A Day at the Zoo

A couple weeks ago my friend Deborah invited Klayton and I to visit the zoo! Of course we said yes! It was fun to catch up with her and let our little ones meet...her little girl Kaylin and Klayton are just one month a part in age! Aren't they cute?

Lions and tigers and bears,

Oh my!

And maybe a cute little billy goat to pet!

We had a great time and I am so thankful for Deborah thinking of me and my little guy!

Bucket List-7 Brides for 7 Brothers

It has been a while since I have been able to cross something off my bucket list!

10 Things I Want to Accomplish Before I'm 32:

1. One week of new recipes.
2. Do a random act of kindness for a stranger.
3. Reach $1500 in 1 month of Scentsy sales.
4. Read 12 books I've never read before. (I have read 2 so far)
5. Get something I've written published.
6. Do my family tree.
7. Eat s'mores with Klayton.
8. Try a new dish instead of ordering the same old thing when I go out to eat.
9. Cut out Red40 from my diet and the diet of my family.
10. Watch 7 Brides for 7 Brothers.

A couple weeks ago, Joseph was gone for the evening and I decided it was the perfect time to watch 7 Brides for 7 Brothers! I do like musicals and discovered that Klayton enjoyed this particular musical as every time there was singing he was dancing! In the end I found myself enjoying the movie as well! Good, clean movie watching right there folks!

A Day in the Mud

I am SO thankful that we live in an area that has so many great FREE stuff to do! I really don't like spending money on activities that we don't really know how long Klayton will maintain interest in! About 15-20 minutes from us is the Dillon's Nature Center! We just "discovered" it last week and will be visiting often this summer!
Today we took Klayton to their "mud pit"!

What boy doesn't love mud?

Klayton spent his time digging...

Getting water to make more mud...you can never have enough mud!

We spent a good hour playing in the dirt and I enjoyed having the time to just sit back and enjoy watching my little guy get dirty on purpose!

David is 1

Happy Birthday David! You are such a happy baby and you are quite the mover, I have a feeling next time I see you, you just might be walking! Slow down!

We love you and are thankful that we got to share your special day with you and your parents!

Wordless Wednesday-1st Snow Cone

31 Months

As I said a long time ago I wasn't going to do the monthly posts anymore; but I thought it would be fun to do one for the sake of memory!

Klayton, you are 31 months old!



YOU:
*Wear 2t clothes; but some 3t fit as well as some 24 month! It just depends on the fit!
*Wear a size 7 shoe!
*In size 5 diapers though we are hoping you will SOON be potty trained!
*Love dogs and it seems the word dog is your favorite word to say.
*Tried olives for the first time and you liked them.
*Two foods you are not crazy about, green beans and coconut!
*Love to eat cantaloupe and pineapple!
*You know how to put your own coat on.
*Can easily take off your own pants/shorts.
*Love being outdoors.
*One of your favorite songs in Deep and Wide! You do the actions and say, "dee" for deep!
*Love to race across the yard and will kneel in a starting position. When it is time to say go, you say, "O" and take off running!
*We are starting to let you drink out of big boy cups-you are doing well and loving it!
*If daddy or I say that we have to use the restroom, you will lead us to the bathroom and lift the toilet seat. You will then point to where we need to sit and leave the bathroom with a goodbye wave!
*Enjoy going down slides and usually climb up and go down all by yourself!
*Love going for walks.
*Still love anything that involves a ball!
*Showing more interest in coloring. When I pick you up from Sunday School your coloring pages are actually scribbled on now.
*Love pretending to cook.
*Definitely a leader, maybe a tad bossy! You like to "tell" and "direct" people to their places...
*When you don't like something you scrunch your eyes and squint.



Things I Don't Want to Forget:

*Every moment!
*During the pledge to the Bible in Awana opening you held your Bible high and I could tell you did it with pride!
*How I was in the kitchen and I suddenly hear, "Mom!" I come into the living room and you are patting the couch for me to sit next to you and cuddle.
*You use your diaper box as a "pulpit" to stand behind while you "direct" the music. Usually, you have daddy or I-sometimes both-sitting on your bed to listen!
*I take you to story time at the library. They always do a couple songs that have actions...you take it a step further and put yourself in the center of the circle and dance! There's a quote, dance like no one is watching-what a perfectly fitting quote for you!



Dear Klayton,
One of the biggest changes of your life has happened, in March we moved from South Dakota to Kansas! I wish I would have thought to grab my camera and snap a few pictures of you "helping" daddy and Grandpa loading the moving truck. It was SO cute! You have done so well in this transition, I know there were some moments of uncertainity; but you have made yourself right at home and have already warmed your way into the hearts of our new friends!
I love you little mister and I hope I will never cease to be thankful for the gift God has given to me-of all people-He gave you to me! I am one blessed Mama!

Love You!
Mommy

It's Potty Time

Is there life outside of potty training? If so I don't have much recollection of it...Tuesday I started potty training Klayton.

