Clark is the cutest / Mom's Together rocks my world

Sorry to all other kids out there...the verdict is in: Clark is the cutest!!  Josh and I just can't get enough of him at this stage!  He is such a sweetheart.  His favorite activity continues to be bathing! :)  He has many bath toys but he usually latches onto this little green fish:

He will bang it on the sides of the tub, splash it in the water, and even tap the faucet with it!

He also enjoys sucking on the side of the tub...gee I hope I cleaned that well enough! :)

We have had a busy couple weeks!  I think it felt busier because the weather was so gorgeous: we were out almost every day!  His eating is back to normal.  We did have a bit of a sleeping dilemma because he started waking up at 6am.  I'd been holding off his bedtime until 7:30 or 8.  So I did some research and read in "Healthy Sleep Habits" that at this age babies actually sleep longer if you put them to bed when they are actually tired, like "on time" (between 6-8pm depending on when they woke up from their afternoon nap).  I didn't believe it, but because the book was written by a pediatrician, I decided to try it. :)  Sure enough!  Last night Clark was in bed at 6:45pm and he woke up at 7:15am.  Yay!  

Clark has had some new developments over the past couple weeks as well:

~ On Monday, 3/19, he shook his head "no" for the first time!  I'm not sure he knows it means "no."  But it's awfully cute!!

~ On Thursday, 3/22, he held his own sippy cup and tipped his head back to drink!  When I would feed him a meal I would stop every couple bites and manually give him a drink.  On that day he was just snacking on crackers in the high chair so I just plopped it on his tray.  Before I knew it he had tipped his head and was guzzling his water!  Big boy!

~ On Sunday, 3/25, he was in the bathtub and he pulled himself up using the side!  

Clark enjoying the warm weather in his shorts and short-sleeves:

Target is a serious place.  Didn't you know that Mama?? (I was trying to get him to smile here...)

I am (finally) feeling like I have a grasp on motherhood.  I am (finally) consistently getting dinner (or some semblance thereof) on the table by 5:15 when Josh gets home.  I am hosting playdates occasionally without much stress.  Laundry gets done every week (let's face it, usually every two to three days!).  And the house is once again usually more clean than messy (if the dishes get done, I consider my whole house clean haha).  

This morning Clark and I were at a Mom's Together event at church.  I know I've posted about these before but let me just say, they are a gift from God!!  My Mom puts them together about four times a year.  We get a hot breakfast on CHINA with SILVER utensils (!!) and we have a speaker.  Meanwhile our kids are being watched in the nursery, out of sight, even out of earshot! :)  Today Mrs. Frey spoke on balancing motherhood and wife-hood.  It was excellent!  She had wonderful advice, but the main things I took away were:

~ Arrange the most important tasks for each week and assign one day to each.  Then cross them off as they are completed.  Arrange secondary tasks as well, but be flexible in case they don't get done.  In this way, you will be building structure into your daily schedule.

~ Based on their individual strengths, choose one sport for each of your children to be involved in (and pray they choose the same one haha :) and help them succeed that way.  The alternative is they are involved everywhere and stretched so thin they can't succeed in anything.  And don't feel bad saying "no" when they are asked to be involved in more activites.  But balance that with flexibility.

~ Do energetic tasks when you first wake up in the morning (my interpretation: before Clark's first nap) then leave the quiet, naptimes for when you do quiet things like devotions and reading.

~ Plan and prepare for a special time each day to spend with just your husband (for her and her husband it was right after dinner.  Their boys would be eager to play again before bed and they would stay at the table and chat).

She recommended two books in particular: "What Every Child Needs" by Elisa Morgan and Carol Kuykendall (those ladies are the founders of MOPS) and "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge.  I am excited to read them.

I just thought you young moms out there would be interested in those tips!  Somedays I just feel so overwhelmed; I'm excited to build more structure into my day and be more purposeful with my time with Josh at the end of the day.

10 months old

Clark was 10 months old on March 12th!  Some of his stats:

~ He is scooting like a champion.

~ He pulls himself up occasionally.

~ His eating has regressed a bit.

~ He is still sleeping through the night (12 hours every night).

~ He still has no teeth!

His weight: 21 pounds, 8 ounces.

One of Clark's favorite pastimes is to play with our bedroom door:

Here are his 10 month pictures:

And this video demonstrates how difficult it is to get him to pose for a picture!!!

