Clayton is ONE YEAR

How can it be that our sweet Mr. Baby is ONE YEAR OLD?!?  I cannot believe it's been one full year since we welcomed our sweet Clayton Michael into the world and into our family.  In so many ways I cannot believe a year has already passed, and in so many ways I also feel like Clayton has always been a part of our family.  He is such a wonderfully easy and happy baby that it's impossible not to love this sweet little guy!  He is deeply loved by his brothers and sister and of course his Mommy and Daddy.  Nora Kate says she wants to have ten babies just like Clayton when she's a Momma (except they will be baby girls she says).

At birth Clayton weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces.  At his one year check up, he weighed in at 24 pounds 4 ounces.  

Just because I always like to compare sizes here are his siblings birth weights and their weights at a year old:

Dawson---- 7 pounds 13 ounces----22 pounds 14 ounces

Carter---- 7 pounds 13 ounces----20 pounds 10 ounces

Nora Kate---- 7 pounds 0 ounces----25 pounds 14 ounces

Clayton---- 8 pounds 4 ounces----24 pounds 4 ounces

Clayton's check up went great.  He put up a little fight when Dr. Collins wanted to look in his ears, and he actually barely cried when he got shots.  

This month our poor baby got strep!  I felt so horrible that he had probably been feeling badly for a few days before I took him to the doctor-but he hadn't been acting sick or fussy at all!  He hadn't even had a fever.  Dawson got strep and then several days later I noticed a rash on Clayton's chest.  When I took him to the doctor they said the rash looked like the scarlet fever rash from strep, so they tested him-positive! UGH! We think he had probably been getting sick for a few days since he had developed the rash.  I felt horrible!  Poor guy.  Thankfully they prescribed antibiotics and he was better soon.  What a great baby he is though that he had strep and was still just as happy as could be.  

Clayton has started imitating a lot of sounds this month.  Dawson was coughing one afternoon and Clayton dramatically imitated the sound Dawson was making as he coughed-it was HILARIOUS!  John was chewing bubble gum and holding Clayton, and Clayton started making a smacking chewing sound with his lips/mouth imitating that sound too! So funny.  

This month Clayton has started playing "rough" (rowdy) with John.  When John gets down on the floor Clayton gets so rowdy.  When he's done playing like this though, Clayton crawls over to my lap to snuggle.  So sweet!

Clayton has been pointing a lots and lots of things this month with his round little finger-so cute!

He's definitely moved into bigger clothes-size 18 months.

Mr. Baby has started being a little bit of a stinker about the stairs and cords.  He knows they are no-no's so he crawls to them, looks at me, and smiles...then he touches them or climbs them.  

He pulls up in his crib and cruises around and around and around the perimeter.  When he wakes up from nap if it takes me a minute to get up to his room, he's started banging his hands on the wall like he's knocking.  This is funny except he's banging on the wall that NK's room is on the other side of-so she says he is knocking for her to wake up.

Clayton is going to walk any moment.  He pulls up on everything-but does the best pulling up to the train table.  

Clayton still loves water.  When we start running bathwater, Clayton almost frantically tries to get in the tub! It's hilarious!  

Our sweet baby is still a thumb sucker.  He gets his left thumb in his mouth and uses his right hand to play with his hair...or my hair if I'm holding him.  It's so sweet.

Clayton is REALLY attached to me and John.  We have been having trouble leaving him in church nursery because of this (sound like anyone else? ahem, Dawson for the first two years of his life).  I love that he's attached to me, but I'd also love to sit through church and Sunday School-hah!

Clayton is STILL not routinely sleeping through the night.  He will randomly sleep through the night about 2-3 times a month, but other than that he still wakes 1 or two times a night.  All I hope is that he will start sleeping soon!  Mama is getting a little tired, although I do love holding that sweet baby.

Clayton is basically eating everything at this point.  He's a good eater and not picky.

I'm so thankful that Clayton is such a good, happy baby...I feel like Dawson, Carter, and Nora Kate claim him as "our baby," our family baby...it's so sweet.  They love him so much.  I get so much joy watching how they interact and play with him...it is the sweetest thing.  Carter has even been talking lately about how he wants to be a Daddy one day which is think is in part because Clayton's so awesome and another part because John's such a great Daddy to them.

I feel like it was just last week that we were driving to the hospital to deliver Clayton, but we have already been blessed to have a wonderfully sweet and special year with him...we are all so thankful for this sweet, cuddly, smiley, happy, baby boy.

those hand dimples...love