Tuck Everlasting

Family Visits and Hole in the Ceiling

2012-01-29T13:44:00.000-06:00

I've neglected my blog recently. ooops. It's been a fun month and a fun/interesting month to start the new year!

The year started out great with my parents and youngest sister visiting. I also had lots of cousins, aunts and uncles visiting as well.

It had been about 8 months since I saw my parents and a year and a half since they saw Sydney but affection for them came easy to Sydney and Jonas!

During their visit, I was driving home at night and saw there was something in the road, at least I thought I saw something. Before I knew it, I was running over it and it instantly popped my two left tires. I began swerving and it was hard to get the vehicle off the road and to a stop as I was going 60 mph when I hit what we later discovered was a tire hubcap. My older sister came and was able to take my kids home and my mom and grandpa stayed with me while I waited for the tow truck. As soon as I got off the phone to call my parents and let them know what happened, I said a prayer of gratitude because I knew we were protected. There could have been other cars on the road while I was swerving uncontrollably making the situation much worse but as it was, no one was injured.

The damage turned out to be more than just two flat tires. The bumper had to be replaced and the actual wheels on the left side, too. I am grateful for insurance. It took 2 and a half weeks for the repairs to be completed. But we have our car back now and I couldn't be more thrilled.

We got a nasty electric bill in December so we decided to finally do something about adding more insulation in the attic. My cousin's husband James came to help Brian as they rented a blower and blew more insulation in our attic. I must have jinxed them as I was talking to James before they started and explained that my husband was like Tim Taylor and he needed to be the Al. I didn't want any ER visits that day. Well, we didn't have an ER-worthy incident but we did get this nice hole:

As a loving, caring and sweet wife my first thought SHOULD have been concern and gratitude that Brian DID NOT fall through this hole. But instead I was shocked and mumbled some kind of death threat. But, we'll get this fixed soon. I'm mostly annoyed that it's probably not going to look seamless and as wonderful as it did before. And yes, I am grateful Brian did not fall through.

Jonas had his 15-month check-up and all is looking great! He is 24 lbs 10.7 oz (around the 75% percentile), 30.5 inches (around the 25% percentile), and his head was 18.8 in (75% percentile). He and Sydney were both so great during the visit the doctor said I had sweet children :) I should let them hang out at his house sometime. But seriously, they are pretty sweet and I think they get along really well.

Jonas is just a ball of energy! He babbles a lot and a lot of words have that "bah" sound! "Outisde?" "Bah!" "Bath?" "Bah!" But really he sounds out a lot of words. I had fun a few weeks ago when I was telling him "You rock" and he replied with what really sounded like "I Rock". Still haven't been able to get a clear video of that though. He climbs on everything: the couch, the changing table (he can climb to the top), climbs into the bath tub, etc. He tries to put his shoes on his feet. He turns book pages with ease (board books), and he loves giving hugs. He gives "kisses" but they mostly involve sucking on your skin. He's made a few marks with a crayon on paper and loves to dance! Brian and I have an XBOX Kinect that can follow some simple voice commands. Jonas tries to say "XBOX" when we say that and also, the Kinect follows your body movement and to trigger that, you wave your hand back and forth. Jonas will stand in front of the Kinect and wave his arms to try to wake up the Kinect. Techno-baby!

We had a little scare with Jonas when earlier this month he got several fire ant bites while playing in my grandmother's backyard. He had at least 20 on his hand. I quickly got him inside and stripped him. We poured vinegar on the bites and rubbed some painkiller cream on his hands. He really took it like a champ the entire time. I gave him Benadryl for several days to make sure he didn't have a reaction. I'm so glad he didn't.

Sydney is loving being a Sunbeam and does pretty well about staying in her seat. She is eager to learn and we are trying to master the shapes, colors, and some letters of the alphabet. She knows "s" (has known that one for months), "j" (J for Jonas!), "b" and she knows the letter "m" is what "mom" starts with but she is still working on saying it's name. She can mostly count to 20 and when she takes her time she can count 10 objects. We've also been practicing cutting paper. I watched a friend's 3-month old a couple of times in the last few weeks and Sydney has been all ga-ga over him and very helpful with fetching burp cloths, etc. It's really sweet to see. She is also becoming very skilled at navigating her way around Brian's I-Phone! Sydney also had her first dental visit this month! She did such a super job and opened up nice and wide for the dentist. And got a clean bill of health for her teeth! Super!

I took my second mid-term for my Independent Study math course and it is such a relief to have that part past me. I studied every day for 2 weeks. It will be a while before I found out how I did but I feel it went well. I still have one more unit and the final to complete and need to get it done by April 2nd so as not to pay for the extension. After this course, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I feel like my only option is to pay out-of-pocket for this pre-requisite courses to get into my grad program of choice but with our house we don't have the money for me to do that. I need to do some soul-searching and really contemplate where I want to go with this and what I need to do.

And some additional videos for your viewing pleasure.

Sorry!

2012-01-09T23:07:00.001-06:00

Sorry about the digi-scrapping post!

Videos with some links...

2012-01-08T20:18:00.000-06:00

It seems like some of the videos did not link to my channel or something... the two Christmas ones can be accessed with the previous link but here are the two of Sydney singing and then 2 of her dancing:

http://youtu.be/WVFeDutoyJk
http://youtu.be/OAQkjrwzDkM
http://youtu.be/h2jUrxqrUP4
http://youtu.be/MoBolFX0tVM

New Videos on YouTube

2012-01-08T19:38:00.001-06:00

I've uploaded some videos from Christmas and some of Sydney dancing! Check it out on my channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/MomijiMei?feature=mhee

Belated Happy Birthday to Drea!

2011-12-22T23:41:00.000-06:00

So I've wanted to start making a special post on my sisters' birthdays and Drea's went whishing past me! So, better late than never, a very belated happy birthday to my big sis!

This is Andrea. I am her twin born 5 years later.

As proof, I had this picture of me up on my computer today and my nephew said, "That's mommy!" Not quite!

If there was a movie made about her life, Drew Barrymore would play her.

Drea already had the theme music from Ever After play at her wedding so it's like a life soundtrack now.

A thing I remember about Drea from my childhood was that she loved [loves] music. And all types. I remember her passionately singing along to Phantom of the Opera and Beauty and the Beast [her fave movie] as well as "I like to move it" (not the King Julian version). She played the violin in her school orchestra that went to Carnegie Hall. Wowzers!

She's very intelligent and organized. She's an accountant. That pretty much sums up her amazing intelligence there!

She is a loving, busy, working-mom of two cute kids!

Ok, so the one dressed in yellow is mine.

And even though I am about 1/4 inch taller than her, I still look up to her. Love you big sis! and Happy [belated] Birthday!

Just some videos

2011-12-12T15:16:00.000-06:00

Putting up the Christmas Tree and Christmas in Roseland

2011-12-11T00:22:00.000-06:00

First, sorry about my digital-scrapbooking post that went out to a lot of you! I goofed up on that!

In the last week we finally got our Christmas tree up. The kids aren't messing with it too much. We obviously didn't put any of our breakables on the tree (little kids+ glass ornaments + ceramic floors= trouble!!) and they had fun helping us put it up!

Yes, Jonas had to put up the tree shirtless. Very macho!

Sydney decided that stockings should be used for their true purpose.

Last Saturday we went to Christmas in Roseland, a rose center that has lots of lights displays and performances. I was so glad we went when we did because it was a beautiful night! and the week since we went, it has been cold, wet and windy.

Another set of displays are large "Christmas Cards" by the local schools. I thought this one was so cool: They used bottle caps to the make this snowman.

I don't talk about Santa a lot but I guess from movies and such, the magic of Santa has been instilled in Sydney's heart. So when she found out Santa was at Roseland, a cute grin stretched across her face. She was so excited and was not scared of him at all. I was pretty surprised. Not surprised that Jonas freaked out after 2 seconds on Santa's lap. We took one with me holding Jonas but it didn't come out well so I didn't upload. But here is the picture they gave us:

It's too yellowish-green for me so I changed it to black and white- looks better I think!

Or maybe you like this one with the red selected:

I think I like the black and white one best, what do you think?

Thanksgiving

2011-12-07T23:59:00.000-06:00

A little late I know but it's been a little crazy! Jonas has been pretty fussy lately. It could be teething or it could very well be his rebellion since I stopped breast-feeding him. Who knows!

We had a great time for Thanksgiving visiting Brian's parents in Alabama. Here are some pictures:

This is a nightgown from Grandma Holloman. Sydney absolutely loves it! because it twirls like a dress!

Grandpa Tuck helping Jonas unwrap his present.

This is a great shot showing all the gorgeous woods around Gma and Gpa Tuck's new place!

We had lots of fun seeing Brian's aunts and uncles as well. AMAZING cooking and Brian and I got a date night courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa. Thanks! Of course some shopping as well! It was just the R&R I needed!

It's seems by perfect design that we have Thanksgiving before Christmas. At Thanksgiving, we hopefully reflect on all the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us and truly see how fortunate we are. Then, with that in mind, we turn around and feel the need to share and bless the lives of others at Christmas time. I hope we each take time to count our blessings, and then go and be a blessing on someone's list.

Merry Christmas!

No more colds! and family portrait

2011-11-18T09:03:00.000-06:00

Sydney and Jonas have been afflicted with an nasty cold for WEEKS now. Running noses, congested at night and coughing some, it's not been fun :( Sydney missed 2 weeks in Nursery and they both missed reading time at the library for 3 weeks now. But they are finally better. No runny noses!

Jonas has been so cute lately with all his little discoveries. He's waving more, he brings you stuff and waits for your happy "Thank you!". He LOVES handing you stuff. He's been helping pick up, he'll put the blocks in the bag when we're picking up. He also likes to close the dishwasher door. Even though he usually does it when I am still trying to load the dishwasher it's still cute. He sometimes eats more than Sydney.

Sydney is in big-time princess mode. She loves wearing a dress any day of the week and loves playing princess. One week she was talking a lot about weddings and soon after I found a Disney princess wedding coloring book. So cute! she loves it! She's bouncing between orange and blue being her favorite colors. We keep working on shapes and letters. She has S and B down. I'm working on A and J (for Jonas! I think she's almost there with that one).

We started a thankful tree and I told her I was writing family first. I asked her what she was thankful for and she said, "Jesus!". Melted my heart. I know she's learning that from our prayers.

We went and got portraits done at Sears. I would LOVE to be able to hire a photographer and go out on a nice day and take some amazing photos but we don't have that kind of money! I found a coupon for a free photo session, 1-image CD, 8x10, 5x7 and 4 wallets for a grand total of $10.86. The photographer wasn't as experienced as I would have liked but for $10, I'll stop complaining now.

I liked Sydney's pose and Jonas was looking at the camera the whole time. I was surprised he didn't wiggle. It was an interesting experience for him! I hope to get some Spring photos and be able to get him to smile for those!

Just some photos...

2011-11-04T09:25:00.000-05:00

Hey! The kids have been sick this week and Brian and I are a little sick ourselves. I've got a slightly sore throat and the kids don't sleep well at night, so it's a little strained around here lately...

Anyways, here are some fun Halloween photos:

Here's Sydney's cousin Liam (the ninja) and cousin Scarlett (a butterfly)

Sydney with Aunt Drea

Our door at our ward Fall Festival

Then here are some fun photos I got yesterday in one of those "we're fine" windows that occur sporadically with sick kids.

