The Week with My Parents

Silly boy
We love you, Granddad and Pa Pa!

"The sign says STOP...you didn't stop, Pa Pa!"

My mom trying to teach Jake to give the dogs a treat,

but he would rather give it to her!

How funny is that look on his face?

Don't call us, we'll call you!

In the previous posts, I forgot to mention that another reason we came to Georgia was so that I could go to my friend Dixie's baby shower. Jake stayed with my parents on Sunday and I drove to Atlanta and got to hang out with my old work friends and celebrate the joyous occasion; unfortunately, I left my camera at home, so I don't have any pictures from the shower. It was so good to see everyone, though! I also got to stop by and visit my sis and her hubby on the way to the shower. No pictures from that either, though!

Jake and I had so much fun at my parents house; like I said, my mama spoils me. She let me sleep in every morning and just let me hang out while she took care of Jake! It was heaven! Well, it was heaven until the dogs arrived, but that's a different story for a different day. Anyways, my parents are dogsitting my sister's dogs, so Jake had so much fun chasing them around the house and pulling on their ears, tails, and anything else that he could get his hands on! We are really trying to work with him on being gentle with the dogs, but no such luck...he learned his lesson, though! Like I said, different story for a different day!

Thanks for putting up with us, Mom and Dad! We love y'all and miss y'all!

Playin' in the Truck

"Something stinks! Can someone please check my diaper!"

"Can I have a truck when I get older, Mommy?"

You better ask your grandparents! Mr. Mischievous
"LET ME OUTTA HERE!"Jake LOVED playing in the mud!

While we were in Thomaston this past week, we didn't get a chance to play outside too much because the weather was pretty dreary. We finally reached the point of being cooped up long enough, so we took our chances and went outside to play. Actually, we were outside for 0.2 seconds when I wimped out and didn't want to get Jake's new tennis shoes too muddy, so I put Jake in the back of my Dad's truck and let him "play" in there. Yeah...that didn't last too long. It turns out that my dad had a smelly old bag of trash in the back of the truck that was really intrigued Jake but grossed me out. So...I gave in and let him play in the mud. I'm really proud of myself for letting him get so dirty...it was hard though!

A Trip to Cochran

Spenser and Jake plotting how to take down the big kids

"I know you're my cousin and all, but you're all up in my space, Spenser!"

I can only imagine what Ryleigh Kate is talking about here...

poor girl, she is the only girl out of 6 boys!!

Is it me or do the 2 on the left look really guilty?

MaMa and Carson...I've never seen him be this still before!

Pa Pa has quite a lap-full there!

Jake loves playing with Grandmama's pretty bracelets!

Long time no blog! Jake and I went home last weekend to visit my parents for a couple of days, and we ended up staying the whole week. We even got to see Tyson for a couple days because he was in the area recruiting, so we really enjoyed ourselves. Jake and I weren't feeling very well, and my mom really spoiled us, so I took it for all it was worth! We did ride over to Cochran on Saturday to "surprise" my granddaddy for his birthday; we had so much fun visiting with my grandparents and our cousins. We even got to see Grandmama in Cochran! She drove over for the day to see us, so you know Jake was extra spoiled! As usual, we already miss everybody and are looking forward to seeing everyone again soon!

Happy 82nd Birthday, Granddaddy!

Shake it like a salt shaker, Perle!
Connor, Jake, Granddaddy, Ryleigh Kate, Chase, Spenser, and Carson

MaMa and Granddaddy with the great-grandkids

We celebrated my Granddaddy's 82nd birthday today in Cochran at the Mexican restaurant with all the great-grandkids (so far...he he he) and most of the family. The highlight of the party was definitely when Granddaddy put on the sombrero and let us serenade him with the tambourines. It was hysterical! The party was cut short,though, because my granddaddy had to go keep the clock for a basketball game at the junior college...how cute is that? I may be biased, but I think I have the cutest granddaddy ever! Happy birthday, Granddaddy! Feliz cumpleanos! We love you!

Ryan's 1st Birthday!

The Birthday Boy

"Feet don't fail me now!"

Hey Brantley!

Jake provided the entertainment for the kids And then Jake practiced baptizing Brantley

Some serious conversation going on here!

Ryan's mommy, Ashley
"I really want some of Ryan's cake, Daddy...can we go check it out?"

"Oh yeah. I've gotta have just a little taste of Ryan's cake."

