Spring has been very busy and I can’t believe that Parker will be turning ONE very soon. I took my last 2 weeks of maternity leave in March but didn’t accomplish all of the things I had planned as I was sick for 4 weeks with congestion, coughing, and fatigue. We did manage to host a St. Patrick’s playdate for Tucker’s classmates and a few neighbors. We also ventured to the Houston Rodeo during Spring Break.

Sheriff Tucker ready for Rodeo day at school

In early April, we went on our first Flowers family vacation including Parker. We spent a night at a wonderful resort in Austin where I had earned a free night with Omni hotels. As Easter approached, Tucker was blessed with 4 egg hunts and Parker met the bunny for the first time. After Tucker’s first egg hunt at preschool, he started saying “Happy Easter” to me every night at bedtime. And we are still saying it now! Tucker knows that Easter is over but it has become a fun ritual for us.

We traveled again in early May for two very special graduations trips. My niece, Caroline, graduated from LSU Vet School. And our former nanny, Shannon, graduated from Stephen F. Austin with her elementary education degree. Tucker and Parker were extremely well-behaved throughout both ceremonies!

Another graduation in May occurred when our new labradoodle puppy, Lucy, graduated from “boarding school.” She learned a lot and I’m enjoying her new manners in our busy household. Also, Tucker finished his 2-year-old class at Interfaith Child Development Center and we were gifted with a beautiful portfolio of artwork and photographs that his teacher made for him.

Tucker is thriving with imaginary play and loves to hear/tell fairytales and stories. He stayed awake in the car until 10pm as we drove to Baton Rouge and kept me awake as we retold stories. He got a stuffed penguin one of our 5 pit stops so I modified the 3 Little Pigs into the 3 girls penguins and the big bad polar bear. When Parker is upset these days, Tucker immediately launches into singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to comfort his baby brother. In May, Tucker started going to Gymnastics and I love that he smiles and waves at me during every transition throughout the class. This month Tucker and I also had our first outing without Parker and spent a very special day together at the Houston Children’s Museum.

Parker started crawling at 10 months. Now he is trying to stand and walking with push toys. He has entered the normal stage of stranger/separation anxiety. I feel so blessed that we’ve had our nanny, Ana, all year and Parker is definitely attached to her. He also loves to blow raspberries, chatter consonant sounds, and be ticked. Once a year, the Houston Fertility Institute has a big party for all of their families. We enjoyed attending this year and participating in the superhero theme.