Forest Tucker 2.0

Happy birthday to my sweet little two year old boy.

He is snuggly and cuddly, small and squirmy, energetic and crazy, and full of love for all his favorite people, including our little family, his extended family, and his extra family during the week at Julie's house.

One

Forest Tucker Saugen
Is one year old today.
Where has time gone?

I can't believe that a year ago we were in the hospital, loving and snuggling our little bundle, sharing his little self with our family and friends. I LOVED spending that day he was born in the hospital. I know that lots of women hate it and would rather be at home or in a birthing center, (which I am sure is awesome too) but I really enjoyed having people take care of me for a day. I never felt poked and prodded and intervened upon. I just felt relaxed and tired and special. How do they do that, those L&D nurses? They see the most incredible aspect of humanity (birthing) nearly EVERY SINGLE time they come to work, yet they still manage to keep their energy up and make each birth just as special as it is! I do realize that may have been my singular experience, but I am very blessed by it and the memories I have of it. Anyway, sidetrack...  I do have lovely memories of that night and day of Forest's birth day.

 08.29.10

Forest, you are my sweet snuggler.  The boy who still LOVES nursing at a year old and you are so excited to do so you squat up and down and screech until it's time.  Mornings are the best after your first nurse, because if I let you we will happily snuggle and sleep together from 5:00am to 6:15 on weekends.  (Which helps keep Daddy's side of the bed warm when he is gone for work.)  Of course this may change as you become more independent, but for now I will relish in your tiny body close to mine.

Early morning snuggling together.

You have the BIGGEST blue eyes I have ever seen.  Even Grandma Betty Newell calls you "blue-eyes" every time she sees you.  And your smile is ear to ear.  Luckily we see a LOT of that smile, especially when your brother is around.  I keep thinking he is beating you up, as he is wrestling you to the ground in a big bear hug... and you just laugh and laugh, and give Olaf that little eye twinkle as you crawl away, like you are saying "come and get me again!"  How special that you get to grow up with a big brother to look up to.

Picnic at Grammy and Bumpa's house.

Sometimes when I haven't seen you for a while, when I pick you up to hold you, you wrap those skinny little arms around my neck and play with my necklace while you press your forehead against my cheek for a few minutes... sigh.  I am trying to lock these memories away they are so sweet!  You also still seem to like being carried on my back in the Ergo.  We walk around the yard, chase Olaf, pick weeds, go for walks, and sometimes cook dinner like this, with you snuggled up on my back.  Aside from the occasional hair-pull to let me know you are totally over it, you sit quietly and just take it all in.  I love it.

Just arrived at Hidden Lake, time to relax.

Of course my dear son, you do have moments of being a holy terror.  Such as when you don't want your diaper changed (which is all the time) or when I take your toothbrush away from you and then close the door to the bathroom so you can't go back in.... oooh you get feisty mad.  But you get over it quickly and for that I am thankful.

Toothbrush time!

So, on your birthday Forest, know that you are loved by me, and your daddy and brother, and all the other people you know.  We were doubly blessed when you arrived, 365 days ago, and I am so looking forward to seeing what your next 365 have in store!  Love you little Foresty.

Look at the size of those craniums!  Like oranges on toothpicks! 

Belated Birthday Party Post

June was birthday month.  Holy moses.  It was crazy.  Seriously.  Too much cake and too many presents.  But so much fun!

Micah (cousin) turned 3 on May 31st, and Olaf turned 3 on June 20th, so we split the difference and  had a little joint party for them on June 12th.  A nice lady here in Plain has a killer awesome indoor pool, complete with water slide, and she generously allowed us to use it for a swim party!  Pretty nice since it's been so cold this spring and there's no way we have been in the water in Lake Wenatchee or the Wenatchee River.  The kids all LOVE to swim.  We decided to only invite family this year, since once we've invited the whole family, including cousins and grandparents, the guest list is already around 30 people.  Unfortunately most of them could not make it on a Sunday evening, so it was ended up just being our two little families and 5 of the 7 grandparents.  Oh and of course Jaimi and Nick and little Dudley too, can't forget that third musketeer.   But we had a blast!

Of course I have no pictures of the swimming because, HELLO, I was swimming and was probably mid-cannonball or going down the slide.  Ha ha.  Olaf has turned out to be a real water nut and cycled the slide and/or jumping off the edge over and over and over and... well you get the picture.  The only slippery moment came when Steve threw Olaf up in the air (as all dads do) and Oly hit the water feet first, arms up.  Well, that's nice and all but the arms up thing meant his water wings went WHOOOP, right off his arms, and he sank a bit farther than anticipated.  Steve pulled him up right away of course but I had a mini heart attack!

Christie and I spent about 2 hours putting the cake together.  Good thing there were two of us on this joint effort because neither of us knew what we were doing with this home-made fondant stuff.  We followed cake directions from parenting.com, and just modified it to be like the boys' FAVORITE Lighting McQueen!  I think it turned out so very well, especially for two novices!  And it was even decent tasting as well.  As you can see in the photos farther down, Olaf was DELIGHTED and EXCITED about it at the party :)

Well we are off to family camp at Tall Timber in a few minutes, so I'll be back later to share some of those adventures.  But for now just enjoy the sweetness below.

 Just waiting for his piece...

30.

