More Evidence from the Boys' Trip

Thanks, Mrs. Pendy, for the pictures of my boys. I'm glad someone actually photographed my child since my husband didn't! :)

The boys' trip was a quick one to Tifton, but they made sure to stop in to see the Bowers and the Ellis' before heading out. From the looks of it, Jake sure did have fun at Kunes Real Estate!

The Boys' Trip

This past weekend, Tyson and Jake went to Tifton to see "G Mama" (Mary Ann) while I stayed here in Birmingham and worked. From the sounds of it, the boys had a lot of fun! I think the highlight of Jake's weekend (other than seeing his grandmother) was going to the Agirama and seeing the "Choo Choo." I made sure to send the camera with Tyson because I wanted lots of pictures, but instead, he only got this one decent picture of Jake. Oh well. Tyson did make sure to call me while they were in line for the train and I could just hear the excitement in Jake's voice as he screamed "CHOO CHOO" over and over again at the top of his lungs! My child sure does love trains!

I missed the boys so much and I'm so glad to have them home! And now we get the next two weeks together as a family....FINALLY!

"Ick"

I've been told by a certain friend (Jill) that I've been a bad blogger lately, so just to let you know, we are alive and doing well. As you can all imagine, life has just been super busy lately with the holidays around the corner, recruiting in full steam, and my crazy work schedule lately. I promise to do better in the next few weeks if my computer will cooperate (long story).

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been dealing with a sick child this week. I took him to the doctor on Tuesday convinced he had an ear infection but it appears to be his sinuses. He's finally feeling better, but he was pretty pitiful for several days...as you can tell by the pictures. I've never known my wild child to just lay on the sofa and watch a movie; don't get me wrong, he can sit still a lot longer than I ever imagined he would, but he never just lays there.

Jake was finally better this morning and able to go to school, thank goodness for me! Anyways, I asked him, "Are you excited about going to school today?" And he replied, "ick." I had no idea what he was saying so I kept asking him to repeat it; turns out he was trying to tell me he was "sick." Poor baby...not even 2 and already trying to play hooky from school!

Have a great weekend!

Cherub's Clubhouse

Jake kept saying "Neigh" like a horse!

Kendall, the only girl in the Thompson triplet clan!

Carson, the "high maintenance" triplet as we call him. :)

All 3 of the triplets with Kaden front and center; he's the laid back one!
There's nothing laid-back about this one!

Today, Jake and I joined my friend Mollie and her triplets and some more multiples to play at Cherub's Clubhouse in Pelham. If you live in the B'ham area, you should check it out! They've got this indoor gated area with a ball pit, swings and slides, and just ton of other stuff for little ones to do, and it's really inexpensive, too! Jake had so much fun even though he is sick and was running a fever when we got home. How great of a mom am I? I think it's another ear infection, so I didn't exactly knowingly spread his germs to the other kids; we'll find out later today when we go to the doc.

Tyson asked me after I left how I got to be a member of the Mom of Multiples group since that's all Jake and I hang out with these days! :) Mollie calls me an "honorary member!" Ha! I told the girls today that the more I hang out with them and their triplets and twins, the more weird that I feel having just one kid! Where did all of my friends with singletons go? Oh yeah, they left me and went back to work (Ashley and Ginger!). :( At least Jake is going to grow up having an appreciation for multiples!

It's Official...

The stocking has been monogrammed...
And this is baby #2's name!

As I mentioned before, we don't have Walker's full name decided on quite yet, but we are definitely going to call him Walker. If you are wondering where it came from, it is just a name that Tyson and I liked and both could agree on (which if you know how opinionated and stubborn both my husband and I are, you would understand just how difficult this is). His middle name will definitely be a family name for sure though.

I wish I had more pictures to post from the weekend, but it was pretty low key. This was Tyson's first full weekend off since the end of July, so as usual, that means I went to work. Jake definitely enjoyed his time with Daddy but made sure I knew how much I was missed. :(

This Week

This week, we did a lot of this...

