Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. This year we decided to celebrate at home rather than travelling to see family. It was great to be able to have Catrina's parents out here. We weren't sure if they would be able to make it considering the weather in Washington. Jeremiah was really excited to have them here. On Christmas eve we made cookies for Santa and Jeremiah made sure the plate was set with cookies and milk for Santa and of course carrots for the reindeer.

Here is Jeremiah sitting next to the plate he set our for Santa.

On Christmas morning he noticed that Santa did not finish all the cookies so can you guess what Jeremiah asked??? He looked up and said, "Santa didn't eat all the cookies, can I eat it?" Priceless! Of course we encourage eating a healthy breakfast and even though it is Santa, we do not eat food other people have eaten.

Annalise was really interested in this bag. She played with it for a good 15 minutes until a few more toys came out.

She still has the bag and is giving the "dont even try to take the bag from me" look.

We almost forgot to look in the stockings. Once Jeremiah realized there was stuff for him in there, he did not want to take the picture. You can see the look of anticipation to get the picture over with so he can put his hands in the stocking.

Jeremiah wanted a scooter for a really long time. I think since August he has said maybe Santa will bring me a scooter. Well he was not disappointed. Thanks Grammy and Papoo. Here he is testing out his new wheels!

Winter Wonderland

Our neighborhood does a great job of entertaining the kids. This year our neighborhood playground was turned into a winter wonderland complete with lights, a full size gingerbread house, Santa's sleigh and Frosty the snowman. Jeremiah had a great time doing the cake walk although at first he did not understand the point of the game but luckily enough he did win a cake. I am pretty sure all the kids won a cake. He also got to play a lot of carnival games and won more than his share of candy canes. Here are some pics of the family having fun with the cut out cardboard characters.



Two cute snowkids! I think Jeremiah is eyeing the candy cane tree!




The wonderland was a great way to kick off the holiday.

A Thanksgiving Run

Happy Thanksgiving! I love this time of year and this will be the first year that our family has participated in a Turkey trot. Annalise and mom were spectators/cheering squad and Jeremiah and dad were the runners.
Jeremiah was really excited about his first race. He ran 60 yards and did not stop once. After he finished, he wanted to do it again. Where do they get all the energy? Then he remembered he was supposed to get a ribbon but unforntunately they ran out of ribbons and amazingly enough for a 2 year old he wasnt that upset. Later he was given a shirt as a consolation prize. (Personally, the shirt was much cooler than the ribbon) Here is a video of Jeremiah's race. He was a little late starting but you will see him and Brian coming in the center of the video.

Brian ran the 4 mile turkey trot next. It was his first race post-surgery and he felt really good. We have so much to be thankful for and feel blessed for the friends and family we have in our lives. Happy Thanksgiving....the Clarkes

Air show!

One of the best things about living in a city with military installations are the events they host throughout the year. Living in a city that has 4 military installations means the events are huge. For a child that loves planes the Air Show today was a huge blast! As soon as he got off the shuttle Jeremiah performed his Air show dance. This includes acting like a fanatic, dancing around and repeatedly screaming "Air show!" He liked looking at the jets but he did not like how loud they were so he wore his earplugs. He went in a couple of airplanes and went into the cockpit of the T-1 (a trainer plane) by himself. Do we possibly have a future pilot on our hands? Only time will tell. Of course he came home with a lot of military knick knacks and a very cool Thunderbird jet. Thanks Grammy and Papoo!

Looking at the model airplanes and looking cool!

Climbing up the stairs to go in a KC-10

The line is a lot smaller coming down.

Frozen Bagels

Annalise is teething and drooling. She already as her two bottom teeth and I think she is working on her third and fourth at the same time. She doesn't complain about her teeth but if she is not sleeping she is drooling. I did not know one child could create so much drool. I seriously think I go through at least 10 bibs a day, supposedly these bibs are waterproof but within a 1/2 hour Annalise has soaked one and her top is getting wet. I really did not want to give Anna a teething ring, especially with all the recent headlines concerning BPA in plastics. I read that a frozen bagel is a good soother. Annalise really loved it, she loved it so much that she worked on that bagel until she was able to get pieces off. Of course, she's a little young to be eating bagels so we will have to think of something else.

