One year and many many reasons to be thankful!

Happy 1st Birthday to our dear son Klayton! He is such a blessing to our family. We are thankful for his giggles, cuddles, health, sleep, love for his sisters, desire to learn and play, blue eyes, big smile...I could go on and on! He is such a sweet, sweet boy and I can't imagine our lives without him!

His 12 month stats:

Weight: 21 lbs 11 oz (around 35th percentile)

Height: 29 inches

He enjoys his new skill of walking. Now he can really chase after his sisters!

He "talks" quite a bit and with lots of expression in his voice. Even though he doesn't say the proper English word he gets his point across with the way he says it!

He has his one year molars and can chew just about anything. He even snatched a peanut that one of the girls dropped and chewed it up like he had had many before!

He loves jumping on the trampoline downstairs, climbing up slides the wrong way (he learned this from Hailey and Brynn for sure!), crawling through "tunnels", flipping light switches, eating, climbing up the stairs when he is supposed to be downstairs (little stinker - I think he feels he needs to motivate me to work out and do 100 flights of stairs a day!), pushing his trucks, chasing Hailey and Brynn, climbing on and off their beds at will, looking at books, and playing in the kitchen cupboards!

Before I get into the details of his one year birthday celebration, I need to catch up on a few other things...

We are thankful for LEAVES!! The kids had a blast jumping and sliding into the pile of leaves in our yard. Our neighbors so graciously share the leaves from their enormous trees with us :). A blessing for the kids - more work for daddy!

We are thankful for eating outside - less mess for mama to clean at the end of the meal!
The girls loved "helping" Klayton learn to walk. They would pull him along and he had to learn balance real quickly or he would fall straight on his face!!

Look at that sweet face :)

Brynn was a ladybug for trick-or-treating this year!

Hailey wanted to be a giraffe!

Our trio. We are all about borrowing costumes. We didn't have one to borrow in Klayton's size so we just put him in his favorite jersey and called him a football player. Hey - don't judge!

The girls got really excited about going house-to-house this year. After the 2nd house, the mantra was, "Next house! More candy!".
We passed on most things for Klayton but he did get some packs of crackers & goldfish so he did get to eat some of his treats. Some of our neighbors threw some in for "mom & dad" too :).
After we took the kids around our block, we came back home and handed out candy to everyone. Apparently Klayton thought he needed some Reeses Peanut Butter cups!
When we have a play date scheduled, the kids like to hang out right IN FRONT of the front door and wait for their friends. Nothing greets frients like a basket of toys for them to stumble over as they try to walk in the house!
We had lunch a little late after this particular play date so it was Klayton's naptime while we were eating. Apparently Klayton was TIRED because he couldn't even finish his lunch before falling asleep!

Being silly outside in one of our many beautiful fall days!

Brynn being silly

And Hailey - she always likes to be silly for the camera!

Klayton and Brynn coloring on the aqua doodle mat.

On Klayton's birthday (a Tuesday), Jason brought home cookies from the Great American Cookie Co. One of our family favorites!

Klayton trying to figure out his new toy.

Siblings!

Later that week, Hailey and Brynn helped make cookies and cupcakes for Klayton's birthday party on Saturday. Don't worry - we were done BEFORE they licked the spoons!

Birthday party dinner! Many of Klayton's favorites - BBQ beef, cheesy potatoes, homemade applesauce and pumpkin dip. Ok, the pumpkin dip is mama's favorite but his party was a good excuse to make it!

Cousins - the one year olds. Kate turned 1 a month before Klayton.

Hawkeye pillow pet. He likes to fall on this - body slam might be a more accurate word - so apparently it is quite soft!

And we have a couple dump trucks now! A boy's favorite toy!

So, I have been sucked into the pinterest craze. The cupcake idea came from pinterest and then in my own spark of creativity I spelled out the word ONE. Yes...I know. For me the non-crafty, non creative, let me pay you to make that type of person, this was quite the accomplishment!

Brown sugar cupcakes with Cinnamon cream cheese frosting and snickerdoodle cookies. We also had funfetti creations. Delicious!

Hailey and Brynn helped Klayton blow out his single candle. They just had to practice for their birthday coming up!

Klayton enjoyed his cupcake - so much so that a bath was REQUIRED after he consumed it. At least mama was smart enough to remove his shirt before this started.

In Klayton's words:

Hmmm....what is this??

Ah...it is sweet. I LIKE it...a lot!

It feels squishy when I squeeze it, I wonder what it feels like on my belly?? I might just smear it there....

