Play Ball!

Clayton had his first tee ball game of the season on Thursday night! He is playing through a different league this season, so things are a little bit different than the fall. His coach is awesome! He is super organized and really, really good with the kids. We couldn't be happier with Coach Ron. Also, this is "real" tee ball, as opposed to last season when the kids just ran to first base and then went to the dugout until their next turn at bat. This season, they run all of the bases. It is so cute to watch them figure out all of the positions and where they are supposed to go next. They are all so stinkin' adorable. :)

I absolutely love watching Clayton play tee ball. That is one thing about being a "boy mom" that totally surprised me about myself. Normally, I don't care a thing about sports. But, now that Clayton is playing ball, there is nothing I'd rather do than to watch that little stinker. I sit there hanging on every play and tuning out most everything else (minus my precious second-born, of course). I, selfishly, hope that he continues to enjoy baseball and sticks with it.

He did really good at his first game. Of course, there was plenty of staring off into space and playing in the grass, but that's to be expected from a 5 year old boy. He loves to bat, but isn't as crazy about playing in the outfield. That is no surprise to me, since he thrives on being the center of attention. :)

It is going to be a fun season cheering for the A's!

Seriously, couldn't you just eat him up with a spoon?!?!

I had the pleasure of sitting in the stands with the cutest little beanie baby you ever did see. ;)

C's first turn at bat

He hit a ground ball, but it was fair and he made it to first base. Yay!

Getting some advice from the first base coach

Headed to second...

His first run!

A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E.

"Baseball Ready"

Post-Game Huddle

Go, A's!!!

P.S. Clayton had his 5 year old well check on Wednesday. I don't have pictures, so I'm not going to do a full post. He got a clean bill of health, though. He didn't have to get any immunizations so he was THRILLED! He weighed 41 pounds (50th percentile) and was 44 inches tall (75 percentile). He continues to follow in his Daddy's footsteps - long and lean. ;)

Daddy & Clayton Day

My poor Hubs had wrist surgery last Friday. :( It was minor outpatient surgery, so we didn't think that it would be that big of a deal. It turned out to be a little more involved than we were led to believe. Wade was such a sport this weekend with all of the celebrating that we did for Clayton's birthday, but he was in pain most of the time. His arm is wrapped in this huge brace that he has to leave on for 10 days. Needless to say, this whole thing has made me realize what a trooper Wade is!

He had taken yesterday off of work to recuperate from his surgery. I figured that he would just spend a lazy day at home. But, by mid-morning, he was saying that he was ready to get out of the house. He did a little research and found out that they offer tours of Texas Motor Speedway. So... he asked Clayton if he would like to go. Of course, Clayton jumped at the chance! They saw Victory Lane, a suite, and rode around the infield.

After they finished the tour, they took lunch to DFW to watch the planes take off and land.

Wade said that, on the way home, he asked Clayton if he had a good day. He said that Clayton leaned back in his seat and said, "Man, I love being 5..." Ha ha!

Apparently, 5 year olds pick up on a lot of slang that our 4 year old never noticed. Clayton has made a couple of comments in the last few days that have cracked me up. It's like he's been hanging out with Randy Jackson, or something. My favorites are, "I've got masta' skillz when it comes to soccer!" and "Dad's car is the bomb dot com!" What in the world?!?! Where does he get this stuff!?!? The kid is hilarious...

Clayton is 5!!!

Today was Clayton's 5th birthday!!! I'm still not over the shock of having a 5 year old! That just blows my mind...

We have packed about as much fun as we possibly could into one day! We told Clayton that he could pick (within reason, of course) what we ate and what we did today. He chose to start the day with pancakes. I think that the 5 out of chocolate chips earned me a few bonus points. ;)

Around lunchtime, Aunt Becca, Uncle Jeff, and A & J came into town. Clayton was so excited to see his Aunt, Uncle, and cousins! We loaded up and went to Incredible Pizza for lunch and games. The boys all had a blast! We ate pizza and then got started on the activities. There were bumper cars, mini golf, mini bowling, and GOBS of arcade games. I have a feeling that we will be spending many a birthday at Incredible Pizza in the years to come. Our boy loved it!

Even Drew got to ride a ride!