Trick or Treat

It seems like yesterday that Jeremiah was dressed as a lion and his only way of mobility was rolling around. Now Annalise is the roller in the family. We decided against putting her in a puffy costume in the Texas heat. Instead she hung out with Mom and Grammy (Brians parents are out here visiting) and handed out candy until her bed time.

Ready for trick or treating!

Waiting for trick or treating to start!

Jeremiah, Brian, and Papoo trick or treated around the block. This year Jeremiah wanted to be a knight. He was really excited when we found his "good" knight costume. He had to make sure it was not a "bad" knight costume.

On Guard!

Its funny to think back to Jeremiahs first birthday and how he disliked his sweet birthday cake. I would still say he prefers salty and pickled flavors but he definitely has developed his sweet tooth for chocolate and starbursts. If you ask him what candy he likes he will tell you M&M's and starbursts. He had sweettarts not too long ago and really doesnt like them. A neighbor handed him sweettarts while he was trick or treating and he gave them back to her and said "No, I do not like sweettarts!" Luckily for him, she let him choose something else. Jeremiah had a great time and when he came home mom, dad, grammy, and papoo made sure the candy was safe to eat, meaning no nuts and no suspicious candy. I am also glad to say that he loved handing out candy too. As he was getting ready for bed we had quite a few trick or treaters and well lets just say Jeremiah gave each trick or treater two heaping handfuls.

A Knight in Shining Armor! (oops where are your shoes)

The things they say...

I must say Jeremiah is a lot of fun at this age. He talks so much and sometimes he surprises Brian and I with the things he comes up with. I thought it would be nice to share some of Jeremiah's expressions and some funny quotes.

One day Jeremiah was putting on his shoes and he asked me if they were on the right feet. I told him that his right shoe was on his left foot and he would have to switch it. Then he said "Oh I wondered about that." He uses this expression a lot and I am not really sure where he learned it but its still cute.

The other day we are going to Costco and Jeremiah asked where we were going. I told him we were going to Costco. Brian and I could not help but laugh when Jeremiah said "Oooh thats my favorite restaurant." I guess maybe we eat the samples too much or maybe its the food court. Most likely, it is both.

Jeremiah has been working on his letters and his shapes. I think we are going to work on spelling next. He knows that H O M E spells homes. Well one day I pointed to a STOP sign and asked Jeremiah the letters. He said "S T O P that spells Octagon."

There are a lot more but I wanted to share a recent pic of Jeremiah and Annalise. Both are getting bigger, and it really amazes me how fast time flies.

The sweetest laugh and smile

I believe the best sound is a baby laughing. You will have to wait until the end of the video to hear Anna's giggles but it is definitely worth waiting for. I think she was enamored with daddy and the camera but she still has the sweetest giggles.

Guys Day Out

Brian and Jeremiah have a new thing they like to do. Every other Saturday morning Brian takes Jeremiah to the new Lowe's and they build something. The first time he went Jeremiah built a firetruck and this past Saturday he built a dunebuggy. Jeremiah loves it! Whats not to love, he gets to hammer, work with wood and create something, plus it is free and enables Jeremiah and daddy to do some male bonding. Jeremiah gets to wear work goggles, a Lowe's apron and he receives a certificate and a patch for what he builds.

Jeremiahs first completed project. You can see the firetruck in one hand and the patch in the other. By the way I have to mention that he loves his work goggles. You will see what I mean pretty soon

Getting ready to start his project.

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Making sure the wheels are properly aligned on his dune buggy.

Testing out his finished project. I must say the dune buggy rolls pretty well.

Earlier I mentioned goggles. Jeremiah's work goggles are with him pretty much everywhere we go. Every car ride he brings them, they have been to Target, the grocery store and even to church, luckily we convinced him not to wear them in church. Oh but he does insist on wearing them, especially around the house. Here is a pic this morning before we were heading to church. He was watching cartoons as we finished getting ready and the goggles were already in place.

Anna and the swing

Annalise loves to swing. At MOPS and at church she falls asleep in the swing. Yesterday she had her first experience in a real swing and she loved it. Thankfully slightly cooler temps here in Texas have enabled us to play outside a little more. I think we are becoming acclimated when I consider 89 degrees a cooler day. The kids are enjoying the weather and as it does become truly cooler I am sure we will be doing much more outdoors.
This is so much fun, why haven't I done this before.


Wow mom I really like this but I am ready for a nap.

