11 months and now a working mommy!

I can hardly believe it Clayton is 11 months old and we will be celebrating his first birthday on October 27th! I am in shock how fast this year has flown by! He isn't a baby anymore he is a toddler! We are finally in the process of winging him off formula and this was the last week of three bottles a day! We are now dropping down to two bottles a day this week and next week to one bottle at night then after that we are done!! I can't wait either hahaha formula is sooo expensive! He is already taking a sippy cup great as well he loves throwing it down! Haha We had a dr's apptointment this past week cause I thought Clayton was getting sick I dont know his length but he weighed in at a whopping 26 pounds! Yes you read that right 26 pounds! We are wearing 18-24 month clothes and still in a size 6 shoe! We are walking and running now! It's crazy to think that this time last year I was so ready to meet this little guy and begin our adventures as a family of four! I was excited for Ayden becoming a big brother and ready for the challenges of becoming a mommy of two! A year later my heart is full of love and laughter and amazed what amazing boys god has blessed me with! I cannot wait Til we can expand our family more but right now I am content with the two I have! One day we will be a family of five maybe six we shall See!

Ayden has been showing a lot of interest of going potty and being a big boy I am so excited for this stage I cannot wait Til he is potty trained! We are slowly getting there but definitely not forcing it by no means! His speech is coming along great he is really starting to talk and say things that we can actually understand! And also starting to Use 3-4 word sentences this makes me a very proud mommy!I was very worried about him for a while there but he is now progressing and doing very well!

Now for the news.... I am now a full time mommy and a full time employee! Yes you read that right I have started working again! I am a lead two year old teacher at a preschool in Saginaw I have been there 2 weeks and fixing to start my 3rd week this coming week! I am enjoying so far but I have to admit I miss staying home with my babies especially Clayton! Ayden joins me every day at work and is enrolled in there 3 year old program and he is doing fabulous! W our first day was full of tears but after that he hasn't shed one tear since I can see him and he comes and goes says love you mommy blows kisses and leaves it's really cute when he does that! Clayton is at a in home child care with a friend of mine I went to school with and absolutely loves it there she is truly doing an amazing job with him and I know she cares for him and loves on him all the time! I am so glad that she is able to watch him for me! She will also take on ayden once she gets an opening!! I am still learning my kiddos In my class and it's still really hard since I am still learning about them and they are learning me still but everyday is gettin easier!
Well this post has turned into a novel and ayden has finally fallen asleep I have been laying with him since he hates lightning and thunder and we are habit a few storms blow through nothin major but so thankful for the rain!
Elizabeth

Long time and so much is happening!

Well it has been forever ago since I have updated this thing its been really hard to do so lately since our computer crashed and our other lap top insists that blogging isnt for it! Haha! Well lots and lots has been going on lately! Ayeden and Clayton are growing by leaps and bounds everyday and have really taken a liking to wrestling with each other! It's really quite funny Clayton will run full force and just land on Ayden and not move a muscle then ayden will flip over and sit on Clayton. They will roll around for a few minutes then be done cause someone will start crying and get upset... Oh boys will be boys! We have also found a new fascination with bugs yes gross bugs! Ayden found a water bug the other day and was carrying it around by it's antenna and came up and tried to throw it on me I jumped up and started screaming and he thought that was hilarious and chased me around the house with it laughing up a storm! I just wanted to have a heart attack! We have also moved up from a toddler bed to a big boy bed we were going to wait but ayden broke his toddler bed by jumping on it and yeah it broke thankfully we had my old full size bed in storage so he is now the proud owner of it! It was pretty bitter sweet cause I remember like if was yesterday putting his crib together and awaiting his arrival and yesterday we took it apart and converted it into a full size bed :( I have to admit a few tears were dropped over this it's just amazing to me how this baby of mine is going to be three in 5 short months! Well lots have been going on with Clayton as well he is growing and thriving more and more everyday! He has also started to run! Yes you read that right run guess that's what happens when u start walking at 8 months old.... Clayton has also found his voice he loves to scream and laugh and say mama and dada all the time! My favorite thing is him squealing in excitement and clapping his hands!! We r busy planning his 1st birthday party at the end of next month!! I am still in shock how fast this year has flown by it makes me happy but it also makes me sad! Brent is doing well we r finishing up his latest project at the will Rogers memorial center I am not going to lie though I am ready for this project to be over with I miss our weekends spent together as a family but I am just thankful that he has a job and does well at his job! Well the kiddos have decided to fight so it's back to mommy duty! Til next time.
Elizabeth

It's been a while......