Oh yes, this is yummy....and I love that I got to make a HUGE mess without anyone saying a word!

And a glass of water to wash it down!

We had a great birthday celebration for Klayton and appreciate all of our family that helped us celebrate! Thanks everyone!!

As the weather gets colder, we still try to get outside to burn off some energy. We have also visited the library and the kids love the library so that will be a weekly spot this winter.

Hailey and Brynn love to get bundled up and wear their fun hats!

They told me they were watching the clouds. :)

At nap time and night time, the girls have to tuck in their babies WITH their pacifiers so they all sleep together in Hailey and Brynn's room.

Klayton has found the light switch in his room which is right by the changing table. He is pretty proud of himself that he can turn the light on and off so I can change his diaper!
How sweet is this!?!? We switched over to whole milk the week Klayton turned one. But, he has some stiff requirements - it MUST be warm and it MUST be in a bottle or he will literally spit it out of his mouth. Hailey and Brynn love helping him with bottles and he is quite patient with them because even though he might prefer to hold it himself, he doesn't get mad when they put their hand on the bottle. Klayton stopped sleeping well when we switched to whole milk - he was very fussy and very gassy and up from 12:30-4 AM or other very long and middle of the night hours. So, in talking to some friends I switched him over to soy milk. The first night after the switch he slept 13 hours and took a 3 hour nap. Talk about a sleep deprived child. Hallelujah for soy!! He is sleeping much better now. I hope to switch back to cow's milk eventually because soy is so expensive, but for now I am taking the sleeping baby!

An update on the girls - they are both doing GREAT with the big potty. Night accidents stopped shortly after I last posted and Hailey will go in public restrooms. Yay!!!!

We have SO very much to be thankful for. I am going to repost some words from a good friend of mine as sometimes we overlook the most basic things... I hope all of you had a wonderful thanksgiving and took time to be grateful in your thanksgiving traditions. Most importantly I am thankful for a Savior who loves and forgives and is always with us - in the times of blessing and the times of trial.

Another dirty diaper means we have children in our lives that are healthy and live at home rather than the hospital or some other form of environment

Bombardment of emails, texts, phone calls at work mean we can read and write, eyes to see, and ears to hear and people that desire to communicate with us

Cable, internet, and phone bills mean we can contact those we love and have access to any info we need in a matter of seconds

Dirty dishes piled high on the counter means there are plenty of food and people to fellowship with at dinnertime

Empty gas tanks mean we have running and safe vehicles and have been able to “go” wherever and whenever we have wanted

Fighting and tension between spouses mean no one has left and there is still time to find hope and rebuild

Grubby floors means we have loved ones in our home to live with, children who are active, and friends who have come over to visit

Having to run errands means we have access to and the availability of all goods and services we could ever dream of “needing”

Increasing health insurance premiums and doctor bills mean we have options and choices and the ability to get health care

Jumping on the furniture and being wild around the house mean our children have arms and legs and the ability to play as children

Kids hanging all over you and not giving you space means someone loves you and wants to touch you
Lots of noise around the house means families are together, people are able to speak and our ears can hear the communication

Mortgage loans or rental payments mean we have a protective roof over our heads

Nothing to watch on t.v. means you’re not watching war, explosions, or natural disasters going on outside your windows

Overly emotional wives mean underneath it all is love and concern over a particular topic and hence she is present in your life

Piles of laundry mean we have plenty to cloth ourselves with no matter what the weather and that we are not living alone

Quantity stuff and not enough room in the house and the garage mean we live in abundant excess

Rings that need scrubbed in the tub mean we have gotten to bathe in clean water daily

Shaving clippings all over the sink mean I have a husband in my home and not in someone else’s in whom I can share life with

Time consuming commutes to work mean we have a job, income coming in, a means of transportation, and health insurance

Utility bills mean we have heat and air to meet our desires, clean water to drink, cook, and bathe in and electricity to provide ease to every aspect of life

Various church activities we “gotta” attend mean we have the freedom to worship Jesus Christ whenever and wherever we choose

Wishing our days/weeks away means we still plan on plenty of life left and forget others are seeking to embrace every last moment they have in the midst of illness/dying

Xcess pounds mean we have plenty of food to be eaten

Yardwork/outdoor work in every season means we get to enjoy the variety and life in which God created

Zooey and chaotic schedules mean we have plenty of opportunities to be out and about enjoying the desire and pursuits of our hearts

Happy Thanksgiving!