Donner Dolphin Fame

On Tuesday I had to take some things over to Donner for Jenny. Brady and Carson were along for the ride. They were like two celebrities, once we hit the campus. Brady loved every minute of it. Carson got a little shy but soon warmed up. As we walked into the classroom the second graders were in awe! Silence fell over the room and they just stared. Then Brady announced that he could run faster than every kid in my class. The crazy part was none of the students argued with him. He then ran across the room showing them how fast he truly was. The students were so kind one even shared his desk another her markers! Carson also showed off a little and stood at a student's desk making his cute little sounds! It was very sweet.

All Tuckered out!

We had our little play group over today and Brady played hard! Swim lessons were at 4:00 so we had to take a power nap before the swimming began. Brady insisted he keep his goggles on for the rest, however he will not wear them at swim lessons. It took him about 7 minutes to fall asleep, this is what it looked like!

Look Mom no hands

Carson the mellow boy he is does have some of his brother in him. He is a little dare devil! Today all he wanted to do was stand on top of the Little People Garage! The look on his face when he did it said, "look at me, I am big, look what I can do!"

The Clemens 10

Jenny got me thinking about numbers with her #3 post. Numbers are a big part of our lives right now. Brady just loves numbers! His favorite right now is 25, but I think I will go a little smaller and try the fabulous number ten!
1. Carson is almost 1 year old!
2. We have two beautiful boys, Brady and Carson.
3. Big brother Brady is the BIG 3 (and a half)!
4. We have four people in our family
5. We have been married 5 wonderful years.
6. We dated for 6 awesome years before we got married!
7. Brady and Carson have 7 cousins
8. Carson has 8, yes 8 pearly whites (teeth).
9. Our two cats Teegra and Belle have 9 lives.
10. Brady can count to 10 in Spanish!
I just learned some numbers are easier than others.

not so scared

Day two of swim lessons was much better. I spoke with the director about the problems I saw (yes, I am that annoying parent!).Brady had a different coach today who seemed to really know how to get the kids to listen. Hopefully she is here to stay! He had a lot more fun today too!

Fear Factor

Today was the first day of swim lessons! Brady was excited when we got there and wanted to know exactly where his lesson would take place and who his coach would be. The aquatic director called everyone over and told us a little of what to expect today, and a little house keeping such as arrive 5 minutes early to apply sun screen. That's when Brady announced he already had on his and he did not need more. When the director finished we all lined up in our classes and walked toward the pool. Brady who normally has no fear of the water seemed a little unsure and possibly shy. I found out that was just because the water was cold. I told him he needed to show his coaches how he could get in the water, and that was the first mistake, because he then stood and jumped into the pool where no one was looking. As they were testing the kids in the class, I removed myself and Carson as far as I felt comfortable, only to run back over to the pool with words of "Oh my God" as Brady decided to swim after his coach when she was not looking. He plunged himself under water and made a few more attempts to swim after the unexpecting, each time I ran pool side holding Carson hoping someone would pull him up in time. I then noticed two of the lifeguards joined in the area of his class and tried to keep myself busy talking to other moms! The entire time I had that nervous butterfly feeling. Because he has no fear of the water I want him to learn to swim. I am just not sure I can handle the experience for 7 more days! Does everyone go through this?

Team Work

"What's gonna work? team work"- a quote from one of our favorite shows, "Wonder Pets". This is how we keep ourselves busy at our house these days. At least they are getting along! The funny part of the story is that Carson actually started it. When Brady realized I thought it was funny he was right in the action.

So Hot even the Frogs wore shoes

Today was so hot. When I got up with Carson at 6:00 it was already 74*! I knew I would need to keep my kiddos busy with something. We decide to go to this great kids place called "Funtastic". Brady and Carson both had a terrific time. The got to climb all around and the floor was great for Carson's knees. After we came and they both took what I would call, a little rest.

