Clayton Version 6.5

Today is our Clay-boy's half birthday! :)

I was thinking that these last 6 months have gone by so fast and that Clayton hasn't really changed all that much. That is, until I looked back at his Clayton Version 6.0 post. Wow - he is like a totally different kid now!

* I weighed Clayton and measured his height today - 49 pounds and 48 inches. He has gained a pound and an inch since his birthday.

* Clayton is the "Star Student" this week at school. That worked out perfectly, because I got to ask him all of my traditional interview types of questions to make his All About Me poster. Two birds, one stone - that's good for me. :)

Every "normal" picture is followed by a silly picture, of course. As a bonus, you get to see what his 6 1/2 year old tonsils look like. Ha!

Here are some of his answers from his poster:
Favorite Color: Light Blue
Favorite Animal: Tigers
Favorite Food: Pizza
Favorite Book: Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero
Favorite Sport: Basketball
Favorite thing to do at school: Math
Favorite thing to do at home: Play Uno with my Mom

* Clayton's favorite subject is still Math. His favorite part of our school days at home is our "Math Meeting" time. He especially loves filling in the weather graph and always asks me to video his "weather report" on my phone. The kid is a total ham! Here is the video from today:

Maybe he will end up being a meteorologist! He is definitely the cutest weather man that I've ever seen. ;)

* He is a crazy good reader! I always thought that it must be really hard to teach a child to read, but, with Clayton, it just came to him. I have joked with Wade that it was infinitely harder to potty train Clayton than it was to teach him to read. Ha! However, C doesn't love reading, which makes me super sad. He would prefer a timed math test any day over reading a book aloud. He will listen to us read all day long, but just doesn't want to read himself. Such a shame... I'm hoping that he will come to love getting lost in a good book very soon.

* Clayton is really into games right now. He especially loves checkers and Uno. He also loves his DS and would play on it nonstop if we let him (which we don't, of course).

* Clayton's most prized possessions at the moment are his shark's tooth necklace that he bought on our trip to North Carolina, his wallet, his Ironman watch, and his Nintendo DS.

* He seems so old and mature at times, but there are a few words that he says incorrectly that make him sound like he is still little. He still says, "the cation" instead of "vacation." He also says "crayons" funny. It sounds like cree-yons with the accent on yons. It's very cute, and I can't bear to correct him. He also calls his friend "Benjamin" "Ben-german." ;)

* My mom will be happy to hear that Mrs. T. has already got the class diagramming sentences, and it is only the 4th week of 1st grade. He can tell you the subject noun, verb, and adverb in any sentence. Kids learn so much faster than they did when I was 6. Geesh!

* When Clayton accepted Christ our pastor told us that we wouldn't see big dramatic changes that would indicate a change in his heart, but that we should be on the lookout for little changes. Wade & I have been talking, and we definitely see Clayton's desire to be a servant to others blossoming right now in his little life. It has been amazing to see that virtue come to fruition. The other day at Hobby Lobby he asked me if he could round up all of the shopping carts in the parking lot and take them inside so that the cars in the parking lot wouldn't get dented. It was a small act, of course, but it thrilled my Mama heart to see him thinking of others.

* Clayton and Drew are still sharing a room. Those two adore each other. They really do. However, one day last week Clayton said that he didn't like Drew waking him up early and asked if he could sleep in the guest room. I told him that he could. That lasted 5 minutes before they were both sobbing and begging to be back together. I hope that they are always best buddies. :)

* He hasn't lost any more teeth since March. His bottom middle incisors have fallen out and been replaced by his permanent teeth. All of his other baby teeth are intact. Oh, how I dread his top teeth falling out. Then his little smile will look completely different. I'm so not ready for that!

My Sweet Clay-boy,

You are 6 and a half years old! Half birthdays are still a BIG deal to you (and to me, too!). You have been telling people all day that you turned 6 1/2 today. I don't think that many people care anything about half birthdays, but I will jump at any chance to celebrate you. :)

You are something else, my little Mister. We still definitely have our days where we go 'round and 'round, but the days of us butting heads are getting fewer and farther between. Today you said, "Mommy, I love you being my teacher. I could never do my work without you." It melted my heart and made me feel like you really appreciate me. Those few words filled my cup and made my day. Thank you for saying that to me. It meant more than you will ever know.

You are a Christian now, and I love being able to relate to you on a spiritual level. I love that you ask me really hard questions about heaven and hell, why people treated Jesus the way that they did, why Eve brought sin into the world, etc. You challenge me to know exactly what I believe and to be able to back that up with scripture. I hope that you never stop craving knowledge of the Word. I pray that you always have questions and seek out the answers. That's how you grow and learn!

I read a verse the other day that made me think of you. "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." Colossians 2:6-7 That is my prayer for you, Dear Child. I pray that you walk in Him. I pray that you are rooted and built up in Him. I pray that you are established in the faith. And I pray that you are abounding in thanksgiving. Those are my deepest wishes for you.

I know that God has big plans for you, Precious Boy. I hope that He continues to transform you into exactly who He wants you to be. I am blessed to be a part of the process.

I love you to the moon and back,
Mommy