Nashvegas

So, as you may have seen in the prior blog today, Colin has been in Nashville for two months - praise the Lord,  he is done!!  (Just in the nick of time, huh!?)  I really liked visiting Nashville.  I am a little disappointed, though... for all the traveling we did and all the time we spent cramped in a tiny one bedroom apt.,  I was hoping to get some sort of payback by seeing a famous person... any famous person would have been fine.  We went to all the right spots... Pancake Pantry, Loveless Cafe (our favorite), Bed, Bath and Beyond in Franklin -- where were they??  Oh well....Here are some Nashville pictures in no particular order.  (well, not true - it would drive me crazy if they weren't in chronological order)

On the day before Hudson's real birthday , we went to Centennial Park and looked at the real train and plane, played on the playground there, and then went to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch.  

Hudson's room (aka - closet).  Interesting picture - in Nashville we realized just how small the pack and play was for Hudson so we had to start making a pallot for him on the floor... and this was probably one of the last nights with his paci - we are done with them!!!  He did great - probably should have been a blog :)  We were blessed with an easy break.

We went to the zoo on Sunday, his real birthday - looks like Colin is sad that Hudson is eating all the popcorn!

These goats made me nervous - one kind of butted Hudson when he went up to brush it.

His little on your birthday gift from Mommy and Daddy - CARS!!  

Yes, the cake looks yummy - looks can be deceiving :) haha - I accidentally got the sugar free kind.  It was still good.  Really.  

Out of place zoo picture - it's too late tonight to move it around...

Random Nashville bath picture - we had his swim toys in the bath - he just looked so funny with his goggles on - and he wouldn't take them off!

Our last weekend we went to the Nashville Children's Science Museum - it was really a lot of fun!  I got a little aggravated that I couldn't do everything I wanted bc of my big belly, but it was great fun for Hudson!

My husband took this picture - can you tell his sense of humor?

Hudson and Colin (and 34 wk. pregnant mommy) climbed to the top of the science museum - it was pretty cool!  It had a great view of Nashville.

Racing to put shapes in the right spot.

Hudson's favorite - the ambulance you can get in and play with!

Thought this was pretty funny :)  

Overall, Nashville went by pretty fast, and we tried to have a good time when we were there.  It was pretty nice that once Colin got home from work every day, there wasn't a lawn to mow or things to do "around the house" so we visited several playgrounds and parks, went on walks, met our awesome friend Annie for dinner or breakfast, and strolled around the malls.  We even knew a babysitter in Nashville so Colin and I were able to go see Fireproof and go eat out one night!!  

So long, Nashville, we will miss you.   Just a little.  

Birthday Pics

Hudson's birthday was at the end of August ( I know, I have already apologized for the lack of blogging) and here are some birthday pics from his great birthday party. It was so much fun to have Hudson's friends and family all around, playing and splashing around together. Everyone seemed to have a blast. I think my pregnancy brain has deterred me from taking all practical and wanted pictures - so, unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of all the wonderful friends and family at the birthday party - just random pictures here and there instead.   I mean, who doesn't get even GRANDPARENT pictures?????  Needless to say, I was a little aggravated with myself when I realized this...But, please know that we LOVE you so much, our precious friends and family, and we are so thankful for you - you are truly a gift from God.
I still can't believe he's two!

Enjoying watermelon - one of AT LEAST 10 pieces he ate at his party.  He must have had a whole watermelon for himself.  Next year, I know that we don't need water slides, toys, or even cake - just watermelon :)  

Hudson's sweet friend Bella Grace.

Cousins and friends in the pool

The famous big slide!

Hudson's incredible cake - I'm telling you - if you ever want a YUMMY HOMEMADE cake here in Knoxville - ask me about my talented friend who made this cake - EVERYONE was raving about how good it was!  And it was so cute, too!

Opening gifts with the help of friends and family

Hudson's good friend Caroline

Hudson's friend Bleau, and our friends Jason and Cheralyn

Sporting the UGA tent - we love putting up stuff like this (esp. in Knoxville :)  )

So excited about his gifts!

