Alabama...check!

We visited our 39th state together this past weekend....Alabama.  We drove down to the Gulf Coast of Alabama and spent 4 nights playing at the beach, swimming in the pool, napping in the condo, and watching cable (we don't have cable so it's a treat).

The resort had an amazing pool.  This picture shows about a 1/4 of it.

I love this picture of Matt and Clark.  I think they look so much alike.  Like father, like son, I guess.

I painted Willa's toenails for the first time.  She must have dug it because she sat very still while I painted and while they dried.

The drive took almost 10 hours on the way there because of a wrong turn and Willa's several potty accidents.  The drive home took closer to 8 hours.  The kids did wonderfully.  We bought a car DVD player so Willa watched movies.  Clark slept most of the way.  We had great weather.  I love taking vacations with my little family of 4.

And here’s a little Clark update:
I can’t seem to figure this little guy out. He is completely different than Willa was in every way. I am having a hard time adjusting to having two kids. Clark is a great sleeper (Willa was not), BUT he’s an unhappy baby when he’s awake (Willa was such a happy little content gal). He always seems to be uncomfortable or in pain and lets us know by whining and squirming and shrieking and crying and screaming. I feel so bad for him. I guess it’s a combination of colic and gas and reflux. I have eliminated dairy and anything remotely spicy from my diet which has helped tremendously. With the diet changes, Clark’s sweetness has started to show for brief moments and we get to see a few more of his happy smiles - complete with TWO little dimples. He is very hard to soothe. He’s a great eater, but nursing doesn’t bring comfort to him like it did to Willa because it is frequently followed by crying from gas or reflux. Clark LOVES motion (Willa - not so much).  He is happiest in his swing, the carrier, or in his car seat in the car.  He hates to lay flat on his back (because of reflux).  He sleeps propped up in the boppy pillow or on his tummy.  I know this time will pass and the true little Clarky will emerge one of these days, but it is hard to lead a normal life while we are in the midst of it.

1st trip to the grocery store

Clark will be 6 weeks old on Thursday.  I was lucky enough to go 6 weeks without having to grocery shop alone.  But today, we were out of milk and fresh stuff and there wasn't a family member or husband or friend around to come with me so I made my first trip to the grocery store by myself with both kiddos. 

Motherhood and life has definitely changed.  It was an all day adventure. 

The highlights of the day...

• Getting all three of us ready and presentable...it took well over 2 hours
• Figuring out how to manage both kids in the store without filling my cart with kids and a car seat and blankets and a diaper bag and snacks before I even started adding groceries to the cart
• Taking FOUR trips to the bathroom - I bought Willa a popcorn and lemonade at the beginning (bad idea) so she had to use the bathroom three times and Clark decided to have a blowout that leaked all over his clothes and mine so we had to make a fourth trip to clean us up
• The trip took so long that by the time we were checking out Clark was rooting and crying his loud scream of a cry the whole time we were checking out, but thankfully Willa was a happy gal and was being chatty-cathy with the check out clerk
• After loading the groceries in the car we had to go back in the store TWICE.  The first was our 4th bathroom break and the second was because I thought I had left a bag at the checkout (I hadn't)

After we made it home and had lunch we all crashed and took long naps.  And despite the highlights, it wasn't such a bad experience.  I think I'll do it again...