Wagon Ride For Two

Since the boys are quarantined and we can't play with our friends, I had to get creative today and find things to do around the house. I ended up pulling out some toys from the garage, including this Radio Flyer, and we played in the front yard, which we hardly ever do. I'm just so scared of the boys (well, Jake I guess) running into the road...it's not a busy road by any means but just busy enough to keep me on my toes constantly. Anyways, Jake was thoroughly amused being pulled and pulling Walker in the wagon. Walker is honestly probably a little too young to be sitting up in the Radio Flyer, but he actually did really well...and yes, he was buckled in. :) The boys had so much fun and were so entertained that I guess I need to pull out the Radio Flyer more often!

Stomach Bug x 2

I wish I had something more exciting to post about (like UAB almost defeating Tennessee this weekend), but unfortunately, the only thing I've done the last few days is clean up diarrhea and vomit (or #3 and #4 as we call it at the hospital) from both of my children. Really exciting, huh? Walker came down with the tummy bug first; he was super irritable Saturday and woke up covered in #3 and #4. Luckily, he bounced back pretty quickly, though. Jake, on the other hand, woke up this morning with #4 and has been hit pretty hard. I'm praying we are on the mends now, so we'll see. Hopefully, my next post will be a little more exciting and less graphic!

ABC's

I've been trying to get a video of Jake making Walker laugh, but as soon as I pull out the camera to start recording, Jake wants me to keep the camera only on him. I'm gonna have to get it one day because it is absolutely the cutest thing ever. For now, enjoy this video of Jake singing his ABC's....

I can't even begin to guesstimate how many times a day this song gets sung at our house. Jake has been able to sing it for a while, but it seems like we are singing it a lot more lately since he has started to learn his ABC's at school. We sing it so many times that it is actually the only thing I can sing to calm Walker down. For real, I sing it non-stop as we ride down the road to keep Walker from crying...as soon as I stop singing, he starts crying. So I just sing, and sing, and sing "ABCDEFG..." until I am blue in the face. And then I get home and have to sing it exactly twice to Jake before he'll go to bed. Ridiculous. Oh well, it's educational. And it sure does help that Jake is super cute singing it!

Walker's New Trick

I know the pictures are pretty much the same picture, but I always have such a hard time choosing which one to post because let's be honest, the kid can't take a bad picture! Ha! I'm not biased or anything, am I?

Walker is getting so close to sitting up on his own! Each day he gets better and better at it; however, he also thinks it is hilarious to throw himself back, so it is definitely a work in progress. He is such a rascal. I'm pretty sure he is gonna be class clown one day. ;)

Ellie's Birthday Party

Walker wasn't so sure about the hat...

The big kids busting the pinata...

....with a little help from Mr. Worth

The only picture I could get of these two together...Jake was being a little shy that day!

The birthday girl!

Yesterday, we celebrated Ellie Bowers' 2nd birthday at her house with a SpongeBob party. Both of the boys had so much fun! Walker entertained Coach Bowers and Mrs. Pendy with all of his smiles, and Jake was in heaven playing with all of Ellie's toys. So much fun! Happy Birthday, Ellie!

Troy: Walker's First Game!

My sweet boys!

He's thinkin' about it...

...he really wants to...

...and finally he goes for it!

A very happy Daddy after the game!

Tyson grabbed Jake and took him into the locker room to celebrate.

We won! UAB beat Troy 34-33! Woo hoo!

This was Walker's first football game ever, and it was also my first time to have both boys at the game all by myself. It ended up being much easier than I thought (I'm sure I'll eat those words later) thanks to my awesome 2 year old, and no, I'm not being sarcastic. Jake was an angel and minded so well (thank goodness) and was even a big help with Walker. Walker, unfortunately, didn't have such a great game. Between being overly tired and overly stimulated, it was just a bad combination. I'm sure things will get better as he gets used to the noise and the crowd.

Other than this being a huge win, the other big news of the day is that Jake actually gave "Blaze" "five." Y'all have no idea how obsessed Jake is with Blaze...he talks about Blaze all the time, tries to call him on my cell phone, asks to go to Daddy's office to see Blaze, and he even wants to be Blaze for Halloween. However, when it comes down to it, Jake is scared to death of Blaze in person...until now! Jake's been planning all week what he was going to say to Blaze when we saw him, and sure enough, it took several attempts, but Jake finally got up the nerve and went and gave Blaze "five" and said "Go Blazers!" Too cute.

We're so proud of you, Tyson! Go Blazers! Next up, UAB at Tennessee next Saturday at 12:21 Eastern. The game is on the SEC network so tune in and cheer on the Blazers!

My Cute Boys

5 Months

Walker is 5 months old! Can you believe that next month is his half birthday?? Crazy!

What's new with Walker? Eczema!! It looks like Walker has his brother's sensitive skin! For the last two weeks, I have been in a constant fight with his eczema; I finally broke down and busted out the prescription steroid ointment, and it seems to be helping. Unfortunately, I can't use the medicine on his face, so it looks pitiful. Jake never seemed to be too bothered by his eczema, but poor little Walker is just clawing at it. :(

What else? He is starting to sit up better by himself; I'm still too nervous to let him try it on his own because just when I think he has it, he face-plants.

