The Walker!

We got the walker back out this week!

Clayton loved it!

Errr . . . I mean Reese, it was for Reese.      Reese loved it!

I was shocked at how well he was able to hold him self up in there! When it was on the wood floor he even pushed off and moved it backwards a little.  Such a big boy!!

Reading to Reese

This was from last weekend when we spent two nights at my parent's house in Lincoln. I think he really liked it!

1st Time at the Lake

Another big weekend - both boys had their first time at the lake yesterday. We met up with my parents at their campsite at Pawnee Lake and then headed to the beach. At first Clayton was pretty apprehensive about the sand and he was a little scared of the waves. But he eventually warmed up to it (at about 97 degrees that didn't take too long, ha ha).

Reese with his Great Aunt Karen

Reese napping at the beach

Grandma watching Reese during his nap

Clayton checking out the sand and castle that his Dad and Grandpa built

Throwing the sand back into the water

Clayton's way cool life jacket

Reese waking up and peeking from his towel

So bright!

Both boys are pretty tired out (Mom and Dad too) but it was a fun time!

Swing and Slide

Reese was swinging:

And Clayton was sliding:

(On the swing set at Grandma and Grandpa's place in Lincoln)

1st Trip to the Zoo

On Saturday morning my parents and I took the boys to the Lincoln Children's Zoo. It was both boys' first time to go! They both enjoyed it I would say and we got a lot of good pictures. Clayton was pretty tired since he hadn't slept well that night and woke up at 6am! (Poor Grandma - she had to deal with him, Mommy and Reese were sleeping downstairs and got to sleep in!)

The first animal we saw were the Reindeer, and Clayton just smiled at them, he thought it was pretty neat. Then we came to the Red Panda, whose cage sort of hung over the walk way. It was really cute and active and Clayton liked that too. Next we went into the building with the reptiles and bats and such.

He was in no mood to sit on a turtle!

Next we walked around to the goats and llamas. You could buy food and feed and pet them. Clayton really loved that! He was a little upset when we left them.

After that was the penguins, and which point Reese decided he needed out of the stroller and to have his diaper changed and be fed. So Clayton and my parents went on and I stopped to sit on a bench and nurse him. In hindsight, I might have picked a more interesting exhibit to sit in front of as the tortoises were rather boring . . . There were a few peacocks around though, and while they are pretty, they also like to scream! Clayton did not like this and it made him cry. He was very happy to see me when they came back after I was done with Reese and ready to move on. By then it was a little after 11 and we could tell Clayton was done and needed to get lunch and head home for a nap. So we made our way out at that point, but did stop for some more photo opportunities!

Clayton Froggy

Reese Froggy

Where's Clayton?

Peek! There he is!

Clayton and Reese tried to watch the turtles, but they swam away! Reese does seem more interested in what his big brother is doing though - oh and this was right before that pacifier landed right in that yucky turtle water!!! Blech! (Luckily Mommy had a spare in the bag!)

Both boys really did enjoy watching the fish in this little pond!

After all of that, we went to Village Inn for Lunch. Clayton almost fell asleep at the table, he had a big morning! Reese was sleeping in his seat, he was tired too!

On the way back I asked Clayton what his favorite animal at the zoo was. He smiled his big ol' goofy Clayton grin and poked me! Awww, I told him he was my favorite zoo animal too!

Rocking Horse and other Accomplishments

Clayton has had a busy day! Since Daddy is out of town for state track all weekend, Mommy and the boys went to stay in Lincoln with Grandpa Mark and Grandma Dianne. We came down Thursday evening and plan to go home on Saturday evening at bedtime (Clayton and Reese will hopefully sleep in the car!). Clayton spent a large chunk of his day outside (but still had time to watch the movie Cars almost twice!) He was so tired he was hardly able to enjoy this awesome homemade rocking horse that belonged to Aunt Amy when she was little.

He sat on it for a little while but wanted down right away - too tired! Hopefully tomorrow he can get some more use out of it.

Clayton's other big accomplishment for the day is mastering the slide and big boy swing on the swing set here. He can climb up the 3 step ladder and down the slide (maybe 4 feet?) ALL BY HIMSELF. I had to show him how the ladder worked the first few times but then he did it several times all on his own - mommy was so proud. Latter he even sat in one of the regular swings and held on all by himself while mommy pushed (gently).

Reese had big news too - his first giggles! He thinks Grandpa Mark is pretty funny and had his first giggles from some tickles. Sadly, my video camera was too far away to catch any on film! I'm sure he'll giggle again though soon!

The Dryer?

No, I did NOT put Clayton in the dryer (That was Darrel's first question when he saw the pictures) He climbed in on his own . . .

He likes to help do laundry too I guess!

Reese and Chloe

Well for as much as we complain about how dumb Chloe is, she really does do well with kids!

Clayton's Helpful Nature

I'm not sure why these things still astonish me so much, maybe it's because I don't expect Clayton to do "chores" yet. I just hope that I will always be this grateful when he helps me around the house. Yesterday evening I was sort of in a rush trying to put dinner together in a timely manner, and the dishwasher was open, and I suddenly noticed that Clayton was actually putting the silverware away - in the right drawer! I only caught the tail end of it on video, but he put most of it away, once piece at a time.

Here is the end result:

All in a neat little pile in the corner where he can reach in. . . what a sweetheart! Also, a few weeks ago, I was unloading the dishwasher and I had my back turned putting away a pot or pan, and all of a sudden Clayton is handing me the frying pan! He had gotten it out of the dishwasher and brought it to me to put away, and I was even in the right cupboard that it belongs in. I don't know if all 1 1/2 year olds are like this, but he sure is a very special little boy who loves to help and please his mom and dad - I don't know how we got so lucky!!

3 Months! PHOTOBOMB

That's right, little Reese is already 3 months old! According to my calculations he is about 12 lbs 12 oz and 23.5 inches which according to Gerber's Online Growth Tracker is right on for the 15th percentile growth curve that he has been following.

I conducted quite the photo shoot in honor of his 3 month birthday and there were a lot of good ones! It's hard to choose which one is best, because they are so different. I remember having that problem when Clayton turned 3 months too, this must be when they start to get more expressive.

Not even sure what this is, just cuteness!

This one is probably the winner

Too bad this one is so blurry!

Remember?

Here are some more!

I even tried to get some with both boys, but I wouldn't really call it a success . . .

"Am I in trouble?" and "WAAAAA"

 

But I did get some of just Clayton after Reese took a nap. I thought to do Clayton's hair (he got it cut by the way) but the only way I could get him to hold still was to stand him in the bathroom sink! It still wasn't very easy to get a decent picture!

This would be so much better if I hadn't cut off the top of his neat hairdo!

Checkin' himself out in the hand mirror