Christmas and a New Year

Well, 2011 has come and gone. And what a year it was. Before I get to the year in review I'll share a bit about Allen's first Christmas.

Of course, Christmas Eve was Larry's birthday and he turned 28! Thirty is just around the corner. Muahaha. We went to temple square and looked at the lights. It was freezing but I'm glad we were able to take Allen.

Salt Lake Temple on Christmas Eve...Larry's 28th Birthday

Handsome boy on a cold night

Me and my boy at temple square

Then we drove around forever trying to find a place that was open so we could get Larry's b-day dinner. We finally got Applebees to go and went home to watch a movie. After the birthday festivities (i.e. cake) Allen opened his Christmas Eve jammies...so cute in his monkey jammers!

lots o' candles!

Just opened his Christmas Eve Jammies

Christmas morning, we opened presents and headed off to Church for the one hour block. Of course, I managed to be late. But anyway, it was the first time since 2008 that we'd been home to do Christmas so that was nice. Now that I'm not a kid anymore (when did that happen?) Christmas really doesn't matter to me in regards of presents. All I care about is that I have the gospel and my family.
Allen cared more about Larry's birthday balloon than his presents, but oh well. If he doesn't care so much about presents, it'll be easier to teach him that Christmas is really about Jesus...right?
Christmas night we got together at my sister Kaylynn's house with all of my family. It was the first time in years that we'd all been together on Christmas so that was really fun.

Such a pretty boy ;)

"His" balloon

Christmas morning...we did presents this year...see!

Allen thought "Scout" was pretty cool

Cute lil boy

He even got his own guitar!

First Christmas toys

Kodi got a Christmas toy too

Allen with his Campbell cousins on Christmas night

On December 29th, Larry thought it would be a grande idea to get a new puppy, and it just had to be a dachshund. I insisted we go to the shelter for an adult dog instead. We went to two shelters but Larry insisted on getting said dachshund. I tried. I really did. So Maisy joined the family and has been annoying me (and my dog Kodi) ever since. I'm learning to like her though and she seems to like me quite a bit...can you blame her? ;)

Allen likes her :)

Maisy with her tongue sticking out because she's "special"

smiling during a sun bath

Well, new year's eve rolled around and we didn't do anything special. In fact, Larry and Allen were both asleep before midnight. When the year ended I sat on the couch thinking about what a year it was.
The biggest highlight was of course, the arrival of our son Allen. We had waited three years and been through two miscarriages and infertility, but it was all worth it. The pregnancy had also been rough and it was so amazing to finally meet our precious baby boy.  Our lives met pure joy when Allen was born on February 22nd, 2011.  From the moment he was born he taught us about patience, love, and a positive attitude. He was born with club feet, pneumonia, and a rare airway virus that required him to be on home oxygen for 2 months. His first few months were quite a challenging time but also a very happy time.

Allen in the Nicu on his birthday 2/22/11

So in love

First casting in March '11

Eventually, he got out of the NICU, the oxygen tubes and tanks went away, the casts molded his feet so you couldn't even tell he was born with a birth defect, and with time, everything got better. We couldn't be more blessed to have such a healthy little guy. It's been so wonderful having our sweet little boy in our home. Seriously, I looove being a mom and having such a sweet, silly baby.

Allen in October '11

Larry also started the year with a bang by having major surgeries back to back (end of 2010 and beginning of 2011). He had his ileostomy reversed when Allen was just two weeks old and had just barely come home. Fortunately the surgery was successful and Larry's health/crohn's disease was pretty stable this year. (The previous year was horrible...)

Larry after his toughest surgery yet, March '11

Not much went on in terms of "me" but I've really enjoyed being home with Allen and taking care of him. I work at the vet on Saturdays and then have a work at home job for a cloth diaper company during the week that I get to do when Allen takes naps. My "real job" if you ask me, is being Allen's mom. I'm pretty proud of that :)

Spring/Summer of '11

Our lives were up and down quite a bit throughout the year. Yet 2011 will forever be one of the best years ever because it was the year I became a mom to my amazing baby boy :) I've loved all the memories we've created together. I can't put it into words. I know it sounds cheesy, but really, I can't describe the joy of having a baby and being a parent. I feel like with all the challenges in life, it really is true that if we're faithful, "all of our losses will be made up." I know for myself because Larry and I have not had it easy. And yet we were blessed with a one of a kind spirit as our son and he makes up for everything else. We're really in awe of him and he helps us and teaches us so much. We  thank Heavenly Father for him every. single. day.

First family Christmas Card!

