Tucker Monthly

 Tucker is 41 months old.

He still loves diggers and is happy with them in the mulch, inside, or with just reading about them in books.  And he's training his sister to love them well also...

Speaking of his sister, she totally idolizes him.  She's constantly watching him, copying him, giggling at him... and a lot of times, just like in this picture, he doesn't even notice :) 

 These days, he is silly...and mischievous.  This month, he officially stopped napping (with the exception of one or two days a week) and we transitioned to "room time".  Well, we attempted to transition.  At first, we allowed him to "play quietly" with a few toys and books in his room but he quickly proved to us that we had given him a little too much freedom.  It only took him a few days to figure out how to remove the childlock knobs off of his door as well as the door into walk-in storage in his room.  One day, after finding that he had pulled several items out of the attic into his room, the rule of "stay in your bed" was introduced back into room time.  Now, he just has quiet time in his bed with a few books--he's doing much better now!

 He enjoyed a visit with Papa while we were down at the beach this month.  We are blessed with a lot of grandparents and great-grandparents. And what's cooler to a 3 year old than a great-grandpa that wears a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and has his own farm?  

 Tucker is a big helper to Daddy in the yard and in the garden.  He's taking his role very seriously and can even name the flowers that are planted in the yard :)  His wife will thank Brad one day!

 Tucker is still loving preschool and his weekly playdate with his buddy, Max.  He is never sad when we say goodbye and is proving to be more and more independent.  He loves everything in it's place and still doesn't like to see a mess.  He loves to read and looks forward to our trips to the library to find new books.  He loves to ride his scooter and is finally getting brave enough to use the orange brake to "stop".  He loves Saturday mornings with Daddy and trips to Target with Mommy :)  Our little boy is seeming really big these days and it's hard to believe he's well on his way to 4 years old.  We're looking forward to a fun summer!

Beach!

Even though Tucker's only in 2day preschool, we took full advantage of Spring Break and headed to the beach.  It was a good change of environment and of course, the help from Gigi is always amazing!  Being in a different place is always a good bit of work but I think it's worth it?  :)  

Hadley is really into chairs right now-- she loves to crawl into or on top of things to sit on.  This is all fine and good until she tries to stand up...and she always does :)

 I.love.this.picture.

We had a few days that were warm enough for the beach.  It was Hadley's first real experience in the sand and water since last year she just hanging on the blanket or in the stroller.  She LOVED the water and even though it was really cool, she just kept wanting to run back in.  The giggling would take over and she just couldn't get enough :)  She didn't eat the sand as much as I thought she would and she was super friendly with everyone near us.  I have a feeling this summer will be full of LOTS of chasing!

Papa

Last week when we went down to the beach, we were able to visit with Papa one afternoon.  Papa is automatically cool in Tucker's eyes because he has a farm and he wears a cowboy hat no matter the occasion.  Hadley seems pretty interested in him as well :)

Tucker loves to throw the ball in the lake for "Big Boy"at Papa's house.

The farm... Tucker's in heaven!  And so is Papa :)

He's so proud :)

We love you Papa!

Preschool Easter Celebration

Tucker had a full day of Easter celebration at preschool.  

We arrived first thing to watch the Easter parade.  Each class dressed up as something different and Tucker's class were kings.  Being the non-cfrafty mom that I am, we headed to Burger King to grab a crown and I borrowed a king costume from someone else...

As you can see, Tucker refused to wear the costume.  He truly does not like big crowds, unfamiliar routine, and a lot of attention in a situation like that.  At least I didn't spend a lot of time on his costume :)

Tucker's class!

Amber, Max's mom, and I were in charge of the little Easter party.  We relied on Pinterest and tried to be creative :)

Tucker helped with the birds' nest... they were yummy and easy!

All Hadley wanted to do was be like the big kids.. sitting at the table...

and eating the "fun" applesauce :)

It's hard to get a non-awkward smile from my boy these days... but here he is :)

Happy Easter lunch!

We are loving playing outside! I was reminded the other night how different this time last year was since Hadley was still little and unable to enjoy playing with Tucker.  These two would rather be outside--especially on the screened in porch.  There have actually been a few short windows where I've been able to leave both of them out there while I'm doing something inside---Aah bliss!  Looking forward to a fun, busy summer! 

13 months

13 months

This is Hadley after she took her shirt off during naptime. I am just counting down the days until she attempts to climb out of the crib...

This month she had a bad cold and had this pitiful face for days.  Lots of snuggle time!

She enjoyed Tucker's Valentine's Day party at school.  She's always trying to have what Tucker has... especially when it's food :)

She loves bathtime!

And her puppy...

We had a great visit in Greenville this month.  Hadley loved checking out baby Scarlett!

This face says it all - Hadley LOVES to be outside.  She stands at the door and waves, just waiting for someone to help her escape.  Who knew we would enjoy so many outside days in February and early March!

Sweet Hadley... you are FULL of life and energy.  You sleep well (1 hour or so in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon) but you are full speed when you're awake.  Everything Tucker is doing interests you most and I'm pretty sure you would stay outside all day.  You eat well - some of your favorites are sweet potatoes, bananas, sausage, pb&j, mandarin oranges, and "mum-mums".  You have 8 teeth and seem to be on your way to more soon.  You are very snuggly and still love to suck your one index fingers and hold "dee-dee" when you're going to sleep.  I love your laugh and it seems like you have a lot of silly in your personality.  I love waking you up in the morning, playing peek-a-boo with you, and reading books with you.  You're growing up fast so I'll try to soak up these busy days with you!

Tucker Monthly

40 months old...

Tucker seems so much older these days. Independent describes him well and when he's not pushing our buttons with his 3 1/2 year old attitude, he's pretty pleasant to be around :)

This month Uncle Andy came to visit while he was on a work trip. He brought along the fun treat of stick on mustaches... Tucker and his not-so-sure-at-first personality eventually warmed up to the silliness :)

We celebrated Valentine's this month and Hadley and I got to join Tucker for his school party. It's always entertaining to keep Hadley wrangled in that environment :) It was fun to watch Tucker interact with his little friends and do his Valentine's Day dance.

One of the sweetest things about this age is watching your child develop friendships. It's such a far cry from those 2 year old days when they never actually interact with their playdate. Tucker seriously LOVES his friends and prays for every child in his class, by name, every night. He also has some other buddies too, like his friend Kit (below). Kit came to have dinner with us one night and although I think she was a little disappointed in the lack of princess dress-up options around here, she seemed to enjoy being a "worker girl". :)

This month, we also celebrated Gigi's birthday with a trip to Greenville. Tucker loves his Gigi and as always, the help is amazing.

Another highlight of the Greenville trip was spending time with Uncle Anthony, Aunt Lindsey, and baby Scarlett. Tucker loves Anthony... or at least his John Deere lawn mower anyway :) I love this picture of the two of them.

Tucker is napping less and less--typically just 2 or 3 days out of the week. We're trying to figure out how and when to fully transition into room time without a nap. This mama is sad. I'll enjoy the last nap days as long as I can!

We love you Tucker boy!