11.21.2013 Nine Weeks With Clark

11.21.2013

A good, but tiring day today!  Clark had a case of the "can't go blues" so basically until those blues were over around 2:30, he could only snatch little 30 minute ClarkNaps.  We were both relieved when the issue was resolved; 15 minutes later he was asleep, just about the time his Mom came home.

Clark and I watched this video today - he was rapt!  He loved the movement and the music and all the faces!  Do we have another musician in the making?

http://www.amazingoasis.org/2013/11/best-coin-ever-spent.html

I'm heading to Idaho to see Josh and Megan for Thanksgiving week, so Clark will just have to handle things without me for the next 10 days.  His Auntie Hannah is going to hang out with him next Monday - Wednesday and then he will be seeing all sorts of family on the long Thanksgiving weekend. I hope I will get a big smile when I see him next in the early hours of December 2 instead of a puzzled look and a "who is THIS?"

Is he practicing his maestro directing moves?  OR
is he trying to coax that spit blanket onto my left shoulder,
which ALWAYS happens before he magically ascends to that aforementioned shoulder?

here is he trying to get that durn ceiling light to respond to all his commentary!

11.20.2013 Nine Weeks With Clark

11.20.2013  As Clark gets older and is awake more and more during the day, I find that I'm more and more tired by the time 3:30 comes around.  :)  He still had 3 naps today, the second of which was a good 2 hours long (with a 15 minute awake break for grousing) but as he gets more and more active, he needs more toys, more floor time, more reading of the books (oh man, is he active during book time!  the arms are waving, the legs are shuffling, smiling insanely!) - too little to entertain himself as of yet, I am his prime source of entertainment during the day.  Stuff he found amazing two weeks ago is not quite as amazing now.  Big Sigh.

BUT a good day today was had by Clark and his Granny.  

Looking at the pictures below, I'm pretty sure we can conclude that Clark has his mother's eyes...  Bright bright blue!

11.19.2013 Nine Weeks With Clark

11.19.2013

Another good day - with only intermittent disgruntled grousing about this and that...from CLARK, not me.  Well, perhaps I groused a bit today as well, but only because he didn't really want to nap.  Oh sure, he NEEDED to nap, but he didn't want to.  Not really.

He did fall asleep on his own on the floor this morning, after a round of not this bed, not that bed, oh NO, not THIS bundle thing, hey, where's the bundle thing??   So I thought ok, I'll turn on the cartoon network and see if he'll calm down.  SO we went into the front room, I put him on the rug/yoga mat/comfy blanket set up, and before I even grabbed the remote, he was asleep.

Clark has this great big smile; not an open mouth smile, but a mouth stretching, cheek bulging smile that is the cutest thing.  I'll try to capture it, but usually, I'm too busy smiling back...  :D

Yep, a Yarbrough Foot

Grousing..not shrieking, just grousing

man oh man, the flash on that camera is bright!  :)

11.18.2013 Nine Weeks with Clark

11.18.2013

because of all the tornadoes and storms in Indiana yesterday, I didn't drive up to Lafayette until this morning. I didn't see much damage along the road I take; I know some communities got hit hard.  :(

The kids lost their electricity yesterday afternoon and it didn't come back on until about 5 pm today.  Luckily it wasn't really cold out today, so Clark and I stayed fairly comfortable.  We spent a lot of time in his room on the floor - it's the sunniest room in the house.

We had a good day today, despite the fact that his naps were nearly non-existent.  Of course, the good side to tiny naps during the day is that he sleeps like a log at night.  So it's all good.


I took a series of pictures today as the light was excellent in the kitchen and his expression changed from second to second.  :)

Please Granny...may I have some MILK?

What?  You say I drank it all?

No MILK?  What to do?  What to do?

No Milk?  Inconceivable!

Hey....whatcha got over there?  I see MILK!

Ho Ho Ho..good one!!

And there it is...and it's all warmed up!!  whoo hoo!

11.15.2013 Nine Weeks With Clark

11.15.2013

What a good day with Clark - I truly enjoyed today!  Lots of play on the floor time, some story time, and he fell asleep fairly easy for his naps.

