Logan is 3!

My sweet Logan is 3 years old!  He is looking so grown up and is such a cutie!

Logan is energetic, sweet, and loving.  It is amazing to see the changes over the past three years.  We are so proud of the big boy he is becoming!

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So many changes have happened between ages 2 and 3.  Logan is much more independent, and he is even sometimes helpful around the house when asked.  I love having conversations with him about his day or how he feels or what he sees.  Having and playing with friends has become important to Logan over the past year, and he talks about his friends at school and church regularly.  His best friend is his cousin Kaylie and he reminds me of that almost daily!

Logan can pick out all of the letters when printed, and his favorite letter to find is L for Logan. He can spell his name, too! He knows all of his colors, almost every animal, and the types of all construction equipment and transportation vehicles. He can count well into the teen numbers, and he loves to do a countdown backwards from 10 and then give a big "blastoff" as we are backing out of the driveway. He has fairly good manners saying please and thank you frequently and asks to be excused from table when finisheds eating. We think he is so smart and are grateful for his wonderful teachers at school.

Logan understands that there are rules.  He certainly does not always follow them but he understands they exist!  Disciplining a 3 year old is a difficult and often frustrating process, but we work through this daily.  Logan is the most well-behaved when he is home with just Brian, Grayson, and me.  He gets really wound up when there are a lot of people around and likes to be the center of attention.

Logan wears mostly size 4T clothes and size 10 and 11 shoes.  We learned at his check-up that he is 3 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 42 pounds.  I have noticed that he has lost most of his "baby fat" and is looking so much more mature!  He is still a little boy, but you can see glimpses of the preschooler that he is becoming.

Logan is very loving and wants everyone around him to be happy!  He give lots of hugs to those he loves and other children he is around.  If he does something he is not supposed to and can tell I am upset, he will stop what he is doing and say, "Be happy, Mommy."  Honestly, the best way that I have found to encourage behavior modification is to show my frustration/anger with him when he does something he is not supposed to do.  He really has the sweetest heart and does not want to upset his Mommy most of the time!

A big change in Logan's life happened a month ago when he became a big brother to Grayson.  I think Logan has adjusted very well.  He always wants to know what Grayson is doing, and he gives him hugs and kisses all the time!  He has learned that he cannot be rough with Grayson and does a good job of being gentle.  Logan does not like for Grayson to cry or be upset, and he gives me updates of what he is doing in the car (which is mostly sleeping!).  I am so proud of the transition he has made to being a big brother.

We had almost a week of celebrations starting with his birthday on July 8 where we went to Gibson's donuts for breakfast.

That evening, we met his cousins Graham and Kaylie (+ Aunt Holly, Uncle Jason, Mimi and PawPaw) at the Collierville Sprinkler Park for a picnic and cupcakes.

On Tuesday, July 9, Logan had his party at school with more cupcakes.

Then on Saturday, July 13, he had his birthday party at our house.  Here are a lot of pictures from the party.  It was a great day!

We are so thankful to our friends and family for helping us celebrate our favorite 3 year old.  We love him so much and are so blessed to have him as our son!

Check-Ups: Grayson 2 weeks & Logan 3 years

On Tuesday, June 25, I took both boys for their check-ups.  Logan's was a couple of weeks early, but we decided to take them together.  Both of our boys are healthy and thriving, and we are so blessed!

I could tell that Grayson was growing, and I felt like he would be at least back up to his birth weight of 9 lbs., 7 oz. at his 2 week check-up.  The check-up was actually a day early, and he weighed 10 lbs., 3 oz.  I was not surprised- Grayson loves to eat!  His weight was in the 92nd percentile, and his height of 21.25 inches (1/4 inch less than hospital measurement- go figure!) was in the 84th percentile.

Sweet Grayson at 2 weeks old

Grayson's first two weeks of life have been great!  He eats every 2 1/2-3 hours around the clock, and he sleeps most of the time when he is not eating.  He will not sleep in his bed for very long, and we are trying to figure out ways to make that happen very soon.  Grayson must be used to his big brother's loudness because it does not phase him at all when he is asleep or awake for that matter.  We love him so very much, and he is the perfect addition to our family.

My precious boys ready for bed. Logan is such a good big brother!

Logan's 3 year check-up went just as well!  He was 3 feet, 5 inches tall and weighed almost 42 pounds.  Such a big boy! His growth in height and weight has held steadily off the growth charts at greater than the 97th percentile since his 2 month check-up and this was no exception.  Dr. S asked Logan all about his upcoming birthday party, and he was impressed with Logan's conversation ability and speech clarity.  I told him that Logan talks constantly, and Logan certainly showed that skill.  I was so proud of how Logan sat still and let Dr. S examine him completely and carried on a conversation without any fuss.  He was such a big boy!

