Is it almost March 5th already?

(ABOVE: Welcome to the World Jaden Alexandra!)
(ABOVE: A Sleeping Baby Jaden - 6 days old!)
(ABOVE: How about a 'stunned' Baby Charlotte ... she still does the "Turtle Face")

(ABOVE: A Smiley Baby Charlotte - yeah, that's not from gas!)

(ABOVE: Jaden jumping in the pool at her friend Riley's Birthday Party)

(ABOVE: Jaden getting out of the pool - Can you believe she's 7 already!!!)

(ABOVE: Charlotte peeking out of her carset - see her baby acne? Poor Baby!)

Well today is March 3rd ... to most people March 3rd comes and goes ... for me I remember March 3, 2002 like it was yesterday!! You see I was pregnant with Jaden 7 years ago ... I wasn't supposed to be pregnant anymore - she decided to stay in a week longer than her due date! On March 3, 2002 I spent the day shopping with my sister Niki and niece Amanda at Babies R' Us and then we all headed to Buca Di Beppo's for dinner that evening. That was my last meal as a childless person! I remember eating spaghetti and spicy green beans. They were nothing special but they must have done the job because at 12:35am on March 4th I woke up feeling slightly uncomfortable! I laid in bed for a few hours quietly and around 2:30am I decided I might want to wake up Jason and my sister Niki. I hopped in the shower and the 3 of us headed to the hospital. I spent the next few hours walking around the L&D unit hoping things would change but (believe it or not) I didn't progress so (believe it or not) the nurses sent me HOME with a sleeping pill!! (WHAT!!! Yeah - OK!) By about 11:00am I was beyond uncomfortable and NOT sleeping so Jason called my Dr's office. My Dr could hear me screaming while Jason was on the phone so he sent us back in to the hospital this time to stay. By 1:30pm they broke my water and by 3:00pm I had an epidural ... I remember having HORRIBLE back labor for about 8 hours so I was thankful for that epidural! Jaden was quite poky thought and decided to wait it out for a bit. You see I spent the entire day of March 4th in Labor so for the longest time I was sure Jaden was born on the 4th ... but the little stinker decided to come at 1:01am on March 5th! I remember that moment so clearly! She came out fairly easy and when she did she had the longest, darkest hair on her head - and the fullest cheeks! She was so darn cute ... they whisked her away to be weighed and we were ALL shocked (even the Dr) when they said she was 9lbs 9oz and 22.5" long ... Holy Moly - she was such a big, beautiful baby! It is so strange to think that she is already turning seven years old ... some days it makes me sad to see how much she's grown and changed but most days I look at her and am so proud I don't have words to explain it. She has turned into such a lovely little lady and she has one of the biggest hearts around. Her empathy and compassion towards other people is what makes me most proud ... she truly cares for people and their feelings. I guess looking back Jason and I did a pretty good job on our first born ... here's hoping our track record stands for Charlotte! So Happy 7th Birthday Jaden ... Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and love you more than we could ever say!!

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There is some more birthday news to share too ... Jaden has her Science Fair on Thursday with her friend Kya ... they are making Lava Lamps and explaining how they work ... it should be a lot of fun. Jason's mom is having lunch with her at school and then we will all head to the fair to see her project. As far as gifts go - well let me just say that Jaden has been asking for a Hamster for the past year and a half ... well Jason and I have pushed it off and off and off ...well we finally decided (after a long conversation with Jaden) that she is old enough to take on that responsibility - we have NOT told her we are getting her one though ... after work on Thursday before the Science Fair Jason and I are heading to Petland to get her the grey dwarf hamster she wants SO bad ... we will then bring it home and put it on her dresser with a BIG bow on top ... after that we will all head to the Science Fair and when we get home we will see how long it takes for her to notice she has a hamster ... she is going to FLIP out! It should be a fun night! I hope I can catch her excitement on video!

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Ok - I know I am LONG WINDED as usual but I can't post a new post without talking about Charlotte too! She is growing like a weed still and those cheeks of hers get bigger and fuller each day! She starts daycare on Monday and Jaden doesn't have school that day so they two of them get to spend the day together at Dani's house - it should be an interesting day for all of them! Then my mom and dad get here on March 11th (I CAN NOT WAIT!!!) so we will have a busy week next week - then Saturday March 14th is Jaden's Birthday Party at Grand Slamm and that sounds like a BLAST! Sadly My mom, dad AND Manda all head back to NY on the 17th ... We are going to miss Manda more than she realizes and I sure she will miss the girls terribly - we've loved having her here and having that time with Chralotte and Jaden ... she will be missed!!

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Charlotte is enjoying her days sleeping, eating, fake crying, smiling and talking up a storm ... she also has developed a HORRIBLE (to her mom at least) case of Baby Acne ... it is all over her scalp, forehead, cheeks, ears and upper torso ... some days it is worse than others but most days it is just dry and bumpy - the Dr said to keep it clean and lotion free. I have been giving her a bath each night to clean the oil off of her skin and last night I washed everything she has in Dreft ... I am hopeful this does the trick!!! I know it doesn't bother or hurt her but it looks painful! So wish us luck that Dreft and lots of baths will be the magic bullet! Other than that both girls are doing wonderful ... PLUS it is supposed to be 45 this week so we are all gearing up for spring fever!! WHOO-HOO!

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Have a wonderful week!

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Love ~ The Clark Family of Four (plus Manda) ~ Rebekah, Jason, Jaden and Baby Charlotte!