After leaving Incredible Pizza, we went by Toys R Us to let Clayton pick out a gift. He picked out a new Big Wheel that looks like a motorcycle. He has about worn the wheels off of his first Big Wheel - that thing has ridden a million miles! After that, we went home and he opened another gift from us. I have to preface this by giving some background information...

Wade loves Nascar. He goes to the races at Texas Motor Speedway almost every year. Since Clayton was 2, he has been begging to go to a race with his Daddy. Wade has always said, "When you turn 5, I'll take you to the races." Five seemed so far away 3 years ago... It was always this future goal that Clayton had. He reminded us often that 5 was when he got to go to the races. It was like that was when life was really going to start. Ha!

Well, that time has officially arrived. Wade is going to take Clayton to his first race at the end of this month. It will be a proud moment in the life of our redneck Daddy! ;)

After dinner, Clayton blew out the candles on his birthday cake and made another wish. This time he said, "I wished that I would get everything that I ever want." Smart kid - if only it were that easy! I told him that was one wish that would never come true. He would never get everything that he wanted. He immediately replied, "Can you change your wish after you've already blown the candles out?" I assured him that he could have a do-over. ;)

It has been a looong day, and I am beat! All of the excitement and junk food has caught up with me. :) It has been a happy, happy birthday, for sure! I'm so excited to see what this year holds for our eldest boy! I've have a really good feeling about 5!

5th Birthday Developmental and Sappy Letter Post :)

It's Clayton's 5th birthday! I can hardly believe that my firstborn babe is 5 whole years old!!!

But, the calendar doesn't lie...

At 5 years old, Clayton:

* Recognizes all of his letters and their sounds. Can count to 100 by 1's, 5's, and 10's. Can do some simple math and read a few sight words. He isn't a fan of writing and his handwriting leaves much to be desired. We're working on that, though. Perhaps I shouldn't have such I expectation when it comes to legible handwriting - he is a boy, after all!

* Is hysterical! He makes me laugh until I cry at least once a day. He laughs at himself, too. He has the best laugh ever! It's such sweet music to my ears...

* Loves school! He begs to go to preschool every single day. The first words out of his mouth in the morning are always, "Is today a school day???"

* Still sleeps with his Brownie (stuffed dog) and his nanny (security blanket). They mostly stay in his bed, and I am fine with that. It's the one "babyish" thing that remains.

* Still naps 2 or 3 times a week and sleeps 10-11 hours at night.

* Loves routine and consistency. He says the same prayer every night ("Dear God, Thank you for Mommy & Daddy, Drew. Thank you for dying on the cross to save me from my sins. Please forgive me where I fail you. Amen.). Then we play the "Thank you Jesus for..." game. Then we do secret handshakes and kissing hands.

* Still stinks at sharing his toys. He has never been great at sharing, and I had hoped that having a sibling would help. But... we're still working on it.

I ask Clayton a few questions about his "Favorites at Five." Here are the answers:

Color: Blue
Food: Freebird's burrito (completely shocked me! I just knew he would say chicken nuggets or fish sticks.)
Career Choice: Doctor and Astronaut ("So that if someone is sick on another planet, the I could make them better."
Sport: Soccer (another shocker!)
Show: Tom & Jerry
Animal: Triceratops or Pteranodon
Best friend: "My whole family."
Place to visit: Disneyland
Book: Love You Forever
Superhero: Superman
Song: Jesus Loves Me
Bible Story: David and Goliath
Cereal: Frosted Flakes
Favorite thing about turning 5: Going to Kindergarten

Because birthdays make me feel nostalgic, I've been looking through old pictures. Here are my favorite Clayton pictures of all time... :)

























My Dearest Clay Boy,

Five, Five, Five, Five, FIVE?!?!?How is that possible? Has it really been 5 years since they brought me that sweet little bundle of baby blue? I guess it has!

I love you more than I could ever explain to you, and I have so enjoyed the last 5 years with you. You have changed me in such profound ways. After all, you were the one who made me a Mama for the first time. You were my "guinea pig" when it came to this mothering gig. ;) I have failed you oh, so many times, but, by God's grace, you have turned out to be a really great kid.

You have changed so much this year. You ask such mature questions (like, "Does God even love the devil?") and you remember things after being told just once. You are so, so smart! I often tell Daddy that it is hard to parent you because you are already smarter than I am. Ha!

