Twelve Months!

Happy Twelve Month Birthday, Clayton Scott!

You are a whole year old now! Oh my goodness! Wasn't it just yesterday that we were welcoming you into this world and holding you in our arms for the first time? Mommy sure does remember it like it was just the other day! What a wonderful and joyous day that was!

You are quite the little toddler now. Gone are the days where you were immobile! You walk everywhere, and even try to run sometimes! You will still crawl if it is just between toys or if you are really trying to get somewhere fast! You do not need our assistance to walk anywhere, but sometimes you will let us hold your hand! You even navigate over thresholds and uneven surfaces pretty well! We love to watch you toddle around the house! It's pretty cute! You still hate shoes though so it's a struggle when you want to walk outside but we make you wear shoes! ;-) Your socks can't always be brown! haha! Mobility wise you can also bend down to pick things up and stand back up straight without touching the ground.

You have learned so many words and are so smart! This month you started to say "hello" and "tractor". Although they don't come out perfectly they are pretty good! You also always say "vroom-vroom" when you are driving things... anything with wheels makes that noise! ;-) Even though you don't say many words you know so many words! You know "bottle", "outside", "voom-voom", "potchi-potchi", "bath". All of these words must be spelled if it is not time for them or else we are in trouble! You have also learned to identify so many things. You can tell us where our eyes, ears, nose, mouth are, what the baby is in a picture, what the dog is in a picture, and who pop, gia, mama, dada, and nana are! Pop was pretty proud of himself because he taught you to pat him when he asked where Pop was! It's cute!

You have learned that your paci is only for naptime and you will THROW it when you wake up from your nap and we pick you up. However, if you see the paci laying around somewhere, like on the coffee table, you will still grab it and shove it in your mouth! Another fun "trick" you have is that you can blow your nose and wipe your mouth..... ok, you only halfway do it, but it's funny to watch you! We can hand you a tissue and you make a blowing noise with your mouth. And when we ask you to wipe your mouth you mostly dab it and then try to eat the napkin. hehe...

You finally learned how to clap this month, right before your 12 month birthday. Now you always clap and are proud of yourself. If we say "yay" you will immediately smile and start clapping! This month you also started to really show us when you were excited about things. You make the cutest giggling noise when you are super excited. For instance, when Pop asks you if you want to go ride on the "voom-voom" you giggle and go crazy! If we are at work then you know where the voom-voom is kept and will walk outside to it! Mommy asked you if you wanted to take a bath one day and you did the same thing - giggled and walked all the way into Mommy & Daddy's bathroom! You're so smart! No one lead you into there!

Your favorite toys are anything with wheels, especially tractors, anything with buttons, and anything that plays music. For your first birthday you received so many wonderful toys, almost all of which made noise! haha! You love playing with all things with wheels, and you know that the car will not roll if it is not on it's wheels. You will turn a car over until it is the right way and then push it along! One of your favorite buttons to push though was the computer power button at work! Oops! We had to keep you from turning our computers off and on, which made you quite mad!

You LOVE to be outside and cry if anyone opens the door and doesn't take you with them. Sometimes it makes life for Mommy & Daddy a little difficult because we can't always take you with us, and it's not always a nice day out! Spring in West Texas means that the weather changes nearly every day and it is almost always windy out. You don't mind the wind though!

Every month you take more of an interest in Pearl, your puppy. This month you really started to pet her when she was laying on the floor, and you'll even go up to her and snuggle her. It's so sweet! Plus, now you share with her! Oh, lucky us! You will share your food with her! She's a good puppy though and will take the food from your hands so gently. She also lets you pull up on her, pull her hair, whatever you want to do! We're glad that she is such a good dog and will be there to watch you grow!

We're still struggling with your food. You are so picky! You now love sweet things though, especially fruit loops! Mimi kept you over her Spring Break and gave you fruit loops in the mornings. You thought they were delicious! We can usually always get you to eat peas, grapes, chicken, carrots, and sweet potatoes. Sometimes you will eat pears, and you even eat asparagus. But for the rest of things.... nah!!!! You have a habit of putting things in your mouth then taking them back out, looking at it, and then shoving it back in! Guess you want to see what you're eating! One good thing is that you really like water and drink from a sippy cup with a straw really well. So, we're able to get water down ya! You still just prefer your bottle, which we have to start weaning you from now! Oh no!

You have 4 teeth on bottom and 3 teeth on top. Right before your 1 year birthday you began to get your 12 month molars. This made for some rough nights for Mommy & Daddy. Thankfully Nana came and was able to help us! Stinkin' teeth! Growth wise you weighed 21 pounds at the doctor's office and were 27 1/2" long. You were just under the 50th percentile growth curve for both height and weight. You still have a pretty tiny head though and are on the 25th percentile for that! You wear a size 12 month in all of your clothes now. It's convenient for Mommy that you are always the perfect size! =)

Your baby sister will be here soon and we can't wait to see if she is anything like you! We seriously doubt she can be, because you are just a special boy! You are so good and you have been such a huge blessing in our lives. We love you more than you'll ever know! You are our sweet baby boy!

Happy Birthday to our now toddler. We love you!

Love,
Mommy

Eleven Months!

Happy Eleven Month Birthday, Clayton Scott!

You are only one month away now from your FIRST birthday! Mommy cannot believe how big you are and how fast you have grown up! This month you changed even more! You are becoming such a little boy instead of a baby. Oh, and you know that you're growing up! You have a mind of your own and you wish that you could just do whatever you wanted to and go wherever you wanted to go!

