Halloween

We were in Purcell for Halloween this year because we took Bennett's newborn pictures that morning. We made a couple of stops and came away with a TON of candy. I gotta say people buy better candy these days! When I was a kid it was mostly smarties and that gross orange and black candy. Now its mostly chocolate and skittles. Yum!

We ran into all our cousins at FBC Purcell's carnival. I can't believe how big they are all getting!

Tucker LOVES to take pictures these days. Yeah right! Here's Granna with our Donkey and Captain America. 

I'm trying to talk him into taking one good pic with Bennett and I. Not interested. However Bennett did great in the wrap. Once again he managed to sleep through all our running around. 

Captain America and Tigger on Nana Lue's front porch.

I mean! I had to get one shot of this little outfit. His pants were lost by this point but her just looked super cute! 

Storybook Forest

Halloween is getting more and more fun every year. We decided to take the kids to Storybook Forest in Edmond right before the big night. Its a great place for little kids, well most little kids. Tucker did NOT like the Big Bad Wolf and had a bad dream about him, but he enjoyed other parts of the evening. 

JK came and spent the evening with his little "brothers." We love having this guys around. 

Nana read the kids some stories because the person who was supposed to do that wasn't there yet. 

Our little Tigger slept peacefully through the whole thing.  

Tuck was brave at some parts of the trail. Once he realized candy was involved he was ok going up to the different scenes, well most of them.

Eeyore and the stone. He refused to wear the head of his donkey all night even though it's the cutest part. Oh well.
We had a great time!

Introductions...

Bennett has made lots of friends since his arrival. In the first few days we got to be back in Oklahoma he met LOTS of friends and family. We are so blessed to be loved so much by so many!

Our pediatrician, Dr. Brad Whinery

Great Grandpa, Papa Bill

Great Grandma, Nana Lue

Step Grandpa, Gary

Great Grandma, Granny Meyer

Great Grandma Chloe

One of our students, Rachel.

One of our college kids and possible future sister-in-law,  Madison.

Trailer Living

When we decided to adopt from Texas we knew we would have an extended stay in the state of Texas while paperwork was filed and approved before we could bring Bennett all the way home even though we only live 20 miles from the state line. We planned to barrow Chris's dads camper and stay with a little more room for much less money then a hotel. I cleaned and packed the trailer in advance and we had a plan for friends to bring it to Texas and set it up for us while we were in the hospital.
But before we were released from the hospital our adoption worker told us it would only be 24 hours before we were approved. We didn't want to haul the trailer for that short of a stay so we spent night number one out of the hospital in the lovely Holiday Inn Express in Shamrock, Texas. A mere 40 miles from our house. We waited around the entire next day with no approval. We finally heard from our caseworker and she said it looked like we would indeed need to stay a while (up to three weeks!) We were so disappointed! Initially, we were fine with staying, but once we heard it wouldn't be long and then that changed we struggled to be positive about the stay.
My Mom was bringing Tucker out to us anyway so she stopped in Sayre and got the trailer and brought it to us. Chris had to set everything up in the dark and we struggled through the first night with no heat. It was rough till we got some of the kinks worked out!
We did manage though. All in all we spent 12 days in Texas, 9 of those days in the trailer. It was cramped to say the least. We had lots of guests and keeping a two year old entertained in that little of a space was a challenge, but we were grateful for the space we had.
I didn't leave the trailer except to go eat two or three times so I was really ready to be home! We also were not able to see our doctor during that time and Bennett got really constipated -- I got really worried. But we were released to come home just in time! The pediatrician and chiropractor were our first Oklahoma stops! It's just hard not to be home with a newborn.

First we met Granna 

And Big Brother

Then Papa Phil came to check on us and meet his newest Grandson

Later that same night Aunt Sassie and Emrie came to love on us.

Aunt Chelsie had to make the journey out too! 

We played with water beads...in Bennett's bath tub. 

We read books and played games on Granna's Kindle.

Cuddled with Big Cousin

And we swatted a LOT of flies!!!

This short stay made us thankful for our house, family and friends! Man, was it good to get to come home!

2 1/2 Years Old Letter

To my First Born, Tucker -
I'm ever aware these days that our bond is about to change. I'm soaking you in every day with as much patience and reverence for this time that will soon be past. I'm so thankful I've had a full 30 months of time with just the two of us. You bring your Daddy and I more joy then I could ever communicate.

