Bathing Beauty

There is no doubt that one of Miley's favorite things is bathtime. She could spend hours in there if we would let her, and she is so happy the whole time.

I have to admit...baths have been a good learning experience for her as well...she now knows how to put her face in the water, and plug her nose! :)

And come on, wouldn't you love baths too if your hair came out looking like this??

I know I would! :)

18 Months (Give or Take a Few Weeks...)

Miley turned 18 months on December 22nd, but between traveling, having company, catching up on other blogs, etc., I am just now getting around to posting about it.

We had her 18-month well child visit, and here are her stats from that:

Height - 30 3/4 inches (25th percentile)

Weight - 21 pounds (8th pecentile)

She stayed just about right on track with what she has been for the last couple of check-ups, so we are happy with where she is!

Some things that she is doing now include:

~*~ Saying mama, dada, dog, uh-oh, eyes, thank you, hi, cheese (for the camera), here you go, that, please (sometimes) and there. She isn't saying a ton, but she is starting to say more and more everyday.

~*~ She is loving to read these days...she is always carrying a book around with her.

~*~ She will not drink milk, but other than that, is not a picky eater.

~*~ She loves to dance, run, swim, throw and kick balls.

~*~ Her two first fingers and her purple lovey are still a must for bedtime, and for comforting her...

~*~ On a typical day, she sleeps from around 7:30 pm until around 7:30 am, with one nap during the day that lasts around 2 and a half hours.

~*~ She loves animals...she pants like a dog, makes a fish face with her lips, flicks her tongue like a lizard, moos like a cow, and says "ssss" for a snake...she has just started "meow"-ing like a cat.

~*~ She is on her way to ~*2*~ with a vengeance...she can throw a tantrum like no one's business.

~*~ She can point at her eyes, nose, mouth, ears, head, belly, and feet when we ask her where they are.

~*~ She has doubled the amount of teeth she has! At the beginning of November she had her top and bottom central incisors, and her top lateral incisors. 6 teeth. In the past of months, she has gotten all 4 molars and her bottom lateral incisors. Now we are just waiting for all four cuspids. Cameron swears he sees them poking through, but I think the jury is still out on that one.

We love this little girl so much, and can't imagine life without her. There isn't a day that goes by that she can't make us smile and laugh. We have the most fun when we are with her, and her hugs and kisses can brighten even the worst days. It is sad that she is looking and acting so much like a little girl now, and not so much a baby...any tips on how to get time to slow down?? :)

New Wheels...

With Cameron starting his new job at General Mills, he no longer is able to carpool with his brother. We are definitely going to miss that, since we only had to have one car for the first two and a half years of marriage! So the time came for us to get a second car....

We were going back and forth for the last several weeks on if we should get a little junker, run around car for Cameron to drive, or if we should get a bigger car for me to drive, since we would probably need to get a bigger car in a couple of years anyway.

We opted for the bigger car, and after going back and forth on many different makes and models, we brought this little beaut home...

It is a 2008 Toyota Highlander, and we are loving it! There is definitely room to grow, and so hopefully that means we won't have to buy another car for several more years!

Now if we can just get used to having to pay gas and insurance on TWO cars...sigh. :)

NYE Clark (and Harker) Style!

We celebrated New Year's Eve this year with, of course, the family, since it was the Harkers last night in town. Most of the day, Cameron and I were running around like crazy people trying to buy a new car (more on that in a future post). We were so lucky that everyone was so willing to wtch Miley the whole day while we were trying to figure that out.

Miley taking a snooze with her cousin, Nathan, while we were gone car shopping!

We had a pretty low key evening, just hanging out, eating Hawaiian haystacks for dinner, visiting, playing games, and eating a fondue spread that my sister-in-law, Cindy put together! It was sooo yummy!

Hanging out with Miley before she had to go to bed...

Playing games!

The fondue spread...

Those are some good looking strawberries!

It was the last FULL day that we got to spend with the Harkers...they were around most of the next day, but this was their last night with us. We had so much fun while they were here, and were so sad to see them go! We wish we lived closer so we could see them all the time!


Thanks, guys, for making the trek out to see us! We really appreciated it, and loved getting to spend some one on one time with you!

Happy New Year to all you Clark Clan blog readers...hope you have a wonderful 2010!!

A Water Park? In Minnesota?? In DECEMBER?!?

Yeah, I know what you are thinking...

...we must be crazy right?

But before you think we are too nuts for going swimming in the freezing cold, it was an INDOOR water park. More specifically, the Water Park of America (supposedly, the largest indoor water park in the country).

I know, I had you worried for a minute with the title. :)

Anyway, on December 30th, we went with the Harkers and the other Minnesota Clark's to spend the day at the water park. I was a little apprehensive, since Miley would be coming with us, and between driving there and driving home, we would be gone from about 9:00 am till 5:00 pm. I always dread days when naps aren't really going to happen, but it turned out to be a great day!

Believe it or not, I actually had so much free time, because everyone in the family took turns watching Miley (I was so spoiled for the few days when the Harkers were in town...I didn't have to entertain Miley for days, and she loved all the extra attention!). Cameron and I had plenty of opportunities to go down all the slides, float the lazy river, do the "surfing" ride, and overall, we had a fun relaxing day (which I was kind of not expecting)!

You can tell Miley didn't lack attention... :)

Miley also had a blast swimming all day...she is such a water baby! You couldn't tear her away from the ENORMOUS kiddie area for anything!

And to top off a great day, Miley even took a little snooze with her Uncle Mark! For the record, I can't even REMEMBER the last time she fell asleep somewhere besides the car or bed!

It was so much getting to do this with the family, and I am pretty sure we all slept REALLY well that night! :)

The Canadians Came to Town, Eh?

Cameron and I left Wyoming/Colorado on December 28th, but the party wasn't over yet...Cameron's sister, Cheryl, and her family came to Minnesota to visit on the 26th and were staying through the 1st. So we missed out on a couple of the days they were here, but had so much fun with them on the days that we did get to spend with them!

On December 29th, we just did a girl's day out and spent time hanging out and playing games. It was so much fun to get pedicures/manicures with all the girls (minus Miley - poor bug having to miss out on all the fun!), get ice cream for lunch (yes, that was all we had for lunch) and go shopping.

Me, with my nieces, Brooke and Katie.

My niece, Kayla, and sis-in-law, Cheryl getting manicures.

The whole gang.

Mom and daughter, Cindy and Kayla, with their ice cream creations!

Mom and daughters, Cheryl, Katie, and Brooke, feeling sick after eating too much of said ice cream! :)

It was so nice to have a relaxing day hanging out with everyone...especially since we didn't get home from the airport until midnight the night before! But we had some more fun in the days to come... :)

MIA

Yes...I have been missing in action for quite some time now.

Try to understand...I have been traveling, spending quality time with the fam and friends in Wyoming and Colorado, traveling home, spending more time with more fam from the Canada and Minnesota clans, and now I have to unpack and catch up on some sleep.

I have some serious blog catch-up to do.

And I promise I will do it soon, but not tonight. :)

So for now, I just wanted to wish you all a

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!