What's My Name?

I only have so much longer before Walker can't wear things that are mongrammed or smocked, so I'm taking full advantage of dressing Walker these days. A friend introduced me to a really cute blog. I just couldn't resist ordering Walker a few things. I wanted to show you how adorable he looks in his new shirts. They turned out so good and I can't wait to order him more.


I love the candy corn for Halloween. Candy corn is also one of Daddy's favorite things to snack on this time of year. He is just so cute, don't you think...makes you want to eat him to pieces:)

I love this applique. Daddy is addicted to golf just like his great grandparents, so I thought it would be perfect for him. Wouldn't he be so darn cute out on the course hitting balls with Daddy, Beck & Moke wearing his shirt:)

If you are interested, check out http://www.monogramminmomma.blogspot.com/.

My First Trip to the Zoo

Today we loaded up and headed to the Riverbank Zoo in Columbia. Patrick and I could hardly wait to get there. It's all we've talked about all week long. To be able to enjoy the animals through Walker's eyes and expressions today was unbelievable. The memories we made together today, I will never forget. Walker was in heaven walking around and pointing at all the animals. We could tell he was taking it all in and enjoying every animal exhibit there. I do apologize we took a lot of pictures and I had a very hard time choosing which ones I would share with you. As you will see I posted a lot of our day. I hope you enjoy!

The gorilla exhibit was amazing. They were definitely enjoying a cool Sunday morning. This BIG guy was resting right up against the glass. His hands were HUGE.

Walker loved the elephants. Elephants are one of his favorite animals. You ask him what sound an elephant makes and he will raise his arm like an elephants trunk. These big guys were very active. We were hoping for some noise, but they just walked around.

He loved the aquarium and watching all of the fish swim around. In the first picture he is doing his "fish face". He thought he was big stuff being able to stand and touch the glass.

Walker was able to pet the goats and the bunnies at the barnyard exhibit. He also got to pet one of the giraffes. They have a deck that looks out over the giraffes and he was right there just saying hi to everyone.

The monkeys were amazing. They were very very vocal and playful while we were there. We watched them swing around for about 20 minutes. Walker would not stop pointing at them. We enjoyed them so much we decided to sit down and enjoy our picnic lunch. What little boy got to eat his PB&J sandwich and banana while watching the monkeys today. Walker wasn't sure about the birds. We were feeding them nectarine out of a little plastic cup. Walker showed a little bit of fear. Check out his face.....Daddy.....okay I didn't know birds could get so close...I thought they just flew in the sky...not on your hand:)

Our last and final stop was the carousel. Walker loved riding on the fierce tiger. We had an absolute ball and can't wait to go back. I think each time will be so different as Walker continues to grow. We had a ball!!!!

Happy Birthday Pops!!

Happy Birthday, Pops!

We hope you had a wonderful birthday. We have thought about you all day and wish we could of celebrated with you today. Come visit soon and I am really looking forward to spending the week with you during Thanksgiving. I'm getting really good at showing Daddy & Mommy your picture in the alumni magazine and on the refrigerator. Happy Birthday and I love you bunches!!

Pesky Old Bee

Yesterday about 3:00pm I received my first scary phone call from school. The call that starts off, "Brooke, Walker was on the playground" and.....of course I start thinking the worst....like a broken bone or split head needing stitches....but she said, "Walker was just stung by a bee on the neck below his ear and he seems to be doing fine." They removed the stinger and were putting ice and cortisone on the bite. They said he hardly cried, but did see him swat something away. I felt so bad that I wasn't there to help him when he needed me. Your neck is such a tender spot. I did leave work early to check on him. It was very swollen and red, but after we got home and I gave him a little Benadryl it seemed to take the redness and puffiness out. I talked to our pediatrician and she said usually he would not have an allergic reaction until he is stung a second time and the reaction would happen within 20 minutes.....We will just keep our fingers crossed.

