The Oaks

We got all dressed up and went and saw the Oakridge Boys in concert. Andlie enjoyed it because she had a bag of popcorn to keep her entertained. She kept saying, "Moosic! Dancin! Popquan."

By the end of the night, she was lying on the floor using my jacket as a pillow.

Fun concert! Fun to be there with both parents/grandparents. Andlie is the cutest little girl in the world. The end.

Thanksgiving 2010

Celebrated Thanksgiving with 95 family members. So lucky to have such wonderful families.

Decorated for Christmas that same week!

Played in the snow and learned that we don't "hate snow."

Took Christmas card pictures. One with the "Andlie smile."

And several tries to get the fave one.

Learned what a candycane is.

And fell in love.

We're so thankful for a million things in our lives, but what it mostly comes down to is this: We're thankful to have such amazing families and especially thankful for our little family. We're thankful for each other. We're thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Happy Birthday, Bryan!

We opened presents.

We blew out candles and ate cake.

I love Bryan because he is funny. Way funny.

Andlie loves him because he can chase and chase and tickle and play for hours.

I love Bryan because he is my best friend.

Andlie loves him because he's got her wrapped around her finger.

I love Bryan because he works so hard for our family.

Andlie loves him because he lets her splash him til he's soaking wet during bath time.

I love Bryan because he is my perfect match.

Happy Birthday, Bryan! We love you!!

You Can Only Read This Post if You Promise Not to Laugh

1. I wrote a blog post about Shutterfly.
2. I submitted my form online saying I wrote my blog post so I could get my 50 free cards.
3. I waited for three days and heard nothing.
4. I e-mailed Stuart @ Shutterfly asking when I should recieve my promotion code.
5. Stuart told me I should see it soon.
6. I saw it soon. Like the next day.
7. I went online and designed some really cute Christmas cards.
8. I used my promotional code to order the really cute Christmas cards.
9. I deleted the e-mail with the promotional code in it.
10. I waited for six days.
11. I got a package from Shutterfly on my doorstep!
12. I opened the package.
13. There was one card in there. One.
14. I craughed. (That's laughing and crying at once.)
15. In all my excitement that I was getting free cards, I forgot to enter "50" as the quantity.
16. I have one Christmas card on my kitchen counter.

Hence, the reason that I present the Allen Family Christmas Card on our blog this year.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cards

Who can resist free stuff? Especially when it's so cute! How will I ever choose which free Christmas cards to get from Shutterfly who is offering bloggers 50 free Christmas cards? (They also have darling birthday cards!)

These are my faves:

Have you ever looked at what Shutterfly has to offer? Everything from stationary to photo calendars (which would both be awesome Christmas gifts)! Check out more Christmas gifts here.

My personal favorite though, is the photo books. If you're like me and bad at scrapbooking, the photo books are a great way to preserve memories. I'm doing one per year for each of my kiddos.

Anyway, Merry Christmas and happy Christmas card searching!

Out of the Mouth of Babes

[On her way to bed.] "Night, pizza. Night chair. Night tummy."

[After trying to play in the snow outside.] "I het snow." (I hate snow.)

[After being tickled by Mom.] "I het that, Mom." (I hate that, Mom.)

[While asking very politely for her bink.] "I deed it reawy bad." (I need it really bad.)

[After seeing the Santa decor at Walmart.] "Santa. Pesents. Many toys." (Santa. Presents. Many toys.)

[After looking in the mirror and realizing her hair is in a crazy, non-combed afro and while crying in a very concerned tone.] "Fix it hair. Pitty hair."

Happy Halloween!

We modeled our 2010 Halloween jammies and secretly hid our cast under them.

We hugged pumpkins. (We also told them, "Night punkin," each night before bed.)

We carved pumpkins! (Mine is the one on the bottom that looks like a 3rd grader made it. And yes, Bryan's is eating a smaller pumpkin.)

We dressed up! Bryan is a tree, I am a rake, and Andlie is a bag of leaves.

Andlie was the cutest bag of leaves I've ever seen in my entire life.

Happy Halloween!!

Four Eyes

I got glasses.

Something happened to the computer screen when I put them on. It was like magic.

Happy

I got flowers.

And I love them. Thank you, Bryan. You made my day. I love you.

"Fix it. Leg. I Sad."

