A Happy 1st Birthday

Spencer had a great 1st birthday! We went to breakfast the morning of his birthday and the ladies at the restaurant made him a special birthday pancake. They made a cute little bear pancake with whipped cream, chocolate chips, and a candle. He dug into it and snubbed out the candle with his whipped top hands. It was too cute. Unfortunately our camera was dead. But we got to celebrate the next week with family. Here are some pix!

His birthday cake! So yummy!

We stripped him down to his diaper so he could really get messy!

Here is his cake. We helped him blow out the candle so he didn't burn his hands.

He wasn't shy about digging in. It did take him a few to taste it. He was just enjoying mushing it in his hands!

But as you can see....he eventually dug in and devoured it! He loved it! He wasn't ready to be done when we put him in the bath, even though there were just some crumbs left!

We were in grandpas office one day and Uncle Josh spoiled Spencer with his first sucker. It was too funny! He wouldn't take it out of his mouth until it was gone. And he drooled everywhere!

Spencer zonked out on the way to Idaho Falls for his birthday party. It was too cute! He fell asleep with the balloon string in his hand. I can't believe our baby is already ONE!

One evening we took a drive to Ennis. We saw all sorts of animals and it was such a beautiful day! It made me really ready to go camping! But it did just snow again today.

If you enlarge this picture, you will see more than just the beautiful mountains. You will see tons of elk! There were so many! It was really neat!

And of course some antelope!

Auntie Kristin came to visit a couple weeks ago! We had so much fun catching up and shopping! It was so good to have her around! I miss my little sissy! Spencer just loves her!

A little about a lot

Spencer is just so darn cute! This is after his haircut. His hair was really starting to get long again and he needed a haircut before Jenn's wedding.

Spencer and Daddy. The two cutest boys in the world!

Here is our house! This pic is for Kim. You guys have more snow than us I think. But it sure is cold here. We've had 40 below twice this winter. Ugh!

Spencer is such a great eater. But he loves our "grown up" food much better than his pureed food in a jar.

We got to go to Jackson Hole a couple weeks ago for some training and it was beautiful. We got to see lots of elk, big horn sheep, deer, moose, coyote. It was a great trip. We also stayed in a hotel with a swimming pool and Spencer had a BLAST! Ever since the pool, he splashes a whole lot more during bath time.

He loves the bath. I think he looks forward to splashing and playing with his bath toys! Justin asked me to throw him a wash cloth and this is where it stuck. Too funny!

Just hangin' out while I tried to get some pics. He doesn't sit still very often.

Here is Spencer and Daddy! Spencer loves his Dad and they have lots of fun together!

I finally got a chance to go to Justin's grandparents' lodge. He has so many great memories there and we got to make some more this year while celebrating 2010! So much fun! Spencer loves Grandma.

It was so good to see Uncle David and his family! He and Spencer got along really well.

Happy Valentines Day!! Justin sent me beautiful roses and chocolates. Yum! So great! The roses are still looking and smelling beautiful!

We got to come home last weekend for Justin's sister's wedding. My parents watched Spencer and Spencer loved being able to spend lots of time with them. We got to see most of the cousins, aunts, and uncles and it was great. Spencer didn't get much sleep on Sunday, but it was worth it to see his cousins.

Coy is growing up so fast and we can't believe he is already 1 year old! What a cute smile!

Here is the bride's bouquet. So pretty!

Spencer looking handsome in his red and brown. Those were the colors for the wedding.

The Happy Couple!

Justin and Crew! Justin is a great Uncle and it's easy because we have the best nieces and nephews!

Me and Niesh at the temple. She's so cute!

This first video is the day Spencer didn't get much sleep. Cade was making him laugh. His laugh is great!




And this second video is Spencer clapping and just being cute. We have the best kid!

Angels Among Us

We had quite the November. Lots and lots going on! Justin was able to go on a hunt (which is where he scored this baby) with my dad and brothers! And then he also did a hunt in Salmon with his buddies Dan, Darryl, and Nate. He got a huge elk and I'm so happy about it! Elk meat is the best!

And lucky me...I got to go to Philadelphia with my mom and Spencer to see my sister and her family while Justin was gone hunting for 10 days! We had so much fun! Spencer did great on the airplane and had a blast with his cousins! It was so nice to be there and hang with my mom and sister! I miss my nieces and nephews! They were sure fun to mug on!

Spencer was scooting around and crawled a little bit. He loved all the noise and fit in very well. I think he was the loudest!

Amity celebrated her birthday while we were there. She had a big safari party with all her friends. I got to help decorate the cake. I loved it. So much fun!

Me, mom, and Kim! We got to go shopping one day in the King of Prussia mall. It was so much fun and great to be shopping with the girls. Mom bought us a philly cheese and it was yummy.

Kim n' Tyler

Here is Taybree with a horse of hers. She loves horses and loves to draw. She is a very talented artist. She is also in 1st grade and is doing very well at reading and writing.

Here is Amity. She loves Pandas and Zebras. That's why she wanted a Safari birthday party. She has the most contagious laugh and is such a goof ball.

Here is Colben. He is so darn sweet. He gave me so many hugs and would run to me and say...Kellllli and then hug my leg. He was so cute with Spencer. One night he was saying the prayer and Kim was helping him. She told him to say "we're thankful that gramma and kelli are here" and after he repeated that he said "and Spencorr". That's how he said Spencer. So cute!

Lincoln is so much fun. He and Spencer are about the same size even though there is a 8 month difference in age. He gives the best loves and can be very serious at times. All the kids love star wars and Lincoln would sing the tune. There is a video at the end of the blog that shows all the kids in their element. Check it out!