Just chillin'

Love this smile!

Favorite shot of the day!

Got Sydney to do a few cute poses! After each picture she would say, "Let me see!"

my little diva!

Brian took these while I was tutoring:

Jonas has been so active and learning so much lately. Yesterday was the first time I noticed him really giving hugs. I was comforting Sydney and he came up and leaned his head on her back in a very sweet way. Also this week, he picked up Sydney's play phone and actually held it up as if to talk into it. He tries to trade toys with you and he reaches out to things he wants and says, "that". It's been really fun watching him learn and grow. I think his 1 year stats were 23 lbs 13 oz and 29-29.5 inches. That puts him as kind of short for his age but a healthy chunk at his weight. He still fits in the age-appropriate clothes really well. There are a few 12 month clothes he still wears (mostly pants) but he's in 18 month shirts and onesies because 12-month were not long enough. {shrug} I don't know. He just looks healthy to me and that's all I could ask for!

Jonas 1 year-old! photos and photos!

2011-10-23T12:49:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! I finally took some time to edit these photos I took on Jonas' birthday. Love photoshop! And love it even more now that I am on a new and faster computer. My old computer could not keep up with me and so we got a replacement! I am loving it!

But I dressed up Sydney and Jonas on Jonas' birthday and had some fun. This is our front yard. The kids mostly play in the back yard but I love this huge shady tree in our front yard and also how the grass is keeping pretty short (because of the tree no doubt) so you can actually see the kids! Anyways, here are some shots of the birthday boy:

To Jonas,
You came a lot earlier than I expected. I had already had a C-section so I was not as nervous this time around but was saddened when you had to go to the NICU. It broke my heart to not be able to hold you until you were about 3 days old. I was not encouraged to even touch you before then either. But all through your time being sick, I was not worried. I knew you would pull through just fine and whatever the after-effects, you would be watched over. I love your sense of humor, your way of making everyone smile, your tenacity and curiosity. Everyone loves your blue eyes. That's about the only facial feature I can take credit for as everyone says you and your sister look like your dad. I hope you always enjoy the sun, the beautiful world around you and remember each day is a gift from God.

Here is Sydney. Love this little girl's personality!

Here is one of the above pictures that I went a little artistic on. I think I'm going to frame it and hang it up!

And no photo shoot is complete without getting some cute pictures of these two together!

And here is a picture of the bath toys Jonas got for his birthday from us. Now when these two take a bath it is water chaos! but they love it! There are these foam roads and car pieces that stick to the walls and then this cup tower with different cups that have holes, and spinning pieces, etc.

Oh yeah! one more thing! I saw this idea on another blog and thought it was sooo cute! I talked to Sydney about octopuses and how many legs they have. We checked out some videos of their amazing camouflage. Then we had "octopus" for lunch and made an octopus craft. It was really fun!

That's all for now!

Sydney 3 years

2011-10-10T12:38:00.000-05:00

It's so amazing to think Sydney has been a part of our family for 3 years now.

She's learning and picking up on things so quickly. I love her sense of humor and how we make each other laugh. I love that she still wants to hang out with her parents (even if when Dad gets home she is Daddy's Girl and sometimes wants nothing to do with me). She has a great imagination, she loves helping out with Jonas and she excitedly talks about us going shopping! She loves dressing up and playing princess. She can also be a tom-boy as she loves cars, monsters and climbing. She is still my little monkey and I treasure her. Each day I pray that I'm teaching her what she needs to succeed and embrace the gospel of Christ. Each day she teaches me more about the love of God. There's a primary hymn I love to sing called "We Are Different" and the last verse says: "I love you and you love me, We reach together for the best we can be and that's the way it is supposed to be". I think it's talking about families and I think this is what happens every day between Sydney and myself.

Happy Birthday Sydney! You really are my sunshine!

Here she is with the Dragon Pillow Pet we got her:

Lady bug Face Painting from the Red River Revel:

And then eating some ice cream at Baskin Robins on her birthday:

Sydne'y s birthday song

2011-10-08T14:15:00.000-05:00

Whoops! forgot this video

Birthday Party Videos and pictures

2011-10-08T14:02:00.000-05:00

Hey all! Sydney and Jonas had a lot of fun at their birthday party! Their cousins Liam and Scarlett were there with Uncle Ian and we enjoyed the Tangled theme and a general prince and princesses theme! I was so excited Jonas kept his crown on!

Here are some videos of the birthday siblings:

And here are some videos! Jonas had a shirt that said "Birthday Boy" and Sydney wore the same pink dress she did at her birthday party last year!

We had Pin the tail on Pascal (lizard from Tangled). I drew him myself. I think he came out pretty good.

Pull-string pinata with lots of candy

Birthday royalty!

Loot!

And the men having fun...

Happy Birthday Sydney and Jonas! I will be back to add more photos from Sydney's actual birthday where we went to the Red River Revel and then out for some ice cream.

Sydney Unscripted, Jonas walking! and House Closing!

2011-09-17T00:19:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I'll start with the biggest event which is us closing on a house! Things went back and forth, we were going to finance the roof into the mortgage, the house appraised for less, and so on but our realtor was amazing and great help through the whole process! The sellers actually lost on this deal but really wanted to move so. I CANNOT WAIT to move in! It will be some time next week as the roof is getting replaced.

Here Brian and I are at closing:

And here is our great realtor, Jennifer. She was so fabulous, always made us feel comfortable and like she was listening to us and guiding us through the process so well!

Elated! I am so grateful to my grandparents for allowing Brian and I to stay with them. I don't know how Brian and I would have made it through this past year. All I can hope is that we weren't a burden on them.

Jonas is officially walking! It took some motivation at first to even get him to try to take some steps but now it's all him! And just shy of 11 months he learned this. Here is a great photo Brian's mom took of Jonas during the Labor Day Week-end:

And here are some shots of Jonas on his 11-month mark. His birthday (and Sydney's!) will soon be here and my little baby boy will be 1!

See how he holds his hands up as he walks? That's habit from the many months I would hold his hands and walk him around. So glad he balances himself now!

Sydney is potty-trained! I thought this day would never come! I have to admit I was quite nervous about the process. It seemed like there were times her diaper was soaked and leaking down her leg and she did not care (curse you Go Diego Go!). I had tried pull-ups before and they just became expensive diapers. So, I thought cloth diapers.I bought cloth diaper covers and I put one on her and she hated it. She was crying, take it off! I guess the elastic was just too tight for her skinny little booty. But I had wanted to start that day! To my surprise she asked to wear underwear. I had heard of trying that, just going for the underwear and letting them get the idea. So, I took a deep breath and said I can do this.because I knew it meant cleaning up a bunch of accidents, being vigilant that she did not sit on furniture and having her sit on the potty every 30 minutes at first. The first few days she would go through about 7 pairs of underwear a day and with every accident, I was prompt to clean it up fast! (Jonas was around after all!) God bless grandparents who acted as an additional support and encouragement on her successes. So, she's doing better now. She still has about an accident a day but I was surprised at how quickly she learned to go on her own. I thought how long do I have to make her sit every half hour? then, how long do I have to make her sit every hour? and then she started telling me and making it! I'm so proud of her!

But I am not proud of this next moment. This is Sydney unscripted. Of course I did NOT tell her to put her underwear on her head.

And most definitely NOT underwear that when I went to take it off, realized it was wet. Ewww! I swear this girl's hygiene is questionable. I'll find her putting her face in her little Winnie the Pooh kiddie potty seat on the toilet, watching the toilet flush I guess. Up close. I'm trying to break her of these habits... shaking my head.

What and If...6 years with you

2011-08-20T03:29:00.003-05:00

"'What' and ‘if’ two words as nonthreatening
as words come. But put
them together side-by-side and they
have the power to haunt you for the
rest of your life: ‘What if?'..."

But I know that if what you felt
then was love - true love ...I hope you had the
courage to seize it..."

...You need only the courage to
follow your heart..."

(Taken from "Letters to Juliet")

When I met Brian, I was an 18 yr-old on a mission. I had two years left to earn my Bachelor's and had aspirations to teach English in Japan for a year to save up money for a mission. When I got back from my mission, it was off to graduate school! I had a plan. A plan is what kept me from getting sucked into this "gotta-get-married" fever everyone around me had. I wanted love like anyone else would, to be in a relationship, but I didn't want it to consume me. Still, I had been in a few relationships since starting at BYU-I and with each heartbreak came a comforting hold on to my plans, that the relationships never would have worked in my plans so it didn't matter.

Then I met Brian. I felt like he was unlike any man I had met. There was a real connection and I felt I let my guard down, and he was OK with the me he saw. Well, I guess more than OK- in love with me. As I truly was. I still talked about my plans with him but I realized the "what if's" that I did not want to have to live with were, "What if I go to Japan and leave him?" "What if I end this for my plans?"

I also remember now that while we were still dating, not even engaged, it came time for me to declare my preferences for my student-teaching locations the next Spring (about 1 year in advance of my student teaching). Again, "What if I go to Arizona or Las Vegas?"

Instead, I decided to seize him, my true love. And it has been the best decision of my life.

Meagan's hobbies...

2011-08-14T16:34:00.001-05:00

I meant to just add this on to the last post but I forgot. First, I wanted to show you a before and after shot of one of the pictures of Sydney I edited with PhotoShop:

BEFORE AFTER

I've been having lots of fun lately with trying to figure out photoshop. Can't wait until we can afford a nice SLR camera but for now, I have to fiddle with the settings in Photoshop to get the picture the way I wanted.

Here are some digital scrapbook pages I have done recently as well:

(Kit: Dream Big Designs: Dream Big)

For this next one, I edited this photo:

and got this:

(Kit: Scrappy Cocoa: Fleur) I really love how that one came out!

(Kit: Meagan's Creations (myself!): Those Were the Days )

(Kit: Viola Moni and Meagan's Creations: The Lion Sleeps Tonight)

Thanks for reading!

Random cuteness and Jonas 10 months!

2011-08-14T16:23:00.000-05:00

Sydney and Jonas are playing together more and more every day. It's really cute. Sydney can often be too rough- we have had biting issues {again} lately since Jonas has popped 3 teeth! He bites her, she bites back, it's not fun. But it's also so fun to watch them make each other laugh and smile.

Here are a few random pictures of them.

And then a sibling shot- love it!

Today I had Sydney wear this yellow dress and the yellow bow in her hair and I had to get pictures! (Did some photoshop editing to bring out the colors more!)

I first ask her to smile and get this crazy face:

Today marks Jonas being 10 months old!
Like I said, he has 3 teeth- two on top and one on the bottom. He is getting tired of being spoon-fed and wants to eat what we eat at the table so he has had egg noodles, mac and cheese and peas, green beans and pears (in these little fruit catchers with nets- thanks Drea!). He still hasn't ventured to taking a step out but we are practicing getting him to stand on his own. He has made very distinct "ma-ma" sounds recently! Fun developments! Here is the cutie!

Love this cute smile!

Close-up of those Baby Blues!

And I know nothing is final YET, but Brian and I put in an offer on a house that was accepted so we're moving forward in the house-buying process! We LOVE this house and it's location is perfect for shopping and Brian's work. Here are some pictures pulled off the real estate sites:

Love the curb appeal! It's on a nice, quiet cul-de-sac.

