Clayton Version 7.0

My big boy turned 7 years old on March 13th! I just can't fathom it... Has it really been 7 whole years since he made me a Mama?!?!

Clayton is a fun, loving, bundle of energy these days! He goes 90 to nothing all day long. He gets dressed as soon as he gets up - no pajama days for this kid. He loves his brothers and the Lord. We are so proud of the young man that he is growing up to be.

I figured I would shake things up a bit and interview Clayton for his birthday post. Who better to tell about the 7 year old version of C than himself? :) The videos are below, but I am going to type out his answers as well so that they will be in the blog book (that is, when and if I ever print one). :)

1. How tall are you? 50 1/2 inches
2. How much do you weigh? 53 pounds
3. How many teeth have you lost? 3
4. What is your favorite animal? I have a couple. Sharks, tigers, cheetahs, tiger sharks, lions... that's about it.
5. What makes you happy? Spending time with my family.
6. What is your favorite thing to eat? Mac 'n cheese, and pizza (and Boston Market and Pei Wei)
7. What is your least favorite thing to eat? Green beans, peas, carrots and all sorts of vegetables. Bleh!
8. What is your favorite thing to do? I would go to Africa and see all of the animals. And go to Asia and see the butterflies that grow up to 2 feet. Or to go camping.
9. What is your favorite TV show? Probably Transformer Rescue Bots or Arthur
10. What are you really good at? Probably drawing. I was like born to draw. ;)
11. What is your favorite movie? Charlotte's Web and Lion King and all those animal movies
12. What is your favorite color? Red, blue, and green
13. What is your favorite song? I have a couple of favorites. Oh How You Hold Me, Trust and Obey, Do Right, Love, Love, It All Comes Down to Love, Do Everything - that's about it.
14. Who is your best friend? Stella, Aden, Aaron, Linley, Jacie, Lindsey, Grant, Luke D., Luke B., Ben, Maggie, Sadie, Avery - I have a lot of friends. And of course my two little brothers!
15. What do you do with your Mom? Homework, make costumes, go places and have some fun
16. What do you and your Dad do for fun? Go outside - we play a lot. We play games. We play Battleship a lot.
17. What is your favorite sport? I have 3 - football, basketball, and baseball.
18. What is your favorite sport to play? Basketball. I play football at school.
19. What is your favorite book? I can't decide because there is a whole series. I like Imagination Station and Magic Tree house books.
(He paused to get a book to show me. I got confused and turned the camera off by accident - hence the continuation. :) )
20. Where is your favorite place to go? I've pretty much already been there - Disney World. I got to stretch my Spring Break. Whoo-whoo!
21. What was your favorite ride? Tower of Terror and Expedition Everest
22. Who was your favorite character that you met? Well, I didn't really meet him, but I went to the Indiana Jones stunt show. It was really cool!
23. What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be an archeologist. I want to go look around. I like to dig, so I was thinking that when I grow up I'm going to find dinosaur skeletons. I was thinking I would go to... the uh... Hall of Kings. I want to be like Howard Carter who found King Tut. Only, I don't want to get arrested for it.
24. Do you want to be a Daddy when you grow up? Yeah. I want to have two sons - I want to have twins. So that when they are like 12 they can go on trips with me and stuff.



The interview ended with a long soliloquy on Saber Tooth Tigers. IDK. ;)





Clay-Boy,

I can't believe how big you are! 7 sounds really old, yet I can't really remember life before I had you. You are so special to me!

You are something else, my Dear. You are smart and witty; full of life and energy. You have big blue eyes and the cutest patch of freckles across your nose. You make me beam with pride and challenge me all at the same time. We still butt heads at times, but you can make my heart melt like no one else on earth. You will still crawl up into my lap sometimes with your long, lanky body, and I wonder how on earth you got so big. I treasure those times when you want to be held in my lap, because they are becoming few and far between. I know that I am in charge of giving you roots and wings. I'm good with the roots part, but the wings part makes my heart ache a bit. I never want you to cease being my little boy. I adore you so...

I am really enjoying a new dimension of our relationship as you grow. I love to teach you about the world and learn from you as well. I feel like you are becoming more of a buddy to me everyday. I like spending time with you one-on-one and hearing what is going on in that beautiful mind of yours. I love hearing you talk about the Lord and animals and whatever else that you choose to talk about. We can talk on a deeper level now, and I love that. I hope that you will always confide in me and trust me with your inmost thoughts.

At this stage of childhood, we have lots of talks about self control and being a servant to others. Those are the two values that I really hope to instill in you. Having self control and putting others before yourself will keep you from a multitude of sins. I struggle with those things, too - it's part of being human. But I want you to be better than me. I want you to be more like Christ than I am. I know that you will be. You are an amazing soul.

I love you so deeply and hope that you always know that. Even on our hardest days, I still love you like crazy. I want to be with you and not miss a moment of your childhood. You are a precious gift, and I am so grateful that you are mine.

I love you to the moon and back,
Mommy