The Redden Family

Kindergarten Graduation and Another Lost Tooth

2009-06-02T21:49:00.005-05:00

Clayson graduated from Kindergarten on Monday. The kids sang a song about life being a journey, got certificates and then the teachers put together a slide show. Fun times! First pictures aren't great because of the lighting...this is becoming a trend in my posts.

Clayson in the blue shirt with white stripes. He's still not much of a performer!

Landon and Clayson waiting on their diplomas
Darn microphone stand
Clayson reading the book he wrote about kindergarten
He lost his top tooth this morning.
Austin dressed himself....need to work on that a little.

Austin gets to play baseball....FINALLY!

2009-05-30T21:44:00.006-05:00

Austin has been to more of Clayson's soccer games, baseball games and tae kwan do classes and finally got to do something of his own! He went to Frozen Ropes where we had Clayson's birthday party and took a class. The first two classes he didn't want to participate, but, the last three he did everything and had a great time. I took some pictures today...they aren't the greatest because of the lighting in there and I had my camera on the wrong setting for a while.

Stretching

This would have been a GREAT picture if I didn't have my camera on the wrong setting. He was running after practicing how to slide into a base.

Kenny Chesney-Take 2

2009-05-30T21:20:00.004-05:00

Trent, Chris, Christy and I were very excited to hear that Kenny Chesney was coming back to do another concert for free since he had to cut the first one short because of the rain. We had so much fun the first time and were very happy to do it again a second time. We went out early again for tailgating and dinner and then went in to watch Kenny sing for over 3 hours! It was awesome!

Austin's Last Day of School

2009-05-30T13:11:00.004-05:00

May 20th was Austin's last day of school. They had a big time playing in the water, eating pizza and making ice cream sundaes.

The kids sang songs for us....Austin even sang a word or two.

They made tshirts with everyone's handprint on it. Austin's handprint was black and gold for the Steelers!

Ice Cream Time!

"Just blinking my eyes"

2009-05-14T21:20:00.003-05:00

Saturday, Trent and the boys had haircuts. Austin was soooo tired from staying up too late playing on Friday night that he fell asleep while getting his hair cut. It wasn't very long ago that he screamed and cried through hair cuts, so this was a shock to everyone. When he woke up I said something about him falling asleep and he said, "I was just blinking my eyes." Yeah, ok!

And tonight, he layed on the couch with me and was out within 3 minutes. Notice he's covering his ears....Trent and I were talking and I had no idea he was trying to sleep.

Muffins with Mom

2009-05-14T21:11:00.003-05:00

Last Wednesday Austin had Muffins with Mom at his school to celebrate Mother's Day. They sang us a song and we ate breakfast. Austin, of course, sang his song for a week at home and then didn't sing a word when he sang it in front of the Mom's. When we sat down, he said, "Mom, did I sing?" He was so serious about it. Pretty cute.Look how the girl next to him is belting it out! So cute, he just stared at her the whole time.
Flowers he made for me.
Cute box he painted with our picture on it. It was filled with Hershey Kisses.

Kenny Chesney

2009-05-07T19:27:00.003-05:00

Saturday night we went to the Kenny Chesney concert with Chris and Christy. We tailgated between thunderstorms and tornado warnings and had a great time. The concert was great until Kenny had to quit because of the storms. We are excited that he is coming back next weekend to make up the concert. We had such a great time in the storms that we are glad we get to do it all over again....just would prefer doing it over again with clear skies.

Crawfish!

2009-05-07T19:05:00.004-05:00

Trent's team from work had a crawfish boil and we all had a great time. When we got there the boys were unsure of the crawfish...but quickly learned how much fun they are to play with!

Clayson was fighting these two like he does his Star Wars figures.
Eating Crawfish
Then, the crawfish went on a boat ride in the boys Steelers crocs....

The heck with the crawfish in the pool, WE want in the pool!

Open wide!

2009-05-01T09:01:00.001-05:00

The boys went to the dentist yesterday. Six months ago when we took Austin for his first visit he screamed and cried. He would NOT open his mouth. So, yesterday I was a little worried, but, he said he wanted to go first and he jumped in the chair and opened his mouth. She was able to clean and polish them without a fuss at all. Yeah!

Catching some zzzzzz's........

2009-04-26T17:36:00.005-05:00

Austin has been finding new places to take naps these days. This first picture is of him asleep one night with his sheep laying on him.Friday, Austin decided to take a nap in his little chair in our living room....

Saturday, I put him down for a nap in his bed and got on the computer for about 15 minutes. When I came out of the office, this is where he was....sound asleep. I didn't want to wake him so I just sat at the bottom of the stairs in case he woke up or rolled over and fell.

