They're Here!

Whew! What a week! Elections, babies and more babies! I still haven't even finished off the Halloween post but I've got to announce that my brother, Jason and his fiancee, Stacey are the proud parents of twin girls!Kayley Lynn and Kelsey Ann arrived yesterday morning at 11:05am. Kayley weighed 5lbs 13oz and was 19 1/2" long and Kelsey was 5lbs 3oz and was 18 1/2" long.


Now, if that wasn't enough good news... My Aunt Holly (yep Jason's aunt too!) had her 5th child, Kacie, less than 24 hours after Stacey - AT THE SAME HOSPITAL! My grandma (Nanny) got to visit all 3 of her new grandchildren (1 granddaughter and 2 great-granddaughters) at the same time! I've got some great pics of Holly and Kacie, that Nanny took, but I'll wait to post since I don't know if she wants me too! :)

So, just to recap, we have Kayley, Kelsey and Kacie! Talk about tongue twisters!

Halloween 2008

Our ward's "Trunk or Treat" was on Saturday night. We had so much fun with Colton and seeing him "learn" how to trick or treat. It did not take long for him to catch on and he was so proud of all of his candy. Of course he was also upset when we took it away from him too! (I think it'll make great incentives to use the potty)

This year we all had fun dressing up. Our theme was Curious George.
As most of you know, Colton LOVES the TV show. When his costume arrived last month I thought he would never take it off... He did though, and I was able to keep it safe. I wanted to buy Seth's costume but it was too pricey. So, thanks to Savers, the Websters and two long nights I was able to pull it off. I was pretty happy with it once it was done, but there were a few times (while making it) I really wished that I had bought it! Seth is the perfect "Man with the Yellow Hat" and I was pleased that Professor Wiseman was SO easy!

This was the best shot I could get of Colton all night! He did not stop moving!

George and Thomas (Xander)

Colton and Taylor (He was the cutest Golfer!)

It was pretty easy to spot Seth in a crowd that night!


Colton, checking out his "stash"

We had a great time, but were exhausted by the end! I said this last year, and I'll say it again: How do you parents with more than one child do this???? Seriously!

The best part is that we've got 3 more Halloween activities this week so our costumes will get put to good use!

I Should Be Cleaning... BUT

I had to share my great deals from this week! I've been a member of Coupon$ense for over a year now and I've gotten some great deals, but I'm pretty sure that this is my best week ever! Here's what I got:

3 Rolls of Paper Towels
3 Boxes of Puff Tissues
8 Pouches of Betty Crocker Instant Potatos
9 Buddies Bar Soap
3 Armour Sausage Links
3 Celestial Seasonings Herbal Tea
3 Brut Deodorants
1 Box Quaker Oat Squares Cereal
5 Boxes Cinnamon Life
2 Boxes Quaker High Fiber Instant Oatmeal
3 Boxes Quaker Instant Oatmeal
2 Boxes Quaker Breakfast Bars
3 Boxes of Kleenex Tissues
5 Children GUM toothbrushes
2 Brach's Halloween Candy
1 Powerade
3 Excedrin Back & Body
2 Excedrin Migraine
3 Excedrin Tension Headache
3 PertPlus Shampoos
3 Febreeze Noticeables Starter Kits

And now for the drumroll... I paid less than $5 for it all! Seriously! If you live here in the Valley and want to more about Coupon$ense, just let me know I'm happy to share!

Back from Taylor (again)

We couldn't resist one more trip to Taylor!

Seth had a few days off from school so we decided to head up to Taylor for a long weekend with my dad. The weather was great - even a little warmer during the day than we thought it was going to be, but the nights were crisp and cool - the way it should be in October! Colton had so much fun running around, getting dirty and especially playing with Grandpa Mac!

On our way up, Seth, drove too close to the side of the road where the "ridges" are and Colton started laughing and said "Toot" "Toot". I told him, Yes! Even cars toot sometimes! ha ha

We went to a pumpkin patch and corn maze in Taylor, here are some of the photos

Colton & Uncle Taylor

HALLELUJAH!!!!

Colton went to Nursery WITHOUT crying! FIRST TIME EVER!

We always leave him, but he will usually cry for about 15 min - before he settles down. It used to be 45 min, so we were happy with 15. BUT yesterday NO TEARS at all!