Your major development was that you took your first steps on your own this month AND put a bunch of steps together, so basically you were walking! You took at least 10 steps and even turned a bit! When you're not walking on your own then you are walking behind things. You love pushing everything around and walking behind it. Chairs, your walking toys, your stroller, etc! You have great balance and can stand for a long period of time by yourself. You just need to learn that your feet have to move at the same time as your torso! ;-) Sometimes your upper half gets moving faster than your bottom half and so you'll fall down. Mommy thinks this is because you learned to walk behind things like your dinosaur. Since you lean over when you push that then you lean over without it! hehe.. Now you RUN behind your dinosaur or other walking toys. You really know how to move!

We had some really nice days this month so were able to take you outside. You LOVE to be outside. At lot of times you will crawl over to the door and fuss, wanting us to let you out. Poor boy! We bought you a swing that you love and you absolutely love riding in Pop's "voom-voom". On Valentine's day we were in Midland so we took you to your first park to play. You went on the swing and the slide with Daddy and you thought it was pretty darn cool!

You are more vocal then you have ever been. You love to talk to us, in your own language of course, and you now love to scream. You used to just imitate us when we'd yell (in a funny way, not a mean way!), but now you will just scream to get attention or to just plain make noise! You crack us up with how much you "talk" now. Your favorite word is "deedle". Seriously, you say "deedle". It is so funny! Your tongue goes in and out too when you do it. Your other favorite word is "dada" and "hot". You truly understand the meaning of hot, no, bottle, and voom-voom, haha! When you are playing with your cars you say "vroom vroom!!". You started this when Nana was here visiting at the beginning of the month. Mommy didn't believe Nana at first that you knew what it meant! Your other word, "hot", is said whenever you see a heater. We have had to tell you no so many times and that heaters were hot so that you would not burn yourself. So, now whenever you see a heater you say "hot!". It comes out more like just "t".

One of your favorite activities is pushing buttons. You could sit and push the button on your tractor or, unfortunately, on the heater all day! You also love pushing buttons on books that sing and on your keyboard. Mimi got you the coolest keyboard and you love to play it! You also love to play Daddy & Pop's guitars! We have been playing for church nearly every weekend so we get together a lot to practice. Every time we get the guitars out you crawl up to them as fast as you can and start strumming! Mommy bought you your own guitar that came in just the other day and you thought it was too cool! ;-) You're such a musical baby and Mommy LOVES it!

One of your best tricks this month has been giving us a high five. You used to only do it every now and then when you were younger. Now, the second we ask for one you will give us one! It's a lot of fun! You're really starting to understand how things work and cause and effect. You're so smart! You know that one of your toys will pop out the balls if you put them back in, so you sit there and put them back in over and over after they pop out. You also know that when the water starts running in the bathtub that you are about to get a bath! You LOVE bath time so you will crawl over to the tub as fast as you can and want in! You play in the bath for so long!

You're finally starting to sit still long enough for us to read you a book. You love any book that has flaps to open or music to play. You even love the books that have textured pages. Other than the time when you're eating a bottle or reading a book for a short period of time you want DOWN. You are very independent! Now that you are learning how to walk it is only a matter of time before you are into everything and going everywhere!

We are still trying to get you to eat more table foods. You are a picky picky eater!!!! You LOVE grapes and will eat a ton of them, but that's about the only thing that you consistently eat, and eat well. We decided to let you feed yourself one day and you made a huge mess, but you ate a lot more food than you normally do. Maybe you just want to be able to feed yourself! You do like most veggies but surprisingly you hate beans, potatoes, and even some meats. You are still great with your bottle, even though we wish you would drink less bottle and eat more food! You still eat your 7 ounces every 4 hours. One thing that was pretty impressive that you learned this month was that you can drink out of a straw! It's impressive!!

You're currently wearing mostly 12 month clothes. Some of your 9 month pj's still fit and your 9 month onesies fit your body but not your arms. You are only wearing 12 month pants now. When we do put shoes on you (not often at all) we put you in a size 5! Big feet! You're still in a size 3 diaper during the day and a size 4 at night. Mommy needs to weigh you to see how big you're getting! hehe...

Even on your fussy days we still think you are an amazing baby. You are so good and you hardly ever have a bad day. You had a fever for a few days and yet still you were smiling and laughing. We love you so much. We couldn't have asked for a better baby, and we couldn't feel more blessed to have you in our lives. I cannot tell you that enough. We love you so much. You are such a joy.

We can't wait to see what your year milestone will hold. We love you sweet baby! Happy Birthday!

Love,
Mommy

Ten Months!

Happy Ten Month Birthday, Clayton Scott!

Wow, double digits! We can't believe that in two short, and we're talking short, months you will be one year old! You have grown and changed even more this month. You are becoming quite the little boy now! Although it makes us sad to see you grow up so fast, it is also a lot of fun! Each day it seems you learn and imitate new things! Our favorite new "trick" of yours is when you give us kisses. They are the sweetest thing in the whole wide world! We will ask for kisses and you will lean in, with your mouth open (hehe), and give us a kiss! It just melts us! Your favorite kiss-recipient though is still your Mimi. You just think she's so beautiful and kissable! ;-) You even give your stuffed animals kisses when we prompt you to! We're going to start working on having you kiss Mommy's belly so that we can get some pictures before little sister is here!

You have mastered the art of walking in your walker! You can maneuver that thing all over the office! You make k-turns, u-turns, you name it! Don't worry, you'll know those terms in 15 years when you're learning how to drive! You can haul butt in your walker and it is really cute! You just cruise around from office to office looking for someone new to play with! Without the walker you are still trying to grasp the concept of walking, but you're getting so close! You are quick now when you're moving along an object, such as the coffee table. You also can walk with us just holding onto one of your hands, so your balance is really quite good. You can now stand for at least 15 seconds at a time before you lean and grab onto something. You are hesitant to walk between things though if you don't see something to grab on to. You're getting there though!

