Build-A-Bear

AnnMarie got to make her very first trip to Build-A-Bear while Mommy was in the hospital having Clark. I am very proud of my little one because every time we've passed this store in the mall for 9 months now, she has patiently said, "that's where I get to go when Clark pops out". Sooooooo, her wish came true when Gigi and Papa took her. You can see the excitement in her face as they started the process:
She picked out a puppy that she quickly named "Ariel Puppy" because she donned a real Ariel mermaid outfit. (Just wait, it's really classy.) Ah, the pride in this photo:
Here she is stuffing a teddy bear that she named "Clark Bear" for baby brother.

I had no idea, but apparently when you design a stuffed animal at this place, it is a process. Here she is kissing the heart that she would put inside her puppy. She also had to do a dance, say a little prayer, etc.

"Bathing" the animals...

The classiest part of the whole outfit...the flourescent red wig! This thing creeps me out. It's alive!

Posing with Gigi and Papa. Thank you so much for making this such a special day for her!

Thought I'd save the best for last...Here is my little darling herself wearing Ariel Puppy's outfit. Makes a mama proud.

Build-A-Bear is such a cute store! I wish I'd thought of the idea... :)

Clark's nursery

Sooooo, I've been meaning to post these pics for a long time, but since little bubba came early, here we are! :) A special thanks to my best bud, Shannon M., who while on a visit took the good pictures (at the end of the post) with her fancy camera and skills. (The amateur ones were taken by me to show some of the last details.) Anyway, if it weren't for her, this wouldn't have gotten done, so thanks, SM!

Disclaimer--these are not in a good order, but given my sleep deprived brain at the moment, it's the best I can do! hehe

Clark's "going home" outfit--a little blue gown.

The good 'ol glider--going on 2 kids now.The shelf/ledge hangs on the wall above his crib. Just a few things up there---an old truck, some old books.

Some old lanterns and a canteen

Clark's crib---the fabric has little boy silhouettes on it---playing with a ball, playing in the sand, airplanes, trikes, trucks, etc.
The wall behind the crib
A little red chest in the corner with his baby book on top and a few old things---my dad's silver cup from when he was a baby, a vintage rugby ball from England, and some old blocks. (This chest is also on baby #2---it was in AnnMarie's nursery and was white.)
The wall above the changing table
Another view of the window wall--one of our favorite things about our house is these built-ins in the kids' rooms. A few old toys...

It's so fun to finally see the finished product on a room you've been envisioning. And, I'm glad it's done because I spend many a "middle of the night" minute in here... :)

Boppies and Puppies

Tonight on the way home from my parents' house, we were talking about my parents' dogs, where they came from, etc. AnnMarie asked lots of questions about who the dog's mommy was, how the mommy feeds it, and so on. So after we told her the mommy gives her puppy her milk just like I feed Clark, she asked, "How does she feed her puppy without a Boppy?" :)

Guess you can tell what's going on round the clock at our house...

p.s. If you're not sure what a "Boppy" is---it's a pillow used while nursing.

On this day 6 years ago...

...we were dancing the night away at our reception (to the music by Wade Bowen you're hearing right now). That's right--today marks 6 years of marital bliss! I can't believe it's been that long. I was just thinking today about how different today's anniversary is than our wedding day July 19th, 2003! :) Yes, we were gettin' down with a band as husband and wife, and tonight I was gettin' down as I was singing and swaying with my new baby boy...How things have changed! We have so much to be thankful for!

For some reason this picture scanned in to look like it was taken in 1985. I promise we got married in 2003. :)

Don't we look so young? We were I guess. We had no idea what God had in store for us as a family. No idea of sweet little miss priss AnnMarie, no idea that we'd ever live in Waco, no idea of Mr. chunk the Clarkster. All we knew is that we were heading to Mexico the next day. (That doesn't sound so bad right about now!) :)
More importantly I am so thankful for my precious husband that God so perfectly brought into my life at just the right time. I know it was not just coincidence! Here's to the next 6 blissful years!

4th of July

This 4th of July was very different than years past because usually we're at the beach. But--I think it was just perfect because we ended up having a fun day with most of our time spent just the three of us. (Little did we know it would be our 2nd to last full day with just AnnMarie!)

We got up bright and early to head out to our local small town 4th of July parade. We were first timers, and we ended up loving it! It was so cute and quaint.