And last but not least, I let the boys sleep in their sleeping bags in Clayson's room last night. They had books, pillows and stuffed animals all over the place before they went to sleep. Took me a while to clean all that up this morning.

The Easter Bunny Did Good!

2009-04-14T12:54:00.004-05:00

This year the Easter Bunny hid 100 eggs inside the house (of course, it rained AGAIN on Easter), got Clayson new golf clubs and Austin Pittsburgh Steelers Crocs.....

Clayson flew into our room and announced that the Easter Bunny had brought Trent a present. A new golf bag with clubs in it! He was so excited about it that you can only imagine how excited he was when we told him they were too small for daddy so they must be for him!

Digging through the Easter Baskets
Austin showing off his crocs
Ignore the candy in Clayson's mouth!

Austin the Easter Bunny

2009-04-08T21:32:00.002-05:00

Austin had his Easter party at school today. It cracks me up that he loves wearing hats like this one. Clayson never would and still won't because he says it's embarassing.

Rule Breakers?

2009-04-05T20:31:00.001-05:00

Tonight I made pancakes for dinner and Clayson said, "Mom, are we allowed to do that?" He thought we were breaking the rules......

Disney On Ice

2009-04-01T20:27:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday we took the boys to see Disney On Ice.....good time had by all.......

NASCAR Grammie

2009-04-01T20:08:00.004-05:00

My mom had so much fun watching my dad drive his race car last year when he did the NASCAR driving school that she wanted to do it. We had a great time watching her race and hanging out with some great friends.

Cute shirt Mom

2009-03-06T21:23:00.002-06:00

Tonight we were eating dinner and out of the blue Austin says, "That's a cute shirt, Mom." Should I be worried?

Tae Kwan Do Graduation

2009-02-28T19:36:00.003-06:00

Today Clayson had another belt graduation for Tae Kwan Do. I'm really proud of how good he's doing and how much he has learned.

Clayson is on the left.

Dessert with Dad

2009-02-28T19:26:00.003-06:00

Thursday night Trent took Austin to his school for Dessert with Dad. Austin was SOOO excited to have Trent all to himself. I told Austin that it was almost time to get ready to go and he followed me downstairs ready to brush his hair and get his shoes on. Of course he wanted Daddy to brush his hair. Then he kept saying, "I'm ready dad." "Let's go Dad." "I'm ready Dad."....over and over and over until it was time to go. Then Trent said that they would go in my car and Austin said that he wanted to go in Trent's truck. So, I went out and moved the carseat to his car. He gave me a hug and kiss and told me not to cry that he'd be right back....wonder where he's heard that :)

Clayson's First Field Trip

2009-02-28T19:18:00.003-06:00

Clayson's class went to the Science Place for their first field trip. Wow, that was a LONG bus ride. The kids had a total blast. Us moms had a great time too but we decided the dads could go on the next one. All the kids were very well behaved and we went from one room to another looking at all the fun stuff.

Valentine's Parties

2009-02-28T19:06:00.003-06:00

Somehow I ended up in charge of both boys Valentine's Day Parties at their schools. They were alot of fun. Clayson's class decorated sugar cookies and played bingo. Austin's made ice cream sundaes and a craft.

As soon as we got home from the last party, I kicked off my shoes to relax....Austin quickly put them on!

Clayson Turned Six!

2009-02-17T20:47:00.004-06:00

Clayson turned 6 on the 6th and we had a big celebration. Grammie came in town and went with us to Clayson's elementary school breakfast the morning of Clayson's birthday. Then we had lunch with him at school and brought cupcakes for his class. We let Clayson choose where he wanted to eat for his birthday dinner and he chose Red Lobster so he could have the "sticks of shrimp" he sees on tv. Yummy! After dinner we took Clayson for a shopping spree to pick out his presents and let him spend some of his birthday money.
Clayson wanted to have his friends come to the Frozen Ropes Baseball Facility for some baseball drills. They all had a great time!

Super Bowl Party 2009

2009-02-03T20:29:00.004-06:00

Sunday we had a houseful of Super Bowl watchers. 15 kids and 17 adults....atleast it was warm enough for the kids to play outside for a while. We had such a great time and of course, it helped that the Steelers won!

So Sweet

2009-02-03T20:25:00.002-06:00

This is how I found Trent and Austin...once again! I caught them this way a few months ago too.

Genious

2009-01-15T18:59:00.001-06:00

Clayson announced that he wouldn't be allergic to peanut butter if it wasn't made out of peanuts. Very true!

New Years

2009-01-09T22:24:00.003-06:00

We celebrated a quiet New Years with our next door neighbors. Great food, great company and sparklers for the kids...what more could you ask for?

