the allen fam

Happy Birthday Halle!!

Halle turned two yesterday!  Can you believe she is two already?!  Crazy.  We had a fun little birthday party with friends yesterday after church, and I think Halle loved being the birthday princess!  She wore her crown with pride and kept saying "my birthday party!".  Today, we had her 2 yr. checkup and her stats are as follows:

    Height: 36 inches (95 percentile)

    Weight: 27.5 pounds (60 percentile)

Here are ten things about Halle at two years old:

1. LOVES to read books
2. LOVES shoes
3. LOVES to swing
4. can count to 8
5. knows her colors
6. knows what she wants and knows enough words to tell you =)
7. loves her big-girl bed and still sleeps 12 hours at night
8. has the cutest way of saying "hold you" when she wants to be picked up
9. loves to sing songs before bed-time including "Jesus Loves Me" "Twinkle Stars" and "Beautiful Girl" by Andrew Peterson
10. is potty trained and loves her pretty panties

Here are some pictures from her birthday party at Wheeler Farm yesterday:

The birthday girl with her Pinkalicious cupcakes!

David Bailey, Halle, and Jennika Zyp enjoying cupcakes and juice. 

Here are all the kids painting in their homemade coloring books (an idea we stole from the Zyps - thanks guys!!).  Jesse turned pictures we had of the kids into  outlined coloring pages, so they could paint pictures of themselves and their friends...such a cute idea!  It was really windy during the party, so the painting didn't last very long, but all of the kids got to take their books and paints home to enjoy.

Clockwise from left: David Bailey, Halle, Noah Bailey, Tyler Lansing, Carter (not painting!), Jennika Zyp, Alyssa Garlick.

Silly Carter! 

 

 

Halle with her new Fancy Nancy book (she fell asleep holding this book today for her nap!).

Seeing the farm animals after the party. 

 

 

The birthday girl

 

The photo website has been updated with these pictures and more, so feel free to check it out too.

Soccer! Soccer! Soccer!

Carter had his first soccer game last Saturday, and it was about the cutest and funniest thing I have ever seen!  His team is all 3 and 4 year olds, so I'm sure you can picture it. 

His first practice on Friday was pretty rough - crying, fit throwing, and an all out refusal to join his team on the field.  After that, Daddy told him that he was not going to be allowed to play in the game on Saturday if he couldn't practice...and he would have to give his shin-guards back.  After a couple of hours, Carter decided that he did want to play soccer and apologized to Daddy for his behavior at practice.  They made a deal - if he would go to the field early with Daddy and practice for a little bit, then he could play in the game.  Once Carter actually started playing, he loved it!  He was right in there trying to get the ball and loved his practice shots when he got to kick the ball into the goal.  He has six games over the next 6 weeks, and it will be interesting to see his progress from the beginning to the end.

Here are some pics from the first game...

 

 

In one week...

our Halle has turned into a little girl.  Yep, she is now wearing big-girl panties and sleeping in a big-girl bed.  I can't believe it!!

Since these pictures, we have gotten a little side rail, so don't worry - she won't fall out!

I just LOVE how her big letter initials match her new sheets perfectly!  Thanks again Jen!! 

 

And I think we are successfully day-time potty trained!  Only 1 accident in 5 days!  Still a pull-up for naps (although she has been dry a couple of times) and for bed.  And can I just say that it is SOOO much easier to potty train a girl than a boy! 

 

And all this before she turns two!  Wow, she is growing up fast.  :)

Boise Pictures

Here are some pictures of our trip to Boise last month.

Swimming lessons with Aunt Dawn

 

 

 

Ice cream cones after VBS - can you tell why they were standing on the porch?!  We wouldn't let them in until the ice cream was gone!  Carter and Brycen.

 

Carter and Brycen slept in Brycen's twin bed for naps and bedtime the whole week we were there.  They did great - Brycen only fell out once!  :)