It's Been An Eternity!

Well, it's been an eternity since I've posted to this blog. I haven't been sticking to my journal either so I thought I should revisit blogging. So much has happened since my last post. The most important event was the birth of our second daughter - Lauren Grace Clark. She was born on 3/28 and is now already 8 months. Jessica is 3 1/2 now. They really keep me busy and on my toes. It can be challenging but really fun too. Jess is in preschool now 3 days a week. I think it would be too much to try to summarize the last year and a half so let's just start fresh.

It's December 2 (my Grandma's birthday) - a Tuesday - and it was a somewhat tough day. The girls can be challenging in their own way. Lauren who is full of smiles and is totally adorable and is a little roly poly, can also be pretty demanding and fussy. She doesn't take a pacifier and she certainly isn't one of those babies that can hang out all day in a stroller. She's pretty good about playing in her playpen in the morning. She is getting very messy when we eat now. She wants the spoon and if she doesn't want anymore she pushes the spoon away w/ the food flying. I just gave her her first meat today - it was apple turkey cranberry and she loved it. We are still nursing. That's another story as I still try to figure out if we are on a good schedule. She nurses 4x per day. I hope that is enough. She loves to dance and she is very good at putting weight on her legs. We aren't crawling yet but she can hold herself up in the 'crawl' position. She has two teeth too. Jessica is going through a lot of stuff right now. She's my 'big girl' but also wants to be a 'baby' at the same time. She loves her baby sister but still craves that extra attention Lauren sometimes gets. Jess loves to sing and dance. She is so funny and beautiful. I look at her and can't believe how much time has passed already. Now 3 1/2 has also posed some challenges. We want to be very independent and somewhat bossy and we can be a little defiant too. Who knew? I feel so much pressure to raise her well and during the week I pretty much do it on my own and there are times when I feel like I'm really failing her. Having children really can reveal all your own weaknesses (in case they weren't already clear to you before kids :-P) It's funny how sometimes when I feel that way, Jess comes out of nowhere with "I love you mommy. You're the best mommy in the whole world." Ahhhhh - so nice. It's very easy to lose perspective and those words just help me so much. I feel like there is so much 'on the job' training and I don't want my missteps to affect her. I just want her to be happy and confident in herself. I pray for a kind and empathetic heart and a loving and generous spirit. I just hope she knows that I'm doing my best and I love her "oodles and oodles with lots of cheese doodles" (it's our thing).