Back by popular demand!

You may be wondering where I've been and what I've been up to lately, and I apologize for being such a stranger. The last 9 months have been pretty crazy for us Claytons which has hindered my blogging. I thought it was only fair, since you have all been so patient with me, that I include a ton of pics! So, what do you say I bring you up to speed?

Since my last post I have started going to Preschool. Actually, I am now on my THIRD school!! Origianlly, I was enrolled at Children's Courtyard, a daycare that has a pre-k teacher come to teach the class at our campus, but since Mommy has adjusted her schedule so she can stay home w/ Parker there was no need for me to be in daycare anymore. That's when I started going to Blue Bonnet Elementary. My class was from 11:40a-2:40pm which was pretty inconvenient for Mommy, but she was happy to see me learning so much there!

I was one of four top students in my class according to my teacher! Due to a move I am now going to Davis Elementary, which is sort of funny since Daddy went to a Davis Elementary too. Now my class is from 8:30a-2:30p and I love it there! My new teacher, Mrs. Acuna, loves having me there since I am one of her best singers! She loves to sing almost as much as me! Not only am I an awesome singer, but I am also now a bus rider! I've wanted to be a bus rider ever since I started going to school, so everyday I hop on the "Frog" bus to get home and try my best not to forget my "packpack" on the bus. Don't worry I have only done that once. :)

As I mentioned earlier, since you last heard from me I have moved to a new pad. For several reasons Mommy and Daddy wanted to move into a smaller place and they were right on. Now that we are in our small apartment there is less cleaning to do. Much less! And, since Mommy and Daddy aren't so busy cleaning there is more time for playing. I was sad to not live next door to my best friend Skylar anymore but I love my new room much better. Plus, I still get to go over to her house to play.

Another totally awesome thing about our new place is that we can see deer from our porch and almost every room in the apartment. Finally, and probably one of my favorite things about our new place is that the pool is open all year round! Since, I will be taking swim lessons again this year, I expect to be in the water about as much as a fish!





There was something introduced to my life a few months ago that is very important to me... Legos! My G-ma & G-pa got me my very first set of Legos this past Halloween. Everyone was shocked at how easily I was able to construct this garbage truck by following the instructions. I mean, I'm a good listener and all, but these instructions were meant for 6 year-olds at least!

Since my impressive engineering abilities were discovered, I now have in my possession about 2.3 million Legos! My Nonny and Pops got me a super awesome Lego table for Christmas that stores about 3% of my Legos ;) and provides an awesome place for me to build all sorts of stuff without making my room messy. My Memaw and Papan gave me all of my Daddy's old Legos which was really awesome too! According to Mommy one of the coolest things I've made recently was a life like camera! Mommy and Daddy love seeing all of the creative stuff I come up with when playing with Legos.

You are probably thinking to yourself, "Hey Brandon, aren't you forgetting to mention something?", but I was saving the best for last. Another change worth mentioning and probably one of the main reasons I haven't had a lot of time to blog is about 4 months ago I got my very own baby brother!!!!! My baby Parker was born on 11/11/2010 and has been the best change of all! He is a very sweet boy just like me and I love playing with him! I love him very much and it may have something to do with him giving me a Lego set when he was born. Just "trickin"!



I am really good at making him laugh and smile. If I am talking but Parker can't see me, he will look for me until he finds me. And when he does he smiles almost immediately. I am a big helper when it comes to changing his diaper, feeding him, and keeping him entertained if he gets fussy. I give him hugs and kisses all the time even though he hits me in the face with his hands and feet a lot. I know he is just a baby and doesn't know that he is doing that so I don't ever get mad. I can't wait to share my Legos with him once he's big enough and not drooling all over everything. :)

Well, I hope this gives you a better idea of what I've been up to lately and again, I'm sorry it has been so long since I've posted an entry! I know how much everyone enjoys reading my posts so I will try to cut my time with Legos a little short so I can keep up w/ my blog. Speaking of which, I saw Parker at the computer the other night... I think he might be working on his own blog ;)

I love you all very much!! Later alligators! Now enjoy some more pictures :)


Birthday weekend in Houston:











Christmas:

Doth thine eyes deceive thee?!

Nay,

They but behold the glory of another entry into B-man's, I mean - my awesome blog.

I know I have been a huge slacker about updating for the past half-a-year or so, but I promise I have been busy and that things have been hectic for months. Daddy must have been stuck somewhere, because he 'got out' of the Navy and bolted for Texas.

Ever since then we've been busy with all sorts of arrangements; from birthdays to welcome back celebrations (I love you J-Bone!) and playing to learning, we've been in a whirlwind!

Daddy says it won't get any better from here. He says he'll get about three weeks of rest between work and school, but that after mid-July he's not going to get a moment of rest. His semesters will each have two halves each 7 weeks long, so by December he will have taken at least 8 finals.

Also by December, I am going to be a BIG BROTHER!!! Mommy and I got to surprise Daddy one day when he came home from work with the big news that mommy is pregnant. We were all really excited. A few weeks ago we learned that it will probably be a boy as well! How AWESOME!! I already have a cousin being born in July and he'll be around the same age as my little brother, and I'll be the biggest so I'll have to take care of the younger kids.



I'm brushing up on my Big Brothering skills already by making sure I am good for Mommy and Daddy. If my little brother sees me being good he may want to be good too! I have also been learning how to spell some words! Daddy is pretty sure that I am just memorizing the word visually and that actual spelling is still pretty far down the line, but he and Mommy are proud of me just the same! So far I am a master at spelling Mommy, Moon, Stop, and a few other fun words. Like I! I laughed hard when I found out how to spell I.




My favorite thing to do lately has been to play Wii. Mommy and Daddy started a system with me where I can earn 'points' for learning or being especially well behaved. If I collect enough points I can play a game or watch cartoons. Most of the time I choose to play Mario Galaxy which is REALLY fun!! My parents don't think that Wii games are the best for me, but they make for good rewards and it is truly astonishing how quickly I pick up on these games - especially one as difficult as Mario.

I wish I could write more but I just don't have enough time to keep updating when I could be playing Wii! Just kidding. Again, I'm sorry I haven't written sooner but be thankful for what you get! (And I promise to update again soon!)

Love you guys,

B-man

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