11 months

So, I'm a few days late, but hey!  Better late than never! 

11 months!  Whew!  We made it.  Seeing Clark next to little babies now reminds me that I almost have a toddler and that is ridiculous.  Then again, I alway thought 1-year-olds were much older than my little guy seems to be, because, duh Carly, one is still very much a little baby.  And that secretly makes me very happy :)

Our Clarkster is now standing on his own and taking less and less shaky steps as he cruises around the furniture or pushes a chair around.  I just know that any day now he's going to let go and start walking and not even realize it.  He balances by himself without knowing it every now and again and it makes him look like such a little person, standing there unsupported.

We love any and everything that has a straw attached to it these days and he's very good at sucking on them.  I have a cup I drink out of all day and he's pretty sure it belongs to him.  Any time I get it out, he begs to take a sip too.  It's kind of adorable.  I also end up being very thirsty...

A favorite food?  Believe it or not, peas.  Frozen, warm, or fresh he's a fan.

Some exciting news around here: we just learned a sign!  Clark is very proficient at asking for "more" now by clapping his hands.  It's my favorite thing.  Hooray for the beginning of communication!

His newest trick is being able to climb alllll the way up the stairs in a single go.  Sheesh, kid, slow down!

One of his favorite things to do in the mornings while Dave and I are getting ready is help us brush our teeth.  I'm not really sure how this got started, but now if he sees you with a toothbrush he'll run over and whine at your leg until you pick him up and let him hold onto the toothbrush while you brush your teeth.  It's not too much trouble and I actually think it's pretty cute.

Clark's favorite book right now is Corduroy by Don Freeman and I'm not complaining.  It's one of my favorites too and he'll actually sit still through reading the whole thing and loves looking at all the pictures.  He might need a little Corduroy bear for his 1st birthday... ;)

Words we know:
knock knock - he'll rap his knuckles on the nearest hard surface
hurray! - he'll clap his hands
more - he'll clap his hands again (hurray and more are kind of hard to differentiate sometimes...)
no no - he doesn't always obey when he hears this, but he definately knows what it means - I can see it in your eyes kiddo ;)
kiss - be careful if you ask for this one - most of the time he'll oblige, and they are wet and slobbery things.  Also the best.

And he might be saying "ball," but I don't have solid evidence for that quite yet.  The juries still out on this first word business.  He also said a very distinct "mama" the other day, witnessed by my own mother, so I'm for sure not making that one up.

Funny story, EVERYONE, and I mean everyone assumes he's a girl.  I'm not exaggerating.  It's so funny, because he's such a little boy to me that I really can't see it.  It's probably my own fault for not decking him out in footballs and tractors, but that's just not my style.  I can't fault someone for mistaking him for a girl when he's in grey stripes with those killer eyelashes of his.  Still, it's too funny (and consistent).

We love you so much little chunk!  I can hardly believe you'll be a year old next month.  What a wonderful year its been.

10 months

Alright, can we just talk about how 10 months is such a fun age??  He's starting to learn things at super sonic speed and I keep looking over at him and seeing a little boy instead of my little baby! The time!  It goes so fast!  Just a few more months and I'll have a ONE YEAR OLD.  That's insane.  I can hardly believe that this time last year I was super pregnant and getting ready to have a tiny babe.

One of the funnest things right now is that we point at everything, anything, and all the things.  Clark points to say hi, bye, and to just acknowledge your presence.  People get a kick out of it and he makes more best friends at the mall in one shopping trip than I will in the next year.  It's the funnest.  My mom always says that babies are the great equalizer and I agree.  We're all on the same playing field with a baby and everyone has something to say about it.  One of my favorite things is getting stopped by the little grandmas in Target that just want to pinch his cheeks (and do) and tell me how sweet he is.  Oh, come on, stop it.  Just kidding, lets talk more about those big blue eyes.

