Some of Our Christmas Photos

You cannot tell here...but Ethan's outfit is a reindeer. It was suppose to be Santa and his reindeer.

Aydan's bubbly personality at its best and Ethan's laid back attitude at work.

Nemo checking out her "baby".

My two precious gifts! Can you feel the love?

"Cheese" He knew he was not suppose to touch the Christmas tree...yet he still took an ornament off. But who can get mad at a face like that. :)

Our Visit to Santa!

Last year when we visited Santa Aydan was fine until he talked to him. Then he freaked out...luckily we got a picture taken without him crying. This year we began preparing him to see Santa. By the time we went to take pictures he was ready. Aydan said "HoHo...HoHo" as soon as he spotted Santa. We walked up to the line, he stared with amazement, and sat patiently in Santa's lap. He did not want to smile at all...but we got a little one out of him. When pictures were taken I picked Aydan and Ethan up out of Santa's lap and Aydan began pointing and saying "dat...dat" to something beside Santa. Aydan was telling Santa not to forget about his coloring book and crayons. LOL Santa gave him one a few weeks before when we walked by him and he was playing the harmonica, he remembered that and was not going to let him slip up and forget that. Ethan did not mind Santa at all...he slept through the whole thing. Overall we had a great time. We went and saw Santa, ate lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, and played at the food court play park. It was great...I cannot wait to do it all again next year. Clint tickled me when we left because he said "It took us 3 hours to get ready and up here for 5 minutes with Santa". I guess that is what our lives have come to :) and I would not change it for anything.

Brotherly Love

What is better than one precious baby boy??? How about two that are crazy about each other. We were worried about how we would handle two boys, but it is love at first sight for Aydan and Ethan. Aydan came up yesterday to visit baby brother. We put Ethan in Aydan's lap and immediately the hugging began. He is going to be an awesome big brother. Aydan and Ethan also took a nap together on Mommy's hospital bed.

Our two precious baby boys sleeping after enjoying each other's company!

What a good big brother! He loves him so much!

Video of Aydan and Ethan! The first day Aydan loved on Ethan but was way too tired to actually interact with him. This is what we are considering their first interaction. They are too cute!

First Hospital Pictures

Here is the weblink to Ethan's first pictures. I thought that it might be easier to just click on this link than it would be to search through the Huntsville Hospital website. He is adorable...but his looks have already changed so much from those pictures taken just yesterday. We will be sure to update pictures today when we get home and can get some more with Big Brother Aydan.

http://www.infantxpress.com/nursery2.php?orgID=20070

Ready or Not Here I Come

Ethan was not too sure about making his grand entrance into the world. So Dr. DeLisle decided that December 2nd was his big day! Clint and I showed up to the hospital at 2:30 am. The nurse induced me at 4:00 am and by 2:15 pm, Little Ethan Rhodes Vandiver could not wait to come into the world. As a matter fact he was so excited about coming that he beat Dr. DeLisle. That's right Tracey our nurse (the one in the purple) delivered him with the help of one of her co-workers that happened to be walking down the hall. With the help of the 2 nurses, Aunt Jessica, Daddy, Memaw and Granny Ethan was welcomed into the world.

Mommy, Dr. DeLisle, Hallway Nurse, Tracey, and Ethan!

Ethan demanding his bottle!

Big Feet, just like Daddy!


Mommy and Ethan finally getting to enjoy each other!

Too precious!!

Ethan Rhodes Vandiver

7 lbs 15 oz

19 1/2 inches long

Arrived on December 2, 2009 at 2:15 pm

Today will be family fun day at the hospital. Memaw is going to bring Aydan up here to spend some special family time with his Baby Brother. He got to be with him yesterday too, but with everything going on he did not really get to enjoy and hang out with Ethan. Check back soon for more pictures and updates.

Tomorrow is the Day

Tomorrow is the big day! Clint and I are to report up to the hospital Wednesday morning at 2:30. Crazy time I know...but that is what the Doctor told us, he said that way I can get a bed and get started on the induction. Hopefully by lunch time tomorrow we will become a family of 4, well 6 if you include the puppies. We are so excited about the arrival of Ethan Rhodes! It seems like time has stood still for the last few weeks. I was planning on him being here at 38 weeks...just like his brother. But we will be 40 weeks and 3 days.

