4 month boy

i can hardly believe we're here

4 months with each other....

so far i'm looking forward to 18+ years of the same togetherness

you are always my buddy 

did you know we lunch together?

yup. i'm not afraid to go out to lunch with just you.

it's actually quite fun.

dr. o gave you this shirt at my 6 week check-up.

i love it. 

and this is what you wore on your 4 month birthday.

we haven't had a very fun week cause we're moving saturday.

i have been trying to pack all week and your not a big fan of it. 

but pretty soon little man your going to have your own room that won't double as a guest room, ample space to move around in, and... a yard! 

this should give us a little reprieve from the two canines that live with us. 

no more taking the dogs out to go potty. no more icky dog carpet. 

i can hardly wait.

at 4 months you are:

weight 13 lbs 9 oz 20%

height 25 1/4 in 80%

head 14 3/4 in 50%

bottom line

long and skinny

you did great at the dr's even though you needed some lunch and a nap

they poked you 3 times and you didn't cry to hard but you've got bruises today from your pokes :(

dr t thought you looked fantastic and suggested i offer you a buffet to see if your interested in food

so once we get settled in our new house buffet it is!

at 4 months you are:

-in LOVE with those hands

- very smiley

- you laugh but are really confused about what your are doing when you do laugh

- LOVE airplane

- are very scared of a lot of things and your dad likes to provoke this scared reflex so he can see your big lip

- sleeping in your own crib

- agooing all day long

- love to be held upright

- oh and i am mos def still your favorite person

watch out

brig's got him some eyes

home owners

as of july 20 2010 nate and paige clark are

home owners

honestly, i am soooo excited

and 

honestly, what a pain in the butt this is

nightmare to get to closing, nightmare packing, nightmare to hear 2 days before you move in that the current resident wants to stay an extra week, nightmare that our residence is 2 hours away from our current location, nightmare that our apartment is probably going to rape us.

but

it will be a dream to have our own home

oh housey, i've been looking forward to you for years!

special thanks to a certain mr clark for buying us a house

we love it!

love,

wife, son, and two dogs

county fair: year 3

the alameda county fair came to town again

3rd year we've attended

i can hardly believe that

but i also can hardly believe us not going.

the food? we look forward to it all year long.

brig was towed along in his big boy stroller

he pretty much enjoyed it... although i thought he might expire in the heat

snuggle boy at our snow cone pit stop

it really baffles me that this is the only place to get snow cones in california

pff...

then we found the race track!

we've always known they did horse racing but we've never gone over before

it was are first horse racing experience

and we liked it!

we plopped ourselves down, in the shade, to watch a few heats

see i was there that day!

jon and cass met up with us as the races then cruised around the park with us

i do have pictures of them, but they didn't turn out so great :(

if i was a betting woman, this was the horse i would bet on, 

 he took 2nd :(

which is better than nate's whose took last :)

in between the horses they would have doggies race. they were hilarious and i'm confident redford would smoke all those silly canines. he just might have to be enrolled for next year :)

and in between the doggies we smooshed brig who continually whaled whenever the announcer came on the loud speaker.

yes, i have a very scared boy

the weirdest part of the fair this year?

no, not the fact that we were there for 6 hours (yeesh)

the fact that brig was in my belly this time last year

even if i didn't know it yet :)

our fourth 2010

happy fourth of july!

hidden oaks style

the hidden oaks fourth celebration was fantastic

can i just say i've been envisioning being a part of this parade since brig's inception a year ago?

my child needed to be on this float

and he was, just seated in my lap at the back of the bed.

after the parading we all headed over to the neighborhood breakfast and enjoyed sunshine, company, and of course, breakfast

brooke looking quite festive

mom skirt and all

bella and gabi

don't hate them cause they're beautiful.

they're just as sweet as they are beautiful.

what?

jude and minie fighting?

never.

and

now

look out for brig over load....

i've been saving this janie and jack outfit for weeks

the girls for a little brig break

over all

it was so nice to be around so many people i love for the fourth.

having said that i felt really bad leaving daddy behind.

brig looked amazing but he was quite fussy all day

i think it was like 100% over stimulation what with the parading then sidewinder falls-ing

he finally perked up and was allowing other people to hold him.

my uncle tim put him on his lap and after a few minutes he started squawking.

so i went to pick him up only to reveal a very large poop stain he managed to leave on tim's leg. 

i felt horrible. 

brig felt great. 

i promptly bought a larger size diaper the next day.

happy fourth america!

for postersity*

why do i see things so much differently now that i have a baby?

i don't know but i do

and i'm glad i do cause i sure love my grand parents.

johnnie belle

this lady is such a silly woman

so enthusiastic, 100% personality, and she told me that nanna said "bald babies are best"

which they are.

grandma billie is currently residing at my moms

it was so nice to have her around. she's harder to hold a conversation with her these days but there is just something about her presence. her watchful eyes remind me of being a little girl and having her catch me rough housing around. she's the same now watching all our kids play and getting nervous about something or another we're letting them do. but i love her and glad brig got to see her every day we were there. she kept saying "he's sure a nice baby".

which he is.

and another note on the grandma page... both grandmas think breast feeding is crazy and are very curious about when/where/why/ and what we are doing. i can't believe for a 100 or so years that formula was thought to be best. but i guess their babies turned out fine too.

and grandpa cliff.

this is brig's only great grandpa and he is the only grandpa i know. my mom's dad passed away before i was born and my dad's when i was just 4. so the past 4 years i have learned who and what a grandpa is. cliff is an excellent model. although i would love to know my own grandpas and love and appreciate phrases like "stinky little note" for myself, i do love that i have cliff. he has upward of 75 grandchildren and i'm sure can't keep us all in line but he is always nice when we go visit . this time i went without nate and was a bit nervous he would think i was a stranger. when i told him this he said "young ladies and their kids don't drive up the back and park, then walk in and go up  7 floors and come up to my apartment to see me for no reason, you just have to tell me who you are" i felt a little better :)

anyway, brig is his newest addition and has already made it into his family directory under 

"nate and paige"

 i don't know why but that makes me smile.

well great grand parents.

we love you.

thank you for making us possible.

minies tea

this tea was a highlight of the trip

any excuse to put brig in his fancies is good for me

but throw minie into the mixing? 

i am thrilled

the amazing 3 year old herself

she likes my baby too :)

it was a beyond picturesque garden tea

pb&j, fruit, cupcakes, and lemonade tea

mmm...mmm

and my pretty mommy

the one nice thing about living away?

she really likes my baby when i come to town