Papa and Gigi

Last week we were so happy to have Ryan's parents, Papa and Gigi, out to visit us. Clayton was so excited. I try to pump these things up in advance to give him something to look forward to. Anyway, we started talking about their visit about a week ahead of time. A few days before they came, Clayton mentioned Papa. I asked him if he wanted Papa to come visit.

"Yeah. ZheeZhee?" (Gigi)

"Yes, Gigi is coming too."

Long pause.

"Dat?" (Cat)

"No, Clayton. Their cat is not coming."

Just checking, I guess. You know he would have been in heaven if they had brought that cat, who, by the way, really doesn't seem to care much for Clayton.

Anyway, we had a good time with the grandparents. Ryan and I were able to abuse them a couple times, taking advantage of some free babysitting, a great blessing. Ryan and Papa were able to attend their first NBA game, and we were all able to go out to the base to learn a bit about Ryan's work. Other than that, there was just a lot of hanging around and surviving the cold front that blew through here. I will say that Papa and Gigi have developed quite a habit of bringing bad weather with them. I'm remembering down pours, extreme highs, and now unseasonable cold. Thanks guys. Lucky for us the morning they left was beautiful, and we were able to get a short stroll through Bricktown. Hopefully we can take them back down there the next time they come.

Unfortunately, I didn't get many, um any, pictures on my camera, but I'll try to round up some off of Papa's camera and post them later.

Happy Birthday Clayton!

Birthdays are a milestone for every child, but Clayton's birthdays are also a time of reflection for our family. Three years ago, almost exactly a year after Colin's death, we returned to Stanford facing the reality that our second baby may not survive. We walked back into the same unit where we spent eight months with Colin. Most of the nurses, doctors, and staff were the same. Many of the families at the Ronald McDonald House were the same. It was devastating to be back in the world of sick kids. Although Clayton has had a couple of bumps with his HLHS, we know how very lucky he is and how very lucky we are to have him with us today.

Birthday, April 10, 2006

April 14, 2006

Four days old, Post-Norwood, chest open... too graphic for this post, hence the gauze

July 27, 2006

3.5 months old, Post-Glenn with incredible swelling

First birthday, April 10, 2007

(This was just the beginning of the cake disaster.)

Second birthday, April 10, 2008

(Um, Wendy, couldn't you find a better picture? Um, nope, that's about as good as it gets.)

We're so grateful for Clayton's good health since his last surgery. His next surgery, the Fontan, is always looming in the back of our minds, but for now, we're just focusing on the present and loving every minute. This morning I got the boys up, and we threw on clothes and headed down to the grocery store, where Clayton selected a Sesame Street balloon and a chocolate covered donut. We headed back home and had a special birthday breakfast. Clayton was so thrilled when I, with my most beautiful singing voice, sang Happy Birthday to him.

Third birthday, April 10, 2009

I was surprised that he knew exactly what to do with those candles.

We are planning to have a very small get together one evening this week to celebrate with a few of our friends. Clayton has requested pizza, and we'll have cake and ice cream that night. We gave him our birthday gift when Ryan got home this afternoon. Clayton loves bikes, so we thought it was time to get a tricycle. He's also obsessed with our bike helmets, so he needed one of his own as well.

Trying out the new trike.

Clayton's never pedaled anything, so that's going to take a little time to learn. In the meantime, do you remember the episode of Friends where Phoebe gets the new bike, but she doesn't know how to ride it, so she pushes it all around town? Yeah, that's the scene here. Apparently it's just as exciting and a lot less frustrating to just push it around. Either way, it's a hit.

Happy birthday Clayton! I love you so much. Nothing brightens my day like love from my punkin.

Four Months Old

Is it really true? Yes, Eli was four months old yesterday. I can't believe it. Everything is going great with our little man. He's a super easy going baby, as long as he's fed every two to three hours. He's still demanding those frequent feedings during the day, but it's hard to complain when he's sleeping around eleven hours each night. We usually get Clayton down around 8pm, and then Eli goes down between 9 and 10pm. Clayton is up at 8am, and Eli is up around 9am. It's working out really well. We're slowly working on shifting Eli to the 8pm to 8am schedule, and then I will have my evenings back. Daytime naps are a different story, but at least the nights are going well.


