Henry Turns 5!

Henry's birthday fell on a school day which also coincidentally was his class Christmas party. We still tried to make it special by letting him open a few presents before school and by decorating the house and wrapping up his lunch. I saw this wrapped lunch on pinterest and loved it. I was happy I remembered as his teachers said it totally made his day!

Zippy also caught the birthday buzz and showed up with balloons and a festive party hat.

Opening presents before school.

He is so easy to please. He got a new library of chapter books, more Angry Bird Star Wars telepods and lots of art supplies.

I was able to come to his class party and we lit a candle and sang Happy Birthday. He got super shy but I think liked all the attention. All his classmates were excited for one more reason to celebrate. I love seeing him in his class, everyone loves everyone. There really is nothing like it.

Henry is a creature of habit and limited taste, you know what that means...McDonald's for dinner!

And of course a cup cake, a candle and a little singing to finish off the day.

Vivi wasn't too interested in the festivities but overall we had a super fun day with our favorite little guy.

Vivi: 7-9 Months

Stuck under the couch!

Watching tv

Getting into the movies, trouble maker!

This is Ben. Vivi and Ben share the same birthday and were born only hours apart.

This lollipop rattle thing was her favorite toy for a few weeks. She likes to shake it.

Shake it!

I don't know if that was enough pictures...
Here are some things Viv has been up to in the past two months:

• Sitting confidently. I love this because she is way more content playing and entertaining herself. She can also sit and play with toys. She can also get into the sitting position on her own. While sitting, she loves to shake rattles and bang toys together. She especially loves it if they make a loud sound. 
• She pulls herself up on things but hasn't started cruising yet. We dropped the crib down a level after Christmas and put the bumper in as she was getting caught in the bars. 
• She also had her first ride in a shopping cart without her car seat at Joann Fabrics. It was a success!
• Love/hate with the bath. She used to love her baths but she went through a stint of really hating it. I don't know why because she now has all sorts of fun new bath toys from Santa and can sit in the water directly instead of her bath sling. Sometimes she loves it but more often than not, she is screaming and we're rushing to wipe her tiny body. Oh wait, she likes baths again but now just doesn't like getting out. 
• She now hates being changed. She immediately starts to roll over and tries to crawl away. She also doesn't like getting dressed and prefers to crawl around all nude. Luckily her squishy little baby bottom is so cute. 
• She loves remote controls! And for some reason she can totally tell if you've taken the battery out of it. How do babies know? Henry used to do the same thing. 
• When she gets excited, she flaps her arms up and down!
• Vivian went through a tough car rider phase, crying immediately once in the car. She likes her car seat and was happy in stores, etc but hated being in the car. Now she is back to being content in the car, thankfully because it really put a damper on running any errands. 
• She babbles all the time. Dadadada
• She started crawling on Christmas Eve while being changed. She rolled over and made a break for it al fresco. Since then she has become quicker and has figured out that if she wants to get somewhere, she can now get there. She loves crawling into the bathroom. 
• She has some new favorite foods. String Cheese! If she sees the cheese and she's not in her seat yet, she starts freaking out. She also loves cheerios, yogurt, oatmeal, strawberries, mac and cheese, puffs, yogurt puffs, grilled cheese sandwich, chicken, goldfish, bananas and french fries. There isn't really anything she won't eat. She doesn't seem super interested in drinking juice from a sippy cup and will only drink a little from a bottle. We're working on it but I am too lazy to keep holding the cup in her face. When she needs more food, she slams her hand on her high chair tray and squawks at us. Seriously, so demanding. 
• She has no teeth but that doesn't stop her from munching to her heart's content. 
• Her hair is finally starting to come in and its light brown and really wispy.
• Vivian is not the happiest baby but she sure is curious about the world around her. She loves anything Henry is playing with and wants to be involved too. She loves going on walks and just looking around. 
• We've also started the fun, separation anxiety phase and she is a super clingy Mama's Girl. Sigh. Its annoying being so loved :) It has made her more cuddly which is sweet but not late at night. 

Henry, the Many Faces of

These shots of Henry totally capture so many aspects of his (ever-changing) personality. 

Love it. Love him.

When I was putting this together, he looked over at the computer and said "is that me?" I said yes and then he said "i'm pretty cute."

Happy Valentine's Day!

I had a last minute idea to whip up a Valentine to send to family. Its always fun trying to take pictures of two kids, throw in a few props and its mayhem. I was happy with the card and am leaving you with a few outtakes that crack me up. Love these little Valentines of mine.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Clark Family Pictures 2014

Back in November we had our family pictures taken by the amazing Chelsea. Despite all the odds that were stacked against us, we managed to get some great shots. 

Let me tell you a little tale about a well meaning family on a brisk fall morning. So to get the good light, we met Chelsea really early on UGA campus. And it was freezing. Like 30*. You can see it in Vivi's little red nose. About ten minutes into the shoot, Henry has to poop. Its Saturday and all the buildings are locked. Steve treks with Henry across campus to his building. Meanwhile Viv and I do a little mother daughter photo shoot. And guess what? She poops too! Its so cold that I make the call to just push through the shoot and not change her. Steve and Henry make it back --turns out he only had to pee! and the whole thing just falls apart. Sigh. Viv's poop is a blowout that gets on my dress and we're all freezing.

Henry kills me in this one. Such a cutie/ham!

I LOVE THIS SHOT! Totally sums up everything. 

See ya! I'm out of here!

Chelsea was kind enough to reprise the next day at church

And the one we will print and hang up forever, I had to swap my own face out because I blink a lot.