Boys love controlling the channel changer. There is something about having the power that we all love. But the one thing that none of us knew was that it is deep inside our genes that this desire for the remote comes from. Just see for yourself.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Catching Up: Part 2, Grandparents
As promised, here's our second catching-up post from the summer. About two weeks after we returned from California, my (Alli) parents came up to Oregon. Seems like the can't get enough Clark time. Weird. :-) Then a week later Bruce and Janice came out to meet Clark and spend some quality time with him also.
We had a great time with my parents, but they came up here during a record heat wave. Not too unbearable for people who live in the Central Valley, but we're on the third story and don't have air conditioning! We basically spent the whole time just trying to stay cool! We did manage to have a fantastic southern brunch at Screen Door complete with praline bacon and a huge pile of fried chicken and waffles. After that mom and I dropped off the boys at the Oregon Brew Fest and headed out to the Fabric Depot - quite possibly the most fabric I have ever seen in one place! We also visited with Uncle John and Aunt Alexis and enjoyed their a/c and a little Bachelorette. The rest of the week was just spent hanging out and spending time together. Their last day here we spent most of it in Starbucks before a trip to Costco to pick up an air conditioner. We loved having them here and hope the heat didn't scare them away!
Screen Door
Whoa.
The boys at the Oregon Brew Fest.
Being silly with Hillary's (my cousin) hair. He looks like Side Show Bob - ha!
The next week Bruce and Janice flew in from Kansas to meet Clark. It was so great to have them here and the weather was much better! We did tons of stuff with them around town and Clark was a total trooper. We visited the Rhododendron Garden, the Portland Zoo (where we got to meet Mark Sheppard), watched Coraline at one of the Portland city parks, and hung out downtown. Whew! We packed it in! It was such a great time. The garden was beautiful and so was the lighting so we got lots of great pics that day. The zoo was also fabulous; meeting Mark Sheppard was awesome and feeding the lorikeets was definitely a highlight! Mostly we were just glad to have them here and so thankful that they could spend lots of time with Clark.
The Rhododendron Garden
The Rhododendron Garden
Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Janice
Our little family!
Clark's got his monster feet on and is ready for the zoo!
This guy is HUGE!
Bruce got some amazing shots that day!
We all got to feed the lorikeets.
Watching Coraline in 3-D at the park.
Clark is so blessed to have the best grandparents!
We had a great time with my parents, but they came up here during a record heat wave. Not too unbearable for people who live in the Central Valley, but we're on the third story and don't have air conditioning! We basically spent the whole time just trying to stay cool! We did manage to have a fantastic southern brunch at Screen Door complete with praline bacon and a huge pile of fried chicken and waffles. After that mom and I dropped off the boys at the Oregon Brew Fest and headed out to the Fabric Depot - quite possibly the most fabric I have ever seen in one place! We also visited with Uncle John and Aunt Alexis and enjoyed their a/c and a little Bachelorette. The rest of the week was just spent hanging out and spending time together. Their last day here we spent most of it in Starbucks before a trip to Costco to pick up an air conditioner. We loved having them here and hope the heat didn't scare them away!
Screen Door
Whoa.
The boys at the Oregon Brew Fest.
Being silly with Hillary's (my cousin) hair. He looks like Side Show Bob - ha!The next week Bruce and Janice flew in from Kansas to meet Clark. It was so great to have them here and the weather was much better! We did tons of stuff with them around town and Clark was a total trooper. We visited the Rhododendron Garden, the Portland Zoo (where we got to meet Mark Sheppard), watched Coraline at one of the Portland city parks, and hung out downtown. Whew! We packed it in! It was such a great time. The garden was beautiful and so was the lighting so we got lots of great pics that day. The zoo was also fabulous; meeting Mark Sheppard was awesome and feeding the lorikeets was definitely a highlight! Mostly we were just glad to have them here and so thankful that they could spend lots of time with Clark.
