June Update

Dear family and friends,

It’s amazing how much your life can change in just a couple months! William was born 9 ½ weeks ago, and we are really enjoying him. ☺ It’s amazing how much you can love a little person! William is smiling and cooing a lot now. My favorite thing that William does is to raise and lower his eyebrows when he smiles at times. It’s very cute, but you’d have to see it to enjoy it. In the last few weeks he has begun sleeping through the night, though he doesn’t have that down flawlessly yet. One of William’s favorite things to do with his dad is “direct” marches, particularly the “Stars and Stripes Forever”. William is a determined little guy, having already rolled over at only 8 days old, though he does not do that routinely by any means. He can really push up with his legs now. William seems to take after his Uncle Creed, because he doesn’t sleep a whole lot. He is often very alert.



William was blessed in church by his dad on April 30th. We were glad that Grandpa Clark, David’s sisters, and all of our parents could be there for the occasion. It was especially nice of my parents to come all the way down for it. We are also very grateful to my mom for coming down the first week I was home from the hospital—she worked very hard and was a huge help!

For someone who enjoys being in control of her life, William is sure to teach me that I am no longer in control! Just when I think we may have a pattern down in his schedule (it only takes me one or two days to think that), the next day/night is totally different. He really keeps us on our toes, and we are very grateful for the swing someone passed on to us. I have read a couple books on getting babies to sleep and made the following conclusions: 1) there are no clear conclusions; and 2) getting babies to sleep is a big business (there are lots of “sleep experts” out there who get paid a lot!).

For Memorial Day weekend, we enjoyed visiting Grandpa Clark in College Station and Grandma Evins in Jacksonville, Texas. On Saturday Grandpa Clark took us to the Texas Rose Emporium. Then after church on Sunday, we enjoyed visiting Aaron and Julie Stuart (David’s cousin) in their new home, as well as Cory and Jeanene Toole (David’s college friend). We spent Monday with Grandma Evins visiting some of her family. Grandma also took us on a little tour of Gallatin, the small town where she grew up.





David finished his 2nd year of medical school May 7, completing the sections on pediatrics, geriatrics, and obstetrics. It has been really nice to have him home more, allowing him to play with and help with William more and help around the house even more than he was normally able. David has also put in MANY hours outside in our yard, cutting down trees, mowing and edging and cleaning up the lawn, removing bushes and major roots, and helping me plant flowers. He has worked so hard, and the yard looks so much better! David has also been busy with the Scouts in the ward, going on a campout, participating in the Dallas Scout show, and attending the weekly activities. In the last couple months, David has mastered the numbers puzzle Sudoku, but by his own admission spends way too much time on it. He is amazingly focused when he is working on these puzzles, and is very fast with them! Now that classes are over, he is preparing for the national board exam on June 30. David and I enjoyed attending a nice dinner at the dean’s home so she could get to know several students. In May we attended the ballet “Cinderella”. Recently Lisa and Melanie have each babysat William at different times. It was really nice to get out together, and to know that William was in such good hands. Thanks, Lisa and Melanie!

I have been making a major adjustment to my new job of being a full-time mother. I went into work for half a day this week to clear out my desk, turn in badges and keys, and have lunch with my boss. Although I have really enjoyed my job the last nearly 4 years, I am very grateful to be able to stay home with William. I love being a mom! The weeks are flying by. Last month I got a new calling as Cub Scout Den Leader, which will be in addition to my current calling of Relief Society teacher. I was caught off guard with my new calling, as I had not ever considered it, but I think I will really enjoy it. I have read the Wolf and Bear Cub handbooks, and the activities all look fun. For my first den meeting, I taught the boys about recycling and pollution and saving energy, so I felt badly when I realized I had nearly killed a tree in printing off things from the Internet to prepare for the meeting! A couple weeks ago we had a dinner group over to our home. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to use a turkey we’d had in the freezer, but it probably wasn’t the greatest idea since it was 95 degrees outside! It’s a good thing Thanksgiving is in November!

Thanks to everyone for all of the nice things you have done for us with the arrival of William. We just wish we could live closer to all of you!

Love,
David, Emily, and little William