first hair cuts and more

A sleeping Tucker pic. He tucked his arm in his blanket right as I was snapping it, but is was hanging out of the rails.
Tucker at the play place. I just missed his huge grin
Whitney rolling out cookie dough
Whitney getting her first hair cut. Cute bob with a bit of an a-line.
A St. Patrick's Day idea that someone brought to the girls night. Apparently they were all over Pintrest, but I have yet to get addicted to that site.
Of course. We were reading Hop on Pop
Whitney showing Daddy Elmo
Whitney loved just putting on her cape to get her hair cut. Tucker also got a cut. My friend cut it at our house and brought him a dum-dum to get him to stay still. Totally worked. He didn't let that thing out of his mouth but once, when he was done, only to show us the remains of his half eaten stick. First time of having a sucker, too.



This week the babies learned a whole bunch. It was a week of snowing three times and pouring rain the rest. I guess it finally decided to be winter now that it is almost spring. Just another way to kill my daffodils. So we stayed inside a bunch.

There is an indoor mall play structure with those plastic soft structures. I have resisted going all winter due to the fact every time I go, the babies get sick. But I got desperate this week and we went twice. And I'm glad I went. I think it was worth the sickness this time. When we went, Tucker was so, so happy. He had this look on his face like "Mom! Did you see this? This is great! And did you see this one over there? I love it too!" He was hopping around and jumping off of everything for an hour and I had to talk him into eating lunch, something he normally doesn't forget to remind me about. They both got fevers, snot and the whole thing, but now that Tucker has the inhaler thing, it's not such a bad gig at night as he is breathing better.

I think the favorite thing that Whitney got to do this week was help me make clover sugar cookies for the neighbors. She helped me mix the dough, roll out the dough, cut the cookies and mix (taste) the frosting. I was working in the kitchen for about and hour and she didn't leave my side. It was pretty cute about the frosting. She has learned not to eat dough from me making other doughs that don't taste good as dough, so when she got frosting on her finger, she was upset and wanted to help to clean off her fingers. I told her it was ready enough to eat and after that, she wanted many more samples. I let her lick the fork when we were done. She was actually really good at rolling out the dough and cutting out the shapes. I'm still surprised, but she's shown the skill before.

This week I feel like their language skills are taking off even more, both English and Spanish. Tucker's pronunciation is getting more clear. So I figured out this week that they almost have the Twinkle Twinkle and ABC song words down in addition to Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam. Tucker practices for about an hour at night in his crib before going to sleep. It's pretty cute, even if he refuses to adjust to the new time change.

Tucker's appetite is up as usual, but he did surprise me this week. I usually try to feed them whole grain stuff, but this week I was running late one day and fed them cheerios, something not as filling. Tucker ate three bowls. They are the little kid bowls, so it's about the same as 1.5 of our regular bowls. Crazy amount of food. Makes me glad that I usually feed them whole grains. Either they don't eat as much because it doesn't taste as good, or because it fills them up faster. Who knows.

Tucker is also working on his big brothering skills. He washed the baby doll in the bathtub and saw that I hadn't snapped the back of Whitney's shirt one day. I heard Whitney screaming one time and went to investigate, only to find Tucker trying really hard to snap her shirt for her.

Whitney has three additional molars all of a sudden. The other thing Whitney loved this week is that Daddy brought home flowers for Mommy AND for Whitney. Through the week, Whitney would point to which flowers in the vase were hers. Very cute.

This week the babies filled up the heater vent in their room with their cars, played change light bulb, and invented a game of playing in the shower that was oh so entertaining for some reason. When they change the light bulbs, they put their small chairs under a light in the ceiling that wasn't on, looking up repeatedly to make sure the chair is right underneath the bulb, and then reaching over head and moving their hands like they are unscrewing it. When they play in the shower (water is off and the floor is dry) they open and close the door while they shut the other one in the shower. When they filled the heater vent with cars, they ran to the playroom and gathered one car at a time, then shrieked with laughter as they threw another one in the vent. Good thing they are all still the chuncky cars. I knew they were up to something, but it didn't sound dangerous, so I let them continue until I finished my project.

Which brings me to another thing. I was painting this week. Too much time indoors this week made me realize I have all sorts of home improvement stuff that hasn't gotten done. Last year I painted during the day with them, so I thought not a problem this year. I have no idea what I was thinking. This year they can climb and do much more in a short amount of time. I didn't get very far at a time, having to stop to do something, but I got four small shelves painted. I let them destroy the house a bit more so I could work, but then found another solution that was pretty fun. I let them "paint" with water all over the bathroom. What a mess, but it didn't take too long to dry the walls, floor, Sammy and clothes for the trade off of finishing my project. I felt productive this week.

I also had a blast going climbing with my hubby this week as a date at the community center and the girls night at our house went really well. It was a good week for all the rain, snow and sickness.

haven't decided.... winter or spring?

