The Chrismond Family

Nine years old!!!

2012-02-05T12:46:00.004-06:00

Connor's birthday was yesterday! I can hardly believe he is 9 years old!!! Sometimes the days go by so slow, but the years just fly by. He is so excited that he comes to my shoulder when we stand side by side. He is big!! He wanted to take angry bird cookies to school on Friday so my neighbor made him some cute ones.

After school on Friday, Mimi took all 3 boys home with her to spend the night. Caley, Mary Clayton and I went shopping for Connor's birthday present from us ( a youth bow set and a target) then we went out to eat since it was just us and mc. Saturday at lunch we met Mimi, PaPa, and the boys at Mt. Fiji ( Connor's choice). Then we all went to Connor's basketball game.
Connor and Hamp at the game

my twins

Collins and Mary Clayton are always so wild at the games climbing all over and under the bleachers.

Collins drew Connor a picture for his birthday at the game. He said it was angry birds! I have no idea where he found the paper. I usually don't get to watch to much of the game. Mimi and her purse occupied Mary Clayton so I got to watch most of the game!

After the game, we came home and ate some cake. Connor wanted an angry birds cake. It is one of the cutest cakes I have ever seen. The boys loved eating the birds!!

side view

the back of the cake

close up of the angry birds

They were so perfect!

The birthday boy!!!!!!!

After we ate some cake, Caley, PaPa, Connor, and Cael went to Toys'r'us to let Connor spend some of his birthday money. He picked out a 1000+ piece Star Wars lego set. He spent the rest of the day putting it together! He had a great low-key birthday. Just how we like it!!

Happy Birthday Connor Keith!!!!

We love you so much!

17 months old

2012-01-26T11:15:00.003-06:00

Mary Clayton is 17 months old today! She is growing so fast! She is saying new words everyday! Every milestone that she hits is bittersweet to me. I love to watch her grow and learn new things, but it is sad to me. She is the last one. The baby of the bunch. She just needs to slow down and let me enjoy each stage a little longer! She is obsessed with Collins!!!! Collins thinks she is pretty awesome, too!

I weighed and measured her yesterday!

weight: 22.8 lbs.

height: 32 in.

She wears a size 18 month clothes and a few 12 months.

size 4 diaper and size 5 shoe.

I can't believe that in one month she will be one and a half!

She has her own little language sometimes, but we know exactly what she means.

ba means paci

mimi means her Mimi but she also calls her milk mimi

When she says backpack that means she wants to watch Dora.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Dora are her favorite shows to watch. They are the only shows she will watch. She would watch them all day long if we would let her. I got her a pair of Dora PJ's at Wal- mart a few weeks ago. She LOVES them. They never make it from the table where I am folding clothes to her drawers because she always sees me folding them and she immediately starts pointing to her stomach and saying me backpack. She also cries when we take them off. I think I am going to have to get another pair.
She has gotten totally obsessed with stickers in the last few weeks. She LOVES to stick them all over herself and everything else. On the way to school this morning, Cael found a Dora sticker on his pants. ha....

She loves to just stick them all on top of each other.

MC came out of my bathroom with my exercise top around her neck the other day! She wore it around the house for a long time.

She is the sweetest girl. She loves to hug and kiss us. And believe it or not but the boys do not mind hugging and kissing her at all!

She has named her baby dolls all by herself. She calls the baby she got for her birthday "baby", and she calls the baby that she got for Christmas "Lilah". It is so cute! Lilah is my sister's baby.

She also points to the baby on the diaper box and says Lilah.

I think we may be done with the big headband bow. :( She has started to pull it off. We sometimes try to put a tiny bow in her hair. That doesn't last long either because she just doesn't have enough hair yet.

This look just cracks me up!

Christmas with Caley's family

2012-01-16T13:00:00.000-06:00

The day after Christmas we went to Mimi and PaPa's house to have Christmas with them and Caley's sister and her family. I forgot my camera so I had to get Mimi and Crystal to email me some of the pictures they took. My kids were so excited to see Brady and Willa Kate! It had been nearly 4 months since we saw them last. Here is Mimi's pretty tree with all the gifts underneath. The boys couldn't wait to open them.

The boys
The boys waiting on Mimi to hand them a gift. Mary Clayton and Willa Kate both fell asleep while we were opening gifts. We had to help them open theirs later.

all 6

Mimi, Crystal, and the kids came up to see us later on that week. One of Mary Clayton's favorite things to do lately is go through Mimi purse and wallet and pull everything out!

I loved watching these sweet girls play together. Willa Kate is 6 months younger that MC. Mary Clayton is 16 months and Willa Kate is 10 months in this picture. Crystal and I both call them sister. Every time one of us would say sister, they would both look up. So cute!!!

sweet Willa Kate

I love the way WK puts herself to sleep. She suck two of her fingers and plays with her ear. Sometimes she hums, too! Precious!

Brady loved dressing up and playing with all the swords and guns with Collins.

He was giving me his mean face.

Brady likes Connor and Collins, but he LOVES Cael. A LOT!!!!

Caley and the girls

We had a great time visiting with Wilse, Crystal, Brady, and Willa Kate. We hope to get to see them again soon!!!!

Flashback Friday

2012-01-13T08:45:00.002-06:00

I love the idea of doing a Flashback Friday every now and then of pictures from before I started blogging. Well, this picture is from way back! This picture is of me and my mom. I think I look to be around Mary Clayton's age in this picture. I have always thought MC looked just like Caley and Connor, but something about this picture of me reminds me of her too. I think it is the smile and dimples maybe! MC's eyes are definitely different. I had a lot more hair than she does. What do you think?

Mary Clayton says......

2012-01-12T13:17:00.001-06:00

Happy Thursday!

Mary Clayton lately

2012-01-09T07:00:00.001-06:00

It seems like it has been forever since I did a monthly post on Mary Clayton. She was 16 months old on December 26thhe says lots of words now.
momma
daddy
dd
maw
mimi
backpack ( she is obsessed with Dora)
nack (snack)
eat
more
side (outside)
wing (swing)
ball
baby
Lilah
rock rock
book
hey
bye
ba "paci"
I know I am forgetting some. She jabbers a lot that we can not understand.

She looks so much like Connor did at this age.
Mary Clayton has lots of nicknames......... mer mer, may may, sister.
The boys call her mer mer all the time, and Caley calls her may may. My mom just calls her Mary. I call her sister a lot.

She has been cutting teeth like crazy! She has 10 now and another on the way!

We get this mean look a lot and so does anyone else who tries to talk to her.

She can tell you wear her hair, nose, ears, tongue, bellybutton, hands, and feet are. Here she is showing me her hair. Talking about her hair..... I cut the mullet again. That makes 3 times. Maybe one day the hair on top will catch up.

When we ask her a question, she nods her head for yes and shakes it for no!

She has a bad under bite just like Connor. It looks like braces will be in her future too!

We have had some really pretty days lately. We have played outside a lot. MC LOVES it!!! She likes to follow her shadow around.

I love this picture!
One day during Christmas break, I took all 4 of the kids to Wal-Mart with me. The lady that was checking us out was talking to Mary Clayton and told her how cute and sweet she was. Connor said, " Looks can be deceiving! She is really bad!" hahaha

She loves for us to read to her!

She loves playing with and in all her new Christmas toys.

She loves playing with her babies! LOVES IT!!!!!!! She rocks them, feeds them, and wraps them in a blanket!

She loves her ba (paci) and blankets. Oh, and my hair. She loves playing with my hair.

Sometimes if Connor and Cael will not let Collins play with them, he plays babies with Mary Clayton. He pretends that he is the Daddy and MC is the momma. They like to play in the baby bed together.

I like my teeth!

2012-01-08T18:19:00.004-06:00

me: DD go brush your teeth.
Collins: I don't want to brush my teeth today!
me: Collins if you don't brush your teeth they will rot and fall out!!!!
Collins: Well, Connor and Cael brush their teeth and they fall out all the time.
me: bahahahahahahahaha .......... Connor and Cael are losing their baby teeth and getting their big teeth. You will lose your baby teeth in a few years too!
Collins: I don't want to lose my teeth. I like them!!!!

Bless him! I guess he was thinking that if Connor and Cael brush their teeth and they fall out anyway, maybe he would try not brushing them and keep the teeth that he likes!

Music City Bowl and Christmas Cards

2011-12-31T15:25:00.002-06:00

We loved cheering on the Bulldogs last night in the Music City Bowl. Mimi and PaPa gave the boys new jerseys and cowbells for Christmas. The boys LOVE the cowbells. So does Mary Clayton!!!

my cute little bulldog!

I know I have mention several times how much I love sending and receiving Christmas cards. I love them all. I just can not bare to throw them away. So for the last few years I have saved them by putting them on little rings. I also added some cute ribbon because I am a little obsessed with ribbon, and I have a lot just laying around the house. This is my 2011 ring of Christmas cards. I just used a hole punch in the top corner of the cards.

I hope everyone has a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Christmas Morning

2011-12-27T12:23:00.005-06:00

We ended up waking the kids up about 6:30 Christmas morning so we could have enough time to play with their new toys before church. Mimi and PaPa came up to see what they got and to go to church with us. Maw came to see what the kids got after lunch.

