The Allen Family

Wow my family needs a rest from this past weekend. We were busy... busy... busy!. Let me give ya a little rundown of our craziness ! Wednesday night - Bowling with Shay, Justin, Becky, Chris and me.... I sucked as usual but we had a lot of fun especially hanging out with Becky! Thursday (Thanksgiving) - We went to my parents house for a HUGE feast that tasted so yummy and then we went to Chris' mom's house for fantastic pies. It was great to spend time with all our families. Next up was meeting with my sis to get a game plan for "BLACK FRIDAY". Dora and I left the house at 10:00 p.m. to hit Toys R Us ( opening at midnight). When we got there the line was already wrapped around the building and the people were still packing in ( I bet there was 800 to 1000 people waiting in line.... wow). We waited outside for an hour and 45 minutes in the freezing cold. When we finally got into the doors it was a mad rush to the items we needed after waiting two hours to check ...

Chris and I have so much to be thankful for and we are so blessed in many ways. Here are a some things we are thankful for: A handsome, healthy little boy that is the joy in our lives! A loving family that is always there for support and guidance. Great friends. A happy home which we take a lot of pride in. It's not our dream home but we love what we have done with the place. Good paying jobs. Our health Our love for one another. We are each others best friend, companion, lover and true soul mates. For Chris to have a job that pays him well enough that Emily can stay home part time with Ryker . We are feeling truly blessed this holiday season and we hope everyone else does also! We hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

We put up our Christmas tree last Wednesday night and I was a little nervous that Ryker would not stay out of it. He has done really well so far and we have only had to get after him a few times, he is drawn to these little red berries that are on our tree. We are so excited for Christmas to come and see the excitment on Ryker's face! Daddy & Ryker putting on the star.

We took Ryker to his 12 month check-up yesterday. He had to have 4 shots two in each leg (one was his second round of the flu shot) and he was not happy about that but usually he would be a bear the rest of the night and he was playful as ever which thrilled us. Here are his stats from the visit... 17 pounds 12 ounces- 2 nd to 3rd% (He is still a little guy but he eats like crazy and he is ALWAYS on the move so the doctor is not concerned . Plus he does always gain but not a fast rate!) 29 1/2" in length (My boy is going to be tall and skinny like his daddy) Things Ryker does, likes, dislikes etc. at 12 months: - He is crawling everywhere! - Pulls himself to stand on everything. - Walks everywhere as long as he has something to hold onto. - He loves to have any kids around to play with. - Says “Mama”, “Dada” and we swear he says hi and baby sometimes. - Eats two stage 2 jars or 1 stage 3 and 1 stage 2 with every meal. - Loves puff, brownie bites, bread, crackers and chips for s...

Mommy went shopping today with the girls and came back to my poor baby having his first owie ! Chris put Ryker in his new trike outside in the garage so he could get some stuff done and I guess somehow Ryker tipped it over and got an owie . Daddy said our little man was so tuff and only cried for a bit because he thinks it just scared him. Funny how his first owie happens when Daddy is suppose to be watching him!

We had Ryker's 1st birthday party last night (a little late due to the flu and ear infection)! We had a GREAT turn out and it was a lot fun for our little man. Ryker was really spoiled with lots of toys and some really cute clothes. We cannot believe that Ryker wore this hat most of the night and did not even bother with it. Chris thought it was such a dumb idea for me to get it for him because he thought he would not wear it. Well he did and he looked adorable! Some of the guests that came to the party Ryker had a fit when we took him away from all the cool new toys to eat cake so by the time we sang and gave him his cake he was not a happy camper (that's an understatement , he was hysterical). By the time most everyone left he dove right into the cake and ate so much of it. We think maybe he did not like all the people looking at him and disbursing his toy time. Mommy was scared to death he was going to go into a sugar comma from eating so much of the frosting. It ...

Chris does the dedicated hunter program each year so he can hunt all three hunts (Bow, Mussel loader and the rifle). Once you sign up you have three years to kill two animals. He did not shot anything last year so he can this year and next. Here is the deer he shot on the rifle hunt. It's a pretty good deer especially for being a northern tag. It's a 3 by 4 and a little over 26 inches wide. GOOD JOB DADDY! Chris & his best side kick Briggs! Chris and his boys! EEWWW Brycie don't touch the tongue !

Ever since Ryker first tried refried beans when we were branding calves during the spring he has LOVED them. He has always been such a picky eater and did not like solid foods for the longest time but when it comes to beans he cannot get enough. Check him out! What a mess to clean up.... his nose was so full of beans but he had fun!

Ever since the day of Ryker's birthday (Halloween) he has been pulling himself up to stand like crazy. He has been doing this for quite a while but he would only pull himself up to his knees (occasionally to his feet but not that often) but now he has moved on to his feet. On Monday (11/2/09) Ryker wanted this water bottle I had so I thought I would see if he could walk the couch holding on to it and not me. Well as it turned out he is a pro at it! He acted like duh I can do this no problem. I don't think it will be too long before he takes off.

Ryker was feeling so good yesterday and was so pissy from being stuck in the house for days that we decided we would go ahead and take him out trunk or treating. He loved seeing all the kids running around and really enjoyed himself! We love this little monkey Crystal, Ryker , Briggs & Brycie We were surprised he wore his head piece to his outfit because he does not like it but we t hink all the kids running around distracted him. One wore out little monkey at the end of the night! HaPpY hAlLoWeEn 2009!

We gave Ryker some presents on his actual birthday instead of waiting until the party. He did not know what to think of the wrapping paper he was much more excited about the toy making noises inside. Once he got this truck open and out of the box that is all he wanted so as you can tell it took a long time to open presents. Maybe I will open this big one Never mind mommy has the camera out and I am going for that. Up close and personal! My train is so much fun! I LOVE my trike!

We did our annual carving pumpkins on Halloween eve at Dora's house. This year was so much fun because we had Ryker and he got to experience all the fun and goo! I want some of that but I don't want to touch it! Okay give it to me I like the taste.... lol ! What a GREAT night!

Briggs stayed over at our house the other day while my sister had some errands to do. He is so so so good with Ryker . They are best friends! These pictures melt my heart.