Clou Blog's 5th Anniversary!

Five years ago on the three-year anniversary of meeting Kevin, and shortly after getting married, I started this blog! A lot has happened since then! For the short version check out my year reviews below. This blog is definitely a labor of love. I really enjoy writing it, taking photos for it, and reading back on the old posts. Especially with a second baby now, it's so fun to look back and see if things were different with the first.

So many things have happened in five years it's hard to believe it's been such a short time. We lost my dad. We lost two very young friends Erik and Chris. We lost three grandparents. We had two beautiful children and our friends now have 36 more children among them (21 of them boys!). There have been another twenty-three friend-weddings in the last 5 years. My mother and Owen beat cancer! Kevin published his first book. Life is a rough ride and we're so lucky to have each other for it. All of us. That's why I've never changed the banner- because we're all in it together.

My year reviews since I began the blog:

2009: Second half of the year, starting from when we got married
2010: First half and second half (when we lost my dad)
2011: First half when James was born and second half
2012: First half and second half
2013: First half and second half

But of course, probably the best part of the blog has been Kevin's 41 posts so far. I'll try to get him to write more!

Us through the first five blog years:

Our Wedding, Cape Cod, June 2009


One-year Wedding Anniversary, Brooklyn, June 2010


Our son James is born!, Long Island, April 2011


James's First Birthday, Long Island, April 2012

Ta-da! Warwick, NY, June 2013


Our daughter Miranda is born!, Long Island, April 2014

Valentine's Day- A Retrospective

Happy Valentine's Day! This year is my 7th Valentines Day with Kevin, and my 2nd with James. Since I met them, love has rocked my world. Tonight I'm cooking a huge Cuban dinner for Kevin, and this weekend we're going to dinner and drinks in the Brooklyn neighborhood we lived in when we got married. And for your Valentine's Day gift, we're posting a Things My Wife Complains About this afternoon.

Our 1st Valentine's Day in 2007

Kevin and I had been dating about 6 and half months. He took me to the fancy Fellini's Restaurant in Charlottesville, VA for Valentine's Day dinner. Also got flowers the week before for our 6 month anniversary. I didn't take any pictures (what?) but I took him to my 2L Barristers Ball three days later and we took tons of photos.

6-month flowers

At Vivace restaurant before the dance, February 2007

Barristers Ball at the Omni Hotel 2007

Our 2nd Valentine's Day in 2008
Kevin and I had been engaged for 2 and half months, and we were living in Charlottesville together. I don't remember if we specifically did something for Valentines Day, but 4 days before Valentines we went to my 3L Barristers Ball. The following weekend, on the 16th, my parents hosted a little engagement party for me and Kevin in Charlottesville.

At our place before Barristers Ball

Dancing! 2/10

Dancing?

 

Our engagement party at our place in 2008, 2/16

Our 3rd Valentine's Day in 2009
Kevin and I were engaged and living together in Brooklyn, NY, with under 4 months until our wedding. Brady, James W. and I celebrated Kevin's Sunday birthday on the Saturday of Valentine's Day, with dinner at a Peruvian restaurant and drinks at Kevin's favorite Brooklyn bar. The four of us kept it sexy.

Brooklyn Heights Promenade, Valentine's Day 2009

Peruvian dinner at Coco Roco in Brooklyn

Brady, James W., and Kevin at the Brooklyn Inn

Our 4th Valentine's Day in 2010
Our first married Valentine's Day! I threw a huge multi-day celebration for Kevin's 30th birthday over the relevant weekend, so we celebrated Valentine's Day the next weekend. We were still living in Brooklyn, but we celebrated in Manhattan with Mexican restaurant El Centro for dinner and the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center.

Celebrating Kevin's 30th birthday, February 13th

Chelsea Market, February 15th

At the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center, February 19th

Our 5th Valentine's Day in 2011
By now, we had moved to Long Island and we were expecting our first baby in 2 months. We went out for dinner at Bob's Restaurant in Long Island when I was 31 weeks huge.

