The Wilbanks Family

Bad Parent Moments and Renovations

2010-03-07T22:14:00.011-05:00

We definitely love how eventful life is with the Walkman! We've had some interesting experiences in the last couple of weeks that I would like to label "bad parent moments." Okay, they aren't really that bad, but they are kind of funny. The first happened on the day we picked Matt up from the airport from his Dubai trip. Walker and I were outside playing in the yard, pushing around his "cozy coupe" car, and he started running a little too fast and face planted right on the driveway. It was one of those times when I felt like life was in slow motion. His tiny body fell first and then his face hit with a smack, resulting in a little scratched up nose and a big strawberry on the forehead. It was his first real fall (he's had tons of falls in the house with lots of forehead bruises and bloody lips and noses) with real scratches! I was devastated and so disturbed because his nose was swollen and red and he was upset. What did Matt say? "That's my boy!"

So that was my "bad mom" moment because I was the one playing outside with Walker when he fell. Now, onto Matt's "bad dad" moment. We were at lunch today after church with Pastor Ron and a guest speaker from Habitat International who was an interesting guy from New Zealand. Let me first say that Walker is in this phase where he doesn't want to sit in his highchair during meals out (so restaurants aren't always so fun right now). We were trying to be polite and talk with the guest and hear about how Habitat is working in Ethiopia...when I picked Walker up because he was crying (and about to be screaming). I realized he was quite wet and just assumed he spilled his juice. Then, I felt my jeans getting wet while Walker was sitting on my lap...and they were even a little warm. Oh, and my food had just arrived. Unfortunately, I was internally starting to panic because I realized we didn't have a change of clothes in the car, it wasn't time for the guest to leave yet, and I just wasn't sure what to do. Margi decided to take Walker outside to see the boats and the water, and she too noticed he was wet. Meanwhile, our waitress was a bit slow in getting us our checks. When we finally got to the car to leave and change his diaper, we realized the diaper wasn't on at all! EEEKK! He was wearing overalls, and the diaper was down around his ankle. How sad?! Matt was the last one to change his diaper and apparently forgot to fasten the sides. So, Walker basically peed in my lap at the restaurant and then remained in his pee-pee overalls for the next 20 minutes or so. Then he got to ride home in just his diaper and shirt (and one shoe). How's that for a "bad parent" moment?

Bad parenting moments aside, Matt had a great trip to Dubai to plan for this summer. We are looking forward to that trip as a family (please pray for Walker's first trip overseas and for a good plane ride for him!). We are also getting ready for some house renovations right now, which is very exciting! We are hoping to close this week (pray for that too and that we can afford it). This will mean a master suite (master bedroom and bathroom) with a real closet, an indoor laundry room (no more cold or wet walks to the scary garage at night to wash our clothes--yippee!), an attached garage, a wooden deck and a new septic system. Plus, there will be some other upgrades like a new AC unit, new windows and new insulation. Our house is so cold in the winter and doesn't warm up much, so this should help. It's a pretty huge undertaking, but it will help us stay in our house. It's just too small for us right now, and we are hoping to expand our family in the future, so this will certainly help give us the space we need.

I promised more photos...here goes...there are a lot!

These are overalls that Matt's aunt made for Matt when he was 2 years old. We had to take Walker's photo in them too! (and we could only do that with a cookie as a bribe)

Walkman can never have too many "blankies," which he lovingly refers to as his "manks".

Lunch with the fam can be exhausting...Walker literally fell asleep mid lunch.

Love that sweet smile...and yes, this is Florida, but it has been freezing lately!

I know there's little resemblance, but that's my boy!

Go Gators! We are a divided household, for sure. The Walker's and several Wilbanks' are all Gators, but Matt and John are Alabama fans. Boo!

You know it's a good snack when it's all over your face.

Walk loves to play in the rafia ribbon that Julie and Ashley use in their packaging for FTD [frame the date]. We are so excited for their business, which had an amazing month in February. See where they were featured on a man blog.

Walker is a good helper in the family business. He is a great source of entertainment.

Matt's day home from Dubai...Walkman was happy to see his daddy!

Here's the infamous after pics from the fall. This really doesn't do justice to how bad he looked on the first day.

We recently added office furniture and some storage pieces to our front porch, and we are really proud of it. It looks totally different and it's very functional. We actually use the desk all the time now.

This was Walker after church last week...he was sporting his sear-sucker suit and golf cap. He looks a little like a lounge singer here.

He knew he was looking adorable. The jacket was passed down from his friend Smyth at church, who is known for being a fashion icon among other kids at MissionWay.

Bath time is our favorite time...well at least it is Walker's. He will not go to bed at night without his bath. After dinner he starts asking us, "Bath? bath? bath?"

I'm glad he loves his books. This was the first time I had ever seen him crawl up on the couch to "read" his books.

Couldn't resist the hood...I wish my pj's had a hood.

This is how we all feel on Sundays after church! Sundays are great days but LONG days too...this is what the car ride home is always like.

How Time Flies

2010-02-14T22:22:00.014-05:00

Life never seems to slow down for the Wilbanks family. It's crazy as always! Let's see...our latest news includes Matt starting seminary classes (online with New Orleans Baptist); Matt arrived in Dubai today for a planning trip; and we are all (yes, even the Walkman!) going to Dubai and Ethiopia again this summer, in July. Other than that, I am helping to do some communications work with an organization called Lausanne for a huge gathering of believers from around the world in South Africa in October, called Cape Town 2010.

I have lots of new pics to add, mostly from Christmas...I know that was a while ago now, but better late than never, I suppose. These are just a few...I have more coming soon. Christmas was a BLAST this year...Walker had a great time opening gifts. He likes the gifts, but I'm sure you can guess that he liked the paper and boxes even more. He still loves to push big boxes around the house while collecting random items and throwing them inside the box. We call him our little worker bee because he is constantly moving objects from one area to another (like from the box to the couch, to the floor, etc.). He was a pretty good helper when we were getting Matt packed the other day, although he mostly took Matt's stuff out of his suitcase. We also found a number of missing items behind our DVD player the other day.

A couple of random updates from Christmas...we had our first real Christmas Eve service at MissionWay, and it was great! We had around 200 people there (the size of our congregation is about 200), so we were pumped about that. I sing with our worship band some of the time (I love it, but I'm also in charge of the flow of the service, so I usually have tons of responsibilities on Sunday mornings), so I had a great time singing. After the service, we headed to my sister's house to celebrate with my family (the Walker's)--about 15 of us. My parents' house burned back in September, and they were still displaced. They hope to be back in the house in about a month. Then we went to the Wilbanks' house on Christmas morning and to my mom's the day after. Busy times! But it was a lot of fun, especially with Walker being so active.

At his 15-month appointment, he was very healthy, so were we thankful for that. He is a bit on the small side as far as weight...let's just say he FINALLY made it over 20 pounds. Yay! We think it's because he is SO busy...he is always running, running, running. In fact, when we saw Matt's cousin's sweet little girl, Kennedy, who is 2, she said to me, "Is he Walker? Or is he running?" Love it! So adorable. I would have to say that even though we called him "Walker," he is always running.

His vocabulary surprises us more every day. He can repeat almost ANYTHING we say...which means we are a bit more careful these days. In fact, he started saying, "Oh shoot!" And we've had to change what we say and try to emphasize, "Oops!" or "Oh man!" He says man like "mon"--like he's Ethiopian. It cracks us up. He has a British accent when he says "box" and "socks," and a southern accent when he says "dog" or "ball," and a Jamaican accent when he says "man" and "hands." He definitely keeps life entertaining. We have literally lost track of how many words he knows now. I think it was around 50 at Christmas. Now he makes connections that are so amazing. He likes to tell us when there's mail in the mailbox when we get home, plus he puts together small sentences like, "mom go" or "dog out" or "socks on." He has dictated which shoes he wants to wear several times now. We laugh because he uses his baby signs a lot, but he doesn't need to since he says whatever the word is while he is signing it to us. I just like to say that even though he doesn't look a thing like me, at least he acts like me...he talks all the time and never meets a stranger.

Walkman looks like a baby gangsta in his puffy coat and hat.

This was his sad face one day when Kyle was leaving.

I love this pic...from our Christmas card this year. Julie and Ashley were excellent photographers. We took this at Janet's because we didn't have any presents under the tree yet. He managed to snatch most of the ornaments off the bottom of the tree, except for that tiny present ornament, which Matt made when he was little.

He looks like he is about to get in big trouble!

Walkman loves his reindeer slippers!

And his Elmo "cell phone"...it's funny how quickly they pick up on things. He picks it up and says "hello" all the time.

He seems to be having a serious conversation with someone...

Here's one of his favorite gifts...especially the mic. He was afraid of it at first, but now he loves to sing into it!

He also got this sweet froggy pillow, which he loves because it's so soft. I kind of wish I had one too.

This was when Walker discovered the ornaments on our tree...

This was on Christmas morning...we arrived at the Wilbanks house (I requested everyone stay in their pj's), and the first thing Walker did was dance with Aunt Ash and Uncle Kyle. He's a dancing man!

This was the sweet little face we got to wake up to on Christmas morning. Precious!

Catching Up

2009-12-07T22:03:00.004-05:00

So, it hasn't been as long between blog postings this time, but it's still been more than a month. Our camera actually broke, so it's been a little hard to take new pics of the Walkman. He's now 14 months old and is a chatty little man. He has more than 50 words now! We are amazed every day by the new words he says...words we had no idea he even knew. It's so fun! His favorite things to do these days include going outside to play (he calls it "side") and dancing (he actually says "dance"). When he wakes up in the morning, the first things he says are either "what's that?"--while pointing to something random in the room--or "dance"--then he starts dancing. It's so cute and funny!

Back in October, which seems like such a long time ago, Walker was Superman for Halloween. He looked adorable in his costume. Unfortunately, it was really hot here at that time, so he wasn't able to wear the costume for very long. Otherwise, he was sweating and getting upset, which I couldn't blame him for. I hate being hot too! He was so friendly while he was trick-or-treating. We would walk up to each house and he would wave at the people and smile and act very sweet and cute. He got lots of candy for that!

We had a great Thanksgiving and got to celebrate it three different times. Walker loves him some turkey, but his favorite things were mashed potatoes and angel biscuits, which Jamma made. Other than that, we are getting ready for Christmas. We've finally put up and decorated our tree (so maybe the tree was up for almost a week before we put ornaments on it--go figure!). We have a few decorations out, but we have limited those due to Walker's busy little hands. He likes to touch everything, so it's just easier to go with less stuff around the house. As soon as we have some more pics, we'll post 'em!

Summer Vacation

2009-10-17T22:15:00.004-04:00

At the end of the summer, we spent a week in Orlando with the Wilbanks' family and enjoyed a fun and relaxing week together. We slept in, hung around in our pj's, ate really good food and eventually made it to the rec center and the pool. We also did some shopping and took Walker on his first trip to Sea World. He loved it! He absolutely loved looking at the fish. It was the first time we noticed him waving to random people and trying to catch their attention and talk to them. It was definitely cute.

Walker was fearless in the kiddy pool. I know I've said it before, but the boy loves water!

He also loves Uncle Kyle! Seriously, he gets mad when Kyle leaves the room.

the fam at Sea World

Poor Papa John...I don't think he minded it, though. And did I mention that the whole week was "Papa John week" for Walker? He wouldn't pay attention to anyone else.

There's my cute little man with his big 'ole teeth! He has 8 of those big teeth.

