The Call Clan

Our Thanksgiving Menu 2011

2011-11-23T15:28:00.002-05:00

We are having a quiet Thanksgiving at home this year. We have lots of house projects we want to work on, and Matt still has to study. We may hit up Great Wolf Lodge for one night, but we still aren't sure...depends on the kind of last-minute deal we can get. It's turned into a really fun tradition for us, so I hope we can make it happen!

I want to record what I'm making so I can remember next year, in case we want repeats!

2-hour turkey (pray I don't burn our house down!)

Slow Cooker Maple Brown Sugar Ham (happy to not have to take up oven space)

Creamy Spinach Gratin

Nancy Taylor's Mac-n-Cheese (given to me from my sis-in-law, Ali)

Sweet Potato Casserole

Mashed Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole (a repeat from last year because we loved it)

Corn

Whole berry cranberry sauce

Giblet gravy

Rolls

Dessert:

Mama Dip's Pecan Pie w/ Vanilla Ice Cream (Matt's request)

Perfect Pumpkin Roll (reminds me of my dear friend, Dest)

My boys are outside right now playing "Pilgrims and Indians", and I am enjoying a quiet house. I just finished preparing most everything for tomorrow, which means I can relax for a little bit :-)

We have been so blessed this year and feel so lucky to be where we are right now. I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which provides me with peace and direction every single day. I really cannot imagine my life without the knowledge I have of why I'm here and where I'm going. I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and hope that one day I can become like Him.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!! We send our love from sunny South Carolina!

Halloween 2011: Goodnight Gorilla

2011-11-01T11:21:00.005-04:00

This year at the trunk-or-treat, we were the crew from the book "Goodnight Gorilla". It was fun, except when I wasn't with my "crew", I looked like some weird, crazy lady in a robe begging for candy (I was holding Zane's bag and saying "trick-or-treat" for him, but he was in a stroller so most people didn't even see him). I felt the need to explain to everyone I saw, who I was dressed as, which was probably even weirder. I mean, who wants to hear some long winded story about what you are dressed as?? I am sure they were thinking, "Just take the candy and leave, weirdo!" Needless to say, on Halloween night, I just let the kids dress up and we bagged the whole "family theme" idea. It was fun to have Grandma and Grandpa Call with us this year!

Clive, the sneaky gorilla

Van the mouse, gorilla's sidekick

Dean the lion

Zane the elephant (or swordfish??)...weird costume

Matt and Zane

2011-10-09T22:14:00.005-04:00

I love these series of pictures, taken on Matt's 33rd birthday at the pool in our neighborhood.

1st Day of School; 2010-2011 School Year

2011-10-09T21:56:00.008-04:00

Yup, I made Matt join in, cause he started school the same day :-)

We had a crazy month of August! We moved from Asheville, NC to Columbia, SC for Matt to start his PhD adventure at The University of South Carolina, Van started kindergarten, Clive started second grade, and I attempted to get our house settled. It was a whirlwind of a month!
Ballentine Elementary School is incredible and we feel very lucky to
have the boys there. Van has Mrs. Firestone and Mrs. McCabe for Kindergarten and Clive has Mrs. Lane for 2nd grade. They are both doing really well and enjoying all aspects of school.

Here are the boys, getting off the bus in the afternoon later that week. I debated long and hard about whether to have them ride the bus home from school. I called the bus driver and told him they have to sit together and directly behind him. It's been fun for them and I no longer worry. Dean loves to run to them and give them hugs when they get off.

Zane's 1 Year Photo Shoot

2011-10-04T10:31:00.003-04:00

Here are the photos from Zane's 1 year shoot with the amazing Destinee Blau of DestineeBlauPhotography.com

You should totally check out her site and book a session. You will not be sorry! She is seriously incredible and so good with kids. I also highly recommend her birth photography (not only is she great behind the camera, but she'll throw in some free doula services :-) I don't know how I would have survived the birth of Zane when my epidural didn't work, without Destinee there to coach me.

Yes, Zane is now 16 months old and I am just now posting these...sigh.

Sorry for the picture overload, but this kid has grandparents, people!

Annual Father's Day Pictures 2011

2011-08-06T23:22:00.006-04:00

I should be packing, since we are moving in 2 days (!!!), but instead I am procrastinating by blogging. I am a little late getting these pictures taken, but better late than never, right? I'm not sure at what age we will call it quits, but as you can tell from the pictures, Clive felt a little weird doing this and Van's expression tells me he is totally over it. Dean looks exactly the same to me as last year and Zane is just irresistable! I'll see how long they let me continue to drag them to Picture People and dress them up.

Clive 2011

Clive 2010

Clive, 2009

Clive, 2008

Clive, 2007

Clive, 2006

Clive, 2005

Van 2011

Van 2010

Van, 2009

Van, 2008

Van, 2007

Van 2006

Dean 2011

Dean 2010

Dean, 2009

Dean 2008

Zane 2011

Zane 2010

Notable Quotable

2011-05-26T21:06:00.003-04:00

Tonight, as we were driving home from Target, Clive put in his song request (which is a constant thing in our car), and asked if we could listen to "CD #3, song #3" (We have a 6 CD changer and our kids have every CD and track memorized...it's really crazy!). Anyway, Matt said, "Is it cool if we listen to #2 first? And, since #3 comes before #2, it's perfect!" After a few seconds, Van chimes in with, "#3 comes before #2???" He and Clive laugh, realizing Daddy mispoke. Then Clive says, "And that's why Dad is going back to school!"
I love our kids.

First of many, I am sure

2011-04-28T14:04:00.003-04:00

Last night at Young Women, I asked the girls to please turn their cell phones off and that we, as leaders, would do the same. I thought to myself, "If there's an emergency, their Mom's can call the church phone". Well, as I was about to leave to go home, I noticed my phone lighting up. I answered and Matt told me I needed to come home now and that Van had gashed his forehead and needed to go to the E.R. Matt had been trying to call me for thirty minutes, but I had my cell phone off like a good girl.
I got home and rushed Van to the emergency room, while Matt stayed home with our other sleeping boys. After a 3 hour wait, and witnessing some very interesting/gross things coming through that E.R. door, we were finally taken back to our room (Matt was hoping that by leaving the blood all over Van's face and shirt, it would up our chances of getting seen quicker...note to self, it doesn't and only makes you look even more white trash). We waited there another hour, but luckily, Van had fallen asleep about an hour after arriving at the E.R., and stayed asleep until they started the Lidocaine. He did really well for the procedure and was super tough. He ended up getting 8 stitches and a cool scar to boot (I must admit, I started to get a tad emotional seeing my little 5-year-olds perfect, angelic face with a big gash). But, we are all patched up and ready to take on the world again, superman-style*.

*Apparently, Van did a "Superman" dive onto his bed and misjudged the distance to his headboard. He hit that hard enough to gash his head right open. It really was crazy how deep it was once the doctor cleaned it out. It's also crazy how paranoid I have been all day, especially with Dean who trips every other step.

dating, strangers, and so forth

2011-04-04T23:45:00.004-04:00

*Obviously, I don't take enough pictures of my kids since I had to use a winter one.

I wish I had captured this on video with Van's sweet voice, but blogging will have to do. We were driving home from Sam's Club and out of the blue, Van began this conversation:

Van- "Mom, I don't want to marry Lily anymore...you know why?"
Me- "Why?"
Van- "Because I already know her and that, like, wouldn't really be that fun."
Me- "So, you want to marry a stranger?"
Van- "Well, not like a total stranger. I mean, I have to know if they do good things. Like, I don't want to date someone and have them bring a gun and shoot some trees or something."

Where does he come up with this stuff?? I wish I could describe all the hand gestures and facial expressions that went along with this conversation. Van is just so elaborate and I can't get enough of the way he describes things. I love him!

potty training #3

2011-03-10T14:56:00.002-05:00

I am a little embarrassed to admit this, but I usually wait until I am ready before I potty train my kids. And, I am totally not the type to make it a long-drawn-out process. I just wait until they are fully able to communicate and understand before I even try. I'm not saying this is the better way, I actually have more of a selfish motive. It takes more work to do it when they're younger, and I like the easy way out :-)
So, without any planning on my part, this morning I decided that today was the day for Dean. I let him run around naked all day, and so far he has pooped twice and peed 6 times on his little red potty. Hooray! And, he hasn't had a single accident (knock on wood!). I surprised myself with being super patient and positive (not strong suits of mine). Dean is very proud of himself and he already looks older (tear).
He was very excited to tell Clive when we picked him up from school. Right when Clive opened the door, Dean yelled, "Clive!!!!! I went pee and poop and poop and pee and pee, pee, pee, and pee!!!"