You are so smart and so vocal! You talk non-stop and say the funniest things. This week your deal is saying, "Mom - did you see that _______? That was the biggest ________ I've ever seen in my whole life!" I don't know where this came from, but I think its hilarious. You have also recently been concerned with who is a boy and who is a girl and whether they are big or little or a baby. You've established you are a "wittle boy" and always correct people if they say you are a "big boy." You recognize all your letters and some of their sounds. You can count to 20 and recognize your numbers through 12. When I ask you what letter or number you see you always say "letter __ or number __" never just what you see. Cute boy. Another new accomplishment is you know your whole name is, "Tutter Billam Dordon." At least that's how your pronounce Tucker William Gordon. Love it! You are on the go constantly and love to shake your booty, fly like a superhero and jump off of anything that you can climb on top of. All are extremely cute, I might add. You are always full of smiles and bring countless ones to our faces.

You still love cars, trains, planes, and anything else you can come up with that has wheels. You want all of your toys to have names and you remember them better then I do. I think this came about from the characters you have from Cars the movie. You love television. Your favorites are Little Einstein's, Super Readers and Word World. Your favorite movies are The Lorax, Toy Stories (all three) and Cars. You also still love to read and your like Daddy to read you your "Train Book" and Momma to read "A Momma for Chaco" to you. Your favorite people still include Mom, Dad, Granna and Emrie. You like everyone, but one of those usually wins out. You also have your favorite "Big Kids" and ask for Rachel and Hunter Hines by name regularly. They LOVE this! Your kinda rotten when it comes to your Big Kids.
You love to eat! Grilled cheese, fruit and pasta is probably still your favorite. But lately you have added a little chicken or bacon which is a big deal because all meat is low on your list of favorites. You are a good eater, but you take your sweet time getting your meal eaten.

You have gotten a lot taller since your two year check up, but we haven't been to the doctor so I really don't know exactly how much you've grown. For the first time in your life we had to buy bigger pants because your size 2T's were too short, not too tight. You are wearing a good mix of 2T's and 3T's it just depends on where the clothes are from. Your foot is still extra wide and we just bought you size 8 shoes for this fall. You're a growing boy, that's for sure!

Your biggest and latest accomplishment is potty training. You are about 90% there!!! One day without my coaxing you woke up from your nap and asked to wear undies so I let you, but told you if you did you HAD to pee pee in the pottty. I thought your undies would last about 30 minutes and we'd head back to put a diaper on, but much to my shock and joy you peed in the potty. You're doing REALLY good! You've only had a couple accidents in the last two weeks, but I still don't feel totally confident. You are staying dry all night and through your naps. You have just amazed us and taught us that you would do it when you got ready, just like everyone told us. So true and so much better then then the three times I pushed you so hard for four days at a time. Sorry! Mom fail! It was hard for me to watch you not immediately pick something up. With most everything else you learned so quickly. But you wearing undies is a HUGE blessing because we won't have three babies in diapers in a few months. Thank you and please don't revert back when the babies do come. Thanks so much!

Our family has some BIG NEWS! We are expecting your first baby brother to make his grand entrance any day. His due date is only 10 days away so he could come at anytime. I know it will be a huge transition for all of us, but I'm so excited to give you a lifelong friend! I think you're going to be a great big brother! And then in February you will be a big brother again. We don't know yet if you'll have two little brothers or a little brother and a sister, but we are so excited to see how God is growing our family. Your Birth Mom is pregnant again and wants your half sibling to be apart of our family. We are so honored by her decision and are excited for you to have siblings.
Also Aunt Chelsie will be getting married in June and you get to be the Ring Bearer. I'm sure your super excited about it! Haha. We went to Stillwater September 1st for the big proposal and you loved on your Auntie during the exciting day.

We love you so much and you are so special to us. I can't imagine my life without you! You are so sweet and tender. So pleasing and handsome. God knew exactly what He was doing when He blessed us with you, Tucker William Gordon. Thanks for making us a family and me a Momma! Get ready for some crazy days ahead as we all transition from three to four to five in just a few months.

I love you more,

Momma

Introducing Bennett Harris

It's my pleasure to introduce you to Bennett Harris Gordon. Our second son was born in Odessa, Texas at 7:50 on Saturday night October 13th, 2012. He weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. and was 20 inches long. He has lots of hair, long fingers and toes and is just as sweet as he looks! We are so excited to grow into a family of FOUR!

Potty Train - Choo Choo!

Last year around this time I started thinking about potty training Tucker. No one loves dirty diapers and at that point he was communicating well enough I thought we could do it. So after the rush of the Holidays, we found a free week last January and prepared for Boot Camp. I read up on all the Pinterest articles I had pinned and got all our supplies together. Not interested would've been an understatement. After four full days of undies and all my patience I threw in the towel and decided to try again a few months later. Our April and our August attempts went much the same way... VERY unsuccessful! 