"Hello? King residence..."

playing with Pat Pat and Jace...

playing with "Da"...

aggravating Jace...

Looking in the mirror and admiring ourselves...

made many attempts to get both boys to look at the camera at the same time!...

ate some cake...

and some more cake...

played with this pretty girl....

and got spoon-fed butterbeans by Ryleigh Kate!

Jake and I went and stayed with my parents for a few days this week while Tyson was out recruiting. We got there on Monday, and my mom was keeping my nephew, Jace, for a couple of days while my sister was out of town at a conference. Jake had so much fun playing with his cousin; well, they didn't exactly "play," but Jake did enjoy having him around. And Jake was so sweet (except for that one time) to his cousin and helped us however he could- handing Jace a toy, bringing us wipes, helping us entertain Jace, etc. Jake is definitely going to be a great big brother!

Jake LOVES being at my parents house; they just let him go wide-open and there is so much for him to do there...like get into all of my dad's work stuff. In the 3 days that we were there, Jake managed to break my Dad's computer, reset the answering machine, and color all over my Dad's paperwork! Ha! But my Dad was a good sport and loved every minute of it! I think I might have even heard my Dad say that Jake was so much cuter and sweeter than I ever was!

We also drove to my grandparents house and spent the day with them and our cousin, Ryleigh Kate ("Kay Kay" according to Jake). Jake just adores "Kay Kay" and had the best time playing with her! As you can tell by the pictures, Jake did a lot of eating at MaMa's house, which is easy to do! She is the BEST cook ever!

Thanks to my Mom and Dad for putting up with us and letting us destroy your house! We miss y'all already!

20 Weeks!

I am 20 weeks pregnant and over half-way through my pregnancy! Now that I know the sex of the baby, it seems as if pregnancy is flying by! I kind of need it to slow down, though, because I am no where near prepared for this baby. I guess I better get ready, though, because like it or not, baby #2 will be here in 19 weeks or less!

By the way, Tyson and I do have a name for #2 but we just don't have his full name yet, but I promise to reveal it soon. (And no, family members, we do not need your input for names for him!).

So baby #2 is doing well. I went for a check up at the beginning of the week, and everything looks great so far. His heartrate is consistently in the 150's and he is measuring about a week ahead. Here's a cute story from my doctor's appointment Monday- the doctor was checking the baby's heartbeat with the doppler machine, and the baby didn't like it all. He started kicking like crazy and the next thing I knew, he kicked the wand pure off my belly! It was such a hard kick that it startled the poor doctor and made the most horrendous noise on the machine...it was so funny to see the look on her face! He's a fiesty one for sure!

Speaking of him moving, I felt him kick for the first time the week of Thanksgiving, and Tyson got to feel him kick this last week! He's kicked Jake a few times as I've held him, but Jake hasn't even noticed. I told Tyson it's probably the first of many kicks between my two boys! :)

Even though he's only been kicking for a few weeks, I have definitely noticed a pattern. He is usually awake kicking starting around 7 am, and he kicks about every 3 hours throughout the day and settles down around 9 pm. I hope this is an indicator of his sleep-wake pattern when he comes out! Wouldn't it be nice to have a newborn who comes out sleeping from 9pm until 7 am? :)

After over 11 antibiotics in 20 weeks, I can finally say I'm feeling pretty well. I've had some sciatic nerve pain in my left leg, but it is no where near as bad as the back pain I had at this point in my pregnancy with Jake. So overall, I can't complain! Life is good and I LOVE feeling my baby boy kick!

Snow!!!

Daddy showing Jake the snow
Jake didn't like the snow on his boots!

"Sheep!"

Making a snowball!

Throwing a snowball at Daddy!

"Come out and play, Ryan!"

We woke up this morning to find the ground covered in snow! Unfortunately, it all melted by mid-morning, but Jake did get to play in it for a little while. He really enjoyed throwing snowballs at his Daddy and even got pegged a time or two himself! It was so cute, he kept calling the snow "no" (he has some problems with s's) and "sheep!" So much fun! I wish it snowed more often!

