rub a dub dub

as ledger gets a bit older, he seems to enjoy bath time more and more! when he was just a few months old he would cry when we bathed him, not too happy to have water pored all over him!  well, now that he's a bit bigger, he loves getting to sit in the sink and play with the water.  he's just starting to learn to play in it, which makes bath time so much more fun- and so much cuter!

your word against mine

ledge goes to bed pretty early, so that leaves a bit of extra time for diana and i to hang out.  often times that means that the two of us go to bed early too- ledger gets up at 5:30am, and that comes awfully early if you stay up till 11 or 12!  one night we decided to pull out a game and have a bit of fun.  i've always loved scrabble but its not necessarily one of diana's favorites.  well, this night she was the one who suggested it, so i was all over that!  we had a great time rocking out to 90's music while we counted up our word scores!  i tell ya what, i do love that woman even if she did beat me...

errands with ledge

i dont get to spend as much time with ledger as i would like to.  unfortunately there's that whole 'work' thing that always gets in the way...  when i do get to see him before bed time i always try to make it count, which can be a bit more difficult when there are errands to run as well!  there were a few things i needed to pick up at meijer, so i brought our little guy along!  he loves to go out with us, especially to stores- there's so much to see.  what a happy little shopper!
please note that he is sporting an awesome batman hoodie that his aunty lissa got for him.  awesome.

nemo decor

one of the things that i always seem to get roped into at work is making decorations.  since i have some artistic ability, i dont really mind too much- its a great chance to be artistic, which i enjoy.  well, our student council planned a special movie night for all the families to come and enjoy a family movie on the big screen in the school's gym, and also raise a bit of money at the concession stand!  can you tell which movie they decided on?  they asked me to make a little something to decorate the walls.  when i get a challenge that i actually enjoy, i go a little further then i might otherwise, well i really loved making the different characters for this one!  each one was two or three feet wide and filled up the gym really well when they were put up!  the younger kids who went loved the decorations and were invited to take them home at the end of the night.  who knows, they might still be up on the walls of their bedrooms!
(more pics)

eat up!

after seeing how much ledger loved the food toys at diana's mom's place, we figured we should probably get some for ourselves.  i happened to notice a huge pack of them at aldi (one of my favorite places on earth!), so i picked them up and let ledger go to town!  he was absolutely thrilled by them!  he mostly loves to take them out of the bin and shake them in the air wildly.  he also seems to enjoy sucking on them...  it makes me wonder though, are we teaching our son a bad lesson?  are we teaching him that all food tastes like plastic?  a thought to ponder...
(more pics)

re lob

barbara came to visit us for a couple days, which we always love, and offered to treat diana and i to a very rare treat: a night out with just the two of us!  what?!?  i kind of forgot what that was even like!  taking full advantage of the situation, we decided to go all out and have ourselves a fancy date at red lobster!  it was so much fun to just have a peaceful dinner where diana and i could talk and enjoy each other without focusing on ledger and instead focus on each other- how novel!  it had been a while since we have gone out to eat at all, thus the excited response from diana...
thanks again to that wonderful sis of ours!

cribbin it

sometimes you just have to hang out in your crib, you know?  diana and i were busy cleaning up the place, trying to be productive.  we dont often let ledger watch tv, but we needed him to entertain himself while we were busy putting away laundry and tidying up a bit.  i didnt think it would work, considering how much he doesnt like to go to sleep, but i put him in his crib while i picked up his room.  turns out he was as happy as a clam!  the whole time he was just sitting up and playing with his toys allowing us a few minutes of worry free cleaning!  thank you, ledger!

thanks again!

