No! I wah you Mamma!

Last night when I was getting Tucker ready for bed I asked him if he wanted to go to school today. He said yes. Then I asked him if he wanted to go to school or stay home with Mommy and Madeline (Madeline is sick with a fever and cough). He said, "Stay home, Mommy."

I said, "Do you like school?" He said yes.
"Do you like Mrs. Christie?" He said no.
"Do you like Miss Jessica?" He said no.
"Do you love Mamma?" He said NO! And then he started giggling.

I read him his stories and put him to bed. Later I was doing the dishes and Tyler told me that when he had picked Tucker up from my Dad that he had asked Tucker if he loved him. Tucker said, "NO! I wah you Mamma!" Tyler said- ,"You don't love Daddy?" and Tucker said it again..."No! I wah you Mamma!" I think Tucker said it like three times to Tyler. He is such a funny guy. He loves to tease us. But it did make my heart happy. That he would tell Tyler how much he loves me. That's pretty special. Tyler he tells me how much he loves you too. You guys are best friends- just like Mater and Lightening.

I also want to share this...I had to take Madeline to the Doctor yesterday. She felt so bad that she actually put herself down for a nap yesterday afternoon! Dad kept Tucker part of the time. Now, I must share that Dad adores Tucker. For some reason they really have a bond and Dad loves to keep him. It's really special because Dad has always been a "second in command" kind of guy as far as babies go. He had never changed a poop diaper. Ever. Until yesterday. He called me at about 5:30 and said that he wanted me to know that he had just changed a poop diaper. He was really proud of himself. I'm proud too.

Best Valentine's Day ever

I have another blog that I haven't written in in almost a year. Here is the link. http://pinktoothpick.blogspot.com/

My Tucker Boo

My Tucker Boo is almost 2.

He is so much fun. And such a sweet boy- most of the time.

Here are some things about Tucker I want to make sure and remember...

He's a truck guy. He loves trucks and cars, tractors and fire trucks, and trains. He loves trains too. His favorite cartoons are Chuggington, The Adventures of Chuck and Friends, Cars, and Thomas and Friends. He watches bits of Cars throughout the day. As soon as he wakes up in the morning he goes to find his Mater and Lightening and holds them or plays with them while he watches Cars.

He is talking a lot. More and more lately he is making 2 and 3 word sentences. "I wah (love) you too Mama." "Night night Dada." "Where's Sissy?" "Draw circle!" "Draw picture!" "Tommee (come here)!" "Play choo choo!" "Sit down." "Um, problem...?" I told Tyler last night, it is only a few months away that we will have two children that talk non stop. From the moment their eyes open until their eyes close at night there will be constant chatter. Lord help us.

His favorite books are The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Thomas and the Close Shave, Thomas Goes Fishing, The Adventures of Chuck and Friends, and a book about all of the Sesame Street babies and what they sleep with. He loves anything Elmo too.

He can count to 10! Well, he can count to three well and then he chimes in 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10! Then he claps for himself. He knows some of his colors- orange, blue, and pink. We will be in the grocery store and he'll point to something and say, "Orange?" or whatever color it is. I look around and sure enough he is showing me something orange. Smart guy. With Madeline I remember going through our colors, numbers, and letters so diligently. With Tucker I know he's going to learn all of it...I'm in no rush to teach him...he just seems to be picking things up. Is that bad that I'm not as concerned about it with him? I don't know...

He had to go to the doctor's office Friday for his fever. He weighs 31 pounds which puts him in the 93rd %tile. That's weird to me because I think he looks so skinny! But he's solid. You pick him up and he is hefty. He won't walk into school. I carry him, his backpack, his lunch, Madeline's backpack, and Madeline's lunch. He's heavy. I know.

He's a great, good-natured, fun kid. I really enjoy him. He's not this tender little hearted creature like Madeline was...he's just easy going. Not much bothers him. He does let me baby him still. I love it. I will soak that up for as long as he will let me. He's my buddy. And as a side note I call him Bud. Madeline is Sissy and Tucker is Bud. If you know me well you understand the hilarity in this, and what an orchestrated decision their nicknames were on my part.

Well, that's it for now. I'll post pictures of his birthday party on Wednesday. We didn't get to have a big party for him because he has been so sick. He still has fever but I am counting on him being better by Wednesday. I have everything ready to throw him a great "Cars" party. I think he will love it.

Snow Days

On Tuesday we were with Tyler's family for Grandma's funeral. It seemed like the state decided to shut down the next day in anticipation of snow. The snow started to fall around 7 am Wednesday morning and didn't really stop until 7pm Wednesday night. Tyler was off Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday we were all LAZY. It was wonderful. By Wednesday night I was ency. I told Tyler that we HAD to get out with the kids the next day. Thursday the sun came out and we went sledding. It was so much fun.


Tucker looked so cute.


Tucker's first time to sled!


He liked it okay but was really mad that I wouldn't let him play on the slides. Later he decided that he didn't want to sled. He wanted to swing.


Madeline loved it. She was so brave. She's usually not very adventurous but she had a great time.


Tucker's nose was running and he was cranky...I didn't realize he was really getting sick...


I love this picture. Such a big girl.





See the snot on his glove?





Those eyes!


Madeline went on a "quest" to find the perfect hill to sled. Our town has a bunch of empty bunkers. Madeline picked the one that was the bumpiest with the most trees on it. Uh, no. I vetoed her choice.





Like Lightening and Mater..."best friends."








It was a wonderful snow day. Now, my poor Tucker has a fever and is like a little limp doll. No birthday party for him tomorrow. I am so disappointed about it. But I guess it is more important that he just rest and get well. His Doctor said to try and get him to just rest. So that's what we are doing. Drinking water, resting, and watching Cars. Again. For the 500th time.

