What? This is Crazy!

I've always thought my kid was pretty good. I mean that in the wow-my-kid-is-like-so-perfect-and-better-than-every-other-kid kind of way. Well, then he turned two. Um, maybe he's not quite as perfect as I thought he was. I mean, he's still really really really cute. And when he's good, he's really good. And when he's sweet he's really really really sweet (e.g., "snuggle Mommy," "my Mommy," "Love you, Mommy" followed by a kiss).

Then there are those times -- times that are occurring two or three times a day -- when he is so bad. I'd say, incorrigible, even. For instance, yesterday he decided that he needed the Sheriff from Cars. He screamed and cried about this for at least two hours yesterday evening. Time outs didn't work (at least not for long) ... talking him through it didn't work ... nothing worked.

We went to book study last night since we were picking up Aunt Kristen on Monday night. Daddy was sick, so it was just "Kissy" and Mommy. He was quiet through the whole meeting -- I will give him that -- but he made up for it in how much he squirmed around. Up-down-up-down the whole meeting. I took him back to talk to him once. Didn't work. We went back again. Here's how the conversation went.

Mommy: blah blah discipline.
Allen: What? NO!
Mommy: Excuse me?
Allen: (Long pause, while sizing up my body language). Nuffing (nothing).

It was all I could do not to laugh. Not a whole minute after we returned to our seats, he said (rather loudly), "Mommy, change." I took him back to change his diaper. It was DRY! He just knew that if he said that I would take him in the back again.

Needless to say, Daddy made Mommy a drink after bedtime.

And the Phillies just WON the World Series (like literally, at this moment as I'm posting). How awesome is that?!?! I'm practically in tears right now, watching the reaction of the team. This is amazing! I am so proud to be a "Philadelphian" right now.

I have to go celebrate, but before I go, some new Allenisms ...

• I sink so -- I think so
• This is cwazy! -- This is crazy
• E-E-O-O-P Eagles! -- His spelling of Eagles

There's more, but I'm drawing a blank. I'll post more tomorrow, but lest you get angry, here's a photo of him while he was talking to Aubrey, Steph, or Annie earlier tonight ...

XOXO,

Good Start, I hope

I almost forgot this really sweet story. As you know, we read the Bible Story book to him every night before bed. And we've been trying to review the story with him each night. Tonight we read about Timothy and Paul. So after we read, we went over who was who in the illustration. And then I asked him if Timothy loved Jehovah, and he said "yes." So I asked him if he loves Jehovah, and he said, "yes." What a good little boy. I hope this is a good start for him, and that it continues.

Goodnight again!

Kissen, Puppies

Today was the grand opening of the Beaufort IHOP. Of course, we had to go. We love going out to breakfast (even when breakfast is at 11:30). Allen had eggs, "cake" (pancakes), berries, and "ceem" (whipped cream). He did a pretty good job with all of it.

We then ran to TJ Maxx to get a couple tops for me. I left with almost nothing, while Allen made out like a bandit! There was a Cars storage case/race track that we got him so he will be able to take all his cars with him next week to Pennsylvania. We also gave in and got him some "chockate" with "spinkles" (non perils). He was in hog heaven with those. I turned around in the car and he had chocolate all over his face, and he was licking his fingers to make sure he got every sprinkle and every bit of chocolate.

After his nap we were off to pick up Kissen from the airport. Since he had not watched Cars yet today, we took our portable DVD player with us and he watched it in the car. Once we got Kristen, Allen enjoyed telling her who the different characters in the movie were. Then we picked up Tink. Lily, and Zoe from Camp Green Dog and Allen was thrilled to have "Yily" sit on his lap the whole way home. He enjoyed it so much that he really wanted Tinky and "Yily" to sit on his "yap" and Nana's house. It was all very sweet, and sadly I have no pictures yet to share with you (though Kristen may have snapped a few).

Other new things he's saying:

• Empty -- Daddy taught him this word the other day, and he's been saying it every time he sees an empty box or plate or whatever
• Cars hurt you! (which sounds more like "caws hut chew") -- he says this when we're near the street
• Special -- usually explaining that someone or something is special

I can't think of anything else at the moment. I'm exhausted and hopped up on Benadryl, so my mind isn't working so well.

Go Phillies (as of now it's tied 2-2 and there is a rain delay)!

XOXO,

Awesome Day for Philly Teams

We are celebrating in the Craig household this evening ... not only did the Eagles beat the Falcons (27-14), but the Phillies won game 3 of the World Series (10-2). We were speculating with our fellow Philadelphians about what will happen tomorrow night if the Phillies win the World Series in Philadelphia. We're thinking that all h-e-double-hockey-sticks will break loose :)

Anyway, I wish I had pictures of the Peanut with baby Cai tonight, but unfortunately I was holding both of them most of the time, so I couldn't. He was very sweet with him though. He was very concerned when Cai starting crying. "Cai's cying ... you OK?" He hugged him, gave him his binky, and kept asking if he was OK. He also showed him his various Cars toys. And he called Cai's Pop-pop "Steeb" or "Steben" instead of Steven.

