Guess we'll see

I did it. I'm done. I went back to school and graduated with 2 small kids and a husband in graduate school. Hard? Yes. Exhausting? Absolutely. Do I have a few more gray hairs, dark circles, and stress wrinkles? Without doubt. But I did it, I did the thing that I never thought I could do and actually I enjoyed parts of it. I love to learn, I love to sit in a classroom and gain more knowledge about things that intrigue me. I could do without the papers and studying and tests, but the learning I enjoy.

For now, I am done. I might go back again someday to learn some more. Someday... not now.

For now I will concentrate on being a better mom to my kids who were probably more neglected the past while then I would like to admit. For now I will work on getting ready to make our little family of 4 a family of 5 ( yes that is an announcement, 12 weeks... guess we'll see who actually reads this) For now I will try to take my zofran and not reject every morsel that enters my body. For now I will enjoy the calm and predictability of life because in July.... things at our house will get a little bit crazier.

Family Pics

While we were all together we did family pictures. Family pictures with a large group is hard, especially with a 2 year old who HATES sitting still and refuses to do anything but whine. However, with the exception of Taycee we ended up with some good group shots.

I hope he never ever loses those dimples. The very first thing I remember them saying when Kaden was born was, "look at those huge dimples!" They show when he laughs or frowns, or pretty much makes any movement with his face. I love them. I love him.

Is it boastful to say that I have the most wonderful husband in the world? Because I do. Seriously, I do. He is the most kind, giving, generous, dedicated man that I know. And I love him more every single day. Getting to spend time with him always solidifies one thing to me. CHRIS IS THE BEST DECISION I EVER MADE. Period.

My beautiful baby.

I love this look. It is such a typical Taycee look. Whenever she wants something or is concerned this is the look I get.

So grateful for this little family.

Christmas

Christmas Eve the Clayton family has a tradition to go out to eat at whatever restaurant is open and tip the waitress and cooks good money for having to work. This year it was I-hop.

Chris and Kaden in their new matching pjs... ha, can you tell Chris's were about 6 inches short and 6 inches too wide. We all got a good laugh before he took them off and we returned them. :)

This was Christmas eve in our new matching PJ's. We are missing 4 of the kids in this pic but they were with other families.

You haven't really seen present overload til you have done Christmas at the Clayton home. I don't even think this picture does justice to the MOUNTAIN of presents under the tree Christmas morning. Kaden literally called it a mountain when he came downstairs. I believe his words were "WOAH mom, is that my mountain?" Needless to say we were all very spoiled. It was a fun morning filled with lots of laughs and excitement. Having 13 people unwrapping presents at the same time makes for a little bit of crazy and a lot of fun.

It was all he talked about, and all he asked for. It was also one of the first things he found in his stocking... Thomas the Train. He was over the top thrilled about it. :) Ah the simple joys of being a child.

Tacyee enjoyed opening presents until she got to the present with all the baby things ( stroller, crib, swing) at that point she just layed on top of that present refusing to move. Maybe she though if she kept opening someone would steal it.

I think the most exciting thing for Taycee was all the candy she got in her stocking. She asked for another piece about every 10 seconds. Needless to say it didn't last too long.

Can you just feel the excitement from this picture. He had to have this game opened the moment it was unwrapped. The best part about Christmas with Kaden is that he was this excited about everything... seriously... everything. It didn't matter if it was a miniature candy bar, a tie, shoes, or the huge train tracks he got with each new reveal he squealed with joy and excitement. It made us all smile and feel pretty good.

This was the after.... it always makes me a little sad to see it all unwrapped and over.

We hope you all had a WONDERFUL Christmas.

SNOW!

We finally got enough snow to go play outside in our yard. Chris had been waiting for weeks for this to happen. Every time it snowed it was either too dark outside or a Sunday or the snow had melted by the time he got home from work. So when we woke up on a Saturday to a few inches and nothing planned he jumped on the opportunity. I am not sure who was more excited about tubing down our own little hill, Chris or the kids. All thoroughly enjoyed it.

