The Clayton Chronicles

Leftovers....

2012-01-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

These are a few pictures that got lost over the craziness of the holidays,,, these first few came from Paul Wharton. Ashley was not a fan of the boys outfits-he said they looked to girly. I promptly told him to get over it. :) They looked precious I thought!

Charlie got an EEG to see if he was having seizures. The test came back normal praise God! Just an update on his progress--he is getting more confidence in his walking everyday. He sees little brother walking everywhere and wants to join in. He uses his walker, but mainly at church. As a stall technique so he doesn't have to go to bed, he will walk all over the place just to distract me. I give in every night just because I can't help but be moved to tears as I see him walk across the room. He still is not eating, or speaking well, but we are working on it. The wonderful therapists at High Hopes are working so hard with my little buddy, and I so appreciate everything they have done!

Notice in this picture his posse of animals--I had to make sure he fell asleep during the test, so I brought with me an arsenal of sound machines, favorite blankets, and every animal he loves.

This was his hug with Grana after the test came back negative!

Our first movie with Charlie!

He was hiding from the scary,,,penguin? Who knows.

And now my prince William--he got his first haircut not too long ago. It went about as good as can be expected! Thank you to Nikki Wharton for being so patient and fast!:) Also Ashley will have the luxury of all boys haircuts from now on. Thank you very much.

All smiles afterwards!

1st photo with Santa---you can clearly see how this went.

Charlie doing his "surprise" face.

Thank you to Stacey Sarver for making these precious outfits!

Navigating the IPad with Papa. Its ridiculous and embarrassing how good Charlie is with this thing. I am still trying to locate the volume button.

Will's first apple---this also provided about 20 minutes of him sitting in one place. Note to self---keep fridge stocked with apples.

Again thanks to Paul Wharton for taking some family photos, and for being so patient!

Here is Palmer (9), Lainey Hope (4), Bennett (4), Charlie (2.5), Jackson (14 months) and Will (14 months)

Speck family photo---awwww.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-03T08:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2011 was a little anticlimatic for us at the Clayton household.

Within the first 10 minutes, Charlie opened a present threw it across the room, it hit me in the face leading to a spanking, and William crying in the background. Ah! Can you just picture the Christmas spirit? :) The day got better, thankfully!

William loved the box, and not the $19.99 toy inside. Perfect.

Noah and the Ark. Charlie's hero!

My little strummer boy!

We went over to Nana and Papa's house first...

And then to my parents, but we were gonna wait for all the cousins and aunts and uncles to do more Christmas~

Randy, Kim, Palmer, and Lainey Hope came into town first...

such a doll...

Palmer jumped into Poppers arms,,,never too old for that!

Uncle Trav, Kelly, Bennett, and Jackson came soon after,,and the party began!

sweet Jackson...

LH got a new dress coat from Grana and Popper...

I got a Keurig coffee maker and so dad and Papa loaded me up with coffee:)

Davy! Davy Crockett! King of the wild frontier!!

Cousin Coco came to visit too--she was hysterical!

Gran, Julia, and Charlie

William and Jackson would shut this door leading into mom's kitchen, and then cry for us to open it,,,only for them to slam it again. This game got old quickly.

Bennett and LH looking at B's new toy!

Our shared therapist for Bennett and Charlie--Kelly came by to see Bennett~

I love this. This just shows the generations playing with IPads,,,

Bonnie and Clyde:)

Palmer and I went on an adventure hike in my parents woods, and came back for some tea and smores!

Sweet cousins

Trouble cousins

Such a blessed time together! We were all chasing kids around for 5 days, but it was so worth it! We had so much fun!

Pass the turkey and cake!

2011-12-03T20:01:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful time with Ashley's family for Thanksgiving--for about 2 days! Then everyone got sick one at a time! So I loaded up myself and the boys and took refuge at my parents house for the weekend. Poor Ash was sick too, but I left him some crackers and Sprite--so I am not a complete awful wife for leaving:) Here are some fun pics from the weekend...

Cousin Hali telling us where to take the wagon...

Sweet Emerson--he is the cutest guy ever!!

One day, William and Hali will love eachother...hopefully!

We got to celebrate William's 1st birthday! We just had the family members over who were not sick, and had hamburgers and hot dogs, and even had a bonfire with smores!

Charlie thought it was his special day--Will could have cared less about the toys:)

He did enjoy his cake,,sort of!

Nice to have the grandmothers to help clean cake messy babies!

Fun Fall Days

2011-11-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

Today was an absolute gorgeous day outside, so I had the boys on the porch in their respective walkers for as long as possible! Here is Prince Wills-almost 1 year old!

Charlie playing with Nana...

He has a total fascination with his belly button--and everyone else's!

I was gonna do the caption for the picture as a reference to Titanic, but then William's belly hanging over his pants distracted me!:)

We had a garage sale at my parents house with their neighbors--The Rosinbums and Hinson's. So fun to hang out with them all day! We had some good people traffic, but it was more fun to sit by the campfire and roast hot dogs and marshmallows!

I love that William drinks from this cup--what I wouldn't give for Charlie to do the same!

Busted dad. Put the marshmallow down.

I just love William's little booty!

Ash did a fantastic job of carving the pumpkin--the boys thought so too!

My little monkey and giraffe for Halloween!

October 2011

2011-10-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

It seems like we have been so busy the last few weekends, and we are NEVER busy! For whatever reason this fall has been crazy busy, but we are enjoying it! Here are some pics of the boys hanging out...

