eye surgery

Clark's surgery went really well.  Now we just have to wait and see what his brain will do with his newly positioned eyes.  His eyes could cross again, get even straighter, stay the way they are now, or spread apart.  Time will tell.  Thank you for all of your comments on here and emails and support and prayers!  It made the experience a little easier.

Here is a before shot and a few after shots...

Before:
(taken a couple weeks ago)

And after...

Clark is doing great. He doesn't seem to be in any pain or be uncomfortable.  There is some redness, but the stitches and real yucky parts aren't visible because they are farther back on his eyes.

A little about his surgery:

Clark was given general anesthesia so he was completely out and intubated (i.e. tube down his throat to help him breathe). Then the ophthalmologist pulled open one of his eyelids very wide, detached the medial muscle, and then reattached it a few millimeters farther back on his eye. Then she did the same thing to the other eye. OUCH!

5 months and 2 1/2 years old

Clark has hit the 5 month mark.  He still reminds me of a pendulum.  He can be the sweetest, happiest, giggliest little fellow on earth with a grin bigger than any baby I've ever seen, but then he'll swing to the other extreme and be super fussy.  He still rarely relaxes and just chills.  It has been one thing after another with him.  Our current obstacle -  eye surgery.  He has crossed eyes and his eye surgery is scheduled for September 22. 

Here's one where you can see his eyes better.  haha.  What a cute, silly little man face.

Willa has grown up so much in the past couple of months.  She just talks and talks and talks and sings all the time.  She is full of energy and keeps us laughing.

We went tubing last month and Willa LOVED it.  And we loved watching her.

I was told by a good friend that all you have to do for the first 3 months of an infant's life is survive.  I've been looking forward to feeling like life was "normal" again.  But I still feel like I am in survival mode most of the time.  So I am starting to think that life will never be "normal" again. 

Blogging and picture taking have dropped down on my list of priorities. I took most of the pictures in this post in our backyard today.  We were out jumping on the trampoline and it was gorgeous out so I ran in and grabbed my camera to take some pictures for those of you who have been asking for more pictures.

member's night at the zoo

Every summer the zoo has a member's party.  It's open late and they have music and games, but the best part is that all of the rides are FREE.  It's always a good time.

We started out with the train... which is calm and family friendly.  But by the end of the night, Willa and Matt were on the fast and zippy fair-like rides and they loved it.  Matt definitely passed on his adventurous gene to Willa.

We ran into some friends so we hopped back on the train and rode again.

The next two pictures were taken a year apart.  The carousel this year and last year.  My sweet Willa has grown so much. 

last year...

I thought Willa would get scared or dizzy on some of the rides, but I was wrong.  She loved them.  My mom always says that Willa looks so dainty and girly and acts all sweet, but then you get her on a playground or wherever, and this little brave and strong girl emerges.  And it is so true.  When she falls off something, she cries a little (or a lot) and then shakes it off and tries again until she masters whatever she is trying to do.

Her favorite ride was the boats. 

Oh, Willa, we love you!

Clark is almost four months old, and I still find myself saying all the time that I am having a hard time adjusting to 2 kids.  Matt keeps assuring me that Clark is a hard baby.  Some days I ask myself why I wanted to be a mom so bad.  But then Clark will smile or giggle or Willa will give me a smush kiss or Matt will have some time off and we'll do something as a family, and I'll remember that so much good comes from being a mother as well.

His colic is getting better and better, but he is still a squirmy little guy.  He HATES to be held when I am sitting down or standing still so I feel like I go through life swaying and dancing.  Church has sort of become a joke.  We go, but I spend the whole time in the hall with Clark.  He doesn't take a pacifier, but he loves to chew on his hands or my hands.  He loves to coo and "talk" to us and smile and laugh.  Oh, Clarky, we love you too.

Happy 4th

We took the kids to see fireworks on the 2nd of July.  We weren't going to go because they didn't start until 9:30.  But, as I was giving both of the kids a bath, Matt came upstairs to help me and said we should go.  So instead of PJ's we dressed the kids in red,white, and blue and jumped in the car.

