Vacation 2011

Clark Vacation 2011 took place in (drumroll please) Panama City, FL! and included a (surprise, surprise) triathlon race for Daddy! ;) Before we left, Andre demonstrated to Dad how to properly wear a bike helmet and clip racing shoes. "See Dad, to avoid eyecontact with the person on your left as to divert attention away from the fact that you are passing them, you want to make sure the helmet convers your left eye. Oh-and feel free to wear padded shorts instead of Toy Story underoos. Go get 'em Dad!"

We stayed at the host hotel-The Boardwalk and had an amazing view of the swim start. Here, Andre and Selah are enjoying their breakfast on the balcony while I try to pick Keenan out in the crowd. "See kids-he's the one in the wetsuit-wait-no-the swim cap-um well....lets go down to the beach and try to see him..."

"THERE HE IS!!" We caught him coming out of the ocean in record time and manage to snap a picture. He was well on his way to winning the whole event! or at least his division. He totally won The-Hottest-Father of 2 1/2 kids division. The prize? 3 sloppy kisses. :) "Andre? Did you see him? Where were you with the cow bell??"

Andre was slightly distracted by a cute brunette in a pink bikini. While his father ran by breathless, Andre was getting up the nerve to ask the pretty stranger, "What does your sign say?" (Probably the pre-school equivalent to the whats your sign? pick-up line...) She told him it said GO DADDY. and that reminded him of why he was standing there wit his cow bell in the first place...

GO DADDY GO! He rang with all of his might!!

A little late Andre.

Nevertheless, he was super proud of his Dad's finish at the Gulf Coast Triathlon. He once again demonstrated how to wear the event participant shirt. "Make sure you have a smug look on your face as if to say-didn't see me coming on your right did you?? it was the old helmet-over-the-left eye trick! HAHAHA!"

Those silly boys. While they were busy talking triathlons...Mommy and Selah enjoyed snuggling on the beach, eating snacks and playing a lot of games that ended in "ties" and lots of kissing. :)

With the race over, the family could now concentrate on more important things like digging a hole in the sand large enough to sit in....

...or contemplate the meaning of life over the sound of the crashing waves on the shore...

..or learn to fly a kite which is really cool until you've exhausted your length of string and find out that just standing there with a plastic handle in your hand watching a flap of plastic in the sky isn't all its cracked up to be.

At least we had the zero-entry pool to add to our list of fun things to do on vacation. Selah particularly loved the shower-It inspired her to bust out in a spontaneuos choreographed dance to Beyonce's Single Ladies. "All my single ladies...All my single ladies..."

As if THAT wasn't enough excitement for our family vacation, Selah braved the bungee jump at Pier Park just to show up her brother. She barely made the weight requirement and from the looks of the saggy diaper-she pooped her pants. But it was all in the name of fun and we were so proud of our daughter! :)

Although he had enjoyed the bungee in years past, Andre wasn't a big fan of it this year. He exciting vacation adventure of choice was the inflatable Slide of Doom that he mastered! weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

And of course we had to ride the carosel. Andre found the horse with the most orange on it (his favorite color) and Nanny volunteered to ride with him. You can see her hand waving over the horses head as if to say, "Hi" or "this is what this horse would look like with a mohawk" or "stop the ride I can't see!" Anyway-looks like fun!

This was our only family picture taken on the trip. I strategically placed my sons body between me and the camera lens to to hide my "is-she-pregnant-or-bloated-or-not-recovered- from-the-last-pregnancy-or-spent-to-much-time-at-the snack bar?-tummy"

Selah enjoyed her vacation and decided that she like these people who called themselves "Daddy" "Mommy" and "Andre". Plus she thought she looked pretty cute in her lime bikini and flowerdy bucket hat.

The boys finally realized the girls were right and that kissing wasn't such a bad vacation activity after all. In fact-they suggested adding a Swim, Bike, Run, Kiss event to the schedule next year. In which case the Clarks will rock the house! :)

But the girls will win.

Because...

Clark Baby 3 is a GIRL!!! Andre and Selah will get a new baby sister in November and the estrogen to testerone ratio in the house will shift dramatically. Girls will rule. If you ask Selah if she wants a sister she says, "see-ter" and if you Andre he say, "Yes! and a brother."

Oh Brother.

Selah's Birthday!

I can't BELIEVE my sweet baby girl is ONE! Where did this year go???

