Fight Night at Aunt Jenny and Uncle Don's!

Something Olivia does with Aunt Jenny during every visit...

...and something Uncle Don does every visit! :-)

She loves to color lately, and as you can see from her face, she is pretty proud of her skills!

Wrestling with Daddy and Aunt Jenny!

After running errands all day, we headed over to Aunt Jenny and Uncle Don's for dinner and the UFC Fight! Of course, the girls really don't watch the fight, but we sit and visit and play with Olivia..which is exactly what we did! As usual, Aunt Jenny had great food and we had a ball!!

Olivia and her buddy...

It's amazing what kids will find to play with...and yet we spend so much money on toys!

They were taking turns being the doctor and listening to each other's heartbeats.

Just like all the other kids that come over, Landon made his way to the toy box and had to jump in!!

Bye bye Landon!

Today was my Friday off, although Kathy watched Olivia for a few hours this morning so I could get some errands and work done. Then, after their naps, Kathy brought Olivia home and I watched Landon for a few hours. They had so much fun, and it was nice to spend some time with him. It is not often they play at our house, so Olivia was too funny showing him her room and playing with all her toys. They played with just about everything...including the air vents. They had a napkin or something and while the vents were going, they were laying it over the vents so the air would push it up. They thought this was so funny and their laughs were hilarious! I couldn't get enough myself, and I'm sure they could have played this game all day. However, Kathy picked Landon up a little later and of course, Olivia didn't want him to go! We will just have to do it again sooner than later!!!!

Emergency Room Visit!

Miss Olivia and her goodies!!

We went to Gma and Gpa's this evening for dinner and to visit for a little while, which unfortunately ended with a trip to the ER. The adults were visiting at the table after dinner, and the kids were playing in the toy room, or so we thought. Aunt Shell had a meeting to attend for work, so she took off while we got caught up. All of a sudden, we heard a loud scream...one that I will more than likely never forget. I ran around the corner and saw Kaleigh and Olivia in the hallway in front of the bathroom. Olivia was doing her scream cry, and started to hold her breath again. As we were trying to figure out what happened, we noticed Kaleigh had a Q-tip in her hand, and a jar of them were on the bathroom counter. So, quickly I looked in her ear and saw blood coming from her ear. Panic!!! After we got her calmed down, I decided to take her in to the ER. Fortunately, she was more upset about leaving the other kids and grandparents, than she was about her ear. It didn't seem to bother her any more even before we left the house. She did not cry the entire way there, and seemed okay.

Unfortunately, I had been parked behind Aunt Shell, so she had my car..and my purse, which I had left in it. Regardless, we were on our way. She seemed to be doing okay, and the entire drive I kept reassuring her that the doctors were going to be looking in her ear, but she would be okay. I kept telling her that we just wanted to make sure everything was okay...she seemed alright with that.

Once we got to the ER, we got her all signed it and the nurses were fantastic. We got right in, and didn't have to wait at all. They got her height and weight and all that good stuff, and then we walked upstairs to see the doctor. About three nurses came in to see her, so she got spoiled. We put her in her little gown...too cute, and yes I had to get pictures! Then, she got a coloring book and crayons, and even got a popsicle! I couldn't believe how good she was being treated. There were about three different nurses that came in, and then the doctor. She was great too and Miss Olivia was doing wonderful. She let the doctor look in her ear and never moved a muscle. She seemed so relaxed, even more so than Mommy! Having her be so calm really helped me out too!

The doctor said the puncture was still actively bleeding, so it was hard to see if it had gone all the way through her eardrum. She had another doctor come in to check things out too, and again, Olivia just let them do whatever they needed. She even called Dr. Baety on the phone to see if he was okay with her prescribing some drops for her which we were to put in her ear for the next two weeks. And, she said to call Dr. Baety again first thing in the morning to schedule a follow up appointment. So, she did great and we were on our way back to Gma's.

I had called Shell, so she was waiting there for us too. I did take the time to pull Kaleigh aside before we left for the hospital to ensure that she knew I wasn't mad at her and that I knew it was an accident. She felt terrible which made me feel really bad too! It was so cute when we walked inside, cause the first thing out of Olivia's mouth to Kaleigh was, "there were two doctors that looked in my ear and it didn't even hurt!" So, I think that made Kaleigh feel a little better. And, I made sure that I talked to her again and let her know it was okay and Olivia was going to be okay. She was so scared and I can only imagine what she was feeling. She needed to know that what she did was wrong, but at the same time, I felt terrible for her. I called the next day as well just to check on her again!

All in all, it was a very scary night, but Olivia did better than I would have ever expected....better than Mommy even! We stopped by the pharmacy on the way home, so will continue with the drops and hope it heals on it's own. More to come!

Farewell Jean and Bob!