Christmas Part 3

2009-01-09T22:04:00.002-06:00

Next, we were on our way to Lytle. On Christmas Eve, we spent the evening with Grammie, PaPa, Betty, Ernie and Brian. We ate traditional tamale dinner and opened some presents. Grammie and PaPa gave the boys a Gator so they could both have a vehicle to drive. Oh my was that fun! The Gator goes faster than the jeep and Austin was a little dangerous because he was too busy looking at us and giving us a "thumbs up" and didn't always watch where he was going. At one point, he stopped it and said there was a tree in his way...um...turn the wheel, Austin!

Christmas morning, the boys woke us up and couldn't wait to see what Santa brought them. Santa brought them alot of Star Wars figures and two BIG vehicles. What fun they had with those.

Then we opened more presents. Austin was SO excited about new clothes! He said, "New clothes for me?" Geez, you'd think the kid didn't ever get anything but hand me downs from Clayson. We had a nice lunch with Betty, Ernie, Brian and Ernie's mom and sister.

Christmas Part 2

2009-01-09T21:45:00.003-06:00

Next we celebrated Christmas with the four of us! The boys were happy about everything they got. Austin got a Star Wars ship that Clayson made sure Austin knew that he had to share it.

Christmas Part 1

2009-01-09T21:35:00.002-06:00

Our Christmas break started off with a Holiday party for Clayson's class. They made a craft, ate cupcakes and played a game. Austin was with me and just hanging out behind the teachers desk. When I was running the game, I completely forgot to keep an eye on him. When we were done, I went to see what he was doing and he had kicked his shoes off and was eating his snacks out of my bag. Glad to know he's so comfortable in there!

MeMe came to visit for the weekend and we had a great time with her.

Future Spelling Bee Winner?

2008-12-19T21:51:00.002-06:00

Tonight at dinner Clayson said, "I'm done. D U N."

He's really good at reading and now is trying to spell everything. Guess we need to work on that word!

Austin's Christmas Program

2008-12-19T21:42:00.003-06:00

Austin had his Christmas party and Christmas show on Wednesday at school. He didn't sing a word.....as soon as the song was over he fell on the floor like his legs stopped working. Nut!

The gingerbread house we built during the "snow" day.

Austin's Christmas Party

He looks scared up on the stage.
It's over!

Clayson's First Tae Kwon Do belt graduation

2008-12-16T09:30:00.003-06:00

Clayson started Tae Kwon Do at the end of October and graduated to the next belt on Saturday. He was so excited that he wouldn't take his uniform off all day!

Clayson is the second from right. Doing front blocks.

Getting his new belt

Clayson, Mr. Vu and Landon

Cowboys vs. Steelers game

2008-12-16T09:22:00.004-06:00

We had Trent's team from work over last Sunday to watch the Steelers and Cowboys game. We had Steelers cups, napkins, forks, chip and dip set, etc. Pretty fun in Cowboy land.

Need a laugh?

2008-12-06T21:09:00.002-06:00

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm cracking up over here! They called me into the bathroom to show me this! Silly boys!

Missing Money

2008-11-29T22:12:00.002-06:00

Tonight Clayson realized that one of his two $5 bills from the tooth fairy was missing. He asked me where it was and I told him that his Daddy borrowed it. Then Clayson asked why Daddy didn't get the money out of his piggy bank. He he he!!! I had to explain that Daddy doesn't have a piggy bank. Now, I need to remind Trent to pay it back!

Two Teeth Out

2008-11-24T13:08:00.005-06:00

Last Saturday while I was in San Angelo at a wedding, Clayson called me to say his second tooth fell out! This picture was taken with Trent's phone so it's not great quality.I had a great time seeing high school friends at Travis' wedding. Here are a couple of pictures.

Heather, Me, Lanissa, Tricia

The guys

When I got home from the wedding on Sunday my kitchen was clean and most of the toys were picked up. It was my first time to leave Trent with the boys overnight and he did a great job!

Something's Missing........

2008-11-10T19:50:00.003-06:00

Can you see what's missing? Clayson's tooth was SO loose and neither Trent nor I could stomach pulling it so we had our good friend, Dion, pull it. Thanks Dion!! After he pulled it out I asked Clayson if it hurt and he said, "No it didn't. Mom, I didn't know Dion was so strong." Hehehe!!! So, I guess tonight will be the first of many visits from the tooth fairy. I already had to run and get some cash since I wasn't prepared.

Time Change

2008-11-04T10:44:00.002-06:00

Austin fell asleep at school today.....amazing. It's because he was up at 6:30 due to the time change.

Halloween

2008-11-03T19:47:00.002-06:00

Austin had a Halloween party at school on Wednesday. He wasn't too fond of the parade as you can see in the first picture. He's not a fan of being center of attention. He enjoyed eating the snack they made.

