Just Cuteness

Snow White and her Dalmation

Prayer

I have disappeared from the blogging world, but I am returning with a heavy heart for baby Malachi. I want to ask you to join me in prayer for our friends John and Marissa Sharbaugh and their precious baby boy Malachi. John and Marissa had been anticipating the birth of Malachi when they went into the hospital last week. When Malachi was born he had to work very hard to try to take a breath on his own so he was quickly rushed to NICU within 5 minutes. He has since been taken to Riley's ICU and awaits numerous surgeries for his heart and nasal passages.

You can follow the Sharbaugh's journey at http://marissakayesharbaugh.blogspot.com/ . If you are reading this I ask that you stop and pray. The Lord says in James 5:16b "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." The passionate prayers of God's children have the power to accomplish much. To God be the Glory!

Daddy Date Night

Brian and Allyson had there first Daddy Date Night on Friday. Brian took Allyson to her favorite place to eat (Red Robin), and then off to the circus. Allyson said her favorite part was a man who blew really big bubbles and people stepped inside of them, and of course the tiger show.
She wanted to try everything. Snowcones, ice cream, popcorn....ect. She ended up choosing cotton candy(good choice Ally) which by the way was $10. They really know how to steal your money at these things.
This was Brians first time at the circus also, and I think he had more fun watching the circus than Ally did. He went on and on at how facinating and colorful the whole show was.
I know this is going to start a tradition. Brian really wants to get in as many date nights as he can before his little girl grows up.
Enjoy the pictures!

All in a matter of a month

Blake will be turning 1 on Wednesday, July 15th, but it seems like most of his milestones have happened this month (11 months). He took his first steps and is now trying to walk like his big sister. Blake has also been toothless until last week when three of his teeth broke through all at the same time. He still has one more on the way. The Boston’s celebrated Blake’s 1st birthday this last weekend and I got some classic “ first cake” pictures. Hope you enjoy!

Thank you Lord for one year with Blake. We are blessed with his bubbly laugh and cheerful smile. I will hopefully have more pictures to post when we celebrate his birthday with my side of the family this weekend.

One last picture of him falling asleep in my arms last night. This doesn’t happen very often anymore. I never want to forget these moments.

Since 7th Grade

I first got my hair highlighted in 7th grade and have been doing so off and on up until now. I have wanted to change my hair for an extremely long time, but I have always been to chicken. I finally made the move and boy did it change! I asked for a color that was a shade darker than my natural color. Well, lets just say that the color really took to my hair. I was really nervous for Brian to see me. The only persons opinion I cared about was my husbands since he has to look at me everyday and I didn’t want him to be repulsed by his wife. I called him and prepared him before he got home. He walked in the door and stared at me for about 5 minutes. I kept asking over and over again “ please say something. I need to know what you think.” and he kept saying “give me a minute, I need to take this in.” He started smiling and said “This is a shock for me, because I feel like I just walked into my home and I have a new wife. I never thought I would say this, but I like this color on you better than the blonde.” Those words made a day of uncertainty for me into a day of confidence.
Well, I am not sure what everyone else may think, but I am probably going to be a dark brunette for awhile.

Pictures

Just trying to catch up with some new pictures of the kiddos. Allyson is 3 1/2 years old and Blake is 10 months in these pictures. I could only upload a couple of the pictures due to their MB size. Blake will be turning 1 year on July 15th and I can't wait to see him demolish a piece of cake. He loves his sweets.
Hope everyone has a wonderful fourth of July. May we remember the men and women who faithfully serve our country and allow our freedom.

New Deck

My husband has been building a new deck on the back of our house with help from all of our family members. I failed to pull out the camera and take any pictures of the work in progress, but here is what we have so far. We still need to put some stain on the deck and add an awning with railing and then it will be finished. Thanks to Mark (brother-in-law), my dad, Brian’s dad, Mike and my brother Brian we are able to sit outside and watch our children rumble in the yard and enjoy God’s creation.