After swinging Anna for a little I turned around to watch Jeremiah go down the slide and try to climb up and when I turned around she was asleep. It is amazing that this kid can sleep in a noisy backyard playground but then again she does have a super loud brother.

Blue and Yellow

Jeremiah and Maddy drinking juice on the swing.

A friend of mine has a 2 year old daughter that Jeremiah really likes. If I tell him that we are going to see Maddy he tells me he is going to kiss her. Its really cute when they get together. Well Maddy's mom and I are meeting once a week or so to have some structured craft and learning time for our kiddos. She used to be an elementary school teacher until she became a full time mom, and we all know that is a FULL TIME JOB! Yesterday was our first session. We let the kids play first and then we read a couple of stories. Our topic yesterday were the colors yellow and blue. The kids had fun sorting yellow and blue objects, learning to spell yellow and blue and then making yellow and blue fish with scales. Then we took a break and the kids played outside. Well Maddy and Jeremiah were being so cute that I couldn't help but take pictures. Of course, once the cameras came out they became a litte annoyed with the moms.

It looks like they are both deep in thought

Holding hands...

Mom can you give us a push...

This is so much fun!

Well after a morning of learning and playing we had a blue and yellow lunch. This consisted of cheesy scrambled eggs, blueberries, applesauce, goldfish, and blue jello. Lets just say Maddy was a much better eater than Jeremiah. When we arrived home Jeremiah had a bowl of , yep you guessed it, Life cereal.

Getting bigger everyday

Where does the time go. I feel like she was just born but she is already starting to sit on her own. Of course we are not ready to move the boppy out from under her. She will be 6 months before we know. Her personality is really starting to come out. She still is the happy baby she has always been but definitely has some serious dislikes which includes pureed pears and apples. At least she likes her vegetables.

We have gotten to the point where she can sit on her own and the boppy is behing her just in case. I cant wait until a few more weeks where she has more balance and can sit on her own.

Annalise loves the jumperoo which really helps me out when its time to make dinner.

The milestones keep coming and the bibs are always out now because she has become a drooling machine. Maybe the first tooth will be here before we know it.

Taking it easy!

Jeremiah received a special early Christmas present from his Poppa and Halmoni. First they decided to let him choose the car which was a long process at Toys r us. First it was this one, then another one, then a motorcycle. Mom nixed the motorcycle right away. Finally, we decided on a different one at a department store and after 18 hours of charging the battery he was ready to drive.


Getting in and getting the Ford F150 ready, lets make sure the breaks work!




Cruising the streets on his own.



So of course now Jeremiah loves to drive his truck when his dads home. He still needs to work on the whole steering process. For some reason he loves to drive straight into the sidewalk. I guess it is good that his drivers test is still 14 years away.



A little side note about "takin it easy" Jeremiahs favorite group right now is the Eagles and he likes to "jam out" to them. That is exactly what he says. He says "lets jam out!" Well his favorite song is taking it easy and it is pretty funny when he sings the lyrics and says "I was going down the road, trying to loosen my load, I've got seven women on my mind..." I dont think he really knows what he is singing yet.

Touring the sites

Of course when family comes out you must go site seeing. The Riverwalk and the Alamo are two prerequisite sites you should definitely visit when in San Antonio. Of course with kids in tow it is much easier to see the Riverwalk via river boat. Of course Jeremiah loves the river boat so it makes in that much easier and fun for him to have a good time site seeing.

Getting ready to go on the river boat. It was a full tour by the time we left.

Annalise making sure Halmoni is ready. See shes poking her cheek to make sure she is awake.

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After the river boat

Jeremiah loves flowers and there were plenty outside of the Alamo.

Annalise was ready for the site seeing to be done. I think she definitely has Brians face in this picture.

Jeremiah and Halmoni out side of the Alamo.

It was everyones first time at the Alamo and its hard to imagine a big fight/stand off taking place here because it really isnt that big but there is an interested Japanese monument inside. I didnt know that Japanese soldiers participated in defending the Alamo.

