Holiday Festivities!

Thanksgiving this year was a lot of fun! We made the long 8 hour drive to NJ to see Gigi and Grandpa. Thank goodness for car DVD players! Tucker must have watched episodes of "Handy Manny" and "Thomas the Train" about a million times. It kept him happy, though. We spent Thanksgiving day and night with Grandpa, Joan, Aunt Jess & John. We were such good kids! Tucker napped and slept all by himself in a "big bed!" Harper's, as usual, we into EVERYTHING. I am so not looking forward to the destruction that is in our wake when we put up the Christmas tree! We spent the rest of the weekend with Gigi and Dan. We had lots of fun playing, shopping, spending quality time and ATTEMPTING to get a pic with Santa at the mall. Harper was great on Santa's lap but Tucker was not all about Santa. He didn't scream like last Christmas but would not come within 3 feet of him. He did, however, manage to yell his Christmas list at him from a distance.

Although the kiddos are 2 and 10 months now, we somehow managed to actually get a decent Christmas card picture out of them (see above)! It took some bridery with ice cream but Tucker actually wore his reindeer ears and Harper managed to sit still for more then 10 seconds. Up next on the Christmas checklist....A TREE!!!

The Cutest Little Lion and Ladybug Ever

This Halloween, Tucker was a "ferocious" lion and Harper was a precious little ladybug. Being a very opionated 2 year old, Tucker did not so much as even want to look at his lion costume before Halloween started. We stretched trick-or-treating out for 3 days. Day #1 was at the mall and he HATED his costume and everything about it. Not sure if it was the crowds or if he was hot, but we had one cranky and cowardly lion on our hands. Day #2 was at a retirement home. Tucker finally got the hang of things. When he realized the candy stash he could come home with if he wore his costume (with the hood up) and said "suga please" he was all about it! We finally had a happy lion! He came home with quite the loot. Day 3 was trick-or-treating in our neighborhood with Gage. he had a blast because it was a gorgeous night and he and Gage was being pulled around in a wagon from house to house collecting candy. When we got back, he even did a good job of handing candy out to the people who came to our door. Now all he wants to do his wear his lion costume every night!!!

Harper was just her adorable little self throughout all the Halloween chaos. She is INTO EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING she can get her hands on. She pulls up on everything and "cruises" around all the furniture. She has even figured out how to climb the stairs! OH NO! We have one independent little "wild child" on our hands. She is one crazy girl and keeps us on our toes!

We have a Potty-Pee-er!

And it is not TUCKER!!!!! Harper decided she is going to one-up her big brother "Super Tucker" and pee on the potty before him at only 8 months old! I think she is sick of the spotlight being on "Super Tucker" and just wanted a moment to shine. Since Tucker has really refused to even sit on the potty, we decided to coax him by setting Harper on it (not expecting anything to happen). It was literally 5 seconds after she sat on it that she peed! We almost died of laughter since it was an obvious coincidence. Unfortunately, that did not change "Super Tucker's" mind. He was proud of Harper but could care less about doing it himself.

My baby girl is getting so big! Crawling everywhere and just loving life and "big people" food. ( :

"Super"," Funny"," Sleep-Walking" Tucker

Ok, so Tucker is not technically sleep walking but that is what it seems like when he comes into our bedroom at 5:05 am to snuggle in bed! This is the same little boy who literally has not gotten out of bed before 8 am since he was 6 months old. He has apparently figured out how to open his bedroom door so we can no longer "contain" him to his room. He now gets out of bed in the morning whenever he thinks he is ready. If this happens to be before 7 am...we "kindly" walk him back to bed. When he does get up, though, he plays by himself very well until Travis or I are ready to go. It is so tempting to let him just snuggle in bed with me in the mornings but I know that will lead to big problems down the road. My little boy is growing up!

Tucker is also getting quite an EGO (not unlike his father)! He now likes to do this strange, fake laugh whenever he does something even slightly humorous and then yell "Tucker's funny!" I think, yesterday, everything he did ended with a "Tucker's funny." Once and while "mommmy's funny" or "daddy's funny" but he is pretty much the funniest thing in his own mind. He thought it extremely hysterical to laugh at Harper as he balanced leaves on her head for about 30 minutes straight. Poor Harper just laughed along with him. She think's Tucker's funny, too. He can get her to smile like nobody else can!

On another egocentrc note...Tucker also now likes to refer to himself as "Super Tucker" whenever he is running or jumping. He will run from the kitchen to the bathroom yelling "Super Tucker" as if he has a cape on and some special powers only he possesses. I guess I should be thankful he is confident with himself, right????

My Little Pumpkins

We had an awesome, awesome, awesome time at the pumpkin patch this year. We make it an annual event to go with some family friends and this year Aunt Mandy and Ben came, too! The place we visit is not only a huge pumpkin patch, but it also has a hayride, corn mazes and other fun little "activities" for kids.