This kids is majorly ticklish and he giggles like mad if you tickle under his arms or give him raspberries under his chin.  The newest tickle spot I've found is behind his knees.  Oh little boy, you are in for some intense tickle fights,

Biggest news of the month: we have a full on crawler!! It's so fun to have him really be mobile.  And dangerous.  For real.  But I just love him being able to get what he wants and its the sweetest thing when he follows me to the kitchen and will sit in the doorway chattering with me.  The bad news is we now need baby gates and, while they aren't quite as bad as I was imagining, I still don't love them.  The blessing and curse of living in a two story little town home I guess.

Also big news: we can stand.  The crib got dropped like it was hot last month, but I'm still getting used to it.  I do love coming in after his nap to that little guy standing up and smiling at me (but usually he's crying, lets be honest - Get me out of here mom!)

Little dude now has EIGHT teeth and it's crazy town.  He looks so different to me with those top four teeth peeking through and he loves munching down on crackers with a satisfying crunch when he eats.  It's the little things.

I still haven't caught it on camera, but my new favorite face he makes is too funny.  When he's not happy and wants to let you know, but doesn't want to put the effort into a full on wail, he'll scrunch up his eyes into little half moons open his mouth in a pout and make a big "Eee!" to show his displeasure.  Sorry kiddo, it's not working.  I just think you're adorable.

We've been playing peek-a-boo since this guy was tiny, but this month Clark finally started doing the hiding and peeking out.  His favorite thing to hide under is my pajamas and it's kind of the cutest thing ever to ask "Where's Clark...?" and then have him pop out and giggle.

This kid has a newfound love for my blow dryer, my cup with a straw in it, and pretty much anything I'm holding ever.  Sometimes it's cute...most of the time I just want to drink something without being mauled for a turn on the straw.  Love you little man.  Good thing I'm a pro sharer.

Little guy has discovered a new talent: motorboating his lips in a constant buzz (and lots of spit - we are in a constant splash zone over here).  And 90% of the time if you buzz your lips at him, he'll do it back to you.  Still need to catch that on video.

And lastly, somehow, this kid still gets mistaken for a girl all.the.time.  I don't exactly dress him in footballs and bright blue all the time, but I kind of feel like it's getting excessive.  It's tough being a boy with such thick dark lashes and beautiful big eyes.

9 months

NINE months.  Yeesh.  So much seems to be happening all at once.  This little dude is learning so much, so fast and I feel like I'm left trying to catch up!

Big update: we're crawling!  He's still figuring it out, but give him a few more weeks and he'll be a pro.  It's insane to put him down and then turn around and he's across the room getting into who knows what, but it's also so much fun to watch him be able to explore on his own.  Hello babyproofing, you are upon us in earnest.

Of course, hand in hand with crawling, is figuring out how to go from laying down to a sitting position.  I came into his room after a nap last week and found him sitting up playing with his blanket so very pleased with himself.  Shoot.  Cue dropping the crib.  I didn't want to lower it all the way because he still hadn't figured out how to pull himself up to a standing position on his own...until this morning when he pulled himself up on our shelving unit in the kitchen.  What??  Too fast kiddo!  Too fast!  Time to drop the crib again...

And since we're figuring out this moving, standing, exploring phase we're also figuring out how to tumble, fall and bump.  Good thing these little kiddos aren't half as hard to break as they look.  He's a tough little nut, this nine-month-old of ours as he fumbles around, bonking his head on the furniture.

This kiddos two bottom teeth have popped through, and now all four of his top middle teeth are making their debut.  All four.  At once.  Thank the heavens for Tylenol and teething tablets (and grandparent too - they make him smile almost no matter what).

We've been working our way up to eating big kid solids these past few weeks and it's so crazy to see him eat what we're eating!  And so fun too.  He loves all fruits, but refuses to pick them up himself!  Too funny.  He's a pro at feeding himself little crackers and cheese though.  Speaking of cheese, he'd probably eat that 24/7 if I'd let him.  It's his absolute favorite thing: cottage, mozzarella, cheddar, goat.  You name it, he loves it.

