Clayton's Walking (kind of)

Clayton is improving his walking every day. He's almost 17 months, and still not walking everywhere. Some days I am really grateful that I am not chasing him everywhere, but other times, I really wish I didn't have to carry a 25 pound kid everywhere. He'll walk about half way across our living room, but then start crawling. He actually walks better when we are at other people's houses, so I guess we need to do more visiting. He loves to walk, and within the past 2 weeks, he finally has let go of things and started walking on his own for a few steps without being prompted or bribed. I think he could walk more if he really wanted too, he is just such an easy going kid that he doesn't care, and can get everywhere he wants with crawling, so there is no rush. (although, for the sake of his pants, I wish he would walk, I'm tired of holes in the knees) He also gets so excited when he walks, that he just can't keep his balance, and he will dive. It is so fun to watch him walk. Here's a little video of him showing off his new moves. I'm sure one of these days he will just take off running.

Just a picture of Clarissa and Clayton playing in a laundry basket. They love playing together. Clayton is always following Clarissa around trying to do what she does, and usually she loves playing with him. It is so fun to be in the other room and just here them both giggling together.

I wanted to share a funny story about Clarissa.

The other day we were eating lunch, and she spilled some milk on her leg. It seems like there have been several spills this last week, and so I asked her what she was doing. Sometimes she is just playing around and not being very careful.

Clarissa: "Mommy, I spilled milk on my leg"
Me: "What happened?"
Clarissa: "I was trying to get milk into my left leg so I could grow up big and strong like you and be a mommy."
Me: "ok, how did you do it? (I was wondering if she had just poured it on her left leg)
Clarissa: "I was just drinking it like this" She then demonstrated holding her cup up to the left side of her mouth, tilting her head, and trying to open just the left side.

I'm not sure why she was favoring her left leg, but it was really funny to hear her explanation.

Happy Birthday Quinn!

(While I was looking for a picture to post of Quinn, I realized that I don't take very many, so one from several months ago will have to do.)


Today is Quinn's 30th birthday!!

I thought it would be fun since Quinn is 30, to see if I could get at least 30 comments from people that read our blog to wish him a happy birthday. So, even if you have never commented before, please leave a comment. It'd be fun to see how many people we can hear from, especially those that we normally may not know read our blog.


We wanted to wish our favorite Daddy (and husband) a very happy birthday!!!

Love, your family,
Tiff, Clarissa, and Clayton

Does Mary Poppins Magic Really Work???

Clarissa loves watching Mary Poppins. I have said before that she loves to pretend to be different people, I still need to write a little bit more about that sometime though.

Anyways, today I was asking her to put her mittens away and she came up to me and said she was pretending to be Michael from Mary Poppins. She told me that she needed to snap her fingers to put them away. So she went and set them down on the floor and snapped her fingers.

She looked back at me and said "hhhmmm, it doesn't work." And then she picked them up and ran to put them away.

I love how she had to test it out. It's fun to see what kids this age think about what they see in movies, and of course, to them, everything is just the way it seems!

Soybean Farmers = White Pick Up Trucks???

A couple of nights ago, Quinn and I went out for dessert (which ended up being really disappointing) to a restaurant, that is also a hotel/convention center. When we pulled into the parking lot, we saw several white pick up trucks. We were very curious as to what was going on, so when we went inside we found out that there was a soybean convention going on. We could understand that soybean farmers would have a pick up truck, but why white? And to top it all off, they were all either Ford F150's or a Chevy Silverado's, both crew cabs, and they all looked like they were the same year model. When we left, we decided to count how many trucks there were, because there were more than just a few. We counted 62, we could not believe how many there were. There were also several white SUV type cars, but we didn't count those. Other than a car lot, which I don't even think that counts since they aren't all the same color, I have never seen so many of the same type of car in the same place. Does anyone know why soybean farmers all seem to have the same white pick up truck?

Phone Conversation with Clarissa

Clarissa and Clayton are spending a few days with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Randy (Quinn's parents.) Quinn and I stayed home, so the kids can have some fun with Grandma and Grandpa, and we can have a little break. It has been a lot of fun, although, we miss Clarissa and Clayton like crazy.

Today I was talking to Clarissa on the phone and I wanted to write down our conversation so I would remember.

Clarissa: Hi Mama
Mommy: Hi Clarissa, how are you doing?
Clarissa: I'm good
Mommy: Are you having fun with Grandma and Grandpa?
Clarissa: yes
Mommy: What have you been doing?
Clarissa: Playing. Can you please wait while I get something?
Mommy: Yes, I can wait.
Clarissa: Mommy, can you please wait on the table while I get something?
Mommy: Ok (She's so thoughtful to make sure the phone was in a safe place and she didn't just drop "me" on the floor. I heard her set the phone on the table, and her moving around. I was afraid that she would get distracted and forget about me. About 30 seconds later she did come back.)
Clarissa: I got it mommy.
Mommy: What did you get?
Clarissa: A rock with a picture on it.

I'm not sure why she needed it right then, but it was fun to have her tell me all about what she is doing.

Clarissa and Clayton have been having so much fun, they probably won't want to come home. They went to a movie yesterday, The Princess and the Frog, and got spoiled with popcorn. Clarissa loved it, and Clayton did ok. He enjoyed the popcorn and watching for a little while, but then just enjoyed moving all around. Luckily it was just them and one other family in the theater, so they didn't have to worry too much. This was their first time in a theater movie, other than a drive in, so I think Clarissa thought it was pretty cool.

Quinn and I have enjoyed being able to go out when we want, especially staying out past 7 in the evening, and sleeping in in the mornings. We've been able to go out to lunch, go to a movie, get some breakfast together, and just relax, without having to worry about the kids. Quinn has always wished that when he has to go back to work in the evenings, that I could go with him. He finally got his wish. I was able to go in with him and work next to him for an hour and watch what he does. Definitely not something I would always want to do, but it was fun to spend time with him, rather than sitting at home by myself.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for taking them for a few days. We have really enjoyed spending some time together. We are excited to see them again tomorrow.