Mid-Laugh

The two of us had a fabulous Thanksgiving. How 'bout you?

Bucking Up

I decided I needed to buck up this morning and get my kids outside in the snow. I couldn't refuse Cade's puppy dog face any longer. So with some extra excitement in our home this morning, we headed out to the backyard (which I'm so grateful for). If you remember from last year, Cade was a lover of the fluff and Carson was more of a hater. Here's a reminder in case you forgot.

This year things don't seem to have changed much.

But Carson wasn't in tears, so that's a step forward. He was happy to be outside and close to the snow, as shown above. He just wasn't much in the snow.
This is where he hung out for most of our outing. I asked him a couple of times to go run and play with Cade, but he just politely said "no." I didn't push it...he was happy.

Cade, like last year, was one with the snow. I couldn't get him to hold still for a picture.

He headed to his favorite spot in our yard, between the trees, and laughed histarically as he ate the snow.

Look at Carson go!!! He took a few steps on the cement...never quite made it to the grass. He then acted like he was eating snow, but was completely against actually eating it! Funny boy.

Can you tell he's proud of himself?

Snow Angel!

Forget picking it up to eat. Just go straight to the source!

Yay for a fun morning! Afterward we had pancakes for lunch, per Cade's request.

Everytime I'm preparing a meal, the two of them yell out their color requests for their plates and forks...

"Mommy, I wan orange!"

"Mommy, I wan Byue!"

Back and forth over and over and over again. They think it's funny. At least I know that they know their colors.

Here's a random tidbit. Carson always requests blue. As an infant, he had the blue binkie and as a toddler the blue sippy. Cade was the orange or green binkie and the green sippy. He always requests green or orange. I didn't realize on day one when I desperately forced binkies that I was determining the colors that would be their favorites.

Carson still hates feeding himself and gets super frustrated at the whole utensil thing. At lunch today, every time Carson said "Mommy Heeellp!" Cade would respond with, "Is okay Carson, you can do it!" How's that for sweet brotherly love?

And why am I still such a bad pancake flipper? Seriously.

Another reason for celebrating is because I found our missing remotes. I loaded the dryer with some towels, turned it on, and heard some major clunking going on. What do you know...remotes!

No Tears Today

I am so eager to report our successful Sunday. Complete night and day difference from the before written about experience. We made it through the ENTIRE Sacrament Meeting with ZERO yelling or screaming or crying. All four of us sat through it all. Together. and Happy. (we sort of deserve a standing ovation right now!!) At one point, I even reached over to hold my husband's hand. Yes, it was THAT good. All I can say is, it's about fReaKInG TImE!
We all got naps after church, cozy in our beds while the snow came down. Once we were up, I couldn't resist pulling out something I couldn't resist from buying...a gingerbread train kit. I love that these boys are old enough to do little projects. They were super excited about it and were good little helpers. Well, Carson kind of just sat and ate chocolate chips the entire time. But he was a giddy and happy Carson. It was awesome.
We ended the night with hot chocolate and The Polar Express.
I am one happy Mommy tonight.

Love Carson in this one...happy with choolate chips, his milk, and his doggy.

Love Cade in this picture...the little I got of him. He was so into the whole thing and watched and participated with pure amazement.

Something cute. The boys love their monster jammies. Tonight, after Cade got his on he walked up to me so proud and confident and said pointing to his monsters, "Wook Mom, I is so handsome!"

Our finished Gingerbread-Happy Birthday-Train

They associate cakes (and apparently Ginderbread Trains) with birthdays. So the whole time Cade was calling it his Happy Birthday Train, without any promting on my part. And of course once it was finished, he asked to blow out a candle. I certainly couldn't turn down his request. So we got out the candles, put one on top of the train and started belting out Happy Birthday. We did it over, and over, and over again. They were in little boy birthday heaven! And I tell you what, they have the blowin' out candle thing DOWN!

Carson's under-lip blowing. He blows so funny. Sticks his lower lip out, but he gets the job done!

Cade blowing his candle out.

These boys were so cute today. We are sure excited to celebrate their Birthday. Seeing the looks on their faces as Shane and I sang Happy Birthday to them tonight was absolutely adorable...heart-melting. They just lit up inside. It was obvious that they felt special. And they are. How did I get so lucky?

Fitting

I love this song. So fitting for this time of year and always.

Because I Didn't Include Pictures...

Do I really look that fat?