The parade started off with a prayer for our country by our local firefighters, and then we all said the Pledge of Alleigance! It was so patriotic! Everyone pulls their kids in wagons decorated with red, white, and blue and walks their dogs who are all dressed up as well. Here is AnnMarie ready for action:

Our last photo op as a family of three: (whoa, Mama!) :) Our local paper was out taking pictures, and if you want to see a pic of AnnMarie, click here. (She's number 147)
We got to hang out with Caleb and Mabry which was so fun!

One of our local firetrucks ready to start the parade:

A little piece of Americana:

And we're off! (It was about a 20 minute walk with a big incline at the end---I think this may have contributed to Clark's early arrival!) :)

AnnMarie riding side by side with the Kennedy kiddos:

A decorated house on our route:

After the parade the firefighters gave out snowcones to everyone:

Since we were soooooo hot and sweaty we decided to go swimming afterwards. AnnMarie having fun with Daddy:

After some lunch and a good nap, we headed out to China Spring to celebrate Dad's (born on the 4th of July) birthday. For some reason I did not take any pictures. ??? Anyway, Happy Birthday, Papa! We made a pit stop at a local fireworks stand to pick up some sparklers and those little things you throw on the ground that pop.

So after a great dinner (thank you, Gigi!) we hopped in the truck and set up camp to watch the fireworks show in Speegleville. It was awesome! Very impressive for a tiny place! Here is AnnMarie ready for the excitement, but I am sad to report that the sparklers were a BIG bust. They didn't work at all! :( Oh well, glad the show made up for that!)

Hooray for the red, white, and blue! I'm so proud to be an American!

Introducing...

Mr. Clark William Svoboda

Born Monday, July 6, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.

Weighing 9 lbs 4 oz, 22 inches long

Here he is!

We are all doing great, and I have been dying to post about our little man, but sifting through the 500 pictures we have proved harder than I thought! (don't worry, I'll be posting more) :) Clark came about 2 weeks earlier than we expected (although side note---my sonographer swore that my due date was July 5th instead of the 19th so I guess he was right!). My water broke just before midnight on the 5th (Sunday), and we headed to the hospital in about an hour. My experience was much easier than the first time around with AnnMarie so we are so thankful for that! I only pushed for 25 minutes which compared to 2 hours with her was great! Here are some shots from our first week:

AnnMarie and I waiting and waiting in the hospital bed for brother to make his appearance: (thank goodness for the popsicles!)

AnnMarie displaying our "party favors"---CLARK bars. :)

Big sister with her present from baby Clark===a new bathtub with accessories to bathe her babies. It turned out to be a big hit!

Here we are with Dr. Rister. He was wonderful! I love my OB--I recommend him to all!

Our new family of four. What did we ever do without the Clarkster before?? :) I just couldn't believe how old AnnMarie seemed.

Proud new mama

Proud new daddy

Here is my little chunk (oxymoron?)

I think he looks like a little old man here, and you can see all his dark black hair. :)

Sweet kisses from big sis

She is so proud!

Here is how the Clark man spends most of his time. Let's hope it stays this way! :)

And here's how I found little missy our first day with just the three of us...(Looks like someone knows how to get to the peanut butter all by herself...)

Oh, how we have been blessed! I am telling you, this little buddy already has me wrapped around his finger. I just love him to pieces! Thank you so much for your prayers, calls, visits, gifts, and yummy meals. We are overwhelmed by our wonderful family and friends!!!

Miss Colleen

Miss Colleen is very special to us. AnnMarie adores her and can't wait for the time that she gets to spend with her now and then. Last night she offered to keep AM for us so we could go out for a nice dinner before Mr. Clark makes his arrival. And---since we realized our anniversary is only 2 weeks away and is my DUE DATE :), we thought this was the perfect way to squeeze in a celebration should we be at the hospital on the real day.

Miss Colleen always brings crafts, books, puzzles, you name it, and usually a "prize" as AnnMarie calls it. Well, did you find the prize in the picture???????? :)

Hilarious. The goggles were a BIG hit, and we can't wait to try those out at the pool asap. Because, you know---all the "big kids" have them.

We appreciate and love Miss Colleen so much! Thank you so much for giving us a night out uninterrupted by potty breaks, asking for crayons, a spilled drink or two, as well as the chance to take our sweet time and not feel rushed. It was great!!! (btw---we went to Diamondbacks---one of my Waco faves--and I had the BEST steak of my life. I've also decided their creme brulee is #1) YUM.

And, thank you so much for loving our daughter. How blessed we are!