Thursday, January 28, 2010

Trying new things

This past weekend Layton had his first teething biscuit. Nobody warned me about the huge mess that it would make. Needless to say he went straight to the bathtub once he had sucked on the dog biscuit long enough as Clifton was calling them. It was a big hit he loved it!



We decided to buy him a walker this weekend since our house is ideal for one of these. I know I've heard how dangerous they are but we have so much tile and hardwood in our house and it is all one story so I figured as long as Layton is supervised he should be fine. He loves it! At first he tried to jump in it because that is what he does with everything and then I pushed him in it. Once he realized he could control where he was going with his feet he took off. Since then he has discovered how to open all the cabinets in the kitchen and he loves to go in the half bath right by our kitchen even though we always have the lights out in there. I'm sure before we know it he will be running in it. It is nice to have something else to entertain him while I cook dinner in the evenings. He likes to be right next to me so now he can cruise around the kitchen while mommy gets dinner together.


Layton spends two days a week playing with his cousin Mason at Grammy D's house and Granny Leigh's house. On those days he comes home exhausted and always is easy to put to bed those nights. I got this picture of him still asleep in his car seat Monday night because we just let him nap once Clifton brought him home. He slept for almost an hour! Mason and him must have had lots of fun together.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

7 Months Old

Layton turned 7 months old on Saturday. He rolls around on the floor so fast now we really have to watch him. The days of putting him on our bed or on the couch and turning around to do something are pretty much over. He is such a busy body these days and still really trying to crawl. The past few weeks he has really been a cuddle bunny which I absolutely love. In the evenings he won't let me put him down which makes it hard to get dinner ready and everything else done around the house but I know this will be a short phase and once he learns to crawl he won't want to be held as much. I'm enjoying all the baby hugs and kisses while they last. He has said Mama a few times now but Dada is still his favorite thing to say. He also says gaga and baba now and I'm still really trying to teach him some sign language although the only one he has signed back to me so far was milk. He loves to do pattycake still and laughs all the time now. Baby laughs are the greatest thing in the world. He is still a great sleeper but about once ever week or so he will wake up in the middle of the night and get up on all fours in his crib and start trying to crawl and get mad and then start to cry. I usually just go in there put his pacifier back in his mouth and he will lay down and go right back to sleep. We feel truly blessed to have such a healthy baby too it makes all the pumping at work and time I put into nursing him worth it. He also pats me on the back now when I hold him which is funny. When I pick him up after work he starts flapping his arms real fast and panting like a dog he gets so excited! We are having so much fun with him everyday it just keeps getting better and better. Here are a few pictures of him in his overalls at 7 months. . . .




This one I just had to include we set up his pack in play in the dining room area so he can play while I cook dinner and he likes to suck on the side of it. He will put anything in his mouth that he can. Clifton and I couldn't stop laughing at him doing this the other night.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Weekend in Houston

We drove to Houston Friday afternoon despite all the bad weather and made it to Pearland in time for dinner with Carter, Laura, Jerrod and Amanda. Layton slept most of the way so he was fully rested by the time we got there. We stayed with Carter and Laura for the weekend and had lots of fun. Saturday the girls and Layton went to the Galleria and we did some shopping while Clifton hung out with Carter and got a full tour of his golf course that he runs. Layton was a good sport because we were shopping a long time. Mommy has trained him to be a good little shopper he takes a pretty good nap in his stroller still and it was nice to have two of his aunts there to help so I could try on clothes. We all went to dinner together on Saturday night near Amanda and Jerrod's apartment and then hung out and played Wii. Layton was so tired Saturday night he wasn't as cooperative at dinner as the night before but he slept good both nights in his pack in play so no complaining here. We made it back safely Sunday afternoon and I'm glad we got to go visit my family. I hope we get to go back soon. Here are a few pictures from this past weekend.

Layton at dinner Friday night with Aunt Amanda and Uncle Jerrod
The newlyweds
Layton and Uncle Carter
Layton and Aunt Laura
Amanda and I

Friday, January 15, 2010

Clifton is working on the ark. . . .

because this is what our backyard looks like today. It has rained and rained and rained since yesterday. We have never seen the creek this high.


Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Bear Crawling

. . . is what Layton has been up to this week. He is trying so hard to crawl but can't figure out his arms. It is funny to watch because he wants to so bad but ends up getting so frustrated with himself. He has taken a few nose dives into the carpet lately. We are looking forward to a fun weekend in Houston with Carter, Laura, Amanda and Jerrod. I hope everyone has a blessed weekend!



You can see his two teeth in this one if you look closely

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Lazy Weekend

We have had a much needed lazy weekend. With the weather being abnormally cold for South Texas I haven't wanted to take Layton out much. We made it to the grocery store on Friday and that is the only place I have been all weekend besides the gym by myself Saturday morning. We have enjoyed sitting by the fire and just spending time as a family together.

