Soccer

Malachi is playing soccer again this fall and is doing really well. He seems to be enjoying it and his team even has a few wins so far - much better than our winless season last year!

Happy 80th Birthday!

Grandma Jane turned 80 today! Dad, Grandma Jane and Uncle JohnGrandma with all her grandchildrenGrammy with our boys, 3 of her 8 great-grandchildren
We had a birthday dinner for her on Sunday at the Bell Tower. It was a nice dinner and she really enjoyed having her whole family together. Happy Birthday, Grandma Jane! We love you!

Joining the Family

Jonas came into the world quickly and for his sake I hope he stays fast! I have a feeling he'll need some speed to keep up with his brothers...or maybe run away from them! Malachi and Elliott are both being so sweet with him and are very proud of their baby brother.

Malachi meeting his new baby brother.

Elliott is very curious about Jonas. He holds out his arms and asks to hold him a lot already.

I am one proud mommy!

Daddy with his newest little guy.

Ready to go home and join the craziness!
Our first family photo. I think Elliott's expression is an indication of how family pictures will look for at least the next few years.

Brother Comparison

Malachi Blake, March 26, 2006
Elliott Bruce, November 4, 2009

Jonas Brandon, September 22, 2011

Our Littlest Guy

We are so proud to introduce Jonas Brandon! He joined us at 10:41 on Thursday night, September 22nd - his due date! He weighs 8 pounds, 12 ounces and has a crazy conehead just like both of his brothers did. More pictures of Malachi and Elliott meeting him will be coming soon!

Updates!

Whew, it's been a while and I must say we've been busy around here! I've definitely had that nesting instinct and a major burst of energy that apparently come at the end of a pregnancy. My to-do list is steadily getting shorter and I think things are ready for another little man around the Allsop home. Here's a rundown of what we've been up to:

Obviously I can't take credit for the work here, but our basement is finally being put back together thanks to my mom and Aunt Laura. They devoted a few days of work to get the walls repaired (we used a PVC roofing material on the bottom of the walls so they are waterproof in case it floods again) and I am SO thankful to have this space back in usable condition! We still need a couple doors hung and trim around the doors, but it is a safe place for the boys to play again...which means fewer toys all over the rest of the house!

I assume the play area will always look like this (or worse) but at least it's in the basement and I can shut the door! Notice Malachi's art wall in the back. He's quite proud of that and I'm currently thinking up ways to make it an even better gallery for him.
While mom and Laura were busy downstairs, I took the time to pull out all the baby clothes and get them washed and ready for our little guy. I also reorganized all of Malachi and Elliott's clothing to get ready for fall and moved Elliott over to Malachi's room. So now it's official - not only is Elliott in a regular bed, he's on the bottom bunk in his new room! I'm afraid to say it, but they have done a great job sharing a room so far and I can only pray it's always this easy!
Since Elliott transitioned so easily I felt free to go ahead and prep the nursery for Boy #3 (can you tell we still can't decide on a name?). I gave up on the idea of making all new bedding and instead made a few minor alterations to what we already had. Here's a little peak at some of the decor I made to go above the crib. I'll post more pictures when his room is all finished.

This end-of-pregnancy extra energy has also come with some majorly clumsy and uncoordinated moments. First I fell down these stairs last week. I slipped at the top and bounced the rest of the way down. The baby is fine, however my tailbone is still pretty sore - which I'm hoping won't cause any problems during delivery.

And this week I shut my thumb in the car door. I'm still not quite sure how that happened but I do know that it turned black and blue immediately and is extremely sore. I never realized until now just how important your right thumb actually is!

Other than all of that, Malachi has bronchitis and has had to be home from school a few days this week. So much for his first full week of school every day! We're just praying that Elliott, Erik and I can stay healthy so that we can welcome our new little boy into our family soon without much more drama! Today I am 39 weeks and at my ultrasound on Tuesday the baby measured 7 pounds, 8 ounces. My doctor doesn't seem to think I'll make it to the next appointment, but we'll see what plans this little guy has for himself. We can't wait to share exciting news with you all soon!

Kiddos on the Beach

Just one more picture from Kiawah:

GranMols wanted a picture of all the kids, which is quite a feat with seven ranging from 3 months to 11 years old! This is the best we got - good job, Kels!