Whitney is saying "oh no! Daffodils"
Tucker is a little distressed about his wet hands
My view out my bedroom window
Snow trying to cover up spring
Whitney's two snowmen



February and March are such teaser months. You start getting all excited because it's starting to feel like maybe spring is around the corner because it is getting light earlier and later. For example, now it is fun to be this far north. It starts getting light around 6:15 am and the sky isn't completely black until 7 pm. That means tonight it won't be completely black until 8 pm!!!! But then this happens. Snow. I'm always so glad daffodils are fairly sturdy flowers because I'd be really bitter at the snow every year if they weren't. Since we moved to Utah and ever since then, it has snowed on daffodil blooms at my house, but........ the daffodils still make it through the snowy weather. Monday morning I woke up very surprised at the snow. When we went to bed, it was bitterly cold, but that's because it was perfectly clear, moon out and everything. So I was shocked there were enough clouds in the night to pass through and dump snow. The ground wasn't frozen, so I knew the snow would melt quick. That and there wasn't any snow on the roads.

As soon as I saw the snow, I went in the babies' room to wake them up. I pulled the shade up and Whitney immediately smiled a huge grin and said "Snowman?", pointing outside. So, before breakfast and before Daddy left for work, we went outside and built two snowmen. They lived only 24 hours, and only that long because we built them in a shady spot where the warm sun didn't get to them later that day. While we were outside, Tucker got out the mop bucket, because, you know, every time you go outside you've got to give the mop bucket a push up the driveway and back, even when you are getting in the car to run errands. Whitney checked out the daffodils and was very concerned for them. Then we were done. I'm glad I did that because the snow did melt quick. And I remember being little and being so excited about something I couldn't eat. After that, they ate a hearty breakfast.

So this week started out with snow. It was sunny until Thursday, so by then, it warmed up to the upper 50's. Very balmy for here. We went to the park on Thursday and Tucker figured out the joy of taller slides. He was having such a blast, with this big grin all the way down the slide. I wish I had the camera with me to take videos and make the grandmas jealous enough to come visit. Whitney likes the slides, too, but still loves the teeter totters best. They threw rocks in the pond to attract the ducks and watched ducks for awhile. We had a picnic and they really liked sitting at the big picnic table. By Friday and Saturday, it was really cold and rainy.

I found out Tucker is a die-hard outside kind of guy. On Saturday Jim and I divided and conquered. Tucker went with me and Whitney stayed with Daddy. Tucker had to go to a baby shower with me, so I promised him after that we could go to the playground. In order to keep my promise, we had to go to the playground when it was pouring, with a very frigid wind whipping around us. Stupid me. What was I thinking when I said that?? As soon as we got out of the car, I was done, but not Tucker. He had so much fun getting soaking wet. He also yelled "Wet!" at every piece of playground equipment and laughed. Every single piece, including the poles. It was interesting to me though, that even though he was fine getting wet, he has his limits. Not his hands or pants. He didn't touch any of the wet stuff with his hands. Smart boy. Turns his hands really red, since he won't wear mittens. He also stood at the top of the slide to wait for me to dry it off (all moms here go to the playground prepared). I thought this was a very pointless activity, but he had to learn. After the third slide down, the towel was just as wet as the slide, so I didn't get too much of the wetness off. He got pretty wet going down, but he also sat just right on his rain slicker and went really fast down the slide and landed hard at the bottom. He didn't go down any more slides. I eventually had to talk him into "finding the car", my trick words for "time to go" after 25 minutes. I was freezing and he was happy.

Another interesting and great thing I learned about Whitney and Tucker this week is their ability to play together. They played for an hour and a half almost completely independently. I couldn't believe it. To reward them, we went to the park for the same amount of time. Thank heavens Thursday was a nice day. What happened is the girl that normally plays with them while I'm at the women's clogging group wasn't there. I knew she wasn't going to be there, so I loaded up on "new toys" that have been in the closet since before Christmas. And they played! No fighting. One time, Tucker had a moment and couldn't see me on the stage from the gym. He yelled "Snuggle Mommy" a few times. I leaned over the edge and gave him a kiss and he went back to playing. I still can't believe it. They also did amazing during Stake Conference today for two hours. Good thing, because Jim wasn't there to "snuggle Papa", a huge thing that usually gets us through church. Yeah stickers and fish crackers. They were also really good on Monday and .......... drum roll....... I got the entire house cleaned in one day on Monday. Good thing. Prepped me for a sick week at the end.

One thing I really love about Whitney is how she isn't a complainer. Unlike me. I love to complain, which is why Tucker is my child. I'm getting payback. But Whitney is an example to me of not complaining. She has been very sick these past few days, full of snot and a fever that makes her body ache. She also was hoarse talking a few days, probably because her throat hurts. And probably her ears, but she didn't complain. No screaming, just snuggling and a lot of tossing and turning. I really hope Tucker doesn't get this cold, because it's a doozy for Whitney, so I don't even want to think about it for him. He's been happy ever since we got the inhaler figured out a week ago. Running around like crazy, sleeping through the night and no throwing up with jumping or running. He also no longer has a continuous runny nose, something I didn't notice until it was gone for the first time in... I don't know how long. It's great!!!

