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!!!

Feed, Diaper, Love, Repeat

This is what our lives have been like the past week -- feeding & diapering with plenty of time for loving on our new baby! How quickly I forgot how often a newborn eats, and with each feeding comes a diaper change. I think we are going through about 10 diapers a day for Roper -- and 4 or 5 for Mason! Our carbon footprint is not looking too great. At least Roper's diapers are TINY!

Things are so different with the second baby. Not necessarily easier...having an almost-2-year-old in the mix certainly presents challenges of its own, but for the most part I find that we have been able to enjoy the first days with Roper in a way that we didn't with Mason. We are much more confident about what to expect, what is normal, etc, etc...and though the sleepless nights can be difficult, we know that these weeks with little to no sleep will pass so quickly. With Mason, we always looked forward to the next milestone, but I find that with Roper I want him to stay just like he is!

We have had so much fun at home this week. I'm dreading when Graem has to go back to work on Monday (although I'm thankful that my mother will be spending next week with us!) Here are some pictures from Roper's first week at home...

Baby Roper loves sleeping in his carrier...so, by all means, that is where he sleeps sometimes! Whatever keeps baby happy keeps us happy!

Tara took this picture in the hospital and I just love it!

Me and my sweet boys...

During the day, Roper usually naps in the pack-n-play in our living room. Mason's favorite new spot is in the chair beside him, where he can keep an eye on baby brother.

Bathtime!

Meet the Newest Clark

Roper Henry Clark has arrived! He was born on Thursday morning at 3:12 a.m. He is a very healthy and happy baby boy! We are all completely smitten with him. Mason has had a few moments of jealousy (not unexpected) but overall he has adjusted to his new role as big brother very well and loves giving Roper kisses.

Some of you may know that I predicted that Roper would be born on the 16th. My prediction proved true, although only by a couple of hours, since my water actually broke on the evening of the 15th after a nice spicy supper at San Jose. Little did we know that it would be our last outing as a family of 3! I knew I was in for a LONG night when my water broke at around 8:30.

Some interesting coincidences: both of our boys were born on the 16th of the month (Mason's birthday is 9/16 -- they are exactly 22 months apart). What's more, they were born within one hour of each other (Mason at 2:18 am and Roper at 3:12 am). Even crazier...my water broke with both of them on the 15th of the month, also within an hour of each other (Mason at 7:30 and Roper at 8:30). Apparently these two are already in cahoots! What more would we expect of the Clark brothers?

Thanks to everyone for the visits, messages & phone calls. We've had several busy days of adjusting to life with a new baby. Our house is now quiet...just the four of us are here...both boys are sleeping and Graem and I are enjoying some nice downtime. :)

Let me know who you think he looks like. I'm very pleased to say that the general concensus is that he favors me. :) After almost 2 years of hearing everyone say that Mason favors Graem (I must agree -- they even have similar mannerisms), it is really nice to hear that Roper looks like me!

Enjoy the pictures. He is such a sweetheart. We are so blessed!

The long-awaited moment when I finally got to hold baby Roper in my arms!

Roper meets his grandmothers for the first time. The joy on their faces is so clear! Saying hello to the Clark grandparents...

Meeting Grandaddy Roper...

One of my favorite pictures when Mason was born was a picture of the 3 of us piled into the hospital bed...I tried to re-create it with the 4 of us, but Mason was not as cooperative this time around!

All loaded up for the trek home...I think this is when Mason realized that the baby was actually coming home with us!

Getting some shut-eye with Daddy...