Zaney from the Zane!!

Check back often for more Zaney from the Zane!!

This is my Monkey Man! We see this face alot.....so will you!

Anyone who has spent 5 minutes with my family comes away thinking the same thing, "Zane!" Each of my children are fun and friendly. Zane just seems to stand out in the what he says and does. He is that child at the grocery store in a Flash costume, or that kid who goes toe-to-toe with Bill Cosby and says some funny stuff! Hopefully this post will grow as we remember more and experience more of these Zaney Moments!

What really can be said? Yes, that is Zane. No, this isn't a punishment.

Leave my yard, says Yoda!

Neighborhood kids cut through our yard from time to time to take a trail through the woods. One day a group of kids cuts down our hill hung out in the woods for a minute and came back through the yard and onto the street. Zane watched them and finally flew out the door to chase after them. He was going through a huge Yoda phase at the time...picture him in Yoda garb, a gnarled stick for a cane, and very little 4 year old chasing down 3 gangsta-looking teenagers. And you now ask, "Did he talk the Yoda talk?" My reply....o yaaaaa!

This is the result of Zane feeding the cats...they LOVE him!

The Green House Brown Family

A couple of houses away from ours is a green house. It sits at the top of our cul-de-sac and its where Zane takes his bike to the top of the hill to ride down. One day he went out to ride....as a pirate. Zane returned quickly and irritatedly asking me to help him find his Batman costume. I asked what was wrong, but he only ignored me and grumbled something about "they won't talk like that to Batman."
I watched Zane hop on his tricycle and tear tread up our street to the green house, where he hoped off and headed on foot up their driveway. And he was MAAAAD! And he was telling the teenagers that lived there what-for! I had no idea what he was saying but knew I needed to call him off! So I yelled for him to come home. He turned, said "WHAT?!" Then he dropped his head as he walked dejectedly to his bike and rode home.
As Zane got home, he let me know just how angry he was that I interupted his ride of revenge. He told me the kids had just made fun of him because he was dressed up as a pirate. I told him that that will happen if he wants to walk around in costumes, and people will stare and say things. However, if he likes it then he should do it and cannot go yelling at big kids. He turns and is obviously upset and says, "Mom! I have to defend myself! You have to let me defend myself! I don't like the green house brown family!"

I told you! Its almost like his face is stuck this way!

Must've Been The Raccoons...

Tim left for work one morning, only to return 2 minutes later....carrying a mangled bike helmet. Zane's mangled bike helmet. Zane was laying next to me in bed (wasn't time to wake up yet) reading a Lego magazine. Tim tells Zane, "this is why you need to put your stuff away." Zane replied (without ever taking his eyes off the magazine) "I know Dad. I will Dad." Tim leaves, he's late. Zane then puts the magazine down and turns to me....."I KNOW I put that helmet away. It must've been the raccoons." And he continued to read....


He's Got Your Back, Mrs. Ortiz!

One of my favorite stories from this school year was retold to me by his teacher, Mrs. Ortiz. It was calendar time as the kids in the Pink room sat at Mrs. Ortiz's feet. She began by asking questions about the days of the week, getting the kids to conclude with this particular day's name and why it was her favorite day of the week. As Mrs. Ortiz lead the children to the answers with great questioning skills, various kids were yelling out of turn...they were still in training. When the question was asked, "Why was Friday Mrs. Ortiz's favorite day of the week?" Zane was sitting closest to his teacher and mumbled to himself...."So she doesn't have to hear YOU yell out for two days..."

He LOVES Mrs. Ortiz. Its an unbreakable bond....she will have him next year! Yay for looping!!!



Arrrrrgh!
Everyday for the past month or so, we have heard tails of adventure and intrigue from my son's Kindergarden class. He has had us sitting on the edge of our chairs at dinner with tales of Capt. Barnacle!! And then we dress like him! (Note to Ortiz...he'll do and learn ANYTHING, if there is a costume involved!)

An Oxymoron???

This isn't a tale from Zane as much as it is a need-to-see visual of our Zaney Zane....

I believe this is what learn-ed literature folks might call an oxymoron.

We do CrAzY cute!

We never know what we are going to get around here on any given day. We could be all business one day, superheroes the next, and colorblind the day after. We ARE CrAzY......and we certainly are CuTe!!!

Sophia had to wear her bathrobe.....HAD TO! And I just HAD to document her clothing choice to prove an argument I just know we will have later.

