"Buddy Boy and more"

"Hi, buddy boy."
"Hi, daddy."
"What'szat?"
"Coco water?"
"Mommy bed?"

Some of the many things you will hear Mr. Clark say lately. Right now, he's a mimic-machine! "Hi buddy boy." is often from Daddy, and this afternoon what he uttered to me as he was falling asleep on my chest.  "Hi daddy." or "Hi mommy." Will most often be said after being issued a good scolding. E.G., he's in the 'running away' stage. Though he thinks it's a fun game, when we see him running towards a crowd or a busy street, we have to lay down the law. In loud, harsh, tones of warning (that we are not proud of, but hey, sometimes you have to be loud to be heard), we have to discipline how important it is for him to listen and not run away. Nose to nose, clearly as serious as serious can be, Clark eyes will lock on, become wide and full, and in the sweetest voice possible, attempt to distract with a heart-wrenching: "Hi, daddy."
"What'szat!?" His fave question. I label 'fave' because he seems to ask it often and with great zest. Answers can be anywhere from: "A bulldozer." "Breakfast." "Sewing machine." "Mommy's nipple." or my favorite, "A wall."
"Coco water? Coco milk? Chocolate coco water?" Dude, this kid likes to drink his coconut water! We finally had to rashon his intake cuz we were tired of changing a sopping wet diaper every hour and a half. The fun part is when he asks for it in the middle of the night. Must always have coco-water on hand.
Speaking of middle of the night, a habit we have begun, and have not seemed to deter from, is joining him in bed as he drifts off to sleep. Sometimes we can get his teeth brushed, read a book, tuck him in, kiss goodnight and creep out. Other times, he demands: "Mommy, bed?" or "Daddy, bed?" Indicating he wants company. If it's me, he'll follow up with "Daddy, glasses off." Knowing that when Daddy removes his specs, it's time to settle down. 

These are only a fraction of the words and mini-phrases he busts out on a daily basis.  "Daddy, funny.", "Mommy, play?" and "Daddy, so suh-weet!" are among my personal faves.

Chronicle Followers! Here's another post! More visually stimulating than prose stimulating, but really, do you read this blog because of what I have to say? 

When he conquers his first castle, this is the expression he will make!

It's all about the hair lately! Sometimes a post whisky'd Hemmingway. Other times, full on Gene Wilder!

"Forgive me, I know not what I do." But he's awfully cute when he's doing it!

He's my sexy man and the best photographic subject a budding photog could ever want!

That face!

Getting to show off my son is a true highlight for any self-absorbed, competitive-natured, easy-to-gloat, Capricorn like myself. Any chance I can bring my family to a work function, I jump on it! The rewards, like you see below, are definitely worth gloating! 

At the premier of Daddy's new toon "Rescue Bots", Clark ignores the presentation to show how proud he his of his poppa!

Are you shocked?! It's been moons! Many moons, since our last COC post. (Yes, I realize if you say the acronym as a word, it becomes a whole different blog.) Yeah, well, a lot has been going on. Life. Death. Reality. Not afraid to say that this curve ball life done threw at us buncha sucked. Still does. We have been immersed in family affairs and though Clark is a consistent light in our life, we've just been too busy to brag about it here.
Many apologies to our loyal followers who kept coming back for updates. I will, once again, try to be diligent about posts.

So, yeah, he's two. Two and three months! We stopped counting in months! Yay! We've kicked the baby bottles! Yay! He no longer requires a crib! Yay! He's using the potty! Yay! Well, kinda. He uses the potty sure. He also uses the floor and the carpet and still requires diapers. One thing at a time, right?

Clark's 2nd Celebration was an enormous success! Nana Pat flew in for the festivities, much to his delight. The morning of, he awoke to a barrage of balloons, a brand new play-table, and as much "Choo Choo Thomas" and wooden train track he could muster. That was just inside. Outside, Daddy, sprung for a giant inflatable slide which was utilized by all! I tell ya, I had SO much fun at the party store collecting all the fun for my son's Bday! I couldn't decide what theme to go with. Batman, of course. Then again, I kinda instill that upon him. He really likes Elmo and he really likes Thomas the Train Engine. So what did I come up with? A Bat-Elmo-Thomas themed party! Cuz why the frick  not?!
Two words, resounding success!