Kitchen is a little small but I think it will be great. Look at that great backsplash!

Gorgeous Master bedroom! They did a great job with the hardwood floors, color choices and gorgeous crown molding.

The living room is a great shape. It also has a vaulted ceiling.

This is the 2nd bedroom. I LOVE the chair rail! This will be Jonas' room- already painted the right color! And because it is the closest one to the master bedroom.

Don't you love this patio! They just installed it last year and it looks so nice! Too bad we don't have any nice patio furniture! but we'll still enjoy it with our camping chairs.

All in all, it's a 3bed/2bath home, 1300sqft and we are super-excited!
We hope to close Sep 20th or sooner! Love to all!

Must be doing something right...

2011-08-14T15:04:00.002-05:00

The other day Sydney had my scriptures opened. I asked her what she was doing. She said she was reading stories. I then asked, "About who?". Sydney replied, "Jesus". I have angels for children :)

Will be posting later today with Jonas' 10-month old shots! and some I got of Sydney.

About those photos...

2011-08-10T08:09:00.002-05:00

I was talking to Brian about the goofy pictures I showed in the last post. He told me that all four of them (including the silly ones of Sydney) are photos SYDNEY took herself. Thought was impressive!

Random Silliness

2011-08-09T09:28:00.000-05:00

The past few weeks have been mostly uneventful. Brian and I have looked at some homes. We ask Sydney if she likes them or not. There was one she loved and we didn't so I'm afraid her judgment isn't too valid. Our ward boundaries have changed and so we went to a new church this past Sunday. We drove out to the building the week before, however, and as soon as we pulled up, Sydney said, "I don't like it." It's a nice brand new building but I agree with Sydney that it would not make a nice house for us!

Jonas seemed to pop 3 teeth out in 1 week! His top 2 poked out first (unusual) and now he has one coming out at the bottom. We've tried to take a picture of the teeth but they're just not far enough out yet but they're there! He has a big appetite and sleeps from about 8:30 to 5 most nights (today, he slept in until 7- nice!). He can climb stairs and is cruising a lot but has not ventured to take a step out. Such cuteness!

Here are some pictures we took while outside one day.

I cannot believe Sydney is going to be 3 in two months! I took her shopping with me last night and she was laying on the cuteness real thick with the other shoppers. She was pushing her own minature cart and smiling and saying "Hi" to everyone she walked by. She was actually very helpful. She's a little tattle-tell with Jonas but it's OK. She's always very helpful. I can ask her to fetch the syrup or ketchup and she can do it! We've also started talking about recognizing letters and if you ask her what sound the letter B makes, she'll tell you "ba-ba-ba" and then words like bottle, baby, and ball start with B. So that's cool.

Sydney defnitely likes dress-up. Here she is in my glasses:

and the famous Mickey hat:

And if you give two silly clowns a camera, this is what you will find:

Hope these gave you some laughs!

Happy Birthday Brian! And Jonas is 9 months old!

2011-07-16T15:25:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Brian's birthday on Thursday. He's 30 years young! I made a german chocolate cake (no not from scratch, I know my mom's disappointed) but it came out SOOOO much better than Brian's birthday cake last year.
Quick recap: birthday cake last year

Birthday cake this year:

Much better!

We didn't make Brian suffer with a blazing cake of 30 candles, just put a 3 on there plus ten candles in the shape of a 0. Here he is blowing it out:

And it was HIS suggestion to hold up the numbers (like I have Jonas do for his month shots). So here's the birthday MAN!

He also got spoiled. We had steak dinner at home (I guess not totally spoiled- he had to pick it up from the store on his way home from work and then cooked it himself:) How's that for a special birthday dinner! This is because my plan was Outback but the gift card I ordered didn't come in. What you know it comes in the day after! zoit!) Also, he got a Kindle so he's having fun with that.

In all the birthday excitement, I didn't take Jonas' 9 month shots THAT day but here are his from a day later. Yes, he's in his pjs. It was a lazy day.

I love this picture; it's like he's saying"What? What did I do?"

And this one is great, too. He looks like he is trying to hold up 9 fingers.

But this one takes the cake!

Facts about Jonas: He is still around 22 lbs, 26.5 in. He LOVES to jump out of your lap and grab your hands so you can walk him around. Just yesterday I got him to take a few steps with me holding only one hand so maybe soon! He's actively clapping. He can push a little ride-along toy around pretty well. And it was funny the other day, he was blowing raspberries nonstop as I was walking him around. He makes sounds like "ha", "e", "a" and "g". And I LOVE listening to him laugh. He sucks in air for a high-pitched squeal!

I was trying to get Jonas to hold the 9 up to his face but he wasn't cooperating so Sydney said it was her turn and she was more than happy to pose for me in her goofy little way.

Love to all!

sick, blah, blah, blah

2011-07-10T16:24:00.000-05:00

So this past week Sydney and Jonas have been sick. It started really on Wed. They both have sore throats. And if it wasn't for Sydney's ability to talk and say "mouth" as well as hold her hand to her mouth, we wouldn't have known what it was. It started out as just a fever on Wed. and now they don't have fevers but Sydney is really cranky (off and on). A few sleepless nights in there, too. fun!

But here are some photos of the fun things we have been up to lately.

Third of July (so technically, this family photo was taken the day before the 4th, but we dressed patriotically for church and decided to take a family photo).

Aunt Dawn was in town with her kids so Sydney went swimming almost every day. It was really fun having them here! We had a great meal on the 4th with Dad cooking some awesome hamburgers.

OH! And Brian got an acceptance letter for a permanent position at Schlumberger! Yeah! So, we've started the process of looking for a place of our own. Maybe a house? to buy? We'll see!

I trimmed Sydney's hair in the back because all the frizz was really annoying me. I just took off about an inch or two. I think it looks tamer now!

Jonas is cruising and can even push this little push-along toy we have (I have a video but it's HUGE and I can't find our Windows Movie Maker on our computer- I know we had it!) but he's doing well! 9 months this week!

Sleeping angels

And some for fun:

Sydney's favorite song (for now) is "Down by the Station". Our version goes through the song twice at a moderate speed and then speeds up for the second half of the song and she loves to start running back and forth in her room when it gets to this part. Yes, our little GIRL loves TRAINS. It's fine by me, even if I don't enjoy watching Thomas the Engine with her.

8 months old! and pigtails

2011-06-24T10:09:00.000-05:00

No, I didn't put pigtails in Jonas' hair! But maybe when his hair gets longer!

So on June 14th, Jonas turned 8 months old! Where does the time go??!! At a recent visit, he was 22 lbs and 26.5 inches. He is an excellent crawler now and can pull himself up to standing using furniture. Last night he only woke up once during the night! But he didn't go to sleep until 11 :( I hold him and think he's asleep but then I put him down and he wakes up. So, we set up a pack nplay in the closet and goes in there where he can cry without waking up his sister. Sad, I know. what awful parents we are putting our kids in the closet. At least it's not under the stairs...

Anyway, here are some shots Brian and I got of the 8-month old. It's not easy! This kid is always on the move!

His shirt says, "Mom's Mane Man". Love it!

For about a week I had Sydney excited about pigtails. She would look at the color choices, find the one that matched her shirt (which she is excellent at! She can't name her colors accurately yet but she CAN match them!), and then she would hold on to the two elastic bands while I combed her hair. And she did NOT want those pig tails out at night. But alas, the excitement has passed for now. Just a phase.

I saw some cute animal hoodie towels at Kohl's for a pretty good deal and so I showed Sydney the duck one or the princess one and she chose duck. Then I grabbed a monster one for Jonas. Well, thanks to DADDY, Sydney is obsessed with monsters. We often play that we are hiding from monsters. So, when she saw the monster towel, she told me the monster one is hers and "Jonas duck!". Here's our little monster:

Sydney is definitely under the impression, "What's mine is mine and what's yours is mine". Here's a hat of Jonas, on Sydney.

And I'll finish off by showing some digital scrapbook pages I have done recently.

(The two above were using a kit called "Bikes and Trikes" by Dream Big Designs

This kit was made by me! Up, Up and Away! She end of post.

This was made using a kit called Monster Truck Madness by Dream Big Designs

Also, I made this mini-kit recently. I used shapes in PS to make those super heroes, masks, city and bursts myself. You think it's cute?

Inspired of course by my super kids!

Walk with me

2011-06-05T22:02:00.001-05:00

Lately Jonas loves for you to hold his hands and walk him around the house. He can go at it for quite a while. And he really shows you where he wants to go. Today, he walked me into the bathroom and just stood by the bath tub, so I ran some water and let him take a bath!

and some crawling:

Often, Sydney will want a blanket tied at her neck and she will become... SUPER SYDNEY!!!! Dad decided tonight, it was time for a side-kick, SUPER JONAS!!!! Here are our little super heroes:

I told Brian that has got to be the best smile Sydney has ever given for a photo. I love it!

Ride-a-long

2011-06-05T21:56:00.000-05:00

This was the first time I put Jonas on a ride-along. I was really shocked at how stable he was on it and how much he loved it!

And my scrapbook page of it.

(Credits: Kit: Dream Big Designs:Bikes and Trikes)

You so funny!

2011-05-22T23:31:00.000-05:00

Brian and I often talk in funny accents and this is one of Brian's favorite things to say with a Chinese accent.

Brian finds it strange how worked up I get about coupons sometime and this last week I told him, "when a coupon dies (i.e. expires), it hurts!" I'm not an extreme couponer by any means (have you seen that show?!!) but when I find a good deal, I try to take advantage of it.

Oh, (by the way, this is my random post) Sydney is such a Daddy's girl! Sometimes it has to be Dad that does it, Mommy can't do it. I have Dad to thank for Sydney always wanting to play monsters. "Hide!" she'll say with her big eyes and shocked face! "Monsters!" She'll also look out the window and say, "The sun is going down". Apparently, Dad would tell her that to let her know it was bed time while I was gone. (Which by the way, she is getting into an amazing going to bed routine. I'm astounded!). I just tell Brian all the time that she's his little clone!

Don't think me a bad parent but I already have her addicted to an anime. Which one? Inu Yasha? But hey, before you get upset, I have NO idea why she wants to watch it with me. It's in Japanese. I watch it with subtitles. but she still watches it with me. And requests it. must be the monsters. thank you dad.

The other day, I had a water bottle at the table and I left for a minute and came back to find a puddle on the table with Sydney right there. I knew she had done it. She LOVES dumping out water and playing with it. Not my favorite habit of hers. So, I send her to time out. I come to check on her and without me saying anything she says, "Mommy, I'm sorry I spilled your water." Ticket for getting out of time-out granted! I was so touched! How cute!!

All in all, life is going well with these two kiddos. Every day is fun and a new adventure.

Jonas 7 months

2011-05-22T23:21:00.000-05:00

Wow! Jonas is 7 months!

Stats:
Weight: 20.5-21 lbs
Length: 26.5"
Eats: pears, peaches, apples, bananas, green beans, peas, beef, sweet potatoes, carrots and rice cereal.
Abilities: rocks on hands and knees and sometimes makes crawling motions. Sits up very well and independently. likes for you to hold his hands and walk him around. Makes "ooo", "ha" and "ga" sounds. Ticklish under the chin.

