Santa Claus is Coming To Town ...

~ Charlotte and Jaden with Santa - 2009 ~

Just wanted to upload a picture of the girls with Santa ... we went to the Mall today to beat the crowd and it turned out really good ... Charlotte cried right after this picture was taken ... it is a great 1st time for her and of course Jaden always does well ... Have a Happy Weekend!

Love ~ The Clark Family of Four ~ Rebekah, Jason, Jaden and Miss Charlotte

Could it be true?

~ Can anyone guess what this is? Could it be one of Shrek's kids? ~
~ Nope - just Miss Charlotte with Piggy Tails in ... playing with the dog through the window ... how much is that doggy in the window? FREE! (if you're asking me) ~

~ Jolene and Charlotte during one of our many lunch visits to El Loro - YUM! ~

~ Sydney & Jaden ~

~ Christina, Sydney & Jaden outside playing in the leaves ~

Does Miss Charlotte really, truly have 7 teeth in that mouth of hers? Why yes she does - and not a single one popped through with incident - they just suddenly appeared - she is just like Jaden was! She is also on the move when it comes to cruising along any and all furniture - pulling up on things (even things she shouldn't) seems to be a common thing these days ... and with that comes bumps and bruises right? Well she pulled herself up in her crib after napping Saturday and must've fallen and banged her little cheek on the side of the bed because now there is a purpleish bruise on her right cheek - poor baby sobbed like I have never seen! She bounced back fast though and proceeded to bang her mouth a few hours later on a toy! Jeesh ... it is too funny and cute to see her standing up though ... boy this past year has flown right on by without checking to make sure I was okay with that!!! not nice ...

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Jaden and Charlotte both got their flu and swine flu vaccinations last week and now Jaden has been hit with a horribly croupy cough - reminds me of nebulizer days! She says she feels fine and she is fever free so I am not worried (yet!) She did take the night off from swimming yesterday but she did go tonight but was pretty tired from the cough medicine - here's hoping she bounces back soon!

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Other than that we are gearing up for some Christmas Decorating at the Clark House! Charlotte's very 1st Christmas is right around the bend - quickly followed by her Big 1st Birthday ... it is going to get pretty busy around here. We are celebrating her day on New Year's Eve with a party in the afternoon followed by ringing in the New Year afterwards with friends and family! Jaden is the official party planner/decorator and she is super stoked to pick out all the supplies and a cake too! I am just sad she is almost one already - might just have to have another hmmmm?

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Me - well I am trying to find a way to surprise Jason with a weekened getway somewhere warm and cheap (since I am still without a job!) I was hoping to give him a little trip for Christmas but we would take the weekend away right around his birthday in January! If there is anyone out there with some travel ideas please let me know ... we are without a passport so it will have to be within the 50 states ...

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Well I hope all my readers I have abandoned are still out there and doing well ... we are chugging along here as happy as can be ...

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Love ~ The Clark Family of Four ~ Rebekah, Jason, Jaden and Miss Charlotte

Happy Halloween ...

~ The Aspen Avenue NE Christmas Card 2009 - Jenny (passed out), Tony, Keely, Kevin, Dustin and Ross ... gotta love it when Jenny parties ~
~ Can you say SUGAR! ~ Alanna and Sydney

~ Mine and Jason's costume ... do you get it? ~

~ Aunt Adrienne and Charlotte ... I swear if I didn't birth her I would believe she wasn't mine but Adrienne's - WILD! ~

~ Kendra & Sarah - mom and daughter Vampires ~

~ MUMMY DOGS with Spider Web Dipping Sauce ~

~ Witches Brew - frozen hand and all ~

~ Vampiress Jaden ~

~ eeeew - Weiner Worms ~

~ A Gummy Foot - this thing was beyond GROSS - it has crunchy bone parts in it ICK! ~

~ Jaden and Adrienne built the Haunted Gingerbread House - it is pretty cute ~

~ Charlotte's 1st Pumpkin Carving ~

~ Jaden getting ready to carve her pumpkin - she looks kind of evil here ... ~

~ Charlotte inhaling some mandarin oranges ~

~ And this is the New CHUCKY smile ... you all know that creepy doll from Child's Play - yup, she is smiling just like him .... ~

Just posting some pictures from Charlotte's 1st Halloween. We had a great party and enjoyed spending the day with lots of friends and neighbors. Charlotte did NOT get her nap in so she was down for the count at 6:00 (BUMMER) but she woke back up around 9:30 and stayed up past 12 ... it was a fun night. At one point we had about 30 people in the garage and lots of kids in the house playing. Jaden was a gothic vampire, Charlotte was a little yellow duck ... was Brett Favre and Jason was - well just read his t-shirt to find out ... even Aunt Adrienne dressed up as an angel. It was a great time - cold outside but nice and warm in the heated garage! It worked out so well that we will be having Charlotte's big 1st Birthday the same way on New Year's Eve ... can't believe she will be one soon! UGH!

