Back in the Swing of Things

It's been over 2 weeks since we've returned from China and we are still trying to kick our life back into gear. It's been tough getting back onto a normal schedule again.
Jeremiah has finally seemed to let go of his fear of us leaving him again; he now lets us enter another room without shrieks of terror. If there's one thing I've learned about babies it's been how forgiving they are. I can bonk his head, accidentally leave him in his crib for an hour after he's woken up from a nap, or forget to change his poopy diaper and he still loves me and greets me with a big "I love you mommy"-smile. There is something to be learned from these babes. They are truly a sweet little gift and they have so much to teach us.

Shortly after we had been home we realized that our house was not very "baby-proof". Our apartment floors were falling apart and since we have such an interesting landlord (bless his heart) there was no way we would ever get it fixed unless we did it ourselves.
So, here's what we did the week after we got home. TADA!!!
Now Jeremiah can cruise all he wants and I don't have to worry about what nasty pieces of old flooring he can put in his mouth.

Before                                                                             After

Chris recently celebrated his 28th Birthday. Boy am I glad he was born! Where would I be without him?
We had a simple stay at home celebration which was all he wanted after his hard day's work. But, that didn't sit well with my family so, we celebrated a tad bit more with them later in the week.

Jeremiah is cruisin' around all over the place now. He goes from room to room faster than I can turn around to see where he's going. He now stands up and walks from one piece of furniture to the next. Every once and a while he'll get daring and let go for a few seconds but then slowly lowers himself to the ground and realizes that for now he can get around faster by crawling. He babbles non-stop and tells us all kinds of stories...if only we could understand them. One of his new favorite things to do is hold onto the front of the entertainment center and dance (stomp) and sing (Bah bah La La Ba Wa) with whatever is playing on the TV. Jeremiah has developed such a sweet relationship with Chris. Whenever Chris gets home from work or comes through the front door Jeremiah jets straight toward him greeting him with smiles, giggles and high pitches squeels. Daddy then usually spends about an hour tickling and playing with Jeremiah. They are so fun to watch.

Here is a picture of happy Jeremiah just after I watched him finish eating a potato bug. He puts whatever he can find into his mouth and locks it shut whenever I try to take things out of it.

Jeremiah also enjoys the taste of fresh soil...mmm...Yummy!

New Tricks

Jeremiah Crawls!!!! 

He figured out how to get around just in time for Grandma and Grandpa Clark. He was so determined to get his own toys. Every time we put him down he got straight up on all fours and tried to maneuver his way toward's whatever he was intrigued with. He would grunt and sometimes get so tired he would just collapse onto his stomach and sigh. But, after hours of frustration he can finally go wherever he wants to. It's such a great thing for him but not so much for me. :)

Jeremiah SWIMS! 

I know it sounds crazy right?! 

A woman in my cousin's ward in Alpine teaches swimming lessons to children of 6mo -16. While at a swim lesson for my cousins toddlers she asked if she could give Jeremiah a "float lesson" since he had just turned 6 months and could now be considered for swimming lessons. I was a bit nervous but she assured me that he would be ok. So, we gave it a whirl. She took Jeremiah into the water and pushed him under. As she backed away she watched to see what he would do. Amazingly enough, Jeremiah flipped himself over and pushed his belly into the air, making it so he could get his mouth out of the water enough to breathe. WOW! It was seriously the coolest thing I've seen a baby do. It turns out that most normal babies know how to float as an instinctive survival tactic. 

You can find out some more about infant swimming at www.infantaquatics.com

Awesome Weekend

 It's been beautiful in Provo for the past week now. I can't believe it! We thought that we'd better use up the sunshine while we have it. Who knows what next week might be like. Provo has such crazy spring/early summer weather; one day it snows and the next it's bright and sunny as ever.

 We took our cute little picnic basket filled with great summer foods (grilled chicken, pasta salad, watermelon, fresh veggies and juice.) and made our way up the canyon.

We had such a fun time playing on the grass and taking walks in the woods. Jeremiah was mesmerized by the tiny inchworms that fell from the leaves. I held some of them on my hand and he just giggled as he watched them scoot.

I forget how much I enjoy feeling the grass under my feet and the sun on my skin. Ah, and the fires, marshmallows roasting, grilled steak, fresh air... the smells of summer just make my soul happy. We will definitely be doing this more throughout the summer.

On Saturday our favorite Provoian friends, Tim and Danielle threw an Epic Trivial Pursuit Party. There were over 50 people who came to the participate in the fun. Everyone was divided into groups and each group represented on of the colored game pieces. 