Halloween night we went trick or treating with friends from the neighborhood. We have pictures of the same kids for 6 Halloween's in a row so it's neat to see them grow....in height and in numbers :o)

Clayson was running from house to house and Austin was struggling to keep up but they had a great time.

Saturday we had Clayson's school carnival. I was working up at it so Trent brought the boys up for a while and we had a great time. Austin loved the inflatable slide and Clayson just loved all of it. Careflight landed so Clayson and I got to take a peek in the helicoptor....hope that's as close as we'll ever be to that type of helicopter.

Austin's first trip to the dentist

2008-10-30T19:41:00.003-05:00

Austin and Clayson had dentist appts today. Clayson did great as usual and was excited to show him all of his loose teeth. Austin on the other hand refused to open his mouth.....that was a productive visit!

Pittsburgh Trip 2008

2008-10-28T21:22:00.005-05:00

Each year we travel to PA to visit my dad's side of the family and watch a Steelers game. As usual, we had a great time. Austin stayed home with my mom, but we took Clayson with us. Clayson had the best time playing with his cousin, Brenden.

Eating apples at the Farmer's Market

Uncle Paul and Uncle Nick selling fruits & veggies at the market.

Golf Cart fun on the farm

Brenden and Clayson at a Christmas store

Driving Uncle Nick's tractor

George Bush Library

2008-10-21T13:08:00.002-05:00

Saturday we went to watch A&M play Tech. We took our nephew Tyler and he had a blast. After the game we went to the George Bush Library to see the NASA exhibit. Very interesting.

Austin's 3rd Birthday

2008-10-21T12:56:00.002-05:00

Our baby turned three on Friday....WOW!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-14T08:41:00.003-05:00

Friday after school I took the boys to the pumpkin patch...normally I would have dressed them up and brushed their hair for these pictures but I decided to let them have fun and get dirty if they wanted too.

Have you ever tried to find a pumpkin in a pumpkin patch that's not dirty? I have and there aren't any! Austin took FOREVER trying to find one that was clean...pretty funny.

Austin's Stuffed Animals Jumped in Bed With Him

2008-10-08T15:18:00.002-05:00

Austin was supposed to be taking a nap just now. He called me upstairs and all of his stuffed animals were in his bed. Austin has a rule that he's not supposed to get out of his bed. When I saw all the animals I said, "Austin did you get out of bed?". He says, "no." I said, "Did your animals just jump up here?" He said, "Yes. Can they stay?"

Austin's Birthday Party

2008-10-04T22:07:00.002-05:00

Today we had Austin's birthday party at Pump It Up. He and his friends had a great time bouncing, jumping and sliding. Austin was very excited about his party but he made it very clear that he didn't want us singing to him and he didn't want to blow out his candles. He had a scowl on his face while we were singing but suprisingly perked right up and blew out his candle.

Gymnastics

2008-09-28T20:48:00.003-05:00

Austin started doing this gymnastics move all on his own. He's been doing the forward roll but never the ending that he's doing in the video. He messed up the first time so he did it again and I don't know how to edit the video so just watch the whole thing....it's short.

New Do

2008-09-28T20:46:00.001-05:00

Clayson's got a new do!

Aggie Game Fun

2008-09-24T21:15:00.003-05:00

This weekend we went to College Station to watch A&M play Miami. We gave up our hotel rooms to Ike evacuees so we went really early so we could hang out with my parents before the game. Clayson got to participate in a Kids Yell Practice, give the football players high fives, get his face painted and jump in bounce houses.....he had so much fun! Austin was pretty much just along for the ride but he did good.

Yes, I see that Clayson is the ONLY kid not in maroon!

Not sure why this one imported so small but here's Trent holding a sleeping Austin...he had enough of the Aggies losing!

Wassup?

2008-09-17T21:23:00.004-05:00

Baseball Season Again

2008-09-17T21:23:00.002-05:00

Baseball season has started again and Clayson has already had four games. He got the game ball last Monday for having a really good hit.

Austin's first day of preschool

2008-09-08T09:50:00.003-05:00

Today was Austin's first day of preschool. He was very excited to go and even Clayson helped pump him up and told him how much fun he was going to have.

Clayson's First Sleepover

2008-09-06T21:25:00.005-05:00

Landon's parents graciously invited Clayson over for his first sleepover last night. He had a blast! I have heard about it all day....

Here is the picture before they went to sleep.

And here is the picture taken just before they woke up.

This is exactly how I found Austin this morning when I went to wake him up. He was just waiting on me.

Sleepy Heads

2008-09-01T21:14:00.002-05:00

I ran an errand Sunday and came home to this!

Then we woke up Austin and I went to make dinner....I came back in a few minutes later and this is what I found.....

