Clark's actual birthday

Wednesday the 22nd was Clark's official birthday, and we of course packed the entire day with fun stuff. In the morning we headed out to the Zoo which is one of his favorite places. We hit up the Zoomagination Room since it was raining out. When the rain let up we rode the carousel, the choo choo train and even went on the "Escape from Dino Island" 3D adventure ride which was a combo of intense scariness and awesome dino action. Clark LOVED it of course and was talking about it incessantly the rest of the day :) After naps we opened presents and then headed out to Zia's on the hill for dinner, YUM.

This is at dinner. You can see my super short hair here-

I love this one of Dex and Grandpa!

After dinner we walked down to a cute Gelato shop for some birthday treats

YUM.

Clark's is THREE!

Last Sunday morning was Clark's third birthday party. The party was firetruck themed and the Firemen from the station down the street were able to come by for a visit despite the rain.

Adam- meeting fireman Adam

Adam and his cute mama Shannon

Grandma & Grandpa DiTore with my birth mom Marie

The awesome cupcakes and banner Lisa made...

Clark and his new fave buddy "T-Rex"

T-Rex helped blow out the candles

And eat, I mean open the presents

I can't believe our sweet little dude is already three. Grandma & Grandpa DiTore came in from FL and were there for the big day. We are so blessed and lucky to have such amazing friends and family to share this day with us. Thanks everybody!!!

Sunday Funday

This morning we took advantage of the stunning weather and headed out for a little fun. Rich let me sleep in this morning (LOVE) and rest my legs after my 18 mile run yesterday. When I woke up he was out on a wagon ride with the boys... after making them waffles and eggs this morning they ended up at the gelateria, YUM, so I met them and we had a little chi and gelato (totally perfect at 9am right)? I had to snap a few phone pics of the boys in their jammies eating their special treat-

Then we headed out to Turtle Playground in Forest Park for a some climbing action... The boys loved the giant turtles-

My three favorite dudes-

After turtle park it was off to the Science Center so we could hang out with the BIG DINO as Clark calls him...

And of course so he could play with these dinosaurs (he's making his ROAR face)

And these dinos got played with quite a bit too- he's showing off a rock that was found in a dinosaur's stomach. We learned that some dinos didn't have teeth, so they would swallow rocks. The rocks in their stomach would help break down the leaves they ate since they couldn't chew...

The boys played on the bridge that goes over the highway. You can radar cars and watch them go by through the glass holes in the floor-

And then Clark got to control his own mini digger truck...

Handsome boy...

And of course we got to check out the giant diggers outside... a perfect way to end our fun outting.

Dexter

Our sweet little Dexter is turning into a little boy, where is the time going? I figured I should do an update for him since he's growing and changing so fast. He's a toddler officially now. He toddles... quickly, and everywhere. And I can't believe I don't have a baby anymore! But at the same time, it is really the most enjoyable thing watching him become a little boy...

He's a talker and already has quite a few words. Some of them are awesome, some of them are funny, and some of them I swear he only knows because he has an older brother. It's funny to see the influence an older sibling has on a younger one! So far some his words include:

Lotso - his favorite bear

Chunk - another favorite stuffed animal

Wall-E - are you seeing a theme here?

UP! - he recognizes the score from UP! and gets super excited anytime he hears it. We rock out to Pixar tunes in the car...

Thank You - although it sounds like takyooo

I did it! - also sounds like one word, but it's unmistakable

about 15 different incarnations of the word Daddy. He is SUCH a Daddy's boy.

Momma - not used nearly as much as the former

Bread Co - Panera for all you non-St. Louians. I am hanging my head in shame that he knows this word. AND that his face lights up when he sees a bread co bag. Let's just say I'm glad they started a rewards program :)

All Done - He will tell you when he's done with just about anything. He also says that when he wants to be picked up (while waving his arms in the air) as if he's saying "all done, now someone snuggle me!"

Bye - always paired with a cute little wave, and he'll even blow kisses sometimes.

Balloon - He has a word for balloon, but of course it sounds nothing like it.

Home - every time we pull up at the house he announces we're home.

And I know there are a ton more that I'm missing...

While it is real fun watching him grow and learn to communicate with us, sometimes I just want to slow down time a bit and freeze him in this stage...

First day of school! First day of school!

Today was Clark's first day of preschool. He's going two half days per week to a little school here in the city, and he even gets to go with his buddy Adam. (Or Adman as he calls him) So this morning we had a little family breakfast at a local joint we like, to celebrate his first big boy day of school. Clark has been asking daily to go ever since he had his meet the teacher night, so we were excited to tell him this morning that today was the day!

We arrived... Clark was SO excited

He has his own cubby

He went straight for the dinosaurs and Adam when we arrived and didn't even say goodbye to us... which I'm glad for because I might have fully lost it.

And, he did wonderful! He sat perfect for reading time, played well with the other kids and was a good listener. He wasn't too interested in painting time but they're going to work on that.