Despite the fact that he had no nap today, he was really well behaved. The rest of the afternoon at the shop was uneventful. Tisha, Tasha, and Nyomi came to take him home, but he refused to go so he stayed with Mommy (I think he was worried that I couldn't handle all the people on my own).

He herded some more people into the shop, and then danced for them. It was all very cute and sweet. And then he did very well tonight with Steeben, Tasha, Sis-Ny (aka Sister Ny as Nyomi likes to be called), and Cai. He even kissed and hugged everyone goodnight and went right upstairs with Mommy and Daddy without one single complaint. Sometimes he's just so angelic ...

XOXO,

The Boss

The boss is at work with me this afternoon. We're usually not open on Sundays, but there is a House tour in the neighborhood this afternoon (which includes my parents' house), so we wanted to be open for the exposure to those outside of the neighborhood. We've had some good traffic so far, but it's quiet now that the tours are in full swing.

But, I digress ... Allen (aka the boss) is supervising me here. We have a nice little setup for him, and here he is enjoying it (and watching ... you guessed it! Cars)

Pretty clever, isn't it? Daddy thought of it, and it's working out fabulously ... though we have been outside quite a bit as well ... looking at the fire engine, chasing Orca (the black & white cat next door), and herding customers inside. He stood in the doorway of the shopped, gestured into the store, and said, "Inside!" It was a big hit!!

In other shop news, I was awakened last night at midnight by the alarm-monitoring company informing me that the burglary alarm was going off at the shop. Fortunately, there was no break-in and the police officer was standing right outside when it went off (there is a police annex at the fire station next door), so he responded quickly. And it only woke the upstairs tenant, not any other neighbors. So that was good. But boy, did it scare the bejeebers out of me!!

I'm sure I'll have more to post this evening, but I thought I would share this picture now.

XOXO!

Makeover, Sweetness

So, everyone, what do you think? Do you like my new blog? I've spent the majority of my free time today (and some time last night) scouring the web for a free template that I like, and I finally found this one. I think that I really do like it. But of course, I would like your thoughts, so please let me know what you think.

We had to get up very early this morning to take Nana to the airport (she and Papa are having a rendez vous in Grand Cayman). Allen has definitely entered the "terrible twos" because he burst into tears (and screamed and cried for a good 10 minutes) over the fact that Daddy didn't turn the car in the direction that he wanted. He also cried after we left Camp Green Dog because he wanted to stay with the cats (dear me ... could there be a pet cat in my future???).

Then I was off to work this afternoon, so I left Allen doing what else, but watching Cars and playing with his Cars under Daddy's watchful eye. The boys picked me up and we were off to an early dinner. Allen sat with me in the booth, and was extremely affectionate with me the entire time. Overall he was pretty good -- Mommy and Daddy were told to draw certain cast members from the Cars movie, and of course we obeyed.

He was just so sweet for the whole meal. He kept standing up so he could put his arm around me and hug me. And he would just suddenly lean over and hug me or put his head on my shoulder. It was lovely. When the bus boy came and took our plates away, he got upset and screamed, "Mommy's dinner!" because he thought I wasn't finished, but once we showed him that we had it boxed up he was OK.

Some other cute things he said or did today:

• Learned how to say, "on purpose"
• Put his arm around me and said, "my mommy" (I'm tearing up as I write that)
• Told me I was doing a "good job" eating my dinner (after I told him the same thing)
• Tried to jump in a huge puddle in the parking lot of the restaurant (I mean like a small pond-sized puddle)
• Played with all the dogs and cats at Camp Green Dog

I'm sure there is more to write, and I know I have pictures to post, but I'm exhausted from all this makeover stuff. So, goodnight my friends.

XOXO,

P.S. We are ... Penn State! Congrats to the Lions for beating Ohio State for the first time in 30 years. Go Joe Pa!! Now, let's go Phillies!!!

Allen-isms Part III, Awww Moment, Part II

I was eating pizza tonight on the sofa, and Allen was standing next to me. He wanted "Mommy's pizzie" not his own. He likes to stand next to me on the sofa, because then, he's almost eye-level with me (he's actually a little taller than me then) and he can put his arm around me and play with my hair. So he's chewing on a piece of pizza, and he looks at me and says, "I love you Mommy" and gives me a kiss right on the mouth. I almost cried.

Allen also added some new Allen-isms today (plus more I've remembered) ...

