Hi friends and family!! I know, I know it's been a while since you've heard from me, but I have a really good excuse. I had to accompany Mom (I prefer to call her that nowadays) and Nany on a 1400 mile journey! We drove all the way from Norfolk, VA to Houston, TX and boy was it exhausting. I was a very good boy though. We made it safely and we have been working on getting settled. Now I have a little more free time on my hands so I figured I would drop you guys a line or two.

So recently one of my favorite hoidays just past.. Halloween! I dressed up as Frankestein and had a blast. I got to spend the day with two of my best friends Josh and Sara. They are my cousins and I love to play with them and they love to play with me too. Well Josh, Sara, Uncle Freddy, Nany, Mom, and I all went to this place that had a ton of moon bounces!! I bounced my little heart out on each moon bounce and burned up every ounce of energy that my little body held that day. However, i soon recovered that energy because next we went to The House of Hoops where we got to play games for candy. The house of Hoops is where Mom found out how good I am at shooting hoops and how kind of good I am at dribbling. All in all I had a lot of fun, I got a lot of candy, and it was a great night.




Now I am looking forward to the holidays to come. I am looking forward to seeing family, eating good food, and getting closer and closer to seeing Daddy again. Soon Daddy will be out of the Navy and we will have many more opportunities to spend time with family. I miss you and love you all and can't wait to catch up in person!

September Update

Hello avid fans! Today I wanted to write you and tell you about all of the fun things I have been doing lately and give you family news as well.

Tonight a family friend is going to watch me, but since they have a newborn baby girl and I was kinda bad for them last time Daddy is trying to wear me out so I will just fall asleep as soon as he drops me off.

We started by going to the park! I got to ride my motorcycle, slide down huge slides, and play with other kids. We were both glad that it didn't rain on us.





After the park Daddy had to go to Walmart to pick up some groceries and pull-ups. He hasn't shopped for diapers in so long it took him forever to find the pull-ups. He didn't realize that despite the fact that the diapers were getting smaller and smaller as he went down the isle, the pull-ups were at the very end.



Because I was a good boy he took me to McDonalds! I got to eat french fries (my favorite), got a cool new toy, and played in the play-place for a good 15 minutes. What a blast. Now we're home and Daddy is typing away at the computer. I wonder what he's up to?

Mommy isn't here, but she's not at work either. She had to get up really early today to catch a flight down to Florida where she and a friend are going to attend a wedding. She will only be there until tomorrow morning but she's going to have a lot of fun! We sure do miss her though, especially Daddy.

When she gets back Daddy will be on the ship, and even though the ship isn't out to sea he is going to have to stay on board until Wednesday evening. That makes me sad! His department is doing some scenario that simulates being at sea, so everyone will be living on the ship until it ends. Boo. At least he'll be able to call us every night!

Well that's about everything that's going on around here. Except that Daddy is almost done applying to his business schools. The only thing he is waiting on are his recommendations! He is excited just to get the whole process over with so he can finally know where he is going! It has been tough on him (and all of us for that matter) not to know where we will be in a year's time, but he's hopeful that he'll get into his choice school (UT). We're all crossing our fingers for Austin!

I love you guys! Make sure you call me sometime or write me comments - I love hearing from all of you.

Bman

Another Saturday morning with Daddy

Hello everyone! It's another B-man monthly update! Today is Saturday the 29th and the weather feels nice despite Tropical Storm Danny's presence off the coast. At least it's cooled down - it has been so hot lately! Of course the heat is no deterrent for me when it comes to playing outside. I love playing outside and going to the pool!

Mommy is at work today because she wants to get some overtime. Bank of America told her and her fellow employees that at least 8 hours of overtime is available each week and that they can even get more overtime if not enough people volunteer for it. She's getting 10 hours of overtime this week because she came in early on Thursday and Friday and she volunteered for 4 hours today and tomorrow. On top of that she's been doing so well at her job that she's looking to receive a $400-$500 bonus for the month! She's on FIRE!

It's good that she's able to pull in the extra dough because in a month and a half we'll be moving to Houston and she won't have to work for a while. Daddy will stay up here and work through the rest of his enlistment and then he'll join us in February. I'm excited to come down and see all of my friends and family and I know they can't wait to see me. I've grown up quite a bit since I was in Houston a year ago (as you can tell by the pictures).










