Usually the stories shared here are small windows into our family's life, so lovingly shared by my wife Amy. I thought I would take this opportunity to share how I feel about a lady so special to Layton and I.
With my recent ankle injury the lord has taught me so much, and has forced me to appreciate the world around me. Most importantly I have learned the true character of my family, friends, co-workers, and most importantly my wife. Amy has gone from having one child to two overnight. She has never complained, never gotten frustrated, and continues to be a loving wife and mom.
When we started dating I never knew just how special Amy was. I count my blessings everyday that I found someone who is perfect for me in every way. Words can't express the depth of my love even though sometimes I don't express they way I feel. I want everyone to know that I love Amy and my family more than anything in the world. I pray that the lord blesses us with a hundred more years together.
Happy Anniversary Amy!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
5 Wonderful Years
Today was our 5 year anniversary and it didn't turn out quite like we had planned but was still a good day. Last night Layton started running fever before he went to bed and was up most of the night with high fever. We decided to take him to the doctor today to get checked out since it was Friday I didn't want to deal with a sick baby all weekend. He has a virus which there is nothing we can do for him besides tylenol to keep the fever down so at least we know he is going to be okay. On a side note they weighed him today and he already weighs 27 lbs. 11 oz. I knew he was getting heavy but wow he is a big boy!
After his doctor's appointment we went to Chuy's for lunch and then headed to the Texas Ski Ranch to get Clifton's wakeboard boots fixed since we knew we couldn't go on our date night like we had planned. Layton enjoyed looking at all of the boats and we watched people wake boarding on the cable lake for awhile which was really interesting. Layton was in good humor all day and hasn't had fever since this morning so we just spent the day together. We had originally planned to go to the Melting Pot for dinner tonight and my parents were going to keep Layton overnight for us. We were going to head to the lake to stay there for the night after dinner and then they were going to bring Layton up there tomorrow. Needless to say all that fell through because I wasn't going to leave a sick baby with my parents but hopefully we can reschedule our much needed date night. Clifton and I haven't been anywhere by ourselves in so long so I know it would be good to have some time alone.
Five years really does fly by fast it seems like the other day we were planning our wedding. Today I got out our wedding album and honeymoon pictures and looked at them. Wow we look so young and skinny :) Such great memories made and many happy times over the past five years. I've been thanking God today especially for blessing me with such a loving husband and a wonderful father for Layton. I'm so blessed that I found a man that loves Jesus just as much as I do. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us these next five years. I'm sure it will be exciting! Here are a few wedding and honeymoon pictures I scanned tonight.
After his doctor's appointment we went to Chuy's for lunch and then headed to the Texas Ski Ranch to get Clifton's wakeboard boots fixed since we knew we couldn't go on our date night like we had planned. Layton enjoyed looking at all of the boats and we watched people wake boarding on the cable lake for awhile which was really interesting. Layton was in good humor all day and hasn't had fever since this morning so we just spent the day together. We had originally planned to go to the Melting Pot for dinner tonight and my parents were going to keep Layton overnight for us. We were going to head to the lake to stay there for the night after dinner and then they were going to bring Layton up there tomorrow. Needless to say all that fell through because I wasn't going to leave a sick baby with my parents but hopefully we can reschedule our much needed date night. Clifton and I haven't been anywhere by ourselves in so long so I know it would be good to have some time alone.
Five years really does fly by fast it seems like the other day we were planning our wedding. Today I got out our wedding album and honeymoon pictures and looked at them. Wow we look so young and skinny :) Such great memories made and many happy times over the past five years. I've been thanking God today especially for blessing me with such a loving husband and a wonderful father for Layton. I'm so blessed that I found a man that loves Jesus just as much as I do. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us these next five years. I'm sure it will be exciting! Here are a few wedding and honeymoon pictures I scanned tonight.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Fun day with Jackie
My college friend Jackie was in town on Friday and she agreed to go with Layton and I to the Children's Museum downtown San Antonio. We had so much fun catching up and taking lots of pictures of Layton playing. She has a nice camera and knows more about photography than I do so she was helping me learn how to use my camera on the manual setting. I have a lot to learn and am still overwhelmed but I'm determined to learn how to use the camera the "right" way. It was challenging trying to chase Layton and snap a few pictures of him as he was on the move. He went from one thing to the next in the museum. Some of these pictures are blurry but we are both still learning :) As he gets older I'm sure we will be back because there were so many things we didn't even get to because he was worn out after a few hours.Here he is in the toddler area driving the truck of course.
