Tool Time

Jake "The Tool Man" Summers

Just Another Snow Day

BRRRR!!!

Jake kept saying, "I'm frozen, Mama!"

Walker had so many layers on, he couldn't move his arms. He was stuck in this position the whole time we were outside! Hahaha! He looked just like that kid in "A Christmas Story."

We woke up to some snow Thursday morning, so in true Southern fashion, we got all excited about it and HAD to play in it. Unfortunately to Jake's dismay, there wasn't enough snow to build "Frosty." He even had the "magic hat" (see picture 1) ready and all. :( I'm really over the snow, but I hope for Jake's sake that we will get enough snow before winter ends so that he can have his Frosty.

When Pigs Crawl

The snort face.

Crawling...and making the snort face. Again.

Finally!!! I am posting a video of Walker crawling. For the longest time, I couldn't quite think of what to call Walker's "crawl", but the other day, someone nailed it...it's a half crawl-half gorilla. He crawls normally with his left leg, and he uses his right leg kinda like a gorilla. Ha! I can laugh about it now, but I have to be honest with you, Tyson and I were a little worried about his crawl. You see, now that he is cruising and attempting to stand, his left ankle isn't as strong as the right, and it gives a lot. Well, Tyson and I got to thinking that maybe he crawls this way because something is wrong with his left leg. Long story short, it scared Tyson enough that he took him to the doctor to get it evaluated; the pediatrician agreed that something funky is going on with his left ankle, but he is going to wait to see how it goes after Walker starts walking before he refers us to an orthopedist. Hopefully, Walker just has a funky crawl and has one really strong leg and a weak one. Aww...it never ends.

Anyways, here are two videos of Walker crawling. Please ignore the constant snorting that is coming from my child. He has started making these pig noices lately, and he thinks it is so funny that he does it all the time! Oh well, he's so cute, he can get away with it...for now. :) Enjoy!

The Zoo and Our Zoo

Ringing the bell after riding on the train.

The gorillas were being fed while we were there, and they were so much fun to watch.

My little monkey taking a break.

Self portrait

We took advantage of this beautiful Sunday and took a trip to the Zoo. We've been stuck at home all week and weekend while Jake heals and we all have a serious case of cabin fever, so we thought the Zoo would be perfect. Sure enough, Jake was able to sit in the stroller (for the most part) and rest while getting out at the same time. He even got to ride the train today since Daddy came along; Jake was in heaven! Walker also really enjoyed the train; he hasn't been on it since he was a little baby, and he LOVED it! He does this little bounce/dance when he hears music, and he did his little bounce the whole train ride. He was so cute! We definitely need to ride the train more often. We heart the Birmingham Zoo!

And this is a little snippet of the zoo that we run in the Summers' house....bath time. Walker LOVES bath time and throws down when ever it's time to take him out; Jake could care less about bath time, but just enjoys the time playing with his brother. Since we've been stuck at home all week (have I mentioned that before?) and are running out of things to do, we've spent a lot of time in the bath tub. :) The boys have a blast, Walker is corralled, Jake gets cleaned, and I don't have to entertain them....sounds good to me!

Anyways, it's been a very boring week at home as far as the blog is concerned, but I just wanted to post so that y'all know we are alive and well. Jake is getting better every day and is slowly weaning off the pain medicine. Walker is recovering from a sinus infection but is otherwise doing well; he is loving having his brother at home so much and not being on the go so much. Thanks again to everyone that has been checking in on us! I think we may have this thing kicked! ;)

Jake's Surgery

Pre-surgery silliness

This is his "scared face" :)Bless Tyson's heart...he's been working like crazy lately (well always) and crashed on Jake's stretcher. Thank goodness recruiting is OVER...for now. :)


Sorry to keep y'all in suspense about how Jake's surgery went; Tyson is working late these next few days so I'm letting Jake sleep with me, and he won't let me leave his side to do anything! Thank goodness that my mom is here to help with Walker or I don't know what I'd do!

Jake did GREAT today! Well, I say that...he did have a few meltdowns, but for reasons other than the surgery. First, he THREW DOWN as the tech was taking his vital signs; I think he is still traumatized from getting that shot at his 3 year appointment and doesn't trust medical personnel. :( And then, it was time for us to walk him down the hall to the OR; well, I failed to go over that part with him because in the book "Goodbye Tonsils," the little girl's parents got to go into the OR with her. Poor Jake did NOT like being taken from his mama's arms and handed over to another untrusted nurse. He kicked and screamed "MAMA!" all the way down the hall. It broke my heart! I pray he doesn't remember this and hold it against me for the rest of my life!

