Colbie 14 Months

My little angel is 14 months old today.  Although she is a little behind in her verbal skills, she is making up in her sign language.  She finally decided this month to start signing.  She is using 12 signs, and I might have to give some credit to Cadynce.  I just learned that Cadynce is crawling in her crib in the morning when they wake up, and she has been practicing sign language with Colbie.  Well, I must get back to packing for our long drive in the morning.

Colbie's First Haircut

Colbie was due for a little cleaning up with her hair and today was the day.  We had our first experience at a "kids cuts" place and it went pretty well.  Colbie sat in a little car chair and didn't sit still for one second.  I don't know how they cut little kids hair.  She really didn't like feeling the lady touching her hair, but she didn't cry until she got her hair dried.  She looks pretty cute and ready for Christmas.

Also, this evening we tried for the first time a "drive thru" Nativity.  Each car received a cd that led us through the tour.  It only took about 15 minutes, but it was pretty cool.  They had real people and real animals which the kids loved.  View Album for more pictures.

Visiting Santa & The Zoo

Last weekend we visited Santa at our neighborhood clubhouse.  I really love that we don't have to go far or wait in long lines...they bring Santa to us.  They had lots of good food and plenty of crafts for the kids to stay busy.  Colbie screamed her face off when she sat on Santa's lap...pretty funny!

We visited the zoo today and it was much colder than we're used to.  It was beautiful out and only about 5 other families there.  It's amazing how the same animals are just as exciting every time we go to the zoo.  Colbie really had fun on this trip.  She loves monkeys and went down kicking and screaming when I picked her up to leave the monkey.  She squealed with excitement at each animal that moved.  View Album for more pictures.

8th Anniversary

Sitting next to the river.

Christmas tree by the mall.

We celebrated our anniversary with a nice dinner on the River Walk under all the Christmas lights.  It was a beautiful night...a little chill in the air.  We walked around a little before and after dinner and enjoyed the weather and the Christmas decorations.  Not too many people out on a Tuesday night.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving.  This one was extra special for many reasons.  We were so happy to have Don's parents out just like the last several years, but this year Jeff, Julie, and Caleb also made the trip out.  So much fun.  We were so excited to share the news that we're expecting Clark baby #4 in June.  And, I think I may have discovered my Grandmother Campbell's recipe for mashed potatoes (my all time favorite that my poor mom is still sad about...not really...well, maybe a little).  The moment that was so extra special for me was when Cadynce said the prayer before our Thanksgiving meal.  We all stood in a circle holding hands, and what an awesome prayer she said.  I was quite choked up at what she said, and her courage to pray in front of all the adults.  Don was supposed to follow her but he had no words.  We had a fun weekend.  Thank you all for coming out and making our Thanksgiving so special.  View Album for more pictures.

Proud Wife...

Our blog is mostly about sharing our kids and what's going on in our life here in Texas, but sometimes I just have to share a little bit about my husband.  This past weekend was Veteran's Day, and (as you know) Don works for a company who serves the military.  This is the second year with their partnership with the NFL (super cool), and they wanted to do something amazing to show their gratitude to the men and women who serve our country.  This is a picture of one of the eight card stunts they did around the country.  I didn't know much about card stunts, but the pictures at this link give you a better idea how they work.  And, you get to see a little glimpse at the fun side of his job.

Trick or Treat

We had a fun night of Trick or Treating around the neighborhood.  Cadynce and Donnie ran the whole time, and squealed with excitement at each piece of candy that went in their bucket.  View Album for more pictures.

Cadynce's School Parade

Cadynce had her school parade today.  She dressed up as Rapunzel and Donnie dressed as Popeye the Sailor Man.  The classes took turns parading around collecting any candy that the parents brought.  It was a mini trick or treating session.  It was really cute.  Donnie, Colbie and I also went to her class party in the afternoon which was a lot of fun.

Here they are at One...

Colbie 1 year

Donnie 1 year

Cadynce 1 year

Colbie's Party

We celebrated Colbie's birthday today.  The party took off when the balloon artist showed up and started making balloons.  She made balloons for an hour which gave everyone three balloons.  All the kids were running around playing with their balloons...it was quite entertaining.  View Album for more pictures.

Happy Birthday Colbie!

Colbie took her first step two months ago, and now she is pretty good on her own.

South Texas Maize

We decided to change it up this year and go to the South Texas Maize.  The last time we went was when Cadynce was one.  There was all kinds of fun for the kids, and the maize brought the crazy out of our crazies!  View album for more pictures

New Rope Swing

We hung a rope from our tree for the kids to play on.  They absolutely love it.  They prefer jumping off a step to get a bigger swing.  They are getting some great upper body strength on this swing:)  View Album for more pictures.

