This is how they get you.

They all said it {especially my Grandma Shalz} "you'll forget all of this, you wont remember the bad things and then you'll want another baby." {this followed by "that's how I had 6!" by said Grandma}. As usual, I failed to believe those wiser than myself and rolled my eyes and rubbed my aching 7 month pregnant back and thought "phft, yeaaaaah right".
Well, I'll be damned if it's not true. Perhaps it's because Amelia is closing in {all too quickly} on a year, or because so many people i know are pregnant with a first or second child, or a need for self destruction - but lately I cant stop thinking about adding another Clark to the brood.
Now, before you get excited let me make this very clear: we are not going to try for #2 now or even soon. Cheyenne and I have talked about our plans at length and decided that it would be best for all involved {me, Chey, Amelia, & baby} to not start trying until Amelia is 2.
That being said, I still think about it. A lot.

A classic come to life

Betsy Johnson in the living room of the suite
The tea room downstairs in the Plaza where little girls can enjoy high tea in Eloise style.

The Plaza's "Eloise store"

The suite's bedroom {look at all of that sweet pink!}

Like any little girl I loved Eloise and would read the books and imagine living in the Plaza hotel in Manhattan and getting into trouble with Eloise, Skipperdee, & Weenie.
Now it no longer has to be just a daydream! The amazing fashion designer Betsy Johnson has created/designed the Eloise Suite at the Plaza Hotel and it is every little girls fantasy come true. It's by no means a cheap little trip but wouldnt this make an amazing once in a lifetime experiance for a little lady? It'll take the 6 years or so before Amelia is interested enough to make it worth it but I need that time to start saving up! I'm already excited!

R.I.P Part deux

Can you believe {maybe you can} that I have received more feedback {via phone calls and emails} on the post "R.I.P" than anything else that I have ever written? I'm still getting advice and {well meaning} questions on the subject of our wills and guardianship of Amelia. First of all, thank you so much to everyone; I got a lot of really helpful advice and really appreciate how much you all obviously care.

Just to update you, Cheyenne and I were able to summon up the courage to talk to the mysteriously alluded to "first choice" options and it worked out better than I could have hoped for! David Adams & Abigail Martin are very close and dear friends to myself, Cheyenne, & Amelia and they easily fit all of the criteria that was important to Cheyenne and I on this very important and sensitive subject. Please, if you don't know them already, consider them honorary family members!

Dear readers, you can now know that all is well, our wills are outlined and just need to be finalized and then I will no longer have this loose end dangling over my head. Thank you again.

Happy 8 month "birthday" Amelia Grace!

Our tiny terror is 8 months old today! That was shockingly fast. The planning of her 1st birthday is coming along quite nicely. The next 4 months are going to be filled with so many really sweet firsts...if only i had a magic wand to wave and make those 4 months go by much much slower than the last 8 months have gone by.

Happy birthday Mom!

Today my mom turns ** {we don't tell a lady's age}! Many people that know my mother and/or myself know that we have a less than traditional relationship, but would have it no other way. We cannot go more than 48 hours without talking {and if it should be that long the conversation starts with "well, jeeze I'm glad you're not dead"} and genuinely make each other laugh until we pee a little tiny bit. Like all mothers and daughter there are times when we make each other crazy but it's always mixed with love and soon resolved with a joke and a talk. I'm really happy to have the mom that I do {she wouldn't be her without me and I wouldn't be me without her} and I'm always excited on the 24th of each September to get to stuff her silly with good food {this year: brunch featuring crepes with fresh strawberries & Nutella} a hug, and lots of laughs.

Conversations between parents...

Me: Can you believe that our baby is old enough to have 2 teeth already?
Cheyenne: No. It's crazy. I wonder which ones will come in next?
Me: The top 2. That's how it works, bottom teeth then top.
Cheyenne: What? Like a rat?

It's fall y'all.

Another sign that summer has {thankfully} come to an end? It's getting quite chilly at night. Last night we had to break out the warmer jammies and sleep sack {thanks Mom/Grammy}. No surprise, I took photos of my cute little elf in her pjs.

Moving away from boob & bottle.

Since Amelia will be 8 months old in a week we've decided to start trying to move her over to a "big girl cup". It's taking some getting used to {for both of us} but she's doing quite well.

Too big for the {wash}POD.

Amelia has loved her European wash pod but sadly she's just gotten far too long to be able to fit in it anymore. We have now moved her to the kitchen sink, because {perhaps selfishly} it's more comfortable for Cheyenne & I too stand at the sink rather than kneel on the hard ceramic tile floor of the bathroom if we were to use the tub. Pretty soon she'll be too big for the sink as well and we'll break down and move her on to a bath seat, but for now this too sweet not to share...

Holiday preview

Thinking of getting these cute jammies from Red Envelope.

Already got this Christmas dress & shoes from Janie & Jack {my favorite store on Earth}

Already got outfit 1: Cute halloween shirt & overalls {Janie & Jack}. Im thinking of adding a knitted pumpkin hat from Etsy.

Her "lil lion" Halloween costume! I tried it on her and it's super cute.

Amelia has her next photo session with Mike Long at Katchlight Studios on October 18th {the next one after that is around her birthday}. I am planning on bringing her Halloween costume, her Christmas dress, and a cute autumn/winter outfit or two for the clothing options. I've already gotten the Halloween costume, Christmas dress, and 1 outfit purchased and im thinking of getting cute customized "babys 1st christmas" red long johns from red envelope for another outfit option. She's going to be so dang cute!

Sitting up

Amelia has been sitting up on her own really well as of late. Look how big my little baby is getting!

Note - Scroll to the bottom of this page and pause the music player so that Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" doesnt disrupt the soundtrack of the video in this post.

Sittin' around in the Thunderdome.

Football season begins.

As you may know already, football season is a big deal in the Clark house. Cheyenne is a lifelong die hard 49er's fan while my heart belongs to the Steelers. Last night was the long awaited opening night of the 2010-2011 NFL season. Amelia looked super cute in her 49er's onesie {the Steelers one will make an appearance but I thought it would be a cute surprise for Cheyenne to have her in his team colors for opening night}. Go team Clark!

Food update part III

For those who are keeping track, Amelia has now decided that she likes all foods {even mango and kiwi} as long as they are mixed with something...apparently she's not a picky eater just an adventurous one! So the trick to the "hated" foods {mango, kiwi, yogurt} with either her cereal (she's moved up from rice cereal to a quinoa, whole oats, & amaranth multi-grain cereal} or more mild fruits. her menu each day looks something like this:
breakfast - multi-grain warm cereal with a hard boiled egg yolk mixed in
Lunch - a mix of three fruits/veg {a vitamin A fruit, a vitamin C fruit, and a mild fruit} Typically carrot, mango, peach or kiwi, pear, and plum.
Dinner - "powerhouse foods". For now it's usually sweet potato or butternut squash mixed with avocado and Nancy's Organic Yogurt . Next month when she's allowed to add greens this meal will include a cube of kale/spinach mixed.
I am still making all of her foods, i love making her baby food. It's pretty easy and quite satidfying to know that i am providing the best foods possible for my baby - I wouldnt change it for a thing.
Basically, my child has a "diet of the stars". This mixed with her daily massages pretty much means that she lives in Spa Clark. Must be nice :-)

Ok, that's just too cute.

Yummy, chewing on toes = heaven

If you look closely you can see one of her new teeth.

Playing around before bedtime.