New Webpage

Check us out:

http://allenhangar.com

We're moving everything over there & updating on that page

Thanks!!!

Spring Break

David's new job has some odd hours, but it results in him having off Mon-Thurs every other week! I love it :) We've been wanting to get over to Dinosaur World & some other things & decided to do it this week. This year Morgan was supposed to be with her bio-mother for spring break, but she wanted us to keep her so Morgan got to go too! Perfect timing!

Monday we went to Dinosaur World! The kids had a great time. We went ahead & bought an annual pass, it's the price of 2 days & we'll for sure get back at least that much. They explored all the dinosaurs & dug up a stegosaurus. The weather was perfect. What amazes me is the fact that my 4yo knows more dinosaurs than I ever knew growing up. After a fun-filled day, we checked into the hotel & went out for dinner. Putting the boys in the same bed together for the first time made for an interesting bedtime.

Tuesday we went to the Lowry Park Zoo. We only pay 1/2 price at zoos because we're local zoo members. We got to see a lot of animals, way more than we have at our little zoo. Morgan was exhausted after walking the whole zoo, but they all had a great time.

Wednesday we checked out & headed for Busch Gardens. They recently opened Sesame Street Safari of Fun. We rode most of the little kiddie rides, then they put on their swim suits for water play. The water was really cold, but they didn't want to get out. After about an hour of water it was time to get dressed & head home.

It really was a nice week get-away. I'll be posting pics soon, I have to get them uploaded & have the time to sit in front of the computer to post.

Happy Easter everyone!

Baby GIRL Allen

Ultrasound was confirmed yesterday, it's a girl!! (well, nothing is ever 100% until baby enters the world:)



Baby Girl, with her hand by her face:

Baby Girl, mouth open, arm up :)

hand by her nose:

21 days

In 21 days, my baby will be 4!!! Can you believe it? Alexander is growing up too quickly! He starts t-ball (wiffle ball for his age) on March 6. This fall he can play regular t-ball, or soccer. I think he's going to go for soccer. Friday, March 5 we start our parent/tot class at the zoo. Lil David will get to spend Friday mornings with Grandma for the entire month of March. Alexander & I will head to the zoo for 2 hours of fun & hands on education! This class is animal colors. He already knows his colors, has since he was 16 months old. Every week we'll do a different color, get to look at animals that are that color & find out why! I hope to take the camera with me & get some good pics of my little man. .

baby/morgan updates

Baby is healthy. We finally heard the heartbeat this morning, very strong, perfect, 160. I am being sent to a cardiologist to have another echo done & to be put back on the heart meds. It's not good for baby or me to be having these episodes while pregnant. I go back for a follow-up ultrasound on Friday, should be able to confirm if it's really a girl or not. :) I am 19 weeks, and past my 1/2 way mark. I will deliver via c-section early, so we're looking July 9 or July 12, haven't picked my date yet.

We finally have answers with Morgan. Asperger's, ASD, has been confirmed. An IEP is in place already & I found a support group to attend. I'm looking for blogs, books, websites. She can overcome this, with a lot of help & work. Hopefully we can get custody soon & have more time to work with her. The school is ready to do anything & everything they can to help her. I've said since she was 4 years old there was some mild autism, but what do I know? I'm just step mom, her PRIMARY caregiver, the one that does all the school work, all the extra-curricular activities, the one that deals with the health issues. What could I possibly know? It's never a great thing to hear your child is autistic, but having an answer now, as well as help, has me elated. I no longer feel like I'm banging my head on a wall trying to figure it all out on my own.

Valkaria Air Show 2010

We spent the day at the Valkaria Air Fest today. The boys had a great day! (Bad Mommy, forgot sunscreen, didn't even think about it with the cooler weather.) We watched lots of planes fly, including Patty Wagstaff!! The boys got their faces painted & spent lots of time in the bounce houses. After a nice day, and some VERY dirty & tired boys, it was time to come home for baths & pjs.

Alexander's dragon:

"Whoa!"

Roar!

Climb buddy, climb!!

This thing was HUGE! The wall wrapped all the way to the top, then a very long slide down:

Patty Wagstaff:

David crashed:

but Xan was going strong!