A Screaming Pumpkin

2009-10-17T21:51:00.005-04:00

THE PUMPKIN PATCH
Going to the neighborhood pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin sounds like a great idea. And while it does yield some pretty cute pics, it can also cause a little bit of stress...especially when the pumpkin patch is next door to a church where a wedding is letting out. Yep, that's what happened to us when we went last weekend. Walker has begun exploring the range of his vocals and, as a result, ends up screaming at the top of his lungs. He's not mad or upset, he just screams. And that's exactly what he did as all the guests were leaving the church. Fortunately, he's cute and people just smiled at him as they walked out to their cars. We did, however, find a great pumpkin, which Walker looks at every day and calls "pump."

Walker is 1

2009-10-17T21:11:00.005-04:00

Okay, so maybe Walker technically turned 1 on Sept. 24, but I don't think it's too late to post photos from his 1st birthday party. One thing you realize when you have a 1-year-old is that Elmo becomes a normal part of your life. That's right...I said Elmo! That's why we decided on Elmo as the theme for Walk-man's party. He sees Elmo and lights up (almost as much as when he sees me, but not quite--thank heavens). Walker likes to watch Elmo on Sesame Street or on DVDs (that are still Sesame Street episodes from the 80's, as my friend Karen says). But his favorite show is called Yo Gabba Gabba. I know, it sounds totally weird and it IS! But it's fun and educational, and I find myself singing songs from the show ALL the time. It's ridiculous. Now onto the birthday festivities.

We had Walker's birthday party at the Wilbanks' house (Jamma and Papa John's) and the kids all went swimming. With our large family and friends there, I would guess we had around 50 or so people there to celebrate.

Walk-man was very friendly on his bday although he did get a little surprised when he saw all his favorite people in one place.

My sister, Wendi, made Walker's cake. She did an amazing job...it was beautiful and delicious!

Thank goodness for Aunt Julie and all the family! Everyone had a job that day and we are so thankful to have all the family around to help out.

Walkman loves his Granddaddy!

I look at this photo and think...wow, what a cute little boy--he looks nothing like me! I try to convince myself every day that he acts like me. He's pretty feisty. :)

Walkman was so happy hanging out with his Daddy and Papa John.

We had to take a quick photo pre-birthday cake mess.

He was shy for a few seconds and then he finally dug in.

Walker is a good sharer. That means we get to take bites of almost everything he eats...yummy!

He did a great job of making a huge mess! Lots of fun! Can you tell that he went into some kind of crazy sugar shock right before bedtime? It was scary and hilarious at the same time. He was wildly shaking his head around, banging his head on a pillow, and acting pretty crazy for about 10 minutes. Then he suddenly fell asleep.

I swear they are twins. I love it!

And here's the I'm tired, full of cake and sugar, and covered in sticky icing look. Adorable!

Finally An UPDATE!

2009-10-10T22:24:00.012-04:00

Hi there friends and family who have been patiently waiting for an update for about...oh, 5 months. Needless to say, life remains as crazy and busy as ever. And Walk-man is SO BIG! We celebrated his 1st birthday on Sept. 24!! How has it been a whole year? It's been a wonderful year for us, and we continue to revel in every sweet moment we enjoy as parents. He just had his 1 year appointment and is almost 20 lbs and 30 in. His weight and height are very average, but his head size remains a whopping 75%...ha ha! I'm posting several different updates in the following postings so I can share lots of lots of photos from the last 5 months. It will be an exciting reminder to us of how much Walker has grown and changed since the summer began. So...here goes!

First, here are a couple of our favorite things that Walker is doing now:
1. TALKING -- saying words like dog, ball, duck, frog, bird, flower, stop, sun...and others (although he calls most animals "dog"). Notice that "mama" isn't in there yet. He does say "dada" but has only said "mama" two or three times.
2. Singing...okay, so he's always been a singer. But I love hearing him hum along to "Jesus Loves Me" or "I love little Walker" (hopefully you know that one) or "ABC's".
3. Getting excited to see certain people...family and friends that he loves so dearly. It's adorable to see him get so excited to see the grandparents, for sure.
4. Looking at books...he has always loved his books, but now they are one of his favorite activities of the day.
5. Chasing the dogs...whether it's Livy, Mei-mei or Belle, he likes to chase 'em! He likes to walk around with his push cart thing and he literally rams it into Belle...she's not quite fast enough to get out of his way.

Here's the little man @ 8 months.

He always so proud when he rides his frog or elephant. He makes sure you are watching!

Getting harder to photograph every month...but still adorable and fun!
Here's the missing 10 month photo.

So, not sure where the 10 month photo is, but I know I took it (I even remember the outfit, of course). Must be on a different camera? Here's 11 months. And 12 months is coming soon.

My friend Bailey is getting married next month! I've known Bail since the 7th grade. This was her shower over the summer. On the right is my friend Laura (from college).

Here's Matt's first Father's Day! He got a sweet rod and reel for his fishing trips with Kyle.

Walk-man loved his first watermelon...and made a lovely mess.

How cute is he riding in his wagon at my parents' house?

Love those chubby thighs...and his naps with Papa John.

And you know life is good when you fall alseep WHILE eating...this is midway through bites of carrots.

Walk-man with cousins Kenzi and Sydney.

Just thought this was a cute pic of us from back in July.

Are those not the cutest feet? I just want to bite them!

Okay, so we are working on proper table manners, but we couldn't help laughing at Walker putting his feet up "at the table" (or the high chair if you are an infant). I told him his Granddaddy would not approve.

Not surprisingly, Walker loves the beach. He loves the water, the sand, the openness and being able to crawl (or walk) around. I had to stop him from eating too much sand.

He is so close to walking on a consistent basis! YAY! He has taken lots of steps and does it every day, but he doesn't consistently walk on his own all the time yet. I know it's close, though!

Brushing his teeth came naturally to him. I think it's because he loves to watch us brush our teeth. We're trying to make sure the toothpaste isn't a "main food group" as our pediatrician puts it.

Not sure why, but Walker loves to spit! It is hilarious. Luckily, it's only randomly (and not all the time).

Walk-man is SO big

2009-05-04T22:26:00.006-04:00

Walker is 7 months old! And taking those cute little photos where he sits perfectly still is becoming more interesting each month. Now he likes to grab everything around him and flip and whip around until he gets exactly what he wants. Did I mention that he has the sniper crawl figured out? It's now almost impossible to keep him in one place.

Walker had another milestone this weekend when I walked into his room to see him standing straight up on the side of the crib. He pulled himself up and scared me to death! So my mom and I spent the next hour figuring out how to lower the mattress (Matt was out of town).

Walker was so funny when he fell asleep as Matt was feeding him dinner one night. Midway through the sweet potatoes, he just drifted off to sleep. I mean, I've been tired before, but I've never fallen alseep during dinner!

We went to Noah's baseball game while we were in Deltona for his bday party.

And finally it was time for the pool party!
Walker loved the water from the first second we put him in.

There's Walker's 2nd mom for the weekend, Kaylie!

Connor and Noah are quite the wise guys when they are together. Noah is obsessed with NASCAR and Connor likes to imitate the way we all walk (he basically says everyone walks like an old person).

I had a blast as Jill's date at the Taylor Swift concert. Another friend Jen went with us too and we danced and sang all night (along with about 12,000 little girls). My nieces were very jealous that I was going to the concert. Then, around 10:30 we left because we were so tired! Guess we're not quite as young as we used to be. :)

Jenna graduated from JU this past weekend, so I went to her graduation and we celebrated afterwards at Clark's Fish Camp.

Spring Is Here

2009-04-25T22:47:00.012-04:00

The weather is so beautiful right now! We've been able to take Walker for some of his first experiences with fun outdoor activities like going to The Jacksonville Zoo, the beach and the pool.

He is also becoming more active every day. He is now learning how to scoot to get where he wants to go. He even climbed over two laps the other day to try to reach someone's cell phone (one of his favorite things to try to grab). He is incredibly curious! Not sure where he gets that from ... he he he.

This was Walker's first real trip to the beach. We went to West Palm Beach to speak at Palm Beach Atlantic University. It was a great trip! So fun and we spoke to 1,500 students about M work.

Walk-man really loved the beach! He liked playing in the sand. We didn't get to put him in the water, though, because it was still pretty chilly.

He is very cuddly and snuggly. I just love it!

Here's where he was thinking, "Mom, can you please stop embarrassing me by taking so many photos?"

We laughed about how white he looked on the beach. But I was so afraid he would burn that I lathered him up with sunscreen, so he didn't really get any amount of sun. I really love his tiny board shorts.

What a great place for a nap...Donald Trump's enormous palace was just down the street.

Here's Royal Palm Drive, which is just so beautiful and so south Florida with the palm tree lined streets.

Walk-man was so cute during Julie and Ashley's
photo shoot. If you haven't had a chance to check out the cool framed art, you should definitely visit frame the [date].
He loves his baby ftd. He was such a good model! I think we'll have to start charging an hourly rate soon. :) There are some amazing photos of Julie and Ashley's unique art on Kara's photography site. Scroll down past the preggers pics to see her plug.

Three of Walker's cousins came to Jax for the weekend: Noah, Kaylie and Connor. They all really enjoy spending time with him.

We saw this giant sting ray during our trip to the Jax Zoo. We even got to touch it!

This is a giant, plastic carrot that Walker looks so funny gnawing on.

Time for a nap with Granddaddy.

And a hug from Kirra. She's always telling me how much she likes Walker.

And playing with Kaylie! Kaylie was like Walker's second mom when she came to Jax to visit and then when we went to Deland/Deltona for Noah's bday party. She carried him around and took such good care of him. It's amazing how natural she is with him.

We have some great pool pics from the bday party and Walker's 7 month pics coming soon!

Month of Milestones

2009-04-25T10:30:00.012-04:00

It's been quite a while since I've had a chance to update the blog, so please forgive me. We've had a crazy month of all kinds of surprises...there have been good ones like emerging bottom teeth (and teething!), the introduction of fruits and veggies, sitting up without support, lunging forward on all fours (crawling, here we come!), Walker holding his own bottle, rolling all around on the floor like a crazy man, repeating babbling sounds over and over ("ba-ba-ba" and "da-da-da")...and many others (oh, we can't forget the fact that he loves to blow on your arm to make a tooting sound, nice).

There have also been some that have been less than exciting, like Walker's first ear infection that came along with the teething, breaking his excellent streak of sleeping and changing to a baby who was waking up about 4 times every night, and the worst one of all--a stomach virus. Pretty much everyone in the family suffered from the awful virus. We're unsure of where it came from, but Walker got the worst of it. It lasted for 2 weeks with him. It was so sad to see him go through it, but he's fine now. He's ended up a bit on the long and lean side as a result, but we know he will continue to gain weight as he eats more and more solids. He's also VERY active, so he burns off everything he eats, for sure.

We've been doing stretches for a few months now because his pediatrician noticed that his neck was more tight on one side, so his head favors the left side (and he had trouble holding it up straight). Now, to help us make sure he continues to improve, we begin taking him to PT twice a week next week. We aren't sure yet of how long this will last yet. We'll know more after the first few weeks. We still do stretches at home at least 5 times a day, but they are NOT his favorite thing to do. In fact, he screams and gets really angry, but they are going to help him in the long run, so we have to keep doing it (even when I don't want to because he gets so mad!). What he has is called torticollis, and since we've learned about it, we've found many others who have been through it and their kids are fine now. We are thankful that it hasn't hindered his development. In his evaluation last week, we found out that he has excellent motor skills and is very strong. Go, Walk-man!