There is nothing that makes me feel more unkowledgeable than those trivia questions. Truly, i think I might have known 10 out of 50 answers to the game questions. Luckily, we had a couple of more experienced team members to saved our tushies. 

Today, just when we thought life couldn't get better. We went to a baby blessing for cousin Miwa. She is so beautiful and so calm. I haven't seen a more pleasant baby. Her blessing was sweet and the spirit was strong as it always is when these special little people come to earth. I am taken back by the purity and innocence of these little children who bless our lives. I have a testimony of God's love for all of his children and of His sacred and special relationship with children. 

Isn't our Heavenly Father's plan incredible? Being pregnant was an amazing experience for me. Our bodies are distinctly made to bear and birth children; by no small miracle, these infants receive a body of flesh and bones and come into this world according to the Father's design. I am so blessed to be a mother and to take care of and nurture one of God's children. And, as I looked into Nancy's (Miwa's mamma') eyes today I knew that she knew she was a woman of God and that she also felt blessed to be a mother here on earth.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints couldn't be more true. I am made aware of the existence of our God every day of my life and am constantly a recipient of His tender mercies. 

Chris and Jeremiah are two largest tender mercies in my life. I am so happy to have been sealed in the temple to my husband to know that I will be with my sweet family into the eternities.

I love me some Jeremiah

Jeremiah was having a rough day yesterday. He seemed to be quite fussy for no apparent reason. We tried EVERYTHING but, nothing seemed to be working. So, we decided to take his two favorite things and combine them into one. His first favorite thing is water. Jeremiah was born loving water and even smiled during his first bath at the hospital. His second favorite thing is being outside; he really likes watching bugs, animals, and cars. So, we took his bathtub outside and let him play in his birthday-suite. I don't know if I've ever seen him have more fun. I let him play until the water got cold. Maybe 2 hours. I am tucking away this little trick for the next time he's fussy but, I'm sure it wont work again. That's just how babies roll.
I've been teaching Jeremiah some sign language. He can say "more" and can kind of say "please". I have found that the fastest way to get him to learn is by sticking some bits of banana bread in front of him. He knows he can't touch it until he makes the right sign. What a smart cookie!
We're still waiting for Jeremiah to crawl. He's been sitting up for almost 2 months now but just finds that he can get where he wants to by rolling instead of crawling. It's pretty funny to watch. But, we hope he'll crawl by the time Chris's family reunion comes around so that he can show off his new tricks to his grandma and grandpa Clark.

3 Years

Chris and I just celebrated our 3 year anniversary this past Friday! What a sweet day it was.
Friday evening Chris and I drove to the Salt Lake Temple to do some family sealings. On our way we talked about our favorite memories from the time that we met up until now. I hadn't realized how much we've done together until we started our list. I am so grateful for these beautiful memories! I think it's important to regularly look back on the blessings and great times that we have in our lives. It makes us thankful and gives us a sense of happiness and fulfillment.
No one knows but, before we went to the temple on our wedding day we decided to go to Einstein's for a bagel. We had left Provo a lot earlier than we needed to (We were nervous that we would be late for our own wedding.) So, we had a whole bunch of extra time to kill. :) We only though it appropriate to return back to that same little Einstein's bagel shop up in the avenues. While we sat outside the shop and talked, Chris had his cousin Robert show up in a suit to surprise me with a large bouquet of beautiful flowers. I can always tell when Chris is going to do something "cute" because he always gets this quirky smile on his face moments before it happens. It really is quite adorable but... a dead giveaway!
The temple was magnificent as usual. I cried as we held hands and were able to "repeat" in a sense our marriage. There is no greater joy than knowing I will be able to be with my husband and little Jeremiah forever.
To seal up all of the goodness at the end of the day we went to The Roof. It truly was a magical time. I wish that for a while I could just freeze time at that moment and linger a little longer.

Being Married to Chris is such a joy. Each day is an adventure that I look forward to. I wake-up with a skip in my step and a smile on my face just because I know that I am his wife. He is such a hard worker and is always concerned for mine and Jeremiah's wellbeing. I love that he leaves me little notes every so often just to remind me that he loves me. He knows exactly what I need and what keeps me going. He is romantic. He is funny. He is smart. He is honest. He is good. He is strong. He is talented. He is everything I could ever want and more.
Chris and I have been quite blessed. But, marriage isn't always sunshine and roses. There are definitely some cloudy and rainy days. But, the rain isn't so bad when you walk through it together. Throughout the course of our marriage I have learned much of sacrifice, selflessness, love, devotion, forgiveness, and how to become more like the Savior. What a beautiful plan our Father in Heaven has created. I am so thankful for the joy that the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints brings into my life.

