Clayville Kids
Suddenly, the house got eerily quiet… then LAUGHTER.
When you’re the Mom of two young boys, that’s not always a GOOD thing. I turned around from the sink and saw THIS:
I was curious with what EXACTLY was going on, so I dried my hands and walked over.
Paxton had crawled onto the couch, nestled in with Chance and was pushing the little yellow button on Chance’s “fighter jet”. Each time the fighter jet “launched a missile”, the boys laughed hysterically.
I love “catching” my boys loving each other and just BEING together.
I can honestly say I would never trade this for a million dollars.
The Chance & Mommy Band
Chance and I did some jammin’ today… while he was SUPPOSED to be napping.
Yeah. He didn’t want to nap… so this happened instead:
How do you help release creativity in your kids?
Please share!!!
Invite Me
I’m sitting here watching my 4-year-old.
He grabs a little cup from one of the bottom cabinets (we put all the kids dishes where they can reach them so they can help themselves), scurries over to the fridge, fills his cup with water and drinks from it. Then he grabs a couple apple slices I’ve cut for them and runs over to his 1-year-old little brother.
“Here Paxton… want an apple?”
As they both snack, they sit side-by-side and Chance “reads” to Paxton. Then… out of nowhere… Chance says:
“Hey Mom… you wanna come and read with us?”
ABSOLUTELY!!!
I could have easily done all that water-fetching and snack-handling for Chance and Paxton… but there was so much more pride when I saw he was self-sufficiently taking care of his own needs, sharing with his brother, playing quietly… and then he invited ME to come and play with him.
I love walking alongside my kids.
I love listening to the silliest rambling and chatter their little minds offer.
I love to watch them grow.
I love holding them close and cuddling in.
I love experiencing every milestone with them.
I even love their temper tantrums because it reveals passion.
I love being WITH them.
That’s when it hit me: This is what God wants from ME!
God loves to see me taking care of myself… taking care of others… living out my purpose. He’s always present, just like I’m present with my kids… but to be invited into the simplest, daily activities of our lives?
God loves walking alongside me.
God loves listening to the silliest rambling and chatter of my mind.
God loves to watch me grow… especially if I take a lesson in with it.
God loves holding me close… in joy or in my tears.
God loves when I experience my milestones THROUGH Him.
God even loves my passionate outbursts because I’m using the feelings He gave me.
God loves being with me.
Random Chance Video
I left the camera running for Chance… while Brent was talking to me…
… and talking
… and talking
… and talking.
Oh, Brent.
Anyway… tonight, Tam, Kota, Brian and I were looking through my videos and found this. We were laughing so hard we thought we’d share it with you.
Enjoy!
Oh yes… and in the duration of this video… Brent DID fart.
TWICE.
And that was just in the video. I can NOT count how many times that man has let loose this weekend.
Help us, Lord.
Fun with Chance
This is Chance:
He is my firstborn son… and a total ham!
Chance loves to play with his legos and build TALL towers… then kick them over. He enjoys doing somersaults and telling everyone the rules to the game… or life. He’s smart! A bit to smart for his own good… and he LOVES music. He also LOVES taking pictures and being in videos.
Hence the next sequence of action here.
I just found these photos of Chance & me playing around and being silly in the car on a road trip.
Drink in these moments, dear friends… because before you know it… your kids will grow up… and turn out like me! And no one wants that. YIKES!
My kids are pretty amazing. I am a blessed mommy.
Interview with Chance
Yet another interview with Chance.
This is the “Happy Birthday, Daddy” version. Enjoy!
“I Wish I Were You”
That’s what Chance said to me today.
These are the conversations my four-year-old son and I have when we are in the car. I’m driving him to school and he says to me:
“Mommy… I wish I were you!”
This caught me off guard. Who in the world would wish THIS on themselves?
I’m a mess.
I’m wrecked.
I’m a disaster.
But as I let this question soak in a bit, I realized I, too, wished this as a child. I didn’t necessarily wish I was my mother… but I wished I was anyone BUT myself. I wished I were YOU. I wanted everyone else’s life because mine hurt too much.
Now, at 31, I can honestly say that most days, I’m glad I’m me. I’m FINALLY starting to see why I am who I am… dysfunction and all.
I AM a mess, but what work is there in perfection?
I WAS wrecked, but now I’m restored.
I’m a BEAUTIFUL disaster.
My thoughts came back to my son who was sitting in the backseat. My sweet 4-year-old who could already process wanting to be anyone but himself. My heart broke for him. I want more than anything for my children to be secure in who they are… in who God made them to be.
