Joe Sarabeth Jillian Lynnsey

Out little girlies are growing SO fast. Lynnsey is over 11 pounds already and Jillian is nearly 20 pounds, both are getting taller and taller. It is funny how differently kids grow. Jillian is so petite and Lynnsey, not so much We just love our girlies so much, what an awesome blessing they are!

Hannah had a super rad 80’s themed party for her 30th birthday. We had Orange Crush, Totino’s Pizza Rolls, hotdogs and smores. It was a great time hanging out with friends! Happy Birthday, Hannah! We hope this year is awesome!

Happy 3 years

Ally took some family photos a few weeks ago-she is great, thanks Ally! Check out her photography site. Here are just a few

Things have been going well. Lynnsey was a month old on Friday. It is crazy how time goes by that fast. It does not seem like it has already been a month!! Jillian and Lynnsey have been getting along great. Jillian is still very interested in Lynnsey. Recently Jillian has licked her little sis, as well as, tried to pick her up. We do have my hands full

We had a nice weekend- went to a wedding, church, lunch with the Voller’s and to the mall. We took Jillian to Build-A-Bear. She loved it! She picked out a dog, which is no surprise, and we named it “Doggie.” She has been snuggling and carrying him around. Next time, Lynnsey may just be old enough to join in the fun that is Build-A-Bear

We had a very nice fourth of July weekend with friends and family. On Saturday we went to the Andrews’ house for food and fireworks. Jillian wasn’t too excited about the fireworks and decided playing inside was more fun. On Sunday, we stayed after church for a picnic, followed by relaxing for a bit at home and then two more picnics-first at my grandparents and then at my dad’s house. I think Jillian had the most fun with the water table and Joe had the most fun with the slip-n-slide

We had a good first week home with our girls. I survived my first day home by myself last Friday when Joe went back to work.  And this week has been going well.

I have been pleasantly surprised by how well Jillian has been adjusting to being a big sister and not getting all my attention, all of the time. Jillian is such a big girl now. It is as if she knew her baby sister was coming. Just a week or so before Lynnsey was born Jillian started walking without assistance, and she is also talking more- “doggie” an “baby” being her two favorite words. It has been fun watching Jillian be in awe of her baby sister. She is so curious and likes to point to her eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Jillian exclaims “baby!” when she sees Lynnsey, she loves her already

Lynnsey is doing so well. She is sleeping a lot and is actually allowing me to sleep some at night. She is about 6 pounds now. Though that is not much more compared to her birth weight, I know she will grow quickly, and before we know it we will be celebrating her first birthday. I am trying to enjoy each moment, time really does go by fast!

Can you guess which is which? And the answer is: Jillian is on the right and Lynnsey is on the left. Some of the differences between them were weight and hair color, Lynnsey has black hair and Jillian had some brown hair. Two lovely unique babies who will hopefully grow up to be good friends!

It’s been busy around here today, we’re enjoying the lull for the moment. Matthew is going to bring some Rocknes for me, I’m kind of excited for that because I haven’t eaten much all day.

Sarabeth has been doing well, she’s had a headache that was pretty bad for the last half hour, but at least now we think that the vicodin is finally starting to kick in and she’s feeling better. Other than that we’ve been feeling well and doing well. They did the heel prick thingy on Lynnsey today, I was kind of glad they did that in the nursery because I don’t know that I can deal with seeing my daughter who is that small getting stuck just to have their blood looked at. I know it’s for the good and is necessary, I just don’t like it. My protective father instincts tend to get in the way of common sense sometimes.

I’m going to be off until Friday next week, so it should be a great time that I can spend with my family over the next few days. I’m super excited to help out around the house and stay home with my girls for a change! It’s going to be me, the girls and Kingsley. And Kingsley isn’t even really much of a man anyway because of, well I think you all know why he isn’t much of a man. Speaking of lack of manhood, I think I need to put the stem on the apple with the next baby, because the level of estrogen in my house might get out of control.

I’ve made a rule for my household, one that will always be enforced. The rule is: If a Star Wars movie is being played in the Clarke house, my children do not have to go to bed until it is over. Which means I might have a habit of starting one after dinner until my children are well versed in the series. I think we’ll wait until they’re older to show them episodes I II and III, I think I want them to see them the way I saw them. Plus, odds are Sarabeth will see them all. Hey, she liked the new Star Trek, which was way more than I could ask for.

And now, Lynnsey has started with the hiccups.

We’ve had a great first day here with Lynnsey! We’ve had all kids of visitors! Here’s some of the fun we’ve been having.

Gramps with Lynnsey!                  Jillian gets some 1 on 1 nap time with mommy.

Aunt Jackie and cousin Jacob                    Chad chillin’ with Lynnsey

Happy Grandparents!                       Jillian says, “I’ll show you how to get attention”

Lynnsey sleeping all bundled up                 Mommy loves her baby girl

It’s Saturday morning and all is well here with the Clarke Family. After fetching Wendys for SB, I ended up going home last night to get some sleep, because that “daddy chair that turns into the most uncomfortable bed ever” fails at life. I understand that they have to try to put something in here so fathers aren’t sleeping upright in chairs, but sleeping on that chair folded out is like trying to sleep across the San Andreas fault line. I feel much better now that I’m well rested and refreshed for today.

Speaking of which, I am back on the scene here at MGH. Now time for visitors! If you feel like stopping by, all we ask is that you give me or SB a call first. Thanks all!!