{in this year}

I am {thankful} for...

My {amazing} husband
He is an incredible father,
an awesome student,
and
my {best} friend.

My {twin} sons
They are healthy,
joyful
&
{all mine}

My {huge} family
For their support
and their {love}

My {loving} grandparents
For their involvement
and {interest}
in our lives.

oh {sweet} tenderness
The boys have been so sweet,
kind, gentle & tender
with their {new} cousin,
and it has warmed my heart.

Costco {double wide} shopping carts
For their ability to
{contain} my kids!

Mad {signing} Skills
For the {awesome} ability to tell
mommy what they want!

the {small} joys in life
Like a cup of water
{with a straw}
that you can hold
{all by yourself!}

And {exciting} toddler-hood
That is stretched out before us,
like an {adventure} waiting to be had.

just something about boys

A friend of mine at work (love you Becky!) just found out she is having a baby boy. I think that a lot of women long for a daughter. I know that I did (and still do) want a daughter. But now that I have two sons (it is still crazy for me to write something like that. "I have two kids." "My two boys..." Crazy!)
Now that I have two sons I realize just how special the bond is between a mother & her son. The way I feel about my boys is somewhat indescribable. The tenderness that they show for me- hugs, kisses, interacting- melts me. I love chasing them, playing cars, stacking cups & reading books. I love seeing them with their daddy, seeing how much they long to be like him. And I love seeing them with their grandparents. I love that I feel they could conquer the world. That anything they long for, they can achieve.
My favorite time with my boys is night time. After pajamas I hold them, one at a time, and we dance & sing. Logan hugs me, with his tiny hands patting my back. He also kisses me, mouth open, eyes twinkling.
Jack likes to knock his forehead against mine (silly boy) and snuggle his bear into my neck while nuzzling it with his nose. These moments are the moments I have waited for all my life.
To have my boys love me so much that they want to dance with me, hug me, kiss me & even head-butt me (in that silly way Jack has) just makes me feel whole. And after they fall asleep and I creep in to say a prayer over them before I go to sleep, I will often pick them up and rock them. Holding their sweet sleeping bodies in my arms reminds me just how blessed I am. They always nuzzle right in to me, never waking or fighting it. Just melting against my body.
There's just something about boys that feels right.
God knew just what our family needed.
And this momma needed those two boys.

Bogey

{Mommy & Bogey}

Lately Logan & I have been having too much fun together. He loves to play games like chase & peek-a-boo. He likes to make me laugh, and he loves to be tickled. Monday morning he signed "sleep" when he saw that Sukie (our cat) was asleep. It was the most precious thing that I have seen. It made my week (!) to see this tiny baby boy signing something that he learned from Baby Einstein, knowing what it meant and communicating that to me. Every day I am amazed by their brains, growing & learning. This is such a fun age.
I am so blessed by you,
little buddy.

cheerios

Our sweet boys sharing a morning snack.
Josh loved how they were sitting with their toes practically touching.

Our baby Bogey.
He is our boy!

crib recall

So, every year you hear about a crib recall of some sort. Or perhaps a car seat recall. You hear it, and then it slips out of your head.

Unless it happens to be the cribs your twin toddlers are sleeping in. In that case, you creep into their room with a flashlight, crawl under their sleeping bodies to read and re-read the serial number of the cribs to see if the recall applies to you.

You then hungrily read every scrap of information you can find on the internet about the recall, why it occurred and who has been effected.
Two 7 month olds.
One 9 month old.
One 6 month old.
Suffocated.

Then you whisper a prayer of thanksgiving that you were spared.
That your family was spared.
That your children are still here.

Then you print off the FedEx shipping label, plan to set up the playpens & hunker down until the vouchers for two new cribs arrive via e-mail 48-72 hours after shipping the hardware in.
-
What a headache.
We have loved these cribs for their size & design.
Hopefully we can find something that works just as well in our {tiny} nursery.

book club

Welcome to Logan & Jack's Book Club

This is Jack

And this is Logan

The book club meets in "Book Corner" at the Cunningham's.

If you love to read (& sometimes chew on) a good book,
you will fit right in!

cool daddy-o

Logan in Daddy's Mariner's hat,

And Jack in Daddy's Mariner's hat.

logan loves roxanne

Logan has really missed Roxanne

and she misses him, too.

When they get together,

you can feel the love!

this day last year...

my bubs looked like this:

And this year they look like this:My oh my what a year can do!

best birthday ever

Here is a pic of my beautiful boys & I at my mom's house Wednesday, getting ready to blow out my candles. I am so blessed with those two gorgeous babes in my lap, that as I blew out my candles, I didn't even remember to wish for anything... strange, right?

And here are some pictures of the boys from last weekend...

{Logan}

{the boys}

{Jack}

~

~
My birthday today was awesome.
I am so loved by those around me!(Roxanne & I- getting pedis!)
Last Saturday my sister & I got pedicures and afterward she & my mom surprised me with a party at Ice Cream Renaissance with some of my girlfriends! At work today I was showered with gifts & well wishes. After work I went to my mom's house where she made dinner (hamburgers, french fries & milkshakes-- classic!) & my siblings came to celebrate with me. Then I came home to a gorgeous bouquet of red roses & a Gap gift certificate (so I can buy adorable clothes for the boys!) from Josh.
Spoiled, I tell you.
Totally spoiled!

what keeps me going

These two sweet little bubs
make me feel like perhaps I will make it after all.

This whole week I have felt like
this song
by JoDee Messina.

And it's getting old.

We have at least four weeks to go until Josh is done.
And I am beat.
Empty
Deflated.
Defeated.

Like Josh always says, though,
I gotta keep on keeping on.
(Whatever that means!)

pumpkin feet???

This morning Josh & I looked over to see Jack like this;

with both his feet in his Halloween pumpkin.

What a silly bubba!

Logan, Jack & Ferris meet for the first time

All bundled up when he got here...

The boys check out the new arrival.

Logan was eager to see Ferris up close.

Logan, his long missed Aunt Roxanne & new cousin Ferris.

Jack holding Ferris.

The whole time his face looked like he was opening presents on Christmas morning. His joy was just palpable. Roxanne was tearing up and I was snapping pictures of his dimply grin like nobody's business.

He touched Ferris' nose and hair. Then he would look at Roxanne. Then at the baby.

He was so gentle & sweet.

After holding Ferris for a while,
Jack grabbed his hands & tried to move them around.
It was so adorable.

Then Logan & I had a turn holding Ferris. Logan was so sweet, and very curious. Both boys put their fingers in Ferris' mouth to see what would happen. I thought that was so funny.

The Tucker Family
{est. 2006}

Roxanne & a sleepy Ferris

Jack was helping Roxanne burp Ferris after she fed him.

~
Overall, the boys were incredibly sweet, curious & loving towards their little cousin & future playmate. I am looking forward to many hours spent together with my sister and our three sons.