I'm also excited to announce that my article came out in the 904 magazine. You can click on the link to the article if you are interested in reading about medical benefits. I'm excited because I have a photo and bio in the front of the mag (page 10) and the article is on pages 30-31. I really won't be offended if you don't actually read the article (not the most exciting subject for people our age, I would say). I'm just excited to have my first byline in a long time.

Things with MWay have been going really well! We had our first week of two services on Easter, and it was an awesome day. We had our highest attendance record ever. We are really pumped and so grateful to be a part of the church. We are also incredibly blessed to get to work together every day. We worked together every day while we lived in Ethio and I really can't imagine it being any different.

Yay for 6 months! It's unbelievable how fast the time is going by. Our little man is getting so BIG!

This was our first attempt at feeding Walker carrots. He actually liked them! He doesn't always like them, but he did on the first try. We made a huge mess, which was fun too.

Oh my, how Walker loves to look in the mirror. He spent at least 20 or 30 minutes laughing at himself.

What a big boy! This was Walker's first time sitting facing forward in his stroller. He had so much fun on the walk, but he gets bored pretty easily. Twenty minutes is about the limit for walks these days.

Kecia and Brian came to town from Atlanta for the weekend, but we only got to see them for an hour. Walker had been sick with the virus, and we had no idea how contagious it was. After their hour-long visit with him, both Kecia and Brian ended up sick a couple days later. We felt so terrible!! Pretty much everyone who came within 50 feet of our house ended up with the virus.

Walker really loved Brian, especially his beard. I think the fact that he drooled on Brian's face contributed to him getting the virus.

What a cool day! On Palm Sunday I got to baptize my friend Jenna. She's an awesome girl, one of our college students from church, and we're praying for her as she's thinking about going overseas for two years like we did. YAY!

Here are the Sarah's, two more from our college crew. They came to Easter lunch at my fam's house, which was really fun. Sarah W. (left) is from Ohio and Sarah M. (right) is from Atlanta, so I wanted them to have some family to hang out and eat with too.

Here's the Walk-man's new favorite thing to do...lounge around on one side. It's so hilarious to see him like this when I go to pick him up out of the crib.

Here's the beginning of the two new teeth on the bottom. So exciting (except for the sleepless nights of teething and the ear infections, of course)! Notice the only time we could get a pic of the teeth was while he was sleeping.

Happy Easter! Kirra is such an adorable princess. She loved her Easter dress so much and she found about 30 or more eggs during the egg hunt, I think.

The girls on Easter: my sister, Wendi, and nieces, Kenzi, Sydney and Kirra.

Really all Walker wanted was to grab some of the colorful eggs during the egg hunt!

Everything goes in the mouth! Love this face, though.

This only seemed appropriate since my family name is Walker's namesake. He did not want to stay in that basket for long. He is such a busy body these days.

We had lunch with my fam and then dinner at Jamma and Papa's house, so a wardrobe change only seemed appropriate. Plus, he still spits up frequently, so it was also necessary.

Global Friendships

2009-03-21T22:16:00.005-04:00

All I can think of is that ridiculous Boys2Men song, "It's so hard...to say goodbye..." since we said "see you soon!" to our very dear friends, the Lyles family. Monday was a good and tough day at the same time. We spent the whole day helping to finalize their packing, make last minute purchases, clean the house, and say goodbye to their Jacksonville abode. They left on Tuesday and arrived back in Addis on Wednesday. I, of course, cried when I put the kiddos to bed that night and they asked if we were coming back with them. I'm crying right now as I'm remembering how sweet it was when Jackson said, "When will we see you again?" And I said, "In about 5 or 6 months, we are coming to visit." Then he replied, "That's a long time."

They are family to us, and we love them so dearly. There's just something about living life together overseas like that. We literally lived in the Lyles' house about 3 different times during our term. It was so often that Jackson just assumed we are "family," and we certainly are. The lines become blurred, and you just realize that God created us to live together in community, surrounded by our "family," which is certainly our Kingdom family.

Here we are with Jenn and Riley-bear, at Jackson's last biddy ball game. Jenn was with us during the entire birthing experience (literally...in the delivery room, holding my legs as I pushed for hours!), right up until I had the c-section. Then she was so sad to miss out on Walker's big entrance into the world!

There's proud coach James B. with the Walk-man.

When we first lived with the Lyles in Addis in 2006, Caleb would sit at the dinner table and make the biggest mess I've ever seen. Somehow, his entire dinner would end up smeared all over his forehead and cheeks. Now, he's quite the funny man. And Jackson has grown so tall and handsome.

Caleb kept wanting to pick Walker up and carry him, so I told him it was no problem if he could sit with him on the sofa. Walker didn't seem to mind either.

Jenn said that Jackson is always asking how Walker is doing when he hasn't seen him in a while. Hopefully he will remember to ask about him in Addis too! He's so good with babies. He had a great time entertaining Walker on the floor.

We joke that Riley is Walker's "older woman." She will be 2 in just a few weeks, so she has a little time on him, but not too much. Good thing arranged marriages aren't so uncommon in Ethio.

Riley thinks Walker is one of her baby dolls. She kept trying to hold him and pick him up, and she loved giving him his paci when he dropped it (note her own paci is in place too!).

Somehow, Walker looks more like a Lyles' kid right now, with the blond hair and blue eyes!

This was such a special treat! Justin and Allison, some of our dear friends from AA, are also in the states for a few months, living in Kentucky. We got to see them at a conference here in town with their 13-month-old, Lilly. She is adorable! She was only 3 months old the last time we saw her (when we visited AA last year). It was great to be together and catch up. It felt like old times for sure.

She looks just like her daddy! It was awesome getting to visit with Justin, Allison, Lilly and our friend Andy, who was in from Texas. We missed getting to see his new little man, Nathan, who is just a month older than Walker. Hopefully we'll get to see Andy and his whole family when we visit AA in September.

After a little encouragement from some of our friends, we decided it was time to finally try out the rice cereal! And we are SO glad we did because Walker loves it! He acted like he's been eating from a spoon his whole life (all almost 6 months of it). It was really funny to watch him lunging toward it.

He definitely thought the texture was weird at first, but then he was all about it. He would NOT let go of the dang spoon!

This is the look of...are we really done? I was hoping for some more! I knew we had to try out the cereal when he kept staring at us while we were eating. I think he had been patiently waiting for us to try for long enough. Next, onto veggies and fruit...yay!

My parents bought Walker this "Johnny Jump Up" bouncing thing, and he loves it! He is hilarious in it. Apparently, Matt had one as a baby and loved it too.

We had a couple more random cold days a few weeks ago, and I had to show off the doggy hat. It's so funny! Somehow, I don't think Walker finds it as amusing as we do.

After a day of helping the Lyles get ready to head home to Ethio, Matt and Walk-man crashed on the floor. It was precious. Sadly enough, we haven't seen much of his good sleeping patterns lately. We found out on Friday that he has an ear infection, which explains why he has been crying for hours during the past few nights. We hope he's on the way to getting better...for his sake (he's been in pain, which is sad), and for ours (we are so sleep deprived that we are walking zombies).

We also got to visit with some more dear friends who were in town from Ithaca, NY. Jenny and Dan (I'm sad I didn't get Dan's pic this time) are expecting their first little boy this summer, and we are so thrilled! I've known Jenny since the 7th grade. She was in my wedding and I was in her wedding, and she and Dan are very special to us. It was great getting to talk with them about parenthood (you know, we are so experienced at this point, ha ha ha). She's also an adorable preggers! Can't wait to meet little Andrew Joseph in July. Walker will have another little friend. Jenny and I were talking about how cool it is that they will be so close in age.

Constant Chaos (But in a Good Way!)

2009-03-02T21:56:00.007-05:00

I often wonder how in the world people balance having multiple kids with work and everything else that goes on in life. So far we have one 5-month-old who is the best thing that's ever happened to us, but I really can't imagine trying to do all of it with more than one kiddo! I've heard lots of experienced parents say you forget all that right around the time you decide to have another. I guess all the folks around us with two or more kids are proof of that!

What I've learned so far is that you somehow find time to do things like wash and prepare bottles, changes diapers, feed a little mouth, pack diaper bags, play and read baby books, wash and fold tiny clothes, and countless other activities in addition to the other "normal" stuff. Okay, so maybe my house isn't nearly as clean as I would prefer and the word "organized" has left my vocabulary when it comes to my home, but it's certainly worth it. And I've realized that spending time with people--family, friends, our church community--is more important than having the cleanest house.

I know we are very fortunate because first of all, we have so much wonderful family surrounding us and they all help us take care of Walker. I really do thank God for that. Walker is also a really good baby, which makes it possible for him to come right along with us with all of the responsibilities we have in ministry. He has his little fits ("drama like your mama"), and we usually just end up laughing at him through those. But I guess it's pretty neat for us having Walker do what we do because that's what life is like for families living in Ethio as well, so we can't imagine it any other way.

I've also been reflecting on how fortunate we are to get to work together every day. That's how it was for two years, so it just seems normal. So I've been thanking the Lord for blessing our family by allowing us to work and minister together as a family. I try to remind myself of that every time I am exhausted and wonder how in the world we are going to fit in everything we need to do. I try to remember Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Just have to remember it's all about Him, not about us.

Okay, enough of my personal reflection time. I really wanted to share some awesome pics my friend Jill took of Walker last weekend. Jill also took the really cool preggers pics of me and Matt before Walker was born. We have been getting together on Sunday nights to run in preparation for the River Run on March 14. We both really want to run it (it's a 15K), but I'm getting nervous. I've run it two times before, but that was a couple years ago and certainly before this last year of being preggers and then having a little one. I'm still working to get rid of those preggers pounds, so running is much different than it used to be. We'll see what happens!

Always Something New

2009-02-23T19:04:00.009-05:00

Everyone always says they love it when babies reach 6 months old because they are so fun. I have to say that Walker is now 5 months old and I can't imagine him being more fun than now. He is so happy and laughs aloud all the time. Of course, he has his moments, which Matt lovingly refers to as "drama like his mama," those times when he gets mad because he doesn't get what he wants. So maybe he doesn't look like me, but he has my personality. He is so extraverted...always wanting to be where the action is.

I finally put Walker in his "separates." I still prefer the baby pj's most of the time, but I have to admit that it's pretty cute seeing him in his cargo pants.

This was the first time he wore a big boy outfit to church. Matt has the same polo shirt. I have to get a pic of them wearing it on the same day.

Note that this outfit came with a matching belt, a very important accessory.

We've had a few warm days lately, even warm enough for shorts and flops. Luckily, Walker's not afraid to show off those white legs!

Love the wide-eyed look, which he makes all the time.

I can't believe there are flops for babies. They are so precious.

This is Walker's first girlfriend. Really, it's a toy (not allowed to say "doll" here) that Kirra had when she was a baby, and Walker absolutely loves it. She lights up and giggles when you squeeze her, and he talks back and giggles too. He also likes to headbutt her. I guess he's gonna be like his daddy, who likes to do kung fu moves on his sweetie.

The "bumbo" seat cracks me up. Walker likes to sit in it since he's always trying to sit up on his own. I think he feels like a big boy in his seat. I already had a "bad mom moment" the other day when he tried to sit up on his changing table and I let him. Then he rolled over and hit his forehead on the thing that holds the lotion and diapers. He was not happy about that, and then he had this little red dot there for a day. I felt horrible! But it went away pretty fast, thank heavens! I know there are more of those to come.

