Christmas 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! We started off the christmas celebrations last tuesday evening with the annual Cowan Christmas party at the barn! It was so much fun and Carl's family worked so hard with all the beautiful decorations and food! We spent the rest of the week preparing for the weekend ahead. Christmas Eve is always a busy day for us but we love every minute. We started the morning off at Grammy and coach's house for breakfast and presents. They always spoil us all! This year they transformed one of their rooms into a huge playroom for the kiddos. They bought a playhouse and bouncer and revealed it to them that morning. Tripp and Kate had a ball!! We will definitely be spending ALOT more time over there;) We love you both!! For lunch, we headed over to Aunt Janelle's house for celebrations with the entire Schindewolf family. We again had lots of fun and tripp and tucker were blessed with lots of fun gifts. We are lucky to be a part of 2 amazing familes:) Saturday evening we headed over to my dad and ginger's for another amazing meal and more fun family time. We were all blessed with lots of great gifts and had a great time! We even had some delicious homeade eggnog...a tradition at dad's. We were exhausted by the time we got home but after we put the kids to sleep we had to prepare for santa! Needless to say Carl and I didn't get much sleep but it was all worth it Christmas morning when tripp opened up all his presents! Tucker slept through the whole process...but next year should be even more fun!! After opening toys and playing for a while, we all got ready and headed over to my mom's house for a yummy Christmas lunch and yes....more presents! My mom and keith spoiled us again!! We were again blessed with many gifts. We really enjoyed spending time with our families and of course stuffing our faces in the process. We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives and we love each and every one of you so very much!! I think above all my favorite Christmas gift this year, although a little early, was my precious tucker mason:) We are truly blessed!! Here are some (ok, lots) of pictures....enjoy!



opening presents at chief's house

opening presents on christmas morning...was a little overwhelmed, guess he was REALLY good this year;)

our family at mom's

yaya and her boys

tuck tuck with his yaya

the schindewolf family (minus tucker) at the cowan party

tripp playing with his tricycle (or car as he calls it) at coach and grammy's

coach and grammy...so sweet!

family shot at coach and grammy's

tuck tuck with C & G

precious boy!

all of us schindes

sweet boy...

funny face!!

tuck and grammy

tripp putting in some last minute requests at the cowan party;)

cheese!

dancing at C & G's



I've said it a million times, but we are truly blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people! We love you all. Hope all had as merry a Christmas as we did. Thanks for stopping by.

Love and blessings,
Traci

One Month Old

Our precious little tucker mason is now 1 month old! We can hardly believe it!! He has been such a blessing to us and we are enjoying every crazy second with our 2 precious boys! Here are some of the things are little "tuck tuck" is up to these days:

• eating 4 oz. about every two hours (although it seems like he eats constantly!)
• wearing 3 months
• now in size 2 diapers!! (came home in size 1)
• still has blue/green eyes
• light hair
• really filling out and now weighs about 12 lbs!
• his cord finally fell out on friday
• has lots of stinky diapers and grunts really loud when making them:)
• pretty content most of the time and seems to be laid back
• is so precious and has a mommy, daddy and big brother who love him to pieces!

We are enjoying life right now, even all the crazy sleepless nights because we know how fast the time flys by! Tripp is such a sweet big brother and seems genuinely concerned when tucker cries. He will usually try to put a paci or a bottle in his mouth or sometimes even try to pick him up (I dont let him of course;)) it is too precious! We are excited about Christmas and especially all the celebrations we have to attend starting tomorrow with the cowan party!  enjoy the pictures below...



tucker mason
1 month

our little chubbo

yaya and the boys:)

 We went to blake's 8th birthday party this past weekend. He had it an indoor swimming pool. We decided to leave tucker home with grammy and coach while we took tripp, he had a blast and really enjoyed time with mommy and daddy! below are a few pictures.

having a blast!

so sweet

"shooting" with daddy

The bithday boy...we love you!

my precious monkey

 ok here are some pictures of tucker in the "fashionable" outfit that his daddy came home in. Big brother tripp also has a picture in it:)



sweet cousins

Thanks for checking in. Hope all have a blessed week! Will update again soon:)

Love and blessings,
Traci



Hooray!

Tucker's cord finally came off today! It's about time...he is 4 weeks old today and will be a month old officially on Sunday! To celebrate tripp and I gave him a nice warm bath this morning. It was his first time to have his body totally in the water and he loved it! Can't wait for nighttime bath...hopefully it will help him to sleep better and longer if we are lucky;) here are a few pictures of my boys today...enjoy:) check back soon for the one month post!

Picture Post

Here are a few pictures from the past week...



sleepy santa



getting his hair done before pictures

"helping" mommy with baby brother

the boys before their catalog pictures

uncle lance and aunt michelle!

picture speaks for itself!

We hope all have a great week and are enjoying the holiday season as much as we are! We are loving having 2 sweet boys:)

Love and Blessings,

Traci

You know you're a mom when...

The moment I became a mom my life was forever changed. I had never known the true meaning of love until I held my son in my arms for the first time. My heart only became more full when I held my second son in my arms. I don't live my life for me anymore, I live my life for them. Being a mother is the greatest blessing! Even through all the hard time, fits, sleepless nights and everything else I wouldn't change a thing! Now that I am a mother of 2 under the age of 2 I have been super busy and have realized a few things about being a mommy, thus the title of this post:)

You know you're a mom when....

