My little monkeys!

Well the saying boys will be boys is starting to definitely stand true in this house! We are always wrestling, eating, making messes, getting dirty, and climbing on anything and everything that can be climbed on! Ayden was a late climber and just recently has really gotten good at the art of climbing he can pretty much climb to get anything that he wants and yes that means things on top of the refrigerator and cabinets in the kitchen! He will grab a bar stool and push it to where he wants to go climb up that the climb onto the counter and he then feels like the king of the world literally! He is literally another curious george! It's cute and all but it's also very exhausting due to we are having to re baby proof the kitchen cause our wonderful gate that is up you guessed right he can climb and jump over that as well! Ayden has also been a VERY good teacher to Clayton and showing him the art of climbing! Clayton can climb up on to any of the couches and he can climb up on the coffee table and then he will "jump" down which means jump on mommy! This stage is making me real nervous I know kids will climb and to things and it's all part of growing up but Clayton wants to be like his older brother sooo bad I just know he is going to hurt himself one day! Like he did on thursday night but technically it wasn't his fault it was his brothers but regardless he still ended up in the emergency room with a possible head injury! Thankfully everything with Clayton is fine and playing king of the coffee table is no longer permitted in this house but it was never permitted to begin with! I am just in shock in how fast clayton is growing up! I just hope thy I will be able to have a little bit longer before he figures out how to climb out of his crib! :) I am going to get off here but leave you with a few pictures of my monkeys who I love so much!

Clayton is one

Well we have hit the one year mark! Clayton turned one on thursday! We celebrated his birthday by going out to dinner with my dad, brother and sister in law! It was a small intimate outing that was a lot of fun! I love getting to see my brother And his wife and the boys love seeing them as well!
We had his one year check up on Friday and the poor thing got 4 shots! We also had a little hiccup that we came across at the doctor that sent us for some xrays to see what was up. Clayton while getting his legs checked the doctor noticed that his left leg is half a centimeter to a centimeter shorter than his right leg. This drew some concern since we hadn't ever noticed it before during any of his well child exams. The doctor gave me a little bit of explanation on what it could be like a dislocated hip, or developmental hip displasia, and sent us to imaging to see what the X-ray would say. The x ray came out fine so we are going to look and see what he thinks at his 15 month check up and go from there. Here are his 1 year stats:
Weight 24 lbs 69 percentile
Height 31 1/2 in 93 percentile

Saturday we celebrated Clayton's first birthday party and the theme was a Very Hungry Caterpillar! It turned out sooo cute Clayton got lots of neat toys and some pretty cute outfits as well!

All and all we had a very good weekend it was nice to get to celebrate a very special birthday I am so glad that god blessed me with such an amazing son! Til next time!
Elizabeth

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