Selah was real proud of herself as she smiled in the camera...she had been practicing this for 12 months!

I think she nailed it.

For her birthday breakfast Selah got a huge helping of high fructose corn syrup in the form of a b-day cupcake. The first 364 days of her life were full of all-natural and organic foods-but we thought enough is enough- Give the girl some cake!!

She wasn't crazy about it but she thought Andre's creepy-look-in-the-camera was hilarious!

The birthday-cake trial run was almost a success. Although she didn't eat much of it and broke out in a rash later, at least we knew she wouldn't have a first birthday melt-down at the actual party.

She was ready. Bring it.

(A bizarre side note: I later finger swept this tiny picture of my sister when she was 4 out of Selah's mouth. Not sure what the symbolism means here-but it was weird.) When I texted my sister about the happening she didn't respond and the next day thought she dreamed the whole thing.

anyhoo...

The big P-A-R-T-Y day arrived and it was flowers flowers everywhere!! Auntie Amy (the same Amy whose picture I fished out of my daughters mouth earlier that week )made the adorable daisy cookie party favor buckets. The were a hit! (and they tasted even better than they looked!)

Daddy's contribution to the party (Besides being one of the two responsible parties for Selah's existence) was putting up a tire swing for all the party guests to enjoy. Andre tested it out and decided it was so much fun he would overlook dad's embarassing compression socks.

Selah's daisy dress was the perfect centerpiece for the flower party-but this was the only shot I could get of her with her headband on. Oh well- its her party she can accessorize if she wants to.

All the grandmothers were present. Mimi helped play with the grandkids while mom ran around getting ready. Karen was there to encourage Selah's fashionable side, "maybe try wearing a bow next time Selah". And Nanny helped calm Selah down with her "this little piggy" skills. That woman can play this little piggy like nobodys business!

GiGi, Selah's great-grandmother tried with all her might to hold her great-granddaughter knowing full well that there was only a couple of pounds difference between them. If Selah takes after GiGi-she won't get much bigger. :)

Selah's BFF Shiloh Goodwin was there to wish her a happy birthday. Shiloh is a professional bow model/smile coach and she is ALWAYS ready for the camera. (I'm pretty sure Selah has her tongue out AND is sporting a lazy-eye in this picture) Auntie Amy and Auntie Cha-Cha enjoyed holding the girls. :)

Auntie Cha-Cha provided the ever important first birthday crown for Selah to wear and she was clearly overcome with emotion.

As family and friends sang a loud and terribly off-key rendition of Happy Birthday, Selah was getting ready for her big moment. The moment she smiles that signature Selah smile and claps appreciatively at everyones attempt to sing to her...

AND THEN CAME THE TEARS!

"Selah this was NOT how we practiced it!" I screamed in humiliation. Just kidding I thought it was kind of cute and managed to snap a few pictures of the melt-down before rescuing her and giving her what she really wanted in the first place-a banana.

After the Birthday Cake Bruhaha, the more experienced kids dove right into the cake and icing. Selah's cousin Reese sampled the lime green icing and approved. (Selah has ANOTHER girl cousin due to make an appearance this June...)

The tire swing was a hit (Well done Dad.), and nobody got too messy from our Georgia Red Clay backyard.

Looks like Uncle Bryant and Erin may have noticed the weak knot at the top, but thankfully the swing didn't fall until the NEXT day. Looks like we avoided a complicated and akward family law suit. whew!

The Floyd family was also there to celebrate Selah day! "Uncle" Wendell (daddy's BFF) and "Aunt" Stacy brought their adorable offspring Bryce-who is right between Andre and Selah in age. We're just sure that Bryce and Andre will be workout partners in the future. Stacy runs a marathon every other day between her boot-camps, jewelry parties and otherwise being an incredible mommy. She can "run like a mother." :)

Although she is walking quite well, Selah's feet never touched the ground during her party. She was treated like princess and carried everywhere with snacks in hand. Daddy held his little muffin and wondered to himslef if that sailor's knot he tied the tire swing with would make it through the day (it wouldn't).

At the end of the day, Selah was eager to thank her mommy for the incredibly fun flower party. It was the BEST birthday she could remember. And despite the cake fiasco, mom assured her that this b-day was indeed less traumatic than her actual BIRTH day.

Happy First Birthday Muffin!

We love you!