Aaron Wesley

Today I officially realized that Aaron is no longer a baby.  Today alone, Aaron has drawn all over the glass panes of our office door with (washable) marker, painted on the front of the dryer with (washable) watercolors, played in the potty twice, unrolled a full roll of toilet paper, and it's only 6:30pm.  Apparently I need to step up my game a little.  I will say that neither Clayton or Eli has ever played in the potty.  They probably unrolled the toilet paper less than 5 times between the two of them, and Clayton colored on my pantry door once.  Aaron has practically met their combined record in one day.  I'm foreseeing a lot of "correction" in his future.

Also, a big thanks to the Wal-Mart greeter the other day, who insisted the boys have a free cookie and then handed them chocolate covered cookies on a hot day.  Luckily, very little cookie ended up on his shirt and the carseat.  Most of it was left on his face.

Clayton's Pre-K Celebration

The quality of these pictures is definitely lacking, but at least I remembered the camera this time.  Clayton had his Pre-K Celebration last Thursday night.  They had a very cute program.  It was a little overview of some of the fundamentals they've learned this year.  I was so impressed.  The kids did so well with their lines, and I think the partner dance was the highlight of the show.  They even performed the dance for the whole school the next morning.

Clayton's teacher has been such a blessing to us this year.  She's been so supportive of all his needs.  We could not have asked for a better start to school.

Climbing the stage stairs made for a rough start.  Clayton's arthritis has been really bad this week, but he eventually got up there.

All seated and ready.

Clayton's big line was, "A rainbow of colors," which he shouted into the microphone with as much gusto as I've ever seen from him.

Color parade.

Receiving his binder of work from Mrs. Kirk.

Cheese face.

Posing for a picture with his dance partner and good friend.

Clayton and his "girlfriend".  They are too funny, and yes, she's a full head taller than him.  They have a sweet little friendship.

Oh Aaron!

You are trouble.  This is about 100 diapers I had just loaded into the diaper stacker.  Apparently he was quite busy before he fell asleep.

Downtown

Ryan's sister, Kristin, came for a weekend visit a couple weeks ago.  We had such a great time catching up and having fun.  On Friday afternoon Kristin and I took the kids down to Myriad Gardens to check out the renovations.  We took a little Chick-fil-A and ate by one of the new fountains.  There were a few other kids down there, and while it was a bit chilly, they were playing in the fountain, and soon, my boys were too.  Thanks to Aunt Kristin for taking some cute pictures for us.

We'll definitely be back a lot this summer. 

Cross Point Camp

Over Mother's Day weekend, we were so blessed to be invited to join a large group of our church friends down at Cross Point Camp on Lake Texoma for a weekend of family, fellowship, and relaxing.  We drove down in the rain Friday night.  We had our own little cabin with four sets of bunkbeds and a large bathroom.  The camp had a dining hall where our meals were provided. 

On Saturday, we spent the very chilly, drizzly morning on one of the beaches.  The kids mostly played in the sand, as it was a little cold for swimming, and by lunch, they were so dirty, they required a shower before we could take them into the dining hall.  After lunch, the boys napped for over three hours.  In the meantime, the weather had greatly improved, and I headed down to the beach with some friends for a relaxing afternoon in my camp chair with my Kindle and a Diet Coke.  After dinner, we took the boys back down to the beach so they could enjoy a quick swim before the evening bonfire, where we had a great time with friends and s'mores. 

After breakfast on Sunday morning, we met at an overlook and had a church service together.  Then it was time to hit the road for home.  Eli was distraught that we were leaving.  I think he thought we'd just live there forever.  He keeps asking when we can go back.

Ryan and I are beginning to get the feeling that our days in Oklahoma could be numbered.  We've been here nearly five years, as long as I've lived anywhere in my life, and we might be approaching time to move.  While I usually enjoy moving, seeing new things, and meeting new people, leaving this church family will be very difficult.  We'll see what the future holds.

 Clayton

Eli

Aaron

The little boys were obsessed with trying to fill this tire up with sand.

Eli loved the water.  It was so cold, but he was determined to get in.

Our campfire with friends.  There were about 75 of us there, a really great group.

Clayton's s'more.

Cheese!  The big boys loved wearing these headlamps.  They can also switch to a red light which was very handy for keeping track of them after dark.

Happy camper.

At the cross.  The lake was beautiful on Sunday morning.

All the kids.  It was quite a bunch.  I love that the older kids take such good care of the little ones when we're all together.  They're such a great example to my boys.

Aaron's Baptism

I'm backing up a little, but I hadn't gotten around to blogging about Aaron's baptism back in January.  Aaron was baptized at St. Andrew's United Methodist Church on Sunday, January 29th.  We were so pleased to share this celebration with our wonderful church family. 

Our family with Pastor D.A., Laura, and Pastor David

During the baptism, there was a picture of Aaron up on the projection screen.  When Eli saw it, he kept saying, with his booming voice, "Baby Aaron, Baby Aaron."  Everyone was laughing.  After about the fourth time, Pastor D.A. asked Eli for one last clarification of whose picture was on the screen, and in his loud voice, he announced, "My brother, Aaron!"

Aaron Wesley being pronounced a member of God's family

A big thank you to Deanna for taking pictures for us.

Happy Easter!

It's been a while since I've updated.  I really hope to be more on the ball with that now that we're home and settled.  Things are going well here.  We're back into our routine, including school for Clayton, and we're enjoying being a family again.  Clayton is doing well with his recovery.  We are still doing weekly INR checks to try to manage his coumadin, but I think we're getting closer to finding just the right dose and schedule for him.  Hopefully he'll be in the right range this week.  Ryan and I are becoming more and more convinced that Clayton has more energy now than he did before the surgery.  Ryan took him out for a little bike ride around the neighborhood the other day, and he rode the entire way, something he hasn't been able to do before.  His appetite is good, and it looks like he's kicked his afternoon napping habit, which is good for our almost six year old.

We've been celebrating Easter this weekend, remembering the sacrifice on the cross for our sin, and thanking God for his grace.  Our church had a big egg hunt for the kids on Saturday evening, and then we attended the Saturday night service.

I made the boys vests and ties this year.  I actually didn't get started on them until Thursday, which made for two seriously late sewing nights, but it all worked out, and I think the final product was worth it.  I loved the way the vests turned out.  I thought they looked so fresh and ready for spring.  Eli is such a unique little personality, so I thought he'd be cute with a bow tie.

Aaron was our most enthusiastic egg hunter.  This boy knew just what to do, and he was a man on a mission.  He hunted with the babies, again with the toddlers, and again with the kindergarteners.  I couldn't hold him back.

Eli liked hunting for eggs, but we had to keep convincing him to keep hunting.  He's an instant gratification kind of guy, and he wanted to know what was inside each egg right away.

Clayton knew just what to do and had a great time with all his friends.  He was so excited to be wearing a tie.  I'm not sure why, but he loved it. 

Today we had a nice, lazy day around the house.  The kids got a few things in their Easter baskets and we had a little egg hunt in the backyard.  We had our traditional ham and potato dinner with just our little family tonight.  The boys are in bed, and now I'm ready to finish the weekend with a relaxing evening.

Tuesday is Clayton's sixth birthday!  I can't believe he's so old.  We don't have any big birthday plans nailed down yet, but we'll see what we can come up with to celebrate our little man's big day.