Swing Set

Yay! The kids now have a swing set in the backyard! I felt guilty if I couldn't take them to the playground every day so this is great!

Easter at Grandma & Grandpa Tuck

I'm going to try to separate out the posts so they are not so long. I haven't had pictures for a while because our camera died. It would say "Memory Card Error" and we even got a new memory card with no luck. So Brian and I decided that it had been 7 years since we got the camera and newer cameras get way better resolution than ours did so we got a new one! Pictures once again! Yay!

First I wanted to show pictures of our Easter visit to Grandma and Grandpa Tuck's. The kids had a blast going to playgrounds, the mall and on an Easter egg hunt. We went out in the yard. I was surprised that Jonas got the idea down pretty well. His basket was too tall for him to hold so he would drag it along the ground and his eggs would spill out :) He didn't care! They had fun!

Airplane!

Sydney enjoyed playing with Grandma and Grandpa Tuck the most! It was a fun visit!

Camera Failure!

So I haven't posted recently because I don't have any pictures to post :( Our camera is saying there is an issue with the memory card and I just haven't gone out and bought a new one yet. Which really stinks because Sydney is having so much fun this week with her cousin Liam since it's his Spring Break and also with some friends of ours who have kids also on Spring Break. The friends are coming over three mornings this week and Liam is over each day and she is having lots of fun!

I took my Math final last week and am hoping to hear what I got by the end of this week. Biting my nails...

Sydney and Jonas keep learning and growing and Jonas is getting more independent and headstrong. This morning, he really wanted to go outside so when he couldn't get the door open, he gestured for me to lift him up so he could get my keys off the wall hook and then he tried to use the key on the door. Awwww!

Hope to have pictures soon!

Sydney's owie and Jonas' nods

I'm trying to post more frequently and shorter posts and we had some things happen this week so there's something to post :)

Wednesday I started watching a friend's 5-month old so that's fun for the kids to interact with a little baby. I'll only be watching the baby a couple hours 3 days a week but it's a little extra income and it's fun to have a friend over :) Jonas is very affectionate with the baby and wants to give him lots of kisses and love!

Wed night, Sydney slipped in the bath tub and busted her chin open. We got the bleeding to stop with some ice but the gash looked nasty. It's a lot better today but we're trying to be careful. It might leave a scar. Not a good picture...

But other things I wanted to tell you about Sydney are some of the cute positive comments she'll say. Like one day, after mopping the floors (which can be a tedious task with the kids and since the living room and dining room are all ceramic) she came in once it was clean and said, "Ooooh, it's clean! Thank you, Mom!"  I thought that was pretty sweet. And tonight, I asked her to eat the bread since I made it and later she took a bite and said, "Mmmmm. I like the bread, Mom!" Love hearing those things! Oh, and if any of my old roommates are reading this, I FIGURED OUT HOW TO MAKE BREAD. So I'm not trying to force my child to eat the rock-hard, burnt-bottoms, "rolls" you graciously ate when I made them in college. I figured it out several years ago and now eating my bread is a "treat". Just you so know.

And then here is a video of Jonas which is cute because a) he's stuffing his face with spaghetti and b) you get to see his enthusiastic neck-and-body nod. I love that he hasn't learned the dreaded word "no" yet, but instead has this adorable head nod.

Well, that's us this week!

Little Jonas, Sleepy Sydney

Hey! I don't have much to report this last week but just thought I would share some fun photos.

I think Sydney really wanted a little sister all along:

But don't worry, we have him wear a cute little white shirt to church!

I can't until he wears suits and ties to church without a fuss! The fun part of dressing up little boys!

Sometimes Sydney does take a nap. But not usually in her bed. This time it was at the lunch table. Notice the piece of meat on her chest?

This was also the funniest time she had fallen asleep. Every minute or so, she would suddenly pop her eyes open and smile at me. It made me think maybe she was pretending to be sleeping but I don't think she's that good of an actress! I finally put her in her bed and she took a little nap.

Then we finally got a tripod so that maybe we can take more family photos. Now if we could figure out how to get the timer setting to focus!

Dallas TX temple and other things...

I wrote that huge long post and it still didn't cover all my photos! I hadn't uploaded my photos in a while. Our camera is acting strange lately and I'm afraid it doesn't have much longer. I need a new camera soon! wah! Anyways, here are some other things to report:

Jonas kicked himself out of a shopping cart one Saturday a few weeks ago and got a nasty black eye. I couldn't tell if his pupils were uneven so I took him to the Quick Care. He checked out ok but he had a black eye for over a week. Poor little guy!

But it's healed up nicely! Look at this little cutie!

Sydney has started to climb trees! and I'll have to get a video of how proud Jonas acts when I put him up in the tree, too! It's so cute!