Recently, Cade has started talking along with or echoing what's being said in a movie. Last night, we were watching a little of Toy Story 2. When Buzz sees his fellow Space Rangers in their sleek boxes, he says "Do I really look that fat?". Cade said it right along with Buzz. I just started chuckling. He's been doing it with any dialogue in songs too. A couple of the Veggie Tales songs have dialogue and he knows it word for word. Pretty cute. Cute is also Cade's singing. He has a low, way off pitch, froggy-type voice. Always makes me smile. But it reminded me about how careful I have to be about what they are watching and listening to, since it is obvious that they are paying attention.

Speaking of listening, Cade impressed me with another little thing the other day. I was playing the piano...going through some Christmas music for my students. Cade was eager to come join me on my lap. He played along for a minute and then just looked up and stopped. He then got super excited, pointed to the music and said, "Mommy, is a half-note!!!" "And Mommy, is a shark (pointing to the sharp symbol)!!" "Mommy, is music cwass!" I was so proud of my little sponge...soaking it all in. He's a genius, you know...in case you were wondering.

Carson is also a learning machine. He pays attention to EVERYTHING while we are driving around town. He knows to watch the colors of the lights and what each colors mean. He's always eager to tell me to "get going" since the light is green. He is also very quick to notice stop signs. And he always knows where we are and which direction our house is...or stores. He gets super upset when I don't go in his requested direction.
So, the other day we were on our way out to Nampa. We passed the Meridian exit and Carson said, "Bye bye Austin's house." Meaning...we aren't going to cousin Austin's house. I was shocked but repeated...bye bye Austin's house. Austin's house is off the Meridian exit, but not that close off the exit. His house isn't even in Meridian! But Carson knew that was the exit we take to get to his cousins. Crazy!

Carson is also quick to help me out as a Mom. He's excited for "clean-up time" and is a good little helper. Cade has picked up on this and is already trying to pass his own responsibilites on to Carson. "Hey Carson, you go put Cade's cup in a fridge?" Carson jumps at the chance! Anyway, here's what he's been doing recently.
Cade will ask for something...for example...to listen to a song over again.
Carson then says, "Cade, what you say?"
Cade..."Pweease!"
Carson..."Okay, good job Cade!"
Thanks for making sure he says please Carson!
He's a genius, you know...in case you were wondering.

They are turning THREE in a week. What?! THREE??? And next week is Thanksgiving. What?! This month is going too fast.
So, we'll be doing some major party-ing next weekend. I'm excited. I even have a sweet friend who has offered to make them a fun cake...and since I'm a lame mom who has yet to be cool like that...I happily obliged. The boys are going to love it.

This next year is certain to come with more trying times for me and my favorite twins. You can already tell. They have become increasingly defiant and...well...naughty! Fighting over toys. Pushing, hitting, yelling. Lots of it. I just feel like whatever stage we are in...we are in complete overload of...whatever it is. A lot of any one thing is sure to take a toll. I'm trying to just buckle myself in, hold on tight, and ask my Heavenly Father for LOTS of help.
Sometimes I feel at a loss and completely clueless when it comes to discipline. Hard stuff. In fact, on Sunday at about 12:15pm I was ready to find a cave to hide in for a few years. It was a hard Sacrament hour and I know that I let it get to me too much. I had tears waiting to spill over...I was frustrated. Carson's yelling and screaming reaches a certain decibel that just causes my blood to boil. BUT, then we have great moments that I have to do my best to bottle-up. AND, we've started watching some Super Nanny. It's been theraputic to say the least! It's like she's right in my home helping me take control of my home. Shane has been watching with me. It really has been good. We are making progress, little by little.

On a lighter note, I've been busy with some projects that I'll have to document later. Talk about therapy! Projects are exactly that for me.

Celebrating Baby

Cute Mommy-To-Be and my sister in law Katie! She is looking so cute these days...only 4 weeks to go. It was so fun to plan this shower with her and my other two Tucker sis's-in-law Debbie and Brooke. It was such a fun party. We can't wait for another Tucker Boy to arrive.

Married to the Tucker Boys...........
Brooke, Debbie, Me, and Katie. Love these ladies. Annette, we missed you.

We Celebrated Halloween!

The boys hung out in costumes for 2 whole days before the actual day. They loved it and so did I. I bought cheap little skeleton costumes after Halloween last year but I could only get one boy into it. Cade didn't like it...too scary. Luckily, Debbie came to my rescue with a few costumes that they wouldn't be using this year. Cade was so excited about the LION! It's the only one he would wear. He only roared for those 2 days as well. So funny.