William watching "Praise Baby"--totally in the zone

Charlie and puppy had a disagreement--but they made up!

We went to Abilene, TX for my college 10 year reunion, and we were lucky to stop and see my little cousin Lauren and her new baby Jacob! They are such a precious family! Love them!

These are some of the girls in Sigma Theta Chi--we had our Homecoming Breakfast way too early--I thought not having the boys I could sleep in over the weekend, but I in fact got up earlier! unbelievable,,,but so worth it to see friends!

Cortni, me, Leslie, and Nadia (Naddles)

me and my old roommate Kelly riding in the parade together

Meeting my best friends kids for the first time was a little overwhelming. You think you know these girls cause you watch them grow up over pictures, but to see them in real life, and to see their precious hearts---its amazing! They are such beautiful girls who have a amazing mother who would move mountains for them!

William trying to eat the ACU basketball

Mom and I took the boys to the zoo...

Charlie loves to throw rocks and whatever these green things are into the creek--

Trying to get a cute picture of the boys in ACU shirts to send off--not happening

Love this one!

Charlie and Boomer are best buds!

Dad reminds me how much the gravel is that Charlie throws into the creek:)

Ash teaching Charlie how to throw rocks like a man!

Happy Birthday dad!!!

William loves to climb into the cabinet where the trash can is,,why do boys do things like this?

This was my view for writing today's post:)

Gulf Shores 2011

2011-10-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

Earlier in September, mom and I went to Memphis to see Gran and Julia. We were gone literally for 24 hours. This is what the back of the car looked like. I am actually embarrassed to show this photo. Please don't judge me:)

Charlie and our neighbor's dog--Sassy

We were so lucky that we got to go with our dear friends, Trent and Kandace Withrow to Gulf Shores last week. We stayed in a gorgeous home, had yummy seafood, and played on the beach and at the pool all day! Before we left we had to get Clifford from Nana and Papa,,obviously a necessity:)

There was no one at the beach----no one. Kandace and I enjoyed the afternoons by the ocean while the guys were nice enough to stay in while the kids slept! Thanks guys!

These pictures are out of order, but we found a little kid park that had go-carts and little rides for the kids. Charlie and Ty had an absolute blast!

Bumper Boats

Skee-ball= good times!

No plastic animal was harmed in this photo, nor left behind:)

William was crying--imagine that--and Trent was nice enough to walk him around for 20 minutes:) Thanks Trent!

These 2 became fast buddies!

Charlie thought Ty was the greatest thing since sliced bread! Ty would play guitar--very good I may add---and Charlie would clap!

We had one rainy day, and Kandace had arts and crafts time with the boys! I was no help at all in this department.

Charlie would absolutely not put his toes in the sand!

Sweet Kolton!

My own version of Harry Potter!

September 2011

2011-09-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

I remember the days when I would write a blog once a week. I knew having kids would make me busier in a different way, but no idea it would cause me to write a blog once every 2 months! Good grief! So to all 4 people who read this, I apologize for my delinquency in updating this blog.

Things are still the same around here. Charlie has therapy twice a week, and is doing much better! He actually took 8 steps at therapy, and several sips from a cup! Now, did he do this for me at home? Of course not! What is the deal with that anyway? Why do they do things for other people and not for their parents who are with them all the time? I am gonna ask God about that little design He came up with when I get to heaven. :)

William is almost 10 months and is crawling around everywhere! He is also my little garbage disposal. He eats literally everything! He is babbling like crazy and has kind of figured out how to push Charlie's buttons. Which is pretty much playing with ANY of his toys---this does not go over well with Sir Charles. But overall they love eachother and play good together:)

Whitney and Ali came into town for Labor Day with their sweet baby Emerson. He is growing up so fast! I love that he and Will are about the same age, and I hope they are good buddies!

Charlie playing on Papa's I pad--try and take this away from him-its not pretty!

We went to visit Gran and Julia last weekend,,,

Playing at the park with his buddy Noah..

Florida 2011

2011-08-01T15:11:00.000-07:00

Whew!! What a crazy few weeks it has been! We just got back from Florida, so there are lots of pictures from that relaxing time, but before we left Charlie got bit,,,no,,attacked by a crazy mosquito and his whole face was swollen! If I see that mosquito anywhere,,,its not gonna be pretty. So here is Charlie--dont adjust your screen or your glasses. Its just his face. :)

Will before we left for Florida---ready to go!

We flew with the boys while mom and dad drove all our baby gear. We took everything except the kitchen sink. Literally. And I would have taken that but I had to put my foot down somewhere! The flight was pretty good except the last 20 mintues Charlie was really upset. People turn their lovely heads around and look right at me with the screaming child. Oh,,is that my child making that noise? I HAD NO IDEA! I am only sitting here sweating trying to keep him quiet! Sheesh people. Good thing it was a quick flight.

As soon as we got there, we went straight to the pool! Ash took Charlie to the waterfall and he absolutely loved it! Here is a blurry picture of them,,,

Nice family pic. I told my parents to not smile. :))

We went to eat at a place called Boondocks, and they had Jimmy Buffet (not) playing really cool and mellow songs...

Charlie loved this "duck". I didnt have the heart to tell him it was a seagull and it wasnt real. Plus he never asked.

William found himself in the mirror and thought this was fantastic! Provided me with about 10-15 minute of time!

Charlie and his Sesame Boys..