It was really adorable. Dean and I are heading on a little date together tonight to pick out underwear. Keep your fingers crossed that this isn't just a phase, because I SO don't have the patience for that :-)

Quote of the day

2011-03-03T22:10:00.003-05:00

With the beautiful weather here the past few days, Dean and I have enjoyed playing outside while Van and Clive have been at school. It's fun to get one-on-one (sort-of) time with him...Zane is here, but is super low-maintenance. Anyway, yesterday Dean and I brought a big bag of pistachios out on the driveway and just sat, cracking them open and enjoying the sunshine. When I was putting him to bed that night he said, "Mom, that was really fun eating coconuts in the driveway today!" I love that kid.

*More to come about our millions of birthday celebrations I have failed to blog about...sigh.

Best Christmas Ever! 2010

2010-12-25T21:19:00.003-05:00

I don't think today could have been more perfect. Seriously! As we were opening presents at 8 AM, I looked out the window to see snow falling and it hasn't stopped yet. Such a wonderful day of sledding and just being together as a family. I'm not sure how a future Christmas will top this one! Merry Christmas everyone! Details to come...

Gingerbread Houses

2010-12-12T21:49:00.000-05:00

One of our favorite things to do each December...

Clive's Piano Recital

2010-12-12T21:29:00.004-05:00

Clive has been taking Suzuki piano from the amazing Sara Zentner since September, and he had his first recital on Saturday. He did so great and we were very proud! He played "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Jingle Bells". He was a little nervous, but acted like a pro at the piano. We have been so amazed at Clive's dedication to practicing piano and pushing himself. He is such an incredible kid (yes, I know we are biased!).
Matt, Sara, and I also performed a piece. We did Sufjan Stevens' version of "O Come O Come Emmanuel". Matt played guitar and sang, I played flute, and Sara played piano. Such a fun day, but sad at the same time because Sara moved to Nashville. She was such a great friend and piano teacher! She will be deeply missed.

When Clive was looking through these pictures he asked, "Mom, how did I stop playing and smile at the camera?" He had forgotten that I posed him at the piano afterwards, but I love that he thought he actually smiled for the camera while playing his pieces. It's funny what nerves can do to one's memory of an event.

We love you, Sara!

Zane happenings

2010-12-12T21:15:00.005-05:00

Zane has been eating solids since he was 5 1/2 months old, but I am just now posting pictures. Fourth child, I guess. Sigh.
He loves everything he has tried and has a big appetite! His favorite thing to eat is definitely oatmeal cereal. He will keep his mouth open like a little birdie, even after the bowl is empty.

2010 Thanksgiving Recap

2010-12-12T20:53:00.007-05:00

We had such a nice, relaxing Thanksgiving this year (we are thinking we want this to be a new tradition for us!). We celebrated with our feast on Wednesday night and then headed to The Great Wolf Lodge on Thursday. We had such a fun time and it was so nice to get away on a little family vacation.

Mr. Turkey

Van, working on his first course...blueberry/pineapple jello

Why in the world did my Mom put this on my head?

The Great Wolf Lodge

Clive was so happy he went on "The Tornado"...a super crazy ride that

scares even the adults!

Dean kept himself company with this apple, eating the core and all!

One of the most exciting things for our boys was our actual hotel room. We decided to upgrade to a "Wolf Den" room which meant Clive and Van had bunk beds inside their own little cave. It was really cool. They were so excited to go to bed at night. When we got home, we decided to bunk their beds in their room. It only lasted a couple of nights, though, and they (and I) were ready to have their rooms back to how they were before. It was fun while it lasted!

Goodbye, Great Wolf Lodge, hope to see you next year!

Thanksgiving Menu

2010-11-20T08:46:00.007-05:00

So excited to cook Thanksgiving this year! We will be here on Thanksgiving Day and the day after (this is turning into a fun tradition), so we will be eating our feast on Wednesday. Can't wait!

Lew Dawg's 2010 Thanksgiving Menu:

Sweet Potato Casserole

Twice Baked Potatoes

Wheat Crescent Rolls

Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

Blueberry Jello

Mary Montgomery's Beets (Clive's request)

Macaroni and Cheese

Green Bean Casserole

Roasted Carrots

Roasted turkey Breast (we aren't dark meat fans)

Ham

Pumpkin Cream Pie

The Pie That'll Make You Cry

If you can't tell, I LOVE The Pioneer Woman. Almost every single recipe I have ever tried has been delectable (and healthy too...ha!). I'm excited to try some new ones this year.

We'll miss our extended family and will be thinking of each one of you as we stuff our faces :-)

Here's Clive's take on Thanksgiving:

How to Cook a Turkey:

Some shots from Thanksgiving 2009

Fall Soccer 2010

2010-11-17T21:04:00.002-05:00

Van, Max, Will, Mason, Emma, McKenzie (coached by me and Destinee)

Clive's team (coached by Patrick)

It was super fun watching Clive and Van play soccer. This was Van's first season, and he did really great (he has had a lot of practice with Clive). It was awesome watching Clive because he is at the age where the kids really understand the game and are pretty competitive. We were so proud of both of them for giving it their all this season. They always tried their best and hustled at every single game. Way to go boys!

lollipop, lollipop, oh lolli, lolli, lolli, lollipop

2010-11-17T15:19:00.005-05:00

I tried to capture Van "teasing" Zane today with his sucker. It was pretty cute. Zane definitely wanted to get his hands on it, but never succeeded. He settled for his fingers...

The Little Red Hen

2010-11-14T21:09:00.003-05:00

What a sweet boy!

To: Pops Love: Clive

2010-11-11T19:54:00.003-05:00

Happy Veterans Day! We love you, Pops!

Isn't he handsome?

*I'm assuming Clive's teacher had examples of people the kids could write to. "Grandfather" must have been one of them. Clive has never called Pops "Grandfather", so that made me laugh.

The day finally came...

2010-10-29T20:20:00.004-04:00

when one of our kids decided to give themselves a haircut. Van's hair went from this...

To this...

in a matter of seconds.

*The last picture was taken just before Daddy came to the rescue and "fixed" it as best he could. Van was very excited when he looked in the mirror and saw that his "new" hair was spikey like Clive's.

Halloween 2010: The Call Family Farm

2010-10-29T16:57:00.005-04:00

Pooped-out Lambie

Stinker Skunk

Frog

Rooster

Clive was excited that he got to wake everyone up by "cock-a-doodle-doodling", and Van was excited that he got to keep everyone awake at night (because when they went camping with Matt, they could not fall asleep due to all the toads croaking so loudly). I considered leaving Dean's diaper dirty to go along with his costume, but then I decided at the last minute to change him :-) We had a fun time at our trunk-or-treat!

Van's 1st Field Trip

2010-10-13T23:20:00.005-04:00

I got to chaperone Van's first field trip last week. It was so much fun! We went to Hickory Nut Gap Farm and all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. They were very hands-on, which made it super cool. Dean and Zane tagged along, too. Here are some highlights from our day...

Apple tasting

Feeding their sweet, old horse (with dreads)

Petting a calf

Calves

Feeding the pigs

Sleeping pigs

Holding a chicken

Very nervous to hold a chicken

Rope swing in the hay

Going, going...

Gone!

And, this is how baby Zane was the entire day. Lucky.

Twinners?

2010-10-05T22:02:00.004-04:00

Don't you just love that word...It's weird, there are times when I think Dean and Zane look just alike, and other times, not at all. It's hard to say because I think Zane has Van's head/face shape and he is built more like him, but he has Dean's coloring. It's a cool mix. What do you think? Do they look alike to you?

Dean, 5 mos.

Zane, 5 mos.

And then there's these two...

Clive, 5 mos.

Van, 5 mos.

Some people have kids that basically all look alike. Ours are a total mix of each other, don't you think?