Well this is where it gets ugly. I got home from Philadelphia around noon and we ran some errands before we had to get back home to West Yellowstone. I'd been up since 1:45am (time difference & plane rides). We had to get back home because we had a busy week ahead. We were moving and headed to Jackson by the end of the week. We were a little (haha) stressed! We were about 20 minutes from home, around 6pm, when our truck slipped on black ice and started fishtailing into the opposite lane. We were angled and headed right for the borrow pit full of rock. Justin told me we were going to crash and to hold on tight. I closed my eyes and we hit full force. There was lots of loud noise and then we came to a stop. We had rolled our car and ended upside down and turned 180. We were hanging by our seat belts. After we asked each other if we were okay and replied yes...we were in action. Justin was crawling through glass of our front windshield trying to get out. Spencer had been asleep but at that point he was awake and screaming. I unclicked my seat belt and fell on Justin but we were able to get out quickly. My door was the only door that would open. So the next step was to get Spencer out. When I got out of the car I had lost a shoe and was afraid of getting cut by all the glass on the road, but somehow there was a slipper lying by the car I was able to slip on. Cars were passing by running over all of our things. Some people stopped to help. One man stopped traffic with his car in the opposing lane we ended up in. And while we were trying to figure out how to get Spencer out he came to us and asked us for a flashlight so he could stop traffic. That is when I flipped. I hadn't even thought of that! But when I looked down the road there was a huge semi in the distance heading our way. A man crossing the highway to help us called out to me if we were okay and I just screamed at him....MY BABY is in the car! Get him out NOW!!! (poor guy) We got Spencer out and he was really shook up but he settled down pretty quick. We were examining him and he seemed to be okay. Justin had a big cut above his ear and his arms were all scraped up from the glass. I didn't realize I was hurting until 10 minutes after the wreck. With all the adrenalin pumping and our focus on Spencer I didn't have time to think of anything else. After I had Spencer in my arms I immediately called my mom. I told her we had been in an accident and I needed her. She told me she wouldn't be able to come because she had mutual that night. She had an aunt in the area close to us and thought maybe we could stay there. Spencer and I got into a car of someone who had stopped to help. That's when I realized my ribs were hurting. Justin was trying to move our important personal items out of the road and later we were taken into the ambulance where they could check us out further. I then called my dad and asked him to come and he told us he would meet us at the Rexburg hospital. The ambulance ride was so long and I was worried about Spencer. We didn't have any food for him because it was broken and scattered all over the highway. But my dad and brother saved the day and brought all that we needed them to bring.
The hospital was awful. They were worried I might have a broken neck or spine so they put me on a hard board and cut my clothes off. They asked me several questions and the doctor came to check me out. My ribs were killing me and when he pushed on them it was awful pain. They did a cat scan on me and told me I wouldn't be able to breastfeed for 24-48 hours. It ended up I had a broken rib...and they can't do anything for a broken rib. My inlaws also rushed to the hospital when we called and I got to cry on my mother-in-laws shoulder. I was emotionally wrecked. Plus I was in desperate need of some sleep.
Here are some pictures of our full sized, 4 door, Chevy Silvarado cherry red truck we only had for 2 months :( sad
If you look close in this next picture the frame of the car is bent onto the headrest and steering wheel of the drivers seat, yet Justin just had a scrape above his ear. What a miracle!

But after all of this...we just couldn't be more thankful! I really believe that we weren't just lucky that everything turned out as good as it did. There is no question we were being watched over. Several of the hospital staff and ambulance workers told us that we must of had an angel watching over us. I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for my family and I am so thankful for His love. I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the peace it brings to my life. I know the gospel is true!
So in the end, Justin got scraped up, I have a broken rib, but I really couldn't be happier! And my baby is in perfect condition. He had no glass on him or even in his car seat which is nothing short of a huge blessing, especially considering the window he was facing was shattered and there's nothing left to it. Lucky...no. Blessed.....yes.

Here is a fun little video of the Clayton kids!

Cousins, Costumes,Candy, Cute!!!

This was the costume I bought last year on clearance. It was cute on the hanger, but much much cuter on Spencer!

My dad, brothers, and Justin went for their annual hunt...
so the girls and little boys got together for a late lunch and
pictures. It's so great to have cousins so close in age!

Lion, Tootsie Roll, Tin Man, and Yoda! My sis-in-law, Lynnell,
made her boys costumes. They turned out great! The theme was
Wizard of Oz...she was Dorthy. How fun!

Love it!

How cute is this toothy little grin!

Here is the backside of the lion costume. Even the tail is cute!

I thought this pic was so fun! He is even acting like a lion...Roar!!

He just keeps growing!

Spencer is such a happy little boy (most of the time). He has lots of energy and when he smiles, he lights up the room. He sits in this boppy (borrowed from Colby and Ashley...THANKS!) in his pack n' play so he can be involved while I cook. Yup, that's right...the pack n' play is set up in our kitchen. We don't have a whole lotta room in our house, but it works.

This is Spencer and Daddy just lounging watching the tube.

Spencer does really well on his tummy. He loves rolling over and completes a 360! He is so active. He's always kicking, swatting, chatting, always moving unless he's asleep.

I sat him down on the couch so I could get ready to feed him and couldn't resist snapping this shot. He just looks like a little man.

Spencer had just woken up and was so content on his tummy. Sometimes I think he's asleep and he's just in there talking and enjoying himself.

And this was just a funny phase he went through. He had his tongue sticking out all the time, even when he was smiling. What a goof ball. But that phase has past. He is just growing and changing every day.

Eli, Coy, and Spencer hanging out at our family reunion. How lucky for them to be so close in age. It is so funny when we take these pictures because we have to keep their hands away from each others faces. How cute!

And this is my dad and Spencer at the cabin. Fun times, fun times!

Justin and Spencer lounging in the rocking chair!