Trick or Treating Fun!!!

Trick or Treating in the neighborhood

"Peese"

Uncle B and Clayton enjoying some Halloween treats

Clayton trick or treating at Daddy's work

Like I said...he had the ladies eating out of the palm of his hand

Yum!

That's right...not one sucker but two!

We trick or treated a little early at Daddy's work on Friday. Clayton wasn't quite sure what to think about it all since last year he was a little too young to really know what was going on. He walked in to the room full of mostly women and yells with excitement, "Hi!". Of course all the ladies were eating out of the palm of his hand and I'm pretty sure they would have just let him had the whole bowl full of candy if he wanted it! He was a little confused as to what to do...he seemed to think that he had to give his candy to the person instead of getting candy from them, so he would get a little upset each time. He did, however, say please and thank you to every person! It was too cute :) He was mostly interested in the first sucker he received as he was eating it the whole time.

On Halloween, we had a neighborhood party with different booths that had games and treats. He was a little young for most of the games, but that didn't stop him from having fun. After the party, we went trick or treating in the neighborhood...he loved it. He still didn't quite get the concept that he didn't have to give the person his candy, but that he was actually going to receive it. I think he was just in awe that he was getting to eat so much candy :) He was so cute saying please and thank you. What memories we made!

Birthday Party...

Taking a break from jumping

Having a ball

Running from Daddy

Wee

Not sure who is having more fun :)

Ummm yeah...Daddy let him go down the HUGE slide all by himself...Mommy about had a heart attack, Clayton however LOVED it!

We celebrated a very special little girl's birthday this past weekend. I have been very close friends with her mom and dad for a long time! Our friend Ella turned 6 this weekend...her mom and dad waited and prayed a long time for her, and she has been such a blessing to them and everyone in her life. Her birthday was at Pump It Up, and Clayton and Daddy had a BIG time bouncing and sliding. I am not sure who had more fun...Daddy or Clayton. Let's just say they were both worn out by the end of the party. At one point, Clayton and Daddy climbed this HUGE slide...Daddy says, "Should I?"...meaning should I let him go down by himself? I am shaking my head, "No!"...being the nervous, over protective, cautious mommy...he asks again, "Should I?" (while shaking his head yes), and I again say, "No!" Next thing I know...Clayton comes flying down the slide all by himself, and he LOVED IT! Guess I better get used to my adventerous little boy who has no fear...I might be totally gray by 35!!!!!

Cookie Monster (Coo Coo) Shoes...

The "Coo Coo" shoes

Dancing in his Coo Coo shoes

Dancing to Elmo's World in his Coo Coo shoes

Well, as I said around Clayton's first birthday...I am so anti character clothes, shoes, etc. Well, he loved Mickey, so Mickey was his first birthday party. We still don't wear clothes with characters, but pajamas I will do, he has several pair of Toy Story (Tu Tu) pajamas that he loves!!!! Well recently, my best friend told me that New Balance tennis shoes came out with a Sesame Street line about a year ago, and they only put them in stores for a year. I looked on line and they are not in stores anymore, but I must say that they are soooo stinkin' adorable! So to ebay I went to search for the cookie monster shoes. I found a pair in his size, we got them in the mail, and they are even cuter up close than they were in the picture!!! I had been looking for some good play tennis shoes anyway, and these were perfect. He absolutely loves them, the funniest part is when you put them on him you can tell he thinks he is big stuff. He goes around stomping his feet and looking at them, saying "coo coo". He also likes to dance in them. It is way too cute :) I don't think I'll ever be able to part with these Coo Coo shoes!

21 months!!! Here's a look at month 20!

Wow, this one really snuck up on me! October has been a crazy busy month and my dad's, Clayton's pops', birthday is this month...actually the day after Clayton turned 21 months and that is always hard. I know he watches over Clayton and is his special angel, but it is also so hard not to have him here to teach Clayton to play guitar and take him fishing. I know my dad would have been just CRAZY over him!!!!
This past month has been full of fun and learning. He is such an amazing child...so smart, inquisitive, and interested in the world around him. He just soaks it all in, and I love it! He is a busy one, but I wouldn't want him any other way!!!
Here is a look at some of the highlights...there is so much each month at this point, it is hard to keep up with!

Highlights...

*Still head over heels for trucks and cars, I think his love for them grows by the day! He lines them up, makes the sounds they make, and carries them just about everywhere!

*He has also acquired a love and fascination with dinosaurs. He has one that he carries with him everywhere and he growls like a dinosaur.

*We are working on colors...yellow was the first one he learned so now he wants to say everything is yellow!

*He knows that letters are letters because anytime he sees them he says A, A, A...so even though he doesn't know them yet, he identifies that they are letters. Clayton and Daddy work on letters in the bath tub, he has letters that stick on the wall of the tub.

*putting lots of two word phrases together..."help please", "thank you", "out please"

*Loves to play with Gi Gi's (this is what he calls my mom) dog Lilly...and Grandma's dog Gracie

*Loves to "help" mommy and daddy...he will shut the dishwasher door, he loves to dust and vacuum, pull laundry out of the dryer, and picks up his toys (sometimes)

*Loves pumpkins!!! 'tis the season

*Loves to play hide and seek

*Some new foods he likes are...jello, pudding, apples, frosted mini wheats

*He is very adventurous...not scared to try new things...usually jumps right in

*Loves to go to the grocery, he is so good! Being the teacher I am...it really is a great speech lesson! We talk about all the foods we are buying, and he usually gets to open a special snack!

*Loves going on bike rides with Daddy...Scott puts him in the bike trailer and takes him around the neighborhood...he says cycle, cycle, cycle

*Points to the oven and says "hot"...guess we have said that enough that he knows now!