This little man has finally figured out how to take hats off his head.  Darn.  The only accessory I really had to begin with.  Oh well, one less thing to remember when we go out the door, I guess!

My new favorite trick our little guy does is giving out kisses.  He's either terribly coy about it for will kiss you with reckless abandon, but there's not much in between.  However, there's really nothing better than getting sweet open mouthed kisses from a little boy.  Be still my momma heart.

Annnnd, best update of all, this baby boy said momma!  He mostly only says it when he's whining, sad, or wants something, but I'll take it ;)

We sure love you baby boy!  You just continue to get more and more fun each month, except for the teething, could you tone down on that for bit, darling?

8 months

I really never thought this blog would eventually be whittled down to a bunch of baby updates, but, alas, so it has.  Who has time for anything more??  One day, I'll get back to recording our lives.  For now I only have enough energy to make us a Shutterfly album, sorry blog.

So eight months!  What a seriously fun time.  This little chub has definitely become very opinionated and he'll let you know it.  He's gotten very good at pushing things away he doesn't want: his pacifier, a spoon, your hand when you try to wipe his face.  He's also a champ at letting you know when he wants something.  Took away that toy he was playing with?  "Mmmmm! Mmmm!" means "Hey I wanted that!"

We also finally have a tooth!!  His little grin looks so different now. And we're working on its neighbor as we speak.  That first one was a beast to get through.  We're talking cranky, sad, grump of all grumps.  Wouldn't go to sleep unless he was nursing, clingy, crabby, all the things he really never is.  It was a rough 7 days.  This second tooth hasn't been nearly as bad so far, so I'm just crossing my fingers for a new normal since we've got 20 odd more of these bad boys to get through.

We introduced little dude to a bottle when he was a little over a month old annnnd...never really went back to it.  So, unfortunately, he lost the skill and absolutely refused to take a bottle when we started up a little over a month ago.  Sigh, momma's gotta concert to go to at the end of August little guy!  We had to figure this out!  Well, it took a month plus, and a lot of patience on Dave's part, but we did it.  This kid now takes a bottle like it's no big thing.  Thank heavens.  I wasn't about to miss Taylor Swift in August!

One of Clark's new favorite discoveries lately has been his pointer finger.  He doesn't know how to point to things yet, but if he sees something interesting - say the eye on his stuffed animal - out comes his little pointer finger and a cocked head as he inspects this new important thing.  It's seriously adorable.  

We've also started to babble in earnest and it kills me.  He figured out how to say "dada" a few weeks ago and it hasn't let up.  He doesn't know what it means yet, but hearing him whisper, "dadadada" under his breath might be one of the cutest things he's ever done.  Now if he could only master "mama"...

We've really started to get going with solids now, eating three square meals a day that are at least 1/4th of a cup or more.  Kids got an appetite!  He used to open his mouth up wide for his first bite, but he's just started to wise up that not all purees are created equal.  He's started to take a quick tester bite before he's ready to commit to the rest of meal.  He's no dummy.  Green beans and avocados?  Um, no thanks.  Pears and nectarines?  Oh yeah, I'll have some of that.

It's so amazing to see his little personality come out more and more every day.  Being this kid's momma sure is a party.

7 months

Somehow, in my mind, I never really thought much past my baby being 6 months old.  And now, here we are, at 7 months.  Time.  She is a fickle and fast mistress.  But seriously, wasn't he just a week old??

Clark is sitting up like he's been doing it all his life and his giggles are infectious and right from his chunky belly.  My mother-in-law says he laughs just like David did when he was a baby.  So stink'in cute.