This is what happens when I don't immediately fold the clean laundry. Belle likes to lay in it to stay warm. She kept her sweater on for days when it was cold a few weeks ago. She also likes to sit in front of the heater.

Love the Jax weather. We went from warm weather (75 degrees) to freezing at night (28 degrees) in the same week. So Walker had shorts on one day and then was all bundled up the next. If you look closely, you'll see a little scratch that he made himself with those razor-sharp nails of his. I wish I could cut them more frequently, but I can only do it when he's sleeping because he's such a wiggle worm.

We went to Deland a few weeks ago to celebrate my nephew Connor's 7th birthday. I remember going to his 6th birthday party right after we got home from Ethio last year. The time has really flown by. Kaylie is so tall! She is only in the 4th grade and will be taller than me pretty soon.

Kaylie is so good with Walker. She isn't nervous when she's holding and feeding him, and she's always anxious to help change his diaper or keep him happy. What a good cousin!

We finally put together Walker's little car (like an exer-saucer, I guess), and he has a blast in that thing. It looks like a little Mustang and even has a fake leather seat that says "GT" inside. I can't get over how big he looks in it! He also spends time in his exer-saucer at Jamma's house, which he really enjoys. He loves looking from side to side at all the different toys and activities.

There he goes, looking at that cute baby in the mirror. Looking in the mirror is one of his favorite things to do!

Walker is 5 months old on February 24! He looks so much bigger in these pictures to me.
He's changed a lot in the last month. How much does he look like Matt in this pic?
And this was how most of this photo session went. Now that he is into grabbing everything in site (especially whatever you are holding, he wants), taking photos is a little more challenging.
Love this fat and happy pic. He has the cutest double chin I've ever seen.
And the famous foot-in-the-mouth photo. Leave him sitting there for more than a minute, and it's inevitable.

Other than life with the Walk-man, we found out that I'm going to be full-time with the church now, which is a huge praise! I was previously working part-time and trying to do some freelance writing, which was a lot of work. I'd still like to write when opportunities come up, but at least I won't have to rely on that to pay the bills as much.

I also had this weird random break out of shingles on my hand. It's been there for a month now and is finally healing. It's the most bizarre thing. Leave it to me to have something weird like that and especially on my hand where everyone can see it. It was really painful for a while, so I'm really glad it's going away now. Supposedly if you get it as a young person, it's caused by stress. It's a form of the chicken pox virus, which is strange since I had a good case of those when I was like 5. I guess I was more stressed than I realized about the whole job thing. While I'd love to stay home more with the Walk-man, that just won't pay the bills. So, I'm really excited about the church work and my new role as worship coordinator.

Last week we got to spend 2 days with James and Jenn (from Ethio) at the beach. It was so nice to relax and hang out. We are getting SO sad because they will be heading back in a few weeks. They are some of our best friends, and we have loved getting to live life with them again. Our time together in E is truly priceless. We are so thankful for their family.

Wedding Weekend Fun

2009-02-02T20:59:00.013-05:00

January 24th was a very special day for the whole Wilbanks' clan. We celebrated Ashley and Kyle's big day! It was a fabulous weekend. Everything was just perfect. Ashley and Kyle looked absolutely gorgeous and so happy. We had a great time during all of the wedding festivities and having all the family in town. So, if you notice that we don't have any pics of Kyle, it's because I took most of these right before the wedding, and Kyle was hidden away with the guys.

I was able to snap a few quick pics, but the really beautiful photos are on Ashley's wedding photographer's site (click here). Scroll down a little bit until you see Ash and Kyle. Kara is an amazing photographer! She's very creative and a really sweet person. If you know anyone who is getting married soon, we definitely recommend her work.

Ash is so beautiful! She made such a lovely bride. If you know Ashley, you know she wants to make everyone else very comfortable. During the entire weekend, she was constantly checking to make sure we were all doing well. It was her big day, so we made sure she was the one who was comfortable.

The Walk-man made a brief appearance for some shots with Ash before the ceremony. Shortly after he took this cute pic, he started screaming his head off. He did look so cute in his gingham outfit. We had to keep him in a giant bib so he wouldn't ruin it. He actually made it through the whole night, which is amazing since he's usually a fountain.

Ashley definitely looked like the cover of a bridal magazine. Just gorgeous...

The Wilbanks siblings are so cute. We are so blessed to have "built-in best friends," as we call it.
I guess we both clean up pretty well. And Walk-man is always precious. People from church kept saying how surprised they were to see me in heels and a dress...what in the world? I'm such a girly girl! I guess I do wear jeans and flip flops to church every week...but that's what everyone else wears too!

Mom, Dad and the glowing bride

Matt and Ash look great. Even though they don't look exactly alike, I think they definitely resemble and look like siblings.

Here we are at the bridesmaids' luncheon, which was really nice. We had a great lunch at San Jose Country Club, and Ashley lavished us with the sweetest, most unique gifts.

Matt had a little fit because Julie and I had a special party for Ashley at our house. He and Walker weren't there, of course, but the thought of his little sister receiving unmentionables in our house was almost unbearable for him. No worries...he gave her the largest pair of granny panties we could find. The best part of purchasing those giant undies was that Julie and I had to get a price check on them at TJ Maxx. Nice! That was slightly embarrassing.

Jill and Rob are our worship leaders at MWay and they both sang during the ceremony. It was awesome! Jill also did my hair and makeup for the wedding, and I thought she did a great job! She's so creative on many levels.

It was so special getting to see all the cousins. I don't think we had all been together (and we actually weren't all together...we were missing a very important part, Lisa, Pablo and Jackson, who is the newest little one. He was born only a couple weeks after Walker) since Andy and Lindsay's wedding in January of 2007. And even then, none of us had any little ones running around yet. Walker got to meet Leslie and all the other cousins for the first time.

Here's Leslie and Brian's little lady, Kennedy. She's about 18 months old and is the cutest, sweetest thing! She has the biggest personality of any 18-month-old I've ever met. She loved meeting Walker. She even gave him a big kiss on the head. She kept calling him "Jax," which is Lisa's little guy.

Here's Cade with Andy. Cade has changed so much since we saw him in September. He is so tall and is walking around like a crazy man.

Love those beautiful blue eyes! She's already quite the heartbreaker.

He's A Big Boy!

2009-01-29T21:52:00.010-05:00

Life with the Walk-man is always lots of fun! Okay, there may be times when he wakes up at 3 a.m. that I am not necessarily thinking "fun" in my head, but really life is definitely always interesting. He recently had his 4-month check up and was in the 75 percentile for his height, weight and head size. He's now 14.5 lb and 26 inches and growing. He's a big boy!

He is making more sounds now, like funny little squeals. He also likes to blow bubbles and has become quite the drooler. He's definitely teething, but so far that just means that he tries to gnaw on everything, especially our knuckles. He loves the teething rings that you put in the freezer. And he likes to look at his stuffed animals, grab them, head but them, and then put whatever will fit into his mouth.

4 MONTHS ALREADY

The monthly photo shoots are hilarious. This time he was easier to prop up (since he's always trying to sit up by himself), but he kept sliding down and then getting really mad at us. We can't help but laugh when he gets mad because he rolls his bottom lip down and it quivers for a second until the big scream comes out.

THE EVER-CHANGING WALK-MAN

His foot is always in his mouth, with or without a sock. Walker likes to make it hard to put his clothes on after bathtime because he loves to eat his little foot!

Daddy and Walk-man love to laugh together.

Here's Walker's new bath seat. We finally found one that helps him sit up in the tub since he recently outgrew his baby bath. He makes this funny face every time he first gets in the tub. Today we had to take two baths because he tinkled all over himself right after he got in the first time. Oh, life with a baby boy! So full of surprises.

Walker really loves bath time! How funny does he look covered in wash cloths? This helps him to stay warm in the tub. One of the downfalls of having a really old (like from 1939) house, is the lack of insulation and old windows. We love our house, but it doesn't stay very warm when it's 26 degrees outside.

We have a baby gate at the entrance of Walker's nursery to keep Belle out. Otherwise, she will literally chew up every toy (and the rug) in site. When we have Walker in the nursery, Belle paces back and forth in front of the gate. She has some serious OCD.

The Walk-man recently learned how to pet Mei-mei. Thank goodness Mei-mei is so sweet. Sadly enough, we haven't had her groomed in a while, so you can't really see her eyes these days.

Walker and I fell asleep while Belle cuddled with us. Notice that I have a bandaid on my hand. Apparently I have some weird infection on my hand. The doctor told me today that she had no clue what it was and just gave me a prescription. Let's hope it's gone in a few days! I love that I didn't have anything weird like that in Ethio...only in Jax, Fl.

He's our little Super Baby! Matt was so excited when his little Superman onesie finally fit him. Now he tries to make him wear it several times a week.

Oh, the ways you know you're a new parent...when you are so exhausted that you prop the bottle up with your hand so you can take a little nap while the little man eats.

Love those big blue eyes...I am still amazed at how precious he is. I'm constantly thanking God for such a sweet boy. I'm also constantly amazed at how much he does NOT look like his mom. Blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin...but he's quite the extravert, and that definitely comes from me.

When he isn't sleeping on his back with his arms next to his head, he turns onto his side and sticks his thumb in his mouth. Yep, that's right...he loves to suck his thumb! It's hilarious watching him try to find it. But it's a lifesaver in the middle of the night when he cries out and then finds his thumb and goes right back to sleep.

We love to take Sunday afternoon naps together. Sundays are pretty busy, long days because set up starts early in the morning. After the service, breakdown and lunch, we usually get home around 2 p.m. Then it's nap time! It's one of my favorite parts of the weekend.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-15T23:44:00.005-05:00

We are just plugging along, enjoying each new day together as a family and watching Walker grow. He changes so much every week right now. We had a doctor visit recently and found out he is now 13 lb 6 oz and almost 26 inches long. He's a big boy! I love the chubby thighs...they are so cute!

We are SO EXCITED about Ashley and Kyle's wedding, which is in less than a week now (Jan. 24)! WOW! We can't believe it's already here. It's going to be a great day! We can't wait to celebrate with them and to see all the family. This week is going to be very busy and VERY fun!!

Walk-man is finally enjoying his tummy time (at least some of the time)! He absolutely loves playing on his floor mat with the hanging toys, especially because of the big mirror on the side. He really loves looking in the mirror at the cute baby who stares back at him. He also loves his books. Reading his books to him is so fun because he intently studies the pages. His favorites are "Elmo So Big" and his toddler Bible (that's my boy!).

This is Walker's "what up" pose with his tiny little hands propped up on his face (nothing new here).

He loves his daddy!

YEY for Margs! We went to Savannah for a day last week to meet our friend Margs (Margaret) for lunch. It was a great day! I have always loved Savannah--it's just a very artsy, historic city. We hadn't seen Margs in over a year (since she came to Ethio to visit us), so it was very special to finally see her after such a long time. We had a blast together, as always! Back when we were first married, Margs lived with us for a couple months and she always kept us laughing.

Walker finally got to meet Margs! She's in nursing school in Tennessee. We hope it won't be so long in between Margs visits next time. This pic is from one of our fav places, Starbucks (which I lovingly refer to as "SB").

Walker is supporting his Gators (a.k.a. National Champs)! He's also showing off his new trick of sticking his foot in his mouth. Oh, to be that flexible...

He really enjoys holding his feet these days. He's getting good with his coordination and being able to grab things in front of him.