The Rhododendron Garden
The Rhododendron Garden
Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Janice
Our little family!
Clark's got his monster feet on and is ready for the zoo!
This guy is HUGE!
Bruce got some amazing shots that day!
We all got to feed the lorikeets.
Watching Coraline in 3-D at the park.Clark is so blessed to have the best grandparents!
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Catching Up: Part 1, California
Holy smokes! Where did the summer go? We have barely posted since we got back from California, so here's the first of many catching-up posts!
We went to California at the end of June/beginning of July for my sister's wedding. Amelia and Chris were married on the Fourth of July and we couldn't be any happier! Ben and I love Amelia and Chris is a great addition to our family. The only drawback is that now the "balance of power" in my family resides on the male side. It used to be my mom, my sister, and I with just my dad representing the men - we even had a female cat and dog growing up! Ben came into the family 9 years ago now, but that wasn't enough to upset the balance. Now with Clark and Chris, us women are outnumbered! But I digress...
The trip to California was a big one! We were gone for over two weeks, in the car, with a newborn! Clark did great. He zonked out every time the car was moving. Except for stopping every 3 hours for 30 minutes to feed him, the drive was pretty easy. It was a very exciting trip for all of us, but especially Clark. With Ben's extended family mostly in and around Visalia and most of my extended family coming in for the wedding, Clark pretty much met everyone there is to meet - including all of our Visalia/Fresno friends. One goal of ours was to make sure that Clark met all of his great-grandparents. Mission accomplished! With a few special stops in California, Clark met them all.
Some highlights of the trip in no particular order:
Whew! We had the best time down there, but were glad to get home and put Clark back in his own bed.
Here are some pics of the trip. More posts to follow as we get caught up!
(Okay...so...I went to insert some pictures into this post and I picked out 41! There are too many good pictures! I had to create a slide show, so please click on the slide show and check out all the pictures!)
We went to California at the end of June/beginning of July for my sister's wedding. Amelia and Chris were married on the Fourth of July and we couldn't be any happier! Ben and I love Amelia and Chris is a great addition to our family. The only drawback is that now the "balance of power" in my family resides on the male side. It used to be my mom, my sister, and I with just my dad representing the men - we even had a female cat and dog growing up! Ben came into the family 9 years ago now, but that wasn't enough to upset the balance. Now with Clark and Chris, us women are outnumbered! But I digress...
The trip to California was a big one! We were gone for over two weeks, in the car, with a newborn! Clark did great. He zonked out every time the car was moving. Except for stopping every 3 hours for 30 minutes to feed him, the drive was pretty easy. It was a very exciting trip for all of us, but especially Clark. With Ben's extended family mostly in and around Visalia and most of my extended family coming in for the wedding, Clark pretty much met everyone there is to meet - including all of our Visalia/Fresno friends. One goal of ours was to make sure that Clark met all of his great-grandparents. Mission accomplished! With a few special stops in California, Clark met them all.
Some highlights of the trip in no particular order:
- staying with Josh and Steph
- getting to visit with our old small group
- meeting the band guys and a few other friends at Edo-Ya
- the bachelorette party (sans Clark, thanks Ben!!)
- hanging with Jamie, Randy, and the kids
- going to Bakersfield to see Jenny, Phil, Ryan, and meet Jack
- the wedding (!!!)
- BBQ with the Porter side of the family
- tacos and donuts with Scott and Dave at Tacos de Tijuana and Foster's
- visiting all of the great-grandparents (with stops in Santa Rosa and Yreka)
- spending lots of time with my parents (first-time grandparents)
- our anniversary dinner at Henry Salazar's (thanks, mom and dad, for watching Clark)
Whew! We had the best time down there, but were glad to get home and put Clark back in his own bed.
Here are some pics of the trip. More posts to follow as we get caught up!
(Okay...so...I went to insert some pictures into this post and I picked out 41! There are too many good pictures! I had to create a slide show, so please click on the slide show and check out all the pictures!)