Grandma and Grandpa came to town

2010-10-01T14:57:00.005-04:00

We were thrilled to have Grandma and Grandpa come for a visit last weekend. They were here from Wednesday to Monday and we kept them very busy! We went to, in no particular order, Sliding Rock (unfortunately it was closed), Coon Tree, Looking Glass Falls, Grandfather Mountain (on the mile high bridge, Dean kept singing "London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down"), Mast General Store, The Chocolate Lounge, Early Girl Eatery, Clive and Van's soccer games, and Papa's and Beer (where we told the waitress it was Grandpa's birthday and they popped a sombrero on his head and shoved whipped cream in his face...quite shocking, actually). Grandpa was a trooper and sat on the floor of our van the entire time (so we could all be together in the same car). He kept the kids entertained on all of our road trips by singing lots of different songs (Grandma's favorite was definitely "Old McDonald"...ha!). Thanks so much for traveling so far to be with us. The kids are still talking about it. Love you guys!

Calhoun's visit Fall 2010

2010-10-01T14:47:00.003-04:00

We were so excited to have the Calhoun's visit a couple of weeks ago. They are some of our very favorite people to hang out with. They are so easy to be with because we see eye-to-eye on so many different things and pretty much parent the exact same way (except Tisha is more patient than me!). Tisha ran a half marathon while she was here and beat her time (even with the treacherous hills here in Asheville!). Way to go Tish! We love y'all so much! Come back soon!

Our group picture of the kids at sliding rock (Zane was literally falling asleep)

Adley, Clive, and Van at Looking Glass Rock

*Wish I had taken more pictures! Sigh...

Horseback Riding at the Farm

2010-10-01T14:35:00.004-04:00

We went to Virginia over Labor Day weekend. Here we are trying our horseback riding at Kelly's farm...

Clive and Van weren't interested in riding. They just collected sticks for the fire.

The real cowboy...

Baby happenings and such...

2010-10-01T11:36:00.002-04:00

Mister Zane started rice cereal (like a pro!) on Tuesday (9-28-10) and popped his second tooth on Wednesday (9-29-10). I finally got some pictures of his two bottom teeth. He is growing up way too fast! Van took the picture of Zane and me. He really enjoys photography. Now, I need to get a picture of Zane eating his solids.

Van loves his gum and is rarely seen without a piece in his mouth.

This baby of mine is pure bliss...

Big news...

2010-08-29T18:36:00.003-04:00

Someone really cute around here got his first tooth. Meme noticed it on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010. It's his lower right central incisor. Stop growing baby Zane! And, please, can you open your mouth so I can get a picture of it?

What I did tonight...

2010-08-18T21:34:00.002-04:00

Had fun and got grossed out watching my kids play in run-off water. Called it quits once I saw Dean blowing bubbles in it and taking some swigs...sick!

What I did today...

2010-08-18T21:12:00.003-04:00

Enjoyed spending time with these sweet faces while my other two besties (Clive and Van) were at school (I admit, I was a little lonely without them here and Matt out-of-town).

Van's a preschooler!

2010-08-18T20:46:00.006-04:00

Van started preschool today at Asheville Montessori School. On the drive there, I reminded him of our family theme for this school year, "Love Like Jesus". He then reminded me that our theme song is, "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus", and not to worry because he "couldn't get it out of his head anyway".

He had no trouble at all leaving me and going in. I was so excited for him to start this new adventure. He loved it! His teacher is Ms. Jess, the same teacher Clive had for preschool. When he got home today, he was excited to tell me about the kid who broke the rule and had two snacks. Funny boy.

Clive's a first grader!

2010-08-17T20:34:00.005-04:00

Clive started school yesterday. He woke up beaming. He came home beaming. I was a very happy Mama! I LOVE his teacher, Mrs. Hensley-King, and just know it's going to be a great year. I can feel it. She is super happy and positive and has been teaching for 20+ years.

Our Annual Father's Day Pictures 2010

2010-08-17T08:53:00.006-04:00

Clive 2010

Clive, 2009

Clive, 2008

Clive, 2007

Clive, 2006

Clive, 2005

Van 2010

Van, 2009

Van, 2008

Van, 2007

Van 2006

Dean 2010

Dean, 2009

Dean 2008

Zane 2010

Clive's 6-year old photo shoot

2010-08-12T21:37:00.010-04:00

Destinee of Destineeblau.com has done it again! I am so lucky to be friends with such an amazing photographer, and such a giving friend. Thank you, Dest! She took Clive's pictures in downtown Asheville, capturing his toothless, six-year old grin. I am so grateful to have these!

His teeth remind me of a vampire...

"Hmmm...I need a beard."

(this is what Clive does and says when he is thinking hard)

BFF's

Sliding Rock 2010

2010-08-11T13:42:00.006-04:00

We like to go to Sliding Rock at least once a year, so we decided last Saturday was the day. It was lots of fun and everyone went down (except for Zane, of course!). I was shocked that Dean did it, and then decided he wanted to go again. The water was freezing, so once was enough for our skinny Van. Clive, of course, loved every second of it (pretending he was Bear Grylls in the Arctic).

splASHEVILLE

2010-08-11T13:26:00.005-04:00

We have always loved downtown Asheville. There are always exciting things going on and it's super eclectic. We love it even more now, though, because they built a huge splash pad right in the heart of downtown. It's awesome and a great way to cool off. Recently, we had one of Clive's best friends come with us (while a dear friend watched Van for me) and we had a great time. The majority of my pictures are of Dean because I was near the picnic lunch, which meant he was near me. The. Whole. Time.

Zane, fascinated with his fist, and Dean.

Doesn't he look like a little sumo wrestler?

Clive and Will spent most of their time in this tree

Here are some pictures from another day when we went as a family to Splasheville.

Love this!

2010-08-11T12:54:00.001-04:00

make a note

2010-07-27T09:33:00.003-04:00

*Love his little birdie lips

Just wanted to make a note that Zane slept through the night last night!! Yahoo! He went from 7:30PM-7:30AM!! This is definitely reason to celebrate! Now, let's just hope it wasn't a fluke...

Watermelon Festival 2010

2010-07-23T19:43:00.005-04:00

For the past three years, we have attended the annual watermelon festival at the Farmer's Market. It's lots of fun and you get to eat unlimited watermelon. Our boys definitely took advantage of that! They also have a watermelon eating contest and a watermelon seed spitting contest. Clive and Van never choose to participate because they just don't like everyone watching them (and I think they fear losing). Maybe next year :-)

Zane's blessing day; 4th of July 2010

2010-07-18T22:04:00.005-04:00

Those in the circle

We were able to have Zane blessed on July 4th while on vacation at Ocean Isle Beach. Unfortunately, we were unable to have Matt's parents there because the Call's were having a family reunion in California at the same time. Luckily, we were able to have my nephew, Zach, hold up Matt's phone during the blessing, so they could hear it. It was a very special day and we were grateful for the family that was able to be there. We missed you, Grandma and Grandpa Call! Matt gave a beautiful blessing, one I will always remember.

Our family

Dean was super happy to be taking pictures

Meme and Pops with Zane

My Dad, being funny

Sweet baby Zane

Zane in tub

2010-07-18T22:01:00.001-04:00

He loves his tub and we love him! Zane, 2 mos. old.

Week with Calhoun's

2010-07-18T20:22:00.005-04:00

We love the Calhoun's around here! They are some of our very dearest friends. They were kind enough, a few weeks ago, to let me and my rowdy boys come stay with them for 5 days while Matt studied for the GMAT. It was so much fun! We went to their neighborhood pool, an awesome kid's museum, Costco for pizza, played "Man vs. Wild" outside, and just did normal everyday activities together. But, it was such a nice break to have a friend to do those redundant things with. Curteis was such a trooper, staying up late with us for girl talk :-) Thanks so much, Calhoun's, for your hospitality! We had such a great time!

Van, Adley, and Clive; they had so much fun together in the backyard exploring around

Dean and Ani; "snacking buddies"

Sweet Sam

The firemen

Ani trying to get Dean to dance

Soccer players from all over the world

This is what Zane did they entire time we were at Marbles Museum

Our trip wouldn't be complete without a front steps picture (stolen from Tisha's blog). I SO wish Zane and Sam were in this picture!

This was taken on the same steps back in September 2008

Clive's last day of Kindergarten

2010-07-18T20:00:00.004-04:00

My posts are completely out of order, but I am just going to go with it. Clive had a great Kindergarten year at Woodfin Elementary. The year got off to a rough start with his original teacher, Mrs. Robinson-Park, taking a bad fall in the teacher's lounge the first week of school. She was out the entire year with numerous shoulder surgeries due to the fall. For the first 3 mos., Clive's class had many different substitute teachers. I was not feeling great about that situation, but they eventually found a "permanent" sub, Ms. Shepherd, and she was great. Clive never complained about having to go to school and seemed to really enjoy it. Some of his best friends in his class were David, Dallas, Rachel, Madison, and Ruby. Here are some pictures from his first day and last day, just to compare.

