Just The Short List...

This is just a short list of things that Tucker has been doing...for better or worse...

1.  Today I walked out the back door to find him pulling up his shorts.  I asked him what he was doing and he told me, "Trying to go poo-poo and potty on those leaves over there."  

2.  At dinner he announced that he would feel sad if he got savings bonds.  

3.  He told Matt he was going to go to the bathroom, and he did, but when he was done he got into some stuff.  Matt found him in our bathroom chewing up one of my pedicure toe separators...SO wrong on SO many levels.  Who knows what else he ate! 

4.  His new favorite words are "actually" and "suddenly". 

5.  He has started telling lies.  Yesterday, Uncle Scott had a map that was holding his page in a book he was reading.  Tucker wanted the map, so he just took it out of the book.  When Scott asked him where he got the map from, Tucker told him it was just sitting on the table.  Scott asked him if he took it out of the book...he said, "no".  Today, Uncle Scott asked him about it again and, with a smile, admitted that he did find the map inside the book.  

6.  He has started having imaginary friends....I know it's normal, but it makes me feel bad.  He doesn't have any real friends, so he has to imagine them.  Or should I celebrate that he has an imagination to use and get over myself?!?  

There has to be more because I feel like I'm on his case from the time he wakes up, until the time he goes to bed....most of these things make me laugh, but some of these things make me laugh because the only other choice is to cry!  

Falls Creek Falls...This One Is For Marta!

This post is dedicated to my friend Marta who lives in, and is from Louisiana. She was my first friend in DeRidder and we had lots of fun. One spring day, Matt and I suggested that her family come with ours on a hike near Fort Polk. This was an area that Matt had mountain biked before and said would be a decent place to hike. I will never forget asking Marta if she wanted to go hiking. I'm pretty sure her exact response was, "Why?". I thought it was so funny because a normal response would be something like: yes, no, I need to ask Jacob, where would you like to go...any of these would have been less funny than "why"! Now I know that Marta isn't a huge outdoors woman, but I thought I could show her a little something she doesn't know much about and maybe make a hiker out of her. Once I literally described what I meant by hiking, she got a very excited look on her face and said, "Yeah! I think I did that once in college!" I learned so much about Louisiana that day and about the people who live there. She said to me, "I didn't think people walked around in the woods unless they were looking for something to shoot." You may laugh, like I did, but that was genuinely what she thought! So....they ended up agreeing to go on this hike with us and I found out exactly why people in Louisiana do not hike. The forest was crappy and there wasn't one damn thing that was interesting to look at. So I understood her point. So Marta, my friend, this one is for you! We went on a hike, a REAL Northwest hike. It was 3.4 miles (round trip), the forest was amazing, the fast rushing water that you could hear all the way was mesmerizing and the waterfall was stunning! This is why we hike Marta!!! Thumbs up!

This is a stream crossing that we didn't exactly know was on this hike! On the way up, I carried Tucker through the crossing. On the way back....Tucker did this crossing ALL BY HIMSELF! I held his hand to make sure he didn't get in any trouble, but he did it..and didn't even get wet! He stepped in all the right places and made his way, slowly but surly, all the way across. He amazes me.

Mommy and Addie, self portrait. Self portraits are my favorite!

I have decided that self portrait at the end of our hikes will be a tradition for me and Tucker! I LOVE this picture!
Family photo....too bad the idiot who took the picture took the picture of his family too...I NEED PHOTOSHOP! Stranger Danger! Get those people out of my picture!

Addie is getting her hands dirty at the top of the hike.

I have also decided that Bo gets his own photo shoots on the hikes too. I think it's so funny that my dog Bo is so photogenic!

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Let me set the stage...

Tucker has been discovering his mischievous side lately. He has been getting out of bed after we tuck him in and finding the fine line between getting away with something and being caught red-handed....and thus, red-bottomed. (yes, judge me if you will, but sometimes that little bottom gets a spanking)

We had some cough medicine prepared in the bathroom that we were going to give him during the night if he needed it. He needed it alright, but it didn't exactly go in his mouth. Later that night, after I thought I had discovered all his adventures, I was laying in bed and the lamp was making the wall extra shiny. You guessed it, when I said the medicine didn't go in his mouth...I meant to say, IT GOT SQUIRTED ON MY BEDROOM WALL.... and on Matt's dresser!Tucker is just mildly OCD...he found these frames in our room that were under the dresser and decided to set them up in a very orderly (they are in chronological order!!!), yet creepy, way. He went into the bathroom and got his stool...what was he looking for?Oh, of course, CDs and video games...WHAT WAS I THINKING??!!He tried to open his vitamins and upon discovering that the child-proof top actually works, he gave up...put them upside down on the toilet seat. I can just see him getting frustrated and slamming them down on the toilet, saying to himself, "I QUIT!!" When the vitamins didn't work out, he moved along to find the band-aids. I never found any band-aids, just wrappers...this is not a good sign. Should I just assume he ate them? When he ran out of fun in the bathroom, he went back to our bedroom and found the vent covers. This was his greatest mistake because this is what got him caught. He was at the end of the hallway, banging these plastic covers together when we heard him. BUSTED.
Oh, did I happen to mention that when we went down the hall to bust up the party...HE WAS NAKED!??!!!