So, I asked Chance:
“Why do you say that? Why do you wish you were me?”
And he replied:
“Because then I wouldn’t have to go to school.”
Oh. Well… all that internal repertoire for nothing then. HA!
Ever wish you were someone else?
What Brian & Chance Talk About
What I just overheard…
Brian: ”Look! Paxton just made some chocolate ice cream in his diaper! You want to try some?”
Chance: ”YES!!! That sounds yummy?”
Brian: ”It’s warm though… you still want some?”
Chance: ”Yeah… for real!”
oh… my… word
MOM BLOG… I know…
Crystal always makes fun of me for having a mom blog… but this is how I share what’s going on with our family… AND I’m documenting our life as it happens.
Babies grow up WAY too fast and I forget things WAY too often.
Here’s a video of Chance loving his present from Crystal:
And here’s one of Paxton from yesterday. He’s SO sweet:
Chance’s Motorcycle Ride
Chance went on his first motorcycle ride with Daddy today on Daniel’s bike.
Don’t worry… they stayed in the neighborhood and only went 2 miles an hour. I just love his face in some of these photos:
Say “Hello” to our new Dare-Devil.
First Hearing & Eye Test
Chance had his first hearing and sight test at his 4 year wellness check-up.
They made it into a game for him. He LOVED it.
Nurse said he can hear perfectly fine… but may have “Selective Hearing”. Yeah… tell me something I didn’t know. His eyes are 20/30 as well.
All’s well here for our 4 year old.
Chance is FOUR!!!
Dear Chance,
Four years ago, God gave you to Daddy and me. Well… He didn’t GIVE you to us as much as He LOANED you to us. We promised Him we would take care of you the best we knew how till He came back for you. We are SO thankful you are a part of our lives now. I can’t believe how fast four years flies by.
Today, Uncle Kevin came over and had dinner with us. You requested my homemade pizza and a “sparkly” birthday cake (confetti… sprinkles)… so that’s what I did.
You blew out your candles and stuck your fingers in the frosting… MANY TIMES… but it’s ok today, because it’s your birthday.
Chance… you are the sweetest, most curious little boy:
You love to ask questions.
You love to learn.
You are sensitive to those around you and you always want to pray for those who may be hurting. Whenever an ambulance, fire truck or police car rushes by with it’s sirens on, you remind Mommy that we should pray for the people they are rushing to help.
You are quick to forgive Mommy when I make a mistake and hurt your feelings. Thank you!
You light up first thing in the morning when you see Paxton. You ALWAYS hug him and tell him you love him.
You quickly reassure Paxton that, “You’re gonna be ok!” when he cries.
You are Mommy’s best helper.
You love to cook and bake with Mommy.
You love to fix things with your power tools with Daddy.
You love to whisper to Mommy and Daddy, “I love you!”
You remember EVERYTHING… and I MEAN EVERYTHING!
You’re growing up WAY faster than I’m ok with…
You make me so proud, my heart wants to jump out and scream, “THIS IS MY SON!!!”
You help make Mommy a better person.
Chance, we know we won’t be perfect. In fact, we know we’re gonna mess up a lot… but in all our failures, I hope you will see how much we absolutely LOVE you and desire God’s best for you. You are such a precious gift to us. Mommy and Daddy are SO thankful God let us be a part of your life. We are better because of it. Well… at least Mommy is!
Happy Birthday, my sweet, wonderful boy.
——————
2005-Birth:
2006-Year One:
2007-Year Two:
2008-Year Three:
2009-Year Four (this year):
Chance’s 4th Birthday Party
We celebrated Chance’s 4th Birthday on Saturday.
Stephanie Baker helped me plan the WHOLE event. We thought up the Safari theme and ran with it. She even translated all the kids games into “Safari/Animal” games. She and Zena TOTALLY helped facilitate all the kid stuff so I could focus on the food, cake, photos, parents portion of it. They helped make it SO fun for the kids that they didn’t even notice the bi-polar weather (in the 2 hrs we were at the park, it was sunny, it rained, was sunny hot again, and then rainy again as we were cleaning up). Chance had a BLAST!!! I am SO thankful for these girls!
Here are some photos I took from that day.
These are the vegan cupcakes we (Crystal and I) made. A couple of Chance’s friends have some allergies so we thought we’d make it more friendly to everyone. Well… the frosting wasn’t vegan, but it didn’t have anything they were allergic to in it, so we were good. They were actually quite good!!!
We wanted to conserve a bit, so we got these cute cups they could use AT the party as well as hold all their party favors to take home. Of course, I had to write their names on the cups… swine flu and all, right?