I think the days of holding the number are gone and it will have to be in the background from now on.

Traveling with Jonas went really well. He slept on half the flights because at the beginning of almost every flight I nursed him. On the plane. Between 2 people. Fun! Jonas was a big flirt. He would lock eyes with a passenger behind us through the cracks in the seat and start smiling and laughing. When he wasn't asleep he was in constant motion, wanting to stand in my lap and turn around constantly. That was a little exhausting. I'm just thankful my grandma was able to watch Sydney for me while I was in California because traveling with 2 would have been boot camp. Real tough.

Jonas vs. Thor

2011-05-22T23:05:00.000-05:00

I'm betting on the giant baby.

Monkey see, Monkey do

2011-05-22T23:03:00.000-05:00

Sydney is a big time copy cat (like every child, I know!) so it was no shock that someday she would ask to feed Jonas:

The chocolate fiend:

Swim Time!

2011-05-22T23:01:00.002-05:00

In case you did not know my grandparents' house has an indoor pool. Yeah.

Both of our kids have become big time water babies! I love how Jonas loves the water and loves splashing it! While in California, I found these floaties for a good price so I got a penguin and tiger. Sydney decided the penguin is hers and the tiger is Jonas'. She LOVES the floatie and I'm so glad!

San Francisco

2011-05-22T22:58:00.000-05:00

2 days after Easter I found out my sister Nicole (my 2nd oldest sister, who's 4 years older than me) was in the hospital with liver failure and things did not look good. I found out late Tuesday night and by Wednesday morning decided I had to go see her. So I bought a plane ticket for the next day and took Jonas with me. My family was not sure she would survive. I have to admit I don't think the reality of how serious her condition was really fazed me. It was impossible to think of my sister not being here.

When I first visited her, she was very lethargic and out of it. It was hard to see her that way but I was glad that I had come to see her.

I stayed in San Francisco for about 1 week and stayed with my parents and Nicole's two sons while there. Nicole is doing a lot better now but the liver failure caused her kidneys to fail as well so she is on dialysis and has that procedure done 3x a week. My family is still praying for her and hoping for the best.

This trip marked the first time my parents had met Jonas so that was something to be happy about. I haven't seen my parents since last July either so it was nice to spend some time with them, even with the fears and anxiety over Nicole hanging over our heads. I'm just glad it was not the last time I will see her.

Jonas with Aunt Tessa

Jonas with Gma!

Family Photo! (You have got to love Ross' curly hair!)

And here is a picture of my sister. You can see how sick she is. That's the Bilirubin making her appear so yellow.

Love you Nicole and pray for your recovery!

Easter 2011

2011-05-22T22:40:00.000-05:00

WAY belated I know but life has been a bit crazy these last few weeks as you will find out from my posts.

Brian and I were super happy to have his parents here for Easter weekend!

We went to the Sci-Port and got this awesome photo with the galaxy. It reminds me that families are forever.

Sydney got this gorgeous Easter dress courtesy of Gma Tuck. LOVE this dress!

And here is a big family photo shoot on Easter Sunday!

Jonas' First and LOTS of pictures

2011-04-21T09:58:00.000-05:00

Wow! I know it's been a month since I posted! Sorry! I have been having a lot of sick kids around here lately! Poor Jonas and Sydney got a nasty cold and were coughing a lot which meant not very good nights of rest for us all and then Jonas developed bronchitis (again) and so we had to start him on breathing treatments again. He's feeling a lot better now but Sydney's cough has returned.

Even with being sick, I decided it was time this kid started solids! He's been driving me crazy with the still constant feeding every 2-3 hours! So, here is trying out the rice cereal. It was a big hit!

He also loved the applesauce and sweet potatoes we have given him.

Also this past month, we took Jonas for his first swim. He loved it! We just put him in the floatie and he was content!

Here are his 6-month shots.
Stats:
Length: 25.5-25.75 inches
Weight: 19.2 lbs
Milestones: He rakes in toys, brings everything to his month, can change toys from one hand to the other, can push himself up on his hands and knees and I think pull himself a little? He can also sit-up for a while on his own so this is the last set of month-old shots with the bumbo!

Anytime I take photos of Jonas, Sydney wants to jump in which is fine because I get these cute sibling shots:

Now for some Sydney madness. She cracks me up. Every day! Brian and I often debate who she gets her wackiness from. Sometimes, it just from trying to be like me:

Those are my boots. (Any PowerPuff Girl watchers? Him? Anyone?)

And then, she is "feeding" her baby. That's my nursing cover.

And Brian thought this little girl hiding out was cute.

We have bought some shirts for Jonas for the future, like 18-24 months size clothes and Sydney has to try them on. She has been wearing his future shirts and even a football sleeper. That's our tom girl.

As for Brian and me, Brian is enjoying his 4th week on the job at Schlumberger (prounounced schlum-ber-jay). He gets taken out to lunch about 1-2 times each week so lucky him! We're hoping that in 5 months he can get hired on permanently and get a pay raise.

For me, I took some of our tax refund and bought an independent course, Ordinary Differential Equations. It's one of the undergraduate math courses I didn't take as a Math Ed major but have decided I want to get a Master's in Applied Math and so I need it. I was hoping to get it done by September so it would count as credits I needed to get re-certified as a teacher but it's just not happening and I don't know when I will teach next. I'm hoping to have my master's before I have to go back to work and so I can teach at a college. But either way, since I'm no longer in Idaho, I will have a list of things to do to be certified in a different state so whatever! But I do want to aim to get my Master's by the time I am 30 or at least be close to finishing it!

I know I should probably focus on my kids and then my class but I also got happy news with my digital scrapbooking designing. I sell at two online stores and for one of them, I made the most sales in the first quarter! That was pretty cool. I had no idea where I was with my business and that gave me some hope. I'm hanging around a 28% profit margin now (which Brian tells me is good- my business adviser) so I'm trying to stick with it and see where it goes.

Good luck to everyone and Happy Easter!

Jonas 5 months

2011-03-15T11:24:00.000-05:00

Can you believe Jonas is 5 months now?! He's growing every day and learning new things all the time. He now weighs 18 lbs! He can laugh out loud- so cute! and he loves rolling over. His latest trick is grabbing his toes.

And I just love this picture of Sydney and Jonas together.

I have lots of fun pictures from Mardi Gras (they're clean, I promise:) ) to show as well.

And these are our friends the Wanstroms who came all the way from Idaho to see us! They are showing off only a FRACTION of the goods we caught: hundreds of beads ( I haven't counted, but I'm sure the number is not too far exaggerated), cups, candy and toys. Seriously, if you want some Mardi Gras beads, I could mail you some because I have not idea what I am going to do with all of them!

It was such a fun parade- one of the few things I missed about Louisiana (haha, because I sure didn't miss the mosquito population).

And now, this next part might be boring for you but I thought I would include the history behind Mardi Gras.

12 days after Christmas, on Twelfth Night or King's Day, kicks off the Mardi Gras season. Twelfth Night is a day to celebrate when the Wise Men came to see the Christ child. This is where the King Cake (often a large danish-like oblong ring cake, or a cinammon bread) originated from. Today a plastic baby is hidden inside the cake, representing the Christ child and whoever finds it is supposed to have good luck all year. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday and is 40 days before Passover. Fat Tuesday is a day of partying because the next day is Ash Wednesday. Catholics observe Ash Wednesday as a day to give up something for the next 40 days, Lent. These days officially end the Mardi Gras season. (If I'm a little off on some facts, pardon me, but that's the gist of it.)

Jonas 4 months, my birthday and rolling over

2011-02-24T09:50:00.002-06:00

Hey! The weather has been so nice here! I'm trying my best to enjoy it before summer hits and it's way too hot! Sydney has had a rough month with strep and then the flu but she is super energetic now and happy again. Jonas and I miraculously avoided contracting both of those illnesses and so I thank God and count my blessings.

On the 14th, Jonas turned 4 months old! Where has the time gone?
Stats:
Weight: 17.75 lbs
Length: 24.5 in
Head Circ: 17.5 in
More smiles, coos, rolls to side, holds head up really well, can hold hands in front of him and sleeps 6 hours at night!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! I had a great birthday. Brian made me cake, his mom came into town and watched the kids while Brian and I ate out and enjoyed a game of min-golf. Brian also got me the Kinect game, Your Shape Fitness Evolved and I was so sore the first couple of days- a good sore! I think it will definitely help me exercise more frequently.

And this was a few weeks ago but Sydney was so proud (and we were, too) that she put her socks AND shoes on all by herself. She is getting so smart :)

Monday, Jonas rolled over from his tummy to his back two times for Grandma Tuck. Then yesterday, he rolled over from his back to his tummy! Here are some pics (I of course have the video but need to shrink it before trying to upload it here).

Jonas is also sucking his lower lip at times. I told his Aunt Kymry he got that from her- you know, in the pre-existence an all or maybe it's genetic.

And Brian doesn't get much more attractive to me than when I see him with our kids:

Anyways, that's what has been going on with us over here!

I love...

2011-02-14T13:19:00.000-06:00

I love that Sydney asks "please stop" even when's she upset. As sad as it is, it is also cute that I am driving in the car and hear "please stop" to find Sydney has her hand up, feebly trying to tell the sun to stop shining in her eyes.
I love hearing Jonas laugh out loud. It's so stinking cute.
I love that Sydney LIKES to take naps. Most days, she is so easy to put down and can sometimes sleep 2, maybe 3, hours. So nice!
I love that Jonas is sleeping 6 hours in a row at night now, although, getting him down is sometimes the hardest part.
I love getting stuff for so cheap! I have a 20% off coupon from Parents magazine paired with Amazon discounts for Subscribe and Save and Amazon Mom, and I'm paying less than $17 for a pack of 140 diapers for Sydney. It's so fantastic! I love getting great deals!
I love digital scrapbooking. Brian will tell you I'm obsessed and he's right. I'm really delving deep into designing now and I love it! (http://meaganswordart.blogspot.com is where you can check out some of my stuff)
I love mt wonderful family! They bring so much happiness and joy in my life- they give me all te motivation I need to keep going. Love you!

Jonas' Blessing

2011-01-30T17:47:00.000-06:00

I know it's been 2 weeks- the expectations are that I already have this up! My sister wrote me on Facebook, "I should check out your blog for the blessing pics" and I felt suddenly ashamed that they were not up yet! So here are some of the main photos:

Getting dressed:

Grandma and Grandpa Tuck were able to be here for it which was great!

Our little cutie!

I'm thankful for...