Charlie being thrown in the air. He loved it. Really. :)

Sleeping angel...

2011-07-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

On July 1, we celebrated Charlie's 2nd birthday, which I can hardly believe. I know as the years fly by, every birthday will have me saying "I can't believe he is this old". For now, he is the sweetest boy who loves to cuddle and melt my heart on a daily basis. Everyone knows him at his therapy clinic, and he always gives them his classic smile.

For his birthday, I was planning on a very low key Elmo themed party. But then I got crazy and had about 4 homemade projects I needed to get done in about 3 days. The good news was that Travis, Kelly, Bennett, and Jackson came into town to play! So Kelly graciously helped me out with lots of things! Mom too!! Love you guys!

Charlie showing off to Gran in his walker...

William and Jackson chewing on EVERYTHING~

Our awesome friends, Ken and Shanta Murray came over with their adorable kids.

Charlie got a magnet board!

our sweet angel Bennett just took in all the noise!

Charlie LOVES Aunt Kelly!

The beautiful sign,,,,so much work! Thank you Kelly!

This is the moment Jackson and Will saw eachother,,,

Charlie kisses Boomer--this is actually a big deal

Fathers Day, Family, and Friends

2011-06-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here is sweet William,,,when he is not crying he is the cutest thing ever! So I try to snap as many pictures of him in "cuteness" mode while I can!

Mommy trying to get any amount of sleep I can!

mini Mozart

daddy and Charlie

Last weekend, my best friend, Leslie, from ACU came to visit for a few days! It was so great to see her and the boys just loved her! She has 3 girls of her own, so she didn't really get a break from kids! I threw her right into the lions den and she gladly welcomed the challenge!

Happy Fathers Day!! I love you Ashley--your an amazing man and father! We are so blessed to have you! Love you!

Leslie and I have an bond that is so familiar and calming--we are so alike in so many ways. We had so much fun talking, laughing, eating (too much), and just being together. Leslie is such an amazingly strong and beautiful woman, and I am so lucky and blessed to have her as my friend! I wish we loved closer! But I am going to visit Lubbock soon!

We decided it was a good idea to go kayaking---it was a good idea for the first 5 minutes, and then my arms locked up and started cramping! Not as young as we used to be!

We had my parents and Ash's parents over for Fathers Day dinner on the lake..

What you don't know from these pictures is that it literally took me 25 pictures to get 1 of mom with her eyes open! This is no problem for Will--since his eyeballs are so huge! But mom on the other hand--good grief!!

Charlie and Papa

Charlie thought he was big stuff sitting in that chair--past his bedtime--watching us play cornhole outside!

happy Fathers Day to the best dad in the world!

Charlie just turned on the charm when Leslie was around!

Tuesday night Shelby, Melaney, Tara, and I went to the New Kids on the Block/Backstreet Boys concert! I have never seen so many underdressed middle aged women in one place! There was a generation gap between the NKOTB fans and the BSB fans, but it was suprisingly a good show! The best part was just hanging out with the girls rockin to some of the best songs of all time! Well, maybe not of all time, but close! Hangin Tough,,,Right Stuff, Please Dont Go Girl--classics!

June 2, 2011

2011-06-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

My little 6 month old!! With the biggest smile,,,he is so precious!

The boys helped mommy celebrate my 3-hmmhmm,,, birthday! :)

We had an 80's skating party with our Sunday school class,,,it was a blast! I fell the first time out, but recovered quickly and nicely. Nice bruise the next day but so worth it!

Melissa---so hilarious.

Becky and Misty--

My sweet nephew Emerson! He is only 3 months old, but so big!

Whit, Ali and Emerson. Cutest. family. ever.

Nana and Emerson

Memorial Day on the lake

Jennifer and sweet doll face Hali

William,, you cannot eat the steering wheel. Yeesh.

Everyone playing cornhole,,,Dad promptly ordered a UT set!

I love this picture---this is how the boys always look when we go out walking. Totally chilled out and relaxed!

Friends in good places

2011-05-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

Some recent events of the last few weeks:

William and Tweety bird had a stare-down contest. Remarkably William won.

Will learned that until his bottle is ready, toes taste almost as good!

First trip to the zoo! He looks very comfy in the stroller with the neck rest doesnt he?

Charlie and the elephant FINALLY meet in person!

Charlie and the "big kids" got to pet the lion-skin rug,,,Charlie did not get to meet an actual lion. Is there no lion at the Nashville Zoo? Seriously people!!

There was a baby dedication at church for William, Londyn, and 11 others! Londyn's parents-Aaron and Kara--are sweet friends of ours. The have another daughter--we have arranged marriages set up already!

Mothers Day 2011

So grateful for my two precious boys, even though sometimes they drive me bananas, I am so thankful the Lord gave them to me! There truly are no words to describe how much I love them.

And again, there are no words to describe how much I love my own mom! I did not realize this kind of immense love until I had my own boys. Thank you mom for always loving me, and setting the perfect example of how a mom should be!

MOm and dad had their dearest friends, Don and Betty, come visit for a week. Its so fun to listen to them altogether, and try to imagine my parents "younger". I have heard some of these stories a hundred times, but I love to see their faces as they relive some of these memories!

Mr. Don and Mrs. Betty helped Charlie walk everywhere!

After long therapy days, Charlie and his "Crib crew" take a break!