Something that just makes me laugh is what Whitney and Tucker are learning to say. Half the time I don't remember who makes up what, but one will make something up and the other quickly copies it. Here's an example. For some reason they have picked up names for age groups. The only way I can think of them thinking of this is that there are a lot of Grandmas and Aunts in the family book and they are all the same age, so maybe they think one name applies to the age group. If they can't fit the person in the age group, they just get a smile or a stare. There is a friend of mine that has a three year old named Lincoln. So now, when we go out in public, any kid bigger than them up to the age of about 5 has the name Lincoln. They shout at those kids to watch out "Lincoln" or are genuinely sad for "Lincoln's" ball to have rolled out of reach. There is also a girl about 13 years old with long blond hair who plays with them at clogging class named Brynn. So all teenage girls, especially those with long blond hair have the name Brynn. Like the girl in the bathroom today, who was not Brynn, was named Brynn. Duh, mom. This also applies to anyone that may seem like family. We were invited over to a home that is kind of family in a round about way. When we left, Tucker promptly said "Bye Grandma" I don't know if it is a category or if he feels like she must fit in the Grandma category.

Tucker figured out how to ask a question. He must really like the varied responses or something because he does it a lot. Kind of like "why?" but three words. Boy, he's really going to like why. One word, lots of responses. He figured out "what papa doing?" He thinks he's really funny.

Did I mention they are good at disciplining? This usually applies to any and all family members. Tucker even says "bad tucker. Time out!" and runs over to time out after giving Whitney a "soft" (soft touch on the head or shoulder, instead of a hug or kiss, as those are scary to Whitney, too). Whitney disciplined Rocky for sitting on the daffodils, getting my attention and yelling at Rocky to "move!"

I was talking to Papa on the phone (my mom's dad) this week and he was asking about how big they were. It got me thinking about how it doesn't seem possible that they could be big, but they are growing up. They can find almost all the letters of the alphabet (Stef, thanks!), Whitney is potty trained, they can play for an hour and a half, walk, talk two languages.... kind of, and make me laugh! They seem too little to be doing it all, but they are babies no longer. But, Ryan, to answer your question, I still call them "the babies" They still seem to be little to me and now I'm starting to hold on to baby moments because I know they'll be gone very soon. Makes me feel old.

But I can't be too old. I'm very impressed with myself. I set up the WiiFit again. Jim was happy for other reasons, but I'm happy because I did my Wii age and it says I'm 27. That program is really smart. It knows what to say to make me keep playing games on it.

Book of the week: Hop on Pop...... still

This week I'm looking forward to going climbing at the community gym and a ladies night out at my house. Happy St. Patrick's day!

just another cold, indoor week

In Daddy's truck, holding a truck. Sweet dreams!
I didn't realize how dangerous the potato head ear parts can be. They must have made the stubs short so they don't damage kids ears. She gave us a scare the first time she did this, but don't worry, no penetration of the ear canal. She walked around saying "Ear!"
Dipping fries. Yum!
Tucky dipping his cajun fries
Whitney taking care of baby.





This week we had some just really sweet, family time together. Two of those moments were watching Tucker and Whitney take care of "the babies" and driving in the car. This week they spent a half an hour or so just taking care of the baby dolls as a team. It was just a fun, enjoyable and relaxing time. They each would take turns or work together, to feed the babies a bottle, give the babies a snuggy, put the baby to bed and feed the baby fruit and veggies at the play table. I don't know why it was so cute to watch them, but it was.

The other cute and fun time was when we were all driving in the car together. We were in the car about a half an hour and they were saying "Another one Tucky!" or "Another one Papa!" or Whitney or Mama. after that, whoever was called on would sing a phrase of a song. Tucker and Whitney usually picked Twinkle Twinkle, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam or ABC's. They took whatever they could get from us! It was a pleasant car trip where I felt like we were just plain having fun as a family.

The screaming has come down a notch this week. If they started fighting at the meal table, they had to take a 2 minute break in their rooms. So now they stop screaming if I ask them if they want to take a break from eating. Hopefully it is not too cruel of a consequence, but it is a lot more enjoyable to eat this week.

Yesterday they were with Daddy for four hours while I went to the caucus meeting and got my hair cut. Daddy didn't feel well, so he tried having them watch a movie. They watched Toy Story. Or should we say, Whitney kind of watched Toy Story and Tucker played with Daddy, totally uninterested. Whitney did recognize Mr. Potato head.

We also were lucky this weekend and got invited to two meals, one a lunch and one a dinner. Tucker and Whitney got to eat some really yummy things, including ice cream, not to mention the yummy things they got to eat while Daddy was watching them. Luckies! I was just so glad not to think about meal planning twice on the weekend.