But one day about a month ago Tucker woke up from his nap and said he wanted to wear undies. I wasn't about to discourage him, but I thought it would last about 30 minutes and we'd be back to put a diaper on. But instead we went to the potty and he peed like he was supposed to! I was shocked. But we kept it up. And since Tucker planned this it wasn't a week we could lock ourselves inside the house to hone his new skill. We had things that had to get done so we braved public in undies. Church. The car seat. Restaurants. All of it, and he did great! A few embarrassing accidents, but luckily it was around women and they understand. It was a miracle! 

Tucker has been doing so well! We are not without accidents all together, but he hasn't had one in five days and it was probably that long before that. He is staying dry through the night and through naps. He has figured out how to tell us when he needs to go, most of the time, and he loves his new Cars undies he got to pick out as a reward. Yay Tuck! I try to make it fun so sometimes we race or march to the bathroom. Or sometimes he gets candy (it's sugar free, but don't tell Tucker). Or other times we dance and sing out way down the hall. Usually when I ask if he needs to go he says, "I'm all done." But he goes nearly every time we try. And I just love his little buns in his under-roos so stinkin' cute! 

For Momma's who wanna know details: I will tell all you Mom's of boys...Get READY! I have never done this with a boy before and so I wasn't sure how to proceed. We sat down first. Tucker has fat legs so we had to undress from the waist down, spread his legs all the way out and sat his rear on the very back of the toilet seat. This was great for a while, but then he figured out he could go standing up and how to shoot it out with lots of force. We adjusted again. Now in public he stands up and I help direct the flow as he pees on toilet paper that he insists goes in the potty first. At home we use a potty seat I found at Target. I LOVE IT!!! It has a high piece between his legs that blocks most of the urine from spilling over the toilet. Highly recommend it. It's called the Wee-Pod and it was only $13. It comes in turquoise, grey and hot pink. Great purchase!!! Trust me. Your bath mats will never be the same with the seats that don't have the pee guard (as I call it.) We bought a little potty but it never really worked well for us. It is crazy how soon boys are aware of their wiener, as we call it. Tuck has to watch his pee come out and I don't know why. It's super weird to me, but it never fails he has to look down as he's going.
I'm so thankful the light has come on for him in this area. Now all I keep saying is please don't revert when the babies come!!! I REALLY don't want to do this again! Good luck Momma's everywhere!

A Day With Thomas & DiDi

Last week Chris' Mom, DiDi, took us all on a Day With Thomas in Oklahoma City. Tucker LOVED it and we all had a great time. It was really chilly last Friday, but other then that it was great. There was lots to do and this Mom of the Year forgot her camera so iPhone pictures had to do.

I mean happy as a lark with his Thomas hat and whistle. Thanks for that present DiDi. I may or may not have hidden the whistle during nap time yesterday. Holy cow that thin is LOUD!

This Momma doesn't love trains, but I do love the fella in my arms. Sweet day of pure joy for my Tuck!

Daddy, Tuck & DiDi on the train.

My Only Child

We are two weeks away from Bennett's due date. He will be here soon! Really soon! And I'm so excited. I think we're pretty close to being totally ready and I know we are anxious to meet our newest little man, but as the days pass I'm extra aware that these are the last Tucker and I have just the two of us. I'm not really worried about loving another baby as much as I love him, but I'm a little sad to see this chapter in our life come to a close. I love our days together and the things we've learned together. I will never again have just one on one. I'll be double and then triple teamed all too soon!
It's so true how short the years are turning out to be. We've had our fair share of long days and even kind of lonely ones, but they were just ours. Just my baby and me. Two and a half years and this period of life is over.
I have oh-ed and ah-ed over every accomplishment of Tucker's young life as though it was the greatest thing any child in the history of the world had ever done. I have smiled as he learned new things, both physical and mental. I have laughed as his little personality began shining through and when he figured out we were laughing at him he'd do things on purpose. I have cried when he cried and been heart broken over his sicknesses. And soon my undivided attention that he enjoys so much will be spilt.
He will become a big brother and I will become a mother of two. Since we brought Tucker home he has been my main priority. When he was tiny I wouldn't even go to the bathroom without thinking of him. I've eaten only a handful of meals without making sure he was taken care of first. It's what motherhood is at this young stage. And now we will both readjust and figure out a whole new reality.
I have LOVED this time. I've treasured every stage of this journey and often I'm reminded of how Mary "kept things in her heart" throughout Jesus' birth story to ponder later. I can't help but feel the same. It's like I want to take mental snapshots to look back over and remember with fondness as Tucker continues to grow and change.
What a blessing this time with my first baby has been. I'm so thankful for the last two and half years and the things I've learned. I know Tucker will be a great big brother and fall as madly in love with Bennett as I will, but I also really pray his little heart understands sharing his Momma who he's always had near exclusive rights to. I don't want his feelings to be hurt or him to feel left out. Pray for our family of three as we make the transition to a family of four.
TWO MORE WEEKS!!!