It was fun this year to see Tuck enjoy picking out the "biggest" pumpkin he could find. And, of course, "Prince Tucker" ended up with the biggest and most beautiful pumpkin in the patch. He and Gage walked around liked they owned the place. Harper could really care less what was going on but loved being outside in the cool weather. She is a nature girl like her mama...haha!

After pumpkin picking, Tucker LOVED sitting with daddy on the "hayride." Basically we were pulled around on a wooden wagon by a John Deere tractor. Tucker thought he was actually riding on the tractor and smiled from ear to ear the entire ride. He still talks about that tractor ride a week later. If only Lightening McQueen were pulling the wagon!!!!

It is so fun to do activities like this as Tucker gets older because I can actually tell he is enjoying them and taking it all in. I love that he talks about it after the fact and that he loves to tell everyone about his fun times.

Where did my Nanner go???

Tucker has been absolutely AMAZING this past week. Yes, he still has his minor meltdowns but he is almost like a different child. He spent last week with his Gigi watching him and I joke with her that I think she hypnotized him!! Maybe it was the "suga" she gave him or the "Mack" truck he loves so much??? I just think it was the love he has for her. Man, HE LOVES HIS GIGI!! Since she went back to NJ, he has talked about her all the time. Either way, I am glad she somehow transformed him into less of a "Nanner."

He is all about anything "CARS" and wearing anything with Cars on it. Lightening McQueen is his idol! Tuck recently got a small, indoor trampoline to bounce on and he can o it for 15 minutes straight. I am proud of how his speech is developing and he can pretty much say any word and is talking in mostly complete sentences. Travis and I are going to a wedding this weekend on the Eastern Shore so he will get to have some quailty time with his "Man-nuts" (aka Aunt Amanda). Hilarious nickname, huh???

Harper continues to be such a little angel. She has her 2 bottom teeth completely in by now but the drooling continues! It is so frustrating putting her in cute clothes and covering them with ugly bibs. I am sooooo ready for the drooling to start. She is going to take off and crawl any minute now. Every day she seems to gain more confidence and seems to get a real want to steal Tucker's toys! Harper is going to spend this Saturday night with her Aunt Miranda while we are at the wedding. They are both excited to have some girl time!!

Nanner (x2) Update!

With summer vacation, I have been obviously sooooo bad about keeping up an updating on my little Nanner and his gorgeous little sister. Being a "summer" stay-at-home mommy actually gives me less free time to blog then working full time! Truth be told, I would rather use naptime to nap myself! I know you have all been waiting in complete suspense to hear what they have been up to. I am more trying to update so Tuck and Harper can look back on this in 15 years and see what I had missed. So here it goes...

Harper- She is almost 8 months old now! Wow...time flies when they are this little and when you are having fun. And having fun, she is! She is the cutest little girl and has such a sweet and funny disposition. She is sitting up all by herself, grabbing for all her big brother's toys and always just so happy. People say she is starting to look like my side of the family more and more. Particularly like her Aunt Amanda (who recently moved to Harrisonburg to be near us)! She is on the verge of crawling and pulling up but just rolling around to get what she wants now. Her favorite toys include...basically anything that belongs to Tucker. It is going to be so interesting when she can actually move and get her hands on all his stuff. Mommy is in for a lot of fighting in the future!

Tucker- The "terrible" 2's are definately here! My little guy knows what he wants and when he wants it. He is talking lots and his vocabulary is amazing but there is still a bit of a communication gap and lots of room for frustrations. Overall, he is amazing and so much fun to hang out with. He has gone to his first High School football game with Daddy and was in awe of the lights, the band and the popcorn. Gigi just stayed with us for a week and they had so much time to bond. He is absolutely IN LOVE with his Gigi. ( :

My Little Gum Chewer

Check out the "situation!" I just love this picture of Tucker.

Compared to last week, I have 2 little "angels" this week. No more snotty noses!!!! As Tucker gets more and more used to having Harper around his behavior and need for whining gets less and less. He secretly LOVES her to pieces. Travis picked him up from the sitters on Wednesday with a piece of gum in his mouth. To Travis' surprise Tucker yells "GUM!" Travis gives him a piece and Tuck proceeds to chomp away. It is amazing how one little piece of gum can make a toddler look so much more like a little boy! He loves gum now and "demands" it on a daily basis.

