Clark's first trip to the zoo!

we took Clark to the zoo last month for the first time and he had a blast!!  Clark loves going new places and he loves animals so he was truly in awe.

we went with my good friend Helen and her girls and she snapped some adorable photos.  she goes to the zoo practically every week so she knew her way around and we were able to see so much in just a few hours!  first stop: the aquarium!

Clark was fascinated by the huge fish there, some were bigger than him!  he enjoyed climbing on the rocks around the tanks (I think he was trying to get inside) and loved getting to crawl through this tunnel with the fish swimming all around him.  he makes the cutest little guppy, don't you think?!

after the aquarium, we headed over to the elephants.  they were playing outside together and were so close to us!  I don't remember the first time I ever saw an elephant but I'm sure my face looked something like this...

their ears are bigger than Clark!!!

hi Dumbo!

next we tried to catch a peek at the lions and tigers (and bears, ohh my) but they were all sleeping.  it was hard for Clark to spot any animals that weren't moving because they just blend in.  he did get up close and personal with a gorilla though!

the gorillas might be my favorite...they are just so humanlike and so smart!  the big, strong males are so powerful and intimidating.  I could watch them all day.  and once I saw a mama gorilla throwing her babies on her back and walking around with them and I about died.

Clark's favorite thing to do at the zoo was play in this little Native American playground.  he ran in and out of the tee pee's, banged on the drums, almost got drenched under this waterfall, and was obsessed with the fake fire pit.  he sat in it for a good five minutes, hahah.

the last animals we saw were Clark's favorite...can you guess what they were??

the giraffes!  I think he was amazed at how tall they are!!  we saw them eating leaves off the trees and then one came over to us and Clark just stared at him.

the last thing we did before leaving the zoo was ride the carousel.  it was a first (and maybe a last) for Clark.  he was SO impatient to get on while we waited for the group before us.  like he refused to be held but when I put him down he just tried to run back through the line and was going crazy because we couldn't go in.  then when we got in and picked an animal (a giraffe of course!) he went crazy and threw a tantrum while they were reading out the safety rules.  it was the longest 3 minute announcement of my life!  it probably didn't help he was so tired and ready for a nap.

if you look closely, you can see a tear rolling down his cheek

once it started going though he seemed to enjoy it but halfway through he wanted to switch animals!  this kid I tell ya!  he was the only one crying on that carousel!  then when Grandma yelled at him from the sidelines he turned around and flashed her the biggest smile!  hahaha!

on his second animal!

all in all though, it was a pretty great day!  I bought him a stuffed giraffe to remember his first trip to the zoo.  we will probably be back very soon!!

sleep training 101

I think it all started after weaning...

I weaned Clark at 14 months old and shortly after he began waking early, around 5 am, and wanting to snuggle with me for an hour or more before waking up.  to replace nursing, Clark formed a habit of putting his hand down my shirt to comfort himself.  it started off as sweet but, going on 16 months, it's just getting old!

the early mornings lasted for a few weeks and then we had a few normal nights (waking around 6:30-7) and thought the worst was over.  boy were we wrong!!

at around 15 months old, Clark just suddenly stopped sleeping through the night!  he would wake up around 3 am (sometimes as early as 1:30!!) and would not be able to get back to sleep for the rest of the night!!!  this is never something we've dealt with Clark's entire life so we were at a loss as to what was going on or what to do.  was he scared?  hungry?  thirsty?  sick??  we had no idea but we tried everything!

we tried not going up right away.  we tried going up right away.  we tried not going up at all.  we were exhausted and so was Clark and he was sleeping so much during the day to make up for all the missed hours at night which was backfiring.  we were desperate for answers and some sort of solution.  after a lot of research, we finally decided to try something called "progressive waiting," more popularly known as "cry it out."