Childhood Calling

I had the extreme and rare privilege to grow up as a third generation friend. My first friends from childhood were the parents of my mom's first friends who were the parents of my Papa Bill's first friends. The common ground we all shared was a church out on a hill smack in the middle of several small towns that all of our Great Grandparents were charter members of. Because of the deep history we all inherited and we saw each other every Sunday and Wednesday our entire lives these people have always had a piece of my heart. Their parents are a little like mine too, as are their grandparents. In fact, they all called my grandpa "Papa" too, I guess because that's what we called him in our 2-3 year old Sunday School class. We may not have spent holidays together, except New Years Eve, or been related by blood, but in nearly every early memory or picture from my childhood one or more of these friends are there.
Our parents grew up going on family vacations together and were each others first kisses, best friends and groomsmen. When they were our age they took vacations together and left all of us kids with our grandparents. They all had babies at the same time and made sure we all grew up in church together. All of our moms took turns teaching us in Sunday School and VBS.
We all played hide and seek during choir practice and ran down the halls of our church while our parents weren't looking. We would scoot our Sunday shoes along the bright orange carpet of the sanctuary collecting static electricity to shock each other with. We went to church camp and youth group ski trips together every year. I have more memories then I can count surrounded by the Christian and Huddleston kids.
And sadly, we are the last generation to experience this kind of friendship. Since those days at Union Hill we've all moved off, got married and had babies of our own who don't know the Christian's or the Huddleston's. Our kids won't grow up singing in church Christmas pageants together or teasing each other through their awkward teenage years. And I know they are missing out on a huge blessing.
This weekend Mildred Christian, their grandmother, had a massive stroke that caused irreversible, tremendous brain damage. Their family gathered yesterday at a hospital in Oklahoma City and sang together as they unplugged the life support that was keeping her stable. A fitting tribute to a lady who made their WHOLE family sing at church lots of times and usually in rounds of good old Southern Baptist church songs. Her organs are still functioning and she is clinging to life, but it's just a matter of time. There is nothing the doctors can do.
I was never especially close to Miss. Mildred, or Me-Maw as they called her, but my heart is breaking along with theirs because of the deep, generational friendships I was blessed to be born into. When I think back through my childhood I can see Mildred in the background at nearly every turn. As I grew up beside her grandchildren she witnessed to me through her steadfast service and consistancy. I knew she loved her grandkids and I felt a little included under that umbrella. I can't remember a single Sunday of my nearly thirty years of life that I didn't hear her high soprano voice rise above the rest of the choir's during church at Union Hill. In fact, my mom still loves to tell the story of how Mildred fed me my first solid food in the nursery one Sunday. She's still a little bitter she didn't get that first cracker in a picture.
She was a special part of a very special family and now she is gone. In the blink of an eye. She was fine on Friday and spent it with one of her great grandkids, just how she would've chosen her last day on earth probably.
I don't know why this has shaken my so much. Maybe it's because I know it could be our family soon and I dread that day so much. Or maybe its just hard to see those we love hurt. But either way its hard to see my grandparents generation of friends slowly disappear. I'm thankful for the role that Mildred played in my life and for the place she has in my heart. May the Lord be gracious to her and welcome her into Glory soon.
I'm so thankful for the faces and friendships of those who filled my days growing up. I can't imagine it any other way.

Happy 100th!

Chris' family. His Aunts, brother, and cousins. 

On October 4th Chris' Great Grandmother (Tucker's Great-Great Grandma), Viola Smith, turned 100 years old! We went to Bristow last weekend to celebrate with her. She is just a precious woman and a beautiful picture of what a Matriarch should look like. It was a great day to celebrate one of the sweetest ladies on the planet. We love you Grandma Smith! Happy 100th Birthday!!!

T-Shirts

I'm turning in our first order for our super-cool, uber-soft adoption T-Shirts. I just wanted to make sure I  wasn't leaving anyone out... Let me know if you'd like to be added to the list ASAP. They're only $15 and you can conveniently pay for them via the fun instructions to your right or you can mail us a check. They come in kids and adult sizes through 3 Extra Large. Feel free to ask any questions you may have or send everyone you know through this blog to buy one for themselves. Ha! Christmas is just around the corner, after all! Thanks for all your support friends!!!