TN General Assembly

As I mentioned in my previous post I had the opportunity to be an honored guest of my TN State Rep, Jim Coley. Yesterday I got to sit with him on the house floor. My father-n-law, Rev. Walter Droke, was invited by his TN State Rep, Joey Hensley, to be the Chaplin for the day and offer up the opening prayer before the legisalative body (quite an honor). - Jason

TN State Capital

Bro. Droke and I will be traveling today (Monday, March 8) to the Tennessee State Capital today for some official business. I will be the special honored guest of Rep. Jim Coley (District 97) and will be allowed to sit with him on the floor of the House of Representatives while in session. Bro. Droke will be a special guest of Rep. Joey Hensley. Bro. Droke will be the official State Chaplin and will give the opening prayer to start the House session.

On Tuesday (March 9) we will both be back in Nashville working with our State Reps attending working committee meetings. We will also be touring several of the state buildings and learning more about the great history of Tennessee.

We are both very honored and excited about this trip and are looking forward to getting in inside look into our state politics. - Jason

Vacation Tiime

Becky and I just got back from a seven day trip to Gatlinburg, Tenn. or commonly referred to as the great Smoky Mountains. We enjoyed our trip greatly, as it is always wonderful for me to get away. We went with Becky's mom and dad, the Droke's. I wish I could put all my pictures here online, but that would take too long. - Jason

twitter

I (Jason) have a twitter site if you care to follow me there: twitter.com/jasonasykes. I actually post there multiple times a day.

Are you ready to give up?

Are you ready to give up on checking in on our blogging? Don't lose the desire to keep checking our blog. If you lose the desire, I'm afraid we will too...

BTW- all is well with our little family!

Black Friday Shopping II

This was my second year to hit Walmart in Hohenwald on Black Friday. If you remember last year, I hit it big and got a huge LCD TV for a steal of a deal- third in line at 3:30. This year was a little less competitive- I was mainly going for Becky and her list. I did however manage to score a Magnavox Blue-Ray DVD player (see pic at left) for $75- regularly $130. Needless to say I have become excited of my purchases! - Jason

Mornings in Hohenwald

Becky and I came up to Hohenwald for the weekend. Actually, I will go home today (Sunday) and Becky and Jacob will stay a few more days. It's always nice to come to the country (as I call it). It is very peaceful and always enjoyable. We got to see the progress on Barry and Jennifer new house since they have been remodeling. The morning here is really great, sunny but cool. I can hear the cows in the background. Jacob likes hearing the cows- he will point and say, "whas tat" (what's that).

Other Ways to Connect

Yeah, well, so, ok, you know, of course.... What can I say, we haven't done such a great job of keeping up with the family blog. We have been spending more time on facebook (who hasn't). You can follow us on facebook. If you are a fan of twitter- you can follow me there: www.twitter.com/jasonasykes.

Mayor Pro Tem Sykes

I recently had the chance to tour Memphis City Hall and visit with the new Mayor Pro Tem Lowery (until a special election can be held). I was able to tour his office suite and Mayor Lowery even let me sit behind his desk. It was pretty cool to sit behind the desk of the 19th largest city in the U.S. The view outside his office is amazing- it overlooks the Miss River, Mud Island, The Pyramid and the downtown area.

Birthday Boy!!!

Where has the last year gone? It's gone by so fast. My baby is growing from a baby into a little boy. He's walking, making more 'talking' sounds, and we can see more of his personality developing. He's so funny sometimes. Jason and I say all the time, "he's so cute! Does everyone think that about their own kid?" We're hopelessly in love with this small human being.

We celebrated Jacob's birthday this past Saturday with family and some friends. I didn't know how he'd react, but when we all sang Happy Birthday he lit up and smiled like he knew exactly what we were saying. Since Jacob loves his stuffed Curious George so much, I used the Curious George decor. It turned out really cute. My friend Stephanie made the cutest cake. (Sorry, Stephanie, the cake shifted in transit, but it still looked good.) Thank you to her for all her hard work!!! I got him a 'play' cake, one he could dig in for himself. Again, I didn't know how he'd do with that, but he acted like a real pro! He dug in and had icing all over. At one point he was beating the cake like a drum! Icing was flying everywhere. I had to put him in the tub to get it all off. His fingers were purple for a while after.

The family before the party

Even Jacob matched the decor

The cake

Cool shades!

Some of the friends who attended Lovin' the cake!

Happy Father's Day

Jason is the best daddy in the world. Jacob gets so excited every day when Jason comes home. Daddy always takes time to get down in the floor & play with him, which makes Jacob laugh. They love to wrestle.

Jason, you are the greatest. Thank you for taking time with Jacob. There's no way to say in words what a good dad you really are, but it's evident in your actions. You take such good care of Jacob & his momma. We love you very much!

