Pumpkin carving

I cannot remember if I ever carved a pumpkin or not but I decided this year we were going to! By we I mean Jason as I said what I thought looked good :)

This was the part I was looking foward to, the seeds. However, they seeds did not turn out right and were actually a big waste of time!

Clayton thought he would help out a little...he only put one seed in his mouth!

Clayton named him "ummen"

                                                                                                                                            

All in all I think it turned out really cute!

Flight to GA and Jug Tavern Fest

Thursday (10/22/09) Clayton and I flew to GA from Richmond and I have to say it was one of the best airport experiences I have had…the flight was not as great. Security was a breeze and the TSA agents opened my stroller and unlaced Clayton’s shoe laces for me which turned out to be a giant help. We got to our gate just in time to get everything organized in the bag for the flight and then boarded on to an almost empty flight; Clayton had his own seat which was great! We were on the plane for maybe two hours total. We got back to my moms around 10:30 pm, way past C’s bed time so he was past the sleepy stage and on to CRAZY! It took me forever to get him settled and the next day proved to be the result of a late late bedtime.

Friday we spent the day with my dad, stepmom and my grandmother. We had a great time, relaxed and just caught up. After the day at my dad’s we went back to my mom’s and my mom’s family came over for some yummy chili. Again we just relaxed and talked. My cousin is having her first baby, Blair, in December and her sister is getting married in December also so there was a lot to talk about. Clayton has been practicing saying Blair for months but when it came time to say it to my cousin he refused.

As I mentioned earlier Clayton was a monster Friday. Normal Clayton is talkative and sweet, he will give hugs and kisses. Now I am not saying that he doesn’t act like an 18 month old with tantrums and a little attitude but normally more sweet and happy than not. Well…after not enough sleep paired with junk food and massive overstimulation Clayton was acting very weird. When someone spoke to him he would squeeze his eyes closed and turn his head…rude! He was also virtually silent…not like him at all.

Jug Tavern Festival

After some good sleep (in the bed with my mom) Friday night he was back to normal on Saturday. My mom, aunt, Clayton and I went to The 1st Annual Jug Tavern Festival in the Winder (once known as Jug Tavern) square. It was actually really fun. I got some Christmas shopping done and Clayton munched on some boiled peanuts.

Clayton was so sleepy from the day that he was falling asleep at dinner

Overall the start of our road trip has been very fun and I am excited to leave in the morning headed to the beach! (Obviously I wrote this last Saturday night)

proof that kiddos learn from watching

I am a very modest person. I hate bathing suits and shorts and only wear these things because well GA, TX, and VA get very hot in the summer! The point is becuase of my extreme modesty I am not the type to walk around the house naked or shower with the door open or anything that would allow for my body to be seen. I think I may have accidently made Clayton the same way. When I take his shirt off he immediatly covers his little "boobies" and acts shy...i think it is cute but I hope I havent caused him to think that you should always cover up! After all he is a boy and should feel like he can run around without a shirt when appropriate...maybe it is a stage, we shall see!

Starbucks Pumpkin Painting

I think I may have mentioned this before but the Starbucks in our area does  story time on Thursday mornings. They usually read a story and then do some sort of craft. Clayton loves and has fallen so in love with his teacher, Ms Taryn! He even made it on their Facebook page. A few weeks ago they painted pumpkins and I thought it was such a cute idea but also really nervous about how well Clayton would do...he is still in the eat random things stage. He did great though!

He was looking at Jill, she is working on her photography skills and Clayton loves to help her with it!

Using his right hand

Now his left?!?!

Such concentration! The pumpkin painting was so fun. I think it may be a new tradition!

Pumpkin Patch

As far back as I remember I have visited a pumpkin patch every fall and I wanted nothing more than to pass that tradition onto Clayton. Last year we had the privilege of going to Marks Melon Patch in South Georgia while Jason was R&R. This year I thought I had it timed out so that our visit to GA would fall around time for the patch, turns out it actually will (next weekend) but then Jason would not be able to go. So thanks to some friends that are actually from around here we found a few patches and decided to try out the Ashland Berry Farm. It was a lot of fun! We went while Jason's grandparents were down and I think they enjoyed that fall activity with us. I love the look of changing trees! I am hoping this sudden winter that skipped over fall weather doesn't mean that we aren't going to get the leaves I hear about in this area.

Clayton tried out every pumpkin he could but never really could find the one suited for him. As you can see from his clothes, he was a disaster but had so much fun playing in the dirt...I did not have as much fun getting all that caked in pumpkin and dirt off of his shoes!

Jason and Clayton in the pumpkin display as you entered the patch. If you look closely you can see that Clayton only has one shoe on...the other was sitting behind Jason, luckily J saw it as he stood up or we could have had some major issues.

Grandparents

I wanted to take a moment to talk about grandparents. Clayton is fortunate and blessed with 3 grandmothers, 3 grandfathers, 2 great-grandmothers and 1 great grandfather. Unfortunately many grandparents also makes for some tricky holidays but I'm sure I will blog about that later with the holidays, in which we will be homeless are coming up! This past weekend Jason's grandparents came to visit us and it was one of the best weekends we have had in a while. There was no pressure to keep them entertained the whole time yet I feel like they really got a little glimpse into their great grandson's life. I have always wondered what it must feel like to see your parenting show through into your grand kids let alone your great grand kids. That is lessons and wisdom being passed to your kids, their kids, and their kids...that is so awesome to me!