I have known what we were going to get MC for Christmas for a long time. I knew she was probably to young for a kitchen, but I wanted to get it anyway. But I have to say, I am so glad we went ahead and got it when she is this age. She has played with it so much! She moves all the food from the oven to the microwave to the refrigerator. She even tried to get in the oven herself on Christmas morning. We had to move her changing table out of her room to make room for the kitchen. She cried when we moved it out. She didn't know what was going on. I almost cried too! ha... I loved using the changing table with all of our kids. I knew this would be the last time for us to have a changing table in our house, and it made me sad! Now I have to change her on the floor, and she will NOT be still!!!

The boys all got lots of legos. They are all 3 obsessed with legos. They all got fishing poles and tackle boxes. And they also got a punching bag stand.
MC seeing what was in her stocking.

Connor was EXCITED to see the lego city he has been wanting.

view of the craziness that our living room floor became

It's a tradition now that the boys get pistachios and cream sodas in their stockings and Easter baskets. It's a rare treat.

All Collins told us he wanted was this lego Ewok village.

family picture before church

We played all afternoon with their new toys.

Mary Clayton's kitchen looks so cute in her room.

We had a wonderful Christmas! I hope your family did as well!

"Fear not: for, behold, I bring to you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born on this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2: 10-11

Christmas Eve

2011-12-27T10:22:00.006-06:00

We spent Christmas Eve with our family in West Point. Our first stop was at the Calvary gym at the Cox's get together. Our family is so big when we all get together we have to have it at a gym. It is always so good to see everybody. We don't get to see them often enough.

Karra and Hallie Beth

I just had to get a picture of the food table. There was SO much food!

Hallie Beth and Mary Clayton

our family, my mom, and my sisters family

When there are Cox's gathered together, there is always a ball game.

All the girl except Lilah Claire. She had already gone home.

Kiley, Karra, Hallie Beth,Cloe, and Mary Clayton

Our Christmas Eve family picture didn't turn out the way I had hoped. ha...

After the Cox's Christmas, we headed over to Mimi and PaPa's house to spend some time with the Davis'.

MC trying to figure out what Aunt Nett put on her head.We always put the kids in their Christmas pj's before driving back to Tupelo. Again, the picture didn't turn out like I would have liked. ha....

And just so I will always remember.....

MC fell asleep on the way home. She slept from 8:30 to 9:30. She usually stays asleep once we get home, but not that night. She woke up and stayed awake until 1:00. Then Caley and I had to put the kids gifts out. ha.... We were tired the next day!
We actually had to wake the kids up on Christmas morning!

Christmas with my family

2011-12-19T13:58:00.007-06:00

We had Christmas with my family last night at our house. It's just my mom, my Pawpaw, and my sister and her family. The kids could hardly wait to open the gifts from Maw and Tay. I have been wrapping and keeping all the presents in my closet this year instead of under the tree because MC will open them. And as soon as I brought some out last night she started trying to open them.

Paw Paw and his youngest great grand, Lilah Claire. He has 14 great grandchildren.

Collins all ready to tear into that present.
I love Lilah Claire's sweet smile in this picture of her and mom.

A stranger walked up to us the other day and started talking to MC and telling her how sweet and cute she was. Connor told the lady, " Looks can be deceiving! She is really bad!" Ha... I just had to laugh.

Carson

Lilah Claire looks just like her momma did at this age.

I was 5 when Kayla was born, and I remember her looking just like this.

Maw got Cael this remote control rat that he has been wanting forever. Watch out Mimi! He says he is going to scare you with it.

Connor

Cael

Maw got the boys these lazer tag guns! They have been playing with them all day!

Maw got MC a doll stroller and cradle.

I was afraid that she might want to get in the stroller and cradle herself, and I was right.

She had PawPaw strolling her around.

And she has been rocking all day in her cradle.

The best picture I got of all 6 of them. The girls were not interested.

Lots of different stuff

2011-12-19T12:46:00.005-06:00

Well, I survived the party week at school. The kids last day was Friday, and they go back on January 3rd. Yay! No alarm clock, homework, test, or car pool for 2 weeks!!!!! We plan on having a very low key, stay in our pj's all day, kind of week!

Mary Clayton has been watching Dora's Christmas Carol movie everyday this month. She is really into Dora these days, but when Swiper swipes the Christmas tree star she cries every time. haha.... It's really cute though!

These next two pictures make me laugh so hard! These pictures are a glimpse into what it's like to have a house full of boys. haha

Cael smelling Collins' stinky dirty feet. ( and to make it even better he has a hole in his sock) I love the look on Collins' face.

Then Cael acting like the smell knocked him out. haha

Crystal gave Collins' this cape and mask last Christmas, and he still wears it all the time. And he still calls himself Super DD.

Mary Clayton can not keep her hands off this one red and green ornament. She will take it off the tree and take off running.

Just a few pictures from last week.

This is the face we get when he ask MC to say cheese.

I thought this little grinch ornament was so cute. Connor made it at his Christmas party at school Friday.

This year I decided to hang all of our Christmas cards from the past years ( or the ones that I could find) on a wreath so we can see how our family grows and changes each year.

I am still loving the fabric garland I made last year. I love the way it looks full of cute Christmas cards.

My grapevine wreaths are already full so I plan on hanging the rest of the Christmas cards that we get this week on the little tree in the breakfast room.

Our 2011 Christmas card

2011-12-19T12:20:00.000-06:00

Christmas Crafting

2011-12-09T20:40:00.003-06:00

We have found a little time in our packed December calender to do a little crafting.

The boys and I made our annual countdown to Christmas chain. I love this tradition.

Mary Clayton made this at preschool this week. I LOVE it!!! Every time she sees it, she holds her foot up. :) She remembers making it. I made a pink tutu tree skirt for Mary Clayton's tree. I sent a picture of it to my friend Tona. She described MC's tree perfectly. She said it's PINKALICIOUS!!!! It really is! ;)
The boys and I made these tree ornaments out of Popsicle sticks this week.

I love homemade ornaments hanging on the kids trees! The boys favorite thing we have made this week is Christmas tree pizzas. We used a pizza dough mix and used our Christmas tree cookie cutter to cut out little trees, then the boys put pizza sauce, cheese, turkey bacon bits, and pepperoni on them. They loved it so much we had them for dinner two times this week!
I am trying to just slow down and enjoy making memories with my little ones this Christmas season! Next week is going to be crazy!!!! I can't even fit all the activities on the calendar square. 4 school Christmas parties ( I am in charge of 3 of them....I am going to be so tired of making oreo balls and cookies), Sunday school Christmas party, One Starry Night at church Wednesday night, Cael's 1st grade play (2 times), Christmas with my family next Sunday at our house, and so one. I hope I don't forget to sent the right teacher gift and happies with the right kid.

Christmas PJ's

2011-12-09T20:07:00.003-06:00

The boys were excited that I found them some Christmas jommies that weren't "babyish". I was excited that I found them on Zulily for $9.99 each!! YAY!

I love Christmas plaid on little boys!

I love this picture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is how he really acts!!

And sometimes Cael can get his brothers to act just as silly!

Little sister has been wearing the ribbon tree shirt that I made her.

Cael's 7th Birthday!

2011-12-03T19:26:00.004-06:00

Cael is 7 years old today! He has been looking forward to this day for a few months. He woke us all up at 6:00 ( on a Saturday ) so he could open his gifts. He was so excited. All he wanted for his birthday was a Thundercat cake and Thundercat toys. Thundercats is a show that used to come on when Caley was a little boy, and a while back they found all the old shows on tv. They even have out the toys now. All 3 of my boys are totally obsessed with Thundercats!!

Cael is incredibly smart, but he strongly dislikes going to school and taking test! He actually has been having major anxiety about test. He wants to make perfect grades ( straight 100's). And he almost has. He has made all 100's this year except for 3 grades and those were a 93, 96, and 97. He says B stands for bad. He cried and cried over those grades and thought that he had failed. He has had to come home early a lot from school this year because he had worried himself sick. We have taken him to the doctor twice about this. He is so strong willed and he makes me want to pull out every strand of hair on my head some days, but he can make me laugh like no one else can. :)He can be so silly sometimes! He loves to play football, basketball, and baseball. He is a great little athlete!! He loves MSU anything! He loves going hunting with his Daddy. He is still a momma's boy, and I love that! He is so sweet to Mary Clayton. Collins really looks up to him and wants to do everything Cael does.

Cael's Thndercat cake!! He loved it.

The boys putting together Cael's new toys.

Cael decided not to have a party this year. PaPa, Mimi, Whitt, Kayla, Carson, and Lilah Claire were all in Tupelo today shopping so they came over to eat cake. PaPa and Mimi met us at Taco Bell (Cael's choice) for lunch. Lilah loved playing in the boxes. MC was a little jealous of me holding LC today.

Collins says ho ho ho!!!

Mimi fed Mary Clayton same cake. She loved it.

Mimi couldn't feed her fast enough. ;)

The look on her face in this picture just cracks me up. It's like she is saying hey where did my bottle go! MC carried around Lilah's bottle and played with them until they left. She never tried to suck them. She just wanted to play with them. She cried because we had to put them back in LC's diaper bag when it was time for them to go home.

Kayla and I always like to get a picture of the girls when they are together. The bottles had to be in the picture today. MC shared one with Lilah. ha..

Happy Birthday Cael!!!!

We love you so much!