Things of note: we're gaining steam with solids!  We're up to eating three "meals" a day and so far his favorite is, wait for it...prunes!  Of all the things a kid could eat, huh?  Bananas and applesauce are next in line and butternut squash and cauliflower are the bane of his existence. He's still not super into this whole eating thing yet, but it's so fun to expose him to new tastes and textures.  In addition to purees, I'm also trying a bit of a baby led weaning approach and trying to let him hold and chew on things, but he gets so confused.  He gives me these looks like, "This apple slice goes in my mouth?  Are you sure...?"  It's a work in progress.

Clark and I took our first solo plane ride together up to Provo and, while we did just fine, flying sans David is definitely not my traveling method of choice.  Thank goodness for kind seatmates (why would you ever book someone with a lap child in the middle seat??) and a helpful flight crew.  Also, note to self, never wear white pants when traveling with a baby.  Duh.

Clark is rolling all around these days.  Back to tummy.  Tummy to back.  This way.  That way.  I'll put him down and turn around for a minute and he's on the other side of the room.  He hasn't quite figured out how to use his rolling antics as a mode of getting to where he wants to be yet, but I'm sure that light bulb will go off any day now...

It's definitely not all fun and games though.  Baby boy was doing a great job of sleeping 7PM to 7AM and then all of a sudden...not so much.  He likes to wake up in the 4:00 to 5:30 range these days and doesn't much like to go back to bed after those early wake up calls, but we're working on it.  Really, really hard. 

For the most part, though, this is such a fun age.  We adore this little guy and he most definitely has Dave and I wrapped around his tiny little finger.  We love you baby boy!

6 months

 Six months.  Six months!!  Who is okaying this madness?  Good thing this is such a fun age, or I'd probably be bawled up in a corning looking at newborn pictures.

Stats:
Weight: 19 lbs
Height: 28 1/2 inches

Clark is one happy camper these days and smiles at pretty much anything that moves: grocery store clerks, palm fronds, dogs barking.  He's not picky.  He's also especially giggly right now and it's killing me.  I have entirely too many videos of him laughing #sorrynotsorry.

Kiddo became a expert traveler this month going on two trips and six plane rides total.  And he was a dream.  Seriously, kuddos to this kid.  His first flight to Provo he gave us a diaper blow out and fell asleep minutes before the plane landed, but he was happy!  Not complaining.  We turned around the next week and flew cross country to Florida and Clark was a trooper all over again.  The real amazing thing was on our flight home where we waited 5 extra hours at the airport, missed our connecting flight, had to spend the night in Dallas, and grabbed an early morning 7AM flight having to be up at 5AM and off to the airport...and Clark didn't cry once!  Not once!  He was a miraculous traveling super baby.  Bless him.  Bless him 50 times.

This little guy is starting to become much more verbal these days with lots of ba's and aa's, and recently working on his ma's.  It's adorable.

The cutest thing lately is that our little man is starting to reach for him momma.  It melts me!  He's only done it a handful of times, but I just adore it (hopefully I still adore it when he's 2 and wanting to be help all the time).

Big baby milestone this month: solids!  So far we've just given the babe rice cereal and his reviews are definitely mixed.  He's interested, but confused and really the best tactic to getting him to eat a bite is to make him laugh and dump a spoonful in his open mouth.  He looks surprised every time, but he seems to be swallowing more than is dribbling down his chin so...progress?  I'm getting pretty jazzed to start giving him fruits and veges next. 

Little guy definitely is starting to have preferences these days and one of them is colors.  Specifically red.  He seems to dig all things rosy, most especially a cup I like to drink out of.  When it's on the table he does a full two armed lunge toward it until I move it closer.  We get the message little dude.

Mostly we just love this little chub and are so happy he's ours for good.  Keep growing little guy (but not too fast please!).

5 months

Five months.  Five months!  Gosh, that's almost 6 months.  Which is almost half a year.  Which is almost a year.  Which is craziness.  Sometimes it feels like this little baby is slipping through my fingers like sand on the beach and it's so sad.  And also wonderful.  Sometimes I can't decide which.

And sometimes it makes me want to have another tiny baby...

And then I laugh.