6 Weeks To Go...Already Crying!

This little, adorable angel has got me crying and dreading 6 weeks from now. Adeline will be turning 1 on June 26th. I remember with painful clarity how sad I was on Tucker's first birthday, and I have do doubt this will be just as bad...if not worse. I was just online looking at plates, napkins and other party items...I seemed OK for that part. That's just paper plates, no real emotional connection, right? So far, so good. Then I decided that I would look up some party ideas, how to keep kids AND adults entertained. Little did I know, that was a BAD idea. I ran across this idea that I would love to use, but I don't know if I can emotionally handle it. You get (0r make) a beautifully decorated box and provide pieces of paper for people to write Addie messages for her to read when she is older. "That's a nice idea!", I thought to myself. Then they gave some suggestions for prompts for people to use, that's where the waterworks started. Stupid, heart-wrenching suggestions like: I love you because..., You have changed my life..., My hopes and dreams for you are...

Ok, I just can't deal with this. I'm not sure why this is so overwhelming for me. I have several ideas (this is where I wear my heart on my sleeve, ok?). With God's approval, Addie will be our last biological child, which makes her getting older so sad. We will never be teaching another baby to walk or talk. I will not be breastfeeding another baby. It all just gets too sad for me. But the ironic thing is, I don't really like the baby stage! I don't function well with the high demands of young babies. That part I won't miss, but it's exactly the part I will. Makes no sense...I KNOW THAT!

Anyway, to end the babbling (and start babbling in my next post), I just wanted to share this hilarious video and tell you how happy/sad I am to leave this baby stage and how excited I am to learn more about my Adeline Hazel as she grows into becoming a toddler.

Saturday Hike- Beacon Rock

On Saturday, we made our way out to Beacon Rock for a hike. Matt wore Addie in the Kelty pack and walked the dog. I followed closely behind Tucker to make sure that he was doing ok, fully prepared with our Ergo Baby Carrier just waiting to haul him up and down the hike. This hike is one mile up and one mile down. I know he can hike that far, but it's very steep and thought he might get tired after reaching the top. Tucker is a 3 year old hiking master! He would have run both ways had it been safe! We got to the bottom and he was happy, energetic and asking for ice cream. What a kid! The whole hike is basically switchbacks and every time we would come to a switchback that faced the Columbia River, Tucker would say, "Look Mommy! The Columbia River! It's so beautiful!" EVERY SINGLE TIME!!! I love/hate how kids never get tired of listening to their own voices. We were encouraging Tucker the entire hike telling him that he was a great hiker and he was doing a hard hike and really doing well. About half way up, he started complimenting me and Matt on what a good job we were doing and encouraging us to "keep going, Mommy, you're almost there!" This is Bo on one of the switchbacks...he was enjoying the view!Tucker reached the top and was very proud of himself. He actually WANTED me to take his picture! Tucker and I did a self-portrait to document Tucker's biggest hike yet!Addie LOVES our Kelty backpack. When we got to the top, Matt took her out to give her a break from sitting in it. Just as soon as he took her out, she was leaning out of his arms, signing "more" to get back in the Kelty! Gotta love my outdoor girl!

Someone at the top took our picture (not on the scenic side) of the top of Beacon Rock. We bought a hiking book a few days ago and we are going to make it our mission to be hiking all summer. With both kids loving the outdoors and hiking, there is no excuse!

Tucker at the top of Beacon Rock! He is a hiking fool! LOVE IT!This is my favorite picture! This is Matt with Addie in the Kelty headed back down the Rock. Aren't those switchbacks crazy! I swear I didn't carry Tucker, not even once. I held his hand with what probably felt like a crushing force, but I did not carry him. I'm so proud of him!

First Bike!

Last week we went on a bike ride (trike ride) and I realized just how big Tucker is getting! He has totally outgrown the little red trike that he got for Easter when he was 16 months old. His knees nearly touch the handle bars and I think it was actually more work to ride the bike, than to just walk! So that afternoon, we went for it...I nearly cried in the bike shop, but we did it....Tucker got his first big-boy bike!This is a picture of Tucker getting his bike helmet fitting and thanks to the understanding guys at the bike shop, I got lots of wonderful pictures of Tucker picking out his first bike. I was THAT mom. I basically saw the event through my camera lens rather than with my own eyes.
Tucker's bike waiting to go back to the shop area. They checked to make sure everything was in good working order before sending our child out on the streets to ride. We bought his bike from The Bike Gallery in Beaverton and we HIGHLY recommend this place. They were super helpful and it was so cute to see them treat Tucker like a real customer! I think it make Tucker feel very important!

We were afraid that Tucker wouldn't want to wear a bike helmet because we have tried them on in the stores before and he has cried and pulled them off. "There must have been some magic" in that new blue flamed bike helmet because...

HE WOULDN'T TAKE IT OFF!!! He even had to wear it in his carseat on the ride home! We are planning our first family bike ride for tomorrow, so hopefully I can remember to bring my camera!

This Time, Last Year

Yesterday celebrated the one year anniversary of Tucker and I moving to the Great Northwest. I can't believe a whole year has passed, but what is more amazing is what has happened in that year....also what has NOT happened in the last year (read: unemployment). I just wanted to show a picture of Tucker from last April and then one from this April...I can't believe how much my little baby has turned into my little boy. Looking at these pictures makes me wonder if this is even the same kid!!!