Both boys got so in to the holiday this year. They kept their eyes out for pumpkins and fun portch displays every time we were in the car or out for a walk. And we couldn't leave any store without first walking the Halloween isles. And when it came time to trick-or-treat, they were ready! Carson was literally running from one place to the next and was so proud to hold his candy bucket all by himself. He did great saying, "trick or treat!" most of the time. A few times, I had to prompt him...what do you say? He would then respond, "Pwease!" After candy was given to him he would then say, "You're welcome!" So cute. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of him as a skeleton. Bad Mom. Take my word for it...cutest little skeleton ever!

Cade was completely taken back by all of the costumes that he saw. He thought they were all real. He pointed out all the witches and monsters, but he got the most star struck when he saw a neighbor boy dressed as Buzz Lightyear. It was hilarious. He was literally screaming at the top of his lungs, "Mom. Dad. Is Buzz Yightyear!!!!!" He walked painfully slow the whole night so that he could take it all in. And he made sure to tell everyone who passed by that he was a lion. He probably said, "I'n a lion" 50 times that night.

Holidays are so much more fun with little ones. They bring out the magic. After Halloween this year, I am giddy when I think about Christmas. It will be the best. I love being a Mom. I'm so grateful every day for this blessing in my life.

Now, on to some cute boys...

Here's our lion.

And the Alligator in heels (which was an extra costume that he played in for a couple of days).

At least I got a picture of him in a costume, even if it wasn't what he was on the night of trick-or-treating.
Getting ready for our trunk-or-treat. There's a small glimpse of the skeleton.
Hope everyone had a SpOoKTaCuLAr Halloween!!!

Music Group

The boys have been attending a weekly music group in the home of a friend. It's just an hour once a week and it has been AWESOME!!! Miss Stephanie does a great job with all the kids and is especially patient with my boys...one in particular (I'll let you guess who!). They have learned such fun songs for Halloween and request to sing them every day. And the other day, the boys were pretend playing with their doggies and took them to "music cwas." So cute. She also introduces them to different kinds of fun instruments and movement activities. It has been so good for my boys to learn stuff like this from someone else...makes all the difference sometimes!

So, the week of Halloween the parents got to stay for class time for a little "performance" for the kids to show off what they've learned. It was so fun. I had a perma-grin the whole time. I did my best to capture some of it...got a few pictures that are okay. Carson getting ready to have some fun with his sticks. He kind of choses to do his own thing most of the time. Like when they were told to tap their shoulders, he put them up like they were coming out of his ears and just looked at me and laughed. Hilarious Carson!!! This boy sure doesn't lack a sense of humor that's for sure. He's such a tease.
"CHEESE!"
Carson took advantage of all the camera time. He was more focused on me than on following the directions. He wanted to make sure I was always watching him and every time I held up the camera, he knew it and instantly stopped whatever he was doing to say CHEESE!

Make a "T" with your sticks!

Make a straight line with your sticks.

Drum on the floor and keep the beat!
So good at following directions. Cade was the little model student. After he followed each direction, he would just look at me so proud and smile. It was awesome.

"CHEESE!" This was a cheese for another Mom trying to take a picture of her own son. But in Carson's mind, all eyes and pictures were only for him. Oh how he loved thinking that everyone was watching only him!

Jack-O-Lantern Cade singing a song about a Jack-O-Lantern.

Carson just held his up.

Look at Cade singing his little heart out! Makes me melt. Okay, so he was actually yelling out "BOO!" at the time. Yelling...singing...it's kinda the same thing, right?!

Creeping like a Halloween Cat!

" CHEESE!" Posing for a picture is way more important than stomping like a monster, which is what he was supposed to be doing at the time.

Cade stomping like a monster. He had all the actions to this song DOWN and was so proud of himself.

Still stomping...

Carson...always trying to sneak in some button-pushing, which is no surprise. He stood by the stereo and tv for quite awhile and just kept looking at me to see if I was watching him. The second I looked away, he would go for the buttons. Little stinker! This is him acting all casual (hand in the pocket even)...like...what Mom, I'm just standing here. No harm done. Why can't I just stand here?

I sure love these two boys. They were so fun to watch, especially because of the things they were doing to interact with each other across the room. They weren't sitting next to each other but still managed to have a couple full-blown conversations together. At one point, they even decided to trade sticks. Carson crawled over, switched with Cade, and then crawled back to his little square. Moments like this remind me why twins are the best. They are the cutest little buds and I'm so grateful that they have each other.

A big thank you to Miss Stephanie. You are so good at what you do!

They start some new holiday songs this week. Can't wait!