Oh, and big news....Jake pooped in the potty today! He usually tells me he needs to go potty after he's already done his business, but today he actually timed it out just perfectly! I've gotten the necessary supplies for potty training and I'm gonna give it my best attempt after the holidays (I think) since he's showing so much interest. So exciting!

Terrible Two's

"2 Mama?"

If I've mentioned before about Jake going through the "terrible two's," I was wrong. Jake has had some tantrums before, but they are MINOR compared to what we have been going through this last week. Yes folks, I think it is pretty safe to say that even though Jake is just 1 month shy of turning two, he is definitely in full blown "terrible two's!"

When I told Tyson's mom about Jake's tantrums from this week, she didn't believe me because "Tyson didn't do that." I can assure you my friends, Jake Summers is not only 50% of his Daddy, but he is also 50% Beth King (me and my alter personality). Yep, my child has inherited the temper that I have tried so hard to overcome. By the way, when I told my parents about Jake's tantrums, they just snickered and laughed like "ha ha, that's what you get." Just kidding, but I'm pretty sure I am getting what I deserve. :)

So not only are we experiencing the most horrendous temper tantrums I have ever seen, but Jake is all of a sudden Mr. Independent...but not in a good way. He thinks he can pick out his clothes, choose his food, and he even tries to tell me where to drive!

So I apologize for the lack of posts this week, but I have really been struggling with all of this. Yes, I may joke about his tantrums, but this is so much harder than I ever realized. Oh, and did I mention Tyson has been gone ALL WEEK LONG recruiting? :(

Christmas Card Rejects

Yesterday, I forced Tyson into helping me get a picture of Jake for our Christmas card. Oh my gosh, why does it have to be so difficult? I can't imagine what next year is gonna be like trying to get 2 kids to look at the camera, be still, and smile at the same time when I can't even get my 1 child to cooperate!! After many, many, many BAD shots, I did manage to get one really cute shot for the Christmas card. The lighting wasn't perfect and it was kind of out of focus (the photographer shall go nameless), but cute nonetheless. Either way, all 3 of us were so over it by that point, so it's just gonna have to work.

Jake was exhausted when we got home from taking pictures. We took the pictures at the "Choo Choo Park," so Jake thoroughly enjoyed playing on the train and in the creek in between snaps. I didn't know just how exhausted he was until Tyson walked in to find this:

....poor baby fell asleep in the chair. How pitiful is this?

I'm glad I have a picture of him in this chair; I've been meaning to blog about this chair, but I just never had a good picture to go with it. This is the chair that sits directly in front of our TV; this is the chair where I have predominantly sat for the last 3 years..."Mama's chair" as it's known. Anyways, Jake loves sitting in the chair with me; he always sits on the left side and I always sit on the right. No matter what I'm doing, he will go sit in the chair on his side and call for me to come sit on "this side." It is just so darn sweet. I don't know how much longer he and I will fit in the chair together, but I just love sharing that seat with him. Oh and he usually won't let Tyson sit with him; Jake will tell Tyson "Mama's seat." Ha!

Here are two stories from today: 1) I took Jake and Ryan to school this morning and my mind was in a thousand places. I pull up to the school, go to get Jake out, and see that Jake isn't wearing any shoes. I search frantically around the car and NOTHING! I had to take my poor baby to school with no shoes on! How redneck is that? The teacher thought it was hysterical and promised not to report me to DHR (aka DFACS), but I felt like the worst mother EVER! 2) Jake and I were at Target today and I was unloading my cart at the check-out when Jake yells "Ho ho ho! Ho ho ho, Mama! Ho ho ho!" I look up at my child to see that he is frantically pointing to this sweet little bearded man behind me; apparently Jake thought he was Santa Claus. I was so embarrassed, so I explained to the man that Jake thought he was Santa Claus. The man was so nice and just played along...he even asked Jake if he had been a good little boy. Jake promptly answered, "No...bad!" Ha! Maybe he was actually listening to me when I was telling him he was being "bad" in Target!