No outfit is complete without the matching bib. Walker is a fountain most of the time. In fact, he covered me in soy spit-up last Sunday on the way to church. It was a crazy morning, but we eventually made it to church wearing spit-up free clothes (a necessity since I was speaking that morning; I didn't get to sing, though, because I was late and missed rehearsal). Thank goodness Walker got a Gator onesie, bib, socks and paci from the fam. The Walker's are all big Gator fans! Matt isn't so into the Gators. In fact, he says we are going to use the Gator items as baby wipes. So wrong!

We celebrated on New Year's Eve with Maria and Jeannel. They got a fire pit for Christmas, so we gathered around it and ate Smores. So yummy! That was our last night of eating goodies like chocolate. On Jan. 1 we started New Year's diets, so we aren't eating anything quite that delicious these days. We had Walker bundled up since it was a chilly night. He was so good while chillin with his Auntie Ria.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-29T16:57:00.007-05:00

Merry Christmas from the Wilbanks' Family!
We had a great first Christmas with Walker. We went to all 3 of the grandparents' houses and celebrated with lots of aunts and uncles and cousins. It was also very special to be home for Christmas this year, for the first time in 2 years. It meant a lot to us to get to see everyone.

Happy 3 Months for Walker (on Christmas Eve)!

Our family on Christmas day ... the Wilbanks' family got a Wii and we had a blast playing together. I am the master bowler. I currently hold the record with a score of 221. YES! I was good at boxing for about 5 minutes, until Janet and Chris both knocked me out.

My little man is looking so LONG these days. Walker is a big boy! He weighs almost 13 pounds now (we found out because we went to the doctor with a cold, but he is fine). He laughed aloud for the first time last week, which was hilarious. He is quite ticklish!

Walker loves to swing now. He falls alseep in the swing and he can reach out and touch the little plastic animals. He is so much fun to play with!

Walker is so funny holding his hands together. He has found all kinds of new uses for those little hands, including batting at his toys and grabbing mommy's hair!

Here's his cute little velor "Baby's 1st Christmas" ensemble, which he covered in spit-up in about 3 minutes flat. He likes to spit up on whoever holds him these days.
It was probably a little too hot for his Christmas clothes, but we had to put him in them. It was almost 80 degrees on Christmas day, which was ridiculous!

Walker is always so fun when he's getting a diaper change! This is him in between Christmas outfits. He spit up all over one, so we moved on to the next.

Kirra told me, "I love you(r) baby!" and she wanted to hug and hold him, which made for an adorable pic of the two of them.

Cousin Sydney finally got to meet little Walker for the first time. She was so excited!

Kirra rocked a very sassy Christmas outfit, including fancy patent leather lace-up boots.

Kirra got a microphone for Christmas, which is so fun!! She sang "America the Beautiful" and "Jingle Bells" for all of us. She wasn't a bit shy either.

All the Walker grandkids: Brandon, Chelsea, Walker, Kenzi, Sydney, Kirra and Nicholas
I think there are 16 of us now on the Walker side of the family.

Walker with Aunt Julie, Mommy, Aunt Ashley and Uncle Kyle
(and Belle and Mei-mei, of course)

Kaylie provides excellent entertainment for Walker

My mom (Granny) with all her grandkids: Tyler, Noah, Walker, Kaylie and Connor
The weather in Deland was so warm, I really think we could have gone swimming in my sister's pool.

Photo Shoot

2008-12-14T21:03:00.006-05:00

We did a fun little photo shoot with Walker the other day. He was in such a good mood and was talking to us and getting so excited. I was literally standing on the Wilbanks' bed to take the photos of him while Papa John was making him smile. The photos are adorable! He is really changing. Everyone says he looks mostly like Matt, but some people see a little of his momma in him too.

SO FUN!

Our little family

Dad and Walker both fell asleep on the couch, and it was precious. We were so lucky for about 2 weeks because Walker was sleeping 7 hours a night. It was amazing! Then, in the last week, he has been back to waking up 3 times at night. We're not sure what's going on, but we're hoping he will get back to the all night sleeping again soon. We were totally spoiled by it!

I could watch him forever while he is sleeping. He just looks so dang cute!

Here's one of the times when he found his thumb. He is constantly sticking his fists in his mouth now, but it's not often that he finds his thumb.

Bath time is a lot of fun these days. Walker contentedly looks around
and enjoys the warm water.

The Many Faces of the Walk-man

2008-12-09T22:56:00.012-05:00

Life with Walker is so much fun! I know I always say that, but it's true because he is constantly growing and changing. He has some interesting new sounds that crack us up. He uses these little squeals to get our attention. And he makes the sweetest sounds when he is eating. He also smiles a lot now. One of his favorite times is talking and responding to us while he is on his changing table. He kicks and kicks and gets so excited! Plus, he has found his hands now and is constantly sticking them in his mouth. We think he is searching for his thumb (oh dear!).

BABY DEDICATION

We also dedicated Walker at church on Nov. 23, which was a very special day. And he did so well during the service! His first day at church was the week before, and he has done really well in the service each week. This Sunday was his first day in the church nursery, and he did great. During his dedication, he was awake when we were on stage and he just looked around and checked out what was going on. It was fun having all the grandparents at church that day, plus it was my first day singing with our worship band since Walker was born.

BASKETBALL MAN

I have to say that I prefer baby pj's for Walker because they are adorable, so babyish and probably the most comfortable option for him. We did, however, put him in this cute little Nike windsuit, which included some sweet Air Force 1's (courtsey of Uncle Herb). He looks like a little baller. We can only hope that he will carry on the Wilbanks basketball legacy one day and join the ranks of his daddy, Papa John, great Uncle Mark, and cousins Andy and Jordan.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year, especially because it was Walker's first and we had not been home for the holidays in two years. We first went to the Walker's for lunch, then the Wilbanks for dinner. Then I participated in the craziness of day-after-Thanksgiving shopping on Friday. and we went to Deland to be with my mom, two sisters and their families and my Granny on Saturday. On Sunday we went to Ocala, where my Granny lives, and we spoke at a church there that evening. We finally made it home on Monday. It was a little crazy but we loved getting to be with all of our family!

Walker fell asleep with his Granddaddy

Walker and Grandma with his cute bib, "I'm thankful for my Grandma!"

Cousin Chelsea--she's a freshman at UNF! Go Ospreys!

Walker all bundled up with Granny

Listening to cousins Noah and Kaylie as they sing Christmas carols to make him smile

Walker likes playing with his Great Granny! He's so fortunate to get to know her.

Walker enjoys his days with Jamma! They always have fun together playing and reading and singing.

Papa John is so proud of Walker. He is a "Walk hog"!

Matt's Aunt Jeannie (Janet's sister) came to visit from South Carolina. It was a special time for Walker to get to hang out with Jeannie and Alec.

It's a tradition for all of us to go shopping together on day after Thanksgiving wearing matching shirts! Aren't we so cute? Ha ha ha! It was especially fun because I hadn't been in two years. Momsie, Wendi, Angila and me (my step mom and two of my sisters)

Plus, Walker finally got to meet Bailey and Larry (from Philly), Kecia and Brian (from Atlanta), and Casey and Charles (from Cocoa), which I was thrilled about! Melissa and Amanda came over too, and it was so nice to be all together for a couple hours. Kecia lives in Atlanta, so we don't get to see her very often. We always have tons of fun when we are together. She's been my best friend since I was a sophomore in high school, so we have lots of history. We are so blessed to have been friends for so long!

Bail and I have been friends since the 7th grade. We go WAY back to the days of dressing like a boy in middle school. She lives in Philly and is getting married next year. We are so excited for her and Larry!

Here's Melissa, one of my dear friends from college. She was nervous about holding Walker at first, but she he did great with her. My first Thanksgiving in Ethiopia, Melissa, Amanda and Kecia called me to say hello and it really made my day!

Here are Amanda and Kecia. Amanda was a nanny for several years, so she has the magic baby touch. She's not scared of babies, and she even got to experience Walker filling up his diaper while she was holding him. I think it was his sign of love.

It was great to see Kecia and for Walker to finally meet her and Brian. Brian was actually the one with the baby touch. He picked Walker up and rocked him until he stopped screaming. We usually find that most folks give him back to us immediately after he starts crying. But not Brian! We told Kecia it was a sign that they need a baby too. :) They just got married in April of this year (when three of my best friends got married in the same month!), so I think they will be waiting a little while.

ST. AUGUSTINE FUN

This past weekend we had our 2nd date night since Walker was born, and we went with two other couples to St. Augustine to eat dinner and walk around to look at the lights. It was a blast! It was weird, though, because I kept seeing cute little babies and thinking of Walker. But we know it's good to get out and have fun together, which we did!

Nate and Jill (on the right) and Chad and Morgan (on the left) have been friends since college. We are all amazed that's it's been 10 years since we met. We had so much fun at the "fancy" restaurant. We laughed so loudly that we decided we are more of Applebee's type folks...or rather Arby's? We aren't well behaved enough to hang out for too long in a nice restaurant.

8 Weeks Already?!

2008-11-20T21:58:00.020-05:00

Walker is already 8 weeks old! The time is flying by (just like our parents always say), and he is growing so quickly and becoming more and more expressive, which is tons of fun! He is definitely showing us his own personality these days. Looks like he is going to be at least a little stubborn (just like his mom AND his dad) because he already knows what he wants and the best way to get it.

He has been really good on family outings, such as shopping for several hours and eating at PF Chang's for Jamma's (Janet's) birthday. He definitely has a preference for being held. When we are out and he falls asleep in our arms, he doesn't like to be put down in his seat in the stroller. He likes to be held the entire time, which usually isn't a problem because we all love to hold him close. He's quite a snuggler!

I love this photo because he looks like he's resting on the arm of the couch. Plus, he is wearing one of my favorite pj's (can't believe it's a 3-month outfit). It's a gift from my friend Sarah, who lives in Oklahoma and who came to visit as a surprise for one of my showers. The outfit is appropriately covered in elephants since Sarah's hubby works as an elephant trainer at the Oklahoma City Zoo. Pretty cool! Love the matching hat! And I'm ridiculous because I like to make sure he has the matching bib and blanket when we take him out.

MY FIRST SHOWER
Last Saturday was Walker's first party, a bridal shower for Aunt Ashley. She and Uncle Kyle will be getting married on January 24th--YEY! Walker was so good hanging out with all the ladies. Looks like he is going to be a ladies' man!
This was Walker's pose during most of the shower. Apparently, female chatter and wowing over gifts makes him a little on the sleepy side.
Here's Walker with Aunt Julie, Mommy and Aunt Ashely at the shower. In case you are wondering, it has been pretty cold here lately (it's 44 outside right now!), but it was very warm last weekend, so Walker got to break out his summerish clothes again. This little hoodie outfit is terry cloth, so it's a little warmer than it looks.

MOMMY and ME
This was a tough week because it was my first week back in the office. Although I love my job, it was something I was dreading and having so much anxiety about for the last couple of weeks. I was fortunate because I went in to the office for two days, then I got to work from home during the rest of the week.

This was Walker's 2nd day at Jamma's house! We are truly blessed to have our wonderful families in town to help take care of Walker. And he is having a blast at Jamma's house!! I cried the first day, but we are so comforted in knowing he is in such good hands. Jamma is having a great time hanging out with the Walk-man!! They do lots of activities like reading and singing and playing.