Swimming Time

Do we possibly have another Phelps on our hands? Only time will tell but Jeremiah loves the swimming pool. He definitely likes showing off for the ladies. His Poppa and Halmoni took him to the pool almost everyday and anytime girls were at the pool he would have to show off. In April, the community will offer lessons to kids ages 3 and up so we shall see if there is a future Olympian in the making. Jeremiahs favorite thing to do in the pool is to be pulled from one side to the other on his kick board several times. Then he needs a break so he goes to the kiddie pool and then back to the big pool. He will repeat this for at least an hour. Then if any girls are at the pool he will ask you to let go of the kick board and just hold him up by the back of his pants so it looks like he is going across by himself. Have I mentioned that Jeremiahs a ladies man. Two weeks ago at playgroup he kissed a girl on the cheek and then walked to a car with a definite swagger to his step. I am going to have to keep a careful eye on him.

Taking a needed break in the kiddie pool.

Posing for the camera in the middle of the pool with his Poppa!

What do you want for lunch?

There is a commercial for Life cereal where a boy named Mikey eats the cereal and the other kids say Mikey likes it. Well they need to change the kids name to Jeremiah. If you ever ask Jeremiah what he wants to eat and you do not explicitly give him choices, i.e. rice and seaweed or chicken nuggets, he will say Life cereal. (Yes, Jeremiah does eat seaweed, and if he could have his way he would only eat seaweed) If he is sick, the only food Jeremiah will eat is Life cereal. I thought this was a passing faze but can a faze last over a year? This past week I asked Jeremiah what he wanted for lunch and of course I did not offer choices, so he said Life cereal. Brian and I eat cereal for lunch sometimes too so I thought why not lets eat cereal and here are some pictures...I am thinking about contacting Quaker and offering Jeremiah as their next cereal box child model. What do you think?

A taste test

For the past week or so Annalise has looked really interested in the food we are eating. I thought it was kind of early but then I realized that I started feeding Jeremiah rice cereal at four months so maybe Anna was ready. The other night at dinner Annalise started making this disgruntled noise, and pouting her lips. It was really cute and pathetic. So Brian and I thought lets try to give her some rice cereal. Well Annalise is interested in food to say the least. I put one spoonful in her mouth and she started to smile really big and coo, but her tongue doesnt have eating figured out yet. Here are some pictures to show what I mean...
Annalise is getting ready to take her first bite.

"Okay I like this rice cereal but my tongue keeps getting in the way"

"Hey this is really good, can you see all the rice cereal on my face and on my tongue"

"Ha, ha mom will have to give me a good bath tonight"

Jeremiah was pretty interested in the whole feeding Annalise for the first time experience. He told me she was hungry. Then he decided he would only take bites of his chicken and broccoli when Anna took bites of her cereal. Look at the smirk he is giving the camera.

So last night Annalise had rice cereal for the second time. It started the same way. We were eating she was making disgruntled "my life is miserable noises" and pouty faces. As soon as she saw a little bowl and spoon she was happy. I guess she doesn't really care whether her tongue is ready as long as she can join in the family meal :).

Shamu! Shamu!

I hate the crowds at tourist attractions, especially when you are carrying a baby in a baby bjorn and every other stranger feels it is their right to touch your daughters leg and comment how big she is. On another tangent I finally told someone at SuperTarget not to touch my baby as she started cooing at what chubby little girl Anna was and her hand started to reach for her face. I was not rude I just backed away and said "Please do not touch my child, I do not know you" Sorry for the sidebar. Back to tourist attractions, we live really close to Seaworld...I mean you could almost smell Shamu if the wind was right. So of course with my youngest Korean aunt and her two daughters (ages 4 & 6) visiting, we had to go.

Jeremiah was really excited as were his cousins. Half the time they were here it was hard to get them to wake up before 9 but with plans to go to Seaworld we were out the door by 9:30. For a mere $5 you can purchase fish to feed the dolphins which also enables you to touch them. I say mere because it has to cost a lot of money to take care of the dolphins and feeding them is the only way they will approach you to let you pet them. Jeremiah wasn't to keen on feeding them but he really wanted to touch them and he got really close but was a few inches short.

Jeremiah really wanted the dolphins to come closer, and look you can see Anna's profile. I will admit she is chubby but that doesn't mean I need the commentary of strangers.

Geena getting up close and personal with a dolphin, but she was afraid to actually feed him the anchovy, so finally I had to give it to him or her (how can you tell with dolphins?)

Jeremiah reaching out to touch but just a little too short.

So after visiting the dolphins, we went to the Aquarium, watched the Shamu show and the Seal show and went to the water park. Annalise and I relaxed in the shade while everyone else experienced the wave pool, waterslides, and kiddie splash area. At least in the shade no one tried to touch Annalise.