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Alli's Birthday
On Monday, we got some friends together to celebrate Alli's birthday. It was lots of fun to celebrate another year with Alli and even more fun now that we have a son to celebrate mom's birthday with. We had a blast!
Beth, Alli and Clark
Sean, Susan, Clint and Nicole
Zack (who loved playing with Autumn's toys more than the baby toys) and Stephanie
Jake and Mackenzie
Mark, Zack and Stephanie
Ben and Travis
Clark really loves the new Bumbo he got over the weekend.
Clint also loved wearing it as a barbarian helmet.
The boys, Jake and Clark!
Beth, Alli and Clark
Sean, Susan, Clint and Nicole
Zack (who loved playing with Autumn's toys more than the baby toys) and Stephanie
Jake and Mackenzie
Mark, Zack and Stephanie
Ben and Travis
Clark really loves the new Bumbo he got over the weekend.
Clint also loved wearing it as a barbarian helmet.
The boys, Jake and Clark!Thursday, July 16, 2009
Clark in California
I know, I know. It's been a long time. An extremely long time if you take into consideration that we have a baby and should be sharing pictures on a daily basis. But after being in California with the boy for two weeks, it took a little while to recharge and get back into the swing of things. So before we post stuff about our trip, I knew we had to put a slew of pictures of Clark up so that the Grandparents and family would all be happy. Enjoy!
This was the Clark anytime he would get into the car seat. (Thank goodness!)
After exploding half a can of formula all over him,
Clark got a bath as soon as we got to Grandma's house.
Clark met his new Uncle Chris for the first time.
He has begun smiling quite a bit over the last few weeks.
We definitely have a happy baby!
Clark loved falling asleep on Grandma's shoulder as much as Grandma loved holding Clark.
Clark at the salon with Tia on the wedding day. I would have been yawning
too if I had to sit through all of those women getting their hair done.
Clark got all gussied up for the wedding in his little tie onesie.
Clark zonked out on the grass during pictures.
Super Clark!
After sweating through two onesies on the day of the wedding,
Clark was able to relax after his spa treatment.
One more smile for the camera while in his 4th of July outfit
Grandma Janice and Grandpa Bruce sent him from Kansas.
This was the Clark anytime he would get into the car seat. (Thank goodness!)
After exploding half a can of formula all over him,Clark got a bath as soon as we got to Grandma's house.
Clark met his new Uncle Chris for the first time.
He has begun smiling quite a bit over the last few weeks. We definitely have a happy baby!
Clark loved falling asleep on Grandma's shoulder as much as Grandma loved holding Clark.
Clark at the salon with Tia on the wedding day. I would have been yawningtoo if I had to sit through all of those women getting their hair done.
Clark got all gussied up for the wedding in his little tie onesie.
Clark zonked out on the grass during pictures.
Super Clark!
After sweating through two onesies on the day of the wedding,Clark was able to relax after his spa treatment.
One more smile for the camera while in his 4th of July outfitGrandma Janice and Grandpa Bruce sent him from Kansas.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Random Road Trip Moments
Lots of things can happen on a road trip. Some good, some bad. Now that we are done with the first half of our trip, I would like to give out a few awards to places and individuals we encountered on the way to California.
The Cheesiest Road Sign Award: This award goes out to the city of Weed, CA. As you enter the city there is a sign that says, "WEED like to welcome you!" This made both Alli and I groan. Clark, on the other hand, was speechless.
The Super Origami-Man Award: While stopping at a BK in Redding, CA, for lunch, we met a man who had the knack for folding paper. When we sat down he was in the process of making a little girl at the table next to us a T-rex. Then, as he was leaving, he gave Clark the gift of a dollar that had been folded into a tiny little collared shirt. It was so cool! I was totally inspired by this man who used his gift of paper folding to bring a little joy to others around him.