2011-01-14T15:41:00.000-06:00

I'm thankful Brian has a full-time job right now. I know it's not easy for him as he struggles with his co-workers and boss from time to time but I'm thankful he sticks with it and does his best to have a positive attitude.
I'm thankful for olive oil. Jonas started getting some flakes on the top of his head- cradle cap! Sydney never got it and I didn't want it to spread on Jonas and get really bad! I want a clean record! I had just read that olive oil can help loosen the flakes. So I applied some on Jonas' head and got a cloth to gently scrub his flakes off. I'm thankful he didn't fuss.The flakes came off and his head has been clear for over a week now! Whew! Crisis averted!
I'm thankful Jonas did not cry when I trimmed his nail too close and made his finger bleed. Crying would have made me feel 10 times worse than I already did.
I'm SOOOOOO thankful for my grandparents and everything they do. Monday, Sydney had a fever and when it continued on to Tuesday, I knew she needed to get checked out. My angel grandmother went with me to a quick care so I would have help with two kiddos. She was SOOO helpful. Sydney was in a pretty good mood as we waited over an hour in the waiting room. At the very end, she had had enough but grandma stepped in to keep her entertained. After Sydney was tested and came back positive with strep, my grandmother drove me to Wal-Mart to get the prescription. Both kids had fallen asleep and so grandma drove around the parking lot for 40 minutes while I waited for the prescription to fill. I do not know how I would have done on that day if it weren't for grandma.
I'm grateful for my sister who comes home from a full and busy day of work and asks what she can do to help when she sees two crying kids on my lap. A sister who doesn't mind my daughter begging food from her at the dinner table. A sister who Sydney often calls "Mommy Drea".
I'm so thankful for a husband who gets up in the middle of the night with our toddler who has been waking up wailing at all hours of the night. A husband who reached into his pocket and gave money to a homeless man who approached him. Which money was a Christmas present to him.
I'm thankful for a daughter who loves me even when I lose my cool with her, or tell her she can't go outside.
I'm thankful for a son who, even though he was born pre-maturely, is healthy and growing well.

I know I am truly blessed.

Jonas 3 months

2011-01-14T15:22:00.000-06:00

Jonas turned 3 months today! He had a check-up and these were his stats:

Weight: 15 lbs 9.2 oz
Length: 23.5 in
Head Circ. : 17 in

How do these measure up to other kids? Well, he's average and that's all that matters! He's growing!

I wish I had thought to use these little foam numbers for 1st and 2nd month photos but you live you learn. But I will do them from now on!

Baby's First Christmas

2010-12-26T14:07:00.004-06:00

Merry Christmas from the Tucks

2010-12-26T14:07:00.003-06:00

Best wishes for a great new year filled with health, happiness and love.

Christmas morning

2010-12-26T14:06:00.003-06:00

Christmas morning, we set up the princess tunnels Gma Tuck got for Sydney and then had her tricycle Brian and I bought her in the living room. She loved it! She crawled through the tunnel, came out the house part and her eyes lit up to see the tricycle. It was fun. We took a video but it is really dark. Anyways, she had lots of fun and she had some presents from friends and family. She opened up Jonas' presents, too. Maybe in 2 years that will not be ok, but this year, Jonas didn't mind.Dad and Jonas chilling

Christmas with Grandma Tuck

2010-12-26T14:06:00.001-06:00

Grandma Tuck was able to visit which was wonderful even though it was only a couple of days and we were worried about Gpa Tuck who is feeling a lot better now. She enjoyed holding her grandson!

Sydney made off with a ton of loot. Spoiled little girl!

Brian is super excited about his Kinect. If you asked him what he wanted this year, he would reply this. I GUESS he was a good boy this year... haha, no, Brian has been wonderful this year! He's been working hard and now he is studying for the GRE and working collections at a drug screening supplies company.

Tree decorating

2010-12-26T14:05:00.003-06:00

This year, Sydney got to participate a lot more because she is growing and learning so much! One of her favorite things this year was decorating the Christmas tree. I would ask her, "Where do you want to put this one?" She would reply, "Right here!"

Alabama Pride

2010-12-26T14:05:00.001-06:00

Sydney just loved this Santa hat but it looks like she is showing team spirit!

Hang Tight

2010-12-26T14:04:00.001-06:00

I thought Jonas might be ready to be front-facing in the carrier. At least he was relaxed.

Look who has a new dress

2010-12-03T08:28:00.003-06:00

Look Who's Smiling

2010-12-03T08:23:00.001-06:00

Cookies, siblings and new glasses

2010-12-01T00:00:00.002-06:00

So I feel terrible that I didn't get any Thanksgiving day photos! And I didn't even have to cook! I did some baking but the big stuff other people took care of. I guess having a 1.5 month old to take care of is not an excuse...

But I did get some pictures of cookie decorating with Sydney. I spread the frosting on and I thought Sydney might pick up some sprinkles and drop them on but she quickly discovered a more efficient way...
Voila! Dump the whole cookie in!

Wait a few seconds...
And presto! Sprinkled cookie in no time flat!But we all know the best part is the frosting...

Yummy!

I wanted to show you some pictures of Jonas and Sydney. I love this one with Sydney's arm around Jonas.

Last, I wanted to show off my new glasses! What do you think?I've never had designer glasses and I love everything about them!

And bragspot moment: I read this comment by a student that I tutored on Tutor.com. I thought it was pretty funny: "This tutor was FABULOUS!!!! She really helped&encouraged me in my least favorite subject, (math)! KEEP HER!!!!!

Well, happy to say, I think my job is safe.

Sydney's Name Change

2010-11-21T20:22:00.001-06:00

Oh, and by the way, now if you ask Sydney what her name is, she will tell you it is Aurora (as in the princess in Sleeping Beauty). We are trying to fix this clear case of identity theft ASAP.

Jonas, the model

2010-11-21T15:49:00.004-06:00

A lady in our ward offered to take some pictures of Jonas. I absolutely love how they came out!

Sydney-isms

2010-11-21T15:37:00.002-06:00

Sydney is learning to say more and more things everyday- some good and some bad. Not like she is saying bad words just that her words are some times oozing with attitude. She has been super helpful and sweet when it comes to Jonas but she has been a handful when it comes to her own behavior. The bed time routine has become quite chaotic. She has always struggled to take naps for me but I know she really needs one. She gets so cranky in the afternoon and if she doesn't take a nap in the afternoon she will pass out at dinner time (around 5:30-6) like she did last week. One day, she had not had a nap and she went into her room and collapsed on her bed on her own. We were frantically looking for her for about 10 minutes before we discovered her half on and half off her bed, asleep. So, we're really trying to get her to take a nap. This is what happens:

Mom: Sydney, please go get in your bed. You need a nap.
Sydney: I don't want a nap, MAMA!

And that "MAMA" is the part dripping with attitude. So sad, most of the time when she calls me "Mama", she's angry with me and says it with that attitude.

On the lighter side...
Brian and I have become a conglomerate "Mommy-daddy!" when ever she needs something. She wants juice, "Mommy-daddy!" literally no break between the two words. When looking for something, she calls to it, "Piece, piece? Where are you? Piece?" when she was looking for a missing puzzle piece. The same applies for her shoes when she's looking for them.

And overall just saying more words in her favorite song. She started out only saying the end part of the lines that rhyme, like "once there was a snowman TALL, TALL, TALL! ....he melted SMALL, SMALL, SMALL!"

With the baby around she knows "wrap up" and she can say "Jonas" pretty well.

And she's learning to say "You're welcome!" more often as well. And of course, she knows what "nap" means.

Family Portrait Session

2010-11-19T11:13:00.005-06:00

Last Saturday, we went with my sister to a great location to get some family portraits for Christmas cards. My sister, brother-in-law and his mom got some great shots I thought. Which one do you like best?

Well, this one is not in the contending because as you can see, Sydney is not in the shot. This is when Sydney decided she was not part of our family. I guess I can't blame her- she fell asleep in the car on the way over and so we woke up her from her nap to try to take some pictures.

A mommy and baby shot- I know, he has his pacifier in, not ideal, but he was getting cranky.

#1- I don't really like Sydney's "get me out of here" look but the scenery was nice!
#2- I tweaked the colors on this one a bit, trying to get the bright glow from the background. Any photoshop pros know how to reduce that glare? (Wendy???)

#3- This one might actually be the same pose as before just at a different angle. we had two cameras going at once.

#4- Sydney has a huge grin but I like it!

And here are just some more fun shots from the shoot. This picture was actually taken by Sydney's cousin, Liam, which you'll see in the next pictures. I know! He's got talent for a not-even-four-year-old.
Sydney and Liam:

Look Alike

2010-11-09T21:01:00.002-06:00

I get so many comments that Sydney looks like Brian that I decided to do a side-by-side comparison of Sydney and a picture of me about the same age. What do you think?

Siblings

2010-11-07T20:31:00.003-06:00

Halloween

2010-11-07T20:15:00.004-06:00

Here are my belated Halloween photos:That's Sydney's cousin Liam in his Horton outfit. He loves elephants (which is an understatement). I love Sydney's puckered face. combined with the attennae I think it makes her look like Cindy Lou Who.As you can see, I dressed Jonas in the penguin costume Sydney wore her first Halloween. Still strange to me that we weren't even expecting him to be here for Halloween!

There's a purple Halloween butterfly in my hair, in case you were wondering.

Sydney, super-excited to "hold" Jonas.
I loved having Sydney be a lady bug this year. She was an adorable monkey last year but it was very gender-confusing. This year, there was no doubting she was an adorable girl dressed as a lady bug. She got so many compliments and was so polite as we trick-or-treated. She did not get the phrase down but she was sure to say "Thank you!" and "bye!" and even "excuse me" as she went by the other trick-or-treaters. The "excuse me" part would even come unprompted! I'm so happy with how she has picked up the habit of good manners.

Some Pictures of Jonas

2010-10-23T14:10:00.003-05:00

Our camera needs new batteries so we haven't had a chance to take pictures of Jonas since he got home Thursday but here are some faves from the past week:
That's a feeding tube going down his nose- poor guy!

This is from Sunday night- the first time I got to hold him.

We came in Monday to find him chilling in this "tanning bed" (for his slight jaundice).

And here I am holding him for the last time in the NICU before we brought him home!

Jonas saying a prayer of gratitude for being healthy enough to come home!

A Few Quirky Things to Remember...

2010-10-20T13:34:00.002-05:00

A few strange/humorous/interesting things happened surrounding Jonas' birth that I wanted to remember so I am writing down here:

After my grandmother decided my water had broke, she handed me a hand towel to stuff in my under wear so I had quite the padding as I walked into the hospital. I hoped no one would notice my huge, puffy pants.
Since my grandmother checked me in, a few nurses referred to her as my mother. I think that compliments Grandma. Way to go grandma!
When the anesthesiologist came in, he was stunned as he looked at my grandfather. My grandfather worked as an anesthesiologist for several years here in Shreveport and lots of the medical staff are aware of him. This doctor, Dr. Wheelhouse, stated that my grandfather was there on his first procedure. It's just fun how everyone treats my grandfather like a celebrity.
Then, while Dr. Wheelhouse was giving me my spinal block, I got a jolt to my butt. Luckily, the spinal block still worked :)
I felt like such a wimp, I was moaning more about how sore I was from them pushing on my stomach than I was about my contractions. I felt like I was going to throw-up but thankfully, I didn't.
The night after the C-section, my face started itching. I told the nurse I thought mosquitoes had bitten me all over my face (see, we have a mosquito problem at home and it is not uncommon for me to wake up with bites on my hands and face). The nurse asked me if I felt any bumps and I had to concede that there were none. She told me it was a reaction to the medicine and gave me Benadryl. I felt better after a few hours. I felt a little silly thinking that the hospital had a mosquito infestation.
I knew I was in Louisiana because of the very Southern- style meals I had. My Saturday lunch was a chicken and rice dish with okra (a nasty vegetable they like to add to stews here). Dinner was catfish (yum!) and every meal was served with iced tea. I definitely would not have been served iced tea in Rexburg!
And one last, embarassing moment. Brian went home for a few hours on Saturday so I tied my own gown on and went up to the NICU to visit Jonas. I had not tied it well and this I knew because I was holding it closed in the back but then I had to wash my hands. A nurse came by and say, "Woah, you are hanging out back here," She proceeded to help me tie it better. Whoops..