Stats:
Height: 27 1/2 inches (95%)
Weight: 18 pounds (96%)
Head Circumference: 46 cm (>98%)

He's evening out, but still a huge little dude.  We love every chubby bit of him.

This little guy has now found his toes and his thumbs.  One or both are in his mouth at all time.

We're down to three naps a day now and four meals + a dream feed (that I'm not sure we really need or not...).  I swear we used to be eating round the clock and taking a lot  - a lot - of naps and then all of a sudden - poof!  Not anymore.  It happened so fast.

We're staying awake for 2 hours between naps now too, and it's the best.  I love having time to go shopping with an awake traveling buddy - it's much more fun.

One of my favorite things is watching this little guy figuring out his hands.  He's gotten so much better at holding and grabbing his toys.  It blows my mind how fast he learns.

Although sometimes I wish he'd learn a bit faster...Right now he's completely proficient at rolling from his back to his tummy.  I think he almost does it without realizing it and he most definitely practices while he's asleep.  So he'll roll to his tummy, get frustrated because he's not comfortable and cry for momma to come right him.  We're working really hard to figure out this tummy to back thing over here.

He wants to sit up by himself so, so badly these days, but we're just not there yet.  I swear, he's going to have the strongest little abs in the world the way he's doing crunches all day long.  He's close though.  So close...

I've also found my baby's first love: his bouncer.  Holy cow.  That kid could bounce all day long - and he might - if I'd let him.  The happy squeaks he lets out when he's in that thing are magical.  And the air he gets is kind of unbelievable. 

Daily baths are my favorite things these days as we wind down for bed.  Then we put on lotion and do a little massage and put on our PJ's before playing a little bit in the nursery as his eyelids get heavy.  It's such a sweet moment cocooned in the smell of baby lotion and warm blankets.  It's heaven.  My kind of heaven.

Things I want to remember about this little five month old:

• His slow blinks.  They are incredibly flirtatious, and thoughtful, and my favorite.
• The way he is always holding out his arms to keep his balance.
• The way his eyes dance when he realizes I'm smiling at him.
• How when you hold him up over your shoulder he'll look back and forth behind and in front of you.  Back and forth.  Back and forth.  Taking it all in.
• How he grabs his feet and pulls them up to his cheeks.
• His baby thighs.  They are chunky and delicious and I will be slightly heartbroken when they start thinning out.
• They way his heavy sleepy head feels on my shoulder.
• His rosebud lips that pucker so delightfully when he looks down.
• Current nicknames: Bubba, Mr. Magoo, Chunk-a-Chunk, and Clarkey Boy

We love you so much our little five-month-old chunker.  Never loose those delicious cheekers.

4 months

This little guy is growing so fast I can hardly stand it.  He now officially 18 pounds and 27 inches long.  Holy cow.  I was talking with a woman holding her little girl in church the other afternoon and she asked how old Clark was and when I told her her eyes went wide.  Turns out her little bundle was 8 months old vs Clark's 3-ish months, and she was at the very most half Clark's size.  Holy cow.  We've got a growing darling boy on our hands.  He is literally wearing 6-9 month clothes these days.  Aye, aye aye!  Stop growing baby!!

Up until a few weeks ago Clark has only really been chatty when he's at home and preferably lying safely on his back.  Maybe he could concentrate better that way?  Anyways, he finally figured out he can use his voice anytime, anywhere...in church.  During sacrament meeting.  While David was bearing his testimony.  Babies are the best ;)

This little kid is slowly becoming more and more aware of his surroundings which is equal parts so fun and sometimes not so much.  It's the best to watch his little eyes take in the world and see the trees and watch the cars go by and the kids on the swings, but he also is gaining a great affinity for being in Momma's arms.  Little cutie.  You know I love it.

The longest stretch we've gotten so far at night has been 7 hours, just a few times, but I'll take it!  Keep working on it baby boy - we're all rooting for you!

