Happy Birthday, Clark!!!

Dear Clark,

Happy Birthday!!  One year ago I was very scared when you came into the world.  You were so very tiny and born a month earlier than expected.  You were so small that the nurses would put you inside my tank top, tummy to tummy, with your head resting on my chest.  We would lay an extra blanket on top of me to keep you warm.  You looked like a little koala bear all cozy in my shirt.  Now you are a little bulldozer who loves electrical outlets, rocks, sand and cars.  The last year has gone by so quickly!  Your personality is just starting to shine through and it is so much fun to see what you like.  You absolutely love cars.  We sit in the driver’s seat of my car almost every afternoon and you hold on to the steering wheel and squeal with excitement.  Aunt Kelly gave you a ride-on Lamborghini for your birthday and you are obsessed with honking the horn and making the lights shine.   You also love dogs.  When we see dogs on the morning walk, you get very excited and try to lean out of the stroller to watch them.  If I say “puppy dog”, you get a big smile on your face.

The best part of this month was your first real word.  You have been making sounds for a few months, but now you can say “Dada” very clearly.  It is so cute to hear your little voice and I cannot wait until you say “Mama”.  This month was filled with a lot of milestones.  You have three more teeth – One more on the bottom and two on the top!  In total, you seven teeth!!  Sloane didn’t have any teeth until 16 months so you are really ahead of the game.  We discovered that you love blueberries, cold (roasted) sweet potatoes and quesadillas.  In fact, you love all sorts of finger foods now - Grated cheese, beans, bananas, peaches, grapes and the all-time favorite, cheerios.

We are finally getting on a more regular schedule.  Nights are slowly getting better with only a few wake ups around 2-3am.  You wake up around 5-6am and half of the time you fall back asleep, but half of the time you are ready to start the day.  If you fall back asleep, you get up for the day around 7:30-8am, nap around 10:30am and again at 3:30.   It is really nice having a regular rhythm to our day.  Most mornings are spent at the park.  You eat breakfast in the swings then I push you while Sloane plays.  You love the sand but try to eat it so I rarely let you crawl around since the park is not the cleanest of places.  We have spent a lot of time this summer at the pool and you are happy in the water.   After dinner we usually head to the little park and you crawl EVERYWHERE.  Daddy and I have to keep a close eye on you otherwise you will go down the slide headfirst or try to eat rocks.

You pull yourself up to standing on anything you can grip.  I have a feeling that you will walk soon.  I am really excited to see you on the move but also a little sad that you are already such a big boy.  I love rocking you to sleep because I know that very soon you will be too big to fit in my arms.  I want to enjoy every minute of you being a baby before it is gone.  I just love you and your chubby cheeks so much!

Happy birthday, dude.  Sloane, daddy and I love you so much!!

Xoxox,

Mommy

Happy 11-Months, Clark!

 

Dear Clark,

You are 11 months old!! I cannot believe that you will be one year old in only a month.  This has been a crazy month.  You have turned into a major Mama’s boy.  You want me to hold you ALL THE TIME.  You cry when I leave the room and get mad if other people want to hold you.  I think that most of recent attitude is due teething.  You were sleeping great until a few weeks ago and have been waking up all hours, screaming your head off and inconsolable. You don’t want to eat or be held, you just want everyone in the neighborhood to know that you are not happy.  I am really hoping that several more teeth pop through in the next few days and you go back to being a happy baby.

We went on our first family road trip to Lake Tahoe and you were a trooper in the car.  We learned that you love the “Old McDonald” song, which kept you giggling and happy in between naps and pit stops for gas.  Although you were on my hip most of the trip, you sat on a paddleboard while daddy pushed you around the shallow part of the lake and you loved playing in the sand by the edge of the water.  We also visited Aunt Gerri and Uncle Steve in Sacramento and you went on a speedboat.  Sloane was very nervous but you had a grand time and even sat on Steve’s lap and hung on to the wheel.

You are a little bulldozer.  Daddy and I are constantly saying “no” and “not in the mouth!” because you love getting your little hands on everything in the house.  You have grabbed rocks from the fireplace, cut your finger on the air conditioner vent and poke at the electrical outlets (those have child-proof covers!).   You love adventuring at the park; crawling everywhere and watching Sloane play with friends.  You can pull yourself up to standing but haven’t started cruising along furniture yet.

Not much has changed in your language this last month.  You make sounds that are close to “dada” and “hi” but it is a little bit of a stretch.  You recognize your name and will turn your head towards me when I say “Clark”.  Sloane calls you “Dude” and daddy calls you “Chompers” so I am actually surprised that you have learned your name.   Food is another area that hasn’t had much progress.  Some days you love to eat and other days you push the spoon away.  I have given you more finger foods lately including beans, bananas, cantaloupe and strawberry slices.

I love you so much!!

XOXO,

Mommy

Happy 10-Months, Clark!

