More Mail From Aunt Karen!!

The boys got Halloween cards in the mail the other day from Aunt Karen.  Clayton was thrilled!!!  He loves getting mail and he listened so intently while we read him the message.  Hollis was so excited about his card he tried to eat it! ;)  Thank you Aunt Karen for loving our boys and taking the time to do something special for them!

Clayton's Magazines...

Clayton loves to get the mail and especially likes to get "magazines".  I know I have posted before about how he loves to read the ads from the Sunday paper.  He continues to love to look at "magazines" as he calls them.  I am not exaggerating when I say he looks at them for an hour or more sometimes.  He literally studies each detail and every toy in the ad with this intense and serious face.  Since he loves getting "magazines" so much, I decided to get him a subscription to National Geographic for kids.  Now any of you who really know my son know his love of animals...so put the two together and he is over the moon.  He has gotten two so far, and I am not kidding he will sit and read it with you from front to back and do all the little games in it over and over and over again!  He LOVES it!  He looks forward to getting a new one each month and to be honest so do we!  He is such a smart little guy and just soaks it all in like a sponge.  I love looking at things like this and asking him questions because usually I found out he knows something I didn't even know he knew!  Love this little guy :)

Hollis is 11 months...I Can't Believe It!!!

It honestly seems like I just had my sweet Hollis, I cannot believe that in one short month he is going to be one!  Where oh where does the time go.  This year has flown by.  He has been such a joy and a huge blessing to our family.  He is so sweet and loving, and is quiet and reserved, almost shy.  At the same time he is funny and inquisitive and loves to explore new things.  He is fabulous in every way and we couldn't imagine life without our Hollis Man!

Here is a look at what he has been up to the last month...

*He really loves the drop game now...he drops it, you pick it up!

*He is beginning to tell his brother when he doesn't want him to do something.  Instead of just crying, he will bat his hand away!

*Still shy and very much a Mommy's boy

*Loves to explore and get into anything and everything.  He puts everything in his mouth and will find the littlest things on the floor and it goes straight to the mouth!

*He has tried several big boy foods now...graham crackers, puffs, banana, cheerios, muffin, bread, and a mandarin orange (which he was not fond of)

*Still loves, loves, loves peek-a-boo!

*Loves to play with balls.  He will be entertained for hours by rolling a ball, crawling after it, and rolling it again

*Cracks up, I mean belly laughs, at just about anything Clayton does...it is so sweet!

*He will dance and wave his hands, or shake a maraca if he has one, when we say shakey shakey shakey

*He claps his hands when we say, "Yay!"

*Does not like to wear hats and will not keep one on, not even for a second!

*Had his second ear infection :(  He was a real trooper though, and when it comes to taking medicine he is a champ!

*Got his 5th tooth, upper left side

*Loves to climb on Daddy and get in on the wrestling action

*Says Da Da now and all kinds of other syllables, screeches, and noises :)

*Loves to crawl into our bedroom where there is a changing table and pull all of the diapers off!

*Is standing for longer periods of time all by himself, so I know that walking is right around the corner!  He pulls up on everything and cruises the furniture like a champ!

*Loves to play in the water in the bath and splashes like crazy!  He wants to stand in the tub the whole time and look over the side to see all the toys he has thrown over from playing the dropsy game :)

*Such a fun and easy going baby...people always ask, "is he always that good?"

*His smile will melt anyones heart...I could just eat him with a spoon he is so sweet.

*Still doesn't sleep through the night...wakes 2 or 3 times.

*Loves to lean back and look at things upside down.  It is hilarious...you sit him up and he will throw himself backwards again to see upside down.  He loves it!

*Loves the vacuum cleaner and will chase it as I use it.  It is hilarious, but I also have to be super careful because he is fast and I am always worried I will run over his little fingers.  Wherever it goes he follows!

*He loves to look at himself in the mirror.  He will just smile and laugh and try to touch the baby in the mirror.  It is so cute!