Dr. Richard Ferber is the sleep guru behind this method.  I ordered his book, "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems," but in the meantime we looked up his progressive waiting schedule so we could try it out right away.

the most important thing about Dr. Ferber's method (that we were doing wrong before!) is leaving the room before your baby is asleep.  this is so so so important!!!  it's hard, especially when Clark was used to having us there while he fell asleep.  but your baby will quickly get used to it and then when they wake up throughout the night, they will be able to put themselves back to sleep instead of wondering where mom/dad went.

the first night was the hardest.  he went down pretty easy and we hoped he would magically just sleep through the night like he used to.  when he woke up at 2 am though,  we decided to give the method a go.  first I went in right away (even though we haven't read the book yet and aren't sure if you're supposed to go in at the first cry or start after the first cry...we just feel better checking on him right away and making sure there's nothing wrong).  I gave him his blankie, laid him back down, told him, "shhh, it's night night.  it's okay.  I love you."  and then left.  he cried right away of course and I waited 3 minutes before going back in and repeating the same thing.  I repeated it again after 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and 12 minutes.  before I went in at 12 minutes, his cries started to die down a little and were occurring less frequently.  after the 12 minute check, he only cried for a few minutes and I never had to go in at the 15 minute check.

the next night we did the same thing when he woke up but it all went much faster!  on night two, I went in after 5 minutes of crying, then again at 10 minutes and he never made it to 12!  on night three, I started at 10 minutes and only had to go in the one time!  he put himself right to sleep after I left.  he woke up again later that night but before I could even get out of bed he put himself back to sleep ON HIS OWN!!!  this is a HUGE accomplishment for Clark, something he hasn't really done since he was like 3 months old.  (yeah, go figure, he slept better as a newborn haha!)

this was all about a month ago and since then we have seen a night and day change in Clark's sleeping patterns.  putting him to bed used to take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the night.  it was exhausting and I dreaded it and hated that it cut into my alone time with Mark.  now we have a wonderful little routine down.  after dinner, Clark takes a bath, we put on his pajamas, brush his teeth, say prayers, and sit in the rocker where I read him a very specific repertoire of stories (his doing!) - "Caps for Sale," "Baby Faces," "Hugs & Kisses," "Sleepy Time with Peter Rabbit," and his favorite favorite book, "B is for Bear" (it's a touch and feel...he loooves touch & feel books!)  after that I turn the lights out and rock him in my arms while singing the same three songs I've been singing to him since he was in my tummy!  they are all about Winnie the Pooh - "Pooh Corner," "Winnie the Pooh," and "Little Black Rain Cloud."  by the end of the third song Clark is so drowsy, sometimes he does fall asleep, but he will wake back up a little when I put him down in his crib.  after that I just leave the room!!!  that's it!!!

sometimes he will cry out after 5 minutes or so (we figured out this was due to the AC shutting off while he was falling asleep and waking him), but after I go back up for a few minutes, he puts himself right to sleep.   whenever he wakes up during the night, he either puts himself back to sleep or we only have to go up once for a few minutes and then he will fall asleep on his own.  sleep has become so predictable and EASY.  why didn't we try this method months ago???  I highly recommend it to parents everywhere!!!  even if your baby is sleeping fine now, chances are one day he won't be and you will be glad he knows how to put himself to sleep.  Dr. Ferber doesn't recommend starting the method until around 4 months of age and we waited much longer obviously but it still worked!  we haven't even actually read the book yet...it is so comprehensive and there are all kinds of sleep topics in there we are bound to experience at some point.  but for now, the simple progressive waiting schedule was all we needed to get Clark sleeping through the night.

until baby brother makes his arrival in February, we're hoping we all continue to sleep through the night!

20 Week Bumpdate

Baby is the size of a mango & a banana!

I feel like I just repeat myself each week with the same old questions so instead I'm just going to write about anything new and exciting.  I'm also not going to write every single week because honestly there's not much to report!  this has been the easiest pregnancy ever!

we have a name for baby boy!  only my family knows it and we still don't call him by it yet...I feel like that jinxes it somehow.  but it's perfect and fits him perfectly :)

so when I was pregnant with Clark, I feel like being pregnant was all consuming and seriously took up so much of my time and energy.  the morning sickness was worse with Clark and I had terrible acid reflux throughout my entire pregnancy, so much that it affected my sleeping and eating habits and even got in the way of just being able to enjoy the day.  so annoying!!