Dear Clark,

Happy 10-months!  I am a few days late writing this letter but I doubt that you care.  This has been a GREAT month.  You are such a happy baby and finally sleeping through the night!! There have been many nights that you have slept from 8pm to 6am in your crib.  However, there have been a few nights that you have woken up around 4:30-5am, but I think the earlier wake-ups have been due to teething since you have FOUR teeth!  Your first tooth was a bottom tooth, then the top, then the other bottom and yesterday the other top tooth finally cut through the gums.  You look so cute with all four little teeth.

The other milestone this month was crawling and sitting up on your own.  You have not mastered crawling but you are moving all over the place.  You crawl for a few feet then wiggle your body around to sit up, then lay back on your tummy and crawl for another few feet before sitting up again.  You very curious and like to pull toys out of buckets and explore all over Sloane’s room.   I also learned that you love playing with plastic containers in the kitchen while I am working on dinner.  I have a feeling that you will be crawling very quickly for long distances in the next week or two.

This month was also a great month for trying new foods.  I learned that you only like super smooth purees. No chucks at all.  You love butternut squash with cherries, peas with peaches, sweet potatoes with mangoes, oatmeal with apples and dates, and blueberries with bananas.   I have tried mashing up avocados and you just gag on it.  If it is not smooth, you won’t eat it off a spoon.  However, you love small crunchy snacks like cherrios, corn flakes and rice crispy cereal.  Our next challenge is getting you to eat protein and drinking from a straw cup.  I haven’t even tried to give you meat and the straw cup has not been successful. 

You love going on the swings at the park.  Most mornings, I take you and Sloane to the park and feed you breakfast in the swing while Sloane plays.  Then she will push you and you giggle and smile the entire time.   You also like playing in the sand at the beach, although you usually try to eat the sand.  Daddy and I have put you in the pool a few times but you have not been thrilled with it.  After 10 minutes, you are over it and would rather sit on a towel and play with toys.  You love music and like to shake your head and body to the beat.  We have a music table and you can stand next to and it is one of your favorite things to do.

I love you so much and although it is a bad habit, I still rock you to sleep for naps since I know that soon you will be too big to fit in my arms.   Can’t wait to see what milestones will occur in the next two months before you turn one!

XOXO,

Mommy

Happy Nine-Months, Clark!

 Dear Clark,

Yesterday you turned nine months old! I cannot believe how fast the months are going by.  You are growing so much and are so chubby and adorable.  You weigh 17 pounds!  Sloane didn't weigh 17 pounds until 18 months.  Even though you are much bigger than your sister, you are still in the 10th percentile.  This month started off great but was really rough the last week.   You got your first cold and it was a bad one.  You were so uncomfortable and wanted to be held all day.  The nights were really hard, you were waking up in the middle of the night, screaming your head off for hours and nothing would make you happy.  Thankfully you are feeling better now and back to your regular self.

You are getting very close to crawling.  You can roll and rotate to move around, and will rock back and forth but haven't actually moved on your knees.  Today you started to scoot around the floor while sitting up.  I think you will figure it out in the next few days.  You LOVE Sloane so much and always have your eye on her.  I have a feeling that you will be crawling after her as soon as your figure out how to move around.  She makes you so happy.  If she says, “boo”, you giggle nonstop.  She will sing the “b-i-n-g-o” song to make you happy when you are upset.  We go to the park every day and you love watching her play with her friends and ride her scooter.

There was not much progress on trying new foods.  Your love yogurt and pears, everything else is hit or miss.  Some days you love butternut squash and other days you refuse to open your mouth.  We give you all sorts of finger foods and you like feeding yourself, especially O cereal.  I have tried to get you to drink out of a sappy up and straw cup but it hasn't been successful.

The best part of the month is bedtime.   We have a routine that has been working great.  You and Sloane take a bath at the same time, books, a little milk, and then I put you in your crib awake with your favorite blanket.  You will fall asleep on your own within a few minutes.   Some nights you will sleep until 4am or 5am, but there are many more nights that you wake up around 2-3am.  Your naps are still short, 30-45 minutes, so you end up taking three or four naps a day, depending on when you wake up in the morning.  You love going on the swings at the park, especially if Sloane is on the big kid swing next to you.  You also love jumping in your bouncer.

I love you so much and you are growing so fast.  I miss how you use to pass out on my chest at nighttime.  I just want to cuddle with you all the time.

XOXO,

Mommy

Happy Eight Months, Clark!

Dear Clark,

You are eight months old!  It is hard to believe that you have been out of my belly as long as you were inside of it because the last eight months have gone by so quickly.  You were four pounds of skin and bones eight months ago.  Today you are chubby with little legs rolls and round belly.  You love being tickled and you have the cutest belly laugh.  You are very smiley and happy, and still comfortable with anyone holding you.  You are laid back and indifferent to many things.  Daddy and I have put your feet in the ocean several times and you do not make any facial expressions, good or bad, about it.   Same thing at the park and going on the swings, you don’t get overly happy or sad, you just hang out.