And of course, I am glad we went. Clark was asleep when we got there, but he woke up and seemed to love it.  He didn't mind the loud noises and just sat in Matt's arms content and happy and watched the fireworks.

Willa covered her ears at first and then she wanted to be held.  So she watched most of the show in my arms, but she also enjoyed it... in the security of her mamma's arms.

little brother, big sister

KY camping trip

Oh, how I love camping.  I love being the only one around for miles.  I love hiking in just far enough that you escape civilization, but not too far so you can still bring along some comforts of home.  I love watching the sunset over the mountains...taking in gorgeous views... bathing in cold, clear rivers....catching rainbow trout for breakfast and cooking it over the fire.  I love spending the day in dry, warm weather and bundling up at night in a big sleeping bag and enjoying the cool, dry night time air.

Sound nice?  Well, imagine the opposite of every one of those statements and that would explain our little weekend camp out.  WHAT WERE WE THINKING taking a newborn and a 2 year old camping in Kentucky in a state park crawling with RVs in a HOT and HUMID and BUGGY time of year?  I don't know, but we did.  We do have some good memories, but I think it's safe to say we won't be repeating this trip EVER!

It was actually a nice campground that offered pretty views of the Mississippi River.  We camped with our friends, the Lindemanns, that live in Nashville.  But like I mentioned above, it was just too buggy and hot (after the first night) to really enjoy it.

This is how Willa spent most of the weekend...on the ground.  She fell at least 50 times.  A klutzy 2 year old and lots of roots and rocks and uneven surfaces is not a good combination.  Her little legs were so bruised.

And this is how Clark spent most of his weekend...swinging. Cross-Eyed Clarky (as we call him 'round here)definitely loves his swing.

Matt spent the weekend working hard.  He is the BEST person to camp with because he does all of the work and enoys doing it (I think).  I'm not sure what I did.  I guess I just chatted with Melissa and calmed Clark when he got upset and chased Willa around and reguraly doused myself with bugspray.

Our plan was to camp three nights, but we bailed after two.  And I thought we'd all fit in our tent, but after we set it up, we learned that our queen air mattress and Willa's sleeping pad wouldn't fit.  Willa slept in the back of the van the first night and Matt did the second night.

One good thing about the trip was we get to add Kentucky to our list of visited states with a picture.  We've driven through Kentucky 3 times before, but never stopped to take a picture.

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...

2 weeks old

Here are a bunch of random pictures and memories from Clark's first 2 weeks at home.

My mom was here and stayed almost three weeks with us.  It was SOOOO nice to have her.  She worked hard taking care of me and my kids (kids - did I just write that?) and my house.  Thank you!  Thank you!

Willa loves her baby brother.  She still squeals and gets excited when she sees him in the morning or after a nap.  She thinks it's great fun to stick her finger in Clark's mouth and feel him suck on it.  Luckily, he's a patient little guy and puts up with Willa's lovin'.

My mom accidently put a pair of Clark's pants in Willa's dresser.  Willa managed to put them on (she's such a little skinny binny) and wore them like they were little bermudas.  We laughed and laughed and laughed at the sight of her running around in the little pants. 

Clark had his two week check up at the pediatrician.  He weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces (b/w 50% & 75%) and was 21 & 1/4 inches long (90%).  The doctor gave me the go ahead to give Clark his first bath since his umbilical cord had fallen off (around 1 week) and his circumcision was healing well.  He seemed to love it....as did Willa.

We also enjoyed a weekend visit from my Dad.  It was a busy couple of days.  Thanks for visiting! 

It has been a good two weeks.  We spent most of our time at home adjusting.  But to keep Willa happy we also did a few fun things...story time, the park, Botanic Gardens, & the Crawfish Festival.  Clark slept through every outing.  He is quite the sleeper.

Our master bedroom is downstairs and the other three bedrooms are upstairs so for now, Clark's nursery is in our closet.

Now we just have to survive for 4 days.  My parents left on Sunday, but Matt's parents and twin sisters are coming Wednesday.  My only goals are to get some sleep and shower everyday.  So far, so good.