Chris and Kaden decided to make a snow man. Chris thought it was a great idea to start the snowball at the top of the hill and push it down so it could collect snow on its own. It worked well... too well. Chris wanted the snowman to be in front of the house and by the time he rolled it around to the front it was too heavy to push.
Taycee loved playing outside. She took a few face plants in the snow and didn't even flinch.
This is the beaut of a snowman we ended with, it looked more like a frog and as you can see took up most of the snow in our yard. Our fun neighbors came over to join in the festivities, my kids are obsessed with Stella and ask for her almost daily.

I think our day in the snow was a success. It was followed by hot chocolate gingerbread men and Pinocchio.

December

December was a full month for us. Every day seemed to be filled with errands to run and places to be. I tried to catch some of the fun moments along the way.
We decorated for Christmas at the beginning of the month and the kids thought it was pretty great. Kaden loved hanging ornaments on the tree but didn't quite catch the concept that they all needed to be on a different branch. Many of our ornaments were piled up in 4's or 5's on one branch. Taycee is obsessed with "babies" she got this stroller and baby for her birthday and had to have it with her every second of the day. If she was watching a show the baby needed to be right next to her in the stroller.

We had a Christmas party with some friends in the ward. We started out the festivities with gingerbread houses. Our is the smallest simplest house on the right. We won 3rd place. Notice the incredible architecture of the house next to ours, garage and all...

Kaden got to see Santa several times this year. This was at our ward Christmas party. All he asked for was a "Thomas the Train" and he stuck to that one wish all month long. I wish his requests would always stay this simple.

Red Blooded

During the BYU vs. UTAH game there was no doubt who he was pulling for.

GO UTES!!

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving was fabulous. The food was as wonderful as ever and it was followed by fun and games. Now we just have to find a way to lose the extra 10 lbs we put on.

The calm before the feast. :)

Yummy Yummy rolls

Cutest turkey favors ever.

Our Thanksgiving Crew, it was a small party but great company!

Hunter is such a good uncle to the kids. They are lucky to have a friend so close in age since there are NO cousins on either side!

This was pretty much the best picture I could get of both the kids.

Jason finally has a girl friend... she is just a little young!

2 years old

Dear Taycee,

I can not believe that 2 years ago today I held you in my arms for the first time. You were so tiny and I was so happy to have you join our family. You were exactly the little girl we hoped you’d be and dad has been wrapped around your finger since the moment he first saw you. You still continue to fill our days with joy, and lots of excitement. Here are some things about you at 2 years old,

You are SO SMART it always amazes me how fast you learn things. Today you were in the tub and you counted to 15, I have no idea where you learned to do that. You figure things out so quickly. When I started potty training you I gave you a treat every time you went. You quickly figured that out and would tell me you had to go potty every 2 minutes to get a treat. I caught on to your tricks and told you that you had to go potty not just sit on it to get a treat so you started peeing just a tiny bit every 2 minutes to spread it apart so you could get more candy.

You have great pronunciation. When it is your turn to say prayers or read scriptures you pronounce each word exactly as we tell you. You have the cutest little voice and I love hearing you talk like a big person.

You adore your brother and want to do everything that he does. You love to follow him around and makes the same noises and play the same games he is. You also like to pick on your brother in fact I think you pick on him more than he picks on you.

You LOVE babies, if you see a baby in the store or at church you want to watch it and hold it. You take good care of your baby dolls and always have to have one right by you.

You love to sing popcorn popping on the apricot tree, sunbeams, and wheels on the bus. Every night before bed you request these songs without fail. Your favorite part of wheels on the bus is the “move on back” part, you point your fingers and everything.

You are naughty, I hope that it is just a two year old thing. You know exactly what you are not suppose to do and like to push the limits to see what you can get away with. You have this face you make when you are talking back to me, you scrunch up your nose and squint your eyes and pucker you lips if it wasn’t so cute you would get in a lot more trouble for it. Grandma Webre says this is just the beginning and I’m in for it… let’s prove her wrong ok? ;)

You LOVE ice cream, and have a sixth sense for when it is out. You come running into the room screaming “I want HIKEEM” I make spinach chard smoothies and tell you they are ice cream and you drink down a whole cup. It is great.