He's such a handsome little guy and has the BEST smiles.  I never seem to have my camera ready when he smiles REALLY big, because if the camera is up, he's interested in that and not so much in smiling.  But here's one that makes me smile.

Have you ever looked at a baby from the TOP of his head; you know, like when he is laying down on a changing table, and you stand above him and he looks back and up at you.  It's kind of creepy, in a cute way.

Anyway, hanging out in his bedroom, he was perfectly happy looking at his rainbow blanket or gazing out the window or practicing his leg pumps all the while sucking on his hands, so I went thru his dresser and removed the clothes that no longer fit him.  He's such a LONG baby, that even some of the clothes labelled 3-6 months are just too short.

I came across a hat I'd crocheted for him out of this really soft yarn I bought at Hobby Lobby.  So onto his head it went and outside to the back yard we traveled for some ball kicking and fresh air.  :)  Below he's actually looking at himself in the mirror while I take the picture.  He thought he was extremely amusing and gave himself GREAT big smiles...until I pulled out the camera.  :)

11.14.2013 Nine Weeks with Clark

11.14.2013

Today was a decent day marred by the fact that Clark's naps were too short - first nap he fell asleep on the floor - slept for nearly 90 minutes.  But the 2nd and 3rd naps?  way too short.  WAY too short.  2nd nap?  Charlotte the cat woke him up with her yowling for Timmy.  3rd nap?  Not sure why he woke up, but he was NOT happy that his sleeping had been interrupted.

So I dumped him into the stroller and we walked for 30 minutes.  i figured he'd fall asleep immediately, but no, he stayed awake the entire time and only began grousing when we were nearly back to the house.  Luckily, his MOM was already home and she took over.  I headed back out for more walks.

So the issue was that he just could NOT stay asleep and then he just could NOT wake up all the way.

And yes, he shared his dismay.

:)

however I did take a few pictures today...of course.i couldn't choose between these two despite them being nearly the same - so heck, I included both.

Tim put the Halloween jack o'lanterns back by the garage - the squirrels moved in.

11.13.2013 Nine Weeks with Clark

11.13.2013

Naps at 8 am, 12 noon, and just now down again at 3 pm...sleeping for 90 minutes the first two times and hoping for 90 minutes this last time.  That would give Mary and Tim enough time to get into the house and relax for a change instead of turning instantly into Mom and Dad mode.  :)

Could this be a routine?  Here's how it went today...

Tim and Mary left around 7:30...we hang out until around 8 when he looks sleepy.  I wrap him into his bundle and then walk around the house, with his head in the crook of my elbow, his legs hanging over my right arm.   Bounce Bounce Bounce...Shhhh Shhhhh Shhhh Shhhhh.  He stares at the ceiling until he can't stare anymore and falls into a deep trance and then sleep.

He's been asleep for about an hour - I heat up a pan of water to nearly boiling and , and then when I hear his waking up noises (sucking, shrieking, yelling...it changes each time) I plop one of his bottles in the water to heat up.  We spend about 15 minutes getting him up from his nap...talking to his crib animals, getting him out of his sleep sack, checking his diaper and getting him into his clothes for the day.  Today?  A red thermal shirt and fuzzy gray pants and red socks!  :)

by the time we get into the kitchen, his bottle is warmed up; he gets plopped into his bouncer and fed his 4-6 ounces.  and then he poops.  Back to the bedroom for his hilarious diaper change routine and then an hour or so of playtime, reading books, etc.

Reaching for, but not quite grabbing some bug eyed little toys!

And then when he starts looking sleepy, we repeat!

Side note...this 3 pm nap only lasted until 3:30.  he woke up about 5 minutes after Mary got home.  I think he sensed her presence!

This morning we walked down to the Methodist church - they have a day care which I wanted to check out.  I'd met the day care director during our October strolls; I used their parking lot to do some laps while Clark was sleeping.  For this walk  I didn't bother with the stroller; just carried him.  He was NOT a fan of the brisk breeze or the sunshine in his face!  But he did like being carried down the street like a bag of potatoes. :)

I posted on FB yesterday

Kathy Yarbrough Franklin

Yesterday

I just watched my grandson Clark fall asleep while smiling at a stuffed Cat in the Hat. PERFECT

Here's Clark with his friend, the smiley Cat in the Hat