Wow it has been forever since I have updated but life has been extremely busy and go go go to say the least! I am now a mommy to 2 walking kiddos and i thought ayden was the handful when it came to being busy and mobile I was wrong Clayton has taken his new found freedom and ran with it! An 8 month old walking is an adventure all within it's self and ayden trying to protect his toys from his little brother the fights are starting already! Clayton just wants to be just like his big brother and do everything that he does!! It's so cute but poor Ayden just gets sooo frustrated with him! We are still ironing out jealousy issues with ayden which they are getting better but he still isn't quite okay with the concept that Clayton is here to stay and not going anywhere else! Here are some of Clayton's stats since I haven't done one yet on him since my last post:
Wears 12-18 month clothes
Size 5 diapers
Weighs 24lbs
Walking all the time
Standing by himself with out having anything to pull up on
Has 5 teeth
Loves giggling all the time
He is my baby Goliath lol that's what I have been calling him lately and I really think the name fits him!
Ayden has been doing well in school we are finally getting lots of words out and starting to understand him more and more each passing day! That makes me feel sooo good cause I have been super worried about that! He also knows how to count to 3 and also say some of his abc's I am one proud mama Only now if he can master listening and minding we would be set! Hahaha we just recently got back from vacation from Branson Missouri and we spent quite a bit of time at silver dollar city I will admit I was pretty skeptical on how the boys would do since I didn't think they would be able to ride rides there and with the heat and by my surprise they did really well! Clayton of course couldn't ride anything but ayden was able to ride quite a bit and he had a blast he got to go on his first roller coaster and got to ride the swings, fly with dumbo, ride the rocking ship, log ride, the river rapids and he loved alll of it! I was so proud how brave he was he is Turing out to be a pretty amazing little boy!
Well I am going to get off here I will post again sometime soon since Clayton will be 9 months on the 27th so until next time!
Elizabeth

7 months old and soooo much more!

              Wow it has been a REALLY long time since I have had a chance to get on here and update life has been CRAZY busy with planning a bridal shower to getting ready for a wedding and most of all taking care of TWO little ones I really don't have a whole lot of time for myself :)! So I guess I should update you on what is going in the MacDonald house I will start off with Clayton first! 

            Well on Friday Clayton turned 7 months old! He is growing and thriving very nicely we have had some ups and downs with him this last month with ear infections and teething and a severe diaper rash I have to admit it was testing to this mommas patients! We found out at his 6 month appointment that he had an ear infection (first one for Clayton and first time for me taking care of one) and honestly I was like okay we will do the antibiotics and go on with our life little did I know that this ear infection would literally at times feel like it was going to kill me instead! I have now a pure HATRED for ear infections cause this was hopefully the first and LAST ear infection I hope to deal with as a mother! IT LASTED A MONTH......you read it right a MONTH! We went nights with only getting minimal amounts of sleep and by minimal I mean like maybe 2-3 hours tops and went to the doctor countless of times we went through 2 different kinds of antibiotics and when we got through that we went back for a check up and guess what he STILL had a double ear infection so the doctor thought it would be best to pull out the big guns and do a 3 day dose of an antibiotic shot and on the 3rd day we went in to see if the ears were clearing and to my surprise BOTH ears STILL infected! So we were referred to an ENT to see what they had to say about his ears! Thankfully they were able to get him in the next week and we went in and I am thinking hopefully by now this ear infection will be gone but to my surprise the doctor looked into his ears and he said "THEY ARE STILL INFECTED" how long has he had this and of course I said a month! he just shook his head in amazement cause he thought I was joking with him and then couldn't believe that this was the first and only ear infection he has had in his 6 months of life! So he then said we need to look into getting tubes in his ears so this Friday June 3rd Clayton is getting tubes in his ears and Hopefully this will be the last ear infection he will ever have! That took up most of his 6th month of life in dealing with this but he did hit a few milestones along the way! 