Jonas' Birth

2010-10-19T21:53:00.005-05:00

Hey all! Most of you know from Facebook that Tuckling #2 was born last Thursday. I wanted to give the full story here:

Well, first of all, my due date was November 6th. Sydney had come a week late and so I wasn't holding my breath that the little man would come before November 6th. I hoped he would come in October because that would mean only paying COBRA insurance for the month of October and not November too but whatever. Sydney was a C-section and I desperately wanted to try VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean) which my doctor was all for. I had an appt, last Tuesday (Oct 12th) and I was 1 cm. I was happy with that and thought, "Maybe he'll come in a couple of weeks, that would be great". I was also tested at this time for Group B Strep- which I did not think I would have.

Just so you know the timing, my sister Drea was planning on having a baby shower for me on Sat. Oct. 16th. Again, we all thought that I had more time.

Thursday I laid down for a nap. I was kind of in and out but do recall a few painful cramps while I was napping. I had had some in the past week which I knew was normal. (Oh, and by the way, on Oct 14th, I was 36 weeks 5 days). After I got up from the nap and gave the kiddos snacks (recall, I watch my niece and nephew along with Sydney), I leaked. I went and changed my pants and talked to Brian about it. I told him I thought I most likely just had some incontinence. He seriously stated that my water probably broke. But he seemed so calm. Then, I leaked again. This time, Brian went and got my grandmother. She asked how much I leaked and suggested we go see my doctor. I called my doctor's office and they told me to go to the hospital! I was shocked! so my grandmother took me to the hospital, I called my sister and she was on her way home to watch the kids and Brian packed our hospital bag (Two nights before Brian had suggested we pack our hospital bag and I laughed at him).

They gave me a room at the hospital but I had not pre-admitted myself (another lack of preparation piece on our part!) so my grandma admitted me while the nurse asked me 100 questions all about if I was abused at home, my nursing preferences, my drug and health history, etc. After my grandma got me admitted, they started monitoring me and I was having contractions. Jonas' heart rate however was at 180 steady- contraction or not. I got checked in at the hospital at about 4pm. At about 5:30 maybe, the doctor on call came in. What do you know, it wasn't the doctor that I had all my prenatal care with (same thing happened with Sydney). He did not want to try VBAC on me since he did not have a note from my doctor and he noticed the baby's heart rate was bad. Also, it turned out I was Group B strep positive. The doctor checked me and Jonas was really high and I was still 1 cm. Lying in bed, my contractions got to the point where they were 2 minutes apart and very painful. But the doctor was saying I was getting a C-section so I just bore with it for a while. Sometime after 6pm, I was getting a spinal block put in. Brian wasn't there to help me but I managed. Miraculously, when I sat up, I had no contractions through the whole spinal block procedure. Stupid bed.

Anyways, they start cutting into me and I can feel Jonas up by my ribs. The doctor said there was a lot of scar tissue. Then, the nurse and anesthesiologist were pushing on the top of my stomach. Turned out that Jonas was so high, the doctor could not reach him. They pushed so hard I was sore later on. I heard Jonas' cry and Brian and I looked at each other and smiled. It was such a sweet little cry. The first comment I heard from the doctor was, "He has a big head for a 36-week baby!". Turns out, Jonas Kirk Tuck was 7lbs 2 oz and 20.5 inches long. That is a good size for a pre-mature baby (which he is technically since he was more than 3 weeks early). They washed him off and Brian held him for a minute before they took him to the nursery and Brian stayed with me while they stitched me up. I was so sore from where they pushed on me, I was moaning. It ached! Because of all the scar tissue, the doctor used metal staples on me and I have to say they look pretty freaky.

Anyways, shortly after getting into the nursery, nurses noticed that Jonas was breathing fast, so he was admitted to the NICU. One nurse told me that was common and he would probably be there only 24-48 hours. He was breathing at about 100x per minute and the normal range is 30-60x per minute. Because they wanted to reduce his stress, I was not allowed to hold him. I was wheeled to him Friday morning and could only look on as Jonas had all kinds of wires strapped to him and a IV in his hand. I was told not to even touch him. That was kind of hard on me. He was not positive for Group B Strep so they were not really sure what was wrong with him.

By Sunday. I was discharged from the hospital and Sunday evening, Jonas' breathing had improved enough for me to hold him. Brian's parents came into town Saturday as well and got to hold him Sunday night, too. I started pumping Friday morning and sending my colostrum/milk to the NICU which he started receiving via feeding tube on Saturday. He is now bottle-feeding. They did an xray of his lungs this morning and discovered some pneumonia and so they are finishing up two more days of antibiotics and he should be home Thursday!

It has been hard but I have appreciated all the support I have here, Brian, my sister Andrea and her husband, my grandparents and Brian's parents. Thank you everyone for your well wishes and prayers.

PS- The name Jonas mainly came to us from the Weezer song "My Name is Jonas" but it means "a gift from God". Kirk is the name of Brian's late brother, who passed away 4 years ago.

And a huge shout-out to my husband Brian. He was so amazing! He packed things I had not thought of, he was so calm and collected through the whole thing which really helped me to stay calm. He helped me out in the hospital without complaint even when I was waking him up every 3 hours to help me pump. He helped me shower and put on my underwear, fetched me whatever juice I wanted, gave me full reign over the tv and countless other things. He even went home for a few hours and helped clean up our room so it was so beautiful and spotless when I got home! He was super amazing and I am so happy to have him for a husband. I don't know what I would have done without him. I love you babe!

Better pictures to come soon.

What I've been up to...

2010-10-10T18:33:00.006-05:00

Sorry no current pregnancy photo. I've been meaning to get a recent one taken but here is one from 2 weeks ago when I was 34 weeks along.

I am now 36 weeks along! I feel great! I can still wear my wedding ring and I have not developed carpal tunnel (yet, knock on wood) like I did with Sydney. I did a little photoshop playing around and from pictures, it seems that at 30 weeks with Sydney I was the same size as my 34 week photo you just saw. So, I definitely think I am doing better this time around. I'm gaining less weight and since I lost all the pregnancy weight related to Sydney, I hope to do the same this time. My goal is to be back at me pre-pregnancy weight by the time the baby is 6 months old. And if I did not have stomach issues this time around, that would be great, too!

Well, I just wanted to show off a little of what I do. On the side from watching my nephew and niece during the week, and tutoring some math occasionally, I also design digital scrapbooking kits. These are two kits I released last week.
Still not making amazing money with this but I hope to be getting my name out there and do better in the future.

And here are some of the recent digital layouts I did and really liked how they turned out.
Yep, Sydney's going to be a lady bug this Halloween!

You can't tell too well, but with these black and white photos, I selected out her blue eyes so actually her eyes are in color and everything else is black and white. If you enlarge the photo, you might might be able to tell better....

I am working on a Halloween wreath which I got the idea for from here: http://northridgemedia.net/blogs/create/departments/holidays/boo-wreath/

I'll show you a pic when I am done. It will not look anything like that example because I'm cheap and only bought 3 types of Halloween ribbon but it still looks cute I think.

Ok, done making my blog spot a brag spot.

Love,
Megs

Happy Birthday Sydney!

2010-10-03T22:23:00.004-05:00

We celebrated Sydney's 2nd birthday with a party yesterday. Brian's parents were able to come in from Alabama and we had my sister's family and our friend Christine's family so it was a blast! We went swimming first for an hour and then the party was right at Sydney's nap time so she was kind of quiet during the whole thing.

The beautiful cake Christine made:

Sydney with her pumpkin I helped her decorate. We got small pumpkins and stick-on faces.
Her dad got her this singing balloon. You tap the balloon and it sings to you about your birthday. Sydney got good at singing that song! She also referred to this day as "Happy Day!" all day long!

Sydney with Grandma Tuck.
Sydney thought that some of the cat whiskers from the pumpkin decorations would be better on her face.
Sydney with Grandpa Tuck.
She knew what to do when the lit candle was placed in front of her

The bow on top was made of marshmallow-based fondant and Sydney couldn't resist trying a bite!

Sydney with some of her loot. She loved all her presents. Thank you everyone!

Happy Birthday, sweet Sydney!

Tutoring Job Anyone?

2010-09-18T15:35:00.003-05:00

I've been meaning to post about this for a while. As many of you know, I work for Tutor.com. It's been almost 2 years and I love it. It is so flexible. You can schedule hours but I usually float and I get sessions easily. Sessions can last anywhere between 10 minutes and 1 hour so I can usually say, "Oh, I'll just get on for 40 minutes" and do a few sessions and get off.

The reason I bring it up is because they are looking for tutors specifically in these subjects:
Earth Science
Algebra 2
Biology
Geometry
Trigonometry
Physics

They all take English and other Math and Science subjects but the ones I listed are the ones they are really hurting for. You do not have to have a degree in the subject you want to tutor in. It does not even need to be an education degree. They just want you to be a college student or grad with a degree. You will take a test to make sure you are competent in the area you want to tutor in.

Pay: You get paid direct deposit as an Independent Contractor. E-mail me with questions about pay but here is the FAQ section on their site for those interested in tutoring. http://www.tutor.com/apply/tutoring-faq

Setting: Tutoring takes place in a web-based chat room with a whiteboard. Here you can type and draw messages to each other. You can use voice to do sessions but I prefer not to and that's ok.

Please forward this information to anyone you think might be interested. It has really helped for me to have a way to make a little extra income and have flexible hours. Obviously it slows down quite a bit during the summer months but I still got in a few hours a week then, too. Anyone interested can go to this webpage: http://www.tutor.com/apply/application-process
and please say that I referred you/them when applying. If you have any questions, let me know!

Zoo and other pics

2010-09-11T23:23:00.004-05:00

Last weekend we went to the zoo ("we" includes my sister and her family). I'm always glad when Sydney can get into places like these for free when she seems to uninterested in the exhibits. She would look at most of the animals but I was so surprised at how excited she was to see the penguins. Liam, her cousin, knows that penguins are my favorite, so when we play there are a lot of penguins and Sydney has been learning how to say it. It comes out more like "pen-yans!" but I get the idea. So, when she saw the penguins swimming at the zoo, we heard "pen-yans! pen-yans!". She was so excited!

And here is a pic of the "crowns" I occasionally make for Liam and Sydney. In case you are wondering what they are, we have a foam mat in the playroom, you know, the colorful squares, some with letters and numbers to take out. These strips are edging pieces so the edge of the mat is straight. The crowns don't stay together for long but Liam and Sydney like them.

And here is my little swimming diva. She is not shy about swimming anymore. In fact, she thinks she's a "pen-yan" and tries to leap out of my arms in the pool. I would get her floaties and let her go at it if it weren't for the fact that she has ear tubes in and is supposed to be wearing ear plugs in the pool. oooops.
We took Sydney to ride on the carousel and I was shocked at how much she enjoyed it because she has only freaked out on those quarter rides in malls.

