Dear Baby Kaylee

Dear Baby Kaylee,

You are sooo cute! We just got to spend an hour looking at you and your little button nose. I see so much of your brothers in you already. You're about the size of my hand although on the screen you looked HUGE. I especially love this ultrasound picture because your arm is up over your head, just like Hunter. When Hunter was born it took the doctor awhile to get him out because his arm was over his head and everytime he would pull it down he would shoot it back up there!

This picture is good too because you have your hand on your cheek and by your mouth which is exactly what Connor use to do! I have tons of ultrasound pictures with his hands on his face.

I can't wait to hold you for the first time!

I love you and love you,

Mommy

What a Day....

Connor has his head so deep into my chest that it actually hurts. It's hard to see his face in this smaller picture, but it's completely scrunched up!

We tried to show him how cool the clippers were but he didn't go for it.

Hunter didn't want the clippers anywhere near his head.

If only you could see the tears streaming down his face...

Hunter and Connor- both traumatized on their way to get ice cream. No Hair cut today.

Connor in mid-tantrum after realizing Daddy didn't buy ice cream, he bought hamburgers.

Connor-finally consoled with Mommy's ice cream. If you look hard you can see a tear drop under his eye.

Hunter tickled to death. He has a balloon, hamburger, an ice cream and he didn't have to get his hair cut.

Hunter- still having a great time!

Connor- finally done with his ice cream. His shirt was so dirty I had to take it off.

Dear Connor and Hunter,

It's been a day- let me tell 'ya! You two woke up in wonderful moods. We had waffles and strawberries. Daddy made them and as a result he earned a kiss from Hunter. Daddy made such a fuss over how nice the kiss was that Connor came up and gave him one and then both of you teased me and I didn't get any kisses for 10 minutes. You two love to tease Mommy. Daddy went to church and the three of us stayed home and watched Kung Fu Panda and cleaned the play room. We took Clorax bleach wipes to all the toys and sorted the toys into the right bins. Well, I did that- you two went behind me and took your toys back out of the bins making the chore take twice as long because I kept forgetting what I'd already wiped down. Eventually, we got the playroom into decent order. Then we had naps, grilled cheese for lunch, ran around the house and giggled and then it was time for our outing. We had planned to go to the mall and get haircuts, ice cream, and a present for Uncle Jason's birthday. It was pretty much a disaster. When we went to see Dr. Steele last week he told us that you two were at the age where you would start to have a little more anxiety and you may start acting scared easily again. That happened at the hair salon.

I decided to let Connor go first becasue he always sits nice and tall all by himself and he doesn't move a muscle during the hair cut. I was sure that he would be a perfect example for his little brother and maybe Hunter would do better this time. Connor started freaking out from the minute I set him in the chair. So I decided I would sit with him this time. He wouldn't have it. He started crying and tossing his head around. He barely let her put the apron on before he started thrashing around. She got the buzz clipper out and tried to let Connor play with it for a minute so he wouldn't be so scared-he wanted nothing to do with that! So I told her that maybe we should let Hunter go first.

Hunter got up on my lap ( I didn't even let him try to sit by himself ) and he sat nice and still while she put the apron on him. Then he flipped when he saw the clippers. He wouldn't touch them, or look at them. I tried letting him turn around and hug me like we've done in the past and he just sobbed into my shoulder. So we kindly tipped the lady for her trouble and told her it looked like haircuts weren't going to happen for us today.

So.... we tried to go get ice cream. Dr. Steele also told us that Connor is a little behind in his speech. It's nothing to be concerned about, he just wants to watch him a little closer. He also said that we can expect some frusteration out of him when he's trying to tell us something and we don't understand. This is what we encountered at Dairy Queen.

Daddy ordered for us. He bought me a peanut buster parfait and the two of you a hamburger. This didn't go over well. Hunter ate the hamburger gladly- he was hungry. Connor wanted nothing to do with the hamburger. He tried to say something to us and we couldn't make out what he was saying- so he threw his hamburger. Trying to coach him to calm down and tell us only made it worse. He was yelling at the top of his lungs, tears pouring down his face pointing to the table- we kept asking him...do you want the pepsi? Do you want Mommy's ice cream? Do you want an ice cream cone? He was so worked up though that I don't even think he knew what he wanted. So, Daddy went and bought two ice cream cones. Hunter was thrilled. Connor was very upset. Daddy tried to give him a bite of the cone, but in the middle of his tantrum he ended up getting ice cream all over his face and ear- only infuriating him more. Finally, in a last ditch effort I tried again to give him my peanut buster parfait. This time he accepted. I have to say at this time Mommy and Daddy were very frusterated, but it was pretty cute seeing you eat your parfait with tears still coming out of your eyes.

