Tal

I have been so bad about keeping up with what is going on with Talon as he grows.
So, here is an update:

Talon still doesn't talk much. He says "see," when we pass cows or horses (he LOVES animals). He says "duck" for Tucker. And one day he walked in the kitchen repeating "na na na na na na" until I handed him a banana...but haven't heard it since! He used to say Momma some, but not lately. He says "dye" and waves for bye. He says screams, "daaa" when he sees his daddy, whom he adores. He says tweet tweet for Mom when she asks what the birdie says. Mostly there is a lot of whining and pointing to get what he wants. He will grab my pants and pull me to whatever he wants, also. :)

Talon Tidmore LOVES to dance. It is the best thing I have ever seen in my life. He has bounced up and down when he hears music for months, but now he has added arms and legs. Seriously, precious. He loves to clap in the car and throw his head back and forth. He's kind of serious a lot of the time, so this is one of my favorite things about him. :)

Talon will eat pretty much anything, which thrills me to death. Sometimes he gets tired of eating the same thing or he is independent and wants it a certain way, but for the most part, he will eat anything. Some of the things he likes are: guacamole (dips chips in it and just licks the guac off), broccoli, bananas, Greek yogurt, weenies, oatmeal, grits, ham

Talon likes to play with trucks and cars. He also loves tractors and animals. He does not watch TV (unfortunately).  He dressed up for the first a few weeks ago and was SO excited about it!  Tucker was so excited, too...he finally has somebody to dress up with!

Talon loves school. He has not cried at all since the year started and when I pick him up, he doesn't even stop playing when he sees me, I have to pick him up and carry him out. I'm so glad he loves it.  He is adamant most days that he carry out his backpack himself.

Talon does not take good naps like he used to (I am praying this is just a phase). He does still sleep well at night and most of the time sleeps 7-7.

He has a thing with running water.  He still doesn't love the bath tub, but when it rained at the farm and water ran off the roof, he thought it was the best thing ever!  He loves fountains and the water coming out of the faucet.

His new favorite thing to do is ride Cameron's new golf cart. He gets so excited and squeals when he rides.

Talon got to eat an ice cream cone all by himself recently and he thought that was pretty wonderful!

Talon gives open mouth kisses that are the best ever. He likes to kiss his bears that he sleeps with. He also has a pillow from our living room that he likes to carry around the house and lay on. He'll get his passy and bear and lay down in the middle of the kitchen floor on his pillow.

Talon can be such a sweet boy.  I was kind of afraid he would forget his Pappaw and be kind of stand-offish when he saw him, but every time he sees Pappaw he lays his head on his shoulder like he has missed him so much!  He really loves all of his grandparents, which is wonderful.  Talon is a loving little boy, but he doesn't like to love on Tucker much, which breaks Tucker's heart.

Talon is fun to be around as long as he is not sleepy or hungry.  I cannot leave the house without snacks, and his nap is not as flexible as Tucker's was...it is a MUST!

We are so thankful for this beautiful, challenging little boy!  Some days are crazy around here, but when I finally lay my head down at night, I praise God for my healthy children and remind myself that these days will be gone so quickly and I will miss this time in my life.  We love you, Talon!

The Graduate

Way back in May Tucker graduated from Chapel Hill Baptist Church Preschool.  It was a sad but proud day!  The first part of the program the kids were dressed patriotically.  Some of them were dressed up and had speaking parts.  Tucker was a soldier.

When it was his turn he walked up to the microphone and said, "I am an American Soldier.  I fight for our freedom."  He said it perfectly.  

After singing several patriotic songs, they changed in to their caps and gowns.

We were so glad that MiMi and Granddaddy and Pappaw were able to come to graduation.  Tucker and Talon are blessed with wonderful, loving grandparents on both sides.

I absolutely love this picture of Tucker and Pappaw.  That is Tucker's real smile, which we don't see very often when we take a picture of him and he is posing. ;)  He loves his Pappaw and he was so proud he was there.

I miss Chapel Hill!  I loved that little school and so did Tucker.

a Big Day

Monday was a big day.

