1st Day of Gymnastics

Today was Hannah's first day of gymnastics and she was so excited she couldn't eat her breakfast!! I signed her up for the 3-4 year old class at Upstate Gymnastics in Pendleton. I think she's asked me every day for the past two weeks if it's time for her to go to her class.

I love her little pink leotard. It's an XXS!

We got there a little early because I had to pay them and fill out the paper work. So Hannah was watching the Mom & Tot class, which got her really excited, so she asked a million times if it was her turn yet. Bobby surprised us and showed up for the first 20 minutes or so before he had to go back to work.

Waiting somewhat impatiently for her class to start.
They started the group out by sitting them in a circle so they could do their stretches. While they were trying to get the kids situated Hannah walked right over to the mini trampoline and starts jumping!! Hannah was pretty good at the stretches but there were a few she couldn't get the hang of. At one point the instructor was showing them how to stretch their wrists by "rolling up tacos" to which Hannah exclaims, "I don't like tacos!!" Bobby & I laughed so hard :-) Then they broke the group up into fours because there were 14 kids and four stations for them to do (so there was actually one group with only two kids). After so many minutes they rotated to the next station. Hannah was in a group with two little girls - Gracie and Anna - and a little boy - Drew.

Hannah & Gracie wait for their turn on the bars.
The first thing Hannah did was the bars. They did three different exercises: 1st they were just supposed to hang there, 2nd they were supposed to bring their knees up to their noses and last they were supposed to bring their toes up and touch the bar. Hannah was very good at this which isn't surprising b/c she's always hanging off things like a little monkey. When it was time to bring their knees up to their noses, Hannah immediately did it without the instructor reminding her what she was supposed to be doing.

The instructor helps Hannah on the bars.
After that they moved on to some simple mat exercises and finished by walking across the balance beam. I couldn't really see how Hannah did with the mat exercises because the balance beam was in the way but she did great walking across the beam. Of course the teacher was holding her hand but still!!

Walking across the balance beam!
The third station they went to was the vault. They were supposed to run and jump on the vault board twice before climbing up on this really thick beam. After they walked across the beam I'm not really sure what they did b/c I couldn't see from where I was standing.

This instructor helps Hannah get onto the beam.
The last station they went to was my favorite. It was like a little obstacle course. First they tumbled down an inclined mat. Then they walked across some uneven padded "stones". After the stones they twirled ribbons while walking across a balance beam. From the beam they jumped on the mini trampoline (which was what Hannah was really looking forward to). They finished the course in the bird's nest. It looked like an upside down thimble that they could sit in and rock back in forth. This was Hannah's best station besides the bars.

Hannah jumping on the trampoline.

They finished the class by forming a circle, putting their arms around each other and singing a song. Every one got a bunny stamp on their hand and a coloring page to take home. Hannah was so sad that it was time to leave and wants to go back tomorrow.

The group song. Hannah is next to the little boy in green.
I was really surprised at how quickly Hannah warmed up to the different instructors. She can be a little shy sometimes but she always listened and tried to do exactly what they said. Her only problem was being a little too excited. She had a hard time staying seated and waiting her turn but at some point during the class every one of the kids did the same thing too. I can't blame them - it all looked like so much fun!! I can't wait to see what they have planned for the kids next week!

12 Years Have Come and Gone

Well "little pest", you've done it!! I am so very proud of you!! We love you so much and pray that the Lord will give you wisdom as you start on the next chapter of your life. We will always be here for you - no matter what.

I love you!!
Aunt Stubby

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~In case you're wondering, my oldest niece Jessica graduated from Walhalla High School this past Friday. Wow! I remember when she was a little butterball running around our house. Now she's "all grown up" and through with one adventure and is about to begin a new one. I'm so excited for her!!

Walhalla Class of 2009
"Greg Daddy" and Jessica. Now who do you think she looks like!? (I still say Papa Jordan)

I love these guys!!

Jessie & Granny James (Granny looks so thrilled doesn't she?)

Greg (Jessie's dad), Jessie and Bonnie

I finally managed to get a picture with Jessie. You'd have thought she was a celebrity with all the pictures they took of her!! :-)

Bonnie & Madison

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Saturday after graduation we all went to lunch at Applebee's to celebrate. I love when my family gets together. We're so loud and so much fun!!