A pink boa...its ALL that has to be said!

I am not sure when they outgrow the dress up phase...but we are ready for blackmail! O wait. If we post it now then we won't be able to threaten to later, hmmm. O WELL! Isn't he cute?

She's not crazy....she's just adorable! Little Emma is now 4months old!

And Zane! He takes crazy and cute to a whole new level. He is into several things as of late: creating paper battle armor (we go thru ALOT of loose leaf and tape), weapons and warfare of any kind, his flag shirt, and Book of Mormon stories about warfare. On this particular day he was portraying a warrior of the Lord-check out the crest on his sheild! CTR? Its short for Choose The Right.....or else?

Meet the Emma-bug!!

We have no pictures of her after her birth...we forgot the camera in our hurry!

Emma Leona Greene

This little girl has brought excitement to our family since the moment we found out we were expecting her. I was certainly in denial that I was expecting, especially since Julia was only 4months old! I began to not feel very well around my birthday last July which got me thinking, "Could I be...." Nah, couldn't be! The pregnancy test didn't agree and threw a plus sign at me! (The nerve!) Almost immediately I experienced some bleeding and I assumed I had miscarried. However, when the problem continued I thought something very wrong was going on...cancer, soft spot, unexpelled tissue.... So I marched right into my doctor's office and told him something was wrong...I had obviously miscarried and still felt awful, something was wrong!!! Apparently, I was to be the day's entertainment.


I was immediately sent for an ultrasound. And the ultrasound tech said, "Uh.....uh.....let me check....Uh, there's a baby here!" She laughed and jokingly called me Myrtle, "Ya, know like Fertile Myrtle!" Oh, I knew what she meant....I just wasn't in the mood to laugh. After a few minutes alone I had composed myself when in marched the Great Bald Wonder, "Priscilla! You really do love me, don't you? You just can't stay out of my office! Before you tell me you aren't sure how this happened, I have charts and diagrams....I can explain." Like I said, I was entertainment. Honestly, babies are great news. I was just overwhelmed with the idea of how to care for 2 babies since they would be less then a year apart. I also felt bad that Julia was getting shortchanged on her babyhood. My worries seem so ridiculous now, because 2 babies are my new normal! I can't imagine my days without them!

The arrival of Emma had surely surpassed the excitement of the knowledge of her impending birth. Just after Christmas we learned that I had placenta-previa. This is a potentially dangerous condition where the placenta covers the opening of the cervix. My condition can be blamed on the repeat C-sections from Zane, Sophia and Julia's births. I was immediately put on bed rest....and blamed for the further balding of the Great Bald Wonder...it was the LEAST I could do! Bed rest was exciting (not) and I learned how to let go, let others and trust that God knew better than myself of how things were to work out. I also learned how loved I was by so many. I had more helpers than I could schedule, more phone calls then I could answer, and my fridge was always full!! I was able to see how seriously my extraordinary husband takes his roll as caregiver and provider. I hated being dependent, but I grew t0 cherish the experience and the new perspective it brought me. I was scheduled for my C-section on February 10th, and couldn't wait!
Really. I couldn't wait! I woke early in the morning February 5th, in labor and bleeding very badly. We kept calm and quiet as we got ready and found a friend to come be with the kids. Tim rushed me to the hospital, while I made a few phone calls....the doctor, my mom, my besties. So, I had the hospital on standby, my mom "in-the-know" and calm, but no answer from either of my best friends. I did get a text from Emily's husband, Jeff, asking if all was okay. Strangely, it brought me peace as Jeff went through all the "doctor" questions and then insisted on waking Emily so she could call me. I was in some strangely calm, quiet place. All I could keep thinking about was whether or not I had felt the baby move. I wasn't sure, and I kept praying.


Once we arrived at the hospital and made our way to the maternity floor, the rush kicked into overdrive. The first thing they did, because I started to panic because I could not remember feeling the baby move, was to put the baby heartrate monitor on my belly before I had even sat down on the bed. What a huge relief to hear that heartbeat!! I settled back and let everyone do their thing while I gazed back and forth from Tim's face to the heart monitor. As long as both were there, I could remain calm. Tim kept things very calm and constantly reminded me that we were in good hands. As soon as enough fluids were forced, in to surgery I went! I didn't realize how much pain I was in from being in labor (I had other things on my mind) until the spinal was in....o sweet medicine!!! Forty-five minutes after our arrival at the hospital, a very uncomplicated section was performed and Emma was born!! How sweet the moment was and how beautiful this little girl was!! We knew what she had overcome to get here, and we were all the more appreciative of our Heavenly Father's plan for us, our family, and for our little Emma-bug. The whole experience made us sincerely grateful of the time and place in which we live. Emma and I faced a potentially deadly situation and were fortunate enough to have been led to great doctors and facilities prepared to handle our crisis.

