In the last few months....

We have been away for awhile and Leila has grown tremendously. She is finally crawling, even though she pulled herself up and walked before that. She has two bottom teeth now. Here are a few pictures:

Her favorite thing to do is go swimming.

She loves pizza :)

Supporting her Uncle Lane :D

My Little Girl is Getting so BIG!!!

We were sitting on the couch enjoying our Sunday afternoon.  Mari was sitting on one arm of the couch with Leila beside her and I was kinda half laying on the other side of the couch.  All of a sudden I hear, "Johnie, look at your daughter!!"  And this is what I saw:

That's right...she's is sitting up all by herself!!!!


Until next time...
The Clarks

Leila's first Ranger Game

Yesterday, April 4th, Leila got to got her very first Ranger game. The Rangers were playing against the Seattle Mariners. They won 6 to 4, making it them 4-0 for the season. She was all too excited for the game and fell asleep the whole way there, then also half the game. But here are a few pictures...

5 MONTHS!!!!!!

I can't believe my baby girl is already 5 months old.  Time sure does fly when you're having fun.  It feels like it has only been a few days since I held her for the first time back on Halloween.  Speaking of Halloween, we will more than likely be throwing a costume party to celebrate her first birthday.  It's never too early to start planning your outfit.

On another note.  Leila is progressing nicely.  She is beginning to roll over and has started eating oatmeal.  Also, we finally found a bottle/sippie cup that she will take which makes Daddy happy because he gets to feed her more often now.

And since you can't see the whole thing, her shirt says "GIRLS ROCK BETTER THAN BOYS"

Until next time....
The Clarks

Long week..Johnie is gone on his first mission trip

On Friday, March 11, Johnie left to go to his first mission trip with UthBuild. He will be in Mexico for 5 days building houses.

On Friday they made a ten hour drive from Sulphur Springs to Tucumcari, New Mexico. There they stayed at a church. Then woke up bright and early Saturday morning to drive to Phoenix. In Phoenix, they stayed at Bethany Community Church. As I am writing this, they are finally on there way down to Puerto Penasco, Mexico.

4th month check up

On March 2nd, Leila had her 4th month check up. I was super nervous and dreading because she was going to get another set of shots. To our surprise she did amazingly well. She cried for about 30 seconds and then was done. She now weighs 12lbs and 11 oz and measures 24 1/2 inches. She is tiny, but then again so big compared to her cousins.

Hers is a picture with all three of her cousins.

Leila sitting like a big girl.

No Longer the Baby!!!

We knew that it was undoubtedly approaching with both Tia Nana and Aunt Banana pregnant and due in February, but we never dreamed that it would happen this soon.  Adriana gave birth to Amaya Leslie Mills on January 23, exactly three months and three hours after Leila was born.  Amaya was born 4 weeks early, but by the grace of God she was perfectly fine and was able to go home just 2 short days later.  We are all doing great and anxiously awaiting the call that Amanda is having Leyton.  Its amazing how huge Leila looks compared to Amaya.  I can't believe she has already been here with us for 12 weeks.  Pictures coming soon for the size comparison.

Until next time....

Dedication

 


Our has pretty cut and dry rules on baptism as it pertains to both infants and small children. It's not necessary.  I know that sounds weird at first, but when you look at what The Bible says about baptism, it makes perfect sense.  To our congregation at least.  So according to the way we, as a church, have interpreted the meaning of baptism, we feel that an infant does not yet possess the aptitude to fully understand meaning of being baptized.
    
 "We believe that when people are old enough to understand what it means to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, they should have the opportunity to make that choice for themselves. An infant is not able to understand sin, forgiveness, the sacrifice our Savior made for us, and what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ." (socParents.com)


Instead, we do what is called a Baby Dedication.  This ceremony is simple and is somewhat similar to baptism.  During the ceremony, the parents of the fairly newborns vow to teach their children about God and the tremendous sacrifice he made in sending Jesus Christ  to die so that we might live eternally with him in heaven. 


On January 9, 2011, Mari and I took this leap of faith for Leila.  In doing so, this is oath that we took:
     "Do you promise by God's help and in partnership with the church to provide a Christian home of love and peace, to raise you child in the truth of God, to discipline them and encourage them to one day trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord?"

2 Month Check-Up

On most of these posts there will be pictures to accompany the words.  For this post, however, there will be no picture.  The 2 month check up came complete with 3 shots and Miss Leila was a trooper through those.  The soreness, on the other hand, is a totally different story so photo ops where few and far between.  Leila is the definition of a busy bee whenever she is awake so even though it hurts her terribly and she cries bloody murder, our little bundle of joy will not stop moving her legs.  This is taking quite a toll on Momma and Dada.  On a lighter note, she is continuing to grow at a rapid pace.  She is now up to 10 lbs 2 oz, 22 1/2 in long and 15 in in head circumference.  Its only been two months, but my baby girl is growing up WAY to fast.

The Clarks

Happy Holidays!!! (Christmas & New Years)

At a little over a month and a half we celebrated Leila's first Christmas.  If you missed it or haven't seen pictures, its okay.  We didn't go all out like most parents do for their first child's first Christmas.  Since she is so young, and we knew she would more than likely sleep through most of (which she did), we decided beforehand that we would wait until Christmas 2011 to do it BIG as they say.  She did have gifts and she was able to stay awake long enough to at least see us open them for her, but there was no excitement from her and we can't wait to see her next year as rips into the many presents there is sure to be for her under the tree.

Shortly after the Christmas festivities, we rang in the new year for the first time as a family.  However it was a stretch to get there.  Leila wore her new year's onesie and popped fireworks with her cousin Aubrey.  I'm not sure what was happening at exactly midnight, but when I realized that it was midnight, I had just gotten back in the bedroom with a drink.  I looked at the time and realized that I was a few seconds late.  I kissed my two beautiful girls, who were feeding at the time, told them happy new year and drifted off to sleep.

The Clarks