The Clark Clan

The whole gang - look at all those girls and only three guys!

Madison, Jessica and Bonnie

Hannah & Samuel

Wow, I just realized that I haven't been updating you guys (or should I say the three people who read our blog?) on Hannah and Samuel's latest achievements. So here goes...

HANNAH BANANA
We discovered on our past two trips that Hannah does not need the safety rail on her bed anymore. She never even came close to falling out of the bed at the hotel so once we got back Bobby made the decision to take her rail off. She was actually very mad and didn't want us to take it down but she got over it!
She has become very affectionate with Samuel. She's constantly hugging him and kissing him - to the point that he starts fussing and shoving her face away. When she hears him waking up from his nap she will run into the room and stick her face up to the crib and start talking to him.
She's been doing this for a while now but she can also dress herself. I just have to turn all of her clothes the right way so she can just pick them up and pull them on. The other day she used the potty and came back into the living room. I noticed she had put her panties back on all by herself ... but they were inside out!! It was so cute.
By far her biggest accomplishment has been writing the entire alphabet! I will write a letter while explaining how to write it and she'll copy me. She still has trouble with 'F' 'G' 'Y' and 'Z' but she's doing really good. She can write her name, Papa and Mama - which stands to reason since those are pretty easy letters and they're repetitive. She still writes her letters way too big to the point that she can only fit two or three letters on a page but it's sweet. I know she'll get the hang of writing so I'm not worried.
Hannah has also been working on phonics. I checked out a Leapfrog video called "Alphabet Factory" (or something like that). It had catchy songs for all of the letter sounds so now Hannah goes around singing, "The A says... every letter makes a sound, the A says..." Samuel will even make the sound for the 'A' and the 'B'!! Sometimes she'll say, The 'C' says (insert C sound) and cake starts with 'C'. So does cheese. So on and so forth." I can't believe how much she's growing and learning. I'm excited and sad at the same time. It's hard watching my sweet little girl go from being a cuddly little baby to this sweet little girl who is smarter than most three year old kids I know!! But at the same time I'm excited about all of the things she has learned and will learn.
Hannah is very attentive and hears and remembers more than I give her credit for. My Dad has been teasing Hannah about going to see the Hannah Montana movie and Hannah very indignantly responded, "No Papa. She is not a lady. She's not a good role model!!" Once when she was at my parents house my dad was playfully trying to get her to watch Hannah Montana. But she refused to watch it because she knows that we don't want her to!!
She loves reading books, going to the library, My Little Ponies, Spongebob and playing outside. She's been very interested in planting and growing flowers/vegetables. She knows what all of our flowers are and she knows what everything is in Bobby's vegetable garden. Hannah has also become very inquisitive asking what things mean (what does poky mean?) Her favorite question is, "Are we going to ____ or not?"

"Are we going to talk about Samuel or not?"

SAMMY LAMBY
Our little buddy is almost "potty trained". He can say "pee", "poop" and "potty." He normally says "potty" when he needs to go and when he's done he'll say, "I pee. I pee." I've been letting him wear underpants during the day and pull-ups at night and when we go out.
As I said earlier he knows the phonic sounds for 'A' and 'B' but he also knows 'A' in sign language. He actually knows a lot of signs - more, food, drink, hat, stars, lights, book, ice cream, sleepy, blanket. He knows A LOT.
He's really taking off verbally as well. He can say hat, drink, food, bath, bubble, button, cheese, truck, car, bye bye, stink, shoe, feet, icky. He's starting to use two word sentences but I can't think of any right off hand. He's really becoming a little parrot. Whenever we're leaving Wal-Mart he will immediately point to the "greeter" and yell, "Ticker! Ticker!" (wanting one of those smiley face stickers.) Oh and he loves to say, "I ticky."
He loves Hannah and she can make him laugh better than anyone. We'll be in the car and she'll sing some silly song that she's made up and he will laugh so hard. On the rare occasion that he doesn't laugh Hannah will actually get mad and demand that he start laughing! He follows her everywhere and wants to play with everything she plays with. Sometimes this frustrates her but you can tell that she secretly likes it.
He likes to watch Cars and can say "car" pretty good. He has Lighting McQueen jammies and will point at them and say "Car" over and over. He also loves to play outside, he loves all of our animals and likes to dance. He's so independent which is the total opposite of Hannah. He wants to feed himself, get down the steps by himself, etc. He will get so mad if you help him. He's been trying to climb up onto our couch and recliners but hasn't gotten the hang of it yet. Hannah, being the sweet big sister that she is, will come over and give him a boost by pushing his butt until he's finally on the couch!!