Pictures from Clive's first day of Kindergarten

Clive's last day of Kindergarten, with Ms. Shepherd

Ms. Lanell, best bus driver ever! (she was crying as she said goodbye to the kids)

Clive and Julia, our neighbor friend

First grade, here we come!

Clive's other tooth is out

2010-06-21T21:59:00.003-04:00

Clive pulled out his other top tooth while we were sitting at McDonald's. Crazy kid. He says he wants to be a dentist, among other things, when he grows up. The other things include: paleontologist, geologist, astronaut, professional soccer player...I will have to ask him to remind me of the other 10 things he mentioned :-)

Zane's Birth in Pictures

2010-06-21T21:22:00.005-04:00

Boys meeting Zane for the first time...

2010-06-21T21:04:00.004-04:00

*All photos taken by Destinee Blau of destineeblau.com

Just me and my baby

2010-06-21T20:47:00.006-04:00

I love Destinee Blau Photography! You should totally use her. Check out her work at destineeblau.com. This is me with Zane at 6 days old.

Check out Zane's face in this picture! Such a little frog.

this is how it went

2010-06-11T20:00:00.002-04:00

We received some disheartening news about some dear friends of ours this weekend. They are getting divorced and Matt and I couldn't have been more shocked. I was explaining to Clive and Van about what divorce means, and Clive asked me if our friends could marry someone else one day. I told him they could and then he started asking me if boys can marry boys. He said that a kid in his class told him that if they don't want to have babies, then boys can marry boys. We had a little discussion about that. Then Clive said he was going to marry Avery and Van said he was going to marry Lily. But, Van added that if he was a girl, he would want to marry Zane. I thought that was so funny. Van really loves his baby brother.

Smiley Zane

2010-06-07T13:01:00.002-04:00

Zane is so fun these days! I love to see him smile and get excited to see us. He is such a good baby and we are so grateful to have him in our home. He adds some much-needed serenity.

And, here's a picture (the only one I took) from our weekend in Pulaski with my parents. The boys had a blast, as usual. This was taken at Ryanne's baby shower (it was at a country club with a pool for the kids...genius!).

It's always better in theory

2010-06-02T22:49:00.004-04:00

Man, what was I thinking? I took Zane, Dean, and Van to the strawberry patch today by myself, in the heat and impending thunderstorm. Luckily, there was a really nice couple there that felt bad for me and picked most of our strawberries for us (bless their hearts!). Van had fun picking and Dean had fun eating. Oh, and Zane had fun sleeping (some of the time).

Zane and Daddy

2010-06-02T22:42:00.000-04:00

Aren't they handsome?

Zane, 6 weeks

2010-06-01T23:12:00.003-04:00

I can't believe Zane turned 6 weeks old today! He is such a sweet baby. I had him weighed last Friday and he was 10 lbs. 1 oz. So, he is growing well and is such a joy to have in our home. He is super long...we think he will be our tallest. Tonight was our first rough night with him (he was crying a lot and seemed to be in pain). We think it's because he is getting more formula vs. breast milk now because I quit pumping. I am breast feeding him still, but I don't think he is getting very much from me. It seems his little body is having a tough time adjusting. I hope it gets better soon.

He started smiling last Thursday, so that has been fun. He also sleeps for 6-7 hour stretches at night. We have really enjoyed having this precious baby in our home.

My boy is growing up

2010-06-01T23:04:00.004-04:00

I have to admit, I have been dreading this day for a while, but I knew it was coming. Clive lost one of his top teeth today. Once a kid loses those teeth, they just look all grown up. I am a little sad about it...

We put Clive to bed and within 5 minutes he came running back into my room. He had twisted the tooth out all by himself and was so proud.

Memorial Day 2010

2010-06-01T22:50:00.005-04:00

We had a really fun Memorial Day together. We went by the Black Mountain Veteran's Cemetery and then to a picnic at the park. We met a man at the cemetery who had lost his son at war in 2006. It was touching to talk with him and watch him as he watered the flowers on his grave. He had his trunk full of water bottles and artificial wreaths and flowers. You could tell he came by at least weekly to water the flowers on his son's grave and change out the artificial ones. What a humbling experience.
Clive told me he wrote a journal entry at school about who he was going to honor on Memorial Day this year. He said, "My Pops fought in the war. A bomb went off right by his ear, but he didn't die. I am going to honor him on Memorial Day this year". I think he is a pretty great man to honor. I am grateful for the many men and women who have given their lives for our country. I am especially grateful for my Dad, who sacrificed his time as a soldier in the Army. I feel so blessed that he was able to live to tell about it.

The boys took a flag to place on a grave.

Clive picked someone who had fought in Vietnam, just like his Pops.

Mud+Van=Bliss

2010-05-26T16:05:00.002-04:00

On a very rare occasion, just before Zane was born, Clive was at school and Dean was asleep. Van asked if he could "dig" and we decided to go wild and add water to the mix. Here is what we ended up with...

Clive's Spring Concert, Kindergarten

2010-05-26T15:53:00.004-04:00

Clive's school has a pretty good music program. They had a Fall and Spring concert this school year. Both were very cute. Here are some pictures from Clive's Spring program. The kids sang "The Addams Family", "Hakuna Matata", "I'm a Believer", and a song from Grease. It was lots of fun to watch these cute kids perform. Way to go, Clive!

Friends

2010-05-26T15:49:00.002-04:00

We love playing with our besties, Mason and Brittain! While Destinee was taking pictures of Zane (and going into labor), the kiddos were having lunch in the backyard. They play SO well together. We love the Blau's!

Zane meets Meme and Pops

2010-05-26T12:38:00.006-04:00

On May 2, 2010, Zane met his Meme and Pops for the first time. They drove all the way here just to meet him, and then had to leave the same day. We were very appreciative of the sacrifice they made to meet our sweet boy. They would have been here much sooner, and even for the birth, but I am weird and like to recuperate with just Matt before having anyone come. We love you, Meme and Pops!

And then Zane tried to nurse Meme (see below),

so we called quits on the pictures to feed him.

Zane's first bath

2010-05-26T12:32:00.002-04:00

On April 28th (only 8 days after birth), Zane's umbilical cord fell off (hallelujah!). Our other kids' took forever. He got his first real bath in this really cool tub. We are loving it because it's so easy to use and store.

Dean, AKA Deany Beany, Dee-Dee, Dee

2010-05-26T10:43:00.005-04:00

Really, could it get any cuter than this??
As crazy as he drives me some days, I am so lucky to have this sweet boy. Dean is such a people person and wins over anyone he comes in contact with. He smiles nonstop when he is around strangers or friends, and seems to only throw fits with us (thank goodness!). We love you, Dean, and know there are great things in store for you!

Van

2010-05-24T14:04:00.003-04:00

Van was in the tub this morning and this was part of our conversation:

Me: "Van, only get two squirts of soap to wash your hair."
Van: "Yeah, and only one squirt for my ding-a-ling, cause it's so little."

Wonder how much longer he will call his "ding-a-ling" little.

My Man

2010-05-19T15:12:00.003-04:00

I got home to the sweetest email from Matt, dedicating this song to me. I am not trying to be lame and boast (although, I am very lucky to have such a wonderful husband), but I just thought this video was too cute not to share. Enjoy!

One of those days...

