stickyfeathers

a letter to my first born.

dear tucker,

the very first thing i want to tell you is how much i love you.  like, to the moon and back a million times over.  i honestly didn't know i could love another human being so much until i had you.

 

i remember the night you came into my life like it was yesterday.  but it wasn't yesterday.  it was five years ago.  every single day since then, i count my blessings that you are mine. 

even though you've always been a little dude in size, you have made up for it in attitude.  and even though you have an attitude, you still are one of the sweetest little kids i know.  you care and worry about others.  this trait has really came to light since you became a big brother to your little baby peach.  you love that little guy so much and are so excited that you will be 'best friends forever'.  when he was born, you were so gentle with him.  now that he's sneaking into your room or trying to get your toys, you aren't always gentle, but you still love him just as much. 

there isn't a day that goes by that you don't say or do something that brings a smile to my face or a tear to my eye.  last night, you wanted to give me another kiss before bed 'just because i love you mom'.  and today, when you were talking about someone that was being not-so-nice to you, you told me that we need to 'teach her a lesson' and it sounded a little soprano like.  was it wrong of me to think that was hilarious? 

you are very animated.  :)

 

you are getting sick of the camera and i'll try anything to get a good shot of you.  in this shot, i captured you 'counting' the number of shots i took since i only had a limited window of approval.  totally you to actually COUNT the shots.

 

you have developed a strange habit when it comes to eating.  sometimes before dinner is even finishing cooking, you will be asking how many bites you have to take of it.  seriously.  and you also have a habit of having to drop a deuce every night at dinner time.  talk about procrastination at it's finest.  then there are days when you eat like a horse.  go figure.  you must be a lot like your uncle dustin.  growing up, the only thing i remember him eating was meat, ketchup, white bread, cereal and swiss cake rolls. 

i want to remember the little things.  little things like:

you currently are obsessed with my iphone (angry birds), pirates (which was your birthday party theme), and being five.  you don't like holes in your socks or your pants.  you have a few favorite shirts.  you are sick of the snow and want it to melt so we can go camping and you can play on your swingset.  you like to help cook and lick the bowl of any goodies we make.  a typical lunch for you would be a nutella 'chocolate' sandwich, strawberries, a yogurt stick and a glass of chocolate milk.  you love green apples for a snack.  you like to sit in the chair and snuggle up with your dad and watch the history or discovery channel.  you are a happy kid (with a bit of a short fuse at times).  you LOVE school.  you love to pick out your books each night and have me read to you.  you say you are scared of the dark, so you have your solar system and star nightlights on each night (along with the bathroom light until you're asleep).  you say you are hot so you turn your little fan on that hangs on your bed.  i think the noise helps you fall asleep.  your favorite lovies right now are your black angry bird, your two mickey's, and tucker the turtle.  you wear your sunglasses in the morning to watch morning cartoons if the sun isn't up and the tv is too bright.  it's hilarious.  sometimes you get a little bumbaloo.  you still hold my hand when i walk you into preschool ... and you give me a kiss and a hug before i go.  you are a jabberbox and will chat anyone's ear off.  your favorite color is GREEN.  you love 'mommy, daddy, and levi days' (the days when we all are home and don't work).  and honestly ... those are my most favorite days too.

 

there is so much i can say, but it all comes down to this:  i love you.  i can't believe you are already five.  i sometimes want to pause this life and go back to different times throughout the last five years because i'm already starting to forget.  you are growing up way too fast.  i never thought it was possible for five years to go by this quickly, but it has. 

and here you are.  five years old.  happy birthday!

i love you to the moon and back tuckerbug.
love, mom

winning!

in january i lost 10 pounds.  such a motivating start to my resolution to change.  i kept the healthy trian moving along in feburary and lost 6.5 pounds!  i think i'm the one WINNING (sorry charlie)!

to date, i have lost 16.5 pounds total.  holy moly batman!

at weight watchers, my total loss is less, but that's because i started that program after i started losing weight for the biggest blogging loser.  my total weight loss since the beginning of the year is important to me.  i don't want to forget where i started from.  the only thing that is important is where i'm headed.  right?

so, i haven't been blogging any updates on this because i've been a little busy.  i hope that soon i can get back to my normal life and start blogging more.  i miss it.  anyways ...

weight watchers points+ is fabulous.  being a creature of habit, it is hard finding new things to work into your diet, but i am doing it.  i'll have to start sharing some recipes soon! 

i've was kickboxing once a week for the past six weeks (it's done now until april).  it's not much, but living in a small town, there are not many options for workout classes.  that is the one thing i wish we had more of here.  i would be too embarrassed to slack off or not try my hardest ... so being in a class is totally motivating.  we have at a minimum another month of winter, but i am so anxious for the temperatures to rise and the snow to melt!  i want to get outside walking, playing with my kids, and doing yard work! 

i ordered jeans in a size smaller.  i've never had to do that.  i've always fit in my old jeans after pregnancy (or had to get a bigger size).  the jeans i'm wearing now are seriously sagging!  a foreign but AWESOME feeling!  either way, i got the jeans yesterday and was scared and excited to try them on.  well, i am happy to report i put them on this morning and i'm still breathing right now.  yey!

also, there are so many people that are such a huge support to me.  i mentioned quite a few of them before, but i also have a facebook group that has helped a ton too!  you ladies know who you are!  thank you!

it feels so good to be WINNING at losing.  :)

month nine.

the last month has been nothing short of insane in leviland. 

let me update you.

first the stats:
29 inches tall.  23.6 pounds.  yeah.

last month, he had four teeth.  now, he has SEVEN.  he got his fifth tooth on 2/8 and then we lost track of when the other two came in because he HATES when we try to pry into his little mouth.  but yep, between then and now TWO more popped up.  oh, and there are more that are CLOSE.  besides eating he loves to use them to BITE people.  specifically - my shoulder when i am holding him.  i guess it's a cheap teething toy.