William is 6 months old this week! I cant believe it! Also, we are having an 80's skating party with our Sunday school class, so next blog will be embarrassing pictures from that event!

Around the house...

2011-04-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

So this is a melting pot of pictures, so try to keep up with me people! These first pictures are from the Oral Cancer Walk we did in early April at Centennial Park. This first picture has the Parthenon in the background, but through the expert photo shooting of my dad,,,you cant see it:) Thats ok dad, not a big deal anyway!

There is a gorgeous tulip garden and so we planted Charlie right in the middle...

A few shots from around the house..

double stoller time!!! The boys looked thrilled,,,but they really do like it. Really.

Me holding my precious nephew Emerson---Charlie having a panic attack also--

So great to see cousin Tasha too!

Sweet family!!!

Charlie loves to make faces with Grana...

Charlie is giving his blessing to William...

Ash and I went with some friends to New Orleans a couple weekends ago. We had so much fun! More fun cause we left the boys at home with the grandparents:)

Eating my very first Beignet,,,so yummy!!

this totally grossed me out..Back at home the boys were read to all day from Grana...

He wants you to kiss his puppy...i do this a million times a day!

I also kiss William a million times a day~

EASTER 2011

Charlie was totally over the pictures at this point....

This family photo will have to do!!!

I am so thankful that HE is risen and alive and well today!! Hope everyone had a joyous Easter!

Cherish the times

2011-03-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

You don't realize how much you appreciate your own mother until you have children. I have a newfound love and respect for my parents--even though I was the angel child:) I just blamed literally everything on Randy and Travis and my parents bought it! (kidding--sort of)

I keep telling myself to "cherish these moments"--even at 1, 3, 4:30 in the morning--to cherish these times in my heart. Really hard to do that sometimes! William is little over 4 months old and is getting a bit easier. He is not my cuddlebug like Charlie was and still is. William is super nosy and wants to look around at everything, stand up and just be busy! He likes to be held, but only if you will walk him around so he can be nosy! This child has a set of lungs too--but then he cracks this absolute precious grin with dimples and I just melt!

Charlie is still in 3 hours of therapy- twice a week. He is crawling and pulling up everywhere, and is walking in a walker. He is still not eating (hence the feeding therapy), but I am hoping once he gets more teeth he will understand chewing. He can't be a Clayton/Speck and not know how to eat! Come on dude!

More kisses from Charlie--he is super sweet to Will. I call him my "little rhino" cause he just puts his head down to kiss anyone. Thank goodness there is no horn at the end or Will would be in trouble!

We went for a wagon ride at Grana and Popper's house--he totally hated it at first,,,

But then spotted a bird and the world was right again:)

My little 4 month old Will--look at those dimples!! Ridiculously cute.

"Little Rhino" strikes again...

"Eating" Jell-o pudding...

Papa and William are good buddies..

We celebrated Nana's birthday outside..such a pretty day!

I think Will is getting used to "Rhino" kisses...his doesnt look quite as terrified as he used to!

I am hoping my next post will be one of restful nights! I cant wait to cherish those nights!

Crazy Kids and Crazy Winds!

2011-03-04T10:34:00.001-08:00

Life with two young babies is,,,needless to say,,,crazy! But a good crazy. I have no idea how moms handle more than 2,,but I have a new respect for mothers everywhere. Charlie is crawling everywhere and so things have gotten hectic at our house. And he loves to push buttons or anything resembling a button. For instance--William's nose. This looks like a button to Charlie so he is constantly pushing it:)

Charlie also likes to give kisses--with his head--

Guess what Charlie is doing--watching tv. I know you all think I let my kids watch too much tv, but a little bit here and there to provide mommy with a few moments peace is fine with me!

My sweet William,,little touch and go there for awhile,,but he gets sweeter everyday!

Ashley's 33rd birthday..

Last Thursday a tornado,,or really strong winds, came through our neighborhood. It destroyed our dock and patio furniture. It all happened so fast, and it really did sound like a freight train. We had just enough time to go grab the boys from their beds and get down to the closet. Then the power goes out. Then Charlie throws up all over Ashley. Then Ashley starts to gag due to the throw up. Then Ashley asks me to help with the throw up, but I cant cause it is pitch black. Nevertheless, we survived the night. It was a long night:)

Charlie is starting to walk, sort of!

My cousin Courtney and her hubby Garrett came up from Memphis to meet William ! They brought their precious baby girl Coco...

She is such a cutie!!!

Charlie playing "Where's Charlie?"

My very own Prince William:)

Jan 2011

2011-01-30T17:50:00.000-08:00

Things around the Clayton house have just recently gotten a little more crazy. Charlie has officially learned how to crawl! This is such a praise to God, and a big THANK YOU to all his therapists at High Hopes. We are so proud of him, but now we have to start baby proofing the house. I have had it "easy" for a bit,,but he is gonna take off soon.

Three things Charlie will make a mad dash for--1. Your phone. (and dont try to fake him out with a phone that doesnt work. He can spot a phony a mile away:) 2. the remote. (he almost deleted "The Bachelor" the other day, which would have won him a spanking) 3. William. (he likes to hit him with the play hammer he has. Said hammer is now in a drawer:)

Chin kiss from Charlie

I am turning into my mother. This picture took 20 tries because my eyes kept shutting. I cant tell you how many pictures of my mom there are with her eyes half shut. Great.

Nashville Blizzard 2011

William is getting so cute and animated everyday! He changes by the second it seems,,are those dimples so cute or what?

