"Clarkie Boyo"

Clarke has been changing lately. I heard someone once say, "Terrible Twos or Terrible Threes don't exist. They become terrible whenever the next baby arrives." Now that Everly's older than one and she's becoming much more independent and interested in Clarke's things--namely, toys--he's definitely found his angry side. Though I shouldn't call it "angry" more than "temperamental" or "touchy" or "argumentative" side. He's still obedient, but only after fighting both his parents and saying "No!" a lot, sometimes even adding a threat to the end--"I'm going to throw this..." or "I'm going to hit you with this..." etc. It seems like it just came out of left field one day, it's really caught me off guard. I usually ignore it, because arguing does nothing. It's all about that "power struggle" thing, right? Toddlers should not think they won an argument! And Clarke is quite the master negotiator! I tell him to eat his food. He says, "How 'bout..." and adds a series of options neither acceptable or in any way implied in whatever I had just told him to do. I'm afraid! I know it's probably only a phase and that he'll grow out of it, but meanwhile, I feel so nostalgic for my perfect angel! On top of it all, we had to cut his hair really short a couple of weeks ago because we found lice in it (NIGHTMARE) and gone is my handsome angel boy, in his place is an angry, frowning, foot-stomping bully with the haircut I swore I'd never give him. It makes me want to cry, and I do, on the inside.

I know the answer. I know the only way to get through this phase without losing it too many times is love. I love him with all my heart. I know I love him because I would get up earlier than I had planned to get up because I hear him whisper, "Mama, I peed in my pants," get him out of bed, bathe him, change him, wash the bedclothes, and pretend it didn't happen. I know I love him more than anything because when he is happy and his smiling eyes are shining at me with this secret twinkling in them it fills me with wonder that he's my son, that I am his mother! I know I love him because something inside melts over and over when he and his sister get close, hug, kiss, and go Hmmm...and it's something I can't even explain. I know I love him because Heavenly Father loves him, and my heart aches and I can't even think what I would do if anything happened to him. I would rather endure this hard phase every second of the day than the alternative...life without my Clarkie boy...it would take a piece of my heart away.

I don't mean to be so negative. Of course I don't dwell on things like that. My boy is perfect. He's perfectly amazing--and I can learn so much more from him than I could ever teach him.

Clarke's Funnies

"Don't roll anymore, ok, carrot? You fall off and bonk your head!"

Before saying our goodnight prayers: "Papa was born. Papa is alive. He is a father. Jesus loves me. Belito loves me. Tia Ruty loves me. Tio Lev loves me. Mama loves me, too."

3-11-2015: "Look Mama." Clarke shows me the piano music for The Corpse Bride with the main characters, Victor and Victoria on the front. "Oh wow! What are they?" I ask. He says matter-of-factly, "Oh, they're probably just robots."

"What kind of cake do you want for your birthday?"
"No cake for you. Only carrots and vegetables." -sometime before his 3rd birthday

During our walk, Clarke was sitting in his stroller acting like he was grabbing things out of the air. "What are you doing?"
"I'm catching cars."

After Papa came back from living in San Diego for a few months, Clarke offered this in his prayer: "Grateful Papa doesn't have to go to San Diego anymore..."

4-16-15: "Be careful with the dragon, he might burn your shirt."

7-6-15: "Where (How) does Mama grow? Do you have seeds in your belly?" "Seeds? What kind of seeds?" "People seeds!"

7-7-15: "Can I have some cereal Belita?" "Is it okay with Mama?" "No, but it's okay with Belita..."

7-13-15: "I don't love crabs. They're sneaky."

I want a gorilla bar.

8-25-2015: Clarke says any phrase, whether it be "Are we going to the park" or "Is this cup of milk for me" and tags "or something?" at the end of it.

Oh Hello.

I don't want to get too wordy on this post, so I'll highlight the last few weeks (or few months...has it been that long?) in bullet points, with a smattering of photos to break up the monotony of text:

life as a wife, mother, friend, designer:

• playing constantly with Clarke, who is now 11 months old and has no shortage of energy. God bless you mothers with more than one child.
• cleaning. Every day. It never ends.
• teaching Clarke sign language--his favorite sign is "more," no surprise there.
• planning two-week meal calendars and buying groceries every two weeks. Life. Changing.
• keeping up with a birthday calendar, for once--this year I designed and printed birthday postcards and when I see a family member's or friend's birthday coming up on the calendar, I write a short message and pop the postcard in the mail. Easy, simple, effective, personalized, and inexpensive.
• jogging. That's right, three times a week!
• dating my husband regularly.
• designing logos, labels, invitations, business cards, t-shirts, book covers, posters, certificates, you name it.
• serving at an ever-growing capacity in the primary, and learning more than I ever thought possible.
• weekly piano teaching, a new job I started last year. I have two wonderful, dedicated students!