15 Months!

2011-11-29T20:09:00.004-06:00

Mary Clayton turned 15 months old on the 26th. She had her well baby check up today.

weight: 22.6 lbs. ( 45% )

height: 31 in. ( 67% )

She is wearing a size 4 diaper, size 4 or 5 shoe, and size 12 or 18 month clothes.

When I am taking pictures of her lately, I get ones like these last two a lot. She is always sticking her tongue out these days! ha

This sweet girl loves her brothers so much!

It's beginning to look like Christmas at the Chrismond house

2011-11-27T13:46:00.003-06:00

All our Christmas decorations are up! I won't bore you with all the pictures since I pretty much did the same thing I did last year.

But here is our big tree.

Mary Clayton loves the tree, and she will not leave it alone! All the breakable ornaments are around the top of the tree and all the non breakable are around the bottom. There are two certain ornaments that she just can not stop touching.

MC loved playing in the big tubs while I was decorating.

She loved to hide down in the tub then jump up and say boo!

Connor is always a big help with MC. He plays with her a lot so I can get stuff done. He is so sweet to her. She wants that green and red glitter ball bad.

so happy because she got it

Collins loves it that Mary Clayton said his name first. She hasn't attempted Connor and Cael's name yet. She really doesn't say Collins. She says dd, but we call him dd a lot. I guess saying dd is easier than saying Collins.

Thanksgiving and The Egg Bowl

2011-11-27T12:04:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago, we went to watch Collins in his Thanksgiving program at school. All the kids were so cute dressed as pilgrims, Indians, and even turkeys. Collins' class dressed as Indians.

Thanksgiving day we went to Mimi and PaPa's house for lunch. My mom came by after lunch. Later that afternoon while Caley and the big boys were hunting, Collins, Mary Clayton, and I went to visit the Fultons while they were in town. We also got to see Whitt, Kayla, Carson, and Lilah Claire.

Cael found a huge leaf while they were in the woods. Uncle Charlie said it was a sycamore leaf. He was so proud of it, and he says he wants to keep it forever!Of course, we watched the egg bowl game Saturday. LOVED that game!!! Every time we would say touchdown, MC would throw her little arms in the air!!!

We had a little time to take a few pictures before church this morning. The boys loved wearing their maroon and white. And they chanted maroon.......white..... all the way to church. Thankfully we only live about 3 miles from our church. ha... They can get pretty loud!

Connor and MC

Collins took this picture of me and MC.

Mary Clayton turned 15 months old on the 26th. She is saying new words and learning something new every day. The boys love this age because they can tell her to do something and she will do it. ha... One of the boys said Mary Clayton where is your tongue?

November Randomness

2011-11-16T11:24:00.006-06:00

I have lots of random pictures from the last few weeks.

Saturday we all rode to West Point in the truck to pick up some shelves, and on the way home Collins and MC fell asleep holding hands. It doesn't get much sweeter than that!

We love when Whitt, Kayla, Carson, and Lilah Claire come to play with us. LC is growing so fast! Mary Clayton calls her baby and tries to hold her.
Thursday was Carson's 5th birthday and we met everyone at Chuck E. Cheese for his party. Carson and Collins always have so much fun together. They are 6 months apart so that means that my baby boy is 4 1/2 now.

Everyday while we are waiting in the carpool line, I let Collins and MC get out of their car seats. On this particular day Collins had fallen asleep and MC was patting his leg screaming dd. haha.... She wanted him to wake up and play.Collins hanging on MC's bed. He also loves to get in it with her and play with her.

Collins came out of our room in Caley's hat and boots, and said I am a little daddy.

Oh my! I just started thinking that my baby boy will be in Kindergarten next year.

I help teach 4 year old music and missions ( Collins' class) on Wednesday night at church. I made these hand print turkeys with the kids last Wednesday night. They turned out so cute. I had enough supplies left to make one for Connor, Cael, and Mary Clayton. I love them. Of course, I got the idea on pinterest.

I also saw this idea on pinterest for a no sew Christmas shirt using ribbon and fabric glue. I love how it turned out. Instead of a bow at the top, I used two buttons. And I also used some no fray stuff on the ends of the ribbon. I can't wait for MC to wear this in the next few weeks.

Here are a few pictures of Mary Clayton taking over the last few weeks. She loves sitting on the window and playing peek-a-boo with the curtains.

She loves wearing her brothers hats.

In the afternoons when I am helping the boys with their homework, I have to give her a snack and turn on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for her.

Mary Clayton is obsessed with the little rocking chair. This chair has been through all 4 kids. Maw bought it for Connor when he was a baby. She love to rock her baby. She says rocky rocky.

All the boys (even Collins) slept in the tent in the backyard Saturday night. They played in the tent all afternoon! MC loved playing in it too!

Mustache ManConnor and Cael sang at church Sunday night during our church's Operation Christmas child service. We love filling shoeboxes every year. This year I took the kids with me shopping for things to put in our shoebox. They usually just help me pack the shoebox, but they loved helping me shop for them too.

Trick-or-Treat

2011-11-02T10:12:00.011-05:00

We carved our pumpkins Sunday afternoon after church. We have never used those cute templates that you buy at Wal-Mart before so we gave them a try this year. All the boys loved them. Cael was a little upset at first because we wouldn't let him have the sharp knife to cut the top off of his pumpkin all by himself.

He finally got over it and had fun!

Collins loved poking the little holes through the template.

After he poked all the holes through, Caley used a knife to cut out the ghost. It turned out really cute!

Connor worked really hard on his pumpkin.

MC woke up so I never got a picture of the pumpkins after they were carved. We had lots of pumpkin seeds to roast. Monday night, Angie and her kids came over to trick-or-treat with us in our neighborhood. The kids had so much fun!

Even little Tinkerbell loved it. She had a few suckers.

Ashtynn went as a football player. She was hilarious. I could NOT stop laughing at her. She wore her brothers uniform, and the shoulder pads were bigger that she is. She is just too cute!

Mary Clayton and Ashtynn

Aynsleigh was the cutest flapper girl ever. She looked so grown up in her flapper dress, make-up, and high heels. She had a little trouble walking in her mom's high heels!

Aynsleigh and MC

Mine and Angie's kids. ha.... one is missing. We both have 4 kids. We couldn't have gotten Dally to come with us even if we tried. He is 18! We aren't cool to hang out with anymore!

(you can kind of see some of our carved pumpkins in this picture)

Peter Pan had a ball. Check out Peter's sword in his bucket! :)Gabe was so sweet to help Mary Clayton. He carried her most of the time. He got to take home her bucket of candy minus a few suckers that she ate while we were trick-or-treating.Caley stayed home to hand out candy. It didn't last long. Our neighborhood is always packed full on Halloween night. It's so fun! A few hayrides make their way around the neighborhood, and there are lots of people on golf carts. There was one house that went all out with a graveyard and smoke! The boys thought that was the coolest. Collins made a beeline back to his room when we got home. When I went to check on him, he was tearing up some candy. He had a stomach ache the next morning. ha....

Mary Clayton is a MESS!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-10-30T16:14:00.009-05:00

I am used to babies climbing and getting into everything. I mean Collins could climb on Connor's full size bed when he was 13 months old. I didn't think I was going to have to go through this climbing stage again since MC is a girl. Boy was I wrong. She is climbing and getting into everything she can. Every time I mention to someone that she is a mess, they do not believe me. So yesterday I kept my camera close by so I could catch her in action!

She loves climbing on her toys.

Yesterday morning, I made Beth's caramel brownie to take to our Sunday school social. Look who is trying to get to them. Seriously, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?
MC getting into the soil of one of my plants. She is so tender hearted all we have to say is NO in a sturn voice and she cries.

She loves to pull out the drawers to the coffee table and sit in them while she watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

I was unloading the dishwasher. I turned away for a minute, and she has climbed up on the dishwasher trying to help!

She is a total mess, but she is also so sweet and loving!! She loves playing with her baby dolls. She always wants me to swaddle her babies in her blankets. She gives them her paci and goldfish! MC's room has a really long and narrow closet. The kids love playing in the back of it. Here she is putting her babies in her closet.

playing in the closet

I swaddled MC in her blanket, and she layed so still for the longest time. She looked so sweet and BIG! What happened to my baby?? Collins wanted to be swaddled too! hahahaha

Never a Dull Moment

2011-10-30T15:52:00.006-05:00

There is NEVER a dull moment at our house with three boys! There is lots of fights and noise, but there is also lots of fun! They were literally climbing the walls the other night. Connor and Cael have been doing this for years. Collins wants to so bad. He is just not tall enough. Maybe in a few years. Bless him....he is so little!

look.... no hands!!!

no feet!!!
Cael tries to get a little fancy!

Connor trying to help Collins. Sweet!

Halloween Happenings

2011-10-30T15:09:00.012-05:00

Mary Clayton loves to hide behind the curtains then peek out and say BOO! It's so cute! I will say where is Mary Clayton. She will start laughing then look around the curtain and say BOO! Sometimes it comes out more like DOO! ha.

BOO!
Mary Clayton turned 14 months old on the 26th. She is totally obsessed with going outside to play with the pumpkins.

Our calendar has been so full with lots of fall activities. All the kids had fall party's at school. They all had fun and ate way to much candy! I had to take Collins and MC with me to Connor and Cael's party so I didn't get any good pictures. oh well! At least I was there!

