, had to get the OK from my doctor to travel, as I was nearing the 34 week mark. I remember that Patrick and I were in such a rush to get to OKC that when we arrived we figured out that we had left my bag in Dallas... I had no clothes or toiletries... or meds with me. All was fine except for the blood pressure meds... I needed those! (My aunt swung by the house and brought my stuff up in case you were worried.) Anywho, back to the story. I remember going to see Juls and Manny. Julie felt fine, except that she couldn't hold anything down. This meant that she couldn't meet the babies just yet. But, I got to! My mom brought me into the NICU and I first met baby Sophia (2 lbs 10oz.). Words can not describe how TINY she was and pictures do not do it justice. I broke down right there in the NICU. I was so scared for these babies. I just KNEW everything was going to be fine, but they were just so little. I met Cooper next (3lbs 10oz... big man!) and then Isabelle (2 lbs 11oz). All three of them opened there eyes when I met them. I was the only person that they had done this to. I think they thought I sounded a lot like there momma!! I was in LOVE with all of these prescious, little babies!

Me and Isabelle:

When Patrick and I had to leave for Dallas on Sunday I remember feeling helpless. I felt like I needed to be in OKC with Julie and with the babies. I was so sad to leave them. Today, the babies look like this:

It's crazy the difference a year makes!! Happy 1st Birthday sweet babies!

Resolutions

New Year's resolutions are always hard for me to keep, but this year I am really making an effort! Here are some of the resolutions I have been working on:

1. De-clutter our house. We have LOTS of stuff. LOTS of stuff that we NEVER use. LOTS of clothes that we never wear. LOTS of crap to get rid of. And, we are well on our way. About a month ago Patrick and I spent a Saturday morning cleaning out our garage, which is our only storage area in our house. It felt like a weight had been lifted off. A couple of weekends ago, I spent the weekend cleaning out our office. Another space that inevitably collects crap. It now looks like this:
It is amazing how many trips to Goodwill we have made this month. Up next? Tackling the laundry room. The desk that used to be in the office in the kitchen/den:
2. Make our home more environmentally friendly. I have set a schedule of things to do each month to make our home, and us, more eco-friendly because let's be honest... this stuff costs $$$! At least up front. And then you enjoy the benefits later on by reducing your electric and water bills. I guess we actually started this last year by getting all new windows. And, that has already paid off in terms of the electric bill... it's crazy how much we are saving! Other things I have done are:
Using Smart Strips... great for your T.V.'s and computer.
Installing Low Flow shower heads
Using a dualing trash can... one side for trash, the other for recycling
Using eco-friendly lightbulbs
3. I always make the same resolution of losing weight and never seem to keep it, so this year I am tweeking it a bit. Eat better. One of my good friends has a rule about eating... she tries to only eat things that she knows what went into it. So, if she looks at the back of a box/can and doesn't know what half the ingredients are, then she doesn't eat it. Essentially this means eating more fresh foods and eating more organically. It also means cooking more at home... that way you know what you are putting in what you eat. So far, so good. I have started picking out recipes for the week and gathering the ingredients on Sunday. Another resolution that goes along with this one is that I want to start actually using my cookbooks! I rely on the internet too much and have all of these great cookbooks that I should be using. I think this will make me a better cook, too.
4. The last, but not least, New Year's resolution is one that both Patrick and I have. To continue being the best mom and wife I can be. God knows, it takes work from both you and your partner to make a happy home!

Congrats!!

Two of my favorite friends have had babies in the past 2 weeks and I wanted to send a shout out. Congrats to Rhodes and Amanda who welcomed baby Drew last week! He is precious and looks a lot like his older brother, little Rhodes. And, congrats to Ronnie and Johnette who welcomed baby Trace on Tuesday. They didn't know the sex and were super excited to find out that it was a boy! They have two daughters as well...Milla and Amelie. I can't wait to meet baby Trace!

He's got the moves

Such the big boy...

Every night while I am getting Charlie's bath ready, I put him in the hallway to play. Usually, after the bath is ready, I find him halfway to the living room. The other night, I look in the hallway and no Charlie. Huh? Where was he? I find this:

He's gotten so fast at the crawling!

The big boy bath!

Riding the car all by himself. (We used to have to put a belt around him and the car to make sure that he wouldn't fall off.)