He loved the bubble machine he could push the buttons to change the colors
Here he is with mommy in the huge airplane
In the cockpit ready to take off
Sitting in the air traffic control tower
Taking a break in the stroller and having a snack
He loved driving the trolley
This was probably his favorite part of the whole day
Going down the slide with mommy
Shopping for some groceries
Layton napped in the stroller while Jackie and I enjoyed a nice lunch at Acenar. Then we headed to the hotel where her husband was staying for a work conference and we took Layton swimming. It was a fun day and made me realize how much I miss hanging out with Jackie. I'm hoping to make a trip to visit her and Jared in Dallas this fall.
Jackie took a bunch of pictures with her camera too so once she sends some to me I will try to post a few more from our fun day!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
My little chatter box
Layton's personality is really starting to show more and more everyday. For the most part it is pretty easy for him to communicate with us which has been really nice. He talks a lot and is a little chatter box most days so he can tell us what he wants. Here are a few things he has been saying lately that I wanted to document before I forget all of them.
The other morning I was changing his diaper right after he woke up and I was dressed for work already, he turned towards me and touched my dress and said "Pitty" my heart just melted that he thought to tell me my dress was pretty. Such a sweetie!
On Tuesday my mom said he woke up from his nap and pointed to Amanda's bridal portrait on the wall and said "Manda" I told Aunt Amanda about it and she was so excited. Layton hasn't seen her in awhile so that is neat that he is starting to remember people. He also can point out Uncle Carter "Cada" and Aunt Laura he calls her "Lala" in there picture at my parents house. My mom has an old high school picture of me on a shelf that he can reach and he likes to pick up the picture and hug it and carry it around and he says "Mommy."
He calls every baby he sees right now "Kyeeee" (Kyleigh) because he loves his baby cousin and loves to give her hugs every time he sees her.
Last night he walked into the kitchen and I was doing the dishes and he said "cookie pease" He calls animal crackers cookies and I'm so glad me repeating please and thank you over and over is really starting to pay off. I guess he really is listening to me.
Tonight he had pizza for dinner and he said "pissa" over and over and of course loved it. He ate two whole pieces.
He has also been telling everything bye bye as we pass it in the car. He will see a truck and say "truck" and then say "bye bye truck." I know he gets this from his cousin Cooper.
He is obsessed with bubbles right now and gets so excited at bath time. He loves to run around the house after I get him undressed for his bath. He runs through the house naked screaming "bubbles." He also has been pointing out bubbles everywhere. At the zoo last week he pointed out the bubbles in the water fountain where the water was splashing and he saw the bubbles in the sink tonight when I was washing his hands after dinner and got really excited. Here he is running through the house naked before bath time one night. He loves for me to chase him he laughs so hard.
The other day on our way to the lake Layton said his first sentence, he said "Daddy play song!" in the truck. He loves to hear music and will dance every time we play a song for him. He now requests a song every time we are in the car or even at home he will point to the stereo and say song over and over until he hears some music. Here he is dancing in front of the stereo.
Last week I was sitting at the computer and he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards his room and he pointed to his tub of toys on his shelf and said "I want tractor." Tractors are still his favorite thing to play with these days.
He is really into playing with my broom and swiffer right now so we bought him a small broom and dust pan just his size. Now when I sweep he likes to help mommy and he says "I sweep." I realized the other day you can take out the extensions on the swiffer handle so I took some out and made it just his size. He was so excited to swiffer the floor once he saw it! It is his favorite thing to get out of the pantry right now.
Here are a few random pictures I've taken in the last week. I can't believe he is already 14 months old.
