As Promised

As promised, here are some recent pictures of Alli. Here she is eating some spaghetti. She is very much in the "I can do it all by myself" stage.

She loves it when we just let her go at it, but it sure does make for big messes!

This was a really fun snack, but she won't be eating this kind of yogurt snack again. It broke her out in a rash. Luckily it didn't affect her any. She stayed in a good mood in her bath and throughout the afternoon as it went away.

She LOOOOVES talking on the phone. Yes, she is sitting on the counter, sometimes we let her sit up there with us standing right there to eat a small snack or as the other parent prepares a meal. She thinks it is loads of fun. As soon as she starts moving around she has to get down though.

This is her and her friend M. This is at the indoor playground that they go and play at.

M is one day older than Alli. They are playing with M's socks and M has one in her mouth I believe! They do really well playing together.

Other news, Michael and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary yesterday! It was nice. We went out to IHOP for breakfast with Alli. Then we cleaned house really well (great fun!). We were getting ready for our new furniture. We are so excited to finally have furniture in our living room! Then our friends Jeremy and Natashia came over and watched Alli for us while we went out. We had dinner and then we went a bowled a game, then played a couple of games of air hockey in their arcade!! It was nice, we just went and fun.

The past two nights we have gotten Alli to sleep without nursing! This a HUGE improvement. The first night we had a LOT of resistance, last night a little less. We still nursed a bit throughout the night, but we know it won't all happen over night. We are using some tips that we got from Supernanny!

Well, I need to get up and do some laundry, but I wanted to follow through with my promise of pictures!

Soo Much Going On

these days. Allisyn is growing like a weed. She is so amazing. It seems like she is learning something new every minute. She likes to lay next to you and point out your nose, mouth, and eyes. The only bad thing is if you have your glasses on, she thinks they need to come off. I have been wearing my contacts a lot lately so she doesn't like it when I have my glasses on. Right now Michael's youngest brother Stephen is here with us. He is finishing up his mural in the playroom. It is looking really nice. I can't wait until it is done and I can post pictures. He is really talented. Allisyn really likes having him here. She climbs all over him and talks to him. It is really cute.



We have started coloring. It is really fun to watch her. She is definitely right handed. She really seems to enjoy it until she tries to eat the crayon or hits with it. Then we have to put them up. We are starting the hitting phase. I know that all little kids go through this, but why does it seem to come naturally? Michael and I have different approaches on how to handle it, and it leads to some disagreements. It is something we are having to pray about.



The weaning and getting her to sleep in her own bed campaign have come to a halt. Not sure why, I just think we are too tired to keep fighting with it. It will happen when it happens I guess.



Michael is seriously thinking about finding another job. Right now they do not have any technicians, which makes his job a lot harder. With having no help and having a 30-45 minute drive depending on traffic he is really tired of the store.



Other news, my great-grandma who is 96 is in the hospital after a bad fall. She shattered her pelvic bone. She has been living by herself up until the fall and will probably have to go to a nursing home now. She will not be happy with not being able to live in her own home. Right now she is in a lot of pain and they are keeping her pretty drugged up to try to make her comfortable. They do not think she will be able to walk again with this. She is so special to me and I hate to think of her in all that pain. She has been the glue that has held me together so many times in my life, especially when I was younger.


Well, this post has taken me a few days to post, and Michael is about to go hang out with some of his friends and Allisyn isn't happy about it. Must tend to her.

13 month appt.

So Allisyn had her 13 month appointment. Yes, 13 month, because we got off on her check-ups and she didn't have her 9 month until 11 so we had her 12 at 13. Anyway, she is weighing in at 31 lbs 10 ounces, measuring 32 1/4 inches. She got her MMR and Chicken Pox and her Hep B vaccine. These are the shots she has fared the best with! Something I did not know is that when they have these shots, the MMR and CP, they have to stay away from individuals who have had chemo. This was nice info to receive since my grandma has received her first chemo treatment and is having a rough enough time the way it is. Alli's dr was very happy with everything and told us what we already knew about weaning and getting her to sleep in her own bed.

Other news, my parents are calling it quits....again. This time for good I think. After 30 years of not trying to work it out I think it is for the best. My mom is waiting to hear about a loan for a house she wants, then she will be moving out. It has already started to get dramatic, but I'm trying to stay out of it.

Katy will be coming back to school this month. It will be nice to have her closer to us again. I may be helping her get around a bit until she can get a car. She is wanting to find a job off campus because they usually pay more and offer more hours.

It has been really hot and it makes for looong days. We don't have much shade in the back yard so I can't let Allisyn spend too much time outside without her getting to hot and risking a sunburn.

I really thought I had more to stay when I started this blog, but I just can't seem to come with much more. Michael's pharmacy is experiencing the typical speed bumps that comes when a major transition happens in a business. It makes for him to have long days. Today was his full day off and I could tell he needed it. This is weekend to work and he is not looking forward to it. Allisyn and I were going home this weekend because my brother is going down, but I don't think that is going to happen. Our budget has been a bit stretched the last couple of months due to moves and such.