What made me start? 1.) On occasion when he needs a diaper change he will indicate it to me. 2.) If I or Joseph makes indication that we need to visit the bathroom he will show us to the bathroom, point to the toilet and leave us to do our business.
My plan of attack:
Day 1: literally pump the kid full of water! The morning was not very successful; but when he woke up from nap to bed time he only had 2 accidents.
Day 2: My child decided he would not drink ANY water! He also decided that sitting on the toilet was the most horrible thing in the world. We had success as well as many failures.
Day 3: We decided that if we were going to do this there would be no turning back. At nap time Klayton threw a fit about wearing a diaper. So I did what I said I would never do...I bought pull ups.
Day 4: No accidents all morning long. So, we became brave and took Klayton into town. While in town he had only 1 accident; but I think it was because it was kind of overwhelming for him in the public bathroom. He also made it through nap time DRY- huge success! All in all on this day there were only 2 accidents! Woohoo!
And today is day 5! Only 1 accident thus far and he made it through nap time dry once again! I think we're getting somewhere.

I am realizing this may be a very slow process as well as a lot of work. We take him every ten minutes. I think he is finally getting to the point of realizing what he's about to do on the potty because he will begin to clap before he begins the deed, now if he would just realize this while he's busy playing! Thankfully there are Reese Pieces to get me by as I reward myself and him for every success!

10 on Tuesday

1. Can I sneak 10 random thoughts in before the clock strikes 12 and it becomes Wednesday?
2. Potty training boot camp Megan today. We had more success than accidents! Yay Klayton!
3. Next week my parents come for a visit! Pretty sure the grandparents are excited to see Klayton!
4. I had a wonderful Mothers Day and was definitely spoiled!
5. Um....4 minutes until a new day and I'm already at a loss of random thoughts.
6. Made a new cookie recipe today, cookie suicide?! Well, that's one name it's called...three layers: chocolate chip cookies, Oreos and brownie batter! Yummy!
7. Candy Crush Saga anyone? Yep, I'm addicted to the stupid game I said I would never play.
8. Really in the crafting mode. Maybe I can sneak some scrapbooking time in tomorrow.
9. Tried a new conditioner called, Not Your Mothers! Yep, in love with it, leaves my hair super soft!
10. It's a minute till 12 and I'm done! Woohoo!!

Mother's Day

I love being a Mom and I don't really need a special day; but I will take a day to be spoiled and enjoy it!
Klayton made me this card in Sunday School class and his teacher had him give me the flower. Which while yes he gave me the planted flower for maybe 1.5 seconds he then promptly wanted it back!

Mother's day is such a meaningful day to me and I am SO thankful that I can now enjoy this day! Years past it has been bittersweet and I can't help but to think of friends and family that yearn to enjoy this day as a Mom. And I thank God for giving me my "greater yes" in Klayton and may I never take for granted being his mommy!

Socks Question?

Commonly socks are worn on our feet; but Klayton seems to disagree. What do you think, should socks be worn on the feet or the hands?

My Gift from Cabela's

Cabela's is the one stop manly man store. It seems everything that could possibly please a man can be found. Thankfully, they realize that sometimes a man drags his wife into the store and for that there is...

Yummy, chocolate and peanut butter fudge.

I am trying to ration my portions.

Thank you Cabela's for thinking of me in one small way.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Busy is a current understatement. I kept thinking yesterday was Tuesday!
2. Our library is doing a summer reading program and I'm excited that they are going to let Klayton participate! I think it starts Friday...
3. Saturday is a ladies brunch at church. My job is to make a breakfast casserole, any suggestions? I've never made one before.
4. Thursday my Scentsy order should arrive! It always feels like Christmas even though its not for me!
5. I watched the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Lets just say I really want a juicer of my own now.
6. Am I the only enjoying Happy Hour at Starbucks? The Caramel Ribbon Crunch is my new drink of choice!
7. I think Monday might be a good day to start potty training boot camp!
8. In just a couple of weeks my parents will be here for a visit and then we all get to help my nephew celebrate his first birthday.
9. Klayton was napping and then decided to fall back asleep on my lap. Sweet moments as I listen to the pitter patter of rain.
10. Well, I hope this finds you all having a Happy Tuesday!

Red 40

On my Bucket List for this year I shared I wanted to cut out Red40 from our diet. I thought I would share why and give a progress report.
I am by no means a health nut; but I try to be aware of what is going into our mouths and it seems we eat more junk than we should. I figure the small steps I take add up in my overall health as I realize there is always room for improvement.
Red40 is a dye often put into our foods to help them "look better". Yet if we were to use it outdoors it could be considered a pesticide! It's not a necessary ingredient in the foods we eat. This dye also has a wealth of side effects: infertility, hyperness and migraines just to name a few. In fact most kids who have been labeled with ADHD simply need to eliminate red40 from their diets and most research has shown that after this elimination that medication is no longer necessary.
I am learning that removing Red40 from our diet isn't a huge deal...yes it takes thought and a little work. But, we already eat a lot foods that don't contain the dye. The work comes in when I need to come up with substitutes. For example Klayton loves strawberry milk, one of the ingredients is Red40 and to remedy this situation I now spend an extra 10-15 minutes once a week making our own strawberry syrup. I am also learning that just because a food item is not red that it doesn't nix the idea that there is no red40. Most vanilla ice cream and even some crescent rolls contain Red40. Our main changes thus far are as follows: If we want candy we stick to chocolate. Klayton enjoys fruit snacks so we only buy the Motts brand. We also switched to Tom's toothpaste. Wow, those changes are very overwhelming right?! Just kidding. It's not been a sacrifice and it hasn't been hard. But, I do admit that we have had slip ups...like enjoying that clearance bag of jelly beans. Sigh. But, this journey is about progress!