First Smiles

Dylan has become a regular smiler this week.  I have failed to get it on camera until today, not because he is the second child, instead because my charger is still missing.  Luckily, Grandma let me borrow her camera for the day, phew! 

Dylan has also become a wiggle worm.  I have found him a little to close to the edge of things... which means time to stop leaving him in places he can wiggle off of.

And just a few more super cute photos of our little man...

Day with Big Sister

 

Ellison had one question for Ariel, "Where is Prince Eric?"

Ellison making sure that I see my favorite Princess, Belle.

Very happy that I did!

Graham and I headed to Disney with Ellison for a Big Sister Day.  We had a plan... see Mermaid and see the Fairies.  And we had great success from the start.  Ariel was 10 minutes away from being on location, so we were third in line.  This is huge for non-Disney people - typically Ariel is a 45 wait (which is why we have never waited).  Then the Fairy line said 45 minutes, so I waited in line while Graham and E explored.  Well, 45 minutes was un-truth, 20 minutes later I was texting Graham to come back quick.  Success.

The day was then filled with rides (Small World is her favorite), a parade, and a show. Good times had by all.  How do I know it was a success, well the whole way to the car Ellison cried, "I want to go back. Turn around, turn around. I want to go back to Disney."  Yep, success!

Just a warning

Just a warning, my cameras (all of them) are dead.  Battery charger is lost in a box somewhere.  So, I leave you with the last picture taken until I find the charger.  Hopefully I can get back to my blog obsession soon.  Especially since we are headed to Disney this weekend. 

Daddy's Little Helper

Something about yard work turns Ellison into Daddy's Little Helper:

Ignore lack of clothing - just not important.
Plus it was a warm day!

Yes, we do yardwork in pearls.

Ellison was doing such a great job picking up the leaves.

 

She also did a great job with dumping them out.

And making sure she got them all out!

 

Her slightly evil response when asked "why"...
evil laughter.

Bad Influence?

4 days ago, we were in St. Pete enjoying the Holidays with the Hellriegel side of the family (Nana Nancy's family).  So just imagine my surprise when 4 days after seeing Mallory, this happens...

I am cooking dinner in the kitchen, when my 2 1/2 year old, Ellison, walks in with a marker in hand. She then goes on to have this conversation with me:

Mom, what is Uncle Drew's girlfriends name again?
You mean, Mallory.
Yes, Mallory. I'm going to draw on myself like Uncle Drew's Mallory.
You are. What do you mean?
I want a star like Uncle Drew's Mallory. Like her star, okay? okay.
Like her tatoo?
See Momma. 
(she proceeds to draw a pretty good rendition of a star on her leg)
Go tell Daddy what you just did.
Uh, Uh, Uh, Daddy, uh, look, I have star tattoo like Uncle Drew's Mallory. Okay?!?
(Daddy immediately calls Uncle Drew)

Story from the Teacher

Picture from Ellison's Holiday Party at school

Mrs. Karen shared a great story with me yesterday...

Mrs. Karen started reading a book to Ellison and a few other kids.  Almost as soon as the story began, Sam needed her to refill his juice. Mrs. Karen left the book circle, refilled Sam's juice, and was then distracted by something else - never to return to the book.  Minutes go by and Ellison goes up to Mrs. Karen and asks, "Mrs. Karen, were there only 2 pages in that book?"

Mrs. Karen was quite impressed because she had, in fact, only read 2 pages.  We have one smart cookie! (teacher agrees)

What a Year!

In January, Ellison visited Disney for the first time.
(In this picture, Ellison is chasing Jack Whiteman,
which was a constant theme throughout the year)

In February, we packed up our house on Newbridge Lane.

March was filled with renovations of our new house on Tonto.
(Ellison and I stayed at my parents)

In April, we moved in a few days before Easter and had everyone over for Easter Brunch.

 

In May, Ellison turned 2!





In June, we spent our weekends between NSB and St. Pete Beach - heavenly.

In July, we headed to Beech Mountain to visit with Grandma and Grandpa.

In August, we returned to the Beach for more fun.

In September, Ellison's world shifted into a world filled with Princesses. The dress up clothes never came off and she would no longer wear pants!

In October, Ellison entertained us all as a Flower Girl at my cousin's wedding.

In November, we welcomed a beautiful baby boy,
Dylan Beaman Clark.



In December, we celebrated Christmas in our new house as a family of four!

I think I speak for both Graham and I, when I say we had no clue what 2010 would bring us. We started off the year knowing that if the inspection passed on the house we had under contract, we would be closing, renovating, and moving.  Let's just say the year started off as planned.

From there though, life taught us you just can't plan! It started with finding renters a little early for our home on Newbridge.  So we adapted and moved in with my parents.  The renovations ran long, so our stay lasted 2 months. Just when stress began to mount over exams, a cold lasted a litle too long, and we had a few surprise home renovations, we found out the biggest surprise of 2010! We were expecting a new addition. 

Over the years, I have learned a major lesson - you don't always know what you want. I never knew how fulfilling being a mom would be and how much I would love having two children.  I am grateful for surprises.

I made it through Spring semester in the middle of my first trimester of exhaustion.  We spent our Summer enjoying the Beach and North Carolina.  I sprinkled a little bit of class in there and I lasted through Summer semester with the conclusion that night classes were not the forecast for my third trimester.  In Fall, I switched to day classes and Ellison switched to 5 days of school.  The transition was easy - Ellison loves school.  She also loved the idea of being a Big Sister and anxiously awaited Dylan's arrival.

Fall stayed busy with football weekends in Gainesville, a few more beach trips, and a trip to Hammock Dunes for my cousin's wedding.  Halloween was amazing and reminded us of how much we love our new neighborhood.  Ellison loved dressing up and we loved watching her!

Then we were hit with a huge surprise.  At 4 am the day prior to Dylan's arrival, I walked through my dining room to take the dogs out and stepped in water. Turned on the lights and found my house flooded. Back to my parents house we went. 

Luckily that was the only surprise of the week.  Dylan arrived on November 16th, healthy and happy.  Ellison, Graham and I were all immediately in love.

As I mentioned before, I don't always know what I want. But looking back, the flood was not the worse thing in the world.  We made it home a few days prior to Christmas.  Graham worked hard to string lights and put up a tree.  We dressed the house for the holidays, stored the unpacked boxes for another week, and welcomed Santa.  Christmas day was amazing as our house was filled with our little family and our parents and siblings.

Looking back on 2010, I am amazed by the blessings life has given me.  As I stare at my two children, I can not imagine life without them. I look forward to 2011!