Summertime!

Guess who isn't
afraid of the big pool?


JAKE!!!

Love those dimples!

Sweet Walker chilling poolside!

And here he is sporting his new bathing suit!

Summertime is in full swing at the Summers' house! This is Tyson's first week of his 4 weeks of vacation, and we have been having so much fun having Daddy at home! We've been taking it easy this week and spending most of our time at the pool...well, everyday in fact!

Jake has overcome the fear of the big pool; he still doesn't like to get too far away from us, but he is jumping off the side like a maniac and is no longer afraid to get his face wet. He has come such a long way in just a week! We are so proud of him!

Walker is enjoying being at the pool, too. He mainly just hangs out in his stroller (under a fan of course) and chills; we are so glad he is a laid back little fellow and just goes with the flow. I did buy him a bathing suit for our beach trip, but I doubt we'll actually get him in the water...it was just too cute to pass up. :)

So what else is going on? I had my first 12 hour shift this week at work since being on maternity leave, and it went so much better than I expected. Tyson and I were panicking because Walker has just started to refuse to take a bottle in the last week or so, and we didn't know what we were going to do. Luckily, Walker got hungry enough and took the bottles that night, but I was one stressed Mama! Tyson handled both boys with ease and had a great night...thank goodness! And it was kind of nice to be back, believe it or not. I missed my work friends and the ability to use my brain! :) Plus, I missed my patients. I knew when I left there was a chance I might not see some of them again, and one did pass away while I was on maternity leave. :( On a lighter note, I got to take care of one of my cancer patients that I've gotten to know well and he finished his last round of chemo last week and looks amazing! It made my night to see him doing so well...and getting his hair back! God is good!

So to my loyal blog readers, I don't know how frequently I'll be updating the blog over the next few weeks. We've got a lot of exciting things planned, but I'm just going to concentrate on spending some time with my boys...all 3 of them. Football season is right around the corner, so I've got to take advantage of this time. I'll try hard, though, because these boys are growing up so fast and change so quickly!

And I couldn't forget this picture of my sweet friend, Jill. Jill came to visit us last weekend, and Walker loved all over her. Thanks for coming over, Jill! We miss you already! Love you!

Pizza Party at the Pool!

Mr. Bigtime swimming in the 1 ft deep pool!

"Hey, Mrs. Ginger and Brantley!"

Ginger is going to be welcoming baby boy #2 this week!

Walker and Kaitlyn's first date! I think this is Mike's worst nightmare!

The Madden Family

Our family (minus Walker)

Last night, we had a little pizza party at our neighborhood pool with the Turners and the Maddens. We got there earlier than the others, so I got to snap lots of pictures of my

big boy while we waited.

Jake loves the idea of the big pool, but as soon as he gets in deeper than his knees, he starts to freak out. We got him some puddle jumpers (which he calls "football pads") in hopes that it would calm his fears, but no such luck...he just clings to us for life. Oh well...I'm sure he'll warm up to the big pool over time.

Jake definitely doesn't have any fears in the baby pool...especially when his buddies Ryan and Brantley are around. Those boys are such a mess when they're together! I know I say this all the time, but we are so lucky to have such good friends!

Brotherly Love

When I was pregnant and we found out Walker was a boy, I was so excited...especially for Jake. I knew he'd have an automatic best friend and playmate for life.

I'm sure there will be lots of fights along the way for the boys, but for now, I'm just going to enjoy how sweet they are together. It's amazing how attached they are and how much love they have for each other in two short months. I just love my boys!

A Potty Training Necessity

Ok, we are less than 2 weeks into potty training, and I'm not claiming to be an expert at all, but I've already fallen in love with this- a travel potty. I've told several of my friends about it, but no one had ever heard of it, so I thought I'd post it on here.

One of my friends, who is also a germaphobe like me, told me about this travel potty when Jake was baby. I thought it was a brilliant idea, so as soon as I thought about potty training Jake, I purchased one. I think the potty is intended for situations where a potty isn't available, but I have been using it in parking lots and lots of other places instead of having to deal with nasty public restrooms. Crazy, I know. It's also very handy, though, since it isn't always easy taking Jake to the potty with an infant in tote.

What's awesome about this potty is that it comes with these baggy-insert things that hold the pee and poop, so you just tie it up when you get done and toss it! No messy clean up! (Am I starting to sound like a commercial for this thing or what?) My friend also said she used to just use big ziplock bags in it, too, and then she would just zip it up and toss it. A little TMI?

Anyways, Jake is still doing awesome with #1...he hasn't had a single accident at home since he started potty training. (He did have an accident at school, but I think there's a whole lots of reasons for that- distraction, holding it too long, being scared to speak up about it, etc). #2 is a whole different story, though! He hasn't exactly gone in his big boy pants at home, but sometimes I wish he would...is that bad? He is absolutely scared to death to go #2 and will hold it til the last possible second, and even sometimes then we're too late and it ends up on the floor. Gross right? He will tell me he has to go and for almost 2 hours, we're running to the potty every few minutes only for him to chicken out and say "I not try." It is so frustrating for both of us (but I try not to show it)! Does anyone have any advice about this? This has turned into such a huge production that I'm scared to leave the house until after he goes poop, and we're sick of being in this house! HELP!

8 Weeks Old

My sweet baby is 8 weeks old! And in 2 days, he'll be 2 months old! Time is flying by!