Collins made this cute little cat mask at school last week. I think it is so cute! I now have it stuck in one of my plants in the kitchen.

Collins didn't want to dress as Peter Pan for his party at school Thursday. I just let him choose one of Cael's old costumes. He went as Batman!

Collins has been trying to scare us all week! He really thinks we don't know who is under that blanket! ha....

Our Weekend

2011-10-24T11:11:00.009-05:00

Friday night and Saturday morning, I went to the Extraordinary Woman's Conference at the Bancorp South arena with some of my sweet friends. It was awesome and really blessed my heart. Mimi and PaPa had their annual Halloween Bonfire Saturday night. The boys look forward to it every year. They have so much fun!! I took some pictures of the kids before it got dark.

Connor dressed up as the Star Wars character Jango Fett again this year.

Cael dressed as Tunnel Rat from G.I. Joe.
Collins went as Peter Pan. Mary Clayton was Tinker Bell.

We love the movie Peter Pan. Cael lived in his Peter Pan costume when he was 2 and 3. He really thought he was Peter Pan. I have been wanting to dress Collins and Mary Clayton up like Peter Pan and Tinker Bell since I found out I was pregnant with MC.

We tried to get a family picture, but MC was so scared of Connor's mask she wouldn't stop crying. ha!

my boys

Lilah Claire and Carson came to the bonfire. LC was a ladybug.

Carson was General Grievous from Star Wars.

Maw and Tinker Bell.Collins decided half way through the night that he wanted to be a hunter. He found lots of old hunting stuff in his Daddy's old room.

Caley's birthday was Sunday!!! We had a really great day. We went to church and lunch. Later that afternoon, Caley's parents came up, and we all went to Longhorn for his birthday dinner. This picture of MC is the only picture I took all day Sunday. She looks just like Connor did at this age.

Mississippi State vs. South Carolina

2011-10-16T12:26:00.011-05:00

It is nearly impossible to get a good picture of 4 kids. It is so hard!!!!! I tried to get a good picture of the 4 all together before the game Saturday. I got a few where 3 out of 4 are doing right. I thought I would share all the pictures I took of them so everyone could see just how hard it is. Collins and Mary Clayton thought something was so funny. Cael started to slouch down and Connor gets sleepy eyes! ARGH!!! Our Christmas card picture this year may be 4 separate pictures.

I don't even remember what Caley was saying, but obviously Collins and MC thought is was so funny!

We dropped Collins off in West Point to stay with Kayla, Carson, and Lilah Claire. Mimi and Papa were out of town and Maw had to work so Mary Clayton had to go to the game with us. She will NOT be going back anytime soon! She did not want us to hold her. She wanted down to try to get the peoples attention that was in front of us. She would just go limp and try to slide out of our arms. I ended up taking her behind the stands in the first quarter. She ran around and had fun then. She clapped when everyone else would clap, then she would roll it up like she was playing pat-a-cake. haha....

She liked getting her face painted at fan fair. She was so still!

Erin Ruth came down to play with MC for a while. MC loved it, and she tried to do everything that Erin Ruth was doing.

There is one more game that we would have to take MC to because Mimi will be out of town and Maw has to work. I will be giving my ticket away and staying at home with her.

Collins' class goes to the pumpkin patch

2011-10-14T09:47:00.004-05:00

I had a fun day with Collins' 4 year old class at the Circle Y Pumpkin Patch Tuesday. He has the sweetest little class. Collins' has really opened up a lot since last year. I was happy to see him partcipate in the class picture. He is the one with the sunglasses one. The boy has very sensitive eyes. I forgot my camera and had to use my phone. I have done that a lot lately. I am just happy not to forget one of my kids. :)

Collins, John David, and Luke

Lately

2011-10-14T09:06:00.005-05:00

Last Friday night, the boys spend the night in the fort. Collins ended up coming inside and sleeping with me, but the other 3 made it all night long. They had a foam mattress and sleeping bags to make it a little more comfy. They also took a t.v. outside to watch movies. The boys had spend the night in the fort on our summer bucket list, but we had to wait until it cooled off before they could attempt it. Connor and Cael are already asking when can they do it again. I don't think Caley's back is ready for another night in the fort anytime soon!!

Mary Clayton is growing like a weed! Her hair is really growing too! It has really changed in the last few weeks. It has a red tint to it! I now think it will be strawberry blonde. She is obsessed with her bow. She points to her head and says "bow" a lot. I LOVE it!!!!!
She loves playing with and rearranging my pumpkins on the front porch.

She stands at the door and cries for us to take her outside!

She is the sweetest little thing! I could just eat her up!!! Her BIG dimples remind me of my Daddy everyday! ;) I love that she has big dimples just like he did!!!!

She finally cut her 3rd tooth last week! Yay!!! 5 months after getting her first 2 teeth she finally gets another one. Brushing her teeth is one of her favorite things to do. She brushes them like 4 times a day!

Mary Clayton and Lilah Claire

2011-10-14T08:49:00.005-05:00

I love it that Mary Clayton and Lilah Claire and only 10 months apart. They were both born in the summer so it is perfect for handing down MC's old clothes to Lilah Claire. I love getting to see Lilah Claire in all of Mary Clayton's old stuff.

Mary Clayton last October!

Lilah Claire a year later in the same Halloween tutu!

Here is the best picture I could get of both of them together. MC loves the "baby".

Fall Decor

2011-10-06T17:50:00.016-05:00

I love decorating for fall!!!! Or any holiday! You would think that all the boys in my house wouldn't even notice, but they do. They love all the little fall touches around the house. I don't have a lot of fall or Halloween decorations, but I am working on my collections a little each year.

the front porch

I made these BOO wreaths last year. I was disappointed that the black burlap faded in the sun. I took my Boo letters off and used some black spray paint to take care of that, then I put the Boo letters back on. Now they look great!
I bought these gourds years ago when we still lived in West Point. I still love them. They stay on our table from September until Thanksgiving.

Please look at how small Connor and Cael were in this picture. It is one of my favorites. Connor was a little over 3 and Cael was 18 months. They have grown so much! Some of my favorite things to display are things the boys have made at school or church. I love this brown bag painted orange and stuffed with paper that Collins made last year. I also love the brown and red pumpkin made out of burlap. I forgot who made it or when!

the kitchen

When we lived at our old house, I used to get these big horse apples every fall to decorate with from a tree in a pasture behind our house. I haven't had any in a few years because the only trees I saw around town were in peoples front yard. Well, I was talking to my friend Nicole about them, and she knew where I could find me some. Thanks Nicole! They look great in my dough bowl.

I LOVE the combination of white pumpkins and pine cones together!

I got this wooden Boo sign at Wal-Mart a long time ago for $1.00. Love it!

the boys love candy corn..... I do NOT!

I love these 3 glass canisters or whatever they are called. I always fill them with something cute for each holiday!

I added a pumpkin to the mantle.

a pumpkin on top of the TV cabinet. Wouldn't 2 white pumpkins look good on those candlesticks?

iron pumpkin with a pumpkin spice candle

big acorns!

Notice the plant to the back of the picture frame. The boys call it hair! I am a little obsessed with house plants. Especially different looking ones. I have several Exotic house plants! I am running out of places to put them. I just love the way greenery makes a house look so warm and cozy!

Talking about weird plants, I love this one in my kitchen. It is curly!This sweet potato vine started out so little. Now it is out of control. I cut it all the time this summer, put it in a glass of water to root it, then I planted it in the front flower beds. My friend Sandy has some too, and she stacked pumpkins in hers and they look so cute! I might need to do that next year.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-01T20:19:00.021-05:00

Connor and Mary Clayton got sick with the stomach virus Thursday night. Connor was so upset that he had to miss school Friday! The 3rd graders were going on a field trip. They went on a walking tour of downtown Tupelo and on a tour of Elvis Presley's birth place and musuem. I hate he missed it too. The weather has been perfect! October is my favorite month. It's my birthday month! Caley's and Kayla's ( my sister) too! Kayla was born on Halloween. I love this time of year. I have fond memories from when I was growing up of all the fun things we got to do in October. I want my kids to be the same way. We went to Country Pumpkins in Caledonia this morning. I loved it. It was our first time to go there. ( thank you Shannon for the directions!) We have been to pumpkin patches all around. (Circle Y in Corinth, Oxford, Blue Mountain, and The Buffelo Park that is practically across the street from our house) None of them were near as good as Country Pumpkins. I love the fact that you do not pay to get in (and carry one tiny pumpkin home). You just pay for the pumpkins that you want to buy. And there pumpkins are priced GREAT! We got a bunch!

These two BIG boys will not wear a cute pumpkin shirt anymore. :(

After they took a few pictures, they were off to play in the cotton, sand, corn, tire swings, and hay. They had a great time!!

I wanted a picture of me and all 4 of my babies, but that didn't turn out so great!

This little straw maze was the perfect height for our little dd. He loved it! I bet he went through it 20 times.

The trailer full of cotton was a lot of fun! I love this picture of MC!!!!!

Mary Clayton loved playing in what Collins called the corn box.

LOVE this precious girl

She tried to eat the corn one time. After we told her no, she tried to feed it to us.

These tire swings were so much fun!

MC wanted to get on the tire swings so bad!!

