Thoughts on Being a Mom - Written on Mother"s Day

I think I must have wanted to be a mom my whole life.  I know because I remember the games I played.  As little girls, Cam and I would play pretend "church".  The sacrament meeting was held in the basement and the pews were the bottom stairs.  We would bounce our baby dolls in our laps while we took turns bearing our testimonies.  Inevitably, while one of us was at the “pulpit” (a boom box with the antenna extended for a microphone) pouring out our soul in fake tears, the others baby would become fussy.  We would look apologetic and exasperated before slinking out of the “chapel”, careful not to make eye contact with the rest of the congregation.  This must be an innate skill.

By the time I was 10, I had proof of my ambition.  That summer I shopped a garage sale with Mom and the sisters.  I was sorting through piles of baby clothes for baby Jess when I found a tiny plaid button up shirt for a dime.  I knew a bargain when I saw one so I bought that shirt and tucked it into my cedar chest.  Over the next few years my career aspirations changed (at one point I dreamed of being a cashier who could look bored while  my fingers flew over the keys on a register), but through it all, I still hoped to be a mom.  Twenty-two years after the garage sale summer, I've dressed four babies in that tiny plaid shirt.  And every time I do I am reminded how lucky I am.  How many people grow up to be exactly what they want to be?     

(As for the cashier gig - there is still time.)

Two month old Tag dressed in the shirt that is becoming a family heirloom.

The Tulip Festival

The weekend following Easter, I took Tag and Sis and headed to Lehi, Utah to meet Annie and Jessie Jacobsen (yes, their names have changed now, but...semantics), Cam and their daughters.  We all have only one daughter a piece so it was a perfect number of females for a Girls' Weekend (lucky for Tag, he is cute enough to be tolerated).  We spent Saturday afternoon at the Tulip Festival and then lounged at the hotel pool eating pizza and watching the girls swim in the evening.  We headed our separate ways Sunday morning, so it was a short weekend, but completely awesome nonetheless.

Hannah and Sis at the festival.

All the little ladies.

A pretty waterfall.

Sis abandoned her shoes halfway around the gardens.

Sweet little Sis posing politely. 

Pretty maids all in a row.

Tag, Sis and I at the end of our tour.  Funny story about the flower in Sissy's hair - Hannah gave it to her and I thought it must have come out of Hannah's hair.  Come to find out, Hannah found it on the ground and noticed it matched Sis's shirt.  No sign of head lice yet.

The little girls loved, loved, loved swimming.  I told Sis she had to stay on the stairs, but the other girls kept a close proximity and so Sis had a great time as well.

Tag is two months!

Little baby Tagalong is the absolute smiliest baby I've ever encountered.  I guess he has adopted a "come what may and love it" attitude.  Probably for the best.

At two months his stats were as follows:

Height - 22.50 inches (14th percentile)

Weight - 10 lbs 7 oz (23rd percentile)

Head - 27th percentile

Clayson Family Reunion 2015

This year, the Clayson Family Reunion was on Easter weekend.  We had such a great time with our family enjoying each others' company and participating in some Easter traditions.

We started the day off with an Easter egg hunt at the Firth football field.  Colt found a familiar face.  He and Madison chased eggs together.

It was really fun (and relaxing) to have the older cousins help with herding kids through the egg hunt.  Kyle took Sport and Boe was in charge of Sis.  As Kyle put it -"The Dream Team".

 I can never take enough pictures of egg dyeing.  Maybe because it gets me out of actually having to help dye eggs.

Sport and Colt and the family hard at it.

Dash and Sis with more of the cousins.

That's the look of someone who takes this work seriously.

Designing

Dipping.

Desperate to get her hands on more.

Colt and the cousins playing a card game.

Sis and Grandpa taking a nap.

The treasure hunt.

After the initial crowd of cousins rushed towards the eggs, Sport came streaking around the corner screaming out for everyone to "save some {eggs} for the baby!" He was referring to Peyton who was very patiently being walked through the treasure hunt by his older siblings.  Did this Mom's heart good.  Maybe there was a little bit of the true spirit of Easter in that day after all.

And then there is Dash and Colt.  These two (three counting Andrew) were most particularly interested in the
end-of-the- hunt booty.

Tag's Blessing

We decided to have Tag blessed in Idaho in conjunction with the Clayson family reunion at Easter time.  Tag uncharacteristically screamed through the whole prayer, but it was still touching to see so many worthy priesthood holders in our families surround our infant and participate in the blessing.

Tag in his blessing outfit made by Grandma Clayson.  I mean, seriously.

Grandma Madsen made the booties. A perfect fit!

Gorgeous.