I cant wait to post one day about Charlie walking,,hopefully soon!

Christmas with Taylor Swift

2010-12-31T13:20:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you all did too! We took the boys to Opryland hotel,,,in this picture mommy looks a wee bit tired! :)

Charlies version of a kiss---a nudge of his head!

Not so happy here,,,

daddy and William

Charlie meeting cousin Hali for the first time,,she is so stinkin cute! Charlie was not excited about the grandparents having another baby to hold! Life is tough Charlie--get used to it.

He got a rocking horse for Christmas,,,does he like it? No. well from a distance he does:)

He loves our Christmas card from Trav, Kelly, Bennett, and Jackson. He kept pointing at Bennett,,,we miss you guys!!!

Here is Will over at Nana and Papa's,,,sleeping soundly and collecting gifts:)

Uncle Charlton and Aunt Jennifer,,,cousin Hali

Uncle Whitney painted this for us,,

Ali is due here in about 10 weeks with baby boy Emerson!!

Charlie and Will had Christmas #2 at Grana and Poppers house,,,

who knew a snowglobe could provide 30 minutes of entertainment?

Baby William,,,one month old!!

and this is random, but it must be documented! We were eating at The Palm last week and Taylor Swift sat behind us! I asked her for a picture, and she was so nice to put up with my dorkiness and agree:) And no,,Jake was not there:)

Catching up...

2010-12-13T19:38:00.000-08:00

So I have no idea what I was complaining about with one child. Two kids is a CHALLENGE! I think all you moms with 2 + kids are ROCKSTARS!! I now fully understand the importance of the glorious afternoon nap! As we speak, I have 2 babies asleep, christmas music in the background, and some decaf coffee beside me. Its the little things that I love:) I have taken both boys to Charlie's therapy by myself, made it to church one time, and will attempt to tackle walking around Opryland Hotel tonight! (what people do for a picture in front of the poinsetta tree!) I will have both sets of granddparents there too just in case!

This first picture is so random, but this was the sunset here a few nights ago. I just thought it was gorgeous so I had to capture it.

Charlie after church Sunday--his therapy is going really well. He is very close to crawling!

After eating some prunes....

Uncle Whitney and Aunt Ali came to see William. They are expecting their first child, baby boy Emerson in March!

Ali played with Charlie while I got several things done! Thanks Ali!

Gran and Julia came to visit,,he has too many great grandchildren to keep up with!

Mommy playing with her camera..

Finally! A picture with the 2 boys sort of close together! Thank you Mrs. Dixie for the Will's precious outfit and this picture!

First photo

2010-11-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

Precious Will during the day,,,all day,,,then at night he is wondering where the party is:)

Charlie playing "Where's Charlie?"

There he is!

Charlie looks a little concerned here,,,maybe even mad:)

So I wanted to document the first picture of the boys together. In my mind, Charlie would be giggling loudly as held his brother with both hands close to him, and maybe even gave him a kiss or two. This is what happened in reality..

At this point Charlie has already pushed William twice...

This is as good as it gets right here folks! Charlie looks like amazon baby compared to Will!

We went to our first family dinner to a local Mexican place. I had to show some serious attention to Charlie just to get back on his good side!

Maybe soon I can get another picture of the boys,,maybe:)

Welcome William,,,,

2010-11-27T16:10:00.000-08:00

Welcome to this crazy world William Thomas Clayton! Our newest baby boy is only 8 days old today, and so we are right in the middle of newborn phase! Sleepless nights await us every night,,so I am really looking forward to that part of the phase to be over. Will sleeps all the time except at night time. Typical. For all you lucky moms who's babies slept through the night since day one,,,I salute you (and secretly dislike you:) So here are some pictures from our stay at Baptist Hospital on November 19, 2010.

We love Dr. Trabue!

Charlie is still not sure of William yet, and everytime Will cries then Charlie does too! So, that drives mommy a teeny bit crazy!

Cindy and Hailey coming to visit...

Kandace too,,who also has a teeny tot at home,,

And I cant complain about my two cause Keeley has her hands full with 3!

Simply the best feeling ever..

Thanksgiving day was a quiet one at mom and dad's, but that was fine with me! Charlie cant understand why Boomer doesnt want his puppy!

isn't he precious?

Hopefully this blog entry made sense because I am simply delirious while writing this post. If there are major spelling errors, I apologize mom:)

Next post will include a picture of the boys together! (cross your fingers)

One more post...

2010-11-18T15:05:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the world Jackson Stafford Speck! He is such a precious angel and we cannot wait to meet him! Trav, Kelly, and Bennett are adjusting well (or as well as a new mom can) to this adorable child! I just want to slobber all over those cheeks!

Bennett is wondering who is making all the noise around the house now,,

Charlie is doing so well in physical therapy. There was a time when standing was not an option for this little guy. Thanks to High Hopes he is progressing wonderfully!

Speaking of progressing, mommy is having William tomorrow morning! Charlie loves to pat my tummy when I ask him where his brother is...hopefully he wont do that after he is born otherwise I will have a complex:)

Tuesday was a long day. It started with physical therapy for 2 hours in the morning, then a haircut, which as you can see he was not overly thrilled about,,,and then followed by a MRI at Vanderbilt. This was just to make sure the doctors were not missing anything with his hypotonia diagnosis.

