100th Post

I took the "100th post" idea from my big sissy, Jennifer, and her friend, Leslie. Cool idea, ladies. As you know this blog is primarily for Clayton, but I'm going to make this post about all three of us. That way, I will definitely have 100 things to say.

1. Chad and I go by our middle names.

2. It use to make me mad when Jennifer would ask me, "What's your middle name?" as a joke.

3. Clayton's full name is Clayton Tate "Carroll" Riggins.

4. I was born on July 4, 1979.

5. I use to think that the fireworks display was for my birthday.

6. Clayton was born the day before Valentine's Day. I originally thought he would be born around the 14th but listened to my OGYN's estimate of February 7th.

7. Clayton loves to scream. He screams in his jumper, in our arms, when he's hungry, when he's tired, or when he's mad. We think he just likes to hear himself.

8. When Clayton was born, I thought he looked like my sister, Jennifer. I'm not so sure anymore, but I definitely think he looks like the Carroll side of the family.

9. But, Clayton DOES have his daddy's lips and dimples.

10. I didn't believe that Clayton was truly in my tummy until I was pretty large. I thought for sure that the doctor would tell me I had a tumor.

11. I played on the Varsity tennis team for my four years of high school.

12. Chad played football in high school. He was really good but never liked it.

13. He prefers alternative to traditional sports.

14. Chad is an avid backpacker, climber, and runner.

15. I'm a perfectionist.

16. Chad and I are both artists. Chad has had more training than me and can draw wonderful pictures from memory. When we were on a date night recently, he turned the waiter's name (Jeff) into a waiter holding a pizza. It was really cool.

17. Chad and I've been together for 10 years in March 09.

18. We meet at a dance hall in east Austin. I gave him my phone number after 1 dance.

19. He called me the next day.

20. We went to the downtown Trudy's for our first date. Then we hung out talking until 2 am.

21. We were long distance for the first two years of our relationship.

22. Chad is 6 years older than me. He is 15 years older than my sister, Lara!

23. Clayton is already spoken for. His girlfriend's name is Mia Benoit - he, he!

24. Chad grew up in Burkburnett, Texas. It is a small town outside of Wichita Falls.

25. He graduated from Midwestern State University in 1997.

26. He is an investigator for the State of Texas.

27. I'm from Baytown, Texas.

28. I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001.

29. This is my seventh year teaching first grade.

30. Chad and I went to New Mexico on our first vacation. He introduced me to the mountain town of Taos. We then went to Santa Fe.

31. On our drive home, Chad almost ran out of gas twice!

32. Chad loves Jamba Juice smoothies. His favorite flavor is Orange Dream Machine.

33. Chad's kindness was one of the first things that attracted me to him. On one of our dates, he saved a bird that was hanging from a string. The restaurant cheered.

34. Another time, he pulled over on Lamar and helped a stranded woman push her car off the road.

35. At the place he likes to climb, he often spoke to a homeless man that lived behind the rock. One winter day he came home without a jacket. He gave it to the homeless guy so that he would be warm.

36. On one of our road trips, Chad rescued a dog that had been hit by a car. He was still sitting stunned in the middle of the road. We were in Abilene. He held the dog in his lap while I drove and found us a vet's office. He held the dog until it bled out. I was too scared to stop, but in the end we were glad that we made the dog's last moments more pleasant.

37. Clayton loves to eat.

38. He can now pull the bottle to his mouth. He pulls it to his mouth and then drops his hands. It is almost like he's saying, "You hold it, Mommy."

39. I love watching my mom and dad with Clayton. There is just something really special about seeing your own parents love your child.

40. My two best friends in high school were Leigh and Meghan. We had a lot of fun together.

41. Every year on the tennis team, I did something stupid and it made the tennis coach mad at me.

42. For example, at a tennis tournament in Galveston, I asked if a few of us could walk to the beach. My coach said, "No, you'll kill yourself." We went anyway and I sprained my ankle. Some of the guys carried me back to the tournament site and lied for me. When Coach Perez found out the truth she yelled at me in front of everyone.

43. I was co-captain of the tennis team my senior year.

44. After prom, my senior year, I went with my friends to stay at a beach house in Galveston. My doubles partner and I had a regionals tennis match early the next morning. We decided not to go. The local Junior College tennis coach was coming to watch me that day. I regret not going.

45. Chad had long hair in high school. For his senior picture, he had a few of his friends hairspray it straight up.

46. I've been on 4 trips with my sisters.

47. Our first trip was to Destin, Florida.

48. The second year we took a road trip to Yellowstone National Park. On the way, we met our cute nephew, Brighton, for the first time in Utah.