2010-05-16T22:11:00.005-04:00

I got to church today at 8:30 am for branch conference. I was a couple of minutes late, so I tried to slip in quietly during the opening song. We had our meeting with the stake and I felt like I couldn't keep my mouth shut (I kept interrupting and rambling). Then, church started at 10 am and I took Zane out to change him around 10:30. He spit up all over my weirdly water resistant (?), but obviously not spit-up resistant, dress. This was from a child who rarely spits up. Primary started and was fairly hectic with the stake being there and all. I exited to go pump, while my friends took turns holding Zane who was crying. As I am walking with my friend down the hall she mentioned I had something in my teeth. I shrugged it off and said something to the effect of, "figures"! I found a small room (the library!) that had a lock and a plug and started to assemble my pumping "session", only to realize my dress is not going to cooperate. So, I strip my dress off and begin pumping as fast as I can. Three separate times the door knob jiggled as people tried to get copies made or books checked out of the libary (I didn't even think about that being a problem!). I frantically called out, "Ummm...I am...nursing!" I am sure people thought that was super weird because we do have a make-shift Mother's Lounge, but it doesn't have a lock. And, thank goodness I didn't use that room b/c I did have to take my dress completely off. By the time I was done, I honestly felt so awkward as I exited the library, lugging my giant breast pump kit. One guy yelled out, "that wasn't me trying to get in the second time!" I wanted to hide. I headed to Primary, which was halfway over now, and as I was closing the meeting, I forgot to turn the time over to our stake president, who had specifically come in to share a message with the children. By that point, I felt like a chicken with my head cut off. Primary ended and I headed to potluck with my family. We ate together and Matt took the older three boys home, while Zane and I stayed to help clean up. As I left with my stroller, church bag, 2 casserole dishes, diaper bag, plastic storage container, bag full of books, etc...Zane's carseat fell out of the stroller (with him in it!) and rolled three times, landing upside down. The very heavy casserole dish, full of rotini marinara, fell on the bottom of the carseat. Luckily, Zane was strapped in and didn't incur injury. It scared me to death and I honestly wanted to get out of there as fast as I could.
As I was driving home, I just had to laugh. And, when I did, I glanced in the mirror, only to see that I still had something stuck in my teeth, and actually, I still do...

Zane's birth story...

2010-05-09T19:18:00.012-04:00

*These three photos were taken by Destinee Blau of destineeblau.com. She is amazing!!

I woke up on April 19th and started to get ready for my 40 week appointment with my OB. I had decided to not be induced a week before because I just wanted to see what my body would decide to do on it's own. When I arrived at my appointment, Dr. Jackson asked me the usual questions and checked me to see how dilated I was. I was at a 4, so that got me pretty excited, as I had been at a 1 the past 2 weeks. He asked me if I wanted him to strip my membranes (gross, I know) to get things moving along. I told him to go ahead, knowing that labor was probably in the very near future. He told me he felt sure he would see me that night at the hospital.
I ran by Sam's Club on the way home, to stock the fridge and get everything we needed so we wouldn't have to leave the house for a week or so. I wasn't really feeling anything at that point. I got the kids home, Dean in bed for a nap, and started cleaning out the fridge (I was fully nesting). I cleaned out drawers and under sinks. All the while, Van was watching me and wondering what had gotten into me.
Matt came home from work that evening and we had dinner. I still was not feeling anything particularly significant, so we agreed that he should have band practice since it would probably be a couple weeks before he could practice again (and he had a wedding scheduled for May 1). As soon as practice started at 7 pm, I began feeling minor contractions. By the time 10:30 pm rolled around, I knew I was going to have the baby that night. I called my friend Sara and asked her if she could come spend the night because we were going to the hospital. She got to my house by 11:00. By the time she got there, my water had broken, something that has never happened to me spontaneously before. Matt began getting pretty nervous and we were running around the house trying to get last minute things together. Matt couldn't find his keys (ugh!) and I was growing very impatient. It took him 5 very long minutes to find them and then we were off to the hospital. My contractions grew pretty intense on the way, but nothing I couldn't talk through. Matt was flying down the highway at 90 mph and running red lights (he was loving it!). I was growing madder by the second and asking him to please calm down. My friend Destinee met us at the hospital to take pictures. I was so glad to have her there, not knowing at the time how much I would need her advice.
After getting checked in and breathing through my contractions, my awesome nurse, Susan, checked me and I was still at a 4. WHAT? I couldn't believe it! How was that possible? She called Dr. Jackson who told her to get me comfortable with the epidural and then check me again. Well, it took about 45 minutes to get the paperwork, labs, etc. done in order for them to administer the epidural. By that time, I was in a lot of pain, but had high hopes that the epidural would soon kick in. My experience with epidurals has always been great, so I figured this would be no different. Well, they waited a few minutes to "get me comfortable" so the nurse could check me again, but I never got comfortable. I could tell the epidural was not working and I was getting very nervous. I was not prepared for natural childbirth. As my pain intesified, the nurse said she wanted to check me again, and that is when she realized Zane was right there, ready to make his entrance. She quickly called my doctor and we waited 20 excruciating minutes (mainly on my left side/back) for him to get to the hospital. Luckily, my friend Destinee has had 4 natural childbirths and was able to give me some very helpful pointers. Also, Matt was a great coach through it all. When Dr. Jackson got there, Zane pretty much fell out and I was SO relieved. The pain immediately dissolved as soon as he was out, and we couldn't have been happier. Zane Whitten was born on April 20, 2010, weighing in at 8lbs. 7 oz. and 21" long. He was a calm presence right from the start, and has remained that way.

Our first week with Zane was unlike any of our other newborn experiences. All of our other boys have been severely jaundiced and have needed light therapy for the first couple of weeks. Zane, thank goodness, did not. Also, he was a great sleeper right from the start and never really cried. He was super mellow and didn't seem to be bothered by much. Clive, Van, and Dean accepted him with open arms (Van definitely shows the most interest in him), and have been a huge help to me. They fetch diapers and help keep him awake while he feeds.
The biggest struggle so far has been breastfeeding. I always have problems with low milk supply, so I am working very closely with a lactation consultant and Zane's pediatrician. I am giving my absolute all for a month, and then I will reevaluate. Basically, I am on a bunch of supplements and pumping every 3 hours, on the dot. It is taking a lot out of me, but definitely worth it if it works. So far, I am not showing any signs of producing more milk, even with the supplements and prescription drugs. It's discouraging, but at least I now know it is out of my control and I have done all I can.
I also had to have Zane's frenulum clipped to see if that would help him transfer more milk from me. It sounds a lot worse than it is. I was very nervous, but he didn't even cry. The ENT who was originally going to perform the procedure pretty much chickened out (I found out later he was going out of town immediately after work), and I was pretty upset because he wanted me to come back in the morning with my 3 sick kids in tow. I was on the verge of tears, but then as I was leaving, I decided to ask the front desk if there was a doctor present that would be willing to do the procedure today (which is what I thought was going to happen in the first place). The nurse found another ENT who was more than willing to do it and he made me feel completely at ease. I was so glad I spoke up.
Zane's first month stats, etc...to be continued.

Beautiful

2010-05-05T15:44:00.003-04:00

Halloween 2009

2009-11-12T11:30:00.000-05:00

"Are we gonna keep Dean??"

2009-09-04T12:27:00.006-04:00

This is what Van said to me at the doctor's office a few days ago (9-2-09). He tip-toed over to me in the dark ultrasound room, and after pointing to "our new baby" on the screen, wanted to know with total sincerity if we were going to keep Dean. After I told him that of course we would be keeping Dean, we all had a good laugh. Van was really afraid that the new baby in my belly would replace our current baby. So, yes, baby Call #4 is on the way!! We are so excited! My due date is April 20, 2010, and as my cute friend Marlie said, if it's a girl we will have to name her Mary Jane. Or, I guess I could get away with using marijuana (for medicinal reasons) instead of an epidural, since it will be 4-20 and all :-) You know I'm kidding...
So far, things are going great. I am only 8 weeks along, so it's still really early, but I haven't thrown up yet. I have a general feeling of nausea all day, but nothing I can complain about (too much).

Can you see our little peanut?

The Penguins, Soccer champs; May 29, 2009

2009-08-24T14:18:00.003-04:00

I had such a great time coaching Clive's soccer team during the Spring 2009 season. We had such cute kids on our team and I think all the boys learned so much. Clive improved tremendously from last year, especially in the "playing as a team" aspect of the game. He really caught on to the importance of everyone getting a chance to score and working together as a team. He cheered for all of his teammates and had a really great time. He was really fun to watch this year and we are very proud of his progress. He's already begging to play again.

Clive's last day of preschool; May 29, 2009

2009-08-24T14:00:00.004-04:00

We really enjoyed Asheville Montessori School for 2008-2009. Clive learned so much and made some really dear friends. Ms. Jess was a dream teacher, along with Ms. Courtney and Ms. Jo. We feel very blessed to have been able to send Clive to school at AMS. We will greatly miss it, but look forward to Van attending in 2010. Here are a few pictures from the end-of-the-year picnic.