We spent Wednesday evening outside last night playing with "G." Tucker has one heck of a baseball swing! He loves to swing the bat and hit the ball (or the T), throw the bat and then run as fast as he can to another destination. You can tell where his attention span is though. One time he swung, hit the ball, threw the bat and ran to find G's play lawn mower. He must have forgotten he was "running the bases" because he just starts pushing the mower around. I can't wait for T-ball in a few years. He is going to be the kid picking dandelions in the outfield! ( ;

Harper continues to be such an amazing little girl. She REALLY wants to sit up and is so close to being sturdy enough to do it on her own....not to bad for less than 4 months old!! She gets chubbier and chubbier everyday but that just makes her cuter and cuter. I can't wait to see how much she weighs in 2 weeks at the doc for her well-baby visit. Just like her father and brother she does NOT STOP TALKING!! Of course, it is just random coos right now but it is NON STOP. Between the 4 of us, nobody is going to be able to get a word in edgewise. I have a feeling Prince Tucker is going to win out with that battle, though.

Frat Boy Weekend

AMAZING weekend with the kids! Friday night we headed out to Charlottesville to see "Sesame Street" Live in concert. We went with "G" and his mom and dad. Although Tuck loves Elmo and Abby his favorite part was the ginormous bucket of popcorn daddy bought for him. You would have thought he had never eaten before. I think the fact that he could shove as much as he wanted into his mouth and drop as much on the floor (without picking it up) was awesome to him.

Saturday and Sunday evenings were spent at 2 different "2 year old" birthday parties of 2 of his best buddies. Loads of hot dogs were eaten and lots of playing was done. I love that he has such great little fiends!

In the midst of all this partying and fun, I learned a lot about my son this weekend that I never knew.

1. Tucker can apparently climb ladders and ride tricycles. Who knew??
2. He knows almost all of his colors! Daddy made a fun game with M and Ms. When candy is at stake, Tucker can identify them all.
3. He really does love his sister. He hated the fact that she did not come to the concert with us and I caught him scooting closer to her and kissing her during a "Baby Einstein" viewing when he didn't know I was watching.
4. He loves wearning flip-flops so much that he could care less that Daddy put them on in-between the WRONG TOES! (the mere thought of that creeps me out) Not Tuck! He played basketball with the thong in beween his second and third toes.
5. He does not like the Cookie Monster. The mere sight of the Cookie Monster eating with crumbs coming out of his mouth make Tuck cringe and yell "mess! mess!"

"Hot Mess"

Where does he come up with these things? A week or so ago Tucker called me a "ball hog" when all I wanted to do was play basketball with my little man. Tonight,as Daddy cleaned up after dinner, he proceeded to point at him and call him a "hot mess!" This phrase is hilarious to anyone who watches any sort or reality TV or is under the age of 35. The kitchen was a mess and the stove was hot, but I am still convinced he meant it towards Travis. Either way, it kept us laughing for awhile.

We went up he street this evening so he could play with his best buddy "G" for awhile. After pounding on some drums, playing with some blocks and throwing some ball..the party came to an end. We could sit there and watch those 2 boys play for hours. They can finally interact and play catch with one another. It's awesome!!

Nothing speaks more volumes than this picture of Tucker. Not sure if this means he has a futures as a fireman or as a performer in Las Vegas. Either way, it captures his essence perfectly!

"Nannerpuss"

I am starting this blog in hopes to capture all the the moments and funny stories that come along with motherhood or 2 children under the age of 2. God knows I am not the scrap booking kind so hopefully this bog will be something my family can use to always look back and remember the "good old days" with. I am going to try to post, daily, the goings-on of the Bowman-Family household and all the daily hilarity and antics that comes along with it.

Just a brief little bit about us. I am a working mom (4th grade school teacher) and mother to Tucker Jackson (23 months) and Harper Suzanne (3 1/2 months). My gorgeously fabulous husband is Travis and I love him dearly. He is not only my husband but also my best friend. We got married 3 short years ago and wasted no time starting our family.

Tucker is the funniest (and cutest) little 2 year old boy in the entire world. He was the most laid-back and easy baby a mom could want. As he approaches the "terrible twos" we are really starting to see more and more of his personality. He is definately going to be funny, athletic and loved by the ladies. Who can resist his baby-blue eyes???? Tucker is the sole reason for the title of this blog "The Nanner Diaries." Since his first little whine at 1 day old, we have called him a "Nanner" (short for Nannerpuss) whenever he fusses, whines or acts up. It has become a joke and a nickname that has really stuck!! He also slightly resembles a stack of pancakes with a banana on top (don't you think)??

I was blessed to give birth to the most beautiful and perfect little baby girl, Harper Suzanne, at the end of January. I never knew I could love another child as much as Tuck...but she has stolen my heart. She is a great baby but definately not as laid-back as her brother was. She loves to kick and laugh and smile all the time. She is definately going to be a mover-and-shaker when she figures it all out. Harper loves her Daddy more then the world. Her favorite little spot is nestled in his left arm while they watch Sportscenter.