Going to the bathroom becomes a public affair...door open and everybody in with you.

Taking a shower is a luxury and usually a public affair as well

Going to Walmart by yourself is a treat and makes you so excited!

Coffee is not an option...its mandatory and you wonder how you ever survived without it.

When shopping you find yourself in the children's department instead of women's.

You find yourself singing the "hotdog song" even when your children aren't around.

You have seen cars and toy story more times than you can count.

Your heart stops every time your child gets hurt and it hurts you more.

You learn how to shop like a super market sweeper;)

Naptime is essential for babies AND mom.

You can change a diaper in a matter of seconds with your eyes closed:)

You can hold a crying baby, make a bottle, cut up a toddlers lunch, talk on the phone, pick things off the floor and plan a dinner all at the same time!

Most of all your heart is full of love and joy and you can't remember a life before your children.

I love being a mommy even when things are crazy...which is about all day at our house;)

Hope all have a great day!

Love and blessings,
Traci

Santa

We took the boys out on our first big outing since tucker was born. We took out our double stroller and headed to the woodlands to get a picture with Santa! We got there while Santa was on break but luckily we were one of the first in line when he returned. Even so, we still had to wait a few minutes so of course our little busy body (aka tripp) was getting very restless! When it was our turn he went right up to Santa (not scared at all) but when it was time to sit down on Santa's lap he was having not part, he wanted to run around! Hence the lovely picture we got;) it's a funny one and definitely one to look back on and laugh! It's not easy getting a picture of an active 21 month old and throwing a newborn into the mix....well see for yourself:)

Updates

These past two weeks have been quite an adjustment for our little family. Since I had a C-section I wasn't able to lift tripp for the first two weeks. So we have had help over everyday. My mom would come every morning before carl left for work, then either my grandmother, aunt or sweet mother in law would come over after that and stay until carl got home. I can't thank them all enough, we are so blessed to have each of you in our lives. Today I went for my 2 week check up and got the "all clear" to lift tripp as needed. It made me feel so much better and I couldn't wait to get home and pick him up! My awesome mom took me to the doctor since I wasn't feeling great this morning while my wonderful in-laws watched both boys. Again, can't thank them enough! 

Our sweet little tucker is 2 weeks old today! we took him to the doctor yesterday for his newborn screening and a weight check. Well our little (or should I say big) boy has more than exceeded his birth weight (8lbs. 1 oz.). He now weighs 9 lbs.! When we brought him home last monday he weighed 7lbs. 12 oz. Its safe to say our little boy LOVES to eat! He usually eats every 2 hours and drinks anywhere from 3-4 ounces. It has been an adjustment getting up during the night again, but I think my body is getting used to it again. It has also been a challenge having 2 kiddos but we're getting there;) Today is my first day alone with both boys and so far, so good! It does help that my in-laws are literally a "stone throw" away!

Our precious tripp is now 21 months old and is too smart for his own good. He's getting used to having tucker around, now that he has realized he is here to stay;) He calls him "buh" for baby brother and loves to try and stick pacifiers and bottles in his mouth...needless to say we have to keep a close eye on him. Tripp is still not saying too many words but does have his own 'words" for certain things and makes lots of sounds. He is getting much closer. One word that he has learned to say is carl! It is hysterical. He hears me calling carl all the time and realized he comes a lot faster. So when he really wants his daddy he will skip the "dada" and yell "carl!" He also loves to make animal sounds and makes the silliest faces when he does. He is getting so big and growing up way too fast. I am trying to enjoy every exhausting minute with tucker during this baby stage because I know how fast it goes. My first baby is now a boy!

Below are some recent pictures of my precious boys! They are the light of my life!

2 weeks old

grammy and tucker in their hats

tripp loves the boppy!

helping mom decorate

the boys with their yaya

mr. tucker

kisses!

sweet boy

all ready for the doctor!

That's just a little update on what we have been up to. Carl and I are enjoying our precious boys so much! We feel so blessed. This holiday is going to be extra special!! We wish all a happy weekend and thanks for stopping by! Will try and update again soon!

Love and Blessings,

Traci and the boys;)

Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this year! We have 2 precious and healthy little boys, great friends and wonderful families to spend thanksgiving with! We are blessed! This year we had 3 thanksgiving feasts. Wednesday night we went over to Carl's parent's house and had a yummy dinner with the schindewolf family. Thursday we went over to my mom's house for a huge feast! I was especially thankful for my family watching my boys so I could enjoy a nice long nap:) A much needed nap for a mommy with a 20 month old and a 1 week old;) We ended out the week with yet another yummy meal at my dad's on friday. I'm sad to say that I didn't take many pictures this year. I guess having just had a baby threw me off....not to worry I will be back to snapping photos in no time;) I did manage to snap a few....

daddy and tripp hanging out after lunch

our precious little turkey

yaya, nana and rat with tucker

precious nephews....blake and jake

here is what I am most thankful for...my boys<3

We had a great week and especially enjoyed having Carl home all week!! We have been busy adjusting to life with a newborn again and we are loving having two boys. I will update again soon with some new pictures of our 1 week old! But for now it's off to bed for this tired mommy! Hope all had a blessed Thanksgiving! Thanks for stopping by!

Love and Blessings,
Traci