The Sabbath

Today in church the sermon was about making the most of your Sabbath and taking a step back from your everyday chores.  One suggestion Pastor Lynne had was writing letters or connecting with family far away.  So I am going to make a conscious effort to sit down and write a post each Sunday, even if it's just a quick photo!

Lately, it seems like everyday Clay is doing something new!  This age sure is a lot of fun!  He can finally roll over from his belly to his back; he's been going the other way for about a month and a half now.  He can sit up for a few minutes at a time.  He started using his "high chair" today.  Also look at this fancy new trick...

The other day I laid Clay on his boppy to play with his toys.  Instead he scooted himself down to suck on his hands and watch tv.  He happily stayed in this position for at least 20 minutes.  It was pretty adorable!

Last night Clay's best friend in Wrangell, Griffey, came over to play.  Griffey is 2 months old and just a little peanut.  Clay was really interested in the baby.  We can't wait for the boys to get a little bit older and start really playing together! 

Griff's first try at the Bumbo... he really liked it! 

After a big night of playing clay fell asleep.  So peaceful. 

Today while I was cleaning the downstairs bedroom, in preparation for turning it into Clayton's room, I let him try out the hot rod!  Hard to believe he's old enough to drive! ;o)  He really enjoyed it.

Later in the evening, he just couldn't handle anymore jumping, so he fell asleep!  Ryan and I were moving furniture out of the bedroom and up the stairs.  When we came back down, we found this guy! Too funny! 

Well, one week of school is over.  It was really hard to be away from Clay all day.  Especially because he has been taking a nap around 6, getting up for about an hour, and then going to bed.  We are really missing out on spending any time with him during the week.  But I am told eventually he will start staying awake more and we will wish he was napping! For now, I will just stare at him in adoration as he sleeps and try to imagine what story plays out in his little dreams.  

Clayton's New Trick

Since he figured out he can make fart noises with his mouth he hasn't stopped! 

We Mean Business!

Since Ryan has been gone (48 hours now), Clay and I have been very productive! The power went out for about an hour yesterday so we made an art project!  It turned out really neat, I will post a picture of it once I get it framed.  

Clay also puked all over his blanket and proceeded to put his face in it.  However, it did not seem to bother him.  I think he thought it was hilarious! 

I sneakily cut Clayton's hair while he was sleeping last night.  I kept a lock of hair in a labeled ziploc baggie because several people told me too.  But I think it is sort of weird, so it might go in the trash eventually.  

"I got a haircut... What the hell does that mean?"

I also produced a new binkie clip after Milo ate the last one.  Unfortunately, Milo also ate the binkie and I have yet to find any remnants.  You know what that means...

Today I watched Arabella in the morning.  When Edna came to get her she brought me a coffee and crab!  One delicious perk of living in Alaska! 

Then Clay and I went to Arabella's horse lessons.  Clay loves being around the horses, you can tell he just wants to ride!  Someday. 

I wonder how much we can get done in the next two days.  Maybe my house will clean itself?

Well, that is all for now!  I will leave you with this goodie...

5 Month Photo Shoot

Most of you have seen Clayton's 5 Month photos on facebook, but I wanted to add a few more here and share the excitement of taking the photos and watching Clay learn to sit up on his own!  The pictures of him sitting are a tad deceiving, he actually can only sit up for a few seconds before tumbling.  But he is getting stronger by the day and will actually be sitting up in no time.  For now, enjoy the photos of him tipping over... don't worry Ryan was there to catch him! 

A new talent Clayton has picked up this week is sucking in his bottom lip.  Lately, much of the day is spent making the following face.  

And here are some more goodies...

A couple of the photos where he was actually looking at the camera;
he wanted to laugh at his Daddy during the shoot instead.

Except during this one... "Dad, you're embarrassing me!"

All pooped out.  (And Milo was sleeping at Ryan's feet too).

Well, tomorrow Ryan is leaving for Andrew's wedding in MI.  Clay, Milo, and I will be fending for ourselves for 5 days and school starts while he is away... let's hope we all come out alive! ;)

Car Trouble

Just wanted to share a little problem we ran into today.  This morning Ryan drove to work and went inside.  About a half hour after he started, a coworker walked into his room and told him there was tar all over his car!  Turns out Ryan drove at least 1/2 mile through freshly laid tar on his way to work!  So he rushed home and woke me up out of a dead sleep to figure out what to do.  The car looked pretty bad and he was really worried I might kill him, or cry, or worse!  The photo actually makes it look like it wasn't too bad, but the tar was caked on the entire vehicle and it was very thick in some places.

Needless to say after a quick Google search, I came across some suggested tar removing products.  We drove straight to Napa and Ryan bought two different types; turtlewax bug and tar remover and tarminator.  After 4 bottles of cleaner, the better part of my day and Ryan's evening, our car was clean.  However, the undercarriage and wheel wells will never be the same.  Thank goodness it came off, we were both pretty nervous! 

Clay wasn't sure what to think, he just watched us work all day!  But his smile sure can make any day seem like the best day ever! 

Hopefully construction will be done soon (this is very wishful thinking).  But if we have anymore mishaps at least we know how to fix them!

Back in Alaska

We have been back for about two weeks now and I am sorry I have not updated our blog sooner.  Clay took a few days to get back in the groove of things and was extra cranky because he had to get his immunizations right after we returned.  He definitely developed those little lungs with about 4 days of nonstop crying.
Since being home Clay has enjoyed the community pool numerous times, spent many hours jumping, and he found his toes.  They taste pretty good.  Our latest endeavor has been sleep training.  It is as awful as it sounds!
Here some photos and footage of our last couple weeks:

Took time to change out clothes that don't fit for ones that do...this pile is just the ones that currently fit him.  I think the boy has enough infant clothes! 

He loves his Sophie Giraffe.

Yummy!

For those of you who love Milo as much as we do, here's an update.  He was so happy to see us pull up in the driveway and even more excited when we walked in the door.  He looked as though he had gained 20lbs because his hair had gotten so long.  He has since been shaved.  While I was unpacking my suitcase I called him over and handed him the red toy his Grandma sent him.  He promptly tore it apart and while I was turned the other way he dug through my bag and found the orange one too!  He must know I always bring him back goodies when we have been traveling.  

We miss you all dearly and we are so happy Taylor booked her ticket to come spend her spring break with us this year, which happens to fall over Clay's 1st birthday!