I'm in a stage where I want to do everything myself - after all, I know what I'm capable of! I dress myself, clean my own room, and even take it upon myself to wipe sometimes after going potty. It doesn't always work out too well. Daddy still insists I come find him or Mommy if I need to be wiped but I have a feeling I'll still keep trying on my own.

Daddy has had a lot of free time lately and doesn't know what to do with it all. He's written some essays and his resume for MBA school applications but most of them won't even be available until mid-September so he's mainly waiting in anticipation. In September he'll be a little busier but for now he's able to spend a lot of time with Mommy and me. He even has time to play computer games again, although he tries to limit how much he plays them because if he stays on too long he starts to feel like a lazy bum.






Papawn would be proud of me - I've become quite the gruel lover! I ask for oatmeal for breakfast all the time and eat it up! Today Daddy made me some oatmeal that tasted like cinnamon rolls because I asked for them but we didn't have any. It was so delicious he had a big bowl himself. Pretty soon I'll be eating my oatmeal by the gallon like Papawn used to ;)

I hope everyone is doing well this summer even in this heat. That global warming thing is a pain isn't it? By the way, I would like to thank all of you for destroying my future with your suburbans, aerosols, and flatulent bovines. How could you do that to us?! Just kidding. We all know the scare behind global warming is mainly socialist propaganda. Ha ha! My I'm opinionated for a 3-1/2 year old! I guess I should end here before I end up on another soapbox!

Take care everybody - I love you!! I've got some bubble blowing to do on the porch!

Hello, hello everyone. Sorry to keep you waiting so long, but I have been a very busy boy. As most you of you may already know my very favorite Aunt, Aunt Heather just got married. So I had to catch a flight out of Norfolk June 25th to meet Mee-Maw in Salt Lake City Utah so I could make it for the wedding. Boy was I happy to see Mee-Maw! She sure does make me smile :) After Mee-Maw picked Mommy and I up from the airport we met up with Pom-Pom, Uncle Chad, Uncle Snake and Aunt Jackie at our hotel. I had just enough time to set my luggage down in my room before I hit the pool with Uncle Chad and Uncle Snake. The next day we went down to the Stake Center to decorate and prep for Aunt Heather and soon to be Uncle Trevor's big day. Everybody was working very hard, but I probably had the most important job of all. I had to inspect and test every single toy in that place to make sure they were all safe for the children to play with the next day. It was a tough job but somebody had to do it. Before you knew it the day we had all been anticipating for a while now had arrived. We all met at the Temple in the morning to greet Mr. and Mrs. Coons and take pictures. We then got together for a luncheon where some of the most delicious food I have ever had was served. I would say it was right up there with McDonald's french fries and you know how much I love those bad boys. MMMMMmm... Sorry I got a little side tracked. So where was I? Oh yeah, after the luncheon we went back to the hotel for a little nap. Soon after we met at the Stake Center for more yummy treats and some fancy footwork on the dance floor. Daddy was even able to pop his head in for the reception!



Thank you Aunt Alisha! It couldn't have been possible without you!
It was a great day! Congrats Aunt Heather and Uncle Trevor.

The following day we loaded up the cars and headed out to Yuba Lake for a family reunion. It was beautiful there. It reminded me of Mommy ;) I got to meet a lot of family that I had never met before. We played lots of games on land, in addition to lots of rides on the boat and wave runner. It was a blast! I even got to work on my tan which was just an added bonus. I can't wait to go again in 2011. Maybe by then I'll be old enough to take the boat for a spin.



Mommy had left Yuba Lake on June 30th and the rest of us Claytons left the next day to head off to Mee-Maw and Pom-Pom's house. I love to go there! I get to jump on the trampoline, practice my mad piano skills, and I get to play with Spartacus. He was much bigger than I had remembered! I guess it's because he eats his vegetables. Anyways, enough about him, back to me. Mee-Maw and Pom-Pom worked with me really hard and I now I can count to ten.... in Engligh, Spanish, and French. Just kidding, only in English, but speaking of which I also have been working on the alphabet. Mee-Maw recommended an amazing video which has really helped me with my letters and the sounds each letter makes. I think I might be ready for the SAT. Thanks for all of your hard work Mee-Maw and Pom-Pom!! Soon enough I will be smart enough to outwit Mommy and Daddy. Muahaha!