Aydan has been practicing up to be a good big brother. Over Thanksgiving he took good care of Ella Kate (his 9 week old cousin). He wiped her nose, gave her a pacifier, and stood over her while her mommy took care of her. Whenever we go to the store and he sees a baby in the cart he tells everyone to "shh, shh, shh" because the baby is sleeping.

Wish us the best of luck tomorrow and over the next few days. We are so excited about our newest addition. But like any parents we have concerns, are nervous, and are used to the old routine...now we are going to have to create a new one. We will try to update the blog as often as possible, who knows how often that will be.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope that you had an enjoyable one! Our Thanksgiving was a bit of a struggle for me this year. I am not sure if it is because I am completely miserable with being sick and pregnant, the fact that I have a short fuse, or something else. I am glad that I got to spend time with family and am hoping that things will get back to normal sometime soon.

Last night I must have woken up about 10 times. At one point around 1:00 in the morning I said forget it and decided that I was going to watch a movie. Well Hancock was on so I watched it until 4:00. In the middle of my movie I must have woken Aydan up (with my hacking and coughing), because he came in the living room and watched it with me for a little bit before falling back to sleep. At 4:00 I decided I better lay back down and try to get some sleep or Thanksgiving was going to be a bummer for me. After tossing and turning on the couch and recliner I finally fell back asleep around 4:45.

Aydan woke up at 7:00 ripping and roaring to go, so I was back up then. An hour later it was time to get him and I in the shower so that we could make it out to the first Thanksgiving festivities. We all loaded up in the truck and headed over to Memaw's and Pepaw's to drop the dogs off for the day.

Then off to Clint's parents house. The ride out there was not bad at all Aydan was in a good mood and watched his movie patiently in the back seat. When we arrived there I was miserable! I could not breath, my stomach was flipping, my head pounding, etc. I think you get the idea. At any rate I was not a happy camper and I am sure that everyone noticed. We ate Thanksgiving dinner and enjoyed every ones company...then quickly packed up to make the next Thanksgiving festivities.

Well the fun began. Aydan was not happy at all that he had to get back in his car seat, but he quickly settled down and realized that he was ready for a nap. About 25 minutes from my parents house he wakes up screaming and crying. To the point that he made himself sick before we could stop and pull over to help him out. Lovely...so we pulled over at a gas station to clean him and the car seat up. Then threw him back into his car seat (you can imagine how well that blew over) to finish up the trip to my parents.

Finally get to my parents house with a 1/2 naked child, along with a cranky mom and dad. Unload Aydan into the house to discover that we have woken up my nephew Gavin. Which does not settle too well with my sister-in-law...so she takes Gavin for a car ride in hopes of him falling back asleep. Clint works on getting Aydan to lay back down for a nap while I try to help mom with the last minute cooking things. Not a good idea at any rate because I spilt boiling hot water from the potatoes on my stomach which left another lovely mark.

At any rate we make it to 5:00 when my sister-in-law, nephew Gavin, and Aunt Betsy make it to the house. We sit down for dinner (all but Clint and Aydan because they finally fell asleep) and begin to eat. Dinner was great and the conversation was as well. About 1/2 way through dinner Gavin decides he needs out of his highchair and goes and wakes Aydan up. The fun begins again...Aydan is crying because he is still exhausted, I'm still cranky...and my fuse is slowly getting shorter and shorter with the day as a whole.

Well I had about all the fun that I could handle at about 7:30. So I told Clint to grab Aydan while I grabbed the girls and that we were going home. Got home put Aydan in his jammies and worked on him going to sleep. Currently Aydan and Clint are sleeping and I am still steaming.

LOL It is the holidays and I still cannot figure out why we do this stuff to each other. We work hard and prepare the perfect meal to sit down and enjoy with our family and friends and by the time it is all said and done everyone is tired and cranky. We spread ourselves out so thin that we cannot truly enjoy ourselves at one place. Spend most of the time in the car getting from one place to another...while riding quietly with the ones that we love most. Is it truly worth it...? I know I sound like a Scrooge, and I am hoping that it passes soon. At any rate Happy Thanksgiving to everyone...and I do TRULY LOVE MY FAMILY! Things just were a little bit overwhelming for me this year.