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Nothing else has been going on here - just chugging along, getting ready for the Holidays and trying to figure out plans and gifts! Other than that nothing new .. still unemployed and still enjoying it while I can. Headed to a college campus yesterday to review some classes and programs available ... we will see what I can muster up in regards to a Business Management degree - sigh!

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Hope you are all well - Jaden is still swimming 4 hours a week and still seems to be enjoying it ... as for Charlotte - pulling up on EVERYTHING - falling down too ... and got her 6th tooth this past weekend, 4 on top, 2 on bottom - oh and I have NEVER seen a child suck down mandarin oranges the was she does ... pardon the visual but they seem to be coming out the way they go in - whole ... she is a maniac!

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Love ~ The Clark Family of Four ~ Rebekah, Jason, Jaden and Miss Charlotte

Oh Say It Ain't So ...

~ Little Miss Charlotte - 10 Months Old ~
~ Charlotte & The Big Brown Bear - 10 Months Old ~
Is it true ... oh say it ain't so ... is Miss Charlotte 10 months old today? Boy - that went by entirely way too fast for my liking ... and to think - she never got my permission to grow up now did she? I think that just prepares us for the next decade or two of not asking permission! But in all honesty I can't believe how fast the pat 10 months have went by. She is as happy as ever and is a true joy to be around. Shewas even happy when she was feeling crummy last week! She now has 5 teeth and likes to chew on pretty much everything - including Jason's fingers - which hurt a lot now! She is crawling and is pretty darn fast at it and has also decided that standing up in her crib is AWESOME! She does it with the cutest grin on her face ... she is trying to pull up on the couch but can't find anyhing to hold on to but I am sure any day now that will be accomplished. She is my little peanut though - at only 20 pounds she is a full 7 pounds lighter than Jaden was at 10 months old! It has been fun to watch hom movies of Jaden and to be SO shocked at how much they look and sound alike ... Charlotte was even watching then the other day and clapping! So here she is - 10 Months old ... 2 months away from the BIG ONE YEAR ... better start party planning - since it will be on New Year's Eve we've got lots to do and plan ... that too will behere before I know it!
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Love ~ The Clark Family of Four ~ Rebekah, Jason, Jaden and Miss Charlotte

OMG - I pretty much SUCK!

~ My mom and Dad with The Clark Family of Four and Jason's Mom and Herb ~
~ Jaden with her Arial Face Painting from Aunt Niki at the Mall of America ~

~ Jaden holding up her sign at the airport waiting for Nanny and Poppy to come ~

~ Charlotte and her 1st set of piggy tails ~

~ Charlotte and her big grin at the Corn Maze ~

Well it is officially the longest stretch of Non-Blogging I have done since becoming a regular blogger and really there truly is no reason for it - we haven't been overly busy, I haven't gone back to school so I am not swamped with studying, I have not gone back to work so I am not swamped with orientations and the like ... I pretty much just SUCK! I apologize if there are still people checking in on us and I also apologize for not checking in on anybody else ... I have just taken a hiatus from blogging and the computer all together! Here's hoping now that it is OH SO BEAUTIFUL here (not really) I will start back on my regular blogging schedule!

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So if anyone is out there I guess I will let you all know that things here are fine! Jaden is enjoying school and is loving being on the Mn Storm Swim Team ... she is now swimming 3.5 hours a week and seems to be having a good time doing so! She is also doing great in school - we had her 2nd grade conference 2 weeks ago and she is right on track with reading and math! Jason and I are very proud of how far she's come in her reading - she truly pushes herself and logs each and every book she reads! Other than that she is looking forward to our Halloween Party next saturday where she will present herself as a gothic vampire ... should be interesting! We spent today shopping for clearance Halloween decor and getting our menu ready for Saturday ... so far we are having Dead Man Walking Tacos - Chill You To The Bone Chili - Weiner Worms - Mummy Dogs - Witches Brew - Guacamole Spider Web Dip - MN Wild Rice Pumpkine Hotdish and of course Pumpkin Bars - Jason and I are still without costumes but Jaden has hers and Miss Charlotte is going to be a little yellow duck!!! I am sure we will have plenty of pictures to share ...