Some Firsts

Memorial Day weekend was a big one for Jeremiah! We went to ID to visit Chris's sister Sarah and her cute new husband Chris Moyes. (yes...there are now 3 Chris' in the Christensen Family. And that doesn't include the Christinas) We were worried that Baby Jeremiah was going to be a terror in the car but, it turns out he is the most amazing traveler in the world!!! We couldn't have had a better or more beautiful drive.


When we arrived in Rexburg we were starved. We must have been complaining because Sarah and Chris took us to a place where they serve more food than I've ever seen. They took us to BIG JUDS! Big Juds  has 1 lb, 2 lb, and 5 lb hamburgers; they are probably as big as a regular sized dinner plate and stacked about 5-6 inches high. Jeremiah couldn't take his eyes off of everyone's food; his drooled as he watched us eat. So, we decided he could have a fry to gnaw on....he was in heaven!


The next morning we packed up and made a special trip to some Lava Hot Springs so that Jeremiah could play in the water. What a blast! Seriously, we couldn't have had more fun. Later in the day we decided that it had been far too long since we've been on a camping trip and made a decision to risk taking our 6 month old son. Jeremiah did great during the day but, night time was little rough. He doesn't sleep well when he's outside of his crib. We woke up to rain and after a few hours of hiding out in our tents we decided to bail and go back to the  Moyes' adorable apartment. It was so nice to just hang out, watch movies, eat, talk, and take a breather.

This trip introduced a lot of new things into our babies life. He had his first experience camping, first experience swimming, first time traveling for more than 2 hours in a car and first tastes of frenchfries, ice-cream, and gatorade.

I am so amazed at how aware Jeremiah is. He seems to comprehend things easily and can impressively read/pick-up on emotions. He has been so fun and interesting to watch grow and learn.
                                                               

 WE LOVE YOU!

Baby take over

Jeremiah has been extremely hard to entertain the past few days. I can't seem to make enough funny faces and still get things done around the house. So, for about 2 hours a day I've been taking Jeremiah to the duck pond at the bottom of the BYU "stairs of death". Today there were at least 30 tiny baby ducks waddling around the pond and Jeremiah was more than fascinated. I set him in the grass with a bunch of bread and let the ducks swarm around him. He LOVED it! He used to try and make duck quacking sounds but this time he just smiled and watched them with big eyes. After we get back from visiting the ducks he is usually more content and can sit on his own playing with toys...I think the ducks, grass, water and all the passing cars might satisfy the stimulation that he's trying to get. Thank you duck pond!!!!!!

Since we've had Jeremiah we've outgrown our little apartment. We have been looking for a bigger place but it just seems kind of silly to move just to move again in a few months. So, right now Jeremiah's crib is in the living room and all of his toys are in a big basket next to our couches. I don't think I ever realized how much space babies take up and how much stuff they need. We now have baby clothes all over our bedroom floor because they wont fit in the dresser...mostly our whole house is just babyfide! Ah...blessed will be the day when we have a bigger home that's all ours and Jeremiah can have his own space!

Blessings

We were truly hoping that teaching seminary was the right job for us. But, we have felt very strongly lately that the Lord would have us serve in some other capacity.
Through a turn of many recent events, we have decided to stay in Provo for the next couple months. I will be trying to finish schooling and Chris will be working/studying hard for the GMAT and a set of 6 long tests to enter into the financial world.
Chris is extremely talented and with his background in math, he understands much more than most of the business and economic majors at BYU and has consistently outscored almost all of them in the upper level financial classes he has taken. We have high hopes and have truly felt that this is the right direction for us to head.
Jeremiah continually brings us Joy! He is such a happy baby. He can't seem to stay still and is always trying to move; he is truly "bigger than his body gives him credit for." He sits up unsupported and scoots around the room. (We think he will be crawling very very soon!)
I am still trying to lose my last 14 or so pounds of baby weight....man it's a nightmare! But, slowly it has been coming off. If anyone has some helpful tips I would greatly appreciate the help!!! :D

To all of those mamma's out there....remember that it took 9 months to gain it, so it should take at least 9 months to loose it!!!

PS - my Mother's day was WONDERFUL!!!! I love being a mamma'!

WE DID IT!

