Hey Good Lookin', Whatcha Got Cookin?

Well here are our first snapshots of the little guy/girl. From the Doctors initial report everything looks good so far. He estimated Laura as being about 14 weeks along and pretty much dashed Clay and CJ's hopes of twins (they're coping the best they can).

I'm A BIGger KID NOW!!

About two weeks ago CJ made the switch from the crib to the bed. We were wanting to free up the crib for 'baby #2', and do it early enough that it wouldn't be a big shock for CJ. We were thinking that it may take some time for him to transition to the Big Boy Bed, but we were pleasently surprised. Right from day one he has loved it. We were also thinking that CJ's new ability to get out of bed on his own would present a problem with him 'staying' in bed when he goes down. We also lucked out on that one. He occasionally comes out after we put him down in order to inform us that he wants to "Rock" a little more in the rocking chair, but for the most part he stays in bed for the duration.

Bath-Time Buddies

Click on an image to make it bigger!

Last night CJ had lots of fun with his two buddies from across the street...Zach and Ty. They were hammin it up pretty good in the tub; water, bubbles, all that stuff.
The picture tell the stories better than I can.

Fall Festival

Thursday was Fall Festival on Base. It was a lot of fun with different booths that were set up, free food, K9 security forces dog demonstrations, and play areas for the kids. CJ really liked the blowup cages, so much that when it was time to get out, dad had to go in after him and fish/herd him out (Dad was hoping for an excuse to go in there!).

The Oklahoma City Memorial

Clay had the day off on Monday for Columbus Day, so the claywardcrew decided to take a trip to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. It was quite a humbling experience going to that place and remembering what happened there in 1995. Next to the memorial was a museum that takes you step by step through the events before, during, and after the bombing. It makes you grateful for the things that you have and makes you realize how precious life is; as well as how quickly your lives can change.

Just outside the museum is a chalkboard sidewalk where kids can draw and write their feelings about the memorial.

In Case We Forgot to Tell You

We Found out a few weeks ago that the Ward Family Trio is going to become a Quartet in or around the month of April. A you can see Laura is very excited about it(she's hoping for Twins!!!....isn't She? Clay's hope, Laura's headache! CJ's dream-come-true!).

Swingin' CJ

So here's what happened.
One day while Laura was in the kitchen, she noticed that CJ was exceptionally quiet, which is usually an omen that something is about to be, or has just been broken. So at the speed of concerned motherhood Laura ran back to CJ's room and found the little guy in his old infant swing, happy and swingin' and not quite fittin' in the seat. The swing was all set up when the Neals borrowed it for baby Brek, and I guess CJ wanted to take a spin in it for 'old times sake'.

Babies & Lego's

Last week Derek and Ali Neal were gracious enough to let CJ practice being a big brother with Brek, seeings how he's going to be a big brother in about six months. From all reports CJ did really well with Brek. Before he held Brek he was a little standoff'ish about mommy holding another baby. But once CJ was able to hold one for himself, all was good, and every time he saw Brek after that he wanted to hold/hug him.
Later that weekend CJ and mommy built their own real live robot that was programmed to hold perfectly still and then fall to pieces on command (CJ's command..MR. DESTRUCTOO.

Dollar Ride

This week Clay had his first flight in the Mighty T-1! It was a lot of fun to fly, and definitely a lot of work. It make you appretiate the need to have more than just one person in the plane in order to get it off of the ground. Clay was pretty wiped out after the flight, and after a 12 hour day anyways he just wanted to crash; however, the next day was another flight and another 12 hour day. It makes you appreciate the weekends just that much more!

Bubble Bath

CJ had his first experience with bubble bath this week, and he loved it....once he got used to it! He was a little confused at first when he couldn't see the water, but once he got some hand's-on experience he was 'good to go'.

Fun at the Fair

This weekend the fair came to Enid! So we came to the fair. It was your typical county fair with lots of animals, FFA, crafts, etc... We went with our neighbors, the Kilgore's, who also have two little boys. They had lots of fun chasing animals, riding tractors, and even digging for potatoes. In the corner of the expo center there were little pens of chickens, pigs, and a little sand box with buried potatoes in it. Next to each pen was a little display that showed different food products which come from those animals/taters and an explaination on how they become food. It was lots of fun for CJ and his friends. They also had a little petting 'ZOO' for little kids that was full of ducks, geese, and rabbits (a zoo because when the kids got in there they [the kids] went nuts).
The boys had fun playing on the tractors and fire truck and were making dilligent efforts to get the tractor started.

A Dozen Yellow Roses

The "Real" BIG Wheels

Grandpa took us all in a ride in the bailer! Yipee. Hold on tight, it's a bumpy ride.
Grandma gave CJ a ride on the lawn mover...CJ kept calling it a tractor... close enough right?






CJ's love of the trip, was the four-wheelers. Every time he saw them he would point and say "ride,ride,ride" and run over to them and start climbing on. He would be content if we were riding through the fields all day long. There was never enough "ride". So, when Kathy, Laura's sister, visited Dietrich while CJ and Laura were there, she also got snagged to take some kids on a ride. Laura, Kathy, and Joslyn (Clay's oldest sister) all went for a long ride on the four wheeler with all the kids. We got splattered in mud, almost ran over by a bunch of cows, push started a four wheeler, and whew.. we made it back safely.. What an ADVENTURE!

