Kicking and Screaming

Me... not Baby Clay.

Today is Baby Clay's last day in the infant class at daycare and I don't want him to move up to the Toddler class... but he has to. I have to let him grow up and be a big boy.... but I don't want to!!

Being in the Toddler class means he doesn't have a high chair to sit in and eat... he's got a little short table and chairs. He doesn't have a crib to take a nap in... he gets to sleep on a napmat (which I might add is super cute - I'll take pictures of it next time he brings it home). He has a structured class... they do this at this time and this at this time. His supply list includes glue sticks, big fat crayons and lots of paper towels... yeah, I'd like to witness craft time in the Toddler class. And the biggest change in the toddler class is that he only gets to take one nap... which makes for a REALLY crabby Baby Clay (they've been practicing this in the infant class for the last few weeks and it is not going over really well once he gets home).

I know he'll miss his teachers, but one of them is moving up to the next class!!! She is so sweet and I'm glad he'll have a familiar face moving up with him. They are moving his whole class up, so he will also have all his little friends with him. I'm sure he won't really even notice he's in a brand new class... and won't realize how "big" he is moving to the Toddler class... but I will!

I had to go back to his First Day of Daycare post I did back at the beginning of December (Blogs are wonderful!!) and look at how much he has changed... Look at how little he is:

I LOVE this picture! That hat was my favorite!!!

He was only 12 weeks on his first day of daycare... I was a mess and now I'm a mess all over again because he's growing up so fast!!


Here he is today... shiner and all! (Actually, the eye is looking MUCH better! I don't feel like Child Protective Services would be called on me if I took him out in public.)

Looking so big in his big boy carseat!

Such a big boy, but still my little baby!

The Heavy Weight Toddler Champion Is...

BABY CLAY!!!

You should see the other guy! Actually, the pictures don't even do it justice.

Here it is from another angle:


Today Baby Clay got in a fight with the window sill at daycare... actually, he was standing at the window sill and lost his balance and banged his face on the corner. The daycare called me and I happened to be right down the street, so I headed on down to see the damage. At that time it was all swollen and puffy and he looked pitiful! This happened at lunch and I was afraid that when I picked him up, it was going to look even worse... but it really didn't. I'm sure he's going to have a nasty bruise tomorrow morning!

And, of course, he's still smiling!

If it's worse in the morning, I'll be sure to take more pictures!

I Love Paul Frank!

If you don't know who Paul Frank is, he's the cartoonist that is responsible for this monkey:

This is Julius the Monkey and I think he's adorable! Which is surprising since he's somewhat "clownish" and I'm scared to death of clowns. Anyways... back to my love of Paul Frank. He has a clothing line for infants and kids called "Small Paul" and his stuff is too cute!!!

This past weekend when we went into town, we stopped by Dillard's to look through the baby clothes and came across his stuff. I was showing Baby Clay the t-shirts and he would - straight up - cackle at the monkey on the front of them. Clay has always had a thing for monkeys (or rather his mommy has kind of forced him to have a thing for monkeys since the only stuffed animal she has allowed in his crib has been a monkey). We picked him out a t-shirt and I think it's his favorite one (and I know this because he cackled again when I got it out for him to wear and then hugged it... yep, it's his favorite).

Now that he has one Paul Frank t-shirt, I feel like I need to get the whole collection! Target is also now carrying a few Paul Frank items. Mark has been sent on a journey to acquire the yellow Paul Frank rain jacket from the Target in town... he's got 2 to go to so he better not come up empty-handed! (Just kidding, Mark! I know it's obviously a hot comodity since it's already sold out online! Just be ready to work your ebay magic if you don't find it!)

Clay wore his ultra-cute t-shirt to daycare yesterday and (of course) I got some pictures of him in it! (I also had to google Paul Frank to make sure he wasn't some Satan worshipper or felon since Clay goes to a church daycare... AND he's not - from what I read.) He looked pretty darn cute in his Paul Frank shirt!!!

And look at this smile! He used to NEVER smile for the camera! Now he "cheeses" it up! I hope he keeps this up for his 1 year old pictures coming up in September!

Weekend Review - In Pictures

Saturday was a big day for Baby Clay! We went into town to go shopping for his first pair of real big boy shoes. We went to Stride Rite because I had no clue what size shoe he wore and wanted to make sure we got him the right size. When the lady measured his feet she asked how old he was and when we told her almost 11 months she said "WOW! He's got some big feet!". She thought he might even have to get an EXTRA-wide size! He ended up wearing a 4 1/2 Wide, which I'm assuming is big for an 11 month old.