It only took 9 months!

Children's Museum of Phoenix

This is the coolest place I have ever been - seriously! Colton could have easily played all day! And you know how Colton is... nothing (until this place) can keep his interest for long! The pictures just don't do it justice!

One of the "rooms" had these door handles all along the play area.




In another area the kids could ride tricycles through a "car washer" - Once Colton got the hang of it, he didn't want to stop!


Here is Colton taking one of his few breaks in the back of a pickup truck bed. In this area the kids could pick out a race car and then race them on a few different tracks that were on different levels. Think Pinewood Derby on Steroids!


Colton also really liked this room that had different balls and little cars that went on different types of tracks.

About the only time that Colton was not happy is when he thought he was getting real ice cream in a cone, but they were pretend.

Like I said, these pictures just don't do it justice! I think we're going to have to get a membership here - hey Emily, you should too and then we could meet up there - Austin would LOVE it!

Blackbeard the Musical

Quick shout out for my friend, Rob Gardner...

I'm such a slacker, I meant to blog about this a few weeks ago, this is the last weekend that Blackbeard will be showing at the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix. I've heard GREAT things about it and I'm so happy that I get to go tonight and see it! If you're here in the Phoenix area and you want to get a great deal on tickets for tomorrow's shows (2pm & 7:30pm) there are a few options:

1. You can get any seat in the house (that's available) for $30 - Just call (602) 252-8497 and mention the "Last Chance" discount. This will also be available at the door, if seats remain.

2. If you don't care about seating, or want really cheap seats (like me) click here and you can get balcony seats for only $15!


Visit www.blackbeardthemusical.com for more information!

Back to Reality...

The Fall Trimester is in full swing now. Seth started up again on Tuesday. We decided that before that, though, we should take a little vacation. First, we headed out to my mom's in Queen Creek and spent a few days with her and my sister, Emily and her kids. From there we drove up to Taylor, AZ and spent almost a whole week with my dad at his house there. He has a house on an acre lot, with lots of room for Colton to run around on. It was great! No TV, no Internet, and minimal phone service - I don't think I could live like that all of the time, but it was great during that week. We read books and went for walks/runs and just enjoyed the beautiful scenery and weather. My dad cooked for us every night and even took us out to lunch a few times!

Here is my Dad and Colton outside of "El Rancho" in Snowflake.

My dad also watched Colton one morning so that Seth and I could go to the Snowflake Temple. We had such a great time there - so peaceful and relaxing! Colton, however, while we were gone ended up taking off his diaper and peeing all over the floor in front of the buyer of my dad's house! My dad just kept asking us, over and over that week, "How do you guys get anything done?" Our reply: "We don't!" Colton got out of his bath one night and this is how we found him:

"Naked Cowboy"

He LOVED wearing my dad's boots! We also learned on this trip that Colton has a new favorite movie. One night, before he went to bed we started watching a movie. Colton was so mesmerized by it. Here's how he looked for the next 30 - 45 min:

Can you guess which movie he's watching?

Here's a pic:

You might have to make it bigger, but it's "The Sound of Music" - He absolutely LOVED all of the singing! It just cracks us up how much he likes it!

We also went to the Taylor Cemetery to where many of my McCleve ancestors are buried.

Colton is giving his Great-Grandma Jerry a kiss! He really liked the cemetery - just like his mama!

After spending 6 days at my dad's we drove over to Hawley Lake for our annual Labor Day Family Outing. We spent 3 nights there. It rained a lot of the time, but we still had a blast eating as much as we could and laughing as hard as our stomachs could handle!

My niece Kinsley

Fishing with Grandpa - Colton just wanted to play in the tackle box
The sun finally broke through on our last morning. Here's a view from our Cabin.

Our annual family portrait on the stairs before we leave (ok Emily you have my permission to post that pic of me fishing in the rain!) We've promised ourselves that next year we're going to take this picture on the day we get there (this way we won't look so tired and bloated!)

(L to R) Front: Dad AKA Grandpa Mac. Second Row: Jillian, Maddie (hiding behind Grandpa) and Parker. Third Row: Stacey (pregnant with TWINS!) Marc, Austin (he didn't want to take the picture, can you tell?) Emily and Kinsley. Fourth Row" Jason, Me, Colton and Seth.