A couple of cute things I caught them doing this week included Whitney reading to her cars and Tucker running/slipping on the carpet with slick newspaper ads stuck to his bare feet. He laughed really hard about how hard it was to run on the carpet with slippery paper stuck to his feet. It made us laugh really hard, too. The reason he discovered this was because he took out all the leaflets that come in those value pak envelopes and threw each one over the back of the couch, then ran through them once they were all scattered on the floor. What great fun! He also was very tickled pink that he was able to lodge a ball in a rocking chair slat at a friends house. He did it on accident, but really wanted to do it again since it made him laugh so hard.

We went to a baby blessing, in which Jim was asked to go up and help. Tucker yelled "bye-bye Papa several times in an outdoor voice when Jim went up. Very reverent indeed!

The books of choice this week include "Just like me" a book about twin sisters that Whitney really likes, and Hop on Pop. They like the pages about three fish in a tree, Brown and Black and of course, the two kids hopping on Pop that look just like Whitney and Tucker.

They continue to be very interested in letters. I went through the alphabet and they can recognize most capital letters. We're just missing letters like X, Q, U, I and Z . I'm having a hard time thinking up daily things that start with those letters. This week they have been more interested in numbers (mostly Tucker) and colors, especially yellow. Tucker likes the number 8.

We finally figured out the inhaler thing for Tucker and he is sleeping and playing well, so we'll work with that for a bit. Which means he wants to go outside more. Whitney didn't really want to be outside much this week. It was really cold. The only way I could convince her to be outside was with bubbles and sidewalk chalk as long as I would play with her. She also really liked going on a walk around the neighborhood, but we only did that once. Tucker insisted on pushing his mop bucket around on the walk, but since it has small wheels it is hard to push on the side of the road where there are lots of pine cones, pine needles and small gravel bits of debris from the snow on the road earlier this winter. He really wanted to push it in the middle of the road the whole time and kept saying "Stop it mommy" (in a kind voice, amazingly enough) if I directed the bucket to the side. Not conducive to car traffic, so we didn't do it again. Way too stressful for me to keep him out of traffic.

Our smallest daffodils bloomed, but Whitney insists, still, the un-bloomed ones are the only daffodils in the yard. Whatever. Daylight savings is next week and it is already light until 6 pm now, so next week it will be 7 pm! It feels like spring might be here soon! Can't wait!

two new talents

Whitney loves the steering wheel
Happy together
A flower! It matches my shoes!
T-Tucky's shirt. Tucker LOVES this shirt. It is his shirt of choice (whenever it is clean). He points to it and says "T-Tucky" repeatedly until it is safely on his little body.
Looking at daffodils
Whitney is not convinced the yellow things are daffodils. She pointed these out and said "Daffodils" over and over, as if to teach mommy what daffodils really are. These are what the daffodils in our yard look like, how she learned the word.
Running up and down the pathways
Washing windows together. Very, very, very cute
Isn't he cute?
Whitney sang Twinkle Twinkle little star for about an hour straight yesterday, so finally Daddy found a you tube video of the song with a cartoon star and owl. Whitney was fascinated.
Ok mom. You were right. These bunch of primroses look way better with white mixed in.
Tucky washing windows in his "cool shirt"


I got a video of the babies' two new talents they worked on this week. Learning to wash the windows and irritating each other just because. I'll have to wait for Jim to get home to upload this video, or maybe next week.

This past week Tucker and Whitney had a cold that left them full of snot, sneezing and coughing, but didn't wear them out enough to make them tired, just really cranky, with lots and lots of screaming. Incessant screaming. Dad, I've decided I'm an kinesthetic, but also an auditory. Not only does the constant poking, hanging, clinging, underfooted-ness, and whacking from these kids drive me crazy, but the constant noise, noise, noise, noise of screaming. Screaming grates on my nerves quite a bit. So much so that by Friday I had no desire to be with my kids at all. I've felt this way sometimes, but I can usually distract them, feed them, nap them, or change them and then they do another cute thing, and the feeling goes away rapidly. Not this week. Too much screaming. I spent all day on Friday feeling like I didn't want to be with them, so I started thinking up things we could do together that wouldn't drive me crazy. We finally agreed on them playing in the car in the garage (really dampens screaming) while I sanded shelves in the garage.

This is what creates constant screaming. Just one of many formulas, I assure you. All other mothers probably agree. Have a cold, rain all week, transition to 1 to 0 nap at times, and have a sibling. This is what Tucker and Whitney both do to each other. They start saying "push, push" a few times, like they are announcing a game and then one of them shoves the other to the floor and vice versa. The other thing they do is one will say "no, no" to the other and the other one starts screaming like they've been hit. They are not even touching each other. This usually occurs at mealtimes when they are confined to their booster seats and can't touch each other. I guess I only have the rest of their lives to look forward to these games and other versions of them.