I was afraid he'd freak out when I put his shoes on, but he took it quite well. I even think he liked them... a little bit! Here he is showing them off:


This is his new favorite toy. His Aunt Kim and Uncle Darrell gave it to him when we went to Atlanta last weekend. It's got wheels and it rolls around, so of course he loves it!

This is his sad look when I wouldn't give him some of my water.

This is his happy face after I gave him a drink of my water.

He was WORN OUT after our trip to the big city to find his shoes (and so was I)!

He looks dead in this picture. Kind of freaks me out a bit! He doesn't even look like a little baby here!

Later that evening Clay's friend, Brayden, came over to play while the daddies went to the Arena Football game. Brayden lives next door and is 3 weeks younger than Clay. I think they are going to be great friends (except on Auburn vs. Alabama weekend... they are BIG Alabama fans!).

I think this picture is cute! Clay looks so big next to Brayden!

Look at the block tower Clay built all by himself! Ok... so he didn't build it himself... he did knock it over all by himself!

Clay and Brayden playing basketball.

It was a wonderful weekend and I enjoyed spending it with my guys!

This week I'm going to start planning his birthday party! I have a fun idea for his invitations and can't wait to work on them!!! I'll keep ya'll updated on my plans and if any of you have any ideas, let me know!

Goodnight... Sleep Tight!

Someone was exhausted tonight! So exhausted he didn't care what position mama and dada put him in to take pictures.


They've been "training" him to take just one nap at daycare since he'll be moving to the Toddler class in a week... and in the Toddler class they only take ONE nap. On top of this training, they are trying to get them to sleep on a nap mat! I hear he's actually doing pretty good. The first day they said he rolled up in the attached blanket and started rolling across the floor... napmat and all! I'm thinking it's time to start moving his bedtime a little earlier! His typical bedtime is around 7:45 or 8:00... but now, he's READY around 7:00! I'm sure going to miss those 2-a-day naps on the weekends!

Tomorrow we are going into town to find big boy some shoes to fit his fat little feet. He straight up has Flintstone feet... short and fat! I have yet to find a shoe that fits both the length and the width of his foot. Hopefully, with the help of a "specialist", we'll find some tomorrow!

Hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing weekend!

Fun Friday

A friend on Facebook posted this video he found on You Tube and I LOVE it! If I could get married all over again, this is EXACTLY the entrance I would have done! Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday - Fun with Daddy!

Weekend with the Fam

I had mentioned in my previous post that we were going to see my parents and my grandmother who I haven't seen in forever. Well, we made the treck over there and had a great time!! Clay was wonderful on the way there (and the way back). I think it helped that I put him in his "big boy" carseat (per instructions from his pediatrician - since he was well within the weight limit!) so he could see me and the road (although, he may have been scared to death from my driving in the big city!). My aunt and uncle came over from South Carolina and were going to take my grandmother back to their house for a while, but not before they all went to the Braves game Friday night. My grandmother is a HUGE Braves fan and has never been to a Braves game before. My hubby, dad, aunt and uncle, and brother-in-law went with her to her first game! (I stayed behind with my mom, sister and the babies.) I was told she had a FABULOUS time and never stopped smiling.

While at the game, we took the babies to the pool. This was Clay's first experience in the "big pool" and he loved it! I got him a float to sit in and he would just kick his little legs and splash the water. He would even duck his head under the water and come up just a laughing! I also got to spend some good time with my two little nieces. Hayley is 6 weeks old now and has grown so much since I last saw her when she was a couple weeks old! Cadence and Clay played a little bit together... mainly Clay was interested in her tea set and wanted to steal it from her. I had to explain to him that he needs to play with his TRUCKS... not girly tea sets :).

We stayed at the hotel my parents live in and it was so convenient!!! It was nice to just be able to go downstairs to our room... and the rooms... they were NICE! It was basically a mini condo with a full kitchen, living room and bedroom. Clay did great in his first experience in a hotel room! It was actually quite nice since we didn't have to sleep with him in our room... so we got to sleep a little later!

I did terrible with getting pictures. There were so many cameras going, I didn't want to add mine to the mix. I'm supposed to be getting pictures emailed to me (Hint, Hint!) and hopefully will have those soon. I did get my sister to take some pictures of us in the pool.

I did want to ask that you please pray for my sweet little niece, Hailey (the new baby). My sister was holding her yesterday and got tripped up by one of their dogs and fell. Hailey suffered a small fracture on her skull, but is going to make a full recovery. My sister is also a little bruised up and sore and I know it scared her to death! I think all of us moms have been there a least once or twice! I'm so glad and thankful that both of them are OK!!! Hopefully Hailey will have a quick recovery and be back to her happy baby self in no time!