• A-ac-kick -- Fantastic
• Fyshight -- Flashlight
• Jews teats -- (wow, spelling that out makes it look soooo inappropriate) Juice treats
• "Jews teats, where are you?" -- I guess he was looking for his juice treats or hinting to Daddy that he wanted more
• "Ooou-s-e" -- M-O-U-S-E (singing the Mickey Mouse clubhouse song)
• Nap time -- when he's ready for bed
• Book I wanna read? -- When he's ready for bed, too (We always ask him, "What book do you want to read?" before bed)
• Bible book -- My Book of Bible Stories

Well, that's all for now. I'm exhausted. Goodnight, my loves. XOXO

Allen-isms, Part II

Of course we thought of more as soon as I shut the computer down last night ...

• Fancy shoes -- what he calls his new sneakers (because that's what Daddy called them once).
• Pizzie -- pizza
• Mommy car too? -- Is Mommy coming in the car too? (also works with Daddy or Nana)
• Go see 'im? -- What he says when he wants to "see" whoever we're talking to on the phone (male or female)
• Peepee potty!
• O O O O P! -- His attempt at L M N O P
• E E Eagles! -- His attempt at E A G L E S Eagles!
• Ome On! -- Come on! (think PopPop)
• Aw nuts!
• In the hole! -- he says this when he's watching Daddy play his Tiger Woods game on XBox 360
• Push car! --when he wants to push his car (that he can ride in)
• Ean up, Ean up! -- when it's time to clean up his toys, or the milk he spits on the floor, or the Cheerios he knocks on the floor (you get the point)
• Mote -- remote
• Ceem pease -- when he wants Mommy's body cream, or diaper cream
• Awww wight -- all right
• Yeash -- leash
• Snuggle Mimi, Mimi kissing -- when he wants to snuggle Mia or she kisses him
• I ty it? -- when he wants to try something ... usually something he isn't allowed to have, or when he sees a picture of a toy (he gets very upset that Mommy can't make the toys in the catalog appear in the house immediately)

That's all I can think of for now ... I'm going to try to go to bed (the Phillies are on, and as of now they're up 3-2 ... go Phillies!!). XOXO loves!

Sock Boycott

It seems that Allen is boycotting socks ... yesterday's nap apparently consisted of him working to get his socks off. When he called me about 45 minutes after I put him down for his nap, he was holding up one sock, very proudly, saying "Sock! See, Mommy?" The other one was under his blankets (I don't think he actually slept at all during his "nap.").

Today, I walked into the house to see him sock-less as well. And when it was time to "snuggle Mommy," her socks had to be removed as well. Seriously ... there was a tantrum brewing if I did not remove them promptly.

While not directly related to this post, Allen was barefoot when these pictures were taken. Plus I feared the wrath of my few readers if I posted today without pictures of the kid.This is Allen enjoying Daddy's new beer glass.

*Note: for those readers who don't really know us, and/or who comment on random blogs without knowing the person or bothering to read the full story, this glass is EMPTY. No beer was actually consumed.

I think I could stay with you ...

When I was little, my favorite song was "Amie" ... now Amy is my most favorite girl. Here's the latest shot ...

Photo by proud papa, Jeff.

XOXO guys! Love you so much, and can't wait to see her in person!!

Mommy Must-Have

I was given this as a gift from my mom when I was pregnant with Allen, and it has turned out to be invaluable! I think all mommies (of little ones at least) should have one. Check it out, I promise you it's worth it!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Yes, today is our 8th anniversary. Eight years ago today, we were probably sharing our last dance before changing and waving goodbye to all of our gorgeous guests. I can honestly say that I am more in love with Brian today than I was then. Babe, you're a fabulous (fab-u-lous) father, fantastic husband, and well, basically just an all-around hottie. I love you!

Here is a photo-centric post of the highlights of our anniversary ...

Presents for Leggy from Brian

Present to Mommy from Allen

(in case you can't read it, it says, "Mom You mean the world to me!)

Brian's Presents from Leggy

Presents are (in order): "dirty martini" martini glass; owl key chain; Live, love laugh box with matching necklace; mom trinket box; "road trip" pilsner glass; Beaufort nautical map coasters (it has Habersham on the map!); motorcycle chain-link key chain (all items available at Joli -- if interested in any, e-mail me at allegra(at)jolihomeandevents(dot)com.)

Here are the breathtaking flowers I (we) got too:

Allen-isms

Allen has been saying so many cute things, lately, I thought I'd just do an Allenism post ...

