Our New House

It has been a whirlwind of changes around the Clark household for the past month or so!  We took the plunge and decided to buy a house!  I believe it was more than luck that every little detail worked out for us and now our kids are able to have a home of their own that they can run and play in.  We moved in last weekend and are now trying to unpack all our belongings from lots of boxes.  It is so nice to have room for everything!  Well, here are a few pics of before we moved in.  I will post more later when our house isn't so messy and chaotic. 

Justin's funny little quirks...

Justin, my 4-year-old boy, has some of the funniest quirks I have ever heard of.  Today I was helping him get into the tub to scrub some of the sticky grime off his hands and banged-up knees, and he always hesitates when getting in because he says the water is too hot.  Clearly, for the baby and I the water can be nice and soothing, not at all scalding...but not for Justin.  He is so sensitive to water temperature that I have had to make him count to 10 (sometimes multiple times) when just dipping one toe in the water, preparing himself to get in and wash up.  I literally spent about 10 minutes just waiting for him to get in all the way to help him wash his hair. 

Another thing he is sensitive about is getting water in his ears when he finally gets in the tub!  I tell him all the time that if he will just learn to get his ears wet and submerge his face and blow bubbles, I will sign him up for swimming lessons.  He has yet to master the face submersion part. 

Along with water temperature, he is also sensitive to how hot his food is.  For the most part he would rather eat something straight out of the fridge or from a can at room temperature.  If I have to warm it up for cooking purposes, it takes him FOREVER to finally decide that it is cool enough for him to eat.  One of his favorite things during the winter is to have "cold hot chocolate."  I ask him if he means that he wants chocolate milk, and he says, "No, cold hot chocolate."  Weirdo.

He also doesn't like loud noises.  I feel bad for him on this point because it probably started with when our apartment building tests their fire alarms.  The alarms are SOOO INCREDIBLY loud in our apartment and even louder out in the hall, that it is really scary for him.  He will hold his hands over his ears until we are far, far away from our building or sitting in the car until it is over.  Try staying outside at 3 in the morning for an hour when someone accidentally set the alarm off.  To this day he still talks about how scary it is for him.  Poor guy!  But it is not only loud, annoying alarms that bother him.  I remember taking him to an indoor pool while my older son was taking a swimming class and the pool employees decided to just turn on some fun music.  Since it was an indoor pool, the music made some strange vibration noises that bothered his little ears and we had to move to the other side of the pool area. 

Justin is our little prankster and has such a cute personality that these little quirks make me realize how different all my kids are going to be.  It is so fun watching them grow up and seeing how they develop.  I hope someday that he gets over some of his insecurities with these little quirks.  He is such a special little guy for our family!  WE LOVE YOU, JUSTIN!!!

Long-over-due Update

So I realize I have COMPLETELY neglected to post anything on our blog for over a year now and decided to give anyone who reads this an update... 

Zoey Elise Clark

We now have our own VERY PRESCIOUS little baby girl...
She was born on Oct. 18, 2010 and we are so incredibly happy and blessed to have her as part of our family.  I finally get to buy little girl clothes and indulge the girly side of my own personality a little more.  She is now almost 7 months old and getting bigger and more mobile every day.  She has been babbling her little baby sounds for a while now, but just yesterday started imitating us with her "da da da" noises.  Of course she doesn't realize what she is saying, but incredibly cute just the same.  Here are some pics of her:

Zoey - newborn

Zoey and Grandma Sue

Big Brother Jason and Zoey

Jason is now in 2nd grade and doing great!  He made the decision to get baptized when he turned 8 and we are so proud of him!  He loves reading and playing his video games.  He has joined the Chess club at school and loves to go to Cub Scouts with his dad.  He is such a good example for his little brother, Justin.  Even though they might fight (as brothers often do) I can tell they are very close and will have so much fun growing up together.  When the two of them get together there is no telling what will happen - besides me pulling my hair out!  :)  Justin is our little prankster and is always trying to make someone laugh.  At 4 years old, he is now in the Sunbeams class at church and loves to go.  (Unlike when he was in nursery and he wouldn't EVER let me leave!)  They are my roudy boys, and even though I often wish for a little more quiet time from them, I wouldn't have it any other way.     

Brian and I will be celebrating our 11 year anniversary next week!  YIKES!  How did I get old enough to say that?!?  Time really does fly by when you are having fun.  New patterns in life emerge and soon they are gone.  I feel like I will blink and my kids will be grown up and going along their own life's journey.  I pray to have more patience to just enjoy the time I have now and to remember what is really important in our lives.  Now, hopefully I will be more inclined to post more often - it has been really fun looking back at my old posts to refreshen old memories.

