Eli Britain Clark is Here!

So here's the scoop: On Thursday afternoon after about an hour of painful contractions, which were about 7-8 minutes apart, I told Joshua we were going to the hospital to get checked. Turns out I was dialated to a 6+ and Eli was so good and obedient that he came out about an hour and a half later. All told, labor was about 5 hours start to finish and went very smoothly - much to our satisfaction! Eli was born at 5:43 pm on Thursday 12/13/07. He weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. and was 20 in. long. He seems to be a very alert little guy and is always hungry! He ate more his first night than German ate his first week of life. We were a little afraid of how German would react to little Eli, but it seems that German loves his little brother very much. Eli has received many kisses, high fives, and burping pats from his brother. I think they'll be good pals. Joshua is doing well and seems to be losing all of his weight rather quickly. I'm also hanging in there and trying to take my recovery slowly.

Thanksgiving in Utah

We had a great time visiting the Clark family in Utah over the Thanksgiving holiday. I won't give the full itinerary, but I will say that we got to see a few friends and family - who we were sorely missing! We were also amazed at how cold it was! It was the first time since we left Utah in the spring that we wore long sleeves.

German woke up Thanksgiving morning asking for pancakes and his kind Aunt Melissa fell prey to his pleas. He ended up eating 6 pancakes over the course of the morning and then would barely touch any of his Thanksgiving meal. Of course he was able to muster up some room to try pumpkin pie!

Our friends, the Louds, were able to get us some tickets to the BYU v. Utah football game on Saturday. German is still talking about the "doopbah gkehm," the bear (Cosmo), and the hot dog he ate. German and I were walking around the concession stands when Cosmo walked by. Luckily I had the camera, because I knew another opportunity for a photo would likely not happen! Of course German hated it, but then he talked about the "bear" for the rest of the game and kept asking where he went.

This was also our first time driving to and from Utah - which went really well, but we did decide that with a tiny new baby we'd take advantage of flying for Christmas, plus it's the last time German can fly for free!

German's 2nd Halloween!

German had a very eventful Halloween week - he went to "Boo at the Zoo," a ward carnival, pumpkin carving party, and had a full night of trick-or-treating. At first he didn't know what to do with the candy, so he just carried it around for a while, but after a little while he figured it out! Our little lion didn't really want to wear his lion's mane, but we were able to convince him to wear it for a little photo-shoot.

Joshua was the star of the Centex Homes Costume Contest - in fact he won us a nice little monetary prize! Joshua's costume was "ThinKing outside the Box." Isn't he clever?! Work is going well for him; he's a hard worker and very dedicated. Aside from myself, German is his biggest fan and wakes up every morning screaming for dad to come and get him. They are very good friends.

I'm almost 35 weeks and am feeling it! I'm trying to convince little junior to come 2 weeks early, but we'll see. Aside from that, German and I enjoy the cool fall temperatures of Mesa (in the 80's) by going on walks and playing with some of German's friends. Life is pretty good, but of course we miss all of our friends and family.

Just Checking In...

As the title states, I'm just checking in to let everyone (or probably in our case - anyone) know that we are all doing well. Joshua is enjoying work, but not so much the commute. I'm just getting fat and less mobile while German continues to get more and more mobile. He's practicing his 'growl' for Halloween and is looking forward to what he understands about the big event. Hope all is well!

German's 1st Trip to the Beach!

We had a fun adventure over our Labor Day weekend. We took a roadtrip to sunny Southern California and visited the Ashford's (Josh's old roommate and family). The only bummer about the trip was that we weren't able to escape the heat - they were experiencing record highs themselves! We mostly enjoyed hanging out and talking while watching German and Will play. A trip highlight was definitely our trip to the beach! German loved chasing the waves, until he realized they were coming after him, then he would run for his dear life. True to any day at the beach, we all came home with bodies full of sand and dog tired.

Making Pizzas!

German loves to help make dinner, especially when taste-testing is involved!

We love our German and we love doing fun things with him. Some of his favorite activities are: reading books, playing with his Duplos, helping mom cook, watching airplanes, and visiting the zoo (or any place where animals are present)! He's talking a lot lately and adding many words to his vocabulary. Unfortunately many of his words sound alike, so although he knows what he's saying, we have no option but to guess. His latest new words include: pizza, hot dog, calculator, and 'excuse me'.

Our newest son is still in progress, but will be joining our family soon - mid-December. He is growing well and seems to be a very active fellow! At our last appointment he kept moving so the doctor had a hard time finding where his feet and head were. The search for his name goes on, so if you have any good ideas, please feel free to let us know!