Aunt Anna Comes!

Aunt Anna and Clayton snuggle!

Clayton wears his new shorts that the Millers got him, they even have a pocket to keep his binky in! Thanks Amy, you are a great shopper!

Clayton sports his sailor outfit that Super Aunt Barb and Uncle Dale got him. They have whales on the toes! Clayton decided he wanted to have a spout like a whale so this outfit didn't last long today. :)

More Pics of Clayton

Daddy feeds Clayton.
Keely Babysitting. She is sleeping on the job!

Can Daddy stay home everyday?

Clayton's first bath at home.
Mommy and Clayton snuggle.
Daddy, Keely and Clayton watch the Cardinals ballgame. (Ok, I think Justin is the only one actually watching. I think grandpa said something about Clayton being a White Sox fan!)

Wow, the last 4 days have gone by so fast. We have had a wonderful time hanging out and being bums. There is something nice about realizing it is 4pm and you still have your pjs on, especially after the last 6 weeks we have had. The weather has been really rainy and stormy here. We had some funnel clouds in the area today. I told Clayton since he was born he has road in a helicopter, been through an earthquake and now funnel clouds. We hope things get really boring for awhile. We don't need any more excitement. Justin goes back to work Wednesday, but then only works 2 days and is off the next entire week! Aunt Anna is coming down tomorrow night to hang out!

We had an eye exam today for Clayton back at Childrens and it went really well. We also had to pick up Mommy's milk to put in our new deep freeze too. With milk prices really high, maybe I should consider selling it! :) Clayton has a nurse come and visit 2 days a week for the next couple of weeks at the house. She came today and said Clayton now weighs 5lbs 2 ounces. The scale is different, so it could be off a little but he is definitely gaining good weight!

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Clayton's Homecoming Cont.

24 hours into being a big sis, this picture says it all. She is exhausted!
Daddy, Clayton, and Keely trying to catch some Zs!
Clayton sporting the cute outfit Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Clayton got him. He can't wait to visit their farm.
Mommy hangs out with her babies.
Clayton rides in his swing for the first time. Daddy thinks it looks like he just got out of the shower since we had to rig the swing a little.

P.S. Scroll down for more pics of the weekend.

Clayton's Big Adventure

Clayton dressed in his puppy outfit and ready to go home to meet his big sis!
Our little family!!!!!!!!! We are so happy, can you tell? :)
Clayton asking, what is the hold up? Lets get out of here.
Clayton meets Keely! He loves his big sister already!
Clayton eats one of mommy's snacks with dad on the beautiful rocker Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Clayton got him. Sorry can't show mommy feeding him. :)

We have only been home for about 12 hours, but we are already loving every minute of it. I think Justin and Keely are pretty wiped out, as they are both laying here in bed with me snoring. Clayton seems to love his new home and is enjoying hanging out with us. Our little guy is up to 4lbs 8 ounces. We will be pretty protective here in the first couple of weeks, as he is still so small and we don't want him to be exposed to anything. We are looking forward to visitors soon though. I will get more pictures up as the weekend progresses. Hugs and kisses to everyone!

Top 10 Ways you know you have been at SLCH to long and it is time to go HOME!

10-You have broken the 2 person to a room rule at least a 1,000 times!

9-Your child's room looks like a zoo and the doctors run the risk of checking a bunny's heart rate instead of your child's.

8-You tell your husband you need a desk in the room for all your supplies and paperwork.

7-You feel like you may have to be committed if you spend one more moment staring at the wall in the lactation room.

6-Your husband is thinking about selling all the parking passes he has validated.

5-The gentleman that replaces the supplies in the room (Darren) is your morning wake up call and you are brushing your teeth in the sink when the doctors are rounding in the room.

4-People start asking you questions, like you know what is going on. (Justin wouldn't let me buy a white coat to wear around the hospital, I thought it would be fun to be a doctor for the day!)

3-The people at the front desk have your name tag ready before you even get to the desk.

2-The cook is making you specialty food that you request. Yes, Justin had him making horseshoes!

