Oh Washington!

This years Allen family reunion was jam packed with fun and not so much fun! What a trip! It was so fun to see Ben's family again. We had a great time at Banks Lake, grand coulee dam, water skiing, slide shows, pinatas for both kids and adult, the annual talent show and great company with great food. Ben had fun hiking and boating with his fam and it was fun to see the laser light show at the dam- something I haven't seen since I was in high school. The kids had a blast with their cousins playing miniature golf and texting and just good ole' sittin' around. Owen felt like he had to defend all of his stuff from his cousin Courtney, and Riley just had fun following the big kids around. Jocelyn loved painting her nails with her aunts and cousins and giving hugs to everyone! Sunday was very special - we all headed to church in Ephrata where we blessed Will. All of ben's brothers were present- a first for one of our kids blessings. Afterward we headed to the cemetery to see Bens' dads grave and take family pictures. We also stopped in to visit Jamie- Ben's best friend. I warned my kids that Jamies mom was so sweet that we would probably be offered everything in her house to eat. Sure enough we left with bags of snacks, a quilt! and some lotions for me! My kids were impressed with how giving she was and what a great grandma she was. I don't think they would mind visiting her again. We had fun seeing old friends. Vacation-What more could you ask for? We actually got more than we asked for when a few of our kids became sick again. What is it with washington and the Allens that make us sick????!!!!! Owen was hit the hardest with severe stomach cramps and diarrhea. He was just plain miserable! The only good thing was he laid around and I was able to keep track of him! But oh did it stress Ben and I out- we were sure we were headed to the emergency room! The ride home was eventful to say the least. It's been a week and a half and he still is recovering. Poor guy! Why is vacation so exhausting??? Fun and exhausting! Now back to real life and work for me- yuck!

Ben and I survived on these......

His own network show

Tonight was Ethan's big night to redeem himself. Yesterday he made a banana cake that has been lovingly deemed by his dad as the banana miscake! The thing didn't rise-not a bit! and the flavor was by far not favorable! So today he decide to try again and Success! So tonight during night games with the neighborhood kids a debate ensued. His chocolate pudding bundt cake was awesome and as of 1/2 hour ago won a bake-off against cookies from the girl across the street. How cute it was to watch the group of kids chant and argue (nicely, but loudly) over which was better. I've gotta say so far I love the pre-teen stage! It's anything but dull! Who knew that boys could be as moody as girls????!!!!

What I love

I love...
Last minute projects that turn out great and make my kids happy!


I love....
Seeing these two cousins together (only 8 days apart and Easton is so tiny compared to Will)


I love...
Seeing Riley sing his little heart out for his preschool program...here comes kindergarten


I love...
New church clothes (the kids looked great on sunday in their easter clothes- only 5 weeks late!)


I love...
sewing for my cute girl!


I love...
my cute husband (not so much the facial hair!)


I love....
that Will has started wearing the cute bibs I made for him... I dislike the reflux that gives him a reason to wear the bibs!


I love
the school dance festival.... this year was great weather and three kids to see...kinda excited to see Ethan move on to jr high!




I love...
this cute guy


I love....
how gentle all my kids are with the baby especially Owen

Will

Baby Will is now a month old. How time flies when I'm not in pain and waiting for a baby to come! I attempted to take these pictures of Will when he was 2 1/2 weeks old. I think they turned out cute but really how could they not considering the subject!

Before the baby...

Before our cute little Will came into this world, Ben and I were hard at work refiguring the bedroom situation in our home. I came up with a blog inspired idea. Sometimes those kind of ideas are hard to convince Ben that it would be easy to do- especially if I need his help. For those projects that don't require Ben's help, he is unable to refuse the changes and actually most of the time he likes what I've made or done to the house (Thank goodness!). A while ago I found a great website for building the beds and decided to show them to Ben and off to home depot we went. The new beds required help from Ben and he was actually up for the challenge. I had to adjust the plans for Owens toddler bed and I added my cowboy flare but I love the way it turned out! Rileys bed is almost finished- I just need to paint it black and I have some great ideas for his room. Hopefully I can get it done soon.

Too many kisses???

Maybe it's all those kisses Will has been given- or maybe he felt he needed more?! I love the expressions newborns have and I also love how Will has begun to get chubby and change already. His cute little outfit was given to him from his aunt AmyLyn and I was excited for him to wear it on his first official outing- his cousins blessing day. He looked so cute! Totally kissable!!!

Happy Easter!

What a great Easter! We were blessed to have our second Easter baby! Ethan was our first born on Easter conference sunday just over twelve years ago! Everyone kept saying how cute it would be to have another Easter baby and I guess our little guy just wanted to be as cute as can be! So here he is
William David Allen
5:45 am
7 lbs 14 oz
18 1/2 inches
We were a little surprised how fast he came into this world- the epidural kicked in on the first push and looking back I should of just said "forget it the hard part is over" and had him natural!!!! I guess warning the nurses of how fast things can progress wasn't taken seriously enough!
Here's a little about how things went: After a day of unsteady contractions I was resigned to the fact that he was in there until my induction that was scheduled for Monday. Around 1 am Owen climbed into bed with us and woke me up and thats when I noticed the contractions. What's new I was contracting every other night or so. So I headed downstairs to find something entertaining to watch on tv until the contractions stopped. Let me just say that Harry Potter #7 is not a good "contracting" movie. It was just irritating! I decided to do something with my hair- just in case- and around 3 am I woke Ben up to let him know it was time- he just laid there! So after a couple "are you awake"s he got up!!! I guess by number 6 the excitement has worn off for my husband! Mom came to the rescue and we arrived at the hospital just after 4. I was surprised they even wanted to triage me and yet they did. Once we were in a labor and delivery room I noticed that my pain was way worse and that maybe I should warn the nurses about how fast I go once I hit a 5. They didn't seem too concerned until the anesthesiologist came in to work his magic and he gave the nurses a little warning, as well, that maybe I was further along than what they thought! Yup a 10! After a couple of bolus epidural injections, doctor Liddle showed up and three pushes later I was asking when I could go home.
First picture

Proud daddy!

The cutest visitors ever! I was a little sad I wasn't able to be with them at home on Easter. I never get to have Easter off because of work and I was actually looking forward to being home to see the kids look thru their Easter baskets. They were pretty cute at giving me a run down of what they got from the easter bunny. They were also excited to bring Will his Easter bunny that we had picked out the day before "just in case" he was an Easter baby!




Owen was a little hesitant on what to do with the baby and pretty much just looked from afar.

Heading home


Once we got home Owen warmed up a little and now loves to hold Will and when he cries Owen says "ok baby ok baby"
Just to let him know he is ok. It's pretty cute to see how gentle he is with Will. I was expecting a lot of jealousy.

On Tuesday we were suprised to find out he need bilirubin lights. A couple of our kids have needed these in the hospital- but not at home. It was a long 2 days and nights!!!

It's now a week later and things are still getting settled. Pretty much it's just crazy around here! It was nice to have Ben home for a week and I miss the extra help! Will has his good nights and bad nights- he's a typical newborn. The kids are all helpful and love him a ton. I love him a ton too. I find myself just holding him and staring at him just because and saying in my mind "you will never be this little again" He is loved beyond belief!