But things went a bit off that night,,,Charlie threw up while they tried to sedate him. So they kept us overnight to make sure nothing got in his lungs. It was a long night for him and mommy, who slept on a cot at 39 weeks pregnant. All the nurses were just waiting for me to go into labor any second, but we held on! After a long night, his MRI came back normal and his chest Xrays. Here he is with daddy when they let us see him,,,bless his sweet heart. He had his blue puppy with him that made him feel better,,mommy too!

So next time I post will be pictures of our new addition to the Clayton family. Please pray for a safe hospital adventure for all of us!

Halloween

2010-11-07T07:28:00.001-08:00

So this is just a collection of recent pictures we have taken over the past month or so. Just a few more days and then William is with us,,,so there will probably be a delay in my postings, but you understand right? :)

Here is daddy and Charlie,,we went out to eat on the lake

Daddy and Charlie with Boomer

My sweet friend Nadia came to visit from Texas! We had a fun weekend of coffee, muffins, and lots of shopping! (well--she had fun shopping. I literally am busting out of sweat pants at this point:)

Downtown Franklin

My sweet friend Becky gave Charlie this giraffe--he LOVES it!

Charlie was a lion for Halloween--he truly loves lions. I was utterly shocked he kept this costume on as long as he did, but he was sweating underneath it all! Bless his heart!

Charlie cant believe a grown up looks even more silly than he does!

On a hayride with church friends

I never get tired of taking pictures of my men,,,

Our sweet cousin Jackson was born November 2! We are so excited for Travis, Kelly, and Bennett and cannot wait to meet him!

Maybe my next post will be pictures of William? Surely I can get one more post in there before that!! Surely!! :))

Birthdays and Playgrounds

2010-10-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

I know I have not written in awhile, but not too much has happened. No milestones have been met with Charlie, and things are pretty much normal around here. Aside from the fact that at some point everyday I PANIC when I think about having another boy here in a few weeks! I can feel the panic set in, and then I feel overwhelmed, but then subsides when I think about all my friends with 3 kids. Wow, bless their hearts. So since there is not much to report I wont bore you with alot of chatter,,,just some pics of Charlie. (Baby brother William Thomas Clayton will soon be in some pics)

Celebrated Poppers birthday,,,thumbs up Popper!

Also celebrated Grana's birthday earlier this month,,,

In between birthday parties, we took Charlie to his first visit to swing in the park. He loved it,,,kind of boring for us,,,but he loved it:)

Is he not ridiculously cute?

Also celebrated Papa's birthday,,October is busy!!!

Just got Charlie some new shoes for church,,even though he is not walking yet he still needs to look good! Plus I find that if you look good, then people may not notice you have no idea what you are doing:)

My little man,,,I cant believe how big he is! I also cant believe there is gonna be another one soon,,,,we cant wait to see Charlie and Will together! Bring on the table for four!

Farewell Trav and Kelly

2010-09-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

It happened. Trav, Kelly, Bennett, and baby Jackson Stafford have officially left the great state of Tennessee for Washington, DC. We are so excited for them and this new chapter in their lives, but we cant help but be sad that they left us:( Thankfully they are both pretty efficient at texting,,,finally,,,so communication maybe easier! They stayed at mom and dad's house last night, so we went over for our last supper together for awhile.

I am seriously worried about Charlie now that Aunt Kelly is gone,,,she is non-stop entertainment with her noises and book reading! I try but there is no comparison!

Shanta, Ken, Campbell, and Gabe came over too. In this picture I wanted to incorporate something I heard from the Nate Berkus show about how to look 10 pounds thinner in pictures. He says to put your weight on your front foot---somehow i dont think you can look thinner when you are 30 weeks pregnant.

Charlie has figured out he wants to get Popper's glasses--

kisses from Grana

I put these pictures on here because Ashley hates bubble outfits--he thinks they look girlish. So since he doesnt read my blog then I figured it was safe. He does look precious in it!

Charlie loves his books,,LOVES them

He loves them so much, that after he wakes up he wants a book asap!

Summer Nights

2010-09-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

So, I am the last of my sisters-in-law to post about Sunday,,,but I finally made it! We had a blast when Randy and Kim and the kids came through town! The weather could not have been more perfect! These are precious moments with the kids, and when Trav and Kelly move, these times will be even more special. Looks like its just me and Ash with mom and dad---great:))

Charlie loves to read books,,,and have them read to him!

Palmer was our main entertainment at dinner,,,performing Justin Bieber

The Specks in Michigan

The Specks in Washington D.C. (soon)

The lone Clayton family,,,

Mom and dad took the kids on a 4-wheeling ride down to the creek,,perfect weather

I think both Charlie and Bennett are trying to figure out how to get out!

The most precious Lainey Hope..

Charlie loves Lainey--I promise!!

One day,,maybe Charlie will stop crying for like 5 seconds to get a picture:) But we all agreed that moments like these are priceless!

Party weekend!

2010-08-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

We all can't believe our precious angel Bennett turned 3 last weekend! He is such a big boy! Trav and Kelly threw such a great party for him! Here are some pics from that joyous night...

I love this one---trying to figure out how to tackle the cupcake mountain!

Kisses from mommy!

Happy boy:)

Bennett's legs are literally longer than all of Charlie!