We finally tried the mesh feeder out Friday night with Layton. I figured he would really like it since he will put anything in his mouth. It is this neat device you can stick food in and he can suck on it and get some of the food out through the mesh. It gave him something to chew on while mommy and daddy enjoyed a nice dinner of chili and beans. I cut up some chunks of an apple and put it in there and at first he was confused but then he realized there was something in there that tasted good and he sucked on it for awhile. It didn't make too big of a mess and kept him entertained in his high chair.

Sucking on some apples

Daddy was really getting him to smile

Later that night after Layton was in bed I decided to try out my new baby food maker. I have been researching them online and trying to decide which one to order and after talking to a few of my friends that have made their own this is the one that was recommended the most. I was really impressed with the machine it will steam the veggies/fruit and then puree them and then you can put it all in the dishwasher which is a big plus. I was amazed the consistency turned out just like the gerber baby food that I have bought. I made applesauce, pears, sweet potatoes and carrots for Layton and it didn't take that long. We have a good stash in the freezer now. I ran out of the little containers faster than I thought so I will be making another trip to the dollar store to get some more. Layton approved of it too he ate some carrots and pears yesterday and seemed to like it so it was well worth my time then. I hope everyone has a great week. I know I'm looking forward to warmer temperatures soon.

The finished product

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Bath Time Fun

Last night we decided Layton was ready for his big boy bath seat the giant rubber ducky! We had been using a sponge thing that you could prop him up on but lately we were just sitting him up on it. I inflated the duck in his room and he kept staring at me and the duck in amazement. When I finished and I put him in it he got so excited; he started hitting the side of it. He had lots of fun playing in the bath tub last night. Here are a few pictures of Layton enjoying his new rubber ducky bathtub.


Rolling around on the floor all ready for bed

Monday, January 4, 2010

Thank you from Layton

Layton is so thankful for all of his presents he wants to let everyone know how much fun he has had playing with all of his new toys.

He wants to thank Aunt Laura and Uncle Carter for the cool ball popper. He loves to tip it over and try to pull the balls out himself and has figured out how to turn it on. It has provided lots of entertainment for him these past few days.


He also wants to thank Aunt Amanda and Uncle Jerrod for the cool musical toys. He loves to listen to them and enjoys all the lights. These have been nice because they are little and have been easy to throw in the diaper bag or car seat so we can take them wherever we go. Thanks!


He wants to thank his Aunt Lauren Uncle Daniel and Cousin Cooper for the cute ball pit. He keeps asking us to inflate it and put it in his room but we are holding out until he starts crawling which I don't think will be much longer. I know from watching Cooper play in his this will provide many hours of entertainment in the future.


He also wants to thank Nana and Papa for the neat ball that plays music. He loves to suck on it and roll around on the floor with it. He also loves his first tool set. He likes to dump everything out of the bag and of course put all the tools in his mouth. We have also enjoyed reading the baby Einstein book with all the sounds. He loves all the little things that were in his stocking too. We have used the dragonfly that plays all the songs a bunch while in the car. He loves anything that plays music and lights up. He has worn the cute socks and likes to play with the animal heads that snap together too.

He also wants to thank Great Grandma Hill for the nice miniature park bench. It looks great in his room and he can sit up so well he actually will sit on it all by himself. It has provided us another great place to capture some neat photos of him too.


He would like to thank Aunt Leslie, Uncle John Paul and Cousin Mason for the laptop, cell phone and ring stacker. He can be just like his daddy now talking on the phone and working on the laptop. He has really enjoyed playing with all these new toys these past few days.


He also wants to thank Grammy for the soft cuddly prayer bear and the cool blocks. He likes to chew on the blocks right now but I know eventually he will figure out that he can stack them and build some cool stuff with them.

He also got a cool toy from Granny Leigh and Grandpa Corky. When he goes to their house on Mondays he can pretend he is a race car driver. Thanks!


Our friends Chad and Kellie had their little girl right after Thanksgiving and Emersen got Layton this cute outfit to wear. Thanks Emersen you have such a great sense of style at such a young age.
We are truly blessed to have so many family members and friends take part in Layton's first Christmas. You all helped make it very special for us!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Funny Faces

I was bored one day during the holidays and Clifton was working so I played dress up with poor Layton and took a bunch of pictures of him. It is so neat to watch all the funny faces he is making these days. Here are a few of the better ones that I took that day of him in his room and if you look at the black and white one I finally got a picture of his bottom teeth.



Happy New Year!


I can't believe it is already 2010. I must say 2009 was one of the best years of my life! Having a baby is such an amazing thing and then getting to know him and watch him change and grow everyday makes it all worth it. I can't wait to see all the things he will do in 2010. He is on the verge of crawling right now and I'm sure there will be many more milestones this year. I have so much to be thankful for!

For New Years we went to a small get together at Tawny and Paxton's house. We had snacks and played Taboo and of course watched all the kids play. Most of them lasted until midnight surprisingly including Layton. He took a really long evening nap which was good so he was in a great mood. We ended up staying up way too late that night but it was fun to get together with our friends and hang out. Here are a few pictures from that night:

Baby Emersen (Chad and Kellie's new baby girl)

Cooper and Layton playing
Layton sitting on Channing's lap
Juli and I

Clinton and Juli