September 29, 8:30 PM: Andlie jumped off the couch. We heard a popping noise and she wouldn't stop crying. We took her to the doctor. (Her pediatrician happened to have a doctor on call, so we didn't have to make a trip to the ER.) He ordered x-rays. Andlie hated them. We spent that night & the next day on the couch eating popsicles and watching movies. We put a wrap on Andlie's leg just in case.

September 30, 1:00 PM: Doctor called us and reported that the x-rays showed no break and that it was probably a bad sprain.

October 1: I called the doctor's office because Andlie seemed to be in pain and wouldn't put ANY weight on her leg. Plus, she kept saying, "Fix it. Leg. I sad." Talk about breaking your heart. We went out to the doctor's office where he did a further examination and told us that it was probably a bad sprain. He also mentioned that sometimes, because the bones are still soft, that a fracture won't show until five days later. He put a splint on and told us to call if she still wasn't putting weight on it by Tuesday.

She spent the next two days like this:

October 5: Called the doc. Still not putting weight on her leg at all. Doc requested a second x-ray and called later to say that "the radiologist had found a tiny break and we should cast it." The break is so small, but it's probably what's causing pain & inability to walk on it. We're supposed to report back on October 28.

I hate couches now. It breaks my heart into pieces that Andlie has a cast and a hurt leg, but I'm so thankful for a good doctor.

I'm Funny

I went on a late dinner run to get us some Wendy's last week. Bryan said he "wanted a giant Diet Coke" since Wendy's has any size drink for $1.00.

Yes, I had to specifically ask for the "smallest cup they had" and a lid to go with it.

Yes, I was giggling even when I said it to the lady at the window.

Yes, she looked at me like I was crazy.

Yes, I left the real Diet Coke in the car when I got home so he'd think this was it.

Yes, I giggled like a little girl all the way home by myself in the car.

Yes, I'm still laughing.

Official Master

He finally has it in his hands! (Well, it's actually in a frame in our room, but it's in our possession.) Yay! You can call him Master Bryan from now on.

It took a lot of hard work, dedication, and willingness to get his degrees. I am so thankful he did it. I am so proud of him. I love him.
Congrats, Master Bryan!!

Happy Birthday, Mooshers!

Happy 23 to Mandy! We love you!!

26 > 25

8:00 AM: I sat down to work to find that Bryan had changed my screen saver to, "Happy birthday, Chandi! I love your guts!!" Even though me & Andlie were so sick all day on my birthday (boo), this made me smile!

12:00 PM: Andlie fell asleep on the couch due to her sickies. (This never happens.)

12:30 PM: Bryan surprised me with beautiful flowers at lunch! Another thing that made me smile even though snot was dripping down my face.

2:00 PM: I finally gave in and called in sick for the rest of the day so I could sleep too.

5:00 PM: I opened my first present from Bryan. It's something I've been needing/wanting for the last few months. I'm so excited to learn the songs!

5:30 PM: We went over to my parents' house. Me & Bryan took our annual birthday picture. Bryan was sneakily making ridiculous faces each shot.

We got a good one though. Isn't he just the hottest thing you've ever laid your eyes on?

6:00 PM: We ate dinner & cake. My Mom made my favorite dinner - homemade pizza. Yum!! (You know your family loves you when your Mom & Dad let you come over to their house to eat and your siblings are all still in attendance [minus the Honduran] even with your drippy-ness and sneezy-ness.)

8:00 PM: I opened the rest of my presents from Bryan & Andlie! I got a cute card, flowers, a running watch, running pants, a Lady Antebellum CD, a piano book, and a jacket. I love them all, but I really love the jacket. I immediately tried it on and struck some poses. (I especially love the one of me in the bathroom where you can see our toilet.)

9:00 PM: Bryan knows that I don't really love cake, but I do love these cupcakes, so he made my perfect cake!

Thank you to everyone who made my birthday special - with phone calls, texts, FaceBook wishes, cards, presents, or homemade pizza (thanks, Mom)! I truly appreciate it! Special shout out to Bryan who made my birthday special and fun even though I had sickies. Horray for birthdays!

Shout Out to Our Plant

A House Plant Surprise

By Chandi Allen

We are really quite proud that you are not dead.

But instead you are bigger than two human heads!

We usually end up growing some shrooms.

But we really hope you continue to bloom!

You got so big, we had to switch pots.

Holy moly! Who would have thought?

Plants in this house usually last only days.

(Seriously, like eleven days maximum.)

But you, little plant, have truly amazed!

Thank you for lasting a whole year plus some!

I'm so happy - I practially want to buy rum!

