Last night...

I was making chocolate Friendship Bread which is Hannah's favorite. I promised to let her eat some before bedtime so she was anxiously waiting for a piece. The timer for the bread went off and Hannah yells, "The Friendship Bread is calling!"

State Park Pictures

"My butt's cracking up!"

Sometimes Hannah's "butt is cracking up" and decides to "eat" her underpants.

It's the 23rd. You know what that means...

Sammy is 8 months old today! We "celebrated" by going to Oconee State Park with my mom. We had a picnic, played on the playground and walked around the campground. Hannah brought Lulu and pushed her around in her little stroller. Check back this weekend for pictures from the park (I have to wait until Bobby brings Lappy home from work:) We ended the evening by eating supper with Jessie. It was great to spend time with her because we don't get to see her very often.

Samuel's accomplishments to date are...

• Obviously sitting unsupported
• He is on his way to being "potty trained"
  
• He has 3 teeth (two bottom front teeth and one upper eye tooth)
• He can crawl!!
• He's pulling up and we will often find him standing up in his crib
• He can say "Da Da" and "Ma Ma"
• He's starting to imitate sounds...like blowing raspberries
• He's eating solid foods and loves table food...he's also drinking water with his meals.
• Last of all: simply being absolutely adorable and loved by all of us :)
  

Thank you Emily!! - Part II

Recently our neighbor Emily went on a week long trip. These are the gifts she brought back for Hannah & Samuel.

Thank you Emily!! Hannah loves her new plate & cup. And Samuel is so sweet when he cuddles with his blanket - he rubs it on his cheek when he's nursing, it's too cute.

Hannah's new plate.


Hannah loves drinking from her new cup...it's easy to hold with the two handles.


The Cowgirl enjoying her supper.


Samuel's new snuggle blanket. He takes the corners and rubs them on his cheek.

A Birthday & A Family Reunion

It's been a very busy weekend for the Clark Clan!!

Friday was Tommy's 21st birthday so we took him & Bob out to eat. Tommy wanted to eat at Fatz so that's where we ended up going. But being the space cadet that he is, Tommy forget his ID so no alcoholic beverages for him! Bobby told the waitress that it was Tommy's b-day so he got to pick out a free dessert and they all came and sang that dumb birthday song.

The Birthday Boy

The Clark Men
The Clark Girls

Saturday I spent most of the day doing laundry in my new washer & dryer. They aren't brand new but they're new to us. Bobby hooked up everything by himself and he did an excellent job I must say. So, good-bye hot, stinky, cost consuming laundromat!!


Sunday was the Hicks Family Reunion in GA. It's my dad's family and we go every year. It's mostly a lot of older people that I don't know. I can never figure out how I'm related to them either. This year we wore name-tags with our names (of course) and how we were related to the Hicks family (it still didn't help me.) But it's fun to spend time with the family you do know and eat lots of good food!

Samuel shows off his new crawling skills.

Hannah lets Papa & Granny know what she thinks about the "Bluegrass Gospel" music some of our family members insist on performing every year.
Bobby, Brianna, Ethan & Hannah
Bobby & the bambinos

New Bath Toys

Armed with money from Papa, Hannah & Samuel went to Target looking for...something. They each ended up getting a Baby Einstein book and agreed to buy some bath toys to share.
For anyone who has kids, I highly recommend these bath toys. Samuel bought a BE book that he can read while taking a bath. It's so easy to clean and disinfect and it will never get moldy or gross. Their Caterpillar Spillers (from Munchkin) are the same, easy to clean and will never get gross. Plus, kids can stack them up, play with them individually or snap them together to make a long caterpillar.
Trust me, these toys are a lot better than the squeeze bath toys that still end up with gross brown stuff inside no matter how many times you clean them with Clorox.

Now I know what you must be thinking, "She's so addicted to blogging that she's started writing about her children's bath toys!" But in all honesty I think their new toys are really cute and creative and, as I've already mentioned, so easy to clean. When you find a good thing you should share it with others right?
Now if I were Katie Holmes and had bought these toys, you'd run right out to your local Target and buy a set wouldn't you? :)

Samuel Is Crawling!

Hands down the most important event of the weekend was Samuel crawling!!

Saturday my mom and I took the kids shopping in Anderson. I want to say that Hannah finally got to take her "monies to Target" (much to the chagrin of Dave.) But the best thing about our trip was that Samuel started crawling!! After walking around the mall for a few hours we sat down to let the kids play for a while. Sammy was sitting on the floor in front of me and he started crawling towards a toy that was a short distance away. He gets on his hands, puts one foot flat on the floor and leaves the other leg bent (think Indian style). He'll move his hands forward, scoot his bent leg forward, and then move his straight leg forward. It's hilarious watching him but at least he's moving now.

We also got to spend a few hours with Dave & Karen who were in town visiting friends.

***Note from Heather: Samuel's shirt says 'If you think I'm cute you should see my Daddy'. How true it is!! Sammy & Hannah both look like their Daddy and I've got to say that he's pretty good looking. Sam & Hannah don't know how fortunate they are!!***

A Pillow Fight

I know I've done quite a few posts recently but I have to get some of these pictures up before Bobby takes the laptop back to work. The Mac isn't compatible with my video camera software (go figure!) So, you get the great pleasure of watching a really fun video of Hannah & Sammy playing with their Daddy and viewing a very sweet photo of Sammy sleeping.