Emma is a great baby, with a beautiful spirit. We are honored to have her here in our home!

What ya gonna do???

So, I introduced you to Julia....FINALLY....and have updated the blog....FINALLY....it's only been a year!!! We have been crazy busy around here. We struggled with a broken and crashed computer. I had full-time Richie duty and family functions, and books to read. Then in the middle of all that we found out that we were expecting another baby Greene.....just wait till I show off the Emma-bug pictures! It could take a while....so hang tight!!

The Missing Year of Julia....

Little Miss Julia came to our family in March of 2010....and our family just hasn't been the same since. Julia has the most beautiful blue eyes, and they have been wide open ever since the day she came home. Her full name is Julia Anne, but is often called Ju-wah because that's what is best pronounced by Sophia and Richie and our bestie playmate Caroline. Ju-wah also stuck, because that is what Julia calls herself! She often cruises around the house just sing-songing her name. Sometimes Julia's chant of her name reminds me of the Siamangs' chant at the zoo. She starts off loud and slow, "Ju-wah, Ju-wah, Ju-wah" and then gets louder and faster. "Ju-wah, Ju-wah, Ju-wah"! It's the best noise I've ever heard!

Julia also has the best disposition, eats like a grown man, sleeps well, and smiles....ALOT! We love her and are sooo blessed that she picked to come to our family.

Its a girl!! The OR team had a blast making wagers about whether we were having a boy or a girl. This is our first look at Julia Anne, 7lbs 14oz, born at 8am sharp!

I loved her instantly!

She really hates the bow....

Wyley, Zane and Sophia meet Julia for the first time.

Zane and Julia

Sophia and her baby!

Lily and Julia, with Uncle Matt, on the day of their blessing. No, she's not in a coma, just a busy day is all!

She eventually likes the bow...when she's asleep.

Julia's first road trip at 1 month...we did "the mall" with our Hill/Hoffman/Posey friends!

Lion roar? Nah, just a sleepy baby!

Ju-wah brings out the moosh in even the toughest of kids....

Julia at 2 months old, and so super sweet!


Wyley instantly took to Julia and has been her #1 fan....and mommy's #1 helper!!

Mommy & Julia

Hug Me???? OK!

Julia and Lily

Julia and Uncle Will June 2010

This is how Julia does Golf Tournaments....3months old

So cute!

Daddy and Julia at family pictures in Pennsylvania.

Camping 4month old style....

5months old


This is why we always called her "Big Eyes"....and Zane called her "Code Name, Big Eyes"

I couldn't resist...she will one day hate me, but just look at those cheeks!!

I love it!

Julia, 6months, with a just married Uncle Matt.

Princess Peach, Mario, Luigi and.......TOAD!!

We might be a little obsessed with the game...

All those training sessions Julia sat through in utero have inspired her
Check out that plank!!!

All the Greene Grandkids, at Massanutten....Julia 7months.

At Petco Field, San Diego

Julia and Mommy at the Bradford's for Thanksgiving Dinner!

8month old Ju-wah with her new buddy Benjamin Lewis.

The favorite Christmas toy for 9month old Julia.

Julia LOVES her blankie!!!

Yes, that a fruit loop on her 10month old noggin!

"Uhhh. What do you mean, I'm not the baby?"

11months old

All 5 kiddos....Julia still the center of attention!

I LOVE THE CAMERA!!!!! and my granddaddy....

I can walk, I can climb....check me out!!!

1st Birthday Cupcakes for Julia!!!

Some 1st Birthday mess!!!

Julia and daddy.....and his sunglasses, she finally got them!!!

Ju-wah and her new towel....

OOOO those eyes!!!

Julia, 13months, at Easter....with Zane and Sophia!

Julia, 14months old, was being pushed around in a box by Zane. Kids took a quick timeout to pose for me. All I had to say was, "Guys! Let me get your picture!"