U2

For the last couple months we've been hearing about U2 coming to OU's stadium in Norman.  We had briefly considered trying to get tickets, but the tickets were pricey, and getting a babysitter is always a challenge, especially on a Sunday night with a start time of 7pm. 

Well, on Friday, Ryan called home from work saying they had released free tickets at the base, and he got a pair.  We scrambled for a babysitter, and luckily a friend said she could keep the boys.

We had such a great time, and the concert was amazing.  The set up was stunning, and the music was great.  The stage covered the entire (every square foot) football field, and in the spirit of their 360 Degree tour the stage was 360 degrees, and they had this amazing 360 degree television screen that was able to move up and down and come apart into hundreds of smaller screens.  The canopy over the stage reached 150 feet into the air.  I can't imagine how they assembled it in the stadium, but I know they've been working on it for a week, and they will now replace the football field in time for the Kansas State game on Oct. 31st.

Here are a few pictures from our night out.

It ended up being a pretty chilly night.  In Oklahoma you have to look at the temperature and the winds.  The low fifties didn't sound too cold, but the gusting winds were pretty chilly.

We arrived a little early to beat the parking nightmare.

The Black Eyed Peas were the opener.  They were great too.

Intermission, getting ready for U2.

Bono

Not too shabby for free tickets.

Looking Silly

The boys modeling their puppy dogs hats.  Silly, but super warm.

Clayton's New Friend

Clayton and Ryan discovered a turtle in our backyard this afternoon.  This guy looks like he's had a rough life lately.  The front of his shell is missing, and there are teeth marks all over the remaining shell.  He's dug himself a little hole up against the house, and if he's still there tomorrow morning, Ryan will take him over to a field across the street from our neighborhood.  Clayton was certainly fascinated.

Public Service Announcement

When one disassembles the door to their dishwasher and clearly reads the sticker warning the disassembler to cut the electricity to the said dishwasher before proceeding, the disassembler should heed the warning and not just plan to only examine the plastic handle device, as you never know what is laying just underneath that handle. 

It was just a slight jolt, but it was a jolt nonetheless. 

I plan on milking the electrocution excuse for all my short comings in the next several days, or weeks, or months.

Update: Just 15 minutes after originally publishing this post, I was able to use my "injury" to get Ryan to scoop me a bowl of Bluebell.  Yum.  If you don't know what Bluebell is, you live in a very sad part of the country.

10 Months Old

Eli was ten months old on the 5th.  This last month has been a big month of firsts for our guy.  After spending the last two months inching across the living room on his belly, this boy is finally up on all fours and moving all around the house.  Along with crawling, he's also pulling up on the coffee table and in the crib and is opening lots of drawers and cabinets.  Table food is Eli's new best friend.  Although he will still scarf down two jars of babyfood, he's just doing that in an effort to get to the next course... whatever we're eating.  This boy has tried everything and loves it all.  Spaghetti, grilled chicken, french fries, minestrone, pot roast with potatoes and carrots... if we've eaten it, Eli's sampled it and loved it.  I've even resorted to feeding him Clayton's leftovers, which he welcomes gladly.  He's not picky.  He has six teeth (three on top, and three on bottom).  He has also started clapping and will sometimes mimic sounds.

Eli also loves playing with Clayton.  He knows most of the toys are in Clayton's room and is constantly crawling in there to see what he can get into to.  The last couple days I've had the playhut (pop up tent/tunnel/ball pit thing) up, and Clayton and Eli have spent hours crawling around in there and throwing the balls at each other.  It's so sweet and so nice for Mommy to not have to entertain people every minute of everyday.

Eli is certainly a member of the family.  I can't imagine how I lived without him so long. 

Here's a little collection of pictures, one from birth and each month of Eli's life.  We love this sweet boy!

PS Yes, he's still bald, and yes, his head was in the 97th percentile for his age.  The words CT-scan were actually mentioned at our pediatrician visit.  We'll see.

The Brothers Today

Mama! Tate my pit-sir! -Clayton

Yes, the "c" sound is tough on dear Clayton, who still refers to himself as "Tay" or "Taytin".

Emily, does he need to go back to speech therapy?

In other news, Eli had a well baby check up yesterday. He weighed in at 19lbs, 1oz and was 28 3/4 inches. He's getting so big. I'm beginning to miss my baby boy.

Happy Homecoming

You might remember this picture from this post, and thanks to my in-laws, it appeared in last Tuesday's edition of the Green Valley/Henderson View, our Nevada hometown neighborhood paper.

The picture was titled Happy Homecoming. The caption read, Air Force Capt. Ryan... assigned to... greets his 3-year-old son Clayton after a four-month unit deployment to Southwest Asia. Ryan is a 1997 graduate of Green Valley High School. The caption also gave me credit as the photographer. Ha ha. A photographer I am not. You just couldn't miss when trying to capture this boy's excitement.

PS Clayton still reminds me at least three times a day, "Mom, my Dada's home."