Sleep has been a real issue around here. Do you remember me posting about Walker sleeping through the night? I lied. He slept through the night a couple of times and then it was back to getting up every 3-4 hours. I don't want to jinx myself again, but I'm hoping that is about to change. ;)

Walker is a pig...for real. He starts grunting/reaching for it anytime he sees his bottle and or food and does not stop until he has it in his mouth; I'm pretty sure Walker will be one of those kids stashing snickers bars underneath his pillow. Ha! He takes 5 oz every 3 hours during the day and eats baby food once a day and rice/oatmeal once a day, but I'm pretty sure he would eat double that if I let him. Maybe I should? More sleep maybe? Seriously, the kid has probably gained 2 lbs in the last month since starting formula/baby food.

Besides waking up about twice through the night to eat, Walker has a pretty good sleep schedule. He usually wakes up for good between 7 am-8 am, naps about 3 times a day, and then goes down at 7 pm. And he is super easy to put down...I just read him a book, and then lay him down. No rocking, no paci, no fussing. Easiest baby ever...minus the sleep issue.

Walker's eyes are starting to change colors; it looks like they may turn out to be green/hazel like mine. Then again, they look dark blue in some lighting, so who knows. His hair also looks a different color in different lighting; for the most part, it is light brown but sometimes looks blond. A lot of people have stopped me and told me how much Walker looks like Jake, and I agree. They definitely have different eyes in color and in shape, but other than that, they are pretty identical.

Walker has such a cute little personality already; he loves giving out smiles and is just always so happy and content. Walker is definitely a mama's boy, but I'm pretty sure he loves his big brother the most. No matter what's going on, Walker is fine as long as Jake is in his sight. He just smiles and laughs at anything Jake does...so cute!

So, this is kind of off the subject, but I had to post this picture of Jake's first "homework." Actually, it turned in to my homework, but that's ok. Anyways, I thought it was kind of cute all things considering (ie me being the least creative person ever!). I'm pretty sure I won the award for "cheerleader with the worst signs ever." :) Oh, and don't you love how Jake's favorite pet is his "lil' brother." Ha!

Wives' Trip

Pre-Game

Some of the other coaches' wives: Kesha, Tia, and Stephanie

This was the view from our hotel room- Children's Medical Center

That's Tyson in the green shirt and white hat.

Me and my bestie, Kesha.

Tyson plays quarterback in these drills...

...and I think it is hilarious to see these big lineman looking like they're about to get him!

The Blazers!

I love the Texas sky!

And one last one of my favorite coach!
At dinner Friday night...
Everything's bigger in Texas!

Tyson and I just returned from a weekend in Dallas, Texas where UAB took on SMU. Unfortunately, we lost. :( Other than the outcome of the game, though, I had sooo much fun on this trip. It was our annual wives' trip, and every year it gets better and better! (You can go here to read about the 2009 wives' trip and here to read about the 2008 wives' trip).

I've been looking so forward to the trip ever since I had Walker...well, actually even before that! This trip was going to be the first chance I had to "getaway" and get a little bit of a break since March. And sure enough, I slept great, ate well, relaxed a lot, and just enjoyed being around other grown-ups and most importantly, Tyson. It's just a shame we have to go to a football game to "getaway," though.

Thanks to my Mom for being a great sport and keeping the boys for us for the weekend! If you know my mom at all, you know sleep is very important. Unfortunately, between a 5 month old who is teething and isn't sleeping well and a 2.5 year old with an ear infection that isn't sleeping well, not much sleep was to be had this weekend for my mom. Sorry about that, Mom! I just kept telling her, "welcome to my life!" Ha!

Anyways, we had a great time (despite the loss) but we missed the boys for sure. It definitely made things much easier knowing they were being very well taken care of!

Walker's First Day of School

Yes, at the mere age of 5 months (today!), Walker started school. He is also attending the same Mother's Day Out program as Jake, but he will only be going 2 days a week. We did this so that I can work some during football season, and so I can have a little break for sanity purposes! ;) But I also think it will be good for Walker to be around other kids his age and other caregivers.

I have to admit, I got a little teary-eyed leaving my sweet baby boy this morning. We've left him in the church nursery several times and I've left him to go work night shift too many times to count and I've left him with friends and family before, but this time was just different. It probably doesn't help, though, that I'm about to leave for the wives' trip to SMU this weekend and I won't see my sweet boys until Sunday. Anyways, there were no time for tears because I had to get Jake to class. Jake was super sweet and excited about Walker going to school with him; in fact, Jake helped me drop Walker off and he put Walker's name sticker on him, gave him a big hug, and said "I be right here, Walker!" If you've caught on to my struggles with the whole sibling rivalry thing, this was huge in my opinion. Love those boys!

I'm curious to see how Walker's day goes; as sweet and laid back as he normally is, Walker can be pretty difficult to deal with if you don't know how he likes things (ie bottles). I'm sure his teachers will figure it out, though.

**These definitely aren't the best pictures of my sweet boy for his obligatory "first day" pictures, but I had to do it. I literally just woke him and threw on his clothes, and he totally looks like that, too! Poor baby!

Jake's First Day of School

Today was Jake's first day of Mother's Day Out for the 2010-2011 school year. He actually went to a summer session that ended about a week and half ago, so it just seemed like another day for him.

Jake has the same teacher that he had this summer, Miss Brittany, and Jake and I just love her. I got to talk a little more extensively to Miss Brittany at the Meet and Greet we had yesterday, and I learned a lot about Jake's little personality at school. I really had no clue what she was going to say because Jake can be extremely shy and I figured he was probably like that at school, too. However, she said that after I leave, Jake's "cute little personality" comes out. She also said he is very independent and is her little "cuddlebug." My son, the teacher's pet! ;)

We are very excited about this school year and can't wait to see what it holds!