Well, I am at a road block so I will wrap it up.

We made it!!

That's right, we finally made it to church this morning! We were running a bit behind, but luckily their classes do not start right away so it was no biggie! I called Kim last night (one of my brother's best friends from college wife) and let her know we were going to be there and she told us what class they went to. It actually turned out that Brian, her husband, was teaching our class today. Allisyn went to her class by herself and then she went back to the nursery during worship. She was not a huge fan, but there were not any major problems. We were really happy we made and can see this becoming our new church home! This evening Michael went back to play basketball with some of the guys that were in our class. He is not home yet so I am sure he is having a good time!

Yesterday, my in-laws came down for the afternoon. We went to the Omniplex for a while. It was fun. Allisyn actually went to them some, which does not happen very often. Then we came back and grilled some burgers.

This afternoon after church we met up with Jeremy and Natashia and we went to the Botanical Gardens. It was nice, but not worth the $6. Then we went and got some ice cream at the Marble Slab Creamery. Soooo good.

Our mission to get Allisyn to sleep in her own room is not going very well. Last night we were so tired from the battle the night before, she slept in her room for 30 minutes before waking up and we just brought her to bed with us and that was it. We also had to get up at 3 this morning for a bath. She has been having a bit of tummy troubles and sometimes the bath helps relax her to helps her poop. All that happened last night was gas, but it allowed to go back to bed and sleep the rest of the night. Tomorrow she has her check-up and we will talk to her ped. about it.

Overall today has been a really great day! We are really happy that we made it to church and are excited about getting back into a church family!

In a bit of a rut

with blogging right now. There is lots going on, but some stuff I can't bring myself to blog about yet.

My BIL has been here since Sunday working on Allisyn's play room. It is looking really good! He is such and amazing artist. He will be leaving us tomorrow, which is kind of sad. It has been nice having him here, and Alli really enjoys his company. He may come back in a week or so if he isn't finished. The in-laws are coming up on Satuday. I reallly need to pray about my attitude about them. I have great in-laws, I just don't enjoy spending time with them and I'm not sure why.

I'm going to a Mother's Night Out with the mom's from my mom group. We are going for coffee and ice cream at a new shop in town. I'm really looking foward to it.

I am adding my dad to our cell phone plan and it is going to save me about $40 a month! We cancelled our wireless internet card, and they were able to take that account and switch it to a line, which saved us a $175 disconnect fee!! I was soooo excited! I'm also excited that my daddy is going to be leaving the trucking life behind him. He is tired of it and he doesn't want to do it anymore. That's why I'm adding him to my plan, cause he will have to give up his phone.

Michael's store is doing their switch from Albertson's to William's tonight. He is going to stick with them to see how it goes for a while. Their pay period is from Sunday to Saturday so it will require them to do some schedule changes to make sure that they get 40 hours each week. Hopefully it won't be anything too extreme.

Well, this has been a come and go blog so I'm going to wrap it up before something else calls me away and Allisyn wakes up from her nap.

A Nice Trip Home

So Alli and I went up to stay with my family last week. We left out on Tuesday. We woke her up at 6 a.m. Well, she was wanting to comfort nurse and I wasn't getting any sleep anyway, so we woke her up so I could pack and she could spend some time with her daddy before we left. We got backed and were ready to go by 8. We tried calling my Aunt Lea who lives in Tulsa to see if we could spend some time with her and her two boys, but she was out at an appointment and we were in Vinita by the time she would have gotten home. (We missed you Lea, maybe next time!) It really was a good idea to wake her up early because she slept almost the whole way there!

We stopped in at Cable One and saw Sandy and I went to the bathroom. Then we went out to Sandy's and got unloaded and rested a bit until we went to my grandma's and spent the afternoon with her and Jordon and AJ. They were really excited to see us. I got a bit of reading done that afternoon! Then we had dinner and went to VBS. It was a good time!

Wednesday we went and spent a few hours at my great-grandma's. When we got there she was taking a nap (Allis was too!) so I put Alli back in the car and we went to my grandpa's for a bit. He went back over to grandma's with us so he could let us in if he needed to. My Aunt Kathy and cousin Trent met us at the farm and they brought some KFC. It was good stuff and my grandma ate more than she thought she was going to be able to! She was having kind of a rough day so it was really good to see her eat. She gets so excited when we come out to see her and I was very thankful for being able to actually spend some time with her. Usually we are rushed and are having to meet up with Michael's family afterwards so we don't get to stay very long. Trent entertained Allisyn for a little bit, then he went and got my laptop and found some game on there that he was playing. We got to see my Uncle Lloyd and Aunt Jeanie right as we were leaving. Then it was back to Sandy's to finish out her nap. Then over to grandma's for dinner then on to VBS.

