Category: Life

Truman is getting older. The past few days I have been watching him and wondering how he grew up so fast. It really just seems like yesterday that he smiled at me for the first time, now he has grown up, and is becoming more independent every day. In some ways we are entering the “terrible twos”, complete with the tantrums, but in other ways, I love the way he thinks so independently. Last week we were holding hands and walking up the stairs, not really talking to each other, when he looked up at me, and said, “Love You Momma” There is nothing like being a mother, especially to such an adorable toddler.

Tucker has figured out how to write notes.
This week, he is starting to understand literacy a little better. He know how to write his letters, and know almost all of them. But he is just realizing that he can write notes to people, and now he has written notes to many people.
On Sunday, when we returned from vacation, and there was a note from my friend, and her son. He was so excited to see it, and then immediately wanted to make a note for this friend. He wanted to write his friends name across the top, I circled his name from the letter that was left. Tucker copied the name from the note, and then wrote his name on the bottom. He was so proud of himself. The next day, he delivered it, then wanted to write a note to his teachers at Preschool. This is where it gets good….Instead of just their names, he wanted to write a note. He told me what to write, and then he copied all the letters/words. This is what he said/wrote: “Did anything bad happen at school while I was gone? Tucker”
This must be how little boys think….a totally abstract world to me.

I think Truman is getting ready to be potty trained, I have been gearing up to do this, but wanted to wait until after the vacation. We are back, and Truman seems ready, I think I am going to start next week!
Some friends recommended a book, called “Potty Training in a Day” (or something like that) I am about half way through, but am going to try to finish reading it this weekend, and start the beginning of next week! I am sure there will be more posts on this subject.

My sister Amy commented last week to my previous Guitar Hero Post:
You better believe it! And I will STILL beat you and Toph!

So the story continues, On our way home for Oregon, we stopped at my parents to wish my Dad a Happy Birthday, and guess what my family was playing? Not hard to guess, Guitar Hero.

After the festivities were done, Toph and I decided to take a turn at it. (there wasn’t much time, Amazing Race was about to start) Tuck and Truman wanted in on the game too, Toph won 1 game, and I won 1 game. Next time we’re up there, Toph and I are going to have to play a rematch.

And Amy, Next time Tuck and Truman are on YOUR team, we’ll see who wins then! 🙂

While we we in Oregon, we missed my Dad’s Birthday, and since I have been trying to catch up on Laundry (Man there is alot of Laundry when you come home from Vacation), and trying to catch up on life (Is this ever really possible?), I have not taken much time to post to the Blog, but I wanted to let my Dad know how much I love him.

Here are some of the things my boys said about their Gramps:
Me:Hey Tuck, I want to write Gramps a note, can you tell me your favorite things about him?
Tuck:He’s Nice to Me, and he calls me names and stuff, Maybe we could print him a Larryboy picture to send to him, does he like Larry Boy?
Me: I don’t know, I am sure he would like it if it were from you!
Tuck: My Gramps, he does things for me, remember when he took me to McDonalds, and we got a ninja turtle?
Me: Truman what do you want to say to Gramps?
Truman: um, Gramps Gonzales?
Me: Yea,
Truman: Yea.
🙂
Truman Said it better than I could have.
We Love your Sense of Humor and are grateful for all you do for us.
Love you Dad, and Happy Be-Lated Birthday.

This last week our family spent an incredible few days together, thanks to some good friends, the Teasdales. We had such a grand adventure–we drove almost 2,000 miles in 5 days, and had many unforgettable experiences. The Teasdales were generous enough to allow us to tag along, here is short synopsis of our trip…

Tuesday Night 9:45 PM Leave for Oregon

Wednesday Morning 10:15 AM Arrive in Portland (sleeping children are so much easier to travel with 🙂 )
Wednesday Afternoon Visit the OMSI Museum–This was an awesome museum, it was incredible, completely hands on, and we ALL learned something.
Truman Loved the Water:

Tucker and Truman found this Robot you got to control, and play a game of Connect 4 with. The robot is the big yellow thing in the background.