Happy Fall Y'all

Monday Night Football

2011-09-28T09:58:00.013-05:00

Connor and Cael are both playing flag football this year. It's their first year to play. They have both loved it, and have learned a lot. Most of the games are on Monday Nights. I am too busy chasing Mary Clayton and Collins around to get any action shots of them. But I did get a few pictures of them before the game Monday night.

Cael is on the Chargers team! He is #10!

Connor is on the Colts team. He is #13!

They remind me of a little Kasey and a little Caley wearing our old numbers. Connor looks so much like Caley, and Cael looks just like me. :)

I picked up Gabe ( my cousin Angie's son) from school Monday, and he played with the boys all afternoon and went to the game with us. He is so sweet to play with the boys. They LOVE him! He was also a big help at the game!

13 Months Old

2011-09-27T13:11:00.006-05:00

Mary Clayton was 13 months old yesterday! She has learned so many new things this month. Some of her favorite things are:

books- She loves them! And she has a few that are her favorites. She brings them to me all day, and backs up and sits in my lap for me to read to her. All her favorite books are about animals!

animals- She can meow like a cat. She pants like a dog. She loves Taffy, and the neighbors dogs!

She loves to make fish lips. We have taken her to PetsMart a few times to see the fish. She tweets like a bird, and tries to quack like a duck.

her brothers- She is lost without them at home. They all spent the night with Mimi and PaPa Friday night, and she looked all over the house for them. She misses them when they are at school. She calls all 3 of them Dada. It's really cute.

her baby- She is always carring around "baby" that Maw got her for her birthday. "Baby" has gotten so dirty. It is not washable, but I am going to have to do something soon. Her clothes do not even look pink anymore.

Outside- This girl loves to play outside. She loves to just walk around, play in the sandbox, or swing. She saw her shadow for the first time a few weeks ago, and she kept pointing at it and talking jibber jabber to it. She is not very fond of her stroller!

My hair- She is still obsessed with my hair. She wants to play with it all the time. When she gets sleepy, she finds a paci and points to the couch. She wants me to sit on the couch and hold her so she can play with my hair. It only takes her a few minutes to go to sleep.

I think she weighs around 22 lbs. She also looks like she has gotten taller to me, but I haven't measured her in a while.

She is still wearing size 12 months. I bought mostly size 18 month for this fall/winter, but they are all a little to big! Mimi is working on taking up a few outfits.

As you can see in the picture above, her 18 month dresses are really long on her.

She has 2 teeth! And I can tell her hair has really started to grow lately. I have cut it in the back 2 times now. I think her hair will be blonde, but not as blonde as Collins'.

She is into everything! It is so hard to get a picture of her now because she will not be still!!! She is running! She dances! She really seems to like school. She doesn't cry when I drop her off, and she is always happy when I pick her up. She is just really clingy on those two afternoons that she goes to school. She shakes her head for no when we ask her a question. She understands a lot of things that we say to her. If we ask her to go get a certain thing, she does.

Gameday

2011-09-27T12:43:00.006-05:00

We tailgated with some great friends from Tupelo Saturday before the game. Mimi and PaPa kept Mary Clayton for us, and Collins stayed with Whitt and Kayla to play with Carson. We had a great day!

Bounds, Elise, Molly, and Lacy

Charlie, Bounds, Cael, and Causey

Cael

Misty (holding Catherine), Christy, Mary Margaret, Leigh Ann, Mignon, and me
Heather and Sandy were there too.

Love this picture of Bounds!

Connor, Marcus, Causey, and Bounds on the way to Fan Fair.

The Zoo

2011-09-19T12:19:00.014-05:00

We went to the Birmingham Zoo Saturday. The weather was perfect!!! Mary Clayton LOVED all the animals except for the pigs. They scared her for some reason, and she held on tight and whined. ha! Any kind of bird or duck was her favorite! She would get very excited!! She waved the entire train ride. It was the cutest thing! After the zoo we shopped for as long as 4 kids could stand it which wasn't very long.

Feeding the birds in the bird santuary was our favorite! Cael, Caley, and MC all got pooped on by one bird that was perch on Cael's shoulder. It was so funny! Or at least it was to me, Connor, and Collins. ;)

Go Dawgs!

2011-09-15T19:48:00.002-05:00

I LOVE going to State's football games, but not on a school night!

We are enjoying watching the Bulldogs in our PJ's tonight!

Go Dawgs!!!

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-13T21:30:00.001-05:00

I am a little late at posting about Labor Day Weekend. We had a great long weekend! Crystal (Caley's sister) and her family were in West Point all week! Mimi wanted a full house Friday night so we all spent the night. She had a FULL house alright! It was so fun! We laughed a lot!! I love watching the kids play together.

We met everybody at Oby's in Starkville Friday night. Oby's is one of my favorite restaurants. Caley and Crystal's too!

Mary Clayton and Willa Kate were so happy to see each other. They were really checking each other out.

Saturday morning we all went to the Prairie Arts Festival. I love going to PAF. I bought 2 wooden crosses for the front doors, and of course food. We always have to get a chicken on a stick and a funnel cake. After lunch on Saturday, Crystal and I went to Columbus to Fashion Apparel. The kids all stayed with their Daddy's and Mimi and PaPa.

Brady

Cael and Brady

Willa Kate

Collins and Brady

the 2 crosses I got for the doors

boys eating snowcones at PAF

The girls at PAF. MC slept most of the time.

Saturday afternoon Kayla (my sister) brought Carson and Lilah Claire over to Mimi's to play. I loved getting all the girls together. They were all born within 10 months.

Willa Kate-6 1/2 months

Mary Clayton-12 months

Lilah Claire-2 1/2 months

I love that they all have double names! Sweet girls. It was nearly impossible to get a picture of all 3 of them looking at the camera. At least they all have their eyes open in this one.

We went to the Dimino camphouse for lunch Monday. We dressed the kids alike so we could try to get a picture. Connor was really upset that it was raining and he wasn't getting to ride the mule. He was NOT into having his picture made. But they are all looking.

Last Thursday Mimi, Crystal, Brady, and Willa Kate come to Tupelo to hang out with us all day. We went to Midnite Pottery to get Willa Kate's hand and feet prints done, Corner Shoe Store, Silly Simpson's, and Chick-fil-A before going to pick up Connor and Cael at school. We played until it was time to go to Connor's flag football game. Connor loved having everyone there to watch him.

MC hugging Willa Kate bye a little to tight!

* I have NO idea why blogger keeps spacing out my pictures and writing wierd. I have tried to fix it! It is driving my nuts!!!!! If anyone know how to fix it please let me know!! Thanks

Tutu Cute

2011-09-12T21:00:00.004-05:00

Crystal got Mary Clayton this cute tutu for her birthday. She was here last week and took some pictures of MC in the tutu. I bought her a white ribbed tank from Old Navy and used my glue gun and tulle to make the rossettes. She looked adorable! We are having so much fun with our girls! Crystal also bought her a pink lollipop to use in the pictures, but we forgot to use it. I put her tutu back on her this weekend and took some more pictures! She LOVED the lollipop!!! After I took a few pictures I took it away from her. I bet the entire neighborhood heard her cry!

The next 2 are my favorites!

Braces, Bulldogs, S'mores, & Chalkboards

2011-09-11T13:27:00.004-05:00

Connor got braces a little over 2 weeks ago to correct his under bite. He had a HARD time eating the first few days, but now he is doing great! He said all his friends at school thinks that he is so cool because he has braces! He is probably the only 3rd grader with them.

My heart is just now recovering from the Auburn game yesterday! Caley sat on the edge of his chair the entire game! I am probably the last State fan to know about the free Mississippi State Cowbell App for your phone. The boys LOVE it, and they rang my phone all during the game.
She is a mess!!! We made S'mores last night. It was Mary Clayton's first time to eat them. She had it all over her.

My boys love fire!

YUM!!!

I have been wanting some chalkboards for me and the kids. There was one in Pottery Barn Kids that I loved, but it was $350. I had Caley make me one and the kids one for a fraction of the cost! I love them!

This BIG one is the kids, and we hung it in their hall at their height. They love to write their spelling words on it and draw huge pictures.

The red one is mine. I hung it in the hall to the garage. I love to write Bible verses on it or little messages to Caley and the kids.

These are bad pictures. I have know idea why there is a bad glare, but you get the idea.

Collins and Mary Clayton

2011-09-06T12:48:00.003-05:00

Collins and Mary Clayton have had busy little schedules the last few weeks. We met their sweet teachers last Thursday night. I know they both will have a great school year. Last week I took them to their 4 year old (4 months late) and 1 year old well baby check ups! Mary Clayton had to have shots, and she was heartbroken about it.

They started preschool today. Collins will be going to pre -k on Tuesday and Thursdays from 9 -2 and Wednesdays from 9 -12. Mary Clayton will be going on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-2. I have never sent one of my kids to preschool until they were 3, but we decided to sent Mary Clayton this year. With 4 kids, we are so busy I need those 10 hours a week to get things done. And boy did I get a lot done today...... Grocery Store, post office, cleaned house, folded a mound of laundry, started putting some fall stuff out. Now I won't have to do all this when the kids are all at home. They will get my full attention!!!

1st day of 4 year old preschool

weight: 36 lbs.

height: 40 1/2 in.