One of my passions...

One of my favorite things to do is crochet. I taught myself about 6 years ago and have mostly just made blankets/afghans for myself and friends or family. Lately I have been toying with the idea of maybe making things to sell from my own blog or etsy, but I don't quite know how I feel about taking that first leap... Would people even like the things I make? Would I be able to or have enough time to make things for people if they actually ordered stuff from me? Well, here is me just starting out and I decided to start off with creating my own blog about my passion for crochet. I just started so there isn't much there, but maybe you would like to take a look and tell me what you think!?!?

Here are a few pics of some recent projects I have worked on and if you want to see more just check out my new blog at www.ohsocutecrochet.blogspot.com

Swing Set Cardigan

Bonnet

Capelet w/ hoodie

baby shoes

Zoey and Mac getting acquainted... april 2011

Year end update and a Merry Christmas!

So, I realize I haven't posted anything for quite a while and would like to give an update for the latter half of our year. We have had such a great time with the boys growing up so much and time passes by too quickly. We love living here in Virginia, although I miss my family out in Utah. Here's to another year!

Jason started school again and is now in first grade. He really does well with his reading, which I hope he will continue to do and come to love. He has been such a good example for his younger Brother, Justin, and helps me out around the house. He has taken another swimming class at the rec center, and I think he wants to try soccer in the spring. He is still a video-game junkie who can beat the whole family at the Wii games we play together. Now that Christmas vacation is over, he will have to stick to the restricted 1-hour-a-day time limit. :) The boys got a new bunk bed a while ago and have such a good time sleeping on it together. I thought Jason would stick with the top bunk, but he has loved sharing the full-size bed on the bottom with his brother. They put blankets up to have a "fort" surround them during the night.

Justin is really such a character. It amazes me to think how different my boy's personalities are from each other. Jason asks permission for a lot of things and keeps me informed on what he is up to. Justin just goes and does what he pleases. Most of the time it isn't anything bad, just a mischievous side to him that I haven't really seen in Jason. For example, Jason will ask if he can have candy, Jutin will just go ahead and eat it....all of it. Jason was never very good at sleeping in his own bed and would NEVER sleep in a crib. Justin has ALWAYS been a good sleeper for me. He stays in his bed all night and when he wants to take a nap, he just finds his favorite soccer ball blanket and goes to lay down. A few more differences they have are Justin has the curly hair and the blue eyes, while Jason has the straight hair and brown eyes. Everyone I meet always comments on how "striking" and beautiful Justin's eyes are. Maybe it's because I see him all the time and I think his eyes are beautiful anyway, I am still surprised at how many people make that comment. Justin is now almost 3 years old and keeps me on my toes. He won't stay by himself in nursery at our church, but I love getting to stay home with him. I am crossing my fingers that the potty-training will start soon!

Brian is still working for Balfour Beatty Construction company. Work is slow for him, but we are so thankful to be lucky enough for him to have a job in this economy. I started working at Target a few months ago to help pay off some bills and to get me out of the house a little bit. It is a challenge for me to work so late and it seems like I miss a lot of nights with the family, but I am enjoying it. I am also working on FINALLY completing my medical transcription course fairly soon. After a long break from it, I really need to just get it over and done with. Then I can hopefully work from home!

Christmas was great this year! The boys loaded up on toys from family and Santa. They also helped me with the decorating and cookie making. We had so much fun visiting with all the cousins on Christmas day and to see Aunt Lita and Uncle Dan from Cleveland. Santa brought us the Wii game system and we have had a BLAST playing together! Needless to say, Jason is probably the best player out of everyone. Brian got the "Biggest Loser" game to get in shape. I like playing the Mario Party 8, even though I almost always lose.

Justin wouldn't sit on Santa's lap, but he still had fun telling Santa EXACTLY what he wanted for Christmas!

We got A LOT of snow dumped on us the weekend before Christmas, so Jason got an extra long vacation from school and lots of snow to play in. I haven't seen that much snow in a long time, and it was a little strange dealing with everything shutting down because of it. The roads/parking lots were horrible! You couldn't find a snow shovel at any store to save your life! We dug our car out of our parking lot with brooms and dust pans. I spent a lot of time working around the holidays and learned the full extent as to what it means to work in retail during the crazy holiday season! I am glad that it's over with and am ready to slow down a little. Now we are getting ready to make a trip out to Utah in a few weeks, and I am really looking forward to seeing all the family and friends from my hometown!

