Life Saver

Last night Tucker reached a very anticipated milestone, he slept through the night for the 1st time! Any parent of a newborn would probably agree that sleep is a precious commodity. This Book was recommended to me by a couple of friends. It's easy to read if you can find the time between all of the multi-tasking and the hundreds of other things that demand your attention throughout the day. Chad and I both agree the techniques taught in this book saved us with Finley. She still sleeps 12-13 hours a night and takes a long nap in the afternoon. To anyone who has not yet found their miracle cure for sleepless nights try this out!

Persepolis

Bathtime

I'm always looking for ways to simplify my life. Flo helps me do just that. Finley has always hated to wash her hair. By using the "waterfall" created by Flo, I think she feels like she is more in control of rinsing. It has made washing her hair less of a battle.

some of my favorite things

Some of my favorite things about today were:
Good morning Kisses
fresh cut tulips on my kitchen table
a good friend who watched my wild child so I could go to an appointment in peace
the smell and taste of warm homemade zucchini bread
dancing with Finley to Yo Gabba-Gabba
watching my kids play together
and Naptime!

Santa was good to me...

I got spoiled this Christmas. And while I know it's not the gifts that make the season so important I was reminded of what a thoughtful and generous family I have.
I've been pining over a KithenAid mixer for years and this Christmas I got one from my parents. Chad has reason to worry however not only have I not shed one single pound of baby weight, but I've packed on a couple extra. If he has hopes of seeing a trim and fit wife by his side, he ought to hope that mixer breaks. So far I've made 1/2 a dozen different batches of yummy cookies. i can't stop! Here is the most delicious peanut butter cookie recipe. I made these last night. If you like Chocolate and Peanut Butter you'll LOVE these!!! They are so moist, they melt in your mouth.
Serve them up warm with a cold glass of milk and you're in heaven. Yum!

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These cookies will have a moist, brownielike texture the day you make them and get crispier the following day. You can also make them with other favorite chocolate candies. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Adding marshmallows to the container will prevent the cookies from drying out.

Prep: 20 minutes
Total: 50 minutes

Ingredients

Makes 36

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, for rolling dough
• 36 mini peanut butter cups, chilled and unwrapped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer, cream peanut butter and butter in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar; beat until combined, scraping down bowl as needed. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until incorporated.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually beat in flour mixture in two batches.
3. Scoop off dough by the tablespoon; roll into balls. Place granulated sugar on a plate; roll balls in sugar, coating completely. Place 2 inches apart on a nonstick insulated baking sheet, or mini muffin tins.
4. Bake until cookies 10-11 minutes. Remove from oven. Press one peanut butter cup in center of each cookie. Return to oven; continue baking until cookies are golden brown and chocolate has begun to melt, about 2 minutes more. Let cool at least 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring cookies to rack to cool completely.

Influenced by Hollywood

tuckers first month video

clear your schedule and make some popcorn this is a long one!

we're still working on the music selection
chad thinks the beginning sounds like a church video
and the Christmas music makes him want to poke his eardrums out

any suggestions?!!

4 weeks old

he is older, chubbier, and losing a lot of hair, no not chad, i'm talking about tucker. we can't believe how quickly tuckers first 4 weeks have flown by. christmas and new years helped time to pass quickly. well what to say... he still doesn't do much besides cry, eat, sleep and poop a lot of diapers. his favorite place in the house is the bathroom counter. its the only magical place in the house where you can lay him down and he won't cry. finley doesn't like to hear him cry and will tell me every time he does. "baby cry, cry" she'll say as she runs to stuff the binki in his mouth, or ear, or eye...whichever is most convenient for her. when you ask her what does the baby say, she says,
"Wa Wa" we sure do love our 2 babies! here is a little peek of how tucker celebrated his 4th week of life.

like a new mom

Thanks everyone for your support and encouraging comments. Last night I received my desperately needed 3 hour block of sleep and this morning I feel like a new mom. Its amazing how sleep changes things. The next step is to be able to make it to our 9 o'clock sacrament meeting. All in time.

It Can Be Done...

well i did it, my first whole day all by myself. i dropped my mom off at the airport on tuesday afternoon and thought, how am i going to manage two kids all day on my own. finley is as crazy as ever. chad says that her hair is an reflection of her attitude for the day. by the looks of it you can see just how crazy she was today. her two favorite words were, no,no! tucker is nowhere near sleeping through the night, and sleep deprivation does not suit me well. a friend told me that when she was raising her two children she was so exhausted she thought he was going to die. she called her mom up and her mom told her, "oh hun, you're not going to die, your gonna just wish that you did!" by 5 o'clock i was ready for rescue. i know i am not alone when it comes to struggling with the difficulties and joys of motherhood. but please God grant me with a solid three hour block of sleep!

