Let it snow!

We finally got a good snow storm here in Ann Arbor. Last week it rained, then froze, then frozen rain. It has been cold enough to snow, just not the right storms. Finally last night it snowed about 6 inches, and is still snowing all day today.


This morning Jayda and I went out to enjoy the new snow. It was windy and blowing all over, but it is a beautiful white covering to everything.


Here is what it looked like yesterday. We were getting ready to run (hobble for me, run for Anna) with the kids. It was 23 degrees outside, no snow, just cold. It was a lot of fun for all of us though.



Some of our neighbors and Jayda's friends came out to play with her this morning. It was cold and Jayda got wet legs and hands, but she never wanted to come inside. When we finally did get her inside, her boots were full of snow, her legs wet, and her hands freezing, but she was so excited she didn't even notice.


Anna and Addison decided to watch from the warmth of the kitchen. I think they may have been the smart ones.

Early Dec update

Time for an update from the Allen blog of life. I know you have all been checking daily and anticipating our next update. Well, here it is.
Life is good here in Michigan. It's cold, but that is normal for December here. Not much snow to report, a little storm here and there, but mainly ice and cold. Todd finishes school this week and has almost 3 weeks off! (last time that will ever happen, better enjoy it now!). Todd also has finished interviewing at his pediatric dental programs. 5 interviews total, and he is glad to be done traveling and scheduling interviews. We will submit our match rank list in January, then on the 28th of January our fate will be determined by some fancy computer that will tell us if, and where we will be going....

For the cold weather here we have to bundle up the girls extra warm, even to just run to the car. Here is Addison in her snow suit. We were on our way out the door one day and we looked to find Addison had fallen back and was unable to move . She can't roll over, crawl, or move much at all, but it sure does keep her warm.



Jayda got a new hat and scarf this year. The scarf has little pockets on the end so she can tuck her hands in them when outside. It works pretty well and she won't leave the house without her hands in her pockets.


Even though we won't be in our apartment on Christmas this year, we (Anna) decided that we should have a Christmas tree for the girls to decorate and enjoy. We got a small 3 foot tree and set it up, let Jayda help decorate it, put lights on it, and now we get to enjoy it until we are gone. Todd is a bit of a scrooge with tree's for some reason, but Anna talked him in to it and he likes it now.


No Christmas season would be complete without some gingerbread houses. Jayda made one at pre-school and was so excited to bring it home and show it off. She was also excited to have left over candy that she could bring home and eat. This picture was her showing off the house, but it was so cold she could barely stand still long enough to take the picture.



Jayda has finally showed a desire to sleep "up top" on the top bunk bed. We were washing her sheets from the bottom bunk one day, so we let her sleep on the top for her nap- now she won't go back. She loves to climb up "by myself" and pull up her blankets. She does great getting in and out by herself so we don't end up helping her at all.


In this one you can see her tucked in on top, but even better is that she has her "babies" tucked in on the bottom bunk now. I guess they took over the lower when she moved up.

Thanksgiving Report

Just a quick report on our Thanksgiving last week. We took the kids to Richmond, VA to visit Anna's sister Marcy. Anna's Dad and step-Mom were also there making it a fun visit for everyone.

Tues- I had an interview with Michigan's pediatric program and spent the day in Flint, MI seeing part of the program up there. I got home at about 3pm and helped Anna finish packing and getting everything ready. We left Ann Arbor for our 10 hour drive and obviously didn't get to Richmond until very late (or early Wed morning).

Wed- Hanging out and Jayda and Addison played with all of the cousins. Here is a photo of Jayda and Addison with their cousins Mya and Megan.



Thursday/Turkey Day- Big dinner at Marcy and Taylor's house. Great food, fun times to visit, football on TV, games for the kids. Of course I forgot the camera that day and so have no pictures of the actual dinner of anything related to it. After dinner Grandpa Craig took all of the kids swimming at the hotel. Jayda loved the water of course and especially the hot tub (not very hot, so she did fine in the water). Addison went to bed so she didn't get a chance to play in the water.
Here is Jayda and Grandpa Craig in the hot tub.