we filled up on thanksgiving food at arnold and nancy's, but that didnt stop us from having another feast on friday at diana's mom and david's!  everyone gathered together for a great feast that david prepared, diana, ledge and i, alanna and tavish, mom and david, barbara, dad, and even aunt gayle were all there for a great time.  we had hoped that david's other daughter katie and her family would be able to join us, but they werent able to attend.  no matter, we filled our bellies anyway!
(more pics)

grandpa's tea

one thing that is true of all allens is that they love iced tea- they even have their own special recipe.  i dont particularly understand this, to me it just tastes kinda gross and watered down, but boy do they love that stuff!  grandpa decided that he wanted to find out just how much of an allen our little ledger is, so he gave him a little sip!  turns out that taste is genetic because ledger loved that stuff!  one sip turned into two, which turned in to three...  we certainly paid for that little stunt when we tried to put him to bed that night- he was wide awake until way too late!
(more pics)

allen thanksgiving

diana and i headed over to south bend for thanksgiving this year.  its always tough to decide where to go for holidays- do we visit my family or hers?  well, that decision was a lot easier this year considering my parents were not going to be home for that week!  they went down to visit my brother, so that made it really easy to pick diana's family for our turkey day festivities!  a couple days before we headed over we got a call from diana's aunt inviting us to the allen get together.  i was really excited because i love the allen family!  we met at uncle arnold and aunt nancy's place and got to show off little ledger to the whole family.  it was really great to see everyone again, pass around ledger, and eat some great food!
(more pics)

shopping in the cart

when diana and i finally made it home at the end of a long weekend apart, we realized that the fridge and cupboards were rather empty!  so monday we went shopping and got a few things to get us by.  while we were there we realized that maybe we could take ledger out of the car seat and let him try being in the shopping cart.  well, it worked!  our little guy is getting big enough to sit in the shopping cart all by himself!  he totally loved it too- usually when we go to the store all he can see is the lights and maybe what's on the top shelves.  this must have been so strange to him- 'oh, this is whats going on every time you take me here!  now i understand...'  he was in awe of all the sights and sounds that he was now able to be a part of.  mom had gotten us one of those cart covers for babies, but i forgot to bring it home.  oops.

relax

even with taking care of ledger for the afternoon, mom still offered to take him for the evening too!  i figured i would take advantage of the opportunity and made plans to hang out with the guys for the night.  brains and i met up at jeffry lee's place and had a blast!  we went out to eat, chowing down over at grand villa (those two had never been there, but really loved it!).  afterward we all headed back to jeffry lee's and just chilled for the rest of the night talking about life, the universe, and everything.  at one point we went in the garage and found this treasure of a hat...  it has felt like forever since i was able to just chill with the guys for a night, it was fantastic.  we got a chance to catch up and really just talk like we used to.  thank you mom, i needed that!

afternoon with mema

with mom so excited to see ledger, she was more than willing to watch him for an afternoon while papa and i went to see a movie!  we had a great time (but really, when isnt it a great time when you are at the movie theater?), and when we got back aves and tweets had joined in on the babysitting fun.  tim and jackson went to see our old high school's football game and asked mom if the girls could spend the afternoon with her.  the two of them loved to spend a couple extra hours with their cousin!
(more pics)

hit the hut

my mom recently took on a part-time job working as a waitress at pizza hut.  i think, with papa's strange work schedule, she was just getting a bit bored when he would have to work nights.  either that, or she just wanted the employee discounts!  that night we were trying to figure out what to have for dinner when it was suggested that we should go to pizza hut so she can show off ledger to her co-workers.  oh, she was all for that!  while we were there mom got to talk with a couple of the women she works with, proudly holding her newest grandson!
(more pics)

safe and soundless

miraculously, ledger did a fantastic job on the trip up to grand rapids.  he doesnt always care for car rides, but he was sleeping or quietly amusing himself for the entire two hour trip!  when we finally arrived, mema was quite pleased to see us, excited that she would get such a long weekend with her little ledger!  that afternoon the three of us played and played.  ledger loved to check out the toys that mema had for him, and he was endlessly fascinated by the dog ivy.  it looks so different that the dog he's used to- this one has tons of floppy fur!  when papa got home ledger was excited to see him too.  it was kind of funny, ledger just seemed to stare at papa so intently.  i wonder if he is trying to figure out why that guy looks so much like dad?..

