Nothing Says "Happy Halloween" Like Auburn and Elmo!

This past weekend we actually spent it at home... as a family!! Saturday... well, I really don't remember much about Saturday except that AUBURN BEAT LSU!!!!!!! I'm pretty sure we won because Clay and Mark wore their lucky Auburn shirts. Clay took a nap during the first half... but was ready to go after half-time!

He was all about some shakers...

LOVED the shakers!

And we are grooming him to become the quarterback for Auburn in 2027... so watch out! Look at that perfect form!

We had a great time watching the game together!!

Sunday, we got a couple of pumpkins and thought it would be a great idea to have Clay help dig out the innards.

He was not a big fan of pulling out the innards, but he liked playing with the pumpkin tops...

And he liked stirring the pumpkin seeds...

He stuck his hand in there a couple of times, but didn't care to pull anything out.

Ooooh... yummy!

We decided to carve an Auburn and Elmo Pumpkin. Clay was excited about both!

I thought it would be really cute to get a picture of Clay sitting in between the pumpkins, but this is what I got...

AND... this was not any better...

And he's gone...

I did manage to get him with each pumpkin individually by enticing him to try and pick them up.

And here they are all lit up!

I'm looking forward to this weekend and Clay's first real trick-or-treating experience! I'm really hoping he's not going to throw a fit over wearing his costume. I was a terrible Mama last year and didn't even get him a costume that fit... poor baby! Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!!

Wee Wee Wee All the Way Home!

And that’s exactly what the Arkansas Razorbacks did after Auburn whooped that butt! What a GREAT game!!! We actually weren’t planning on going to it… even after constant pleading with Mark, I had accepted defeat and was planning on watching it at home with Clay. But then an email from my friend Beth who lives in Auburn prompted me to try again… and after bargaining for my soul I was able to talk my hubby into it and off we went to Auburn for one of the best football games I’ve been to!

We had a great time! The tailgate was PERFECT… complete with a “pig” themed menu (to try and bring bad luck to the Hogs). Let’s not even discuss the large amounts of candied bacon I consumed (yes, I said “candied” bacon). Oh, holy pig! It was the best thing! The tailgate was at an institute near the stadium. It was covered… had ceiling fans, TV’s, our own personal porta-potty (that was very clean), and you could pull right up to it and drop your stuff off instead of lugging it across campus. It was SWEET! I’m very jealous that we will not get to go down there this weekend for the LSU game. They are having a Louisiana themed tailgate in an effort to bring bad luck to LSU… all kinds of Cajun-type food including my favorite… a shrimp boil! I will greatly miss it!

Here are some pictures from the game!

Tailgating in style! We even had plugs for crockpots!
Mine and Beth's official tailgate picture

This is Dalton (not sure if I spelled it correctly)... she is absolutely ADORABLE and her mommy was the one who brought the candied bacon (and I would like her orange coat in my size!).

Bald eagle... not to be confused with Auburn's eagle, Tiger.

Check out that score!!! WAR EAGLE!!!!

One unfortunate thing that happened while we were in Auburn was my little baby got the nasty stomach virus of death that’s been running rampant around here. He was perfectly fine when we left him at Nan's Friday night, but when we checked on him the next morning… it was not pretty! He had thrown up at some point before he got up and it was a mess! He then had a rough 2 days! This was the first time Clay has EVER thrown up! I’ve always said that I can deal with poop, blood, snot… and other things, but I didn’t think I could deal with throw up! Thankfully, I didn’t have to deal with it, but my poor mother-in-law did! Bless her heart! She did a wonderful job of taking good care of him. When we came to pick him up he was laying on the couch with her watching TV. I knew he was really sick because he NEVER sits still… unless he’s sleeping. The rest of Sunday afternoon we spent snuggling on the couch watching Elmo or napping. He woke up yesterday morning happy as could be and back to normal! Now I’m just praying that no one else gets it… especially my mother-in-law!

