Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Tough Boy

Layton has fallen so many times and bumped his head or his knee or his face but last night he fell pretty hard. I had the refrigerator open because I was loading groceries in it and he was standing at my feet like he always does playing with the lemon and lime juice on the bottom shelf of the door and he lost his balance and fell face first into the door of the refrigerator. The edge of the shelf hit his eye and when I picked him up it was bleeding. He was screaming for awhile which made me nervous but he seemed to be fine after a little ice and a sip of some cold water. He is pretty tough and usually will fall down and get right back up without crying or he knows how to fake cry which is funny to watch him put on a show. Here is our banged up little guy with his first real boo boo. I called Clifton because he wasn't home when it happened and he just said well Amy he is a boy he will be fine and this is just the beginning which I'm sure it is.



Summer time

I love summer! It is my favorite season even though it is so hot in South Texas. We have really been enjoying our summer with Layton. Last weekend we took him swimming at my parents house and he loves the water. I can't wait to teach him how to swim one day.

He is really into glasses now and can say "gasses" Here he is being silly at my parents house after we got out of the pool. My mom got him his own pair so he will quit trying to take ours.

New toys and a play date with Mason

Layton has really enjoyed all of his new toys he got for his birthday. He is really into anything with wheels that he can ride. He goes from one thing to the next these days. Here he is the morning after his party riding his new dump truck.

He is also enjoying this new lawnmower. He has figured out how to pull the cord to start the mower. He loves anything that is just like daddy.

I got the opportunity to watch Mason for Leslie last Friday and the boys had lots of fun playing together. Mason is so laid back and quiet compared to our wild child Layton. He is much easier to watch because he will sit and play without trying to escape or climb something such a sweetie!
Here are the boys playing tractors and farm. Mason was a huge fan of the red barn and all the farm animals. I'm so thankful that these two boys are getting to spend lots of time together as they grow up. We are blessed to have our family so close to us.

Layton's First Trip to South Padre Island (Father's Day)

The Sunday after the birthday party after a few hours of assembling new toys and playing with everything we packed up my car with all of our stuff and Layton's stuff and headed to South Padre Island. We timed it just right where it was time for Layton's afternoon nap and he slept the first two hours of the drive. I think he was still exhausted from the party the night before. We made it down there in about four and half hours stopping once. Layton got a little cranky towards the end but was really good for being in his car seat for so long. I had a work conference down at the Sheraton right on the water so we made a little mini family vacation out of the trip. That day which was also Clifton's second Father's Day we spent the afternoon taking Layton to the beach once we got there. Layton was not afraid of anything. He would walk straight out into the water and let the waves crash into him and laugh when they knocked him down. He did decide to taste the sand this time but he decided real fast that it wasn't something to eat. We built sand castles and swam and walked a lot or should I say chased Layton on the beach. There wasn't a whole lot of relaxing going on at the beach but we had fun just watching Layton as he was having a blast. This was our first time to stay in a hotel with Layton which worked out great. Clifton and Layton were able to sleep in each day while I quietly left early each morning for my class. The hardest part of the trip was having to sit in class all day and I could see the beach from the class. At one point I was watching Clifton and Layton play on the beach which was no fun for me. Here are some pictures from Father's Day and our mini family vacation at South Padre Island:

Layton was being silly in the hotel room once we got there

Playing with daddy

My first sandcastle



I know this one is foggy but my camera fogged up from all the humidity as soon as I took the picture.
This was Layton eating dinner one night we went out and had some yummy seafood.
This was my view from my classroom each day. At least I had something pretty to look at while I listened to someone talk about accounting all day.

The Birthday Party

We had Layton and Cooper's birthday party together the Saturday after their birthday at our house. Everything turned out great and the boys had lots of fun. Lauren and I decided to go with a tractor theme because when we started planning it Cooper was really into tractors. As time passed Layton picked up on it and started saying tractor all the time so both boys are really into tractors these days. Layton really enjoyed all the attention and was very happy during the party. I think we had about 50 people show up and we had plenty of food so I think the party was a success. Our friends and family were so generous and both boys got their fair share of new tractors, trucks and lawnmowers. Here are the invitations we sent out:


It was so easy to find john deere decorations online for the party:


My mother in law helped me so much by decorating the cake and cupcakes. It all came together very nicely.Layton with his Great Grandma Hill waiting for the party to get startedLayton with his Great Grandma Hindes
Layton with Uncle Carter and Aunt LauraNana and Papa with LaytonGrammy D and the birthday boyProud Mommy and Daddy with our one year old little toddler
I was trying to get a picture of the two boys in their matching shirts but sitting still isn't something they will do now. My mom made their shirts for the party and they turned out so cute.
Enjoying their cupcakesLayton was overwhelmed with all of the presents and once he would open something he would want to take off with it to go play.
Thanks to all of our wonderful family and friends that came and helped us celebrate the boys birthdays!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Party Preparations Part 2

Friday I spent most of the morning baking cupcakes and the cake for the party. That afternoon Deborah and Lauren came over to help me decorate everything. We had a great time visiting and decorating. Layton took a pretty good nap that afternoon so we were able to get some of it done before he woke up. We had to take turns watching him once he was up. Here are a few pictures of us decorating everything for the party.


These cookies turned out cute but took way longer to decorate than I had planned.Deborah working her magic with the icing
Showing Layton all the goodies


The beautiful cake Deborah is a professional!
Layton was keeping us on our toes and entertaining us that afternoon.