getting ready

with diana heading out to be with her friend in detroit after her loss, that left ledger and i alone to try and make it through the weekend!  yikes!  dont worry, i made plans to go up to see my family in grand rapids so mema and papa could help me out a bit.  well, the first night with just the guys went really well, he slept the whole night through!  by morning though, i knew i needed to pack up as quickly as possible (or at least as quickly as ledger would allow...) and head up to grand rapids.  i needed to have both my hands free to get things packed, so i put him in his high chair and turned on the tv to a children's channel.  he was mesmerized!  i dont usually let him watch tv so he seemed to understand that this was a rare treat for him- and he just soaked it up!  eventually i got the car packed (and the fifty thousand things you seem to need now that there's a baby involved!) and was ready to go- his eyes still glazed over while he followed the adventures of kai-lan.  sorry buddy, its time to go!
(more pics)

a winter raccoon

after the library we needed to pick up a few supplies for ledger and for diana's trip, so we headed over to the m store (as papa calls it).  going to a store with a baby department can always be dangerous, diana always finds something that we must have for our little guy!  after we got his formula and diapers, we inexplicably found ourselves in the baby clothes section.  how did we get here?!?  'well, since its getting colder', diana assured me, 'we had better get ledge a winter cap!'  that little raccoon on there was just too cute to pass up- it also came with matching mittens!  needless to say, i quickly caved...

ledger's cinematic tastes

diana had a big road trip to detroit to see a friend planned, so i suggested that we go to the library and pick out a couple audio books to help the trip go a bit quicker.  she agreed, so we packed up our little guy and headed over.  she checked out the audio book section while ledge and i wandered around the rest of the place.  after checking out the books we walked over to the video section.  as we wandered down the shelves, ledger decided that there was one movie in particular that he wanted to see.  i was just browsing by the dvds and he reached out and grabbed one of them:  taxi driver.  'well ledger, you have good taste in movies, it is considered a classic, one of deniro's best, but i'm afraid you are a bit too young for that one...'  yikes!

sit up

our little boy is growing up!  ledger just reached another important milestone: he is now sitting up all by himself!  for the longest time he would fight it, not wanting to sit down.  he would refuse to bend at the waist when we would try to get him to sit, opting instead to lay or stand.  well, with a little bit of hard work and a bunch of practice, we got him to do it on his own!  saturday morning i was up early with him (letting the wife get a few extra hard-earned hours of sleep) and sat him down on the blanket on the floor to see if he would practice sitting with me.  much to my surprise, he was completely up for it, no fighting at all.  i set him up and let him play with a few toys and before i knew it, he didnt need me or the pillow to keep himself up!  needless to say, i was one proud daddy!
i was so happy to be able to be a part of that moment, i often fear that i will miss all the big milestones like crawling, walking, talking, because i am gone all day at work.  but it looks like he wanted to show this one off to his dear old dad.  thanks, little guy!

stargate wife

it got cold pretty quickly around here, we didnt really even have time to go out to the shed and get all the winter gear yet.  diana hadnt been able to get her hat and gloves or anything.  so when she needed to go out and get something from the car, she grabbed the only warm hat we had: my stargate hat that i had won at the stargate convention last summer.  is it weird that i think she looks really hot in that hat?

remote eater

no matter how many toys we give this little guy, all he wants is the stuff that mom and dad have!  i'm pretty sure his favorite thing in the world is soda cans, or at least thats what i would assume from the way that he stares so longingly at them...  another favorite of his is the tv remote.  every time its around he tries to grab it, often resulting in some random buttons being pressed and messing up the pre-sets on it!  well, i decided to take the batteries out of the blu-ray player and let him just go at it- and boy did he!  he spent about 15 minutes straight just staring at that thing, pressing buttons, waiving it around, and finally chowing down on it!  it almost looks like he's trying to play it like an instrument!