Talon felt like such a big boy because he had his own brand new backpack and lunchbox, too.  We were all standing in the kitchen and I was handing Tucker his stuff and telling him about his lunch (cheese and crackers, pb&j sandwich, juice box and mini oreos).  Before we knew it, Talon yanked his lunchbox off the table, threw it over his shoulder and headed out the door.  

I took Tucker to school first and he did just fine.  I, of course, had a pit in my stomach and tears in my eyes that were ready to pour out at any time...but I held it in!

He found his seat and started coloring his frog.  (Mrs. Malone's favorite colors are purple and green, and she loves frogs)

I am excited about his teacher, I think she is perfect for him.  I am so glad we did the Jumpstart program this summer, it made it so much easier to leave him there on the first day because I didn't feel like he was nervous and he kind of knew what to expect.  Of course when I got in my car I shed a couple tears.  I can't believe that little baby that came when I least expected is now in big school and I am the mom to a school boy.  The responsibilities feel even greater now, it's like it is now time to get serious about the person that this little man is going to become!  It's scary, but we have faith in The Great Instructor that is leading the way and know that with His help and with His help only, we can make this happen!

A Day at the Zoo

My sister-in-law Traci and I took 7 boys, yes I said 7, to the zoo a few weeks ago.  

Talon loves animals, so I was excited to see his reaction.  This first picture of him with the bird is the most precious thing ever.

They both enjoyed feeding the birds.  I happen to have a small ;) fear of birds, but these weren't too bad.

 We ended up not getting much of a reaction out of Talon, he just looked and pointed.  They both loved riding the train and the monkeys.

Let's Try This Again...

So I am going to try to start blogging again.  I don't know that I will actually "catch up," but I am going to try to keep it up to date from this point on.  Especially for our Pappaw, who moved away a few months ago. We miss him terribly and want him to be able to keep up with what we're doing and how the boys are growing and changing.  Also because Tucker started kindergarten this week and I really want to remember every thing about this time in our lives! So, hopefully I will do better, we shall see ;).......

A Winter ONEderland

I wrote Christmas posts and then somehow all the content was lost, so if something happens to this one...I give up.

For Talon's January birthday, I wanted to do something winter-related and loved the Winter ONEderland idea.  It is always so hard to plan these winter birthdays, so it was nice to find something to actually celebrate the cold aspect of his birthday!  I made a snowman centerpiece out of styrofoam balls. We had powdered donuts, chocolate peppermint cookies, grape salad and cupcakes for snacks.

Chocolate covered pretzel sticks, candy and snow were the favors.

We set kids tables up in the dining room, so all the kids could enjoy their cupcakes together...

Aunt Alye made Talon's birthday cake.  She also made Tucker's first birthday cake, so it is a special tradition. :)

I ordered all the cute printables on etsy.com.  They turned out super cute!

As always my mom and sister were a huge help.  I am so thankful and so glad they could be there.  We especially appreciate Aunt Alye for traveling so far.

Talon didn't know what to think about the whole cake thing.  He did not touch the cake and even when I tried to put cake in his mouth he didn't like it much.

We waited until the party was almost over to open presents.  The stress of present opening is just too much for me!  Talon got some cute stuff and Mrs. Jennifer made the cute snowflake shirt Talon wore to the party. We have such sweet friends and family!

Annual Hollyhand Christmas Party

Crystal and Riley have a Christmas party every year and it's always fun with GREAT food.  Things have changed quite a bit now that all the kiddies have been added to the mix, so this year, Santa came!  I was so excited to get a cute picture of the boys with Santa...but this is what happened instead.

Tucker wouldn't go near him.

Haha...but we did all go in to the playroom to sing along with Santa, and everyone enjoyed that!

We love spending time with Crystal, Riley, Anna Riley, and Ava Kate.  Cameron and Riley have been friends for a long time and it's so neat that now they are grown and their kids (and wives :)) are friends!  And who knows...maybe one day there will be a little love connections between our boys and their girls?!