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

New Skill

Besides basic anatomy, I always knew boys were different then girls. Little boys are movers, they tinker with everything to figure out how it works and they are slightly destructive. Point in Case: Clark has become enamored with magnets, he likes to carry them, hide them and eat them. Today he figured out that they fit down the floor registers. To prevent me from continually going deep register magnet fishing, I closed all the registers.

I only went fishing once and I caught 6 letter magnets, a Clean/Dirty dishwasher magnet and a cell phone. It was a pretty decent catch. By only watching me once, Clark quickly learned a new skill that I don't know how I am going to banish.

His next move was to stuff the dog toy down.

Have a good week
Colie

Ahhh, the Sunshine State

Let me break it down for anyone traveling with an infant. Bring extra clothes. For the baby. For you. For everyone within 10 feet of you. Your sweet face lump of love is holding an arsenal of poop that they are just waiting to unleash on you right before take off. Learn from my mistakes, don't wear white.

Our plane took off right before bedtime. I thought I would feed him during takeoff--so the ears don't pop-- he would fall asleep on the flight, sleep in the car on the way to my mom's house and then I would gracefully place him in his awaiting bed without so much as an eye flutter. No, not really, I was pretty practical, I knew this was going to suck. He did pass out on the plane, like clockwork, 7:04pm and it was lights out for the Potamus.

He was jostled from him sleep during the landing and he awoke with such deep anger. He gave everyone the skunk eye as he passed. He had a hard time sleeping in the car and then to make it worse for the poor guy I gracefully placed him in a pack n play. They kid hates pack n plays with the intensity of a thousand burning suns. It took me an hour to get him to sleep and then he woke up in the middle of the night, which took me another 2 hours to get him back to sleep. That's why its called a pack n play, not a pack n sleep I guess.

The next day was much better, he got his first taste of ocean air.

and of ocean sand

We did a little shopping, a little swimming an a lot of relaxing. It was so nice to have food magically appear in front of me and then the dirty dish would magically get washed and the kitchen would be clean after I was done eating. My glass was always full of beverage no matter how much I drank of it. I didn't have to clean a coffee pot when I wanted coffee and I got to take 3!!!! showers without being watched or having to scoop a choking hazard away from Clark. I didn't have to pick up a single toy. My laundry even got washed before I came home. It was a 3 day physical vacation for me and I couldn't feel more rested. My mom is probably exhausted.

While the family is away the husband will build, fix and wash. While we were soaking up rays, Matt built an awesome shelving system for the garage, washed every carpet in the house to rid it of baby puke, put up new light fixtures in the bathroom and seeded the yard. I think he was bored without us. Who wouldn't be bored without this guy around?

Have a good weekend!
Colie

P.S. The flight home I came prepared, I brought an extra outfit for everyone around. BUT I FORGOT DIAPER WIPES IN MY CARRY ON! I feel bad for that bathroom attendant, I tried my best to clean up. Sorry Orlando International, I will do better next time around.

10 Months

Hello!

Last week my sisters drove down from Michigan for a visit. It was so nice to see them and spend time with them. They make me laugh. They really love Clark and it is so sweet to see them together.

Last week Clark also turned 10 Months Old!

In the last month he has learned to produce shrill monkey screams. Long, ear piercing and slightly publicly embarrassing screams for no reason other than the fact he just likes to hear himself do it. He has also become a very very good sharer, he even shares the gross dog ball.

The Snatch from Frazier

The Share

He has also become an escape artist. Please, someone explain to my how he manage to get out of 1 sleeve while he was in his carseat! I pulled him out of the car looking just like this.

Next week Clark and I are going to Florida. I can't wait for him to see the ocean and eat the sand. Let's be honest, that is exactly what is going to happen.

Hope everyone has a good week
Colie

Ha

I made cupcakes for dinner tonight. Pretty ones. With red icing.

Matt was so excited that we were having cupcakes for dinner instead of real food. When you're a grown up you can do things like that.

But when he went to eat his delicious cupcakes, they turned out to be MEATLOAF WITH POTATO FROSTING!

April Fools!

I had been planning this one for a few weeks. I couldn't stop laughing the whole time we where eating. Clark was very impressed with the meatloaf and ate it like it was his job.

Happy April Fools Day
Colie