Kiddo has found his hands and it's so fun to watch.  They are now always officially in his mouth and making swipes at anything passing by.  His favorite things include his bibs, burp clothes, and anything I'm wearing.

Cutest Clark moment this month: we were at mutual on a Wednesday night and I was holding Clark on my hip while the kids played some sort of frisbee dodge-ball mash up.  They started yelling and cheering as the game came down to just a few people and Clark got so excited he yelled out with them.  Just one big excited squeak, but it was stinkin' adorable.  We might have a sports fan on our hands over here.

In other news, baby boy is figuring out rolling over.  I've caught him going tummy to back, but I only found him a few times after he rolled back to tummy while he was sleeping.  He woke up very frustrated that he couldn't roll back ;)

We've also discovered the exersaucer and the bouncy swing.  He's still getting the hang of both of them, but I can already tell we've got a hit on our hands.  Especially that bouncy swing.  It basically hangs off a bungee cords so little dude can get some serious jump on there.  He loves it ;)

After our three month check up, the doc wanted Clark to go get an ultrasound done of his noggin, just in case.  Out little guy has a very, very large head and she just wanted to make sure there was nothing to worry about.  It was incredible to watch them do the ultrasound (which the tech was able to do while Clark was asleep - bless that man).  They did the whole thing on his little soft spot and I got to see his brain and blood pulsing through it.  Really amazing stuff.  Results all came back negative and Clark just has, what our pediatrician affectionately referred to it as, a genetic disposition to a very large head.  We love every inch of it baby boy.

baby boy

I was looking through my pictures trying to find something solid to blog about and found - surprise, surprise - mostly a million pictures of my baby. 

So, behold, another photo dump and memory catalog. 

I love that little outfit Clark is wearing on the left.  My grandparents brought it back from Portugal for my older brother and he couldn't have looked cuter in it. 

Baby boy was in an especially smiley mood the other day and I couldn't believe I caught this little gem.  Gosh he's such a darling.

 Fresh clean baby?  Oh my goodness, is there anything better??

Kiddo, has started to figure out this whole tummy time business and it's adorable to watch him hold his head up.  He's even rolled over!  He's since kind of forgotten how that worked, but he'll get back around to it.

This boy thinks he's the king of the tub.  I agree.

 This babe gets awfully cuddly right before he's ready to go down for a nap.  It's my favorite.

And baby bums, am I right?  Seriously my favorite.

Poppy, daddy, and baby.

Story time with dada on a Saturday night is the best.  This baby is too cute and loves to look at the pictures. 

"I'm not always this cute, but - oh wait, yes I am!"

This is Clark's typical sleeping pose.  I think he's trying to imitate the angel Moroni.

I can't handle the look on his face in either of these pictures.

Smiles while he's awake and while he's asleep.

The chewing has begun.  Once those little hands are steady nothing will be safe!

And then that little intense gaze?  It kills me.

Saturday mornings in bed with momma and dada.  It's my favorite time of the week.

Late night cuddles in our favorite chair.

Clark and his two best buddies: his hands.  More often than not I'll turn around and he'll be chattering away to them, if they're not in his mouth, that is.

And then when did my little baby get so BIG??  He almost takes up half the crib now!  Eek!

xo

3 months

Three months.  Three months!  Who said it was ok for my tiny babe to be a whopping three months old?  Looking back at pictures of him fresh and new and then seeing him now I just can hardly believe he's gotten so big.  He's started packing on the rolls and already has two chubby chins with plans in the works for a third ;)

As of his 3 month appointment this little chunk is weighing in at 16 pounds (90th percentile), and is 26 inches tall (>98th percentile). We've got a big boy on our hands here. However, the biggest surprise of the day was that my doctor informed me that we are, in fact, TEETHING. Excuse me? My 3 month old is teething?? It appears we could have two little bottom teeth cutting through as early as next month. Well shoot, I do love his gummy little smile, but I guess a few pearly whites could only improve the cuteness ;)

It has been so fun watching the little dude find his hands lately.  They now seem to always be in his mouth and a drool spot on his onesie is a constant you can count on.  He's a little flirt - most especially to his momma - and he gives out smiles aplenty.  He's also figuring out his voice and has started chattering to me all day long, which I adore. And his favorite spot to have a nice conversation?  Where else, but up on his changing table.  We spend many an afternoon gabbing away together.