The other thing they learned, though, really made my day. They washed the windows for me. They only do it at their level of course, but it corresponds with the hand print level, so it works out fine. I had to get it on video. Then they started fighting about who was going to clean it and get the next squirt of Windex. So I have both new talents recorded

We also went to try to have a photo shoot on the temple grounds. It was perfect. This week the temple is closed, so there is very little traffic around the daffodils that line the parking lot. Plus, I think the gardeners there cheated and planted bulbs that have been in the greenhouse. But it makes for great photos.

The same day we got the photo shoot at the temple, we discovered a way cool playground that had a fire truck, tons of climbing structures and even tunnels. Totally old school and unsafe, requiring much more supervision, but way, way cool. Good thing we got out because that was the only 4 hours this week it was dry. There was someone there doing his workout, which included lots of jumping off of tall play structures and even doing some flips off of them (over a gravel pit). Tucker and Whitney were fascinated. Storing up ideas to try at home, I'm sure.

Daddy got suckered into getting Tucky a donkey kong shirt since Whitney took over the Luigi backpack that was originally for Tucky. I'm proud of him, though. He got it 50% off of company price, so it's not bad. Plus it's huge, so it's good for a few summers. Short sleeved. Which is why it is 50% off. I think I need snap-in long sleeves that I can move from shirt to shirt for all the cute summer shirts they'd never be able to wear otherwise. Tucker wanted nothing to do with that shirt when Daddy tried to put it on him. Until his sister wanted it on her and we laughed at how cute it was on her. Then he put it on. He only tries on clothes if it's safe, tested by "Big Sister"

Jim watched the babies most of the day Saturday while I went to a women's retreat that was a blessed 5 hours long. What wisdom those ladies who planned it had to make it so long! Jim was worn out from the screaming by the time I got home and we were down 1/3 of a goldfish bag when I got back, plus some BBQ sauce. Jim thinks whenever Tucker is upset, he needs goldfish, which Tucker pretty much agrees with Dad. Now Daddy has a new trick. Dip. BBQ sauce is this week's choice of dip. Although, I gave Tucker and Whitney some salsa I made this week. Tucker downed it and Whitney didn't like how spicy it was, amazingly enough. To make up for it, Whitney ate pickeled okra. Obviously disgusting to Tucker and many others alike.

Yesterday it snowed (didn't stick) and today it is sunny and literally freezing, but we played bubbles and sidewalk chalk anyway. That's when I got the photo of the new flowers and planted them. Nice reprieve. The week is starting off better.

cuteness becomes them

Spring time play. Can't you tell? We can. Spring=bird noises. Wintertime=bright, red hands
More rainy play
Whitney asked to take this pic. She is sitting on a rock next to her daffodil sprouts. She knows how to say daffodil. It's really cute! She's excited about the flowers.
Tucky could do this all day. At least it's not the microwave.
Valentine's Day at the friend's house.
Valentine's Day. Check out the red socks!
A meter on spring here. Some daffodil and hyacinth sprouts mixed with primroses.


Don't ask me where I came up with the title, but it just came to me, even though there aren't any particularly beautiful pics

For Valentine's day we had an indoor picnic at a friend's house, all of us wearing some sort of pink or red. We also web-cammed with my mom so she could see them eating the candy she sent in the mail. At 9 am. Definitely a special day. The babies wanted more, of course. Daddy brought home "Mommy flowers" and made a delicious dinner, which included some mushrooms and onions. Tucker sat on Daddy's lap and ate all of those onions, amazingly. He also ate the meat. But even I love that meat. He made filet mignon. Who doesn't love that???!! I personally loved the gnocchis. Mostly because I think it is a special touch to me. Every place that we have gone to that have gnocchis on the menu, I order that. I love gnocchis. Good mission memories.

Some funny Tucky stories. On Monday we had corn for lunch. All of a sudden Tucker was announcing "oh no!" several times. I couldn't figure out what "oh no!" was until he started saying nose. I looked in his nose and he stuffed a corn kernel up there. Lucky for me I figured out a way to get that sucker out. Pebbles next, right?

Another story is that we were walking in the park and all of sudden Tucker started saying "oh no!", but with a very distressed voice. I was looking around, but then he stopped walking and looked down. After that I started laughing hysterically and couldn't stop for awhile. Tucker's pants had fallen down below his knees and his cute little thighs and knees were exposed to the air below his raincoat. I don't know why I thought it was so funny, but the babies were not amused. Neither one of them cracked a smile. I don't think they could figure out what was so funny. Tucker did a courtesy laugh and I finally got it under control after that, only because maybe he was embarrassed, even if he has cute thighs and he had a onsie on over a diaper.

Whitney has figured out how to take off seals off of products. We were in Costco and I got some shampoo (my five year supply with the size they are, right?). A lady walked by and she smelled so good!!! Like she just stepped out of the shower. Then Whitney said "oh no!" (now you know the dreaded words in this family) and I looked down to see she had started squirting shampoo out. Well, at least I know it is a smell I like.

