Mother and Daughter

This picture taken of me at 3 days old earned me the nickname "Yoda" by my uncles.


These pictures taken of Audrey at 2 days old I think are just plain adorable.

Quarterly Clarkisms

Reader Discretion is Advised:

12/19/09
Clark: (after going poop, standing proudly holding the bottom of his shirt above his belly) “Mama, Dada, do you just love my poop!?”
Cherylyn/Tanner: “We just love your poop!”
Clark: “We CAN’T eat it because its DIGSGUSTING [sic]!!”

Andrew: (shriek with fear)
Cherylyn: Clark, stop scaring Andrew!
Clark: But I want to cuz its SO funny.

12/27/09
Clark: (while eating chunks out of a large snowball) This is my favorite dinner!

12/29/09
Clark: (after dinner) Mom my tummy hurts cuz it has lots of food in it.

01/23/10
Clark: Andrew poops his pants … I’m going to call him poopy pants.
Tanner: No, we don’t call people poopy pants.
Tanner: Did you wet the bed last night?
Clark: Yep.
Tanner: Do you want me to call you peepy pants?
Clark: But that is SO grwumpy [sic].

01/26/10
Clark: Mama, I can’t go poopoo because my bottom is too strange.

01/31/10
Clark: Mama, I’m hungry … I hear the stomach sound.

02/08/10
Clark: Mama, come look at my poops!
Cherylyn: Wow, that’s a big one!
Clark: Yep! There’s a mama poop, and a dada poop, and a Clarkie poop!
Cherylyn: Yeah
Clark: But there’s no baby Audrey poop.

02/28/10
Clark: (while staring at the wall, after being disciplined several times for asking to play Mario Brothers, and after receiving strict instructions that he is forbidden from asking to play the game again). I hear some kids like to play Mario Brothers.
Tanner: Don’t do that. Don’t ask to play Mario Brothers in a round about way.
Clark: But I didn’t (quickly leaves the room).

Tanner: (while driving on 495 past the D.C. Temple) Clark, do you see the temple?
Clark: Yep, its cool.
Clark: I can’t go in there until I meet a goirl [sic] to get married when I a big boy.

03/09/10
Clark: Mom, are you feeling sick yet?
Cherylyn: Yeah.
Clark: Then you better go poop.

Clark: (talking about Audrey) Mama, does your tummy have a bed inside it?
Clark: Oh, I know what it is, it’s a crib.
Cherylyn: Its called a uterus.
Clark: (chuckle) I didn’t know that!

03/12/10
Clark: Dad, where did the sun go to?
Tanner: He went to sleep.
Clark: Did he went to sleep in my bed?
Tanner: Nope.
Clark: Where did he went to sleep at?
Tanner: He went to sleep in outer space.
Clark: Outer space!?
(pause)
Clark: Did he go to sleep with his mommy?
Tanner: Yep.
Clark: And his daddy?
Tanner: Yep.
Clark: Alright.

03/28/10
Tanner: Boys, what song do you want to sing before bed?
Clark: I want to sing Choose the Wrong because I made bad choices.

03/30/10
Clark: (after entering a grocery store aisle that had wood flooring instead of the regular linoleum flooring) Dada, this floor is perfect for us!

04/02/10
Clark: What is wrong with Baby Audrey?
Tanner: I don’t know, she looks upset about something.
Clark: Is she upset because she doesn’t have a peepee?

Big Brothers

The family arrived home yesterday with a good bill of health, except for the remnants of Cherylyn's pounding headache. Knowing that upon our return home, Audrey would now be surrounded by the boys 24/7, we wondered how they would respond to this new bundle of delicacy. While we are not naive enough to believe this will be the undeviating case, so far we are thrilled with the results:

Welcome Baby Audrey!!

We are pleased to announce the arrival of Audrey Day Nielson, who was born at 0759 on April 1 2010, three weeks before her due date (following in Andrew's footsteps) (and no, this is not an April Fool's joke).

Audrey weighed in at a bruising 5 pounds 4 ounces and 19 inches in length. She also measured 100% in cuteness, as determined by the most stringent peer-reviewed scientific methods known to man. She is the spitting image of her older brothers and future tormentors Clark and Andrew, but we are confident she is a girl because the nurses plunked a pink beanie on her minuscule head. And don't be deceived by her small size. She suffered pricks and shots and all manner of abuse at the nurses' hands with more grit and discipline than her male counterparts in the nursery.

Audrey has blond hair (yeah, what a surprise), an eye color of some sort that is not yet ascertainable (no doubt they will lighten in the coming days) and she is right-handed, her favorite color is blue, and her favorite hobby is watching movies with her daddy (okay, I admit it, those last couple of items were complete fabrications).

Cherylyn suffered ... err ... experienced contractions throughout the night, and at the glorious hour of 4am, we (and when I say we, I mean Cherylyn, since Tanner had just been woken up and was still in a "what! what is it! what time is it!" kind of mode) decided it was probably time to head to the hospital.

Upon arriving, Cherylyn got all souped up on her bed, epidural put firmly in place, and sweet sweet medication coursing through her lower half. After about an hour and a half, Cherylyn complained of pressure. A nurse came in, checked her, and quickened her pace around the room and went to page the doctor. Cherylyn, concerned with the level of sensation still present in her legs, asked if the dosage could be upped a smidgen, to which the nurse responded, "honey, one push and this baby is coming out."

At this announcement Tanner dashed gallantly to Cherylyn's side and promptly removed his wristwatch (even now it is not fully known why Tanner felt his wristwatch needed to be removed, but there was no time for contemplation and he acted on pure primal instinct). After everyone took their positions, Cherylyn pushed ferociously, and was then asked to rein in her ferocity a tad, as the doctor appeared slightly disquieted at the rate Audrey approached. After retooling the pace, Audrey gracefully entered the world.

Cherylyn is recovering nicely, and as these things go, this was one of the easier labors she has undergone. So easy in fact, that she is chomping at the bit to get pregnant with baby number four (okay, another fabrication). The boys came to visit Audrey this afternoon and Andrew couldn't refrain from showering her with slobbery kisses and Clark couldn't refrain from asking Cherylyn if he could have some of her food.

Needless to say, we are incredibly happy to have Audrey as the newest addition to our towheaded clan. She is a beautiful little girl and we are excited about the opportunity we will have to share our lives together.

A natural sun-bather

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A happy mother with her new baby girl

Another Seahawk fan in the making

Our baby burrito

Kisses from Clark

Slobbers from Andrew

A typically docile interaction between the boys. And yet, look at Audrey's sheer stoicism and impressive ability to concentrate