Bath Time

Damon's cord finally fell off so he's getting his bath in the sink now.  Cadynce took this picture for me and it turned out so cute I had to post it.

Baseball Camp Week 2

Donnie did an awesome job at baseball this week.  I loved watching him try to get every ball that was hit...he was running all over the place.  View Album for more pictures.

Track Meet #2

I missed the first track meet while I was in the hospital with Damon, so I couldn't wait to watch Cadynce, Donnie and Colbie race.  They did the 50 yard dash, long jump and the 400.  I almost cried watching Colbie race...she was so cute.  Cadynce is faster than last year, but still not much of a sprinter.  Donnie runs as hard as he can and looks pretty good.  View Album for more pictures.

Last Swim Meet

Cadynce had her last meet of the season last weekend.  She did great in freestyle coming in second place.  She will get to race in Championships again this year, and the coach has added her to two relay teams.  We are so proud of her effort and attitude this year.

Baseball Camp

We had Donnie's first day of baseball camp yesterday.  We loved watching him, and I think he enjoyed being watched too.  He did awesome fielding ground balls, hitting off the tee and running the bases.  Daddy has done a great job teaching him. View Album for more pictures.

Colbie 20 Months

I can hardly handle the cuteness that oozes out of this girl.  She is quite the personality, and makes us laugh with everything she does.  She is as sweet as they come.  Her favorite things in life are milk and her bear.  I took this picture because this is how they came to my room one morning.  Cadynce got Colbie out of bed, changed her diaper and got her dressed...what a helper.

Thanks Namah!

My mom flew here the day after school got out, and  I went into labor the night after she got here...that was close.  It was a little different this time with her visit being mostly after Damon arrived.  I pretty much did nothing but take care of Damon all week and recovered.  My mom cleaned, organized and did a lot of laundry all week.  I'm so thankful she was here to make life easier for me.  Cadynce, Donnie and Colbie loved having her here too.  View Album for more pictures.

Happy Father's Day

Just another day in paradise around here:)  We spent the day together as a family...playing outside and at the pool.  We all took a nice Father's Day nap on the couch then Don and I went on a date to watch the Spurs game.  Happy Father's Day to the BEST Daddy who puts everyone else before himself...even on Father's Day.  View Album for more pictures.

Damon One Week

I promise I won't do a weekly post, but here's Damon's one week picture.  I think we've got a little bit of a schedule now.  We have been going to bed about midnight, and he wakes me up around 4am and then again at 7:30.  Not too bad!!  He is an awesome baby, and so very loved around here.

Damon at Home

We have spent most of the week recovering and loving our little Damon.  Cadynce, Donnie and Colbie take turns all day long holding Damon.  He is sleeping much better at night now so I'm getting some rest.  View Album for more pictures.

Compare

Cadynce newborn

Donnie newborn

Colbie newborn

Damon newborn

Pictures

Here's the pictures from the hospital.  View Album for more pictures.

My Story

I've come to the conclusion that I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to labor. You would think by the fourth child I'd have it down, but clearly I do not. After a great evening with Don, I layed down on the hotel bed exhausted. I felt some discomfort and a little angry if this was a contraction. I waited for one more before I told Don. We decided to get the heck out of there. We arrived at the hospital and I was at 7 cm. I felt a little mad to show up at 7 cm, but thankful I wasn't at 10cm. I don't understand why my contractions weren't that bad and I was just walking around like nothing was happening. Once I was given my epidural I could relax and smile about meeting my little guy. The on- call doctor broke my water and we waited for about 30 minutes until I was complete. A few pushes and Damon arrived.  It didn't go the way I planned...again, but I couldn't be happier to hold my little angel. The more I look at him the more I think he looks like Colbie when she was born.  I was pretty exhausted last night so I had the nurse take Damon to the nursery so I could get a few hours of uninterrupted rest.  I'm feeling much better today, but I'm in no rush to leave. This hospital is like a little vacation for me.  We will update the blog with lots of pictures when we get home.

Damon is here!!

I'm so happy to be 'guest blogger' tonight, because that means we have a new little miracle to introduce!  Damon Jack Clark was born at 4:06am on Sunday, June 9th.  He weighed / measured in at  7 lbs 13 oz and 20 inches long - he's quite the handsome little guy, too!  Jackie again completely blew me (and the nurses) away with her calm, focused, and seemingly effortless labor. The story of the labor, our arrival at the hospital, and the delivery was a good one.

With Carol in town to help with the kids, Jackie felt relieved knowing Cadynce, Donnie, and Colbie would we taken care of when it was time to go to the hospital and that we were scheduled to be induced early on Monday morning. In fact, Jackie and I went on a mini-getaway on Saturday night including dinner, shopping, a late movie, and an overnight stay at a hotel near the theatre and mall. When we settled in for the night at the hotel, Jackie nudged me at around 1:30am as I was dozing off, saying, "I'm starting to feel something."  We immediately got our things and headed to the hospital, where my superhuman wife wanted to just park in the garage and walk in, since she was 'fine.'  They got her processed in quickly and soon discovered she was already at 7 cm... It was now a little before 2am. We then got settled in a LDR and after another hour of contractions, she got an epidural.  Not long after that, it was time to meet our little guy for the first time. Just 3 pushes later, Damon made his debut, and we were again left to marvel at God's work.

The kids came to meet their little bro for the first time and were literally bouncing off the walls with excitement. Thanks to Carol being here, I can spend this special time with Jackie and Damon in the hospital until we head home hopefully late tomorrow.  What a long and fantastic day!  View album for a few photos.

Happy Birthday Donnie

Donnie turned 4 on Saturday.  He was the first one awake and when he came in our room we started singing to him.  He couldn't stop smiling and he kept asking "am I 4 right now...right now?"  He thought he would look different when he woke up.  We went to the coast to celebrate his birthday and stay the night in a hotel.  They had so much fun playing in the ocean.  It was a really windy day so the waves were added fun for them.  After the beach we went back to the hotel and had some cake and then they went swimming in the pool.  We love to swim!  Sunday morning after breakfast we got back out to the beach early and enjoyed a couple more hours before it started raining.  Right as Donnie was getting out of the water he got stung by some jellyfish.  He was quite a trooper and we got him in a hot shower when we got back to the hotel to help the sting.  They went back into the hotel pool for one more swim (in the rain) before we headed back home.  It was a great trip.  View Album for more pictures.

Cadynce First Swim Meet

Cadynce had her first swim meet of the summer on Saturday morning.  She was so excited she could hardly stand the wait.  She had a great first meet.  She came in second in the 25 freestyle and third in 25 backstroke.  She has become quite the swimmer since last season.  Her coach is pretty blown away with her competitiveness at practice and how well she is doing.  View Album for more pictures.