• "Scarynhuh" -- This is how he says, "not so scary now, huh?" from the laundry commercial about 6 months of laundry
• "Me Man" (accompanied by grunting and making muscles) -- Muscle Man
• "Snuggle Mommy" (or Daddy or Nana)
• "Mommy (or Daddy), you OK?"
• "I'm done" or "I'm done cying" (when he's finished crying about something or sometimes when he wakes up)
• "Ome on, theres snacks I want."
• "I'm OK!" (when he falls or hurts himself)
• "I do it" or "Allen do it" when he wants to do something we're doing
• "Mommy (or Daddy) hep!" when he needs our help
• "Yadigans" -- Backyardigans. He says this every time we get into the car because we have a Backyardigans CD we listen to
• "Ig jack!" when he hears a "big jet" (which we've been hearing lots of lately, being near the air force base)

Well, that's all I can think of for now ... I'll try to post more soon!

XOXO and goodnight!

Three times (or more) for emphasis

Lately, Allen has taken to saying certain things three times (or more) ... "No, no, no" or "more, more, more" or " yes, yes, yes." Sometimes, he will say, "no, no, no, no, no." You get the idea. I'm not sure where he gets it from, except maybe that when he's trying to do something naughty, I continue to say "No" over and over again until he listens, or I reach him to stop him (he can run pretty fast!).

He's also still obsessed with the movie Cars. This Saturday, he woke up miserable, and said over and over again, "We find Mater." So we had to go to Wal-Mart to find him a Mater toy to hang out with McQueen (for those of you who haven't seen the movie, Mater and McQueen are best friends).

Sunday night, Nana and Allen watched Cars together ... it was very sweet.

Allen's Awwww Moment

Thanks, P, for the title :) So, Daddy and Allen were in the car today, and they drove by the Kingdom Hall. Allen looked out the window, pointed, and said "Meeting! We do it?" (meaning, are we going). Daddy explained that we weren't going today, but we would be there next week (we have our Special Assembly Day this weekend, so no meeting Sunday).

How cute is that?!?

Vanity, Demands

Brian and I have taken to getting ready at about the same time in the morning, since we're both home now. So, as we were making ourselves beautiful this morning, Allen was sitting on our bed watching Backyardigans and playing with McQueen and Boost (or Keen and Boots). Suddenly he starts screaming "CARS ON TV CARS ON TV." He was insisting that he watch cars. We did not give in.

Then Daddy got him dressed ... I don't know why I let him do it. I walked in and decided he's too young to be going for the monochromatic look, and went to get a different shirt. So I took off his other shirt, and Allen stands up and looks at himself in our dresser mirror. He was totally checking himself out! We told him to flex, and he did. If only I'd had the camera.

A little while later, Daddy walked into our bedroom to find Allen standing on the bed again, looking at himself in the mirror, with his shirt pulled up. What a vain little boy :)

Out of Reach

Yesterday, at the shop, I was reaching for a box on a shelf that was a little too high. No matter how far on my tip-toes I went, no matter how far I stretched my fingers, I just managed to push the box away, not to get it any closer. Frustrated, I gave up (rather than grab the ladder), and then didn't give much thought to it.

But last night, as I lay in bed thinking about something I rarely let myself think about during the day, it came to mind again. I thought about "Cookie" ... the younger sibling for Allen, the second pregnancy for me, our baby ... that almost was, but we couldn't reach. Funny, how something so simple, so silly even, could be associated with something so meaningful in my life, but it seemed like an awfully obvious metaphor.

Most of the time, these days, my life is full and complete. Walking in the door to see Allen's face light up, hear him say, "Hi Mommy!" and run to hug me; then to have him make sure I say "Hi Daddy too," watching as I lean over Brian's chair to give him a hug and a kiss ... I think that my life couldn't be much better. And in those moments of anxiety over Brian's work situation, our insurance situation, and our overall financial uncertainty, I almost relieved that it's just the three of us right now.

Then there are those nights when I can't fall asleep, and I think of what almost was -- an exciting pregnancy, a younger sibling, a new baby to love -- that was just out of reach. It makes me sad to think of all those things that couldn't be fulfilled. It makes me sad to have lost that little one. To have her with us one moment, and then gone the next.

But then I realize that "Cookie" will always be with me, in my heart. The joy that almost was, and the pain of losing her. The ways that she has changed my life. And that's something I can reach for any time I want.

Tag, I'm It!

My fabulous friend, P, over at And Always Very Curious, tagged me for the following little "game."

The rules are:
Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
Share seven facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
Tag seven (or as close as possible to seven) people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I'm thrilled to share with you all seven random things about me. Here's the problem though ... I only know of two or three other bloggers (one of whom blogs for her company, so I don't want to tag her for fear of getting her in trouble). One of them is P, who tagged me, and the other one P also tagged. So ... rather than tagging random people's blogs, I will just tell you the random things about me. Here we go ...

