One proud Mama

This will be a quick post, but I just wanted to share!
It seems like since Adalyn turned one, she has figured out so many new things!

She signs all done, more, dog, and baby. Im so glad she knows all done; it makes it so much easier for Adam and I to know when she is full. She just waves those hands so fast! Ohhh, and her signing baby is the cutest thing. She grasps her hands together and just sways those arms back and forth so fast. She also says mama, dada, uh-oh, and wow.

When we say "arms up", she throws her arms up as high and she can reach.

She now knows where her nose is and will point at it. We are doing "My Baby Can Read" with her and let me just tell you, it is amazing!!!

Today I was watching her tear up an envelope from Farm Bureau and when she finally got a piece torn off, she stood up and walked straight into the kitchen to throw it away! I know my mouth dropped. I was shocked so I asked her to come back in the living room and to throw something away for me. She grabs it out of my hands and walks back to the trash. I may like this game ;)

She also loves helping me put clothes in the washer. She picks ONE thing up AT A TIME and will put it in the wash. Yes, it takes FOREVER to finally get the load started, but it just makes my heart smile seeing her helping me and being so in tune as to what I am doing.

We also gave her scambled eggs for the 1st time last night. We could not put them on her tray fast enough! She LOVED them.

She has also shown interest in turning a front flip. She kneels over and puts her head and hands on the ground, but she cant quite figure out how to get her body over. I hoping we have a gymnast on our hands.

Monday the 22 was her 1 year check up! Gah, I still cannot believe she is one. Anyway, she weighs 23 lbs-80th percentile and is 30.5 inches long-97th percentile and her head is also in the 97th percentile. (ha) She is just like her daddy. The only thing she got from me were blue eyes. Maybe our next kid will look like me...

No pictures to post tonight. Just wanted to share the exciting accomplishments happening in the Clark household!

I thought little boys did this...not girls!

HAHA I have been meaning to blog about this but just got a chance to sit down and do it. Adalyn absolutely LOVES bath time. When it's time for a bath, we ask her if she wants to take a bath and she immediately walks straight to her bathroom and peeks over the tub. As I am fixing her water and moving toys out of the way, I (or Adam) start taking off her clothes and diaper to get her ready to plop her in the tub. We do this everytime and for some reason she decides to pee all over the floor! Before I knew it, she was bent over with her little hand rubbing it back and forth like she was finger painting. We couldn't help but to laugh! I quickly cleaned it up, got her in the bath, and went on about our business. Well, this happened on a thursday, and Saturday, she did the same thing again. Expect she was standing on her pretty pink rug. I guess it's our fault for taking her diaper off too soon, but again, we laughed and laughed. She hasn't done anything like that since she was a newborn! So for now on, no more taking off the diaper before we put her in the bath. Lesson learned.

Aside from peeing on the bathroom floor, we celebrated Adam's birthday this past friday, the 19th. We clearly remember his birthday last year... Adalyn was 6 days old and we were both VERY tired. This year was a lot better. We went to Elmo's and stuffed our faces with Mexican. Even Adalyn had a cheese quesedea and some bites of avocado. She even wore her 1st pair of skinny jeans.


Saturday we went to Memaw and Papaws and played with the cows, napped, and ate a big birthday dinner.

Adalyn's First Birthday!

Adalyn's first birthday was this past Saturday, November 13. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and we had a great party! She was her happy little self all day long. She took 2 long naps before her party which was great. That gave us time to get things done and the fact that she wouldn't be moody. ha.

It's the Birthday Girl!

Her very own chair from mommy and daddy


(as you can see, she was overly excited about her new, pink chair.)

Her birthday outfit



The Cakes

The Set-up

Monthly Photo Banner


Birthday Banner


Cake Time!






With mama and daddy

I will definitely always treasure this picture... Adalyn's Greatmother Cleta May Anderson. ( Adalyn's middle name is from her)

Adalyn is ONE!

Holding my "baby" before we put her to bed. She had a long, exciting day!


Adalyn had a "Pink & Green" birthday party and it was an aboslute blast! We are so very blessed with wonderful friends and family. As most of you know, I am not big on "themes" so I was able to plan her party the way I wanted to since she can't really tell me what she likes at this stage! Im sure next year it will be a different story, which is fine by me. I think it will be neat when she tells me what kind of birthday party she wants.