Ms. Nan and Mr. Steve (AMS directors) with Clive

Ms. Jess with Clive

Ms. Jo

Ms. Courtney

Will Yurko, Clive's very best friend and classmate

Van's big show at The Little Gym; May 28, 2009

2009-08-24T13:46:00.004-04:00

Van had a great semester at The Little Gym. His teacher, Miss Wendy, was magnificent. He worked on the balance beam, the bars, and many other coordination activities. We were very proud of how well Van listened to his teachers and what a great attitude he had. Here he is at "The Big Show" (it's the end-of-the-year celebration where the kids get to show off).

Clive lost his first tooth; May 24, 2009

2009-08-24T13:19:00.003-04:00

On our way back from Chris and Sarah's wedding, we stayed with Rob and Linda for a couple of nights. It was lots of fun and good to be with them and the boys. Clive and Van were in heaven with their cousins; playing basketball, riding scooters, riding skateboards, etc. Jett, Weston, and Miller are so good with our boys and entertain them well :-) One of Clive's teeth had been loose for a couple of weeks, but Matt and I were too chicken to pull it out. Luckily, my brother Rob is in dental school (and has lots of boys of his own) and used to dealing with teeth. So, he kindly pulled it out for Clive. I was shocked with how willingly Clive walked over to Rob and let him pull it right out. I think he was very ready to have that nasty tooth gone. He was very happy once it was out!

Happy Clive missing a tooth!

The tooth fairy brought him a dollar!

Clive, Miller, Van, Jett, and Weston

Couldn't leave without a trip to Goldstar Chili

Inspiring story

2009-07-26T21:49:00.000-04:00

*Thanks, Jenny!

Things to remember

2009-07-26T20:56:00.004-04:00

Just a couple things the boys have said lately that I want to jot down:

This morning, as Clive was cuddling in our bed with us, we heard Van getting aggravated in Dean's crib (they always go in his crib in the morning). I asked Clive what Van was doing and he nonchalantly said, "Just playing with his gum...gettin' it everywhere." I quickly ran into Dean's room to find a very sticky mess. As I was trying to get the gum off of Van's entire body, I told Van he would not be allowed to have gum for a couple of days as a consequence. He started crying and the next thing we know, Clive is playing with his gum, too. We were puzzled and asked Clive to please put his gum back in his mouth before he ended up with it all over him like Van. We then headed downstairs to eat breakfast and as we were chatting, Clive said, "Mom, do you know why I was playing with my gum? Because I was sad that Van was getting in trouble, so I wanted to get in trouble instead." How sweet is that boy??

Tonight as Clive and Van were playing War, their favorite card game, I was very proud of how sweet Clive was being when Van would win a hand. Each time Clive would say, "Dude, way to go! You are awesome." I quickly told Van how lucky he was to have such a sweet big brother and that I thought he had the best big brother in the whole world. Van looked at me and said, "Yeah, most brothers are rude or mean, but this one is really sweet!"

I love those two so much.

And, Dean...oh man, I don't think I could love him any more. He has come into a really, really fun stage. I think we are through with teething for a while and are on to brighter days. I have enjoyed him so much the past few days. He is starting to repeat most of the words we say and it's just so cute. We have this really annoying Cardinal that rams himself into our back window all. day. long. I'm not even kidding. Well, every time Dean goes by that window he points and says, "Card-nuul", whether the bird is actually there or not. It makes us laugh every time.

Our Annual Father's Day Pictures (2009)

2009-07-06T21:07:00.010-04:00

Clive, 2009

Clive, 2008

Clive, 2007

Clive, 2006

Clive, 2005

Van, 2009

Van, 2008

Van, 2007

Dean, 2009

My Best Friend's Wedding 5-23-09

2009-07-05T14:07:00.004-04:00

My best friend from high school, Chris Wissa, got married to Sarra in Michigan and there was no way we were going to miss it. So, we packed the boys in the car and headed on a road trip. We stopped in Lexington, KY and stayed with Rob and Linda on the way there and back. It was a lot of fun. Both the Wissa's and the Veneziano's really know how to put on a party. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was energetic, to say the least. They had a Motown band and an Arabic band, swtiching off throughout the night. It was crazy, but so much fun! I'm really glad we were able to attend. I'm so happy for Chris and Sarra!!

Master of the Throne Celebration 5-16-09

2009-07-05T13:59:00.002-04:00

Because Van did so well with potty-training, I decided to have a fancy breakfast, in honor of him. I served them scrambled eggs, french toast, and strawberries & blueberries with whipped cream, all by candlelight. Their favorite part was eating on our China. Van felt very special and we were so proud of him for doing so well on the potty!

Mother's Day Tea 5-8-09

2009-07-05T13:52:00.004-04:00

Clive's preschool put together a really sweet celebration for each Mom on the Friday before Mother's Day. They decorated a table for each of us and the kids served us strawberries with whipped cream, croissants, and tea. Clive was very concerned that they were serving tea, but I just kindly refused and explained to him that I didn't have to drink it. He felt much better after that. They sang us some really sweet songs. My favorite was "I Think You're Wonderful". I love Asheville Montessori. It was so sweet of them to celebrate us!

Planting trees with Dad 5-4-09

2009-07-05T13:38:00.003-04:00

We got on a planting kick and decided to plant four trees throughout our yard. We planted a flowering pear in the front yard, a japanese maple on the side, and a weeping willow and fruiting pear in the back. So far, they all look like they are thriving, except the bradford pear. It may have a disease, but we'll wait it out and see. The boys had a great time digging holes with Matt (Dean kept busy eating dirt). It was a really tough job because there were a lot of boulders in the way, so it was basically chipping through rock. Glad it was them and not me :-)

Quote of the day 7-5-09

2009-07-05T13:32:00.004-04:00

While speeding to church this morning, the boys told Matt that he was going to get a ticket. So, I said, "Say a prayer that we don't." Van took me very literally and immediately started saying a prayer outloud:

"Heavenly Father, please bless that we won't get a ticket. And bless that we can have fun speeding."

Love that boy.

Another funny thing that happened today was when Matt and I were discussing our future plans (Clive was in the room). I have been trying to talk Matt into getting his MBA or PhD from Carolina for a while and we were discussing what it would be like to live in student housing with a family, etc. I was saying how great it would be to go to basketball games with the kids and live in the heart of Chapel Hill. Then I told Matt how as long as we lived in a clean place, I didn't mind the size. I guess Clive thought we were going to actually live in the Dean Dome or something because he piped in with, "Yeah, Dad, there's only one dirty basketball court! And, we will live in the clean one!" We asked him which basketball court was dirty and he said, "Duke's!"
We were dying.

Easter Festivities 2009

2009-07-05T00:23:00.003-04:00

On the Saturday before Easter, we had our annual Easter Egg Hunt at church. Due to rain, we had to do it inside, but it was still lots of fun. Dean and Clive also got to visit the Easter Bunny, but Van was too freaked out this year. Then, we took our annual Easter Sunday picture the next day, but I am only posting the one of the kids because neither Matt nor I like any of the ones of us :-)

There are some perks to being the youngest...we get lots of hand-me-downs from siblings. Thanks, Caroline, for the adorable Easter outfits!!

Tarheels win NCAA tournament!! 4-6-09

2009-07-05T00:14:00.002-04:00

There's no one we'd rather watch a Carolina game with than Pops. We were so excited to have he and Meme in town for the biggest game of the year...the national championship game against Michigan State, where we kicked some major trash.

We usually tivo the games for the boys, because they are often on at 9pm. But, Meme and Pops talked us into letting them stay up. Well, the night is bound to end ugly when a 3 year old is up til nearly midnight.

Meme's 60th birthday party 4-4-09

2009-07-05T00:06:00.003-04:00

We were lucky enough to have Meme and Pops here to celebrate Meme's big 6-0. It was lots of fun and we were glad we could be with her on her big day. The boys are always up for a party, so they were thrilled. And, even though it was her day, she still made it all about them, because that's just how she is. We love you, Meme!! Happy 60th! The weekend ended with a bang, literally, when Pops' car blew up. Luckily no one was hurt and they were able to get home safe and sound.

BYU vs. Western NC baseball game 4-3-09

2009-07-04T23:52:00.002-04:00

I had to represent UVSC, even though I cheered for the cougs

Meme with Van

Our sweet Dean

Poor Dean

2009-05-17T20:03:00.003-04:00

Turn up your volume...