We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Sweet Dreams Samuel

I love these little people, and it is not a slight thing, when they, who are so fresh from God, love us.
~Charles Dickens~

For Bobby

Bobby & Samuel on the day Sam was born.
I just have to write and tell everyone what a wonderful husband and father Bobby is!!
Recently Bobby has been working so hard to hook up the washer and dryer that we got for free. He's done the wiring, plumbing and all that other stuff by himself! He's also been working on repairing our driveway - which seems like an uphill battle. Not to mention the other crafty things he's accomplished around the house. He's put down new flooring in our bathroom and in our kitchen. And Hannah is so proud of the well house that he built without so much as a blueprint. He does all this in the evening after he gets home from his job at "Clemson Enbira-mental Health & Safety" (according to Hannah). He's been an excellent provider and I know that he works extra hard so that I'll be able to stay home with Hannah & Samuel. I don't know if I've ever thanked him for working so hard for us but I most definitely am thankful.
Don't even get me started about how much the kids love him. Hannah just about tears the front door down every evening when Bobby pulls into the driveway. She waits on the porch and starts talking the minute he gets within earshot. I love to hear her laughing when they're playing together...her favorite game consists of Bobby tossing her onto the bed and making her bounce. As for Samuel, he will just about jump out of my arms the minute he lays eyes on his Daddy. No one can make him smile or laugh the way Bobby can.
We've been married for 7 years and I can honestly say that Bobby has been the best husband, friend and father that I could ever want. He's unbelievably intelligent, compassionate, romantic, funny...there aren't enough adjectives to describe him.


Bobby,
We love you so much and we're so grateful for all that you do for us. You make our house a home and we couldn't imagine our home without you. We're so blessed to have you as our husband/Daddy. I thank God that He brought us together and blessed us with our two beautiful children. The past 7 years have been so fun and wonderful and I know that the next 7 will be even better!!
WE LOVE YOU!!!

Bitty & Boo

I completely missed writing the update about Samuel when he turned 7 months old, so I'll do it now (1 week and 2 days late!)

He's completely taken off with solid foods. He has also been enjoying table foods as well - he enjoys rolls, carrots and McGriddle's from McDonald's. He's only got two teeth on the bottom so he basically gums everything.

Sammy's also on the verge of crawling. He's so close that it's absolutely frustrating to watch him sometimes. He gets on his hands and knees and wobbles forwards and backwards. He can also sit up from laying on his belly and he's starting to pull up. This latest accomplishment has resulted in many frustrating nap times. I feed him, lay him down while he's still sleepy and quietly slip out. Not even 5 minutes later I peek in to check on him and he's sitting up (sometimes he's even pulled himself up onto his knees) looking out the window. So I lay him back down while reminding him it's nap time (as if he understands what the heck I'm saying). We go through this routine about 4 or 5 more times before he finally falls asleep. I feel sure that he'll start crawling any day now. You can see the determination in his eyes - 'I have to keep up with Hannah!!' I continue to coax Hannah and our cat to sit just out of arms reach in an effort to tempt him into moving. Neither one of them are very patient though and he's not as motivated to get to me.

His first words were "Da Da", just like his big sister. He says "Da Da" loudly and often...mainly when I'm trying to get him to say "Ma Ma". I believe his next word will be either 'kick' or 'kitty'. During diaper changes I take his legs and tap his feet together while singing, "Kick! Kick! Kick!" (The silly things you do for your children.) Now all I have to do is say 'kick' and he starts kicking his legs. But he's also mesmerized by MayDay and we all refer to him as 'kitty' so that could very well be his next word. I swear he's been trying to say both.

Just a few quick words about Hannah. Her vocabulary grows every day and she's constantly coming up and saying something that catches me off guard. She'll wander into the room where Bobby & I are talking and with the funniest look on her face, inquire, "What are you up to guys?" Or if Samuel is crying she'll say, "He's just happy. Pick him up and feed him Mama, he's hungry." If I ask her to do something she'll comment, "Of course Mama."

She's addicted to Spongebob Squarepants. She's Spongebob (of course), Bobby is Patrick, my mom is Ms. Puff, my dad is Mr. Krabs, Samuel has become Plankton and I'm Sandy. She can quote entire conversations from her favorite episodes. And as far as I know she's planning to be Spongebob for Halloween.

She recognizes several letters of the alphabet and can write an 'O'. Pretty soon she'll be able to identify all of the letters. I'm constantly amazed at how much she's already learned. She's a little sponge (a little Spongebob!)

Today I was carrying Sam to the car and Hannah was walking beside me. It struck me all of a sudden how much they've grown. Wasn't it yesterday that Hannah was Samuel's size? And all of a sudden Samuel went from being a tiny newborn to this 19 pound baby with teeth!! People warned me that it would go by quickly and now I believe it! I'm afraid to blink because if I do they'll be teenagers!!

(The picture of Hannah was taken at the bowling alley. She was mad because it wasn't her turn to bowl yet. Her shirt says, 'This is what perfect looks like.')