One of the Big Kids

 

 

 

 

Monday night we had our Annual Special Forces Christmas Party at our house. The first couple of years, Kati Ann enjoyed the party but this year Kati Ann was absolutely elated to have the students at our house for a party. Kati Ann loves to PARTY!! The students made gingerbread houses and Kati Ann was right in the middle of the fun. Its days like this its especially nice when your dad is the youth minister. What other 2 year old parties with middle schoolers?!?

Its Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

Christmas Flowers Jared sent me up close

Christmas flowers on our kitchen table

Christmas Tree (next year Jared says we'll have a bigger one since we have the space now)

 

Fireplace with Four Stockings this year...even one for Kie!!

 

Our Dining Room

 

Thomas Kinkade Village (my parents have given us a different piece every year we've been married)

 

This time last year we didn't have Christmas decorations because I had a broken arm and quite frankly it was all we could do to get everyone showered everyday much less decorate for Christmas. So this year, all my bones are connected and I have some medicine that is working to keep my nausea and sickness under control so I was excited to decorate this year. Kati Ann was really excited as well. She loved that we put up a Christmas tree at our house. Wherever we go that we see a Christmas tree, she says, "I have one at my house!" So, here are a few pics of our endeavors to make our home look like we're celebrating a very special birthday!

Visit to Grandma Joan

For Thanksgiving, we visited Jared's grandmother, Grandma Joan, in North Oklahoma. We spent most of our Thanksgiving Break in the car but it was nice to visit family and enjoy some UNBELIEVABLE food!!

The Rainbow

For Thanksgiving, we journeyed to Miami, OK and decided to take the "long" way and make a stop at the St. Louis Arch in St. Louis, MO. As soon as we pulled into town, Kati Ann spotted the arch and said, "Mom, look there's a rainbow." We didn't go visit the arch until the next morning and she continued to refer to the arch as the rainbow and thought it was amazing (at least from the outside). We took the tram up to the top of the "rainbow" and all 3 of us weren't nearly as impressed by the inside as we were the outside. It was fun to make memories!!

And the winner is...

I really wanted to do something cute to announce our little guy's name. My cousin's wife, Jennifer, made a cute video with their older child to announce his little brother's name but since we're not telling Kati Ann about the baby yet I didn't think that was a good idea. And well, that was as far as my creativity could take me. So, we've decided we're just going to tell people the normal way...by just telling.
Jared and I have talked about a name for a while and finally settled on one last week. We kept it under wraps so we could practice saying it and make sure we really liked it as well as making sure we agreed on a spelling. So, last night we decided that we were sure. Our sweet little boy's name is (drum roll please):

Kie Matthew Allen

We can start monogramming now!!

First Golf Lesson

 

 

 

 

This morning was beautiful and Jared had the day off so we all headed outside. Jared thought it would be fun to hit some golf balls and Kati Ann thought that sounded fun too. So, the two of them got out in the back yard and had their own mini-golf lesson. Kati Ann discovered that Jared liked to wear a glove when hitting the ball so she too needed a glove to help her swing! What sweet memories!

Shaking Things Up

Today, we went in for our 16-week appointment. Our doctor told us that she would look at 16 weeks to see if she could tell what we were having and sure enough...its a BOY! There was no mistaking this identification. We have some very conclusive pictures. Jared & I both hardly know what to think. We've come to identify ourselves as girl parents but that's soon to change. We'll be learning a whole new world as we become a little boy's parents too.
With Kati Ann, we had a name by the time we found out what we were having but we don't yet have a name for our little guy. We'll have to start narrowing it down and hopefully will have a name to start calling our little guy soon.

On a side note: I've had requests for Belly Pics. As it would work out, I've lost SO much weight from being sick (which I continue to be) that I am actually wearing clothes loosely that were tight before getting pregnant. I'm not showing at all so my belly pics would be to show you a belly that was flatter than before I got pregnant. I actually am starting to have some pretty "cut" abs from my "exercises" over the toilet. So, at some point others may know that I'm pregnant from looking at me but as of now...I don't have much to show.