Thanksgiving!!

 The boys and I with my parents and my Granddaddy

 Granddaddy had rotator cuff surgery 1 week after my Grandmother's death.  He had a really tough time after surgery- I'm so thankful we had the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with him.

 My cousin, Trey, drove my Granddaddy over for the day.  The boys LOVED playing with him!

 Do y'all see all of these new teeth?

 Walker teaching Anderson how to walk the dog. :)

  A little backyard football game with Granddad.

The boys and I drove to Georgia to spend Thanksgiving week with my parents.  (And no, Tyson didn't go with us.  I can't tell y'all how many people have asked me this and were shocked when I was like "umm, no."  It's football season, people!!  There is no time off!)

It was a pretty rough week, to be honest.  I got sick almost immediately as we pulled into Georgia and spent my first day at the Urgent Care Center.  I got it nipped in the bud pretty quickly, though, so that my immune-deficient mom wouldn't get it.

Mom also had a rough week.  She tries so hard with my boys, but they just wear her out.  And chemo seems to be really wearing her down these days; the further she gets into her treatment, the harder it is on her body.

All that being said, we still had a great Thanksgiving.  I definitely missed Tyson so much (it was my first Thanksgiving away from him since we've been together), I missed my Grandmother, and I missed my sister and the rest of our family that couldn't be with us...BUT, I'm very thankful that the boys and I could be with my parents and my granddaddy.  I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving as well!

SMU

 Tyson, Pat (Tyson's GA), and Zo- our old UAB crew. :)

 I'm pretty sure I see a tear in my husband's eye.  :(  He loves this group of seniors...especially these two boys right here.  This is why he does what he does and spends so many hours at work- for these players.

This past weekend, UCF beat SMU 53-7!  Our defense held SMU to only 116 yards and SMU only had 4 first downs the whole game!  Go defense!  I think that brings our total defense to like #4 in the nation!  (But who's counting). ;)

The boys and I actually went to this game even though it was a wet, soggy mess!  I haven't taken Anderson to a single game all year, so I was feeling a little guilty.  We stayed home the first half so that I could take full advantage of Anderson's nap time, though, and we showed up at half time.  The rain really started coming down with about 3 minutes left in the game, so the boys and I went under the bleachers and waited for Tyson to come out of the locker room.

Next up, USF this Friday at noon.  Go Knights!  

UCF Santa

 Did y'all know that Santa is a UCF fan?  Hahaha!  He told us he watched the UCF game from his sleigh. ;)

 This is a classic!

 Sweet, sweet Walker.

Umm, how big does Jake look next to Santa?

After watching our Knights play in the soaking rain this past Saturday, we dried off and went to see Santa at the UCF Bookstore.  We were the only ones there, so each boy got to spend a lot of time with Santa and told them what they wanted for Christmas.  This year, in an attempt to unspoil our children, we are only letting the boys ask for "something you want, something you need, something you wear, something you read."  So Walker told Santa he wanted a Power Ranger gun and some socks; Santa looked a little confused at that.  Ha!  Jake told Santa he wanted Lego Star Wars Christmas set, and Anderson just screamed.  Hahaha!  I will say this- I took the big boys to the potty while Tyson and Anderson stayed back to pay for the pictures.  Well, Tyson said Anderson walked over to Santa and started playing peekaboo with him!!  By the time we left, Anderson was smiling and waving at Santa.  Hahaha!  Maybe we should've given Anderson time to warm up before handing him to Santa; then again, we wouldn't have gotten that classic screaming baby photo. :)

For 2009 Santa pics, click here
For 2010 Santa pics, click here
For 2011 Santa pics, click here
For 2012 Santa pics, click here and here
For 2013 Santa pics, click here

*I tried to create a collage so that I could compare all the years with Santa (especially that screaming baby pics), but I was having problems downloading all the pics.  We have a picture, though, of each boy looking up at Santa like that 3rd picture.

Jake's Thanksgiving Program

Sorry about the paper in the face.

Jake's class had their Thanksgiving program this past Thursday.  They sang some songs, read us some Thanksgiving Day facts, did some crafts with us, and then ate Thanksgiving lunch with us.  Yep, I  got to go through the good ole lunch line.  Hahaha!

We had a great time and I really enjoyed my time with just Jake!  Happy Thanksgiving!!