A taste of spring

Tuesday was beautiful!! Lots of gorgeous sunshine! And a high temperature of 76 degrees! We had the house windows open, took long walks, and dug out short-sleeves. Tuesday morning Clark took a huge 2 1/2 hour nap! I was able to nap and I still had time leftover to shower before he woke up. We did laundry throughout the day, rearranged some of Clark's clothes and cooked. I spent most of Clark's afternoon nap making a chocolate trifle for small group. When Daddy got home we had dinner, gave Clark a bath, then Mimi came over to watch Clark while we went to small group. It was so warm that we walked over in short sleeves! (It was at the Hall's house--they live in the next development over from us.) We had a great study on Revelation and a meaningful prayer time. Meanwhile Mimi said Clark didn't make a peep while we were gone! Yay!


Wednesday was another beautiful day! Again we opened the windows and aired out the house. The temperature reached 73! Awesome. Clark took a stellar morning nap while I had laundry going. After lunch we went over to Mimi's house and took a walk with her. Clark had his first ride on a swing! We were at the Summerfield playground:

After our walk, we came home and Clark napped.  I got dinner going in the crock pot, prepared for Bible study and continued with the laundry.  When Clark woke up he was ready to play!  I folded laundry while he drove his trucks around on the hardwood.  When Josh came home Clark exploded with joy!  It was so cute!!  He threw his toy that he was holding, squealed and danced around!  After dinner Clark jumped in the bath and Josh took over so I could leave for Bible study.  When I got home we chatted for a bit then went to bed.  I'm looking forward to another beautiful day tomorrow!

Windows open..mmmmm feel that cool breeze!

enjoying lunch together :)

"Daddy's coming home soon?!?!?!?!"

short sleeves in March!!

"Boys rule; Girls drool!"

Hello everyone!  I was away from Clark overnight for the first time this weekend!  I went up to Skyview with the aunts on the Stoltzfus side, Mom-mom, Mom, and my two cousins, Holly and Adrienne.  We had a wonderful weekend making cards, chatting, eating, and laughing.  Mom and I left around 3:30pm on Friday and got home around 9pm on Saturday.  Josh watched Clark all weekend and he said they had a blast together!  He sent me a picture shortly after I left, the caption was "Boys rule; girls drool!!"

Haha!  Josh sent me various other pictures over the weekend as well.  Eating crackers:

Right before dinner:

I missed my boys sooo much!!  But I had a blast and I'm soooo glad that I went.  Sometimes you don't realize how much you need a break from the daily grind until you actually take one!! :)

*Thank you to Aunt Kim for watching Clark on Friday afternoon until Josh got home from work!!!!!!*

Today is a BEAUTIFUL day!  Clark and I had lunch at Grandma's house.  We wanted to say "bye" since they will be leaving tomorrow for a two and a half week trip down south.  We will both miss the delicious lunches and fun conversations with them!!  But I guess we need to share them with the other grandchildren. :)

This afternoon Clark and I are planning on taking a long walk in the sunshine while we wait for Daddy to get home.  We were reminiscing about Pops and Mimi's pool this morning--we're looking forward to it this summer!  And of course we are excited about visiting Pop-pop and Mom-mom's beach house again too!

I will leave you with this video of Clark playing with his car like a big boy:

Clark looks forward to baseball season!

First I just want to thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and advice for Clark over the past 24 hours.  He did not have any nightmares last night!  Thank you Lord!  

Wednesday was a beautiful day!  Lots of sunshine!  Our house temperature reached 74 degrees!  Clark soiled his shirt so I put his short-sleeved Phillies shirt on him since it was so warm inside. :)  He looked positively jolly after his nap so we took some pictures:

You can see his "tired eyes" in this one--he did just wake up :)

Also, check out that tummy!!

"Hey Mom!"