All the girls with Miss Olivia. We were all taking turning helping color pictures!

Miss Olivia loves baby Izzy and decided to give her a hug...even if she wasn't paying attention!

Nice shot Miss Izzy!!! Such a great look!

We went to Grandma's tonight to visit Granny and Bob one last time before they headed back to Delaware. It was great to see them while they were here over the course of the last few months and we are always sad to see them go. Have a safe trip and we can't wait to see you again soon!!!

Happy Birthday Emma Kate!

Happy 3rd birthday!!

I couldn't resist...this was a nice shot of Tara as she was attempting to help Emma open her gifts. Apparently all the kids wanted to help, and this was the result of those big helpers! :-)

Mommy and Olivia in the toy room...taking time out for a quick picture.

All the girls helping out in the kitchen!

Today we helped to celebrate Emma Kate's third birthday. It seems like it came so fast, and what's even worse, I know that Olivia's is just around the corner! Tara had her birthday party at their house, which we were looking forward to cause she always makes great food. So, off we went! We met Aunt Shell and the kids as well so we could follow them, and arrived just before the party started. The kids were off and jumped right into the toy room. They were definitely worn out by the end of the afternoon, even after the cake and ice cream! Emma was having so much fun too, and we hope she enjoyed the day as much as we did! Happy Birthday Miss Emma!

More party pix..

All the kids got party hats to decorate!!

This was Olivia in Emma's room as she was opening gifts...apparently Olivia was the only kid not interested in helping out. She was more interested in rocking the baby!

Puzzles in the toy room...

She looks like she is getting ready to break out in a tap number??

Lunch anyone??

Play Day!

What seems like a tradition at the Cline household...getting into the ottoman, where we hide all the toys downstairs!

Miss Olivia and Stella jumping on the ottoman...of course we had told them three times to stop jumping. When all else fails...take a picture!

Surprisingly in this shot, they were all occupied with their own things, rather than all fighting over the same thing!

Sweet Kaleigh in the ottoman too!

The girls got together today to let the kids play, and just have a fun relaxing afternoon. It was Olivia and myself, Shell and the kids and Angie and Stella. We started the day off at Avanti's for lunch. It was great at first cause they put us in the back room all by ourselves for a while, until others started showing up. But for most of the meal, we had the place to ourselves and the kids all did great. It was actually a nice relaxing lunch too...even with four kids!! Afterwards, we came back to my house, just to hang out. The kids played so well together, and we all had a great day!

Birthday dinner for Daddy...

Of course we had to sit with Aunt Jenny for a while...

...and Uncle Don had to get in on the action too!

We went to Lorena's for dinner tonight with Grandpa, Mel, Aunt Jenny and Don. They wanted to take Daddy out for his birthday. This is starting to become a favorite restaurant of ours in East Peoria. Very good mexican food, and on Thursday nights, they have a live band. Now, it is a mexican band, but fun nonetheless!!

A nice quiet evening at home...

My sweet family hanging out after a long weekend!

Dress Up!

Such pretty girls!

Strike a pose sister!

Get 'em Parker!

The boys wanted to go fishing today, so we headed to Aunt Shell and Uncle Tim's to fish their lakes. I don't think they did too well, cause they didn't bring anything home, but they did have a great time. And so did the kids playing dress up. I didn't get a picture of Parker, but he was wearing his Batman costume all day, while the girls were in their girly outfits dancing all day!

The air is a little dry!!

Shane put in a new humidifier in the furnace the other day, but I don't think it is working!? Need I say more??

The sweet sound of Olivia...

This morning was such a great morning. First of all, we got to sleep in. And, Olivia actually let us sleep until about 7:00, so that was wonderful. Then, when she woke up, she came in our bed to hang out for a few minutes. As we were laying there, it was quiet and relaxing and all of a sudden out of nowhere, Olivia says, "Mommy, I just love you guys!" Shane and I just looked at each other and smiled. It was so sweet, and although she says it all the time, we couldn't resist! We knew it was going to be a good day. We had to take Winston to get his haircut, so started the day with those sweet words and having breakfast at a little place in Roanoke. What a fun day!

Work trip...Jacksonville, FL

Aunt Shell with all the kidlets!

Mommy left for Jacksonville, FL Tuesday morning bright and early. I am on a new project for Catastrophe Services that will require some travel over the next few months. This week was the kick off meeting, so was a quick trip. There will be more to come, but Mommy was pretty sad to leave. Of course, I called every day, several times a day just to check in! Olivia and Daddy were doing great, but Mommy was sure missing them! I got home on Thursday afternoon and then had the day Friday to relax. Aunt Shell and the kids came over, so I was able to get some work done. In fact, I had a meeting to go to so she helped watch the kids for me so I could run in to work. Afterwards, we spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging out.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Daddy loved his card from Olivia!

