Busy Boy

Tucker is busy! He loves to stand on everything...especially the couch, which he can crawl onto all by himself now and anything else that he can crawl into or onto, like the wagon...

He's been feeding himself with a fork and a spoon...he's really doing pretty well with it and not being too messy... We're excited about him being more independent with his food!

A few nights ago when the Clarks were over here, Tucker decided he would snuggle Elle--"the bean"--while they were watching a show before bed. He isn't really a snuggler so it was super cute! She was a little annoyed :)

He's still loving balls! Today he created his own ball pit...

Yummy to My Tummy

Lately, I've been trying a few new recipes by The Pioneer Woman. Do you know about her? You should! Among all of her other talents, she is an amazing cook and I haven't made anything by her that doesn't prove it! I wanted to pass on a few recipes that you should definitely try for yourself (Click on the Recipe for instructions)!

French Onion Soup... the perfect comfort food!

Simple, Perfect Enchiladas!

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

**these are her pictures, not mine...

Beautiful Day!

Tucker had his first day at the park today! The weather was amazing and he had so much fun exploring around! The slide was his favorite...he went down over and over and over... It made me so excited for many days at the park this Spring!

My Other Patient

This time last week, I was cleaning up dog vomit. A week later, Grey is just still not acting normal...barely eating, "GI issues", to say it nicely, and just being so mopey. We decided to call the vet this morning since she's not eating much and she quickly confirmed that Grey is probably just reacting to the crutches and Brad not being "normal". She said some dogs adjust to change faster than others...clearly we are the "others". So then I was sent to the store.

Here are the "cast of characters", as The Pioneer Woman would say...

Things have gone to a whole different level when I'm cooking dinner for my dog and buying her digestive track aids. Good thing I love that girl...

We're surviving over here...

So, I'm not liking this whole "single parent" thing... Poor (or should I say lucky) Brad is on crutches and I'm trying to take care of our all-over the place toddler, our high-maintenance dog, and my husband :) Seriously, Grey is really distressed over Brad being on crutches, not normal, etc... Since her whole throwing up spell, she has not eaten normal all week and just constantly wants to be laying near Brad. I think this has been more stressful to her than when we brought Tucker home! She may need to start seeing a psychiatrist...

All kidding aside, Brad is being a pretty good patient :) He's even telling me thank you a lot, which I really appreciate :) Although, he does keep reminding me that he did this for me when I had my wisdom teeth but I keep arguing with him that it's not even comparable because we didn't have a dog or a child then...but let's not go there :) We had his follow up appointment on Monday and the doctor said his foot looked great and after 2 weeks, he should hopefully be able to be off of the crutches and into a boot only. He's still supposed to keep it elevated a lot this week but he's been able to get back into a pretty normal working routine, which I know he is glad about!

On a cute note, we had little Bosten with us for a sleepover this week and him and Tucker are just hilarious to watch. They are SO different...in personality, in size, in schedule... But they are getting to an age where they actually play together which is fun. Tucker was definitely being territorial with his "stuff" and can be bullyish (is that a word?) with him, which we are trying to work on :) The CUTEST thing though is that Bosten is saying Tucker's name! He says "Kuh Kuh".... ADORABLE! We love that little guy!

Poor Bosten...

PJ's...goldfish..The Wiggles... Does it get any better?

Snow...The Best Kind

We watched a beautiful snowfall last night, played in a few inches of it this morning, and by the time I was driving to the grocery store after lunch, it was almost all melted away, especially on the roads! It was a light, powdery, and non-icy kind of snow! It's so nice to have enough snow to enjoy but not have it cancel all your plans for it! Not that we have many plans since we're hanging with Daddy on the couch :)

I got Tucker all dressed up and once he seemed about 20 lbs heavier, we headed out to check out the snow... It is so fun to watch him discover new things!

My boy has the best big red lips in the world...

After face-planting in the snow, he plopped right down in...he had to taste it, of course...

Oh What a Night...

The last few days have been quite eventful around here...

Wednesday, Brad had to have some foot surgery. Everything went well... He will have to be completely off that foot and on crutches for at least 2 weeks and it will be a few months before he's completely back to normal. I'm sure you're all concerned for Brad, as am I...but let's be honest, this is going to be quite challenging for me as well :) So, I've been gearing up to take care of Tucker, Grey, and Brad for the next several weeks and I was really excited last night that I was going to have a girls night out since I'd been playing nurse, mommy, and dog caretaker for about 24 hours.

So, just as I started having good luck at Bunco, I get a few phone calls from Brad and he tells me that Grey has thrown up twice on the carpet and I need to come home because he can't clean it up. Seriously Grey? The girls were planning on going to a late movie afterwards, so I said I would come home before the movie to clean up... Well, all was good, I won $30 at Bunco (wahoo!) and Sharon and I drove home to clean up the mess. SHARON IS A ROCKSTAR BY THE WAY because she helped clean up my dog's vomit...who does that? While we were home, Grey threw up a few more times and after it was all cleaned up, we headed out to see "Dear John" (which was quite the tear-jerker by the way). After about an hour into the movie, I checked my phone to find a text from Brad saying that Grey had thrown up SIX more times...all around the house... Seriously Grey? So, just as we were about to find out what happened at the end of the movie, Sharon drove me home again (BFF of the year award, seriously) and helped me clean it all up. Disgusting. Gross. Unbelievably inconvenient.

