Christmas 2011 - Clark

Braden thought it would be funny to wrap an apple for Clark 

Little Brother outfit from Braden

Spot stuffed dog with blanket inside

Chuck DVD

My cutie

Stuffed animal from Grandma Sara

Flannel pillowcase made by Grandma Sara.

Clark went to bed for a nap after this last picture was taken, so the rest of his gifts (not many) were opened later and we forgot to take pics... oops.

Finally Holding His Bottle

Our little Clarky is growing up.  He is finally starting to hold his own bottle.  The other kids held their bottles at around 4-5 months, but Clark just hasn't had any desire until now (8 months old).  I took these pictures while we were at the other kids' swim lessons and he was just content to keep the bottle in his mouth.  Usually he's done when there is still about an ounce or so left in the bottle, but the day I took these pictures - he drained the whole thing.

Muscle Man

Just bought these adorable jammies for Clark at the mall today. they're so hilarious on!  he was too sleepy tonight, but hopefully I'll be able to snap a pic with him wearing them soon. we highly recommend them!

Happy Boy

Clark loves spending time in this exersaucer that I scored last fall for only $10 at a weekend consignment sale.  When we first started putting him in it at about 5 months old, the toys scared him.  He gradually warmed up to it though and especially loved chewing on the crinkly tail of the fish by his face to the right in the pictures.

Food

A few weeks ago, Clark got his second taste of Rice Cereal (his first was at 4 months and he did not care for it or know what to do with it).  This time we tried it - he LOVED it! He wasn't sure at first, but after a few bites, he'd fuss and fuss for more.  Yum, Yum.

Ohh - So Tasty!

Then last week, we tried it again.  He was so happy.  The Ped. said not to give him too much food before his 6 month birthday, so we're just taking it slow and it seems to be okay with Clark

What a big boy in his new highchair!

My littles

is what I like to call them. This picture was taken one evening earlier this month. Mylie sat beside me on the couch to fall asleep and as Clark fell asleep his hand fell over onto her. Such cute kids!

A month later...

Here's your next "tiny" update:

• Evidently we didn't have the best offer on house "S" so we began the house hunt again. Still in love with house "G", but not enough to wait on a bank being that it is a short sale. Looked and looked and found house "K". Not a foreclosure. For the most part it was a house for sale the conventional way except that his tiny 2nd loan was a short sale. He accepted our offer, we got the house inspected and appraised, and the Bank holding the 2nd loan approved the sale the next day! We sign on hundreds of dotted lines next week. Yea! Move in date is set for Friday, the 8th of April.
• Mylie is completely diaper and pull-up free. She screams at the top of her lungs, "I gotta go potty" as she is running to the bathroom so that whoever is closest can run after her and help her.
• Braden just finished his 2nd week of track break. He got to hang out with his cousins a lot this week and really enjoyed it. He says that he just can't wait until we move so that he can have his own room.
• Clark is growing and growing! He's started doing quite a bit of baby babble and gets pretty loud sometimes when he's looking for attention. My mom bought him a bumbo seat and he loves being able to sit up and see everything going on around him.
• Bob and I celebrated our 9th Anniversary on Wednesday. We celebrated by going to dinner at TGI Fridays and then to Home Depot to look at paint colors for the house.

Santa Baby

I found this cute hat and bib set at Lowes of all places this year. Perfect for my little newborn at Christmastime.

Another fun note - Clark got to play the part of baby Jesus 3 times this year. The first time was at a YW activity, the second time was at our ward Christmas party, and the third was for the Irish family Christmas Eve program.

1st Christmas

Clark received several pairs of Christmas jammies as baby gifts. They were all so cute. I had to take several pictures of this one when he was wearing it one day. Love the reindeer on the bum and feet!

Clark's Blessing

(the men in the circle, minus Great-Grandpa Johnson)

Clark's blessing day started out quickly when we realized our alarm had not gone off and we woke up an hour later when Mylie came into the room. We quickly got up and ready and arrived at church a few minutes late. Luckily there was another baby to be blessed before us and we were able to sit down for a bit and remember to breathe before Clark's blessing.

(us.)

The blessing was beautiful. I regret that we didn't ask anyone to take notes for us, but I'll always remember what I felt and that Bob did an amazing job.

(the Grandparents in attendance)

After Sacrament Meeting was over, we headed home with all of our wonderful family members. We took pictures and got our brunch all set out. We had a breakfast sandwich casserole with fruit and for dessert we had crepes with lots of fun fillings.

(bob's and my siblings and their families holding clark)

We had a lot of fun chatting and talking and eating. Thanks so much to everyone who came to support us and celebrate our little Clark!

(clark.)

These are just 2 of the many pictures we got of our cute little guy in his blessing outfit.

The outfit was made by Bob's sister-in-law, Melody, for Braden's blessing. Braden didn't get to wear it, but I held onto it because it was beautiful. Luckily little Clark came along and we got to use it. The vest and bow-tie were made by my Mom out of her wedding dress. She also made the blessing blanket.

A Christmas Card/Birth Announcement

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Love, The Irish Family

Clark's Check-Ups

Clark's 1st Pediatrician appointment was last Monday, November 29th. He was a whole 4 days old and weighed in at 7lbs 6ozs. The Pediatrician said that he looked like a very healthy boy. He had us make an appointment to come back the next week for another checkup.

Yesterday (December 6th) was that appointment. Clark weighed in this week at 7lbs 8ozs, which isn't much of a change from last week, so we have to go back in next week for a weight check. The Dr. says he's sure I know what I'm doing in regard to feeding Clark enough, so if his weight isn't up at the appt next week we'll have to figure out why. Other than that, he's still doing pretty great. He also got to have his little boy surgery and it made him and his mommy pretty sad.

Clark and his Daddy

Thanks to Bob's sister, Stephanie, for sending us this cute picture of Bob holding his new baby boy.