Ryan says, "Back off my cake man. It's MY birthday not yours anymore!"

"Finger-lickin' good!"

A year ago today, one of Jake's best friends, Ryan, made his grand entrance into this world, and Jake and Ryan have been inseperable since! I wish I could say they play well together all the time, but the boys have become more like brothers than friends...if you know what I mean. We love Ryan to death, though, and we look forward to many more birthdays together! Happy 1st Birthday, Ryan! We love you!

Peek-a-boo

"Even though I've done this like a hundred times now,

let me see if I can surprise Daddy again." "Where is he? I know that bald-headed guy is around here somewhere!"

"Peek-a-boo!"

"Let's play again, Daddy!"

I couldn't resist snapping these pictures today of Jake and Tyson playing peek-a-boo. Too cute! We love having Daddy home!

Our Little Recruiter

"I'm a little nervous about what to say to the recruits, Daddy. I only know 8 words."
Rivals.com "recruiter of the year"...who could resist these dimples?

Two recruiting weekends down, and two more to go! Jake has made a debut at both weekends, and he has had those recruits' mamas eating out of the palm of his hands. Last weekend we went to the more informal Saturday lunch, but this weekend, we kept Jake up past his bedtime and actually went to Saturday night supper. Several of the other wives and kids were there, and we had so much fun! Jake was really tired, though, and kind of cranky, but he entertained himself with a nice stash of rolls (yes he ate 4 total!), so he made it through dinner without too much fuss. The joke of the night at our table was, "how many rolls is that boy going to eat?" He is definitely a bread guy!

This weekend was a little bittersweet to me because it was this same weekend last year that we brought Jake to his first UAB event. Actually, it was the first time ever we had gotten Jake out of the house other than to go to the doctors' office! I remember 3 things about that weekend last year--1) It was REALLY cold (as it was this year as well), 2) I couldn't find anything that fit (a year later, still in the same boat), and 3) I was REALLY nervous about how my child would act in public (again, things are the same a year later). Jake ended up sleeping through the whole thing last year and was an angel! I remember Coach Tyson Helton bragging about how good he was, and I remember being so proud of my little 2 week old! Anyways, keep your fingers crossed that we get lots of good commitments! Go Blazers!

12 Month Checkup

Dunk it Jake!
Sizing it up!
Double checking one more time!

He shoots!...

He scores!

Tuesday, Jake skipped school and Tyson took an early lunch and we all went to see the pediatrician for Jake's 12 month checkup. As usual, the checkup went well. Jake
weighed in at 23 lbs 14.5 oz (65%) and was 30.5 inches tall (75%). Little peanut's head was actually not so "little" after all; it was 18.75 inches which is in the 75%. Overall, I was very surprised with Jake's measurements...he hasn't grown much at all since his 9 month checkup! I knew he was getting skinnier, but I would have thought he had grown more than an inch in 3 months! Dr. Dudgeon picked up on my concerns and told me not to worry that he thought Jake was going to be about 6 feet tall! Tyson still doesn't believe it, but I am just excited he actually stands a chance to be a bit taller than his 5 '4 mama! Maybe he can be a basketball player after all!

One Less Mullet in Alabama

One last shot of the mullet
"HELP ME MOMMY!"

Jake and Tyson don't look so sure about this lady!

One less mullet in Alabama!

"I can't believe you were going to take me to 'Sweet and Sassy,' mom...LAME!"

"The wind feels so good in my hair now that my mullet is gone!"

Long before Jake turned 1, Tyson and I were counting down the days until we could finally cut his hair. Well, his first birthday rolled around last week, and no haircut appointment had been made. You see, the only place (that I'm aware of) in Birmingham that is a kids' salon is "Sweet and Sassy." As you could imagine, Tyson REFUSED to let me take Jake to "Sweet and Sassy" for his son's first haircut. Ok. Whatever. I'll just wait it out a little longer and he'll eventually break, right? Wrong! All week long, I have been putting on my sweetest face and "Sweet and Sassy" still lost. I finally reached my breaking point this weekend when one of Tyson's recruit's parents said, "When y'all gonna go get that boy's hair cut?" Seriously, is Jake's mullet really that bad that other people are noticing? So I gave in and we went to Great Clips today. Luckily, Tyson was able to join us and helped out tremendously. Jake was awesome and never even budged at all; the lady kept bragging on good he was being! I am so proud of my big boy, and I am even more happy that the mullet is gone!!