The Memphis Tuckers

Monday, May 5, 2014

Easter 2014

Our Easter was pretty low key this year. We did not even take Logan on an Easter egg hunt! He did have one at school, but that was the only one he participated in this year. We have been so busy lately that I did not want to take up another day with a scheduled activity.

We attended Highpoint's Good Friday Service (on Thursday night) and then went to church at Highpoint on Sunday morning. We were excited that my Grandmother came to visit and stayed with us Friday night. She stayed with Holly on Saturday night, and we all went to eat brunch with Aunt Alice on Sunday at the University Club after church. It was a fun weekend celebrating the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

Logan is 3 years, 9 months & Grayson is 10 months.

Such sweethearts!

My 3 favorite boys

I love being these boys' Mommy!

The best picture we could get of Logan, Grayson & Graham

Logan and Grandmother read lots of books.

Even though we did not hunt for eggs, we did manage to dye and decorate them like monsters

My big boy is growing up!

Some of the egg stickers wound up on Logan's face

And this is what happens when you have a big brother with leftover egg stickers

The Easter Bunny came to visit!

Checking out his goodies

What's the Easter Bunny?

He loved the {empty} eggs most of all.

The Easter Bunny did not consult with me on this addition!

Friday, April 18, 2014

Grayson- 10 months old

My sweet Grayson turned 10 months old on April 12, 2014, and I took some pictures of him in the back yard last weekend. We are so happy to have spring weather, blooming Japanese maple trees, and green grass!

Grayson has hit several milestones this month, including crawling and pulling up! I thought he might skip crawling all together because he was not very interested in it for a while. He enjoyed sitting on the floor, but if I tried to put him on his tummy he was not happy. Well, one day he decided he would get on his hands and knees to rock (about 9 1/2 months), and the next day he could crawl across the den. About a week or so later, he started pulling up on some of the furniture. We moved into our current house in September 2012 when Logan was over 2, and we are now realizing what areas in the house need to be more baby proof.

Now that Grayson is crawling, I have to really watch to make sure small toys or other small items are not left out throughout the house. Grayson put absolutely everything in his mouth! I don't remember Logan being as bad as Grayson, but he will see a piece of fuzz, lego, thread or anything across the room and take off toward it to put it in his mouth. Logan has been very helpful and will let me know if Grayson is about to put something in his mouth if I don't see him first! He even takes it away and brings it to me. He is a very sweet, helpful big brother!

Grayson is also saying a lot of sounds and is saying "Bye-Bye" and waving. It is so precious! Sometimes I will notice him looking at both hands and waving them at himself saying "Bye-Bye." He also nods his head when you ask him a question and says "Yeah, Yeah." Now that Grayson is crawling, he and Logan are sort of playing together sometimes. Grayson thinks most everything Logan does is funny, even if Logan is taking away the toy he just found! Grayson loves playing with balls, and he will crawl across the entire house if he knows there is a ball to grab and throw at the end of the journey.

Grayson continues to eat any table food we give him, and he has decided he no longer likes baby food. In clothes Grayson is wearing mostly size 24 months, but he can still fit into some 18 month items. I have moved him up to size 5 diapers, and he is wearing a size 5 wide in shoes. Grayson went from having 2 teeth to 6 teeth in less than a week, so that made for some long days and nights, But, he is still pretty happy most of the time. He was such an easy baby, and he is still fairly easy but is becoming more opinionated. If we are anywhere outside of our house, he wants me to hold him. He does not settle for anyone else! I don't complain though- I love to hold that sweet boy.

We love our sweet Grayson very much, and we are so proud he is ours!

My Sweet Boys

I have not had any pictures taken of my sweet boys since Grayson was a newborn, so we decided to take some ourselves last weekend. I bought a new lens for my camera, and I am trying to learn how to use it! We headed to Oaklawn Garden in Germantown, and it was a great place to take pictures. Grayson is 10 months old, and Logan is 3 years, 9 months. They are growing up so fast!

This is my favorite picture of the day. Logan is getting so big, but he still looks like a little boy here.