• he can sit up unsupported 
• he can pull up on anything and everything 
• stand and not hold on to anything 
• crawls all over the place
• has 4 teeth now two on top and two on bottom 
• loves eating puffies
• has figured out the TV has a on and off button and loves playing with it
• says "dada" all the time 
• has moved to his big boy car seat and LOVES it! 
• weighs in at 22 lbs and still in the 97th percentile for weight and height! looks to be around 6'5'' or 6'7'' 
• standing up comes up to Ayden's shoulders 
• eats and loves all veggies fruits and cereals 
• eats 6-8 oz bottles 
• cuddle bug!
• wears 12-18 month clothes

Clayton 7 months

           I can't believe how big he is getting it makes me really sad but soooooo excited to see the boys finally starting to interact with each other! Brent and I think it is sooo funny how Clayton is going to be bigger than Ayden and will probably be taller than him and can kick his bootie when he gets older! 

           Ayden is doing well he is all over the place and constantly moving and talking its exhausting just watching him let alone keeping up with him I WISH I had some of his energy! We started AydenAyden that is hot..... he also love to say BARNEY but sadly it comes out MARNEY! LOL we are working with him on that!  in a preschool twice a week and I have to say just in the 5 days that he has gone I have seen so much improvement in him I know that he absolutely loves going even though he screams his head off when I drop him off in the morning! But his speech is coming along and I am finally able understand some of what he is saying his favorite word right now is hot he will put his hand up to something and say hot hot hot hot and will keep saying it till I look at him and say yes

Ayden 28 months

 Being a mom to two small children is very rewarding and I love every moment of it the good and the bad and even the sleepless nights. Cause when I look at my kids faces and see the joy and love that they have it just melts me I love being their mommy! and I am soooo blessed I get to stay home and see them grow and thrive right before my eyes! My life is sooo full and sooo blessed to be around these two and getting to be home when my wonderful husband comes home from work is amazing as well I love our family time together! 

My amazing hubby and best friend!

Til next time and hopefully it wont be as long of a wait as before!

Elizabeth

HOLY COW! CLAYTON IS 6 MONTHS OLD!

              Well as hard as it maybe 6 months ago I welcomed the most handsome little boy into this world! Clayton Randall came in weighing 9lbs even and was 21 inches long, and today he has more than doubled his birth weight and at last measurement he was a whopping 27in long! I am positive he has grown by leaps and bounds and cant wait for his doctor appointment tomorrow morning to know how much he has grown and record it in his baby book! I am still in shock that he is 6 months old and the milestones that he has been hitting lately are amazing and  I am one proud mama of him thriving so well, but it makes me sad that he is already doing some things that I was sure I had a couple more months before he hit those milestones! Everyone keeps telling me he is just trying to get to that point so he can keep up with his big brother Ayden! So as most of y'all are wondering  here is what Clayton has been up to lately!

• Can crawl forwards and backwards can go anywhere in the house now 
• puts anything and everything in his mouth
• can pull up in his crib by either standing on his knees or all the way up on his feet! 
• takes 2 naps a day one in the morning for about 30 minutes or so and then a long one in the afternoon for about 3-4 hours
• sleeps all night long for about 12 hours from about 8:30-8:30
• starting to babble all the time 
• says "dada" 
• loves playing with his feet
• has 2 teeth 
• can go from a crawling position and sit up unsupported by his self 
• has tried all veggies and loved all of them 
• started the fruit trial and loves his pears, and bananas next to try is apples and peaches
• loves to laugh
• fascinated with Barney just like his big brother good for the boys not so good for mommy :(
• loves bath time and rolling over and fighting me to get his diaper on him 
• loves being naked :)
• big time mama's boy  
• Wears 12 month clothes 
• wears size 3 diapers but it wont be long til he is in size 4's probably in the next couple of weeks we will be upping his size!

 I am so excited to see what the next few months will bring a part of me thinks that he will be walking soon which in all  honesty I am not ready for I am not ready for both of my children to be mobile Ayden is a handful by himself and to add Clayton to the mix I am going to be one BUSY mama! and its also just sad to think that my baby could be toddling around soon! I will be getting on tomorrow and update with the stats from the doctor so look back! and I will also post some pics! but now the bed is calling my name so I am going to crash! 

Elizabeth

CLAYTON HAS 2 TEETH!