1. I was born with Pierre Robin Syndrome, which basically means that I had a cleft palate, a small jaw, and small trachea.
2. I've met Bill Cosby (and made a terrible fool of myself in the process).
3. I've always wanted to be a freelance writer ... I used to think I'd freelance for travel magazines, but now that I'm a mom and that takes up the majority of my time, I think it would be fun to write for some kind of parenting magazine.
4. Brian and I got married exactly one year after we met.
5. I hate tomatoes ( which is crazy, since I'm half Italian).
6. I slept with a security blanket until I was almost 30. And I still miss it.
7. I'm addicted to blogging and blogs, and to hidden object games.

Hopefully you learned something new about me. Sorry I have no one to tag :(

Success!??

Puckering Up!

We watched Cars again today. Allen woke up from his nap and said, "Watch Cars pease." So we did. He knows it so well that he can anticipate certain scenes. He said to me "See Mommy, see, Keen ... Keen did it!" several seconds before McQueen did something race-car-ish (flipped over or something like that). One would think that he would be getting bored with it if he can anticipate what's coming next, but he doesn't. He sits on the floor in front of our ottoman/coffee table and pushes his McQueen and Chick cars around while he watches them on the big screen.

Usually Allen puts up a fight when it's time to upstairs to bed and/or to get a tubby. But tonight, he said, "OK ... Peepee potty." So we sat on the potty before our tubbies.

After a few minutes, he said, "Tubbies now pease," And went over to the bathtub. He got his bath, and decided he needed to go peepee potty again (since we were not successful pre-bath). He kept sitting down and getting up off the potty, and at one point while he was standing, he looks down and starts to pee. I grabbed him and sat him down on the potty, but before I could get him "situated" he peed again and almost hit Mommy in the face. We finally got everything where it was supposed to be, and he did go peepee in the potty!

We celebrated and gave high-fives and all that good stuff. Daddy was telling him that when he learns to go on the potty all the time he can wear his big boy underwear. Allen said, "Dago dago" (his big-boy underpants are Diego), and Daddy showed them to him. Then Daddy decided he should try them on. So here he is showing them off to Mommy.

About 10 seconds after I took these photos, he peed in his big-boy underpants. I guess we still have some work to do, huh?

Payer Pease

I'm proud to be able to blog that today was a meeting with absolutely no taking Allen out (except when he leaned back and cracked his head on the corner of the arm of the chair). He did not need to be disciplined once! We have not had a meeting with such good behavior in some time now, so Mommy and Daddy were extremely proud of him!

Brother Marconi ("Coni") was wrapping up the Watchtower, and he said that the speaker would give the closing prayer. Allen said, "payer?" And I whispered, "Yes, after we sing the song." Well, when he heard the music, he started to cry, and he said, "Payer pease!" I thought that was so sweet until I realized that he knew the meeting was over after the prayer, and that's why he wanted it. As soon as we said, Amen (and before Allen said it), Allen said, "Cars pease. We go now?"

At lunch, he overheard me telling Nana that Nyomi was bringing mac and cheese for dinner. So he started yelling (and yes, I mean yelling) "Mac and cheese pease! Mac and cheese pease!" We were at a Mexican restaurant for lunch, so mac and cheese wasn't really an option, but he did devour the quesadilla that we gave him.

It's Sunday, so that means that it's Eagles day, and it also means that the Easleys/Stokes came over. Once again they provided dinner (fried chicken, mac and cheese, cornbread with blueberries, macaroni salad, collard greens). Once again it was delicious. And once again, I was extremely happy because I didn't have to cook (we did, however, provide beer and wine). It also means that "Baby Cai" was here.

Allen stood at the door when they arrived. "Baby Cai! Baby Cai!" he said. Unfortunately, Baby Cai was sleeping, so Allen very sweetly went off and played by himself (I have to say that he was so good all evening playing by himself with his cars). When "Baby Cai" woke up, Allen asked to "care" him. So we went over to the sofa so he could hold him. Allen stroked his hair and kissed him. It was so sweet I could have cried. Sadly, I have no pictures of this because I was sitting with them (to make sure Allen didn't drop him), and Daddy was totally engrossed in the game.

I did get some other cute shots of Micai though. There were probably 16 or 17 fabulous shots of the cutie, but I will only post my two favorites tonight.

I wish ya'll could have seen Micai at the meeting today. Boy was he dressed to kill! He had on a vest, a red tie, and a madras plaid blazer. He was so unbelievably cute. His mommy got a picture of him all dressed up, so if she sends it to me I'll post it. He was ridiculously handsome!

As I mentioned earlier, Allen was such a little trooper this evening, letting Daddy watch the game and Mommy gab with the girls. But at one point, he came to me and said, "Mommy change." So I took him upstairs, and indeed he had a dirty diaper. And it had irritated his skin. So we put "ceem" on it, and we gave him some Motrin, and we took him downstairs in his jammies. And again, he was such a good sport, playing by himself, until he started fidgeting and told daddy, "Change pease." Poor baby ... but as long as he got some "ceem" he was good to go.

