End of Summer & Capitol Pics

Time flies with an infant and a two-year-old!  Can't believe it's the end of summer already.  Erik is a big healthy baby, and getting cuter each day.  He's starting to smile, and likes "talking" with us.  Nelson has been a really great big brother, and likes checking in on "Little E".  Here are some pics, including our annual tradition of taking pictures at the flowers at the Capitol building.

The annual photo - now with two!

Our attempt to get a photo of the four of us...

Nelson, playing in the creek near Rimini

Look how big his hair gets!

Erik, 1 month old

Brothers in Jammies

So sweet

Style Guy



Nelson loves big machines, and got to visit a job site with daddy to see them live!

Taking a turn wearing the white hat

Welcome Erik Thomas!

Erik Thomas Clark was born 7/27.  He weighed 8lbs, 2oz, and was 21 inches long.  Labor was nice and quick for mom, and Erik has been a healthy boy - eating well and growing ever since!  He's been a pretty good baby so far, and looks a lot like Nelson did when he was a baby.  Big brother Nelson has been very good with his new baby brother.  He mostly wants to do his own thing, but is very sweet about checking in on Erik and wanting to include him in family activities.  We are very proud of both of our boys!

Erik is named after Mandy's great grandfather (Nelson is after Jamie's great grandfather), and Thomas is after Mandy's dad.  So, with both boys we kept it all in the family for names.

Also, Erik decided to come on the day that we were moving into a new house.  So, not only have we been adjusting to a life as a family of four, but we've also been settling into a new place.  Given the circumstances, Jamie has had to do most of the heavy lifting - figuratively and literally.  But we are in, and it is nice to have space for our bigger family!  We also have more space if any of you want to come visit too. :)
 

Hello Erik!

Proud Daddy

 

First bath

 

The Clark boys

Erik got to spend one night in our old house!



Brothers - so sweet!

Grateful mama, happy to have a healthy baby

 

Sweet baby

  

Learning a new kind of juggling
 



Nelson was comparing Erik's "tiny" toes to his "big" toes



Happy 2nd Birthday Nelson!

Wow!  Can't believe Nelson is already two!  We are very proud of what a sweet, smart and sunny boy he is becoming.  He's learning new things every day and surprising us with how much he knows.  Time really does fly by.  For his second birthday, Mommy took the day off to spend with him.  We had lunch with Daddy, got to go to the kids museum, and even had a little party that evening.  Nelson got quite the kick out of saying "Happy Birthday Nelson" every time he opened a present.  And while he didn't cry at seeing his cake this year (like he did on his 1st birthday), he only wanted to eat the berries on it.

A little help from Daddy

Check out my new car and truck!

A gift from Grandma & Grandpa combining two of his favorites: bubbles and pushing things around!

"I mow the lawn, I help Daddy"

Oooh!  More trains!!!

A very happy birthday boy

Grandma made him a special Elmo "cake".  He doesn't like cake, so this one was made with ice cream and berries.

The hot weather made Elmo melt a little bit...

But he still loved it!

 

A pre-birthday, pre-haircut photo too cute not to include :)

Clark Family Reunion 2013

We just took a trip to visit Grandmom and Pop Pop and the rest of the Clark Family at the reunion in West Virginia.  Nelson had a blast.  He got to ride on an airplane, play at his grandparents house, meet many of the Clarks and Davises, go to a zoo, check out a bounce house, and much more.  It was really fun for us to see everyone, as it has been quite a while since we've seen most of the Clark extended family.  We also heard from many that have been following this blog - it's great to hear that it's been enjoyed by so many!  Thanks to Bob and Carol for hosting us and helping us in traveling with a toddler.

Dancing with Pop Pop to Reggae

"I've got rhythm!"

Nelson's 1st Bounce House experience

His 2nd cousin Olivia shows him how to get around in the Bounce House

 

Clarks watching a slideshow after dinner.  Nelson got up and made space in the "kids row" for himself shortly after this pic.

Another presentation

Happy Anniversary slideshow for Bob and Carol

Watching the Rainbow Lorikeets in the bird bath at the zoo

Strolling through the zoo

Bedtime stories with Grandmom. 
Nelson's new favorite bedtime story is "Good News Nelson" from Aunt Darlene - thank you!

"Choo Choo Trains!!!"  Thank you Aunt Barbara for surprising Nelson with the train set. 

 Nelson went to bed holding onto a train car he was so excited.

Poppa Days and Uncle John's Visit

Hello Everyone,

We have had a busy spring up here in Helena, with Mandy being busy at work and getting more pregnant all the time, Jamie busy with consulting contracts and getting the last out of the ski season and both of us trying hard to find a bigger house to move to and getting the old one ready to sell. 1,000 square feet is getting a bit small for three (and a half) of us!

 

Nelson has also been really busy this spring with learning how to ride his balance bike,  and tricycle (Thanks Rebecca & Jonathan!) and his Uncle John came for a visit and he got to go to his first rugby match. He has had a rugby ball almost since birth, so it was nice to see him get to see a game or two as both his uncle and daddy have played their share of rugby. But mostly he played in the playground at the park where the tournament was. We have also been prepping him for the arrival of his new little brother in July or August, which we are very happy about and feel grateful for. He was a bit confused at first why daddy did not have a little brother in his belly too, but he will figure it out over time. He will certainly have to learn all about sharing.........

 

Here are a few recent pictures.

Making Cookies

Dad may like rugby, but he also has had to work in kitchens for years to provide for his (former) ski bum lifestyle. So this week Nelson and I decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies from scratch while Mommy went to Missoula to visit friends for the day. Nelson always likes being a helper, and Nelson wanted an apron like dad's, so Mom made one from one of dad's tee shirts. Nelson has never had a cookie at home, and he actually thinks a "cookie" is a wheat thin?!? ;) So boy he was in for a treat.

Measuring the Dry Stuff

Nelson Adds Vanilla

Well to make a long story short, when we got done making the cookies we realized the oven was broken! So we saved all the cookie dough and Nelson never got to have a cookie on that Sunday. That did not seem to bother him much and we both had a great time on a snowy spring day while being stuck inside.

Hmmmmm.

All Done With The Dough

Finally - a few days later the oven was fixed so Nelson got to have his cookie.....



I don't know about that thing.



Cookie, and I made it!

Nelson nibbled it a bit, but he did
 not eat much of his cookie.







 

 

 

 

Uncle Johns Visit

Uncle John came up from Jackson Hole for the last weekend in April to visit. We went out for some food, drank some red wine and went to the Montana Cup rugby tournament to watch a few matches. Nelson played hard with Dad all day on Friday when he stayed home with him as it was sunny and 75 degrees. Then he played all weekend with Uncle John. He actually slept until almost 7:30 on Monday morning....

 

Nelson Loved John's "thera-cane"

Uncle John pulling Nelson around the
 Living Room, much to Nelson's delight.



Story time with Uncle John

 

So Many Hats....

Nelson loves hats and has always loved them. He especially loves Daddy's work hard hat lately, so here are a few shots of him wearing it. So many hats, so little time...Today engineer, tomorrow pirate, the next day fireman......

Official Elmo Engineer.

 

Has to Wear Dad's Hat.

Thats about it for this time, thanks again for all the support. Life is good.