The surgery went quickly and the doctor said Jake did fine; Dr. Wiatrak did end up taking Jake's adenoids because they were also enlarged. Jake was back in the room with us about 45 minutes after he left us, and when they rolled him up, he was clutching Barney, sucking his thumb, and snoozing like a baby. The funny part was that you couldn't see his little face, though...all you could see was a bundle underneath tons of blankets. The nurse said he insisted on covering his face up (which is how he sleeps). :) He stayed asleep for a little while and then he started waking up as the nurse assessed him. Unfortunately, it was at that point that he discovered he had an IV in his foot and meltdown #3 happened. It took a little while to calm him down and convince him to leave his IV alone, but he eventually calmed down.

Anyways, once Jake woke up, he downed 2 cups of Sprite, kept it down, and then we were out the door. He has done awesome since being home and hasn't complained once! I just hope days 2 and 3 go this well, and then it's all downhill from there...I hope!

It's hard to believe that this is Jake's 2nd surgery in his 3 short years of life. Click here to read about his first surgery and the day after. Jake is definitely one tough little boy! I just hope this is the last surgery for a LONG time!

Thank you for all your prayers, texts, messages, emails, phone calls, etc. Tyson and I are overwhelmed at the support. It's going to be a busy next few days if Jake continues to be this clingy, but I'll try to update the blog as I get a chance. Happy Signing Day tomorrow to all of our football friends! Go Blazers!

"Good-Bye Tonsils!"

Well, tomorrow is the big day- Jake is going to get his tonsils out! To prepare him for his upcoming surgery, we read the book "Good-Bye Tonsils." The book is more for a school-aged child, but it was all I could find in 2 days. It does it's job, though, and goes over what tonsils are, why they have to come out, what goes on before and after surgery, and what it is going to be like when you come home. Jake actually grasped it all really well, however, the part I don't think he understood well is that he'd be in pain and have a sore throat for several days. I guess he'll find out soon enough. :(

In the book, the little girl is given "Good-bye tonsils!" party the night before her "operation," so we did just that- with a "Good-bye tonsils!" cake and all. We even sang "Goodbye to you...goodbye to you...goodbye dear tonsils....goodbye the you!" Ha! Here's to hoping that all this preparation will make for smooth sailing tomorrow! Wish us luck!

Shazam, Spiderman! What a week!

Where to start? Well, Walker had his EEG on Wednesday, but we won't know the results until early next week. The tech wouldn't give any hint as to whether he had any seizures or not, instead, all she said was that he was very cooperative and only fussed a little. Tyson and I weren't allowed to stay with him, and it just broke my heart. It's never easy leaving your baby in a situation like that. :(

Jake had an appointment with ENT on Thursday, and he will have his tonsils (and possibly his adenoids) removed on Tuesday. I was really surprised at how quickly they were able to get us in, but judging by the surgeon's and nurse practioner's reactions, Jake's tonsils must have been really bad. :(

So anyway, that's what's been going on around here. As always, we would appreciate your prayers next week as we get the results from Walker's EEG and for Jake's surgery on Tuesday. Thank you! Have a great weekend!

I Have to Brag on My Husband...

Tyson just got named Special Teams Co-coordinator at UAB! (He'll share the duties with John Wozniak, who we worked with at Georgia Southern). We are so proud of Tyson and all of his accomplishments; he definitely deserves this title as hard as he works! Way to go, Tyson, and GO BLAZERS!

Ryan's Birthday

Look at this thing, "Big Man's Daddy" according to Ryan, that the Maddens had blown up outside of our houses! Ha! I had no clue they were doing this, and I almost had a heart attack when I saw that thing out of my window!

Twiddle dee and twiddle dum!

Apparently Jake got that right leg caught, and totally face-planted after this shot!

My buddy, the Ice Cream man. He comes by every Saturday and knows to slow down by my house! Ha! Too bad I'm not even kidding!

Apparently Ginger likes the Ice Cream truck, too.

How sweet is that with Ryan's hand on Jake's knee? He's probably having to hold Jake down to keep him from eating his ice cream, too!

The little girl (who is actually bigger than both Ryan and Jake), is Ryan's friend, Julia.

Twiddle dum giving twiddle dee a hug.

And....back to the ice cream.

Meanwhile, Walker and Kaitlyn have a little curbside date.

Brantley joins in on the fun as Ryan asks Julia why she's eating pink icecream. Boys.

The younger siblings have a little playdate inside.

L-R Walker 9 mo, Kaitlyn (Ryan's sister) 7.5 mo, and Bricen (Brantley's brother) 7 mo

Ryan's awesome cake that his Mama made.

Today is Ryan's birthday, and since his party isn't until next week, the Maddens had a little celebration at home that consisted of "Big Man's Daddy," ice cream via the Ice Cream Man, remote control cars, and a Diego cake that Ashley made. We had a blast! In fact, Jake had so much fun, he didn't want to leave and let it be known. Aww...welcome to the 3's, Ashley and Mike! ;) Happy Birthday, Ryan!