Merry Christmas

Good news! The Tucks gave us a new digital camera for Christmas. Here are some scenes from the Tuck family Christmas in Rockford. More to follow...


Christmas eve cocktails


First present of the morning


Sam loves his new cars and garage.

It snowed this morning!!

It snowed in Montgomery this morning.... in our dining room! Mister got up before Andy or me and found a box of kosher salt in the pantry. He proceeded to "let it snow" all over the table, chairs, rug, and floor. Sam has really got the holiday spirit this year!

A recent portrait of me

(taken by my four year old niece, Maggie.) Cute sweater, huh?

All I want for Christmas is a...

BELT!!

Last week I went to pick Sam up at school and found him walking around his classroom like this:




His new pants were too big and kept falling down. His teachers told me they fell down all morning and they thought it was so funny. When he noticed them giggling at him, he started pulling his pants down just to make them laugh. What a ham! I wonder where he got that.....

Santa comes to Fairhope early....

The Hugheses have a tradition of Santa arriving on Christmas Eve bringing presents for the littlest members of the family. He came early this year in order to catch most all the kids in one spot. They were so happy to see him.

Bummer!

Aaaaaahhhhh! In all the excitement of Santa's visit to Nonnie and Papa's house last night, I dropped our camera and broke it! It will turn on and the lcd screen comes on briefly but the lens is stuck halfway open (or is it halfway closed...hmmm). I will have to get it repaired when we get home. Andy says this particularly bad for my blog because it is like Playboy- "People say they read it for the articles but really just want the pictures." Touche.
So the lowdown: Santa was very jolly and brought cool gifts. All the kids were very excited except Claire, who cried, and Sam, who ran and hid. Good times.
I'll see if I can get some pictures from someone else's camera to post.

Playing with Greyson and Quinn

Greyson and Sam take turns sliding "Neigh" the horse and other animal friends down the block slide.


Michele hiding behind Quinn. Doesn't Quinn have beautiful eyes?

Whew!

We left to drive to St Louis on Friday afternoon. We stayed in Nashville at Raif and Michele's new house, which is beautiful. Saturday morning Suzy and Ryan brought over baby Riley so we could meet her and she is just a doll. What a good baby. Sam had a great time playing with Raif and Michele's kids, Greyson and Quinn. And Sam was kind enough to show off his best and brattiest behavior by throwing some real choice tantrums. I think Greyson and Quinn were in shock watching Sam kick and cry and scream at the dinner table. They are so well behaved! They all had fun tearing the Erim's playroom apart before we had to hit the road for the second leg of the trip. We got to St Louis Saturday night and had dinner at my aunt's house while Sam learned some new games like chess and pool. I am using the term "learn" very loosely here; throwing chess pieces and moving pool balls on the table while someone else is trying to play is more exact. We did get to spend time with my aunts and uncles from all over that we never get to see. They came to town all the way from Alaska, Seattle, and Arizona. Sunday we went to Papa's house to help clean things out. It was fun seeing all of the pictures of his kids, grandkids, and great grandkids we found. We had a few laughs and shared lots of good memories. Sam threw another monster tantrum but calmed down when he we let him color on a roll of old wallpaper. Dinner again that night with even more family in from Kansas City. We met my cousin's son, Case, who is just a few months younger them Sam. They had fun playing together. Almost every night Sam stayed up hours past his bedtime. (The Hughes family NEVER does anything on time!) But he was a trooper and pulled through. Monday was Papa's service, which was very nice. Sam enjoyed hearing the bagpipes and the 21 gun salute. I thought he would freak out but he really didn't, just popped up looking around to see what was going on. We had a nice lunch afterward at my aunt 's house and then got back on the road to Nashville. Raif and Michele were kind enough to take us in one more time so we stayed with them. Tuesday morning we went over the Vanderbilt campus and had breakfast with Cliff and of course hit the bookstore before setting out for Montgomery (Yea! The LAST part of the trip!). Mister was so good in the car the whole time. He may have been naughty when we were visiting others or around family we never see (big surprise) but he really was an angel in the car. I am amazed by this because I hate being in the car for long trips and get quite cranky when I have to but he didn't seem to mind.
Anyway, all ice storms aside, we are glad we made it there and back safely and with minimal drama. Thankfully, the rest of our family did too. Muchas muchas gracias to the Erims for their kind hospitality and to the Witzigs for having EVERYTHING at their house.
Now this weekend we travel to Fairhope and the next to Rockford. I get tired just thinking about it.