We Love You Birthday Girl!

Dear Adalyn,

You are the Birthday Girl today! whoa! Where did this year go? When you woke up this morning, I went and got you and brought you back to bed with me and your daddy. As I layed you down in between us, I slipped off of my pillow and nuzzled my head into your neck and tried to breathe in the last bits of your baby smell that seemed to disappear more and more each day. Then I laid back and just stared at your face. You were laying so still just looking at the ceiling fan. I made sure not to let you see that my eyes were open. When you see my eyes open, you think it's time to get up and play and I'm usually not ready to do that just yet. Neither is your daddy. Your little face is just perfect. your facial features are just beautiful. I laid there thinkin, you are one today. really? ONE? Some days it seems like you were born just yesterday. Then there are some days it feels like I have lived my whole life with you. I think thats because you complete me. That may sound corny but I always thought I was complete when I fell in love with your dad. But now I know you complete us. You have made us parents and there is not a better feeling in this world than having your own family. We have God to thank for you. A child fills a place in your heart that you never knew was empty. ~Author Unknown

While its hard not to miss all the things I loved about you as a newborn, I must admit you sure are fun at this age! You have such a personality which everyone loves. You are always smiling, laughing, clapping, or pointing at something. I love the way you squeal when your daddy jumps out from behind something and scares you. You love the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. You absolutely love to dance and bob your head to music. You sign "All Done" when you are finished eating and you are starting to sign "Dog" when we see a dog.

Adalyn, you are our best friend and we are truly amazed at the little girl you have become.You are so sweet, good natured,silly, and pretty smart, too!