And the #1 reason you know it is time to go home-

The doctors tell you it is time to go home!

Yes, it is official, we are going home today (Friday). I have not posted anything ahead of time because around the NICU, it is bad luck to talk about the "H" word until it is really time to go. We wouldn't even bring any of his stuff home ahead of time, so I think we will need a Uhaul to get out of here. Clayton passed his hearing test and car seat test on Wednesday. He also got his feeding tube out on Tuesday. He has been gaining weight really well and keeps mom on her toes around the clock! :)

We could not be more excited to get our little guy home. The last 6 weeks as flown in some ways and has been an eternity in others. We know Clayton will love being in his own bed, in his own room, in his own house. Please forgive us if we don't return calls and emails for a few days. I think we will be spending some much needed family time together. I am not sure if Justin and I have had more than a 10 min conversation before we colapse into bed. Not sure that is going to change for another 18 years though.

Of course it is a little hard as our hearts so wish we had both of our little guys with us. We know Jaxson is looking down and so excited that his little brother is doing so well and going home.

I will get more pics up this weekend of Clayton's big adventure. Hugs and kisses to everyone and thank you all for your love and support!

Clayton passing his carseat test

Our little guy without any tubes or wires!

Great Grandma and Grandpa Clayton come to visit!

Great Grandma Clayton holds Clayton for the first time!
I think Great Grandpa is telling him stories!
Ok, so I know he probably didn't mean to hold his passy in his mouth, but I would like to think my son is that advanced! :)

Wow, what a busy weekend our big guy had. He had his first visit with great-grandma and great-grandpa Clayton! Yes, for those of you who do not know my grandparents, that is how we got his name! We hope he grows up to be just like the wonderful man my grandpa is! Of course my grandpa does have a reputation for getting into fights in high school! Ha, but we won't talk about that. :) Clayton also had his nana, grandpa, grandma B, aunts and uncles come visit too! I think we may get kicked out of here for breaking the 2 people to a room rule soooooo many times. What can I say, our son is popular!

Clayton has decided he should get to do a small paragraph each post so here is Clayton's Corner-

Hi everyone, mommy said I am big enough to write on the blog!!!! I am up to 4lbs 4ounces and I just keep growing. Mommy and Daddy stayed with me all weekend! Of course grandpa says that boys don't have sleepovers. They have people come over and then they decide it isn't safe to drive home so they just sleep there. :) Mommy is now staying every night so we can get the feeding perfected and get out of here. I like hanging out with her even though she snores. Daddy thinks Mommy is the busy body of the NICU! I hope everyone is having a good week and I can't wait to meet all of you!!!!!!!!!

Mini Mr. Wolfe

Clayton is officially the Vice Principal of the NICU! He is quite the disciplinarian. He is trying to live up to his mentor Mr. Wolfe. Hence the tie! He is all business as you can see by the pic. Thanks for the snazzy outfit Brett and Lisa. Our big guy is up to 4lbs 4 ouces today! He is doing great! His is sad today though because his friend Markell got to go home. We are so excited for them though! We know we will be going home soon too! Hope everyone has a great weekend. Clayton gets to meet his Great-grandma and Great-grandpa Clayton today, and see Nana and Grandpa.

I love this pic of him snoozing, he sleeps like Nana!

4 lbs!!!!!!! Everybody take a shot!

Ok, so everyone got to drink champagne when the little guy got up to 3lbs, now we are doing shots because he is up to 4lbs. I think this might be getting a little silly. I mean are we going to do keg stands when he goes home?!?!?! :) We are so excited though that he is growing so well. Our last hurdle is his feeding and then we should be out of here. He had his first eye exam yesterday and the report was good! He had physical therapy this morning, which always cracks me up. I wish someone would hold me and rub my back and call it physical therapy. The little guy is snoozing right now so mom thought she would post while she had a chance.

We had so much fun with Nana, Grandpa, Aunt Anna and Aunt Ellie this weekend. Grandpa even babysat yesterday while the girls ran an errand. Nana and Aunt Anna made a movie starring Clayton and his friends, which was hilarious. We hope for some more episodes next weekend. :)

Mommy loves this picture of Daddy and Clayton

Mothers Day!