We decided it was time to give Charlie a little hair trim cause he has been called a girl on several occasions. This, as you can see, did not sit well with Grana. It took 3 people to get it done,,maybe a little too short, but ok! This is happening Grana! (sidenote-it was a butcher job. Ash did great, but just got a little edward scissorhands on me and got carried away. I took him to the girl who does my hair to fix it:)

The night before was our 5th anniversary! Ash took me to dinner at The Palm and we stayed to night at Hutton Hotel. Turned out he got an unexpected upgrade and we got to stay in the penthouse suite!

Beautiful roses,,,loved the vase. As soon as we got home Saturday I set the vase down on the table and it fell over and shattered. nice.

Every Speck's dream,,,,tv in the mirror in the bathroom! Dad is already trying to figure out how to get this in his house!

Our view from the porch..

Our view when we got home Saturday!

Charlie loves Gingerbread Man book,,,over and over and over and over...

this picture is a big deal actually,,,he is standing all by himself! thanks to all his therapists he is getting stronger everyday!

our nighttime stories...

Have a great week!!!!!!!

2010-08-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

We have a few things to discuss here, but I will post very soon cause tomorrow is Bennetts 3rd birthday, and our 5 year anniversary. So I will post some pics from his party soon...in the meantime...

Major praise to our most gracious Lord! He moved my placenta completely out of danger! The main radiologist even came in to double check. He had never seen anything like that before! So mommy and baby are just fine!

Second praise--through the help of his amazing therapists at High Hopes, Charlie has learned how to sit up by himself! This is so wonderful,,however,,,one tiny drawback. He cant figure out how to lay back down! This can become especially frustrating for mommy at naptime:) But they have assured me he will figure it out. Till then, this is how he looks when I come into the room to try to lay him back down...

And this is how he will EVENTUALLY fall asleep!

So, we went to the Uncle Jerry's lakehouse for some fun family time last weekend..this is how the breakfast table looked at Cafe Sinclair after the tornado (our family) finished eating..

Aunt Koko playing with Charlie..

(out of order) Uncle Whit and Aunt Ali came by for the night,,notice Charlie's onesie!

Uncle Trav in deep thought..

So sad they are leaving us soon,,,but so thankful the Lord is leading them to where He wants!

Charlie sat perfectly content in Gran's lap for 30 minutes. Plus he was watching Aunt Kelly--who has amazing voices!!

Our first time to meet precious Coco!!! She is such a precious doll!!

Finally, I will be making my blog private cause,,well,,look at my comments and you can figure it out. So please email me your address and I will send you an invite! mereby20@yahoo.com

Weekend Getaway #2

2010-07-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

Ash and I had quite possibly my last weekend getaway for awhile last weekend to Orlando, FL. He had a dental conference to go to and I had an important job of basking by the pool, finishing Harry Potter, and visiting my older brother and his family. Tough job:) Turned out that it rained so no basking by the pool took place,,and I didnt finish the book, but I did get to visit with Randy. Mom and dad watched Charlie for a couple of days and everything seemed to go well. Thank you to all those who were on stand by oh the phone in case something went wrong:)

Here are just some fun pictures I have taken of Charlie, and the reoccuring theme in most of them seem to be his tongue protruding:)

He is over dunking basketballs, he needs a challenge like a block

Poor Donald Duck never stood a chance,,,

Fully concentrating on his piano skills,,,he prefers to play in almost nothing:)

He loves tubby time!

This little blue dog is his favorite toy given to him by his Aunt Jennifer--he LOVES it!!

Warming up to the valentine bear...

Just a quick note--it turns out this pregnancy of mine may take a bad turn soon. The baby is fine, but my placenta is attached to my scar on the uterus from my first c-section. This is placenta previa---this is not ideal but it is ok for now. The problem is that the placenta is very invasive and if it penetrates through the scar into the uterus, that is a very bad situation. My doctor assures me he will have a team of doctors there to help control the bleeding, but when they remove the placenta, if there is alot of bleeding then they may have to remove my uterus. This came as a shock to me to have a hysterectomy at the ripe old age of 31, but hopefully it wont happen. I get another ultrasound in a week or so, and we will go from there. He says if it is going to go through the scar it will happen in the next 10 weeks. So say a little prayer that it stays where it is, and that there are many more babies to come!!

Charlie's 1st Birthday

2010-07-09T07:58:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY CHARLIE!

We cannot believe how fast a year goes by, but are so thankful for every second we have had with our little man. He is really such a sweet baby, which I guess means his little brother coming in November is gonna be a nightmare! :) Here are some pics from the birthday party...We missed my brothers but enjoyed spending time with Ashley's side of the family..

Good birthday morning! What time is the party?

Uncle Whit and Aunt Ali,,,,too stinkin cute

Uncle Charlton and Aunt Jennifer--next time we see them baby Hali will finally be here!

The 3 Pregnant ladies,,,yes Ali is preggo!!! We are so excited!

So many cousins! Ashley and Sharon went from 0-4 grandkids in 2 years! Charlie already loves golfing outfits,,,great.

can we say--"overstimulation?"

Popper always makes funny faces and noises!

No shortage of love between these two grandmothers!

Love my Nana and Papa!

Three handsome Clayton men,,all daddies!

mom just had another foot surgery the day before the party,,yes folks,,,that makes 3 surgeries in three summers. How many feet does this lady have?

Good looking family!

Some girls at work asked me what my theme was for his party. Theme? Oh great. I didnt even think of a theme! I have pregnancy brains right now and so I never thought to do a theme. Hopefully Charlie can forgive me, but next year the theme will be amazing! :)

Charlie didn't dive into the cake as we hoped,,but he explored it with his hands..