When they were up( 100* at least) I got desperate and decided to put together the tent set my sister's family got Brady for Christmas. The story behind the tent set is on Christmas morning after Brady opened it he wanted it put together. So Brian like the awesome dad he is started to look for directions to assemble. The only directions we could find were all in Spanish. So trying his hardest Brian broke a few of the pieces needed to put the tents together. In his defense, I have never seen so many poles of different sizes that are supposed to somehow fit together to make the skeleton of a tent. My mom and I repaired them the best we could and they do work just fine. Well, it took me 2 plus hours to get that tent back together today! After I did have it put together I color coded all of the pieces for easier assembly next time. I also decided it would be better to leave it up for awhile and use it as a toy box or something.

More fun at the zoo

Well as I said before we had a great time at the zoo the other day. Carson just loved the ant eater who we call "Bob". We named him after the ant eater on a show called "It's a Big Big World." Anyway Carson loved putting his hands on the glass and Bob just kept circling around the pen. Brady's favorite part of the zoo must be the play area. He does really enjoy all of the animals but this give him a chance to run around and act like an animal. The last picture is a friend we made at the zoo.

need a good laugh?

I think the cutest thing in the whole world is the sound of my kids laughing. If ever Carson needs a smile, Brady is close by to get the laughter rolling!

Happy Mother's Day!

I was thinking of one of my first memories of my mom today. I remember being a very little girl and going camping with my family. As tradition would have it we fished...yes fished, for our dinner. Like usual my dad would take my sister off to some hard to get fishing hole and my mom would be suck with me! Well one morning after my mom had fished my pole out of the water three or four times the truck from the fish hatchery drove up to stalk the river! That day my mom and I fished off the bridge and caught a ton of fish. I remember how we surprised my dad and sister and how they couldn't believe how we did it! On these same trips my mom would walk around the dirt roads with me while I placed the rocks in families. "Daddy rock, Mommy rock, and baby rock," I would say as I put them in order from largest to smallest. My mom would just smile.

I was thinking of how I always ask my mom for advice and the advice she has given me over the years. When my sister and I would get into "it", my mom would remind us that we were the only sisters one another were ever going to have! So we'd better be nice. I remember never telling my mom I was bored because the response would always be there are no boring things only boring people." Then she would find some horrible chore for us to do. I also remember calling my mom when I went away to college and asking how to bake a potato without a microwave. My mom always has the best gardening advice.

So from fish to sisters, from potatoes to wedding dresses my mom has always been there for me. Now I am a mom and I hope to be as great an influence on my kids as she is on me. Being a mom has been my greatest accomplishment. So Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in my life, my very own mom, my mother-in-law, my step mom, my grandmothers, my girlfriends, my sisters, my aunts, and my cousins.

Carson walks! (with piano)

Carson is one month away from his first birthday! I can't believe how quickly this year has gone. I also can't believe how big he is getting and all of the things he can do. Carson is not yet walking on his own but he loves pushing things around the house. He pushes everything from chairs, pianos, toy cars, strollers, basically whatever he can get to move. Today we bought a large basket to hold all of our many toys and Carson helped me move it through the line. Of course everyone at the store thought the was the cutest thing they had ever seen.

Who needs a tool belt?

We had very nice weather this weekend. Brian decided he needed to fix some of our sprinklers in the yard. Brady wanted to help and ran in his room to get his tools. When he reappeared this is what we saw.

Back to Blogging-

I was told by two wonderful people today that I have gotten them hooked on checking my blog, and that I was not posting any new entries. So Audra and Kim here's to you!

Nothing too exciting to report. It is not 3:49 and I have Carson down for a nap. Brady is in his room desperately trying to stay awake by singing "No one, no one." I am not sure he will ever fall asleep. I just heard the door shut, and Carson is starting to make noise.
After being in his room for an hour and a half, Brady never did fall asleep. We did enjoy some great time out at our pool. Carson tried to eat everything he could pick up and Brady swam his little heart out. It is now 9:57 and I am off to bed.