Here's to 2012! (Now that we're already three weeks into it....:)

I like talking about Allen...Have you noticed? :)

Once again, I haven’t gotten around to updating the blog in quite some time. Allen is now nine months old…actually in just one week he’ll be ten months old. I can’t believe it. We’re excited for his first Christmas. Here’s just a little review of how he’s doing:

He started to crawl right before he turned eight months.  At first he army crawled but it wasn’t long before he was crawling like a pro and zooming all over the place.  He likes to stick his butt up in the air when he crawls too, it’s really funny. Now he pulls himself up and walks along things. He loves to pull up on a kitchen chair and push it all over the house.  So anytime I hear that screechy sound of chairs moving around I know Allen’s up and walking.  Haha. He loves to hold onto our hands and have us walk him around. It won’t be long before he’s walking on his own.  You would never guess this little boy was born with club feet.

Allen can even walk along the table while wearing his brace. I’m seriously impressed watching his moves, he looks like a pro skateboarder or snowboarder the way he balances and rocks back and forth. He looks like he’s about to do tricks. Speaking of his brace, we were able to get a Dobbs bar for him and hoped it would help him sleep. Turns out, we don’t like it as we’d hoped. We went back to the Ponsetti bar and like it just fine. The Dobbs bar was weird so it was hard to stand in (Allen likes to be able to stand up in his brace, and the Ponsetti is more like a snowboard that he can stand in). And because the Dobbs bar is a hinged bar (which is why we thought we’d like it) it actually twisted too much. Anyway, Allen’s feet are perfect and we accept that he’ll be the brace until he’s four or so. I do tend to pout about how he can’t wear footed jammies though ;)

Going back just a bit, since I wrote last Allen had his first Halloween. He was the most adorable baby sea otter ever. I was a zookeeper and carried my little otter around. I even took Allen trick or treating. His favorite candy/chocolate is Reeses. Every time he sees the orange wrapper he squeals with excitement…so funny.

At the end of October we got some pictures of Allen and even a few family photos (for like the first time).

He also had his first Thanksgiving. I’m pretty sure I somehow managed to forget to feed him Turkey because I was too busy juggling him and eating my own dinner. Oops.

With Christmas approaching, we took Allen to meet Santa for the first time. He just looked at Santa questionably but didn’t cry. Allen has never been one to be stranger shy. He loves everyone J If anything, he just looked concerned about Santa’s beard. I don’t think he’d ever seen a beard like that.

I’m pretty sure Allen’s favorite thing about Christmas is the Christmas tree. He loves to pull the ornaments off and is gradually undecorating the tree for us.

At 9 months, Allen weighed 18 pounds 9 ounces and was 28 ½ inches tall. His checkup was actually on his 9 month birthday and I was at the hospital at the same time that Allen was born (4:52 PM).  Something about realizing I had my little boy exactly 9 months prior made me emotional. We went down to the labor and delivery floor and I just glanced at the doors and thought about what a special day that was. Then we stood by Allen’s NICU window. It brought back so many feelings. I’m just so grateful to have this little boy in my life. We love him more than anything.

Looking back...

Allen is SUCH a character. He loves to play with Kodi, our dog, and giggles when Kodi takes toys from him. He also likes to play tug of war and makes the funniest face ever when he tugs (like eeeeerrrrrr)…don’t know how to explain it but here is a video of me tugging something from him.  Hilarious.

Allen loves to clap everytime we say “Yay!” and he understands when it’s appropriate to clap too. We saw a Christmas dance performance and after every song he clapped. He’s such a smart boy.

He also loves music and dancing and especially loves listening to Larry play his guitar. Oh and he loves to copy his daddy. He’s even learned this really creepy voice (anyone heard Larry do this?) well now Allen can do it. Coming from my sweet baby it’s really funny but scary. Lol.

So that’s just a little update about our little guy. As for us as a family, well nothing much is going on. We’re just enjoying having Allen in our lives and we’re so grateful for the joy he brings into our home. Allen has really been the strength that I need in my life and I just want to say that I’m so grateful to be his mom and learn from him.

I’m grateful for this Christmas season to reflect on the baby boy that our Heavenly Father sent so we could have all the blessings that we have. Our lives aren’t perfect and we have our challenges, seen and unseen. But it’s such a miracle that because of our Savior, everything just works out. I hope we can all remember the true meaning of Christmas and thank our Heavenly Father for sending his Son. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas J Hopefully I’ll update the blog again before the New Year!

Our Awesome Baby

Sir Cuteness at 6 months

Let's face it...I hardly ever update the blog...and it's all Facebook's fault. Chances are if you're reading my blog, you've been following our lives on Facebook. (Unless you're one of my wonderful blog stalkers. Hehe)  So if you want to see pictures of the past three months of Allen's life, you can check them out there :) I'll post a few though.

