Five Years Old

Our Litle Fighting Tiger turned five years old yesterday.

I will post a picture blog soon with his birthdays, from day one to this year's, but I need to get all of the pics together first.

Tucker's actual birthday is such a blur to me, I was pretty much unconscious for most of it, due to the pre-eclampsia and the meds to fight the pre-eclampsia.

Two days later, I felt well enough to actually ask to see Tucker, and to roll over in my wheelchair to the NICU to see him.  It was scary and very surreal. It felt like an out of body experience, like there was no emotion attached because it didn't seem possible to really be there. 

That night I promised Tucker and God that if Tucker fought hard to stay with us, I would be the best mommy any little boy could ever want or need.  I had no idea what was ahead for him or us....I just knew that any baby who had such a crappy first few days of life deserved the best he could get from now on.

And I think through everything, Chris and I have kept our end of that deal :)

So for the last few weeks, I have been pretty emotional. We have had a lot going on, with Chris's brother getting married, and my best friend Jessica getting married in a few weeks. The idea that Tucker is able to be there for all of this makes me so happy.

He finished his first year of preschool, and he was not even the kid that missed the most days! 

We have started his ABA program, and just in the first few weeks have seen a huge difference.  Everyone in Chris's and my immediate families has been on board, and the ABA therapist is very impressed that everyone is so supportive. It will all get harder to stick to our guns as we expect more and more out of Tucker, but as time goes on, we hope to be able to do more and more with him, so it will all be worth the work and the hard transitions Tucker has to go through.

We are (as usual!) celebrating Tucker's birthday in a BIG way.  We rented out the local inflatable place for a party; Tucker has been there twice and loves it :)  About 15 kids and 45 adults are coming to Jump for 1 hour and a half, and then to enjoy pizza, sandwiches, and an ice cream cake.  We will have chips for Tucker, of course. 

It is a firetruck theme, so we sent out firetruck invites, he has a firetruck shirt, and we have firetruck shaped sugar cookies for party favors (and no, I didn't make them, I am not quite that talented).  He is also supposed to have a firetruck cake, but we aren't sure how that will work out!  (the firetruck I sent to Baskin Robbins is too heavy to sit on the cake....) It is still hard to tell if he likes presents or not, his face lights up at the word "presents" but I don't know that he will want to quit jumping to sit still and open stuff. So we'll see.

For his actual birthday, Chris and I both had to work. So I had the idea (which Gina says I stole from her!) to take Tucker to Build a Bear at the mall.  Chris and Tucker rode in the truck and met me at the mall after work, and Tucker was so excited. He kept saying "bear store", because Chris told him that is where he was going to pick out his present.  I had never been to the BAB store, but it is amazing. There are tons of animals to pick from, and you stuff it yourself, and then buy whatever accessories it needs, from clothes and hats, to cars and strollers!

Tucker went straight to the Camouflage bear, and never looked back! I wanted him to make sure he picked the right one, so I took my time showing him every single one, but he clung to the empty Camo bear for dear life:) I think Chris had a tear in his eye, lol, he was so proud!

So then, since we knew Tucker wouldn't be asking for his bear to have any clothes or accessories, we didn't mind spending a little extra so that his bear could have a customized sound.  There is a machine with about 20 sounds, you press the buttons to preview the sounds, then you pick which one you want.  So Tucker hit the Star Wars button, you know that theme song? It's loud, and you would all recognize it if you heard it.  Tucker really has no interest in Star Wars, but Chris loves all of the movies.  Tucker happened to be wearing his Yoda shirt that says "Judge me by my Size, Do you?" which of course Chris picked out for him.

So when I told the BAB consultant that Tucker didn't even like Star Wars, I don't think she believed me as he had on a Yoda shirt!  I showed Tucker all of the buttons, some roared, some played "Happy Birthday" and some said "I Love you," but again, Tucker stuck with his first choice.  He pressed that button about 3 more times, then we were sold.