I got back home on July 10th and Daddy was there waiting for me!! Boy did I miss him. The next day Mommy had to work, but Mee-Maw, Daddy, and I went to a nearby Farmers Market which was a lot of fun. I got to eat some yummy ice cream and drink some fresh milk. That night we went to my favorite Mexican restaurant and stuffed ourselves. We enjoyed a nice weekend together and then Mee-Maw headed back home on the 13th. Then it was life as usual.

So again I do apologize that it has taken me so long to find the time to update you, but I'm sure you can understand. We all get a little busy from time to time. I hope this post is satisfying enough for now. I have some swim lessons coming up soon so you can look forward to hearing about that. Until next time I love you all very much and can't wait to see you soon!!

Adios,
B-man

My fun weekend!

Well this weekend was lots of fun! Daddy had the whole Memorial Day weekend off and so we were all able to do a lot of fun things. On Saturday I got to stay with Mommy's friend Leslie so that Mommy and Daddy could go to Busch Gardens Europe. They were able to get there early but were still surprised that the lines weren't even moderately long! They got to ride every roller coaster, and most of them more than once!

On Sunday we did something for me. Mommy and Daddy brought me to the Children's Museum! There were so many fun things for me to do, like going inside of a fire truck, playing with model trains, and even getting trapped in a giant bubble! After that we were able to go to the mall where I got to play even more while Mommy went shopping for a dress to wear at Aunt Heather's wedding. She didn't find one that worked but at least it bought me plenty of time to play.

Today we went to a state park to have a picnic with some friends. We had a nice lunch, went on a hike to look for animals, and then went to the beach! The water was cold at first but after a while it wasn't bad at all. I played around the water a lot while Mommy and Daddy threw the Frisbee.

Well the weekend is winding down now and we're all just taking it easy. Daddy also upgraded the internet speed because we got a Skype account. We got a chance to video-chat with Meemaw and 'pom-pom' yesterday but we kept getting disconnected which is why Daddy had to upgrade our speed. Now he's excited to give it another go!

Happy Memorial Day everyone! I hope we get a chance to talk soon. I love you all!

B-man

Birthday Party!

Wow! I'm three already?! Actually, I should be referring to myself as three-and-a-half. You know all us kids round up at least one-half to make us sound older.

So Nate (Uncle Snake) and Jackie came up for the weekend to celebrate my birthday! It was a lot of fun and we got lots of play time in! Nate taught me how to play my Spongebob video game, blow big bubbles, and punch people! Jackie was very nice to me and at times I would prefer to sit snugly by her side rather than anyone else in the room.

For my birthday I got lots of sweet presents, which I will get to later, but the coolest thing of all was my cake!!!






Mommy and Jackie slaved away making my cake look and taste great! They served it with a sand-shovel along with some vanilla/chocolate ice cream (yum!). During the birthday celebration I opened up lots of presents and birthday cards. Thank you to everyone who wished me happy birthday, sent a birthday card, or sent me birthday presents. Especially Grandma and Grandpa Clayton because not only did I get to enjoy a sweet pirate boat toy but I got to watch Daddy go nearly insane trying to put together the toy and its 45+ screws! Just kidding, Daddy said it wasn't too hard to put together, and seeing how much fun I had with it made all the unbearable frustration and time-consuming effort all worth it!





After my birthday we went out and took some family photos. I'm going to post some here, but when we get the rest on the computer we'll make sure to have the cream-of-the-crop available to everyone online.






Well, that's all I have time to update tonight - I do have a curfew after all. Anyway, I really miss everyone and hope that you are all doing well! I love to chat with my friends and family so call Mommy or Daddy's phone sometime and ask to speak with me. I can't guarantee I'll 'carry on' a conversation, but at least you'll get to hear the funny random things that come out of my mouth!

Take care everyone,

B-man

Easter Bunny vs. Santa

A slightly overweight and bearded elderly white male wearing red?



Get me out of here!


A six foot tall creepy bunny rabbit with crazy slanted eyes wearing a cloth that she may or may not have found lying in the street?



Yeah, it's all good.

So anyway, Daddy is finally home from his 2 week long underway!!!

I haven't seen him yet, but as soon as he picks me up from daycare I'm going to get to see him! He won't believe how much I've grown, at least that's what Mommy thinks. Plus, as you can see in the photograph above, I'm looking less and less child-like every day. Heck, It looks like I'm just waiting to get the Easter photo over with so I can make it to my Driver's Ed class on time.

