Mo' Money!

Walker's asking for money all the time these days...we're not really even sure where he learned what money was, but he likes to play "store" with it and loves putting it in his bank. Maybe he'll be a little saver...unlike his mom and dad. Let's hope so! He runs around the house saying "mo' money" all the time. Ha ha. At the lake, he asked Cliff's dad for "mo' money" and he got handed a $20 bill THAT HE GOT TO KEEP! That's what I'm talkin' about. We've trained him well. :)


Wow-we've been sooo busy lately. But, life's been so fun...this is the good kind of busy and it's been a blast. I can't believe summer is almost over for us and I go back to work next Friday. But, I am anxious to start my new title as a regular education 5th grade Reading & Writing teacher. :)

I'm going to go backwards in time as I update...I tend to do better thinking that way. This week has been lots of fun...Cliff's been in a class all week from 8:00-2:30 and we've had fun evenings. Today, Ashley (my college roomate and great friend) came to visit and we spent the morning together, just us gals...later the guys (and little one) joined us. We had lots of fun and were glad to see them! Tonight Cliff had a softball game and it's the first one all season that Walker & I have made it to. Walker was a trip...he was cheering on the whole team calling each player by name "Yeah, Brandon did it!" etc... Such a sweet boy!

Yesterday, I took Walker to Nonnie's for the night and he had a good time up there. After church we got in some good quality fun dessert time at Applebee's with Cor-Cor, Gi-Gi, Ryan & Amy. (Ryan & Amy are our new youth minister and wife and we are very excited about having them here!) It was nice to go out and do something "late" that we wouldn't normally do while Walker was home. :)

Tuesday, I had a WONDERFUL pool day with Jen. This was well needed...it had been ages since we'd spent time together, especially without kids. I enjoyed great conversation and good laughs and was happy to see her mom for a while too! Tuesday night, we had dinner at Chris & Tiffany's and Chris & Cliff planned some things out for Sunday School while Tiff and I chatted in the yard and watched the kids play outside. Good times with great friends!

Monday was our "in" day...Walker and I spent the day inside doing fun things such as fingerpainting the bathtub and watching the water turn a pretty shade of pink when we were through! Monday evening, Cliff and I had a night out to dinner with Ryan & Amy...lots of good stuff there. :)

Sunday was a great day at church and a day I hope and feel like I will always remember. It was one of those days in my life that I can "bookmark" as a day when I began to feel God at work in a particular area and I am so thankful for that. I love how God always knows exactly what He needs...not that it surprises me. I am just thankful that He's not finished with me yet and that He refuses to allow me to stay stagnant.

Last week, we were at the beach...we went to Seagrove with my Dad's side of the family. Cor-Cor, Gi-G-, Stephen, Crystal, Papa, Grammie, Mommy, Daddy & Walker had a great time at the beach. Walker enjoyed throwing sand and tasting it when he sucked his thumb. :) He loved trying to run back to the beach house by himself after he was sick of the beach. He also enjoyed getting to stay up a tad bit later and have some relaxed eating rules. We all had a wonderful time and look forward to our next trip...which Cor-Cor and Gi-Gi will finally be married for!!

Before that, we were at the lake (Lake Sinclair) for a long weekend. Walker loved Uncle Nick (Ho Ho) and Aunt Sue. They are Cliff's aunt & uncle and Uncle Nick plays Santa in real life. :) He's a pretty convincing one too if you ask me. I would have imagined my Santa to have been just like him, inside and out. Such a good heart. Walker LOVED Ho ho. He coined him that the minute he saw him and it stuck. No matter how much we tried to convince Walker of his real name, he knew better. :) Walker enjoyed throwing sand at the lake as well. He also enjoyed the hot tub (aka bubble pool) which Aunt Sue & Uncle Nick so sweetly dropped the temp of so Walker could get in. He and his Daddy think we need one now...not so much, unless Santa brings one of course!! But I don't see that happening!

It's been a whirlwind of a summer and I wouldnt' trade a second of it. I've so enjoyed our time off with Walker and with each other. I can't believe how quickly it's coming to an end but we still have a handful of fun "activities" ahead of us the next week or so to look forward to.

Just some updates on Walker...he's talking wonderfully, loving his little sentences. But, he cannot say "w" sound to save his life. He doesn't even substitute the same consonant each time. We've recently discovered that... Walker is "Gawker", Woo! is "Hoo!" Woah! is "hoe!" Wes is "yes!" woot (my excited it's Friday term during school) is "poot" You get the picture. I'm not overly worried but since I do have a friend who's an SLP, I mentioned it to her in case there is something I can do to help. She said the fact that he's not substituting the same consonant everytime makes her think it's developmental and she said some other things that make sense too, so I think we're all good. :)

We've moved into the toddler bed! The first two nights went great, the 2nd two not so great, he spent a night away and then tonight went great! He loves his bed and is proud to show it off and we're proud of what a great transition he's made into it...for a child who doesn't always love change so much. :) Cliff put the new bed together and for the first few days everytime Walker got in it or saw it, he'd say "Thank you Daddy." It was soo cute! Naptime goes really well. Even if he doesn't want to take a nap, he won't come out of his room. He peeks out a few times right at the beginning and slams the door and runs back to his room when he seems me, but he never comes out and then he just falls asleep.

He has definitely learned to use and abuse the word "sorry..." He knows and understands it's purpose and now knows how to minipulate with it. :) I told Jen at the pool that he's always been a minipulative little one and I know that word typically has negative connotations but in this sense it's just part of his personality.

Speaking of personality, he's becoming less shy. He's still not 100% the social butterfly in unfamiliar settings that he is where he's comfortable but he's making progress by leaps and bounds and we're excited. Small things like willingly waving to strangers in stores as we pass by and saying "hey" are showing great strides in his anxieties in this area. It's so neat to watch him before more comfortable in his own skin and I'm proud of the effort he's putting forth. He still has his shy moments and these days you really don't know which version of Walker you'll get...but it's better than what we had going on before and I am happy he's feeling more adaptable.

He and Nonnie went to Chick-Fil-A this afternoon on the way home and the cow was there. I expected that he cried like he did a few weeks ago when we saw the cow, but he did not. In fact, he loved the cow...another sign of his budding adaptability. When he came home and Nonnie asked him what the cow says, Walker said "mo' chicken!" Oh gosh!! What a confused kindergartener he'll be. Lol. :) It's soooo cute!


Something's up with blogger tonight, so no pics...but maybe soon!