First Photo Shoot

Our good friend, Tara, has taken all of our family pictures for the past few years.  She is very talented and such a great friend to put up with us :).  Just before Kevin turned 2 weeks she came to our house for his first photo shoot.  I am so glad that she was able to capture him so perfectly at this age.  I love the way the photos turned out!! 

Here are some of my favorites.  Check out the rest of Tara's work at tarahphotography.blogspot.com.

 

 

Naughty or Nice

So.... my little Casemeister can be the sweetest thing at times.  The other day I woke up to a huge hug followed by "I love you mommy. You're my best friend."  Moments like this are not uncommon for him.  He spontaneously says things like this all of the time and can be such a good little helper.  He loves to spend time with me and loves to cuddle.  One of my favorite things is when he asks to sit on my lap and read stories.  I also love bedtime each night when we lay on his bed together to read books, sing songs, and tell stories.  These are such tender moments for me as a mom. 

On the other hand my sweet little angel also has a bit of a naughty streak.  He is going through a phase right now in which he doesn't always like to listen or obey.  I sometimes wonder why he acts like such a 2 year old..... then I remember that he is one.  Sometimes I can't help but laugh at the naughty little things that he does.  Though I know this is not the most appropriate response I just can't help myself.  The most recent of these moments I did not want to miss writing down (I always seem to forget after a few days).  Cason was in the toy room giving a very compelling speech with his microphone.  He stood up on his toy box and yelled various phrases at me in the other room.  I was on the phone with Jeff at the time and was telling him how cute it was and how our son could be the next president with a speech like this.  Just as the words came out of my mouth Cason ended by shouting "I do what I want AND . I . DON'T . LISTEN!"  And that about sums it up :). 

Brothers :)

Before Kevin came into our family my biggest concern was how Cason would handle the change.  Now that Kevin is here I have to say that he has done so much better than I ever could have expected and I am so proud of him.  In the hospital he didn't show much interest, but wasn't upset either.  Once we brought Kevin home he was interested, but still didn't really want to be involved.  A little over a week later he finally asked to hold him!!  He has not shown any signs of resentment yet and has not been upset or mean to Kevin at all.  Instead he has turned into mommy's big helper.  He gets diapers for Kevin and hands me the binky when needed.  Any time that Kevin cries he tells me right away and acts concerned.  He wants to know where Kevin is at all times and loves to talk about him as part of our family.  He is an excellent big brother! 

I have noticed that Cason has been a bit more clingy with me and has been a bit of a "copy cat" with some of the things that Kevin does.  Kevin was jaundice and had to be on a bilibed for just over a week after we brough him home.  In the bilibed he could only wear a diaper.  So, for a week or so Cason also insisted that he only wear a diaper... all day AND night.  In the beginning he also asked for his diaper to be changed every time I would change Kevin's diaper.  He likes to be held more now and asks to be held or to sit by me while I am feeding Kevin.  He also likes to sit in the carseat or baby swing.  We have a mini boppy pillow to use for tummy time while Kevin is still really tiny.  When I first started using it with him Cason adopted the big boppy pillow to be his own and did tummy time beside Kevin.  After a few days I pulled out the mini boppy for Kevin and Cason said "I don't want to do tummy time today."  Adorable! 

While I love the baby phase and do not want to wish any of that time away I am also very excited for when Kevin gets a bit older and the two can play together. I have a feeling they are going to be best buds!! I love my boys :).

Best Buds!

 Poor jaundice baby....

And the concerned older brother :) 

 

"Please cheese me."  Cason was a bit jealous of all the pictures I was taking of Kevin and asked if I would take a picture of him.  Normally he hates getting his picture taken, so this was a big moment.  And the picture turned out great!

 My toddler thinks he's a baby ;).

 

 Tummy time!

 Seriously?!  I love this sweet face :).

 

Welcome to the World Kevin Jakob Clark

On January 7, 2013 we welcomed our sweet baby boy, Kevin Jakob Clark, into our family. After a fairly quick and easy delivery he entered the world weighing 6 lbs, 14 oz and measuring 19 inches.  Before going into the hospital I was experiencing so many different emotions.  I was incredibly excited to meet my new son, but also nervous and anxious for the upcoming changes that would inevitably happen within our family.  The very secod that he was born and I heard his cry for the first time I was overcome with a sense of peace and all anxieties I had been feeling went away in an insant.  It was an incredible moment and I couldn't hold back my tears.  Kevin is perfect in every way and absolutely completes our family.  Now, just over 3 weeks later, it is hard to imagine our little family without him.