And here are the pictures:

Playing with Cady in the water

Splashing!Just went under water!

On the way home... he was pooped! He slept almost the whole way home!

Off to Grandmother's House We Go!

Tomorrow we head for the big city to see my side of the family. We are so excited because my grandmother (dad's mom) from Arkansas is flying in for a visit! I'm such a horrible granddaughter... I haven't seen her in FOREVER!! (I'm not even going to mention how long it's been... it's been that long!) I'm so excited to introduce her to Baby Clay! While there, we are going to experience our first stay in a hotel with Clay. Granted, the hotel room will be close to my parent's condo (Ok, REALLY close - they live in the hotel we're staying at) so we'll be able to go there to fix Clay's meals. I'm sure he'll be just as good as he always is and hopefully will not wake up our neighbors :). My aunt and uncle from Columbia, SC will also be there! Can't wait to see them all!!!

This will also be the first time I drive to the big city with Baby Clay all by myself! This should be interesting! We're planning on leaving right after breakfast, so I hope he will entertain himself for a little while and then sleep most of the way. I have downloaded the Peter and the Wolf cd for us to listen to on the way. Do ya'll remember that?? The music from Peter and Wolf is one of my most favorite childhood memories!

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I'm sure you've noticed there have been some changes around my blog lately. I've become obsessed with updating my background/title/etc. I discovered this FABULOUS website: http://www.digiscrapdepot.com/. This website has a section called "Freebies" and under this section you can search for theme kits. These theme kits contain all kinds of fun stuff - backgrounds, borders, graphics. You can download those and then use them on your blog! I need to figure out a way to give props to the ones I've downloaded and used so that others can go there and see their cool stuff. I've also discovered that you can download really neat fonts to use like the one I've used in the title graphic. You can go here: http://www.searchfreefonts.com/. They've got tons of fonts and you can download and install them to use in things like Word, Publisher, etc. I usually build my title graphics in MS Publisher.

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I haven't taken many pictures since this past weekend, but I don't like to leave a post without one. I did take this picture:
Hmmmm.... How did Baby Clay get a hold of one of daddy's Nascar collectibles??? Actually, his daddy let him play with it! He was closely supervised so that no harm was done to the car :).

Have a great weekend and I'll be sure to post pictures from our trip!

Our Busy Weekend - In Pictures

Holy Cow! Baby Clay turned 10 months and it's like a switch was turned on... and has stayed on! He DOES NOT STOP! I am physically exhausted after the weekend! We packed a whole lot into one weekend! Here's what we did!

1st Bubble Bath! Loved it, of course!

Redecorating the house - notice the lovely accent piece we've added to the TV cabinet.

And nothing says Pottery Barn like grey foam around your fire place hearth.

Baby Clay's new stroller! We've been needing a compact travel stoller to keep in the car and I LOVE this one! It's so easy to fold up and open and Clay loves it too!

1st dip in the baby pool.

Ending the weekend with a sweet smile!
Or a cheesy smile! This is his new thing. When he sees the camera (and he's in a good mood) he flashes this smile!

That about does it for our big, busy weekend!

Under Construction

Sorry if you've looked at my blog recently and it's been a mess. I'm giving my blog a face-lift since I hadn't updated any of the title or sidebar pictures since December. I'm hoping to have it all updated by the end of the weekend!

You Know You're in a Small Town When...

You come across this lovely sight...

What you are seeing folks is a Redneck "Ridin" Lawn Mower. Bubba is on a child's 3 wheeler and has decided to tie his push mower to the back of it to mow his lawn. My hubby happened upon this earlier today and I made him go back and get a picture of it.

If you think about it, it's quite ingenious. You wouldn't catch me dead mowing the lawn like that (actually, you wouldn't EVER catch me mowing the lawn unless they invent a lawn mower with air conditioning and XM radio), but I give him props for his invention.

I'd also like to point out that this picture was NOT taken in my new, small hometown. Here we have real riding lawn mowers... yes, I know we ride them on a main road like they are cars, but at least they are a little more "upscale". :)

Happy 10 Months Old Baby Clay!!!

Today my sweet baby is 10 months old! Holy cow! Only 2 more months until he’s 1 – does that mean he’s officially not a baby anymore and is a toddler?? Do we have to stop calling him “Baby Clay”??