Can you tell it was freezing outside this week? We had Walker bundled in at least 3 layers here. He is truly a "Habesha" (Ethiopian) baby--Ethiopians always bundle their babies in multiple layers, no matter the temperature outside.
We've had so much fun with Walker this week. Getting to know him is just amazing. He is incredibly alert. I'm sure he is staring at a light in the room in this pic. That's one of his favorite things to look at besides our faces. I also think he's gonna be a Momma's boy! Everyone says he responds most to my voice, which is very flattering. No worries--he loves his Daddy too! I'm still amazed when I see photos of us together because his hair is so blonde and his eyes are such a dark blue. I just love it!

ACTIVITY TIME
Okay, so this activity is sleeping, which Walker does well (at times). Actually, he started sleeping a little better at night this past week. We got 2 nights of 4 hours at a time, then 2 nights of 5 hours at a time, then--deep breath--6 hours in a row! We were amazed and refreshed. You know life has changed significantly when 5 hours of sleep in a row sounds like heaven!
I couldn't resist including this pic because you can see that Walker is getting some chubby rolls, which I just love! Those little thighs are adorable! We've already had to let out his car seat straps a couple times to allow for his growth.
The is the famous "burp face," which his Aunt Julie and Aunt Ashley just love. Usually he has wide eyes, but here he is falling asleep. He just loves to be burped in this position. He does not, however, like the over-the-shoulder burping. That just makes him fussy!
This is a fun pic of Walker enjoying his bouncer. He loves hanging out and even sleeping in the bouncer. We don't know what we'd do without it!
Here's another cute smile, this time after a bath. Bath time is getting much more exciting now that he's enjoying it a little more. He barely ever cries, except when we take him out to dry him off.

Here's a BIG yawn!
And the frequent wide-eyed look that really makes us think he's interested and listening to what we are saying to him.

So fun! He is smiling, cooing and even starting to giggle a little too.
Love that toothless grin!
Walker absolutely loves his floor gym (not sure if that's what it's called). It lights up and plays Mozart and has lots of colorful hanging toys. He stares at the animals and smiles and kicks. It seems like he is going to be an active boy, which his daddy will love. We're already wondering if basketball or taiji will be a future interest.

This is one of our favorite sleeping positions. Looks like he's had a hard day.
Another cute sleeping pic. He is so expressive with his little hands. And he is getting the cutest tiny dimples on his hands.

This is a sweet kiss from cousin Kenzi! We got to go on a date night for some yummy thai food--my fav!--one evening recently while Walker hung out with his Grandma, Aunt Wendi and Kenzi.

A Visit from Mesfin

2008-11-14T09:10:00.006-05:00

We are thrilled that our friend Mesfin came to visit us from Kansas. He is one of our dear friends from Addis who recently moved to the states to live. We and the Lyles invited him to come to Jax for a week and we had a blast hanging out, taking him fishing, showing him the beach and eating Habesha (Ethiopian) food that he made for us. YUM! We also had a little shopping trip to get him some warm clothes since he is going to live in a freezing cold place for the first time. I feel for him living in a place where it snows so much!
A trip to FL wouldn't be complete without a Florida Gators t-shirt--YES! Here are the boys: James, Caleb, Mesfin, Matt and Jackson.
It's so crazy because we never thought we would see Mesfin in Jacksonville. It was so strange--and cool, of course--to have him in our home. We had flashbacks to our apartment in Addis when Mesfin used to come over to give Matt guitar lessons. Mesfin was the administrator at the school where we worked.
The boys went fishing this week (Mesfin's first time), and Matt brought home two big drum.
This was a special day because it was Mesfin and Walker's first time at the beach. Walker slept through the whole experience, but at least he got to see the beach in his first few weeks of life. He's now a true Floridian!
I love Mesfin's response to his first few minutes on the beach. He loved it! He and the kids ran down to the water, despite the fact that it was a bit chilly.
Walker has been so fun this week! He is becoming so expressive. He loves to stretch his arms over his head.
Here's our little naked guy chillin' on his changing table, one of his favorite places to hang out and play. Can you tell how long he is getting?
I can't take enough pics of him sleeping because he just looks so precious! On a side note, he outgrew his newborn clothes this week and I thought I would cry. Some of those pj's are my favorite! He is growing and growing these days.
Here's another BIG stretch!
It is so fun to talk with Walker! He is now smiling and responding to us. Here he's being so talkative (like his momma!) and kicking his legs and waving his arms. It's amazing how quickly they change. We are cherishing every moment.
I had to take this photo of Riley because she was being so cute and sweet at our small group last week. She loves to sit in small chairs to read her books. She saw this chair at our friend's house and immediately ran to it and sat down to read.
Don't be too shocked to see this crazy hairstyle that Matt gave Walker while he was innocently sleeping on his lap. I came to the rescue to comb it down pretty quickly. Poor Walker is going to be tormented his whole life.

May the Force Be with You

2008-11-01T14:43:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloween! Even though we could have dressed him up as Luke Skywalker for Halloween, we thought dressing Walker up as Yoda would be hilarious...and it was! He only wore the costume for about 3 minutes, but we got to take a few pics and some video too before he started screaming.
The ears are the funniest part for sure! Here he's trying to figure out what kind of torture Mommy and Daddy are putting him through.
The costume is obviously HUGE on him, but it was worth it just for the pics. Part of the reason for picking Yoda is that my siblings called me "Yoda" when I was a baby because I had big ears and no hair. Luckily, that's not the case with Walker.
This is about 2 seconds before the screaming begins, but at least we got one good family pic in before he was too upset (although he looks more like Yoda when he's screaming because of his furrowed brow).
We had to show you the back because it is so dang funny! I really wanted to dress Mei-mei as Darth Vader and Belle as Princess Leia or a Storm Trooper, but I didn't get to this year. Maybe next year!
Our small group came over for Halloween, which was great fun! Jill dressed Alex (who is 19 months old) up as a farmer and he was adorable. I couldn't get a pic with his straw hat, though, because he didn't wear it for long.

Punkin and Pumpkins

2008-10-30T21:36:00.005-04:00

Walker is over 1 month old now! He's getting so long and almost outgrowing his newborn pj's. We're hopeful he will be tall and play basketball like his daddy.
One of my friend's moms is a great artist and she painted some adorable t-shirts, onesies and burp cloths for Walker with his name on them. So cute!
Here's our little punkin! He's wearing his festive Halloween pj's. Just wait until you see his Halloween costume...
Nothing like carving a pumpkin the day before Halloween. Matt's working on his big masterpiece right in the middle of the dining room table.
Here's the final product! Looks a little bit like our family except that I like to think I have more hair than that.

Meet the Grandparents

2008-10-24T14:24:00.000-04:00

Walker is 1 month old this week! It's hard to believe it's already been one month since our precious little guy arrived. He is so blessed to have five grandparents and two great-grandparents who are all so proud and love to spoil him, of course!
Walker is the first grandchild on the Wilbanks' side, and Jamma is so excited to be a grandparent!
Papa John is also thrilled to be a new grandparent! We always tease that the pressure is off for carrying on the Wilbanks' name.
Granny loves to rock little Walker! Walker is grandchild number five. The youngest grandchild before Walker is almost seven years old.
Here's Grandma! Grandma has five other grandchildren and one great-granddaughter, so she definitely knows how to take good care of Walker.
And finally, here is Granddaddy, who is so proud that his latest grandchild is named Walker! Walker will learn some serious fishing skills from his Granddaddy one day. It's so special that he has my maiden name (Walker) plus his Daddy's middle name, which is also Matt's grandfather's name (Oliver).
Meet Great-Granny, Jamie's grandmother. Great-Granny came to Jacksonville from Ocala in early September and stayed until Walker was born on September 24 so she could meet him. Great-Granny has lots of experience in caring for little ones!
Here's Dot-Dot, Matt's grandmother. She and her hubby, Don (aka. "Pop"), came from Greer, South Carolina to meet Walker. Dot-Dot has a special touch that puts Walker to sleep every time!
Dot-Dot and Pop loved cuddling with Walker. Dot-Dot is also an expert rocker.

Our Little Sleeper

2008-10-20T20:21:00.004-04:00

Every day is certainly new and fun having a new little guy in the house. We are having a blast getting to know him and watching him grow. There are days when he sleeps and sleeps (which we sometimes wish he would do at night!), and we can't help taking pictures of his adorable expressions.
We recently welcomed our dogs, Belle and Mei-mei, back home. So far, they love Walker. They have been very curious and yet very gentle with him. They mostly just stare at him and sniff him a lot when he's in his swing or bouncer. Belle gives him a crazy look when he cries (she doesn't like repetitive sounds).
Love the hand prop. Walker loves to have at least one hand near his face while he is sleeping.
And also when he's eating. Here he's apparently throwing up some kind of gang sign while Daddy's giving him a bottle.
Now he looks like he's holding on for dear life while sleeping and dreaming. He also makes the cutest and sweetest sounds while he is sleeping. While he sometimes sounds like a little gremlin, his sleeping sounds are just precious.
He often sleeps with his mouth open, which is just like mommy. Hopefully he won't pick up the trait of the drooling like a fountain while sleeping.
Here's Walker's first bath in the tub, which went much better than we expected. He didn't even cry until the very end. We think he feels much warmer in the real bath than he did with the sponge baths before. You can tell how strong he is here. He is already trying to hold his head up, especially when we try to burp him on our shoulders.
He looks like such an angel when he's sleeping! This picture shows off his cute little elf ear. His right ear is flat to his head (like Dad's) and his left ear sticks out just a little (like Mommy's).
Walker surprisingly sleeps really well in Daddy's lap while he is playing an intense game of Halo. I guess I'll have to deal with two Halo players in the house soon enough.

A Day in the Life

2008-10-14T17:53:00.006-04:00

It's hard to believe it's been another week and that Walker is three weeks old. We fall more and more in love with him each day and constantly praise God for sending us this precious little gift. We are having so much fun being new parents!
We have to laugh because he basically already has a baby mullet. It's so cute! We still don't know where he got all that hair from. I (Jamie) was pretty much bald until I was 2 years old and Matt had a little hair, but neither of us had hair like Walker.
Here is a rare moment during bath time when Walker wasn't crying. He hates getting a bath!
Here's a much more common expression during bath time. Apparently, he doesn't enjoy being naked.
Yesterday we went on a walk and visited Aunt Julie and Aunt Ashley at their office. Walker falls asleep in about 30 seconds when we go on walks around the block. In case you are wondering about the wash cloths around his head, we keep them there so he doesn't bobble around too much.

Okay, so besides eating and pooping, Walker does spend a lot of his time sleeping. It's a hard life being Walker, Texas Ranger (one of our friends and the receptionist at our pediatrician's office call him "TR").
Sometimes after bath time, Daddy likes to give him a faux hawk. Oh, and he loves his passy.
Faux hawk close up.
We finally put together our bouncer (which really mostly vibrates and plays music), and so far he likes it a lot.
Note the large yawn. That's when you know the bouncer is working!
And he's out for a while so we can all take a nap as a family!

Happy Two Weeks!

2008-10-08T21:41:00.003-04:00

Walker is officially two weeks old today! Yey! Today we decided to try on his "Habesha libs"--his traditional Ethiopian clothes. Good thing we did it today because it doesn't look like they will fit for very long. This is a cute little outfit that some dear friends in Ethiopia gave us when we visited in May. They are adorable!