Tucker is really learning how to keep a balloon up in the air by hitting it. He's really getting it down where the balloon is going to go. They are both really into letters, Tucker more than Whitney. Everywhere we go, he points out different letters on signs and such. But he rarely gets them wrong, which is what is amazing to me. Whitney messes up on occasion, but it surprises me that it's more than Tucker. However, she is working on her pretend play and games.

She is usually the one that invents and initiates games. The ring leader. They have a book that has cut outs and she instructed Tucker to poke his finger through so she can go "tickle, tickle" to his finger. She also is setting her babies up at the table to eat the food she cooks in the kitchen. Tucker makes the babies cry and she feeds them. This week they also figured out how to work as a team to play Tucker's favorite game. Tucker can't quite turn the water on in the kitchen sink approaching it from the front. So Whitney pushed a stool around behind the sink and turned it off and on as he needed it to fill up his side-kick measuring cups. Yep. The ring leader. They also play "snuggle" which involved wedging themselves between the couch and the mattresses on the floor so one can jump off the couch over the other and land on the mattresses. A very safe, fun game. They also play take care of the baby. Tucker makes it cry and Whitney feeds it.

On Saturday we tried to get to the coast. We ended up just driving 6.5 hours. Lots of practice to get to Grandma's. For when they are older. We brought a friend and his wife called because she had to take her mom to the ER. We were just about to get to the beach to go razor clamming when the call came, so we had to turn around so he could take care of the 5 kids while she was with her mom. Crazy day. We would have been fine if there hadn't been an accident blocking the road to the beach...... Anyway it was a very frustrating long day in the car. We stopped to go to the bathroom and the only open one for Whitney to run into was a hugely clogged toilet. Never seen anything like it in nastiness, but I thought she couldn't hold it. Well, one look at that, and she could hold it. And hold it she did for another hour. She chuckled, smiled and ran into the clean bathroom when we finally got to one. I don't know if she is going to be roughing it type when she grows up. We'll see. She wasn't about to rough it then.

We ended up staying a bit to play at the friend's house to get out of the car. They have a 2 week old baby (hence the reason the grandma was there visiting) that Tucker and Whitney were amazingly soft to. These past two weeks we have been really working on saying sorry and being soft. I'm tired of the pointless time outs that they both seem to love and not care about. They still beat each other up and push and shove, but now, they are soft right after and seem surprised at times that they had hurt the other person. About a month ago we had a year old baby over that was teething and I had to work to keep Tucker from mauling them. So with this newborn, I was really watching Tucker. The newborn slept most of the time, but did wake up hungry and crying. They were both concerned for the baby, tried rubbing his head to comfort him and kept saying that the baby needed milk ("baby milk!"). When the bottle was ready, they both took turns holding it for him. So I guess kids are like dogs. They seem to know that the smaller, more delicate things need more leniency and to not get after them so soon. I'm just glad to see that they seem to be learning that the other person has feelings, too. I had to put a band-aid on Tucky's finger to protect a cut, and she gave the boo-boo a kiss! So cute! I bet you miss them! Enjoy the video of Whitney feeding Tucker rice and beans, something he doesn't like.

pathetic pics

Tucker: "What's up!"- mid chew
Just before I snapped this, they were both standing int it, looking out, like they were in prison
Tucker really likes diapers as a hat this week??????!!!
Whitney was being really cute, but put her hand up just as I took it. Still pretty cute.



The pictures are getting harder and harder to capture and videos are worse. Every time I have the camera out, they stop what they are doing and run over so they can see themselves on the camera. Very annoying. I almost caught some really cute stuff.

The picture of them in the fire pit ring on the back deck was taken at 5 o'clock at night. I was very excited about this. They ended up playing until 5:30. This means several things. It wasn't raining. It wasn't freezing cold. It was light until then. They were getting lots of energy out and slept well that night. All very happy things that means we are heading toward a warmer and less rainy season. I'm very excited. My primroses are also budding, the daffodil shoots are up and there are crows eating our trash (the green waste bin is slightly open from all those limbs from the tree I pruned last week). None of these things happen in the winter.

By the way, since living here, I hate crows even more. I didn't know they are bullies and scavengers like seagulls. Have the same sized nasty poop, too. Stupid crows. They chase all the other birds away that make pretty noises. Even Sammy and Rocky hate crows and bark at them incessantly when they are in our yard.

So this week we had a lovely time playing at the park, in the yard, or playing at the park with friends on Monday and Tuesday when it felt like spring.