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Speaking of Charlotte, last Sunday was her Baptism and it was wonderful. We had 8 of my NY relatives either fly or drive here for it and after you counted MN family and friends we had 35 people there to celebrate this special occassion! She of course did beautifully even though she just came down with her 1st fall/winter cold - which she so generously shared with Jaden and I! She also has mastered the full hands and knees crawling and decided pulling up on things is fun too ... it is hard to believe that she will be 10 months old next week - 2 months from 1 year! UGH! Time goes by too fast! She is as cute as ever and I am loving my time with her at home - though I am sure she is BORED of me by now! She has a new found love - Jaden's Toy Kitchen - she spends hours tearing that thing apart and playing (I mean chewing) on all the pretend foods ... it is fun to watch her enjoy something that Jaden spent hours playing with as a little one!

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I will be back tomorrow or Monday to post pictures of my family' visit from NY - We all loved every second they were here and as always it sucks that they are gone already! Once again - time goes by way too fast ... but for now here are a few pictures of Jaden and Charlotte!

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Hope you are all healthy and well!

Love ~ The Clark Family of Four ~ Rebekah, Jason, Jaden and Miss Charlotte

Hard to believe she is really only 7!!

~ My Beautiful Jaden ~

Just popping in to post a few new pictures ... Jaden has school pictures today so she asked me to crimp her hair - remember doing that ladies? Well I spent about 15 minutes on her hair because she has so damn much of it but in the end it turned out AWESOME! I can't believe she is really only 7 years old and I can not believe how blonde her hair is - it is crazy! In other Jaden news - tonight is her last South Metro Storm Swim Class - after the class we will talk with the coach and hear what he thinks we should do next. Jason and I are excited to hear what his opinion is ... tomorrow she has her regular Foss Swim School Class and she is looking forward to the 1/2 hour class vs. the hour class - she is pretty tired but she has progressed so much in just 2 weeks ... speaking of two weeks - my family arrive in two weeks for Charlotte's Baptism - We are all super excited to have then here!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ~ Charlotte working on her crawling skills ~

Charlotte is inching closer and closer to crawling ... she has mastered the position and can even get up to a sitting position from a tummy position but her hands and knees are not coordinated just yet but she's so proud when she is on her hands and knees ... can't believe she is 9 months old already! Where does the time go? She heads to the Pediatrician today for her regular shots plus a flu shot and the ever important ear check - here is hoping they are fluid free - if they are we think she can start her own swimming lessons this winter ... she LOVES the water so it would be a blast to have her in swim class as well. We will see ...

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Hope you are all staying warm - it is rainy - gloomy and cold here ... in fact so rainy our roof was leaking like a faucet last night - thanks to my ever so handy husband we think he sealed the roof vent where all the water was pouring in ... he is such a great guy - I found a good one on the internet 12 years ago ....

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Love ~ The Clark Family of Four ~ Rebekah, Jason , Jaden and Baby Charlotte

9 Months Old!!!

~ Charlotte & The Big Brown Bear - 9 Months Old ~

Just popping in to put up Charlotte's 9 Month Photo ... it truly is hard to believe that she is already 9 months old! Time does go by entirely too fast when it comes to our children! But she is as cute as ever and I am enjoying my time home with her. This morning she woke up and had her top right tooth popping through ... that means she has 3 teeth and we're on our way towards STEAK! I called my mom to let her know she will be working her way toward that goal ... She is also ever so close to crawling. She has the motion and can get herself from a lying down position to a sitting position with NO problem but I think she realizes that if she rolls towards her destination and then sits up she can get to what she wants faster than trying to move her arms and legs at the same time - but I know she'll get there - I SERIOUSLY need to get to baby proofing!! That is on my weekend to do list! So aside from her being as cute as can be she is still the happiest baby I have ever seen ... there is nothing that gets her too upset unless she's hungry or her diaper is dirty. She takes 3 hour naps in her crib during the day and goes to bed at night around 8:00 and sleeps straight through until about 7 or 8 (sometimes even 9!!!) I am a lucky momma ... she likes her sleep just like her sister ... so here is Charlotte's 9 Month Photo ...