49. The third year we went to Europe. We visited Italy, France, Switzerland, and England. It was my favorite trip because we saw so many cool places. Rome was my favorite city.

50. Our fourth trip was to Ireland. I realized I was pregnant with Clayton while overseas.

51. I told Chad on the way back from Houston afterwards. He was shocked.

52. We couldn't imagine having a more perfect baby.

53. He makes us smile and laugh every day.

54. Chad is starting to like the idea of having another baby.

55. We can't imagine only going through the cute baby stage one time.

56. I admire Chad's determination to stay in shape.

57. I think my two sisters are really cool. I wish a little would rub off on me.

58. I admire my mom and dad's generosity.

59. I also think they are soooo smart. My mom is a living dictionary.

60. I use to love the Mickey Mouse Club. My family made fun of me.

61. My mom is really easy to talk to, and my dad gives the best advice.

62. I have all of the characteristics of a middle child. I am a peace-maker through and through.

63. Clayton has a red-head's temper. I love it and hope that he always has an opinion.

64. Chad is a living history book. He loves war history.

65. Chad and I will have been married for 5 years on December 27th.

66. We went to New York City and Washington D.C. for our honeymoon.

67. I love water parks. Especially, Schlitterbaun.

68. Chad loves the salmon color in a sunset.

69. Chad's first job was working at King's Grocery Store in Burkburnett, TX.

70. My first job was at Bath and Body Works at the mall in Baytown.

71. I also worked at the capital and on campus at UT.

72. I played school all the time when I was little. My dad would come in and pretend he was the principal ("Johnny, if you don't sit down you're coming to the Principal's office.)

73. One time my dad took Jennifer and me to the mall. As a treat, he bought us ice cream but told us not to tell our mom. When we got home, my mom asked us what we did. I said, "We did NOT have ice cream."

74. Chad was born on August 27, 1973.

75. When he was young he would throw himself on the ground when having a temper tantrum.

76. He also wanted his sister to sit outside of the bathroom when he was potty training. He had to see her feet. One time she put shoes in the doorway to trick him. When he realized her trick, he made her sit outside and wiggle her toes.

77. Our first pet was a stray cat we named Kitty. He was a geriatric, groomer, drooler, that suffered with a thyroid problem and feline Leukemia. We gave him the best retirement possible. He was the sweetest cat in the world.

78. In his 20s, Chad had a dog named Libby. She would sit with him in the front seat of his truck and it would make his old girlfriends jealous. Libby had to sit in the middle - ha, ha!

79. Our dog, Tilley, is from the Townlake Animal Shelter. We think she is adorable.

80. I loved our family vacations as a child. Clayton will definitely enjoy the same kind of experiences.

81. Clayton loves to smile. He has a shy smile where he looks at you, smiles, and then turns away really fast. It is adorable.

82. Clayton is a really big baby. At 5.5 months he weighs around 20 pounds with his clothes on.

83. In July, he started rolling all the way over (back-tummy-back). He is itching to get moving.

84. He loves to sleep on his side.

85. Chad makes me laugh all the time because he will often bust out in random dance moves.

86. Clayton loves to stand. He will be in the middle of a full-blown fit and will stop as soon as we stand him up.

87. I lived with my friend Meghan in college.

88. I wish I'd done a better job of keeping in touch with my high school friends. Luckily, we've been in touch over the last year. I miss them.

89. I use to say I was 5'9." I'm really 5'7."

90. Unknowingly, I hog the covers. I'll wake up and Chad will be huddled in the fetal position. He never wakes me up, though.

91. Chad can eat an entire cake in one sitting.

92. One time, Jennifer and I were driving to Longview. I got so interested in drinking my yummy pineapple shake from Sonic that I forgot to navigate. We ended up in Kilgore which is an hour the wrong way.

93. In college, I wanted to be an event planner - until I planned my own wedding.

94. Chad has really strong toes. He uses them to pinch me under the covers.

95. Chad coined the phrase "Love-i-tate." It means to irritate me with love.

96. Clayton has many nicknames: Clay, Clay-Clay, Tater tot, Little, Boogie, Clay-in, Little Dude, Poopie, and Red.

97. I'm Chad's new belay-slave. That means that I hold the ropes while he climbs. He is still trying to convince me to climb, too.

98. I'm afraid of heights.

99. We love our little Clayton more than we ever imagined.

100. I can't wait to update you on 100 more cute things about Clayton.