Happy FIRST Birthday Adalyn May Clark!
We love you,
Mama and Daddy

Adalyn's Birth Story...All because two people fell in love

In my previous blog I wrote about Thursday, November 12, 2009 which was my last full day of being pregnant and also the fact that I wasn't allowed to eat after 12 Noon that day. After we were finished with lunch, I went home and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. We were to be at Baptist Hospital at 7:00 PM to be admitted in the hospital. At 5:00 that afternoon, I took a shower, straightened my hair and applied my make-up. Yes, I did all that because I was thinking ahead as to how many pictures would be taken once Adalyn was here! haha. For all who know me, you know that is no surprise. We put our bags and diaper bag in the truck, along with your carseat, and off we were to Nashville. On the ride there, Adam and I talked about how we just could not believe it was TIME to do this! We held hands the whole way and talked about how things would be changing...a lot. But, we were ready. Once we arrived at the hospital, we parked, and walked right in to the labor and delivery floor. 7:00 is right at shift change for the nurses so we had to wait for quite some time. Which was fine by me, Grey's Anatomy was due to be on at 8:00 anyway so we made ourselves comfortable in the waiting room. Wait, maybe I should rephrase that. Adam made himself comfortable. I was 40 weeks pregnant and HUGE. Those chairs are NOT comfortable for someone who is about to give birth. Anyway, I made the best out of it. I tried my hardest to pay attention to Grey's but just couldn't. I had so many thoughts going through my head and I kept turning around looking for a nurse to come in and get us.Finally, they had a room ready for us. We had toured the hospital a few weeks prior so I was real excited to walk in and see a HUGE room waiting for us. I seriously felt like I was checking into a hotel. Once I got changed, I hopped, or more like waddled, into bed and the nurse gave me an IV and hooked me up to monitor to track your heartbeat and my contractions. She explained what things meant on the monitor so whenever Adam and I would look at it, we atleast knew what we were looking for and what it all meant. She then started a low dose of pitocin and from then on, it was a waiting game. By this time it was after 9:00 so Adam and I decided we better try and get some sleep. Adam layed down on his couch/bed and I was thankfully pretty comfortable in the hospital bed. I slept on and off throughout the night. Same with Adam. Every 30 mintues my stupid blood pressure cuff went off so that would wake me up everytime. They ended up having to get a child's blood pressue cuff b/c the adult size was way to big for my arm! That night I was up and down going to the bathroom alot. When you have a baby so low and right on your bladder, you better believe you will pee a lot. I also ate my fair share of popcicles and ice chips. The nurse came in during the night and slowly increased my pitcoin. Contractions were still very bearable then. Morning came, and we were waiting on Dr. Thornburg to come in at 7:30 AM to break my water. She asked if I wanted the epidural first and I said no. I actually wanted to feel SOME sort of labor pain just to say I did. ha. After she did that, she went to the office because she was seeing patients that day so we were still playing the waiting game. My parents came in not too long after my water had been broken, then Adam's parents came. Like I said, my contractions were not bad at all...UNTIL she broke my water! and OH MY GOSH! Talk about pain. They were coming SO fast I barely had time to breathe inbetween contractions. They were coming every 1-2 mintues. I finally asked for my epidural and thankfully he was in my room within mintues. He was a young guy, I could tell. I recall looking at this name tag and seeing, "Student" on it and I thought, oh crap! I didnt say anything so he went on to introduce himself and he told me he was a student in his last semester of anesthesia school and that if I prefer someone else give it, he could get someone. I immediately told him no, that he could do it. I mean, he was almost done with school and you have to get all the practice you can, right? I was just in so much pain I did not care if a janitor gave it to me at that point. It seemed like it took him forever to get his things set up. I know it really didn't, but when you are hurting, it seems like a life time. I remember right before he was about to do it, I got a contraction and told him not to do it. As SOON as it was over, he went in for the kill. He did a great job. It hurt a little, but good grief, not near as bad as what I was going through. They layed me back down, and I immediately started to feel numb in my lower limbs. After a few minutes, they were poking my legs and my left leg was not as numb as my right. I immediately thought, Oh no. I'm one of THOSE women whose epidural won't fully take and I'll be able to feel all of this! No worries though, they had me to lay on my side and just like that, I was numb as could be. Once they all left and our parents came back in the room, I was a different person! I was so relaxed and was able to talk, laugh and read a magazine all the while I was dilating without the pain. =) The nurse came in a little while later to check the progression. Our parents stepped out and I remember Adam and the nurse moving my legs and I grabbed them and said, "oh my gosh Adam. Are my legs really as FAT as they feel?" He and the nursed laughed. It's like when you go to the dentist and have a cavity filled, your jaw/cheeks feel huge but they reall aren't. Then at 12:48 PM, the nurse checked me one more time and I was at a 10! She said," You're at a ten! Time to push!" I was like, whoa, you must be kidding me?! She wanted me to practice pushing a few times with her. I had a mirror so I could watch which was amazing! They called Dr. Thornburg to let her know I was ready to push so she left her office and headed over to deliver! She got there at 1:30, I pushed a few more times and at 1:43 PM on November 13, 2009, I was holing my little girl in my arms. Adalyn was crying, I was crying, Adam was crying. It was a beautiful moment and a moment I will never forget and think about just about every single day. Adalyn, you came into this world weighing 8 lbs 2.5 oz and was 21.5 inches long! When they told me how big you were, I remember saying, "See Adam, I told you I was miserable!" haha. After they layed her on my chest, (which was the best moment I have ever experienced) they took her over to the heating table and cleaned her up. Adam followed and recorded some of that while Dr. Thornburg stitched me up. On that day our lives were forever changed, and we thank God for blessing us with such a beautiful, healthy baby girl.

Ready for Adalyn!



She's HERE!



First Clark family photo





Mommy and Daddy holding our baby for the 1st time




After an hour or two, the nurse helped me to nurse you and afterwards you fell fast asleep. We had lots of visitors that evening and throughout the weekend to meet you.

Thank you Adalyn for being you. You are our life and love you so much.

November 12, 2009

So this day last year was a pretty exciting/nervous day for me.(and im sure adam as well). I worked up until the end of my pregnancy which was fantastic by me. I stongly believe it helped me during my labor! I never slowed down a bit during my pregnancy(well, maybe during the 1st trimester b/c i was SO sick) and I honestly feel that is what made my labor and delivery a piece of cake! (thank you Lord) Sunday was my last day, then I was able to "rest" Monday-Thursday. This day last year was the day we would be checking into Baptist Hospital to have my baby. Becasue of the fact that I was getting induced, my doctor told me not to eat after 12 noon on that day! AGHH! Really?? So because I wouldn't be eating for another 24 hours, i ordered O'Charley's ToGo, and went to Adam's work and ate our "last" lunch together in his classroom. I pigged out. Spinach dip, Chicken fingers, french fries, and maybe even a side salad? I stuffed my face, that's for sure. But as you pregnant ladies know, we eat allll the time while pregnant and for them to tell you that you cannot eat after 12 Noon(I had Adalyn at 1:43 PM the NEXT afternoon by the way)you think you might possibly die. I enjoyed lunch with Adam that day. It was so peaceful for some reason. Like everything was just running so slow and perfect. All we could talk about was how exited we were and that we could NOT believe this day was finally here.