Collins is so blessed to have so many sweet friends that he loves in his class this year. He was so excited this morning! He didn't even want me to walk him in, but I talked him into it just for the first day! When he got in the car this afternoon, he was all smiles. He had a fun day!

1st day of preschool

weight: 21 lbs.

height: 29 1/2 in.

Mary Clayton did great when I dropped her off this morning. I was so nervous. I was so busy getting everything checked off my list today that it was time to go get her before I knew it. And I only called to check on her one time! She hugged and kissed me when I picked her up, and started reaching for my hair. But she didn't like it very much when I put her in her car seat after just getting her. She barely ate her lunch so she ate it in car pool line to pick up Cael.

GO STATE!

2011-09-01T11:23:00.002-05:00

MC is ready to cheer for the Bulldogs!!

Maple BBQ Chicken

2011-08-31T12:28:00.008-05:00

I am linking up today in Kelly's Korner's Crockpotalooza. With 4 kids and a busy fall schedule the crock pot has become my new best friend. Maple Bar B Que Chicken has been a favorite of ours for a few years. It's yummy and so easy!
Maple BBQ Chicken

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup Maple flavored syrup

2 Tbsp. mustard

2 Tbsp. Worestershire sauce

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

4 boneless, skinnless chicken breast

Place chicken breast in crock pot. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6 hours or until chicken is done. Remove meat, shred and return to sauce. Place on buns for yummy BBQ chicken sandwiches.

And just for fun, this is what I always serve with it.

Pasta Salad with Feta Cheese

12 oz. of pasta ( I use the 3 different color spiral pasta)

4 oz. chopped pimento, drained

4 oz. sliced olives, drained

1 container of crumbled feta

Dressing:

2 Tbsp. Cavender's Greek Seasoning

3 Tbsp. lemon juice

3 Tbsp. Mayo

1/2 cup olive oil

In a bowl, combine cooked drained pasta with the pimentos and olives. Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over pasta. Top with feta cheese. Stir to combine. Chill.

I am so obsessed with this pasta salad! I want it all the time. I made it last night, and I ate the leftovers for breakfast! ha....

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-31T12:00:00.000-05:00

Mary Clayton's 1st Birthday Party

2011-08-28T17:19:00.011-05:00

We had our family over this afternoon to help us celebrate Mary Clayton's first birthday. We had a small but sweet party. Maw, Papa, Mimi, PawPaw, Nanny, Ms. Mildred, Whitt, Kayla, Carson, Lilah Claire, Arnie, Angie, Gabe, Anysleigh, and Ashtynn were all here to party with us. MC was in a great mood for her party. She loved all her gifts and her cake too! I could NOT stop taking pictures of her! I took over 200! haha.....

This might just be my favorite picture ever of MC! She looked so stinkin' cute for her party. I had ordered her a smocked Minnie Mouse dress a few months ago, but I got a size 18 months thinking she would be able to wear it on her birthday. I guessed wrong. It was so long. It was way past her feet. ha.... Luckily Willa Kate had one in a smaller size so Crystal shipped it to me. Thanks Willa Kate for letting MC wear your dress! It was perfect!!!

MC checking out the sweets before everyone arrived! Too cute!

Maw and MC

I have been so excited about Mary Clayton's Minnie Mouse cake. I took the lady that made it a picture that was just what I was wanting. Well, when I picked the cake up it looked NOTHING like the picture I took her. She even had a black bow on the Minnie ears! BLACK! I cried all the way home. I know kind of dramatic, but I was upset. It was just not what I wanted. The girl ended up making a pink bow. It made it look a little better, but the picture of the cake I wanted was sooooo much cuter. Anyway, I am over it now! A sweet lady that works at FUMC made the Minnie Mouse cookies. They were so yummy! I made the chocolate covered strawberries! I guess they were good because they were all gone!

Carson

Arnie, Angie, Aynsleigh, and MC

Whitt, Connor, and Cael with some huge water balloons!

Collins

Angie and MC

Chicken fight!!!

I am sure Whitt and Gabe will sleep good tonight. Connor and Cael wore them out in the pool.

opening her gifts

Mary Clayton LOVED her cake!!

MC and Anys playing with new toys!

PaPa, Mimi, and MC

sweet Lilah Claire

Happy 1st Birthday Mary Clayton!!!!!!!

2011-08-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

Can you believe how fast this year has gone by? Why is it that the 9 months you are pregnant go by so slow, but the first year of your babies life goes by super fast? Here is a look back at our precious doll baby over the last year. What a difference a year makes!!!

One Month

Two Months
Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Seven Months

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten Months

Eleven Months

Twelve Months

Happy 1st Birthday Mary Clayton!!!

We love you soooooooo much!

Lately

2011-08-25T09:13:00.008-05:00

I can't believe I have only blogged once all month. We have had a crazy busy month!!! Mary Clayton has kept us all busy this month. She is a full time walker now (for about a month now). She rarely crawls anymore. I am just now getting used to the boys being back in school. It's a BIG adjustment having 2 in school with homework and test instead of just one. And 2 car pool lines everyday is about to wear me out! It takes an hour and a half. I dread it everyday! Three of the kids have had a weird fever virus in the last three weeks, but not all at one time. So I feel like someone has had fever for three weeks straight. Connor and Cael are playing flag football this fall. They have had several practices each. Cael is totally obsessed with it! Cael lost another tooth last night. That makes 4. He is snaggle tooth on top now. I think he looks so cute. He doesn't like it at all. He thinks he looks funny, and he is scared someone will make fun of him. He said it feels really funny! He wouldn't let me take a picture of it this morning!

Mary Clayton will be one tomorrow!!! She is such a joy! She does something new almost everyday. She loves going to the park to see the baby ducks. She quacks at them. She also meows like a cat, and she makes fish lips when she sees a fish in her favorite book!

Last week I put a bow in her hair without the headband. She only has a few strands long enough. Ha..... Maybe she will have enough hair for a bow when she is 2!!!

Collins loves playing with his baby sister. Mary Clayton loves playing with Collins, too!

Mary Clayton has been totally off the bottle for about 2 weeks now. She loves her sippy cup of whole milk, but when Lilah Claire was here Tuesday she wanted her bottle. She cried for it. She just stopped taking formula 2 weeks ago, and I wasn't about to put whole milk in a bottle.

I let her open one of her birthday presents from Maw a little early. Maw doesn't care! It was her very first baby doll. Y'all Mary Clayton is so in love with this doll. She has carried it around everywhere. It is just something so sweet about watching your baby girl love on and play with a baby doll. It just melts my heart. I love this girl so much. She even made her Daddy kiss the baby when he was leaving for work this morning. He gave MC a kiss and told her bye, then MC held up the baby so he could kiss the baby. Precious!!!

She is so excited she gets to eat cake this weekend!!!

She love watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. In fact its the only show she will watch.When I gave her the babies bottle, she knew exactly what to do with it. LOVE.

Trying out the babies bottle! We think the baby looks just like MC with her headband and big blue eyes. The baby coos and says Momma! Y'all I am so excited about having a baby doll in our house. Can you tell??? I love the smell of this baby doll! Weird I know, but it smells just like my baby dolls used to smell when I was little. It must be the plastic or something. I loved playing baby dolls and barbies when I was little. I was a girlie girl, but I also was a country girl who loved sports, playing in the dirt, and riding bikes and 4 wheelers.

I think MC will be the same way. I can already tell!!!

There will be many more pics of MC in the next few days. She is having a Minnie Mouse party Sunday afternoon! I can't wait to watch her eat her cake!

Back to school and 10 years

2011-08-07T19:58:00.003-05:00

Thursday was a BIG day at our house!! It was Connor and Cael's first day of school, and Caley and I celebrated our 1oth wedding anniversary! We had a great day. Even though I wasn't ready for the boys to go back to school. I didn't cry this year. I guess I am saving up all the tears for when Collins starts Kindergarten next year. Collins, MC, and I went to my friend Christy's annual first day of school prayer breakfast after we dropped the boys off. Collins was lost all day without Connor and Cael, but before we knew it it was time to go get them. Connor and Cael are not at the same school so that means two car pool lines. Both Thursday and Friday were awful. Car pool took two hours on Thursday, and about an hour and 45 minutes Friday. I am hoping that it gets better next week. It's HOT!!! They both had a really good first day! Cael was super clingy to me both days in the afternoon after picking him up. He was right under me everywhere I went. He was even holding onto me telling me over and over he missed me. :( I missed him too!

We weighed and measured the boys before school. I am hoping to do it again on their last day of school if I don't forget.

First day of 3rd grade

( I am so excited that Ashtynn (my cousin Angie's little girl) is in Connor's class this year.)

weight: 65 lbs.

height: 54 in.

First day of first grade:

(I am so excited that Cael got the same teacher Connor had in 1st grade.)

weight: 56 lbs.

height: 51 1/2 in.

Mary Clayton has been busy as a bee the last few weeks. She is walking everywhere and getting into everything.
Collins was so lost without Connor and Cael home. He played with MC more. She loved it!!!
Collins starts pre-K, 3 days a week, after Labor Day. Mary Clayton is also going to preschool or Mother's Day Out two days a week this fall at the same church Collins goes to.
Collins wanted us to weigh and measure him too:
weight: 36 lbs.
height: 40 3/4 in.

