Halloween

Yes, I know we are a day early, but Tyson gets off early on Thursday nights, so I had to take advantage of the opportunity. Plus, Jake will never know the difference that we celebrated Halloween a day earlier than everyone else. Anyways, we dressed Jake up (isn't he precious?) and took him to some of our friends' houses in the neighborhood to trick or treat. Jake was a real sport considering how close it was to bedtime, and despite what that one picture shows, he kept his antennae on the whole time! I was so proud of my little bumble bee! Happy Halloween!

"Such a Nut"

This is the look I get after telling him "no no".

Classic example of my little nut...screaming at the top of his lungs!

"It wasn't me, Mommy, I swear!"

Since the last post was a little depressing, I thought I would lighten the mood on here by posting a few things Jake's teachers had to say about him yesterday at school. First, let me explain a couple of things about Jake: 1) He is VERY shy, 2) it takes him a little while to warm up to strangers, and 3) he would just assume play by himself most times (VERY independent). These three reasons are just a few as to why Tyson and I thought it would be good to have him around other little kids; well, our little boy has apparently come out of his shell! Here is what his teachers said from yesterday:

• "Jake loved showing us his tongue all morning long."
  
• "Jake also enjoyed showing off to the younger kids."

• "Jake has a funny way of blowing his nose and then wiping it on his sleeve."
  
• "We love the way Jake crawls and sticks his bootie out."
  
• "Jake has been such a nut today."

Jake is the oldest baby in his class, and I guess he thinks it is his job to entertain the other kids! Looks like I have a class clown on my hands!

Grant and Jake

Our good childhood friend, Grant, stopped by on his way to Tuscaloosa yesterday to see us and to finally meet Jake. I always enjoy seeing Grant; we always have so much fun reminiscing about middle school! Thanks for coming by, Grant! We can't wait until next time!

Hernia Surgery

Here is one shot of the hernia (the knot above his belly button). It is very noticable when Jake is crying...as you can tell by the pictures!

Another shot of naked boy's hernia as we wait to see the surgeon.

Since we were at my hospital, I couldn't leave without stopping by and seeing my co-workers and showing off my little man.

We just got back from seeing the surgeon, and Jake is definitely gonna have to have surgery on that epigastric hernia I mentioned in a previous post. We are scheduled to have it December 16, so if you can remember to (I'm sure if will post a reminder before then), please pray for our little man. Thanks!

Bye Week

UAB had a bye week this past week, so Tyson got all day Saturday off! Once again, though, Tyson got put to work. No, I didn't force him to go to another pumpkin patch, but instead, he got to play mommy to Jake while I slept off the night shift from working Friday night. I did get up early enough so the 3 of us could watch football all day long, which is the perfect Saturday for me! Even though the 3 of us have been sick, we made the most of the day at home as a family. Here are some videos from our day.

In this video below, Jake is gettin' some sugar from our neighbors' dog, Riley. Jake is usually pretty good at fighting Riley off, but luckily for Riley, Jake wasn't feeling so hot that day. Riley appreciated the extra mashed potatoes left on Jake's face from dinner, and Jake appreciated Riley licking his runny nose! (By the way, you might want to turn the volume down...we sound kind of stupid on here).

In this video below, Jake is being a wild child! He loves playing with this beach ball and attacking it like it is a tackling dummy! We of course egg it on a little bit, but we always get a good laugh at it! By the way, the video abruptly ends because Jake hit his head, but don't worry, he was fine. He jumped right up and started chasing the ball again! Such a tough little boy! Enjoy!

Double Trouble

The poster boys for "Puffs"

This looks like some serious baby-talk going on here!

Ryan says, "See, mom, I AM having fun!"

BFF

From the look on Jake's face, they were DEFINITELY up to no good here!

This week, I've gotten a couple of chances to keep our neighbor Ryan while Ashley ran errands, and Jake and I have really enjoyed it. The boys don't "play" together yet, but they definitely entertain each other. Ryan goes from toy to toy and Jake suddenly becomes interested in whatever Ryan is playing with, so then, Ryan moves on to the next toy. In other words, I have a "toy hog" on my hands. When do kids learn the concept of sharing? I have a feeling the word "share" means about as much to Jake as the words "no-no" do...which is zilch, notta, nothing. Oh well, I'm going to keep trying. Ashley, I do promise, though, Ryan had a lot of fun...when he wasn't curled up in my arms. ;) Such a sweet boy!

3rd Day of School

He is really cheesin' it up in this picture!
Okay...back to the normal face.
"Enough with the pictures...I'm ready to go to school!"
"Didn't I say 'enough with the pictures' already? Jeez mom!"