Great-Grandma Minnie, Tag and Brandan.  Grandma Minnie died just three weeks later at the age of 100.  We were blessed to have had her at the blessing and in our lives.

5 generations.  And this is the absolute best shot out of probably 20.  Let's just say the ability to pay attention to the photographer is not a family trait.

Some of the family at the dinner after the blessing.

Tag and I.  I'm so in love with this little man and grateful to have him in my life and in our family.

March 2015

I'm so incredibly far behind on the blog.  I'm giving up on trying to be thorough and focusing on getting through.  So, I'll get through March in one giant post.


Tag hit his one month mark at the beginning of March.  His stats at his appointment are as follows:

Height - 21.25 inches (10th percentile)

Weight - 8 lbs 8 oz (25th percentile)

Head - 14.75 inches

Tag at 3.5 weeks old.  Sweetest little blue-eyed baby.

Sunday afternoon.  Dad, Sport and Colt zonked out on the bed.

Sunday afternoon.  Sis didn't make it on the bed, but she crashed on the floor.

Sunday afternoon.  Tag is scared of the quiet.

Tag the day before 5 weeks.  Practicing his head hold.  Different from a headlock, which is a skill he'll need to pick up later.

Tag snuggling on the couch.

I've discovered I'm a bit of a gambler.  I'm always gambling with Tag's well-being.  For instance, I leave him unattended in the middle of the bed while I use the bathroom.  Gamble.  I come out to find Sis arranging Tag across her lap.  With four older siblings the odds are really stacked against us.

Dash, Tag, and Colt watching the ESPN highlights early in the morning before the boys start getting ready for school.

 March was the month of the much anticipated/dreaded Pinewood Derby.  Dash designed and painted his car.  Our only wish was that he not take last in every race.  Correction, one of our wishes was that he not take last in every race.  We also hoped he wouldn't take first in every race and book up not only our Saturday morning with the Stake races, but our Saturday afternoon as well, participating in the District race.  I guess you can't win them all.  By that I mean Brandan and I can't win them all.  Dash freakishly did.  His little car, that was slapped together with Shoe Goo and a rusted out bolt, won 1st place in our ward and went on to take 9th out of 60 cars at the District race.  And it only took all day.

Dash and his Scout buddies.

Dash with his car and "driver's license".  Not a sentence I want to type again for a very, very long time.

Setting up his car at the race.

I'm not sure why I have so many pictures of Sis on the tramp, but there is something so charming about carefree hair.

Utah Jazz vs Milwaukee Bucks

Last year Dash followed in his father's footsteps and became a big Duke basketball fan.  It was especially fun to watch the Blue Devils because their star player, Jabari Parker is a Mormon.  After Jabari went as the number 2 draft pick to Milwaukee, Dash became a big Bucks fan.  I didn't even know there was an NBA team in Milwaukee.  Of course, I know a lot of things now I didn't know before courtesy of Dash, such as the shoe size of the starting forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder (another new name for me).

For Christmas, Dash asked Santa for tickets to the Jazz/Bucks game in Salt Lake on February 28.  Santa came through and Dash (and Colt and Sport and Brandan) has been anxiously waiting for the big day to arrive.  There was a few moments of crushing disappointment, like when Jabari tore his acl in January and Brandan Knight, another start on the team, was traded to the Phoenix Suns on Feb 20.  Dash was a good sport though and still excited to make the most of opportunity.  The week of the big game, the boys spent their time crafting homemade jerseys to show support to their teams.  That's right, teams.  Colt rooted for the Jazz and Sport and Dash wore Bucks colors.

All the boys were up by 5 am on February 28th, the one Saturday Brandan had off since Christmas.  Even though the game didn't start until 7 that night, we could only hold the boys off until about 10:30.  Dash really needed a new pair of sneakers so Brandan volunteered to take on the chore of shoe shopping.  They stopped in Park City at the outlet mall and all three boys ended up with new shoes.  Dad's a pushover.

The guys killed time by wandering around Temple Square and McDonald's until about 5:30.  Brandan's friend tipped him off about going early enough to watch the teams warm up.  It was a great idea.  They made it in with the first 150 people and so they all four were given free Jazz ties and the boys were able to get three autographs!  Overall, the day was a huge success and the boys had a blast.  Thank you, Santa.

Watching the teams warm up.

The boys with Giannis Antetokounmpo "the greek freak" in the background.

Getting autographs.  The security guy in the green jacket took a special interest in the boys.  He pull them to the front of the lines and help them get their papers signed.

Autographs from OJ Mayo.

The view.

A lady sitting next to the guys thought they made such a cute group she asked if she could take their picture.  I think the homemade jerseys really put them over the top.