Walker has started to sleep through the night this week (from 9:30 pm to 5:30 am), so I'm starting to feel like a normal person again. I have to say, though, I haven't minded at all getting up with him at night; I love my alone time with this little fellow and I'll take it any way I can get it.

Walker is such a happy baby and loves to give out smiles to anyone that will take them. We were at the doctor this week (Jake has strep and Walker has bronchiolitis), and Walker was in his carseat screaming his head off as I consoled Jake (who was also screaming his head off...fun times!)...the pediatrician walked over to Walker and started talking to him in a sweet voice, and Walker immediately started smiling at him. No joke, he went from screaming to cheesin' it in like 5 seconds! Too cute! The doctor was so impressed! :) And big brother Jake loves to make Walker smile, too...he says "he's smiling at Jake....he loves Jake!" So sweet!

Happy 2 month birthday, Walker! We love you!

More Redneck Activities and Kaitlyn's Here!

(L to R) Ryan, Brantley, and Jake

Look at those cute little tooshes! (Jake's is in the middle!)

Hot stuff!

I don't know about y'all, but it is HOT here! We go to the pool almost every day, and sometimes, it still isn't enough! And my poor little Jake (and I think Walker, too) is such a sweater. Anyways, we were outside playing with the neighbors the other day and we ended up having to pull out the water table to help cool the boys down. Before we knew it, all three of the boys were IN the water table at the same time...they are such a mess! They had a blast but ended up getting soaked, so all 3 boys ended up getting stripped down to their skivvies...what a site that must have been for our other neighbors! :)

Kaitlyn and Walker

Kaitlyn Madden (Ryan's sister) is here! She was born this past Monday, May 31st and was 7 lbs 4 oz; Ashley and Kaitlyn got to come home Thursday and are both doing very well. We are so excited to finally have a girl in the mix! When Ginger delivers baby boy Turner (aka Bubba) in the next few weeks, Kaitlyn will be the only girl with 5 big "brothers" to look after her! So exciting! I have a feeling that Kaitlyn and Walker are gonna be best friends just like their big brothers! Welcome Kaitlyn!

2 Month Checkup and No Accidents!

Walker had his 2 month checkup yesterday and got his first round of shots. Everything looks great so far!

Here are his stats: 12 lbs 1.5 oz (75%) and 24.5 in long (95%). Dr. Dudgeon was shocked at his length (especially since Tyson and I are sort of vertically challenged), but I had a feeling he might be a tad long since he had already outgrown most of his 0-3 month clothes by the 3rd week. :) He can still fit in the 0-3 onesies, though, so that is pretty much all he wears.

In comparison, Jake was 13 lbs 7 oz and 23.5 in long at his 2 month check up. I wonder if Walker might end up being taller and thinner than Jake? I try not to compare them, but it's hard not to in some ways.

Dr. Dudgeon and I had some pretty lengthy discussions about all of Walker's "issues," and I feel a lot better now. First, Walker's ingrown and infected toenails look a lot better but are gonna take some work from me and Tyson; Dr. Dudgeon said he had never seen toes like that on a baby. Ha! Also, we came up with a plan for the blocked tear ducts since it is going to be a chronic issue and has reoccurred so quickly. And lastly, I noticed a few weeks ago that Walker's pupils are different sizes sometimes; my friend Ginger's husband Ryan is an ophthalmology resident at UAB so he checked Walker out and said everything looked okay. After that, I wasn't really worried about it. Well, Dr. Dudgeon gave it a name (which I can't remember for the life of me), but I think it is called anisocoria ...anyways, it is because of his immature neurological system and should go away over time.

That's all for now! Praise the Lord for a healthy baby! Enjoy these pictures from Walker's newborn photo shoot!

Oh, and I have to brag on my oldest baby...Jake is doing great with his potty training! He started school yesterday for summer session, and he didn't have a single accident! In fact, he hasn't had an accident since Monday....knock on wood! Way to go, Jake!

This is the best picture we could get of the two boys; Jake was off the chain that day and wouldn't cooperate for the photos. This picture trips me out because it looks like he has Walker in a head-lock. Poor Walker!

Future Quarterback and "A Football Player"

Walker smiling at his big brother, who he loves so much!...

...until he gets really close! :)

The look on Walker's face cracks me up! Gotta keep his guard up at all times!

Sweet brothers!

Today, I took Jake and Walker to Tyson's office for Walker's first visit, so I had to dress Walker accordingly...in his "Future Quarterback" onesie, of course. As I was walking in, I noticed that Walker's eyes were the same color as his onesie; who knows what color his eyes are gonna be, but they are so beautiful! Anyways, we had a great visit with Tyson; I wish I would have had my camera on me because Jake was super cute. He is all about being a "football player" these days, so he wore his Georgia hat and his sunglasses into the office and he thought he was so cool. (For some reason, he calls baseball hats "football hats"). Such a mess these days!

And now to brag on my big boy, Jake is diaperless! I don't want to say he is potty trained just yet because 1) it's only been a couple of days and 2) going #2 in the potty still scares him. He caught on to potty training pretty quickly and has far exceeded our expectations; we were planning on putting him in pullups during nap and bedtime, but he has stayed dry for both (except for one nap and one bedtime) surprisingly! I am so proud of my big boy! This is only the beginning, though, so I'm sure we'll have lots of accidents along the way...but what a huge accomplishment for now!