You have mastered sitting up.  We can plop you down on the ground with some toys and you are happy sitting up and playing.  You prefer to sit up and play versus lying on your back.  You have become more mobile the last few days by rolling and trying to scoot.  I have a feeling that crawling is going to start soon.   I couldn’t wait for Sloane to start crawling and now with you, I want you stay in one spot for as long as possible.  Once you really start moving, it is going to be a new challenge to keep you safe with all of Sloane’s tiny toys spread throughout the house.  Sloane loves and adores you so much.  She tells you that she loves you multiple times a day, she runs into your room and says “Mommy is coming!” when you wake up from nap, and she keeps you entertained.  You LOVE watching her dance, sing songs and run around the park.  You can be cranky and tired before bed but if we lay you in Sloane’s bed and she cuddles with you, you instantly get a big smile on your face.

I decided to start giving you more that we are eating since it is easy for me.  You have nibbled on bell peppers, waffles, pancakes, roasted sweet potatoes, avocados, sourdough bread, tortillas, banana slices and raspberries.   You are not a big eater.  Some days you just eat a few bites; other days you will earn a whole bowl of sauce.  I am hoping that once summer arrives and all the delicious summer fruits are in season that you will be more excited to try new foods.

Nights still suck. You wake up around 2-3am and since I am so desperate for sleep, I just bring you into bed with daddy and I.  Cuddles and little milk is all it takes for you to pass out.  Some mornings you sleep up 7:30-8am, but other days you are up at 6:30am.  There really doesn’t seem to be a regular schedule.  Every day is something different.  Most days you are up for 2 hours before taking a 30-minute nap, which means you take 3-4 naps a day.  There have been a few days that you have napped for 45-60 minutes but it is rare. 

XOXO,

I love you so much,

Mommy

Beach Day

Last weekend felt like a summer weekend....

 Clark is practically the same size as Sloane (at least his head)!

 I really need to go shopping for this kid.  All he wears is white oneises...

And, Sloane at after school on St. Patrick's Day enjoying a cupcake. She refused to wear anything green and didn't care that everyone at school had green on but her...

Clark at least wore olive green shorts (they were Sloane's pants when she was his age)...

Happy Seven-Months, Clark!

Dear Clark,

You are seven months old today!  This has been a much better month for you (and us).  You are no longer whinny nonstop which is a major relief for me because the crying and constant holding was rough.  You enjoy laying on your jungle playmat and playing with toys.   However, you are not staying on your playmat for long because you started rolling and scooting a few days ago.  It is so much fun to see you happy and content on your own.  You are playing with your feet more and even stuck your toes in your mouth last night.   You are making all sorts of sounds and laughing a lot more.  Sloane still makes you very happy but now daddy and I can make you laugh too.

The highlight of the month was learning to sit up.  You don't stay sitting up for long, but you can balance on your own for a few minutes.  You love tipping over (on the bed) and having us sit you up again.  You immediately tip over and laugh, and want to sit up again.  You are growing so much!  None of your clothes fit and I need to buy you bigger clothes soon because we are squeezing you into oneies that barely snap.  You weigh over 15 pounds and you have chubby checks and thighs, which I think are adorable.   We have introduced you to all sorts of new foods this month (blueberries, raspberries, mangoes, bananas, pears, yogurt, green beans, spinach, avocado and oatmeal) and you were not interested in more than a bite or two.  However, a few days ago you started enjoying food more and now open your mouth when the spoon is near and finish the portions that I prepare for you. 

The best part of my day is when I come home from work on Tuesday and Thursday and you get the BIGGEST smile on your face when you see me.  You know that I am your mama and you are so excited that I am home.  You also love when daddy comes home from work and you always give him big smiles while we eat dinner together.  He also makes you laugh during dinner time which is great because I am able to sneak food in your mouth while he keeps you distracted.

The nights are still bad.  You wake up 2 to 3 times a night - Sometimes around 10:30pm, midnight, 2, 4, 6.... It sucks.  I am so tired.  I want you to sleep through the night and I don't know how to help you sleep better.  Your doctor said I should let you cry and we tried that right after you turned 6 months.  It didn't work.  You cried for 45 minutes straight (at the top of your lungs) in the middle of the night.   After 45 minutes I couldn't handle it anymore and rocked you back to sleep.  Most nights I am so exhausted, I bring you into bed with daddy and I so you can have a quick feeding and pass out next to me.  I am hoping that once you roll over in bed that you will be more comfortable on your tummy and will sleep better. 

I love you so much.  You are so sweet and chubby and even though you wake up in the middle of the night, you are still the best baby ever because you are mine.

XOXO,
Mommy

AND MORE!

Okay, this is it.  One last mega post for the night...

 Sloane finally got the courage to kick the ball at the second to last game of the season...

 Always the smallest...

Clark started going on the swings a few weeks ago and really likes it, especially when Sloane pushes him...

Natasha watched the kids for us a few weeks ago and took a bunch of great pictures...

Sitting up!

LOVE nighttime cuddles...

 

 I am a little worried about the teenage years with Sloane.  This girl has attitude and loves my high heels...

 

 Sloane LOVES crawling into Clark's crib after he wakes up from nap....

 

Not thrilled about the beach.  We did stick his feet in the icy water....

 Clark is on the move.  He is rolling and scooting...

 He started under the toy in the hallway and rolled/scooted into the bathroom to be closer to Sloane...