My little sweetie

Soooo much going on in Clay's world these days. He's counting to ten now, and it's totally adorable. He used to have this prejudice against seven and would always skip it. Now, though, he's decided that seven isn't all that bad, and he deigns to include it in the number round up.

His vocabulary is continuing to increase. He's definitely able to communicate his wants/needs now, and he's repeating EVERYTHING. He's also singing along with me when I sing to him, and I think it's the most precious thing in the universe. Particular favorites right now are Twinkle, Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and the ABC song.

We got him a baby pool a few weeks ago, and he thought splashing the heck out of hubs was the funnest thing ever. We also took him over to Brian's parents' house to swim in their big in-ground pool, and he got a kick out of that, too. (Though I think he enjoyed spending time with Grammy more than actually swimming.)

I gave his hair its first at-home trim. He had some little blonde curls kicking out at the back and to the sides, and hubs couldn't very well have him looking like a little girl, now could he? I'm a big softie, and I couldn't resist saving a lock of hair!

Last weekend, we went to the Farmer's Market out on High Street together. They were having one of their "big market days," when they have LOTS of vendors, live music, chef demos, etc. He loved the tiny little tomatoes and the yellow zucchini. And of course, everyone though he was a cutie and gave him tastes of whatever they were selling. Such a charmer, that one.

We also went to Friendship Park recently, and he absolutely loved it. I had to pry him off the playset there so we could go home for lunch. We only stayed an hour, and next time, I'll plan on at least two. The playground equipment they have is well-suited for the very small. They even have one whole playset for kids 2-5. Plus, they have baby swings, water fountains, a restroom - everything you need. I may take a picnic next time and settle in.

I've done pretty much all of the planning for his second birthday bash. We decided to go with a cowboy theme, and we had the CUTEST invitations designed and printed. We are going to invite just family again this year, but we think that next year, we'll open it up a bit more. I've bought little cowboy hats and sheriff stars for the guests, and we've already got most of the decorations, too. I even found someone to bake us a cowboy-themed cake and found some special music for the day. Now, all we really need to do is settle on the menu.

He is definitely getting into television. He still loves Jack's Big Music Show, but he'll also ask for Veggie Tales and, now, WALL-E. Those are basically the only little person movies we have, and I'm getting sick of them. I'm thinking we might add a bit to the collection as part of this year's birthday celebration.

He's also more interested in reading books to me now than having me read them to him. He's got some of the simpler ones pretty much memorized. He'll sit down next to me with one of them and page through it, talking about all of the pictures, etc.

Quite simply, my child is amazingly awesome and wonderful. As usual. You didn't think I was going to report anything different, did you?!