What a difference a year makes

December 2009

December 2010

December 2009

December 2010

The Kids’ First Sledding Adventure

 

We bundled the kids up and headed to Dad’s/Papaw’s for their first sledding trip.  This is the hill that I spent my early years on.  We have no hills in the neighborhood and this hill is just right for little ones and right outside the back door so we could go in and warm up.

I think we spent the same amount of time driving across the county as we did actually sledding but they had fun.  And aren’t they just the cutest little winter bundles?

Christmas Gator

Santa had a BIG surprise for Tucker this year.  After opening all of his other gifts we looked outside and discovered that Santa had left another present on the front porch; it just wouldn’t fit in the chimney.

When Tuck first looked out the window he got excited but then ran off to his room hollering “money”.  It took us a bit but then we realized that he was looking for quarters for the machine.  It took a little explaining that the quarters weren’t necessary.

Daddy worked to get him all buckled in.  Safety first. 

It took him a while to master; he could either steer or push the pedal but not both at the same time.

But soon he was off.  First he bounced off of Papaw’s truck,

Then he crashed into the snow bank.

But by the end of the day he was showing off for Nanna and Aunt Nanna.

Go Tuck, Go!!!

Evil?

Hear No Evil; See No Evil; Speak No Evil

Ed, of Photographed by Ed fame, just sent me this picture.   He took these of Tuck while he was at daycare and put them together in this great collage.  Is this a funny kid or what. 

Now if only Tuck would take this slogan to heart.

His latest thing is that everything is an "ass-eh-dent".  He doesn't completely grasp the accident concept though.  He will slug Kora right in front of us and then tell us "It was an assident" as he throws up his hands.

Christmas Cookies

Tuck and I baked reindeer cookies this weekend.  They were a hit!  Tuck was in charge of the eyes and noses and he was a real pro at “smooshing” them in.  Some of them cracked under the pressure.  And some of the cookies ended up with multiple noses but they were still pretty cute.

It is frozen sugar cookie dough, sliced and pinched in the middle for the cheeks.  Then add the pretzels for antlers and M&Ms for eyes and noses.  Then baked at 350 for 8-10 minutes. 

What is a Mommy?

... a good Mommy is a jumping off point

and a safe place to land

all at the same time.

I hope I will be successful at being a good Mommy. 

I think I am making a good go of it so far.

Kora’s Surgery

This morning was Kora’s surgery to have tubes put in her ears.  She has had chronic ear infections; I think we were on #9 for the year.  After dealing with Tucker’s speech problems, which we think tie back to his ear infections, we decided to go ahead with it for Kora.

We arrived at St. Vincent in Indianapolis at 7, got checked in and met the nurses.Dr. Trigg came and gave us the plan for the day.  Kora was number four for the morning and they were running about a half an hour early.

She played with a big gumball toy and insisted on rolling the balls out into the hall. She was having such fun that the time went by pretty quick and soon the nurse came to get her. 

She played with the Pooh characters on the front and then we loaded her up

and they wheeled her back to surgery at 815.

In less than 2 minutes a nurse came back to tell us that she was asleep and doing fine.  And 8 minutes later Dr. Trigg was back to tell us that all went well, that she was in recovery and would be back with us soon.  About 10 minutes later another nurse brought her to us.  She was sobbing and so cranky but they assured us this was a normal reaction to the anesthesia.  She had some water, nursed and soon settled down.  By 9 we were out the door and on our way to get some breakfast at Cracker Barrel, Daddy’s favorite.  She ate pretty good, drank some more water and slept the whole way home.

Now it is noon and she is up and playing with a birthday balloon and you would not have known anything had happened this morning.  I only hope this is the end of those darn infections.  She’s such a happy kid that I can’t imagine how much better she can get but I know those were rough.

I Love you my brave little girl.  I am so proud of you.

Snow Day

This Saturday we got about 6” of snow and Tucker and I took advantage of it.  We went outside even though it was windy and cold.  Tuck does not snow pants so I had about 3 layers on him; he looked like the little boy on the Christmas Story.

We made a snowman.  The snow was packing but not really well, so our snowman was a little short.  I sacrificed my hat and scarf for the cause and we found a cute pink flower too.  Tuck said it was still a boy but it was ok to have the flower.

I love the snowflake on his eyelashes in this picture.

We did some sledding too.  Mostly it was Mommy pulling the sled or running down the street to get enough momentum to let him go on his own.  We really need to find a good hill.  He loved it nonetheless.