You look just like your Daddy, but you act just like me. You have a precious heart, but you are plagued with some of your Mama's faults (being bossy, sassy, stubborn as all get out, and a super perfectionist). You are a constant negotiator (which I can blame on your Daddy!). You can be sweet as pie when you want to be, but rotten at times as well. You are a really great kid, and I wouldn't change a thing about your personality, even if I could. All of those things are what make you, you.

You love your brother so, so much. I can see the strong bond that you two have, and I pray that it continues to grow even stronger over the years. I hope that you will always protect him and try to be a good example to him. He is looking up to you, you know...

I can really see how the Lord has worked on your heart this year. You ask amazing questions and make my cry at the profoundness of your comments about our faith. I pray that the Lord will keep a firm grip on your heart and that your desire to know Him will grow exponentially with age.

I can't believe that you will be in kindergarten in the fall! I absolutely cannot wrap my mind around that! I try not to get anxious about you going to "real" school. I get a little teary at the thought, to be honest. But, you are sooo excited about kindergarten. It's hard to be sad when I see all of the excitement in your eyes. It's going to be great! I just know it...

I have loved being your Mama for the last 5 years and I look forward with great anticipation to the future.

I love you to the moon and back,
Mama

Must Love Dogs...

Alright, so this may make me seem cold-hearted and awful, but I have to share a bit of truth about myself. It's not something that I'm proud of, but it's who I am. So, I'm just going to own it and be okay with publicly admitting it.

I don't like dogs.

There. I said it.

Yes, we have a dog. Yes, I grew up with dogs. Yes, puppies are very cute. But... puppy breath makes me want to gag. Dogs smell "outsidey" all of the time. They also shed and sometimes tee-tee in the house. So, they are just not my thing. My husband and my children love animals, so I have made peace with the fact that we will probably always have a dog. However, if it were up to me, we would be a pooch free home.

If that makes you dislike me, I'm so sorry. Some of my very best friends LOVE their dogs. I think that's great. I really don't mind other people's dogs. It's just the upkeep of having a dog that I don't care for. I like people - preferably the small child or baby variety. The maintenance involved in raising little people thrills me to no end. I just can't put forth the same effort to an animal that can't talk to me or return my love in a human way.

Anyhoo... Last Thursday, we were driving home from preschool. Clayton and I were chatting about his day and Drew was babbling away. As I pulled into our neighborhood, this small black thing darted in front of my car. I thought that it was a bird at first. I slammed on my brakes so as to avoid hitting the "bird." Well, it turns out that it was actually a small dog. As I stopped to get a spatial sense of where the dog was and to recover from the fact that I almost hit it. The dog decided to walk back under my car.

At this point, I muttered something along the lines of, "Ugh, stinkin' dog!" Clayton pipes up from the backseat with, "Mama, why don't you like dogs and cats?" Me: "Well, I just don't care for them, Son." Clayton: "Mama, we're supposed to love all of God's creations."

Moral lessons from my almost 5 year old. Awesome.

So... I scooped up the dirty dog and put her in my clean car. She was a dark chocolate brown pug dog. Now, I don't know how to say this nicely, but.... bless her heart.... Girlfriend was p-ugly!

I went into a long banter as I drove home about how our job was to find her owner. She WAS NOT our dog to keep.

Of course, as soon as we walked through the door Clayton carried her into the house and announced to Wade, "Daddy! We got a new puppy!" Lovely.

We immediately gave her a bath. We made "Found Dog" posters with her picture on them. We (by this point, my sweet neighbor and her daughter had joined in our mission to find the dog's owner) drove around the neighborhood for an hour and a half searching for the dog's owner and taping posters to all of the major intersections.

About an hour after we got home, I got a phone call from the rightful owners. They were coming to get their adored little pug, Sonya. When they got to our house, they were happy to be reunited with their beloved dog. Apparently, Sonya is a naughty little thing and has escaped their yard twice now. And, get this...

She's pregnant!

Can you just imagine me in a few months in our laundry room assisting in the birth of puppies?!?! Yeah, that would have been a real scream...

Before you get worried, Clayton was not at all scarred by the owners retrieving their dog. He hugged her bye and went on about his business playing his friend.

When I called Wade to tell him that we found Sonya's owners and that she was "with pups." His reply was, "Well, did you get firsts dibs on a puppy?"

Sometimes it's like he doesn't even know me... :)