Over the Christmas holidays, right as you were turning 9 months old, you learned how to climb the stairs. Since then we have bought and installed a baby gate at the base of the stairs so that you can't go climbing on your own! We have followed you a few times and let you crawl up them. You think it's pretty fun, and you are pretty good at it!

Another one of our favorite "tricks" of yours is that you now know how to spit out your paci, and you know that when things are yucky you make a spitting noise. When you're done with your nap we lean you over the pack-n-play and you spit out that nasty paci! ;-) You also let us know when you've spit up because we hear you making your spitting noise, haha! It's pretty amusing! Another noise you love to make is saying "pop". You don't truly enunciate the "o" but you have the motions down. Pop thinks you're saying his name when you do it! ;-) Maybe you are! You imitate a lot of the noises that we make and the movements we make with our mouths. If we run our fingers over our lips to make noise then you will as well. You're very cute!!

You still love to open things and get into things. Our kitchen is now mostly baby-proofed so that you can't open drawers and cabinets that have bad things in them! You love to open our drawers at work too. Some days you "help" Irene file her papers! Ok, no, you just take them out and make a mess. We don't mind though because you're cute! haha!

We are teaching you the word "no" and "hot". You mostly know "no" because you will stop and look at us, as if to say "Are you sure I can't have that?". Sometimes you disobey, on purpose, and go faster after whatever it is that you want but can't have! That's your Uncle Ross coming out in you! We realize though that you are too little for true discipline and to truly know the word "no", so we just try to keep repeating so that you will begin to understand. We have to tell you things are "hot" because you will go after the heaters in our office. You're pretty good at this though and will not touch whatever it is that we tell you is hot.

Although your vocabulary is not growing, your noises sure are! You talk A LOT! By talking I mean you say "bababa", "dadada", "tida" and "ha". You growl at us sometimes too which is a new favorite! You think it scares us so you make the noise louder and you get a good laugh out of it! We were hoping you'd have some real words to say by now but that's ok! We love listening to you talk, especially when you wake up in the morning. You just stand on the edge of your crib, talking and shaking the bars, until we come get you. It's funny!

You're still a dancin' fool. You love music and will dance anytime you hear a good tune! You will even dance to videos of yourself dancing on our phones! Because of this love for music Mommy has decided to have your first birthday party be a music theme! Hopefully it'll be a good time for all!

We like to think that you have a really good memory because you remember things, search for things, and know routines. For instance, when we give you the remote you will look at it, push a button, then look at the TV to see if it did "what you wanted it to". ;-) Also, you've been doing this for at least a couple months, you will look for things when you're pushing them around and they go under the couch. You'll lay on your belly to see where it went and try to get it. You probably started doing this at 8 months, but Mommy forgot!

Some of your favorite toys are still anything that makes music, anything that has buttons, and your push toys. You also love your stuffed animals and love to snuggle them if they are on the floor. You also love anything you're not supposed to have, such as our phones, the remote, etc! Typical baby!

Your 5th tooth started coming in just before your 10 month birthday. You have three on top now and two on the bottom! They have been giving you a little bit of an issue lately and you've been running a slight fever and were a bit fussy. But other than chewing on everything you seem to be ok! The new teeth have allowed us to try new foods. You now eat a lot of different table foods. Your favorites are anything sweet for breakfast (you like cinnamon rolls for instance!), peas, breads, carrots, and grapes. We were feeding you grapes nearly every day and you started to poop more - woo hoo! Guess we should keep that up! So far we haven't ran into many table foods that you did not like besides beans... not sure why you didn't like them! Oh well! We're slowly trying to add more protein into your diet, but Mommy is just paranoid you'll choke on things since you don't have molars!

You still love your bottle and take 7 ounces every 4 hours. You now hold your bottle all the time, unless you are just being super lazy! A few times we have laid you down with it and just sat beside you doing something else. You were fine with that! Mommy still treasures bottle time though because I get to snuggle you for 5-10 minutes.

The only negative thing about you right now is that you are slowly developing an attitude! You have twice now laid down on the floor, flat, and cried. It's really quite amusing, sorry! ;-) It is a rare, RARE, occasion though for you to be upset. We hope the temper tantrums stay this short and mild until you are at least 3! hehe... We can hope, right?

Growth wise you have gained weight and have gotten even longer! I don't know any stats since we haven't been to the doctor since the beginning of January. At your 9 month checkup you were 19 pounds, so I would bet that you are at least 20 pounds now! You now wear size 12 pants because they hardly make any in a 9-12mo size. You could fit into some of your 9 month ones, but not many. You also wear 9-12mo tops. Mommy is sad because they stop making "baby" clothes when the size hits 12 months. It is hard to find onesies in a 9-12mo size! Mostly there are just t-shirts! We have been layering long sleeve onesies with t-shirts a lot lately since it has been warm during the day but cold in the mornings. When you do wear shoes you wear a size 4. But, you hate shoes! You're in a size 3 diaper during the day and a 4 at night, but it doesn't seem to really make a huge difference!

You are still the world's best baby, and we still thank God every single day for you. You are such a joy and you make us so happy. We love you more than we could ever even imagine. You are our precious baby boy and we are so blessed to be your parents!

Happy Birthday, my sweet boy! I love you!!!!

Love,
Mommy

Nine Months!

Happy Nine Month Birthday, Clayton Scott!