My Papa

Sadly, my Papa, Hugh Evan Hughes (yes, that is his real name) died at age 84 on November 25. We went to St. Louis for his memorial service on December 10. He was laid to rest with full military honors and will have a plaque erected at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery memorializing his and my Nana's lives.
Papa was a proud marine who served in WWII. Among other places, he fought and was injured at Tarawa in the South Pacific. He received two Purple Hearts for his service to our country. Married to his wife Virginia (my Nana) days before leaving for war, he returned home in 1946 and over the next few decades, they had seven children. Their children went on to marry and give Nana and Papa lots of grandchildren, and eventually, many great grandchildren. As you can imagine, there were so many people who loved Papa and were kind enough to come pay their respects and share memories of him upon hearing of his death.
As a member of his family, I want to say a special thank you to "his girls", the ladies who cared for him when he was most ill and put up with him when he could be most difficult. He loved you more than you know! (It didn't hurt that you were a great looking bunch of ladies, either!)
We love you, Papa, and will miss you very much. I will always think of you when my children don't eat their peas. I know you would want me to put those peas in their ice cream. And I will ;)

What's your name, little girl?

Now that we have had two ultrasounds that confirm that numero dos is a girl, we have to name her! We will still investigate old family names but here are some I have marked in the baby naming book. Thoughts? (Be nice. These are names I really like!)

Leah
Eloise
Zoe
Lily
Elise
Caroline
Helen

Rockin' around the Christmas tree

We decorated our Christmas tree today. Sam hung a few ornaments and then quickly lost interest. I made everyone listen to my favorite Christmas CD, Barbra Streisand's A Christmas Album, while we decorated. Trust me on this one, it's a classic. Listen to her version of Jingle Bells. In my experience, it is best to sing along as loud as you can.

Five months pregnant and I've still got it!!

Andy returned from his trip to Miami (yea!!) and brought Sam and me some sweet souvenirs. When he gave me this bitchin' shirt, he said (with a straight face) "It's really big so you can wear it throughout the pregnancy and still feel good about yourself!" What a sweetie. (I actually always wanted one of these shirts; I think they are hilarious. Mine even has a bellybutton ring! Hubba hubba.)

Roadtrip!

Jess and I took the boys to the Birmingham Zoo today. We meet Jess's friend Catherine and her son, James, there and then went out to lunch. We had a great time! Sam liked the giraffes and I liked the monkeys. No one liked the trip home as the boys cried most of the way :(
(Yes, Mister is picking his nose with my sunglasses in the middle picture.)

Scenes from a wild Thanksgiving weekend

Wow! What a busy but fun weekend. We had so much to be thankful for: a wonderful, healthy family, awesome friends, delicious food, and good times together. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Fairhope with the Hughes side of the family. We also had a playdate with friends from high school (morning playdate with kiddos at the park and nighttime playdate was parents only!), and celebrated Charlotte's baptism. And we watched LOTS of football! Here are some pics:


Claire and Molly checking out baby Charlotte



Guitar Heroes or Guitar Zeroes?! You decide.

More Scenes from a wild Thanksgiving weekend

Playdate!!


Miller family Turkey Bowl party

Even More Scenes from a wild Thanksgiving weekend

Sweet Charlotte



Meetin' Jesus

It's a ...

GIRL!!!

I had an ultrasound today and was able to find out the baby's gender earlier than expected. Hooray! We are so excited about having a daughter except now I am going to have to really practice my hairdressing skills. (You've seen my hair, right?! Don't worry, I have many months to perfect my hairbow and pigtail skills which are currently very lacking.)

A delicious mess

Yesterday I gave Sam a petit four ( I went on a little shopping spree at a bakery. Yum!) and he devoured it. It made such a mess though. He had a thick layer of crumbs all over his chest and lap. Don't even ask about the carpet. He was very content until I tried to clean him off with the Dustbuster. It worked but he was very unhappy with me.

Mr. Big Stuff

We decided it was time for Sam to give up his binky during the day. He can now only have it at naptime and bedtime. He has adapted to this change surprisingly well. If he runs out of his room with it in his mouth, we tell him to put binky back in bed. So he runs in his room and has a little conversation with binky as he puts it in his bed. "Bye bye binky. Binky bed. Big boy. Binky bed." It is really very cute!
Every few hours he will go lay in his bed for about five minutes and suck on his binky, then get back up and go play. Andy calls these episodes his binky breaks- "you know, like a smoke break." Okaaay. I guess we all need a break now and again, whether it is with a binky, a drink, a smoke, whatever!

All aboard...

Sam's cousin Will was sweet enough to share his trains with us. He sent Sam an awesome train table and two trains. Sam loves them! He also really likes the story The Little Engine that Could so we chant a lot of "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can" while playing with the trains. Thanks, Will!

Finally!

I have an appointment for the anatomy ultrasound on December 4 so we will finally know if this baby is a boy or a girl! What do you think?