We tried the outfit on right after bath time, which is not Walker's favorite time. Hopefully he will grow to like baths more over time.
It's strange how he is tiny and big at the same time. So maybe he is big compared to some other newborns, but he is still so little. He looks really long in some photos, so we're hopeful that he will be tall like daddy!
Somehow Walker has long hands and feet. We aren't sure where they came from since we both have smaller hands and feet (at least mine were before pregnancy!).
Here's his cute little profile. We are still trying to figure out who's different features he has. He definitely looks a lot like daddy's baby pics.
Walker loves to be swaddled. These swaddler blanket things come in quite handy! They make it so easy, especially at 2 a.m. when he is fussy and we are trying to get him to sleep. If you remember a popular toy in the 80's, you'll hopefully recognize that he looks like a Glow Worm in this lime green swaddler.

At Home with the Walk-man

2008-10-07T21:51:00.005-04:00

We have been at home with Walker for a little over a week now. It's certainly nice to be home and to have such a great community of family and friends around us who bring us meals and always check in to give us encouragement. Being new parents is definitely a challenge at times as we are learning how to take care of Walker and meet all of his needs while operating on 2 hours of sleep. He hasn't formed a routine quite yet, but we are hopeful that we will eventually get into a rhythm as a family.

This is a typical pose that Walker makes while he is sleeping. He likes his hands up by his face, which is also how mommy sleeps.

We finally put Walker in his little swing. He actually liked it. Unfortunately, when he is really upset and fussy, it doesn't help to calm him down. But it works well when he is already calm and happy.
Here's our family. You can tell we are a little tired! But we are so happy and thrilled to have our new little man at home.
One of Walker's favorite positions is being curled up on mommy or daddy's chest. It sometimes helps put him to sleep.
Couldn't resist taking a pic of these adorable pjs with the "little dinos" feet. Plus you can see another one of his famous hand positions, keeping them crossed.
Here's daddy's little chunker! We went this week for a check-up at the pediatrician's office and Walker was already 9 lb. 1 oz. He has already gained a half pound. He's a healthy eater for sure!
You would think by these pics that he sleeps all the time, but really he's awake a lot too! We'll try to get some more pics of him when he is wide-eyed.

Heading Home

2008-10-07T21:30:00.005-04:00

We had a long final day at the hospital waiting for Walker to be discharged, but we were so thankful and happy once we were finally able to bring him home! Papa John was there to help us get Walker and all of our stuff down to the car for his first car ride. We were also excited to get to go through Labor and Delivery to say thank you to the sweet nurses who took such good care of us on delivery day.

Here's our last day in the NICU. We couldn't wait to show Walker his new home!

Here's Papa John pulling Walker in the wagon.

This one is from Walker's "trial" in the carseat. His NICU nurse Michelle needed him to sit in his carseat for 90 minutes to make sure he could breath well. He mostly just slept the whole time.

Walker slept the whole way home (that's all of 5 minutes).
Here's dad taking him out of the car. You should have seen us trying to figure out how to put the carseat securely in the car for the first time. It was quite the ordeal!
Dad read him his first book soon after we arrived at home. Walker, of course, slept through it.
Dad and Walker like to take naps together. Being a new parent is fun and a whole lot of work too!

Hospital Life

2008-10-05T19:21:00.010-04:00

We are so excited that we got to bring Walker home on Monday, Sept. 29. He was almost exactly 5 days old when we left the hospital and introduced him to his new home. So we had to share a few of the adorable hospital photos. While we were there recovering and waiting to hear the great news that Walker was healthy and ready to go, we were truly blessed to have such amazing family and friends to take care of us. We can't thank you all enough for all of the love, support and prayers. We could not have made it through without you!

This is Walker's first time wearing clothes! We were thrilled when they told us we could put his own clothes on him. He looked so cute in his safari print pjs.

Even when he was just a couple days old, Walker already loved to hold Daddy's hand. He has quite a strong grip!

Here is dad's first time getting peed on! He didn't realize it until he put Walker back down in his bed. It's already happened once since we got home as well. I'm sure there are many other times to come!

Walker is already a Jacksonville Jags fan! His Uncle Kyle gave him two cute Jags onesies, so we decided he should sport one while his dad and papa watched the game from the hospital waiting room.

WALKER IS HERE!

2008-09-25T09:20:00.006-04:00

Walker Oliver Wilbanks was born by caesarian section at 6:20 pm on September 24th. He is 8 lb 9 oz, 21 3/4 inches long and has a head full of blonde hair. Mom and baby are both doing well. Walker is a tough little guy as he was born with a right pneumothorax (collapsed lung) which landed him directly in the NICU but the issue seems to be resolving itself on its own. He is improving daily and will stay in the NICU until Sunday or Monday at which time Jamie and Matt can bring him HOME. YAY! Mom and Dad make visits down to the NICU every 3 hours to nurse, encourage and sing silly little songs to Walkman. Thank you so much for all of your prayers. We are all in love already and can't wait for you all to meet Walker!

Mei-mei's New Look

2008-09-19T18:23:00.004-04:00

We waited forever to get Mei-mei groomed this time, and as a result she looked like a small, adorable black ewok from Star Wars. Her eyebrows were so long that she couldn't see past them any more, so we knew it was time to get her cut!
Here she is after her day at the groomer's. She looks about 10 lb. lighter and you can actually see her eyes! But she does look kinda funny now. Her beard is gone and she looks like a boy dog, but she's still cute as ever and the sweetest dog around.
Here she has resumed her favorite place in the house (besides the front window where she barks at families with their strollers walking by and the mailman, of course), the couch. She especially loves to snuggle in between Matt and me when we are both on the couch. She's the best lap dog ever.
NO WALKER YET!
Here I am on Sept. 17 (now 39 weeks), the day I was really hoping Walker would arrive! This is me giving him a little pep talk about how much we want to meet him (and how much my knees are hurting these days!). I had a doctor appointment that morning and there was no news to report. The only thing she could tell me was that she wouldn't let me go more than a week past my due date, which would be Oct. 3. We're still hoping he will be here sooner than that, though!

I took this cue from Julie's blog and wanted to include at least one of the beautiful photos from Ashley and Kyle's engagement pics. Aren't they just the cutest?! We are so excited that they are getting married in just four months, on January 24. They have been together since high school (following in the Wilbanks family footsteps) and we are all looking forward to the big day. We hope Walker will get to wear a tiny white tux! It's going to be such a fun and special day for the whole family.This was another funny day this week when Matt was cleaning up the debries leftover from Matt and my dad putting a new roof on our garage. Matt called to have Chris help, but since he was still at work, Julie and Ashley volunteered to come shovel the old shingles. Julie and Ash would do anything for us...we are truly blessed with great sisters! I was laughing so hard because they came over, wearing the cutest little dresses and sandals, and shoveled like little worker bees until they were finished. What good sports! They prove that even the most adorable girly girls can work as hard as construction men any day!

Blast From the Past

2008-09-16T00:00:00.007-04:00

I was so excited when just a couple days ago Jenn and Mayling (friends from high school!) came over to hang out at our house...it was so much fun! We ate thai food and I finally got to meet Mayling's husband, Allan. I'm so happy that we have reconnected! Poor Matt was at a meeting, so he wasn't able to see the girls (for the second time), so he is looking forward to getting to hang out with them soon too.

As you can see, Jenn and Mei-mei bonded instantly. Jenn was laughing because Mei-mei means "little sister" in Chinese, and sometimes her family calls her that name too!
We (Mayling, me and Jenn) actually ate at the dining room table, which Matt and I never do! It was the perfect place to talk and catch up.
The girls could not believe how big my belly had grown since they last saw me in July.
Mayling and Allan have been married for almost three years now...they are so cute! Allan seems like a very sweet guy. I'm so happy for them!

Rewind a few months to back to July when I got together with a group of special friends from high school. One of my friends, Khyati, who I've known since the 7th grade, I think, was moving to Chicago, so she had a little going away party and invited a bunch of Wolfson peeps. It was so fun to see all the girls (and one guy too, Sachin)! We had a blast catching up with each other on the last 10 years. It was a fun teaser before our 10-year reunion, which was in August.

Zohra, Leslie, me, Jennifer and Mayling

Leslie, Zohra, Sachin, Jennifer, me, Mayling and Khyati

Eternal Cankles

2008-09-13T21:34:00.006-04:00

Please don't be too alarmed... these are just my cankles that never seem to go away these days! If you know me very well, you know that I normally have the smallest feet. My friend Laura calls them "Disney feet" because she says they look like Belle's or Ariel's feet. It's true that we women are always self conscious about our bodies, but dang it, my feet are cute! As you can see, that's not the case right now. All the swelling and fluid from being preggers has made them huge (I have had to buy two pairs of flops in a larger size) and I no longer have ankles. Oh, and I can ONLY wear flops because my feet won't fit into anything else...sweet! Thank heavens I live in Florida.

I try to stay home more now (I know, it's hard to believe!) to rest and prop these babies up, but it's not always possible. I don't think my tiny feet like carrying around all the extra weight right now. The swelling doesn't seem to go away any more, no matter how much I prop them up. But staying off them does help with the soreness that occurs on the bottom of my feet in the middle of the night when I wake up to go to the bathroom. The things that happen to your body during pregnancy are just so funny! It's just amazing to think that God made us so we could grow another person inside us and bring that person into the world. Pretty cool if you ask me!

One Fish Two Fish

2008-09-13T21:16:00.005-04:00

We are so excited that the nursery is pretty much complete. Our families have really blessed us by helping us to get the furniture and get everything ready...we just love it! This week our little green rug finally arrived and it looks great.

We decided to include Matthew 4:19, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men," above the crib. It's definitely our prayer for Walker, that we will be good examples for him, that we can guide him to follow Christ in his life, and that he will be faithful to share Christ's love with others too. It's scary to think that we are going to be responsible for rearing another little person and teaching him about his heavenly Father and the importance of having a relationship with Christ. WOW!

I already love to go and sit in the nursery to read or just relax in the glider...it is serioulsy the most comfortable seat in the house!

We love this little sailboat painting that Ashley gave us for the nursery--it's adorable and the colors are perfect for the room. My sister, Wendi, painted the waves and the fish (and I helped!) and got us the "WOW" initials for the shelf...so cute!

Everything is ready...we have about 1,228 diapers, hundreds of wipes, and lots of tiny, adorable outfits waiting. And we are, of course, SO EXCITED...now all we need is for little Walker to come out to meet us!

Preggers Pics

2008-09-09T23:44:00.003-04:00

My dear friend Jill came over a couple days ago and took some really cool preggers pics. I was a little hesitant at first because it seems like everything on my whole body is enlarged at the moment (I'm wondering who's nose and lips these are!), but I really like some of them. I was really glad that Matt participated in the photo shoot as well.

As you can see, Walker will be here any day! He is officially almost 38 weeks, and we are hoping that he is here SOON. I have been blessed with a great pregnancy. If I can make it through my feet and hands swelling so much each day, I'll be good to go. I feel a little confined because I mostly have to sit home now with my feet propped up, but it's definitely worth it knowing Walker's on his way. I'm secretly praying for Sept. 17 to be the date (instead of the 26th, which we know is just a gestimate). I hope you'll join me in praying for that too!

Hurricane Season in FL

2008-09-05T15:28:00.000-04:00

Wow, we haven't experienced hurricane season in two years, so it's been interesting with all the days where you aren't sure whether work or school is canceled and whether you should be out driving...it definitely keeps you guessing.

During Fay (only a tropical storm, not fully a hurricane), we lost power for a while with all the winds and rain, so we hung out at the Wilbanks' for a while. At one point, all of the dogs (our two, plus Janet's and Julie's) needed to go outside for potty time. And of course that would be the time when it was raining like crazy. So Matt was kind enough to volunteer to go out in a poncho (note that it's from Janet and John's trip to Niagara Falls) with each dog individually.