This month you have been on the move, non-stop! Crawling, pulling up, and even walking with assistance are your new favorite activities! You are always going-going-going! We are having to use all of our energy to keep up with you, silly boy! You took your first steps behind your push car on December 10th. Since then you have started cruising around the coffee table and you will walk when we hold your hands or arms. For Christmas Pop & Gia got you a dinosaur that you can either walk behind or sit on and ride. This is your new favorite toy as you can really get to moving behind it! You will walk and walk until you get stuck and we have to turn you around. You also love to sit on the dinosaur and be pulled around. hehe... It's really funny and you look like such a big boy!

This month held your first Christmas! You received so many great presents! You love all of your toys and have played with them all non-stop. You love your rocking horse that Santa brought you and you love your music entertainment table from Nana and Papa! You also received a lot of super cute clothes - but I'm sure you don't care about that right now! Mommy loves it though! hehe! You love dancing to all of the Christmas decorations that play music. Pop & Gia have a low-rider car that plays the low-rider song and bounces... you think that thing is amazing! It is so funny to watch you dance to it!

You finally were able to meet your first cousin this month! Little baby Charley is so tiny and you aren't quite sure what to think of her yet! You wish that you were able to touch her and play with her already, but you're just too big and she's too small! At all of our family Christmas events you were able to play with all of your other second cousins, and that was lots of fun for you! You were an absolute ANGEL at all of our family Christmases. We didn't know what you would do around the large crowds, but you were just so good! You never cease to amaze us with how wonderful you are!

Somehow you were lucky enough to experience your first snow this month! It snowed twice this month, and you even had a white Christmas! You weren't quite sure about the snow... after all, it was pretty cold! But you didn't cry or anything! You loved to look out the window and watch it snow! With the cold weather came your first real illness. We had to take you to the pediatrician because you had some sort of sinus infection. Luckily the antibiotics worked wonders, as well as having Nana here as your personal nurse! ;-) You still have not ever been super fussy while you were sick.... we're so lucky yet again!

There is a song called "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth", and you were sure singing it this month! Ok, not really, but Mommy sang it for you! For over two weeks now your top two teeth have been coming in! One is poking through the gum and the other is nearly all the way out. You look so cute with your little snaggle tooth! We can tell that you've been teething because if your toy is not in your mouth then your hands are! Also, your cheeks get red and chapped when you teethe. Hopefully they'll come in soon and stop bugging you so much!

The day you turned nine months old was New Years Eve. You came with Mommy & Daddy to the St. Lawrence New Years dance! You liked the music and liked getting lots of attention from all of our family! Around 10pm you finally gave up and fell asleep so Pop took you home so that Mommy & Daddy could stay and enjoy the dance! We sure missed you when the ball dropped and it changed to 2012 though!

You haven't grown much since last month, but your hair sure has! It is really filling in and is so pretty, I mean, handsome! ;-) You are still wearing 6-9mo onesies and 9-12mo pants. You barely fit into any of your shoes though - not like you really need them though! You are still in a size 3 diaper but we just moved you to a size 4 at nighttime. At your doctors appointment you were 19 pounds, so by now you should be about 20lbs. You're still perfectly average!

You have been eating your cereal puffs so great, and now eat a bunch of other table foods... mostly just breads though. We haven't tried any meats yet because you just don't have teeth for it! We tried a new baby food called turkey and rice and you really liked it! So now you will eat sweet potatoes, squash, and turkey and rice. Picky boy! At least you still take your bottles like a champ!

We say it every month but we are so blessed to have you in our lives. You are seriously the best baby ever!!!! Everyone who meets you tells us how good you are, and how cute you are! ;-) We love you so much! In less than 4 months your baby sister will be here, and we can only hope that she will be half as good as you are! You are the light of our lives and we love you so much!

Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

Love,
Mommy

Eight Months!

Happy Eight Month Birthday, Clayton Scott!

Mommy has decided that I am going to invent some sort of machine so that you stop growing up so fast! This past month you have become mobile... and our life has changed drastically! ;-) You started crawling shortly after your 7 month birthday. You first major crawls happened on November 5th. It was so fun to watch you! Once you figured out what you were doing.... watch out! You're on the move! You don't slow down! You now always want to be down and crawling. You love to explore and go from toy to toy. You also love to play "fetch" with yourself. You will hit a toy (mostly a ball or block, but you've even used water bottles!) and chase after it, only to hit it again once you get to it. It's really funny to watch you entertain yourself! You hardly ever get bored and fussy anymore because you are able to change your scenery and find new toys! You do get fussy though when we won't or can't let you down to crawl! Your clothes are now always dirty from you crawling around! You're quite speedy too! You make record time!

Shortly after you started crawling you decided that you needed a new trick.... pulling up! You started pulling up on November 14th . You now pull up on anything you can, including the side of your crib! We had to drop your mattress already because we were afraid that you would climb out! You can pull up and then stand for long periods of time, and you love it! Every morning when we go in to your room you are standing at the edge of your crib waiting for us! It's really cute! It won't be long until your cruising along the edge of the couch - and then - walking! Oye... again, where is the machine to make you stop growing?!

One of your favorite activities, besides crawling and pulling up, is dancing to music! Anytime that you hear music you start swaying back and forth. It is so cute! We love how much you love music and we can't wait until you are big enough to start playing musical instruments! You make your own music for now! ;-) Speaking of your own music, you love blowing raspberries and making a smacking noise with your mouth. Your still not speaking a whole lot (you just blabber dadada) but we're hoping you start saying some words soon! We can't wait to hear you call us mama and dada for the first time! Your other noises are LAUGHS. Oh my goodness you laugh so much! You are so ticklish and you love being scared. We love the sweet sound of your laughter. It brings so much joy to our lives!