Logan ready to head to the Germantown fireworks on July 4th!

We knew our boys were healthy and doing well, but it is always good to get confirmation from your doctor.  We are so blessed and thankful to have such sweet boys!

Welcome Grayson Michael Tucker, June 12, 2013

Grayson is here!  He arrived on Wednesday, June 12 just as scheduled.  We arrived at the hospital at 5 a.m., got back to our room by 5:45 a.m., and he made his entrance at 1:32 p.m. Labor the second time around was much faster, and the really hard work took less than 30 minutes this time.  This Mommy was very grateful!  I was having contractions on my own when we got to the hospital, so that may have helped speed the process along.  Either way, we were so excited to see this sweet boy!

Ready to meet sweet Grayson! I knew he would be BIG!

Proud Daddy waiting to get back to our room

Ready to meet our sweet boy!

Grayson weighed 9 pounds and 7 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches long.  I was shocked that he was bigger than his brother Logan who weighed 9 pounds! The doctor and ultrasound for weight estimation have been off by almost 2 pounds both times.  Logan was estimated at 7 pounds, and Grayson at 7 pounds and 10 ounces.  My doctor said I must hide part of the babies somewhere!

Grayson is here! 9 pounds, 7 ounces & 21 1/2 inches long and born at 1:32 p.m. Such a big, sweet, healthy boy!

So happy to hold my baby!  I actually let people take pictures this time since it was a shorter labor.

Our newest addition

Big brother Logan meeting Grayson for the first time

Logan wanted to hold him on the 2nd day- so sweet! We are very blessed.

Such a precious baby

In his "going home" bubble

Taking our baby home!

Big brother couldn't wait to hold him again!

Our family of FOUR!

Grayson had lots of visitors in the hospital and since we have been home. We are so very blessed to have lots of family and friends who love us!  We are adjusting well to being a family of four and are so happy to have welcomed Grayson into our family.  He is truly a blessing!

Preparing for Grayson

Grayson should be here in the next two weeks, and we are so excited!  We have the nursery almost finished,  the baby clothes are washed, the bottles are clean and stored, the carseat is installed, and the hospital bag is halfway packed.  I hope to get the bag completed this weekend!

On Sunday, May 5, my dear friend Meredith McKee hosted a "Sprinkle" for Grayson!  Meredith is one of the most creative people I know, and everything had a dessert/sprinkle theme as you will see from the pictures.  We were able to get some necessities like diapers, wipes, burp cloths, clothes, and more.  It was so much fun, and I really appreciate Meredith hosting it!

Meredith and me- thanks again for hosting such a fun "sprinkle!"

About 33 weeks along

Meredith's adorable decorations

Holly and me

Holly, Elisha, and me

Lindsey, Heather & Virginia

On Saturday, May 11, Holly and Jason hosted a cookout for our family honoring Grayson.  Several family members had been having recent health issues, and it was so great to have them all in the same room.  We are so blessed by our families!  We also were able to get some necessities and other fun gifts for Grayson.  The sweet boy has clothes galore from Logan and Graham, and now he has some monogrammed and personalized items just for him.

Holly and me at 34 weeks!

My sweet hubby and me

Daddy, Holly, and me

Mama, Holly, and me

John, Debbie, Brian and me

My sister-in-law, Megan!

Brian and Greg

Holly and my precious nephew Graham

Great Grandmother with her two great grandsons. Soon to have one more!

The Big Brother playing frisbee with all of the men (or froosbee if you ask him)

Always on the run!

I have worked in Recruitment and Orientation Services at the University of Memphis for the past seven years, and I love my job!  We had an Orientation session on Thursday, May 30, and the Tiger Catering staff surprised me with an adorable cake.  It was so sweet of them!  They also made cupcakes for all 350 students and parents in attendance at Orientation, so everyone got to join in on the fun.  I am so blessed to have such a huge U of M Tiger Family!

Here are some pictures of the nursery.  I left the paint color neutral since we just painted the whole house when we moved in October, but I tried to put aqua and green accents primarily.  It is actually pretty simple this time around. I suppose with baby #2, you mainly worry about the things you actually used the first time.

Now we just have to wait for Grayson to arrive!  It is still somewhat hard to believe we will soon have another sweet baby in the house.  It is definitely an exciting time, but we are also a little anxious about the changes Grayson will bring to our family. I know those changes will be for the better, but it will take all of us some time to adjust to being a family of four.  We are so blessed!