The teachers at his school are so wonderful and so nurturing. Yesterday made me remember how thankful Patrick and I are to have him surrounded by so many that love him! It's so hard being far away from family and friends, but we are truly blessed with his teachers at school that love him just as much as we do!!

Happy 15 Months Old Walker Leigh!!

Walker had his 15 month checkup last Wednesday. He turned 15 months old on September 12th. Everything went great except for the three shots he got. The nurse gave one in each arm and one in his thigh. This was the first time he's had a shot in the arm. I felt so sorry for him because his little arms are so tiny. He did get the flu shot, so I was super pumped about that. All three of us now have our flu shots. We will just keep our fingers crossed that the shot works. Walker weighed 26.12 (75 percentile), 31 1/2 inches tall (70 percentile) and his head measured 18 3/4 (50 percentile). Takes after his dad with a small head:) He is getting pretty heavy, but how could I not carry the little stinker around:)

Ribbie update: Ribbie came home from Charleston on Thursday afternoon. The doggy orthopedic said her knee was "shredded". Her entire backside is shaved with about 25 metal staples on the inside of her back left leg. We give her three different meds a day. She has to be confined for 6wks. The doggy orthopedic said she would hopefully be able to go on her first walk around Halloween. She is in our laundry room and the only time she is allowed out is to go to the bathroom on a leash. Thank you to both of the grandmothers who have sent their granddog presents. I would take a photo of her, but it might gross you out. Walker goes over to the gate and barks at her. I keep telling him to please leave her alone, because she's very sick. I think he just likes torturing her:( Thanks for everyone who wrote a sweet comment about her!!

We have our beach back, Yea!!

We finally have our beach back and it's GREAT. We have looked forward to Labor Day weekend since June. Why you ask.....well Labor Day weekend is officially the last weekend for "vacationers". It's so much easier taking Walker to the beach, because he can run and play without a million people trying to do the same thing. You can see for miles and dogs are allowed back on the beach. He wanted to say hi to every dog that walked by us. We need to teach him that every dog is not as nice as Ribbie. He was also obsessed with waving to everyone that walked by us. He really enjoyed pointing at the seagulls and pelicans. We were able to get really close to the seagulls and he thought that was so cool:)

Hopefully, we will be able to go a few more times before the weather gets chilly. He is so much fun on the beach now that he can walk around. I'm looking forward to next summer:)

We love you Ribbie

This post is to wish our very sweet Ribbie girl a good day tomorrow. Bless her little heart, she is having surgery tomorrow to repair her torn ACL on her left back leg. She will have two plates put into her knee. For all of you dog lovers out there you must know how much we love her and how much we hope the surgery goes well. We can't wait to have her back home, recovering and able to play and take walks again. I wanted to post a few pictures and ask all of my blog readers to pray for her tomorrow. She's got a long recovery ahead of her and so do we. She will be 5 on Wednesday, so Happy Early Birthday girl!!

I couldn't just pick one picture of her. We have been so lucky to have such a gentle dog with Walker. Walker loves her so much and I think deep down inside Ribbie loves him too:)

I got to meet Chanty!

We had so much fun on Saturday at the CCU football game. It was so much different this year because Walker was able to enjoy it more. Last year he mostly slept the entire game in my arms. This year he is going to have so much fun running around the tent with the other children, watching the band and the football game. We caught up with Chanty in the suite last night before we left. Believe it or not he wasn't really scared of him. He did get a little frown at first, but after seeing Daddy "high-five" Chanty he was okay.

Walker LOVED the band. They stopped in front of the tent and played a couple songs. I think he liked the drums the best.

I will admit it was very hard to keep up with him. Thanks to our friends who helped me on Saturday with him. Oh, and I'm loving what people are saying these days....."He looks so much like you" not to brag, but it drives Patrick crazy:):):)

Busy Bee's....