Life

Chris and I have been sharing one laptop for over the past year now. I'm not just trying to come up with excuses for why I never post...but, it has definitely been a struggle to post while sharing a computer with a man who's busy with school, work, and getting espn updates. :)
Just two days ago Chris found a way to get internet to our OLD pc desktop. So, now I will have no excuse for not posting more often.

Our lives are wonderful and BUSY! Jeremiah is just over 4 months old now and keeps us on our toes. He smiles, laughs, rolls over, plays with toys, and is almost sitting on his own. He loves attention and lets you know when he isn't getting enough.
Chris is finishing up school here in about a week. He is extremely excited to graduate and move on to the next best thing. He is still teaching seminary at Lehi and loves it. He has had a rough semester with these new kids, but he loves them and wants them to love the scriptures. We will find out whether or not Chris will be hired full time by the end of next week. ( I'll keep you posted)
I have been busy trying to keep up with Jeremiah. He is so fun but, such a handful! Our days are composed of ongoing cycles in the pattern of eating, playing, and sleeping. I can't wait until he starts to have longer periods between eating times!!!!!

Some new things about Jeremiah
- Loves his bouncer! He still hasn't figured out how to jump very well, but he enjoys sucking on the edge of the seat.
- Loves watching Daddy play basketball!
- Just ate his first solid food!
- Chews on EVERYTHING!
- Pulls his covers over his face when he sleeps.

Our Baby Jeremiah

Jeremiah Ero Kekoa Clark has been such a joy in our home! He's been a lot of work but so far it's all been worth it.

He weighed 7lbs 6oz at birth and has been steadily growing. Most babies drop in weight the first few weeks after birth but, Jeremiah just keeps getting bigger!  He will be 2 months old next week(time flies by so quickly) but already fits into most of his 3 month old clothes.

After coming home from the hospital we were to blessed to have Grandma Clark come stay with us. I don't know how I would have survived without her help. It was so nice to have her motherly expertise and help around the home.

This past weekend we were able to bless Jeremiah in church. Dad Clark flew into town for the special event and almost all of our family from the area was in our sacrament meeting. Jeremiah had over 20 men circled around him. It was truly a beautiful memory that I will treasure forever. I am so grateful for so my husband and the other worthy priesthood holders who were able to participate in this special moment in my life and the life of my baby boy.

Here are some recent pictures of Jeremiah!

Updates

Over the past 3 months Baby has grown so big that my belly feels like it's going to explode. He moves all the time now; kicking, punching, and rolling have become his favorite pass-time activities.

Chris recently started teaching Seminary at Lehi High School. He's only had a few days there so far but he loves it! He teaches 2 periods a day, each period containing about 30 students. 

He also started school today at BYU. He's not too excited about it but is motivated to graduate next April.

We've had lots of crazy things going on but Heavenly Father has seen us through all of our ups and downs. We are so blessed!

Alien Heart Beat and a Visit with Zo and Quanda

Chris and I went to see Dr. Watabe in American Fork last Thursday for a prenatal visit to check up on the baby. As part of the check up we were able to listen to our baby's heart beat for the first time.The sound of the heart beat was so strange, it truly sounded like an alien was living inside of me. And, other than being alien, the heart beat was about 165 bpm which I thought was high but apparently is completely normal for a growing baby.
The doctor said everything was absolutely perfect and couldn't be better. Baby is growing beautifully and life couldn't be better!

You can listen to the Alien Heartbeat below:



We also had a great time this weekend visiting Larenzo, Quanda, and little Nia in Toelle. Because they live so far away we spent a lot of time just hanging out and catching up. It was so fun to be with them.
Little Nia Loves Chris; she was always trying get his attention and, when he didn't give it to her she would just come plop down on his lap. Pretty Cute!

Nia has gotten so big since we last saw her. She is about 2 1/2 years old but the height of a 5 year old boy.

The fun we've been having!

Chris LOVES rice crispy treats! So, trying to be a good and nice wife I decided that I would make him some for our Family Night treat. It turned out that we only had stale rice crispys and not enough of them. So, Chris took matters into his own hands and added a box of cherios to the mess I had made. YUM!

Just a about a month ago Ben (one of Chris's many cousins) and Christina were married in Montecello Utah. On our drive back from Montecello we decided to take a family tour of Arches National Park. It was so beautiful and we definitely had a great time climbing on all the Rocks.