I know, I know

Well, friends, it's been a while. I know I haven't updated in, let's say, months.... But, as always, I do have an excuse! Colin has been in Nashville for two months on an away rotation (with our computer). Hallelujah, he is back!!!! He got back Tuesday but left again for a funeral on Thursday. So, hopefully this week will be our return to as normal as is normal for the Clantons. I bet you are expecting me to say that now I have a ton of pictures and blogs to post now that we are back...I have to admit as well that I haven't been taking very many pictures. But, I do have some! So, stay tuned (If anyone even still checks the blog!) for Nashville pictures, birthday pictures, and more!

Summer Fun #2

We had our small group friends over for some fun for the Fourth (actually, it was the 5th). It was a blast! The Coffmans brought their humongo water slide over for everyone to enjoy. We will be getting one of those when I am not pregnant and the boys are a little older! The "kids"had a great time! I say "kids" because I was referring to the little ones as well as the big ones :) Hudson was so brave - he just LOVED the slide and kept saying "more" "more"! It wasn't warm, either - Hudson's little shoulders were blue but he pitched a fit when he had to get out!
I really wanted to participate, but after watching how little control everyone had going down that slide, I was afraid baby Clanton might not appreciate getting rolled on and smashed! Boo. I hope our children realize the sacrifices we make for them.

Summer Fun!

Last year, there was a time when I was concerned that Hudson wasn't going to enjoy swimming or the water. He would pull his legs up when we would put him in the pool and start crying. By the end of the year, he was warming up to the idea.
This year, he is ALL about the water. He has absolutely no fear of the water! We bought Hudson a little pool to play in - he loves it! He could absolutely spend all afternoon outside in the water and in the backyard playing! Another idea that I got from my friend was to fill up a bucket with water and let him play with his water toys in the bucket. It's easy when you don't want to get the pool out and he loves just pouring water all over himself and having a good time!

They grow up so fast..

I have some exciting news!  Hudson is sleeping in a big boy bed!  YEA!!  I was so concerned about how he would handle this.  His first official night in his new bed, it took about 1 1/2 hrs. to get him tired enough and feel safe enough to fall asleep. But, he slept all night long! I wish I could say the same for me. I didn't get much sleep at all.  I kept waiting for the "boom" as he hit the floor or the cries out in terror as he woke up not knowing where he was.  

To my surprise, he has adjusted SO well!  We are only on day three, but so far, nap times and night times have been successful.  Praise the Lord!  We DO have a little one who loves his sleep, so I am sure that contributes to his success.  But, more importantly, the Lord answers prayers - even ones about big boy beds!

He seems to be a little bit more clingy to his "pa-ee's" now, though. We keep them in his bed and he has a lot more access to them!  Well, one step at a time, right?  I am just thrilled that we are getting through one of the million transitions  he will have growing up!  

The morning after his first night in the big bed


Night 2

Confession Time

Ok, I have a confession to make.  I am a stacker and a hider.  I like to have a clean house.  So, in order to have a clean house, sometimes I will stack papers and other items and put them(hide them) places.  If they don't have a place, I will quickly make one.  The consequence to this bad habit is that I don't always remember where the new places are, which, you can ask my family or friends even dating back to high school, is not uncommon... my memory is not very good. It's even worse when I am pregnant, because I think the baby gets the rest of the memory I have.  

*I am sure Colin would love to talk more with you about my problem if you are interested- he can't stand the fact that he has to look through drawers and baskets quite regularly for "hiding" items - but on a positive note, he rarely keeps important things laying out anymore!*

The reason I am telling you this is because I have SO many wonderful pictures to post.  I have been motivated to blog and start keeping up with it more for quite some time.  But, it's kind of hard to post pictures when you can't find your cord to hook the camera up to the computer!  

Thankfully, I found the cord today!!  So, I have new pictures and memories to share with you.  They will not be in chronological order, which usually drives me crazy, because I have some exciting news to share with you that just happened....  So keep checking my blog, I hope to have lots of new updates!!

If you are in confession mode, I would love to hear from you  - do any of you have organizational problems as well?