Nana, Mommy and Clayton enjoy a wonderful Mothers Day!
Clayton takes a snooze on Mommy.
Daddy feeds Clayton for the first time.

Mommy gives Clayton a big kiss.

What a wonderful Mothers Day! My parents and Anna came down for the weekend and we have been able to spend lots of great time with Clayton. I love being a mommy! Scroll down for another posting I did today.

Grandpa Willy and Great-Grandpa Clayton Calves!

Clayton is now 3lbs 14 ounces!!!! He has been chunking up big time this week! Justin wanted to take a pic of Clayton's calves, because he said they look like Grandpa Willys and Great-Grandpa Claytons. They have great calves!

When are Nana, Grandpa and Aunt Anna going to be here?

Clayton is so excited because Nana, Grandpa and Aunt Anna are coming for the weekend. He can't wait to show them his big boy bed! He thinks grandpa will especially like his Bears blanket!

Clayton asks mom "When are Nana, Grandpa and Aunt Anna going to be here? I have Nana's outfit on!"
Clayton wears his St. Louis grandma's outfit! Thanks Diane, Clayton can't wait to meet you!

Clayton's Big Sis

Clayton's Big Sis gets a wif of him!

Keely has been so wonderful the last month. I am sure she senses something is going on. She has been extra cuddly with mom. She loves smelling Clayton's blankets and clothes we bring home to wash. She is a very proud big sis!

Clayton is doing great today, up to 3lbs 9 ounces! We can't believe how fast he is growing. The pics below are with some of his many visitors!

Uncle Drake and Clayton, no Clayton you can't go riding in his cool new car yet!

Aunt Heather and Clayton

Aunt Shannon and Clayton

Big Boy Bed!!!!!

We hit a huge milestone today! Clayton is now in a crib! This is so exciting and means we are one step closer to going home. It is so much easier for mom and dad to change his diaper and give kisses now! Our little guy is up to 3 lbs 7 ounces! He is making great progress. Hugs and kisses to everyone!

Clayton's friends all watch to see how he likes his new big boy bed!!! We are in a crib now!
Clayton enjoys his new bed and the blanket daddy got him. Sorry, Nikki and Jeff no Colts fans here! :)
Clayton's new passy, jeez it is bigger than his face!

Go Cards!

Clayton wanted to make sure everyone knew that the Cardinals won the Cubs/Cardinals series 2 games to 1. Ok so he mostly wanted the Ruehmers, Aunt Anna and Uncle David to know! :) Clayton thinks Melissa's class should all wear Cardinals shirts for a week to make up for wearing their silly Cubs shirts last week! His cute cardinals outfit that Aunt Shannon gave him is a little big, but he had to sport it for the win!

Stay off the Streets!

Ok, so if you ask Justin or my dad they would probably say I was never that great of a driver to begin with. Having not driven for nearly 2 months now I would have to say it was pretty weird to get behind the wheel this evening for the first time. I felt like I was in drivers ed all over again! I don't think Justin was too impressed with my first time out, but I am sure I will pass the test! :)

Clayton is doing great. He is continuing to put on weight and is up to 3 lbs 3 ounces. We can't believe how fast his hair is growing and how much he already has. He has quite the personality and is already the ladies man of the NICU. We still don't know when we will be going home, but hope it will be in about 3 weeks or less.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

This is the typical night when we put Clayton into bed. He is always wide awake! :)
Mom and Clayton hang out tonight.
Hi everyone!

Clayton's Super Aunts

Clayton has been so lucky to have 2 of his great aunts come and visit over the last couple of weeks. They have decided they are his super aunts instead of great aunts! We can't imagine what we would have done without them! They have cooked, cleaned, planted, shopped and so much more. Clayton, Justin and I are so lucky to have such great family.

Super Silly Aunt Barb and Clayton!

Clayton in his funny little hat that matches his cho cho outfit that Meggie got him.