A Year ago today

I know I already posted today, but I guess I'm just a little bit in awe that this is Clayton's SECOND Halloween (I will probably go through this for every holiday) and I'm a little lost on how I went from having . . .

THIS:

To having . . .

THIS:

That's all for now. . . 

Candy!

In the spirit of it being Halloween and all, I let Clayton have his first little try of a candy bar today after lunch. I broke off a piece of a Kit Kat bar and let him have it. Needless to say he enjoyed it! 

Awesome candy, thanks mom!

What do I have to do to get more candy?

I think we need a different gate....

This is proof that we need a permanent swing gate at the top of our stairs - this pressure mounted one just isn't safe!

This was actually take a few days ago and he still does it - my steps are strewn with most of my plastic containers and an assortment of toys and other random objects that Clayton finds to throw either under the gap or over the top. To make matters worse, I forgot to replace the gate after doing some laundry during his nap yesterday and while I was making lunch Clayton fell down the stairs all the way to the bottom! It was horrible! He seemed fine after he calmed down though. It doesn't deter him from doing the same thing in the video and trying to get under... Yikes!

Little Brother

Many of you  have of course already seen the ultrasound pictures and know that Clayton is going to be having a little brother, but I wanted to officially publish it onto the blog. Here are the pictures we got on October 10th at our ultrasound (yes that's right, on Clayton's birthday - part of the reason I was waiting, I wanted it to be all about Clayton until at least his 1st birthday was over). You will also notice of course that I have re-designed the blog page (and name, now we're at www.branzboys.blogspot.com) so that it can be for both boys. My new banner on the top didn't work out very well, it's too small, I will have to work on that another day - getting that took all afternoon as it is!!

More 1 Year Pics

I think these make a really great series!

Fun at the Farm

Clayton had a big day yesterday! We got to ride in the combine with daddy, and Clayton loved to watch the big machine pick the corn. We stayed out there and watched the game with his Great Grandparents. Silly goof wouldn't hold still for a very good picture though. . . 

Nice smile, but he blinked - it's the best one!

He really enjoyed running all around outside and in and we thoroughly wore him out I think. After the game we stayed for supper and Clayton was able to enjoy some pizza in his Great-Great-Grandfather's high chair!! He is the 5th generation to eat in that chair. Amazing!! (It was his Great-Grandpa's dad's chair).

Clayton and Chloe

Here is a project I have been working on for a few weeks. I have come to think of it is "digital scrap booking." This is compilation of video clips and pictures of Clayton and Chloe and their "friendship" over the last year.

1 Year Photos

Well . . . they're here!! Some of you knew that we had Clayton's one year photos taken on Saturday the 15th out in the country by my parent's house (west of Lincoln) and I got the CD in the mail today, so mommy has had a blast during nap time checking them out and editing away. (I love Picasa and Picnik - the Google people ROCK!) Clayton wasn't extremely cooperative and we didn't get that one "make me an 8x10 and frame me" shot that I was hoping for, but I think I will still be able to make something work. Here are some of my favorites, but I will post more later too!

With this one below, I am thinking that we will need a corresponding senior portrait . . . assuming he plays football and has a car!

12 Month Checkup

Clayton's 12 month check up was on Monday (the 17th) and he did such a good job being at the Dr's office for over an hour (we are sure missing the quick in and out appointments we always had at Kearney Clinic!!) and he had to have his finger pricked and didn't even fuss or make a peep. He is such a little tough guy!

He seems to have gotten taller and thinner though, he was 30.25 inches long (60th %tile) but only 19lbs 12oz (10th %tile). So I guess he either lost weight over the last month or the scales at the York Clinic are calibrated differently. Also, according to the Gerber Growth Tracker that I have been using, that weight is above the 15th % mark, probably closer to the 20th, so I'm not sure what to think about that. . . Either way the Doctor (our new one is Dr. Todd Fago) said we need to work on increasing  his calories (duh) and that dairy was a good way to do that. So I have been letting him have his fill of cheese slices and yogurt and he even ate an entire scoop of ice cream after a fairly large dinner the other day! At this point I'm not too concerned about his weight - he looks healthy! He is a very busy little boy and nearly runs around the house burning a lot of calories I'm sure. He is also pretty much off jarred baby food and is mostly eating what we eat, chopped into small pieces, and there's a learning curve for that I'm sure.

Clayton's Birthday Party

Better late than never, right?

With too many great pictures to choose from, I opted to make this slide show instead of posting individual pictures, with some video to follow. Enjoy!

So Big!

Clayton has been doing this for about a week or so now. Too cute!

Pile of Leaves

The other day I thought it would be fun to rake up a pile of leaves for Clayton to play in. He wasn't exactly thrilled and ended up not really liking it at all. . . I still got some cute pictures though.

Oh, the watering can is his favorite outdoor toy . . .

I guess he thought they needed some water (it is empty)

What the heck are these things!?

Really mom? This isn't fun!

"Please help me out!" (he didn't like the sounds when he moved I guess)

"Mom, you are so weird!"

But I still love 'ya!