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Jaden is LOVING her MN Storm Swim Clinic which wraps up this Friday. We will be talking with the coach to hear what his evaluations are. She was asked to perform the butterfly kick to show everyone and the coach said she was excellent - she loves the butterfly - he called her "His Flyer" ... so we are proud of her and she is truly pushing herself to do well ... Not sure what I did in life to deserve such great kids but I will take it ...

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Oh and we are now 15 days and counting until my mom and dad fly in for Charlotte's Baptism ... my brother, sister, sister in law, nieces and nephew are arriving via car on Thursday! I know the drive will be so boring and long but I am excited for them all to get here ... we are planning a HUGE brunch after the baptism for 35 people and they all can't wait to hang out and talk with my mom - what can I say - I lucked out with awesome parents too!

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Have a wonderful night!

Love ~ The Clark Family of Four ~ Rebekah, Jason, Jaden and Baby Charlotte!

Poor Charlotte ...

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It seems as though she not only has ear infections on a regular basis but recently she has been found to be suffering from globophobia ... this is so sad to me and I am not sure how to help her overcome this ... it looks like her birthday party may suffer as a result ... What is globophobia you all are asking ... well it seems as though Charlotte has a fear of BALLOONS ... now I am obviously being sarcastic and please if there is anyone out there who seriously suffers from globophobia I apologize up front ... in all honesty I found it funny to try to figure out why every time I put Charlotte in her highchair she would get this nervous fakish type cry ... well finally it dawned on me - I have had the Vikings Mylar balloon clipped to the dining room chair for the past 2 weeks - well the air has started to seep out of the balloon so it was starting to get that weird drunken type float going on. That is the part that was freaking Charlotte out - it would just slowly float by her and make a crinkly noise and then there would be tears ... it was funny at first but once I truly realized that the tears were those big giant ones and she would jump if the balloon was tapped - well then I felt pretty bad for her ... so looks like balloons are OUT for the Big 1st Birthday unless we can help her overcome her fear ... any ideas?

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Hope you are all having a wonderful start to your weekend - we are hopefully headed HERE tomorrow if the rain stays away ...

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Have a GREAT Weekend!

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Love ~ The Clark Family of Four ~ Rebekah, Jason, Jaden and Baby Charlotte

The Mn Storm Swim Team

~ Jaden diving in to the pool ~
~ Jaden listening to the coach tell the class how to "Squeeze their brains with their elbows!" ~
~ Getting ready to do some diving ~

~ Charlotte watching her sister swim (see her bug bite?) ~

~ Jaden taking the lead ~

~ Jaden coming up from behind ~

~ Jaden doing some swimming ~

~ Ready - Get Set - GO! ~

Happy Tuesday Everyone! Well it has finally gotten in to seasonable temperatures here in MN - today is 70 an rainy - after 2 weeks in the 80's with sun and more sun ... Jaden was excited to be able to wear jeans and a long sleeved shirt ... if only she realized what temps were right around the bend she might savor some more days of shorts and tank tops ... *sigh* ... At least she will be able to swim all winter long between Foss Swim School and her MN Storm Swim Team Clinic she started last night. She enjoyed her time last night but did say she was pretty tired - she should be though - the pool length is longer than Foss' and she had to swim the entire length, non-stop back and forth for about 45 minutes straight. I would never have made it past 5 minutes that is for sure!!! After swimming for 45 minutes they started to learn the techniques of diving. This ws funny - let's just say there were a 'few' belly flops going on ... Jaden included ... but once again, who am I kidding, I would never but a bathing suit on in public anyhow let alone dive!! Yeah right!

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Jason and I were very proud of her after her first class ... she swam and listened to the coaches' directions and she stuck with it even though she was pretty pooped. She was excited to get a MN Storm swim cap to wear - made her feel 'Cool' she said. Jason and I thought it made her look grown up already! She has 3 more hour long classes this week and 4 hour long classes next week and then we will let her decide if she thinks she is ready for a competitive team activity. Also we will make sure the coaches' feel she is ready too ... we would hate to get her discouraged and then decide to not do any swimming at all!! So we will see ...

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As for Charlotte ... she was PERFECT last night while we watched Jaden swim. She played with some toys, ate some cereal puffs and just watched for the entire hour - I was thankful her MONSTER SCREAM remained inside until we got outside ... oh and speaking of Monster - Charlotte will be turning in to Baby Franestein for Halloween ... she may look so sweet and cute but there is a Little Monster hiding in there and she comes out often! She also managed to get bit of stung by some sort of bug right between her eyes Friday while we were on our walk ... by Saturday night it was swollen and puffed out so much that her eyes were all red underneath ... Jason said she looked like a Baby Klingon ... I was so sad for her ... I decided I would wai until Monday to see how it looked and thankfully it has gone down a lot ... she does have a dot in the center where she was bit (by what I have no idea) ... I am hoping that's the last of the Charlotte Buffet!