We took the camera upstairs to bed with us, and took some pictures of the new photos adorning his room. Here are a couple shots of Mommy's "creativity" (Aunt Kissy requested that I post these):

That's the extent of my lame attempt at being all cute and scrapbook-y and creative. Anyway, we snapped a couple shots of the bedtime routine as well (there was a picture of a crying baby in the book Allen was "reading"; he said "Amy cying. Amy cying." All babies are "baby Amy" at the moment).

Mommy and Allen snuggle (you will notice a picture where Allen has "Mommy hair.") while Daddy reads (one book of his choice, and then a "Bible Book" story).

That's all for tonight, folks. Love and miss those of you I know. Those first time readers out there, let me know who you are, so I can love you too! XOXO.

New Wheels

We took a trip to Target this afternoon (my favorite place). I wanted to get some picture frames, and Allen wanted "toys, pease."

After we picked out all of my picture frames (I have like a million pictures to frame), we headed over to the toy department to see if we could add to Allen's Cars car collection. And of course, we did. Tonight, he added "Chick" to his posse.

While Daddy and Allen checked out the cars, Mommy wandered the rest of aisles to see if there were any other toys that Allen needed. As she walked by the riding toys, she saw something that Allen HAD TO HAVE! A Lightning McQueen tricycle. It was so cool. It has buttons (Allen loves those). It makes noise (Allen loves that). It lights up (he loves that too). So I ran back to Daddy and conferred with him briefly before we took Allen to check it out. Allen's face lit up right away "Keen!" he said. We asked him if he would like to have a trike that he can ride like Mommy and Daddy ride their bikes. "Yes!" he said.

So we loaded it into our cart and went off to find him a helmet to wear with it.

Here he is trying it out tonight ...

The helmet and pads are Sesame Street. Don't you love the elbow and knee pads?

XOXO to all!

Maisy Follow-up

Sadly, someone was offended by my brief recap of our life with sweet little Maisy. Obviously this person does not know anyone in our family, and has assumed that we are selfish and heartless people.

Rather than finding out more details of the story, the person decided to anonymously post several rather hateful comments on my blog. Because I believe in each person's right to express his or her opinion, I am not going to remove these posts. I am, however, going to clarify things a little bit more.

I will reiterate that I was the one who was pregnant. Contrary to "anonymous'" comments, my husband and I were very responsible and did have Maisy fixed (we also would have been thrilled if she had been pregnant). Additionally, while Maisy was fabulous and we loved her dearly, we were concerned over her medical condition that was not being managed well with medication. Each seizure was worse than the one before, and we feared for her safety, and ours (sometimes in the moments after a seizure a disoriented dog can turn on its owners).

Perhaps it is cold and heartless of my husband and I to put the safety of our child first, but that is what we did. A close second was the concern that, being sleep deprived and overwhelmed as new parents, we would forget to give Maisy her medication ... therefore being unable to care for her in the way in which she deserves. Because we wanted our baby and our dog to be cared for in the best way possible, we decided we could no longer have Maisy in our home. I'm sure that any other parent or soon-to-be parent would have made a similar decision after learning the dangers of a dog with epilepsy (both to the dog and to little ones around it).

Again, "anonymous" did not bother to inquire further into the story, so he or she does not know that we tried to find someone to adopt her. Only after being unsuccessful in this did we take her to the SPCA in hopes of her being adopted into another loving family. I would like to think that she is happy in someone else's home.

Anonymous, I invite you to post a comment any time that you would like, but please refrain from using curse words, and please make sure you've gotten your facts straight before attacking me (I'd also encourage you to create a profile so that comments can be replied to privately). I admire your fierce and loyal love for animals. I am most definitely an animal lover myself, which is why we took Maisy into our home in the first place (and still have another dog which we happily introduced to our baby boy). Best wishes to you and your family.

P.S. Thanks L for coming to our defense, too. Miss you and love you!

Korean Beauty

As many of you know, patience is not my forte. But, I tried so hard to be patient and wait until I thought my little Jenn would be up for a phone call. This meant enduring two whole days after Amy's birth before begging for a picture of her.

First things first, though. My little one is doing very well, though she's still in some significant pain after the C-Section. Both she and Jeff sound utterly delighted to be parents ... Jeff has already changed at least 10 diapers; Jenn is getting the hang of nursing; and they both say that Amy is beautiful (and looks totally Korean).

Jenn, I know you won't read this for awhile, but I want you to know that I'm so proud of you. A spinal and a C-section! You did it ... you got through it all, and look at what you have! This gorgeous Korean Beauty! I send you a million kisses and a million prayers for happiness, joy, and a heart full of love for that sweet little girl. I love all three of you so much, and I can't wait to see you and hug you, and hold that princess in my arms!!