Funk

I have been in a bit of a funk lately. Christmas is always bitter sweet for us (my mom, dad, grandmother, and I) because there is always a little sadness with any of the happiness of the season. We will always miss my brother Lou and my nephew Luke. This year Aunt Lila passed away at 100 years old. She has always been an important fixture in my life. A family member that I took for granted would always be there. I loved her very much and her loss was so sad for all of us- but goodness, she was 100. She had a very long and full life. I miss my best friend's mom's best friend Nancy. And I feel the sadness of the loss of Nancy for Diane every year. I can't imagine losing my best friend. Now we've lost Grandma and although I know that all of these wonderful people are "in a better place" I can't help but feel selfish and miss them and wish I could have more time with every one of them. Because there is always something you wish you would've said, something you wish you had done, or some way you wish you could have let them know how much they meant to you.

So this time of year always turns into a time of re-evaluation for me. Am I happy? Am I doing the most with my life? Am I making others' lives better by being in it? Am I being a good friend, wife, mother, daughter? Am I making sure that I am taking the opportunities in my life to make sure that the people that I love know I love them?

My answer is no. I fail. I try and fail every day but I am striving to try harder. To be a better mom, a better friend, a better wife, a better daughter. So here are some things I want to do...

I want to be better about using coupons and grocery shopping. My husband is all consumed by finance (it's his job). I want to make our personal finances take up less of his brain space. It makes him happy when I save us money. I seriously think it's his love language. I haven't read that book but is there a "don't spend money" love language?

I want to talk to my closest friends at least once a week. I want to make time to really talk to them and not just check their fb status or blog.

I want to feed mom and dad once a week. I want to spend time with them other than at work. We don't do that enough. I love my mom and dad and I miss them even though we talk nearly every day.

I want to paint with Madeline. I want to really get my painting supplies down, get out my easel, and paint with her. I think she would love it.

I want to play more choo choo trains with Tucker. I want Tyler and I to REALLY put together the giant train set Santa got him for Christmas and I want to make time to play with him.

So, that's the beginning. I have goals. Hopefully we will have another family snow day tomorrow and I can get started on them.

Loss

We lost a wonderful woman last week. Tyler's grandmother Welcie Winningham passed away. She was 89 years old and is holding Tucker in this picture. The other pretty lady is Tyler's maternal grandmother Oletta Guthrie.

Welcie, or Grandma, was so so kind. I have never known of her to not be smiling. She always greeted me with open arms and love. From the moment I met her I felt accepted by her- and welcomed into the family.

I have really enjoyed getting to know my father-in-law's siblings over the years. He has a very eclectic family full of individuals who are unique and interesting. I always wondered how they were raised. I would think that it is rare for a group of kids raised in such a small town during the 50's and 60's to turn out so open-minded. I'd like to emulate that with my kids- for them to just know that they are free to be exactly who they are and that I will accept them. I'll have to bend Tom's ear some more on this topic :-). They are spread out all over the country and the world. Tom's sister Nancy will be flying in from Australia. We are all gathering on Tuesday to say goodbye to Grandma.

This will be the first significant death that my kids will face. By significant I mean that they (especially Madeline) have really known and been a part of Grandma's life. Madeline has seen Grandma nearly every other weekend since she was born. I am nervous about how to talk to Madeline about death. Tyler and I agree that we need to decide now how we are going to talk about it and what we are going to say. What words we are going to use. I do not want this to scare her. Or devastate her. I want her to have the same thoughts about death that Tyler and his family do- that we grieve our loss of our loved one here on earth but that we must rejoice in their return to God's arms. Where there is no sadness, or pain. I have a hard time with death. With loss. Funerals are very difficult for me. I want my kids to be more comfortable with the inevitable and to think of a funeral as a time to celebrate someones life.

I loved Grandma very much. Nearly every day I think about the wonderful family I get to be a part of because God chose my husband well. I feel so blessed to be a part of this family. She was a wonderful kind woman and I will miss her smile.

My Madeline and her Daddy

Today was a good day. We went to a friend's birthday party this morning, had lunch at Mr. Pancho, and Tyler took Madeline to the Valentine dance. Tonight I was reading to Tucker when our Princess got home and decided to "read" us a couple of stories. We love you Madeline.


Tyler dancing with Madeline at the Daddy Daughter Sweetheart Dance.


Madeline and Josephina had matching dresses. Tyler was so happy when I snuck into the dance so I could take Josephina back home with Tucker and I. He had been carrying around Madeline's doll for a bit. He looked sweet holding her. :-)


Madeline looked so grown up to me tonight. She is so beautiful. It hurts. Mom keeps telling me to "decide to rejoice in every stage of her childhood." Meaning- don't sweat the small stuff. We have good days, we have not so good days. But bottom line is that the days will just keep going and going and going by.


Tyler is the best father. The best. He and I have had our own share of good days and bad days but seeing him with our children just fills me up with love for him. Absolutely fills me up.


Madeline, you are precious to me. I will forever strive to be the Mommy you want me to be. The Mommy you deserve. You have such a wonderful, sensitive heart and it is my life's goal to take care of it. I love you so so much.

Picture Time

This is my first snowman! I realized that this was good snowman snow when I made an awesome snowball to hit Tyler with. The fam watched from inside.


Madeline was soooo sad when our last snow princess melted away. So I promised her that Princess would be back when it snowed again...and here she is!





Tucker in his new hat. I think he is the prettiest baby in the world.


He was not happy with me for making him have his picture taken with the hat on. But a golf ball to play with made the impromptu photo session more tolerable.