The other morning I was changing his diaper right after he woke up and I was dressed for work already, he turned towards me and touched my dress and said "Pitty" my heart just melted that he thought to tell me my dress was pretty. Such a sweetie!
On Tuesday my mom said he woke up from his nap and pointed to Amanda's bridal portrait on the wall and said "Manda" I told Aunt Amanda about it and she was so excited. Layton hasn't seen her in awhile so that is neat that he is starting to remember people. He also can point out Uncle Carter "Cada" and Aunt Laura he calls her "Lala" in there picture at my parents house. My mom has an old high school picture of me on a shelf that he can reach and he likes to pick up the picture and hug it and carry it around and he says "Mommy."
He calls every baby he sees right now "Kyeeee" (Kyleigh) because he loves his baby cousin and loves to give her hugs every time he sees her.
Last night he walked into the kitchen and I was doing the dishes and he said "cookie pease" He calls animal crackers cookies and I'm so glad me repeating please and thank you over and over is really starting to pay off. I guess he really is listening to me.
Tonight he had pizza for dinner and he said "pissa" over and over and of course loved it. He ate two whole pieces.
He has also been telling everything bye bye as we pass it in the car. He will see a truck and say "truck" and then say "bye bye truck." I know he gets this from his cousin Cooper.
He is obsessed with bubbles right now and gets so excited at bath time. He loves to run around the house after I get him undressed for his bath. He runs through the house naked screaming "bubbles." He also has been pointing out bubbles everywhere. At the zoo last week he pointed out the bubbles in the water fountain where the water was splashing and he saw the bubbles in the sink tonight when I was washing his hands after dinner and got really excited. Here he is running through the house naked before bath time one night. He loves for me to chase him he laughs so hard.
The other day on our way to the lake Layton said his first sentence, he said "Daddy play song!" in the truck. He loves to hear music and will dance every time we play a song for him. He now requests a song every time we are in the car or even at home he will point to the stereo and say song over and over until he hears some music. Here he is dancing in front of the stereo.
Last week I was sitting at the computer and he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards his room and he pointed to his tub of toys on his shelf and said "I want tractor." Tractors are still his favorite thing to play with these days.
He is really into playing with my broom and swiffer right now so we bought him a small broom and dust pan just his size. Now when I sweep he likes to help mommy and he says "I sweep." I realized the other day you can take out the extensions on the swiffer handle so I took some out and made it just his size. He was so excited to swiffer the floor once he saw it! It is his favorite thing to get out of the pantry right now.
Here are a few random pictures I've taken in the last week. I can't believe he is already 14 months old.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
A fun hot day at the zoo
Saturday morning Layton and I met up with one of my coworkers Becky and her little boy Marshall at the San Antonio Zoo. Last time I took Layton to the zoo I think he was about 8 or 9 months old and slept through a lot of it so I was really looking forward to him being more into it this time. Layton was really impressed with the elephants and monkeys but I think his favorite part was when we went to the toddler area and let him play in the water. It was extremely hot on Saturday so the cool water felt great to him I'm sure and he never stopped moving once we put him in the water. He loved putting his head in the water and splashing. He wasn't real happy when it was time to leave but I could tell he was exhausted. While we were walking to the restaurant so we could eat our lunch in the A/C Layton fell asleep in the stroller and slept almost an hour. Once he woke up he was able to eat and then we took the boys to the ride the train. Layton has really been into "choo choos" as he calls them lately so he loved the train ride. Surprisingly he stayed awake the whole car ride home which was nice because once we got home he was ready for another nap and so was I. I can't wait to take him back to the zoo again especially the water area he had a blast. Here are a few pictures from Saturday:
Marshall was really into the waterfalls at the zoo so here are the two boys checking out the waterfall.
Layton peaking into the aquarium
Layton and Marshall checking out the elephants
Playing in the water
So worn out from all the fun he had
Riding the choo choo
Marshall was really into the waterfalls at the zoo so here are the two boys checking out the waterfall.
