A Weekend Away

Jason and I spent the weekend in Atlanta to cheer on the Tide in the Chick-Fil-A College Football Kickoff. Before we left, Jason brought the boys to eat lunch with me at school. Tyler was so excited about going through the lunch line with the big kids and getting a big boy tray. He's going to be one of those kids who loves school lunches! After school, Jason and I left the boys at home with Granna and Pop Pop and headed to Atlanta. Although we missed our friends we traveled to Jacksonville with last year (they all opted for a weekend at the beach!), we had a great time. I didn't realize how peaceful it is to eat a meal without having to worry about two kids! I love my children and wouldn't trade them for anything in the world, but it was nice to have adult time this weekend!
On Saturday we met up with Jason's brother, Taylor, and his girlfriend, Hayleigh, for a day filled with football. We had a great time watching Alabama beat Clemson in the Georgia Dome. It was a fun way to kick off the college football season.

Nothing Like It!

There's nothing like a bath in the sink...

Drying off with a hooded towel... Getting dressed and getting your passy...Then getting a good night's sleep! That's a typical evening at our house. After Matthew is down for the night, it's game time with Tyler. He's all in to games these days. His favorites are Go Fish, Bingo, Boggle Jr., and Hi Ho Cheerio. I love playing games with him because it is a great way for us to practice number and letter recognition and counting. Plus, I love spending time with just Tyler each night! Sometimes Matthew tries to play, too, but we usually wait until he goes to bed.

I love the times when the four of us are at home and able to spend time together just playing. Life gets so busy. It's nice to be home sometimes!

Picture Slideshow

We had Matthew's 6 month pictures made two weeks ago. It was supposed to be a family shoot but Jason got called in to work less than an hour before our appointment so I took both boys by myself. That's not something I think I'll ever do again! Trying to get a 6 month old to smile while looking at the camera and at the same time having to sit beside him to make sure he doesn't fall back and hit his head was a difficult task. Tyler tried to help by holding on to Matthew but there's only so much a 3-year-old can do! It was burning up that morning, too, so we were all ringing wet with sweat. When we left there, we were soaking wet from head to toe. I don't think I had one ounce of make up left on! On top of all of that, this was in the middle of my whole root canal fiasco when I was getting no sleep at night! All in all, the pictures turned out great. There are several of the boys I love. Hope you enjoy the slide show.

Off To A Better Start

This week is definitely off to a better start. School is going good and the boys are great. Last week Tyler moved to his new classroom at school and he is enjoying his new teachers and his new room. For the past two years when he has moved up to the next classroom we have had a rough start to the school year. He likes to test his new teachers and see what they will put up with. This year has been no exception. Last week he, along with a few of his school buddies, made two visits to the office. We haven't had any office visits this week so hopefully he has learned that his teachers will not tolerate any misbehavior. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! On a more positive note, Tyler is ready for football season to begin. He and Jason talk football all the time and play football outside. I think this is a favorite time of the year for both of them. The picture below is of Tyler playing football tonight. As you can see, he is in need of a haircut yet again.
Matthew is 6 months old and is in the process of cutting two of his bottom teeth. He is a constant drooler these days and wants to put everything in his mouth. He went to the doctor for his 6 month check up last week and he is doing great. He weighed 16 pounds, 12 ounces putting him in the 50th percentile for weight. He measured 28 inches long which is in the 90th percentile in height. Matthew is enjoying spending his days with Grandad, MawMaw, and Granna since I have gone back to work. He was supposed to start daycare last week but fortunately everything worked out so that he won't have to start until after Christmas. This is a huge blessing to me as are our wonderful family members who keep him during the day. I love the fact that he is able to spend time with his grandparents and great-grandparent while we're not home during the day. I know he will be rotten by the time Christmas rolls around (as if he's not rotten already!). Here is a picture of Matthew at bath time last night. The boy loves playing in the water and splashing like a wild man! It's nice to be feeling normal again. Life is good and I'm so blessed to have a wonderful husband and two beautiful boys along with the family and friends we love.

What A Week!

Wow...my life has been crazy since the last time I posted. The whole past week seems like a blur...

About a week and a half ago, my last week of summer, I started having pains on the left side of my face into my neck, ear, and jaw. I went to the ENT and he said I obviously had some infection and a swollen lymph node. He put me on an antibiotic and steroid and said I should start feeling better within 24 hours. Well, things didn't get better - they got a whole lot worse! I wasn't able to sleep at night and I was in horrible pain, especially when I laid down, so on Friday the 4th I went back to the doctor. First, I had a panoramic dental x-ray to make sure there was no infection around my teeth. None showed up. Then, I had a CT scan. Everything looked good there so the doctor did some blood work and sent me home for the weekend with some pain medicine and the hope that I would feel better soon. That was not the case. I was miserable all weekend and into the first part of the week. My blood work came back fine. I was told it must just be some inflammation and it would get better soon. I couldn't believe that I was going to be in that much pain and not able to sleep for several more days! I called my dentist and talked to him. He sent me to an endodontist on Tuesday morning and at 4:30 Tuesday afternoon I was having a root canal. I was scared to death but at least the happy gas made me forget everything while I was there! When they were finished, the endodonist said that was definitely what was causing all of the pain. Although the infection never showed up on the x-ray or CT scan, it was pretty bad. He sent me home with pain medicine and said I'd be hurting and then sore for the next several days. He was right but it is nothing like the pain I experienced the week before having the root canal!

Did I mention that during this whole crazy process, I started back to work on Monday? This couldn't have happened earlier in the summer when I had time to rest and actually get better! I guess that's just the way things go. My first week back at work was spent trying to stay awake despite taking pain medication and just trying to survive the first two days with students. All I can say is I made it and I'm finally beginning to feel normal again!

With my crazy blur of a week, I have no new pictures of the boys but I do have a picture of my polka-dotted fourth grade classroom. Although my blog posts will slow down now that school has started, I'll have new pictures of the boys to post soon!

Tyler's First Fish!

We went to see Mimi and Perry today after Matthew had his 6 month pictures made. Of course, Tyler was not content playing in the nice, cool, air-conditioned house. He wanted to feed the ducks and try to catch a fish. Last time he tried fishing, he hooked a catfish but it was too big for him to handle. This time, with Mimi's help, he caught a smaller fish! He wanted to take it inside and cook it for lunch but we convinced him to let Mimi throw it back in the water. He is already looking forward to his next trip to Mimi's pond and catching more, bigger fish!

Summer Fun with Friends

Tyler has had a fun summer playing with friends all over town. Having a new baby brother hasn't slowed him down!

Trip to the McWane Center

We are savoring our last few days of summer! We had a great time at the McWane Center today with Aunt Heather and Grandad. The best part...it was something fun to do without being in the scorching heat and humidity! Plus, Tyler was worn out. He came home and slept for over two hours. Only one more week of summer left for the Blake boys!