Super Cool Dude 5 months old

At his first concert (Peter Breinholt)

He's a really good jumper! He loves that thing.

Church goin' baby at 5 months

So Allen is six months old now! Make that almost seven months old. Time is flying and he's growing up so fast. He is sooo handsome, smart, and well...he's pretty much awesome.

Earlier this month, I took him to his 6 month check up. He was like 6 months and 10 days at the time. Here are his stats:
16 lbs 11 oz
28 inches

His 6 month picture...we just took it in our backyard on our new patio furniture

The doctor mentioned that he seemed a little pale. Well, that's really just the way he is. Fair and handsome (That's what his name means). She thought it was worth checking his Iron levels so he got a little toe prick. Turns out he's anemic, though he's still quite the white boy. That's just how he is :) He also got his shots and only cried a little for a minute.

He hit a few milestones recently :)

At 5 1/2 months we took him to Shriner's for his follow up appointment and we got the go ahead to wear the brace only at night, or 12-14 hours a day. It's been sooo nice to have the brace off! (Before he had to wear it 23 hours a day.) I've absolutely loved being able to kiss his soft, squishy feet! He loves the freedom so much. The day he went to part time wear he rolled over all by himself for the first time! I suppose it's easy to do once you're not attached to a snowboard. Now, at 6 months he rolls over like crazy, making him mobile via rolling. He's also working on learning to crawl right now. I'm not ready for a mobile baby! Oh and he can sit up all by himself without falling over. I guess at his age that's to be expected but I still think his sitting up skills are pretty impressive. Haha.

Sitting up, checking himself out in his mirror

Workin' on those scootin' skills

More milestones...
At 6 months he said his first words!
First word: Dada 
Second word: Mama

I'm pretty sure "Dada "was his first word because it's easier to say. Yeah. that must be it. Anyway, he has the cutest little voice ever.  He just started saying it out of the blue and he hasn't stopped. He'll usually sit and whisper Dada when he hears or sees Larry. A few days later he started saying Mama. He usually only says Mama when he's sad or wants me. He cries"mama mommm."  It totally melts me!

He's also eating baby food...er should I say, supposed to eat baby food. We can only get him to eat pizza and oreos. But "apparently" that's not the best diet for a baby, especially a baby that doesn't have teeth. :D Speaking of teeth, the little guy is teething now. He should be getting his first teeth any day now. I'm sure they'll be adorable but I'm a little sad he won't be my gummy bear anymore.

Oh so back to the baby food deal. He's not a fan at all. My sisters in law gave us tons of free baby food and he won't eat it. He looks completely repulsed by it. I've spoon fed plenty of babies and they all get over it pretty quickly. But not Allen. He just thinks it's gross. I've tried it and I don't blame him. We can get him to eat a little if and only if we let him feed himself, which makes for quite the messy baby.  The doctor said his dislike of baby food and desire to feed himself means he's smart and independent. Yup, sounds like my Allen. We've also introduced the sippy cup. I need to get him more of a trainer cup though but I haven't gone to the store yet.

Taking the spoon away from mommy

Now he's happy!

Got mess?

My sweet little boy today.

Allen is showing a lot of interest in animals, which makes his mama proud. He loves our dog Kodi and giggles when he gets kisses from him. They're really cute together and seem to thoroughly enjoy each others company.

He also loves music. He smiles and wiggles to dance. He especially loves when Larry plays the guitar for him.

Allen took his first plane ride earlier this month when we went to Kansas. He was so good, like he usually is, and slept the whole time (something he doesn't do a lot of). It was also his first time going there.  (Though I just had a flash back to the miserable looong drive there when I was 8 months pregnant.) It was great to visit our family there. Allen's cousins ADORE him. They all kept asking to hold "Baby Allen" and continuously told him how adorable he is. Smart kids, that's all I can say. We also saw our new niece, Sarah, get blessed. She's the newest baby on the Balsmeier side, and very cute I might add.

Let's see, what else is going on with Baby A? Oh yeah, he has a really hard time sleeping with his brace. We're often up every hour with him. Poor baby. Needless to say, he has to have something about him that makes him a little bit of a challenge. Because, let's face it, he's pretty much perfect :)

I can't describe how much we love him. He is the funniest, sweetest, most precious little boy. He loves to interact with us and play with us. He also loves to snuggle. What can I say? Our baby is AWESOME.

"Don't Blame Me, I Was Born AWESOME"