The Allen's are Moving!!

After 6 1/2 years of marriage, we are finally settling down in one place long enough to purchase a house! Yippee! We are so excited to no longer be renting apartments, no matter how nice they may have been. We thought we'd post some pics for you all to see. We purchased a 1/2 acre of land with the house. the house was built in 2005, 1500 sq. ft. and has only had one set of renters/people live in it. It's been empty for the last year and is actually in great shape. It is 3 bedroom, 2 bath with attached garage. The ceilings are all vaulted helping it to feel bigger. The back has a nice big covered patio and as you can see, the yard needs a lot of work.

The office

Emma's Room

Emma's Bathroom


Master Bathroom

Master Bedroom

Master Closet

Go Carting!

Children MUST be at least age 2 to ride the go-carts. Well, I guess Emma looked that big cuz nobody ever asked and so Cale took her riding with him. She loved it and so did dad! However, she did start to slide down under the seat belt towards the end of the ride. She tried so hard to stay up but was just too little, even if she's taller than most two year olds!

Emma turns 15 months!

Well, my little Emma is now a big 15 months old! She had her doctor's checkup and was still big! She is over the 95th percentile for height (34 inches I think) and is right at the 95th percentile for weight, 27 pounds (with clothes on). She is currently in a growth spurt I think because she had lost 3 pounds a few weeks ago but must have shot up in height since she was eating tons!

She got her last shot today until she is 4 years old! She was such a brave girl. She didn't even cry at all. I strategically gave her her sippy cup of milk right before the shot was given. She flinched but decided she liked the milk and wanted to keep drinking. Why did I not try this bit of inspiration months ago?!! She was very happy to get her sucker though and enjoyed that all the way home.

Danae Comes to Visit...again!

Danae was able to come visit again and we were so happy to see her! That is a second visit for those of you trying to win the favorite Auntie position, FYI. Emma obviously adores her and had lots of fun making a new friend! We took Danae to Flagstaff to meet her ride on Monday night. She had gotten a hotel there for the night and left Tuesday morning. Since she had a nice hotel and a pool, she/we took Emma swimming. Danae and and I opted to watch and film and so Cale had fun playing with Emma in the water. She loved it. She did not want to get out and the pool was cold. So cold, that her lips kept chattering. I'd make her get out for a minute, literally, wrap up in a towel, and then she'd jump back in whether someone was there to catch her or not.

Favorite Memories From Texas Trip!

I have finally gotten around to posting some pics from our trip to Houston. Here are some favorites:

Wrestling with Grandpa Scott and Grandma

Uncle James and Aunt Jamie (had to put her cute prego tummy in here)

Stroller walks to take the girls to school in the mornings with Grandma

Scary Uncle Craig! lol

Grandpa's Chair

The piano and Krista

The Blocks with Uncle Brett...so much that we bought our own!

The Stairs! We need some of those.

And the trampoline! We definitely need one of these.

Back!

My new phone has finally arrived and you all may now contact me again at the same number as before to tell me how wonderful I am! Just kidding, but my phone is working again! Hallelujah! I definitely realized in these 2 weeks without a phone two things: 1- nobody calls me and 2- I make so many calls just for everyday life! THe good news is that now Emma has her very own phone(the broken one) and I have my very own phone. So far she seems to love getting to play with the once forbidden phone! We'll see how long that lasts!

Help, help, help!

So our phone is dead....dead dead. Which means that all of your lovely phone numbers went with it. So if you could be very kind, please send me your phone numbers to my blog or my email. I may have some in my address book but just in case, please send them to me! And until we get a new phone, we can be contacted through email or you can leave a message on our phone and we will check them often and email you back!

Texas!

I did not drop off the face of the blogging world again, I did not feel the need to post for my family as I was with my family...in Texas!!!! I decided that I needed to see my family and they needed to see Emma so I conspired with my sister-in-law Brittany who is living with my parents right now (with my Brother too) to plan a baby shower for my sister Jamie but from a far here in Snowflake, Arizona. We researched a day that would work and everyone thought that I was just planning it but not coming for it. Well, in the end the secret spread to my mom and to Brittany's hubby, my brother Brett. Not bad though with so much family around. My mom even kept it from my dad! So, come Saturday night, my mom tells my dad that her sister is flying in and is stuck there in Houston for the night and could they go get her and let her spend the night. He thinks it wierd but agrees only to later see some lady not his sister-in-law waving like crazy right in his face! he finally focuses and the surprise begins! we then head home where Jamie is hanging out with the family. I got as far as the window next to the door before being spotted by Krista who runs screaming, "It's not Susan, it's Kara!!!!" It was wonderful. The shower went great. THe week was too short but lots of fun. everyone loved to see Emma so big and grown up and got lots of play time with her. Emma loved the trampoline and all of Grandma's toys!! We now need more toys, especially blocks. I miss them all already but am so glad I went. The surprise topped it off. i loved all the surprised faces!

Easter Egg Hunt

This was actually Emma's second hunt of the day. The first one was the town Easter Egg hunt and although they had a 1-2 year old category, it wasn't what we expected. Parents pulling their kids along and throwing in eggs as fast as they can. Poor little Emma barely got 1 egg! Oh well.

This hunt was much better. For starters, Emma was the only hunter! We had lunch at cale's parents house and put eggs out in their yard for her to find. Thanks to the morning town hunt she knew exactly what to do and loved it!

More Cooking!

I couldn't resist putting some more pictures of Emma helping me cook! She loves to help every time I cook anything and this time she found this apron of her daddy's and had put it on. (I shortened it up for her after a little while but she put it over her head).

Swim party!

As many moms know, some days are just forever long. This was one particular day and it was only 8am! So I called my next door neighbor and asked if her daughter Shandelle wanted to come to a swim party! We put them in their swim diapers and swim suits and into the tub! They loved it. I made the cutest video as well but accidentally deleted it. So sad. It was perfect but now you'll just have to imagine the kisses and hugs they gave each other and of course all the splashing!

Dancing

Well, I think I am finally caught up for now with Emma's progress. She sure is cute and always keeps us laughing. She is still the huggable, loving little girl she always was. I'm so greatful that she didn't "grow out" of that. I love her hugs and her kisses, and her smiles. I also love to watch her dance.

Relaxing

Cale's parents searched high and low for a wood rocking chair for Emma's birthday. They finally found one but had to order it and it got here a little late but Emma didn't know. She loves it. She just rocks back and forth or climbs in backwards and holds on to the back. She reads her little books in it and everything. However, she still can't resist plopping down on somebody's lap if they are sitting on the ground. In this case, we were watching a movie and I had made popcorn, which she loves. So she plopped down in my lap, crossed her little legs, made sure one hand could reach her sippy cup and the other could reach the popcorn. She was one content, comfortable little girl!

happy birthday little Emma

Emma turned one year old somewhere between February 28th and March 1st! Ok, actually March 1st was 365 days after her birth but still not her birth day. We had a small family party and also invited her little friend Shandelle. We had it at the park but it quickly got a little cold for ice cream cake. All the same, Emma dove right in. She was so intrigued that I was letting her get soo messy. She got her own little dishes from her grandparents, a doggy from her Aunt Trina, and a stroller from us. She loved it all. her are some pictures. Hope you enjoy them too.