Tuck Dynasty

While he obviously doesn't have his own show on A&E, he has stolen our hearts nonetheless!  Tucker Benjamin is now 9 months old.  We can't believe how fast he's growing, because, honestly, we're still a little shocked that he's here at all. :) What a blessing he is and we're thankful for every second we spend with the little man!!

Tucker is sitting up, crawling, pulling up, and eating anything that he can get his pudgy hands on. Yes, he is adorable like most babies, but it's his smile that WOWS us! It's the smile that never quits! Sometimes, it's the one thing that keeps me from pulling my hair out (on the days when everything is going wrong....I have to have a good reason to pull my hair out).

Tucker's smile!  He's happiest when he's with his brothers.

Tuck loves animal crackers. He starts squealing when I get out the jar that contains them. He starts flapping his arms, too, like a chicken at feeding time. I love it!! :)  Recently he started taking baths by himself in the big tub. He splashes and laughs and makes bubbles other than those made by soap.

Bubble Boy!

While I could go on, and on, and on about Tucker's attributes, I have little ones making demands on my time at the moment. I will post more about this guy as he continues to develop as well as more about his three brothers, who at the moment, are just WAY toooo quiet.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas Honesty

At Christmas, you try desperately to keep the present that you got your loved one a secret! In a house full of little boys, this is very difficult. William and Abe went shopping with one objective: to buy each other a gift. I took William and Tim took Abe. They, of course, were very excited. They had a budget of $5 that they could NOT go over. William kept picking out $20 toys for Abe and I quickly explained to him that was way too much. We settled on silly putty and a package of assorted toy jungle animals (because Abe loves these).

At dinner, we always go over our day.  William and Abe talk about their shopping trips. I remind them that they CANNOT tell the other what they got.

WILLIAM: Oh, we already told each other.
ME:  What???
ABE: Yes, I told William that I got him--"
ME: Whoa! Don't say it...it's supposed to be a secret. That makes it fun! So you can be surprised on Christmas morning.

William is very sensitive to my emotions. If he thinks I'm upset about something, he always, very quickly, tries to rectify the situation.

WILLIAM: Ohhhh!  Well, Abe...I didn't really get you putty and animals.  I got you, ummm.....yogurt!

I roll my eyes at this point...if you're going to fib about it, at lease make it believable. Then I realized something.  Did I really want them to FIB about it??

I do not.  There was more to this conversation, but I did discover one thing.  Even in the little things, I want my sons to be honest. Always! Now, I quickly change the subject when they start talking about their gifts for one another.  It's safer that way!  :-)

These two are inseparable!  And, boy, are they excited about Christmas!

Our first live tree...the boys decorated every inch. The only thing they didn't
put on were the lights!  William declared that he had "the best time!"

Abe-isms

Abe is my 4-year-old. He is a lover of bugs, of wild animals, and of all things gross.  :)  He loves for me to sit and draw pictures of bugs with him.  My sketching skills aren't that great, but he never seems to notice, and for that, I'm grateful. He is also a HAM.  Abe loves to make everyone chuckle with his own form of slapstick comedy.  Most of the time his flips and falls are staged, but sometimes, they are not.  Last night two of our boys were in the Christmas program at our church. Abe, of course, was one of the two.  He played the role of Joseph. It was his time to come out on the stage, and he did so with much aplomb.  Well...not really.  He came out flapping his arms around, which caused him to lose his balance, which caused him to collide with the side of the "stable" with his head.  I gasped like a good mother, but I was really trying to repress my laughter. He was fine!  He rubbed his head and the classic "Abe" smile appeared.  He and William (William did a great job too!) enjoyed the program and felt famous afterwards as the production got a standing ovation.

We decided McDonalds was in order, so Tim and I loaded up the kiddos. We had come in two separate vehicles, so William rode with Tim.  Before leaving, William and Abe had a slight altercation. Abe had gotten a goody bag from his teacher. William hadn't. Abe gave Judd a piece of his candy from said goody bag and didn't give William anything.  While driving to McDonalds, this is the conversation that took place between myself and my four-year-old:

ABE:  Mommy, I gave Judd a piece of candy.  Was that nice?
ME: Yes, Abe...very nice.
ABE: I didn't give William one because he hasn't been good today; but, Judd has been a good boy today.

Okay...Abe is now the judge of his brother.  I tried not to chuckle. Abe had been in quite a bit of trouble that day as well, so it was the proverbial pot calling the kettle black.

ME: Well, sometimes you can give someone a piece of candy just to show them that you love them.
ABE: Ohhh....

(pause)

ABE:  Well...I do love Judd!

Abe as "Joseph" in our church's Christmas program
December 2012