After calling the vet, they just said to make her fast for 12 hours and that she would probably not get dehydrated because of her size. The great news is that we had no drama in the middle of the night and she seems to be okay today as well. We just fed her some rice and water so we'll see :)

Conclusion: That was really bad timing. Hopefully that will be the hardest day we have while I'm carrying the weight around here! And thankfully Tucker was asleep and missed the whole event.

Hoping for an uneventful weekend.....

Tucker Monthly!

Tucker is 16 months old! Can we say T O D D L E R? It feels like he has grown up a ton this month!

The most amazing thing is how much he seems to understand everything we tell him, i.e. "let's clean up", "go get a book", and "let's go upstairs". He loves to "look for things" and throws his hands up in the air when you say "Where did it go?" He tries to talk to us and has a very serious look as he seems to know exactly what he's saying... it's all just Chinese to us of course :) He is saying more and more words though and maybe some of this gibberish will turn into real syllables and words soon!

Tucker definitely has a little attitude these days... he has a mean scowl (just like one of his parents) and he will stare you down if he wants something you won't give him. He is very determined and gets fixated on anything that he wants. He isn't afraid to throw a tantrum but he doesn't do it too often :)

He is taking one nap that is usually from 2 1/2-3 hours. He sleeps 12-13 hours at night--A-MAZING! He's eating more of a variety of foods and doesn't turn too much down except for green vegetables! He really loves apples, craisins, and any version of melted cheese and bread. In the last few days, I've given him raw carrots and pretzels, so he seems to be able to crunch on anything now! He's started using a fork and he is so proud! He still loves his "snack cup" and enjoys all kinds of crackers and cookies in there!

He is very fond of his "binkie" and would carry it around all day if I let him. He loves the silk tag on it and finds it as soon as he grabs hold of the blanket! He also loves his "bed buddies" (Moo-Cow, Blue Dog, and a few others...) and will find the different animals that you ask him to.

Balls are still his favorite toys and any time he sees something round, he takes the opportunity to say "ball". He throws them really well too! He also loves his toys that he can ride, anything he can push (like the vacuum), as well as all the things that aren't toys at all--flashlight, mommy's makeup, tupperware, the monitor, etc.

He LOVES music and starts dancing whenever he hears it! CUTEST THING EVER! His favorite thing to watch on TV is the Wiggles and I'm sure it's be

cause of all the music! The other day he was sitting on the couch like a big boy watching it and even started throwing his hands up in the air to the music while I was taking his picture!

He (or we) still love going over to the Gibbs house on Tuesdays...he's just one of the boys over there and I love to watch him learn how to play with them! Taylor is his best buddy and today Tucker was full of hugs for him!

Tucker took a big boy step this month when he went to stay with Gigi and Pops without us for the first time! We packed his suitcase and sent him off... He was perfectly content with them and barely seem to notice when we got back. He even got to play in the snow! He's getting better at being comfortable in unfamiliar environments, but he still cries pretty hard when we initially leave him.

He is busy right now, but we are having so much fun! He's really coming into his personality and I feel like I'm constantly getting to know him better! We are so thankful for our pistol of a boy!

More from Punta Cana!

Today, as it was very cold and rainy, I couldn't help but think about how this time last week we were in the perfect 85 degree weather of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic! Aah...the weather was definitely the best part! But, the whole milk lattes, all day sunshine, daily housekeeping, food and drinks at our service, wearing flip flops, and blue water and white sand were among our other favorites at the Moon Palace! We feel refreshed, rested, sun-kissed, and reminded of how important it is to take time to focus on US! BIG thanks to Pops and Gigi for making it possible for us to leave Tucker and feel totally relaxed about it!

Enjoy a few more pictures...

A Few New Tricks...

Tucker has had a great week hanging out with Pops, Gigi, Anthony, and Lindsey! He went out to dinner with Anthony and Lindsey one night and got his first lesson in dipping chicken in ketchup.... so cute!

Vacation is great, but my leg sure is tired!!!

One great thing that we have discovered here at the resort is a ping-pong table that is right next to the pool at which we have been lounging. Well, Nicole and I are VERY competitive and ping-pong is a game at which we both feel we have a good bit of skill. With the convenient location of the table and needing a break from the sun on a regular basis the last few days, that table has become our coliseum. That being said, there have been a few epic battles staged but the outcome has become one of a predictable nature.

BRAD 9 games
NICOLE 0 games
(These are not typographical errors, that would be a NINE and a ZERO)

I love you babe, but you need to work on your skills.

If you do not get the title of the post, just ask Nicole as I am sure she will explain it to you.

Instead of a snow post...

While you were all playing with your kiddos in the snow and writing blog posts about it, we were saying goodbye to the winter wonderland and hello to a little piece of paradise......

We are spending the week in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic! We left Tucker with Gigi and Pops and he seems to be doing great without us :) We are enjoying the perfectly blue skies, blue water, white sand, anything to drink and eat that we want, and lots of relaxation! Happy

Off to enjoy a non-cooking, non-cleaning-up, non-cutting-up-food-for-a-little-person dinner!