He's got some long legs!

My favorite picture of G-man.

I just love those chunky legs!

My favorite boys. I am that Mom who buys coordinating outfits!

They love each other!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Grayson- 9 months old

9 months old- 3/12/14

Our sweet Grayson is 9 months old! We went for his check-up yesterday, and he was off the growth charts again in height (30 1/4 inches) and weight (25 lbs., 12 oz.). He is also off the charts in sweetness and cuteness if you ask us!

Grayson has started eating table foods, and he has loved everything we have offered him so far. He has had chicken, ham, green peas, purple hull peas, homemade biscuit, and cheese. He also loves puffs, num-nums, and all baby food. He only has two teeth but somehow he manages to eat whatever we give him! His gums are currently swollen, so I feel like more teeth are on the way soon.

Grayson's favorite sound to make is "Ga," and we think he is trying to say "Grayson!" He makes a lot of other sounds too like Ma, Ba and Da. He also loves to giggle, and it does not take much to get him going! He continues to smiles all the time.

Grayson had his ear tube surgery on Monday, and we were so glad the day finally came. He was on three oral antibiotics and received one antibiotic shot over the past month, yet his ears were still badly infected when he got his surgery. We are hoping the tubes will help keep him out of the doctor's office and off antibiotics!

While Grayson is still not crawling, he can push up on his knees and rock back and forth. He still prefers to stand up while holding your hands rather than practice his crawling. He wants to grab everything in sight, and it is surprising just how far he can reach.

We are so in love with our sweet Grayson, and it is so much fun to watch him grow up. It is also fun to watch Logan and Grayson play together and become friends. We are so very blessed!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Grayson- 8 months old

8 months old (2/12/14)

7 months old (1/12/14)

My sweet Grayson turned 8 months old on Feb. 12, and he is growing up so fast! I continue to say that Grayson is the happiest baby because it is true. He is so sweet and smiles all the time. He has started playing with a lot of toys, and he always wants everyone else is holding. Grayson especially loves playing with Logan's toys, even though Logan is not always willing to share!

Grayson can sit very well unassisted for long periods of time, and he loves to hold onto your hands and stand up. He is not very interested in crawling, and I have a feeling he may skip it all together. His legs are getting really strong, and he tries to take steps when holding on to my hands. He does dive onto his tummy to get toys, so there may be hope for crawling yet! I personally am not in any hurry to have another mobile little person in the house, so I am glad he is taking his time.

Grayson makes lots of sounds, including his most recent sound of "Mama!" It was just as exciting the 2nd time around. His favorite sounds to make are "Ga,Ga or "Dada," and he is constantly making a sound like a coffee grinder. His giggle is probably one of the sweetest things I have ever heard.

Sweet brothers at the Memphis Botanic Garden

Watching Logan and Grayson begin to play together is awesome. Grayson gives his biggest smiles to Logan, and he loves receiving attention from him. Logan often tries to pick him up and hold him, and Grayson just goes with the flow even while being squeezed and flopped around. In the mornings after Grayson wakes up, Logan often wants to get in Grayson's bed and play with him. I don't mind it at all- especially if Brian is out of town. It gives me time to get ready, and they are both happy. Logan is such a sweet big brother to Grayson, and I love seeing them interact. I hope they are always close!

Grayson loves his Daddy, too!

Grayson has started having repeat ear infections, and we are having a hard time getting rid of this last one. Luckily, we have surgery for tubes set in a couple of weeks, and I am so ready for it to be here. Even with all of his ear problems, Grayson is a pretty good sleeper. He regularly sleeps all night (4-5 nights per week) from about 7:30 p.m.-6:00 a.m. The nights he wakes up, I usually feed him and he goes back to sleep. I know he is too old to be fed at night, but sometimes it is just the easiest thing to do!