More Water:

Tucker in an Aquarium:

Tuck and Andrea, pretending to be Creatures from the sea:

Thursday: Big Town Heroes, Drive to Manzanita, Visit Cannon Beach, and enjoy being on the Coast!
Getting a Snack at the beach House:

When we left for Cannon Beach it was Raining,

When we got to Cannon Beach, the sun came out:

Friday: Morning at the Beach, Afternoon at the Tilamook Cheese Factory, and Evening Fire on the Beach

Tru an Cam having a good time in the sand:


After playing on the beach for awhile, the Tide started to come back in, and a big wave came. Christopher was between both boys, and figured since Tucker was bigger, he had better grab Truman. Tucker wasn’t quite big enough to handle that wave. MAN DOWN!

So after being taken out by a wave,

Tucker decided to just strip down and play in the ocean…

We forgot our Camera when we went to the Tilamook Cheese Factory, but believe you me, it was wonderful. Tucker and Truman watched the “Robots” (The Machines that Cut and Packaged the Cheese) and I watched the Cheese, and there was free samples of cheese at the end and we enjoyed some delicious ice cream. Yum.

S’mores taste pretty good on the Beach!

Playing:

A beautiful end to a good day:

Saturday: Return to Portland, Saturday Market, and Begin the Drive home
Riding the Train into Portland, made me miss the T in Boston:

A Man at the Market:

Here are the balloon swords the boys purchased at the Market, (I think they popped about 4 minutes after this picture was taken):

Sunday: Drive Home

The Drive was long, but worth every second. We had an incredible time.
Thanks Again Teasdales!

It has become obvious that Tucker thinks that our treehouse is going to be magical, just like Jack and Annies’. He has packed up all of his books, and organized them in sections. Those going to the Treehouse, and Those staying in his room. He also thinks that the treehouse will be built rather quickly, as he is making all sorts of plans…
Ah, the priorities of a 4 year old. I wish my biggest decisions/problems revolved around books.

Thursday Afternoon is our Scout Afternoon, we have 8 (soon to be 10) rambunctious young boys ages 8 and 9, It is alot of fun to be with them, they’re so passionate for life, and full of energy, but as you can imagine, our hands are full. During this time we are usually trying to make sure our scouts are staying on task, not poking their neighbors with their pencils, trying to glue their hands to their faces, or burning themselves with the hot glue guns, as you can imagine, Truman and Tucker can sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Don’t get me wrong, most of the time, Tuck and Tru are right there gluing their craft sticks together just like the big kids, but every once in a while they can just slip away for a few minutes, and Toph or I will think they are with the other person.
Tucker took one of the above such opportunities to slip away. He decided to practice his cooking skills. We had just finished making trail mix with the scouts, and Tucker gathered the ingredients he liked and took them to the kitchen where he mixed it with other things he could find…
Here are his ingredients for “Tuckers Stew”:
Lots of Water and Milk mixed together well
a few handfuls of Craisins and Raisins
1 handful of Cheerios
1/2 of the Sugar Shaker (approx. 2.5 cups)
Mix them together well, and Voila! a delicious stew.
Toph and I realized what was happening right about the Voila part. When we came in Tucker was ready to sit down for dinner. The young boys got a spoon, and decided to dig in.

Toph and I decided to pass, It didn’t look as appetizing to us.
Ironically Truman loved it, and ate 2 bowls.
Tucker was done after one spoonful.

How do children move so fast?
Sometimes I wonder where they get their speed…I could be a millionaire if I could figure it out…
Well, yesterday Tucker and his friend found the 2 BIG boxes of Legos, and dumped them all over the kitchen and living room. The crazy thing is, I was on the phone for 2:06 minutes. How do they move so fast? I found the Legos under all 3 couches, under all of the couch cushions, under my kitchen table and shelf, Of Course the boys helped me clean them up, and it only took us 20 minutes to find them all… (The pics don’t do the mess justice)


Have I mentioned how much I LOVE LEGOS? 😉