MC sporting her sunglasses. So cute!

This little rocking chair is about to be put up. She keeps climbing in it and standing up.

Her first birthday is right around the corner!

She still only has two teeth, and no signs of anymore. I think it is odd that she is almost one and only has 2 teeth. It's makes it hard to feed her. She wants to feed herself table food. She doesn't want anything that resembles baby food. She will not eat anything in the food processor. I hope this pickiness (I don't think that is a word) that she has gotten recently is not a indication that she is going to be like Cael with his weird eating habits.

Happy 11 Months Mary Clayton!

2011-07-25T10:44:00.006-05:00

Mary Clayton will be 11 months old tomorrow! These monthly post seem to come around way to fast! The next monthly post I do she will be one. This is such a sweet age. She is learning something new everyday, and she gets so excited about it. I wish I could just freeze time right now and keep her at this age for a little bit longer. We love this little sweetness to pieces!

I think she weighs 21 lbs. I usually weigh, then I weigh holding her.

She is wearing a size 12 months clothes, a size 4 diaper, and a size 3 shoe if she would keep them on her feet. She can get a pair of shoes off in just a few minutes!
She babbles all the time. She loves to play pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo.

I trimmed nearly a 1/2 inch off the back of her hair (we call it the mullet) the other day. It looks so much better. I will probably have to do it a few more times before the front catches up, then we can let it all grow out together. I don't think anyone will be mistaking her for a boy with all her pink and big bows on.

Everyone always ask me which one of the boys gives her the most attention. They all love to play with her, talk to her, and love on her, but Collins does the most. She gets so excited when we go wake up Collins every morning. Cael and Mary Clayton wake up almost every morning at 6:00. We usually wake Connor and Collins up at 9:00 if they aren't awake yet.

Collins loves to hold her and love on her.

Mary Clayton loves to feed herself. It's not always easy to think of finger foods to feed a baby with only 2 teeth. Taffy loves when MC is in her chair eating. He is always right under her, and she loves to drop him food.

Some of her favorite foods are:

bananas

blueberries

strawberries

watermelon

waffles

turkey

peas

green beans

any kind of crackers

nutri-grain bars ( that is what is on her face in this picture)

She is one messy eater!!!
Connor will not sit by her when she is eating. It grosses him out.
Mary Clayton loves her Daddy!

Almost Walking

2011-07-22T10:53:00.004-05:00

Mary Clayton is so close to walking. She is taking 2 to 3 steps at a time, and sometimes even 4 to 5 steps. She is so proud of herself.

I love this picture of our little princess. She loves to play outside. She always wants to play with leaves or a stick.

Awww... Collins took her stick away from her.

Last night after dinner, we played outside in the front yard for a long time. We are usaully in the back yard in the pool at night. Connor and Cael are in Huntsville at the Space Center with Mimi and PaPa so it was just Collins and Mary Clayton. I think she looks so so sweet in this picture.

My babies are growing so fast!!!

2011-07-17T15:05:00.002-05:00

Mary Clayton is will one next month. She has been taking a few steps this weekend!! Time is just flying by. All my babies are growing up so fast.

September 2010

October 2010
October 2010

December 2010

April 2011

May 2011

May 2011July 2011

Haven't they grown a lot over the last year? Connor and Cael start back to school in just 2 1/2 weeks. I ran across this poem the other day, and just loved it. It made me a little sad. I know I am a stay at home mom and I do have lots of time with my kids, but sometimes all the other stuff that I have to do just gets in the way of me just spending quality time with them.

"The cleaning and scrubbing can wait til tomorrow. But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow. So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep! I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep."

- Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

I am going to live by this poem for the next few weeks of summer break.

The boys and I made a bucket list of fun things we want to do the last few weeks of summer.

-swim a lot

-snuggle on the couch watching movies and eating popcorn

-make homemade ice cream...again

-go for snow cones...again

-paint Christmas ornaments

-read lots of books

-learn the 23rd Psalm

-make chocolate covered marshmallows on a stick

-play legos for hours

-have more friends over to swim

-spend the night in the fort...... ( their daddy will have to do this one with them)

-build a huge pillow fort/tent and play in it all day

-play baseball

-ride our bikes around the neighborhood

-go fishing at the camphouse (again a daddy or PaPa thing)

So if anyone just happens to stop by, don't expect the house to be clean.... we will be to busy having fun!!!

Only in the South....

2011-07-13T07:23:00.002-05:00

do little boys swim in camo

and

little girls swim in pink monogrammed tutus!!!!

I LOVE IT!!!!!

We are having a blast in our pool this summer!
1..2..3..JUMP!

Collins is swimming like a little fish. No more arm floaties. He only needs to rest on a noodle from time to time because he gets so tired. He is so little that the shallow end is still over his head. He makes me nervous though. He is fearless. Running and jumping in every other minute. He is so proud! He started the summer in arm floaties. But he would still jump in and go under with the floaties on. Then he moved on to just one arm floatie. LOL! Now he is own his own and doing a great!!! He didn't take swim lessons this year because the lady we like to take from had her swim lesson during our VBS week. But it looks like he doesn't need anymore swim lessons. GO COLLINS!!!

He loves to float around like this with just his head out of water!

Mary Clayton likes the water, but only for about 20 minutes then she is done! The boys and I swim during MC's afternoon nap most days. We only swim with MC at night. It is just too hot for her during the day.

To Blog or Not to Blog?!?!?!

2011-07-11T17:40:00.000-05:00

For the last few weeks I have been debating whether or not I should keep blogging or stop. Lots of times the boys do not want me to take their pictures anymore. Mary Clayton is the only one that can't run away from me and tell me don't take my picture!!! I have been blogging for more than 3 years and have an awesome scrapbook out of it. I love blogging, but it has gotten hard. Mary Clayton is into EVERYTHING! Most of the time if we are out and about my hands are to full to take pictures. And sometimes I feel like I miss out on stuff because I am to busy taken pictures. But then again I LOVE my pictures and memories. Who knows??? I am just feeling weird about it. My Mom would be really upset with me if I stopped.

So on to a little update of what we have been up to lately!!

Mary Clayton is growing and growing. She is walking behind her push toys and seems to get braver everyday. I think she gets cuter everyday too!!! ;)

I love this picture of her big blue eyes and two little teeth.

watching the boys ride their bikes

sweet smile

I went with my friend Beth to pick blueberries in Pontotoc at a blueberry farm a few weeks ago. I had the best time. We went early one morning. It was so nice out. We just talked and picked for about 2 hours. It was very therapeutic. I picked 2 gallons to freeze. Mary Clayton LOVES blueberries.

FUN AT SMITH LAKE WITH FRIENDS

I didn't get to take many pics.

Again, I had my hands full.

Collins and John David napping on the boat. They were SO cute!

FOURTH OF JULY AT THE CAMPHOUSE

Connor coming down the zip line.

SYMPHONY BROWNIES

These yummy little brownies are the reason I gained a few pounds over the 4th of July weekend!
My friend, Mignon, gave me this recipe and it is so easy!

Ingredients:

1 box Duncan Hines brownie mix

3 giant toffee bits and almond Hershey's Symphony bars

Directions:

Mix up the brownies according to the box. Pour half of the brownie mixture into a 9 x 13 pan. Lay the three Symphony bars across the top. Then pour the other half of the brownie mix on top of the chocolate bars.

Bake for 30 minutes.

They are seriously good!

These next few pictures are why it has been so hard for me to blog lately!

Lilah Claire

2011-07-01T15:44:00.002-05:00

I took these pictures of my new niece, Lilah Claire, last weekend while we were in West Point. I love the way they turned out! She never woke up the entire time I was moving her from the basket to the dough bowl. I tried and tried to get Mary Clayton's pictures in the dough bowl and basket when she was a baby, but she would wake up every time. Lilah Claire was a precious little angel.

Carson(4 1/2) and Lilah Claire (1 week)

Happy 10 Months Mary Clayton

2011-06-26T12:26:00.007-05:00

Mary Clayton is ten months old today! She has grown and changed so much in the last month. She is into EVERYTHING!!!!!!

She is my little shadow. She is right behind me every where I go. A few days ago she started standing by herself from sitting for a few seconds. She is so proud of herself. At 10 months all three of her brothers were walking so she is behind them a little bit, but I like that. I am not ready of her to walk just yet!

She weighs about 20 lbs.

She wear mostly size 12 months and some 9 months.

She wears a size 3 diaper, and a size 3 shoe.

Just this month she has tried to eat sand, dog food, dirt, grass, and lots of other stuff she is curious about.

I told you she was a MESS!

I love this age, but it is a hard age. They are into everything at this age.

Her favorite foods are blueberries, watermelon, strawberries, bananas, sweet potatoes, peas, crackers, bread, puffs, yogurt, nutri grain bars.

She still takes 4 (4 to 5 oz. ) bottles a day.
She still just has two teeth.She is a happy baby! We LOVE her to pieces. I just can not believe she will be one in two months.

Look! I can stand on my own.

She still takes three naps a day. We have tried getting that down to two naps a day, but it hasn't gone over very well.

I think I am going to trim her hair in the back soon. If I don't it is going to look like a mullet. The back is a lot thicker and longer than the front. I think I will keep it trimmed until the front catches up.

The other day I was acting silly trying to get her to smile for me, and this is all I got.