Playing in the pool

Jacob & Daddy

3 generations

11 months old

OH MY WORD!!! My baby is 11 months old? Where did the time go? Jacob has been walking with assistance. He can do it on his own, but he's not quite brave enough to let go of my finger. Although, lately he's been trying it more. Especially if he knows he's putting on a show. :)

We're planning a birthday party this Saturday. Just the family & a few friends, which will be a house full. Since Jacob loves his Curious George so much he is the decor of choice. It will be fun. Anxious to see how Jacob does with the cake.

Here are a few 11 month pictures:

One of his favorite books

Love those curls

He pushes this around the house
Big blue eyes

10 months old

The day of Jacob's 10 month birthday, Ashton came to spend the day with us. We walked to the park & the babies, Jacob & Isabelle, both loved the swings! Jacob did not want to leave, but it was sooo hot we couldn't stay long. But they were so cute laughing & kicking with excitement as Ashton pushed their swings. So sweet!

At 10 months, Jacob has 2 more teeth on the top. He's started grinding his teeth, which gives me the hibbi-gibbies! It's like nails on a chalkboard. He's started eating more 'real' food. He pretty much doesn't like the jar baby food. We try them & he eats part of it, but then he realizes he doesn't like it & will not eat another bite. So we've had to find alternatives. He's still a good baby, but he's beginning to show his 'opinon' more often. I think I sometimes see a bit of a temper flair up in him. :) I'm afraid it will get him in trouble as he gets older.

Summer Fun!

I got Jacob a new swimming pool because he seems to enjoy the water and bath time so much. Of course, I had to get one that was big enough for me to get in to "supervise" his water time! I've only been in it once (we just bought it), but I must say it was pretty nice. I am hoping that he really likes it and won't be too afraid of the water. We'll see... - Jason

Happy Mother's Day

My sister, Jennifer, & I celebrated with our mom early. The three of us went to the Orpheum to see "Fiddler On The Roof." It was wonderful! We enjoyed having a girls' night with dinner & a show. We don't have enough moments like these & it was nice to celebrate my first Mother's Day with two of my favorite mommas, whom also are my closest friends. I have learned so much from them both & will continue to seek advice from them.

My first Mother's Day was spent with my mom, which was very special. Jacob got me a very sweet card that said I am the best mommy in the whole world! :) Jason also got me a card & a standup mixer, which I've been wanting for some time. Now I have a good excuse to make a yummy cake!

9 months old

Jacob turned 9 months old April 20. He has been pulling up on the furniture for some time & is now beginning to stand on his own. It won't be long till he's walking. He's already doing well with holding my hand & walking. He's constantly moving. He has a walker, but he'd rather be down in the floor crawling around.

One of his favorite things right now is a Curious George monkey that he loves! He'll find him & kiss on him, lay his head on him, hug him & act like it's his best friend. It's so sweet!

He weighs about 23-24 lbs & is about 28 in long. He's slimmed down some since he started moving around more, but he still has those rolly-poly legs & chubby cheeks. They won't be there long for momma to kiss on. I still take advantage of his willingness to give me those wet open-mouthed kisses. For now he's ok with loving on his momma, but I know that won't last always. Time is not on my side - he's growing too fast.

Happy Easter!

Easter this year was yucky weather - rain. But at least it wasn't cold. I had wanted to get my boy an outfit in a color other than blue, since he has a lot of blue outfits, but with his blue eyes it's hard not to do. I finally found a sweet smocked shortall that made his eyes shine.

These were taken a week before Easter:

Happy Birthday!

I recently celebrated my 32nd birthday, which fell on Good Friday. That being a holiday, I had the day off so Jacob and I went to Hohenwald. My sister and brother and their families came Friday, despite being sick. It was nice to be together with my family. It's rare that we all get together at one time. Just wish Jason could have been there - he couldn't get off work that Friday. He did have flowers delivered to Mom and Dad's. So sweet! I am so blessed to have a family that loves each other and enjoys each others company - most of the time. :)

Family

We visited with some of Jason's family the end of March. His Aunt Cheryl came, along with her kids, from South Carolina. It's always fun to see all the grandkids and great-grandkids together. Aunt Carole's house was packed to the gills, but it's always a pleasure.

Here are a few miscellaneous pictures:

Jacob was playing one day and I noticed he'd somehow worked his arm out of his shirt. It was so funny. He thought he'd done something really neat.

Roadtrip. So sweet!!

8 months old

Jacob turned 8 months old March 20. Around that same time his two bottom teeth broke through the gums. This picture was taken 3/20/09, which shows one tooth. That same day he started crawling on all fours. He'd been scooting, dragging one leg, then all of a sudden he decided it was time to get up on his knees and go for it. He's moving like a pro now. It's sweet to see him follow Jason and me around the house, but he's gonna keep me busy once he starts walking. He's already into everything!