We got home late Monday night and were glad to be in our own home and in our own beds! BUT we had a GREAT time!

Colton's Signs!

I tried to put this in the post below but for some reason it wouldn't work...

This video just makes me so happy!

What Have We Been Up To?

Not much!

Yes, as my sister Emily pointed out in her last comment, Colton must be 3 by now! Ha Ha - Here's a few of the things we've been up to!

We had a GREAT Birthday party for Colton!

He even got a skateboard from his best-buddy & neighbor, Brent!

And a BIG truck from Oma & Opa!

We've been trying to spend a lot of time with family this summer since who knows where we'll be next summer.

Colton has finally started to go for rides with Uncle Chad!

Here's a video too:

Speech Therapy has been keeping us busy and is going great too! At his last appt he said "Cock-a-doodle-doo" - I didn't realize how happy one animal sound could make me - I'm officially a mother :)

Other than that, we're just trying to stay cool - anyway we can! Here's how Colton likes to keep cool!

My Baby is 2!

Holy Cow - where did the last 2 years go!

It seems like just yesterday that your daddy and I were anxiously awaiting your arrival! Little did we know that being a week overdue was just a tiny glimpse into your personality. We exhausted all of the "natural" methods for inducing child birth (for example: jumping on a trampoline, swinging on a swing, drinking coke mixed with Castor Oil - just to name a few!). You finally came all on your own. I was so excited when my water broke that I was dancing in the bathroom! I couldn't yell too loudly though, because it was 1am and daddy and grandma were both asleep!

We decided at5 in the morning to go to the hospital - I was a little worried that they were going to send us home to wait a little longer, but when the nurses found out that you were already a week overdue they let us stay. Not too long after that I got an epidural (I'll explain what that is when you're older) needless to say it's the reason you'll be having siblings! The rest of the day I just waited and mostly slept - it was great!

Finally around 6pm that night I started to push but after 90 minutes (yes that is 6 Curious Georges!) you still were not showing any signs of coming (again we got a little glimpse into your "I'll do it myself" personality). You had a pretty big head but you were also face up instead of face down. The doctor wanted to use a vacuum (yes, I see now where your obsession with the vacuum cleaner comes from) but I talked them into a C-Section. You see for those 90 minutes of pushing I was also throwing up - not fun at all - so I was pretty weak and tired at that point. The doctor agreed that a C-Section would be best so they got me ready. Your daddy almost didn't make it because the little booties they gave him for the OR didn't fit his feet! Luckily though he made it just in time and around 9pm that night you were born!

All 9 pounds, 3 ounces of you! The nurses thought you were so cute the way you gripped the oxygen mask - look at those white knuckles! I was just so glad that you were finally here. Daddy took you out to see Grandma McCleve while they got me stitched and cleaned up. When I got to the recovery room the nurse had to go and find daddy - he was having so much fun showing you off and talking on the phone to everyone that he forgot to bring you back to me! (Look how little daddy looks in this picture!?) The first few weeks of having you home with us was challenging. You had such a hard time sleeping flat on your back so daddy and I would take turns holding you all night. Each week seemed to get a little easier, though, as we learned to understand you better and you got to know us better! We were very fortunate to be in such a good ward too. There were so many ladies at church that couldn't wait to hold you each week

Your first girlfriend was Addison Devenney. Isn't she a cutie? Maybe you guys will meet up again at BYU or something... you never know :) Addison's mommy, Nikki, and I would take you guys each week to "Movies for Mommies" - it was so fun for mommy to get a chance to go out and enjoy talking with another adult! We did a lot together the first year of your life!

Not too long after your first birthday, Mommy and Daddy tearfully said goodbye to all of our Canadian family and we moved back to Arizona so daddy could go to school. Here you made a lot of new friends, very quickly, with all of the other T-Birds!
You've had lots of fun here in Glendale, especially being around so much family. You even went for your first ride with Uncle Chad on Sunday (the video though was too big to include here). We're still waiting to here your first true words. We do get to here you say "key" for monkey and cookie and "go-go" when you play with your cars. You also know five signs: more, thank you, please, eat and all done. This has helped you and I a lot!



We love you so much and are so excited to see what this next year brings for you (hopefully a baby brother or sister). We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for entrusting you to us. You are so special to us - words just cannot express!