Layton peaking into the aquarium
Layton and Marshall checking out the elephants
Playing in the water
So worn out from all the fun he had
Riding the choo choo
Update on Clifton
Tuesday I took Clifton to see a specialist in San Antonio and the doctor confirmed that yes his ankle was broken but the good news is no surgery is necessary at this point. The doctor also said he wasn't going to put a hard cast on his foot because he said it would not be fun to have a cast in the middle of the summer in South Texas and his air cast would get the job done. He can at least take the boot off to shower and ice his ankle down and at night to sleep. Clifton's ankle has been turning all sorts of colors this week and is still swelling quite a bit. The doctor said he can't put any weight on it for 6-8 weeks and then they would make sure the bones have healed. We go back to the doctor on August 31st for a check up so please pray that everything heals quickly.
The hard part has been trying to figure out a new morning routine since Clifton was in charge of getting Layton up, dressed, bag packed and dropped off with the Grandma's each morning because I usually leave the house by 6:30 every morning to head to work. Clifton can't really do any of this right now so thankfully my boss has been really understanding and is letting me come into work a little later so I can take Layton in the mornings. It is nice seeing Layton before work but it is really hard dropping him off he usually isn't real happy when Mommy leaves him. I think it is easier when daddy does it. :)
I'm not sure why this happened to Clifton but I do know it has definitely made me appreciate all that Clifton does around the house and all the help he is with Layton. Now that I'm doing everything I realize how much work it is and I don't know how single moms do it. All of you that know Clifton, know how he is not one to sit around and be lazy and is constantly working on something outside or around the house. This has been really hard for him to just take it easy and relax. Please keep him in your prayers that he has a fast recovery. I'm sure these next few weeks will be gone before we know it and all of this will be behind us.
The hard part has been trying to figure out a new morning routine since Clifton was in charge of getting Layton up, dressed, bag packed and dropped off with the Grandma's each morning because I usually leave the house by 6:30 every morning to head to work. Clifton can't really do any of this right now so thankfully my boss has been really understanding and is letting me come into work a little later so I can take Layton in the mornings. It is nice seeing Layton before work but it is really hard dropping him off he usually isn't real happy when Mommy leaves him. I think it is easier when daddy does it. :)
I'm not sure why this happened to Clifton but I do know it has definitely made me appreciate all that Clifton does around the house and all the help he is with Layton. Now that I'm doing everything I realize how much work it is and I don't know how single moms do it. All of you that know Clifton, know how he is not one to sit around and be lazy and is constantly working on something outside or around the house. This has been really hard for him to just take it easy and relax. Please keep him in your prayers that he has a fast recovery. I'm sure these next few weeks will be gone before we know it and all of this will be behind us.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Our Interesting Trip to the Lake
Friday morning we packed up Clifton's truck with all of our stuff and Layton's stuff and the boat to head to Medina Lake with my parents and their RV. My parents are leaving it there for a month so we can enjoy it at the lake for awhile. Friday we just rested and relaxed once we got everything set up. They were having a BBQ that night at the RV park so we just walked over to the club house for dinner and then took a cruise in the boat after we ate. Clifton, Layton and I decided to stop and go for a swim. The water felt so good it wasn't that cold and Layton loved splashing and watching Daddy swim under water and then reappear.
We gave him a redneck bath out in the baby pool outside because my parents only have a shower in their trailer so I figured this would be easier. Layton loved it!
