School....

I can't believe that Layla starts First Grade this year! It is amazing... my little girl.... growing up! It didn't hit me, we've been through Pre-K and Kindergarten, but this is a "Grade"! It hit me... today, sitting in my chair at work... my little girl is a big girl now. And, I started thinking back to her previous years in "school"...

In Pre-K, she adored her teacher, loved her school, and her daddy was right down the hall! She had no fears, she ruled the high school. We still frequently go places and people (not just kids) are waving at her and know her name! She knows all the teachers, they all know her... Her first "parent-teacher conference", which is required for all students, I attended because David was busy. Well, her teacher informed me that she was doing great in everything, and they were studying the family unit in social studies. I said "okay", and her teacher - petite, soft spoken woman - says "She really wants a baby brother!" Then later I found out that on the field trip to the zoo (unfortunately I was at the hospital with my grandfather) she informed her chaperone and teacher that her and her mommy really wanted a brother, but daddy said no. However, she thought that her and her mommy were winning!!! (I guess we did!)

In kindergarten, I nervously walked her to her class on the first day of school! She didn't cry, I did! Then, on the second day of school, parents may not walk in. So, I dropped her off in the circle drive, crying... I dropped her off 15 minutes early so that she had time to find her class and arrive safely if she happened to get lost. That afternoon, I asked her how school went. She said that it was great, but she was late! I, shocked, exclaimed that there was no way she was truly late. So, I asked her... where did you go when I dropped you off? Her reply, to get breakfast! (Which I had told her earlier to go straight to her classroom!) I replied that she had already eaten breakfast at home. Her reply "But MOM, they had donuts and they were GREAT!" Every morning after that I had to remind her that she was to go straight to the classroom and being late because of donuts was not a very good reason.

Who knows what first grade has in store for us... I'll keep you posted!

Photography...

So, I'm trying to capture the small things...

and Layla is in Williston, so I can't try on her (yet!).

Here's what I've done so far!

A belly button...

Two little "Chiclet" teeth... on a sad/mad face!

Okay, let me explain...... I know the above face looks like I'm a horrible mother for taking a picture instead of comforting my child! In reality, when you say "NO" to Isaac, this is the face that he makes. He sticks out his bottom lip, showing his teeth, and squeezes his eyes closed! He doesn't cry, he doesn't whine... just a quick facial expression like this... and then the moment is over! I wanted to capture that forever... not just the smiles and giggles, but the funny things he did too! And this just happened to be one that I loved! I finally captured it at the exact moment he did it... because once he saw the flash, he would grin! (Yes, I like to take a lot of pictures of him, and he knows what a flash is, and that means to smile!!!)

~Jenn~

PS) I wish Layla would hurry home... I'm missing her so much!

Siblings...

Just a few pictures... old and new that I was looking at and comparing!

My two little darlings...

Layla
Isaac

One tooth.... Two teeth!

It's official... my baby boy has two teeth shining proudly on the bottom gum of his adorable smiley mouth! He is growing up... faster and faster!

It reality it seems silly to blog about little daily happenings (new teeth, ordering food), but isn't that what life is made up with? Little steps, little achievements, little milestones that make up our lives. So, in addition to the teeth, here are some other new happenings this week!

1. Isaac can now scale the couch! I don't mean just pulling up and then sliding down. I mean completely climbing up the couch, all the way to the back of the couch, and then smiling and laughing proudly before returning down the way he came. (A heart attack over and over for me!)

2. Layla read a book today! Yes, it took forever and patience wore thin after forgetting the word "now" fifty-thousand times... but she did indeed read a book! *She's been reading smaller books for a while, but this was a BOOK!

3. Isaac said "Ma-Ma" in Wal-Mart, proudly at the cashier's station! Yes, he wanted me to hold him and give him a bottle, so he screamed "Ma-Ma" over the chaos of Wal-Mart to get my attention! (but hey, I'll take what I can get!) And yes, David was in attendance and agreed with me that it wasn't a mumble it was "Ma-Ma"!

4. We took Layla school clothes shopping, which is a feat of its own! She now has opinions about what is cool and hip and what she would never wear, etc! It's unreal how short shorts are now, and how skimpy the shirts are!

5. Isaac and Layla and I had the joy of seeing WallE this weekend with Stacey and Hunter. The joy was in Isaac, not necessarily the movie, which was not as good as we thought it would be! But Isaac kept us entertained throughout the movie! He had some little snacks in a small cup and wanting to be a big boy, kept reaching in with his hand and getting one out! (His left hand I might add, which makes his Daddy proud because he wants a left-handed baseball player!) Anyways, he ran out of snacks, but continued to reach into the cup, take out a "snack", chew it, and swallow it while watching the movie! We laughed so hard at that... make believe snacks. (If we all could do that and be satisfied, we might lose some weight! LOL)

So, that's the Tucker week in rewind, or at least the kid highlights!

Little Feet

Since my last post was about Layla, to be fair...

Isaac is ten months old now. He is crawling everywhere, and not just the army crawl anymore. He can pull up on everything and go from the table to couch (still holding on though). I'm sure we are not far away from walking at this point! He finally got a tooth too! And another one is peeking through the skin. His little feet have finally started growing to catch up with his body... he wore a size 1 shoe until 9 months old, and now has graduated to a size 2, and sometimes size 3! David has big plans for the little man, so I'm hoping he grows strong and big one day! Yesterday, he kept showing him how to do the "Heisman"! LOL Isaac just looked at him like he was crazy! Those little feet must grow, he has big shoes to fill! I'm so thankfully that he's still a Momma's boy for now, and loves to snuggle and hug! And, although he loves his Momma, he won't say it! He can, and has, but refuses to utter those simple syllables that make my heart swell. He prefers to torment me with saying "Da-da" and "Lay-la" all the time!

Hoping everyone is well,
Jenn

Layla Grace

Our daughter turned six... When she went to kindergarten I was very excited, such a big step. Now that she has passed the five mark, and is going into first grade, I feel like she has grown up. She isn't my little girl anymore, now she's a big girl. We celebrated her birthday on Saturday, even though her birthday was on Sunday, and her words were "This is my bestest birthday ever!" The words that make you so proud, you accomplished it... you made her day!

Then today, I took her to lunch, just the two of us. On the way to the restaurant she informed me that I was not to order for her, that she could do it on her own! She had everything planned out... she wanted a cheeseburger, ketchup only, fries and a water to drink. And then, she wasn't just talk, she actually ordered!!!! I felt like crying as the waiter stood there looking at me, expecting me to order my food.

My baby has grown up! She is unbelievably six!

(wiping the tears away)
Jenn