National Camp in Your Backyard Day

Yesterday was National Camp in Your Backyard Day ( wonder who comes up with these "holidays"), so of course my boys had to camp in the backyard. Doug actually had this "camp out" planned for a long time. It was sort of a test run to see how James would do if we really went camping. I think they had a blast.

First they set up the tent. James didn't really care too much until it was set up. We got this tent last year and for some reason never even used it. So this was the first time we have ever set it up.

When it was time to go out they put on their backpacks to "hike" to the campsite.

They arrived tired and ready to camp! I think it was a pretty long hike for James with such a big backpack!

Time to take off the pack....

And jump on the bed!

I guess it took James forever to fall asleep. Doug said it was like watching a Dog, he kept turning and turning until finally it was time to settle down and go to sleep. They came in about 5 in the morning because it was so cold. I guess the nights here never get warm. It was supposed to get down to 40 degrees last night.

Rain, Rain, and More Vent Problems

Michael is now 1 month old! He is getting so big, I weighed him on the Wii Fit and he unofficially weighs 9.7lbs. He is getting so big! This picture of him is right after his bath. When his hair is clean it is curly and blond, it is pretty cute, but of course Doug wants to give him a hair cut.

It has been raining every single day this month! We are so tired of the rain and staying inside, but luckily James loves to play in the Garage almost as much as he loves playing outside.

Finally on Friday it was a nice day (don't worry the clouds came back and it is raining again today) so we went outside. We all loved it. Michael took his nap in the "shade".

James roamed around everywhere! Amazingly he kept his hat on which I didn't think he would ever do.

He loves blowing bubbles, and he learned to peddle his bike on his own for the first time. I tried to get it on video, but he is just too fast at getting off his bike.

Finally the story of the vent problems... I feel really bad that I didn't get a picture, but I was more worried about the safety of James at the time. I put James down for his nap and did the routine pick everything off the floor that could be used as a toy, the shut and locked him in. An hour later he was still playing so I went back in, put him back in bed. I think around 2 or 2:30 he started crying a little, which is usually a good sign because it means he is going to go to sleep so I didn't worry about it. He finally did fall asleep, but at 3:00 he was awake and crying again. Crying when he wakes up is unusual so I went in to check on him and was a little shocked by what I found. James was on the floor under the window, but only from the waist up. At first I was confused, but soon I realized that the rest of him was down the vent. I have no clue how he got both legs down the vent but I am so grateful that it held his weight!

The First 3 Weeks

Michael is now three weeks old. It seems to have gone really fast! He had his two weeks appointment last Tuesday and weighed 8 lbs 5 oz, so he is gaining weight really well! His "belly button" finally fell off on Friday night so he had his first bath at home on Saturday. He seemed to really like it until it was time to get out.

James is also adjusting well to having his little brother around and loves to give him kisses. We have had Grandparents and cousins in town this past weekend and James has loved every minute! We really wish we lived closer to cousins because James loves to play with them so much.

Michael loved all the attention. Ok really he just loves to be held and sleeping in anyone/everyones arms.

We blessed Michael in Church on Sunday. He was very calm, definitely a different experience from James.

Michael was given this play mat from his Grammy. James loves to lay in it. I thought it was so cute that they both had their fingers in their mouths.

"Syide"

James loves to slide. Every time we drive by a slide he yells "Syide". We took him to the park on Memorial Day and he decided that he wanted to go down the biggest slide. He was very brave and was even landing on his feet so I got the camera to take a video. Here is what happened.

Don't worry, he cried for a couple of seconds, didn't even let Mom give him a hug and ran back to the ladder to go again. He was much more cautious the rest of the day.

These pictures are from the Splash Park on Saturday. James loved it, although it was an unplaned trip so he wasn't really dressed for it.

He didn't really like getting in the water, just splashing in it with his hands and feet.

Allen Family Name (by Doug)

In my opinion one of the best ways to honor your family is to carry on the family name through the generations to come. We can not let the noble name Allen die with this generation. As far as I count (I hope i didn't miss any one) C.K and Dorris Allen would now have 17 great grandchildren, a good posterity which is sure to keep growing. However of all the grandchildren I am the only one that feels it is necessary to carry forth this most noble name of Allen, not once but twice. Grandma and Grandpa I honor you and I am sorry the other grandchildren do not feel it necessary to do the same.

Introducing...Michael David Allen

He's finally here! After waiting almost 40 weeks for this little guy we decided to be induced on Monday. We went to the hospital at 7:30 in the morning, the doctor broke my water about 8 or 8:30 and at 9 they started the pitocin. At about 1 the contractions became unbearable and I had an epidural, that was so nice! I think they were trying to speed things up though and didn't turn up the dose very high, because I still felt almost every contraction and some pain. We found out that it was a record day at the hospital, they had 12 women in labor and only 7 delivery rooms! I am glad we got there first. The doctor came in at about 7:30 to check and found that I was ready to start pushing. While we were waiting for him to get ready we heard the nurses talking in the hall about some of the other patients that were also ready to push, when we asked our nurse about it she said there were 6 women ready to push at the same time. It seemed like a crazy day at the hospital.
Just before the doctor came back in I asked Doug what time it was because I wanted to know how long it took when he was born, it was 7:41. The doctor came in and we started pushing. I think by this time the epidural was almost completely worn off because I could feel everything. Four pushes later at 7:53 we had our little guy, Michael David Allen.
Here are the stats:
Born May 18, 2009
Weight: 7lbs, 11oz
Height: 20 in
He has lots of dark brown hair, and everyone says he looks like James, which I agree with. Because it was so busy they didn't have time to even let the epidural wear off before they moved us to the recovery room, they just wheeled me down the hall in the delivery bed while I was nursing. It was very different.

James got to meet his little brother today. I was positive he would be indifferent to the whole thing, but he was so excited to see him. When Doug held him up he smiled at him and said "Hey, what you doing there?" It was so cute. Then he got to hold him. He loved it!

Soon after this they had to take Michael to the pediatrician to be checked. When he came back James was so excited. He said "My brother" and climbed up on the bed with us. Then he pushed my face toward Michael and said "Kiss" then after I gave him a kiss James gave him a kiss. It was so cute! I can't wait to get him home and see how they do together there!

Loa

Loa joined our family in May or June of 2006. We had her for 3 years and I couldn't imagine how things would be different without her. Sadly a week ago on Monday I let her go out at about 5:00 pm and she never came home. She was wearing tags so I would have thought that someone would have turned her in by now if they were going to, but I am still hopeful that maybe they still will. Some things that I have noticed since she has been gone:

• James is a much messier eater than I thought he was
• I am a much messier cook than I thought I was
• We have to sweep/vacuum much more now
• I miss my afternoon nap with my 40lb lap dog
• The neighbor dog comes over to see if Loa can come play
• The neighbors miss Loa whining at their door to see if their dog can play
• I don't have to worry about who is eating James's snacks