Wednesday was a Valentine's party at music time. Whitney and Tucky's first Valentine party. It was then that I realized in getting rid of the diaper bag and going down to a back pack they carry and my purse, I don't have my camera with me. Lots of cute pics that I didn't capture. Whitney loves crafts and totally seems to get them. She's a bit of a perfectionist, though, in that if she can't make the craft look how she wants it, she gets mommy to do it. Tucker just kept handing Whitney supplies so she could make him one, too. I was absolutely shocked at how well she can do a craft. It was a craft that involved stickers and gluing and she got the concept and had her own idea. Definitely doesn't get that from me. It might explain, if I have a budding artist, why she likes the "Messy Me" book so much or why she is so messy in her eating. Just practicing her finger painting skills. But then she took her craft apart on the way home and then put it in the crucible we have for spices to smash it up a bunch. I guess she doesn't love her first attempts. She also knows how to sprinkle sprinkles on a cupcake almost as well as I did. She knew exactly what and how to do that. Tucker saw the cupcake and ate the frosting top off. He wasn't interested in the rest.

There were a bunch of veggie, cracker and fruit healthy treats at the party, but there were those cupcakes and another mom brought some valentine candies. Tucker saw those and couldn't concentrate on anything else except those two things until I took them out of his sight, and even then, he barely ate enough to satisfy his hunger. I guess he has mommy's sweet tooth. Whitney ate the whole cupcake in about 1-2 minutes. It was very good.

Thursday was a great day for mommy. After my clogging class I got to talking about a physical therapy topic with someone that was very enlightening for me. I had such a blast talking about it and it made me realize I really do like physical therapy. I need to sign up for my con ed class soon!

Friday we went to a new pediatrician. Jim's health insurance with this company is kind of like Kaiser from what I can tell in it's bigness and set up, but I do like the pediatrician. I think Tucker has a crush on her. Funniest thing. He was so good and helpful the whole time we were at the doctor, it almost made me laugh. Tucker took all his turns first, before Whitney. Climbing up on the scale, standing against the wall to be measured, getting a peak in the ears and getting his belly poked at, as well as his shots. When the doctor asked to measure his head, he smiled at her and leaned his head forward to accommodate her, like he was being such a gentleman. It seemed to really help Whitney feel better about her turn. Maybe that's why Tucker did it. To help Whitney.

Whitney is 2' 9.5" and 24 lbs. Tucker is 2'10.5" and 30 lbs. That puts Whitney in the 33% and Tucker in 45% for height. And Whitney 13% and Tucker 66% for weight. No wonder everyone says Whitney is so petite and Tucker is so big. Tucker is thick for his height and Whitney is slender for her height. Tucker still has a big head. in the 80%. Some shirts are really hard to pull over his head.

The doctor didn't seem to be too interested in testing Tucky for almond or milk allergies since the allergy just decreases his snot level, but I'm not about to go back to milk. That kid has consistently slept through the night, even when he had a cold, since then. I'm sold. If I don't have to wake up, no more milk. I guess it's like Scott's allergy to milk. Not life threatening, just really, really annoying. Surprisingly, Tucker hasn't had too big of a fit about not having milk. He seems to really like soy milk. Whitney likes it about the same as she likes cow milk. And I put soy in his smoothies. Seems to be doing very well.

We had to go downstairs to get the shots. The babies were very brave. They didn't cry or squirm too bad until the nurses had the needles on the way out. The nurses were awesome, too. They had a singing animal that the babies were fascinated with during the whole thing. And they had stickers. Tucker picked out the same sticker there as he did in the doctor's office. He saw the jaguar sticker, immediately said "meow" just like a small innocent kitten, and has been carting around that sticker, saying meow the same way ever since. He keeps trying to stick it to his belly, but it doesn't really work. I've been very surprised at how much he loves his "meow".

Whitney really likes taking her baby potty. Kind of annoying because she expects me to respond to baby needing to go potty the same way I respond to her needing to go. Good thing I'm not potty training Tucky. Then it would be like potty training triplets. No, thanks.

The videos are just as pathetic as the pics. I tried to get video of Whitney directing Tucker to play Tickle Feet through the stairway banister just like Mina does and of them finding poop for me. Kind of, sort of.

trucks and ducks

Whitney working hard on Mr. Potato
Whitney with the Elmo shirt and head band on that she picked out.
Whitney really wanted a picture of her baby
The face of glee she has when she puts her Elmo shirt on
Tucker would like to live in this thing. Under the blanket are a bunch of trucks and blocks he likes to play with. He doesn't have any other pics this week because they are lame.



The past week Jim was out of town from Saturday morning to Thursday night. So I didn't take any pics. The only ones we have are from his phone when he got home and was missing them. You'll have to do the old stand by of imagining it in your mind.

The weather has been drier this week. We've even had some sun. Today we went outside to play and it took them a bit to remember how to play outside. After a bit they found the rocks, golf balls and dirt and went to town. Tucker is so excited about the sun today he is not taking a nap.

Last week we went to the park a ton. One day we were at the park and they were using a dump truck and a tractor to load it. Holy cow. Very cool and very exciting. But, couldn't get too close. Very scary, too. They had a blast running up and down some short bleachers while they were watching. It was a great day.

