Baby Clayton, early 2004
January 2006,
I look at this picture and only one thought comes to my mind: I. LOVE. HIM! He is so precious and he is growing and changing these days just about as fast as Jackson is! Such a little boy!! Let me just tell you about Clayton these days . . .**He's very obessive about routine and order. (Wonder who he gets that from???) To the point of getting bothered when we go a different route to a common destination. Church, for instance. There's two ways we can go and it's about the same distance. BUT, you can only go one certain way with Clayton in the car because going on the other street means the questions start flowing on "where are we going?" "where are we going?" And he'll even laugh if he thinks you've gone the wrong way. Again, he's so observant, he knows the route to almost all our destinations and deviating can't be tolerated!
**Most people know he's never been a TV watcher except for just a few select things: Little People, Big World (the dad has crutches); any Scooter Store commercial (wheelchairs galore!); and any live concert or music video (parent approved, of course!); and Gaither Homecoming Music on Saturday nights. BUT, he's suddenly discovered you don't have to wait until Saturday to watch the Gaithers. You can buy a DVD and watch them on demand! Brian found one we forgot we had on Christmas Day--Clayton was glued to the TV, playing his drums along with the music. And now, he wants to watch them ALL. THE. TIME. I had to go buy more so we didn't have to watch the same one over and over! The other thing he's discovered on TV is home movies. I had to watch several the other day to get them labeled correctly. I was just going to pop them in and out, but he wanted to watch every single minute and had more fun reliving the moments than he did during the actual live event!
**For a while now, he has been on this "tell _____ that." It doesn't matter what happens or what I say or what he says. It's always followed by "tell Jackson that" or "tell Daddy that" or "tell Granny that" or . . . well, you get the picture. I spend most of my time saying "why don't you tell Jackson?" or "he's right there, he saw it" or "I'll tell them when I see them." Man, I'm a sucker--always following his orders!
**He still loves riding in Daddy's truck and loves looking out the window to wait for whoever's coming next. If it was warm enough, he'd be on his bike every day.
**He craves independence. If I'm busy taking a shower, folding clothes, etc., he wants to do his own thing. And for him now that means watching out the window and listening to music, watching the Gaither videos, or kicking his legs while laying on the bed and looking out the window (he still gets great exercise doing this!). And if I don't leave him alone, he reminds me to--"Momma go in there." "Momma go take a shower." He wants me OUTTA THERE! Independence. It's a very good sign!
Jackson is changing by the day! He is so social and in general, he's just a little stinker!! A busy little bee, he's wanting to touch and hold everything and is having lots of fun exploring all of his toys he received at Christmas. He sits up for short periods of time, and crawls backwards---wait, it's more of an accidental scoot than an actual crawl . . . and he's already jealous of any time we're spending with Clayton. It's interesting having two boys who would prefer to ignore each other and would prefer everyone else follow suit!
Since weaning off the b.reast, he has quickly become attached to his new source of food. The look he used to give me is now reserved for his bottles! And it makes no difference if he's eaten lately or not--if he sees a bottle, he nearly hyperventilates until he gets it in his hands. And for that matter, he covets anyone's drink! Brian and I have to almost drink in secret in order to keep him from throwing a fit! But if we do drink in front of him after he's just finished his bottle, I just hand him a sippy cup of water so he can get used to drinking from it. Hopefully this new found love for the bottles will easily translate to sippy cups!
We had a really great Christmas this year! Clayton was actually interested in Santa Claus for the first time and Jackson being here made it really seem like we had "family unit." 
Clayton loved tearing into his gifts this year, and Jackson just wanted to lay in the floor and chew on wrapping paper!
Santa brought electric drums for Clayton and a little red wagon for Jackson. Clayton was all about the wagon and couldn't wait to take a ride. It was frigid outside, so they had to settle for riding around the house. We took a ride outside Saturday, but the cold nearly froze us.
Yes, I was there in all my pre-shower glory: 
Jackson is really getting into climbing all over Clayton these last few days. Clayton does his best to tolerate it, but I know he's wondering why he has to give up his personal space!
Santa forgot to put the seatbelts in, so Clayton had to help Daddy with the job:
Jackson loved the wagon as well--he was so excited he nearly popped out a couple of times--glad we had him tied down!
