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News Flash!

First, Isaac is walking! Really walking, not just taking a few steps and then resorting to his knees. He prefers to walk at this point and after falling (which does still happen often since he looks like a little deer learning to walk) he will get up and try again! Such a big boy, my little one.

Second, Layla is doing well in school and has been having spelling words like evaporation and September. She is growing up too fast. She loves to learn, which makes life easier for us! Last night she read "May I have a cookie please?" all by herself!

Third, I am starting an online only degree program in January and am totally excited about it! I haven't really told anyone yet, well a few, but wanted to wait until I had it figured out. Well, it's figured and I am set on go... to the computer... which will save on gas and will allow me to continue my life at home and work without much adjustment. (If you are wondering, it is through the University System of Georgia, so it is accredited and legit.)

That is the good news in the Tucker household this week... we'll see what next week has in store!

Grandmothers and Rockstars

My mother decided to get her upper earlobe pierced, yes, at "almost 50" as she would say, even though she is barely over 40! And, as shocked as I was, she did it as a "memorable moment" during this time of unsettlment and change in her life (divorce) and I understand her decision. I mean, come on, it could have been a lot worse! (I refuse to think about those options...) Anyways, the funny thing about it all is that a few days after she did it, I was painting Layla's toenails as she was sitting on the bathroom counter. I looked up at her, and realized that I had not told her of Mamaw's new earring. So, I went for it... "Layla, Mamaw got her ear pierced." And she looks at me like I am so behind on times and said, "Mom, Mamaw always wears earrings." Oh, I guess I forgot to specify, so I pointed to the top of my ear and said "No, right here... another earring!" You would have thought that I had just shaved my head or something! Her eyes were big as saucers and her mouth was wide open as she threw her hand across her mouth in shock! And then, after she could speak, she said, "MY MAMAW IS NOT A ROCKSTAR! ONLY ROCKSTARS HAVE THOSE EARRINGS! OH MY GOSH, I HAVE TO TELL MY FRIENDS THAT MY MAMAW GOT ONE OF THOSE EARRINGS AND SHE ISN'T A ROCKSTAR!!!!" I laughed and laughed and laughed.... thinking in my mind that I couldn't wait to tell my Mom that!

Of course, if anyone knows my Mom, knows that she laughed about it, and was not hurt or upset by Layla's witty comments! Thankfully... which makes me think about other things that Layla has said which strike me as funny, especially coming our of my daughter.... so, here are some memories...

When Layla was about 3 years old she was reading a book about Dinosaurs. It was quiet in the living room, I was reading and David was doing schoolwork. And Layla says, "Do dinosaurs have coochies?" Oh my gosh........ what do you say? First of all, she MUST have heard that word from preschool.... Second, why would she even think of that?........ Third, how do you even attempt to answer? I remember looking at David and hoping that he could come up with something that would appease her without getting into anything sticky, and putting an end to questions like that!

Then, last summer she was in the pool floating on a raft with Mamaw and looked up, which happened to be Mom's armpit... and exclaimed, "Mamaw, you have pit fur!" (Sorry Mom... and for everyone else, at Mom's request, she does shave under her arms regularly and must have missed one stray hair... or so the story goes!) Oh my... where does the child come up with this stuff? Yes, she is obsessed with arm pit hair and shaving it! She frequently checks, and requests that I check her armpits for hair and she is only 6! Oh my... She has even requested that her Daddy shave his armpits because she thinks that hair is so gross! (Just for the record, I hide the razors, and quite frequently assure her that she does not have hair growing under her arms!)

The day after I had Isaac, Layla came to visit me at the hospital. That afternoon Isaac started fussing and I told my sister to hand him to me so that I could feed him. Well, Layla hops up on the hospital bed. She was the new big sister and wanted to help with everything. Since it was only Layla, Mom, and Stacey in the room, I proceeded to start to prepare to breastfeed Isaac. Her little eyes popped out and she said "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I looked at her, knowing that I had already talked to her about breastfeeding while I was pregnant to prepare her, and said "I'm going to feed your brother." She said, still with her eyes popping out, "LIKE THAT?" I said, "Yes, remember I told you about feeding Isaac and that Mommy has milk?" (At this point, I am trying not to laugh.) And she says, "MOM!!!!!! YOU ARE LIKE A COW!!!!!!!!" At this point, we were all laughing so hard.... so much for preparing her for nine months as to how her sibling would eat!

For now that is all that I can remember, although I know there are plenty more! The child just comes up with stuff.... she must get it from her Daddy!

Fall in the air....

Fall? The weather seems cooler, a few leaves are yellow, and I'm ready for fall! (Yes Mom, I know you have been saying that fall is here since July...)

Here are a few pictures to prove it!

...so adorable... with his two-toothy grin....

..."clapping" with pine cones....

Moments...

Moments... snapshots of memories... time moving so quickly... "blinks" in life... to cherish forever.

...dancing...

...riding her bike....

...so happy... with so much love for his mommy.... ...exploring the yard together....
...so proud she can ride without training wheels...
(and yes, if you look closely under her arm, you can see her little pink bra... don't tell her!)
...so intent on eating something....
....sibling love....

