Winter Wonderland

Snow, snow, go away, come again some other day. After being snowed and iced in the house for several days we got several more inches of snow last night!!! School was cancelled Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Cabin fever is kicking in for sure! In the past, on the few snow days we have had there are usually tons of kids out playing in it and building snowmen but this week it was soooooo cold that no one was out. Like only 15 degrees cold. Brrrrrrr..... Alivia played in the snow for a total of 5 minutes the entire week. Austin knew better than to get his feet and hands cold.

Tink & Tuck

We would like to introduce the two newest members of our family - Tinkerbell Faith Allen (a.ka. Tink) and Tucker Austin Allen (a.k.a Tuck). We welcomed these two cute little fur balls into the family on January 25! Their original names were Faith & Austin but since Tink & Tuck fit their personalities we made Faith & Austin their middle names. We also thought it might be a little confusing having two Austin's in the house. We didn't even realize until a week after we had them that they have the same birthday as Austin - Nov. 28th! It was meant to be. They are brother and sister and love to play (all the time), wrestle (which Austin loves), and snuggle (so cute).

Dallas World Aquarium

Alivia and Austin had a great time at the Dallas World Aquarium with their cousins!

Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Elf on the Shelf

Our Elf on the Shelf finally arrived on our doorstep a few days ago. Better late than never! The kids decided to name him Jackie. He kind of looks like a Jackie. Don't you think?

When we wake up in the morning or come home from being out he is in a different place. In the picture below we found him in the Christmas tree. We have also found him on the fireplace, a lamp, the fridge, and even an empty shelf. The kids are so excited each morning to be the first to find him.

He is here to keep a close eye on Alivia and Austin. Each night when they are sleeping he goes back to the North Pole to report their behavior to Santa. Once he makes it to the North Pole on Christmas Eve, he won't return until next year. Now that he is part of the family, he will probably arrive much earlier next year. You never know, he could just show up in the turkey on Thanksgiving!

Crooked Pine 2010

Another great year with the fam!

Happy 3rd Birthday Austin!

Happy 3rd Birthday my sweet boy! I can’t believe we are celebrating your third birthday. I can hardly remember when you were just a little baby with a head full of crazy red hair. Now you are a handsome little boy with strawberry blonde hair. You still get comments all of the time on your unique hair color. I always tell people you should have seen his hair when he was a baby.

There are so many things I love about you. Where do I start? I love that you are a momma’s boy but lately you are becoming a daddy’s boy too (which is making daddy very proud). You must be growing up or something. That brings me to your cute little way you say things. Lately you have been adding “or something” to the end of your questions. When you see traffic on the road you say “is this a race or something?” It makes me laugh every time you say it. You call Gatorade – “Gatorader” and the cutest of all, you call a tissue – a “bless you”. I have now started calling them the same thing because I don’t want you to stop.

I love that your big sister is your best friend. You love her so much. You are finally getting used to her being gone at kindergarten until three every afternoon. It took you a while to adjust to not having your best friend with you all day to play with. At first you would ask around 10:00 each day if it was time to pick her up but now you ask around lunch time. You love going to your big sister’s school to do projects in her class or eat lunch with her. You are pretty much her class mascot. Her classmates get so excited to see you and you know all of their names. You even have your own cubby in her classroom.

I love that you are such a boy. You have so much energy and anyone who has ever met you can attest to that. You are only three but you already love to play soccer, baseball, golf, and basketball. Your newest sport is wrestling, whether it is with your big sister, big cousin, or with the ‘fat cat’ (stuffed animal). You get comments all of the time from friends and even strangers that you are so strong or so coordinated or that you have a great arm! I hear it all of the time and it just makes me smile. Your daddy took you to play nine holes recently. You came home so excited that you “scored a goal in the hole!” I still think baseball is going to be the sport you love but only time will tell.

I love when you sing “Jesus Loves Me” right before you fall asleep each night. It is the most precious sound to my ears. Your little prayers are the most special thing to listen to. It makes me so proud to hear you say you are thankful for mommy, daddy, sissy, Jesus, and all your blessings.

I love when you tell me you “love me in the whole world.” I love you in the whole world sweet little boy.

Like I told your sister on her birthday, slow down… you are growing up way too fast!

Love,

MOM

Austin's 3rd Bday Party

Austin loved every minute of his Chuck E. Cheese birthday party!

 Austin in the ticket blaster!!!

Lemonade Anyone?

On a cool November afternoon Alivia and Austin made $4 selling lemonade! They actually sold out of lemonade!!!

Halloween

 Awww!

 Cheese!

 On a mission.

 Strike a pose!

Cute cousins!

Matching Mermaids