And here are two videos of Sydney I wanted to share. The first is showing how good she is getting at animal sounds. I love it.

For this one, I blame my sister. My sister and her husband have introduced Sydney to the Queen song, "We Will Rock You". Well, we were sitting on the bed, reading scriptures together, when Sydney starts singing the chorus. I can't stop laughing. So of course, we got out the camera to video tape.

Photo Shoot

2010-09-05T23:23:00.004-05:00

I couldn't wait to post these pictures! I just took these today in our front yard (by our I mean my grandparents' house which I'm staying at) and Sydney actually kept this headband on for a little while which I think brought the cuteness factor up. Here are some of my faves:

And I had to show you this one of Sydney and me. It came out blurry but I used some Photoshop Magic to add some styles to it so that as Brian put it, "It looks like it's supposed to be blurry". I thought it gave it a nice touch.

Before:
After:

I have more but our camera needs batteries so the other stuff will have to wait for another day.

In other news, Brian has had 2 interviews with the local Best Buy so we're praying that he could get that. It might be only part-time in which case he would get another part-time job. In the mean time, he helps my grandparents out around the house, mowing the huge yard, assembling things and other random stuff.

Look at the countdown! I'm 9 weeks away! Yeah!

Life in Louisiana

2010-08-18T17:17:00.005-05:00

Hey all! Things have been going fine for Brian and me in Louisiana. Brian still hasn't had luck in finding a job but it's not for lack of trying. Brian and I will be celebrating our 5th anniversary this Friday! It's amazing how the times flies but we are still crazy about each other!First, we decided to get Sydney a toddler bed and give her a few months of trying to adjust to it before her baby brother stills it away. It's sturdy enough for Dad to join her when she gets restless about going to bed.

Sydney loves imitating her cousin Liam as he is learning the letters of the alphabet. I would like to think she really does know that Sydney starts with S.
Sydney likes playing pretend a lot like here she is as a cowgirl!And here she is as a super-hero!

Sydney is getting a lot better at singing and doing the motion to her favorite songs and this is our favorite to sing with her and have her fill-in the blanks with "Beam!"

And here I am at 28 weeks.

I'm feeling fine for the most part. I have trouble getting to sleep at night sometimes and it makes for a long day when I am watching Sydney plus Liam and Scarlett (my nephew and niece) but with Brian home, he often watches the kids while I catch up on the z's. Thanks honey!

Still no decision on the name but after the 3rd ultrasound, we are 100% certain it's a boy. (Don't worry about me jinxing it. If it turned out to be a girl anyways, I wouldn't be crushed :) )

Love to all!
Megs

Happy Birthday Brian!

2010-07-22T21:04:00.001-05:00

I am not amazing with cakes, so don't laugh! It was very moist and tasty though! Brian celebrated his 29th birthday earlier this month. We were able to get my sister Drea to watch Sydney while we went to a movie. It was nice!
Happy Birthday babe!

Visiting my cousin Paula

2010-07-22T21:02:00.001-05:00

While in Alabama to visit Brian's folks, we stopped by and visited my cousin Paula who had just had a little baby, Isabella. She is so precious!Paula and her husband John- who's a first-time daddy!

Williams Family Reunion- Part 3

2010-07-22T20:58:00.002-05:00

The sisters
The cousins
Happy 4th of July!
Kaylin and Liam
Little Scarlett

Williams Family Reunion- Part 2

2010-07-22T20:47:00.002-05:00

The cousins went boating with Grandpa Williams

Williams Family Reunion- Part 1

2010-07-22T20:38:00.003-05:00

First pics are of the family at Ralph and Cacoo's- a great southern style restaurant where you can get alligator appetizers (yes, real alligator) and excellent cajun cuisine.

My sister Drea and hubby Ian

My grandparents who are so kindly letting us invade their house.
My parents who were able to come up for a visit.
my sister Tessa who needless to say was having fun driving Brian nuts.

My Aunt Pam with her daughter Tricia
The whole gang

Stop in Salt Lake City

2010-07-22T20:33:00.002-05:00

Sydney enjoyed splashing in the reflection pool

Sydney instantly was pointing at the Christus (and was fascinated by the echo effect there). As Brian and I were talking about it later, we decided Sydney wanted probably to get up on the podium with Jesus and we thought, "She has it right: we want to be up "there" with Jesus."

Aunt Diane graciously let us stay at her place on our way through Salt Lake. It was a great, albeit too short!, visit. Thanks Aunt Diane!

Pictures from the move

2010-07-22T20:30:00.003-05:00

Sydney helping us pack:

My little cutie:

The can all loaded up:

The Move (sorry, no pictures yet)

2010-07-19T20:22:00.002-05:00

So I have a ton of pictures to show you but unfortunately I can't find the cord to upload them from our camera so no pictures just yet.

Our move went fine. Nothing got severely damaged and we were able to get our trailer here before we took off for Alabama/Georgia. When we got to Shreveport, my parents were waiting for us (my older sister Andrea and her family moved into my grandparents' house about 2 months before we did). It was a great family reunion with my sister Kymry and her family making it out for the weekend. We did some fireworks together and just generally hung out and had a great time! Oh and this was Sydney's first time meeting her great-grandparents on my side (my mother's parents).

Then, we had a week of being here in Louisiana before we headed to Alabama and Georgia for a family reunion where Sydney met her great-grandparents on Brian's side (his mother's parents). She had fun and the Tuck grandparents couldn't get enough of Sydney.

While in Alabama, I also stopped by and visited my cousin Paula who had a new baby just 5 days old. She was so precious. Made me excited for my little bundle coming soon.

Then we came back to Shreveport and really got to work organizing our stuff (well the really important stuff anyway). Our bedroom is squared away and Sydney has a toddler bed since the crib won't fit in our closet. Yes, I know that sounds cruel but Sydney sleeps in our closet because we're used to her having her own room and we have 1 bedroom in my grandparents' house. So those are the sleeping arrangements for now.

With most of our stuff squared away, Brian got to looking for jobs seriously today. He's going by an employment agency tomorrow so we're just crossing our fingers that something will come up soon.

Also starting today, I am watching my nephew and niece. It's nice for Sydney to have someone to play with and gives both a teaching moment for when Sydney is older and in the stage my nephew is in and also a reminder of what it's like to have an infant (my niece is 9 months old). So expect some funny stories from me about the adventures of these 3 kiddos.

Love to all. My number has changed. Sorry if I haven't given you the new number yet, it is not that I am trying to evade you. Just give me some time. Take care and I will post the pics as soon as a I can.

Ultrasound Pictures

2010-06-23T19:32:00.003-05:00

Sorry these are a little belated but Brian and I are were having some technical difficulties getting the pictures off the cd. Here's some pictures of our little guy.

A nice profile:

The proof it's a boy:

His feet:

Him grabbing his feet:

his hands:

IT'S A . . . . BOY

2010-06-22T08:24:00.003-05:00

There is no doubt about it folks the tuckling 2.0 is most definetly a baby boy. Meagan had a feeling and I was brashly projecting that it was a boy lacking any basis but we were right! Thanks for all of you who voted. Those of you who voted boy have won the right to tell those who voted girl, I told you so.

The first name of the child is yet to be determined but his middle name will be Kirk after my late brother. Meagan has ruled out James or Jim on account of star trek but I think it would be fun.

We have some good ultrasound pictures but haven't scanned them in yet we will keep you posted

Ultrasound Postponed

2010-06-18T16:53:00.000-05:00

I got a call today that the midwife that was going to do my ultrasound had 2 ladies in labor so the appointment got moved to Monday. So, I'll let you know then!

Surgery and Garage Sales

2010-06-13T11:01:00.005-05:00

First, I took these pictures earlier this week. I'm going to have to use them in some kind of Father's Day card.

Then, to stay in chronological order, we went to the duck pond on Monday. Sydney seemed to enjoy it. I was afraid she wanted to go jumping into the pond. She kind of got the hang of throwing the bread to the ducks instead of eating it herself. They shared the bread I guess.Sydney's surgery went well this past Thursday. We had to be there at 7am and by 7:30 when I had to leave for work she hadn't been put under yet. Brian told me later that when the nurses took her away he was so sad because she was reaching for him and calling, "Dad!". I'm kind of glad I didn't have to see that. But look how cute our little patient was:
Post surgery:When I got home from work that day, I was surprised to see her running around and being her usual cheerful self. She's been doing great.

I went down to Idaho Falls Saturday and with a friend hit some garage sales. I'm so glad I went with her because there was one garage sale right near her house that I wouldn't have known about and happened to be the best stop we hit that day. Here are just some of my favorite finds.
This purple dress is gorgeous! It's a little big, Size 4, but I couldn't pass it up.Here are the toys I got her. She loves Cars so I was excited to get this Mater for her in such good condition. Also, she can spend at least 20 minutes playing with the little pop-up toy. As I was pulling these toys away to take a picture (I didn't pull them from her as she was playing with them, I'm not mean) she's was shouting, "Mine! Mine! Mine!" I guess that "Mine-o-Saur" book from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library came just in time.

I love that I found these Sandra Boynton books in such great condition and for 25c each! Very excited!
I got Sydney a ton of bottoms for 2T and 3T but this was one of the cute shirts I got.
I really liked the colors of this outfit. I worried that it might be a little hot for Louisiana but it does get somewhat cold in the winter time so I'm sure I'll be able to use it.

Funny story: I also got an umbrella stroller for Sydney. I left it out in the car and told Brian about it. He gave me a quizzical look and asked to see it. He said, "Does it have an umbrella on it?" I explained to him that it looked like the toy one I got for Sydney just bigger. He then commented that it was a stupid name for a stroller. I agree. :)

A Few pics and Sydney's upcoming surgery

2010-06-03T14:42:00.003-05:00

Hey guys! Wow! The poll is going great and a ton of you think baby #2 is a girl! Brian had to come on the site and vote boy but it's not evening the odds. Funny though!
Here's a pic with our gracious hosts, Aunt JeNae and Uncle Denny. It was a great weekend and I'm glad they live so high up a mountain side because Sydney was escaping outside every time I turned around. She loved that she could open those doors.

Sydney is doing well but we took her to an ear,nose and throat doctor who recommended that we have ear tubes inserted. She will have this minor surgery next Thursday. I'm a little nervous but hope it will help with her pains- she gets tons of ear infections. She's a pretty happy camper right now.

I've been enjoying a week off from working. It's been so nice to just hang out with this little squirt.Check out the "curl-hawk". Totally natural. Not even joking.

The move is approaching! Oh my goodness! About 3 weeks now. Getting a little nervous but excited!

Boy or Girl?

2010-05-31T22:49:00.001-05:00

It's time to vote! I have my ultrasound scheduled for June 18th so you will notice the poll to the right here where you can vote for whether you think it is a boy or a girl! I'm so excited!

Brian and I went to Montana for the Memorial Day weekend so I will upload some photos soon and tell you about that tomorrow maybe!

That's Sydney for you....

