I am Thankful for

J went back to Kuwait on October 30th leaving us roughly 4 months until he is home for the "good". My kids respond very well to knowing what is going on and how long until the next step. Clayton is obsessed with calendars...I have no idea who that came from. I love countdowns too and wanted a fun way to help the months pass but also be engaged in the time and not counting our days away.

For November doing a Thankful themed count down was a given. I made 30 leaves with my Cricut and each night we write what we are Thankful for and tape it to the cabinet. I'm going to add each day and update this post as we go along.

 

 

 

        

Which goal is our's again?

This "deployment" is going by at a snails pace and I am dragging right along with it. I am so used to being the busy commanders wife and on every board I could get myself on, that small town/civilian life was killing me...so I filled up the calendar!

 

The Y is like our second home and I love the staff and families there so I was super excited that Clayton wanted to play soccer there. He played on a really cute little team and had a blast! He loved the coach and made fast friends with his teammates.

Coach Mike and team Thunder

 

End of game high fives-all just friends in the end

 

The Y really pushes that at this age it is all about having fun and learning the skills of the sport along with listening and team building skills. There wasn't a goalie and they didn't keep score and while I don't always like that mentality in life it was ok for this league.

 

I will be the first to say I'm not planning college applications based on a soccer scholarship! Clayton "played" more than he played soccer but he enjoyed the team and learning and can't wait to move on to a new sport.

Sissy was at every game cheering on the "kids" with her Thunder shirt.

 

End of the year party- Getting his first trophy ever!!

Having pizza with his "girl" friend Ava. They go to school together too and are super cute together :)

 

Next up is basketball season. While Clayton may be in the 5th percentile in height he is going to rock that court...maybe

Wow Clayton it is hard to believe you are 5! You have become a little boy before I knew it.

I will never forget when they handed you to me at some crazy hour on the morning of April 13, 2008 after 29 hours of labor. I was terrified! What in the world was I going to do with this little human, how was I going to make a citizen out of you. So far I can say I think I have done a pretty good job as you are becoming more than I ever thought possible.

As a family of three we went from TX to VA to CA where we decided to add your sister to organized chaos of Army life. And from CA we returned home to GA while your Daddy is serving in Kuwait. We are a proud Army family and you are a resilient, fun, loving, sassy child who never meets a stranger and has no problem throwing yourself into a game of catch on a playground full of kids you don't know. These traits will serve you well as we continue traveling the world.

But you and I will always have a special bond. We survived, not just survived but thrived in our first deployment together. You and I- you a 2 week old brand new to life and I a scared new bride and mother. But we did it! And we are going to do it again (and again I'm sure).

At your last doctor's appointment you weighed in at 38# and 3ft 8in tall. On the small side but your personality makes up for it. You were perfect in ever other physical way and were a champ during those shots!

You are so smart and you are gearing up for Kindergarten were I'm sure you will be bored because you already know everything!!

I am so excited to see where this next year of life takes you and I know you are going to blossom wherever we plant you.

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You."

Happy Birthday Clayton-Love Mommy

Smart Start Soccer

Last spring Clayton seemed interested in sports so we gave Start Smart baseball a try! He really enjoyed so we gave soccer a try...

OK Manchester United here is your next big star!

Clayton's Early birthday weekend

Because Clayton and Charlotte's birthdays are so close together (2 weeks) and Easter usually falls into that time frame, birthday parties are tricky. Who gets the party, do they have a combined, do we go on a trip...This year we decided Clayton would get a trip and Charlotte would get the party since it was her 1st birthday. Easter weekend was a 4 day holiday for Jason so we chose that weekend for Clayton's trip.

Neither child are stoked about being in the car, Charlotte actually LOATHES the car so we wanted to go somewhere close but with lots of options. Legoland and Coronado Island are pretty close to each other and Coronado Island has a Navy base that we can stay at for super cheap and have access to a private beach...No Brainer!

We left Friday and did the Legoland Sealife Aquarium on the way to the Navy base. It wasn't the best aquarium I have ever been to but wasn't too overwhelming for the kids.

They had these cute little slides and climbing things periodically which was nice and let out some energy from having to walk behind the people that were really into the fish :)

All of the sea life Lego creatures were actually pretty cool.

Clayton and the giant crab!

The Aquarium closed before we ate dinner, which was probably best...you know how expensive those places can be!

The North Island Navy base.

The view from our room...I loved the fog!

Silly girl!

Sleepy boy

Another view from our room...Jason loved this!

That's Hotel Del Coronado in the background, it's haunted....

Day 2 of Lego land

While we waited for the 1 hour long line :(

Dino Charlotte

Clayton's first roller coaster

Snack time

On Clayton's actual birthday he opened his presents and had cake at home with just our little family.

I can't believe my little guy is 4!