Clark - 11 months

I haven't done a post dedicated to Clark in... um... have I ever?  Oops, I guess that's what happens when you're not the first born.

Clark is 11 months old today.  And I finally, get ready for it, feel adjusted to being a mother of 2.  Hallelujah! Actually, it's been coming on gradually over the last month.  Clark has turned into the sweetest little guy.  I adore him.  And Matt adores him.  Which feels so good to write because for so long, we wondered if life would ever feel "normal" again.  

We've spent the past 8+ months playing pass the baby because neither one of us wanted to hold him for very long.  He was so hard to hold.  He wouldn't cuddle, he wouldn't bend, and he cried a lot.  You had to be constantly standing and bouncing him and moving around and blah, blah, blah.  But he has turned a corner.  He has relaxed and is just doing so well.  He was (I guess he still is but just not as much) getting Physical and Occupational Therapy for spasticity and increased muscle tone.  But that seems to be in the past and he can finally sit on our laps and cuddle and relax (as well as all of the other stuff he is supposed to be doing like crawling and cruising and exploring).

His digestive issues are pretty much gone also.  He doesn't take reflux medication anymore.  I have introduced some dairy into my diet again (cheese, sour cream, cream cheese) and he doesn't have a reaction to them. (Milk and ice cream still cause diarrhea and vomiting, but no apparent pain.)

I took the pictures in this post last night.  Of course I chose the ones where his eyes look almost perfect.  At his eye appointment last week, the ophthalmologist said his eyes look more crossed then they are.  I'm not entirely sure what she means because they still seem crossed most of the time to me.  So we're still just playing the waiting game.  No further surgeries are scheduled.

41

In October, we visited our 41st state together... North Carolina.  We had both been there before but never together.  My family took a trip to Northern Georgia for a little fall getaway.  While we were GA, we  realized we were only an hour away from the NC border so we hopped in the car and drove across the border.

We've now visited every state in the Eastern United States except Delaware...darn you Delaware.  Matt has to do a month long rotation in Washington, D.C. next year so maybe we'll drive to Delaware while we're there.

Other then Delaware, we have Alaska, Hawaii, North & South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Washington (we've both been there but not together) left.  We are getting close.

one... two... THREE!

Willa turned THREE last week!  She had such a great birthday.

We spent the morning at the Children's Museum.  It was practically empty so Willa shopped at the mini grocery store, loaded packages onto the FedEx plane, made slime, and danced, danced, danced without having to wait in line or take turns.

We spent the evening at home and celebrated with presents and cake. 

We got her a mini kick scooter.  When she opened it, she exclaimed - THIS IS WHAT I'VE ALWAYS WANTED. 

She's no master yet, but she's learning.

Here's a picture of Clarky on Willa's birthday.  His eyes are pretty much healed, but unfortunately, they cross a lot.  We go back to the ophthalmologist in early February.  I am guessing that she'll want to do a second surgery.

Willa's birthday party was at Pump It Up.  She loved it.  And Matt and I loved it (which is just as important).  I wish I could have every one of my kids' birthdays there.  It was soo much fun bouncing around and sliding down the huge slides and racing through the obstacle course. 

  After bouncing around for an hour and a half, we moved into the party room for pizza, strawberries and cupcakes.  Willa invited 21 friends and they all came.  The party room was  mess - I was so happy the mess was there and not on my kitchen floor.



It was such a great party.  The kids had a blast.  The parents had a blast.  And the employees did all of the work.

Happy Birthday Willa!

SNOW!

We woke up to snow today! Hooray!

Clark wasn't sure what to think...  He crawled around a little...

Took a few bites 

Willa showed him how to make a snowball

And then after about 2 minutes, he gave his warning by sticking out his little lip (if you've been around him you know what I mean), and started crying. Must be that Floridian blood in him.

Willa, on the other hand, man, oh, man!  She's full Montanan.  She loves the snow!

She was a happy girl.  She didn't want a hat or a jacket.  She just wanted to play.

Halloween

We had a busy, busy Halloween season again this year. 

We painted and carved pumpkins

Willa was a fashionista... as every 2 year old should be around Halloween.  She wore a different costume to every Halloween event we went to.

She went as a princess to the Trunk-or-Treat at church

The rest of the Wetzels went as farmers (costumes put together in under 5 minutes)

Willa's second costume was a farmer - her request.  So we all went to Matt's work party sporting plaid, denim, and straw hats.

And on Halloween she decided that she wanted to use her blue bird costume.  So the costume that actually cost money, a trip to the fabric store and some time was used.  Matt said people thought she was the Cookie Monster.  I can see the resemblence.

Matt took Willa out trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.  They were gone less than an hour and Willa came home with more candy than any 2 year old should ever eat.

My favorite part of Halloween was watching Willa pass out candy to the trick-or-treaters that came to our door.  As soon as Willa learned that kids in costumes were going to come to our door asking for candy, she sat on the bottom of our stairs (that are right by the front door), held the candy bowl (without eating any), and patiently waited.  She got so excited when kids came.  She hollered out "Happy Halloween" and passed out the candy and was just so sweet and cute.

Louisiana

A few weeks ago we crossed the 40th state off our list... Louisiana.  Matt had a few days off so we drove the 6 hours to New Orleans.  It's a great city.  We spent four days riding trolleys, exploring neighborhoods, eating, and soaking up the culture.

We arrived Friday afternoon.  We spent the evening riding the ferry across the Mississippi River at sunset, walking along the riverfront, and eating shrimp po'boys - which started our quest to sample all of the famous New Orleans food.

on the ferry

 

Willa had a great time running around the ferry.  She met some little friends and they played hide and seek.   

The ferry was basic, but it offered great views of the city and it was free.

Here's the ferry.

We spent the second day exploring the French Quarter.  This was my favorite part of the city...

We started our day with beignets COVERED in powdered sugar at Cafe Du Monde.

Then we wandered around the beautiful streets in the French Quarter to admire the architecture and balconies and watch street performers.

We sat in the shade of a gigantic oak tree in Jackson Square and ate a muffaletta from Central Grocery for lunch.  These sandwiches are huge and famous and live up to their reputation.

We had to cut our time wandering around the French Quarter short because of our kids and naps.  Four hours was all they could handle.  I could have spent 4 days there.  After naps we went out to dinner for Creole food - we had seafood gumbo, blackened alligator tale, chicken jambalaya, and red beans and rice.

We spent Sunday in the Garden District.  We rode the street car along St. Charles Ave.  It's a beautiful street lined with huge oak trees and mansions. I loved the street cars and trolleys.  I love public transportation (But maybe that's because I've never lived in a city with public transportation)

We got off the street car twice... once for a residential neighborhood of historic New Orleans mansions and a cemetery

and a second time to see Audubon Park.

We stopped so Willa could play on a playground.  It was fun to get out of the touristy parts of the city and just sit in the sun and watch Willa play.

Our plan was to see a little more of the city on our 4th day before we drove home, but the kids were done.  So we packed up, charged the DVD player, and headed back to Memphis.