Hey Big Stander!

10 months old! My sweet little baby is quickly becoming an expert stander. He can push himself up off the ground, get to a standing position, and remain there for 10 to 15 seconds at a time. He even took little steps to Blake and me tonight before crawling the rest of the way. Blake really wants to be the one he walks to first...any time I start to encourage Clayton to walk to me, Blake shoves his way in front and sits on my lap.

He had a pretty bad fall the other night and had his first trip to the ER. Bear came running down the hallway without knowing Clayton was there and knocked him from a standing position to a face-plant. Poor baby! His forehead was purple and bulging and I was afraid to let him go to sleep in case there was head trauma. When I called the on-call nurse she told me to, "Wake him up and take him to the ER right now!" It was stressful. Warren stayed home with Blake and I had to face the dark unknown Phoenix streets alone. As I walked out the door I grabbed my dad's old Micky Mouse sweat-shirt and it actually brought a lot of comfort. I didn't feel so alone anymore and I was able to perfectly navigate to the hospital. Once we were released, I struggled for 10 minutes to find the freeway on-ramp...back to my own devises I guess;)

We tried to get a nice Easter picture...and this was the best we could come up with. Oh well! Sometimes I think I'll look back and love these goofy pictures the best... the ones where we are just trying to get everyone still and looking for a second.

Last night I came into the kitchen to see what Blake was doing and found him CLEANING! Every mother's dream come true, right? Just wait, it gets better...I asked what he was doing and he said, "I'm just cleaning Claydog's tray, 'cause I love 'im." Moments like that are why you should always have a camera within arm's reach because it might not happen again for a long time.

My sweet boys...getting so big...too fast!

I took both the kids to the pediatrician for their check-ups today.

Blake weighs 42.6 lbs (95th %) and is 41.25 inches tall (75th%)

Clayton weighs 21.14 lbs. (75th %) is 30.25 cm long (97%) and his head is 18.25 (90th %)
They both had to get 4 shots. Blake went first and screamed so loud it hurt my ears. He had one in each arm and by the time we got to his leg, he had turned into the demon woman on Ghost Busters. He was throwing punches and screaming, "I will NEVER let you give me shots!" In a growly voice. Yeah...that's my Blake.

Clayton got a finger prick and the first two shots without crying at all.

These pictures are the morning after the ER trip. I was surprised how much better his bump looked in the morning. We were both pretty tired because I had to wake him up every 2 hours to make sure he could wake up easily.

Clayton loves pounding the keys on this little piano toy.

The ward had a really fun Easter Egg Hunt/Pajama Breakfast. After the hunt they went for a ride in this cool bucket train. The driver stopped and Blake thought it was over so he started to climb out just as the driver started going again. I started screaming STOP! but he didn't hear and Blake nearly got run over. Close one!

Blake emptied out the candy for himself and gave Clayton the empty eggs...they were both perfectly happy.

We missed Daddy who was at class all Saturday.

Look what I found!

I had to convince Blake to take the eggs too, instead of just cracking them open and taking out the goodies.

Clayton can now wave, cluck his tongue, and he gives the best hugs. When he lays his head on us he says, "Mmmmmmmm." He also likes to say "Ahhhhh" and shake his head like crazy. He LOVES hide n seek and crawls after us laughing. He giggles the best when Blake plays peekaboo with him. He is such a little joy to be around.

Bear is so sweet with the kids. Clayton can have two fists full of hair and he's still so submissive. He felt really bad when he accidentally knocked the baby over. Clayton was up at an unusual time and he was just out of Bear's sight.

Blake has been enjoying his stuffed animals a lot more lately. He likes to make big animal piles and tells me to come take a picture.

Blake got in trouble for wasting handsoap, toothpaste, and smashing crackers, so for the last couple weeks he has been earning enough money to pay for new items. Warren pointed out that it would be a good opportunity to teach him tithing as well as the value of earning money and not wasting. After a lesson early last week on tithing, he counted out 3 dimes and placed them in an envelope to take to church. Sunday morning, he remembered all by himself to bring his envelope to church to give to the bishop. Warren, Blake, and I were all beaming with pride.

I hate it when Blake climbs in and out of the crib but sometimes I just can't resist when he says that he just wants to play with Claydog. (Blake never calls him Clayton...only Claydog)