Silly Sayings

Having a 3 year old in the house makes me feel like I am living in a "Funniest Home Video" world. I just wish I had a camera on at all times to capture it. I love to sit back and wait for Ally to learn a new word, activity, or skill and then try to put it into practice. These make for great outbursts of laughter. For instance, the other day while driving in the car Allyson asked me " Mommy, is it almost dark outside" (meaning nighttime). I told her "no sweetie, we haven't even eaten lunch yet. It is just cloudy outside right now." Then she said " Are the stars taking their nap right now?"
Or the other morning when I was sitting on the couch with a short sleeve shirt on. I had my hand on my head and my daughter was standing on the couch next to me. She was looking down the sleeve of my shirt when she gasped and looked in wander at my armpit. She said "Mommy, why don't you have hair on your elbow like daddy does?" I laughed and asked her "where is my elbow?". It was hilarious watching her face because she knew where my elbow was and even pointed to it, but she didn't know what the armpit was called, so she just called it the elbow since that was the closet thing to my armpit.

One of my favorite ones is kind of gross, but I can't help but tell it. I made muffins for breakfast and added green food coloring to them for Saint Patricks day. The next day while Allyson was using the bathroom you can probably imagine what I saw that was bright green in the toilet. It shocked me at first, but I quickly realized why it was that color. Allyson overheard me telling Brian about it that evening and listening to us both laugh about it, so this was now registered in her mind. A couple days later Mamaw and Poppie took us out for breakfast at Bob Evans and Allyson ordered pancakes. When we were finished eating I had to run to the store for a couple of things. As soon as we stepped foot into the store Allyson had to go to the bathroom. This never fails with a toddler. While I was standing there I saw her look up at me and say "I'm done mommy". I said"good" and went to help her down and she abruptly grabbed my arms and said "no mommy! wait!" She slowly twisted herself around so she could look down into the toilet while telling me "I want to see what color it is." I laughed and quickly remembered that she was doing this because of the St. Patricks day incident. She looked in and then turned back around to me with a big cheesy smile on her face and said "Mommy, it's brown because I ate brown pancakes this morning."
Hopefully you all can enjoy some of Ally's silly sayings as much as I do. As more come along I will try to remember to share them on my blog.

We've got a crawler

Last night Blake decided that rolling around the floor was a thing of the past. I was resting on the couch after slaving over a hot cooked meal when I looked down on the floor and saw Blake crawling. I called into Brian, who was in the kitchen cleaning up all of our mess from dinner :) (he's the best!!!). He quickly came in and we watched as Blake slowly but surely made his way across the room. We both looked at each other and reminded ourselves that now the real fun begins. Two children on the move.

Blake's 1st crawl

Lots of hair on the bottom, not so much on top
Naked Boy

I have to post a picture of my princess

(She is so much fun at this age)

A commitment before God

Happy 65th AnniversaryToday we celebrate a day that seems to be lost in our generation. A day that 65 years ago my Grandparents came together and made a public commitment before God, family, and friends that they would love and cherish one another until death. My Grandparents have truly been a beautiful picture of two becoming one. Their marriage has been a wonderful example for their three daughters(Janet, Gail, and my Mom) and their three grandchildren (my brothers and I). Thank you Grandpa and Grandma for showing us a path of faith, love, and commitment. You have walked before us and formed a path, and I pray that all of our family may follow in your footsteps. We all love you very much!

60 in December

A few weeks ago I was amazed that Indiana was able to accumulate 60 degree weather towards the end of December. I only felt it appropriate to get the kids out of the house, so we took a journey to the park. I must mention that 60 degrees in the spring and fall are a lot different then 60 degrees in the winter. It was extremely cloudy and windy, so I don't think that helped with the warmth factor. This was Blakes first time on a swing set and he loved it as you can tell from the pictures below.

The Best Drama Award Goes To...........

Tyson James Hall

His performance winning cry was felt by all who watched as his Poppy horrified him with a simple whistle of the mouth. He truly won over his audience.

Chip-Chap 101

Allyson gave me a free course in "How to apply Chip-Chap" (this is her name for Chapstick). I felt selfish keeping these beauty secrets all to myself, so Allyson agreed to let me share them with you free of charge.

Step#1

Get mirror positioned in front of you

and apply chip-chap in a circular

motion for about 5 minutes.

Step#2:
The finished product gives your lips a plump, full look.
This way of application can completely eliminate the use of botox.


Step#3:
Search through your beauty box for that perfect nail color. Once you have found your color, apply it on your nails and skin. This will be the new beauty secret for 2009. Out with the perfect nails and in with the sloppy look.
Step#4:
To get this wonderful finished look it is extremely important that you touch each nail with your index finger and smear it around before it dries. This will ensure that your nails will look as beautiful as the example I have given you below.