Potty Training #2

2009-05-12T16:35:00.002-04:00

We have put off potty training Van due to his various digestive problems. But, as I was sorting through winter clothes and bringing out the summer clothes, Van noticed Clive's underwear that he had grown out of. I asked him if he wanted to try them on. With a huge smile, he said yes. Once they were on, I asked him if he wanted to wear them for a little while and he said he did. Well, that turned into all day, with him coming to me every 30 minutes or so, saying he needed to go on "the pot". He went about 10 times yesterday (only one little mishap which happened to be at Dest's house...sorry!). He also went #2 and brought his little potty to me, while saying, "Look Mommy, I made a molten cake!" There went my continuous craving for molten lava cake. Thank. You. Van.

He has done really well today, too. He went to gym class diaper free and ran some errands with me too. I remember with Clive, I didn't leave the house for a full week b/c I was too scared of him peeing everywhere. But, with Van, we've just gone on with our normal routine, crossing our fingers. Maybe it's easier b/c he's nearly 3 1/2!!

Picture to come of Van in his little underoos. So cute! Way to go, Van!!

2009-05-05T17:03:00.002-04:00

As we were walking out of "Apollo Flame" the other day, I see Clive squatting down, looking very intently at something. All of the sudden he yells, "Look, Mom, there's camel poop over here!" I had to see what he was talking about. And, then, I had to get a picture of it for your viewing pleasure. Aren't I nice? Wanna see what camel poop looks like? You sure? Scroll on down...

I then went on to ask him how he knows that it's camel poop and he said, "It has humps!" And, if you look closely, it really does look like a camel. BTW, it was crumbled cake, of some sort. As if that made you any less queasy!

Give me some weed!

2009-04-30T14:13:00.002-04:00

We decided to weed our front yard today. Me, Clive, Van, and Dean. While Dean crawled all around the yard, in the mulch, on the driveway (ouch!), into the street, over to the gutter (I promise I watched him), the rest of us pulled out as many weeds as our hands could muster. And, there were a lot of weeds! Van kept me laughing b/c as many times as I said the word weeds, for some reason he heard it as weed. So, there he was, yelling in the front yard, "Mom, give me some weed!" "Hey, Mom, when you dig up all that weed, give it to me!" "I need more weed!" "Could I borrow that tool to dig up some weed for me?" I tried to correct him, but he just didn't get it.

On another note, the elliptical has never gone slower than today. Try working out with your 5 year old asking, every ten seconds, "How much longer do you have?" When I finally told him, "90 seconds", he started counting, "1...2...3...4...5..." Those 90 seconds seemed like the entire 1800 seconds that I actually worked out. Ugh! But, he cheered for me when I was done, so I felt like I had won a race.

Love those boys!

My little drummers

2009-04-26T21:37:00.002-04:00

I swear, it's in their blood. Clive, Van, and Dean air drum all day long. It's one of their favorite things to do. Ever since Dean was about 8 mos. old, if he heard any rock music with drums, he would start waving his arms to the beat. Clive and Van did that too when they were babies. It's a wonder to me.

This one is a little long, but I love how Van joins in with Clive

My Mom's 60th=Girls Weekend!!!

2009-04-22T12:50:00.014-04:00

My Mom turned 60 on April 4th, so to celebrate, my sis-in-law, Ali, had the idea for a girls weekend. Oh man, it was fun. Really, really fun. It's hard to describe everything we did in words. But, I will try. My mom, Linda (sis-in-law), Ali, and myself were all able to go. Unfortunately, our sister-in-law, Kristen, had really busy weekends during all of April and May, so was unable to attend. I really hope she can come next time b/c it was SO fun!! My sweet Aunt Susan was generous enough to let us use her beach house in Atlantic Beach. The weather couldn't have been better and her house was beautiful! It's 2 blocks from the beach and has all of the accommodations you need.

Ali flew in on Thursday afternoon and we drove to my parents house to meet up with Linda and my Mom. We left early Friday morning for the beach. It was about a 5 hour drive, but SO fun to just laugh and talk and sing loudly to our music. Before we made it to Susan's house, we had to stop at the Shark Shack for some seafood. It was heavenly! Then, we headed on over to the house, unloaded our stuff, and while my Mom and Ali took a nap, Linda and I walked along the beach, collecting seashells for my boys. The water was a gorgeous blue and the sun was shining. It was very relaxing and fun to catch up with Linda. We decided we better go wake them up so we could head to dinner. We all freshened up, which included both Ali and I washing our hands in the kitchen sink (this detail will make sense later), and were on our way to The Sanitary (weird name!) for dinner. Numerous people had recommended the restaurant, but we must have gotten there too late b/c the food was old and disappointing. Oh well, we still had Molten Cake to look forward to back at the house. We made a quick stop for groceries and drove home. As I was getting the molten cake together, Ali asked me, "Whose trash is this in the sink?" I told her I had no idea. Then she asked everyone else and no one knew. Her face seriously went pale and she said, "We need to search the house! Someone has been in here!!!!" We all grabbed knives and proceeded to search the house. Linda made a "fake" call to 911, in an attempt to scare whoever was in the house, out. We thought we heard someone downstairs, and that's when we all frantically ran into one of the bedrooms with our knives and locked the door. We then called 911 for real and called my Aunt to see if maybe a neighbor came and left a mysterious bag of trash in the sink. We were 100% sure that the sink was empty when we left, because Ali and I had both washed our hands in it. Also, my Aunt Susan left the beach house absolutely spotless. My Aunt said she had no idea how the trash got there b/c she distinctly remembers taking it out before she left the last time she was there. This had us all freaked out. Well, the police came and treated us like dumb girls, which made me mad, but they searched the house and found no one there. We still don't know what happened and it gives me chills when I think about it b/c I KNOW someone had been in the house. We found one of the doors unlocked that Susan was sure was locked when she left. We said a prayer and slept together that night. Freaky!!

The next day we spent all day on the beach and it was wonderful. The weather was great and it was so relaxing to be without kids on the beach. We went in around 4:30pm to get ready for dinner. This is when the fun really started. We ate at a great restaurant called "Amos Mosquitos", and then headed to Beaufort to walk around downtown and admire the beautiful old southern mansions that dot the town. Well, as we were driving and admiring these gorgeous houses, we noticed a wedding happening right on the waterfront. There was a live band playing beach music and honestly, it was enough to lure us in. My mom and I looked at eachother and we just knew what was going to happen next. She and I totally crashed the wedding. Linda and Ali were too chicken to do it with us at first, but we eventually got them out on the dance floor. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard. We were just dancing it up at someone else's wedding, but the music was just THAT good. Linda and Ali were in jeans, and it was definitely a formal reception, so they felt really out-of-place. We noticed some people staring at us and decided we better make a run for it. As we drove away, we all agreed that we just hadn't had enough dancing, so we made our way back for more. We hopped back out of the car and back to the dance floor. We danced to a couple more songs, and then noticed people pointing at us, asking who we were. It wasn't like I could exactly blend in...I mean, I am almost six feet tall. It was funny though, because I could tell people were hesitant to say anything to us b/c it wasn't like we were a bunch of teenagers. I mean, what 60 year old crashes a wedding? It was awesome! Anyway, we bolted after a woman came up to my mom and asked who she was (I forgot to mention that my mom was going up to people and telling them how good they looked, etc.). On our way out we got stopped by a security guard/policeman. He reminded me of the cop on "Dumb and Dumber" that takes a swig of the beer bottle to see if Jim Carey had been drinking, but then realizes it's actually urine. The first thing the cop said was, "Bet you girls didn't think security was gonna be here tonight, did you?!" He then went on to say that the bride doesn't know us, yada, yada...He then asks if we have been drinking b/c we were all laughing so hard and acting crazy. I told him, "No, sir, we don't drink...we're Mormon." He then says, "Yeah, sure! Like I'm really gonna believe THAT one!" He tells us to basically get lost and not come back. We were laughing so hard the entire way home. It really was one of my very best memories to date. All we wanted to do was dance to that music. I hope I didn't ruin the bride's night. One thing I do regret is signing their book with my real name. That was dumb...so, Margaret...if you googled me and found my blog, I really am sorry if we ruined your night in any way. We were just some innocent Mormons, lured in to your reception by some really good music!!

We were all pumped up from crashing the wedding, so we headed to a restaurant that had live music. Well, it turned out to be a big fraternity reunion, so we spent the night on the sidelines of the dance floor, watching a bunch of college kids dance and get drunk. It was eye-opening, that's for sure.

