Happy New Year from the Flowers! I am loving these (unseasonably for Houston) cold winter days when we can snuggle up inside to play with toys and drink hot cocoa. We had a super fun fall and holiday season.

In October, we made our annual trip to P-6 farms where they have pig races, toy duck races, slides, rides, a hayride, and (my favorite) a corn maze. And Tucker helped me pick a pumpkin from the patch to bring home.

For Halloween this year, Tucker decided to be a veterinarian and he wanted Parker to be his dog. For one party I dressed up as a Vet too. And I also dressed as a chocolate lab in honor of our Darby. We attended a couple of parties and went trick or treating on Halloween night on our street – in the rain!

Tucker and I had two dates in November to see live shows for Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig. We followed that up in December with a touring Broadway production of Sleepy Beauty. Tucker has been loving our trips to the theatre!

We started our Christmas excursions early in November to avoid the Texas crowds. Before Thanksgiving I had a business trip to Dallas so I took Tucker to see a large Ice exhibit at the Gaylord Texas hotel. The Sunday before Thanksgiving we went to Santa’s Wonderland in College Station, TX which includes a beautiful hayride through lots of lights. And right after Thanksgiving, we spent an evening in Houston at Zoo Lights. Then I took the boys to see Santa on November 30th (no line!) to round out the early festivities. Our house was decked out with Christmas Snoopy’s this year (Tucker thought it was fun to dive into a tub of them).

Tucker turned 4 on December 14th. He had a super fun party at his gymnastics studio on December 10th with 11 kids in attendance. Then he had a birthday celebration at school on December 13th which included walking around the sun (a candle) 4 times while holding the Earth. And I share pictures and stories with the class about each year of his life. Finally Tucker & I spent the day together on 12/14 and did some holiday shopping, along with lunch at Chuck E. Cheese.

We spent a couple of days in Dallas before Christmas to visit with Uncle Shawn and Aunt Kelly. Shawn took us to see a giant toy train display at a local mall. And we were back home on December 24th, in time for Santa Claus to deliver a Red Porsche sports car for the boys.

We finished 2017 with a New Year’s Playdate at our house complete with sparkling juice, noisemakers, and a balloon drop. While ringing in 2018, we also celebrated Parker turning 18 months old. On January 8th, Parker began attending The Woodlands Montessori School with Tucker 3 days per week. Parker’s first week seemed to go well but he definitely came home very tired!

Around New Year’s, Parker started napping and sleeping with a “baby” – a blue elephant lovey. And today he added a second baby to his routine, a stuffed giraffe. Parker’s language skills continue to amaze me. He has about 80-100 words now including body parts, food names, and other objects. Parker also says “Here you go”. He says “Hi” and “Bye” to everyone he meets, everywhere. Parker is in full climbing mode and is constantly being removed from the kitchen table. If he can’t reach something he wants, Parker goes to find a step stool and figure out a path. He is really enjoying his books these days and loves playing with big brother. Parker is very good with our dog, Lucy as well. He tells her “Post” and “Kennel” and gives her a treat when she follows the commands.

Tucker is a fabulous big brother and enjoys playing with Parker. He also helps me watch Parker around the house and holds onto him as we go out of the front door. Tucker says he can’t wait until he is old enough to babysit Parker. He often likes to dress the same as Parker –both during the day and at bedtime. Tucker is learning to play basketball this month and continues to enjoy gymnastics. He is thoroughly sweet and asked questions like “How was your day at work, Mommy?” Tucker likes to “read” books to himself, especially Pete the Cat books. He always wants me to tell him a story when we are in the car and Tucker is pretty good at telling stories himself now as well. Sometimes Tucker gets mad that he can’t have something he wants and says “I’m not going to play with you anymore.” And if I try to explain my views at the same time that he is pleading his case, he says “You’re messing up my talking!” But I think that for age 4, he is pretty easy to get along with most of the time. After a few weeks at home, Tucker is excited about his first 2018 “business trip” to San Antonio this week.

Wherever we go, we try to have fun and live happily ever after.

Clearly, things are very busy at the Flowers household and I wish I had more time for our blog. Tucker had a fun summer including attending camp at his preschool, music camp, and several weeks of sports/gymnastics camps. In addition, Tucker went back to swimming lessons in June and by July he was jumping in and swimming to me without a vest. Parker enjoyed the pools too, swimming around in his baby boat.

In June, Tucker went to his first movie (Cars 3) and stage show (The World According to Snoopy). Also, Parker went on his first airplane ride as I had to work for a couple of days in McAllen, Texas.

July 1st marked Parker's first birthday. We had a special visit with Nenek (Sarah) and Uncle Shawn for the big celebration. Parker's party was a Peter Rabbit themed affair with snacks, decorations, treats, and cake to match. Parker started taking steps with confidence between his birthday and his party on July 8th.

In August, Tucker started attending a new school, The Woodlands Montessori. We saw Shawn again while on a business trip to Dallas. And we returned home just in time to spend 4 days inside of the house during Storm Harvey. This was a very stressful time between the tornado warnings and the flooding which eventually reached my neighborhood. If you didn't see my story on Facebook, check out http://aniseheartjoy.com/heart-thoughts/

Tucker, Uncle Shawn, and balloon animal Chase from Paw Patrol

In September, Parker got his first haircut. And we all attended an Astros Game with our close friends, the Grimms. When we aren't at school/work, we stay busy with the local parks & pools, indoor playgrounds, children's museums, trampoline park, Ninja warrior kid's obstacle course, science lab, and visiting fire stations. Whew!

Today Parker turned 15 months old. Last weekend, I nursed Parker for the last time which was extremely sad for both of us. Parker is walking, climbing, swinging, and going up/down slides or stairs at any opportunity. He loves to be outside in the yard or at the park. Since recently figuring out the doggie door, he can be found outside all of the time! Parker has had an explosion of language development over the past month. In addition to several signs, he says words including: mama, Tucker, uh-oh, bye, hi, basketball, book, peek-a-boo, shoes, and more. As a typical one year old, Parker is "into everything" as he explores our house!

We had a fun photo shoot for Parker's first birthday. So I will end with these images of the boys that I adore.

Happy 2018!

Summer and Back to School