Aggie games start

2008-09-01T21:10:00.001-05:00

Saturday was the first Aggie home game. The game didn't turn out like we'd hoped but here is our yearly picture of the boys with my dad.

First Week of School

2008-09-01T21:01:00.002-05:00

Clayson finished his first week of school and here are some of the funny things he's said...

1. Me: Clayson did you know you can buy your lunch at school sometimes?
Clayson: Oh, no, Mom. The only time you can get lunch at school is if you forget yours. Those lunches looked pretty good so can I forget mine?

2. Me: Clayson what did you learn on the first day of school?
Clayson: I don't know but I was there for a LONG time.

3. A friend of Claysons told his mom that he stayed on green all day. The mom asked Clayson if he really did and Clayson said, "No, he was on red." Oops!

4. Clayson: Mom, I will eat those animal crackers at home but I don't want you to send them to school. Guess he's too OLD for animal crackers.

First Day of Kindergarten

2008-08-25T13:43:00.005-05:00

Clayson started Kindergarten today and I am having a hard time believing it! He was so brave and was hardly nervous at all. He lead the way all the way into his classroom.

Clayson and Blake

Random pictures of the boys

2008-08-25T13:10:00.003-05:00

Austin decided to finish off the bag of chocolate chips!

Watching TV

Being Silly

Bubble Bath

Anniversary Party

2008-08-25T12:30:00.004-05:00

On August 8th we threw a surprise 40th anniversary party for my parents. It was obvious that they were TOTALLY surprised.

Another note about our trip....

2008-08-08T08:20:00.003-05:00

I was ordering lunch by the pool one day and the server said, "Mrs. Redden, I'll have that right out." Austin quickly corrected her, "It's Shea."

Redden Family Vacation or Bust!

2008-08-07T22:02:00.003-05:00

Hurricane Dolly decided to heavily damage South Padre which is where the entire Redden family was meeting for vacation so we had to come up with a plan B. We met at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort in San Antonio. It was great for kids and I think everyone had a good time.

Austin and Aunt Holly in the pool.

Blaine and Clayson

It's not an easy task to get a table for 17!

Turkeys

2008-07-26T21:41:00.002-05:00

The sweet boys....The silly boys....

Basketball Camp

2008-07-26T21:35:00.002-05:00

Clayson finished a week of basketball camp with Parker and Blake. He had a blast! He even got 2nd place in the Hot Shot competition for the Kindergarteners. They each shot five times each morning and at the end of the week the two that had the most baskets got certificates.

Clayson getting his award.

Blake, Parker and Clayson

4th of July

2008-07-26T21:30:00.002-05:00

Trent's family came in town for the 4th. The boys were excited to see all of their cousins, aunts, uncles and MeMe. Here are some pictures of the boys with sparklers.

Austin kept trying to blow out the tiki torch!

Vacation Bible Camp

2008-07-26T21:17:00.001-05:00

The boys did Vacation Bible Camp a few weeks ago and yes, I'm just now posting pictures...better late than ever. I was on the planning team this year and it was so great seeing how much the kids enjoyed everything.

Clayson singing the last day....he's not really into singing and dancing so this was a stretch for him.

New Name

2008-07-11T09:57:00.001-05:00

Austin has stopped calling me Mommy.....I'm now Shea....lovely!

Back Seat Driver

2008-06-28T22:01:00.001-05:00

Austin keeps reminding me to drive with both hands on the wheel and then he strains his neck to make sure I'm doing it......my two and a half year old backseat driver!

My Early Wake Up Call

2008-06-26T13:24:00.001-05:00

Clayson woke me up at 5:20 on Wednesday morning to tell me that he wanted to help me clean the house later....well, alrighty....not sure why that couldn't wait until the morning but I'll take it when I can get it.

Swim Party

2008-06-22T19:27:00.005-05:00

Friday night we had a swim party at Tricia's house. Here's some pictures of the swimmers.

Austin jumping in...no fear!

Austin chilling on the side...that's not his drink!

Clayson cautiously jumping in

All Star Baseball

2008-06-22T19:21:00.003-05:00

Last weekend Clayson played in the All Star Baseball tournament. It was so fun to watch because they announced their names as they came up to bat and then after each good play they made. Clayson's team won the first game but lost the final game. They had a great time playing but it was hard to play two games back to back.

Clayson running home to score!

The Team

NAS...what?!

2008-06-10T21:07:00.004-05:00

Most of you know that Clayson is really into NASCAR. We were watching the horse race on Saturday and Clayson made the connection of the horses and cars both racing on an oval track. So he asked, "Mom, are these NAShorses?" Too funny!