I was also super busy making my registries, planning our big move to Texas, reading countless baby books, shopping for baby furniture, supplies, clothes, toys (and everything else baby you can think of!) and we even made a pregnancy time lapse video and an announcement video, along with my weekly bump pictures!

but with this pregnancy, I hardly have time to remember I'm pregnant!  Clark keeps me so busy and when I'm not chasing after him and cleaning all his messes, I try to stay on top of the blog, baby journals for both boys (yes baby already has one!) and spend time with Mark in the evenings because I know very soon that will be a luxury.

I hate to admit it but I'm also not nearly as excited for my due date as I was with Clark.  now that I know what having a newborn is like, I'm kind of dreading that stage to be honest.  I feel like my schedule with Clark and my whole life as I know it is a ticking time bomb.  sometimes I wonder if having two this close was a good decision...and the baby's not even here yet!  most of these feelings come from realizing that Clark will no longer be the baby and that is so sad to me.  I find myself tearing up at the simple things we do together and trying to hold onto every moment before it's the last one.  I hope Clark won't feel like I'm rushing him into growing up and he can't be my baby anymore because he will always be my baby!  my first little miracle!!

Masters Family Reunion!

in August we took Clark on his first real road trip (16 hours one way!) to Pagosa Springs, Colorado for our Masters family reunion!  yes, we went to Colorado for both our families' reunions, go figure.

Clark was so so good on the trip!!  Mark downloaded a couple movies for him on his iPad and when he wasn't watching movies or eating he was usually sleeping.  he hardly cried at all except when he was poopy and we had to keep driving until we could find a place to stop.  so proud of him!

the weather in Colorado this time around was much nicer!  mid 70's pretty much every day and it was actually cold in the evenings!!!  gosh, I can't wait for winter!  I'm such a winter girl.

sweatshirt weather hahaha

Masters vacations are usually pretty chill...we don't do much, maybe a couple activities.  we mostly just hang out as a family and play games / watch movies.  on this trip, everyone hiked to the top of Chimney Rock, except me.  blame it on morning sickness but I hear there was no shade anywhere and I probably wouldn't have cared much for it.  everyone had a good time though!

 

grinding cornmeal for tortillas!

our resident photographer ;)

love birds ♥

there were all kinds of activities to do at the rec center near our lodge...mini golf, badminton, tennis, volleyball, foosball, ping pong, board games, and a bunch of kid stuff - coloring books, puzzles, books, and toys for Clark!  they also had arts & crafts so one day we all painted piggy banks.  I painted a teddy bear for the new baby :)  Mark painted a turtle for Clark, my dad & sissy also painted turtles, Kara painted a watering can, and Sean painted a purple dinosaur that was supposed to be Vikings themed but everyone just thought it was Barney!  hahaha.  my mom stayed in the car with Clark so he could nap so the instructor painted her a gorgeous pink and gray elephant!  it was definitely the best painted thing of all, ha.

this HUGE chess board at the entrance to our lodge community!

one day we went and toured a little museum and then got malts and ice-cream at the Malt Shoppe!  mark and I got chocolate banana malts!  mmm so good!!

just a few of the creepy dolls at the museum

we all went out to dinner on our last night where everyone was there (Sean & Kara left early to attend Kara's grandfather's birthday) and it was delicious!!!  we decided to try a little Thai place literally across the street from our lodge and it did not disappoint!  I got the yellow curry and I'm still drooling over it...

at the reunion I also told everyone we were expecting another little babe in February!  my mom already knew but everyone else was thrilled and so surprised!!  we told them in a game for FHE.  they all had to search for something but they didn't know what but I promised they would know it when they found out.  my dad ended up finding it...a toy hamburger bun in the oven!  hahaha, I don't think he understood but Kara shouted, "it's a BUN in the OVEN!!!"  and they were all so excited!!  probably the best part of the trip.

this kid has no idea what's coming in February!

but he'll always be my baby.

on our last day we went to a farmer's market and got something for the new baby...a pair of handmade overalls from Guatemala.  they're precious!!  Clark had fun looking at everything and everyone thought he was so cute :)

we tried to get some shots to announce my pregnancy but decided to wait until finding out the gender.  I'm glad we did :)  but the pictures turned out pretty cute!

our next family vacation is already in the works...we're doing DISNEY for the first time with our two boys in February of 2019.  I'm already SO excited to turn my boys into Disney fanatics like me :)  can't wait!!!!!  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