Here is your finished product.

Tune in next time and Ally will be teaching you how to put your hair in rollers.

Pictures From Christmas

Aunt Dawn and Brennah

Katy and Kenny with Brennah and Mia

Uncle B painting Ally's finger nails

Uncle Matt and Tyson

Daddy and Ally putting together a puzzle before bedtime

A visit from santa

My mom dug through her storage boxes in the basement a couple days before Christmas and found the old santa costume her grandparents used with her when she was a little kid. My grandparents used it with me and my brothers and now it was my mom and dad's turn to use it on our kids. After eating our Christmas morning breakfast my dad slipped outside and put on the santa costume. He rang the front doorbell and Allyson rushed to the door to answer it. Of course, like most toddlers she whined and ran to her daddy. We pulled down santas beard and told Ally that it was her Poppy under the clothes, but she still wouldn't sit on his lap. I sat on his lap to see if that would help her, but it didn't. We put Blake and Tyson on his lap to see if Allyson would follow in their bravery, but she still chickened out. We would have loved to of had Sydnie there with us also, but unfortunately she came down with an illness and was not able to join all of us for our family Christmas celebration this year. We missed her and her mom alot. It wasn't the same without both of them there. Maybe santas visit next year will be more eventful.

Sugar High

A few weeks ago Allyson and Blakes cousins came to visit for the evening and we all made sugar cookies. We got a kick out of Joshua the oldest nephew. Most of his cookies had mounds of icing on them. For the sake of his parents being able to put him to sleep that night we helped Josh scrape off the layers of sugar. Other than that the boys and Ally made all of their cookies by themselves.

We have Dad home all week

Brian has this week off so I thought I would put him to work while I typed a few blogs.

These pictures put into words my husbands love for his children. He has a great passion in fathering his children. Brian still gets up with Allyson every morning, pours her a glass of milk and reads Gods word with her. He is teaching her about creation right now. Allysons favorite part is in Genesis 1:3-5 when God says "let there be light". Brian starts with the lamp off and when he comes to verse 3 of the chapter Allyson turns on the light and says "now it is day daddy". She goes on to turn the light off and tell her daddy that it is dark and that means it is night. It has been a blessing to see her grow and learn each and everyday. I am amazed at what she is able to grasp even when we aren't teaching her.

I could go on and on about how great of a dad Brian is, but I need to share some updates on Blake. He is now 5 months and weighing about 18 lbs. He seems to be growing longer by the minute. I can't seem to find outfits long enough to fit his legs. He started rolling over about 2 weeks ago and only a week later started sitting up unassisted. He only lasts about 5 minutes before he plops to one side. It has been great comedy for Brian, Allyson, and I to watch. We just put him on the bed and wait for him to fall over. He sways back and forth and catches himself most of the time, but sooner or later he just falls straight over like a tree . I know it sounds cruel, but Blake loves it. He comes up laughing and full of smiles most of the time. Blake has made motherhood with 2 children much more enjoyable than what I had prepared myself for. We all have our days, but 95% of the time Blake is content and as happy as a baby can be. Let me just show you a few pictures we have taken lately. They pretty much explain the happiness I am talking about.

This isn't a happy picture, but I still wanted to post it

All tuckered out from being so happy all of the time

I am going to work harder at keeping my blog up to date, but I can't make any promises. Making it a priority has been hard in my schedule.

Our family wishes everyone a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.

3 Years Old

December 1, 2005 is still very fresh in my mind. There is nothing about that day that I will ever forget. The birth of a child is one of the most amazing miracles God has allowed us to witness and experience. It is hard to forget any of the details of something so spectacular. I only wish I could remember every day of Allysons life like the day she was born. Since I am human, and my brain lacks the capacity to compute to much information....haha, it is very important that I remember to write down all of the wonderful things I want to remember about my children. In the three years that Allyson has been with us I have managed to fill many pages full of memories. I am not going to bore anyone and try to write them all down, but there have been some in the last year or so that have made Allyson her own individual.

Allysons favorite bible verses and songs:

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Ephsian 6:1

Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.

(She is great at saying it, now we just need to work on the application).