Video of Sydney climbing:

One night, Jonas was really wanting to help me cooks o I gave him a spoon and bowl and he was occupied until dinner was ready. Cute little chef!

And we went to the Dallas, TX temple yesterday. Now that the temple is 3 hours away, it's a lot more to go but it makes it that much more special. Brian and I took shifts watching the kids while the other one did a session. The kids loved walking around the temple and playing in the fountain. I have some pictures of them looking into the fountain but I just couldn't get good ones because I was worried about Jonas trying to take a bath more than getting a good shot!

And you'll notice the logo on these pictures by a budding photographer, Miss Sydney Tuck:

Anyways, that's our fun recently!

My Birthday

My Birthday this year was a blast! Seriously one of my best birthdays ever! Brian's parents came into town (it was also President's Day Weekend) and they watched the kids so Brian and I could have a date night Saturday night. We went to Red Lobster and watched "The Secret World of Arrietty". I really loved it. And earlier Saturday, I took the gift card my parents had got me and got my hair done! I got it cut and dyed! Love it! Theresa also bought me some new dresses. Love!

Then, Sunday afternoon was the Highland Mardi Gras Parade! I am kicking myself that I forgot to take my camera but it was a way fun parade! Love the interesting beads, my favorite: a pair with jazz instruments! Way cool! Plus got stocked up on plastic cups! Sydney loved the parade! She refers to it as "rade" though and I have to tell her we did not go to a "raid" we want to a "pa-rade". oh well.

Then, Sunday night Brian threw me a birthday party! It was lots of fun, my sister was there and so were our friends the Terrys. We had Kings Cake for my birthday cake. Can't beat that!

 Jonas found the cake yummy!

And I found the baby in the cake. Oh well, just will have to buy another delicious King's Cake!

Great birthday! Thank you everyone that made it great!

Where did February go...

When I don't post on this blog, it doesn't mean I haven't touched the computer in a month. Oh man, I'm so sorry I don't post updates more often. This is a summary of how we are all doing. I will do another special post about my birthday! :)

Not too much excitement. Hired some workers to patch up the ceiling where Brian put a hole. No more hole! Yeah! Ouch on the budget! Boo! I listened to some Dave Ramsey recently and I am COMMITTED! to sticking to a budget and getting our debts paid off. Goal: 2014 debt-free. No student loans, no car loans, no credit card loans. Free I tell you! We've adopted the envelope system. Hope it goes well!

Jonas is so sweet! He's started giving closed-mouth kisses and does a cute little smack noise! I haven't yet (knock on wood) heard him say "no" but it does such an energetic "yeah" nod. So cute! He's also getting the hang of hide-and-seek as we play around the house. He tries to sign "dad" by putting his thumb on top of his head (should be on his forehead) but I'm impressed that he has that idea down! He helps you dress him, and he can take off his shirt now. He is also so trained about bed time and nap time! He knows the routine and walks himself over to bed. Most nights, he doesn't cry, just goes to sleep. So nice! Jonas is getting so confident on the playground equipment, too!

Sydney has been watching the Leap Frog Letter Factory videos and is picking up on her letters fast! Sometimes, she gives you the sound though instead of the name of the letter but it's still a step in the right direction! Sydney practices writing an S and we hope that by the end of the year she can write her name. She sure knows what she wants and often tells me an alternative to what I have asked her to do. It can be trying but overall I know she is a sweet little girl and I love the way she sings "Follow the Prophet" as we are walking down the sidewalk. I think she'd make a great missionary companion!

And this is a layout I did ( I modified the picture to include the stripes) of Sydney to talk about her recent issue of coloring on the walls. It lasted about 2 weeks before she finally grasped that is was bad. Again, knock on wood, it's been several days but I have a stash of Magic erasers just in case....

Brian's work keeps trudging along. His company has cut back on some of their natural gas teams which meant job cuts for those workers but Brian's job was not in jeopardy. Relief! He continues to study for the second of five APECS exams and is looking into graduate school programs. He wouldn't stop working just do it at night or when he has "free time". But I'm supportive of him getting more education.

I (Meagan) am finishing up my math course! I have my final scheduled for March 20th and then I am done! With that course at least. It's 1 of 4 pre-requisites I need to get into the grad program for Applied Math at Texas A&M. I'm not sure when I will be able to take the other 3 as we just don't have extra money for education right now. But maybe when we get our debt paid off, my digital scrapbooking business profit can go to it. My business is going really well and I even had to file it on my taxes for this last year so it's growing! and I couldn't be more thrilled. I teach the 4-6 yr olds at church and I am finding the age group fun to work with. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't like to teach 20 of them 5 days a week but for Sunday for 1 hour, it's fun. Next post, my birthday!

Family Visits and Hole in the Ceiling

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!

Sorry about the digi-scrapping post!

Videos with some links...

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

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