Tucker picked out a heart for his bear, so that it would have a heartbeat when you hug the bear.  The next part was to stuff it and sew it up.  Tucker was NOT happy when the lady took his bear and shoved it on the metal filler part.  It really did look like the poor bear was being violated, as the metal rod was shoved in his back to fill him up with fluff.  Tucker helped push the pedal down so that the bear would quickly be full, then he watched as she sewed it up.  He was SO happy when she gave it back and he got to hold it :) 

Tucker is now the proud owner of a Camouflage bear that plays the Star Wars theme song and has a heartbeat.  He even has the birth certificate to prove it, which is a little odd if you ask me ;)

A trip to that mall is not complete without two rides on the carousel.  We knew that the carousel closes early on weeknights, so Chris ran over to see if it was still on.  He came back saying it was off, so we had to go home. I told him it was way too early, since it was summer time, and I took a turn going check. Sure enough, the carousel was going, so I called Chris to bring Tucker over.  His face lit up when he saw it!  He hasn't been to the mall lately as his behavior was rough the last time we had to take him off of the carousel a few months ago.

Here is a picture of Tucker, with his new bear, riding the carousel.  Also, his Daddy was right next to him taking the picture, so this child was on cloud nine :-) And of course I was standing on the sidelines crying my eyes out. 

He was very compliant when his second turn was over and it was time to go home.  We think that his 5th birthday was fantastic, and we haven't even had the party yet.   Thanks for checking in on us and for all the birthday wishes from everyone for Tucker.

Wedding Weekend

Well after my last post, I wasn't sure if we'd make it to the beach. After 3 hours of sleep on Thursday night, we woke up at 430am.  We packed into Brad's truck pretty quickly, then we were off to Florida.  Luckily, we all slept a good bit on the ride and felt much better.  Tucker slept most of the ride as well.

We stopped for breakfast in Mississippi, and Tucker got out of the truck saying "go to da beach!" Well, we were only at McDonald's, and he couldn't even get a hamburger since it was breakfast time :)  Tucker was so well-behaved for the whole ride, we got to Florida and the beach looked beautiful.

We checked in, unpacked, and all got dressed for the water.  It turned out that the ocean was Freezing!!  Tucker hated the sand, but I knew he'd like the waves, so after several escape attempts, I told him he was going in the water and he was going to like it! :) Once Chris and Tucker got deeper into the water, and they could jump and float with the waves, Tucker was hooked.

 After a while, Tucker was shivering, so I made him get out. He was not happy, but a bag of Cheetos made him perk right back up.  He ended up with sand all over him, and he cried "clean it up" poor baby. So he and I headed to the pool instead.

The big pool also had freezing water, I guess it was too early in the year to be swimming. But the kiddie pool had a warmer temperature (my friend Lacy said it is because the kiddie pool is full of pee!), so we spent our time there.

Baby Kinley joined us with her parents and Sissy and Pops.

We stayed out for a while, then Tucker requested the hotel.  Tucker took a nap, and we got ready for the rehearsal dinner. Jackie's cousin cooked a big pot of spaghetti for all of us, and it was delicious. At the dinner, we saw family members that we hadn't seen in years, and it was so nice to talk to them. I love when Mr. Ricky's brothers get together and all talk about growing up, they have some funny stories!

That night Chris, Sarah, Brad, and I went to Aunt Terri and Uncle Steve's room to catch up while Tucker and Dylan hung out in our condo.

The next morning, we were so tired! But of course Tucker woke up at 6am, so Chris and I tried to sneak him out of the condo before he could wake anyone else up.  That didn't work, as Tucker was way too excited that his aunt and uncle were right there when he woke up.  We ended up going to the grocery store and coming back with breakfast and lunch food, and Tucker helped Sarah and Brad cook a yummy breakfast....by help, I mean that he cracked the eggs and then stole the carton.

We had a very relaxing morning, as Tucker then fell asleep for several hours. Chris's parents, Alexis, and Kinley came over to visit, and we all watched Kinley smile and play.  Once Tucker woke up, I had about an hour to play before I had to leave to get my hair done. So we attempted the pool, but it was even colder than the day before.  So after about 5 minutes, we were back up at the hotel, where Tucker was content to spend the rest of the day.

At noon we all left to get our hair done for the wedding, it was fun just being with Jackie, her bridesmaids, and the moms.  Mrs. Mia dropped me off at a nail salon on the way back so that I could get a mani/pedi....and at 27 years old, my first mani/pedi ever! I didn't have any time to get my nails done before the trip, and I loved every minute of the manicure and pedicure....I will be doing that more often.