to cool for school

i keep getting asked at work 'when are you going to bring ledger in?'  i talk about him all the time and everyone wants to see him, so finally i asked diana if she could come at the end of a day and let everyone see him.  we brought him down to the office and showed him off the the ladies who work in there- they just about melted on sight!  the students hear me talk about him all the time too, so we made sure to be in the junior high hall when school got out so everyone could say hi to him as they headed for the bus.  there were a lot of smiles from the students, but the biggest smiles came from ledger himself- this kid is going to be so social when he gets bigger!  taking after his dad already...

bundled up

as the weather gets colder, ledger's clothes get thicker!  i needed to take the stinky dog for a walk and figured i would bring our little guy out too.  but, since its getting a bit colder out these days, i hot to bundle him up nice and warm!  our little guy does seem to love putting on all the different layers, he watches intently to see what exactly we are putting on him.  his favorite so far has been the jackets we have for him, he loves to watch the zipper go up!  my favorite part is definitely the cute ears on his bright yellow hat!  his least favorite?  mittens.

eatin feet

we dont take ledger's socks off very often.  see, he kinda has huge gross sweaty feet.  i know that might not be the nicest thing to say about my own son, but its true.  but when we do take his socks off, he loves to give those little piggies a tasting!  its really funny though because he'll put his foot in his mouth and then pull it back out with a disgusted look on his face!  yeah ledge, we feel the same way!

first halloween

as halloween was approaching, diana and i didnt really have any big plans.  i know its ledger's first halloween, but as far as holidays go, its not a very important one.  well, our friends julie and frank invited us over to help them pass out candy at their place!  i was certainly ok with that, i mean in years past we would hardly ever get any trick-or-treaters anyway, maybe only a half dozen or so the whole night.  we had gotten a really cute costume for ledger, so we brought that along for him to wear. most of the evening we sat out with the little guy on the front steps and gave out candy to all the kids walking by.  i was surprised at how many people they had stop by- there were probably 50-60 kids!  once it got dark, and the candy ran out, we headed back inside and had a wonderful meal that julie had prepared for us.  i'm sure ledger is much to little to remember this halloween, but julie helped make it memorable for us!
(ledger's costume and other pics)

bottle holder

as our little guy gets more and more used to eating from a bottle he seems to be getting a bit better at it.  in fact, he's gotten so accustomed to it that he even lends a helping hand!  when we first transitioned him to bottles he didnt quite understand how different they are- the formula comes out so quickly!  he would get it all over himself all the time, and he would try to gulp it all down as quick as he could- never stopping for a breath.  well, he seems to have gotten the hang of it now.  sure, he still guzzles it, but he hardly burps up at all, which means much happier (and not as milk covered) parents!
(more pics)

tag

so, we get out his bouncy for him to play with.  it is this huge giant contraption with all kinds of bells and whistles for him to play with.  this thing is so big and filled with fun things for a baby that we literally got rid of our couch and got a smaller love seat so we could fit this thing!  its got lights, songs, things to touch and twist and spin, its even got 6 places to put extra toys to hand from it to grab his attention!  this thing has got it all!  and you know what?  the thing on it that he keeps playing with is the manufacturer's dumb material tag.  figures!

brushing

now that we've got ledger's high chair in the living room, he loves to sit in it and play!  he must feel like a big boy getting to sit up and eat instead of laying down with a bottle.  of all the toys that we put on the table of his chair to play with, his favorite always seems to be his tooth brush!  his teeth must be ready to come through because he seems so pleased when we brush his gums- it must feel good to soothe such a sensitive spot.  we keep telling him that he should stay this excited about dental hygiene forever!
(more pics)

dock rocks

as we were coming back from the walk, we headed in to the backyard and saw this adorable sight: diana and barbara on the end of the dock with tavish, trying to throw rocks into the water.  so cute!  please note the giant ears of one pesky little dog trying to run out and ruin their fun...