Anderson's and Walker's Thanksgiving Programs

One of Anderson's teachers, Mrs. Evelyn (aka Mrs. Evie) or "mama" as Anderson calls her. :)

Walker's Turn!

Yesterday, Anderson's and Walker's schools had their Thanksgiving programs- Anderson's was in the morning and Walker's was at lunch.  It couldn't have worked out any better for this mama.

Anderson is almost a whole year younger than the other kids in his class, so he didn't really get into his program like the other kids did.  They sang "Jesus Loves Me" and another song, but Anderson threw a ball to himself and chased it.  He did bust out with the occasional clap. Ha!  After that, the teachers treated the parents to a kid-free breakfast. :)

Next on the agenda was Walker's program.  His school had a full on program followed by a picnic lunch.  Walker, as usual, was adorable.  He was so proud to have me there, and more than anything, I think he was just glad to have his mama all to himself.  Ha.

Next up, Jake's Thanksgiving program.  Stay tuned.

Tulsa

UCF beat Tulsa 31-7 this past weekend and now we are bowl eligible!  Woo hoo! Go Knights!

Speech Therapy

Walker and "Mrs. Alex"

Just to document this, Walker started speech a few weeks ago.  He mispronounces several sounds- R, Th, S, and L and his speech has always been a little difficult for others to understand.  One of my good friends here is a speech therapist, and she evaluated Walker and thought he could benefit from some therapy. So, speech therapy it is!  Better to correct it now than wait until he gets into school, right?

Walker has done great with speech: Mrs. Alex said he has already mastered the "S" sound in record time.  I said of course he would, he's a genius. :)

Time With Tyson

Since we played this past Friday night, Tyson got to come home a little early on Saturday afternoon. It was a little nippy out for Orlando, so we decided to build a fire and enjoy a nice evening outside watching football and playing in the yard.  So much fun.  I sure wish we had more times like this.

Lunch with George

 How precious is this?

The little boys and I met Tyson at "Lunch with George" (which is Coach O'Leary's day-before-a-home-game luncheon) today.  I've never been before (mainly because I knew my kids couldn't sit there and be quiet that long), but Tyson was missing the kiddos and assured me that they would be fine.  Sure enough, Walker was great, but Anderson was a typical 14 month old and talked the ENTIRE time.  We sat in the back so that we didn't disturb anyone (and so that Coach O'Leary couldn't hear the kiddos) and could walk out easily if we needed to.  Mrs. O'Leary sat with us and helped me entertain the boys; she even gave Anderson the balloon centerpiece to play with.  What a great idea it was... until the balloons accidentally flew away and hit the ceiling.  Anderson started screaming and pointing at the balloons relentlessly.  I quickly distracted him by pointing out his daddy, which was not a smart idea- know why?  He starts yelling, "DA DA!!!  DA DA!!!" and pointing and waving.  It was pretty cute, I'll admit, but it was obviously very distracting.  I quickly scooped Anderson up and missed the rest of the luncheon.  Whew!  What was I thinking?  Haha!  At least Tyson got to see the boys and vice versa. ;)  Go Knights!

Anderson's First Haircut

 Before...

 See that sweet curl?

 After the hair cut with Mr. Seth.

 After...

I'm usually that crazy mama snapping a million photos while her baby gets his first haircut, but I had to take Anderson (and the other two boys. too, of course) by myself and couldn't get the pics since I had to hold him.  The thought crossed my mind for like 2 seconds to let Jake handle the camera, but then I realized how crazy that sounded.  Ha!

Anderson has the craziest hair of my three boys- it grows super fast in the back but not at all on the top!  I'm afraid he's gonna have a receding hairline the rest of his life if it doesn't start filling in on top pretty soon!  Ha!  Jake's hair fell out at four months and then grew back in quickly and thickly all over; he has the best hair.  Walker's was pretty slow growing on top, too, but not as bad as poor Anderson's.  I guess time will tell.  Either way, the mullet needed trimming.

Anderson was the most difficult baby of my 3 when getting their first hair cut- the other two just sat there quietly and let the lady do her job.  Anderson pitched a fit the entire time and had to be held down.  Luckily, Seth has been cutting the boys' hair since we've moved here and loves our little family and was so good and patient.  I'm definitely going to rethink letting Anderson's mullet grow out if he continues to act a fool at the barber shop.  Ain't nobody got time for that! ;)