Family Pictures

Mom has a really great camera, so we headed outside the day before she left and took some family pictures. I love the ones we took of the kids with "Nene."

For those of you new to the blog page---you can click on a picture if you want a closer look.

This picture is typical of our family. Mom and Dad smiling seemingly oblivious to the kids making their faces , not looking at the camera, or making funny little poses.

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Below is the entire family of Dana and Mandy...all smiling and looking at the camera...well... almost all. Hmmm...the more I look at the picture, the more I realize that only one of our four is looking and smiling into the camera!! Well...this is about as good as it gets right now.

Three of the E's

M-G's Tooth Adventure

More news about August 12---Adventure or mishap? A bit of both: M-G had already been with her brother and sister earlier in the day to meet Z. When they came back later in the day, M-G was missing something---HER TOOTH!!!!!!! She had been chasing E around the house and when she caught him she proceeded to tickle him. E, like many ticklish people, tried to stop the tickling of his feet, legs, sides, etc...by writhing, kicking his feet, wiggling, and swinging his arms.
It was the kicking of his feet that knocked out M-G's tooth. Fortunately this tooth was a baby tooth and already a little loose!! The grandparents said they looked a long time for that tooth. What an adventure for "G-G" and "Poppa Claus"!!!!!

This picture was taken outside the hospital. The kids were all really excited to come see their mom and new brother again. Especially since they had a new adventure to share. E is giving a "Power Ranger" pose. He looks so tough!!!

Z's Birth

Z's birthday. Born August 12, 2007; Time: 7:52 am;
Weight: 7 lbs, 13 oz.; Height: 19 and 1/2 inches tall.

Z's first picture with mom and dad...mom is trying to stay awake and having a hard time doing it, too.















Z is meeting his brother and sisters on his birth day. With big brother E...



















...with M-G...





















...and with Daddy and D-D.

First day of school

Leaving for the first day of school. Don't they look precious? E is either saying he is #1, or he is showing us how he thinks. Yes, that is also his "thinking" pose.























In the van... Ready to go?

So thankful that Mrs. Suzie works at the school. It made things very familiar for the kids. M-G did not want us to leave her, but E was ready for us to go. He has a teacher who plays the guitar and sings and has dinosaurs all over her room. M-G's teacher is a sweet lady, very organised and she really teaches the kids to respect each other and listen. M-G found out that first grade is not very much like Kindergarten. They are both adjusting to school and doing very well.

E's Birthday

E had a good 5th birthday. He is learning how to be an all-out sports fan. He loves the Razorbacks and---quite obviously---"Big Al" of the Crimson Tide!!!! I do not know who he will root for when they play against each other. But, I know he will have fun seeing the game---or any game for that matter. E's G-G and "Poppa Claus" were here to help celebrate his birthday. Since we did not know if child#4 would be here by this time, we did not really plan any big celebration. Earlier in the day a sweet neighbor from around the corner came to the house, got M-G and E and took them to a museum for a few hours. When they got home, Dana and I loaded them all up and E decided where to eat supper. We thought that he would choose Chuckie Cheese---but he chose McDonalds. Really cool thing, too---the McD's here only charges 99cents for a Happy Meal on Tuesday nights when you order an adult meal combo deal. What a bargain for a family of 42 (it really does seem like there are 2 of us and 40 of the kids) on a budget!!!










When we returned to the house, I gathered some of our neighborhood friends and they came over to sing "Happy Birthday" to E. The kids had a good time. I think that E's favorite part of the whole evening was when we sang to him before he blew out his candles. The next door neighbor's boy sang it in a very fun way that got everyone giggling---especially E and his sisters.









E with one of his favorite people---Mrs. Suzie. All the kids think she hung the moon. She brought over a gift, too!!!! What a surprise, especially since we were planning the party last minute. E and his sisters have played with it some everyday.

This young man (the birthday song singer) went back to his house and pulled out what has been his favorite toy through his growing up years as well as the toy E loves to play with whenever he goes to their house, and presented it to E for a birthday gift. Isn't he a treasure of a young man?!!?












Eating the birthday cake ...You can see the cake below. E wanted a dinosaur cake---one with a big dinosaur and a little brown dinosaur. It was a fun cake to make and I messed it up lots in the making---which means I got to scrape off my mistakes and eat them---so I did not mind tooooooo much.