I could go on, filling you in on several months of activity, but I want to be diligent about posting regularly...aaaand maybe Mommy can help post too? (Christy. Am referring to you, mah'dear.) So until next time, consider your COC fix...fixed.

23 Months and Counting

He's nearly TWO, folks. TWO!!! Man o man, I can't believe it.

So yeah, Christmas and New Year pretty much sucked (see previous entry), but the one true saving grace, the one shining, glittery, make-ya-smile, neon light that kept us from full on self-destruction...was little Clark Otis.

Christmas morning was ever so special. It was his very first, run into the living room to bask in all the Santa glory! He totally recognized that something special happened overnight. There were a multitude of extra presents under the tree, and like my parents did before me, left a few, unwrapped, scattered about for instant gratification. The nieces and nephew came over later on to another melee of gift unwrapping. Clark pretty much got the gist after that. If he sees a whimsically wrapped package, he identifies it as "Ho Ho". Meaning, Santa must've brought this, and he must've brought this for ME.


Visiting Nashville is always a pleasure. Clark eats it up. It's like he knows his heritage is engrained deep in the pours of his Nana's house. He not only has the run of the joint, but he loves going "outshide?" where there is acres of land for him to roam free, independent, and safe from the hazards that would usually be in our front yard in Los Angeles. Did I say front yard? I meant street.


Clark's vocabulary is growing by the day. He's getting really good at imitating, which as I'm sure you can guess, is causing us to censor ourselves lately. Though it's a lot of fun to hear him refer to a "fork" or his own name "Clark". (get it?)
He knows nearly ALL of his ABC's. That's right. He can recognize a handful of numbers. He knows who Batman is "Baba", he can now spot Superman ("Man!"), calls our dog by name ("Mowwee"), can express "bite", "juice", "mah" (milk), "night-night", "eyes", "nose", "mouth", "ear" (eeooh), and melts us every day with "Mommy" and "Daddy". D'awwwww, LOVE IT!


Not sure what our plans are for his big Oh-Two, but considering last years plans were thwarted by weather, we're opting for an indoor venue.

Every day his personality gets bigger. Sometimes preceded by a brief moment of shyness. But after a bit of a warm up, he'll high five, fist bump, blow raspberries, or do his best to make you smile!

Uncle Scott

 Dear Future Clark,

 Hiya buddy. I know you don't remember your Uncle Scott. Rest assured, he loved the heck outta you. It's unfortunate to state that you only got to experience him a handful of times. Each time, he scooped himself up a handful of you. As I write this, we're on day two of his wake visitation. Tomorrow we bury him next to your Pappy.

  Scott was 47 years young. He died of stroke complications just a few days ago. It is a very sad time right now. Your poor mama lost her Daddy (your Pappy) four short years ago and now, unexpectedly, her big brother.  Scott's kids, your cousins, Bailey, Connor, and Emma,  I'm SURE regaled you with many stories and anecdotes of their Dad. Comprised with tales you've no doubt heard from your Nana, your Mom, and myself, you should already have a good sense of how amazing and important Scott was in our lives.

 That above pic was your first trip to Disneyland. You know what, I'm pretty sure it was Scott's too (he didn't want to wear the button). So there you both are, sharing a first. He we all are, sharing a last.

 Scott was pretty torn up when you were born. See, he didn't really have the gift of foresight that your momma and I had with your situation. We never heard from him while you were in the NICU. He just couldn't bring himself to form the words. He was devastated. He thought about you every day though. He kept you in his prayers. He sent his own version of Heartbeams. So proud, so happy, so in love with you was he when he finally got to scoop you up in his arms.

  As I'm sure you are now aware, your Daddy ain't really a...well, a rough in tough man. A football watchin, chaw-chewin', Bud drinkin', poker playin', gone fishin' man! I was kinda hopin' Scott would introduce you to all that for me ('cept for the chaw...eecch). Hopefully, I did my best at giving you a taste (again....not the chaw...you know what I mean).

   BUT Scott did dig himself some "Family Guy" (probably still on the air), Golf, Bill Murray (Wiki him), Monty Python (I should still have the complete set somewhere), and though a small town boy, had a big taste for life.

   Today, as you read this, know your Uncle Scott is up there in the ether, somewhere, with your Pappy, and they really enjoyed watching you grow up.

  Love ya,

Daddy

Write or Left?

Looks like he's a leftie!

What's UP With This Pic?

Clark Otis! Cuz he be on a booster seat!