Doctor's Appointment and First Offical Day Off

Today I had to go to the regular doctor because I have been feeling sick. Just a few days from delivering and of course I get sick. I went to see Dr. Puri and she said that I have a sinus infection. Typically they shrug off pregnant ladies and tell them to take Tylenol and hang in there. Today she actually got to help me out some. She gave me a steroid shot (with a little extra for Ethan), Amoxicillan, and a decongestant. After an hour the steroid shot kicked in and it was amazing how much better it made me feel.

Then Clint, Lauren, and I went to Kroger to get some groceries just in case little Ethan decides to come soon. That ended up turning into a project. It is amazing how rude people get around the holidays. 2 women behind me kept talking about how I "cut in front of them". I was sort of good I only told Clint that if they kept saying stuff about it that I was going to have to say something to them. Luckily they heard me tell him and dropped it.

Since I have been 36 weeks I have been hinting to the doctor that I am ready for Ethan's arrival. Now that I am quickly approaching 40 weeks, I am hoping that he let's me hang in there. Crazy I know...but I would love to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends instead of in the hospital (but if that is what is intended then I am ready for that too). Of course the Iron Bowl is Friday and I am hoping that Aydan and I get to watch that together. We both enjoyed watching it last year together even though we did not win.

Tomorrow is the big day with Dr. DeLisle...he has been telling me since 36 weeks "we will talk next week" well we are approaching 40 weeks now, I would say time to talk is running out. Wish me luck...I do not think I really know what I want. But Ethan knows exactly what he wants and will try to get it when he is ready. Keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Leaving one group of babies to be with another

Time is very quickly approaching to arrival of Ethan! Clint, Aydan, Nemo, Eva and I are anxiously awaiting his arrival. It is definitely exciting...and scary at the same time. This Friday, will be my last day with my students and co-workers until my return in January. I truly am going to miss seeing their faces on a daily basis. They have been so sweet and understanding with the pregnancy, and are always checking up on me. Luckily a girl that observed in my room last year, (Mrs. Lauren Mays) will be taking my maternity leave. She has come in several times and has learned the routines and procedures so I am certain that the transition will be smooth for everyone.

I know that the title sounds weird that I am leaving one group of babies to be with another. What I mean by that is during the course of a school year I have several "babies"/children (22 to be exact this year). I spend more time with my students throughout the year than I do with my own children. I take great pride in the fine citizens that they will grow up to be and can only hope that I will be one person that makes a difference in some of their lives. I know that teachers and students both say how excited they are about different breaks and things but the truth is by the time we return we really do miss each other.

I know for a fact that I am going to miss seeing them, laughing with them, and enjoying their company. But in the same breath how awesome is it that I get the opportunity to stay home for a few weeks and spend time with my 2 sons and family. So this blog post is dedicated to my students "I love you guys! I know that you are going to be AWESOME! I cannot wait to see you again soon. Most importantly don't forget to keep your hamsters in good shape while I am gone!"

Keep checking for updates over the next few days and weeks. I will try to do the best I can. I know that things are going to be crazy around here but I will try to keep everyone updated! Keep our family in your thoughts!

Ethan's Wreath

What a day! Today I went to the doctor for my 37 weeks appointment. Really was hoping that he was going to have some really good news for me... along the lines of "whoa we need to get you in asap". But that is not the way that it worked...none the less I did receive some good news that I was at least make progress 1 whole cm. He told me that I should try to walk around as much as possible over the next few days.

Clint and I decided that we would make a special wreath for Ethan to have at the hospital. We walked around Wal-Mart for the longest time trying to figure out what to do as a theme. Then Clint and Aydan came up with the brilliant idea of Handy Manny! I must say that I am impressed with the great idea of my 18 month old and his father. It turned out really cute and it means a whole lot more than one of those wreaths that you can buy at the hospital. I just wanted to give a big thank you to my mom who came over and helped me out with it, and a big thank you to Aydan and Clint for the cute idea.

Pumpkins

The weekend before Halloween Clint spent a long time carving pumpkins for the 4 boys. He loves to do this every year, and looks forward to doing them. We have more Halloween pictures but unfortunately I have to wait and get them from Summer because our camera battery was dead. As soon as I get them I will be sure to post. I also have pictures of the boys picking out their pumpkins at Lyon's family farm.