tavish's teachings

sunday i headed back to south bend to pick up the family.  alanna and tavish are staying with mom and david for a while, so ledger had someone to play with!  as you can see, tavish was busy showing ledger exactly how the iphone works, and he was paying very close attention!
(more pics)

indy con

every year i attend a teacher's convention through school.  usually its in south bend, but every once in a while its somewhere else, sometimes its in grand rapids, other times its been in milwaukee.  well, this year it was in indianapolis!  with me being gone for two days, diana didnt really want to spend all that time at the house alone, so wednesday night we drove over to south bend so she and ledger (and poco) could stay with her mom and david for the weekend!  thursday morning i got up nice and early so i could make it to the convention center for the opening speaker at 9:00am.  i got to go to a few different seminars that day and then headed to the hotel i had gotten for the night.  it was a really amazing hotel for super cheap (i highly recommend it- check it out here!).  it was a bit strange going out for dinner all by myself, but there was a ruby tuesday's right next door and couldnt pass that up since there arent any of them by us any more.  the next day there were a few more seminars and speakers, and then i headed home.  it was a great time, but i wish i could have taken in a bit more of the city.  oh well, i guess diana and i will just have to visit there again for a weekend retreat sometime!  any offers for babysitting?..
(more pics)

uh oh...

guess who just noticed the dog?  this could be trouble...

visiting jeffry lee

since the visit was so short we didn't have time to hang out with any of the guys, but jeffry lee insisted that we stop by, so on the way out we dropped by his place for a little while.  ledger seemed to love it, getting the most comfortable chair in the whole house!  it was great to be able to see my best man, and he even showered us with gifts- aw shucks!

family sunday

after work i was able to head up to grand rapids to be with everyone.  it was a long drive for that late at night, but thankfully i had a few great podcasts to listen to that kept me going.  in the morning we headed off to church and got a chance to see the nephew and nieces!  jill, tim, and the kids came over around noon for a wonderful dinner (although, really, when isn't mom's cooking wonderful?!?).  it was a great time, but way too short (as always).  its always fun to watch the kids interact with ledger and to see his responses to them as well!  the weather was beautiful, so papa took ledger out back to let him enjoy the warm day.  before we knew it it was time to head back home already.
(more pics)

meeting mema

stuck in town to work another saturday, diana and ledger headed up to see the family in grand rapids.  instead of driving all the way up to drop them off, my mom drove down half way and picked up diana and ledger.  we stopped in benton harbor for the trade off.  at the exit there was a mcdonalds, so we peeked in for a little food and waited for mom to join us there.  when she walked up we held ledger up so he could look out the window and when he saw her his face just lit up!  we got a chance to chat for a while, but then it was time to go.  i headed back to the house while diana and ledger enjoyed the next couple days.
(more pics)

check-up

it was another visit to the doctor for our little man.  although, he's not quite so little anymore!  i always love to go with diana for ledger's check-ups, and i know diana wants me to be there too.  not just for the support, but mostly because she doesnt want to be in the room when ledger gets his shots!  i take one for the team and hold him till he's done crying, which is only about 30 seconds later...  at least he gets these fun band-aids!

cool kid

i know i was never cool, but it looks like my son may have the chance i never got!

wedding away

one of the girls that diana worked with got married and invited us to attend. diana's mom was gracious enough to come down for the day and babysit so that we could go. it was a great time- one of our first chances to go out, just the two of us, since ledger was born. we made sure to live it up, which isnt hard considering how kooky those girls are...

(pics)

hi, chair

with ledger getting big enough, we figured it was about time to take out the high chair!  while diana was visiting my family, they put him in mema's high chair and he loved it, so we took ours out as well.  it had been sitting in the shed for the past couple of months waiting to be used.  a friend of my sister had been ready to get rid of theirs, so jill offered to take it and pass it along to us.  always nice to have someone looking out for you, huh?  so we got a perfectly wonderful high chair for free- hurray!  well, ledger was certainly up for the new place to play- he took to it immediately and has been enjoying it ever since!

