The Lake

Hello

Clark's betrothed, Leena, was baptized this weekend. But I forgot my camera (along with deodorant--its gross, but true, we had to stop at CVS). Since I am forgetful and there are no pictures to be had of a sweet clove smelling baby or of a tall holy water pouring priest blessing her this is what you are all stuck with.

We stayed with Matt's parents, which is always awesome and totally relaxing. Point in case: Look at that ridiculous smile on Krum's face. Frazier was equally as happy, however he his smile was hidden under water.

Clark had his first boat ride, we went a whopping 30 miles per hour. Which is surprisingly fast when you're holding a small person on your neurotic lap with no seat-belts and an overactive PICU  imagination.

No, its the wind, my hair isn't that short.

Clark started the festivities in a blowup tube, he thought it was really great.

For about 5 minutes. Then he wanted to swim uninhibited and blow bubbles. I knew those swim lessons were going to come in handy.

This weekend is Clark's FINtastic First Birthday bash, I am excited and sad he is ONE. It's a very weird mix of emotions that I don't know how to deal with. Should I cry tears of joy or sadness because my baby is not a baby anymore?

Colie

Time is Not on My Side

Hello

Where in the world has all the time gone? There are some days I am bored to tears, kicking myself because every day is EXACTLY the same as the day before--wake up at 7:04, change and feed the tiny person, water the yard, feed and potty the dogs, play in the kitchen, go for walk, nap,shower, feed tiny person, run errands/play dates, feed tiny person, nap, chores, feed tiny person, play/run errands, feed tiny person, bath, baby bedtime, clean house, collapse or go to work (7pm to 7:30am). Then there are other days that I am so overwhelmed with everything. What the heck did I do with all my time Pre-Potamus?

I look around me at all the other moms in the neighborhood with their perfectly clean houses (that are 3 times bigger might I add), floors so sparkly that you can eat off of them and everything in its perfect place except the item being played with. Their yards are lush carpets and everything they own is from pottery barn or hand crafted by them in all their spare time. What in the heck am I doing wrong here? My yard in brown, I sweep 3 times a day and still can't keep up with the debris and I'm grateful if I get 20 minutes to take a shower. Granted, my kid is the happiest baby in the world (except when a tooth is trying to make a debut), so I can't complain too much, but how do I make more time?

I think most of my day is spent being lost in these baby blues. Seriously, I stare at this kid all day just thinking about how perfect he is to me.

If I'm not staring at him I can most certainly be found feeding him. Look at him just waiting....staring me down...angry there is not food already there.

Most days I feel like I am doing an ok job being a mom. Until I go in public. A fine example was today at the grocery. I got critized for not having shoes on him (he doesn't walk yet), not having a hat on his head (just walking in the store, lady) someone told me it was dinner time and I need to go home and feed him (he was screaming because I wouldn't let him turn around in the cart , it was 5pm, he eats at 6pm) then I got flack for letting him turn around in the cart (still strapped in, both legs in the cart holes, he likes to look at where we are going and he wasn't screaming his head off anymore) and lastly the lady behind me in line said I shouldn't let him hold my credit card because of all the germs (ok, I will give you that one, but I just wanted a moment of quiet). That was in ONE shopping trip. Am I that bad of a mom? Don't answer that.

In brighter news, Clark is so close to walking it is crazy. He can stand up and take up to 4 steps by himself. His Wheels have been turned into something else that I am not sure would be listed under the manufacture's suggested uses.

Bad mom for letting him live so dangerous!

Hope everyone else is happy and enjoying their week!
Colie

Quick Run Down

Hello!

We have been busy around here the past week or so, but we don't have much to show for it. During the week all I can manage to accomplish is trying to keep up with Clark and maybe sweeping the kitchen floor. Where in the world does he get so much energy? I take a B complex vitamin and drink 3 cups of coffee a day, yet by 3pm I am rendered helpless to the floor while he climbs all over me like a jungle gym. Most of the day is spent feeding him, I swear the kid eats every hour. High metabolism?

We are working on weaning from the bottle, but for some reason I am totally stressed out about how much he needs to eat. He will eat whatever you put in front of him, whenever you put it there so I can't gauge when he is actually hungry and when I need to give him meals. Plus he will still take an 8oz bottle after a full meal so it makes me think I'm not feeding him enough. Stress. Frazier is in heaven though, snacks every hour!

The highchair gets a good wipe down after each meal. By me and my cleaning solution too.

 I was also stressing out about the damn sippy cup. He couldn't get the hang of it, I was afraid he was going to get dehydrated so I was consistently pushing that cup in his face. He hated that thing. Turns out he is a straw man!

The look on his face makes it look like he is sipping whiskey, but I swear its only ice water. He went from drinking 1/2 a cup a day to 3 cups a day!!! One less stress in my life. Here is a special note to all new mom's out there: Limit the apple juice, even if you think you are putting more water than juice and it doesn't seem like much. A little goes a long way on a baby's digestive tract. Whooo-weeee.

One of his favorite things is to put a sock on his head. I don't understand it, I never will, but I have to admit I laugh just as hard as he does every time he does it. He laughs so hard he falls over. Every time.

Matt had I have become extremely proficient at accomplishing a whole day's worth of work in 2 hours. Clark has become an awesome napper (most days), this weekend we dug out a flower bed, planted wild flowers, got the garden bed all ready for this year's harvest, washed the car, tried to instal a storm door, but it ended up being the wrong color and pulled weeds.

Some very sad news for the Williams Family: Our neighbors moved away this weekend. We were pretty close to them, we saw each other everyday and got along so well, they also have an 11 month old. Sad. Clark lost the best friend that he didn't even know he had. They were just starting to acknowledge each other and interact!

 Hope everyone else had a productive weekend,

Colie