My little Sister Sarah who is just graduating this spring from Mountain View High School won the Gates Millennial Scholarship. She will have ALL years of her college schooling paid for (meaning all the way through a PHD if she chooses) as well as housing costs! She's so amazing and we're so proud of her!  The family all went to celebrate Sarah's great achievement at one of our favorite gathering places, Sam Hawk! SOOOO GOOD!!!!!

Every Spring during General Conference we are blessed to be able to spend time with Daddy Clark :) One of the days that Chris looks forward to throughout the year is the day that he can spend with his Dad skiing.  It was so fun to have dad around for a while and to be able to laugh, play games, talk, and enjoy being in each others company. 

In early March Chris and I found out that we were going to have a baby! It's been such an exciting adventure. I have been so blessed and haven't been extremely sick. I've had good days and some bad ones but, overall I've been doing wonderfully. My little tummy bump gets bigger everyday it seems. I've already had to buy some maternity clothes because the rubberband that holds my jeans up just isn't quite cutting it anymore.

Tomorrow, May 20th, Chris and I will be going in to see the doctor and listen to our baby's heart beat which is something I've been looking forward to for a long time now. We're so excited!!!

We love you all and will keep you updated.
Love, Chris and Ari

Baby on it's way!!!

Our cup runeth Over

I finally found a job. Hooray!!! I will be starting Feb. 1st as the receptionist for cornerstone homes!

We have also found insurance!!! Life is so good. We are now currently enrolled on 4 different policies; two with Aflac, one with Blue Cross, and the fourth with American Family. Heavenly Father has been sending us so many blessings. Everything we've been worried about has been solved through Him.  Thanks for your prayers everyone. We definitely needed them and we absolutely felt them!

With Love,

Ari and Chris

Catching up

The holidays were wonderful! We are so grateful to have been able to spend them with our wonderful families.  Chris and I were able to spend a lot of time with my family up until and including Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. We were able to go see Grandma, Grandpa, and Seth before they left to see Sam off on his mission. It was so nice to participate and be a part of the Brown family Christmas traditions this year.
In the afternoon, Christmas Day, after everyone had opened presents and rested a bit, Chris and I  drove to the airport to get on a plane to Virginia! (HOORAY!!!) Flying on Christmas wasn't my first choice but, now that I've done it I can personally say it was AMAZING! The tickets were half the price that they usually are and the airport was completely empty, which made getting through security a breeze even when the security level is raised to "orange"(High risk of terrorist attacks).
Being in Virginia with the Clarks was a delight. We are extremely happy that Abby and Joshua stayed an extra day so that we could see them. I had never met Joshua but have heard great things about him. Now that I've met him, I can say that he is absolutely adorable and that it's obvious that he makes Abby happy.  (And he totally rocks at guitar hero!) ;)
For New Years, we all went out to Pennsylvania where we had some fun adventures. We spent one day driving around most of Pennsylvania's highways until we found Hershey Park. Chris was a bit flustered with all of the driving, as was Dad, who we were following. However, I think the rest of us enjoyed the ride with each other; we laughed a lot, had fun singing with the radio and telling stories. Despite the cold cold weather and crazy drive, Hershey Park was fabulous. We met up with the Hockers (such a cute bunch) and had a blast wandering the chocolate dream world of fun.  There really is something there for everyone. I don't even like chocolate very much, but i found out that Hershey makes a lot more than just chocolate. They make Twizzlers!!!!!!! :D So happy!
Pennsylvania was full of a lot more than chocolate however. We spent pretty much the rest of our stay in a quaint little home just outside of Gettysberg. We played games, talked, laughed, stayed up way later than we should have, slept in way later than we should have, and ate a lot of food. :)  It was a perfect recipe for a fantastic vacation.
Gettysberg is a marvelous place, definitely worthy of our time. We were able to see the famous sights of places on the battlefield and stop by the Gettysberg museum.  The museum was a treasury of the memories and facts about the war.  I believe it brought a sense of love, sacrifice, and gratitude for not only the men who fought, but for their families on both the confederate and yankee sides.
After returning to Virginia we just "hung out" with the family and enjoyed being part of the clark "everyday life". Because Mama' clark loves Chris so much she let Chris teach an early morning seminary class.  He was definitely born and raised to be a great teacher and leader. It's a joy to watch him thrive and see the way that he smiles while he teaches.
We arrived back in Utah on the 6th of January. Just in time for us to figure out how to get Chris into the classes he needed. Heavenly Father is sure watching over us.
I am now currently trying to find a job and have tried to spend my free time cooking so that I don't bother Chris while he's trying to study.
Things are going well for us and we are so happy and so grateful to be where we are in life.
We love you all!