*Still loves bathtime...would splash in there forever if we would let him

*Knock on wood, tubes are still doing their job...no ear infections since they have been put in a little less than two months ago! We had trouble getting him to keep the ear plugs in at first, but now he leaves them in and doesn't mind them at all. We did have to get a different kind. The first set were thick wax and he didn't like those at all, so Dr. Wahle gave us some think silicone plugs that fit just in the opening and he doesn't mind those...he is used to them now, thank goodness because you cannot get water in the ears when they have tubes!!!

*Loves to color, but also likes to eat the crayons, so we have to really watch him with those!

*Still loves to be outside! It's finally getting decent enough out there that we can go out without being too hot!

*Loves the zoo and animals...he knows lots of animals and their sounds now. He isn't big on riding in the stroller anymore, he pretty much walks the whole zoo himself!!!

*We moved his room upstairs and he is doing great. Both babies will be upstairs together. There are two bedrooms up there with a joining bathroom. He cried a little the first nap and bedtime, but now he just climbs right up the stairs and acts like he has slept up there the whole time!

*We made his old bedroom the playroom...he LOVES to play in there!!! He is really great at playing independently.

*We go to the Children's Museum quite a bit, and he is more and more into it everytime we go. He will play for a good 2 hours solid there before being ready to leave. His favorite parts are the rice table, and of course the water room. He also loves the dinosaur section. We plan on getting a membership...it really is a great place to go for a different atmosphere, especially in the winter!

Corn Maize and Pumpkin Patch...

Our little pumpkin

Daddy, Grandpa, and Clayton going through the corn maze

Clayton carried the corn Daddy showed him all through the corn maze

Daddy showing Clayton what was inside the husk

Mommy and Clayton

Mommy, Clayton, and Daddy on the hay ride!

Mommy and Clayton

Clayton making his way through the tunnels

Daddy and Clayton checking out the animals

Saturday we took Clayton the J and L Corn Maize in Henderson. I have taken my class from school there for several years and it really is a great deal. I couldn't wait to take Clayton this year because he is able to walk/run everywhere and really gets into things. The best thing about this place is that they have animals, and Clayton is animal crazy! When we first got there, Clayton was just so excited about the pumpkins! He kept picking them up and bringing them to me. Next we looked at all the animals...they had llamas, donkey, horse, mini horse, and fainting goats. Clayton loved looking at them, but really wanted in those fences to play with them. Next we went through he tunnels, he was right on that. We didn't have to convince him to do anything...he just took off inside and made it all the way through. Next we hopped on the hay ride. He wasn't so sure about this until it started going, and then he loved it. He kept saying tractor, tractor. It didn't hurt that he had a bag of popcorn to eat while riding...he loves popcorn. The hayride dropped us off at the entrance of the corn maize and we navigated our way through that...Owen and Clayton kept stopping to pick up all of the corn on the ground. We ended by picking up our treat bags and having dinner at Rookies before heading home. It was a great day with great family and friends!!!

Boo at the Zoo!

Clayton and Gi Gi
Enjoying some of his snacks

Clayton, Daddy, and best buddy Owen

Daddy and Clayton going through the maze

Clayton and Owen

Daddy, Clayton and the Target Dog

Mommy, Clayton, Owen, and Heil...best buddies

Mommy and Clayton

Getting Treats

Daddy and Clayton...aka Curious George and The Man in the Yellow Hat

Watching the magic show

Daddy, Mommy, and Clayton

We decided to take Clayton to Boo at the Zoo this year. I had never been myself, and we were so excited to see how he would react to everything. He loves the zoo anyway, so I knew he would love this. Daddy and Clayton wore their Halloween costumes, and they were an absolute hit. This year they dressed up as The Man in the Yellow Hat and Curious George...even people who didn't know us stopped us to ask if they could take their picture. As soon as we got in the entrance he watched the magic show with Daddy and we hit the trail. We went with our best friends the Stucki's which made it all the more fun!!! Clayton was a little unsure of some of the dressed up characters, but he wasn't scared or crying...just a little hesitant. He wanted to stop and pick up every pumpkin he saw!

He loved going through the little maze they had and really enjoyed all the treats! He walked pretty much the whole way, only rode in his stroller the last bit. Needless to say it was a great family evening, and we will definitely be going back next year, with an added member to our family ;)

Singing...

I have been trying forever to get Clayton singing on video, but of course by the time I get the camera out and turned on he is done singing. He loves to sing the Mickey Mouse Club House song and of course Elmo's World. Well, the other day I had camera in hand when Elmo came on...he wasn't hamming it up as much as usual, but at least I captured him singing. He sings the La La La La part, and when it says Elmo loves his goldfish...his crayons too, Clayton sings the too part and then holds the word World at the end. Here it goes...priceless!!

Fall Fest...

Cruising the Fall Fest
Enjoying his apple slices

We took Clayton down to the Fall Festival again this year. He was about 9 months last year, so he didn't really realize what was going on, and really this year he wasn't all that interested either, but we had a really busy day so I think he was just tired. Daddy took Thursday off and went to Kindermusik with us, and we then headed to the Fall Fest around 10 for lunch. It was the absolute perfect time to go...food was ready and NO ONE was there. No lines, no crowds, fresh food, perfect! Clayton is a pretty finicky eater, and doesn't eat much period, but he loves apples...so he had apple slices at the fall fest. No grease for him, but I think Daddy and I made up for his lack of grease. We decided not to do rides this year, but I'm pretty sure next year he'll be asking to ride the rides :)