 Kevin's 31st birthday in Manhattan, 30-31 weeks pregnant with James

31 weeks along on February 14, 2011

Our 6th Valentine's Day in 2012
Our first Valentine's Day as parents! Which means, you have to figure out who wants to spend their Valentines Day babysitting for you if you want to go out together. Michele very generously came over to watch James. Kevin and I went out for dinner at Sushi Ya in Long Island for Valentine's Day, because  sushi is one of my favorites.  James was particularly happy about Michele's visit because he loves her, and she was his first ever Valentine's Day date.

James's first Valentine's Day at 9 almost 10 months!

Getting James ready for bed before leaving for our date


James and Michele ❤

Review of 2012- Part 2

July 2012
Kevin and I went on our second big roadtrip of the summer, this time to the Northeast, to see our family and friends including: Kevin's mom, my grandmother, Pete and Adrienne, Allison and Dan, Cate and Matt, and Casey and Victoria. We celebrated the Fourth of July on Cape Cod with family. Chrissy and Jason had their second baby Hailey.

The Clous at the Portland Lighthouse in Maine

Michele and I went to see Calle 13 at Celebrate Brooklyn! James turned 15 months old. Kevin and I got to go on a fun date night when my mother came to visit.  Lukas and Sarah came over to watch the Opening Ceremony of the Summer Olympics in London.  Kevin and I celebrated meeting each other 6 years ago by donating blood.

August
Everyone continued watching and complaining about the Summer Olympics. We went to DC, and went to Eastern Market and Yards Park with Cory, Robin, Jaime, stayed in with Janice and Roger. We went to Maryland to meet baby William T. I fulfilled a life dream when Michele and I went to The Colbert Report. We went to New Jersey to visit Nana, and had dinner with David and Melanie in Hoboken.

Ash had a super awesome, Happy Everything! party, a celebration of all holidays simultaneously. Katy and Luke got married in South Carolina! David and Jordan had their son Harry.

Happy pirates, Thanksgiving and St. Patrick's Day!

September
The Pete and Adrienne celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary. We celebrated Michele's birthday with a perfect picnic in Prospect Park. I actually spent a lot of time with Michele in September because I was getting sad that she was leaving New York at the end of October. Michele, Briggs, Kevin, and I went a Bon Iver concert in Radio City Music Hall.

We brought James to Manhattan for the first time on Labor Day. We also took James to the Queens County Farm so he could feed some sheep. James turned 17 months!

The Clous in Times Square

Teresa and John's baby JJ was born. The Sowards celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary. We spent a long weekend in Cape Cod with family and went to the beach, the pond, a playground, and even a local farm. Then Brooke and Marc got engaged in Los Angeles!

Katy and Luke celebrated their wedding with a reception in Nashville. We had so much fun going out in Nashville, and visiting with little guys Carter and William.

Katy and Luke's reception in Nashville

October
We visited Chrissy's family in Ramsey and got to meet baby Hailey for the first time! We went to the the Apple Festival in the rain, and it was terrible. I think it would have been terrible even without rain. I was a little grouchy one morning and Kevin wrote, "Things My Wife Complains About #21: Seeking Her Best Interests."

The Vondys and Clous

James had many visitors this month: Nana, Grandma, Michele, Janice, and Wendy! We went to the Stern's baby shower, and then out in Brooklyn for drinks and delicious burgers. When Janice came to visit we took James for a playdate with Hudson, Christina, and Dan.  James turned a year and half old!

Janice and I are co-moms for the day

Michele left New York to move to Richmond and start a food co-op. To send her off we went to a show called Accomplice in the city, and then had a going-away happy hour. I missed her immediately.

Michele, me, and Ash in City Hall Park during Accomplice

Superstorm Sandy was devastating to the tri-state area. Over 100 people died in the United States and millions lost power for days. We lost power on the Monday of the storm, and we braved it at home without power Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday afternoon we drove up to Ash's house, where Ash's parents were also staying with her because they had lost power. It was Halloween so we dressed up James and let him run around. We didn't get power back until the following Sunday.