life as a family:

• waiting until Franco gets home from school every day so we can all play and laugh together.
• traveling to and from Camarillo and/or Santa Barbara as much as we can swing it.
• looking forward to pizza Fridays.
• attending the LA temple as often as we can.
• taking walks around our beautiful neighborhood.
• going to Disneyland in the rain or shine. Literally.
•  spring-breaking at museums in L.A. (and seeing the space-shuttle Endeavor up close--magnificent!) Soaking up the sun in Camarillo and Santa Barbara.
• contemplating where Franco's fourth year of externships will take us...do we want to stay local or travel around the country (and world) every three months? Definitely calls for many pro-cons lists.
• encouraging Mosiah, Franco's youngest brother, who will serve a two-year mission to Montreal, Canada starting May 1st. (!!!)

 So that's what we've been up to lately. I totally neglected to take any pictures on Easter, mostly because we were having such a good time that I forgot to pull out the camera. But we had a great day, well, great week, actually, for Franco's Spring Break. That's what I love about working from home, I can vacation whenever I want!

Happy April!

* Instead of waiting for the rare post on here, you can follow us on instagram and vine. We'd love to connect with you through those awesome apps!

Yuletide With The Castrejons.

I am alone (with a napping boy) for a bit at my parent's house in Camarillo right now, after everyone else left to do this or that within a half hour of each other. A good time to catch up on the past few days of merrymaking, I told myself, so here it goes. Let's see how far I get.

Christmas morning (on the 24th) at our house before heading to Camarillo for the week!

Finally made Clarke's mini stocking. ^^

Now THAT's an expression of an excited boy opening his gift. ^^

 (He could tell it was legos from the sound the box made when he picked it up.)

Next, Christmas Eve at the Porter's with Franco's family.

Christmas Advent Calendar: Day 9

Write and mail out Christmas cards to far-away family and friends.
I had to limit it to only far-away people to make it easier on myself.
Otherwise it would never get done.

The First Day Of Christmas: Get A Christmas Tree

Well, hello December! Our family is excited to celebrate the season with a new (to us) tradition: an advent calendar of activities throughout the month of December, from now until Christmas. I'll do my best to document and post about our activities each day!

It was Clarke's first time seeing a Christmas tree and when he saw it all lit up, his eyes got huge and he couldn't stop smiling. I think babies especially can feel the spirit of Christmas so strong. The joy is incredibly apparent in their expressions and excitement. I love experiencing things like this because it's as though I'm experiencing it for the first time! Are you doing an advent calendar this year? Or are you following any other traditions with your family?

Goodbye, Summer. Hello, School.

Over here at the Castrejon's, summer's over and school is back in session. Franco just dove right in--he's already had a couple of quizzes and started a new clerkship, so vacation is officially over. I know I haven't been posting everything we've done lately, I just can't seem to get away from our little Clarke long enough to do anything, and honestly, I don't want to! But, I thought I'd do a little recap, with the help of our trusty instagrams, here:
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Left to right, top to bottom:

// Franco and Clarke are seriously best buddies. They even have the same "Feed me!" crying face.

\\ Clarke and I take walks early in the morning; mostly because it gets so hot that all we want to do is stay inside with the AC on.

// Franco worked at an optometrist's office for a month because he was getting bored of having nothing to do (figures, overachiever ;) and once he got off early and we had lunch at a nearby park.

\\ Clarke has so much hair, it's funny to see how many different ways it sticks up after his naps.

// He's also gotten used to sucking on his hands--he won't take a pacifier--and sometimes he does it while holding his hair. When it's replaced by a swaddling blanket, he reminds me of Linus from the peanut gang!

\\ I have yet to show you his little nursery corner. I hung up a canvas I painted, and this Le Ballon Rouge mobile I made back when I was nine months pregnant.

// Sometimes while I'm getting ready, we make faces at each other in the mirror. (Sorry, it's a little dirty.)

\\ I love it when he wakes up smiling and happy! It just makes my day.
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Happy weekend!

Clarke, 3 Months.

At the moment, I have no other desire in life but to look into my 3-month-old baby's smiling eyes all day. Or to touch his velvet soft cheeks. Or to hold him close as I rock him to sleep in my arms. Or to sing to him just to hear him "sing" a duet with me. It's heaven, being Clarke's mother. And I'm very blessed to be able to be home with him pretty much all day, every day.