We had a relaxing day.  Because we spent most of Tuesday out of the house, Clark was eager to play with all his toys again.  I love that!  He went right to "work" as soon as he woke up.  He figured out how to crawl through his toy door, so he loves doing that now.  He also had many dance sessions with the music from his door.  There is a "music panel" where you can press four buttons and hear up to eight selections.  He loves that panel!  He was so engrossed in it that when I reached down to wipe his face I accidentally blocked his reach and boy! did he yell!  "Mama!!! I'm trying to play the music!!"  Prodigies.  Sheesh.  Haha

We took a long walk in the afternoon, during which I got to chat with Aunt Katelyn on the phone.  I wish all my sisters lived close!!  I loved hearing Haley's chatter in the background.  Katelyn said she plopped her in the tub and before she knew it Haley had unplugged the drain and let all the water out!! :)  I love this recent picture of Haley with her big wheel:

I printed it out at Walmart so Clark can have it in his "cousins" book.  I gave him a blue photo book for Valentine's Day with a bunch of family photos in it, including all his cousins. :)

When we got back from our walk, I made dinner and before long Josh was home.  Clark ate terribly at dinner.  We're trying to get him to eat "3rd foods."  Which has more chunks in it.  He gags and vomits.  It's odd.  I guess he doesn't have any teeth anyway!  What's the rush?  I put a tiny bowtie pasta on his tray and he would touch it with his index finger then shudder and gag.  I think he definitely has "texture issues."  And I think that proves it.  Oh well!  Until he has a mouth full of teeth, I'm not going to fret over it.  

After dinner was bathtime then bedtime.  Then I went to my Bible study--girl time!! :)  It was a great study (if I may say so myself! haha I'm the study leader).  And that's all for now!

Clark has a nightmare

This morning Clark was pushing his toy train around on the hardwood--like a toddler! Sometimes he would even push it and let go, watch it glide away, then scoot after it! My baby is growing up :)

Reversing back to yesterday...Clark and I enjoyed lunch at Grandma and Grandpa's house! It was so nice to see them! They are taking a trip down south next Tuesday; we will miss them! After lunch Clark went down for his nap. After he woke up we took a drive around Elverson, Pottstown, and even got over to Spring City. Josh and I are casually looking to move (like so casual we haven't even contacted our realtor yet). So I have been looking up potential houses online then doing drive-bys with Clark. It's fun! We were able to knock a few off our list after today. Actually, almost all of them.

Anyway we ended up at home where Clark rested in his crib for about 15 minutes then we went over to Mimi and Pops' house for dinner! Josh went to a Flyers game with his friend Ryan right after work. Mimi graciously said we could come for dinner after I blatantly invited myself. Hahaha, no really, I did. We had a great time!

After we got home Clark went right to sleep, like in 30 seconds flat. Then I was watching TV and waiting for Josh to get home. Around 10:45pm, Clark coughed about ten times then started screaming!!! Like really intense. So I quickly went in there, popped his paci, and scooped him up. He was rigid, eyes closed, screaming. Paci did nothing...in fact it just fell right out of his mouth. Then I forced it onto his tongue so he knew it was there, he grabbed it with his chubby little hand and threw it across the room! Oh my. He cried like that for fifteen minutes, he was so out of it. I tried rocking him, singing, showing him the TV, praying aloud. Finally I thought to feed him so I brought him downstairs and heated up his bottle. At this point I think he finally really woke up and knew who I was. He drank his bottle (there were only two ounces left) then I gave him his paci, prayed, sang his lullaby and by that time he was screaming again! I didn't know what to do. He wasn't hot, so I knew he didn't have a fever....After ten more minutes I thought to make him another bottle. So we went downstairs, Clark calmed down, came back up to his room, gave him the other bottle. He drank about two more ounces, took the paci right away and I rocked him a bit. Then he finally went down. The total time elapsed was 45 minutes but it felt like hours!!! Brutal! Josh got home around midnight and I told him the story. He helped me calm down and said everything was going to be alright. I seriously would never make it as a single mom!! Josh is my rock!! The only thing we could come up with was that he had a nightmare. Although he's not supposed to get those until he's 12-18 months old. Anyway the Lord took care of us and this morning Clark woke up perfectly normal.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