Tiger on the loose!

November

We started the month off still living at Ash's place because our power hadn't returned yet after Hurricane Sandy. It was good timing to spend Ash's birthday with her, and we celebrated with a spa visit and lots and lots of sushi. We finally got power back on the 4th, but we decided to stay through the day to spend more time with Ash, and we spent the day together at Pennington Farm.

At the farm with Ash

We were home Monday with power and heat, but then the Nor'easter hit us on Wednesday, and we lost power and heat in the middle of the night. It was cold in our apartment without heat, so Thursday afternoon James and I went to stay with my mom. Of course, the power came back as soon as we got to my mom's. Kevin came to get us on Friday and I was home for a few hours before I left for Girls' Weekend on Saturday morning... which ironically Ash was hosting this year. Back to Ash's!

Janice, me, Laurie, Ash, and Megan

I reflected on my dad's passing on the 2-year anniversary.  Kevin, James, and I spent Thanksgiving with Kevin's family on Cape Cod.

Thanksgiving in Cape Cod

December
We visited Andrew in Florida and went out in downtown Delray Beach, had a huge party with Andrew's friends, and went to a Patriots game in Miami.  When we got back, Jon and Becky had adorable baby Ben and we rushed over to meet him and spend as much time with him as possible.

Jon, Becky, and Ben!

Lukas and Sarah came over to help us get in the Christmas spirit with cookies and glögg. We also celebrated 12-12-12 with a neighborhood Christmas lights walk. Michele took a little break from co-founding Richmond Food Cooperative and gave me the best Christmas present ever by visiting New York.

James turned 20 months old and was talking more and more.We spent Noche Buena and Christmas morning on Long Island with my mom, and some days after Christmas with Kevin's family in Cape Cod.

Christmas Eve at home

Read about the first half of 2012 here.

Read about the first half of 2011 or the second half of 2011.

Review of 2012- Part 1

Happy New Year! Let's review all the good things that happened last year!

January
We spent New Years Eve in Brooklyn at Jon and Becky's place. The Meghan and Ben had their second son Evan.  Kevin and I finally successfully sleep-trained James when he was 8 months old.  We started a new yearly tradition of watching football and Miss America with friends. Kevin, James and I went to visit my grandmother Daisy and my mother in New Jersey.

James turned 9 months old and started walking! I finally finished scanning my photos after working on the project for 5 years! There was barely any snow in New York this winter (about 4 inches total).

James at 9 months, January 30th

February

Ash, Michele, Jaime and I went to the Brooklyn Brewery for a tour and our own shared tasting.  Kevin mourned another loss of the Patriots to the Giants in the Superbowl (see 2008).  Our mothers both visited James. We celebrated Kevin's 32nd birthday in Williamsburg with barbecue and bourbon, and then we had a low-key Valentine's Day at Sushi Ya restaurant.  Kevin and James had a boys weekend while I took the bus to D.C. for Megan's baby shower and Sarah's 30th birthday (and impromptu belly-rubbing).  I even got a behind the scenes Supreme Court tour from Donald. Christina and Dan's son Hudson was born a week before his due date so I got to hold him even sooner than I hoped.

James had already been walking for almost a month when he turned 10 months old! Kevin documented all my complaints about television in Things My Wife Complains About (TMWCA).

Brooklyn Brewery

March
For my 33rd birthday, Michele and I did 33 fun things which included visiting Hudson, doing a wine tasting, and eating sushi at one Michele's favorite Brooklyn restaurants. Grandma Kathy came to visit James.  On St. Patrick's Day, Kevin made his famous corned beef sandwiches again, and along with Jon and Michele we did a local bar crawl.  A bunch of old coworkers and I attended Adrienne's baby shower.

St. Patrick's Day 2012

With Daylight Savings, James started sleeping through the night to 6:30 a.m.  James turned 11 Months Old and maybe said his first word? We couldn't tell for sure.

