Once Upon a Tucker: Overdue Update! 1.5 & 3.5(ish) years old

I'm so bummed, it's been so long since my last update post on these 2 girls. They truly change week to week and I hate when I miss stuff.

Macy Brooks is 3 years & 4 months old. She's really doing great and is very fun! This Christmas season has been a blast already. She's into the decorations, lights, singing the songs, Jesus and the manger scene, parties and Christmas movies. 3 has been a great age for learning all about Jesus. She truly knows what this season is about. She's just old enough to learn, but not too old where she thinks it's all about the gifts(we really minimize Santa over here!) So it's been a blast!

Her behavior has completely turned a corner! Thank goodness! For about 2.5 months it was a big struggle to get her to listen and obey. So many nights I spent kneeling over her while she slept asking God to work on her heart and guide us as parents. I'm sure there will be many more! Macy Brooks is actually WANTING to behave and do the right thing. I was concerned for awhile, because she seemed to not care that she was so dis-obedient. I'm glad to have my sweet girl back. Many times after I've disciplined her, she comes to me later and gives a heartfelt apology. Sometimes it's even the next day. I'm glad to see she's still thinking about situations and trying to make it right.

Macy Brooks rarely takes a nap these days, probably 1x a week. We still have a 2 hour rest time, 1 hour of laying in bed quietly and 1 hour of playing in her room. Momma has to get her work done sometime! She's a pretty good eater, loves fruit and tolerates veggies. We are loving bows, tutus and fancy dresses. Princess phase is in full effect. I often hear, "Mom, princesses don't wear pants!" if I try to dress her for school.

Some few funnies from her lately include:

Me: "Do you want sprinkles on your ice cream cone?"

MB: "Always" - in a serious, matter of fact tone

We still play "Where's the fan?" A little game Denny made up when she was a baby. She points and then gets tickled. Now she's wised up and will say, "I'll go over here and then I'll show you where the fan is!" Too funny:)

MB: "Mommy, can I watch the monkey game on your phone?" (it's educational)

Me: "Sure" then I hand it over

MB: "Um, I'm just going to watch Disney junior instead." (not educational!)

-Too smart that little stinker!

Macy Brooks knows 3 Bible verses:

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times

Luke 1:37 Nothing will be impossible with God

Luke 1:13 Do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard

This oldest girl of ours is a social butterfly. She is so energized by being with friends, going to school, even a trip to Target! EVERYDAY when I pick her up from school, I hear "Where we going now?" She'd rather go to the grocery store than home!

Kate and her have been playing so well lately. Macy Brooks makes Kate laugh so hard and so easily! I love watching them. Mom and I spied on them at the play center in the YMCA the other day. Kate kept coming over to MB and gently pulling her hair. At first, MB just took her hand down and put it on a toy over and over. Finally, Kate did it again and Macy Brooks wrapped her arm around her and gave her a big hug and kiss! Love it! They definitely have their moments and I still say "Give her some space" multiple times a day, but I can see them being best friends! We've had a few jealous moments while trying to teach Kate to walk and Denny and I squealing over Kate's steps. Macy Brooks tries to get down on the floor and tells us to teach her to walk. Occasionally we humor her, but mostly I remind her of all the great things she's learning, like writing letters.

Kate- Is now 5 days from being 17 months old. As of 3 days ago, she is FINALLY choosing to walk! She's had the skill down for awhile and is cruising everywhere with ease, but would rather crawl. Kate is still a Momma's girl! And I'm still enjoying it:) This is one of my favorite ages! She's snuggly and loves to be held, but is also fun and learning things everyday. She loves to waller around on the couch. She just rolls and flings herself all over the place! We also play "get you" and tickle monster a lot. That girl is ticklish EVERYWHERE!

I think Kate is pretty smart! It took her awhile to catch on to the first body part I taught her, but now she gets the next one after 1x of talking about it. Same with new sign language! She knows: nose, eye, mouth, hair, belly, hand, feet and ear. We do a few signs: eat, all done and more. They have been helpful in helping Kate communicate without being whiny!

We are fully on 1 nap now. She made the transition before the time change in early November, but then that came and she was waking so early we went back to 2 naps for a couple weeks. Kate's ready for nap about 1:00 after lunch and will sleep till 4ish. Bedtime is 7:30-7:30/8. I'm so thankful for another good sleeper. We sometimes read books and rock, other times we just lay her down and she passes out! I just love how she sleeps with her hands behind her head. She does this in the car too!

We call Kate so many things. When MB says "Kate" it sounds a lot like "Tate" so we do call her Tate all the time. Tate has developed into Tater Tot and sometimes just Tot! I also call her Katers, Taters and Momma's baby.

I tried to hold out on keeping her rear facing till 18 months, but a few weeks ago I had her seat out for a wash and couldn't get it tight rear facing, so she's now a big girl facing forward! We just took away her paci in the car so we can talk and sing more. Took 1-2 weeks of yucky whining, but she's finally over it!

After dinner one night this week, we headed out to look at Christmas lights in the area. I knew MB would love it, but didn't expect Kate to care much. I. Was. Wrong. Kate pointed and made squealing noises as we pulled up to each new house! It was adorable! I just love how babies know what you're talking about, even though they can't tell you much with words. She's understanding so much now.

6 teeth have finally found their home. These girls are the latest teethers! We just got 3 at one time. Kate is an awesome eater! It is definitely her favorite activity. Unless, it's spicy, she eats anything we put in front of her. And she does it by the fistfuls! She's constantly almost choking because there's so much food in her mouth. If her food is cut up, she reaches for the biggest pieces first.

Some of my favorites from Kate lately are: she grabs my face and turns it toward her and offers me big, open mouth kisses! All her new words! She can say: dog(with much force, everytime!), momma, dadda, up, bye bye, hi, night night, no, ball. She is the jealous one for sure. It's really funny, but she thinks I'm only HER momma. Anytime MB is curling up with me or needs some loving, Kate is the first to hop over there and squeeze her way in between us-literally pushing MB out of the way! It's pretty funny:)

This update wouldn't be complete with out talking about Kate's little temper! Whoo wee! She is pretty much happy and fairly go with the flow, BUT...this girl does have a temper! Kate will be sitting on the kitchen floor and if something happens she doesn't like (me saying "no cookie" or stepping over her instead of picking her up) she will just fling herself back onto the hardwoods! It's nuts! MB likes to ride on the foot tray of our stroller and sometimes Kate just doesn't want her there. She will kick her until she gets up! It's awful, we will really have to work on that! This girl has been spirited from day 1.