You have graduated to the big boy bathtub - no more baby tub for you! Now you just sit and play with your toys. Once we took you out of the small tub you stopped splashing so much. Maybe it's because you have tons of toys now! Who knows! You still love bath time though, but man do you hate getting dressed afterward! We think you'd rather run around in your birthday suit, but it's too cold for that!

"Panking" is still one of your all time favorite activities. Haha! You hit everything!!! You also like to bounce a lot when we are holding your arms and you're standing. You probably learned how to bounce from your exersaucer! Another favorite activity is making a mess! You love to go over to our bookshelf in the game room and pull all of the dvd's off the bottom shelf. Guess Mommy & Daddy need to babyproof some! At least they are not fragile! You definitely like getting into things you're not supposed to. For instance, you love chewing on plugs... not a good habit!

You had some awesome firsts this month - besides all of the mobility changes! You went to your first Aggie football game in College Station for starters! You were such a good baby! You didn't cry or fuss the entire game. You took a nap during the 3rd quarter and when the game was over you were ready to crawl on Kyle Field! That's right - you have touched Kyle Field waaaayyyy before most people/kids have! We think that is really special! So many people complimented on how cute you were and how neat it was that you were there, and plus, crawling on Kyle Field! You're such a good Aggie already!

Yes, this is what you did during your pictures!

You also had your first Thanksgiving(s) this month! We had our first turkey dinner at Opa and Oma's house in San Antonio with Uncle Ross and Uncle Adam and Blakely! It was a lot of fun. You had sweet potatoes! We had another meal on Thanksgiving day at Pop & Gia's house with the family here! And finally we had another meal at Grandma & Grandpa's house where we fed you cereal!

Eating wise you are exploring a lot of new foods, but you are still super picky! You now get to eat the little cereal things called puffs that are made for babies. You also eat some table foods that we know are ok for you like fruits and veggies. You love to make a mess with any food that we give you! You're still picky though and won't eat any fruit that is smushed up into baby food. In fact you hated peaches, pears and bananas when we gave them to you. Your all time favorite food is still sweet potatoes! You still looooove your bottle and drink 7 ounces every 4 hours, pretty much like clockwork! You're very predictable on when you need a bottle or a nap, and we like that!

Mommy and Daddy like taking you to town now because you can ride in the shopping cart and you can sit in a high chair at a restaurant! It makes it a lot easier to cart you around places! You love riding in the shopping cart! We think you like looking at all of the people and things on the shelves!

Appearance wise you still look like your daddy but you have mommy's chubby baby cheeks!  You're finally starting to get some hair too! Woo hoo! Now it doesn't just stick straight up! Your hair is a light brown color and your eyes are still a gorgeous blue! We love it! You're wearing 9-12mo pants and 9mo onesies. You have long legs! You're still in a size 3 diaper - which you've been in for a while now!

You sleep great and have been sleeping from 7:30-8ish to 7-7:30ish every day. Mommy & Daddy are ok with not getting to sleep in on weekends anymore... you are worth it! Some times we can feed you your morning bottle and you'll go back to sleep in bed with us until about 9. That's always nice! =)

You truly are the BEST baby, and you truly bring such an immense amount of joy to our lives. We never knew that we could love you this much! You are so wonderful and we are so blessed to have you as our son! Now, let's hope your little sister is as good! ;-)

Little toot!

We love you so much, baby boy! Happy Birthday!

Love,

Mommy

Seven Months!

Happy Seven Month Birthday, Clayton Scott!

You have changed even more this month than in the past - as if that is possible! You have really started to develop your own personality, and we love to see what new changes you'll bring us day to day! For starters you are so close to crawling! You can crawl backwards and on 10/30 you took two "steps" forward. However, most of the time you just move either both legs and not the arms, or your arms and not your legs. It's quite amusing! For us, not you! You get a little frustrated when you aren't getting anywhere, or are going backwards instead of forwards! You are excellent at turning circles! So soon you will be crawling forward like a big boy!

You sit up so well now and so it is easy to stick you down with some toys in front of you for a while. You've taken a couple of falls but you are able to shake it off pretty well! Your favorite toys to play with while sitting are your cookie jar (plastic jar with shapes that sings!) and your gator at Pop & Gia's house. Your all time favorite toy right now though is your teething giraffe. Nana nicknamed the giraffe Clarice because she is French, but I think her real name is Sophie! ;-) You have worn the spots right off that giraffe! It will keep you and your teeth happy for quite a while at a time!

You still have your boredom issues if you are in the same place too long. You let us know by screaming that you are done and ready for the next thing! Sometimes at work all you need is a change of scenery, so we'll take you outside! One day we let you scoot around the warehouse in your walker. You entertained yourself for quite sometime, spinning yourself backwards in circles! Speaking of work, you love everyone there! I don't know what everyone is going to do when you eventually get a nanny!

A fun development that you just made on your 7 month birthday was that you danced for the first time! Daddy has a stuffed Reveille dog, A&M's mascot, and it plays the Aggie War Hymn. Well the other day Daddy had it in his office and played it for you and you danced along to the music! So far we can only get you to dance to Reveille and the War Hymn! Oh, our sweet baby Aggie! So fun!!!

Mommy and Daddy get a huge kick out of this, but your all time favorite activity is "pankin" (spanking) things! You hit and drum on EVERYTHING! Everyone we talk to says that they have never seen a baby pank things as much as you! By the way, Gia came up with the pankin' slang! There has to be some drumming skills in there somewhere with all of the hitting that you do! We just hope that you don't continue this trend and hit your sibling one day! ;-)

One of your favorite activities is still bath time. Now you are big enough to sit up in the tub, so the second we set you in the water you go to town splashing the water all over yourself, Mommy, and the floor! It is really a funny sight to see! You just really like hitting things, see?! Your other favorite activity... being scared! We don't know why you love it so much but you will laugh so hard when someone scares you! It's really fun to get you rolling!