He still has thick, dark hair, which has only grown longer and thicker as the days have passed--no baby baldness here. He stays within his three-hour feeding routine really well, and sleeps six to seven hours at night. Though he's gotten into the habit the past few nights of waking mama up at 4 am, thinking it's time to eat already. But I can't say no, so he eats and we go back to sleep for a few more hours.

Since we moved last weekend, we took the opportunity to switch his bassinet out for a proper crib, which he loves! Clarke takes longer naps and loves to spread out, getting out of his swaddled cocoon as fast as I can wrap him in it. He found his hand a few weeks ago and gnaws on it any chance he gets, so I bought him a giraffe teething toy yesterday. When I gave it to him and encouraged him to chew it, though, he just looked up at me with a very confused expression...he'll catch on in time.

I can usually count on him being happy for about an hour after nursing, during which we play, sing, read books, or he lays on his back while I do some things around the house. Sometimes we'll go out and run errands or take a walk around the block. Then he starts whining quietly which is the signal that he's ready to nap. After putting him down, he sleeps for an hour, hour and a half, and wakes up promptly when it's time for his next meal. And he lets me know he's hungry--loudly, until he's latched on. But other than that, he's a very joyful, low-key baby, and we love him very very much. I can't believe three months have gone by--it actually seems longer than that since he's been in our family. Happy 3 months, baby Clarke!

(his little whines and sad expressions, like the one above, tell me he's done posing for pictures and ready for a nap.)

A Day Late...Happy Father's Day!

 

I'm so glad I captured these photos because they depict Franco's perpetual temperament when it comes to calming down baby Clarke. Franco's serene nature as he holds our little one is contagious--Clarke knows the difference between when I'm holding him and when his daddy is holding him. I just don't have that calming effect on him like Franco does, and that's why I'm so, so grateful for my husband and all that he is and does. I literally couldn't do it without him.

Happy First Father's Day!

Is It Okay If I Call You Mine?

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't believe my baby is two months old! He's growing up so fast. (Could I sound any more cliché?) He and I are still getting to know each other. He recognizes my voice and knows when I'm holding him, because he immediately starts whining and searching...if you know what I mean. It's nice to know I'm wanted. But it's his daddy who he has wrapped around his finger. Every day is a whole new adventure; it's wonderful, this thing called parenthood.

A Name...

Jonathan Clarke Castrejon was blessed last Sunday here in Chino Hills. We were very fortunate to have most of our family there, as well as a few friends. Baby cried during the blessing, but it didn't retract from the sweet spirit that was there as Franco blessed our first child. Clarke, as we're going to call him, is already an integral part of our family and we're incredibly lucky to have him! He doesn't recognize it right now, but we feel the love and joy our family and friends have for him every day! Thank you for choosing to come into our family, baby Clarke!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our World.

This little dark-haired, cuddly bundle--with a tried-and-true pair of strong lungs--has turned our world completely upside down, and we are loving it! We can't eat, sleep, or plan anything in our daily activities without first thinking, "Would Clarke like that?" or "Will Clarke behave through it?" or even sometimes, "Will Clarke sleep through it?" Like when we wanted to watch The Avengers and went to the over-packed theater armed with bottles, blankets, extra clothes, and everything else we could think of in case he woke up. I had him in the Baby Bjorn and kept glancing down every time there was a loud noise (which was pretty much every 30 seconds), expecting to see his little eyes open, but, nothing! It was the most distracted I've ever been during a movie at the theater, but at least I didn't have to duck out as I had expected.

Clarke is usually pretty good with noise. It's when his surroundings are too quiet that he gets restless and wakes up easily. His favorite noise in our home is the bathroom fan--it quiets him down almost immediately! I'm going to be in trouble if we ever move. After watching The Avengers at the movie theater in Downtown Disney, we took a walk down Main Street at Disneyland. There were crowds and crowds of people and the fireworks were going off, and still Clarke didn't wake up! It was astounding to me. But I'm sure it won't last so I'm enjoying it while I can.

Franco finished his first year of medical school last week, hooray! I'm incredibly proud of him and it's possible I let him play games on his iPod for hours on end as a reward for his non-stop studying the past year. The first year they say is the hardest, but it's as if he was always meant to be a medical student because he loves it and did so well. We celebrated with a trip to Disneyland with a few of Franco's classmates, and Clarke went on his first ride! He was awake all through It's a Small World, his little head turning from one side to another, taking in all the colors and songs. 

I can't get enough of watching my little one experience things for the first time. It's my favorite thing about being a mother, I think. Every day I see the world through his new eyes and it's like I'm seeing it for the first time. It's pretty amazing! I'm so, so grateful.