Austin's first fish

2008-06-10T20:57:00.003-05:00

This weekend the boys and I went to Lytle to stay with my parents while Trent went fishing with his buddies at the coast. We took the boys fishing and Austin caught alot of big fish and all Clayson could catch were the little ones. He never once complained about catching small fish but he asked me if I could tell his dad that he caught one of the big ones.....that's a true fisherman for you....always exaggerating.

Annoying

2008-06-02T20:33:00.003-05:00

We were at Cabela's yesterday and Austin heard a kid crying. He looked at me and said, "He's crying. That's annoying!" I confirmed, "That's annoying?" and Austin said yes. Then I told him to remember that the next time he throws a fit!

Clayson's Graduation

2008-06-02T14:31:00.004-05:00

Clayson graduated from Preschool on the 23rd. Papa and Grammie came in town to watch him walk the stage. Papa gave him many suggestions on how to walk and what he should do while walking (moonwak, blowing kisses, etc) but Clayson chose the old fashioned way...thankfully!

Clayson's Class

Clayson and Emma

Austin's future

2008-05-19T21:21:00.001-05:00

While watching the ACM (Academy of Country Music) Awards last night, Austin decided that he wanted to be a singer. Then I told him that singers make alot of money so all he's been talking about is making lots of money when he gets big. Yahoo!!!

Where has the time gone?

2008-05-13T11:45:00.004-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I posted....I've got to get better about this. Here's what's been going on in our world. Last Monday I registered my baby for Kindergarten! Crazy!

Here are some shots of what's been consuming our time lately....baseball and soccer.

Soccer:

Baseball:

All the kids like to slide into home!

Austin acting silly

And last but not least, Clayson's first black eye. He rammed one of his big trucks into another one and flew over the top of it and busted his cheek on it. Looks much better now. It happened on Saturday and this is the first picture he has allowed me to take.

Gig 'Em Aggies

2008-04-29T19:41:00.002-05:00

Why is it so hard to teach a two year old to stick up his thumb and say "Gig 'em Aggies?" He says it all the time but he's either pointing or flipping us off as he does it!

Jail or Gel?

2008-04-22T20:52:00.003-05:00

Clayson had a friend over today and they were playing Lincoln Logs. Here is their conversation word for word:

Derek: I'm making a jail room.
Clayson: Why are you making a room where people brush their hair?

Ok, so when I finally quit laughing I had to explain to Clayson that he meant a JAIL where bad people go not hair GEL. Can you tell he gets gel in his hair everyday?! He was a little embarrassed when he realized what he'd said.

A note on Austin: Trent and Clayson were leaving for soccer practice and they told Austin he was staying home with me. I went out to help them get their gear in the car and when I came back in Austin was standing there with his shoes in his hands ready to go. Poor kid gets left out of everything.

Librarier?

2008-04-17T12:58:00.002-05:00

Here's how my conversation about school went with Clayson yesterday...

Me: Clayson, did you check out a library book today?
Clayson: No, the librarier was sick.
Me: Well, did you get to turn in your book that you took back today?
Clayson: Yes, Mrs. Hall said she would give them to the librarier when she gets better.

Baseball, Nascar and Bluebonnets

2008-04-15T07:15:00.003-05:00

Friday night Clayson had another baseball game. He was playing pitcher....he got the ball, ran and slid into home to get the baserunner out! It was so fun to hear all the other parents cheering for him!

Saturday my dad did the Nascar driving school at Texas Motor Speedway. It was really fun to watch him...Clayson LOVED it. They are both still talking about it.

The boys and I rode around the track in a limo type car. Austin tried to climb out at the first turn but settled down shortly after.

Sunday after church, the boys and I went to see if we could find any bluebonnets. They aren't out as much as last year but we found some.

A Church Song

2008-04-09T14:39:00.002-05:00

On our way home from school today the song, "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" by Big and Rich came on the radio. Clayson said, "Mom, is this a church song?" Um, NO!!! You would think the kid never goes to church...not only do we go almost every week, he's been going to the service with us and he hears the music. Maybe I need to sign him up for the kids choir!

Busy Week and Weekend

2008-04-07T21:10:00.004-05:00

Last Wednesday night I went to a meeting at church and when I came back this is what I found.

Austin chillin' watching tv...note the one hand in the frog basket that is full of cars...we don't want those cars to jump out and run away do we?

Trent and Clayson pretending to be asleep....I don't think they missed me at all!

Saturday morning Clayson had his first baseball game of the season. He had two good hits. After baseball we flew to the soccer field and he changed in the car for the soccer game. He scored 3 goals last week and two this week. Here's a shot of him playing.....not the best shot but he's in black taking the ball down the field

As soon as the soccer game was over Trent and Clayson drove to watch the NASCAR race. They were both excited to go to the race since neither had been before. Clayson loves NASCAR thanks to Papa and can tell you the drivers, their numbers and most of the sponsors. They had alot of fun and came back with ALOT of little cars for both the boys.

