December, January, and February

Hello everyone! The Allen's have some very big news..... If you didn't notice the title on the top of the blog it says "The Allen 5!!!" That's right, our third little bundle will be here in early September. The due date is actually September 9th, my 30th birthday. Keaton and Bronwyn are so incredibly excited to have a baby brother or sister. They kiss my belly all the time and tell us how much they love the baby in my belly. They will be great, and I am so excited to see both of them in this new element. The four of us couldn't be more happy to make our sweet little family into an amazing family of five!

On to December, which feels like a life time ago..... Santa delivered an elf to our house. We named him Buddy. On the morning of his arrival he brought the kids a breakfast all the way from the North Pole: Snow covered donuts and ice cold chocolate milk. He also brought a special gift for them. The kids got a kick out of finding him every morning. After a naughty day, Buddy came back the next morning and had drawn on some family pictures of us, which really upset the kids. He even left them a note telling them to be good kids. I can see Buddy being more and more fun each passing year.

We had our annul Christmas party with all of our friends and their kids. The group is growing by the number of kids every year. After dinner, Nate read a Christmas story to all of them. While he was reading we got a very special visit from the big guy himself.... SANTA!!!! It was priceless to see all of their reactions when he came "Ho! Ho! Ho-ing!" and ringing his bells down the hall. Santa brought each child a new Christmas book in his big red bag. This is one tradition that will be so much fun to continue in the years to come.

We also took them down Cindy lane with both sets of grandparents. They loved the lights, but didn't care for the cold. Grandma and I took them to a breakfast with Santa, and they got to sit on Santa's lap. With each Santa that we went to see, Bronwyn got a little more courageous with each one. By the third Santa, she was sitting on his lap with Keaton telling him what they wanted for Christmas. It turns out Santa's not such a bad guy.

When mid-December came and Nate was off for Christmas break, we went on a week long cruise to the Caribbean.... without the kids! It was so incredibly hard leaving them, but once we were there we enjoyed every minute. The food, sun, relaxation, naps, and site seeing. It was a much needed vacation for the two of us. By the end of the week we were eager to get back to our beautiful babies and celebrate the holiday. They were taken care of by both sets of grandparents, and had the best time while we were away. Though they assured us that the kids missed us too.

We got home from our trip the night before Christmas Eve, and decided to make the transition from cribs in to big kid beds. Why? While we were gone Keaton started climbing out of his crib multiple times in the middle of the night. Both kids did great to start off with, but then all that went out the window. Let me start by saying that Brawny has been great. She has not gotten out of bed ever. Keaton on the other hand, well, he's a completely different story. He would not stay in his room, no matter what time it was. So we got a lock, and lock him in there. It took two nights of crying, knocking on his door, and calling for me for him to realize that I wasn't coming in. Then he started turning on his light, which was just another excuse to get out of bed. So we started taping his light down. Then he figured out how to take the tape off. Our solution? We took all of his light bulbs out so his lights don't work. This has finally stopped him from getting out of bed, and things are finally looking up in the sleep department for him (and the rest of us!). All of this has taken place during a month and a half long period of time. Needless to say, it's been challenging.

As a reward for sleeping better and not waking up, they have gotten donuts.... Sprinkle donuts as special treats on a few different occasions. They always have a specific kind that they want, and often times they didn't have the exact donut that they were asking for. But in the end, a donut is a donut; and they never turned one down.

At the end of January Keaton and Bronwyn said good bye to their binki's. I told them that Belinda the binky fairy was in need of some binki's for children who didn't have binki's. They washed their binki's, decorated a bag, and wrapped them up for Belinda to pick up. We left them on the porch before bath time, and not long after the doorbell rang and the kids went rushing to the door. The bags were gone, but in their place were two big gift bags just for Bronwyn and Keaton. Belinda brought them their very own big kid pillows! Keaton's had a toy story pillow case and Bronwyn's had a Disney princess pillow case. They have not asked for their binki's once!!!

February 1st, Mimi and I took them to see Disney on Ice. It was so much fun. They loved seeing all of the characters and sat through the entire 2 hour show. Disney never disappoints, and though the show was great for us adults too, it was nothing compared to watching their precious little faces as they sat in awe of what they were watching. It was priceless.

Valentine's Day consisted of pink heart shaped pancakes for breakfast, special gifts, a trip to the park, lunch with Mimi, and then dinner as a family. We had red heart shaped ravioli's... Yum! Daddy and I went out on a date just the two of us a few nights before, so Valentine's day was dedicated to family.

Some of their favorite things to do during the day are: Play hide and go seek, listening, dancing, and singing to the Disney movie channel on Pandora, reading books, pretending to be Rapunzel and Flynn from the movie Tangled, and going for walks around the block. They are so much fun. We have also been doing movie nights every so often, watching various Disney movies to get the more familiar with all the characters before we head off to Disneyland again in May. They love watching these movies, and we love cuddling up and watching them together as a family.

As you can see a lot has happened in the past few months. Before we know it, it will be June and we'll have two THREE year olds who will start preschool in August, and soon after we will be bringing a new baby home. Say a prayer for us :) Ha ha! Truth be told, even though there are many many times that I am so overwhelmed and frustrated, the next minute I am reminded of just how blessed I am. Just a sweet "I love you mommy", a hug or a kiss, a smile, or a giggle brings me back to the realization that I need to enjoy every moment, challenging or not. This life, this amazing life has been given to ME. A husband who was truly made for me, two of the most loving children a mother could ask for, and another one on the way. My life is full. I couldn't imagine it any other way.

Thanks for checking in.... See you all in June!


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Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.