One thing that is pretty funny, but I guess usual for kids, is that you love new toys. It's as if you know they are new! When we buy you a new toy you will be hooked on that thing for at least a week... then it's time to move on to something else! Luckily for you, and us, you have plenty of toys! And, people love you so much that they keep buying you more! ;-) You're not spoiled or anything!

You have really started to take an interest in Pearl, your puppy. Every time she comes in the room you smile, even though she licks you in the face! We know that she will make a great dog for you and that you two will be great friends! Mommy loves this! Another thing I love is that you are so ticklish! It is so funny! This is going to make your toddler years really fun!!!

Food wise you are still taking your bottle like a champ and eating between 7 and 8 ounces every feeding. You have tried a variety of foods now and the only thing you did not like was bananas, surprisingly! We thought for sure you would love them! After all it is one of the few baby foods that still smells and looks like it's original food item, ha! You like all of the vegetables we have given you, and your favorite is still squash. While Nana was here she taught you how to hold your bottle! You don't do it every bottle but you will hold it for quite a while!

Yes, you're eating your toes!

Nana also was very awesome and helped us start to wean you from your beloved pacifier. You now pretty much only have the paci during nap time, night time, and if you are just really upset. I bet you only have the paci a total of a few hours a day. Major improvement! We are ok with you still having it at night for now because we know it helps you sleep! You are a great sleeper and sleep for nearly 12 hours at a time, but the paci is definitely what keeps you calm and sleeping! Some nights Mommy and Daddy have to put the paci back in your mouth if you wake up, but that's ok because we'd rather take away your paci then try to wean you of thumb sucking later on!

You're still babbling on and on but usually only saying "dada". We can't wait for the day when you use your words in context!!! You like to carry on conversations with people when they talk to you. If they are saying dada then you repeat. If they are screaming, like Mimi likes to do, then you scream back! It's pretty entertaining!

Your 7 month birthday was Halloween, so you celebrated this past weekend by attending the Lions Club carnival! You were Curious George and Daddy dressed up as the Man in the yellow hat! You even won a prize in the costume contest! We can't wait until next year when you can really participate!

The only negative thing that I have to say is that you are developing a bit of an attitude. We laugh it off right now! ;-) For instance, if you are playing with something that you're not supposed to, like a highlighter at work, and we take it away you will start to cry! One day Mommy took away something and you started bawling! This is not a good indication of what it will be like when you are two! We are trying to teach you "no" and even though it's hard to upset you, it has to be done! Believe us, it's for your own good!

Growth wise you are wearing 9 month pants and 6-9 month onesies. Most of your PJ's are 9 month sized although they are a little big on you. Mommy thinks you have long legs and a short torso like Uncle Adam! Before this month you were always perfectly wearing the baby sizes. Now we're having to mix and match sizes! It's been cold and hot here too, so finding the appropriate weather clothes has been a bit of a challenge! You are still in a size 3 diaper! You're about 20 pounds now which means we are moving you up to a big boy car seat! You are not fitting very well into your infant carrier anymore! Our baby is growing up!!!

We love watching you grow and change, and we can't wait to see what the future has to hold for you! You have been, and are, the best baby and the best gift from God. We love you so much!!!!!

Love,
Mommy

Six Months!

Happy Six Month, HALF-A-YEAR, Birthday, Clayton Scott!

We cannot believe that our baby boy is already half a year old. Wow. Time has been flying by, and you have been impressing us daily with all of your new skills and talents! You've made a lot of progress this past month with all of your physical developments. You can sit for a long period of time without falling over, as long as you lean forward or sit up straight. Sometimes you get a bit too ambitious when going for your toys and you fall over!  You can stand if you hold on to something for a while as well! We have to stand you up first though. No pulling up yet! Lastly, you finally figured out how to use your arms and you can now get up on all four limbs and rock back and forth. It's only a matter of time before you crawl! You will go after toys and can turn circles, but haven't figured out the whole moving forward thing yet! That's ok with Mommy! We still need to baby-proof the house!

This month you started eating vegetables and you've loved everything we've tried. We had to change your diet from soy milk to cow's milk, so you've been off your veggies for about a week. Before that we tried sweet potatoes, green beans, and squash! Squash was definitely your favorite of the three! You would eat your whole bowl and even eat more! We stopped the rice cereal all together because you hated it, and it was only adding to your constipation issues. (You can thank me for the embarrassment later, but yes, you have trouble pooping!)

I wrote about it when it happened, but you had TWO teeth come in this month! You had been teething since you were three months old, so we knew that you were working on something! One day we felt in your mouth and - voila! - two teeth! They are your bottom teeth and they are super sharp! You now like to chew on things and scrape your teeth against it, such as the spoon, or a toy. Maybe it feels good on those gums!

We still get compliments everywhere we go on how you are the happiest and smiley-est baby ever. You are just always so happy! Mommy and Daddy barely even know what to do when you are fussy because we never have to deal with it!!! We love how happy you are! After all, what is there to be sad about? You're pretty spoiled and special! ;-)

You have started to have a bit of boredom issues. If you are in the same place too long then you'll start to get fussy, or your new thing is that you'll just start to scream! You'll even carry on conversations with us.... through screaming back and forth! You have learned how to use your voice in other ways though! You can say "da-da-da". You will copy us as we say it and move our mouths. It's precious! We're pretty sure you don't know who you're talking about yet! Too bad I can't get you to say "ma-ma-ma"!!!

