I can do it all by myself

good cold ice cream

just like daddy & grand-daddy

Mr. Independent wanted to show us at dinner that he was a big boy. He held his own ice cream cone & tea glass. Our little boy is growing up WAY TO FAST!!!

Rubbermaid storage container = riding toy

having a blast

Our neighbors had a creative toy for Stryker...a rubbermaid storage container. Stryker was placed in the container & Gerald started dragging/spinning him around on the tile floor. Stryker loved it! When Gerald got tired, daddy hopped in to save the day. Logan was pushing him all over the house. Stryker, you are definitely all boy!

April's Fury

after the storm, Stryker decided that he was thirsty!

we strolled down the street for some pizza
(Logan decided to go through the drive through)

April 27, 2011 is known as April's Fury. Numerous tornadoes swept through our state, including one in Fultondale (1 mile from our home) & one in Cullman (hitting Wallace, going through Coach Putman's backyard, & 8 blocks from Mamo's apartment). Areas that were hit will be rebuilding for years to come. May God bless our state & those families affected by this storm. We were without power for only 2 days which we spent that time at Coco's. She welcomed our family & 2 dogs without any hesitation. Thank you mom!

Easter Sunday

This Easter was not so fun for Stryker. We had high hopes & anticipation for his first Easter egg hunt. Unfortunately, he was sick. Our pitiful little boy developed a fever virus on Friday which lasted through the weekend.

how pitiful :(

laying in our bed w/ a fever

Our plans changed, of course. We spent the afternoon cooking out at our house. Coco & Fletch came over to eat some delicious food. Poor Stryker spent time in our arms & sleeping in our bed (with just his diaper on because of the fever). He did have one short time period of feeling okay. Stryker spent this short span playing on his new Easter present from Coco (a playset). We kept it in the garage so he would be out of the sun. We'll wait till next year to have a big Easter egg hunt & enjoy an Easter church sunrise service.

Drop it like it's hot!

We were invited to cookout at neighbors house along with another family who have twin girls. The girls' dad was showing off what the twins do after saying, "Drop it like it's hot!" They would immediately squat down. Stryker caught on rather quickly & joined in by the third time. It was hilarious!

Ain't scared of nothing

Please don't think I'm a bad mom for letting my son do this. He loved riding on his buddy's (Austin - our neighbor) skateboard. We definitely have a child who is not scared of anything. He would ride on Austin's shoulders with the biggest grin on his face & wind blowing his through his hair. After the end of the short ride (yes, I only let him ride from our house to Austin's), Stryker would kick his little feet & laugh after catching his breath! I'm glad Austin had a lot of energy because our little guy did not want this joy ride to end!

Outside "roller coaster"

The above video is our outside "roller coaster" (as I call it). Stryker has a zebra toy that can be positioned differently to use as a push toy, bike, or scooter. I converted it into the bike position. Stryker sat in my lap with his feet over the handles. As we rode down our driveway, I held my feet off the ground while hugging Stryker. He loved it, of course! After the ride, he would point to the toy & babble in hopes that I would repeat this fun ride. Not sure how long we were out there, but we had a blast!

You gotta read these books!

Reading books is definitely not a priority to me. I contribute this to having to read so much in respiratory therapy & physical therapy school. But, I must say, there have been two books that I feel everyone should read. 90 Minutes in Heaven (read this book couple of years ago) & Heaven is for Real (read couple of weeks ago). The first book took awhile for me to read because it involves a preacher who was in a car wreck & experienced Heaven for 90 minutes. It brought so many memories on my car accident. On 4-25-05, I was in a single car accident on my way home from a respiratory clinical in Birmingham. I prayed to God to allow me to see my mom again before plowing into a hill just feet away from a big drop-off. I was air lifted to UAB's trauma unit where only 3 pelvic fractures were noted. The second book was an amazing read. You get the experience from a child. God talks about us being children. I think sometimes we need to get back to that humble feeling in our faith like we had when we were children. If you're not excited about getting to Heaven in the future, then this book is for you. A feeling of comfort overwhelms you while reading this book on your eternal life. Please read these books & enjoy!

90 Minutes in Heaven
Don Piper with Cecil Murphey

Heaven is for Real
Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent

A trip to Toys 'R' Us

baseball bike

Coco wanted to buy Stryker an Easter present from Toys 'R' Us. We met Coco & Fletch at the one in Hoover to pick his "giant" toy up. Good thing we had a truck. It was an outside playset!

Who knew a hospital waiting room could be fun?!

The video was shot in UAB's Trauma & Burn Unit waiting room. We were visiting one of Logan's baseball players & had some time to waste before visitation time. So, this is what kept Stryker entertained.

Gotta love Wallace baseball

At a recent home game, Stryker spent time playing with Stuie (baseball's head manager). It all began when Stuie left a few baseballs on the concrete next to the fence. Stryker knelt down, looked at me (with such a mischievious little expression, I might add), poked his finger through the fence, & knocked one of the baseballs off. He quickly looked back at me with a big grin! Guess you can figure out what came next...he repeated this fun task! The second ball fell right next to Stuie making him jump up to see what happened. He noticed Stryker kneeling by the fence laughing! The game was on! As fast as Stuie could place a ball, Stryker was knocking it off. I'm glad this happened between games, since many of our fans were watching this entertainment.

Fountain time

Stryker & I met Coco at the Summit this afternoon (Logan was gone with the baseball team to Tennessee). Coco wanted to buy me a couple of dresses for church so we met for an afternoon of shopping. Our first stop was Banana Republic. They had 2 perfect dresses for me! As Coco was checking out, Stryker & I spotted a fountain. I allowed him to walk holding my hand to the fountain. Other kids were playing & caught Stryker's attention. Stryker would mimic the other children. He would reach his arm out to catch the water & laugh as it splashed in his hand. Shoppers would pass by laughing & making comments such as "he's so cute".

Stryker waving to Coco

He loved having the water splash on his hands

Lemons???

Who would have guessed that our son would like the taste of lemons. We were grilling at our neighbors when Stryker spotted some sliced lemons on the table. Curious about those bright yellow objects, he reached in to steal one. We all anticipated a funny moment so I immediately grabbed my camera. As quickly as our minds could gear up for a "remember when" moment, Stryker disappointed us by taking a big bite out of the lemon with only squinted eyebrows. He looked around at all of us staring at him with a look of question, probably wondering why all these crazy people were sitting in silence & staring at him! Stryker then took ANOTHER bite. Guess the anticipation was greater than the result.