Bedtime Ritual

Why is it that when we start the bedtime routine, they react like this?! They SO know that it is almost time for bed and they get crazy-hyper and silly. It actually is one of the funnest times of the day. But then they are all wound up when it is sleepy time. I'm sure lots of kids do the same thing...right?!

Monkey-boy

Please excuse the nakey diaper boys. We were making our way to the tub.

hugs

Carson is a little obsessed with giving Cade hugs. Unfortunately for Cade, his hugs are more like wrestling moves than love pats!

Weekends with Daddy

We do lots of things when the Dad is home on the weekends. Different things. Things that I don't normally do or think to do with my boys. Things like camping in the living room! And Carson and Cade have caught on to it. They know it's going to be fun when he is home. They now expect it to be fun and are extra whiny if he tries to have a lazy day! But I love that they get to have this fun time together. It is a special time. They talk for days about the car wash after their Saturday morning with Daddy. I love it. I love that they have a Dad that takes the time to do stuff like this with them. Even if it creates a temporary blockade in the living room!

And now, some cute pictures of my Carson-man.

7 Years Ago...

Today, these were delivered to my apartment in Rexburg, addressed to the entire apartment. They were from Shane. We were still in the beginning stages of our relationship, talking on the phone and emailing daily, going out on the weekends in Twin (since he was living in Boise) but still "undefined" as a couple. So as to not come across too forward, but still thoughtful the card read:

"To my favorite girls in Rexburg. Hope you are having a Happy Valentine's Day."

I thought it was the cutest thing. Just part of his plan in getting me wrapped around his finger. It worked.

Being Girly

Saturday was our ladies' day out for the Tucker girls. And let me just say....IT WAS ABOUT TIME!!!! Phil & Brooke are expecting a baby...a girl baby. And if you know this family at all, then you know that this is kinda a big deal. Or maybe we are just choosing to make it a big deal. Either way, for us, it is a big deal and a perfect excuse to CELEBRATE! So we decided to have a girls only party to do girly things. Don't get me wrong, we love our boys...all of them. But without fail when we are all together, the conversation seems to be about cars, football, or computers. And believe me, we try to force it in different directions, but you those men together and there's not much we can do! Anyway, it was refreshing to be girly together. We pampered ourselves with manicures, ate a yummy lunch out, watched a girly movie, opened girly gifts, and ate pink cookies. And we never once talked about the previously mentioned conversation topics!

(I think I was envious of the woman getting a pedicure. Next time!)

PURPLE!

and PINK!

Love these girls. So glad to have you as my sisters. And thank you to our sweet hubbys who watched all the little boys. Don't worry, they are already planning what they will be doing for their day out! And to Annette...oh how we miss you.
(Wow. I feel like I just gave some sort of acceptance speech!)

Our Week

Random noteworthy things from our week.

Shane: He is trying to get prepared for the High Adventure week with the young men in our ward. They will be doing some major hiking. And he is the type that likes to be overly prepared for things. So, we went to the library so that he could check out some books on the art of hiking...and camping. And he's done both of these quite a bit but you can never be too prepared, right?! After he's done reading about it, he'll map out a plan (probably in Excel!) to get him in shape in time.

Speaking of getting in shape, he just joined an indoor soccer league. This is something that he's ALWAYS wanted to do but is now in the position to actually do it. His company has a team that anyone can be a part of. He jumped at the chance. We went out and got him some new shin guards in time for his first game. He came home so happy! They are actually a decent team! I think it is a great way to relieve stress for him and it also is helping him to stay active. I'm happy that he is happy.

Shane got to do some male-manly-bonding this week, too. He helped his brother Brady change the oil in his Jetta. This does a lot for my man's state of mind and he saves lots of $ by doing stuff like this. It's a win-win.

Me: I'm so glad that it is February. January is just so long, or so it seems. Maybe it's because it comes after the excitement from the holidays that makes it seem so long and depressing. I am happy to have that month over with. And the love month started off perfect for me. Shane shocked me when he started "The Twelve Days of Cupid." A little special something that I look forward to everyday. I even get a Sponge-Bob Valentine card everyday!