Ethan's pumpkin. It is a spider and a spider web!

Gavin's pumpkin. It is a goofy face!

Hunter's pumpkin. It is a skull and cross bones!

Aydan's pumpkin. It is a skull eating a mouse.

I am very impressed with Clint's pumpkin carving skills. I worked a little bit on Hunter's and Ethan's pumpkins and it is hard work and tedious. The boys really loved their pumpkins. Hunter thought that they were awesome! Aydan said "oooooooooohhhhhhhhhh" and pointed. Gavin enjoyed looking at his and pointed at them. As for Ethan he did flips for his :)

Shout Out to my Hubby!

Just wanted to give my husband a lot of credit here lately because he has really been helping out. For a long time Clint really has been an awesome husband, but since my appointment about a month ago he has really stepped up to the plate with doing housework. I owe a lot of the laundry, dishes, and cooking credit to him. This pregnancy for the most part has been a good one. Broke out with fifths disease in the beginning, had to be monitored every month with ultrasound after ultrasound (which don't get me wrong was nice). Watched my husband and son battle through the swine flu...as well as several members of my class (luckily have managed to avoid it myself). But at my 34 week appointment I told the doctor that it felt like Ethan was dropping, and she told me that I need to be careful of what I was doing. I needed to limit the things that I was picking up (mainly Aydan) and try to put my feet up as often as possible.

Luckily I have a loving and caring husband who has really stepped up to the plate and helped out! Thank you Clint and I love you dearly! You are an awesome Dad and Husband!

Been A Long Time! But I am trying to come back...

Hey everyone I realize that it has been a REALLY LONG time since I last posted anything. Things at the Vandiver household have been HECTIC to say the least. Over the summer Clint and I decided to put our house on the market. So we spent weeks painting, packing, touching up, replacing carpet, putting in tile, etc. To prepare our house to sell. Finally in August we signed a contract to sell our house and purchase another house in Madison City. Well all was fine and dandy until about 2 weeks before closing when the couple that put a contract on our house got cold feet and terminated the contract. By this time Clint and I had packed up pretty much everything and placed it in a POD so that we could move fairly quickly. Also by this time we had both started back to work. Therefore, our personal time became very limited again. To make a long story short we got everything for the most part unpacked and put away again about a week ago. Since we are going to be staying here for a while Clint and I decided that we needed to redecorate our house to make it feel a little more "grown up" and more like our new home. So we bought new living room furniture, painted the walls, redecorated our bedroom... needless to say enough to keep us busy for a good long time.

In addition to all this excitement with the house we have been working on getting everything prepared for our newest addition Ethan Rhodes Vandiver. Due to arrive on November 29th if all goes as planned. We purchased new furniture for Ethan and moved it into Aydan's old room. Aydan now has a new "big boy" room with airplanes and Handy Manny painted on the walls. He really loves his new bedroom and I know that Ethan is going to enjoy his new bedroom just as much.

Clint has sold his old 2 door truck to purchase a newer one that is more accommodating to a family of 4. It has 4 doors and is so much bigger. I believe he LOVES his new truck, even though I know he hated to see the other go.

In addition to craziness this summer my brother Danny was deployed to Afghanistan to serve our country. I am very proud of him too I might add. Crazy to think that the little boy I used to play G.I. Joes and My Little Ponies with is now one of my heroes and role models. His 2 sons Hunter and Gavin and his wife Summer moved down here and are currently staying with my parents. It is nice having them around because we never have had an opportunity to hang out much with them. But it is almost bitter sweet because of the situation.

At any rate that is at least the some of the issues that have been going on with the Vandiver household over the last few months. With Ethan arriving shortly I hope to be blogging a little bit more than I have been over the last few months. But we will see how much actually gets done based on time. Please forgive me and I will try to be better.

Julie :)

Happy Anniversary!

WHOA!! Four years have come and gone so quickly! May 28, 2005 at 2:00 pm is the day that Clint and I got married. I remember it like it was yesterday. So many funny things happened at our wedding...and that is what made it memorable. Since Clint and I have been married the good Lord has blessed us with a another family member every year. The first year we were married we got Nemo from Mrs. Mallette a woman that I used to work with. The second year we added Eva to our family, who we got from my brother Danny and sister in law Summer. The third year we were BLESSED with little Aydan Wade. This will be our fourth year married and we are blessed with Little Bit. The Lord works in mysterious ways because if it was not for Athens State University then none of this would have come true for me. I am so thankful for all the blessing in my life...and I look forward to the many years of marriage that Clint and I have ahead of us. Hopefully we will not be adding something to our family for every year we are married...if we do we will be downsizing to plants and fish. Happy Anniversary Clint!! I love you so much...and thank you for being you and allowing me to be me! I look forward to our future.