The B.I.B.L.E

Deep and Wide

Be careful little eyes

Ally's favorites Clothes:

She wakes up every morning and gets herself dressed. If it were up to her she would wear her colts shirt and overalls everyday. She asks me to dress Blake in his overalls everyday. She also manages to spot everyone she sees wearing overalls when we are out in public.

Her favorite PJs are her "teddy jammies". That is the name she has given them even though there aren't any teddy bears on them.

Allysons favorite food:

Peanut butter and Jelly (She asks for one almost everyday).

Milk

Dried fruit

Dates

Prunes

Raisins

Bubble gum

The Dates and Bubble gum are treats she only gets from Mamaw and Poppy when she sees them, which is numerous times a week.

Allysons favorite Toys:

She is obsessed with her baby doll. It goes with her everywhere.

She has another new friend that sleeps at the foot of her bed. It was a dog that my brother and sister-in-law brought back from a family that lived in one of there rentals. The dog probably won't stay in our home for to long because it takes up a lot of space. It reminds Allyson of one of her favorite books "Clifford the big red dog".

She also has a pillow that she loves. She takes it to bed with her and her baby every night. A friend from church made it for her with her name inscribed on it.

Her favorite books:

We have a lot of books at our house and Allyson likes to read new ones everyday, but there a few she repeatedly wants to read over and over again

Jonah and the big fish, Adam and Eve, and Clifford the big red dog

Happy 3rd Birthday Allyson

We are thankful for Uncle Mike

I just can't seem to keep up with my blog, but I am trying to do better. I have done a poor job of keeping my camera around at all of our family activities. My camera was pretty much non-existent at both of my families Thanksgiving celebrations except for a few select activities. Anyone who knows the Boston side of the family knows that we tend to pick on each other alot. This thanksgiving we were reminded why we are thankful for Uncle Mike. We always give Mike a hard time for being useless at family activities, but not this Thanksgiving. He was going to prove us wrong. He rounded up all of the cousins and took charge of them until it was time to eat. He even offered to clean our floor when the Turkey pan tipped and grease covered our kitchen. If you look close you can see my husbands hands in the background. He was taking great pleasure in instructing his older brother to stay down and keep cleaning until his floor was spotless.
Later on that evening Mikes youngest son had wet clothes and needed a new outfit. We were reminded of how thankful we were for Uncle Mike, so we thought it would only be appropriate to let Jaiden borrow one of Allyson finest outfits. This was the best way to show Uncle Mike our true appreciation for all of the hard work he put into this Thanksgiving.

SIDE NOTE: My daughter just came in while I was typing this blog and immediately started belly laughing. She pointed her finger at the picture while laughing and said "JJ is in my dress! He is silly".

Catch up

Two months have come and gone and I have been neglecting my blog. Blake is now 4 months old and I must say he is such a content baby boy. He makes my job as a mother very easy. He is now around 17 lbs. and about 25 in. long. Our little Ally will be turning 3 on Dec. 1st and she can't wait to celebrate her birthday. Everytime our family has a birthday party she asks when we get to sing happy birthday to her.

I am not much of a writer, so I will just post pictures taken over the last two months. This will hopefully catch you up to date with our family.

Here you go:

Church Family Camping Retreat

Time with family

Hanging out with Madison and Holden playing tickle monster

Trick or Treat

101 Dalmation

3 peas in a pod

Sheila Came into town

Roommate get together at Kirstens new apartment
Erin I posted this one especially for you...haErin Got Married!!!

She was a very beautiful bride.

Erin and Calebs gorgeous reception

One last picture of my cutie pie

Blakes 2 Month Appt.

I am getting backed up on all of my postings due to this wonderful warm weather. I am trying to get out and about as much as possible before the cold gloomy weather settles in.Blake had his 2 month well baby visit about 2 weeks ago and everything checked out great. He gets his first shots on Monday down at the Health Center along with his sister who has a few shots to catch up on. I am prepared to give a little extra mommy TLC that day.

Here are Blakes 2 month stats:

Weight: 13lbs. 12oz.

Height: 24.5 in.

Head: 16.5 in.