God rest ye merry gentlemen,
13 pounds, 1.5 ounces 
It's been two months since I began diligently praying for the BIG MIRACLE for Clayton. I've also asked many prayer partners to once again remember to not only pray for the little things involving Clayton's health, but to pray for complete healing of his body. And I'm happy to report that I'm more hopeful than ever that God will honor our prayers! It seems the matter of faith has come up in many conversations I've had lately, and it was even a topic discussed in our Bible Study class this past Sunday. And as it just so happens, FAITH is one of my spiritual gifts! I told Brian last week that I seriously woke up each morning expecting that day to be the day Clayton will walk! And I've never been so optimistic about something so farfetched in my life! (Reminder to self: while farfetched to the human race, it is nothing for our Lord!) So while I'm so used to settling for what is given, this time I'm definitely stepping out in faith in believing his healing will happen for all to see. But here's where it's different this time: each morning I get Clayton out of bed and he is still just as spastic and tight as ever, I don't get down and out about how God isn't answering our prayers, I just assume he's planning for tomorrow to be the big day instead!
The kids at church put on their annual Christmas program this past Sunday. And even though Clayton knew every song by heart, he preferred staring at the crowd instead of singing. Even so, I was able to capture one shot of him singing his favorite: Go Tell It on the Mountain!
And here's a shot of the A.V. guys:
Clayton is so into the drums right now. He used to talk about the guitar, but now when he hears a song he likes, he immediately acts like he's playing the drums. So Brian pulled out the toy drum Clayton's had for several years and attached it to his chair. He is loving it! He especially loved getting to play with Brian and my brother!
Today, Jackson is 196 days old. Why do I mark today of all days, you ask? It's simple. Clayton spent 196 days in the NICU. Can you believe it!? If Jackson had done the same, today would be the day we would bring him home. And knowing this makes me so sad for Clayton! So sad for all the time we missed with him! Yes, we were there in the NICU with him, but he wasn't AT HOME with us!
Thank you, Lord, for allowing us all to be together from day one. It is such blessing to be with my babies here at home, without the audience of the hospital crowd and without the distractions.
But that first tooth cut through this week and the second is on its way. He has been quite the little stinker these last two days! I'm open to suggestions on how to pacify him--the usuals just don't seem to be working! 
Christmas: 1980-something
11 pounds, 8 ouncesYes, he's a little guy! He's officially gained 3 whole ounces since his four month check-up. And while he has been eating constantly since he was born, it seems to disappear once he swallows it. I started him on baby food at five months and even though he is eating lots of fruits and vegetables, it still hasn't seemed to put much weight on. I did know that for the last couple of weeks my milk has been dropping off dramatically, so I decided to start weaning him from the breast. My original goal was six months, so I did make it that far--I just wish I could have made it the whole first year. But I definitely didn't want to starve the boy!
I knew when I took him to the doctor yesterday they wouldn't be happy. I saw the nurse practitioner and she was definitely a bit concerned. I'll be mixing the formula at a higher calorie rate and she wants weekly weight checks. :EEK!: She probably thought I was nuts--I'm really not all that concerned with it. I feed him ALL. THE. TIME. I can't help it if he isn't gaining weight! Maybe I just have little babies, preemies or no! I did tell her that I'm coming into this with a skewed perspective. I do not want to pile calories on another child just because people think that all babies need to be rolly-polley fat. Granted, he'll be burning calories much faster than Clayton ever has, but I still don't want to get in that position of regretting pumping massive calories into him.
Otherwise, he is doing WONDERFUL! His two bottom teeth just cut through this week, and he is totally into his surroundings. Still wants to be with Momma all the time, but I'm fine with that! =) He wants to socialize with everyone, just wants to do it from my lap!
Online Resources:
Talk about a good investment! Clayton is loving these walkie-talkies! We have to talk on them all. the. time. Even if we're in the same room. :) He's even learning the lingo--10-4, what's your 20?, you know, the great conversation starters!
There are so many gadgets out there that are *almost* adaptable enough for Clayton, but we can't get them just right for him to use completely on his own. But since he can use these without having to coordinate pressing his fingers, they are perfect. Thank you walkie-talkie people, for including this feature! 
Online resources:
It's so hard for kids to know how to interact with Clayton. But some of them figure out real quick that Clayton's not hard to entertain--just keep him on the go and in the middle of the action, and he's happy! I've noticed the last few times my nephew has been with Clayton he's taken to this job with no complaints. Thankfully, he's at the age when pushing anything with wheels is considered fun--I hope it lasts!