Saturday started out very well. Josh left around 9am to go help Uncle Jon hang doors in his basement. Clark woke up late so we hung out together then packed his bags and drove over to Mimi's house. Uncle Caleb said he would watch Clark while Mimi, Aunt Kim, and I went to a craft show. When we got to Mimi's, Clark was ready for his morning nap. So I plopped him in the middle of Aunt Rin's bed while I got his sound machine going, blanket and lovey setup, etc. And things took a turn for the worst.....All the sudden I heard a loud thud! Clark had fallen off the bed!!! He wailed and wailed and I felt absolutely terrible!!! I cried along with him!! His nose was all brush-burned so he must have fallen face first. I was panicked!! Head first?! I held him for awhile, he calmed down, but would start crying every so often. He was moving his limbs okay and he didn't vomit so I figured he was okay. I brought him downstairs to try and clear his head. He was smiling at Aunt Kim and Uncle Caleb so that was a good sign too. So I grabbed his bottle and headed back upstairs to put him down for his nap. He went right to sleep as usual so that was another good sign! Here are some pictures of his scabs (this reminds me of when Kelsey had a scab on her nose that one summer :)

*I realize he was sitting on a bed for these pictures...did I learn my lesson?!?!  Don't worry, I spotted him the whole time :)

On the way to the craft show, we were driving along rt. 23 and all the sudden the two cars in front of us stopped. We could see a park ranger holding out his hand, indicating that we should stop. Then he turned and started firing a handgun! Then we noticed poor Bambi struggling along the side of the road!!! Needless to say we were stunned!!! Bambi was just as stunned because he (I think he was actually a she) was flailing every which way and it was just a sad situation. Then the park ranger turned and indicated that we could drive by. We noticed Bambi was just sitting there watching us drive by! She was alive!!! That's when we realized the park ranger was probably shooting sterilizers and not bullets! Well, at least that's what we hope.....

The craft show was great! Aunt Kim bought a mirror and I bought a little pottery garlic holder. Josh picked up Clark around 1:15 and Caleb had fed him lunch and they were playing. Caleb said Clark had slept for an hour and forty minutes! So I figured he was feeling better. I forgot to warn Josh about Clark's face though....he was very taken aback!!! Oops..I think I lost the "mother of the year" award over that one....:)

By Saturday night Clark was coughing a ton and feverish.  We gave him Tylenol before bed but he coughed and talked for an hour!  Soon he was crying pathetically so I got him up, wiped his nose, and he sat on the couch with Daddy for about ten minutes.  Then he was bored, reaching for things, whining, etc.  So we thought, okay he's tired again :)  I gave him his bottle and rocked him a bit then put him down and he went to sleep.  Sometimes when we give him Tylenol it wakes him up instead of making him sleepy.  It's the oddest thing.

Clark skipped church on Sunday because he had such a bad night.  He woke up coughing multiple times and by morning it felt like none of us had slept.  Josh went to first service Sunday school then he came home and I went to second service.  We took naps in the afternoon and by supper Clark was coughing again.  As it turns out Croup makes them cough at night so I wonder if he has that.  Sunday night he coughed a lot at bedtime and woke up multiple times at night again, coughing.  But it was a bit better than Saturday night, and he didn't have a fever.  We used Vicks Vapor Rub on him before bed so that probably helped too.  He woke up bright and early at 7am even though he hadn't actually fallen asleep until 7:30 or 8pm last night.  Well he had woken up to fill his diaper!!! :)  Needless to say he went down for a nap by 8:45am because he was still tired.  And that's where we're at right now!  I hope you all had a great weekend!

Here's an old video of Clark playing in his closet:

And here's one of him dancing to music with his toy :)  You have to watch closely...he is a subtle dancer:

Rose Garden Beach House

Last Saturday, Josh, Clark and I packed up and headed down to Ocean City, New Jersey to see the new Fenton beach house!  Mom-mom and Pop-pop closed on the house the day before and all the family went down to help clean, organize, and admire the beautiful house!  Here are some pictures I took:

this is the dining room (taken from the living room):

this is the living/family room:

this is the staircase (look at all that beautiful wood!!)

This is Clark's room:

His crib (his stuffed animal dog is in the crib :):

Our own private bathroom!!!!!

Josh and I's room:

our bed:

We started a tradition that there would be a grandkids picture on the porch every time we all go down together:

Left to Right: Andrew, Molly, Annie, Alex, Clark, Mackenzie, Josiah, Josh.

I love how Clark and Josiah have the same expression! :) hahah

We had a wonderful time at the beach house.  It is absolutely beautiful and we feel so fortunate that God opened the door for Mom-mom and Pop-pop to purchase it!!!  There is a long, involved story behind that one!!!  Let's just say the sellers were emotionally attached to the property. :)  Anyway our nickname for the property is the "Rose Garden."

That is all for now!