Man of Honor

Three weeks ago my my mom and dad took my Grandpa and Grandma to the air show at Mt. Comfort Airport where my Grandfather was scheduled to take a flight in the exact plane he flew in WWII. My mom had heard about the event through the media and she and her sisters thought it would be a wonderful experience to allow their dad to take flight almost 63 years later. My Grandpa, who was a first lieutenant, flew this plane in 19 different missions during the war. During one of his missions, he and his crew were bombing an oil refinery in Vienna, Austria, when they were viciously shot down and all members of his crew had to bail out over Hungary. My Grandpa was missing in action for a few weeks before he was rescued and sent back to a safe base. He was later rewarded with a Distinguished Flying Cross for the mission. The picture below shows my Grandpa holding all of his honorary medals while standing in front of the plane he was able to take flight in. There are only 2 of these B-24 Bomber planes left in the world today. The crew who took my Grandpa up said that in all of their years of traveling around the world and meeting men from the war, they had never met a pilot who had flew this plane. They were so honored to have met him that they allowed my mom and my Grandma to take flight along with my Grandpa. I know having his wife and daughter in flight with him meant the world to Grandpa. They were right up there in the flight deck reading all of the instruments that my Grandpa used during the war and reflecting on how he risked his life for our freedom so many years ago. I know this put great meaning behind many of the stories he has shared with our families throughout the years.

We are so proud of Grandpa and honored to know that he is a part of the freedom we have in America today. We love you Grandpa.

Over Labor Day weekend my moms sisters, Gail and Janet, and their husbands Rob and John came out to visit our families. They traveled from Ohio and Arizona. They joined in with my mom to help give Grandpa this opportunity of a lifetime. We look forward to the next time we all can get together again.

Aunt Janet and Uncle John

Their Dog Suki

Aunt Gail and Uncle Rob w/ Tyson

(Sorry I couldn't get the picture any bigger than this)

Family Getaway to Michigan City

Over labor day weekend my parents rented out a beach front home in Michigan City for our whole family to enjoy and relax. We had a blast!! The family all decided that we would love to make this an annual event each year. It was our idea of a great vacation. We only had a 3 hour drive to get to our destination. The rental home had a beach right off of the back porch with a body of water that looks like the ocean only minus the salt water and huge waves. I am not a fan of salt water and I know for sure that my daughter probably wouldn't like it either. We also had access to an adult and baby pool. Thanks mom and dad for the few days of relaxation and fun memories with the family.

On our day at the pool we decided to take on a little game of water basketball with a child's inner tube and a plastic ball. It was each man for himself (no teams). Diana and I started off playing, but once the mens testosterone kicked in we decided we better save ourselves from the brutal attacks. I had a blast watching my brothers beat up on my husband...haha

Here is a short video of the boys playing. Notice how Allyson took it upon herself to tell her uncle "B" to leave her daddy alone....haha.

Size Difference

While going through some of my pictures I couldn't help but post two photos I found of Allyson and Blake. They were both taken exactly 48hours after their birth. This really shows the difference in my childrens size.

Ally weighed in at 4lbs 11oz when she left the hospital

Blake weighed in at 8lbs 9 oz. when he left the hospital

I got a kick out of the fact that Ally looks like she doesn't have any legs and Blakes legs are more than half way to the end of the car seat.

From the Dome to the Luc!

On Sunday they opened the new Lucas Oil stadium for all season ticket holders to tour. My dad and mom shared two of their tickets with Brian to celebrate his birthday. We said goodbye to the RCA Dome and hello to the new enormous Lucas Oil Stadium. The size of this facility is unreal. Thank you dad and mom for giving us the oppurtunity to be able to see the stadium in a way you won't ever get to again. The pictures below just don't give it justice.

Adios

Welcome

I couldn't pass up getting a picture of my dad with his new favorite toy. He bought a dixie chopper last month for business and now he can't wait to find an opportunity to mow the lawn and grunt like Tim "the toolman" Taylor...haha

Side window opening

View from outside the window

View from the highest point in the Stadium

View from my parents seats

This isn't a very clear picture, but they built 8 opened up suites at one end of the field. They are level with the endzone and only about 20 feet from all of the action. I am sure those are the suites that cost about $200,000 a year.

Our family (especially my husband) are excited to get this new colts season off and running. We love getting friends and family together after church and having football parties where ever we can have them. Winter just isn't the same in our house once the season is over. My husband annoyingly keeps reminding me of how many more days before the first season game starts. Last night he had to work late and he made sure to pock his head back in the house before he left to remind me that there was a football game on Fox 59 just in case I got bored. I just rolled my eyes as he laughed back at me. He knows that I am preparing myself to have to watch ESPN exclusively for the next 4 months.