For real this time... three kids in our family!

We wanted to let everyone know....... Clark baby #3 will be arriving sometime around July 6, 2008! We are so excited to have another sweet, little one in our home. We'll give updates in the future when we have more details! For now, I'll just give you some dialogue from a very excited and concerned future big brother, Hayden keeps telling us things that we need to buy or do before the baby comes. Here are just a few:

Hayden: Mom, I know the most important thing we need to have a baby.
Kari: What is it?
Hayden: Clothes. Tiny, little clothes.

Hayden: Mom, we need to get a pacifier for the new baby.
Kari: OK.
Hayden: Because if Ana hits or punches the baby, I'll put the pacifier in it's mouth.

Hayden: Mom, we need to get a fence for the stairs.
Kari: You're right, we'll need one of those.
Hayden: Ya, I would be so sad if the baby tumbled down the stairs.

As you can see, he's taking his big brother duties very seriously. I'll need all the help I can get protecting the baby from Ana. Just kidding, she's really excited for a new baby, too!

Great Grandpa and Grandmom Clark

While in Utah over Christmas, we visited Hayden and Ana's Great Grandpa and Grandmom Clark. The kids loved seeing them and we took a few really cute photos while there. It was so fun to talk to and spend time with them.

Christmas 2007

We spent almost two weeks in Utah over Christmas and New Years - we had a blast! All of Rob's brothers and sisters were home, so we had so much fun hanging out with everyone and being crazy with the Clarks. Some of the highlights: sledding, girls night out to get pedicures, visit to Great Grandpa and Grandmom Clark, awesome food (thanks Wendy and Rob) and playing the Wii till all hours of the night.

Gingerbread House

The only thing that Hayden wanted to do before Christmas this year was build a gingerbread house. So he and I made one while the little kids were napping - he did a fantastic job - it turned out really cute!

Year in Review...

I had to gather up some photos from the last year to give to my parents for their Christmas letter/blog, so I figured I post them here, too.

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Three Kids in our Family

Mindy and Rob had our family for Christmas this year. They sent us a really awesome christmas decoration (they told us to open it early) that was packed in about 10 pounds of shredded paper. Rob decided that it was a great idea to open it in the middle of the living room floor. And thus we see the mess that took him over an hour to clean up. Here are the 3 kids having a wonderful time with the paper - they say that little kids would prefer the box and the paper to the gift - true in Rob's case as well. But don't get me wrong the kids loved the snowman decoration, they promtly took it outside and plugged it in on the porch so that we wouldn't be the only lame-o's on the block without outdoor christmas decorations.

Grandpa's Possum

We took a trip home to Pipestone for Thanksgiving this year (a slight change in plans, Mom and Dad were supposed to come to Denver, but Mom hurt her back so we decided to make the trip there instead). Upon arrival to their house at about 11:30pm. Dad proceeds to tell us that there is a ferocious animal that has died in the middle of the front yard. Rob of course had to check it out and found the biggest possum I've ever seen. When Hayden woke up the next day, Grandpa told him that there was a dangerous, ferocious animal in the front yard, but wouldn't tell him what it was. The conversation went something like this:

Grandpa: What do you think it is, Hayden?
Hayden: I fink its a bear.
Grandpa: I don't think so, what else do you think it might be.
Hayden: I fink it might be a deer.
Grandpa: I don't think it's a deer.
Haydens: Well, it wooks wike a deer.
Grandpa: Well, kind of.
Hayden: Yep, it's a deer.
Grandpa: Why don't you get your shoes on and have your Dad take you outside to check it out. Then you come and tell me what it is.
*Hayden goes outside with Rob to see the ferocious beast, and then comes back into the house*
Hayden to Grandpa: Yep, it's not a deer.

Hayden Loves Letters - Literally!

Hayden amazed us today when he decided that he was going to teach himself how to write some words. He's been practicing sounding things out lately, but we didn't know that he could write them as well. He loves letters so much - he'll tell you that he LOVES the letter "H" and any words that start with "H" as well. Hmmmm, I wonder why.

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Our "Thankful" Tree

To celebrate thanksgiving this year, we decided to make a thankful tree (another great idea from familyfun.com) We glued papers to autumn leaves, cut a branch off of our front yard tree and "planted" it in a pot with some rocks. Everyday in November we've been writing things that we are thankful for and hanging them on our tree. The kids loved making the tree and leaves for FHE and it's been great to talk about the things in our lives that we're truly thankful for.

The first day that we were writing down our blessings on the leaves, I asked Ana: "What are you thankful for?" she replied, "Ummmmmm..., Rocks!" So we wrote rocks down, then I asked: "What else are you thankful for?" she thought for a minute and said, "Umm, trees!" I wrote that down and said one more time: "Tell me one more thing that you're thankful for." She thought again and said, "Ummmmm, Jesus!" It's moments like those that make ME thankful for being a parent.

How Time Flies...

It seems like just yesterday we brought Ana home from the hospital, and now she's almost 3! These are the most recent photos of our sweet Ana.

Halloween 2007

The Pokemon and the Princess were ready to go trick-or-treating from the moment that they woke up on Halloween. We had a great time trick-or-treating around our neighborhood with some of our neighbors and friends. It was a beautiful night to be out - the kids didn't even need coats!

Ana's First Fingernail Polish

Ana was so excited to paint her fingernails for the first time, she almost hyperventilated in anticipation. It was pink with sparkles or "swarkles" as Ana calls them. We painted them as part of her princess costume for Halloween.

Halloween with our Friends

We have been having lots of fun with the kids that I babysit during the week. From trips to the pumpkin patch to a fun-filled Halloween party. We've had an action packed October.

Slightly Out of Character

Rob and I went to an adult Halloween party with a bunch of our friends. It was a blast - we had so much fun planning our costumes. It's pretty scary what parents will do when they are away from their kids...

Caramel Apples... Yummmm!!

For Family Home Evening treats this week, we attempted to make caramel apples. The kids loved it and they tasted awesome - I especially liked the ones with nuts - Yum! We were all a mess by the time that we were done, but it sure was fun!