I didn't think I would really mind turning 30.  After all, most of my friends and family had crossed this line a while back, so it's not like I think it is really old or anything :)  but still, on Wednesday when I turned 30, I wished it was 29!  Doesn't 29 sound so much better!  Luckily none of my coworkers knew it was a milestone birthday, or else they informed me that they would have decorated my cubicle in black.  Phew.

I wasn't sure if I would enjoy the day or not.  Steve found out just last Thursday that he'd be leaving for work in Idaho on Monday, so I spent the weekend having a pity party for myself that he would miss my birthday (again) and a big party I have planned for tomorrow (Saturday).  There were tears involved.  Hosting a party by yourself is just not as much fun.  Especially when you invited a ton of people.  I really wanted to just cancel it.  But I didn't. Anyway, I digress.  Wasn't sure that I would enjoy my birthday.

But you know what, it was a very nice day!  Here are some of the nice things that happened:

• The boys were in good moods when they woke up.  We actually got out of the house by 6:45!  7 minutes earlier than usual!

• Olaf gave me a giant hug in the morning without prompting.  Sigh.
• My projected 4 hour meeting only took 2!
• Got to have lunch with an old friend from camp who I have known since 1996 (officially half my life... crazy)
• Steven sent me flowers at work :)  (you like my work lists hanging up behind?  I am MUCH more organized there than at home!)

• My coworkers bought me cupcakes.  Yum.  In red-neck land where I work there are no "Cupcake Royal"s or "Trophy Cupcakes" like in Seattle, so we stuck to the good old Albertson's bakery.  And they were delicious, at 1/4 of the price I am sure. 
• Home-made pizza with my boys, my folks, and Steve's dad over for supper.
• Got a walking foot for my sewing machine and more bobbins! Thanks mom!
• Got a new cast iron skillet.  Thanks Mark! 
• Got my drip irrigation system installed.  Thanks Hubby!
• (Since when do all the presents I desire have to do with cooking, sewing, or gardening?  Who am I?)
• Got kidnapped by two of my best friends, Jaimi and Christie, for an evening hike to the cliffs/osprey nest, and enjoyed a glass (paper cup) of red wine.

All in all... a lovely day.  Thanks to all who made me feel special!

December is a crazy month

Yup, December is crazy.  And as much as I may whine about being busy or not having enough time in the day... I do just LOVE this month.

I love the special family birthdays -- Aleksandr, Sue, Serenity, Haakon, Josh and Steven.  Whew!  That's a lot, but apparently a good month to share time and experiences with one another as we see some of you for parties!

I love decorating for the holidays.  Yes it can be cheesy.  Yes some people go way over the top.  Yes even I have many lights and ornaments and a few wall hangings in my house... but I have no guilt over "commercialization" of Christmas... because for some reason it sort of brings back the magic that I remember Christmas feeling like when I was little.  Hope, expectation, joy... all those feelings.  I remember just laying on the couch in the dark with my sister Kirsten and just talking and staring at the lit up tree and listening to Little Drummer Boy off Mom's favorite tape...  I swear it was magical and so much fun!  I know those feelings aren't a result of the decorations, but somehow they are connected in my mind because of how much I love them when I was younger.

I love Christmas music!  Top favorite album for the season -- Amy Grant Christmas.  Just can't go wrong with that CD.  Then Late Tuesday.  Their rendition of O Holy Night is AMAZING.

I love cold weather and snow outside, and a crackling fire on the inside.

I love that Gravity rarely has too much work in December, and so I get to keep Steven home with me a lot :)

I love the parties and many excuses to see people that you love, both family and friends!

I love seeing an outpouring of generosity from many folks I know to those less fortunate -- food, gifts, money, volunteering...  and I love giving back to the community I live in, in small ways, and hoping to be a blessing to someone else.  

I love Oly.  Enough said.

I love ALL OF YOU READING THIS!  and here's a shout-out to Grandma Hazel - it was so nice to talk to you last night, and I am sure glad to know that you and Grandpa Russ enjoy reading this blog :)

Happy December 9th.  Happy birthday Josh!

mr. O turns the big 01.

My dear son,
One year ago was quite a day. Quite a week. Quite a month... You came into this world slowly. EVER SO SLOWLY. Dear little Olaf you were so content to stay in my tummy an extra week... then 8 days, 9 days, 10 days. Well we had enough at that point so into the hospital we went to induce (entice) you into coming out... and it still took another day! So 11 days past your pull date you finally made an appearance to an adoring crowd. Most adoring of course were me and your daddy -- We were so proud of you already! You had all your parts, a head of dark hair, chubby wubby cheekies, and of course your daddy's big old Saugen dimples! Everyone knew you were your dad's son!


Well it has been one whole year since then. HOLY MOLY YOU ARE ONE YEAR OLD?!?!?! I swear you went from infant to toddler overnight! You are now a walking, talking, singing, throwing, pulling, pushing, tooting, laughing, grunting, smiling, hugging, kissing, grabbing, shaking, eating, pointing, loving little boy. My little boy. I love you and can't WAIT to see what the year has in store for you and us. I hope and pray that you keep on growing healthy and strong, kind and caring. We are SO blessed by having you for a son. Thank you Lord for my wonderful Olaf.

Why is everyone singing this song to me?

Oooh, open flame...

Olaf actually hated the cake... or hated the feel of frosting on his fingers... whatever it was, he never ate any of it!

Miss Ingrid... will dance to any tune she hears!

Micah is such a big boy and a cutie to boot!

Later in the day it was pool time!