Other than me getting bigger (I can turn on/off lights FYI), Mommy has been really excited about her new job at Bank of America. She's a collector but don't worry! She only takes IN-bound calls from people that missed a payment on accident or who have an actual desire to settle their debt. The OUT-bound collectors make a lot more money, but they basically sell their souls for quick cash. Anyway, she's really smart and is sure that she'll be making big bonuses and possibly be promoted in no time. Daddy is really glad that she's enjoying her new job, after all how often do you hear about someone actually liking their job!

I miss everyone a whole bunch but am glad that I got to see Gran-D and Uncle J-bone last weekend. J-bone is going to ship off to Afghanistan soon to take out psychopathic terrorists so that little guys like me have a peaceful future. Thank God for brave heroes like my Uncle J-bone!! Daddy does his part too.. I guess; but he just sits on a boat all day grumbling about bureaucracies and inept leadership - not quite the same level of patriotism ;)

Well enough about all that. Sorry to keep you waiting so long for an update, but times are tough and we're all making sacrifices! I'll make sure to keep you updated at least monthly for as long as I have this blog, but hopefully I can update a little more often than that. Next month is my Birthday though so expect a great update full of lots of pictures and/or video.

I love you all! Take care of yourselves,

B-man

It's February and its About Time!

Well it's February and the weather has been pretty cold lately. I've spent most of my time indoors, although I do end up in the cold weather when I get picked up and dropped off from daycare. A little while ago the weather was really nice and so Mommy and Daddy went to the park with me and played frisbee. I got to throw it a few times, but I still have to work on my fundamentals.

Mommy has been busy working at Target and spending time with new friends. She's actually interviewing today for a job at Bank of America. Daddy and I know she's already got the job, she just has to go through all the formalities. Her hours will be weird (12-9pm M-F), but she may be able to do day shift after a while. If not, it's still not too bad because we'll all get to have lunch together when Daddy's in port.

Daddy is going to start going out to sea a lot more now. His schedule from now until he gets out is going to be mostly sea time. It's hard on him and all of us, but it's not too bad with email and all. Mommy and Daddy can't wait to get out of the Navy and maybe move back to Houston. They'll just be glad when he doesn't have to be away for weeks at a time!

I uploaded a video of me playing with the camera. I could see myself and it was really interesting to see how I looked with various poses and faces. I know it's long, but I figure that I haven't updated in a while and so maybe all of my fans would appreciate a longer video. Sometime I'll have to get video of myself when I'm not aware I'm being video-taped so you all can see me play normally, but until now you'll have to settle for this!

I heard that my favorite Aunt is getting married soon! Woohoo! We are hoping we'll be able to go, well at least Mommy and I because Daddy will be at sea, but if we can't make it we'll still get to see Heather and Trevor in July. We're really excited about Lake Powell, it sounds like it's going to be a blast! Hopefully I'll be big enough to ride the Jet Ski on my own. Ah, who am I kidding. I'll have many years and even more inches before I'll be able to do that. For now I'll just have to settle for the floating trampoline.

I wish I could think of more to update with but my fingers are getting tired and I have to get back to playing. I hope you all enjoyed this update and I hope it won't be long before the next. Once the weather starts getting better I'll have more opportunities for good pictures/video so we'll see.

Take care everyone, I love you!

B-man

Our Son the Leper

...I mean Me the Leper!

Don't worry, I don't really have leprosy. Just allergies. To what you ask? Who knows, who cares! The hives sprung up really quick and so mommy and daddy took me to the ER. They didn't think it was very serious, but just to be safe they went. Turns out, of course, its allergies and its completely harmless. The doctor said that there's no telling what I'm allergic to, since it could be one of a million things, and to use some Benedril.

Anyway, that was last night when I was only 1/4 covered in hives. Today is today and, as you can see, I'm about 1/2 covered. It doesn't bother me, except I keep scratching myself all over. Mommy and daddy tell me not to scratch, but I pretend not to understand what they're saying. Mommy's going to the store right now to get some Chamomile lotion. I'm just going to hang out in the bathtub playing with my toys until she gets back. Daddy's with me, don't worry. Not that I couldn't take care of myself though. For heaven's sake I already type at 80 wpm.

Other than my allergies, everything is good here in Virginia. It's not too cold and we're not too sick. We all have sniffles but nothing serious. I miss you all and hope we can talk soon - or webcam! That's fun!

Take care everyone!

B-man