At the beginning of October, Jake started going to a local church one day a week for "school." It is actually a "Mother's Morning Out" program, but I would like to think of it as a good learning opportunity for Jake. When Tyson and I were originally discussing this, we both agreed it would be good for him to be around other little boys his age...turns out, though, his class is full of almost ALL girls! Oh well, at least he'll get a cute little girlfriend (or two) out of this experience. So far, he's done very well. His teachers brag about how sweet he is and how much of a pig he is! I knew he was sweet, but I have never thought of my child as a pig...he is WAY to busy of a body to sit and eat! I did come pick him up a little early today and got to witness him being fed, and it was the cutest thing ever!! His teacher was cleaning up something and Jake just sat patiently in the high chair playing with a toy. He then preceded to gently pick up his sippy cup, take a sip, and then gently placed it back on the tray. If we would have been home, he would have been hurling the sippy cup at me and screaming to get down! At least I know my child is a little more well-behaved in public than he is at home! I'm proud of him, and as hard as this has been for me, I think we will both enjoy this experience.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this cute little bottom!

**Yes, I was a bad mom and didn't take the actual "first day of school" pictures...the first day, it was raining and the second day, my mom took him because I was working. And no, he didn't wear shoes because they take them off him anyway.

WE ARE MARSHALL...winners

Jake and his grandmama
This is what Jake did for a good part of the game...
He played spin-the-bottle with the girls!
He chose to kiss the bottle, though, instead of the girls!

Sweet boy fell asleep after the fireworks...it was just

too much excitement for one little boy!

Hey...gotta do what it takes for a prized family picture!

Gosh! How much does Jake look like Tyson in this picture?

Three generations of Summers!

UAB beat Marshall yesterday 23-21! It was a big win for us because Marshall was undefeated in conference play...yay us! Tyson's mom, Mary Ann, got to come in town for the weekend to see Jake and our big win; I I told her she was our lucky charm and is expected to come to every game from now on!! Way to go Blazers!

The Great Pumpkin Patch

Because we had a Thursday game this past week, Coach Callaway gave the guys today off. Poor Tyson, he thought he was going to get a day to rest, but I had other plans...a trip to the Pumpkin Patch! Yep, we woke up early this morning and headed up the interstate to Hayden, Alabama to this awesome Pumpkin Patch. I was so excited for the three of us; finally, we got to spend some time together and we were all experiencing something new together. Low and behold, we had been there for about 10 minutes and it hit me...the sneezing, runny eyes, itchy throat, and the chest tightness. Needless to say, we grabbed our pumpkins and got out of there as quickly as possible. So much for the new experience! Luckily, I survived and Jake wasn't phased by our quick exit. Oh well, next year I will be prepared and have my Benadryl on board!

I almost forgot to mention this, but today was Jake's first full day of "table food"! He has done extremely well so far, but it is a lot harder than I imagined. I've just gotten so used to being able to throw some baby food in a bag and go. Table food requires a lot of time and thought! Oh well, the boy's gotta eat!

Pumpkin Carving

Daddy's workin' hard on his day off!

"What kind of trouble can I get into now?"
"Ummm...this pumpkin is delicious!"
"What do you mean we can't eat them?"
The finished products-a smiley face and a UAB pumpkin

After all that hard work, a man must eat...in front of the TV watching the Georgia game!

Tyson, Jake, and I carved our two pumpkins today that we got from the pumpkin patch. We cheated on the first one and used a smiley-face pattern, but we got creative on the second pumpkin and carved a "UAB" into it. I must admit, I was very impressed with our pumpkin-carving skills! All my crazy little boy cared to do, though, was to try and eat the pumpkin (the stem, the seeds, the gook on the inside, whatever)! Boys!

9 Month Stats

Jake had his 9 month checkup yesterday, and everything went well. He weighed 21 lbs 8 oz (70%) and was 29.5 inches long (85%). Long and lean...definitely not like his mama or his daddy, but we'll take it.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this on here before, but Jake has had a hernia a couple of inches above his belly button since birth. At first, Dr. Dudgeon thought it was a particular kind of hernia specific to newborns; once their "6 pack" develops, the hernia would go away. Well, Jake's hasn't gone away. It turns out that he has an epigastric hernia, which might require surgery due to the risk of bowel strangulation. Our wonderful nurse Jessica is supposed to set us up on appointment to see one of the surgeons here at UAB, so I will let y'all know what we find out. No need to freak out just yet, though, so I am trying not to.

Sorry there aren't any pictures for this post, but I promise to have a ton after the weekend! Have a safe and happy weekend!

Rainy Day Video

In this video:

Jake isn't very ticklish, but I caught a couple of giggles from him today while I tickled him so I thought I would share.

In this video:

Jake has been playing with this walking toy for about a month now, but he just figured out this morning how to actually hold on to it and walk with it. I was so excited when he did it! By the way, sorry for the corny "mom talk" in the video, but you have to love the part where I accidentally sit on one of Jake's toys and set it off...it cracks me up every time!

Jake's newest talent...walking with the walker

Always chasing a ball...even if it's under a "no no"!

"Peek-a-boo"!

Playing chase..."you can't catch me!"

"I'm tired now...I'm just going to crawl to my room and take a nap."

It has rained for the last two days in Birmingham, and Jake and I are trying to enjoy being stuck inside. To help the time pass, I decided to take some pictures of my crazy man playing. Enjoy! By the way, UAB plays Houston tomorrow night at 7 pm (CST) on pay-per-view. Go Blazers!