We were only out about 45 minutes and it was just enough for him to get cold.  We came in for hot chocolate.  What fun!

 

LiveJournal Tags: Tuck,snow,sledding

Kora is One

 

Kora is…

… one year old.

… on the move; walking; nearly running.

… jealous of her brother.

… only 16 lb. 8 oz. and 27 inches tall.  She has to gain 4 more pounds before she can turn around in the car seat.  Oh, my favorite little shrimp.

…prone to ear infections but getting tubes on the 9th.

… starting to jabber; more than just repeating a single syllable. And she expects you to reply to her inquiries.

…still looking bald although she really does have hair.  It’s just pretty light and pretty thin.  I think we could get enough gathered to put in a barrette but it would just look silly.

…developing and expressing her personality.  She is going to be one funny kid.  (It is the Hole in her.)

…starting to sign. She uses “more” and “eat” mainly.

… a climber. She gets into the wooden shelf and onto Tuck’s little table then has to call for help.  She can get into and out of the toy baskets but it takes work and lots of grunting.

…finally sleeping through the night, just this week. I think the walking is wearing her out more.

… a favorite at Missy’s.  All the kids love her and they all call her “Kora Jane”.

… a bull dog. When she wants to get somewhere she makes a straight line no matter what is in her way.  She just crawls thru it or over it. There is no stopping this girl.

… a biter, right now.  She has 8 teeth and working on getting a molar in.

…the angel that blesses us each day.

We love you Kora and are so proud of you.

Mommy, Daddy and Tucker

Kora’s First Birthday Party

On Saturday we had Kora’s birthday party.  All the grandparents and local cousins made it. Nanny had the date wrong but that was fine since it had been snowing so bad she should not have been on the road anyway.  And Aunt Mary didn’t make it for weather reasons too.  Darn winter birthday’s anyway.

Kora loved reading the cards. Even upside down and backwards.

And she was such a diva with her new clothes.

We all sang Happy Birthday while she tried to grab the flame on the candle.

And Tuck showed her how to get started on eating her cake.

She shared some with Daddy…

and with Papaw…

and with Nanna…

and with Mommy.

And then she licked the platter clean. I just love this picture!!!

She was covered in pink frosting by the time she was done but she was having such fun. She really didn’t make much mess on the floor since she consumed 95% of the cake.

Then it was straight to the tub. No one even wanted to give her sugars as we passed.

After a change of wardrobe it was back out to play with the new toys.  After Papaw put together the stroller he took her for a spin while Tuck cabbaged onto the pink horse from Uncle Scott and fam.

This stroller had a front rail but Papaw had to take it off because Kora was adamant that SHE was going to ride in it, not just her dolly.

Here she is trying to get in it prior to rail removal.

Tucker also liked Kora’s new Beauty and the Beast movie. He sweet talked Papaw and Gamma Deb into watching with him. 

He talked his way thru the whole thing: when beast told Belle she would have to stay in the castle forever Tuck looked wide eyed at Gamma Deb and repeated “For-ev-er?!” and when Beast saves Belle from the wolves he yelled “Yeah!  Go Tiger!” He was so sad when he thought the wolves had killed him but smiled great big and told us “He’s o-k.” when Belle was cleaning his wounds in the next scene. (Can you tell I have watched this 6 times in 3 days?)

The birthday girl with Daddy…

with Uncle Scott…

and with Nanna.

My Dear Kora.  I am just so proud of the little girl you are becoming and I treasure you so much.  We are so fortunate to have such an angel among us.  Happy First Birthday my sweet.

Scar Face

My poor little Kora Belle is maimed for life.  She got a hold of Tucker’s shield (aka frying pan lid); he’s a pirate, you know.  And although she is getting more stable on her feet she is still a little wobbly.  As can be expected, she fell and caught the shield right across the bridge of her little nose. Oh how she cried.

 

It was enough to draw blood but not enough to drip.  And it was enough to make Mommy worry that we were going to have to make the inaugural trip to the ER. 

But after a bath and some Tylenol she was good to go.  The swelling has gone down now and we are hoping that she is little enough that she will outgrow it.

 

Daddy told me not to worry, that he had plenty of scars and was none the worse for ware.  But he is not a pretty little baby and his scars are not across his nose.  It’s hardly the same.

LiveJournal Tags: Kora,nose,scar