The best part was when we put Livy's (Janet and John's bulldog) raincoat on the other dogs--hysterical! Howard (Julie and Chris' bulldog) was miserable because it was too small for him. Mei-mei (our schnauzer) was terrified because she's never worn a raincoat before, and Belle (our Jack Russell mix) was way too small for it, so she had to settle for a sweater. The whole situation definitely kept us entertained during the storm!

More Shower Fun!

2008-09-05T14:49:00.001-04:00

We had a "luau" shower with our family, which was really fun! Matt was able to make it to the shower (because there was a special gift waiting for him). Our friends Laura, Maria, Michelle and Becky hosted it for us. These pictures made me realize how HUGE I am getting. :) We have so many cute things for Walker...we are so excited! Today is officially 37 weeks, so he is full term. We're hoping to meet him very soon!

The adorable little girl is my niece, Kirra. She's three and full of so much personality, as you can probably tell. There's also a pic of me and Casey and Laura and all of our sweet hostesses. And Matt is with my niece, Kenzi, and then I'm with Kenzi and Sydney, who are sisters. Syd is only 13 but is way taller than me! I have a feeling several of my nieces are going to outgrow me soon. It's so cool because they are all so excited about Walker. Kirra is always asking, "When you baby get out?" She thought the shower meant he was coming that day, which cracked us up!

We now have some pics from our first shower (on Aug. 7), which was given by our dear friends at Southside, Gwen, Cindy and Sandy. It was so nice to see so many friends we had not had a chance to reconnect with yet. We had a great time being with everyone! At this point, I was still looking very pregnant but cute (without all the swelling!!).

10-Year Reunion

2008-08-21T00:17:00.001-04:00

Wow, we cannot believe that we graduated from Wolfson High School 10 years ago! That's just crazy to think about! We had our 10-year reunion last weekend, and it was really fun. We saw many old friends who we had not seen in (literally) years and got to catch up with them. Of course, going to your high school reunion 8 months pregnant may not be ideal, but I was happy to share the good news and had a good excuse for being so BIG!

Here's a group photo of us with some of our friends and another of me with two other preggers who were sporting their bumps. Of course, mine looks the biggest! My friend Jamie (on the left) is due around the same time as me, and Lesley is due in December. It seems like Walker already likes to make his presence known. He may already have a little bit of my personality!

Baby Showers

2008-08-20T23:53:00.003-04:00

We are so excited that we've been able to celebrate this special time with our friends and family. These are some photos from a couple of our showers. I was SO excited that several of my friends traveled from far away to come to a shower, especially my friend Sarah who came all the way from Oklahoma (and she took many of these great shower pics)! It was such a special surprise to see her!

We love that everyone has been incorporating Walker's name at the showers. The cakes have been so beautiful (and yummy!). And Walker is going to be quite a stylish little guy. We are trying to decide what special clothes he will wear home from the hospital. It's so fun looking at all the tiny outfits...they are just adorable!

Some of the funniest gifts we have received include a onesie that says "Arrghh...wipe me booty!" (with a pirate flag on it) and another one that has a tie (like a man's tie) on it. Some of the sweetest gifts have been handmade blankets. So soft!

We attended our first childbirth class last week, which was actually very educational. Most of the information we have already read about, but it was good to learn a few new things. Watching the video of the live birth was a little disturbing for both of us and did not in any way promote a natural childbirth! I think we were all a bit traumatized in watching this lady give birth to an 8-pounder.

Hope you are laughing at how large my belly is getting these days! I know it looks like I'm about to pop, but I still have about 5 weeks to go. Our dr. says everything looks good and on track, so we're thankful Walker is a healthy boy, now more than 5 lb. I keep praying for the due date to move up, but he's holding steady at Sept. 26. We just can't wait to meet little Walker! We are so blessed to know that so many people already love him. Hopefully he will make his big appearance soon!

Chillin' in Costa Rica

2008-07-30T20:56:00.000-04:00

Matt just returned this week from his travels in Costa Rica over the last two weeks. During the first week, he was on vacation with his dad, Pastor Ron and Ron's family. They surfed, fished, relaxed at the beach and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and delicious seafood. The next week, they led a group of college students from MWay on a trip to the Nicoya region where they connected with a local church and helped with many of the ministries and outreach in the local community.

Here are pics of Matt catching some big fish with Ron, Brett and Papa John. The water and scenery in Costa are amazing. And the people are so friendly and welcoming. The people at the church where they worked are so kind. It's obvious how much they love the Lord and are really trying to reach their community with His love.

While Matt was gone, Walker certainly became more and more active! Jamie went to GA/Acteens camp in central Florida for a week to teach the girls about Ethiopia. Camp was a blast! During that time, Walker started kicking even more. Now we can feel little body parts sticking out in my belly. Sometimes it feels like there's a foot or an arm poking me...it's so funny and cute!

We are gearing up since we have only eight weeks left. It's so exciting! We have a few showers coming in in the next several weeks and we can't wait to see what fun items we get for Walker. We are also working on finishing his room, so we'll post more photos soon once we've done a little more.

St. Augustine Escape

2008-07-07T22:37:00.000-04:00

This week we traveled to St. Augustine for an overnight stay on the beach to celebrate our six-year anniversary. It's really hard to believe it's been six years...not to mention the fact that our 10-year high school reunion is coming up next month.

It was so much fun getting to go on a short trip where we swam and walked on the beach, ate delicious seafood and saw two new movies. It was also shocking to walk on the beach on a day that wasn't unbearably hot and look down to see my hands huge and swollen...gross! Matt called my fingers sausages. Isn't that sweet?

Pregnancy in the summer in Florida is really all about water retention and swelling of certain body parts, like hands and feet. Currently, my right foot stays swollen most of the time. So cute, I know!

I just look at myself some days and can hardly believe the size of my tummy! It's such a science experiment. It's so much fun, though. I just have to laugh when I hear people call it a beach ball or when people tell me Walker is going to be a football player when he comes out (you know Matt would prefer he were tall like a basketball player). All I know is that we are so excited...we can't wait to meet the little guy!

Belly at Bible Club

2008-07-02T23:01:00.000-04:00

Last week we helped host a Bible Club at some local apartments with our church. It was so fun getting to hang out with the kids and meet the families there. We thought we would include this photo with Pastor Ron, Matt and Jamie to show the ever growing belly and just a fun photo of us hanging out and sweating profusely during the Club. Now we are officially at week 28 (7 months!)...so it's only going to get bigger each week!!

Working on Walker's Room

2008-07-02T22:41:00.000-04:00

We finally started working on Walker's room this past weekend! It was so fun painting and putting together the crib and dresser (well, maybe the dresser took a little longer than usual, but Granddaddy was there to help!). We had lots of help from our family as we were cleaning out the "guest room" and turning it into Walker's room.

While Matt and our families worked on the room (Aunt Julie, Aunt Ashley and Uncle Kyle helped prep for painting, and Matt and Papa John painted the room together), Jamie took the opportunity to take a nap and prop up her swollen feet. Yes, the heat of summer in Florida is definitely setting in and becoming apparent in all kinds of lovely swelling. I guess Belle and Mei-mei also wanted to nap on the couch while everyone else worked.

These are just a few preliminary photos of the baby room...there's still so much work to do, but we wanted to give a sneak preview. We can't wait to finish it. Jamie's sister, Wendi, is coming over this week to work on adding waves to the walls between the two blues (like the ocean and the sky) and a mural over the crib. We are also going to add some cute "beachy" things to the walls like small surfboards and fishing rods.

We took the "Walkman" photo because Aunt Julie and Aunt Ashley came up with that as Walker's nickname. So Matt painted on the khaki wall before we painted it blue. Now he can be either WOW or Walkman. :)

Hanging with the Kids

2008-07-02T22:31:00.000-04:00

We got to visit Jamie's sisters, Beverly and Kristy, and her niece and nephews, Tyler, Kaylie, Noah and Connor a few weekends ago. We thought it was funny to see Aunt Jamie with Kaylie and Connor back in January and then a photo of all of us together in the last month. There's definitely a slight difference...and it's certainly growing bigger every day! We had a great time getting to visit our family in Deland and Deltona...everyone is so excited about little Walker coming soon!

Growing Belly

2008-06-17T23:37:00.000-04:00

Some of our friends have been requesting photos of my (Jamie's) growing belly, so I guess it's that time. These are only a few, but we'll post more soon. We are now approaching week 26, so it's exciting to think that Walker's arrival is just over 3 months away! We can hardly believe it...we can't wait!

He is also kicking quite often these days...for a while it was mostly at night before bed, but now it's at random times during the day. You can even see it if you watch my tummy. So far, dad and cousin Kaylie are the only ones who have felt Walker kicking. Maybe he will lose his shyness soon and kick for his grandparents, aunts and uncles.

We are so thankful that everyone around us has been so excited and encouraging. All of Walker's grandparents and aunts and uncles are very excited! We even received a sweet gift in the mail just last week from Walker's cousin, Cade Andrew Wilbanks. Cade sent Walker a onesie and hat that are very cute and will be quite comfy. Walker will be so thrilled to meet Cade one day and they will be the best of friends since they will only be about 9 or 10 months apart.

We also included a photo of Jamie and Matt's friends, Tina, Melissa and Amanda, who have developed their own "sign" for Walker...the "WOW." Hope this makes you laugh!!

Ethiopia Trip

2008-06-17T23:30:00.001-04:00

Walker got to travel back to a place that's hopefully very familiar to him...Ethiopia! He went with mom and dad last month for a two-week trip. Jamie and Matt got to see all their friends and family and show off Jamie's growing belly. Everyone was so excited to hear the news! All of our friends are expecting another trip next year after Walker arrives, so they can meet Baby WOW.

During our layover in London, we found these chips called "Walkers" and thought they were so funny that we took a photo.

The photo of the two preggers is Jamie with her dear friend Yeshi, who is also pregnant. Yeshi is due in just a few weeks!

The other photos are of our friends who we love so much and who we were so blessed to get to see and spend time with during the trip. The photo of Matt and Jamie is a on mountain called Entoto that overlooks the city...it's usually a beautiful spot, but the fog was a little heavy that day.

First pair of Kicks

2008-05-02T10:35:00.000-04:00

We were at the mall and saw these for Walker......then we decided we wanted a pair too! Yeah, we are already doing that family matching thing. But hey, we are allowed, right?

The BIG News! Baby "WOW"

2008-04-29T13:04:00.000-04:00

We found out the news on April 29!! All of our family and friends have been guessing for weeks, but we were so surprised to find out that we're having a little boy who we will call Walker Oliver Wilbanks. We're still in the process of spreading the exciting news! We are THRILLED! Dad (Matt) is so proud to carry on the Wilbanks name.

It was so cool to get to see his little face, arms, legs, hands and feet today. We even got to see him drinking and possibly even smiling. He was certainly very active, perhaps putting on a show for us. We kept noticing how big his mouth is and wondering where he got that. :)

We got to celebrate with family and open a few little blue gifts...one that says "Mommy Loves Me" and another that says "Thank Heaven for Little Boys." What a fun day!

Mommy (Jamie) is now showing with a little pot belly...here I am just over 18 weeks, wearing my bridesmaid's dress from my friend Maria's wedding that I was in this past weekend. I had to add a little to the back of the dress so it would close! We're guessing Walker is going to be a healthy baby since his dad was over 9 pounds when he was born!