Garage Sale-ing

This post is dedicated to my aunts and grandma for their garage sale-ing examples.

A girlfriend in our ward asked me a while ago to go garage sale-ing with her and I finally went yesterday. It was awesome!!! I took a twenty dollar bill and said this is it, I won't spend anything more. My friend said I had beginners luck because the first house we went to was a big score. Some lady was selling a Costco size box of size 2 diapers for $10 and a baby play gym for $8. (The play gym had never even been out of the box and costs in the twenties at a store.) I also got German some clothes and some fridge magnet letters. I really thought I was doing well when I found a little baseball mit for German for 50 cents. I was so excited to show the family my treasures and then Joshua broke the bad news to me: I bought German a lefties mit. The really sad part is that he loves it and carries it all over the house with him. I guess I'll have to go sale-ing again to find him a righties mit! The best part is tonight while Eli was playing with his new floor gym, he rolled over for the first time!

I guess I can see how you might get addicted to the sport, it was kinda fun!

Brothers...

German is a very good big brother! He always lets me know when Eli is hungry or tired. He's also started playing with Eli, which is really cute! Yesterday I went into the other room for a few minutes and left the boys on their own - specifically I left Eli on the floor on his back. German ran into the room where I was and told me that Eli needed 'tummy time.' Sure enough, I found Eli on his tummy all propped up. I just hope and pray daily that German's 'help' doesn't do any permanent damage to little Eli's body!

Good Friends!

We've been very blessed since moving to Arizona in the friend department. I think that Heavenly Father knew we would be very much alone here, being that we don't have one blood relative in the entire state! I've met a lot of great ladies in our ward and we get together often. Sometimes we go on walks, have play groups, go shopping, but mostly we just hang out at the park! German and Eli also have lots of good friends, too many to name - plus it's probably not safe to put all of their names on the internet! Joshua also enjoys playing basketball and kidding around with lots of the people we've met here.

Among some of those good friends we've made are Andrew and Kim. Joshua and Andrew started work together on the same day and by virtue of being the new guys developed a friendship. We started hanging out with them last fall and we're super bummed that they're leaving soon to take a job in the midwest. We went to the zoo together last week and these were a few of the shots.

"Easter Time"

Our ward hosts a neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt every year at the park down the street. It kind of reminds me of what it would have been like living in Mayberry - you know, everyone knows each other and is friends! Anyways, they hid around 3,000 eggs and the kids has a blast. It only took German a few seconds to figure out the goal to get as many eggs as possible. (He kept throwing the candy out on the lawn!)

Eli pretty much slept through the whole event! Maybe next year he'll get into it!

If you want to get a picture of the boys with their baskets before they take them apart you should really hide them better than we did! We heard German open his bedroom door and I checked on him seconds later to find this in the living room. So here is our Easter Basket picture!

Eli's Easter Photo!

German's Easter Photo!

(Joshua wanted to make sure I got lots of credit for the coordinating Easter clothes!)

Nur-sy

German says the sweetest things sometimes! The other day we were in the car and Eli started crying. German said, "Don't be sad, don't be sad - Jesus loves you." We're proud of our boy and the testimony of Jesus that he's developing. We asked him where he learned that and he said, "Nur-sy". He has made such a turn-around in his love for nursery. He asks all week if it's time to go to nursery and he can barely make it through sacrament meeting because he's too excited to ditch us! There is one sister in particular that German is especially attached to - he comes home each week with her scent on his clothes! How grateful we are for the love and patience of those sisters who have been so kind to our boy.

Our 48-Hour Trip to Utah

After much deliberation we decided that we wanted to make the insanely long drive to Utah (Nibley, Utah to be exact) in order to attend the funeral services for Joshua's Aunt Virginia. It was good to meet a lot of Josh's extended family and spend time with his parents and siblings. We also got to see Joel & Ang and the kids and got the official tour of Utah State from Annie. By the way, Annie works in the coolest old building ever. I think I may have seen it on one of those 'What's hidden in the cellar' shows on the Discovery Channel.

We traveled by way the Hoover Dam - that is a pretty amazing structure! I thought I'd spare you all the pictures of a lot of cement, so I'll just post a photo of me and the boys, to prove we were there. By the way, the boys traveled great - dispelling many of our fears of the trek!

More of German's Crazy Sleeping Ideas

So I think German is sleep deprived - the first photo was taken last Sunday about 20 minutes before we had to leave for church. I guess German got bored watching us get ready for church, or maybe he was tired since he had woken up at 5:30am. Either way it was a little blessing for the 20 minute break since Joshua and I were asked to speak in church that day and we needed the time to prepare our talks. The second photo was taken after German spent nearly 2 hours playing extremely quietly in his room during nap time. I brought him out to rock and he fell asleep in my arms. I moved him to the couch so I could get up and answer the phone. Just for the record: when German was asked about a nap, he responded, "I'm happy, I'm not tired."

Go, Dog. Go!

German loves this book by P.D. Eastman. I suggest getting yourself a copy of the book and reading along with German. Unfortunately, I didn't get the camera out until the story was half way through.

German's Nap

German figured out that you don't have to stay on your bed during naptime! After a few minutes of noise there was silence in his bedroom. I went to go check on him and started to get a little worried when there was no German in his bed or in the chair. But I got a really good chuckle when I found him asleep in the closet!

Such a Laugher!

I finally got a good video of Eli's little personality. Hope you enjoy, please ignore my efforts at getting him to cooperate!

The Zoo!