Once we moved you into your crib you've really gotten into a bedtime routine, and it is GLORIOUS! You start to get tired around 7:30-8, and are usually asleep within 15 minutes of us taking you up to your room. You must like the atmosphere we have set up in there! You have a sound machine that plays classical music all night, and a helicopter night-light that shines just enough light! You sleep so well now! Most mornings you do not wake up until at least 7:30. This is a huge improvement from last month, as it was a miracle if you slept past 7! Some mornings we have to get you up and take you to work in your PJ's since you're still sleeping! We hate waking you up, but we gotta get to work!

You are still coming to work with us almost every day. You go to daycare on Tuesday's and every other Friday. You are the HIT of the daycare! When we bring you in all of the little kids swarm around you saying "Clayton, Clayton!". They think you are too cute! You're the only baby so you get plenty of attention! Not like you mind! ;-)

Growth wise you are still perfectly average! Your height and weight are still in the 50th percentile! You just moved into 6-9 month clothing, but the whole previous month you were exclusively wearing 3-6mo. You still wear a good amount of your 3-6 clothes, but your PJ's are getting too short and so are some of your pants. You're in a size 3 diaper, which will fit another month probably.

Some BIG news this month was that we finally announced that you're going to be a big brother!!! We've known since shortly after your 4 month birthday, but waited a while to tell everyone! We know that you'll be an amazing big brother, whether the new baby is a boy or a girl! You'll be best friends hopefully since you'll be so close in age!

Some of your likes and dislikes: You love your links, exersaucer, the toy bar on your carseat, baths, screaming (hehe), your taggies ball, and your crinkly book. You love sitting upright and napping in your swing, oh and we can't forget your PACI! You do not like being held like a baby, sleeping on your back (you sleep on your stomach most nights, even though we put you to sleep on your back), and you don't like being put down when you're in the mood to be held. Other than that you are so truly happy!

Each month you grow more and more, and we love you more and more. Who knew that was even possible? You are so amazing and you have brought immense joy to everyone's lives.

We love you so much, sweet boy! Happy Birthday!

Love,
Mommy

Five Months!

Happy Five Month Birthday, Clayton Scott!

You are still changing by leaps and bounds! Once you started moving a lot during your 4th month you didn't stop! Your thing this month has been your attempt at crawling.... Mommy and Daddy better get ready! You spend a lot of time on your tummy, since when we put you on your back you immediately roll over. So, I guess you were getting tired of just sitting there and decided to start moving!You will tuck your legs up towards your tummy, duck your head down, and push off! One day you made so much progress when Mommy wasn't looking and you bonked your head pretty good against the side of the desk! Don't worry, we watch you much more closely now! While we were in Little Rock you attempted to use your arms to help yourself crawl, but they are just not strong enough yet. Once they are though - watch out!!! I know that I talked about this last month, but this month you have really made it your mission to start moving!

Your other big movements include being a little spastic baby while we are changing you. It's really funny how much and how fast you can move your arms and legs! We also have to make sure that you don't roll over on us while changing you! One day you rolled over really quick and so were just flashing your hiney in the air for a minute! ;-) Ahh, don't you love those kinds of stories!

Since this summer has been so hot (about 70 days over 100 degrees), we have spent a lot of time in the pool! Pop and Gia built a pool in the backyard and you have loved swimming in it! We've taken you to pools in other places too, and every time you love the water! You will play "potchi potchi", which means you splash the water. You'll splash so hard that you will soak your face, but you don't seem to mind! Speaking of water, you got to go on your first boat ride this month! We took you to Lake Brownwood with the rest of the Hillger family. We had a great time taking you out on the pontoon boat!

You just started to do a new thing when you see someone for the first time in a while. This could be a difference of a day, an hour, however long you want! You will be in our arms and you will lean forward and grin so big! It's as if you are just so excited to see the person and you can't wait to get out of our arms to them! One other new thing is that you now know what your paci is, where it goes, and how to put it in your mouth! We can hold it in front of you and you will grab it and put it in your mouth! Rather impressive! It's funny to Mommy though... seems as if since you know what it is maybe we should take it away now! I don't think that'll happen for a few more months though!

Being active is a big part of your life apparently! You move non-stop! You are always hitting things, batting at your toys, grabbing everything within your reach (and of course putting it straight into your mouth!)... It's hard to keep up with you sometimes! You love when we put you in your exersaucer and you can hit and play with all of the fun toys on it. You will also bounce up and down! Links are still your favorite toys, followed closely by anything that spins, and of course, anything that makes music!!!! You LOVE music! We have filmed you moving around like crazy and then we'll start some music and you instantly calm down and just listen. It's so cute! You also will let out a huge grin when Mommy plays or sings you "You are my sunshine". Sweetest thing!

A rare negative for you has recently developed. Mommy & Daddy really didn't think this would develop until you were atleast a toddler! You will get mad when we take something away from you!!! Mostly you only get mad when we take paper away from you. You have become obsessed with crunching and chewing on paper. Of course this is not very good so we'll take the paper away. When we do you start crying! It's funny but sad at the same time! You're showing more and more personality each day... you little stinker!

Your sleeping habits are getting much better! You now sleep almost all the way through the night in your crib!! You usually start to make grunting noises around 5am or so, and Mommy will get up and put your paci back in your mouth. You instantly fall back asleep and stay that way until 7am. It's been so much better! Plus, you go to sleep on your own and usually at a good time of night. We always know when you're ready to sleep because you start grunting! It's cute! We are thinking that the rice cereal is helping, plus you nap less during the day now. Speaking of rice cereal... you now eat a new food! You pretty much hate it, but we add some apple sauce and you tolerate it! Some nights you eat more than others. You still prefer your bottles! You are drinking about 7 ounces each bottle (we just bumped you up from 6 ounces). I don't think you've not finished a bottle in a looonggg time! You little piggy!