Happy New Year!!!!

We celebrated the 2008 New Year at home with Grandma Cindy. We got Chinese take out from PF Changs, banged on pots and pans (@8:30pm) and threw lots of confetti. Fins favorite part were the helium balloons which she calls "bubbles" and sipping sparkling cider.

New years resolutions have never been high on my list of things I like, but this year I came up with one that I really hope I can accomplish. I read a quote by Henry David Thoreau where he said, "My greatest attribute is that I am content with what I have" I loved that philosophy. So this year I am going to work to become content with what I have and not NEED the WANTS.

Chad has resolved to get into Beach Shape by June.

Finley is going to Potty Train.

and

Tucker is going to grow and thrive.

We are so excited for the New Year and for the Tax return having 2 children will hopefully bring. My brother said, "Life will be GREAT in 2008" We certainly hope that it is!

It was a very Merry Christmas!

It was another Merry Christmas at our home this year! My family came up to visit and to meet little Tucker. Finley loved waking up Christmas morning to see that her aunts and uncles and Grandparents were there to celebrate Christmas with her.

One of her favorite gifts was a darling little chair that was sent to her by her Papa Joe and made years ago by her Grandma Dixie before she died. It was a wonderful gift that we will cherish always. Finley spent most of the morning and afternoon in it watching the Jungle Book and Planet Earth.

We also attempted another family photo. WE NEED HELP! I swear, is it really this difficult to get a good photo? We gave up after a handful of failed attempts.

This pink retro kitchen was another of Finley's favorite gifts. She loves to force feed you every single piece of plastic food she can find.

We truly had a wonderful Christmas. Delicious seafood, rowdy late night card games, good movies and great conversations made our holiday season memorable. We are so blessed with the love of a great family. We miss everyone that was not able to be here, and love you all.

Was I really prepared for this...

...I don't think I could have ever been.

one week old

WOW how time has flown by! Tucker is already one week old!!!

• He is awake for about 15 min. a day sleeping is his favorite past time
• He is a champ at eating, and is already back up to his birth weight of 6.15 lbs.
• His belly button has fallen off
• He is patiently enduring the endless poking and prodding of his curious sister
• He makes you smile every time you look at him

Heres to a great first week of life!

Christmas

At its most basic level, the Christmas story is about a family.

Ever since that first Christmas night when Mary and Joseph welcomed baby Jesus into the world and began their family life together, Christmas always has and always will be about families.

-Newell

A busy couple of days

Our days and nights have just become a whole lot busier. Our lives have truly been blessed with the new arrival of little Tucker McKean. He has brought us so much JOY we can not imagine a more perfect gift. Here are some of the things we love so much about him.

He makes the most adorable faces, and loves to sleep! That is great for me, because I am one tired mom!
We love his "Big" little feet and are learning to appretiate the difficulty that comes with changing a baby boys diaper.

His big sister Finley loves to hold him and give him kisses. She calls him "my baby" seeing them together melts my heart.

But most of all we love the sense of completeness that he brings to our family. We love you little guy...

Our baby is born

Born on December 10, 2007

at 1:08 pm
Weighing 6 pounds 15 ounces
20 1/4 inches long
mom dad and baby are exhausted but doing great!

Christmas Cheer and Traditions

Today we made a great attempt to bring some Christmas Cheer to our home for the holidays. We started with the annual tradition of picking out the "perfect tree" and this is how it went...


...Unfortunately there was nothing, cheerful or perfect about this wonderful Christmas tradition. I actually told her, "Stop screaming, you're ruining Christmas!!!" I'll admit it was not one of my best moments.

I thought things would smooth over once we got the tree home and loaded it with beautiful sparkly ornaments. I quickly realized what an impossible task it will be to keep the tree from getting destroyed. I told her nicely over a dozen times I am sure of it, to please leave the ornaments alone!

After the 12th time I lost some of the niceness and changed my plea to a command, DON'T TOUCH!!! Again, not one of my better moments. Tell me honestly though is there anything easy about getting through to a teething 18 month old.

I think Fin sat still for about 1 minute the whole day while she "Happily" ate a candy cane.

So far our home is BRIMMING with CHRISTMAS CHEER! Wishing you and your family a holiday season filled with love!!! ( keyword wishing)!