(And also, quit laughing that this poem is so dumb.)

August 2009:

September 2010:

We Got New Shirts

Dight Dight

I love Andlie. She really is the cutest baby in the world. And the universe. Her bedtime routine might be one of my favorite things she does. No, not because it means she's going to sleep. Because she does such cute things on cue without prompts.

8:30 - Bathtime! Daddy is in charge of this feat. He's more fun than Momma. He lets Andlie splash to her heart's content. Bryan usually ends up just as wet as the tub. Last night, she dumped her entire bucket onto his lap.

9:00 - Diaper change, jammies, brush teeth, and vitamins. After her jammies are on, she runs to the bathroom and says, "tool," and points to the cupboard under the sink. This is how I know that it's time to get her stool out. Then she says, "teef," and points to her toothbrush. She loves her vitamins too. Even though they smell like rotton pee. She always has. Weird.

9:05 - Run into the living room where Dad is sitting in the rocking chair with her "bankie." Climb up on to the ottoman in front of the chair, and jump to Dad. I don't mean a small jump. I mean a jump that takes a "oomph" noise and a swinging of the arms.

9:10 - Bottle. She feeds herself, but has been getting very distracted lately with whatever Daddy's watching on the TV. Tonight, she kept taking her bottle out to say, "boot ball." (Bryan's cheering for the Saints.)

9:20 - TV goes off, Mommy comes over from the computer, and Andlie knows it's time for family prayers. As soon as the TV goes off, she folds her little arms. Then we say the prayer. She participates in the, "amen." ("A-ben.")

9:25 - Off to bed! Bink comes out, she says, "kee-ses," and gives Daddy a big wet one. Then Daddy hands off to Mommy and says, "Night, night, Andlie." Andlie replies, "Dight, dight," and giggles. Daddy says, "Love you!" Andlie replies, "Da do!" More giggles.

9:30 - Mommy carries Andlie to bed and asks for a kiss of her own. Andlie gives another big wet one. If Mommy tries to snuggle with Andlie for too long, Andlie says, "bed," while pointing to the bed. Mommy lies Andlie down and says, "Love you!" Andlie replies, "Da do." Mommy lies "bankie" on Andlie and turns mobile on and Andlie goes to sleep.

12:00 AM - Mommy checks on now sound asleep Andlie one more time and gives her another kiss.

We love you, Andlie! We just can't get enough!

The Fair

Hey, everyone! It's me, Andlie. I had so much fun at The Fair this weekend! I went to a small petting zoo and loved it! I couldn't get enough of the animals!

My ankle wrap didn't even bug me at all and I even stood on my tippy toes so I could see the bunnies, chickens, ducks, and pigs.

I even got to pet a goat and a pig! I liked the goats more. The pig was too big and weird. One time though, I turned around and there was a goat about three inches from my face looking me in the eye and it made me jump and make a sad face and freeze in my tracks. My Mom was laughing right out loud at me. Sheesh.

Then, I went on my first carnival ride! I went on the Carousel! I loved it! Mom told me to hold on tight, so I kept saying, "tight," as I rode the ride.

Then, out of the blue, the stupid ride stopped and I had to get off. I hated that part.

Mandy & Tim decided they wanted to do a big kid ride. We took a picture of them before the ride.

The ride was going so fast that we couldn't even get a picture of it!

Me, Mom, and Dad hung out and saw some cool lights while they were riding. I couldn't even stop touching the lights for a quick picture. They were too interesting.

I think the big kid ride made Mandy & Tim a bit sick-ish. They didn't talk much after they got off and their skin was a little bit whiter than it was when they got on.

I kept asking for the "hosie," so Dad took me on another ride - the giant slide! I loved that too and even asked, "Self?" (That means, "I will do it myself.") Dad ended up going with me, but it was still fun. [Mommy sucks at getting pictures in the dark, so there's not a good one of us coming down.]

Then, I tricked Mom & Dad (with my good looks, cute smile, and darling, tiny voice) into letting me ride the "hosies" again! Dad went with me this time. [Mom & Dad couldn't stop laughing because Mom couldn't get a picture with me in it. Poor Mom & her camera skills.]

I loved the Carousel just as much the second time!

And I hated getting off again.

I'm so happy that I could go to The Fair this weekend! It was so much fun and I'm sure Mommy & Daddy will take me again next year! (I can get them to do whatever I want because I'm so freaking cute and they love me so much.) Hugs and loves to everyone!