Size wise you haven't grown a whole lot. Maybe just outwards, hehe... You are wearing size 3-6mo, and still a size 2 diaper. We are about to switch your night time diapers to a size 3 though! You're weighing roughly 17-18 pounds. Appearance wise, you are the cutest baby on the face of the planet. Ok, we are biased! But really! You are so handsome! Your hair is getting lighter and lighter (what little hair there is!) and your eyes are still a gorgeous shade of blue! Right around your iris there is a small circle of hazel, so we think either your eyes will stay blue or maybe turn hazel. They definitely don't look like they're going to turn brown! We love that about you! So handsome!

I say it every month and I will keep saying it all of our lives.... you bring such joy to our lives. We love you so much and can't image what we ever did before you were around! You are probably the world's best baby and we greatly thank you for spoiling us in that way!!! You are such a blessing from God!

We love you more than you'll ever know!

Happy Birthday, my sweet boy! I love you!

Love,
Mommy

Four Months!

Happy Four Month Birthday, Clayton Scott!!

You are growing so much! This past month held a lot of really wonderful firsts for you! First off, you rolled over from back to front! This was a major accomplishment for you at such a young age! Now we can't put you anywhere without you wanting to roll over! You also gave us your first big laughs! We were sitting around Grandma's kitchen one day after lunch and Gia had you just rolling laughing! It was the sweetest sounds we had ever heard! Daddy was able to get it on video with his phone! You now will laugh for us when you are in the mood and we just love hearing it every time!

We started putting you in your exersaucer this month, and so far you really like it! You still can't sit up in the middle, so you lean to the front. This still allows you to play (or munch on!) all of the toys! You can even kick off the bottom and bounce yourself up and down! It won't be long until you are in that thing non-stop!

We were very busy this month, and took you all over the US! Ok, not really, but it sure did feel like it! We traveled to San Antonio to see Opa, Oma, Uncle Adam, Uncle Kevin, and Sarah! Gia came along to visit and help babysit you! It was a great weekend! We also took you this past weekend for your first airplane ride! We flew to Las Vegas from Midland so that we could visit your Uncles, and so we could go to a horse show in Flagstaff! You were SUCH a good baby! You didn't cry at all on the plane! Everyone around us commented on how good you were! Mommy was very nervous about flying with you, but as always, you showed us what an outstanding baby you are! The horse show was a lot of fun and everyone thought you were so cute! You loved hanging out with Nana and Aunt Kassie and Kristen. You also got to meet Auntie Diwen when we were in Vegas! She gave you the cutest little giraffe named Nigel! He'll be a good buddy of yours!

We celebrated your first 4th of July this month... but it was very different from the 4th's we are used to. This year, since it hasn't rained in forever, we had to watch fireworks on TV. Bummer! We had Pop & Gia and Jade & Omer over for hot dogs and snacks. It was still fun, just not what we are used to! You had a super cute onesie though! ;-) Mommy made sure you were dressed patriotically!

You are constantly moving! You really are quite the little wiggle worm! Like I said before, we can't lay you anywhere without you rolling over. Plus, you recently decided that laying on your tummy was for the birds, and so have started to tuck your knees up under you and push off!!! You're on your way to crawling already! Mommy is going through some serious "where did my baby go?!" moments! Mommy and Daddy need to baby-proof the house because it won't be too long until you're mobile! You really are advanced for your age!

Playing with Max!

Teething has been an issue, and this past week you really had a rough go of it. By rough I mean you were slightly fussier than normal! ;-) Your hands are ALWAYS in your mouth.... if your paci is not! You stick everything that is in your hand in your mouth as well. We have a "book" that is just pictures and crinkly paper. It is your favorite! It made the long plane ride bearable and you love to play with it and stick it in your mouth! We have tried to give you teethers but you still don't want to hold them. Mommy thinks you have a small mouth or something! ;-)

See? Hands in mouth! ;-)

You still love your swing, love bath time, and love looking outward. I don't know if I mentioned it last month of not but you do not like to be held like a baby anymore. Unless of course you are realllly tired! You do like be snuggled and put to sleep with your Douglas (Douglas is your little horse lovey).

Definitely not ready for a sibling, huh? ;-)

You still eat great and this past month we bumped you up to 6 ounces at a time! Wow! You eat it without a problem most of the time! You still eat every 4 hours during the day, but have been letting us go 8 to 12 hours at night! Woo hoo! You still wake up once a night around 4am or so, but Mommy has been putting your paci back in and you fall back asleep. We still have not moved you to your crib since you don't sleep all night. We're hoping that once you start rice cereal here soon that you will sleep better. You're starting to outgrow the cradle, so we need to move you soon! You move so much that we always find you in different positions when you wake up. When you're in a pack-n-play you will turn 180 degrees just by kicking yourself around! It's really funny!

Most of your clothes are finally 3-6 month. However, you can still wear a bunch of your 0-3 onesies, or your just 3 month ones. We only bumped you up the size about midway through this month. Some of the 3-6 clothes are too loose on your body, and the PJ's are a little long. You wear a size 2 diaper very comfortably, so we won't have to move you for a bit! When Mommy weighed you at home you were about 14 1/2 lbs. We won't go to the doctor for another week and a half (thanks to back-to-school), so we won't have any official measurements until then!

Every month, every day, we thank God for you. You are such a blessing. You are the happiest baby and we are so happy that you are ours! We are so grateful! Can't wait to see what next month holds!

We love you more and more each day.... if that is even truly possible! =)

Happy Birthday, my sweet baby boy. I love you!

Love,
Mommy