Gingerbread Houses

As per tradition with the Claysons we did our Gingerbread houses right after Thanksgiving. In fact we did them the day after. The kids always look forward to this tradition, and they have so much fun. Our house actually did not fall once this year, and it is in fact still intact. It is a Christmas miracle. I think Owen ate way more candy then he put on the house, but Claire did great, and had so much fun. It is always fun to see what we create, and watch the kids have so much fun.

Thanksgiving with the Clayson's

We spent Thanksgiving with Chad's family this year in Firth. As always there was PLENTY of food, and lots of fun. The kids love playing with all their cousins. Owen had so much fun playing with Colton this year. Those two are going to be good friends. I decided to stay the night with the kids so that I could get up at 3:30 and go shopping with the girls. We had lots of fun, and got some great deals. I am proud to say that I didn't buy anything I didn't need. I also had the pleasure of sleeping in the same room with the 7 oldest cousins. The oldest is only 6, so I was awake most of the time taking someone to the bathroom, or putting someone back to bed. The kids were great though. Thankfully I was able to take a 4 hour nap later the next day, so I got caught up on my sleep. We had a great Thanksgiving and as always look forward to the next holiday!

Owen's Thanksgiving Feast

Every year in preschool we have a big Thanksgiving feast. We invite all the parents, and practice, practice, practice for our presentation. The kids get so excited, but none so excited as Owen. He talked about it for days, and was so happy the morning of his feast. He helped me get all set up, and then was so happy when his dad came to help him with the activities, and eat lunch with him. He did a great job at his part, and was very proud of his potato turkey. He is so much fun to watch, and doesn't have a shy bone in his body. We are so proud of you Owen!

Mom, I'm hungry!

The other day Owen tells me that he is hungry. I asked him what he wanted, and he looks at me, puts his finger to his face, and says, "hmm, let me see." So funny. He couldn't decide, so I left to go do something, and he comes running in to find me with a whole thing of butter. He takes one out, and tells me that is what he wants. I know the kid likes butter, but really that much?? Probably not. He was very serious, but we had to go on the search for something a little better for him.

Meeting Santa Claus

Claire and Owen were so excited to meet Santa this year. Owen did so much better, but don't worry Grant took over his spot as the screamer, so we will be ok. Claire ran up there as quick as she could, and apparently asked Santa for a flying horse - that is news to me. Owen asked for a jumping race car, which Santa is happy to say he finally figured out what that was! Grant didn't think Santa was to great, but he allowed me one quick picture. The kids are so excited for Christmas this year, and it is so contageous. I love hearing them talk about it, but I love how much they Believe, which makes Christmas so much fun.

I'm Back!!

I am sorry that I haven't posted in awhile, I just needed lots of naps, which is my usual blogging time, and then in the evening I was seriously going to bed at 8:00. I think I drove Chad crazy, and I think he was sick of chicken nuggest and mac and cheese. I was also busy working at ISU in the ticket office. I am happy to say that we are all done with football of any kind and now I will only work a couple times a month during basketball season. We have been busy regardless, and I am working on getting the pictures all organized. I am noticing that the quality of my pictures is going downhill, so I am hoping for a new camera for Christmas. We are all alive and doing well, and keep checking back for the next couple of days, I will try very had to catch everything up.

Mr. Grant

Grant seriously cracks us up. In the last month, he has really changed, and is so much fun to be around. He is finally holding his own around Claire and Owen. Whenever they do something that he doesn't like, or take something away from him, he basically yells at them. I should worry that my one year old is yelling, but hey he has to hold his own around here. He is also learning new words, and cracking us up. About a month ago, he picked up one of Claire's ponies, turned it around in his hands and said "cow, moo." Chad and I just looked at each other stunned. I guess it could be due to the fact that his favorite all time show is Baby McDonald, but that might just be a coincidence. He loves to wrestle with his dad and Owen, and seriously loves chicken nuggets. Go figure. He is starting to try to walk a little bit, but seriously has no desire to try anytime soon. He is almost all the way off of his bottle, and finally takes a great nap during the day, and goes to bed at a decent hour. He loves to "shake it," and is beginning to love The Wiggles, thanks to Owen deciding that he loved them again - go figure. He has learned to go up and down the stairs, but still sometimes tries to go down head first, we are working hard on that one. He loves to put things away, except for the silverware in the dishwasher, which he just loves to throw all over the floor.
He has discovered his nose, and especially likes to explore that part of himself during mealtime. It is actually quite funny.
One day he was being soooo quiet. You moms all know how worried that can make you. I went exploring and that morning on my way to church I dropped some snack mix on the ground, and in our hurry to leave I hadn't cleaned it up yet. Luckily Grant was helping me, and was cleaning it up all by himself by eating it all. I'm sure he thought that he found the perfect place to eat it at, where no one would bother him.