I was glad he was back to normal yesterday because he needed to go to school since it was picture day! He missed it last year because he was sick, so I was determined that he was going to make it this year! We got there and I found out that many of the kids in his class had the stomach virus over the weekend as well. Hopefully they won’t all pass it back around to each other! I was told he did well for his pictures… they said he even smiled! Really?!? My child smiled at the camera?? We get to see the proofs in a couple of weeks. Can’t wait!

25 Months Old!!

I can’t help it! I’ve got to continue doing monthly posts… I’ve been doing it ever since he was born and I just can’t bring myself to stop.

So… what has Clay been up to this last month??

A couple of weeks after Elmopalooza, Clay’s buddy next door had his 2 year birthday party. When I told Clay he was going to Brayden’s birthday party, Clay just assumed that it would be an Elmo party and have Elmo cupcakes just like his did. Poor thing… he thinks all birthday parties should be Elmo parties! And he’s so obsessed with Elmo cupcakes, that if I bake things in the Elmo cupcake holders (muffins, etc.) and call them Elmo cupcakes, he’ll eat them! You better believe I’m searching for veggie recipes that I can bake into a muffin so that I can call them “Elmo cupcakes”. It’s just a tiny little deception… it won’t hurt, right??

Another thing going on this month is Clay’s first crush. He is in love with his teacher, Miss Hayley. She’s a cute college student that helped out with his class this summer and then became one of his teachers when he moved up the next class. I first figured out this crush when I went to pick him up and he threw a fit because he didn’t want to leave. At first I didn’t realize it was because of Hayley until we were in the car in the parking and she walked out and got into her care to leave. Clay was devastated! The whole way home he kept whimpering in this sad little voice “Hayley… Hayley”. It was PITIFUL! Now when you ask him who his girlfriend is, he will say “Hayley”… and have this adorable little smile on his face! He does have a bit of competition, though… Hayley is engaged!

Clay is also becoming quite the little scholar these days! His Nan got him a fridge alphabet toy that helps him learn his letters. We’ve got A – H on our fridge now and he can recognize those letters when he sees them on TV or in books… and can even tell you things that start with some of the letters. He’s also recognizing what the numbers look like and can see a number written down or on the TV and can tell you what it is. He’s gotten really good at counting things, too. He still loves his books and wants us to read to him all the time. At night, we rotate between a few of his favorites: Finding Nemo, Cars, Hello Aubie, Sleep Tight Elmo, and “Big Elmo” (I don’t even know the real name for this book… but it’s in the shape of Elmo and is much bigger than all his books – his buddy Wyatt gave it to him for his birthday!).

He is still a GREAT sleeper and will usually take 3 – 4 hour naps on the weekend. He’s now decided that he has to have his “baby” (one of those small blankets with a giraffe head on it) when he goes to sleep. He also has to have the panda that my parents got him from the zoo. He still lets me rock him for a little while before he goes to bed at night.

Clay is so independent these days!! The other day I was getting him undressed for his bath and he had just his diaper on. I turned around for 5 seconds and in that time he had taken his diaper off and hopped into the bathtub… no need for Mama to do that anymore! This morning he walked to the car without throwing a fit, climbed up into his car seat by himself, and walked into daycare without needing to hold Mama’s hand… he’s such a big boy! *sniff*

His vocabulary is also taking off! He’s starting to speak in full sentences and repeats anything we ask him. Lately we’ve been having problems again with the little girl at daycare who likes to scratch and bite. I don’t want to teach him to counteract with violence, so I’ve been teaching him to yell “NO, NO Marlee” if she comes near him. I’m hoping this will draw the teacher’s attention to her before she can maul my child again. Now every time I ask him what he’s supposed to say when Marlee comes near him and he yells “No, No Marlee!!”.

He is also starting to not be so picky with food lately… or maybe I’ve just given up and just feed him what he likes. He eats Nutri-grain bars like they are going out of style. He is back to eating chicken nuggets, pizza, and avocado. He LOVES his cheese puffs and still will eat a good amount of fruit and yogurt.