Our last day was spent lounging around all day, reminiscing about the night before. Ali had brought a bunch of family videos with her from years ago, so we watched those and laughed. No cops were involved that day, thank goodness!
The five hour drive home went by so fast because there was so much to laugh about. The worst thing that happened was I lost my voice our second day there! Can you think of anything worse happening during a girls weekend than losing your voice? I mean, that's all you do is talk, right? It was so annoying b/c I was seriously at a full whisper.

This is what greeted me when I arrived home on Monday. I love my boys!!

The kids were all tripped out with how my voice sounded, and Van kept asking, "Mommy, how did you lose your brain?" He was confusing my voice with my brain, but honestly, I think he had some intuition going on. Looking back on all the craziness from the weekend, I really think part of my brain was lost with my voice. I felt like a teenager again, and it was fun!!

So funny! This had me laughing really hard...

2009-03-26T12:01:00.003-04:00

This is from a friend of a friend (you know how the blog world works)...

*I love the noise the dad is making. That would make me laugh too.

3rd child and 1st birthday...

2009-03-18T17:31:00.004-04:00

It doesn't help that Dean's birthday is on leap day, but if I were really being honest, it's more the fact that he is 1 and doesn't know the difference and also the third child. Poor Dean. He never really had a birthday celebration. We had our great friends in town for his birthday weekend and we went to the monster truck rally, but that was more for Clive and Van. I should have had cake and balloons for him then, but I didn't. So, today, Clive, Van and I stuck him outside in his high chair, sang to him, and let him dig into a cupcake (which he thoroughly enjoyed) just so I could get a picture for his baby book. He had fun, but I felt rather guilty. I must say though, I'm happy it's done after having it hanging over my head for 2 weeks.

It has been such a fun year, having Dean in our family. He has added so much love to our home. He is such a happy boy and loves his brothers SO much. I really cannot imagine our family without him. He rarely cries and just let's his brothers wrestle him or tickle him without batting an eyelash. He picks up on things really fast (I joke with Matt that he is our smartest child yet!). He knows about 6 words in sign language, raises his arms way up to the sky when asked "how big is Dean?", blows kisses, waves hi and bye, says "car" and "ball", makes a vrooom sound when pushing cars around, is starting to play peek-a-boo, has no stranger anxiety, doesn't prefer Mom over Dad (Clive and Van were both attached to me by now)...I could go on and on. Dean is such a special little guy and we feel unbelievably blessed to have him. Happy 1st birthday, baby!!

I went over to Destinee's house last night and she was so patient with me while showing me a few things in photoshop (I kept her up way too late). I feel much better about Dean's "mock" birthday party now that I have some cute, photoshopped pictures. I love her! Thank you SO much, Dest. More pictures to come...be patient though because they may be way over-photoshopped since I am just beginning!

Carolina/Duke Party

2009-03-10T21:42:00.005-04:00

We had a couple of families over on Sunday for the Carolina/Dook game. I'm happy to say that the Heels beat the Dookies...again!!

Clive sat with Laurin pretty much the entire game and

mimicked what she said. It was really cute!

Grant, Matt, Paige

Gary and Carol

Laurin's friend, Bob, put his Cub's hat on Dean. He's from Chicago.

-Clive has been Ty Lawson all day, and Van has been Psycho T :-)

-I have also seen Clive mouthing the words to: "Duke is puke, Wake is fake, the one I 'don't like'* is N.C. State, so go Carolina, go Carolina, go Carolina, GO!!"

*the P.C. version of the song

Saturday at the River

2009-03-10T20:45:00.008-04:00

Saturday was one of the best days we have ever had together as a family. It was one of those days where everything was perfect. The kids were all in the best moods (and parent's too!), the weather couldn't have been better, and all the stars just seemed to be aligned. We spent the afternoon at the river right below our house and had the best time hanging out on the rocks, splashing in the water, and boating around with Daddy.

Clive decided he wanted to eat his apple while boating around, but as he was getting in the boat, he fell and lost his apple in the river. As he was crying, I yelled to Matt to "go get the apple!" that was quickly floating down the river. Matt gave me a look like it was a lost cause. While he was on his rescue mission, Clive was crying because he wanted the apple and now it was "covered with dirty water". I told him he could still eat it even if it had river water on it. A few seconds later, we spotted daddy, paddling upstream, looking like this (the boys were giggling so hard)...

Van, looking for the perfect rock

found it!

throw it!

Did ya see that huge splash, Mom?

If anyone attempts to remove this apple from my paws, I will cry really hard. And, he did, when we pryed it out of his hands. He had eaten it, literally, down to almost nothing (core and all!). I wish I had gotten a picture of the remains.

One great thing about having a five year old is when you say it's time to get changed and leave, they can do it all by themselves! Clive is such a great kid. We love him!

Definitely my most embarrassing moment to date...

2009-03-10T20:31:00.003-04:00

Ok, so this is really humiliating to even talk about (and Matt asked me why on Earth I would blog about it?)...and I simply told him that it's not embarrassing if they weren't actually there. And, it's therapeutic for me to spill my guts on my blog to my friends. So, here goes...oh man, this is really bad.
Alrighty, so last night I had a soccer coaches meeting at an outdoor pavilion (I am going to coach Clive's spring soccer team). There were about 40+ coaches there, all listening intently to what the leader dude had to say. He told us to go pick out a coach's shirt off of the table to the side. We all proceeded to do so. A lot of people were trying the shirts on to see which was their best fit. I decided to try one on, and it fit alright, but I thought maybe it would shrink and then be too small. As I was taking it off, I asked a girl looking for her size, if she thought they would shrink. As she was answering me, I felt a cool wind on my back, and looked down. To my horror, I realized I had not only taken off the coach shirt, but my other shirt as well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you even believe it? I had been standing there for a full 5 seconds pretty much topless in front of 40+ men and women (not to mention the 30 kids on the playground right next to us!). As I scrambled to get my shirt out of the coach shirt (it was all tangled up inside and it was inside out), I quickly put it on and sat down to continue listening (completely red in the face the rest of the night). I have never been so horrified in all my life :-) I quickly texted Matt to vent to someone (b/c I was avoiding making eye contact with anyone there). Matt asked if I thought anyone noticed. Are you kidding me? I stripped in front of everyone and at least half of those people were focusing on the table I was standing in front of! I guess my name fits...I really am a "Call" girl.

Look who's forward facing...

2009-03-03T21:18:00.002-05:00

and lovin' it...even with the sun blinding him.

In one year...

2009-03-03T21:03:00.003-05:00

Dean Matthew, went from this (8 lbs. 4 oz.)...

to this (probably over 30 lbs...not sure yet)...

We love you, Butter Bean! Other nicknames include; Mudge, Blue, and Bean. Wonder which one, if any, will stick?

Monster Truck Rally 2009

2009-03-03T19:53:00.006-05:00

This is where we were on Saturday to celebrate Dean's 1st birthday (per Clive and Van's request...Dean didn't mind. He was very agreeable). Our great friends, the Calhoun's, came into town to go with us. We had such a fun weekend with them. Don't you love when there's a couple that you totally click with as a couple? We feel that way about Tisha and Curteis. Sometimes there's a couple where you really only click with one person, but with Tisha and Curteis, we love being with both of them equally. The trip was too short, but we are so glad they were able to come even for two days. All the kids loved the rally, even though it was super loud. We wore earplugs and surprisingly, everyone kept them in the entire time. Clive and Van still covered their ears the whole time, as well. It was really fun!
We are going to celebrate Dean's birthday, for real, with Meme and Pops soon. The most exciting thing about turning one for Dean was putting his car seat forward facing. He kicked his legs and waved his arms all the way to church and back. He got a big yellow ball for turning one, and couldn't be happier :-) We're still waiting to do cake at his "real" party...it can be whenever, right, since technically he isn't one until 2012? I love leap day birthdays!! It gives me so much flexibility.

2 winter photo shoots by 2 great friends

2009-02-26T21:50:00.000-05:00

In November, Destinee took photos for our family. She did such a great job and like I've said before, I would recommend her a million times over (especially if you have kids because she is so patient and good with them). I wanted a more traditional feel because they were for our Christmas card. I love how they turned out. Here is just a sampling.

Then, on our trip to Utah in December, our good friend, Craig, offered to do a shoot of our family. I was so excited because I had seen his work. He was incredible! This time, I decided I wanted something totally different and more industrial. We had a great time and were so excited with the results (our header photo was taken by Craig as well).

I loved the results from both photo shoots for totally different reasons. Thanks so much, Destinee and Craig, for being so awesome at your trade!!