And now (with Jenn and Jeff's blessing), here is Amy Elizabeth Sun Mi Lee (all 7 pounds 11 ounces and 19 1/2 inches of her) ...

Maisy Daisy

I went to take the picture of Allen watching Cars tonight, and realized that I left my memory card at work (we have been shooting a lot of photos for new ads). So, I had to rummage around and find the memory card that came with the camera (and holds a whopping 5 images).

Imagine my surprise when I discovered photos of my sweet Maisy. As some of you know, we had Maisy (a Beagle-Basset Hound mix) for about a year-and-a-half (after we bought our house). She was a sweet dog who was an awful lot like Marley (from the book Marley and Me) ... sweet but always getting into trouble. Late one night in December 2005, she had a seizure on our sofa. It was terrifying! We rushed her to the animal hospital, and spent the next three or four months trying to get her stabilized. She had epilepsy and was medicated, but she would only be OK for about two weeks before relapsing. We increased her medication three or four times, but she still had seizures. In the meantime, we found out that I was pregnant. So after much discussion, we decided it was best if we took her to the SPCA.

She was a sweet and beautiful dog, and Brian and I enjoyed her so much (Mia, on the other hand, barely tolerated her). We miss her and think of her often, so in her honor, I thought I would share the pictures of her that I found on my old memory card ...

Oh, how we miss our Maisy Daisy ....

Cars Continued, Pizzie

When I got home from work tonight, the Cars DVD was in, and the movie had just ended. He requested that it be played again (I think that makes it three times he watched it today). Here he is completely engrossed in the movie (notice who had to be with him ...).

We ate leftover pizza for dinner (pizzie). He was talking to me and gesturing with "pizzie" in his hand, when Mia jumped up and grabbed the piece from him. He burst into tears, and cried for a good two minutes. Then just as quickly as he started, he stopped, and said, "Mia had pizzie too!"

While I was getting Allen undressed for his tubby, I told him I loved him. He said, "Thanks Mommy." Ouch ... that hurt ....

It seems he has moved on from Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and is now back to Walter the Farting Dog. Great story for those of you who haven't read it. Very cute, as long as you don't mind your kid saying "fart." Tonight's "Bible Book" story was "Jesus Loves Children." He enjoyed it very much (he's able to point Jesus out in every picture), and during the review he repeated to us that "Jesus ... loves ... children." We're still working on the spontaneous responses, as opposed to the repetition. It will come in time.

Sunshine! Cars

Last night at the meeting, we sang "Life Without End at Last." I sing this song to Allen when he's upset or getting sleepy. He put his head on my lap for the entire song, and when it was over, he yelled "Shunshine! Shunshine!" He wanted us to sing "You Are My Sunshine" next because I often sing the two songs back-to-back. He was very upset that we didn't sing it. And when we sang the closing song, he starting saying "Shunshine" again.

A couple weeks ago, we got Allen a Lightning McQueen car (from the movie Cars). Well, for the past few days, he has been OBSESSED with the movie. If we are at home, he says, "Cars pease. Cars pease. Watch Cars pease." He's watched it at least four times in the past three days.

Today he went to Wal-Mart with Daddy and got another car from the movie (he's purple, and we're pretty sure his name is Boost, but Allen calls him puple car). He's totally smitten with "Keen" (McQueen) and "Puple Car." They crashed into each other all during lunch. He wanted to bring them into bed with him for his nap, but we drew the line.

I try really hard to keep this blog about Allen, but I just have to let you all know that Mom and I were interviewed yesterday by Southern Living Magazine! They are giving away a home that is going to be built here (the contest consists of four or five homes in various neighborhoods across the south). They had a crew filming here for two days, and they also interviewed various business owners about working and living in Habersham. It was really cool. Of course, I will let you know when we'll be featured on the website.

Hopefully I'll have more cute stories to post tonight. XOXO!

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl

My little sweetness Jenn (and her fab husband Jeff), welcomed their bundle into the world this afternoon ... Amy Elizabeth Sun Mi Lee (I hope I spelled that all correctly) joined us sometime after 1:30 p.m. today. She's 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and both Mommy and baby are doing well (from the last I heard). Sadly, I have no pictures yet, but I'm anxiously waiting for them. I will post more as I know it. We love you guys so much!!

God's What Part 2

We tried it again tonight ... we still don't quite have it. Tonight's discussion ...

Mommy: Can you say God's Kingdom?
Allen: God kingmon
Mommy: Kingdom
Allen: Kingmon
Mommy: King
Allen: King
Mommy: Dom
Allen: Dom
Mommy: Kingdom
Allen: Kingkong

We ended up at the end with God Kingmon and decided that was close enough. What a cutie.