You also love candy, and try your darndest to sneak a piece whenever you can. I’ve caught you pushing chairs up to the counter so you can climb on top and get to the treat jar many times. Many times the first thing you ask for when you wake up is “CAN EE”

You love to be pretty. When I do your hair or paint your nails you have to make sure daddy looks and tells you how pretty you are. For your birthday you got lots of princess stuff to dress up in and you loved to put on the princess shoes and walk around in them.

You are very independent you like to do things your own way.

You love shoes. Most days you walk around in nothing but shoes and underwear. You especially love your pink shoes Grandma Sharp bought you, you will pull them out of the closet and sit in your room trying to put them on til I help or you succeed.

You are VERY LOVED and VERY SPOILED. You have so many people who love you. Your birthday party was packed with people who think you are the greatest thing ever. Your grandmas and grandpas adore you and give you way more than they should. They will always be some of your number one fans.

Happy Birthday Princess !

Love, Mom

This was the princess cake. Taycee shouted "it's a princess" when she saw it. It took way more time than I anticipated but it turned out better than I expected and it tasted DELICIOUS. It was a lemon raspberry cake with a lemon raspberry whipped topping.

This was ONE of the babies she got. It was as big as her.

Her pretty princess shoes

Warm jammies

The birthday girl.

Thankful

Wow, where has November gone? I can't believe we are rapidly approaching Thanksgiving. Things have been busy around our house and time is flying by. Taycee will be 2 on Monday. WHAT? How is that even possible? Sheesh. She has grown up so fast and amazes me at the things she knows. Today she counted to 10 out of no where and she is speaking in full sentences, a few days ago Chris offered to help her with her socks and she said "no daddy, I can do it myself." She is SUPER independent and gives me a run for my money most days. I keep telling myself she is two and will soon grow out of this defiant naughty stage.... right? That is true.... RIGHT? SOMEONE TELL ME I AM RIGHT!

Kaden is my sweet boy. He really is a little angel these days. When he does do something I get after him for he says "I sorry mom, I didn't mean to. It was an accident." He has a special way of melting my heart. He is such a loving boy and is always randomly telling people how much he loves them. It's cute. Some of his most memorable quotes this month....

In church last week we were sitting behind a little girl who let some gas pass. Kaden heard her and pretty much yelled "WOAH, YOU STINKY HUH!?!" Poor girl. We are working on his tact.

For family night on Monday we were singing songs and his song went like this "I love Taycee she loves me, we love ICECREAM yes siree. We are a happy family" Glad he has his priorities straight.

Last Sunday in church he looked up at Chris and I and said "This is the best Sunday Church ever."

Today he brought me his book that was broken and said "Oh no momma it is broken" I took it and put it up to be fixed later, he said " Momma give it to me, I'll get a screwdriver." Apparently a screwdriver fixes everything.

Chris presented in his first national conference for AICHE which ( thought he will deny it ) is a pretty big deal, which makes him a pretty big deal. I am not sure if I mentioned this but he also published his first paper on his research for a conference in Istanbul Turkey. Yeah, he is super smart and unfortunately when he tries to tell me about it all I get glassy eyes. Never the less I am SO proud of him. He is my hero in every sense of the word. I could have never asked for a better husband and father and provider. I am still trying to figure out what I did to deserve someone so wonderful... but I'll take it. :D

I am on my last stretch of school. To be honest it doesn't feel like that big of an accomplishment. Maybe because I feel like it is something that I was suppose to have done 3 years ago ( dumb U requirements) maybe it is because nothing will change when I finish, it is not like I will get some fabulous job once I have my degree. I already have my fabulous job right here at home. But none the less I will be done. I have also been taking LOTS of pictures lately, and I love it. My photoblog crashed major awhile ago so I am working on getting it up and running again.

All in all we are happy and healthy and so so THANKFUL for all of our blessings. Lots of people have been doing thankful posts daily, I wish I would have... maybe next year. But I really am so thankful for all that we have. I am thankful for good family, and a home, and AMAZING friends, and the chance to get an education, and the chance to be a mom to my two crazy kids, and so many many more things.

More to come on Taycee's birthday party this weekend... I am attempting a princess cake.... it could be a disaster. Pray for me :D



I didnt have any pictures to go with this post so I thought I would put up our family pics from a few months ago. :)