We've been ...

Well, I feel I should explain where we've been the last month or so.  It's a place called "Busy!"  Maybe you've been there?  It started with a quick Thanksgiving trip to Arkansas, then a trip to Salt Lake City, Utah to visit extended family.  Primary was rather consuming with binders and manuals and class lists to prepare for the new year.  I'm only the secretary, but half of the presidency was gone with brand new babies.  Then Christmas, of course, followed by Clay's first birthday, and a baby shower for a friend.

So now that the end-of-year rush is over, will things slow down some?  I don't know.  But my to-do list is considerable shorter, so I can ease off the gas for a few weeks, at least.  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  We sure enjoyed ours and feel so fortunate to have celebrated it with family in Utah and our own children here in Edmond.  Kids sure make Christmas magical.

Visiting my grandparents in West Valley City.  They gave Miles and Clay toy cars.

My grandma has a stocking for each child (5), grandchild (30), and great-grandchild (still counting).

Christmas Nativity.  Jesse made a great shepherd.  Amber was a 5-months-pregnant Mary.

If only this shot had a mirror so you could see how the camera man elicited such genuine smiles!

Now that we live outside of Utah, we actually made a point to go see the lights at Temple Square.  My memories of doing this as a child center around one word: COLD.  But this time, we bundled up, spent half our time inside the City Creek shopping center, and drank hot chocolate.  And the weather wasn't even that cold.  By the end I had to unzip my coat to cool off!

Our camera man even got a smile out of Grandpa this time!

Back in Oklahoma, we stumbled upon this awesome ornament.  Sponsored by one of the big oil companies, of course.

Santa made a great display of gifts for Christmas morning.  Alvin got a Wii, I gave Miles some pulleys and rope and helped him rig up a system across our living room, Clay loved his ride-on toy, and I got the best present of all: a Chariot stroller/bike trailer.

Clay, on his first birthday.

He got two presents, and one we had to take back to the store.  Good thing he's just one!  I think when he's older we'll let him choose a non-December date to celebrate his birthday.

And the baby shower!  This was the first baby shower I ever threw, and it was a blast.  You can't go wrong with an under-the-sea theme.  Miles and Clay loved the decorations that I put up a few days early.  We didn't play any games at the shower, but everyone helped cut out and glue felt fish to make a mobile for the baby's nursery.

Our Little Photographer

Wow!  It's been a bit since I posted.  I was going through our Christmas and winter photos and ran across these that Miles took.  Completely unedited.  I should pay him, even if he is only a couple months shy of four!

And a lovely one of Alvin gathering firewood behind our back yard.

Toddling

November 16, 2012 Clay officially took his first steps!  He is 10 1/2 months old.  He was standing next to a chair, and the look in his eyes said, "I want to get to that piano bench where my mom is sitting.  If I just let go and pick up my feet . . ."  So he took a couple steps and lunged toward me.  It was momentous.  I immediately called Alvin to report the news.

Clay gets a kick out of standing and balancing for a few seconds by himself.  His faces lights up with that open-mouthed grin.

Our little guy

I’ve been thinking about Clay lately.  He is 10 months old.  That’s almost one year!  He doesn’t talk and say funny things for me to report (yet!), but he has his own personality, and I want to record some of the things that make Clay Clay.

Clay has always been a good laugher.  He started laughing early and heartily – maybe two months old.  He responds to tickling, pat-a-cake, kisses in the swing, funny noises, and “boo!”  He always has a big, open-mouthed smile.

Clay takes things in stride.   Miles likes to knock him over when he’s sitting or standing, or yank his pacifier out of his mouth (isn’t that what the little handle is for?), and Clay mostly doesn’t complain.

Anytime Clay and Miles are in the back yard together, I know the hose will get turned on (by Miles) and Clay will get sprayed (again, by Miles).  And Clay puts up with it!  I guess he thinks that’s just the way things are.  

Clay really likes Miles, and he watches him attentively.  He loves to wake up Miles from his nap by crawling on him and laying on his head, which usually produces a shove and a “Clay don’t!”

Clay hates getting his diaper changed and screams every time.  He will arch his back and roll over unless I lay him on the floor and pin him down with my leg.  He doesn’t like being buckled in his car seat, but he loves standing up to play in it.  He doesn’t much like shoes but has gotten used to some very soft leather slippers.

Clay will sit with his back at a wall or loosely-closed door and repeatedly bump his head against the wood.  He likes to put the knob on Miles’ tow truck in his mouth and crawl around with the rest of the toy hanging out his mouth from the tow cable.  He likes to dig in and eat the dirt from Alvin’s big coffee tree.  He puts his toy cell phone next to his ear, even though he seems too young to have figured that out.  He loves frozen peas and carrots, he prefers Kix over Cheerios, and he likes to pretend bananas are soap.  Today he shared his pacifier with me.  How sweet.

Here's to you, Clay!  Thanks for joining our family and bringing such contagious smiles.

 

Crazy dancing

We got to do some FaceTime with Alvin's mom and dad today.  What a great invention, FaceTime!  Miles informed me that while he was talking to Grandma and Grandpa (which he requests to do by himself), he showed them a crazy dance that was "really super fun."  I didn't see it, but I imagine it involved hopping on one foot while rolling his arms.  Miles said it was called, "We didn't start the air conditioner."  Remind you of anything?

P.S. I made this cake today, and it really is what it claims.  I actually ordered the cocoa powder from Amazon, and it's intense, rich flavor was definitely worth the weirdness of buying a grocery item online.

One step back . . .

One morning Miles was naughty and tormenting Clay.  Extremely vexed, I said, with great emotion, "Dang it, Miles!"

Now Miles sings, "And the dang-it, dang-it, daaang-it, went up the dangit again."

Growing up and growing out

Clay is now 10 months old and getting into things . . . literally.  He loves going higher: climbing the stairs, standing on Miles' tricycle, and climbing on the little kid picnic table.  If we didn't keep bathroom doors closed, he'd unroll our toilet paper and splash in the toilet bowl.  One day at the Science Museum, I propped him up at the water table and let him soak himself.  He loved it!

We had high hopes for Miles when we signed him up for 3-yr-old soccer.  A bunch of his friends from Nursery are on the same team, and one of the moms is the coach.  He loves to run around and kick the ball, but as soon as the whistle starts an actual game, he becomes immobile.  His friend, Adler, would also rather sit on the sidelines and play with a train than get in the middle of the soccer action.  Oh well.  It was a great learning experience for all of us.

Here's a picture of my growing-out hair.  Alvin, who gave me the blue shirt, was very nervous when I told him I was going to get it trimmed.  My hair, that is.  I reminded him that the overall length is increasing, and shorter layers make it manageable.