Finally, we went home. I'd like to say the evening got better, but Connor decided to throw his dinner across the table because he didn't want hotdog and Hunter refused to sit down and eat- which resulted in an early bed time for both of you. And me, hopefully.

I love you and love you,

Mommy

Dear Babies,
Grammy mentioned she hasn't seen a new post in awhile.... So tomorrow we need to do something cute.... I'm thinking hair cuts! =0)

I love you,
Mommy

Dear Hunter Boy...

September 7, 2009
Dear Hunter
Mommy went back to work this week. It didn’t faze you very much. You’re typically pretty grouchy when you wake up anyways so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. You love playing with the other kids at Beka’s but you also don’t take your naps very well when I’m at work. I think you’ll calm down the second week and start napping better.
You’re talking like crazy! You babble to anyone who will listen and you’re learning a new word a day it seems. You say “Jump” and “pretty please” and “Hi” and “Bye” almost perfect! You love to talk to Grammy on the phone right now. You call her once a day and say “hi, smack, bye!” The smack is when I ask you if you can tell Grammy “Loooove Yooou.” You don’t say it but you always make a huge kissing sound. It’s pretty dang cute. I think you got it from me. Every morning when I leave I say “Looove Yooou” and give you a kiss.
You’re still a very cautious little boy. You won’t try anything new right away! When we were at the fair this year you wouldn’t get on the live ponies but you loved the merry-go-round. You do become instant dare devil when you’re at home though. You crawl up onto anything you can get your feet onto. You love to try to stand on your rocking horse!
You also love to dance. Every day your dancing gets a little more wild! You love to swing your arms and spin circles. You still bounce up and down and wave your hands. The cutest part about your dance is the little smirk you get on your face while you’re dancing!
You’ve been trying to jump ever since we went to the fair. We let you go into the bounce house and all the little kids were saying “Jump, Jump, Jump.” You say “uuuuuump!” and then you bend down really low to the ground and come up fast bringing one foot off of the ground! It is adorable. You really think you’re jumping.
You’ve been getting a bit of a temper when you’re tired. You actually can throw a pretty massive tantrum. We’ve really been working on staying calm. When you’re tired you get very physical. It is not uncommon for you to start throwing your toys, hitting, kicking the air, rolling on the ground…. We’ve been trying to get you back on a good nap schedule since school started, but it’s been a bit of a struggle. No matter how angry or physical you get the minute you wake up from a nap you’re a little snuggle bug lover again!
You give me kisses on the mouth now. You even turn my face towards you so that you can reach my mouth. You think it’s funny when I ask for a kiss and you pretend like you’re going to give me one but then you don’t. You giggle like crazy every time.
You love little babies and are very concerned about their well being. You watch over Clayton very carefully to make sure he’s playing safe and following the rules. If he’s not you come and get me right away. One day at Kendall’s you picked up one of her baby dolls and were loving on it. You kissed it and snuggled it. I think you’re going to love having a little baby around the house.
You don’t eat very much these days and you’re so skinny! You look like one big muscle. I swear we can’t find an ounce of fat on you. Yet, whenever you eat your little belly just bloats right out and you look like you have a pot belly! You just keep growing! We’re going to go look for some 24 month/2T clothes for you today.
I love you so much buddy! You bring so much joy into our lives. Thank you for being such a perfect little boy!!!
Looooove Yooou!
Mommy

Dear Connor Bug...