short trip

i finally got there around 2:00 am and immediately fell asleep!  we got up bright and early so we could join mema and papa at their church.  soon after we got home, tim, jill, and the kids stopped by for a backyard grill out!  we got to spend the rest of the afternoon playing around with the kids and having fun with ledger.  before i knew it, it was already time to leave!  i think i was only in grand rapids for about 14 hours...
(more pics: 1, 2, 3)

early visit to memas

with me working every saturday, that leaves diana with a lot of time alone with ledger.  seeing this as an opportunity instead of a drawback, diana has been taking advantage!  this weekend she left a little bit early, met up with barbara on thursday, and headed up to see my family in grand rapids!  my mom gets to missing our little ledger pretty quickly, so this was a great way for her to see him for more than just one day- and a chance for diana to have a little extra fun too.  all friday and saturday while i was working i got cute pictures on my phone to help distract me from missing the two of them!  fortunately i was able to join them after i was done saturday!
(more pics)

mirror, mirror

back a couple months before ledger was born we received, as a shower gift, a mirror.  it had been misplaced for the past few months, but we found it again and decided to give it a try.  its designed to put on the handle of his car seat and is a way to see what he's up to when in the car facing the opposite way.  its pretty handy for us so that we can see what he might be fussing about, but he sure gets a kick out of it too- now he can see his mom and dad while going for a ride!

lookin' good!

we had an important day out where we all wanted to look our best.  ledger, understanding the importance of being a well dressed man, took this opportunity to show off his dapper good looks and sharp dressed style.  well played, future j crew model, well played...

watching traffic

every afternoon, and sometimes a couple times a day, we try to take our little man outside.  i dont naturally have an interest in the outside world, preffering instead to spend my days in the cave that his my living room, but i know that it would be a good idea to try and give ledger a different option than that.  so, out we go!  sitting on the front porch of the house counting blue cars..

reading time

ledger is getting bigger and bigger, he's recently taken up reading.  ok, maybe not reading exactly, but at least looking at the pictures in books!  i wasnt sure if he would be interested in them, but diana and i took out a few books for him to look  at and he took to them immediately.  it seems that anything that has eyes draws his attention and he loves it.  his favorite is definitely pictures of babies.  i wonder why?  he and i made it through about two books and then he was done, ready for something a bit more active, but at least the interest is there!

hey ladies

'hey ladies, hows it goin?'  rad like dad indeed.

evening walk

every evening i take our stinky dog for a walk.  i usually try to give diana a break after a long day by taking our son with me too.  i pull out the papoose and strap our boy to me!  we used to go for long walks in the summer (back when i didnt have to be to work in the mornings), and he would go in it and face in and fall asleep almost immediately.  well, now he wants to see the world so he faces out. the walks with us three guys are fun, but every once in a while diana comes along!  we dont go far, we just walk around the block, but it sure is a nice stress reliever, a chance to let go of all the work stuff and transition to home stuff.  when diana comes its a nice time to chat, i get to hear about her day and  about her day with ledger and hear about if he has learned something new that he can show me when we get back home.  i've got to enjoy it while i can because when the weather starts to get colder i know it might just be the dog and i again, and he isnt nearly the conversationalist as the wife...

stretchy

every day ledger does something new.  some days its a little thing like a new noise, some days its a big thing like finding his feet.  and some days, like today, its a strange thing!  when diana or i held him today he just wanted to stretch himself out- not exactly sure why, but he is all about stretching now!  he arches his back and flails his arms around, which is funny, but makes it hard to hold him. i wonder how long this will last?...

sleepsy

one of my favorite things to do is just hold ledger while he sleeps.  he is just so cute and cuddly that i cant get myself to set him down!  he takes quite a few naps a day, so he finds all kinds of places to fall asleep.  i'm pretty sure he had just finished his prayers and then fell asleep in this picture...
(more pics)

bouncy seat

now that we got rid of the couch in favor of a smaller love seat, we brought ledger's bouncy back in the house.  he's also a bit bigger, so he can almost reach the ground when we put a pillow under him...  when we put him in there he really loves it!  that thing has so many colors and play things that he gets super excited to go in it, he's not all that bouncy yet, but it will come.  he can usually handle being in it for about five to ten minutes, but then he gets a bit upset.  i think he just gets a little over stimulated and needs a break- i can understand that because if i were in that thing i would go nuts from all the sights and sounds!
(more pics)