NO smiles...

then her brothers walk up and she smiles so BIG for them!

She loves her brothers so much.

Sweet girl is growing so fast!

MC and the boys Friday before going to see Cars 2.

She slept through most of it. The other time she snacked on her puffs while trying her best to get to our popcorn.

Happy 10 Months sweet girl!

We love you!

The Girls

2011-06-24T09:30:00.000-05:00

God has truly blessed our family full of little boys with three precious baby girls over the last year. I just love it that me, my sister (Kayla), and my sister-in-law (Crystal) all had baby girls within 10 months of each other.

Mary Clayton will be 10 months old Sunday. Willa Kate is 4 months old. And Lilah Claire is one week old today.

On our way home from Atlanta Monday, we had to go through West Point to pick up Taffy at my Mom's house. (A BIG thank you to my Mom for always keeping Taffy for us when we are out of town. He loves her so much! She spoils him rotten!) While we were in West Point we stopped to see Lilah Claire. This was Mary Clayton's first time to see her. She was really jealous. She cried when I held the baby, and she cried when Kayla held her. Mary Clayton looked so big up next to her.

Precious baby. She looks just like her Daddy and brother, Carson. I hope I get to see her again this weekend.
Both Willa Kate and Lilah Claire were born with lots of dark hair. I wouldn't know what to do with all this hair. All my babies were bold!Willa Kate is getting so big! She also looks just like her Daddy and brother, Brady. I am missing this girl so bad. It has been nearly 2 months since I have seen her last. Crystal and her family just moved from Hallsville, TX to Houston, TX. Hopefully, we will see them in September when they come to West Point for Labor Day Weekend.

I can not wait to get these sweet girls all together.

Medival Times

2011-06-24T08:00:00.001-05:00

While we were in Atlanta, we went to eat at Medival Times. My boys love swords so I knew when I booked it that the boys would love it. They did! They were glued to the showed for the entire 2 hours. Mary Clayton was considered a lap baby because they do not have high chairs so that made it difficuilt for me to eat and enjoy the show. She was a little fussy for the last 30 minutes or so. The food, that you ate with your hands, was really good.

The menu was:

Garlic Bread

Tomato Bisque Soup

Roasted Chicken

Spare Rib

Herb Roasted Potato

Apple Pastry

(For the record Cael did not eat one bite!)

We were on the red knights team.

The boys got a few more swords to add to their collection!

The boys are already asking if we can go again!

Father's Day Weekend

2011-06-23T10:29:00.009-05:00

We had a great Father's Day weekend in Atlanta. Mimi, PaPa, Connor, and Cael went to Atlanta Friday, and Caley, Collins, Mary Clayton, and I went early Saturday morning. The boys all went to see The Braves play Saturday afternoon, and the girls shopped. It doesn't look like it in this picture, but they really did have a good time. Caley has been wanting to go see Chipper Jones play one last time before he retires for a long time. Well, Chipper didn't get to play in the game Saturday because he got hurt the day before. They had a rain delay in the 5th inning, but I think he boys were ready to go. They were hot! Caley didn't do a great job at taking pics for me this time!

Sunday morning we all went to a State park in the area. Long story short..... we ended up hiking like 2 1/2 miles. I carried Mary Clayton most of the way, and I had on flats. Collins made it a little over a mile then Caley had to carry him on his shoulders. Connor and Cael both did great! Connor just complained a lot, and Cael was determined he was going to finish first. He did! Lots of the hike was really rocky and steep. I really enjoyed it though. The scenery was beautiful. I would love to do it again minus carrying MC. She got heavy! We did stop and play a little so I got some cute pics of the kids.

Lilah Claire is here!

2011-06-21T15:15:00.002-05:00

Lilah Claire Foster

7 lbs. 3 oz.

19 1/2 in.

Friday, the kids and I skipped vbs to go to West Point so we could be there when my new neice was born. Kayla (my sister) and Lilah Claire are both doing great! She is adorable. I think she looks a lot like her big brother Carson. I just can't wait to see her again!

VBS

2011-06-21T13:07:00.003-05:00

Our church had Vacation Bible School last week. I helped with Connor's class this year. The theme was New York (Big Apple Adventure). I love helping with Bible school every summer, but it really wears me out! ha.... I had on average 45 2nd graders. They rotated from bible story, missions, crafts, music, recreation, and snack. I love it all, and I love that all my friends help so I get to spend lots of time with them too. Connor has a really good group of friends that he loves being around. This is the only picture I got all week. I was too busy to take pictures!

Our Bible School was from 8:30-11:30, but Connor stayed for music camp and we went back to pick him up at 2:00. This was his first year to go to music camp. He is really not into music, but when he found out that the camp is much much more that just music and that all his friends were going he quickly signed up for it. He had a blast! And to top off all the fun the kids had at Bible school, I let them take turns last week having friends over to swim. My kids were all exhausted last week (so was I), but it was a really great week!

Random pictures from the beach

2011-06-09T14:18:00.000-05:00

eating at Calypso Joe's

Connor found a washed up rope with clams attached to it.
Mary Clayton got her 2nd tooth at the beach.

drift wood with a beautiful sunset in the background

Mary Clayton loved playing with her pink balloon in the room.

eating at Original Oyster House

Captain DD

The boys all shared a room. It had a full size bed and a twin size bed. The boys all wanted to sleep in the twin size bed by themselves. We made them take turns. Whoever was in the full bed with Collins didn't have much room. He was right under them. I think it is so sweet.

Collins right under Cael

Collins right next to Connor. Awww Connor has his arm around him. Collins has to sleep in long jommies even in the summer because he will not keep cover on.

Connor asked me the other day if he had enough money in his piggie bank to pay for us to go to the beach again this summer. He had soooooo much fun.

We did have to brake up one big fight between Connor and Cael. Connor opened the gate to the pool, looked at Cael and said ladies first. Cael jumped on him and started punching as quick as he could. We had to pull him off Connor. It was kind of funny to me. It reminded me of my Daddy and my Uncle Bill kidding around with each other.

love my sweet babies

Connor found all these shell on our walks.

The boys caught a bunch of crabs every

night. They carried them around in their bucket until it was time to go back to the room. Then they released them.

eating at The Crab Trap

I love Christmas ornaments, and we usually buy the kids one on each trip we go on. This year I got these glass ornaments at Hobby Lobby and we filled them with sand. The boys thought it was fun.

Meet our new pets

2011-06-08T12:12:00.003-05:00

Since we booked our beach trip back in March, Connor has been begging for us to get him a hermit crab. We gave in and got four hermit crabs.

Meet Blaster, Speedy, King Crab and Prissy Pooh
This is Blaster, Connor's crab. He is doing a fantastic job taking care of him.

On a sad note, Prissy Pooh ( Mary Clayton's crab) didn't make it. Connor and I found her this morning. When MC woke up from her morning nap, Connor told her that Prissy Pooh had died. Mary Clayton just looked at him and smiled so big. Connor said, Mer Mer that is nothing to smile about! Death is not funny! He was so serious. :(
He wants us to take him to Petsmart and see if they have hermit crabs so we can get Mary Clayton a new one.

Dolphin Cruise

2011-06-08T10:20:00.000-05:00

I remember when I was a little girl my mom and my Aunt Lisa took me, Kayla, and Josh on a Dolphin Cruise when we were at the beach. We had so much fun. I really wanted to take the kids on one, but I was a little afraid that MC wouldn't like it. I was wrong she loved it and so did Connor and Cael. I can't say that Collins loved it, but in the end he said he liked it. At first he was afraid that a shark was going to bump into our boat and sink it then eat him up. He wouldn't stand along the rail around the front of the boat. He stayed down inside the boat. He did get to see the dolphins though. We saw a bunch of dolphins! Our boat and another one from the same company would ride side by side and create a huge wave in between them, and the dolphins would come to the wave and start jumping. It was so neat.

The Track and Putt Putt Golf

2011-06-07T14:51:00.000-05:00

While we were at the beach, the boys enjoyed playing putt putt golf at Pirate's Island and riding go-carts at The Track. Mary Clayton and I just watched and took some pictures.

Putt Putt golf

Mary Clayton liked playing with the score card.

Touring Ft. Morgan

2011-06-06T09:13:00.009-05:00

We toured Ft. Morgan one afternoon while we were at the beach. This was our second time to tour the fort. We first toured it in 2009. The boys love running around all the passage ways. Caley and Connor loved learning about the history of the fort. Collins was amazed at all the big canons. Cael's favorite part was climbing the steep steps to the top of the fort to look out at the ocean. I love old stuff so I really love all the old bricks at the fort. I told the boys to run around and find cool places for me to take their pictures. They loved the challenge especially Cael. He was really into posing for me. The old bricks were the perfect background for some really cute pictures. After getting really hot running around touring the fort, we went to Scoops for ice cream.

all 4 of my sweaty red faced babies having so much fun

love this one

More beach pictures of Mary Clayton

2011-06-05T17:57:00.006-05:00

I told you I took a lot of pictures of this sweet girl at the beach.

I just love this tutu swimsuit so much. I bought another one in a bigger size for next summer.

Drinking from my water bottle with her sandy little hand.

I think this one is my favorite!

This face just cracks me up!

I love the back of this outfit.

ruffle bloomers, a bow back top, and chunky legs

LOVE