The Coolest Invention Award: Everyone has seen those vending machines that you come across in the bathrooms at truck stops. They dispense everything from aspirin to condoms to fake tattoos. But Alli and I saw a new one. Cologne. This machine had five different spray nozzles that will squirt your choice of imitation scents on you for only a few measly coins. The silliest thing was that in order to get your neck up to the nozzles, most people of average height would have to stand on their tippy toes. Sheer genius!
The Most Thoughtful Train Conductor Award: On the final stretch of road on the way to Fresno, we came across a train crossing our path. Not a problem...usually. With only one and a half train cars left to go, the conductor stopped the train. Just when we thought we were almost there, we had to turn around after waiting 15 minutes. Thanks a bunch, inconsiderate train conductor man!
The Ding-dong-McGee Award: This one goes out to yours truly. We made our first stop of the road trip at the Woodburn outlets, which was only about 45 minutes from our home. Alli pulled out a brand new container of formula for Clark. The tab to open the container broke off as she tried to open it. Without even thinking, I said, "Just hand it to me. I can open it." I pulled out my keys. The sharp edge of a key would be more than enough to pop the top of the container. So I took the key and pushed. Good news, the can was open. Bad news, in my rush to open the container, I opened it a little too hard. With a nice firm push, I pushed the key, and my fist, to the bottom of the can. Formula shot everywhere, coating Clark and the entire backseat of the car with a hefty dose of white powder. Clark stared at me in shock. Alli laughed out loud. And I, not wanting to curse in front of my child, began to spurt out the closest thing possible to what I truly wanted to say. "Ef! Ef, ef, ef, ef, ef, ef, ef!" One hour later, after a good vacuuming and a much needed cool-down period, we made our way to California.
The Cheesiest Road Sign Award: This award goes out to the city of Weed, CA. As you enter the city there is a sign that says, "WEED like to welcome you!" This made both Alli and I groan. Clark, on the other hand, was speechless.
The Super Origami-Man Award: While stopping at a BK in Redding, CA, for lunch, we met a man who had the knack for folding paper. When we sat down he was in the process of making a little girl at the table next to us a T-rex. Then, as he was leaving, he gave Clark the gift of a dollar that had been folded into a tiny little collared shirt. It was so cool! I was totally inspired by this man who used his gift of paper folding to bring a little joy to others around him.
The Coolest Invention Award: Everyone has seen those vending machines that you come across in the bathrooms at truck stops. They dispense everything from aspirin to condoms to fake tattoos. But Alli and I saw a new one. Cologne. This machine had five different spray nozzles that will squirt your choice of imitation scents on you for only a few measly coins. The silliest thing was that in order to get your neck up to the nozzles, most people of average height would have to stand on their tippy toes. Sheer genius!
The Most Thoughtful Train Conductor Award: On the final stretch of road on the way to Fresno, we came across a train crossing our path. Not a problem...usually. With only one and a half train cars left to go, the conductor stopped the train. Just when we thought we were almost there, we had to turn around after waiting 15 minutes. Thanks a bunch, inconsiderate train conductor man!
The Ding-dong-McGee Award: This one goes out to yours truly. We made our first stop of the road trip at the Woodburn outlets, which was only about 45 minutes from our home. Alli pulled out a brand new container of formula for Clark. The tab to open the container broke off as she tried to open it. Without even thinking, I said, "Just hand it to me. I can open it." I pulled out my keys. The sharp edge of a key would be more than enough to pop the top of the container. So I took the key and pushed. Good news, the can was open. Bad news, in my rush to open the container, I opened it a little too hard. With a nice firm push, I pushed the key, and my fist, to the bottom of the can. Formula shot everywhere, coating Clark and the entire backseat of the car with a hefty dose of white powder. Clark stared at me in shock. Alli laughed out loud. And I, not wanting to curse in front of my child, began to spurt out the closest thing possible to what I truly wanted to say. "Ef! Ef, ef, ef, ef, ef, ef, ef!" One hour later, after a good vacuuming and a much needed cool-down period, we made our way to California.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
2 Months and Ben's First Father's Day!
Clark was two months on Saturday! Where has the time gone? I can't believe my little boy is two months old. Here are a couple of things that have been happening lately...
