Welcome to this world!

At 11:13 am today, my best friend Sandra and her husband Trevor welcomed daughter Bruenn Marie Clark into their family. At a healthy 6 pounds, 7 ounces, the little lady came a bit earlier than expected... when she was ready! Sandra's Mom and sister missed the delivery by one week but can't wait to fly up to Virginia this weekend to meet the newest addition.

I can't make this about me, so I won't drone on about how I wish I was there with her. Instead I will be grateful for the Internet which allowed me to see these precious photos taken and shared just hours after her birth. (And I might just keep my eye out for an "I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could" onesie.)





Welcome, Bruenn*! Your parents are amazing and you are one lucky girl. Your four girl cousins will keep you outfitted in the most adorable wardrobe and your family events will be filled with little playmates. "Auntie M." cannot wait to meet you in person. I love you already and look forward to introducing you to my boys.

I plan to make every effort to be as big a part of your life as possible to span the miles between us.

You have had a big day so sleep well tonight. Your Mommy and Daddy need the rest!

* pronounced "Brew-in" :)

Old flu, new monia.

Davis' nagging cough leftover from flu week has now turned into walking pneumonia. Here he is receiving his second breathing treatment.

We woke him up from a deep sleep to administer it after witnessing how hard he fought it at the doctor's office. He cried at first but after some rocking and a few verses of his favorite lullaby, he was out. It's amazing how much one treatment clears up his breathing.

He is on antibiotics to clear up a bronchial infection as well. So, the little guy is still on the mend and hopefully won't wake up as much during the night coughing... Which means we should ALL be getting more sleep tonight.

Cafeteria Calm

Hmmm, it was amazing how calm and well-behaved Jack's little circle of friends were when I stopped in to have lunch with Jack today. I wonder if the angelic behavior came as a result of the stern talkin' to several of them had received the night before, the new assigned seats with an empty chair in between each of them, or the watchful eye of the unexpected parent visitor.



Whatever the reason, it was hard for me to imagine this group of darling little cherubs engaging in the activities described on my son's behavior folder the day before.

Mission accomplished!

Hook-up expert... That's him!

Showing off Jeff's upcoming public appearances...


My favorite is the seminar he's giving on November 11th called "How to hook up..."

All you guys out there, mark your calendars!

Learning to do what is right.

Ms. Adams, the lunch lady, wrote a note home today that Jack (and two others) were "kicking under the table, throwing things, and making noise." during lunch. It was the first mark he's ever received on his folder and he was teary-eyed when he told Daddy about it on the way home from school.

The punishment was clear. Talk about it and then write sentences and draw a picture. Obviously.

(click to enlarge)

"Dear Mrs. Adams, I'm sorry because I played at lunch. Next time I will behave better. Love, Jack Griffin" In the picture he says, "I'm sorry." Mrs. Adams says, "I forgive you."

He wrote the letter and drew the picture on his own, and we all know that it is not coincidental that this month's Bible Verse is "Learn to do what is right." Isaiah 1:17. So I made him add that too.

It was nice to get an opportunity to tell him about times when I have a bad day and do things I regret. I got to explain how it feels to apologize and accept forgiveness from others. It happens, and for him it doesn't happen very often, so it's actually a tiny bit of a relief to know that he is not "perfect" all day long at school. It's good that he's learning about himself and exploring boundaries. It's also very good that Mrs. Adams was there to remind him just where those boundaries are.

The Great Pumpkin Chase

Taking a picture of the little guy in his Davis-o-lantern costume is darn near impossible. Most of them look like this:

That's G.I. Jack chasing after him... I hope Pops got some better pics than I did!

More to come.

Playing Grown-up.

I am packing up the baby to head to Jack's first teacher conference.

Report cards come out at the end of this week.

Am I really old enough for all this?

I still feel like a kid who doesn't want to be called to Mr. Howard's office.

"Bear with me, Mama."

Dear Mama,

I know I can be a real rascal sometimes... okay, a lot of the time... but thank you for being patient with me. Please don't get frustrated with me. I need your help to learn to make good choices. Thanks for remembering that God gave me this curiosity and tenacity for a reason. He has BIG plans for me. He entrusted me to you and Daddy to foster that spirit and let me be who I am... just as He created me.

With unconditional love,

Davis Jarrell

15 months old

Don't fence me in.

I hereby publicly confess and sincerely apologize for thinking (and most likely uttering) the following phrases over the course of the past five years:

"It's best not to use baby gates. They need to learn what they can and cannot touch."

"If our house is child-proof, they won't know how to respect things at other people's houses."

"If they touch it, we spank their hand. Every time. They realize pretty quickly that we mean business."

Uh, yeah.

Enter this guy:



After five months of cleaning up pools of dog water and slobbery half-eaten dogfood, kissing fat little fingers after a run-in with the dryer door, and finding him standing on the open dishwasher door holding a butter knife in each hand, I finally waved the white flag.

To make a short story long, there's a new sheriff in Griffintown... and it goes by the name of "SuperYard."

I not-so-secretly made fun of this monstrosity when Emily bought it for Evan in Maryland, but I couldn't dial her number fast enough when I had finally reached my limit with Davers. I detected a slight grin as she brought it over and helped me put it up. After all, she had offered it to me a half-dozen times after hearing me all exasperated on the phone, "Davis Jarrell! No no!" only to hear him repeat back to me, "No NO!"

Well, the official verdict is in on the SuperYard:

Yep. Three out of four of us love it.

Understudy.

Why does it sting when my boy accidentally calls me "Mrs. Brockman?"

Picture this.

Today was Kindergarten Picture Day and Jack was determined to make it memorable.

Oh, yes he did. This morning. BEFORE school.

Mirror, mirror...

I thought it was so interesting how he did this assignment. Not only did he write from right to left... he made the letters backwards too. He explained, "Oh, I thought the letters were supposed to start from the picture."

(click to enlarge)

It's fascinating to me how his brain works. I am also impressed by how quickly he's picking up on the phonetic spelling. It's much easier to let him do it if I am not sitting with him. I find it hard to resist the urge to remind, prompt, or sound out for him... I also love how he spells "Mrs. Brockman."

I wonder if I would like being a Kindergarten teacher... is it this cute and fascinating when it's NOT my kid???