Here I am, my last belly shot, at 40 weeks!

Who knew skin could stretch like that. Thankfully, no stretchmarks! I just hope I get that lucky with all of my other kids...

So it's true...

the statement, "It will hurt you worse than it will them" is so very true. I had a crappy day Monday. Needless to say, when I got home, I was SO glad to see Adam and Adalyn. If you have ever been to our house, inbetween our dining room and kitchen is a window type thing and underneath the window is a frame that I have hanging. Adalyn has shown some interest in this frame for some time now but hasn't really tried to bother it. Well, Monday she went over to it, looked at me and adam, then grabbed it. (Luckily it didn't fall off.)I gave her a stern "no" and she did it again. I again told her "no" but she went on to grab it again! Not that she understands me, but I went on to tell her why I did not want her playing with that. Because it will hurt when it falls, etc.I thought to myself, "uh oh. isn't it too early for her to be disobeying?!" haha. So, I told her no for the 3rd time and popped her hand.Not too hard but hard enough to get my point across. She looked at me and gave me the saddest frown then started bawling her little eyes out! AHHH. I wanted to cry too. Thats when the saying, "it will hurt you worse than it will them" came into my head. boy oh boy is that true. I went on to hug her and explained to her why I popped her hand. Because I love you, I did not want you to get hurt, and when mama says, no, you need to listen, etc, etc. So anyway, she did the same thing that night when I had left to run to the tanning bed. Adam told me he had to do the same thing to her! Looks like we are starting the discpline process already! I hear consistency is key, so that's our plan.

Aside from that, I have been off the past two days and I learned how to do my new hobby! I got an embroidery machine and I am learning how to monnogram bibs, blankets, burp cloths, etc. I am SO excited! I'll post some pictures once I am confident enough to show off my work. haha. I just love getting things monnogrammed for Adalyn and I have SO many friends with babies and lots expecting so I figure what a better time to learn something new!

We are 9 days away from my "baby" turning ONE. Shew. I cannot believe it. I am so excited for her party! I will be posting a blog regarding my birth story so be sure to check that out when I do.

For now, some information on what Adalyn is up to these days...
-She has 8 teeth
-She has been walking since the end of September
-She will not crawl at all anymore. She knows she can get where she is going alot faster by walking
-She is getting pretty good with signing "All Done" when she is finished eating or when I get finished nursing her. We are still working on "more" "please" and "thank you".
-She loves to share my peanut butter toast with me
-She says "Uh-Oh" just about all day long. It is so cute.
-We ask her where the light is and she automatically points at a light. When we feed her in the dining room and ask her where the light is, she will point at the light in the dining room, then point at the light in the living room.
-We had some boxes flattened out in the kitchen from buying groceries and Adam asked Adalyn to bring him a box. She walks to the kitchen, picks it up, and brings it to him. I thought it was a fluke so I asked her to bring me a box and she did. She ended up bringing us all 5 boxes. The next morning, I asked her to bring me her pacifier. She pulls it out of her mouth, walks over to me, and puts it in my hand. Talk about being shocked. She loves that paci so for her to give it up was amazing.
-She is pretty particular about food textures. She loves crackers, cheese, pretzels. We cooked her some whole grain wheat noodles and sprinkled cheese on top and it was a no go. Even a slice of bread she will spit out.
-She is sleeping wonderfully now. About 6 weeks ago we decided to let her cry it out when she woke up during the night. It worked like a charm. We try to get her in bed by 7:30 or 8.
-She LOVES dogs.
-She laughs ALLL the time and I love it.
-She loves "helping" me with the laundry. She will hand me a sock and she loves to turn it on because everything lights up and makes a fun noise.

She is truly our pride and joy and we are so blessed to be her parents!