Another day we went to a different park and watched the ducks. First we chased them off of their feeding grounds (a slow walking speed as they creeped up a bit a time to see if they could get closer). That turned out to be a very bad idea. They poop while they eat and Mom was very disgusted by the stuff in the treads of those shoes. So we went to throw rocks in the pond instead. Should have done that in the first place. Ducks came up by the dozens and pretty close, too. Whitney decided the bench was a safer place to stand. They stood on the bench watching and yelling a particular duck ("No, no!") that was twice as big as the rest for some reason. This duck was a bully and babies could recognize that, and kept reprimanding it. It was warmer than usual, and my Whitney who likes to go "inside" had a fit about leaving the park at lunch time. The two year old power struggles begin.

The babies really missed Daddy. The first night Jim was gone, Tucker got up from reading books before bed, bounded down the hall and ran into Jim's office, fully expecting Daddy to be there. He was very confused and surprised not to find him there. He didn't look again until Daddy got home. Once Daddy got home, Tucker didn't want him out of his arms or sight. Whitney was a little more snugly than normal during the week. Not sure if it is just a hard week or she was worried about Daddy. She pointed to his chair and said "Daddy seat" the first night he was missing from dinner.

Daddy had to run a few errands once he got home. We decided to each take a baby and go do errands on Sat. night. Tucker got the raw end of the deal. I had to do my calling, so he sat in the clerk's office throwing paperclips everywhere for 45 minutes. We did play jump, all by ourselves on the mattresses downstairs before Daddy and Whitney got home. Daddy went to Old Navy for pants and Safeway for I don't know what, but Whitney had a blast shopping. She watched Daddy pick out some clothes, then go try them on. She thought that was a great idea, so she picked some out to try on. Daddy did help by going to the clearance isle and the headband isle. She picked out an Elmo shirt. Duh. They are actually pj's, so she picked out some superman pj's for Tucky, too. Once at Safeway, she picked out some dried apricots. She wouldn't let Tucker even touch the bag. Don't worry. Tucker got a bag, too, but decided dried apricots are "yucky poop". Hmmmm Whitney. I think you really know how to pick things so you get two.......

They are starting to catch on to letters more and more, so I'm having to get creative. Today when we were outside, they were looking at a box and pointing to Tucky T's and double-whitney's (W). now they have Rocky R's, Sammy S's, Mommy M's, Papa P's, and Doggy D's somewhat down. It is really confusing about Mommy M's and double Whitney's and how they flip.

Whitney's books of choice this week are "Big Sister" and "Messy Me". She can very clearly say big sister, but calls the other book "mess-mess" book. She really likes that Big sister book. I think it might be because I told her how she is Tucker's big sister. Might have been a really bad idea to introduce that concept. She gets a big grin on her face when she says that now. Like she is big and powerful. There is a page that talks about poop in the diaper versus poop in the toilet, and that is a very true and interesting page for her.....

There are these smart baby videos I've gotten at the library that the babies have loved and I have no idea why. One time we got it for the car trip to Utah and that was the only video Whitney watched. Tucker never really watched it. This time I got the musical instruments one. They watched the whole thing, laughing and talking about all the animals showing up on the screen when the instrument being played changed. It was really funny and engaging and I have no idea why, but glad I found it

This week the Grandma that lives next door gave us the little Tikes workshop with all the tools and everything. I gave her a loaf of homemade bread. She seems to think we both benefited. It's out of her storage area and she got bread. I still think I got the better end of the deal. A new toy and a cool one at that. It is like the kitchen in that it is already giving me at least 1/2 hour of peace and quiet at a time. Whitney and Tucker both love it. Daddy also really liked playing with it when he came home. I invited the neighbor over to watch the kids see it for the first time, but I really should have invited her over for when Jim saw it for the first time. It's been an awesome week.

Since it is has been drier this week, I've been slowly trimming a weeping cherry tree we have in our front yard. It is old and big and looks like it should be a shower of pink blossoms, but last year I was dismayed in the few blooms it had. I found out it has a lot of dead wood. So I set about to prune it before it gets too late in the year. Most of the time, I could just knock the branch off instead of having to cut it. Saturday I took advantage of nap time, sunshine and Jim being inside with the babies to really finish the job. I cut two really big branches, having to get Jim to help me finish them off. He kept saying things like "Are you sure you know what you are doing?" and "shouldn't we wait to see what stuff is really dead?" and "why do you want those branches off?.... It's because they are the wrong shape??!!" I was up higher in the tree doing more pruning while he finished those branches off for me and it looked great from up there as far as dead material gone and the shape of the whole thing. I was really excited!! And then I got down and realized how much of the tree was on the ground as I hauled it to the green waste pile. I started getting really discouraged that I had killed it at this point. Then the Grandma next door came out and was really excited about all the work and commented on how nice it all looked. I felt encouraged. We'll see if I killed it in a few months. I would be really sad if it died. It is a beautiful tree.