- He has started smiling
- He loves to hold his head up and look around and turns his head side-to-side to follow objects
- He loves to snuggle on your shoulder while holding his head and looking around (my personal favorite)
- He hates tummy time, but we're working on it :-)
- He makes cute little cooing sounds
- He's pretty good at falling asleep on his own and sleeps anywhere from 5-7 hours at night
- He has started to bat at things on his playmat
- He loves to suck his fist/arm
- He's the cutest baby ever (oh wait, maybe that's just me!)
We also just celebrated Ben's first Father's Day. He had a pretty busy morning playing worship in both services and helping out with a drama, but after a nap that afternoon we went out and celebrated. We went to Syun Izakaya Japanese Restaurant - easily the best sushi we have had up here yet! We then went home to eat some dessert and hang out.
Without getting too mushy on the blog, I have to say that Ben certainly earned that huge plate of sushi. He is an incredible father to Clark. I am amazed at how calm he can be when Clark is being super fussy. I love to watch him play with Clark and love that he truly enjoys the time he spends with him. I also see a desire in Ben to continually strive to be the best father he can be. I can't wait to watch Clark grow up knowing that he has such a great father who loves him so much!
The stylish men in my life wearing matching sweater vests. Like father, like son!
Daddy and Clark watching the US beat Egypt in the Confederation Cup qualifiers (that's soccer).
Out at Syun Izakaya in downtown Hillsboro.
- He has started smiling
- He loves to hold his head up and look around and turns his head side-to-side to follow objects
- He loves to snuggle on your shoulder while holding his head and looking around (my personal favorite)
- He hates tummy time, but we're working on it :-)
- He makes cute little cooing sounds
- He's pretty good at falling asleep on his own and sleeps anywhere from 5-7 hours at night
- He has started to bat at things on his playmat
- He loves to suck his fist/arm
- He's the cutest baby ever (oh wait, maybe that's just me!)
We also just celebrated Ben's first Father's Day. He had a pretty busy morning playing worship in both services and helping out with a drama, but after a nap that afternoon we went out and celebrated. We went to Syun Izakaya Japanese Restaurant - easily the best sushi we have had up here yet! We then went home to eat some dessert and hang out.
Without getting too mushy on the blog, I have to say that Ben certainly earned that huge plate of sushi. He is an incredible father to Clark. I am amazed at how calm he can be when Clark is being super fussy. I love to watch him play with Clark and love that he truly enjoys the time he spends with him. I also see a desire in Ben to continually strive to be the best father he can be. I can't wait to watch Clark grow up knowing that he has such a great father who loves him so much!
The stylish men in my life wearing matching sweater vests. Like father, like son!
Daddy and Clark watching the US beat Egypt in the Confederation Cup qualifiers (that's soccer).
Out at Syun Izakaya in downtown Hillsboro.Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Summer's here!
Summer is officially here! That means it is in the mid 70's here in Portland (so awesome!) and Ben is off work and can chill with me and Clark all day now! (He also likes napping on our new couches.) So far we have pretty much done nothing (more awesomeness!). We did have a pretty busy weekend starting me attending the Dermatology Resident Banquet downtown - my first night off since having Clark. I promptly celebrated with a gin & tonic and a Manhattan (Thanks, Em!). Saturday was spent mostly lounging around and then I hosted a girl's night at our place for the Care Group ladies. Sunday, however, was super busy with our birthing class reunion and then a Care Group BBQ. This was the longest amount of time that we have been out and about with Clark. He did great! I did, however, forget my dish at our friend's house - too much stuff to keep track of now with Clark. We were also able to get out and go hiking with the Sullivans in Forest Park. Clark enjoyed the bumpy ride. All in all, we're just glad the summer is here.