Clark has also decided that laying down is for babies and he's all about sitting up and, most especially, standing.  He gets this big, proud grin on his face every time I hold him up that melts me.

We're trying, trying, trying to get all the way through the night, but we're not there yet.  If I time his feedings right, most nights he'll just wake up once in the 3:00-4:00 range to eat and then get up again to start the day in the 6:00-7:00 hour.  It's progress and I can live with that, sweet baby boy.  But the night he sleeps all the way through??  Oh honey, that will be the best.

This kid is, literally, growing like a weed and he is currently shooting through 3 month sized clothes and hopping right into 6 month onesies without even breaking a sweat.  Stop growing baby!  Stay little forever!

But my all time favorite thing about this age is when I go to his crib to sooth him or get him up from a nap, and he'll be fussing or some such thing, but once he looks over and makes eye contact with me he gets this huge grin on his face and start cooing.  I just die every time.  What a little heart breaker.

Other big three month milestones:

• Being left with babysitters for the first time.  Thanks Grammy and Poppy!
• Making it through three hours of church (and mom going back to Sunday School for the first time since last November).
• Giving us a 6 hour stretch one night.  Feel free to do that again anytime baby boy.
• And receiving a name and a blessing from his daddy in church.   

This boy has run away with our lives and our hearts and I just wouldn't have it any other way.

PS - I took pretty much 100 pictures trying to get a grin out of this guy - it's easier when Dave is home to help in that department.  Man, the things I'll do to get a smile.  These outtakes were the bulk of my haul, and I almost love them just as much:

This is Clark's usual pose these days, hands up because he's so proud he can (sort of) control them, and eying his feet because he can't figure out how they keep moving.

And that little self satisfied mug on the right?  I just love that.

 I'm not gunna tell you what that face on the left means, except that that little blue line on his diaper was yellow a few seconds earlier...

I'm always impressed by how much spit up comes out of such a little body...


Mom, are you done taking pictures yet???

And I just love those chubby cheeks.  The day they disappear will be a sad day indeed.

xoxo

Clark's baby blessing

Clark is one lucky boy to have two sets of grandparents that love him so much.  It's the best having my parents so close by right now, and it was such a treat to have the Nemrows come down too this past weekend to spend time with their newest grandson and be there for his baby blessing.

Norm hadn't met our little Clark yet and it was so fun to watch them get to know each other.  

As you can see, they are two peas in a pod ;)

As a momma, there is nothing quite as great as watching someone else love on your baby.  These two are old pros.

 What is better than grandma kisses???

The reason we got to steal away these Utah grandparents in the first place is that we blessed our sweet little babe this past Sunday in church. 

The little dude was dressed to the nines and his daddy gave him a sweet blessing, promising him so many wonderful things.  As this little boy's momma, my heart is so full.  There is nothing I want more than for him to have every happiness in life.

In the morning, before we went to church, Dave asked me if there was anything I'd like for him consider including in the blessing later that afternoon.  Initially I wasn't going to add anything, and then suddenly I was spewing out everything I would ever want for my little guy: health, a testimony, marriage in the temple, serving a mission - the list just went on and on.  Having a child is literally like letting you heart walk around outside your body and I ache for him to be successful and have joy.

Family came from near and far to celebrate our little dude and we felt so very loved.

These handsome men stood in the circle with Dave to bless our little guy.  I'm so grateful for these worthy priesthood holders who joined us on this special day.

I love watching my in-laws and parents become grandparents to my little guy. 

We sure love you little man.  We're so glad you're ours forever and always.