Thursday we went and spent the day with my grandma Mozie. I was very thankful for this time. She is starting chemo tomorrow and I know that our visit meant a lot to her. I'm very sad that she is going to have to go through chemo and radiation, and they think it is because of some hormone therapy a doctor put her on. She is a strong woman and I know that she will come out fine, but it is just unfair that she has to go through this. Our visit was nice though. Allisyn was busy trying to get into everything and playing with all sorts of stuff. My grandma gave a beautiful antique corner shelf, and some of her Boyd's bears that were on it. I LOVE she shelf it is gorgeous. I also love Boyd's bears, but did not have any until now. My grandma is so cute with all her things. I think she gets a little grief from my aunts sometimes about all that she has, but I love her house and all her stuff. We also got to see my Uncle Kenny for a few minutes here and there. It was a really nice visit. I wish my family wasn't quite so far away so we could visit more often. We left when Allisyn started getting sleepy and she slept all the way home.

That evening we met my mom and sister for dinner, then went out for ice cream. Then we went to VBS and then Katy and Eva (my sister's best friend) met us out at Sandy's. This was the first time Eva has gotten to meet Allisyn. It was nice to see her again. They stayed for a while and hung out. It was nice.

Friday we slept in and hung around Sandy's. Then we went to grandma's for dinner before VBS. Then we went to our last day of VBS and Alli got her attendance certificate, which she tore, and a little bible, which she managed to tear a page in while fighting me for it. She usually does really good with books, but she got a page this time. VBS was fun but the hours of 7-9 is too long and too late for little ones. I think they should do it from 6:30 -8:00. It would be much more little kid friendly.

Saturday we spent the morning at Sandy's so the kids would help wear Alli out for our trip back. On the way back through Tulsa we picked up my youngest brother-in-law. His dad was 20 minutes late in meeting us which made Allisyn MAD. She was doing fine, but at the very end she got upset and I ended up having to drive all the way to half-way McDonald's touching her. We stopped and took a break, and I had to touch her for about half the remaining trip until she fell asleep because she was NOT happy. My arm was NOT happy for the rest of the day and part of the next.

She is starting this phase of getting upset and throwing a fit when I even try to take a step away. They say it is separatin anxiety, but I think her case is much more extreme. I'm hoping to get her into the Sonshine School and the Edmomd CoC this fall. I think it would be good for both of us!

Yesterday Alli and I met a woman I met online and her husband and grandson for lunch. I met her accidentally about 5 years ago. She and my mom's best friend Sue had the same email, except Sue's was hotmail, and Di's was yahoo. I thought Sue's was yahoo and I was emailing this lady instead! Sue was excited and we all became friends! Di's new husband is originally from the city and they were back here visiting and we met up for lunch. It was really nice to meet them after all these years of sharing emails and pictures back and forth!

The reason I picked up Steve, my BIL, from Tulsa is so he can work on the mural on Allisyn's play room wall! I'm really excited about it. He is up drawing the outline on the walls right now. Allisyn is taking a nap, thank goodness. She has been wearing her cranky pants for the past couple of days and it is wearing me out!

Well, I should take advantage of nap time and get some stuff done!

I'm getting bummed.

Today we did not make it to church....again. I woke up with something that had me spending more time in the bathroom than I like to spend. I think it might have been we ate at On the Border last night, but whatever it was it caused us to not make it. I'm getting really frustrated because I really want to get back into church, but stuff keeps coming up. Yesterday Michael and I went out on a date! Yes, for real. We left Allisyn with our friends Jeremy and Natashia. It did not get off to a good start. We snuck out and she did fine until she noticed we were gone and then Natashia said she cried for about 45 minutes. My heart broke when she told me that. She said she was playing and walking around, and finally she let Natashia hold her and ended up falling to sleep for a while. Then Jeremy got home from work and they ate and she fussed a bit more while she played, but other than that no big problems.

We went and saw Transformers. It was pretty good. We had no idea what to expect so it was nice. They could have done without a lot of the language, but that is in just about every movie you go these days. I didn't mention what movie I went to see on Tuesday, sorry! I went to see the new Harry Potter movie. It wasn't too bad, but it was really dark. I think the reason I didn't mention it is because I didn't want to get on a soapbox. But I am going to. I really find it disturbing that parents don't research movies more before they take their children. Both movies were rated PG-13. Yet in both movies parents had very young children there. I understand that the new Harry Potter movie is all the craze and all that, but it is not anything young children should be watching in my opinion. I don't think parents spend enough time with their young children explaining the differences between what is really and what is not. I think parents need to do a better job at screening movies for their kids and paying attention to the ratings. They are there for a reason! Ok, stepping down off my soapbox now.

In other news, our house in Tucson almost closed on Friday. Yes I said almost. We are getting so frustrated with this whole ordeal and are praying that they guy gets his head on straight and goes back in on Monday and gets it finished up. He said the payments were higher than he thought they were going to be and that he had to go talk to the bank. AGGGGHHH! He was supposed to close a month ago, but things kept coming up. We really need the house to sell so we can get furniture for our living room!

Allisyn and I are probably going to be heading up to my family's for a few days this week. Michael works his long day on Tuesday and it is his weekend to work next weekend. They are also having VBS this week and I think Allisyn would enjoy it. Well, my wonderful husband is getting lunch ready and I should go help!