Clay is all of a sudden gotten obsessed with Toy Story, although I’m not even sure he’s seen the movie. Every time he sees something Toy Story, he goes nuts! I got him some Toy Story Cheez-its and they are his new favorite food. He also loves dinosaurs and choo-choo’s. He will watch Thomas the Train over and over. He still likes Sesame Street and loves his Elmo!

Wow! A lot has happened this month… it’s getting harder and harder to keep track! Can’t wait to see what this next month brings!



Here are some of my favorite recent pictures!
Playing with his letters... he looks like he's concentrating very hard on making the perfect word!
Check out the shirt! Yeah, he's ALL BOY! That was from eating sticks on the playground. Yummy! We just threw that shirt away... no attempt to even clean it!
That pitiful face!
He was VERY excited about his Toy Story sippy cups!
The fort we made in the den this past weekend.

And he liked to destroy it better than play in it. Look at that evil smile... PURE evil, I tell ya!

See... much more fun to pull the fort down!

Fun at the Atlanta Zoo

Last weekend we headed over to Atlanta for an action-packed weekend! Friday we had a play date at the park and an afternoon hanging with friends along with a crazy Mexican dinner! And no, I didn't manage to take any pictures that day... Bad Mama!

Saturday we took Clay to the zoo! It was his first trip (as well as his Dada's first trip) and I was hoping he was going to be as excited as I was about it. What we got was a lot of this...

He was not very happy that all the other little kids at the zoo got to run around without holding their Mama's hands... and really wasn't happy to be riding in a stroller. We did manage to make him happy by giving him a bag full of cheese puffs and he was good to go after that. My mom and dad and my sister and her husband and 2 kids came along. I've got a TON of pictures, so I'm just going to let them tell the story...

My sister, mom, and nieces, Hailey and Cady.

Giraffes, Zebras, Ostriches and some Wort hog looking things. They had a baby giraffe, but he didn't look too "baby"... they obviously get big quick!

The Meerkat was one of my favorites... they are really cute!! I may have to start watching that Meerkat Manor show now!

Little Hailey loved the zoo!! She had the best time looking at all the animals.

Clay finally found something he liked... although, I don't remember what it was we were looking at here.

We tried to get a picture of all 3 of them in the giant nest, but Clay was having no part of it.

One of our favorites were the Gorillas... to Clay they were all "moneys". There was a baby gorilla on one of the gorilla's backs that was so cute!

Cady had no problem striking a pose for the camera!

I think Clay liked the Gorilla statues better than the actual Gorillas!

The orangutans were Mark's favorites. The one in the middle of the picture above is playing on a computer.

Clay's FAVORITE animal of the day was the tiger! We don't have any pictures of it, but the tiger walked right in front of the glass and Clay went NUTS!!! He loves tigers and thinks all of them are Aubie! We also saw pandas, kangaroos, flamingos, and all kinds of snakes.

But Clay's favorite part of the zoo trip was the petting zoo! I was hoping they'd have some pigs because he loves to make a pig noise, but all they had were goats and sheep... very calm (probably tranquilized) goats and sheep. Those poor animals didn't know what they were about to get into with Clay coming up in there...

We've been working with him on being "gentle" with animals so he'd start off really gentle...

See... gentle...

Hmmm... gentle may not be so fun...

Notice the death grip Dada has around him...

And there he goes... he bopped the goat on the head! My evil child! He did that to multiple goats and one gave him a little head butt. I thought he might start to cry when that happened, but he started laughing hysterically!

Hailey loved the goats too!! She had the best time petting them.

Once we were done he got a surprise from his Nana and G... a stuffed panda bear! He loves it and has to sleep with it every night.

The rest of the weekend was filled with eating too much food, drinking too much Starbucks, and a concert Sunday night with some friends of ours from Auburn.

We had a fabulous weekend... but needed a few days to recover!