Crawling, pulling up, and dancing


Talkin in the bath

Baby, It's COLD outside!

Let's get bundled up!

Babyproofing

We had our house completely babyproofed on Thursday. Our cabinets and drawers have locks on them, our plugs have been plugged, our furniture is attached to the walls, our TV has been tethered to the TV stand and our folding doors are now attached to the wall so that Charlie can't open and close them and get his fingers pinched. This makes for some more restful night sleeps. After the babyproofing man left I went to pick up Charlie from daycare, brought him in and sat him on the floor just to see what he would do. What's the first thing he went to?

Of course, one of the few things in our house that isn't babyproofed! Huh. I guess we still have a ways to go.

*** The babyproofing man gave me some tips that I have never thought of before and I thought that I would share. A general rule of thumb is that any piece of furniture that is taller than it is wide is considered a tumping-over hazard. (Think bookshelves, dressers, changing table, etc.) These should all be secured to the wall. Also, any cords should be attached to the leg of the piece of furniture that they are near with all of the slack taken out of the cord. That way, if a baby pulls the cord out of the wall it will still be attached to the piece of furniture so that they can't pull the lamp (or other miscellaneous object) onto their head. Hope this helps!

Abigail Allen 1996-2010

It's a sad day in the Allen household. Abigail Allen, Bob and Ann's 13.5 year old yellow lab, passed away peacefully in her sleep last night. Abby loved coffee in the morning and ice cream at night. She was very helpful with taking cans to the trash can so that she could receive a treat. She loved to carry around towels and other miscellaneous articles of clothing. In Bob's email this morning he stated "In spite or because of her stubbornness and single minded devotion we will miss her greatly." We are all thankful that we got to enjoy one more Christmas with Abby. She was still right under Charlie's highchair waiting for him to drop a piece of food. She was a great dog.

Charlie at 10 mths.

On Christmas Day Charlie turned 10 mths old. I can't believe how fast time is flying by. And I can't believe how much Charlie has changed over the months. Just yesterday, I went in to wake him up and I swear he looked older than he did the day before. It's crazy!! Our little baby is turning into a little boy too fast! Here is his 10 mth pic with the lion:

At 10 mths. Charlie weighs in at 23 lbs! He's a big one. He went through a two week bout of hunger strike over Christmas, but now he seems to be back on track (he also had a new tooth come in, an ear infection and a stuffy nose/cough over the holidays, which could contribute to the not eating). He now has 7 teeth- 3 on bottom, 4 on top. He is finally "properly" crawling... although he still uses his army crawl quite a bit. He pulls up on EVERYTHING and is really into opening cabinets and drawers to see what he can find to put in his mouth. (The babyproofing guy just left our house... our cabinets/drawers/furniture/etc will all be officially babyproofed in a week! YAY!) He LOVES hauling it into the laundry room so that he can play in Hank's water dish; playing run(crawl)-away-from-mommy when it's bath time; and throwing food off of his plate just to see Hank come and gobble it up... he laughs and laughs at all of this! Speaking of bath time, he is now in the big boy tub all by himself! Some of his new favorite things are:
Opening cabinets to find what he can play with:

LOVES his new barn: (thanks Uncle Meeks! This is what you got Charles for Christmas!)

Standing up on his changing table before I can get his diaper on:

"Helping" mommy with the dishes:

Pulling out every.single.toy. out of the toy bin:

Practicing feeding himself with the spoon: (he does this EVERY time I have the spoon... he wants to be the only one to handle it. It's fine with me, but it makes for a HUGE mess!)

Ringin in the New Year

On New Year's night my Aunt Jennifer came to babysit so that Patrick and I could go to dinner with friends. It was the most perfect way to spend New Year's. A nice meal with close friends and home by 11:30pm to celebrate the upcoming year from bed. Special thanks to A.J. for watching Charlie! On New Year's Day Charlie and I cheered on LSU (just to see them lose... boo!)


Then, we de-Christmasfied our house.
We then attended the annual Hamilton New Year's Day party. On Saturday we started off the New Year by having lunch with the Bates'... hopefully this will lead us to seeing each other more often in 2010! On Saturday night, Patrick and I had our traditional New Year's dinner of caviar, smoked salmon, and champagne. This year, we also added scallops to the main course. It was delicious!