Our last munchkin is 1!!!!!

We all celebrated Allen's first birthday today. The funny thing is that we were all excited and he didn't have a care in the world. It didn't matter to him that is was his birthday, saturday or any other day. All he knows is that his family loves him and thats all that matters!

He is just such a cutie. I love watching him grow up and do his little baby things. I love the little pitter patter of his baby feet walking or running along the floor. I love how short and wobbly he is. You know what I mean, weebles wobble but they don't fall down. Thats what he reminds me of when he walks, its so adorable. Watching Allen grow up always makes me a little sad, because I know that he is our last baby so I try hard to cherish every moment of his babyhood, which is disapearing rapidly. I love how he jibbers to me and he truly believes that he is talking and that I understand. He has entire conversations and laughs and smiles or is extremely serious depending on what he is discussing, which I must always guess at. He's great.

He had a lot of fun opening his presents, it took a while of course but once he understood that we were letting him rip this paper and that there was something else inside the paper he got going and had a ball. He loved his cake! We let him pick at the frosting until dad got tired of trying to stay clean then we cut the cake and let him go at it in his chair. He was pretty messy! He got two baths all in about a 1 hour period, being as spaghetti is just as messy as cake! I have so enjoyed watching this precious little boy grow up and I am so priviledged to have such a little sweetheart for a son. He gives the best hugs and kisses. Allen is a true blessing in our lives!

"I'm the Birthday Boy!" and "I'm Free"

When Clayton woke up on January 6th, he greeted me with "I'm the Birthday Boy!".
"Yes," I replied, "You're the Birthday Boy". This was an awesome greeting considering that my miniature monster usually greets me with a grump. One morning during Christmas break he actually greeted the girls and I with a boot! What exactly does that mean you say? Let me explain, the girls and I were all sitting at the table eating breakfast when out of nowhere this cowboy boot comes flying at us and lands on the table. We all sat there in shock, wondering what we did, as we listened to tiny feet pattering down the hall back to my room. Granted not all mornings are as memorable as that one but that pretty much sums Clayton up; he is not a morning person!



For me to recieve such a happy greeting was a very pleasant, unexpected joy! As a matter of fact my miniature monster managed to suppress the monster in him for most of the day and was almost completley angelic. He was very excited about today being HIS birthday! He loved his hat and did his very best to be careful and not tear it as he wore it most of the day. He was ecstatic about his Scooby Doo birthday cake. And quite honestly, I was too. I traced and free handed the decoration and I think that it turned out pretty darn good!!!!

He did jump the gun and unwrapped all but one of the presents in the privacy of my bedroom. I managed to do a bang up job on not freaking out and handled the situation very well, making it a fun time for all of us.


We ended the day with cake and a Scooby Doo movie. When he was talking to his Gramma on the phone he told her "I'm Free." My thought was that most days, I would give him away for free, but today, I'll keep him. What we like most about Clayton is 1. We love his big grin of a smile. It's great! 2. We love the way he greets us when we get home like we are the most important people in the world. 3. We love the way he wants to do everything we do. He tries his very best to be like us, feeding and taking care of the pigs, vaccuming and sweeping the floor. 4. He loves his brothers and sisters or as he as come to calling them 'the girls'. 5. He love his friends and especially his nursery leaders. 6. He is a bundle of energy and constantly keeps us all on our toes. 7. He makes the terrible two's for other parents look easy! How lucky they are.
Already Clayton has grown up a bit and has become a three year old. I'm looking forward to what this next year with my miniature monster will hold.

A Clayton Story

October 29th, Clayton chose a football to buy with his Christmas money last year. He chose it all on his own, no help needed at all. It was the best buy any kid has ever made, he plays with it a lot and used to call it his feet ball. We, Myles and I, often sit in the living room with him and toss the ball back and forth. Last night as Myles and Clay were playing ball together, a whole 10 months since he bought the ball for himself he declares to his dad, "I bought this ball with my money." Some of the kids were starting to argue with him after all what does a 2 year old know right! He was very happy and satisfied when I was able to confirm to all that he did indeed buy his feet ball with his own money. "Yeah, its MY money ball"

An Allen Story

When Allen is nursing he tends to pinch my arms and it really hurts. Yesterday he was pinching me really hard so I smacked his hand and told him to stop. Well, he didn't like that so he started hitting me, he has a little bit of a temper. I grabbed his hand and told him to not hit his mommy. Then the craziest thing, he quit nursing, turned and looked at me and said something that sounded like "you hit me first". The funny thing is that he mumbles alot of sounds and looks at you as if he is saying something that makes sense to us but he rarely makes sounds that sound like actual words let alone an actual sentence. It was also the accusing look on his face as he put me in my place that made the scene memorable.