Mommy and Olivia coloring at Grandma's.

Say cheese Daddy!

Of course, Olivia had to help Daddy blow out the candles!

The cake :-)

Grandma has a door to a closet that she has tracked height progress on all the kids over the years, so it was Miss Olivia's turn. She is growing like a weed lately, and it is amazing to see the progress.

This is something Olivia and Grandma do every time she visits as well. She has an entire jar of buttons they play with, and somehow they end up in the tub. She lines them up along the edge and one by one, she pushed them into the tub. Kind of funny to watch, but something her and Grandma enjoy!!

Today was Daddy's birthday and after work, we were going to be heading to Grandma's for dinner, cake and ice cream. Before we left, we gave Daddy his cards and gifts...more golf shirts. He is so easy to shop for, and you know that anything golf related is on the list. We had a nice dinner at Grandma's and the cake was priceless. She bought it and said she couldn't resist. :-) Thanks for everything!!

The blessing of a two year old...

Well, Mommy was feeling much better today and made an attempt to clean house all day. So, I was keeping busy most of the day and was moving from one thing to the next. Miss Olivia seemed to be at my feet most of the day as well, so it was causing me to slow down a little, and at first that was okay. However, I hate to admit that I was getting a little frustrated throughout the day, cause not only was I working most of the day, Daddy decided to take a little nap, which caused me to take care of Miss Olivia even more. Now, I realize that is what Mommy's do, however, today was more tiresome than most. I was still not feeling great, and was again just letting myself get frustrated with Olivia and was being a little short with her at times. It was so sweet though cause she made it all better when out of the blue, she walked over and said, "Mommy, I'm sorry that I was mean to you." I couldn't help but completely stop what I was doing and give her the biggest hug. She really helped to put things into perspective, and made me realize that no matter how frustrating things can be, we are grateful for so many things. It made my day that she was there with me and I don't think I did anything else the rest of the day. We spent the rest of the evening together just having fun and enjoying each other! It is amazing what kids can teach you!

Still not up to par...

I felt terrible tonight cause after running errands all day, I headed over to my Mom's as she was going to watch Olivia for us tonight so we could go to Shane's work party. Although, after being out and about all day, I was still not feeling well and was just exhausted. I got back to my Mom's and actually took a nap until they got home. So, Shane went to the party with Derrick and Mommy stayed at Nana and Paw Paw's. Rather than take care of Olivia, they took care of Mommy instead. Thanks Nana and Paw Paw!

Congratulations Crystal!

Tonight was a big celebration! My dear friend Crystal found out recently that they were going to have a baby! They have been trying for quite some time, so it was great news and such a blessing. She told us the other day, but I was not with the gang, so tonight was a great time. We brought gifts for her and were all so excited. The bad news for the evening was the fact that I was getting sick. For some reason, I hadn't felt good later when I got home from work and actually ended up leaving work early and getting sick prior to leaving for dinner. I felt somewhat better, and thought maybe it was something I ate, so I decided I didn't want to miss out on the big night. However, in looking back, perhaps I shouldn't have made the attempt. I hadn't that I wasn't in the mood to celebrate much and told Crystal we would have to do it again. I only ate about two bites of my meal, and then had to sit out in the car for a while. I got sick again in the parking lot, and called them from outside and told them I was heading home. Yuck. I got sick again on the way home and had to stop on the side of the road. Gross. Then, I did it again when I got home and went to bed! I know, more information than you care to know, but it was the strangest thing. And no, I am not pregnant myself! Sorry Crystal for ruining the evening, but we will do it again!

It's only a matter of time...

Pay no attention to the jammies and bad hair day, I promise she will look much more appropriate when the big day arrives!

Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me today, but we did manage to get some of the gang together for lunch today. The Clines, Erxlebens, Hoppers and Rick met at Buffalo Wild Wings for some lunch and just to catch up. The others weren't able to come, but we had fun nonetheless. Afterwards, we came home to relax. Miss Olivia loves to play with her back pack lately and pretend she is going to school. She packs up all her books and walks around the house saying she is going to "catch the bus." It is pretty sweet and I hope she is just as excited when the day actually comes. Not sure how Mommy is going to be when that day rolls around, but I can only hope she will transition well, just as she has done with everything else!

Play Day

Aunt Shell and the kids came over today to hang out. The boys were doing some work, but we managed to get a picture of the girls and kids!

Such a big girl these days!

Of course, we had to get the play doh out, and Kaleigh was having a great time!

Parker actually managed to get a quick cat nap in, which rarely happens when all the kids are together!

Since it's not quite nice out yet, we had to play in the Barbie car indoors...not as much fun, but they didn't seem to mind!

This was a nice view of the game they were playing...and was of course after Mommy told them to stop because they might break their necks!