Mommy and Allen went in service this morning with Nana. Daddy was supposed to come too, but he had a freelance CADD job, so we were happy to leave him home working. Allen was such a good boy in service. He rode in the stroller and was such a good sport about it. Nana and Mommy ended up having a really great experience in service too, so it turned out to be a fabulous morning! I'd love to share the story, so if you'd like to hear it, send me a comment or email me and I'll tell you.

Not only was Allen fabulous in service, but he was fabulous while we ran our errands too. He didn't fuss AT ALL while we went to lunch, to shop for plants, or to shop for groceries. He did, however, attempt to kiss a baby girl. So Mommy had to explain that we don't kiss strangers. He was not real happy with that, but he did eventually get over it.

We sat on the potty again tonight before our "tubby." But we had no success. He kept saying, "Pee-pee potty" after we got out of the tub, but he wouldn't sit down on the potty. He did go pee-pee on the floor though. So, we're slowly getting there ...

Goodnight my loves. XOXO.

God's What?

Allen now knows six of the twelve minor prophets (in the order they appear in the Bible) ... Osea, Joe, Amos, Adiah, Jonah, Mikey. Sadly, we were sick tonight, so he didn't get to share this with the book study, but we'll get to do it next week.

Allen's been a little under the weather. Not really full-blown sick, but a low fever, stuffy nose, grouchiness. So we kept him home tonight (some of the symptoms wore off on Mommy, like the grouchiness; Daddy had his own health issues to contend with).

Anyway, we read the story about Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well tonight. Our review with Allen consisted of talking about how Jesus talked about Jehovah's kingdom. I asked him if he could say that, and he just looked at us. So Daddy said, "Can you say, God's kingdom?" And this is what followed:

Allen: God camera
Mommy: Not camera, King-dom
Allen: Kingmon
Daddy: King
Allen: King
Daddy: Dom
Allen: Dom
Daddy: Kingdom
Allen: Dingdong

And so on, it went. We finally told him it was a good try, and that we would keep working on it. It was hilarious. The funny thing is that he was able to say Chinchilla earlier this evening (in reference to a Diego episode), but kingdom is just too hard to get.

Goodnight my loves. I'm off to bed to rest so I can handle field service with a two-year-old tomorrow!

Success!!

I am proud to announce that Allen went pee-pee in the potty today!!!! Mommy took Allen up for his nap and asked him if he needed his diaper changed. He said, "No. Pee-pee potty." So we went to the potty, and he did it!!! Hooray for Allen!!

That's all for now ... XOXO

Eagles, Baby Cai

The Eagles played today. It was not a happy ending, but the good news is that we got to enjoy the afternoon and evening with our fellow Eagles fans, the Easleys/Stokes. And, they brought dinner, so I didn't even have to cook. And one of the things they brought was macaroni and cheese. And it was delicious. So, Mommy is very happy and content at the moment, even though Daddy is still a little grouchy about the Eagles loss.

I really should have video-taped Allen watching the game. It was quite adorable. He yelled, "Ome on!" and "E-E-Eagles!" and "Woohoo!" at various points throughout. He also jumped and spun around for us. He was quite charming.

So you have seen me mention baby Cai a number of times on my blog. Well, his mommy is Tasha Stokes, so she was over today (with Micai, of course). Here are my favorite pictures of the afternoon (it was hard too hard to choose just a few, so I'm posting most of them).

Micai & Aunt Tisha

This is my favorite Micai face

Look at those yummy cheeks!

Almost a smile ...

Micai & Aunt Leggy

Allen and his "Buddy" Micai (he kept saying, "Hey Buddy!" to Micai)

Look, Mommy, I'm holding Baby Cai!

(there were more pictures of Micai sliding down off Allen's lap, but I decided not to post those)

Well, hello, handsome!

Those are the highlights. There were a few more, like one of Allen kind of tackling Micai (I think he was really trying to hug him, but it looks like he's pinning him down), and a bunch that were out of focus or blurry because it's really hard to get an almost-three-month-old to stay completely still, let alone an almost-three-month-old and a two-year-old. But I think the above pictures were the highlights.

Some of us went for a walk this evening, too, and it was lovely. Allen pushed his car for about half of the walk, and listened to Mommy pretty well for most of it. But he's definitely not ready to get his license yet. He was swerving all over the sidewalk. He ran into Nyomi (sis-Ny) once, and onto the grass several times. I think he might have hit a tree once too. Eventually he disobeyed Mommy one too many times and had to get back in the car to be pushed home. Aunt Missy could hear him screaming at the house (the windows were open, but still). He stopped screaming once he saw Nana and the puppies (in the puppy stroller). And then quickly forgot that he was mad at all.

Well, because I'm a glutton for punishment, I think I'm going to try to trim Mia's nails now. Goodnight all. XOXO!