I know some of you might be wondering what happened to us. Yes, I know I have not blogged in three weeks. I can't believe it and so unlike me to not brag about Walker. So, if you've been wondering what we've been doing......well.........We have been "Busy Bee's" chasing around a very FAST "Little Bee". Did I say fast? Heck ya, he's fast!! I never thought I would be getting my exercise these days by chasing after Walker. We have been on the go this summer and I'm finally looking forward to staying at home, relaxing a little and watching football games. Yes, I said it....I'm actually looking forward to football games this year.....for another reason though.....Walker and I can go tailgate, see Daddy, run around and play as hard as he would like and hopefully crash on the way home...I'm actually laughing while typing this sentence...hopefully he can follow my plan.

Walker is jibber jabbering all the time. Sometimes you can understand what he's saying, but most of the time he's in his on little world. He loves Brown Bear Brown Bear. Last night we were reading Brown Bear and we asked him to show us the goldfish, sheep, dog, horse and he can point right to them. The first picture above shows him making his fish face. He can also tell you the sounds of each of the animals. I was so proud of him last night! We are working hard on colors now.

He loves to climb. He tries to climb out of the bathtub, he climbs all over the furniture, climbs in the chairs outside (got a splinter in his toe), climbs up and down the stairs and his new thing is to use Ribbie as a stepping stool to get on things.....not good with Ribbie's torn ACL. He also has discovered the trash can. We play a little game called "Clean Up" and he loves to help us with the trash. It's always fun to go to the trash can and before you throw something away look down to find socks, shoes or toys that he's thrown away. It's like Walker has a little treasure box. You can find all kinds of treasures in the trash these days:) I couldn't find my deodorant this morning, so I started hunting for it. Where did I find it....yep....the trash. This weekend he started tearing pages out of his books, crinkling it up and off to the trash he went.

Moppy and grandmother visited for a week. It's so hard to see them leave, because they spoil us to death, but actually this time we followed them home to spend the long weekend in the upstate. Moppy was probably ready to get rid of us:) I know she rested a lot on Sunday and Monday after we left. Patrick and I were able to get away early Saturday morning and we headed to Knoxville, TN to watch WKU play UT. We had a lot of fun seeing friends and especially visiting with Pops. Thanks Pops for the sideline passes, it was an adventure for me. I know one day Walker will enjoy standing on the sidelines with his Daddy too.

Moppy taught Walker how to make beautiful music on my piano that my grandfather gave me when I was a little girl. He does a lot of banging and he LOVES it. Moppy also trimmed his hair while we were there. Just the front....I'm still digging my feet in the sand....I will not cut his curls until I absolutely have too. Walker's hair curls in the back just like his Daddy's did when he was a little. We had three couples over for dinner this weekend and we took a vote. All the guys said he has a borderline mullet and all the girls said his hair was perfect and so cute with the curls. Curls it is and they are here to stay a little longer:):):)

A few weeks ago we received a call from some old college friends who were visiting the beach. We met them for dinner and had so much fun. David and Jody went to WKU with us. David and Patrick played baseball together. David and Jody have twins, Gavin and Maddie. Let me tell you how cute these two are and how well behaved they are. Jody has done a GREAT job....well you too Lower. Walker had so much fun chasing the big kids around and playing on the race car game! Thank you all for calling us and we hope to see you again in the Spring.

On Tuesday, Walker moved up to the 18 month old class. He is adjusting very well and exploring all of the new toys. He will begin to learn Spanish and he will learn how to drink out of a real cup. He did move up with his friend Lauren. I'm excited for the new adventure, but a little sad, because he left Peyton behind. Walker, Lauren and Peyton have been together since they were 2 months old and I have developed a friendship with Peyton's mom. Hopefully, little Peyton will soon transition over with the "big kids":)

Look who got caught taking food out of the pantry. I turned my head 2 minutes and he had helped himself to some powdered sugar doughnuts. As you can see on his face he loved his first taste of doughnuts. I thought the first picture looks like he's saying, "Ugh Oh, I didn't do it Mom."

I could not resist posting this picture. I think he was saying....."Let me back in." How could you not just want to squeeze him to death and give him a million kisses. We are so darn lucky!!!!!