Happy New Year!

2012 has been a very good year for us. We've had so much fun watching Addi grow up and have so many firsts and we're so happy to be able to share all of this with our family. So here's a little review of just a few of the things that have gone on in the Allen family this year.

January

Started out the year right with Addilyn's baby blessing. She looked so pretty and it was so wonderful to see her surrounded by love.

February

I got a job in Logan and we packed up everything and moved across the country (again). My grandma made room for our arrival by moving in with my mom so we could stay in her house which also happens to be right next to my mom and dad. My mom got some peace of mind by having Grandma closer, and Addi gets to spend quality time with Grammee, Papa, and Grandma Neta.

March

I started my new job. Addi started pulling up to furniture and we started finding her like this every morning usually yelling at us to come get her.

April

Another benefit of living in Utah, being close to cousins. We spent a weekend at my sister Mardee's house while I went to a work conference and Addi started what I'm sure will be a lifetime of chasing and torturing/ playing with her cousin Cooper.

May

We celebrated my birthday and Addi turned 9 months old on the same day. I love that my birthday marks the start of summer and we had plans to have a lot of fun.

June

We visited the Willow Park Zoo with our friends, the Fowlers. Addi had more fun watching Baby Lydia than the animals even though the peacocks were putting on a great show. We also spent a lot of the summer at Glendale Lake with all the cousins and would head up to Riverdale hot springs to find some warm water for Addi to swim in.

July

We went on our First Family Vacation to Oregon. We had a lot of fun visiting the aquarium, splashing in the ocean, and of course visiting the house where they filmed "Goonies."

August

We celebrated Addilyn's first birthday. She loved her cake and was happy to share it with all her cousins.

September

Addilyn started walking after spending a weekend watching all her cousins run around. Every once in awhile we could get her to slow down and sit with one of her favorite people, her Grandma Neta, especially if there was a phone involved.

October

Happy Halloween! We had a lot of fun celebrating. We went to the Pumpkin Walk twice, the corn maze and headed down to Heber to Trick-Or-Treat with Addilyn's cousins.

November

Addi went bowling for the first time and loved it. The only part she didn't like was having to take turns.

December

The best part of the Holidays is getting together with family and friends. Marinda and I moved into the dorms our freshman year and met Amber, Jessie and Kami, who lived across the hall. Seven years, 7 college degrees (and counting), 2 missions, 4 husbands, 1 fiance (Congrats Amber!), and 4 kids later we are still best friends. It was so fun to get together for our annual Christmas Party. We also enjoyed the getting together with my family, seeing extended family at my cousins wedding, and going to the annual Oliverson Christmas party. Addilyn loved being around all her cousins and got lots of practice saying her favorite new words "Shae" and "Nora."

So there you have it, just a little of what happened in 2012 in the Allen family. Here's hoping that 2013 will be just as great!