My callings in church are keeping me busy. And I like being busy. It helps me manage my time a little better. I am leading the music in Primary. I love it. I leave church happy and energetic. The kids are so fun and keep me on my toes. And I get to learn and study beautiful music and that is why it is so great. I am still directing our choir as well. With these two callings, along with my piano students each week, I feel like I've sorta found myself again. Does that make sense? Music is a part of who I am. And I'm no pro or expert, but I get so much fulfillment from it. It makes me happy. It edifies me. I'm beyond happy about being immersed in it again.

I am on a cheese and cracker kick. Weird, huh?! But it is all I eat during the day. Have you had the flavored Triscuts crackers? They're awesome. Full of flavor with a fun texture. Couple those with some Colby-Jack...very satisfying snack...or lunch...or brunch...or dinner...whatever.

Cade: Oh man, where do I being with this kid? He is just blossoming. He says the cutest things lately and I wanted to make note of some of them.

Whenever he starts talking about his Daddy or any other family member, I end up prompting him to say, "I loooovvee Daddy!" And he happily echos me. The other day in the car, we started doing this and went through all our family members. Then it went silent for a few seconds until he started saying things that he looovves on his own. This is how it went:

"I looovve Mazda" (his Daddy's car)
"I looovve Jeep" (what I drive)
"I looovve Addy" (my parent's dog)
"I looovvee Toby" (train from Thomas & Friends)
" I loovvee Thomas" (Thomas the train)

I've always wondered what is going on in their little brains...what they are thinking about. Now I know! So cute.

So you know this emblem that comes on before the movie starts?
Every time we see this at the start of a movie, Cade says, "Wook, is a Temple!" And everything is "cute", "beautiful", or "awesome" in Cade's eyes.

Now meet Cade's bear. This is the one he's had and slept with since infancy.
He's cute, huh? Anyway, lately the bear has to do everything that Cade is doing. We have to feed the bear, wash the bears hands, wipe his bear-nose, clap the bear's hands, help the bear snore and go to sleepy, and change the bear's diaper (we also have to do most of these things for Thomas). And he's tickled when we do. So this morning, Cade wanted to go to fake-sleep with his bear on the kitchen floor. So he did.
Then he grabbed the kitchen rug for his blanket. Nighty-night Cade!

Carson: This kid has had a big week! Last weekend he decided to consistently (and gracefully) climb out of his crib. Darn it! I have been dreading this transition but it was time. So we converted his crib to a "big boy bed", completely re-vamped his room so that he couldn't hurt himself, and crossed our fingers.

(When I took this picture, I told him to say "cheese!" He had his own idea and it was way cuter!)

He's doing awesome but it has been hard on him (and me). He had 2 rough nights and naps haven't been the same since. But he is doing better and adjusting well. He shares his room with the piano. What an extra room would do for us! I really wish that money DID grow on trees. Anyway, so we removed the piano bench and let it be. The first night at 1am, I woke up to Carson pounding on the piano. I was tired, impatient and desperate...and pulled out the duct tape. Yep, I duct tape the piano shut. And I didn't care...at all. It solved the problem for the time being and he eventually crawled back into his bed and went to sleep. Fortunately, the duct tape didn't cause any cosmetic damage to the piano. I found a nifty child-lock that is now doing the job beautifully. He still hates being trapped in his room (child-lock on the inside door-knob) but he's getting over it. I'm just not ready for him to have that much freedom. Baby steps please! So now when he is up and ready to come out of his room, he knocks on his door. It is hilarious and makes me smile every time. I'm so proud of him. I really couldn't ask any more from him. Way to go Carson!

Now on to the weekend. Celebrating with my sis-in-laws the future-arrival of baby girl Tucker! Couldn't be more excited.

Triplets

We got to watch this little dude this week. Emery is 6 months younger than my boys but you wouldn't know it. They love Emery. Talk about him everyday. And they were so cute together this week.

Without any prompting from me, they each took a chair at the table and asked for crackers. So all had a snack.

And played with trains.

And watched "Cars." Again, without any help from me, they each took a cushion on the couch for the movie. How cute are they?!

Later, we all went out for ice cream and I heard some people around us say, "Look at those triplets!" And we kept walking without correcting them.