Friday- Anna woke up early and went with Marcy to do the Black Friday 6am shopping routine. I stayed back with the girls and slept in a little. Anna found some good deals of course, and enjoyed shopping in a short sleeve shirt as the weather was so warm in Richmond. (70+ degrees for two of the days we were there). The rest of the day was spent playing at the park, seeing "The Bee Movie", and just hanging out.

Me with Addison and Megan playing at the park.


The kids (Addison, Megan, Jayda, Mya, and Preston) piling up on the slide.



Saturday- We went with Grandpa Craig and cousin Mya to Colonial Williamsburg (about an hour from Richmond). It was absolutely beautiful with so many trees that still had fall leaves on them. Williamsburg is a fun place to visit with a historic area of town that has fully restored houses, shops, streets, horse carriages, etc.... People walk around dressed up in the colonial period and there is so much to see.






Sunday- A VERY LONG drive home. Heavy traffic, hours of driving, stops for kids to play, stops for bathroom breaks, more stops for kids to play and eat, and a total of 14 hours of travel later we arrived home! Long travel days on both ends of the trip, but an overall very fun trip.

Thanks to Marcy and Taylor for hosting us all for Thanksgiving. Thanks to Grandpa Craig and Grandma Meg for the hotel room to share, and for all of the fun visits and playing with the kids.

Mid November

Sad day at our house after Michigan lost to Ohio State yesterday. We didn't really expect them to win since they haven't beat Ohio State once in the 4 years we have been here, but there is always hope. You Ohio State fans out there can go ahead and rub it in now....
At least Utah won, that is what really matters. Utah will have the same record or better then Michigan depending on what happens next week against BYU. (Go Utes!)

Anyway, enough sports for this week. It's almost Thanksgiving! That means fun times with family, friends, and of course no work or school for a few days! We hope everybody has a great Thanksgiving week. Anna is teaching Jayda's preschool class about Thanksgiving and it is fun to hear what 3 year olds are thankful for. Always thankful for simple things like parents and siblings.

Weather is cold here now, but earlier this week Anna got some photos of the girls playing in the leaves. There is no shortage of trees or leaves around here, and it makes it very pretty in the fall and spring. Lots of leaves on the ground for the kids to play in and crawl in right now..

Early Nov. Update

So it is past time to update our blog, and I don't really have much to write about today. We are all sick with the same cold- coughs, runny noses, and not enough sleep. Addison has had it for about 2 weeks, Anna for about the same, Jayda and I have had for about a week. It isn't terrible, but it won't go away either.
The weather is turning into late fall/ early winter now. It is pretty and I don't mind the temperature now, but I know it is only going to get much worse for the next few months. We will survive though, we have every other year.

I have been busy with school and interviews for my potential pediatric residency. I have had 2 interviews recently, and have 3 more to come.

My first interview was in Buffalo, NY at the Children's Hospital there. It was a good interview and a good program. Only problem is they interview about 70 people for 5 spots. I liked it though and would be happy there if it worked out that way. First impression of Buffalo is snow and cold, but also I know of a good children's hospital there now.













My second interview was at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. It too was a good interview and has better odds- they interview about 20 people for 5 spots. A very different program then Buffalo, and they both have their pros and cons. When I think of Minnesota, I think of cold and colder. All of the residents seemed to really like living in Minneapolis though, so I guess it can't be too bad.





I have 3 more interviews- here at Michigan, at the Denver Children's Hospital, and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. I already know a lot about each of these programs ( I spent a week in Denver and Richmond already) and so I know that they are great programs that I would enjoy. The big question will be where (if anywhere) I will match and be accepted. It could be any of these programs, or none at all. I won't know until Jan 28th, so we all just have to be patient I guess.