My makeshift double stroller!

Eli really enjoyed the zoo!

Six ladies, all these kids plus two babies - we were a sight!

We purchased year-passes to the Phoenix Zoo last fall and thus we visit the zoo frequently, but last week was our first trip back since Eli was born. The boys and I went with a bunch of girlfriends and their kids. We got to see the giraffes, lions, elephants, and a bunch of other animals. German was just glad that the animals were awake - he kept telling me that the animals were asleep, I think because the last time we were there it was night time and we couldn't go see many of the animals.

I also posted a picture of a cool fire that we saw on the way there - okay, not cool for the truck driver or the people stuck in traffic, but way cool for a couple of two year olds (and their moms) to see such a big fire so close.

Our latest update...

We havent' been up to anything real interesting lately - mostly just house hunting and playing at the park. We've pretty much decided on which part of Phoenix we want to settle in, now it's just convincing someone to sell their house at the price we want to pay - we'll see how it all works out.

We also love Arizona in February! We spend a good part of nearly every day at the park. I have a handful of girlfriends that meet regularly there and our kids just play together. Today I didn't even call any of the ladies, but sure enough when I got to the park, two of them were already there! We've been really blessed with good friends in Arizona, making our transition here a ton easier! I will say this though, the other day I was totally missing Provo. I'm not sure if I was just craving Smart Cookie or what, but I had a flash back to a spring in Provo and it made me a little homesick.

Here are a couple photos of the boys:

1) German wearing his "Appane-copper" shirt. 2) German playing "Happy Birthday Time" - read "Go, Dog. Go!" for a complete understanding of the entire set up. 3) Eli being his cute little self!

Happy Valentine's Day - Read at Your Own Risk!

I need to vent my frustrations and Joshua is at work - my saga could get yucky, so as I said, read at your own risk! Our day began bright and hopeful- Joshua wasn't supposed to leave for work until 9:30am, thanks to a carpool issue. We decided that it would be fun to go out to breakfast for Valentine's, instead of dinner. Luckily we were running a little behind schedule because right as we were literally buckling the boys into their carseats Josh's ride called and said he was 2 minutes away - an hour early! Thankfully we weren't sitting at U.S. Egg enjoying a beautiful blueberry pancake with fresh squeezed apple juice as we had planned.

The saga continues, German's hopes were up to go to a restaurant and I felt bad letting him down, especially since we were already in the car and everything. Due to some recent bowel issues I didn't want to take him to fast food, so there we were sitting at the breakfast restaurant and the bowel issues that we thought were finished came back in full force. Let me give all of you mother's some advice: There is absolutely no reason to go to a restaurant by yourself with more than one child. You'll end up spending a lot of money for a meal that you don't get to eat and you can't even enjoy a little time with your children. Just stay home!!!

After our second diaper change there, I figured there would probably be more to come and I was out of diapers, so we went home and grabbed some back-up. You'd think that I'd learned my lesson and would just stay home, but no, I wanted to take the boys to their Valentine's Day party! After two diaper changes there, German said, "I take nap, go home and take nap." So we did! (But not before another diaper change!) Now I'm about to end and go change yet another diaper before we head out to make our 2:40p.m. doctor's appointment. Oh, and by the way, Eli also had a massive blowout somewhere in the middle of all that!

The good news: German had one bowel movement on the toilet last night! (It was about to come out in the bathtub, so I pulled him out of the tub and sat him on the seat - maybe it'll be exciting for him once he's feelint better!)

Our Little Eli!

Okay, so I don't have tons of experience around infants, but I don't think that many infants smile and laugh as much as Eli does. Once his basic needs are met (sleep, food, and a clean diaper) he is as happy as a clam! He has this open mouth grin with a sweet voice that coo's and it melts my heart. Every time I run to get it on video he stops! Eli doesn't really like to sleep through the night yet, but he is pretty scheduled and does go back to sleep pretty easily - I can't complain! I love this little addition to our family and am enjoying getting to know him.



As you can tell, Eli really enjoys his sleep!

German Turned the Big 2!!!

German's birthday week began with his first haircut by a real hair-stylist! The poor stylist was very patient with German and his dislike for the clippers.


On January 16th German not only went to see "German's Doctor", but he also turned two years old. We celebrated the big event with a small family dinner held the weekend before with one of Josh's co-workers and his wife, Andrew and Kim. The official birthday began with German's two year check-up. (The best part about that was that we were testing out the fourth pediatrician since our arrival here and we found her! After the appointment Joshua and I looked at each other with smiles and agreed that that stress was finally over.) Since German's birthday fell on our ward's 'park day' we made cupcakes and shared with all of his friends. I don't know if he even realized that they were singing to him, but he sure did enjoy the frosting! German received his first bike - a tricycle with a stick on the back for a parent to push - he really likes the bell that came with his new bike! We finished off the big day with pizza at Peter Piper Pizza. German's favorite game was the basketball game, of course! He pretty much likes to do whatever dad does!

Here's a picture of German's birthday cake. I should have known that the recipe had a few type-os when it called for an entire tablespoon of baking powder. Needless to say that the ice cream was the dessert of choice that night. You might also be able to see the spots where German helped to decorate the cake!

Merry Christmas!

Hope you all had good holidays. We enjoyed spending Christmas in Boise with the Hallberg family. We got to do lots of fun things, like build a snowman, sleep a lot, play games, and eat lots of good food. Hope you enjoy these pictures from the week. Take special note of German's cheesy smile!

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!