I hope everyone had a VERY Merry Christmas and we are looking forward to 2010!

VA Beach 2009

For summer vacation 2009 we decided to head to the beach again. We had so much fun last year! Justin was a year older and so therefore enjoyed the ocean rather than cringe from it. Of course, Jason is the fish of the family. So that was pretty much our schedule. Figure out when we were going swimming and work around that. We also went to the aquarium and saw a lot of great fish, sharks, turtles, and every other creature from the ocean. It was really fun. Who knows what we will do next year?! Here are some pics (taken with my new camera :).


FYI: The slideshow wouldn't load for some dumb reason, so I had to do 2 posts...whatever.

JASON

I have wanted to do a list of the many things Jason has accomplished this past year and all the milestones he has come to. I cannot believe he has gotten so big and is now 6 1/2 years old. He helps around the house so much and is such a good big brother. We love you Jason!



Jason finished his kindergarten school year and got the Most Improved Student award. He has worked all year long on his reading and writing skills and has come a long way. He is such a good reader - it amazes me when I realize how well he is doing so soon!



Jason always tells me how much he loves me. He says, "Mom, you are in my heart. I just love you so much!" My heart melts every time I hear him say it. Even though he can be a REALLY rambunctious boy and drive me a little insane, he has a very sensitive side to him that is precious.



My little fireman (and chef). Jason has told me several times that when he grows up he wants to be a fireman AND a chef. The second one changes from time to time, but he usually sticks to his fireman career choice. I love that he wants to be a chef, though. He will stand in the kitchen with me and ask countless questions about how to make certain things and wanting to stir this and that.



My good helper. Jason helps me around the house all the time. He is always in with his brother making messes, but when it's over I can usually count on his help to clean it up.



Big Brother. Jason is always playing with his little brother. They do get along fairly well and make me laugh uncontrollably sometimes. With Jason being older and "wiser," he thinks he can get away with taking advantage of Justin. Of course, Justin isn't old enough to know when he's being manipulated. The other side of it is that Justin could care less and Jason doesn't get the reaction he was hoping for.



I've mentioned before that Jason LOVES to swim and be in the water. He just goes crazy with excitement when he is in the pool or at the spray park. I just have to smile and pray that he doesn't clobber someone nearby with his flailing arms. He is learning to perfect his form - keeping his arms and legs straight. And he can't go anywhere without his goggles!



Jason loves any and all superheroes. He is taking after his dad in this respect. They cannot get enough of Spiderman, The Hulk, Iron Man, and any other superhero movie that comes along. He likes all their video games and action figures, too. Justin is proudly following along in their footsteps.



Every night before he goes to bed we read a book together. We started several years ago that he would tell me what he was going to dream about and then say our prayers. I think we started this when he would be scared that he would have a bad dream. I told him not to worry about it and that he could pick whatever he wants to dream. Anyway, he usually picks his favorite superhero or cartoon character that he likes at the time. My favorite one he chooses is that he will be Spiderman or Venom. Then he proceeds to tell me that Dad will be ____, Justin will be ____, and then he pauses and just grins at me before he tells me who I am supposed to be. Then Jason tells me that I am going to be Aunt May! The old lady! I act shocked and offended as I tickle him until he changes me into the young Mary Jane. This never gets old and is funny every time. Justin has caught on to this nightly ritual as well, and likes to tell me of all the cartoon characters he likes. They are both so cute as they say their little prayers.



We love Jason very much and we are so impressed with how big he is getting and what a great kid he is turning into. Keep up the good work little buddy!



*And yes, Jason is wearing 1 sock in this picture. He had a blister on one foot and the sandal was rubbing against it. His solution: Wear a sock on the foot that hurt!

Swimming

It has been too long since I last posted. We have been busy doing this and that, but now that summer is here I will hopefully have some more fun things to post. I recently got a new camera too so I am excited to use it! Here are some pics of the kids swimming with their cousins. Justin is really loving the water this year. He gets mad at me when I help him too much, and is slowly learning that if I let go of him he will sink. Jason just finished up another round of swimming lessons and I hope to get him in another set before school starts. He loves swimming so much and is learning how to perfect his form - keeping his arms and legs straight. Of course, he is always jumping and splashing to his heart's content. We will surely have many fun days at the pool this year!