Today I dropped him off at daycare and was informed that I need to purchase a “nap mat” for Baby Clay. They are going to start teaching him how to sleep on it during naptime before he moves to the Toddler class next month. Are they serious??!!?? I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown in the car on the way home just thinking about how my baby is not going to be napping in a crib at daycare in a few weeks. Then I thought to myself that I’m glad it’s them that has to worry about it and not me – I don’t think the nap mat is going to go over really well.

So… what’s been going on with Clay this last month?

Well, he’s still pulling up on EVERYTHING and cruising around like a champ. He’s getting braver and braver each day and starting to slowly let go of what he’s holding onto. I think the walking is coming soon! I’m not ready for it! We’ve got to Clay proof this house immediately! He’s also given up his modified army crawl and is now crawling everywhere on all 4’s.

We had his well-check Monday and he’s slowing down in the growth department. Before he was always in the “above 95” percentile and now he’s in the 75th. He weighed 23.2 pounds and was 29 ½ inches long. He’s only gained about ½ a pound in the last month and an inch in the last 3 months. He’s been wearing 18 month clothes for the last couple of months… which is nice for me! Before that I had to buy new clothes all the time since he was growing out them so fast! He had to get his big toe pricked to test for anemia (which he does not have), he got one vaccination, and he’s got perfect eyesight. We were also told that he can eat whatever he wants – except peanut butter, honey and shell fish.

And speaking of eating… we have now retired the baby food for good. He refuses to eat any of it… even if I try to disguise it… he somehow knows it’s “baby food”. His favorite foods are grilled cheese sandwiches, squash, pears, veggie sausage, and formula. The child loves him some formula! I’ve never seen a child get so excited as he does when he sees me with his bottle! He never got that excited over my milk! (Which, by the way, I’m done with. Woo Hoo! Freedom!)

We’re working really hard on swapping the bottle for the sippy cup. He knows how to use it and will drink water out of it just fine, but if I try to sneak his formula into it, he throws a fit! We’ll keep on trying, though! I’ve read that they need to be done with the bottle by 12 months… and we wouldn’t want him to be embarrassed in the Toddler class if he’s still drinking from a “baby bottle”.

He’s got 7 teeth that are almost all the way in and we were informed by the doctor that his back teeth are starting to come in… which explains the buckets of drool. We’ve started brushing his teeth, and surprisingly, he lets me do it. He’s been a great “teether”. Not ever really complaining or getting fussy over it. I’ve never even had to give him Oragel to help ease the pain!

His favorite toys are the CAT vehicles his daddy has gotten him. He’s got a dump truck, SUV and some other construction type vehicle (Yeah, I'm not up on my construction vehicles). He will play with them forever, rolling them on the floor or furniture making cute little truck sounds. He also likes to hang out in his “baby condo”. He’s got a bunch of toys in it that usually end up outside of the condo because he likes to throw them over the side.

He’s starting to say a few words: Mama, Dada, and Ball and he’ll repeat any sound you make. He constantly jabbers and loves it when I sing to him (or at least I like to think he loves it). He recognizes his name and understands a few words – “No” being one of them (although, he doesn’t typically listen when I tell him “No”). I can ask him where his “truck” is and he’ll go get one of his trucks.

He still sleeps like a champ! He goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes up around 7:00. Sometimes if I let him sleep in, he’ll sleep until 8:00 or 8:30 (obviously takes after me). I still rock him to sleep and will not stop no matter what all those sleep books say! That’s my favorite time with him and something I will cherish because I know soon he may not want his mama to rock him. I used to rock him to sleep and he’d stay asleep when I put him in his crib, but now he wakes right back up. He stands up and screams for about 5 seconds and then lies down and goes right to sleep.

Whew! A lot has gone on this month and this next month we’ve got all kinds of fun stuff coming up! Next weekend Clay gets to meet his Great Grandma from Arkansas for the first time (my dad’s mom)! We’re so excited to see her! It’s been forever since I’ve seen her and I can’t wait for her to meet Clay!

And now for the pictures! This past weekend we had a group of our good friends come and stay with us for the 4th of July. We had a big shrimp boil Friday night (Sorry, no pictures from that – no evidence!) and went out on the boat a couple of times. A good friend of mine, who is a wonderful photographer, brought her fancy camera and we did a little photo shoot with Clay in the backyard. While we didn’t get very many smiles out of him, she did get some ultra-cute pictures. Thanks, Melissa! I love them and can’t wait to get some of these blown up and framed!

Sorry for the gazillion pictures! They are all so cute and I couldn't decide which ones to post!