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!!!!!

Have No Fear

Walker has absolutely"No Fear of the Water". We enrolled him into swimming lessons last fall to get him use to the water. We were pretty confident before lessons he would love the water because of bath time and swimming at the pool in Whistler. This summer has totally confirmed we have a water baby who LOVES the water. We were very lucky on Saturday to meet our friends Kristy, JD, Abby and Peyton for a play date at the pool. My friend Kristy's husband is the golf director at one of the best golf courses here and they have a fabulous amentities center at the course. We enjoyed over two hours of pool time and lunch. The boys had so much fun playing together and sharing their snacks. I would definitely say the moms were worn out from chasing the boys around.

The slide was so much fun. Walker and JD kept pointing at the slide, so Kristy and I said what the heck let's take them down it. I will admit I was a little nervous. I was nervous about getting dumped in the pool at the end holding him. My mom couldn't believe I didn't go down the slide first to test it out. I said, "If I'm going he's going".........so we went and I have never heard Walker squeel and laugh the way he did. We went down the slide four times.

It was totally impossible to get all three boys in the camera. All three go in opposite directions. In the first picture Walker and JD are are trying to figure out which toy to play with. Remember, Walker and JD share the same birthday. In the second picture Walker and Peyton are playing in the splash pad. Walker and Peyton are in the same class at school and are buddies. They found a spicket/shower that fascinated them more than the pool.

Every time I look at these two pictures I laugh hysterical. Check out Walker's belly. Has anyone ever seen a belly this big? Isn't it the cutest darn belly you have ever seen? We went to the pediatricians office last week and she asked me what we've been putting in his belly. Pretty much any vegetable, fruit, cheese, yogurt he can get his hands on. I hope if you are having a yucky day Walker's big ole' belly will brighten your day:):)

We had such a great time. Thank you Kristy and JD for inviting us to swim. We can't wait to do it again some time!!

We loves us some JULES!!

Look who came to visit us last week, JULES!!! She arrived last Sunday afternoon and almost spent the entire week with us. She left early Thursday morning and we were all soooo sad. We love it when Jules comes to visit. Walker gets to stay home all week from school, the house is clean, dinner is cooked and the laundry is washed. My stress level went from a 10 to a 2 last week, but sadly enough its creeping back up now that she's gone:)

Walker loves to sit in your lap and read books. He will bring you ten books to read and then as you begin to read him one he's ready for the next book. He loves the lift and look books with animals. He can identify a few of the animals by making their sounds. Jules was an elementary school teacher, so I think she loved reading to him.

Walker and Jules had so much fun playing outside. Walker would stay outside all day if we would let him. After a storm last week they went outside to play in the puddles. At one point Walker was laid out flat on his tummy in the puddle. It was so funny, but the entire time I was thinking how dirty and nasty he was getting. Thank goodness it was right before bath time. In the third picture he had just gotten up from the puddle and it looks like he's saying "touchdown". He was so proud of himself.

Jules and Walker were playing hide-n-go seek with Daddy. Walker was loving it. When they would hunt for Daddy, Walker would call out his name. Then when they found him he would giggle. Jules also got to go on an adventure with us to the pediatricians office. Walker was having some issues with his ears. Thank goodness for your help Jules!!

Thank you Jules for coming to visit us. We can't wait to see you again soon. We love you!!

He's All Boy.....

He's all boy, not a doubt in my mind. I think Walker would stay outside all day long if we would let him. It's been so hot here the last few weeks and its only getting worse. He definitely doesn't understand why we only stay outside about 30 minutes at a time. His little face gets as red as a tomato and he sweats like a pig. I really try hard to make sure he stays hydrated. I don't think it would be so bad if he would sit down for 5 minutes and rest, but oh why would I won't to rest mommy?? He is getting very good at running. He actually can pick up speed very quickly. He's in the flower beds, running through the shrubs, picking up pine straw, picking the flowers, eating grass, banging on the garage door, walking in the street (we're lucky to be in a culdesac), playing in Ribbie's outside water bowl and etc. This pretty much summarizes our trips outside to play.

He is changing so much. His new class is teaching him so many new things. He is learning sign language and is beginning to use it at home to communicate. He is very good at signing "more". It's actually really cool. He can tell you where his nose, tongue, eyes and ears are. We are working on toes and fingers. His new animal of the week is a fish. He makes a fish face when you ask him what a fish says. He picks up on things so easily. He will bring a book to you to read and crawl in your lap to listen. He has learned how to climb out of his highchair and climb off the bed and couch. He helps us sing the Ants Go Marching One By One Hurrah Hurrah. When we get to the Hurrah Hurrah he says Hurrah Hurrah! It's so wonderful being his mommy and watching him learn new things. We are truly so blessed!!

Walker was having so much fun on Sunday after church helping me change the sheets on our bed and rolling around on the pillows. He is laying on the floor hysterical, because I was waving a pillowcase over his face.

Then we moved on to a pillow fight and peek-a-boo under the sheets. The things you'll find yourself doing to entertain your little boy. In the third picture he's holding a blue flower he pulled off of a basket. He looks so innocent, but believe me don't let him fool you:)

Walker and Ribbie talked Daddy into feeding them a quick breakfast snack on Saturday morning. They both were begging, so Patrick told them both to sit and then Patrick showed Walker how to share with Ribbie. Walker was feeding Ribbie so nicely. We are so lucky to have such a gentle dog.