Real

I'm having a hard time photographing Arden's real smile.

Instead, I get these faces...

The last one is the closest I could get, but it just doesn't do her beautiful smile justice.

I guess I will keep trying...I'm sure she won't mind posing for me :)

Mommy's Little Helper

No matter what I'm doing around the house, Arden always wants to help--sweeping, unloading the dishwasher, you name it--she is right on my heels asking to do her part :)

Doing laundry is no different. If she finds me loading/unloading the washer and dryer she runs in and begins helping.

And she always helps fold the clothes. But most of the time the clothes end up here:

Apparently, helping Mommy fold clothes actually means it's time to play dress-up :)

I love my little helper...let's just hope she has this same desire when she's older!

So In Love

Five weeks ago, Tucker graced us with his presence.

I've never questioned whether or not I would be able to love another child as much as I love Arden, but the reality of our ability to love didn't set in until the day he was born. What a reminder of God's great love for each and every one of us!

We are all SO in love with our precious little boy!

It is already so hard for me to remember life without him. Five weeks seems like such a short period of time, but to me it seems like Tucker has always been a part of our lives.

Tucker is such a sweet baby! He is a good eater, starting to sleep 3-4 hours between nightly feedings, and is awake more and more each day. He is starting to coo and smile---both of which I love :) He also LOVES to be held, and I love that too, but it does make it difficult to get anything done!

Tucker @ 1 month

This is where you can find Arden most of the time:

She is still head-over-heels in love with him--which is such a blessing! Her first words each morning are "Where is Tucker?" and "Hugs and kisses--Tucker!". Her tantrums are few and far between now--and we are so thankful for that. We pray that we don't have to deal with those again (or at least for awhile)!

We've been terrible at taking pictures this time around--I guess we are too busy with a newborn and 2 yr. old! But I was able to snap a few shots of Tucker the other day while Arden was napping. Here are a few faces we are beginning to see each day :)

We love you sweet Tucker!

And so it begins...

Arden has loved Tucker since before he was born.

Her reaction to meeting him for the first time was priceless (I'm still trying to get the video to upload...if you have any suggestions, please let me know!)

When she wakes each morning, the first thing she wants to do is see Tucker and give him hugs and kisses.

Her love and affection for him completely melts my heart.

BUT...

Our usually well-behaved little girl is acting out--A LOT.

She is defiant---telling us "no" all the time and refusing to listen/obey.

She is extremely emotional---bursts into tears when we tell her she can't do something.

Biting episodes are becoming more frequent...

She no longer wants to be the "big girl", but wants to be the "baby".

We knew this was coming, but it's still so difficult for us. We are struggling with knowing how to handle this behavior. We've tried to spend some one-on-one time with Arden to remind her that she is still so very important to us and her behavior definitely improves during those times.

Please just pray for our family during this time of transition--and if you have any suggestions, we would be so glad to hear them!

Tucker Gerrit is here!

We welcomed Tucker Gerrit into the world @ 2:08pm on March 3, 2011. He weighed 9 lbs. 11 oz. and was 20.5 in. long. I was blessed to have a smooth labor and an even easier delivery (I pushed for less than 20 minutes!). We are completely in love with our little man and Arden is equally smitten by him :) She has been such a big helper and absolutely loves giving Tucker hugs and kisses! I'm working to upload the video of Arden meeting him for the first time--it's priceless!

Things at home are getting easier each day. I'm fortunate to have Geoff home with us until the middle of next week--I know it's making the transition so much better. Our first couple of nights were rough but things are finally settling down. Tucker loves to eat--right now we are up every 2-3 hours but I know things will get better soon! We are just trying to enjoy every moment with Tucker---no matter what time of day/night it is :)

Enjoy the pictures---I should have many more to post soon!

BIG BOY!

Arden meeting Tucker for the 1st time!

Our family of 4!

Silas meeting Tucker :)

Arden opening her Big Sister present ;)

Waiting!!!!!!!

Melinda and I arrived at the hospital last night for her scheduled induction today. Everything went well last night and we enjoyed a relaxing night alone just watching TV.

Melinda did not get much sleep, however I managed to sleep pretty well.

Now we are just waiting. They started Pitocin at 6:30am and broke her water at 8am. She just got her epidural and now we're hoping things move along smoothly.

Melinda is doing great! She's sitting here talking and laughing and enjoying her last few hours without a newborn. Keep us in your prayers and especially Melinda as she prepares to deliver Tucker. We will update and post pictures as soon as he gets here!

-Geoff (with the help of Auntie April)

While We Wait

I should have posted these a long time ago, but as we all know I'm not the best at staying on top of my blogging. I can only imagine I won't get any better once Tucker arrives!

These are pictures of Tucker's nursery. A huge thanks goes to my mom for doing the awesome paint job, my dear friend Dasha for painting the furniture (with some help from April and Geoff), and sweet Carla Woods for making his bedding. Everything turned out perfectly--exactly how I envisioned.

Now all we need is for Tucker to be here! He is scheduled to arrive sometime tomorrow; I think I will put Geoff on blogging duty like he was during Arden's birth so that we can keep everyone updated :)

I just had to include this picture of our sweet Arden, who is so ready to be the best big sister there ever was!

Arden, your daddy and I love you more than you will ever know. The past 28 months have been the best months of our lives. You bring so much joy to each and every moment we spend with you and we know that you will continue to bless our lives in the years to come. We look forward to you meeting Tucker and watching your relationship with him grow. Tucker couldn't ask for a better BIG SISTER! We love you sweet Arden---you will always be our baby girl!