 

on 2/3 he officially turned into a crawling monster and hasn't looked back.  well, he looks back only to see if we are watching before he darts off down the hallway into a room.  yeah, he thinks he is sneaky, but not so much.  he LOVES his ability to get around now.  let me tell you, he's going to be trouble too.  he's already trying to get into drawers, cupboards, etc. that his brother never even cared about. 

 

lately, he has started pulling himself up onto EVERYTHING.  when tucker is eating at the table, levi will crawl over to him and pull himself up so he is standing by tucker's chair.  then, he'll slowly reach up and grab onto the table and move his fingers along the table to see if he can grab anything close.  usually, he's looking for baby crack gerber puffs.

that's right, the kid is hooked on puffs.  now, he'll be eating and then starts to whine for what i can only dub as a 'puff break'.  i give him a few, then it's back to finishing his food.  weird huh?  i'm trying to start  giving him more table food, but the kid is picky.  he is not a huge fan of vegetables yet (carrots and peas) but loves mashed up bananas.  he drinks like a champ out of his sippy cup ... but still has his bottle a couple times during the day and before bed. 

if you ask levi this one question, 'do you want to take a bath?' ... he gets the BIGGEST smile on his face and then goes a bit crazy.  you cannot get him into the water fast enough.  if babies came with gills, he would be more than happy to just live in the tub forever.  tucker and him do bathtime together for the most part.  levi splashes like a maniac and wants to play with every toy that floats by him.  i take him out of his little seat to watch his body and i end up soaking wet.  the kid wiggles around in the tub like a madman!  i need to capture this on video.  hilarious. 

 

his crib is now at the lowest setting since he has learned to stand up in it.  he sleeps in his crib all night and will occassionally wake up a time or two at night.  there are nights he lets me sleep all night long though and it's heaven (don't tell him about any of this though or it will all change)! 

he has started saying 'mama mama maamammaamaama' and also 'baba baba baba baba'.  matt is waiting for the 'dada' to finally hit the charts, but we're still waiting.  the kid loves me and his food.  can you blame him?  :)

 

also, sometime during the month, he aquired a new nickname.  tucker started calling him 'levi owen baby peach'.  yep.  THE WHOLE THING.  not just baby peach (which matt and i have shortened it to).  i think it is so cute.  the funny thing is matt believes the nickname might stick with him for quite some time and when he's a linebacker for the football team, people will be calling him 'baby peach'.  i guess we'll see.

 

random levi tidbits:  he plays peek-a-boo like a champ (and i really love when he thinks he is hiding but his face is in full view).  he screeches with delight when his brother is near (especially if tucker tickles his belly)!  he has a love affair with all of tucker's toys.  he loves music and will tap his foot or wiggle his body to it.  he makes the silliest little faces.  he lights up whenever i get home from work (for his dad too).  he has quite a bit of hair on his little noggin.  his eyes are the prettiest blue (like his brothers).  he has cubby little hands and feet.  he makes it difficult to give him a diaper change since he doesn't like to be still.  he will study a new face for the longest time.  he is hard to get a picture of since he's always on the move. 

oh, and he loves to make this face ... all. the. time.

 

i totally love my levi owen baby peach.

ahoy matey!

to be honest, i don't know how many of you are still reading.  i hope there is a handful.  i need help.

tucker is SO EXCITED for his birthday at the end of march.  he wanted a 'bullet cake' and a 'bullet pinata'.  seriously, after the bullet costume at halloween, i'm done with bullets!  so, i talked him into a pirate theme birthday party (with cannons!).  however, i want to do some fun things but am slacking on creativity.  or brain juice.  or something.  he's only having a handful of friends over for his kid party, and then we'll have family over on his actual birthday for dinner.

he loves the new disney show, 'jake and the neverland pirates' and i'm trying to find ways i can incorporate parts of that show in.  i like how they don't have a TON of skulls and that kind of 'pirate' stuff on there. 

i thought i would get his invitations from etsy.  they have some cute pirate ones on there.  i need to get going on that.  i figured i'd give the kids eye patches, a plastic sword and maybe a telescope thing (not sure of the real term right now).  figured i'd play a 'pin the x on the treasure' type game.  i don't know.  i also love cupcakes ... but what can i do that's cool?  put a toothpick that has a pirate flag on it?  maybe some that have '5' on it for tucker?  um ... yeah, i need help!  i want to give him a sweet party he's going to love. 

i'm all over the place here ... but are there any ideas out there?