September 7, 2009
Dear Connor,
Mommy went back to work this week. It was a very long week. You didn’t adjust very well to the changes. The first day you didn’t realize what was going on and why I was taking you to the babysitters. By the third day you had had your fill. We were walking down the hall to go get into the car and when you got to the playroom door you just stomped your little foot and pointed into the playroom. You did not want to leave again. It was hard to go to work that day because I felt so bad for you, but it makes it easier that I know once you get to your babysitters house you have a good time. I think we all just miss our morning snuggle time.
You’ve been turning into such a little explorer lately. We took you to the Mcdonalds with the cool toy land and you loved it. It had a bunch of tubes that led all the way up to the ceiling. You crawled all the way to the top without thinking twice! We could see you through the bubble windows and you were having a blast. Until you saw me; then you realized how far up away from me you were and you started crying. You looked so pathetic stuck in the tube, face pressed against the bubble, tears rolling down your face. I tried to talk you down the tubes but you couldn’t figure out which way to go. Eventually, some kids you didn’t even know picked you up and carried you down the slide so you could come see me. You didn’t like that they picked you up but you were relieved when you saw you were in arms reach of me. It was probably the cutest thing in the world to watch play out. I was relieved I didn’t have to climb through the tunnels to get to you… I might have gotten stuck!
Lately you’ve really liked the show Sillyville. Gram has a little TV that she puts on the floor and she plays it for you. You lie on your belly with your head in your hands and watch the show. Sometimes when you’re not tired you get up and dance. Your dance is adorable. You’re starting to use your arms and you spin circles and walk backward. You think you are quite the dancer!
You’re very independent. You don’t want help to eat, to undress, to dress, to play with a toy… in fact you want to do everything yourself. It can be frustrating because when you can’t do it on your own you start crying and getting upset but then you refuse the help we offer. You want to be a big boy so badly!
We’ve been telling you that you are a big boy and that the baby is in Mommy’s belly. You point to my belly and try to say baby and then you giggle like that is the silliest thing you’ve ever heard!
You still aren’t talking much although you’re really trying. You said “Papa” all weekend long. That’s what you call Grandpa Jerry. You try to say Grandpa but we still can’t make it out yet. You say “please” really well. When you can’t tell me what you want you show me. Whenever you get really hungry you go and get a bowl out of the drawer in the kitchen and you bring it to me and say “please.” You also bring me your sippy cup and you try to say “juice.” You love it when Daddy lets you pick what flavor of juice you want when you get up in the morning and you take the decision very seriously.
Every day you make us laugh. You are so cute and so loving. Sometimes you’ll just come up and cuddle into me. I love you very much. Thanks for being such a perfect little boy!

Love You
Mommy

The Fair!

I was nervous about going to the fair tonight because Connor bug skipped his afternoon nap. Luckily he slept on Grammy's shoulder all the way to the fair!

See how Hunter's thumb is in his mouth? That means he's incredibly nervous to be on a bus for the first time. About half way to the fair he loosened up and even tried to play with the girls hair in front of us.

Connor loved the fair from the minute we arrived! Look at him shove that corn dog into his mouth, while Daddy is getting out the wallet for some more fair goodies. All day long I kept telling you two we were going to the fair and when we arrived you got so excited. You didn't realize that FAIR meant FOOD!

Hunter, also loves corn dogs!

Connor loving the corn...

Hunter loving the corn with help from Grandpa Steve...

Connor thought riding a pony was so cool. Both of you boys were so excited to ride a pony. Then when it was time to get on the pony Hunter freaked out and wouldn't go...

But everytime the pony went by he giggled and pointed, clapped and screamed! He sure thought that pony ride was fun for Connor...just not him!

Connor enjoyed the merry-go-round but it was definately not a real live pony...

Hunter had the time of his life on the merry-go-round! He laughed, giggled, and screamed HI at Grandma and Grandpa. He would've rode that all night if I would've let him!


The Allen family definately loves the fair! Maybe Daddy will take us back tonight?

Love you guys!

Mommy

PS: A more detailed letter will be in your scrap book but I knew Grammy was excited to see fair pictures.

Connor's day at the parade!

A few groups were pulling around ice-chests of water in their wagons to give away. Connor was all over a free bottle of water. He drank some, spilled some, and shared some with brother.

Connor bug collecting on a piece of candy he had been thrown!

Connor had to bring all the candy to Daddy for safe keeping! wink, wink.

Connor picking up a piece of candy. (are you noticing a theme?)

Connor loved the parade! He danced a little when he thought you weren't watching, he almost got ran over by a monster truck running out to grab a tootsie roll (thank god Mommy can still run faster!), and he absolutely loved all the treats and attention. He was by far the BEST candy grabber out there- plus he was so cute all the floats threw us the good candy! =0)