2010-05-07T17:25:00.002-05:00

Just thought I would blog a few things that Sydney has done:

Today she was scooting on the floor backwards (like, army-crawling backwards) out of the kitchen with crackers in her hands. Maybe it was "stealth mode".
She is better at remembering to brush her teeth than we are. She pulls us in the bathroom saying, "tee! tee!" (aka teeth, because we always ask, "You want to brush your teeth?")
She can climb into her crib (the drop-gate is down, but it still counts!) but she can't climb out. She can climb up her changing table and can get down.
The barbies and dolls are stripped, and she also tries to be nude as well, very often.
She can say book, teeth, up, step, bite, shoes, juice, happy, no, sippy, blocks, and more that I can't think of right now.
Walks in our shoes whenever they are left out.
The other day Sydney was jumping off a chair into her dad's arms and she thought she would do it even without him there. Splat! She went face first into the carpet. She didn't think it was so fun anymore.
And for a few months now has been shaking her hand to the popcorn popping parts of the song.

Just thought you'd like to hear about our little Sydney and what she has been up to.

Due Date

2010-05-01T16:41:00.000-05:00

Oh! and a friend asked what my due date is. November 3rd! I'm in my 2nd trimester now, Yeah!!!

Belated Easter photos and Bear World

2010-05-01T16:14:00.005-05:00

Hey all! Brian and I have been having issues with our cameras lately. We took some cute videos of the egg hunt during Easter and when we got home, the computer gave us an error message when we tried the download the videos. It told us the file type was wrong. So those videos are lost. Then, my computer wouldn't recognize our regular camera and we had to download them onto Brian's laptop. But, anyways, we have worked around the technical kinks and now have these pics to share with you!Sydney has been getting very friendly with her dolls lately. They get lots of kisses.

Dad was able to find this car as he drove by somebody's house where they were cleaning out their garage. Great find Dad!

The family at Easter time. Those are my nephews Brendan and Ross, with my parents and my sister Tessa.
One last hug!
We enjoyed the warmer weather we had a few weeks ago by playing in our front yard some. Sydney loves piggy-back rides.
And when Dad throws her on his shoulders, she's over 7 feet tall!
Sydney has long since stopped sucking her thumb but I guess she decided her doll's fist was pretty tasty.

We went to Bear World luckily on a weekend when it was 50% off and kids under 3 are free all the time. (otherwise it costs $13 for 3 year-olds! Outrageous!) Sydney wasn't too interested in the bears we drove by but she loved the train ride at their little kiddie amusement park.

Our little bear.

We'd get Sydney to pet some of the animals in the petting zoo. Here she is braving to sneak a tap at a deer.

I got this shot quickly. She ran up, touched the pig and ran away.

And finally, Sydney our little hoodlum. No, we did not do this to her. That's what makes it funny. She did this to herself.

Sorry about all the pictures, I needed to catch-up!

Expecting

2010-04-08T19:57:00.002-05:00

That's right! Tuckling #2 is on its way! I thought I was only 8 weeks and a few days along but the ultrasound led the doctor to move my due date up 5 days. I hope this kiddo doesn't decide to be a week late like Sydney. I've been feeling pretty gross with the nausea and morning sickness- more so than I remember it with Sydney. I can't wait to be out of my 1st trimester.

I'll post Easter pics and videos later. It was a great trip despite me being sick. Post it later!

Park Play

2010-03-27T09:35:00.005-05:00

At the beginning of March I started selling digital scrapbooking templates, word art and kits at Stuff to Scrap (an online digi-scrapping store). Not many sales as of yet but I know it will take time. I felt that if I can get up to 300-400 downloads a day of the freebies I give away on my blog, maybe I could sell them! We'll see how it goes. My last post I mentioned I was addicted but the last two weeks I haven't felt much like digi-scrapping. It's sad. Work sucks. I have a little disrespectful, defiant "kid" that makes my job miserable. But I have only 9 more weeks. I can't wait.

Brian, Sydney and I are going to my parents' for Easter and I'm so excited! I'll be sure to post some pictures from that visit once I get back.
Sydney has been repeating words a lot lately and is loving being able to go outside now that it is warming up around here. We took her to the park a Sunday a couple of weeks ago, and she amazed me! We have never been able to get her to go down slides but she kept climbing up and we no persistence from us, would sit at the top of the slide and come down! It was awesome! She even went to the biggest slide at the playground and loved coming down! She even started coming down on her belly and would dive down the slide! Then, I took her about a week later and there were a ton of kids on the playground (before, it was deserted) and she just stared at them running by and didn't go down the slides : (

The medium slide she dives down

The Big One!

Sore, tired and addicted

2010-03-06T00:54:00.003-06:00

I haven't blogged in so long! It is so sad! Because if you look at my wordart blog, I make a post Monday-Friday every week! I keep up with my Creative Team assignments of about 6-8 digi-layouts a month (whew!) and make freebies as well as other digiscrap items. I'm addicted to digi-scrapping! I have some secrets to share but don't want to for a couple of weeks so just hang in there!

I went to Harriman Park on a school field trip with my fourth grade class. It was lots of fun! But I fell way too many times! The first 8 times or so I fell it was pretty fun (like the time I fell laughing because this girl went hysterical when she found out she lost one of her gloves. She said, "I'm going to die! My mom is going to kill me!" and was in tears. I couldn't help but tell her, "well, you better enjoy your last few hours and make them count!" and silently to myself, "And keep skiing!") but then I kept hitting my knees on the skis and it wasn't so fun then :( I have HUGE bruises on my knees. And I am so sore! They said we went about 4.7 miles. It was cross-country skiing but I got to do a little downhill skiing which was way fun! I wish skiing wasn't so expensive!

Brian and I are set on moving to Louisiana at the end of June. It couldn't come at a better time! I have one particular kid at work that just wears me so thin, it's disgusting. I think of myself as a patient person but someone who is so openly defiant and not even a teenager just drives me nuts. There are moments of fun and joy with the class but overall, I just know deep-down that it is not my calling in life to be an elementary school teacher.

On to happier news, Sydney's finger is healing so wonderfully! Brian and I got the ER bill and the insurance only paid $100 of it but then because he is a hospital employee we got a huge discount and wound up only paying about $150 for the visit and stitches. Sweet! Very helpful right now.

Sydney has been a little moody lately, I'll have to admit. Her appetite has dropped and she is constantly saying, "No! No! no!" I came home today and was kissing Brian and I got yelled at! "No!No!No!" I think she is getting a little over-protective of her dad and won't share!

But even with the mood swings, here are some cute pics (these were taken at a friend's house):

The funny, the sad and the ugly

2010-02-07T15:59:00.007-06:00

Here are some pics of Sydney wearing my snow boots:And one of Sydney wearing the vest from Grandma and Grandpa Williams. She loves wearing this vest!And then, pardon me for making my blogspot my BRAG-spot, but here are layouts I did using some pictures of Sydney helping me cook!

And then here is the picture of the sad and ugly this week:

Thursday night, Sydney was carrying around a glass bowl. She dropped it in our kitchen and I thought, "that doesn't sound normal". I looked over and saw the broken glass. As I was rushing to get to her, she reached down and cut her middle right finger on the glass. She let out a quick cry but then she was fine. I was not, I felt so sick seeing so much blood coming out of her finger. She would fuss and scream when Brian and I were trying to put pressure on her finger to get it to stop bleeding. We tried for about 45 minutes and then decided we needed to take her to the ER. She got 3 stitches. Poor girl! She hated when they numbed her hand but it was kind of funny watching her quizzical look as she studied her numb hand and tried to figure out what was wrong with it. Sydney hardly notices the stitches and we go back in after another week to get them removed. I'm relieved she is alright and I am being extra vigilant about the glass bowls and glasses now!

Photos

2010-02-02T21:28:00.002-06:00

Sorry, I'm not great about posting more frequently here.... we have some adorable videos but we haven't uploaded them to our computer yet. We have to download them and make them smaller... we'll work on that this week. Last night Sydney was up and down all night, rough night for Brian and me both.

Sydney:

- Sydney's 9th tooth is coming in- almost halfway there!
- Sydney really sounds like she is mimicking what we say, I thought I heard "nuh-uh" today and we've heard "uh-oh" as well.
- She just as nimble and climbing everywhere as always. We have a really cute video of her getting into my snow boots and walking around in them. But for now, here are these pics:

Life goes on....

2010-01-16T17:04:00.004-06:00

I felt like I haven't blogged in a while but there is not much to report.

- Brian still works at the hospital part-time stocking shelves. He is continuously looking for jobs online and we plan to move to Louisiana in June even if nothing turns up. We just have to get out of Idaho. We feel like we will have more luck elsewhere. I know June seems so far away now but I know it will be here before I know it.

- At least, I hope June is here before I know it! 4th grade is going OK. The kids are fine, they're cute, they like hugging you, writing notes to you about how much you rock, but in my juvenile detention mindset I just see it all as a plot. I hate teaching English but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. The drive has been ok, I mean I did drive to Idaho Falls everyday while I was student teaching but I had people I was carpooling with to make it a little interesting. I would like to carpool for gas costs but at the same time, I would have to leave my house earlier and 7:10 is early enough. I'll survive.

- Sydney is so silly. She is so bubbly all of the time and she has learned how to make the fish face. She cracks me up and she knows it. She is still babbling and I can't quite tell if there is actual meaning to what she is saying but we like to think she can say "stop" , "yeah" and possibly "drink". (That last one's Brian's thinking. I'm with you, there's no way she's saying that.) The 15-month check-up put Sydney's height at the 12%ile but my sister Drea (and I agree with her!) thinks that the office used the wrong gender chart and Sydney should be around the 25%ile. That's what I hope! One of my dreams for Sydney is that she will be taller than me! We've been really lucky, I don't think Sydney has been sick for quite a while now, so that's nice. She still only has 8 teeth (correction! I had put 6, it's 8) but she definitely knows how to use them!This silly girl! If I put her beanie on, it is usually off in 2 seconds. But if we leave it laying around the house, she'll try to put it on but I think she looks like a thug!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T23:00:00.004-06:00

First, here are some pictures of Sydney "helping" me put ornaments on the Christmas tree. Normally I put the Christmas tree up on Thanksgiving Day or soon after but I debated for a while about whether to put the tree up. I decided that we would just deal with Sydney pulling all of the ornaments off. She only pulled the tree down one time and that seemed to cure her pretty well. She would play with some ornaments but I think she couldn't figure out how to get them off. Some of the softer clay-like ornaments she found very tasty. She has very much seemed to digress recently as she is chewing on everything and biting! She bites my arm all the time and I don't understand why!

Brian and I stayed here in Idaho for Christmas. We were able to spend Christmas Eve with some friends which was very nice. Sydney opened up her present from Mom & Dad- mega blocks! She seemed to really enjoy them. She was daintily handing us one block at a time. The next day, we got on the web-camera so Grandma and Grandpa Tuck could see Sydney open the rest of her presents. We called all the family and were happy to wish everyone well.

Later, we spent some time with another set of friends who weren't able to go home for Christmas either. We ate so many snacks at their house we were too stuffed to cook the ham we bought for Christmas dinner! So, we really had our Christmas dinner tonight. I think all of us are just enjoying relaxing at home together.

This year sure has been crazy for Brian and me but we still feel quite blessed. We realize in every unpleasant circumstance that things could have been a lot worse and we recognize the hand of the Lord blessing and guiding us. We are thankful for families, temples and an inspired plan for our lives that puts everything in perspective. We realize that our most precious treasure on this earth is each other and we feel rich. Thank you for all of your support and love. God bless your family and may you have a happy new year.