Where Did My 12 Hours Go?

I used to LOVE telling people that my sweet baby sleeps for 12 hours a night. Take note of the key words: "used to". It has come to bite me in the bottom. Walker is so eager to play and learn about this crazy world...I can hardly get him to sleep. Last night the little guy played in his crib for 2 hours before having a melt down and prompting Matt to rock him to sleep. I just knew that he would be exhausted and sleeping in this morning...WRONG! He was up at 6:30am!! He usually sleeps until 8am. What in the world?! He has officially mastered pulling up on the side of his crib and walking around. He grabs the camera for our video monitor and swings it around. He is all over the place these days! What else has Walker been up to?? Well, he has popped his top 2 teeth (bringing us to a grand total of 4), eaten/destroyed his crib railing, does 'The Worm' to get from place to place (an interesting method of crawling). We are so blessed a have a sweet, active, funny and charming little boy, even if he is refusing to sleep.

Showing off...Walker is so proud of himself

Uncle Brett and Walker

Grandma and Mr. Cheeks

8 Months Old...ahhh!!

So Many Faces, So Little Time!

We took our annual trip to Illinois this past week. We were there for the Mathis Family Reunion and also got to take a special trip to see the Zolfo clan in Chicago. Walker literally met about 50 new people....yeah, that is a lot of family! He was a hit (of course)! He was a little overwhelmed at first, but then joined right in on all of the fun. Wait....I forgot to mention a little something: we drove ALL the way there (NEVER again!) and Walker had a virus and ear infection. Considering the following Walker did an amazing job! We got to see lots of family, catch up with everyone and show off our little man.


Grandpa Dave and W

"My Dad is so much fun!"

Future Piano Man

Gramma Joni and Walker makin' eyes at each other

Celebrating B-days and eating cake with the Zolfo's

Papa and Breanne

Mickey, this one is for you, since you "live for my blog"

Big Prayers for Stevie!

One of our friends, Stevie Crowder Patrick, is ungoing surgery today for a malignant brain tumor. It is a very long and difficult procedure. Please take a moment to lift Stevie up in prayer before the Lord. Pray that the Lord will protect her, dwell in her and keep her strong. Also, pray for the Crowder and Patrick family to have patience and to feel our prayers. You can follow Stevie's progress and updates through www.prayforstevie.blog.com

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Mama's Day!!

What an amazing Mother's day! I am filled with such joy and delight! Being Walker's mama is the best ever! Mother's Day has taken on a whole new meaning. I am so blessed to have such an amazing, sweet and funny little boy! Some days it is hard to even imagine my life before Walker. What did I do with all of my free time?? What occupied my thoughts and time?

I have also taken on a new appreciation for my mom and grandmothers. They worked hard and put up with a lot of stuff from us kiddos! I now understand the undying and unending love of a mother. Thanks, Mom!!

I had such a great Mother's day! Matt was in San Antonio for work, so I spent most of the week in Tyler. I hung out with my parents, went out to eat, visited my mom's school, went shopping, saw Brett, and took Walker to the zoo. I headed home on Saturday afternoon to meet Matt. He greeted me with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. Matt got up on Sunday and went to get me Starbucks...yum!! We played hookie and skipped out on church. We went to eat breakfast and Matt and Walker gave me cards and giftcards for a shopping spree...love it!! We then headed down to Farmer's Market and got flowers and fresh fruit. We came home and planted all of our outdoor pots. What a great family day!!

Best Mama's day yet!!! By the way, we worked on the word "Mama" with Walker.....and we are still working!

Lounging

Walker and Vivi at the Tyler Zoo

The Mamas with the Boy

Flowers from WZ

Happy Mother's Day!!

There are stars out here!

We left the city last Friday and headed to my parents cabin in Crockett. It was so nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city and escape to the great outdoors. We had such a great weekend! The weather was gorgeous and we spent lots of time outside. Matt commented that being at the cabin was more relaxing than the Mexico trip....I agree!! The land and the cabin have been in the family since my dad was a little boy. He spent lots of his childhood at the cabin with his grandfather. And some of my fondest memories growing up were made at the cabin. I just love it! It is such a special place and I can't wait for Walker to join in on the tradition. It won't be long before he is riding in the Ranger and running around with his own Snoopy fishing pole.

Walker and Grandma

Walker and Daddy D riding in the Ranger

Baxter watching the boys fish

The guys caught a total of 22 fish, 28 pounds. Fish fry next time!

Cabin

Swinging on the hammock

Walker and Vivi

Oh Mexico..

Matt and I went to Mexico for 5 days and the little man stayed behind with his Gramma Cyndy and Great-Gramma Joni. It was pure torture...for me! Everyone else seemed so happy about the whole situation, but I was dying. I hadn't been away from Walker for more than a few hours and I was now going to leave him for days....ahh!

Matt won the trip through work for being a top performer, so it was free. If it is FREE, it for ME! The resort was gorgeous and the food and drinks were yummy. There was only one problem, it rained almost the whole time. Not just a little drizzle, but a monsoon. We were only able to put on our swimsuits once (a relief to me) and hang out by the pool. Other than our one pool day, we ordered room service, ate, drank, went to the spa and slept. It was great, but we were so ready to get home to see WZ!!

Cyndy gave Walker a great report card! They both had a great time! We are so thankful that Cyndy and Gramma Joni made the long trip to Texas to watch Walker. He was in great hands! Although, next time we go somewhere Walker is coming with us!!

Rainy and gloomy, so......

I slept A LOT!

One beautiful day of sunny skies!