Austin and I went on a run outside that afternoon since it was so nice outside. It is much easier to push the stroller without a 5 year old in it. I could actually run up the hills instead of having to walk up them when Clayson's in the stroller too. After the run, we were cleaning out the boys closets and Austin insisted on wearing the Santa hat....for the rest of the night!

And what I'm most proud of this weekend was when Trent gave Clayson $4 to spend on a treat for him at the store, he chose to buy cookies for his friends that came over to dinner Sunday night. I let him decide completely on his own what to get and when he said he wanted cookies from the bakery, I said "How many, one or two?" He says, "I need one for Parker and one for Allie too." Let's hope this kindness continues.

Glad I'm Not Claustrophobic

2008-04-01T20:47:00.001-05:00

Anyone ever tried to get yourself and four kids into the small closet underneath the stairs? I don't recommend it....unless of course, the tornado sirens are going off and it's telling you to take cover immediately. Luckily the tornado lifted back up and missed us!

Let's Play Catch Up......

2008-03-26T20:50:00.006-05:00

Ok, so it's been a LONG time since I have been able to sit down and blog....lots going on in the Redden household. Let's catch up!

The boys got to play in the snow the beginning of March....

Clayson making a snow angel

Superdad next door made an igloo for the kids!

On March 13th we lost a very important member of our family....Trent's Dad, Jim. We will miss you!

Easter Weekend was fun with a Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday night with confetti eggs and then the boys hunted eggs Sunday morning and we had a late lunch after church with our good friends, the Zarbaughs.

Cracking the eggs on each other heads!

Even Austin got in on the action.

On Easter morning Austin had to analyze and talk about each egg he picked up while Clayson ran around and got most of them.

And lastly....should I be worried? Austin carried this around like a purse all night! Atleast it had his cars in it!

My Artists

2008-03-04T22:52:00.005-06:00

I was talking on the phone to Christy yesterday (for MAYBE 3 minutes) while the boys were supposed to be putting up their markers. I turned and looked at them and this is what I found...

Apparently they decided to mark all over each other face!

Where's The Money?

2008-02-27T15:15:00.002-06:00

For Valentine's Day, Grammie and Papa got the boys Spiderman pencil cases full of pencils, candy and money. This is the difference in my boys....Clayson's first response was, "Candy, this is the candy I've been wanting!" Austin's response was, "Money!"

Yesterday Austin asked me to open his up. He saw that the only thing in there was pencils and says, "No money? Where's the money?" I had to explain that we already put it in his piggy bank and the pencil case doesn't always replenish itself with money!

Did You Know?

2008-02-19T21:50:00.002-06:00

Did you know that only smart people can eat Smarties? And that Clayson is smart because he knows that 10 plus 10 equals 20.....oh and Austin is smart because he knows that 1 plus 1 equals 2.

That's what he told me in the car tonight while he and Austin were eating Smarties.

Future Aggie?

2008-02-18T19:50:00.002-06:00

Let the Aggie jokes begin...........

A Rude Awakening

2008-02-16T07:52:00.002-06:00

Anyone else wake up to this mess this morning? I was flying out the door to move my car in the garage and Clayson was running out of his room asking what was going on......that hail was loud! I just thought I was going to sleep in this morning!Excuse the basketball goal...it fell over in the wind a few days ago.

The Raccoon

2008-02-11T19:50:00.000-06:00

Clayson got a new Webkinz raccoon today for his birthday. Austin won't put it down...."Raccoon wants to eat a cracker." "Raccoon go night, night." "Raccoon play Mario." And on, and on and on! Guess I'll be forking out the money for one for Austin.........

Busted!

2008-02-07T20:51:00.001-06:00

I busted Clayson watching Survivor from the top of the stairs tonight after I had already put him to bed. I always Tivo my shows so I can watch them in peace and quiet once they go to bed but I guess he decided he needed to watch it too.

It's Clayson's Birthday!!

2008-02-06T21:04:00.000-06:00

Today Clayson had a really good birthday. He had his favorite donuts for breakfast, had cupcakes at school AND got to take one of his best buddies to dinner with us....oh, did I mention he got to open MORE presents?

Trent and I went to pick up Clayson from school and he came out of his class wearing a birthday crown. He wanted to eat dinner at Shogun, the Japanese place where they cook in front of you. We invited Parker to go with us and we had a great time. Here are some pictures from dinner.

The birthday ice cream.....

Yummy!

Austin doesn't understand why it's not his birthday...that was the argument today..."My birthday." "No, it's my birthday." "No, my birthday."