Old Ward Farm

The Power Family, neighbors and friends of the Ward's, were nice enough to let us come over and meet their baby cows...or to be correct, calves (as Laura was corrected.) Laura just loves the feeling of those calves sucking on her fingers and having them all slimed up..(actually, I really do..it's a really neat feeling!) CJ tried for a second to feed the calves their bottle and hand them their food, but he mainly liked to play in their buckets of water and "Moo" at them. It was quite funny.



Along with the cows, CJ got intoduced to the horses. We have been working on all the animal sounds with him, so it was really fun to let CJ see them up close and have him recognize the animal and say their sound.


And of course, Nia, the dog. CJ loves Nia. That poor dog took a lot of abuse by the end of the week. CJ would wrestle her, pull her hair, step on her tail, poke her eyes, you name it...he did it. And she still loves him - what a champ.

COUSINS GALORE!!

After a week, it was time to take another airplane ride and head to Idaho. CJ enjoyed the short flight by looking out the window, climbing over the seats, eating airplane treats, and waving "bye-bye" to everyone as they deboarded.


From left to right, Rhein, Kastin, Laura, CJ, Maydin, and Kelly. All the cousins had a great time playing together. They all especially liked ring-around-the-rosy on the trampoline.


Left to right, CJ, Maydin, and Rhein. (in the back is Nia, the dog.) In the short week that we were in Dietrich, CJ learned all essential the tricks. He learned how to Throw rocks into the ditch, wrestle with the dog, eat Schwann's thin mints, and spit. Oh boy....

The Park and Berry Picking

CJ loved the blackberries that are behind Grandma and Grandpa's house. Luckily, he didn't discover the bushes until our last day, so he didn't get too sick. When he was done eating, his belly was full of all the berries that made it into his mouth, and his face was covered with all the berries that didn't.


Bryce, Laura's brother, took us to one of his favorite parks. CJ had fun looking at the ducks, trying to get into the water, and playing on the slides. Each of us "adults" took a turn going down the BIG slide. It was actually pretty big, I was surprised! We got some good speed.


Watch out Grandpa... CJ is a glasses stealer and breaker! If he gets close enough, he takes one look, and then he snatches them before you even know they are gone. He's a quick one!

Girls Will Be Girls

Crazy girls!! Late nights, teeny bopper movies, giggling in bed, and manicures...it felt like being a kid again. Isn't it great to be a girl...Girls just want to have fun!





Since neither of us had ever gotten a manicure or pedicure, Becky and Laura headed to the local beauty school and got them both! It was such a wonderful experience, I do believe it will happen again, and soon! The best part was the massage...heaven. So, Ladies... if you are looking for a fun and pretty inexpensive activity, the manicure/pedicure comes highly recommended.

The Portland Zoo

We have heard from more than one source that kids tend to get their horns at age two... it looks like CJ grew his a little early! At least these horns are detatchable and didn't come home with us.. thankfully, we left them at the zoo for all the other kids to try on!



Here is CJ in the petting zoo! After only being able to look at the other animals, CJ was excited to touch a goat and run along side it. However, it was time to go when CJ started pulling their hair and tails. Oops.



We found out that the zoo just isn't as thrilling for a bunch of adults, as it is for a bunch of kids. Especially when all the animals happen to be napping when you are there... How dare they sleep when we pay good money to look at them! WAKE UP ANIMALS!! Grandma Smith had a good time coming up with some ingenius ways for zoo visitors to wake up the animals to make it more exciting... you will have to give good ol' Grandma a call to hear about her ideas, they are now patented and confiscated by animals rights activists!



(From Left to right) Laura, Grandpa Smith, Becky, Grandma Smith, CJ, Shane, and Julie. CJ loved playing with his Grandparents, aunts, and uncles as long as one eye was always on Mom.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Since Clay will be starting his training on August 7th, we have been doing all the fun activities we can here in Enid for our "mini vacation at home." We found a little park that has a few rides for little kids that we thought CJ would enjoy, and he did!
We first took our chances with the train, which runs on little tracks that go all over the park. CJ had a lot of fun making 'choo choo' actions and pointing at the ducks as we chug-a-chugged by.





Next we hopped on the cars (which seemed to be CJ's favorite). He loved the cars so much that he couldn't stand being parted with them; which explains what happened after he got done riding the cars.....a few minutes after he got off and we went to another part of the park, we turned our backs for one second which was all that CJ needed to make his getaway. He bolted for the cars and before we could get to him, he made a grab for the moving cars and proceeded to get 'ran over' by them. Some crying and the dabbing of blood off an aching knee was the extent of the crisis, and a few minutes later CJ was wanting to get right back on the ride.....So Yes, this last Monday CJ was "Hit by a Car".





The airplanes were the next feat to be tackled. Surprisingly, CJ wasn't too happy to get into the planes (to the chagrin of Clay), but we learned that if you just strap the kid in, even if he's crying and screaming, and turn the ride on, they'll eventually warm up to it. By about the second lap CJ was having a great time in the planes and didn't want to get out by the end of the ride (Daddy was redeemed!).





After a few rounds on a horse carousel we headed to the pond to feed a few ducks and a large swan. CJ was having fun throwing bread to the ducks.... for about two seconds, then he spent the rest of the time either trying to get in the pond, or making a break for the playground equipment.



All in all, Meadowland Park in Enid, OK made for a good FHE activity.