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.

Concern for the Bear

Cade was concerned. So glad we got Mr. Bear's nakedness under control. Phew!

I Stand Corrected

Yesterday, I was wearing this necklace.

Here is the conversation I had yesterday with Cade.

Cade: Mommy, was dat? (pointing to the necklace)
Me: It's a necklace.
Cade: No Mommy, is a Y (as in, the Letter Y).

For Luke

Luke sent these 80's-Looking tourists T-shirts to the fam for Christmas. Lauren and I wore them all day on Christmas in honor of our D.C. missionary brother. This was taken Christmas morning...pretty HOT, huh?! What's with Lauren's hiked-up zebra pants, you ask? Well don't ask, because I don't know!We are missing Luke...lots. But he will be home before you know it. May is his month! And it is bittersweet for him to be nearing the end of his mission because he is such a great missionary. He's on fire and doing a wonderful work. I love reading about his experiences on a weekly basis. It's one of the highlights of my week. I will miss that. But that doesn't stop me from feeling ecstatic about seeing him and having him around again in 3 short months.

He had his nice bike stolen. And then the wheels were stolen from his replacement bike. What the heck?!

Such a good-lookin' kid.

Learning How to be Buddies

Things were going so well for these two...playing nicely. Too bad it had to end painfully for Carson. And don't worry, he recovered quickly!

Pound It!!!

Brotherly Love

Real Live Monkeys!

Sometimes when I look back at pictures, I can't help but think that they can be deceiving. Not that it's really a bad thing but most still-shots depict happy people & good times. Which is why we take them, right? But the reality is, a picture shows my toddlers appearing to stand still while looking cute, and as cute as they are, it's just not always accurate. This is why today you will see some live action. It still is only a snippet of our day but it's more accurate than a picture, I think. They love to play on the couches. And I love that they have fun doing it, and it is one of the few things that they love to do TOGETHER. I just hate thinking about the poor abused couch! But I've been told to pick your battles and this particular battle is not one I'm willing to fight right now. So, abused couches it is. Here are the diaper/speedo monkeys fresh from the tub. Speaking of battles, bathing. A necessary evil with these two. When we can (which isn't very often), we have started giving them baths separately. They are just too hard to tame when they are together sometimes. Alright, back to reality.

P.S. Grandma Tucker, does seeing this make you second guess your decision to have us invade your beautiful mission home in the near future?! :)

Genius

Doesn't every mother think her child is an absolute genius? Well, I think my boys are super smart but I know they aren't prodigies or anything. But like all mom's, I'm proud of their progression. Here's a little video of Carson's skills. He loves to count and usually doesn't need any prompts from me (from 1-20). When he's sad, you can always make him happy by asking him to count. He also loves the ABC's and has since he was an infant. My mother-in-law worked magic with Infant-Carson by singing the ABC's to him. His version is hilarious. You can make out A,B, L-M-N---, W, and YAY when he's finished. It's precious, really. Enjoy!

Look Mom, I'm a FROG!

Please excuse my mad ribbit-ing skills and focus on the cute little green frog. He just started doing this a couple of days ago. Carson got down on the floor last night along side him and they thought they were hilarious! I wish I would have captured it on camera.

For the record...

A couple of weeks ago, the twinners went in for their 2 year check-up. They were both extremely friendly with the nurses and doctor...so the doc got to witness their language skills first-hand. They are both doing well. They continue to grow & develop so differently for each other, which is expected. But it doesn't stop me from comparing them and thinking they should both be able to do everything like the other. Sometimes it really drives me crazy. I'm not a huge worry-wart in general but I can still make myself a little insane by comparing them...not to other kids necessarily...just to each other. Wow. Am I even making any sense?! Anyway, the appointment put me at ease with some of my concerns, mostly with Carson, and I'm just grateful they are both healthy and happy. Now to their physical growth. Have you seen this movie with Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger? That might be where we are heading!

Carson just keeps growing like crazy. Every time we go in, he's jumped 2-3 growth curves, rather than just staying steady & consistent on his own curve. He is now pretty average in the height department in the 45th percentile. 6 months ago, he was in the 30th. If he stays on this path, he'll be average height as an adult...around 5'9" or so which seems crazy to me given our genes. He weighs 26 lbs. which lands him in the 22nd percentile. Way to go Carson-man!

Cade is staying steady on his own little curve, which is barely on the charts. But this is how he's always been, so we're not too worried about it. He's weighing in at 22.5 lbs. which puts him in the 3rd percentile!!! He's a skinny little dude. He's in the 20th percentile for height, which is awesome for him! We're pretty sure he'll be taller than both me and Shane which we're happy to celebrate. He may even reach 5'5"!!! Yay Caders!!!

I get giddy thinking about these two going to school together...with loads of differences! I can't help but to think that we'll feel funny even referring to them as twins. But they are nonetheless.
I just love 'em!
On a completely unrelated note, I just finished The Hunger Games & it's sequel Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Have you read them yet? If not, you really need to. I promise you won't regret it. I am anxious for the 3rd book, which sadly does not come out until summer.

We went sledding!

And it was fun! Getting there was a trial but things got better once we were there. The boys loved it and didn't want it to end (see video to come)! The whole hiking up the hill after a 5-second ride down the hill kicked our parent behinds! The snow was deep and hard to walk in, so we had to always carry the boys + the sleds. It wore us out and made us sweat!

Carson-Man is a little walking tornado! How he managed to lose his gloves and both boots every other second is beyond me. Cade didn't lose either the entire time. And like I mentioned in a previous snow-post, Carson won't touch the snow without gloves. So he would lose a glove, fall, cry, get up, lose a boot, and then would attempt to go down the hill on his own without a sled and bootless. Now repeat that process 100 times! But look at his happy face. Aside from touching snow bare-handed, he was in hog heaven!

Cade loved it too. He stayed with Daddy the whole time.

By the time we were ready to leave, we came up with the brilliant idea to put my mittens on Carson. And it actually worked...for those few moments. And he looked dang cute in them! Notice his boot looking awkward in this picture. It's about to fall off!
Here's a better picture of Carson's mittens.

All that work and this is the thanks we get! After our hour of fun, we decided that we want to go back to being the kids. Man, we had it good, didn't we?! We didn't do the work but got to have all the fun. Guess it's pay-back time! And, after seeing how much fun they had, it really was all worth it.

We are grateful for fun friends who get us to do these things!

Even baby Owen was a CHAMP! He's a little angel baby. Huszars, what would we do without you?!
Now all you get out there and go sledding!!!