Thank you for....

my little boy, my loving husband, and my family. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family. My Mom and Dad cooked a wonderful meal and my brother and his kids were there too. We were able to take our Christmas card pictures, which I can't post because they are a secret :) However, here are some of my favorites from the day...

Steph Turns 30!!!!

Tonight we took Mrs Stephanie Grams out for her b-day supper. It was a little surprise to her, but we all had a good time. There was Heather , Lisa , and I, and of course the birthday girl !! We are missing our friend Tricia, who is in Rolla, MO. The sarcasm is just not the same as is when Tricia is here :) Stephanie is the last of our group of 5 friends to turn the big 3-0! Oh what a journey. We had a nice time and good food, and Stephanie got to be fed dessert by the waiters, ha! Then, we enjoyed an opportunity for cake, as there should always be at any celebration. Stephanie is a great friend, mother of two boys, physical therapy assistant. She has a wonderful personality, and keeps us in check in regards to fitness habits. She is the most fit of all of us, and probably the most envied - at least by me I know! We are happy to have her in our little group of friends, and look forward to growing old together and sharing many, many laughs like these...

Todd's New Toy

Today Nick went to daycare, so I could get the Christmas lights up. While I was doing that, Todd's new toy arrived. He is now the proud owner of a 2009 Big Dog K-9. This is his 2nd K-9, although he did trade the old one for the new one.

He was like a little kid in a candy store....SO, I am conviced I am the mother of 2 boys...one 37 and 1 is 14 months. Yes, Nick turned 14 months on the 17th....sniff, sniff....How can it be that my little boy is so grown up already???

Nick's newest thing is if you ask him what a cow says, he goes MOO!!! And the other day, he actually blew his nose. While this might seem like a small feat, for a mother, it's a big deal!

The funniest thing he does right now (of course every mother thinks her child is just hilarious, as a wise friend once told me :) is that he is trying to learn to jump. SO, if you say "Jump," he squats down and tries to jump, but doesn't ever make it off the floor. Quite the entertainer...

After we got done with Christmas lights (and by we, I mean that I put up the lights and Todd rode his new motorcycle), we went and picked up Nick and went to feed the ducks at Annenberg Park. Nick really enjoys it, and we get rid of our old bread and popcorn!

Looking forward to a family day tomorrow, and having lunch with one of my best friends Stephanie and her kids.

C

Still KSU fans....

Not a good day Saturday for K-State. We went to the game with our friends Matt and Tricia Skyles. It started out good with KSU intercepting and running it in for a touchdown, but it all went down hill after that! We stuck it out as long as we could. The highlight was getting to see Nick on the big screen when they show KSU fans. I sent his picture in a few months ago, and he was picked to be on the screen. Course I got just a little irritated, because they put another kid up at the same time as Nick....grrr...Pickle had to SHARE the spotlight....grrr.....

After the game, we had some good times with our friends at home. Gma Clipper (aka My Mom Gma Hazlett) was able to watch Nick for us while we went to the game and had fun with our friends (thanks Gma!).

Today is Gma Turtle's b-day. However, she is sick (like Nick and I). So, we took her out to eat and then back to the house for gifts. Nick was enthralled with the card he gave her, so he laid down on the floor to read it.

C

Cough, cough, cough....

Nickel is feeling a little better, no more fever, but the snot and the coughing is crazy! My friend Trish and her husband Matt are here from Rolla, MO for the FB game. She said it sounded like a grown up coughing in his room! Today we are all decked out in purple, will try to post a pic of the adults later. KSU plays NU today, sure hope we win!

I spiked Nick's hair today as you can see...I actually think we need our first haircut finally. It is growing down over his ears! Speaking of haircuts...my nephew Colton (aka Shaggy), got his long hair cut yesterday...Guess it's time to get ready for wrestling. They (Uncle Curt, Aunt Val, Colton and Lauren) stopped by last night to bring us our boy scout popcorn, and wrangled us into buying candles and cookie dough (the fundraisers never end). Speaking of Aunt Val, I owe her an apology for forgetting her b-day on the list of the important days in our lives. I will get that fixed. Just an oversight, not intentional by any means!

I am also posting a picture of Nick reading his book. This is called "The Nose Book," by Dr Suess. He loves it! Hope his love for books and carrying them around the house means he'll be a huge scholar someday! I have been letting him have his binkey a little more this week, since he is sick and so am I. It keeps him happy, and I am all for that.

I noticed while downloading pictures, that I had taken pictures on Nov 15, 2007, so here is a comparison picture for 1 year. Can you see that little baby boy who turned into my onery red-headed child???? I can...

C

Sick babies...not so much fun....

Nick has been sick for 2 days, and Mommy is getting stir crazy. I am so ready to get out of this house, but there is no light at the end of the tunnel right now! He is quite whiney and likes to be held a lot, which is nice in the beginning to be needed, but after a few days is like, gheesh, I need a break too! Of course, he still plays, even though he is sick. Today he decided that this big empty hamper looked like something fun to roll and play in. Never a dull moment around here. His croup only slows him down ever so slightly...Still running a fever, and the nights are much worse than the days, but we are surviving.

Sick :(

Pickle is sick :( Last night after daycare, he was kind of grouchy, but I thought he was tired. Todd and I went on a date, and after we got back, he was running a fever of 100.8 Woke up at 3:30 a.m. with 102+ temp. Ugh! Barking cough, and just miserable. Slept 14+ hrs. Today, he is doing better, running around like he is well, but temp was only 101.1 this time. Probably croup, but will have to stick out this virus...Wish us luck!

Happy Veteran's Day

Mornings are always fun at our house. This morning is no different. It usually consists of snuggle time, breakfast, getting dressed (aka roping a calf), and then play time. Nick is supposed to go to the parade this a.m., but it has been cancelled due to rain :( I have him all dressed in the spirit of Veteran's Day with his USA sweatshirt. Of course we have to wear our boots too. This morning I got him to say Boot ,and Papa (telling him that we were gonna wear our boots, just like Papa does). We are playing with books, and petting the kitty, and just in general being silly.

C

Help me...

This is harder than I thought...so heaven help me that I can figure out how to post photos and whatnot...hope you enjoy this pic of Nick and I carving pumpkins the night before Halloween. Daddy is filming us. It didn't take Pickle long to get his hands in there and get dirty!

C

Welcome to our life...

So, here we are...coming into the 21st century of blogging. I am computer crazy, so I am sure I will catch on with this as things get going. Welcome to the life of the Allen's, which tends to be a lot about our little Pickle. While certainly the highlight of our life, we still do manage to have some adult time. Hope you enjoy!