Thanks to everyone for coming for our precious Charlies 1st birthday!

Florida 2010

2010-06-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

We just got home from a wonderful family vacation in St. George's Island, FL! Mom and dad did a great job of getting us this house that had its own pool and very short walk to the beach. The beach was pretty secluded, so it was nice to be able to read without someone pelting you in the head with a football.(this was my experience in panama city) MOm told us it was pretty secluded, and so there was not alot to do. But we rented to some bikes and rode up and down the island, played in the pool, played games (which dad cheated at every time!), and just relaxed! It was such a great week, and I am so thankful we got to spend it with eachother.

Let me warn you,,,I got a new camera before we left and I went a teensy bit overboard with my 353 pictures I took. I just put some of my favorites on here,,,and I apologize to the family if i was obnoxious:)

This was our beautiful home,,,

this was the view from the back porch,,,

this took me like 100 pictures to finally get!

so cute huh?

When Aunt Kelly got there, the boys were completely enamored with her story time! I think most of the adults were too!

I couldnt get enough pics of Trav and Bennett,,,or Ash and Charlie!

Bubbles were fascinating!

We decided to ride our bikes in the sand cause we saw some kids do it. Have you done that before? It is so hard!!! After 20 feet I was like,,,"I'm done!"

My little man..

Grana and Popper on our annual "Spaghetti night"

sweetest picture!!

Thank you for a wonderful week mom and dad!!

2010-06-13T11:36:00.001-07:00

We have had a busy few weekends! Three weekends ago we were in Memphis visiting my grandfather, and two weekends ago we went to Atlanta for our sister-in-law Jennifers baby shower. This past weekend Ash was gone playing golf, so Charlie buns and I just stayed home and relaxed!! (well mommy went to see a movie with Kandace,,but that was totally relaxing!)

While in Atlanta, Charlie got to spend time with his doggie cousins, Layla and Huck. He was not sure about them at first, but then giggled everytime Layla came near! Jennifer's mom, Judy, is such a natural grandmother! Charlie just loved her! She will have 2 granddaughters in the next 2 months!

Over the past few months we have been working with Charlie to gain weight and use more muscle. He has visited lots of doctors including a genetics doctor, endocrinologist, and neurologist. So after a series of blood work (which was horrible for Charlie and I ) and some x-rays, they told me he has hypotonia. I think this is sort of common, but it simply means low muscle tone. He doesnt like to put weight on his legs or stand. The doctor said there was nothing I could have done to prevent it, but I can help it with physical therapy. So we will be going twice a week now, and the doctor says he should be caught up in a few months. this is good because I do not want to be carrying 2 kids on each hip!!! I really need Charlie to at least crawl in a few months!!

We ate one night in Atlanta at the Medievel Castle. Such a fun dinner! The cheering crowds would off course make Charlie cry, but after 45 minutes he was ok.:) Get ready for baby Charlton and Jennifer!

First trip away!

2010-05-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

Ash had a dental conference in Orlando last weekend, so he took me and we left Charlie here under the care of the grandparents. After typing up a 6 page booklet, I hoped they could somehow keep my son alive for 3 days. I will say this, after almost 3 days of breakfasts in bed, visits to the spa, shopping excursions, and fancy dinners,,,,I could have stayed a bit longer! I actually never called once! I only texted once or twice! Thats pretty good for a first time mom! I was quickly reminded of reality first thing monday morning with Charlie crying:) There was nothing like that moment of seeing him for the first time after 3 days,,,his eyes got so big and he grinned from ear to ear!

Here we are eating at Vito's, I had my hair done earlier (not sure I was a fan of the waves, but whatever), and then off to downtown Disney to see Cirque De Solei. Awesome show and trip!

Here are some pictures from my first Mothers Day that was wonderful! Ash took us to Stoney River for lunch because he knows I am obsessed with their rolls! Later that night we had dinner with mom and dad, Travis and Kelly.

Charlie lately has been loving his toes,,sure wish he would love his bottle!

Nice basketball form,,,wouldnt you say? Next person to see Coach Spann let him know:)

PLaying with daddy,,,we are lately obsessed with Spider Solitare :)

Charlie and Popper making funny faces,,,like the blind leading the blind here folks:)

Birthday dinner for mommy!

Rain Rain go away!!

2010-05-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here is Charlie playing with his toys..

and food...rice cake anyone?

Leslie (BFF EVA!) came to visit for the weekend! So much fun! Movies, cupcakes, J. Alexanders, New Moon, walks,shopping,,what more could you ask?

So its a good thing Leslie came two weekends ago, cause Nashville was bombarded with rain last weekend! So many landmarks were affected by the water,,,and two of my favorites--Target and Dunkin Donuts were under water!!! :) The water got about 15 feet from our house as you can see, and Ash had to swim out to the boat a couple of times to check on it. It got to about his shoulders! What a crazy weekend!

Some news,,,

2010-04-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

We had a great visit with Palmer and Lainey Hope when they came down for the spring break. Bennett was sick that whole time so we did not get to play with him that week. Lainey loves to hold Charlie,,,as you can see,,,

She also loves desserts,,a girl after my own heart!

The kids love to throw rocks in the creek,,I cant believe Palmer will be 8 in October!

Charlie loves his Aunt Kimmy!

So, this was his face when I told him the news that he was going to be a big brother in November! Thats right---I am almost 10 weeks along--CRAZY!

Four generations of Clayton men!