In the fun news, Eli is such a social baby. He LOVES to talk. If you talk to him, he'll talk to you. He's perfecting the lip buzzing and the high pitched squealing. He's also been doing a lot of what I call "hee-haw" laughing. He just cracks himself up at least a couple times a day. I'm never sure what's so funny, but apparently it's absolutely hilarious. Eli is also working really hard to roll over. He's so close to getting from his back to his tummy. I'm not really sure why he wants to do this, as he hates tummy time, but he's sure working on it. I think he just wants to go somewhere. He's also very much into baby toys these days. Everything goes straight into the mouth for the taste test.

Get into my belly!

Eli had his four month well baby appointment this morning. I'm still having a hard time getting accustomed to only taking my child to the doctor once every two months. The appointments are so quick, and I don't even pack an overnight bag, just in case he gets admitted. It's really easy. Our doctor listened and listened and said everything sounded great (don't think I won't be having Clayton's cardiologist give a listen next month, just to be sure). Eli weighed 13 lbs, 3 oz (16th %) and was 25 inches long (54%), so a little light with average height. He got his four month shots, and then we were off.

Eli is such a sweet baby, and we are so blessed by his good health. We're also lucky that Clayton is such an excellent big brother. He loves and loves on Eli all day long, and he's usually willing to be Mommy's helper when I need it. I sure do love these boys. They're pretty sweet.

Reading stories before bedtime

Blackmail

Texas Bluebonnets

I LOVE the bluebonnets. They come out for just a few weeks at the beginning of spring in central Texas. They grow best along the highways where the water washes off the roads, and there is plenty of sunshine. Clayton was in no mood to cooperate for this photo shoot, but luckily my mom was able to get a couple pictures that turned out decently.

Below is a picture from the last time we were in the bluebonnets. This was taken two years ago, almost to the day. On a side note, while browsing through several of the pictures taken on this day, I noticed that Clayton is wearing a pair of jeans that Eli is now wearing. At this time Clayton was just a couple weeks from his first birthday, and Eli is now just a couple weeks from 4 months old. Poor Clayton, he really did wear 3-6 month clothes for almost an entire year.

March 2007

Lizzie's Baptism

Lizzie with Pastor Jerry

Clayton paying attention to the children's message

Clayton no longer paying attention to the children's message, heading off to investigate the tv behind the altar

Road Trip

The boys and I have just returned from a week down in College Station. We went primarily to attend my neice's baptism, but we turned it into a short little vacation and had a good time visiting with all our family.

Our trip was Eli's first extended car ride, and it was my first time on an extended trip with the two boys by myself. It usually takes about six hours to get to College Station, with one drive through stop and no kids. Well, with the two kids by myself, it took me almost nine hours to get down there. The two hour lunch stop really threw us back. First I had to feed Eli in the Chick-fil-A (of course) parking lot. Then we went inside, where I begged Clayton for a long time to eat just a few bites. Then I had to let him play in the playland because he'd been strapped in for over three hours. Then Eli needed a diaper change. Then Clayton had to go potty. All of a sudden we'd been there an hour and forty-five minutes. Oh dear. There was one more eating stop for Eli a few hours down the road, and nine hours later, we arrived.

On the way home we ate lunch before we left, a huge time saver. We only stopped once for dinner, and there wasn't a playland, sad for Clayton, but another time saver. Eli held off on a second feeding, and I squealed into our driveway seven hours later. Yes! I cut my time by two hours. Not bad.

There are lots of pictures from our trip, but since I forgot my camera, I'm waiting for people to e-mail me theirs. It's bluebonnet season in central Texas, and I can't wait to see the pictures my mom took of the boys in the bluebonnets. I'll post those and others in the next few days.

My Favorite Too!

I had to steal this from Emily's blog. Just last week our sadly deprived Las Vegas family was going on and on about how NOT special Chick-fil-A is. You know who you are. They don't have Chick-fil-A in Nevada, so they just don't know how good it is.