(and a milk belly sticking out!)

Tiny Steps....

Isaac can walk! No, he will not walk on command, or at times that would be opportune... but he can, in fact, move those two tiny feet and skinny legs in a walking motion. I had to get it on video to prove it!

I know it will not be long and I will scorn myself for wishing he could walk... but I cannot seem to help myself! David even made the comment that it is time that he walk, but he is too lazy. I'm not sure that lazy is a word that would be used to describe Isaac because he is a super active little boy, but so far, walking is just not his forte.

Hope you enjoy the following video, and that you do not get a neck cramp because I cannot figure out how to rotate it! (I'm still trying...)

Picture Perfect!

It was picture day at Layla's school last week, and she was determined to wear her "new" shoes that day. I must explain about the shoes. We were in Beall's Outlet one day and she declared that she found something she had to have. Trying to be patient, I asked her what shoes, at which point she exclaimed how they were so adorable and she HAD to have them. If you know Layla, and her dramatic expressions, it was one for the record! At this point, I'm tired after a long day of work and my patience is wearing thin. She produces a shoe box from around the corner and my eyes bulge. In this box is a pair of ballet slipper type dress shoes, which doesn't sound too bad, except that they were hairy, zebra patterned shoes! My mouth opened to say "NO! What are you thinking?!?!", but I saw the look on her face. I looked closer at them, showing her my interest, as she says "Mom, don't you love them?" Thankfully, on my second glance, after determining that they were in fact her size, I saw the dot. If you shop at Beall's you know that dots mean clearance, and this dot was 95% off! I decided to make a deal, and this is what I said, "Layla, if you PROMISE to NEVER wear these SHOES outside of the HOUSE, you can get them. But, you MUST understand, you CANNOT wear them anywhere!"

After getting home and getting children ready for bed, Layla picked out her clothes for school that day - it was the day before school started when the "shoes" were purchased! David was not home, so I decided that he could go through some of what I did. (snicker) I carefully placed her clothes, two chosen outfits for Daddy to ultimately decide, on my bed with those shoes placed out to the side. Upon arriving home, I asked him to decide which outfit for Layla. His expression was priceless! (And then I explained the deal....)

These shoes have been worn around the house ever since. But, the night before picture day, she wants to wear them! (I secretly think she had this plan all along!) So, still working on my patience, I give in! Of course, my mind is also thinking, school pictures are only from the torso up, so I don't have a problem. We, again, picked out two outfits for David to choose, and he agreed with me to just let her wear the shoes. Well, she was thrilled the next morning when she put them on. She couldn't wait to show them off....

When I got home from work that day, I asked her how her pictures went. She said they were great and that she had a good day. And then, giving me a dramatic look, she exclaims, "My feet were killing me!" I haven't seen those shoes on her little feet since then....

First Birthday!

A year of bottles, diapers, sleepless nights, spit up and pacifiers... 365 days seem so long, but so short. It feels like yesterday we woke up early to drive to the hospital to "get him out" as Layla would say. The day of his birth went great, no drama, no emergencies... oh wait, how could I forget that David had to lay down on the floor because he looked at the epidural needle and almost fell out? How could I forget when the nurse came in to "check" me and told my visitors that they didn't need to leave? I'm laughing as I type this... realizing that it was one of the best days of my life, the joy and wonder of bringing a baby into the world after 9 long months.


Isaac was born at 4:34 pm on September 4, 2007, weighing a healthy 7lbs. 4oz. He was so tiny compared to his big sister who weighed a pound larger when she was born! During the 9 months of carrying him, I constantly rubbed my tummy and said "You are going to be my sweet, cuddly boy... Mommy's boy!" It must have worked! First, we found out he was a boy... and then he was so snuggly.... and now he is "attached" to Mommy! I love it! Every minute of it, even when David complains. Layla loved her Daddy from the first minute she took a breathe of air, I carried her for 9 months, but she loved him!


Overall, Isaac is one of the best babies that I have ever known. I know, I'm biased, but ask someone else! He is on a schedule, he eats anything (sometimes this can be bad), he has slept through the night since about 2 months, he cuddles, he smiles, he giggles at everything and most importantly he is mine.


We had a party for him on Saturday with a Sesame Street theme. He woke up feeling yucky, wanted his Mommy all day and was extremely sleepy and sensitive. But, he enjoyed his party, he got lots of wonderful presents from people who love him, and passed out as soon as everyone left.


A few highlights from the day...

Mr. Birthday Boy's own cake to destroy!

What a cute face... all covered in icing... getting clean!

(and no, if you know me, he didn't last long like this before getting cleaned up)

A tired, sick boy... too tired for presents...

Mommy and his guests had to help him open presents,

and he seemed more interested in cards!

Overall, we had a great day! A wonderful celebration of our son's first year of life! He truly is a special boy.... Happy Birthday, Isaac!

A special thanks to everyone that helped us celebrate... thanks for enjoying the day with us, thanks for the wonderful presents, and thanks for loving our son too!

For pictures of his birthday cakes... check out my cake blog at www.sprinklesoffun.blogspot.com!