Beach Trip, Round 2

We spent Friday thru Tuesday of Labor Day weekend with our good friends the Maryanskis at Ocean Isle Beach, NC. This is our third annual trip to OIB with the Skis. Now yall know that I'm a SC girl through and through and prior to our first OIB trip I found myself being a little snobby about crossing the border to go to the beach. After all, SC has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world -- why would we visit a beach in NC?? I have to admit with each trip I've fallen a little more in love with OIB. It is such a great place with a lazy, laid back attitude -- just what I like! There are no hotels, no big buildings, and only a couple of restaurants, so we always split up the meals and cook in most nights. It is so much fun and I look forward to this trip each year! It was especially fun this year because Mason and Leah had such a great time playing together.

How could you not fall in love???



Miss Leah officially started walking during our trip. Here she is trying out her new skill on the sand...



I think she likes the feel of the sand between her toes!



Just what you've been waiting for...a picture of baby Roper with his eyes wide open!



Of course he spent lots of time with them closed as well...



More pictures of the children playing on the beach...







Like I said, Mason & Leah got along fabulously...



One day the weather was less than ideal, so we headed down to MB to visit the aquarium and do some outlet shopping. The aquarium was crowded but interesting.







Leah's birthday is 9/15 and Mason's is 9/16, so their birthday parties will most likely overlap each year. We decided to have a little pre-birthday celebration for them at the beach!



Two happy girls...



We got some cute pictures of all three children together.



It looks like Leah is trying to make up her mind on which boy to kiss...



First a smooch for Mason...



There is enough sugar to go around for Baby Roper to get a kiss too!

Beach Trip, Round 1

We took an extended beach trip in late August/early September...we spent the week before Labor Day weekend with my parents in North Myrtle. It was a great trip. What a lucky baby Roper is to have taken his first beach trip at only 6 weeks old! He was quite a trooper and loved napping on the beach. I think he enjoyed the sound of the ocean, and as long as we kept him out of the wind & sun he was happy as a clam!





As most of you can guess, Mason had a ball on the beach. He never gets tired of playing in the edge of the surf, jumping over waves, and digging in the sand.



Both boys really enjoyed all the extra attention from Grandaddy and Bebe...











Check out the tremendous watermelon that my parents brought with them. I'm not sure how much it weighed, we should have put it on the scales, but it had to have been close to 50lbs. This was grown on the Roper farm...100% organic and 100% delicious!



And finally...a group shot...

Go Gamecocks!

I am SO BEHIND on my blogging! We have been a very busy family over the past month and I need to catch everyone up on what's been going on in the Clark household! I'll update everyone in chronological order and start with the Gamecock Night at Chick-Fil-A a few weeks ago.

I love a Chick-Fil-A sandwich and sweet tea, and it is even better when served by Cocky and the USC Cheerleaders! Mason agrees. As you can see below, he LOVES Cocky. Not so interested in the cheerleaders at this point...although I know that will change with time!

Pre-School

Today was Mason's first day of preschool. He is going to a local church program two mornings a week. I had a few doubts about whether I was pushing him into preschool too early...as my Daddy pointed out, he isn't even 2 yet. But all my doubts went away when I watched Mason march right into his classroom and not even glance back at me! It was definitely a far cry from the Darius Rucker song, which is the scene I had played out in my head. Au contraire...Mason loved it! According to his teachers, his only objection was that he did not want to come inside from the playground (no surprise to me)!

It brought back some of my earliest memories which are of the mornings I spent at the First P preschool in Clinton. My beloved grandfather, aka Nandaddy, drove me from Pecan Grove to First Pres in his little blue LUV truck, and the trip back usually involved a stop for ice cream from Whiteford's (my love for ice cream is genetic and was cultivated at a very early age!). Believe it or not, I can actually remember my first day of pre-school. Unlike Mason, I remember being a little nervous, but my anxiety was eased by seeing the familiar face of my cousin Amy C and the hug that followed!

Monkey Mason

We had a fun morning yesterday at Monkey Joes! Mason loved all the big jump castles...although he was not content to play in the section for children under 3 years old. His favorite was the big slide. I slid with him the first few times, then he braved it by himself & LOVED it! This was definitely $5 well spent!!

Thanks to Auralee & Christopher and April & Judson for inviting us! And Auralee gets the photo credits since I forgot my camera.

And what would a blog post be without a picture of Baby Roper sound asleep??? Thankfully we ran into my friend Kelly from church and her little girl Ella...Kelly's mother & aunt were with her and they offered to keep Roper at their table while I chased after Monkey Mason!

One Month and Counting...

Can it be true that Baby Roper is already one month old??? The days have flown by! Each day seems to go by so quickly!

So...what have we been up to now that Daddy is back at work and there are no grandparents here to help me with the boys? I have to admit I was a little intimidated about keeping up with both of them on my own, but it has actually been lots of fun and surprisingly manageable. Mason keeps me entertained with his ever-expanding vocabulary and Roper is still as sweet and cuddly as can be!

That being said, 2 children is NOT as easy as 1. Balancing the demands of a newborn and the demands of an almost-2-year-old are very draining and by the end of each day I'm utterly exhausted! I have been trying to maintain my sanity by getting out of the house each day, even if it is just for a walk in the neighborhood.

Here are just a few pictures of what the boys have been up to...I'll start with Mason...

Riding in his 4-wheeler...I am very thankful for a fenced-in backyard these days! Notice the sunglasses...like father, like son. Lately Mason has been trying to replicate everything Graem does. It's really cute. Some days he insists on wearing the sunglasses at all times...during naptime, bathtime, etc, etc.

Mason always loves for us to read to him...lately he has taken a big interest in reading his books himself.
Giving the baby's bouncy seat a test drive for quality control...
Cupcakes! Yummy!
Watching Sesame Street and laughing at Elmo...

Ride em cowboy! Cassius puts up with a lot. What a good dog. If only he could put away all the books & toys strewn around the boys' room!

And what has Baby Bear been up to? Well, if he isn't eating, he's sleeping! He wakes up for food and to be burped.

Sleeping in the cradle. What a crazy position! Sometimes I swaddle him but he usually kicks it off. He likes to stretch out!

Sleeping in the pack-n-play...
Sleeping in his carrier...

Sleeping in his bouncy seat...
And yes, he actually sleeps in his crib!!!