Chris and Mrs. Mia came to pick me up, then it was time for all of us to get ready for the wedding. Chris and I were both in it, so I had my dress, jewelry, and make-up to put on, and Chris tried to remember how to tie his tie.  I went over with the bridesmaids to help Jackie get ready, and Dylan stayed to get Tucker ready, and he was on Tucker Duty for the ceremony and reception.

I have to say, it was a beautiful wedding...I knew a beach wedding would be pretty, but my breath was taken away.  I met Chris's brother Justin when he was 14 years old, and we have all known Jackie for 5 years now.  To see them get married, so in love and happy, was truly a blessing. 

The reception was really a blast, everyone definitely enjoyed themselves. The DJ was from England, and wore a kilt. He made us perform all kind of antics, like the chicken dance, hokey pokey, and he somehow got the Groomsmen to dress up as the Village People and do the YMCA.

I can't ever get the pictures to go up and down, but here is one of my favorite pictures of Jackie and Justin at the wedding.

And here is a picture of the three of us.

I just can't over emphasize how good Tucker was this weekend. I don't know if his little body was just so happy to be off of the Focalin, or what it was.  He listened so well, and he actually rested when he was asleep instead of tossing and turning.

On Sunday afternoon, we cleaned a lot and tried to get ready for summer time and the new workers.  I talked to Tucker and told him that school was almost over. I told him that he used to see Mrs. Mary everyday (3 year old teacher), and then that was over. Well now he wasn't going to see Mrs. Amy everyday, but then in August he will go back and have new friends. He thought about that, then in a panicky voice said "See Mrs. Amy!" I told him he would see Mrs. Amy tomorrow, and he said "Owen!" I told him that Owen would be in his class the next day, but then next year Tucker will make all new friends.  I don't think he is one bit happy about any of this.....

One of Chris's aunts is related to one of Tucker's classmates, so all year she has been hearing the little girl talk about Tucker and the preschool class. I saw his aunt at the wedding, and she said she feels like she knows all about Tucker from his classmate, I told her she probably knows more about what goes on at school than I do!  So I know that Tucker's little friends will miss him, too, and it will be a hard transition for him to get used to not being at school everyday.

Top of the List

We are all headed out to the beach tomorrow at 5am, so natually the washing machine overflowed all over the kitchen at 10pm (our washer and dryer are in the big kitchen pantry).  We used all of the beach towels to clean up the mess, and Chris figured out what's wrong...it will take a $22 part to fix it, but of course we are leaving at 5am, so there is no time to fix it.

So....hopefully my Daddy will fix it, so glad he lives down the street :)
I am hopped up on caffeine at the moment, as I am on washing machine watch duty, and I needed coffee to keep my eyelids open. 

But even without the caffeine, I am pretty excited about a service Tucker just got approved for.  It's a one-time thing as it's the end of the fiscal year and I guess the human services district found some extra money they need to spend by June 30 :)

So Tucker has been on the waiting list for diapers forever, he is on a bunch of waiting lists, and likely won't be eligible for many services until age 10 or 11.  And when I add up the cost of his diapers and pull ups, it's expensive! They just get more and more expensive as he gets bigger.

So I got a call last week that Tucker is getting $600 worth of diapers, that is a TON of diapers, lol.

I thought they would be kid-sized Depends, like really ugly and maybe not very user friendly.  Of course Tucker doesn't care, but I don't want other kids making fun of him. It's bad enough that he wears Pull Ups, but at least they could have Cars or Diego on them to be "cool."  Being "cool" is very important in the 4-year-old preschool crowd, as I've learned from other four-year-olds. 

Anyways, the worries were for nothing, as we are getting regular diapers.  I got to pick a vendor, and we are getting 4 cases of Good Nites and 4 cases of Huggies Snug and Dry shipped to our house next week.  A friend of mine had the same situation for her son last summer, and his diapers lasted him until September. 

The idea of not having to buy Pull Ups or diapers until September makes me very happy :)  Of course, having Tucker potty trained and wearing underpants by September would make me even happier.

So I am going to look at the bright side of my son still wearing diapers with his 5th birthday approaching next week....at least I don't have to pay for them :)