First Laughs!

Yesterday when I got home from work, I was holding Alex while Charlotte was on mom's computer, somehow patient enough to commence internet operations on a dial-up connection.

Alex had just woken up about fifteen minutes prior and was all smiles. Charlotte began intermittently thrusting her face back and forth toward Alex while speaking baby-gibberish and a half-garbled voice...

Alex's noise started out as a sort of high pitch grunt that translated into something of an affirmation of her amusement, but as the intensity of Charlotte's bizarre activity increased, the grunt evolved into a laugh, though awkward at first because of its virginity. Although a new vocal ability was being exercised, it quickly matured to resemble a much wiser laugh, possibly one of the sweetest sounds acknowledged by the human ear.

As my video camera is on lend and our camera is dead, this moment escaped digital immortalization. But the memory of it is will remain sharper than almost any other in my lifetime...

My Girls...

Much apologies as to the recent absences of posts, what with moving and all...

Here are a couple of cute pictures, though:

Alex

Alyse

Funny Girls...

One never knows what to expect when Alyse & Aubrey get together except, of course, for hilarity. Two videos for you to observe this claim:

Our Little Cutie

Pleasant Look
Originally uploaded by drewesque

As is the case with most babies, capturing Alexa's smile in a picture is particularly difficult, but she will throw looks at me like this all day long.

It's Been a Little While...

July 11, 2006


July 21, 2007

Funniest Picture Ever.

Funniest Picture Ever.
Originally uploaded by drewesque

This picture kills my head. Alyse & Aubrey were doing a performance, using the fireplace hearth as a mini-stage. I don't remember just now if there was music or if we were prodding them on, but hilarity ensued.

Don't It Make You Smile...

Alex has started smiling a bit, though mostly whilst dozing off. Here is the closest photographic evidence I have to support this claim:

Noticeable Similarities.

This seemed inevitable. I guess that's why I'm doing it.

SONOGRAM
Alyse

Alex






WAITING ROOM
Alyse

Alex





READY TO DELIVER
Alyse

Alex







DELIVERANCE
Alyse

Alex






THE WEIGH-IN
Alyse

Alex






MOMMY & DAUGHTER
Alyse

Alex





DADDY & DAUGHTER
Alyse

Alex






CLOSE-UP!
Alyse

Alex







UNKIE B-MONKEY
Alyse

Alex






ANDY & HER COUSIN
Alyse

Alex






HOMECOMING
Alyse

Alex

Father's Day

For Father's Day this year, we spent a quiet day just spending quality time as a family. We went to eat in the afternoon and, despite the excruciating humidity, made a stop over at the park for a while.



With the attractive playground equipment, Alyse experienced a bit of sensory overload which manifested itself in a sort of adamant protest when we decided to leave.



Arguably, Alex's time was better spent napping:



Alexa has matured to a stage, however, where she is actually awake more often than she is asleep! Fortunately, for the most part, she is still a very content infant. She cries when she is hungry, and cries if she wakes up and no one is holding her.



All in all, the girls are absolutely loving their mom being home with them all day (even though Alex can't appreciate that concept like Alyse can!).

Alex's First Video!

After being peppered by several requests to show Alexa in video form, especially after a particularly nasty one that took on the form of a veiled threat, I decided to lazily compile this montage of Alex at 4 days old.

At the first, I tell Alexa that she is so pretty; immediately the clip cuts and Alyse may be heard mumbling in the background to which I reply, "Not you, Alyse." Just for clarification's sake, this was not a response to the "so pretty comment," but rather something entirely different.

Alex on the Good Shepherd Website

Check out Alexa's newborn nursery picture on the :

Good Shepherd Medical Center website

Alexa Lylith Allen

Alexa Lylith Allen was born at 3:03 pm at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview, TX on Saturday, June 2, 2007. As the "pushing" phase only lasted about 10 minutes, Charlotte and I were dually surprised when Alex registered a whopping 9 lbs. 8 oz. on the scale! (She was 20 inches long.)



We're infinitely blessed to have had another incident free delivery, not to mention a second perfectly healthy and beautiful baby girl!

Many more pictures to follow, but be sure to visit the Flickr! photoset from her birth.

