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!

Hadley Monthly

1st edition :)

Hadley is 13 months old and there are a lot of things to remember from this past month...

She started walking around her birthday and it didn't take long for her to start making laps around the house. And she is into EVERYTHING. We are having to babyproof things we never even thought about keeping Tucker away from. Her favorite spots are in the kitchen... sprinkles, ziplocs, the dishwasher, and tupperware of course. This makes cooking dinner... well, let's just say impossible.

She's a great sleeper for the most part and she's starting to love her little "dee dee". She plays with the tag ("flag in Tucker language) just like her big brother and she still sucks her index finger...so sweet.

This girl seems destined to be a tomboy. If she plays with toys at all (remember, she loves all things kitchen cabinet related), she always goes for Tucker's favorite things... cars, diggers, balls, etc. And oh, if we can ever get Tucker to share... willingly. :)

This is just these two in a nutshell. Tucker-- still, focused, calm... Hadley--standing and ready-to-go :) She does like her chair and will sit for a few minutes at a time. And it's so adorable to me when they want to sit beside each other.

Hadley seems to be pretty attached to me but she does love her Daddy. And lately she's full of snuggles for everyone. It's nothing for her to walk up to you and lay her head down on you to let you know she wants to cuddle. It's strange since she's so busy all the time but when she slows down, she's usually pretty sweet.

Enjoying naked time in the doctor's office... oh the joys of keeping a 1 year old content in a 10x10 room... especially when the most obvious thing to play with on her level is the trash can.

This picture cracks me up. I walked in one morning after her morning nap and she had completely taken her pajama shirt off. How? Who knows. This girl is spirited, determined, and at this point I wouldn't put much past her... yikes!

Hadley, you are so fun at this age! HAPPY is the word-- always laughing, smiling, playing games like peekaboo--you seem full of life and excited to see anyone that you come across. You are loved by your big brother even though showing you that is sometimes a shove or a tackle. :) You are more interested in Grey lately and we're trying to teach you "gentle". You still drink 3 (6-8oz) bottles a day (pretty much holding it on your own) and you eat anything we put in front of you. At 25lbs, you are certainly not hungry :) You dance and move to music when you hear it and you love to be outside. You're babbling a lot and I can't wait to hear what you're trying to say. We're thankful for this stage with you and would be perfectly fine if you stayed just this size :)