Colbie 11 Months

I've been putting off this post because I cannot believe Colbie is approaching ONE!!  Where did the year go?  She is taking about five steps now and she will be walking before I know it (pretty excited so she can wear all the cute dresses that make her scream when she crawls).  This picture pretty much sums her up.

Friday Night Football

Every Friday night Don takes Cadynce and Donnie to a football game.  They wear their same football jersey each week.  They love their time with Daddy and I enjoy a quiet house.




















We went for a hike on Saturday morning to the lookout tower.  Cadynce and Donnie had a blast.  When we got to the bottom they asked if we could hike the trail again.

Cadynce's First Day

Cadynce is attending the 5 year old preschool at our church.  I have heard such great things about this school, and I like that it's still only three days a week.  She was really excited and unsure about her first day of school, but she was all smiles when she talked about her day.  (Daddy is out of town with work so that's why he's not in a picture).

Papa and Namah Visit

Papa and Namah came out for Labor Day weekend.  We kept pretty busy with a football game, a baseball game, shopping and Donnie's first day of school.  View Album for more pictures.

Donnie's First day of School

It's Donnie's turn to go to school this year.  He was so excited to have his own tote and own name tag.  All the things he watched Cadynce do for two years...and now it's his turn.  We took some pictures before school and he was dancing on the picnic table with excitement.  I am so excited to see school through his eyes this year. View Album for more pictures.

Summer Family Pictures

The photography from Jill's wedding also took our family pictures while we were in town.  She got so many great pictures of us.  View Album for more pictures.

Birthday Boy

Don took the day off work so we could spend the whole day together on his birthday.  We had a great day, and had our babysitter come over so we could spend the evening out together.  Happy Birthday !

Colbie 10 Months

Colbie is 10 months old and constantly moving.  She is cruising the furniture and letting go for a few seconds.  It's cute watching Donnie and Cadynce get excited when they see her let go.  This was the most challenging monthly picture to take.  She just wouldn't sit still!

Summer in Indiana

We headed back to Indiana a little later in the summer than we usually go because Aunt Jill was getting married.  The wedding was beautiful and completely Jill!  The best part for me was watching Cadynce and Donnie.  I was holding back tears as I watched them walk down the aisle (until Donnie started picking his nose).  My other favorite moment was watching Cadynce and Donnie (sitting in the front row) singing along with the girl Jill had sing in their wedding.  They heard it for the first time at the rehearsal...my heart melted.  The reception had great food and fun.  The kids entertained us all as they danced while we ate dinner.  Again, I just enjoyed watching Cadynce and Donnie have the time of their lives.

We spent the rest of our time just hanging out.  We had a great visit.  View Album for more pictures.

Cadynce - Colbie - Donnie @ 9 months

Cadynce 9 Months

Colbie 9 Months

Donnie 9 Months

Colbie's First Sign

Colbie's first sign is "dog."  I finally captured it on camera.

My Birthday Adventure

Every year I like to do something new together for my birthday.  This year we went to the Don Strange Ranch and did an adventure climb and zip line.  We were in a group of about 15 people.  We did the adventure climb first, and we went up together so we could get a picture.  I took an easy route and watched Don take on some pretty crazy obstacles.  While I was waiting at the top I suddenly see Don's feet come flying up first.  They said they had never seen anyone reach the top with that move.

Next, we headed to the zip line.  After the zip line the instructor offered to take us back to the adventure climb by ourselves for one more climb.  That was the best part of the day.  We could take our time and challenge ourselves.  We had an awesome day!  View Album for more pictures.

More Rain

The rain came down...and we went in it!  It might seem a little backwards, but I guess that's what you do when it doesn't rain often.  We go inside because it's hot, yet we go outside when it rains...

 The neighbors saw us out in the rain so they came out with us.  Once the rain stopped it left a lot of water running down the street for the kids to play in.

Colbie didn't want to be left out so we let her get down and crawl around...she loved it!

Rainy Day

 Cadynce and Donnie went outside and enjoyed the rain.

We might have an early walker!!

Clark kids

They all looked so cute before church we had a little photo shoot.

Cadynce at Championships

Cadynce was able to finish her season swimming at championships in the 5/6 year old division.  She did great and we are so proud of her.  We left early so I'm not sure where she finished overall.  View Album for more pictures.

Standing

Look who is pulling herself up now!!