Down to the Wire

Well, it's official. The newest addition to the Allen family will be making her appearance no later than this Saturday, June 2, in the year of our Lord, 2007.

Charlotte went to Dr. Mauldin yesterday, and he was more than impressed with Alexa's preparedness to depart the womb. In fact, after observing Alex's nearness to the exit, he casually mentioned there was no real reason to wait past this weekend to coax her out. He made the post-thought that he was already on-call this Saturday, so it was just as good a time as any.

Shannon, a co-worker in my office pointed out that Charlotte will deliver before Saturday, as Friday is scheduled to be a full moon.

So maybe today. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe Friday. But definitely by Saturday I will snuggle my second daughter in my arms for the first time.

It's Potty Time.

Charlotte and I recently agreed it may be time to introduce Alyse to the world of pottying. I thought it maybe a good time for her to get familiar with the concept, but Charlotte seems convinced she can have Alyse completely trained on it by the time summer is out.



I, of course, rebuffed this ridiculous claim, citing that it may seem easy right now but with a new baby in tow, it could prove more challenging than previously thought. Being the strong, independent, and stubborn woman she is, Charlotte told me I was selling her short. I'll leave the story there, as the text is merely a subpar excuse to post these cute pictures of Alyse on her potty seat.



Charlotte is now 36 weeks pregnant with Alex and is sure to pop within the next few weeks. Get prepared to be lambasted with blog pictures very soon.

Alyse at Jasien & Bekah's Wedding

Alyse at Jasien & Bekah's Wedding
Originally uploaded by drewesque.

Bekah and Jasien sent me this picture this morning, they just having gotten their wedding photos. I know it's technically theirs to upload, but I got really anxious! Jasien spent some time color-correcting it and touching it up


[Click to open the photo page.]

The Allen Girls

My heart swells with pride that, of the four or five words Alyse says meaningfully, baby is one of them. She'll pull Charlotte's shirt up, point to her belly, and ask, "Baby?"

I've long been a believer that little babies and toddlers have eerie powers, especially where non-verbal communication is concerned, and Alex's movement in correlation to Alyse's proximity to Charlotte's pregnant tummy seems to support these implications. To me, anyway.





I also know that having two girls, back-to-back, is some sort of divine conspiracy to transform me into a sensitive, patient, emotional lug of a push-over, because I'm already like putty in Alyse's hands. I start to tear up at commercials that show little girls and their daddies, where once I would turn away in disgust.

Among Charlotte, Alyse, & Alexa, we are growing a mighty Allen family gynocracy. Even if we have two, three, even six more girls, I would love every second of it.




And remember, the evil bunny is watching you.

D'oh!

This clip doesn't really need any set-up:

Swiper, No Swiping!

On Wednesday night, we were able to pick up the newest addition to our family, Swiper the dog, a full-blood Doberman Pinscher puppy. I've agitated Charlotte to no end to let us have a Doberman, as my brother, sisters, and I had one named Babe, who we all recollect to be the best family pet in the history of man and petkind. Some people have a negative reaction to Dobermans, but I've long been convinced this is due to either lack of exposure or misplaced trust in media stereotyping of the breed.




Watching Alyse and Swiper play together is about the darn cutest thing I've ever seen, especially since they are both younglings in their own rite.




With Swiper having been recently separated from his family for the first time, his transition into the household has been a tiny bit challenging. He'll whimper when one of us walks out of the room, and occasionally at night both Alyse and he will vie for our attention.




And, of course, the biggest challenge I faced with Swiper coming in was convincing Charlotte to let him be an all-house dog. What I mean by this, is that he have no restrictions where he can go in the house. For those who don't know, Zoe was a kitchen dog and was not allowed on the carpet (I still have a strange feeling this help contribute to her neurotic behavior). Also for those who don't know, Charlotte has a god-like obsession with cleanliness and believes that, even if properly groomed and maintained, dogs have invisible dirt that gets on the carpet. Swiper, seen above, senses that he will have to win over Charlotte's heart to earn this privilege.

You Grow Wild in My Heart

My flower child, you grow wild in my heart...

Baby Like Beckham

Generally, I try to contain my gushing about Alyse, but we may have uncovered her talent a little early in life. Every time I watch this video I am more and more astonished...