P.S. Also thanks for being so understanding and going roller skating with my students on our Anniversary! :)

As we've walked these years together

Sharing each the other's load

Many trials we have shared Dear

We took some detours in the road

But if I met you on tomorrow

I would still give you my heart

If you should say, "do you still love me?"

I'd say, "Til death do us part"

Thank You God

Shirley J. Stankiewicz

Aydan a few hours old...

Aydan 1 Year Old

Sent straight from heaven up above

Came an angel for me to love

To hold and rock and kiss good night

To wrap my arms around real tight

To cuddle & nurture and watch him play

To kiss his boo-boo's all away

To keep him safe and warm & count all his toes
To hold the tissue for him when he blows his little nose

To laugh at his jokes, to clap as he sings

To tell him all the joy in my life that he brings

To clean up his play dough, to pull his legos apart

To pin up his drawings and tell him it's art

To watch his first day of school on the bus all alone

To fight back the tears as I make my way back home

To applaud real loud when he's in his first play

To help him with his homework at the end of his day

To adore & cherish and watch him grow

To guide and teach him all that I know

To see him through good times & help him through bad

To share in his happiness and cry when he's sad

To hold him close and be by his side

To watch him through life as my heart fills with pride

To help him with decisions, the best that I can

To know that someday he'll be a fine young man

Year Check Up

The one year check up already has come and gone. Aydan weighed 24 lbs 10 oz, was 33 and 1/4 inches tall, and was at the 97th percentile in everything but weight (95th). Dr. Cartwright said that he is a perfectly healthy little boy and will be over 6 feet tall. Scary isn't it thinking that your baby who was born 20 inches tall and 8lbs 1 oz...will one day be a man. CRAZY!!

Walking the Dogs

Aydan has a new fascination with Dogs. He has always loved our dogs. Now he loves all dogs. We started taking the dogs for walks again now that the weather is nice and he is not going to have it any other way but to walk them himself. Thanks for being so patient girls :)

Mother's Day 2009

What a Mother's Day!! Clint and Aydan let me sleep in...then woke me up at the last minute to get ready for church. When I woke up they could not wait for me to go to the kitchen and see my goodies. Must say that I was very impressed...Clint and Aydan went shopping for me all alone. The did a great JOB!! I love being a Mommy...nothing in the world like it. Thank you boys and Little Bit...I love you all SOOOO MUCH!

Me and my 2 babies...the other 2 are not seen. (Aydan, Little Bit, Eva and Nemo)

My gifts...Chef, Vera Bradley Purse, Coin Purse and Flowerpot :)

Our Guests at the Little Gym

I am so sorry that I do not have a picture of all the guests. Some of you managed to avoid the camera. I will get you guys again one day though :)

Lia, Rachael, and Evey

Daddy, Aydan and Auntie Smith

Malea, Nora and Jeremy

Uncle Raymond and Aunt Joyce

Pawpaw and Chris

Pawpaw and Aunt Mel

Chambless and Mommy

MeMaw and Aydan

Uncle Pearl, Pawpaw and Great Pawpaw

Aunt Brandi, Chris, Pearl and Pawpaw

Granny and Aunt Lauren

Landon

Aydan's Birthday Party at The Little Gym

We took a ton of pictures at Aydan's first birthday party! It was one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do. It made me cry listening to everyone singing my BABY Happy Birthday! I thought that I was prepared but apparently not. I cannot believe how quickly he has already grown up. I remember back to when we brought him home...completely scared to death that we were going to mess up. Now he is walking around, playing, attempting to talk to us...where did the time go?

Run she is trying to get my ball :)

Wrestling with mommy!

Can't over it, can't go around it, got to go under it!

Run Aydan Run!

= Jumping on the bouncer.

Running on the bouncer.

Playing ball...

Getting ready for the balance beam.

I can do it alone :)