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Hope everyone is well and enjoying the First Day of Fall!!!

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Love ~ The Clark Family of Four ~ Rebekah, Jason, Jaden and Baby Charlotte!!

Go Vikings ...

~ Charlotte is ready for kickoff ~
~ Me and My Girls ~

~ Alanna and Jaden eating their sandwiches and watching the game ~

~ This WILL be my tattoo of Charlotte once I am ready to get it - I LOVE THIS PICTURE ~

~ Charlotte giving Harley Dog some lovin ~

~ My 3 Vikings Fans ~

~ Jaden decorating her Vikings Cupcakes ~

~ Charlotte says "SKOL Vikings!" ~

~ LOOK who that is - the voice of NeiHi KoiLan - or however you spell and say it! ~

~ Charlotte just waking up as we got to the Annual Target Book Fair ~

Happy Thursday Everyone ... I tell you - being (without a job) I find that I have no idea what the heck day it is ... they all flow in to one GIANT weekend - kind of nice actually! But today is Thursday so I figured I would pop on to blogger and post some photos and of course blab about our week. So if you are REALLY REALLY bored kick off your shoes and stay a bit ...

Let's see - Jaden has enjoyed being back at school and is pretty excited to be a 2nd grader. This year all the students had to get a planner to keep their homework assignments in. Well as soon as Jaden gets home she opens her planner and starts her homework. So far she has had to get in the habit of reading every night for at least 15 minutes and to tell us what her goals for the year are. She wants to be more organized in art, learn more math and be at school every day this year. We will see how she does but I think those are excellent goals. She also started back at swim school. She is happy to be back and enjoys learning the techniques of swimming. We also signed her up for an 8 session clinic with the MN Storm Swim and Dive Teams. She starts that Monday and it is 4 days a week/an hour a day/for two weeks. If she likes it we will sign her up for that team once the Fall Session at Foss Swim School ends. The only difference between the 2 are that the MN Storm offers her a chance to grow through the program even after she's 18 plus it is a competitive swim team environment so hopefully she enjoys it. Other than that it has been pretty quiet around here - which is nice for a change!

Miss Charlotte is getting closer and closer to crawling - she tries SO hard to get there but falls on her belly which then gets her pretty mad! Her and I are working on the hand/knee coordination but really - what the heck do I know - hopefully we will get there soon - or not so soon since I have NO baby proofing done!!! Uh-Oh! Other than that she has discovered a new sound - it is a WHINE! Oh my goodness I am hoping she finds another sound soon because this new one is a bit annoying - especially after about 3 hours of it ... she is as happy and as cute as ever though and I am enjoying all the time I am getting with her! Yesterday we surprised Jason at work and went to lunch - he was happy and proud to show herto his coworkers - they haven't seen her since she was about 2 weeks old - that was a LONG time ago!

We haven't been too busy around here - I have cleaned out all the clothes closets in the house to get them ready for fall clothes and I moved all Jaden's toys to the spare room because her closet was getting filled with junk and her clothes no longer fit in it. Charlotte's closet has some fall clothes in it thanks to Jolene but I am pretty sure we'll be heading out shortly to get some more - PLUS Halloween Costume shopping ... I can't wait to reveal their costumes this year!

My parents, brother, sister in law, nieces, nephew and sister all arrive in 4 weeks for Charlotte's Baptism - I am excited to have them here to celebrate PLUS my niece Hannah and nephew Matthew have never been here so it will be a wonderful family visit. I am thinking we will hit the MOA and the Apple Orchard ... it will be so much fun - Jaden is counting down the days too!!

This past weekend was the NFL Season Opener so we (kind of) all donned our Vikings gear and had a few friends over to watch the game - TheVikings won and I am happy to say I got some AWESOME photos of my girls ... I hope the winning continues for Jason's sake ... he is NOT a Brett Favre fan but wants to be ....

Have a wonderful rest of the week - Charlotte and I are heading to Godfather's Pizza to have lunch with Jolene ... until next time ...

Love ~ The Clark Family of Four ~ Rebekah, Jason, Jaden and Baby Charlotte