Saturday morning Clifton and I decided to take the boat out just the two of us so we could get in some wake boarding while the water was smooth and before it got really crowded with boats. My parents were able to watch Layton for us at the trailer. Clifton went first and was only up a short time and then he fell into the water. I went back around to pick him up and he mentioned his ankle was hurting and he thought he twisted his ankle. He was able to get in the boat no problem after struggling to get the wake board off of his feet. We were using an old pair of boots on the board because our other ones broke and they were way too small. I went ahead and took my turn and then I eventually got tired and decided to stop. Once I was in the water I realized I couldn't get the wake board off of my feet either. By this time Clifton realized he hurt his ankle worse than he thought and we needed to get back to the dock. Clifton eventually pulled me up out of the water onto the boat to help me get the wake board off. Poor Clifton had to crawl up a big hill on his hands and knees once the boat was tied up and couldn't stand to put any weight on his ankle. By this time Daniel and Lauren had gotten there so Daniel helped me get Clifton back to the RV so he could put ice on his ankle. After about two hours of icing and taking ibuprofen Clifton decided he needed to go get it checked out because it was hurting so bad. My dad drove him into San Antonio to the Texas Med Clinic. I put Layton down for a nap at the trailer and my mom stayed there with Kyleigh and Layton while Daniel, Lauren, Cooper and I went to the pool at the RV park. He called me a few hours later and told me he had broken his talus bone in his ankle. We decided it would be best if we headed home since it was so hard for Clifton to get up in the trailer with his crutches. Thankfully Daniel and Lauren were there so they helped us get our stuff packed up and Daniel got the boat out of the water and drove Clifton's truck home. My parents decided to stay another night since they didn't have any reason to be back home. We made it back home by 11 Saturday night so it was a really long day. We are hoping we will get to go to the lake at least one more time and stay in the trailer but we will have to see how Clifton is feeling over these next few weeks. Here are some pictures of our short trip to the lake.
This was right before we went out in the boat on Saturday morning.
Layton was trying on his new life jacket that Nana and Papa bought him.
Nana with her boys
Layton wore these sunglasses all afternoon he thought he was so cool
Little Kyleigh was even dressed for the lake in her tiny swimsuit
We told Layton to give Kyleigh some love so he leaned over and was hugging her such a sweetie pie!
Snack time!
We gave him a redneck bath out in the baby pool outside because my parents only have a shower in their trailer so I figured this would be easier. Layton loved it!
Saturday morning Clifton and I decided to take the boat out just the two of us so we could get in some wake boarding while the water was smooth and before it got really crowded with boats. My parents were able to watch Layton for us at the trailer. Clifton went first and was only up a short time and then he fell into the water. I went back around to pick him up and he mentioned his ankle was hurting and he thought he twisted his ankle. He was able to get in the boat no problem after struggling to get the wake board off of his feet. We were using an old pair of boots on the board because our other ones broke and they were way too small. I went ahead and took my turn and then I eventually got tired and decided to stop. Once I was in the water I realized I couldn't get the wake board off of my feet either. By this time Clifton realized he hurt his ankle worse than he thought and we needed to get back to the dock. Clifton eventually pulled me up out of the water onto the boat to help me get the wake board off. Poor Clifton had to crawl up a big hill on his hands and knees once the boat was tied up and couldn't stand to put any weight on his ankle. By this time Daniel and Lauren had gotten there so Daniel helped me get Clifton back to the RV so he could put ice on his ankle. After about two hours of icing and taking ibuprofen Clifton decided he needed to go get it checked out because it was hurting so bad. My dad drove him into San Antonio to the Texas Med Clinic. I put Layton down for a nap at the trailer and my mom stayed there with Kyleigh and Layton while Daniel, Lauren, Cooper and I went to the pool at the RV park. He called me a few hours later and told me he had broken his talus bone in his ankle. We decided it would be best if we headed home since it was so hard for Clifton to get up in the trailer with his crutches. Thankfully Daniel and Lauren were there so they helped us get our stuff packed up and Daniel got the boat out of the water and drove Clifton's truck home. My parents decided to stay another night since they didn't have any reason to be back home. We made it back home by 11 Saturday night so it was a really long day. We are hoping we will get to go to the lake at least one more time and stay in the trailer but we will have to see how Clifton is feeling over these next few weeks. Here are some pictures of our short trip to the lake.This was right before we went out in the boat on Saturday morning.
Layton was trying on his new life jacket that Nana and Papa bought him.
Nana with her boys
Layton wore these sunglasses all afternoon he thought he was so cool
Little Kyleigh was even dressed for the lake in her tiny swimsuit
We told Layton to give Kyleigh some love so he leaned over and was hugging her such a sweetie pie!
Snack time!
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