Swinging at the Botanic Garden

Grayson's first "snow" (if you can call it that)

Grayson is eating all stage 2 baby foods, and he just started eating puffs. I have started adding a couple of ounces of formula to his bottles during the day if needed, but he still nurses the rest of the time. He wears size 4 diapers and mostly size 18-24 month clothes. From our frequent doctor's appointments for ear infections, I know that he weighs 25 pounds. While that is still large for an 8-month old, his weight gain has slowed significantly. He has only gained a little over 1 pound since his 6-month check up.

I can never find matching socks because he is constantly losing them!

We love our sweet Grayson very much! I told Brian last night that we did not know how much we needed Grayson in our family until he got here. Now of course we would not know what to do without our sweet, smiling baby!

Logan- 3 1/2 years old

Logan officially turned 3 1/2 on January 8, and I truly cannot believe he is halfway to 4. Logan is still the same energetic, sweet boy that he has always been, but I am reminded everyday how quickly he is growing up.

Logan is continuing to expand his imagination and love for superheros. Our car rides to school and back now consist of me making up stories about Logan and his superhero friends. They typically start with, "Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Logan who LOVED superheros..." There is always an "All of a Sudden, the bad guy (insert name) shows up" involved in the story. I am often corrected in the midst of telling a story if I do not get it just right! Sometimes I grow weary of making up stories over and over, but then I glance at his face in the rear view mirror and keep going. He gets so excited, and that smile can just melt my heart in a second.

As previously mentioned, Logan is enjoying interacting with Grayson as he grows and changes. Logan loves taking Grayson's hands for patty-cake, and Grayson smiles from ear to ear. Grayson also giggles very loudly when Logan tickles him, and he is fascinated when Logan blows bubbles. Grayson will soon be on the move, and I will be interested to see how Logan reacts to Grayson getting into all of his toys!

Logan still gets into trouble and has to try and keep his behavior under control, but I think we have seen significant improvement over the past few months. He certainly still has many moments of misbehavior, but I think most of it is part of his age and figuring out limits and how to control his emotions. We all just do the best we can and hope that what we tell him is resonating and will be reapplied in his life as he grows up.

Logan has a personality than wins people over- at school, church, and everywhere we go. His teachers at church tell me that Logan answers all of the questions during Kid City in front of the class. I am so thankful for our church and school's commitment to teach Logan important truths from the Bible in an age-appropriate format.

I could not be more proud of my sweet Logan and the big boy he is becoming!

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Christmas 2013 Celebrations

We are so blessed to have lots of family to see during Christmas! This year was a lot of fun. Logan and Grayson are at good ages for traveling and visiting family. Logan (almost 3 1/2) can play alone or with the other kiddos without constant supervision, and Grayson (6 1/2 months) just goes with the flow and will sleep anywhere.

Our Christmas celebrations started on Sat., Dec. 21 at my Dad and Sandra's house in McKenzie. We had a great time visiting with everyone!

Daddy & Sandra with the Tuckers and Cousars. Bosco & Zeus tried to get in the picture, too.

Jason photo-bombed the only picture where Logan was remotely smiling!

Our sweet Daddy

The wild & crazy kids table: Logan, Graham, Isabelle, and Audrey

My sis!

Sweet Grayson's first Christmas

Isabelle and Logan were buddies!

On Christmas Eve we went to Aunt Alice's house for a celebration with my Mom, Grandmother, The Cousar's and the Nelsons. Miriam is my Mom & Alice's first cousin on my Grandfather's side. We always love seeing them at Christmas!

My boys were not too interested in taking pictures. Too much to do!

Aunt Alice, Grandmother, Holly, Me, and Mama

Everyone says my Mom could be our sister!

Alice, Grandmother, Mama, and Miriam

Miriam, Jack & Grayson

Sam & Grayson. I wish I would have gotten a picture of Sam & Logan because they were buddies. Sam was so sweet with him!

Christmas morning was lots of fun! Logan was SO excited about Santa Claus, and it was a super-hero themed Christmas for sure! After lots of play time with Santa gifts, we had Christmas breakfast at our house. My Mom cooked a wonderful breakfast, and we were joined by the Cousars, Grandmother, Aunt Alice, and the Nelsons. We had a great time!