*He loves to hear his music teachers voice...I swear he gets really still and just stares at him while he sings.  It is so funny.

*Loves to play with your eyelashes

*Another favorite toy is this snail that rolls across the room and has a mirror on the side of it, and he LOVES to chew on the legos while Clayton builds.

Halloweekend at Lake Rudolph

We went to Lake Rudolph again this year to visit some friends who camp there during "Halloweekend".  It is so cool, and we are probably going to join the fun and stay the whole weekend next year!  All of the campsites are decorated like you would not believe, and the kids get to trick or treat all of the them.  We probably only made it through half and Clayton's bucket was filled and we were worn out!  Last year he didn't really understand the whole trick or treating, but man this year he was really into it.  It was so cute.  He would run from place to place with his bucket and say "Trick or Treat".  Then he would look into his bucket just to make sure they really put it in there.  Hollis like loved looking at all the decorations and enjoying his treats (aka puffs) while being strolled around all of the campsites.  Both boys were dinosaurs, except Hollis refused to wear his hat, but everyone commented on how cute the both of them were :)  He is such a good natured baby, he just goes with the flow.  After trick or treating, we played on the playground for awhile and then went back and played at the campsite.  Both boys had a great time and were worn out by the end.

Jack O Lantern...AKA "Spookly"

This is the first year we have carved a pumpkin with the boys.  Let's just say Scott did most of the work, I worked the cameras, Hollis tried to eat the insides of the pumpkin, and Clayton wouldn't stick his hands in...he just kept saying, "Ewww, gross!"  He loved watching Scott carve it though, and really loved it when we took it outside to the front porch with a candle in it!  He named it Spookly...he loves watching that movie this time of year.  Anyone with little ones should definitely watch that movie, very cute and great message!  I look forward to carving pumpkins every year with the boys, just one more tradition to add to the fun :)

My Little Beaver...

Hollis put everything in his mouth, and chews anything he can get to.  Now that he has 4 teeth he really chews on everything...including his crib!!!  I noticed when I got him out of his crib the other day he has gnawed all around the railing like a little beaver!

Clayton's Quotes and Antics

Clayton is quite the character and we LOVE it!  He is always saying or doing something funny!  Here are a few of his latest sayings and antics...

*The other day he was supposed to be sitting on the potty going and he always tells me to go "bye bye".  I can respect that he needs a little privacy...well he was awfully quiet in there and sure enough when I went back to check he had the entire roll of toilet paper unrolled on the floor...little turkey!

*I am always saying Clayton that's enough!  Scott's phrase is usually...relax!  So now when we are asking him to do something or stop doing something he doesn't want to stop he puts it all together and says, "Stop it Mommy, that's enough...relax!"  Oh my!

*He loves to act out and quote movies...especially Thomas The Train!

*His imagination is unbelievable.  The other day Daddy built him a tunnel in the living room and he would go across the top of the tunnel to the chair, and the chair was a "pirate ship" and there were crocodiles and whales in the water (the carpet).  He would stand up on the chair and put his finger on his nose and look all around (he was looking through his telescope).  He really amazes me!!!  Smart little cookie!

*Can count to 20 now!!!!!!  Sings many Kindermusik songs along with knowing Twinkle Twinkle and the alphabet.

*Loves to build robots and airplanes with his legos.

*LOVES THE DIRT

*The other day Hollis was getting to his train tracks and so he says to Hollis, "No No Hollis, you play with Silly Town!"  Silly Town is a toy we have, I just thought it was hilarious that he told him a specific toy to play with.

*When Hollis does something he doesn't want him to do he says, "Hold Baby Hollis Mommy!"

*He amazes me that he can recognize buildings and places.  We have only been to Soccer Tots probably 3 times and we drove past the building the other day and he says, "Soccer Tots!"  It's crazy to me!

Oh I wish I could just write down the many, many things he says!!!!

Beautiful Hollis...9 Month Photo Shoot