          Well my baby boy is growing up! He officially has TWO teeth! They made their grand appearance on April 8th! I cannot believe how fast he is growing up! It feels like just yesterday that I was laying on the OR table and hearing his cry for the first time a cry that I longed for during my hard pregnancy! Now he is going to be 6 months old on the 27th! I was joking with Brent the other day saying how SLOW last year seemed to go while I was pregnant with Clayton and that this year is SPEEDING by and since it is FLYING by we should so totally try for another! HAHAHA his face was PRICELESS! (I by no means am wanting to have another child right now!!) of course we are wanting more kids but right now I am perfectly content with the 2 amazing boys I have right now. But to see his face and him knowing I am perfectly content with the boys we have right now was just hilarious I so wish I had a camera to share that face with y'all! I am also saddened that Clayton is CRAWLING most of the time it is backwards but he is definitely getting to the point of figuring out how to crawl frontwards and also going from crawling to the sitting up position I really don't remember Ayden doing anything this fast like his little brother is. I just know that Clayton is just trying to catch up and do the things that his big brother is doing!! I am so proud of him but just not ready to have 2 MOBILE children!!!!  Ayden is like 5 kids mobile cause he is into anything and EVERYTHING the boy has no fear!

        Ayden brought me a present today while we were playing in the backyard and that was a dead possum head! I FREAKED OUT! and of course we came right in washed his hands and didn't go back outside today Brent had to go on a body hunt today when he got home from work and didn't find a thing so I am guessing Boomer had possum stew a few nights ago! Ayden is getting so big he LOVES singing songs with Barney on TV and it is sooooo cute! especially the mad song he loves to say breathe and of course his favorite word NO and then march around the room with his hands on his hips like he is mad! It is soooo funny! I cannot wait til the fall when I can enroll him into school for Mothers Day Out he needs it so bad I know that he is just getting bored at home and that's why he is acting out sooo much. I try to do activities with him but he just gets frustrated with me and shuts down and gets mad when I try and do activities with him. Some exciting things that Ayden is showing signs of is POTTY TRAINING!!!!  He isn't quite there yet but he will be soon I CANNOT WAIT he definitely knows when he is wet or dirty and loves taking his diaper off and bringing it to me and letting me know what kind of present is in there! I don't know about any of y'all who have kids and if they do this but he is FASCINATED with POOP! yes it is incredibly gross and unsanitary and just plain disgusting but the kid thinks it makes great paint. I have had many run ins with cleaning his walls, dresser, jungle gym, and TV, and giving him a nice afternoon bath after nap since he thinks its the COOLEST thing ever! I know when he gets older It will be a great way to break the ice with any girlfriends that come over to the house! haha! "you think he is cute now did you know he liked playing with his poop as a toddler" lol 

Well i feel that I am just rambling on so I am going to go but next time I blog I will be sure to post pics of the boys and give y'all Clayton's 6 month stats!! 
Elizabeth 

Ayden's ABR results

         Well first and foremost I want to be able to say after lots of prayers Ayden's hearing test or ABR came back COMPLETELY NORMAL! The first test was definitely not right! I am so glad that I trusted my motherly instincts and went ahead and let them do the sedated hearing test! I didn't want them to do it at first cause NO ONE ever wants to have to put their child asleep for something so minor if it could be prevented. I was hesitant but as a lot of you might know I suffer from hearing loss and recently it has gotten worse after I had Ayden I could tell my hearing got worse and same thing after Clayton it got worse. I started showing signs of hearing loss after I failed my 9th grade hearing test. I went to an audiologist at that point and I was diagnosed with "cookie bite" hearing loss which really means I cannot hear DEEP toned voices or things ESPECIALLY if I am in a restaurant or if there is a lot of noise around me it makes it VERY difficult to hear. So after finding out that hearing loss is a genetic thing of course I wanted to make sure that Ayden got the proper testing to make sure he hadn't gotten the gene from me and if he had we would start taking steps towards that direction like speech therapy and so fourth. I have still been advised by the audiologist that he should be seen every year to make sure that his hearing is still on track and ESPECIALLY if he hasn't started talking and getting away from his AYDENEESE :) and consult with a speech therapist. Which after a lot of thought and discussion between Brent and myself we have decided to hold off on speech therapy til Ayden is almost 3 and if he is still at the same point he is now on his speech we will go and seek professional help to get him on track with his speech for when he starts school. I am soooo incredibly thankful for all the thoughts and prayers that were given during this unknown time they were definitely felt and granted! OUR GOD IS SOOO GOOD!

       We are also in the midst of possibly making some pretty BIG decisions regarding our family here in the next couple of weeks or month. I am praying that god will show us what we need to do and with whatever happens and praying that he will show us the paths that we need to take. I would love for the prayers as well right now about this  I am not going to say what it is right now I will when I know more. Well it is late and I am extremely tired and have a lot of projects around the house to do tomorrow.
Til NEXT TIME :)
Elizabeth