It's such a blessing to be home with them every day. Our house is hectic, loud, crazy and FUN!! It takes us a good hour to get ready to go somewhere, an hour to eat meals, and at least an hour to get ready for bed time but I wouldn't have it any other way. We get the most compliments on Hannah & Samuel and it's such an encouragement. Hannah & Sam are smart, fun, pleasant, obedient, loving and lovable. I'm just very thankful that the Lord has blessed us with these two beautiful babies and has given us the wisdom to "train them up in the way they should go."

Check back soon for more updates :-)

This is What Happens When Children Help...

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But hey, at least our bedroom smells super good right now!!

My Brown-Eyed Girl

Heather and I have been married for 8 years (officially May 19) and Heather will be 28 years old tomorrow. This has caused me to think about our relationship and what Heather means to me. Babe, thanks for standing by me for 8 years through thick and thin, through all of my inadequacies and shortcomings. Thank you for seeing in me something better than what I see in myself. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for being the mother of my children. Thank you for being the wife and mother that God has called you be! This is for you:


My Lover


Eyes: Brown, loving, fiery and forgiving, reflecting the man I strive to be, hopefully sparkling and quietly wise.


Hair: Blonde/brown, straight, flowing, grown for my pleasure, brushing my cheek as we embrace, sweet smelling and lovely.


Face: Compassionate, beautiful, familiar yet alluring, inviting me to move close, expressing the soul without words.


Person: My Eve, created to be with me, help, enticing, witty, brave, inventive, original, everything I want and need in a woman.




OK, so I'm not much of a poet, but I know Heather will like it. Happy Birthday, sweetie!

Love,
Bobby

A Few of My Favorite Things...

# 1 - Not only is Sammy using the potty at 15 months but he's happy about it. He's actually saying, "Cheese!"

#2 - Squinty Face. We finally captured a picture of it!! Normally he does "squinty face" and turns his head back and forth at the same time.

#3 - Hannah. But not just Hannah. Hannah in girly dresses and cowboy boots. Very stylish indeed.

#4 - The Foxglove that Hannah and I planted last spring. It sprouted but never bloomed. We planted in our flower garden anyway. When we got home from New Hampshire we were pleasantly surprised to find that it had bloomed.

And so had our Bachelor's Buttons!! I'm so glad that these flowers bloomed. Hannah took such tender loving care of them last year and she's overjoyed that they've turned into something so beautiful. We cut these and the foxglove and made a little arrangement for our dear friends the Steele's (they're also on my list of favorites ;-)

#5 - Bobby. We've been married 8 years today. Is it possible to love him even more today than I did then? He's smart, funny, handsome...the list is endless. The Lord has blessed us so much. We have a wonderful marriage and two gorgeous children. There's nothing better!!

Northern Exposure

Here are lots and lots of pictures from our trip...

MARYLAND

Friday evening we arrived in Maryland and went to Golden Corral for supper. I had to take a picture of Sammy eating LIMA BEANS! All I can say is good for him but gross!

Hannah loved Grandma Clark. Here they're playing with the teddy bears that she gave Hannah & Samuel.

Three generations of Danner's (Grandma Clark's maiden name is Danner)
Bobby & the kids with Aunt Nota. I loved talking to her and was so sad when it was time for us to leave.
Samuel in the back yard checking out Nota's gardens. That's my Cow Tongue Cactus on the table in the background.
Sammy really loved the swing.
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PENNSYLVANIA

I can't resist taking pictures of Hannah & Samuel sleeping. They have to be so uncomfortable!

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NEW HAMSTER

We arrived in New Hampshire on Mother's Day. We went to Friendly's for supper. They have delicious burgers but they're best known for their ice cream.

Wednesday we surprised Hannah by taking her to ...

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NEW YORK

On our way home Friday we stopped in White Plains and had supper with Sam & Christine at the Cheesecake Factory. It was so delicious!!

~Sorry some of the pictures from the Cheesecake Factory are a little blurry. The lighting wasn't that good in there!

TO BE CONTINUED.....