Jake Loses His 1st Tooth!!

 The note reads: "My dad pulled my tooth fairy...I love you tooth fairy...I didn't need help"- or at least that is what he told me it is supposed to say!  Ha!

 

Jake lost his first tooth this past Saturday Oct. 19!  For the record (and for future comparisons for the kids), he was 5 years and 9 months old. 

It's kind of crazy how the loose tooth came about.  You see, Jake's friend, Ryan Wensyel (who is just a few months older than Jake), lost his first tooth last week.  Well, Jake got a little jealous and started messing with his teeth to see if he had a loose tooth...AND HE DID!  I was shocked!  He kept wiggling that thing all week until it was hanging on by a thread by the weekend.  The tooth was very small, though, and I had a hard time getting a grip on it to pull it; plus, I would go to pull it, chicken out, and not pull so hard.  Jake was itchin' for the tooth fairy to come, though, so I finally just decided we'd wait until Tyson got home from Kentucky and let him pull it.  And he did. :)  I was fiddling with the baby during the whole thing and wasn't in that part of the house, but Tyson said Jake didn't cry at all.  I'm so proud of my big boy!  And just for old time's sake, here is the first picture I got of Jake with his first tooth (the same tooth that came out):

I posted this picture on June 30, 2008. :)

Louisville Game

 

Terrance Plummer (TP) #41 grabbing the jersey of QB Teddy Bridgewater to get the sack.  TP is probably my favorite linebacker Tyson has ever coached.  He calls the boys his little brothers. :)

 Tyson giving a man hug to Coach Key, who is the coach that helped us get this job at UCF.  Forever grateful to him.

 More celebrating...love this big ole smile on Tyson's face.  I sure wish I could've been there to see it in person.

 

This past Friday night, UCF defeated #8 Louisville 38-35.  It was a HUGE win for us!  We are now ranked #21 in the AP poll and #25 in the Coaches poll, tied for 1st in our conference, and that much closer to a BCS bowl game bid!  Life sure is good when you're winning!!   

 

By the way, this was my first weekend (well, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning) alone with the 3 boys and I rocked it!  I even ventured out by myself with the 3 boys to Jake's school Fall Festival, and everyone survived!  Tyson did get Saturday afternoon off, so that was nice.  We watched lots of football, Tyson took the big boys out for a little while, we went and celebrated our win with Coach Key and his fiancé, and then Tyson pulled a certain little boy's first tooth!  It was a fantastic weekend!  Next up, we have UConn at home at noon on ESPN.  Go Knights! :)

 

*Photos courtesy of ucfsports.com.

First Time to Church!!

Anderson went to church for the first time last Sunday.  We were 20 minutes late, but I think I did a good job getting myself and the 3 boys ready and out the door by 9:30 all by my lonesome.  Anderson was awesome during church; I kept him with me and he slept the entire service.  He is such a sweet boy...as long as he's being held. ;) 

The Maddens Visit!!

Okay, the baby is starting to wake up, so I'll make this quick.  Our best friends from Birmingham, the Maddens, moved to Tampa in August.  Well, this weekend, they came to visit and meet Anderson.  Tyson had a bye again this weekend, so he was able to join us for the tail-end of the day, but otherwise, it was Ashley and me and our 6 six children. 6 children, folks!!!!  Holy cow, I can't believe I just said that.  Anyways, we loaded up the crew and took them to a horse farm/pumpkin patch down the road from our house.  So much fun...so much dirt!!  Anyways, we had a blast and threw the kids in the pool when we got home.  What a great day and now we get to do it more often since they live so close!!  Yay!!  Love the Maddens. :)

5 Weeks Old

 

 

I'll make this quick.  Anderson turned 5 weeks old last Wednesday and is changing every day.  He is getting better at letting me put him down, but he still just wants to be held.  Fortunately, he calms down easily to Jake, which is a big help, especially when I'm busy.

 

Anderson eats about every 2 hours during the day and is an absolute pig.  He weighs over 13.5 lbs already!  He goes to sleep at about 9 pm and wakes around 2 or 3 to eat and then again around 6.  Not too bad.

 

He started rolling from his tummy to his back at 3 weeks, which I thought was a fluke, but now he does it every time I put him on his tummy.

 

Anderson is giving us more and more smiles every day and is crying less and less, which the big boys appreciate. Ha!  Ok, that's all for now.

National Walk to School Day/ESPN All-Access



Ryan W., Sean W., Daniel C., Jake, DJ C., and Walker

Look who we ran in to! Sam!!!

Today is National Walk to School Day.  Now that it isn't 100 degrees and I'm not 9 months pregnant, I've started walking Jake to school again.  Actually, I pick up Jake and his buddies and my friend Angie takes them to school.  It's awesome to live so close to the school and not have to wait in that dreaded car line! 

And below is a preview of ESPN All-Access and the feature that they did on UCF Football.  Tyson was the defensive coach chosen to be "mic'd" up, which is pretty cool.  I just hope he watched his mouth and didn't say anything too offensive!  Ha!  Anyways, our episode airs tonight at 5 and 10 pm. 

1 Month Old!

 My boys after playing hard outside.  Yay for another bye this weekend!

 My 1 month old!

 Best buddies.  Anderson gives Jake smiles more than anyone else.

 Baby bat

 Jake's selfie with Anderson

 Pic #1: Walker's eyes are open

 Pic #2: Anderson smiles

Pic #3: Jake looks at camera and smiles



Look at this baby's hairline!  Hahaha!  He is his daddy's child!

 

My Mom's Going Away Party

 Nothing makes goodbye any sweeter than a trip to Krispy Kreme!

 My monkeys!

My mom left this weekend after being here a month to help me with the baby.  She's stayed that long with me after Jake's and Walker's birth, but Birmingham was close enough to home that she was able to come and go on the weekends.  Well, with Orlando being 7-8 hours from Thomaston, that wasn't the case this time.  I'll be honest, I didn't think she'd make it a full a month...poor thing gets worn out from my crazy boys in a weekend normally!  Ha!  She was a huge help, though, and I'm glad she stuck around that long...Lord knows I needed her.  With Tyson having to travel for football and having to work almost 18 hour days every day of the week, I couldn't have managed my older two boys and a newborn by myself...especially after having such a rough recovery.

Thanks for everything, Mom!!  You're a lifesaver!!  We love you!

Cow Birds

 

 Jake kept close to the stroller the whole time.  I wasn't sure if he was protecting the stroller or the stroller was protecting him.  Ha!

 Typical...Walker eating the food we're supposed to be feeding the animals with.

 Jake was saying, "Mama, take a picture of me and the cowbirds...see, I'm not scared!" Hahaha!

 He was so proud of himself for getting that close to the cowbirds.

 That is Jake's elementary school in the background.

 Sweet Walker and his really bad fake smile.  Nice hairdo. ;)

My best big boy.

 

The boys and I went for a little walk this weekend to feed the ducks, but we never saw any ducks...so we fed the "cowbirds" instead.  Cowbirds is a name that my husband gave to the sandhill cranes that live all around us; they are kind of obnoxious birds that think they own the roads and aren't afraid of people.  Anyways, they are a little too aggressive for my liking, so I normally try to avoid them if possible.  On this particular day, though, I was feeling a little generous and let the boys feed them.  Wow, we lead such exciting lives these days, huh?  Hahahaha!  Just had to document a little about my Florida life.  ;)