The skies… threatening to rain on our safari… THEN actually raining on it for a few minutes.
The kids lining up in prep to attack Stephanie with their water balloons. This was Chance’s FAVORITE game.
Janet and Paxton… REAL FRIENDS come to 4 year old birthday parties… even if they don’t have 4 year olds. Man, I LOVE this woman! Isn’t she beautiful?
Blowing out the candle. I think I forgot to tell him to make a wish. I’ll make it up tomorrow… for his REAL birthday!
Chance has been waiting for this ALL year!
I’ve decided that kid’s parties are EXHAUSTING!!! But it was really fun being creative on how to make this event memorable for Chance, yet cost effective. We spent a fraction of what we spent last year… and I think it was more fun for the kids. That’s success!
Thank you to all the grown ups that hung in there with us during the sunny, now raining, now sunny, now STORMING weather! You really helped make Chance’s day.
What have YOU done for your kids’ parties?
OR
What was your favorite party memory as a kid?
I’m taking notes here!!!
—————————–
UPDATE: Cupcake Recipe as requested:
Fluffy White Cupcakes: makes 22 cupcakes
1 TB apple cider vinegar
1 ½ scant cups plain soymilk
2 1/8 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. kosher salt
1 1/8 cups sugar
½ cup oil
1 ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. coconut extract
Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray 22 muffin cups with nonstick spray or line with paper cupcake liners (I like to spray the inside of the muffin papers with nonstick spray to help the cupcakes release). Set aside.
Place the apple cider vinegar in the bottom of a liquid measuring cup and fill the cup with soymilk to equal 1 ½ cups. Stir well and set aside (the mixture will curdle).
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another mixing bowl whisk together the soymilk mixture, canola oil, vanilla, and coconut extract. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and beat until smooth using a hand-held mixer, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Fill each muffin cup with ¼ cup of batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes from the pan and place on a wire rack. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
Chance’s Drawings
I came home from my beach vacation and found this on my desk from Chance.
Don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
So cute!
My Little Ninja
Chance had his first day at Martial Arts class today. We’re just trying it out for a couple of weeks to see if he’ll like it.
He was shy at first, but didn’t want to leave by the end.
Here are the pictures:
Yeah… my kid’s a ninja!
Clayville Campout
Chance had never camped before, and we didn’t know whether he was ready for it or not this summer… so we thought we’d test it out in our backyard.
Brian made it a “MAN” thing. A bonding experience with his firstborn son.
Paxton got left out… but I’m thinking this will one day be something both of our boys will REALLY look forward to doing with their Dad.
What childhood experiences do you cherish?
Haircut
Girls never get to play like this with their hair.
** Note… there’s a message for you in here, Renee!
He’s fun, isn’t he?
What’s the “funnest” thing you’ve ever done to YOUR hair?
For Crystal
Crystal… this was video from the morning Chance opened your present to him.
Miss you, friend!
Why he’s whispering and holding a rubber ducky… I don’t know.
No Training Wheels
For a little boy, this would be the most important rite of passage.
Chance had Brian take the training wheels off his bike today and this is what happened.
This was also before Micah fell and cut his forehead.
The Bromance Comes To Town
Brent and Josh came into town early this week.
First of all, it was a BLAST to have them here. It’s nice having REAL friends that you can just be authentic around. No need for masks… no need to cover things up. It was also nice to learn a few things about how to take better photos from Josh. Brian and I are thankful for them.
Here are the pictures from their 48 hours here. Some were taken by me, some by Brian, some by Brent and some by Josh:
[nggallery id=1]Potty-Training… Check
Chance is FULLY potty trained now. He hasn’t messed his pants for the past 2 weeks or so. He’s no longer afraid of the toilet and actually GOES to take care of business on his own.
I am BEYOND excited.
I thought I’d put a date to it for future reference. Though the date is not totally exact… it’s close enough, right?
And yes… he’s wearing his shield on his BACK. I guess he’s more concerned about who or what may come up behind him than the monsters he’s fighting in front of him.
Smart kid!
12345 Song
I captured video of Chance singing during dinner tonight. It’s cute and it makes me SO proud of him.
So… enjoy!
Here are the lyrics, since Jason was thinking he was singing about StarWars. WTH???
1, 2, 3, 4, 5… Once I caught a fish alive
6, 7, 8, 9, 10… Then I let it go again
1 2 3 4 5… 6 7 8 9 10
Why did you let it go? Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite? This little pinky on the right.
Oh.. yeah… and sorry about some of the chewed up food in his mouth.
Gross… I know. Sorry.
Jenni on Skype: jclayville 