At the road house with the birthing class.
On the trail with the Sean, Susan, Jake, and their dog Riley.
Alli, Susan and Clark relaxing after the hike.
As you can tell, Clark has already grown out of his newborn clothes.
Chilly Clark after a bath.
Clark loves his monkey!
Pensive in the swing.Thursday, May 28, 2009
Sheesh, having a baby sure keeps you busy!
I don't know where the time has gone! It's been over two weeks since we have posted anything. I feel like we should measure time in dirty diapers, though. By the way, we changed 6 (count 'em - 6!) diapers in 3 hours last night. Gross. Anyway, Clark and mommy and daddy are doing great. Clark is now going 6 hours between feedings at night - that means a good 4-5 hour chunk of sleep for me. Then he's back to every 3 hours during the day. He hasn't gone to the doctor in a while, but I tried to weigh him and I think he's about 11.5 pounds now and over 23 inches. Big boy - his newborn pj's are too short! He also lost his umbilical cord stump a while ago and has a very cute belly button. He's spending some good time on his tummy and is starting to hold his head up on his own here and there. Two weeks ago he actually rolled over during tummy time, but I think it was just because he hates tummy time so much that he kicked really hard and rolled over. He hasn't done it again since, but he will soon enough!
Holding up my head!
This past weekend Jamie (Ben's sister - you can see her blog and her post about Portland here) came up to Portland to hang with Clark and us for the weekend. We had a great time! Mostly we just hung out, went on some walks, went to church and lunch with some friends, and played with Clark. However, Monday we decided to take Clark downtown for the first time. We went to Powell's, ate teriyaki at one of the food carts (really yummy!), visited Pioneer Courthouse Square where we found Caleb's brick (Jamie's best friend's son who passed away), munched on some donuts at VooDoo Donuts (the Portland Cream and the Blazer Blunt), and just enjoyed the amazing weather on Memorial Day. We had tons of fun with Jamie and are so happy that she came up to visit!
Downtown with Auntie Jamie...
...and Dad...
...and Mom!
Clark got a little package in the mail two days ago and look what was inside! Jessica Harper (you can see her blog here - she just got engaged!) crocheted the CUTEST little monkey for our little monkey. She did a great job and Clark loves it! Thanks, Jessie!
Also, I forgot to post pics of Clark's finished nursery. I didn't post anything since his name was on the wall and was a big secret, so here's the finished product. Clark likes it very much and has added his own touch by peeing on the wall more times than I can count now!
And here's just some extra shots of Clark from the last couple of weeks for the grandmas. Enjoy!
Holding up my head! This past weekend Jamie (Ben's sister - you can see her blog and her post about Portland here) came up to Portland to hang with Clark and us for the weekend. We had a great time! Mostly we just hung out, went on some walks, went to church and lunch with some friends, and played with Clark. However, Monday we decided to take Clark downtown for the first time. We went to Powell's, ate teriyaki at one of the food carts (really yummy!), visited Pioneer Courthouse Square where we found Caleb's brick (Jamie's best friend's son who passed away), munched on some donuts at VooDoo Donuts (the Portland Cream and the Blazer Blunt), and just enjoyed the amazing weather on Memorial Day. We had tons of fun with Jamie and are so happy that she came up to visit!
Downtown with Auntie Jamie... 
...and Dad...
...and Mom! 
Clark got a little package in the mail two days ago and look what was inside! Jessica Harper (you can see her blog here - she just got engaged!) crocheted the CUTEST little monkey for our little monkey. She did a great job and Clark loves it! Thanks, Jessie!
Also, I forgot to post pics of Clark's finished nursery. I didn't post anything since his name was on the wall and was a big secret, so here's the finished product. Clark likes it very much and has added his own touch by peeing on the wall more times than I can count now!
And here's just some extra shots of Clark from the last couple of weeks for the grandmas. Enjoy!
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