I Hate Food Allergies!

2008-02-06T15:22:00.000-06:00

Can I tell you how much I hate food allergies?! I know, there are alot of other things that could be wrong with my kids so I'll take this one but look what just happened to my Austin!

The rash is on the back of his legs too. Poor baby! Don't think I'm strange for taking pictures of it....I show them to the allergist because she asks me to describe his rash exactly.

I'm not even sure what caused it except I gave him some new cookies that had barley in it so maybe he's allergic to that too...time for more testing, I guess.

Birthday Party Weekend

2008-02-04T21:29:00.000-06:00

This weekend we had Clayson's birthday party with his best friend, Emma. Their birthdays are two days apart and they have alot of the same friends from school so it only made sense to have their party together. My parents flew in on Friday to spend the weekend with us. Saturday was Clayson and Emma's party at a bounce house place here in McKinney. I'm not sure who had more fun, Clayson or Austin. Austin was all over the place....there were 29 kids there so we had to keep a close eye on him. Here are some pics......

The birthday kids!

Austin went down this slide on his own about 20 times....he loved it.

The Cupcake Cake! I can't believe they are 5!

"Happy Birthday, Emma and Clayson......."

I think Austin liked his cupcake!

Dance Party, Anyone?

2008-01-31T19:36:00.001-06:00

Anyone want to come join our dance party?

Excuse the marker on Austin's face :o)

What Happened To The Steelers?

2008-01-31T19:08:00.000-06:00

Today I was putting Austin in his Steelers wind suit and Clayson asked why the Steelers weren't playing football anymore. Before I could answer he said, "I think it's because they lost too many games and the number 7 guy needs to learn how to throw better." Smart kid....although #7 did win the Super Bowl two years ago.

The Simple Things

2008-01-29T20:55:00.001-06:00

I looked on the Marble Slab website and almost ALL of their ice creams are wheat and egg free! We took Austin there last night and got him chocolate ice cream with sprinkles. He loved it! A few months ago I took him and Clayson there hoping that they had sorbet for Austin and they didn't and they told me they didn't have anything gluten free.....he was wrong! Austin left screaming that day...

Clayson came home from school yesterday saying that he was the prayer person. My heart skipped a beat....."What does the prayer person do, Clayson?" He says "They say the prayer before lunch and at circle time." Ok, well considering that Clayson has trouble speaking in front of people and the only prayers he can say are the ones we say at bedtime (and that's with my help)....my next question was..."What did you say?" He says, "I didn't know what to say".....another heartbeat skipped! Then he said, "Ms. Hall helped me. She helps everyone with their prayers. Except Courtney because she already knows them." Whew, I'm off the hook....he's not the only one that couldn't come up with a prayer on his own. Good grief, I'm not one to say a prayer in public. Guess we need to start our meals with a prayer so he's not put on the spot again.

It Doesn't Work Mommy

2008-01-27T19:33:00.000-06:00

The only time I can get Austin to use the big boy potty is right before his shower each night. As always, he gets a Hershey Kiss when he "goes" in the potty. However, he tried three times tonight and after each try he told me "It doesn't work, Mommy." HeeHee! Finally on the fourth try, it worked!!

A sick little fellow

2008-01-26T21:21:00.000-06:00

I'm going to take a stab at this whole "blogging" thing. There's so much I want to write down about the boys and it's much easier (and faster) to type than it is to write. Friday night Clayson had International Night at school where his class sang a song in Spanish. He sang a few words but he takes after his mom and isn't quite a performer.

Today we got up early and all three boys got their hair cut. Then I went to the gym for the massage Trent got me since I spent so many hours scrubbing the tile floor. I felt like Cinderella trying to get this floor clean. Who knew how dirty white tiles could get...I learned that I will never put white tiles in a house again! This is where I found Austin when I got home. Now, Austin NEVER sleeps anywhere but his bed and occassionally will fall asleep on Trent.

Austin has had a slight touch of pneumonia that started on Wednesday. He's doing much better and his fever finally broke Friday morning. We caught it early so we are very thankful for that.

Trent and I went to dinner with our good friends Carrie and Dave while Brady watched the boys. They LOVE it when Brady comes over because "she plays fun games" with them. We went to our usual spot Zin Zen Wine Bistro here in McKinney. We really like that place because we can actually talk and not have to scream to be heard. Although they did have live music this time which was pretty good....took us a while to determine if the singer was a girl or a boy but in the end we all agreed it was a boy. When Trent and I walked in the door both boys started screaming "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy." I said "Hey, what about me" and Austin started running toward me and screaming "Mommy." He was running so fast he nearly busted it before he got to me. Pretty cute, even if they did start screaming for Daddy first.