Malachi's New Room

 It's no surprise to anyone who knows Malachi that he wanted a Star Wars bedroom when he moved into his own room. We started the transition back in November and I finally made time to get it finished last week. He is so excited about his new space, complete with an R2D2 headboard (that he even helped me make!), Star Wars poster and pictures and plenty of lego storage and display space. Next up is a superhero bedroom for my other two boys!

January Recap

I've gotten some heat lately about my lack of blog posts so I decided to take a minute and update everyone on life with the Allsops. It seems like we may be getting back to normal now since Malachi actually went to school for the entire day today! This winter has been harsh. We have had 17 snow days and numerous delays, either for icy roads or sub zero temperatures, so our regular schedule has been terribly disrupted. To be truthful, except for a little cabin fever, I have really enjoyed our extra time together without the stress of schedules and homework. Malachi, Elliott and Jonas have LOVED playing together and we've been able to have a few fun outings together. We went to World of Bounce with friends one day. We visited the Columbus Museum of Art to see the Lego exhibit one day. We've played with cousins a lot and even had Walker stay with us for a few days while his new sister was in the NICU. We've cleaned everything. We've watched movies and built forts. We've listened to records and had dance parties. We've done various craft projects and built tons of Lego creations. And, of course, we have played in the snow and gone sledding. Today I can hear the snow on our roof melting and dripping down through the gutters so maybe it's possible that things are thawing and we'll see the ground minus snow again soon!

Introducing...

Juliana Alice-Aline Throne

Born January 16 at 8:48

6 pounds, 18 inches

 Our sweet niece made a grand entrance last Thursday night in the elevator lobby of the OSU hospital. After five days in the NICU for a little help with her breathing she was allowed to come home yesterday. She is doing great! We got to meet her today and at least one of our boys was super excited. The other two were excited about their new light sabers!

Congratulations to Kelsey, Mike, big brother Walker and big sisters Grace and Liza!

Kids' Museum

 Even though I doubted my sanity in deciding to do a day trip the morning after coming home from Tennessee, we visited the Cincinnati Children's Museum on Monday. Our friends Lindsay, Carson and Bella Ramey joined us. It was a fun day with friends and I'm thankful for time to visit, play and learn together. I'm also thankful for well-behaved children, because they were on Monday and I know that's not always the case!

Four Generations

Had to do some family pictures while we had a large part of the Allsop family together!

Snake!

Meet Monty, Erik's cousin Kevin's ball python. Eww! I kept my distance but the boys were excited. And, NO! They will not be getting a pet snake anytime soon.

Christmas in Tennessee

 We are so thankful that we were able to get away and spend a few days in Tennessee with Yaya and 'Buelo after Christmas. We opened gifts, put together a puzzle, played games and Legos, did crafts, played outside, went to see Christmas lights at the Bristol Motor Speedway, read books, visited some of the other Allsops in Knoxville and enjoyed every minute together. Thank you Yaya and 'Buelo for hosting our craziness!