They call him Sammy TV!

"What harm could it do?" we wondered. "Let him watch a little TV," we said. "He's learning language," we insisted. RIIIIIIIGHT. Take a look a this:

Go geek early!

Ladies, don't discount the nerd types when looking for a man. They make the best husbands later!! This slightly dorky yet dashingly handsome fellow will be available for dates in a mere 15 years. His turn-ons include: playing bouncy ball, long rides in the wagon, playground trips, anything Moo- ka (Mickey Mouse), the alphabet, and numbers 1-10.
This post is in no way meant to imply that MY husband is a geek :)


(Thanks to Aunt Rachael for the new clothes! We love the sweatervests!!)

Reading with Poppie

Poppie read Sam one of his favorite stories, The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown, last night before bed.

Nonnie and Poppie Tuck visit

Carol and Hazen (and Maggie, of course!) are here for the weekend. Yesterday we went on a trolley tour to see the Montgomery sights and today we are going to the zoo. Sam loved riding the trolley because he didn't have to sit in a carseat. He even tried to hang from the straps like a real commuter.

Sweep the leg!

Mister loved trick or treating with his cousins tonight. He decided to dress as Johnny from the Karate Kid this year. Yes, sensai!



Sam and Molly became real pros at trick or treating!

got cupcakes?

Nonnie, Papa, and ALL the grandbabies

Here is an updated shot with all the grandkids-(from left) Claire, Sam, Evan, Charlotte, Molly, Maggie, and Will.

Meeting Ella

Today Andy and I went to meet Lacy and William's beautiful new baby Ella. She is so tiny and sweet! And rumor has it she has the best big sister around...Here are some pics of Ella and her proud mama, daddy, and sister.

Golf with Will and Claire

Not much to report...

This week has been cold and rainy so we have been trapped in the house (or at the inside playground at Chick-Fil-a. Is it bad that the manager knows Sam's order before I even open my mouth?) So no cute pictures to add. But we are headed to Fairhope to visit Nonnie and Papa Hughes and all the cousins tomorrow. Even Laura and Charlotte will be there! Sam will get to party on Halloween with Maggie, Molly, Evan, Will, and Claire. Sam is not terribly interested in candy yet so Andy and I will get to reap the benefits of all his trick or treating. Now if I could only get him to wear a costume...
I will post some pictures of the kiddos as soon as I get some good ones.

Ta-da!

Check me out! I'm a-sewin'!
Several months ago, Andy told me I was spending too much money at the monogramming shop so I got a sewing/embroidery machine to learn to do it myself. I was able to embroider stuff but didn't use the sewing part until my darling friend Jess agreed to teach me. With help from her and my mom, I made this jonjon for Sam. If you are a seamstress, kindly don't look TOO closely; I am just a beginner! I really loved making it though and look forward to my next project!!!

Zoo Boo

We went to the halloween festival at the zoo tonight. Sam loved playing all the little carnival type games and Andy loved the chili cheese dogs.


Sam's first hayride. Yeehaw!


Check out his halloween tat.


Mister's favorite game was the candy walk, where you walk on the numbers until the music stops. He was angry when we had to leave the game and insisted on saying goodbye to each of the numbers 1-7.

More Big News...

Yes, I have gone off the blogging deep end...but wanted to share some good news. Yesterday Andy accepted an offer to work at a law firm in Atlanta. He will start in the fall of 2008. YEA!!!!!!!
This means several exciting things for the Tucks:
1) We know what city we will be living in next year!
2) We will BUY a house!
3) We will stay in aforementioned house for many years! NO MORE MOVING!!! (FYI- Andy and I have moved every year for about the past eight years.)

Hooray! I am very proud of Andy and his accomplishments, as he has worked hard to achieve every one of them. However, it is also my job to keep him humble. So last night, right after he told me the good news, I made him change a very poopy diaper....just to keep his ego in check ;)

Cheers!



A dignified photo of the promising young attorney.

More MMFA

He still has not decided which is more fun...construction or destruction.













































Sam loves shapes (We are still working on colors. He thinks everything is yellow!) and was trying to match them in this tangram puzzle.

MMFA

Today was our first real rainy day in Montgomery (bad for us but good for the farmers, I suppose) so we had to find something to do indoors. So we went to check out the children's part of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, called Artworks. It was so cool! Sam was big enough to do most of the things and had so much fun.

He loves building with "bocks" anytime, anyplace.






This was our favorite activity. Push a button to race Dale EarnART's or EliART Sadler's car around the racetrack on a replica of an abstract painting called Talladega Three. Sam could not get enough of it!


Making a slide out of a sculpture. Sam will try to slide down most anything with a slight incline, except of course, a real slide. Go figure!