Clayton and his great grandparents (October 2009)

Recently, my grandmother was hospitalized, she is doing much better and and taking much better care of herself now but for about a week I was forced to really look into our relationship and experience that whole issue of not knowing if they truly understand you or how you feel about them. Time becomes a gift and one that should never be taken for granted.

I hope that we are doing a good job of making sure that Clayton knows ALL of his loving grandparents and even though we are not able to see them very often that we take every opportunity to expose him to their love and life lessons. I hope that when our grandparents, C's great grandparents, look at our lives they are able to be proud that they raised children that were able to raise Jason and I so that we could pass all that knowledge and wisdom on to Clayton.

The history of our grandparents is remembered not with rose petals but in the laughter and tears of their children and their children's children. It is into us that the lives of grandparents have gone. It is in us that their history becomes a future. ~Charles and Ann Morse

Illinois

Clayton and Jason as the plane was taking off

On October 2 we flew to Chicago for a wedding of some very dear friends. Allen and Lindsey Parrish. Allen and Jason have been journeyed the Army together since the beginning of Jason's career (2006). They attended OBC/BOLCII together in Aberdeen,MD and were then placed in the same brigade at Ft. Hood together were they served overseas together. Allen has recently separated from the Army but he will forever remain in our Army family...point is we would not have missed his wedding for anything!

Clayton put on a show on the dance floor. Above he dances with his daddy.

Clayton found himself a date. She was so sweet and played and danced with him! He was in love!

This is the group. We spent every Saturday together before and for a few weeks after the guys deployment...One of the hardest parts of military life is making friends with bonds only we can understand and then having to go our separate ways.

This wedding was so kid friendly! They decorated the highchairs with sashes to match the chairs and gave each child a bag of candy corn and paper to color. This is Clayton chowing down on some candy corn...a little bit of a disaster but he had so much fun.

Clayton passed out!

This is where Clayton spent about an hour of the wedding! I have to say this child will sleep anywhere and he might have gotten that from me! And please note the candy cane stain on the pants, which did come out in the wash!

The morning before the wedding we decided to sight see. As it turns out there was not a whole lot to do in Dixon, Illinois. We did stumble across the boy hood home of Ronald Reagan! We also enjoyed some famous Chicago deep dish pizza- I have to say it was not my favorite but I am more of a thin crust light sauce kind of girl, but it was good non the less.

Overall it was a super fun trip. After we got home I realized that Chicago was featured in September issue of Parents. According to the article there is a lot to do there for kiddos so maybe one day we will go back and try Chicago from a different angle.

Traveling with Clayton

While Jason was deployed I traveled back home for 3 different month long stays. The first time my aunt flew out and drove back with us and I have to say that was a great trip, the other two times we flew. One flight experience was quick and easy while the other was a disaster! All and all though the travels were easy with the worst part being packing and trying to think of everything that could go wrong and be prepared for it (ex: Clayton peeing all over me in the plane...next time I also brought myself some extra clothes in the carry on). Since Jason has come home we have moved to VA from TX with a three week stay in between and taken 3 weekend trips all with other people and the last being this past weekend to Chicago for a wedding (whole blog on that to come!)

I think I have decided that the times I traveled or flew by myself seemed almost easier, not as fun but in my opinion a little easier. I have a really hard time focusing on the the task at hand when I am with other people because I am so concerned with their thoughts on my traveling or parenting abilities and I feel like I am holding them up or they are embarrassed by Clayton's toddler rants. So I get nervous and rush and then start to forget things or get mad...neither of which help the situation. I know that if I could step back and forget that there are others around me, be it strangers or family/friends and get Clayton and I taken care of the next step would be easier. For example, at the airport this weekend I chose to take the escalator instead of an elevator so that I wouldn't get separated from the group or hold anyone up. As we were topping the escalator our crappy umbrella stroller broke and closed on Clayton and while it may seem funny as you read it is was really scary to me. I was trying to move so that others cold get around and all this rushing resulted in a big ugly bruise on my knee and scared tears from both Clayton and I. We had to leave the stroller in the trash in Richmond...I should have not worried about other people and did I what I though was best for us. Now I have to buy another travel stroller!

Here is my conclusion (and this is my opinion...every other family or person may travel and have different thought process and fears than me): We cannot leave Clayton at home every time we take a trip we live to far from family and I love being with my son and want to take him everywhere so he can experience things also. Therefore we will travel with a child a lot and if we travel Clayton and I, as a family or in a group my focus and attention will from now on be Clayton and whether he is comfortable and his needs are met. My travel mates will either be adults who can take care of themselves and decide to wait on me or go on and catch up later or they will be children who will have there own adult to take care of them. Clayton is not a crazy child and behaves as well as a toddler and a toddler attention span will allow for but he is taking stress from me because I am so concerned with other people and what they may be thinking...should not be my problem, Clayton should be.

Another parenting lesson learned