Kevin and I went to visit the Bucks in Virginia.  Baby William B. was born and I got to meet him when he was just 9 days old!

April
We went on a little mini-roadtrip where visited the Bucks in Arlington, VA for the weekend and saw the Taylors too. We went to Roger and Lina's wedding in Tysons Corner. Then we visited Cory and Robin in DC. Finally, we showed James around our alma mater in Charlottesville.  It went really well, until James had a total meltdown on our way home, which Kevin wrote about in Diary of an Angry Pink Baby #6.

Our first family trip to DC!

Nana visited for the weekend. We enjoyed Easter at the Gorskis, complete with their signature martinis!  We went to Cape Cod to attend Kevin's cousin's wedding the Pareseau wedding.  The same week, the Adrienne and Liel had a baby girl, Brooke and a few days later the Megan and Ed had a baby boy, William.

James turned a year old and the following week we had his first birthday party at home on Long Island. I finally finished taking a photo of James every day for a year!

James 1st birthday party!

May
On Cinco de Mayo, we went to the Bronx Zoo with Rachel and Tim, Christina and Dan, and their kids. We had a great time.

Then we planned and set off for a big Southeast Roadtrip. We had to pack for 18 days, and we entertained the Jeff and Caroline on the very day we were leaving for the trip. It took us 12 hours of driving straight through the middle of the night to get to North Carolina in time.  But we finally visited Audra andRob at their home in North Carolina, met their adorable son Carter, and even spent part of Mother's Day with them. I got to see the two cutest people ever, Sarah and Aaron get married.  By Day 4 we were wandering around Charlotte, NC without a clue what to do, but at least we started our BBQ binge!

Days 5-6, we visited Atlanta, Georgia for the first time and had the best BBQ ever.  We stopped in Macon, Georgia so that James wouldn't lose his mind, and we got to visit some Ocmulgee mounds. We visited the Trey and Sunny in Jacksonville, Florida, and got to meet their son Cort for the first time.

Day 8, we fell in love with Savannah, Georgia and by days 9-10, I had declared Charleston, South Carolina imminently livable. We stopped in Columbia, South Carolina and then kind of wished we hadn't. James turned 13 months old while we were there.

Savannah, we love you! 

On day 11, we hiked up Clingman's Dome Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.  We visited Katy and Luke, and got to see a lot of Nashville. Day 13 was all about Elvis's home Graceland and some great Memphis BBQ. And then we washed all that BBQ  down with bourbon on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail on day 15.

Having rocked the South, we left and visited Chrissy and Jason in Cincinnati, Ohio and even had some Cincy chilli with them. And we did all that before Memorial Day! We did more before Memorial Day than most people will do the entire summer. Yes, traveling so much was incredibly hard, but it was also fantastic and funny.

June
This month started with a lot of baby news! Aubree and Patrick had their daughter Avery, and shortly thereafter, Cathy and Mike had their second daughter Kennedy. Then, Jon and Becky announced they were pregnant.

Brady came to visit for the first time in a while, and the guys went to the Brooklyn Brewery and Manhattan to party. The following week, Jaime came to visit and we all went to Jones Beach during the day, and in the evening we met up with Michele, Yainice, and Allison for a little BBQ and a Brooklyn bar tour.

James loving Jones Beach

Kevin, James, and I celebrated Kevin's second Father's Day with a trip to the Bear Mountain area so that he could go hiking. James turned 14-months and started bringing us his books to read to him. Fifteen years passed since I graduated high school. Nana came to visit James and we all had a lovely time at the park together. Kevin, Briggs, Jon, Becky, Lukas, Sarah, and I went to Dinosaur BBQ in Harlem together. Yum.

Only one month after returning home from our 18-day Southern roadtrip, Kevin, James and I left home for a 10-day Northern roadtrip. Our first stop was Jim and Lisa's wedding celebration in Quincy, Massachusetts. Our second stop was Martha's Vineyard.

Read about the second half of 2012 here.

Read about the first half of 2011 or the second half of 2011.