Balloon Matching Game

I have this curriculum I bought for the boys, it's all on a cd. It's called "Cait's Curriculum." It's a Christian-based preschool curriculum. It's great for my little learners, and gets me started with home school experience. Anyway, there are a lot of activities on it. Today we did a matching activity that was a lot of fun for the boys, and easy for me! I took construction paper & wrote it's color on it, then hung it on the wall. This was good for little David as he's been working really hard on his colors; he's finally interested in learning them. Then I blew up balloons & the boys taped the balloons to the matching paper on the wall. After we finished, they had lots of fun with the balloons. :)

Valentine's Day

The kids had fun making things for Valentine's Day. Morgan made homemade Valentines for her class. Everyone got one that said, "You can count on me when things get sticky! ~Morgan" with a lollipop on the back. The girls got wands with their Valentines. The boys also made homemade Valentine cards for Daddy & Grandma & Papa. I made "Love Monster" cupcakes for Morgan's class. We had a lot of fun with it!

David's card:

Alexander's card:

Cupcakes:

The wands:

For Morgan's class:

BABY NEWS!

We're happy to announce that Baby Allen #4 will be joining us in July 2010! I'm 9 weeks pregnant!!!! We had to go ahead and start telling people because I had friends asking about my baby bump, yes this early! So, hopefully I'll do a better job with our blog this year & keep everyone updated on everything! Love you all!!

Christmas pics 2009 at OneTrueMedia.com

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

general update! :)

At the request of a certain someone, I'm updating some!

Morgan is about to finish the school year. She has a science project due in 2 weeks. Hopefully I'll get to home school her next year, or at least put her back at the better school. Unfortunately, she's probably going to be repeating 2nd grade. Her dance recital is in a month! She's been taking jazz/hip-hop & ballet. Her costumes are gorgeous this year & she looks beautiful in them! We just did recital pictures w/ the makeup & everything. She's really growing up! She loves to read to her little brothers & help teach them things.

Little David will be 2 on May 18!!! He's about 50% potty trained. He's still in physical therapy but has come so far! As soon as he's jumping and a few other little things, he'll be discharged. He can count to 10, knows some of his colors, shapes & letters. He loves music. He likes to sing, play piano & play the drum while singing praise & worship. He likes to draw too. He's our funny guy! He'll do something to make you laugh & just keep going until you have to get up to do something.

Big Boy Alex! Can you believe he turned 3 last month!? He's starting to read & recognizes several small words from sounding them out. He's doing simple math w/ toys. He enjoys being outside & riding his bike he got for his birthday. While the boys fight a lot, he's a nurturing big brother, always looking out for David. He has played a huge role in potty training David. Alexander can write his name now & knows how to spell several words like David, Daddy, Mommy, Papa, Out, Go, In, Stop, Cat, Car, Hat.

The boys & I stay busy with lots of crafts & projects. The walls in the dining room & playroom are covered w/ things they've been working on! We recently made a volcano on paper & then went outside & made a volcano explode!

David's 1st Haircut

I finally did it, and I regret it, just like I did with Alex. :) We took little David to the Barber Shop today! I've been putting it off, just trimming it at home. The last time I did it, I made it really jagged & wanted it done up nice. Of course, I think they did it too short, and he looks too grown up because of that, but they really did a good job. He was such a good boy, too! He sat still & would turn his head the opposite way of where the guy was cutting. I was so proud of him!

Alexander's 1st Flight!

Daddy's friend, Mr. Greg, called today to go flying. Daddy took Alexander! We've been to the airport with him before, he's climbed in planes, but this was his first flight. They flew from Melbourne to River Ranch, got out for a while & then flew back. Alex was so excited when he got home! I asked him what he did today & his reply was, "I go flying in an airplane! Way high up to the sky!" Every time he sees an airplane flying over he tells me, "That airplane is flying up high in the sky, just like I do!"

Alexander getting on the plane:

Looking at Alex from outside:

Alex wearing his headset:

Alex & Daddy at River Ranch:

What's out there?

This is Alex sitting in another airplane at River Ranch:

Gingerbread House & Christmas Trees

Morgan made her gingerbread house with Grandma & Papa. She does this with them every year. The boys wanted to do something, so we made Christmas trees with them. I just wanted to share some pictures of their fun! We've been doing lots of stuff to get ready for Christmas, we'll have a lot of pictures to share soon!