For I Know the Plans I Have for You...

Goodness. I just do not even know where to begin!!! I was chatting with a dear friend a few weeks ago about how much I MIIIISSSSS blogging, and feeling free to share as as much as my heart desires. I remembered the last time I blogged being all about Tuck's 6-month birthday, his little 1/2yr party we had for him with all of our family, and then our family photo shoot. 

Well, two months ago, he turned 4. Not 4 days. Not 4 weeks. Not 4 months. Not 10 months like he did in this picture (above), he turned FOUR YEARS OLD!!! How in the world has this happened?!?!? Where has the time gone??!? While I want to say it breaks my heart, honestly I am completely in love with the little man he is becoming.

This was his very first time sledding, and playing in the snow. He lasted about 15 minutes, and then crashed sound asleep in the crib at Mimi and Grandads house...they have the best back-yard sledding hill in Knoxville I'm convinced ;)

If there is one thing you remember about sweet Tuck, he absolutely rocked the baby legs and moccasins. I will also say that those amber necklaces were a life-saver for both of our babies (yes, we have two littles now). We put Tuck's on him at 6months and he never drooled again, and literally cut teeth we didn't even know about!! 

4.12.14. Tuck's First Birthday and I remember this day like it was yesterday. We had already celebrated in a huge way with extended family, but we decided we would still grill out and have a little cake and ice cream on his special day. =) Love my little bald-headed one year old so much and I kissed that little head a thousand times a day. Most days I still do!!!

Tuck's 12mo/1yr well-visit. Yes, we cloth diapered...I'm sure I talked about that in my previous posts, but that was almost 4 years ago!!! Also a huge fan of cloth diapering though. We literally saved thousands, and he potty-trained himself by 2&1/2yrs old!!! 

One year family pictures, but since today is Father's Day, I had to share this perfect picture of my most favorite guys =)

Tuck loved swinging, and still does to this day!!! And goodness, I became QUITE obsessed with his little mocs. Freshly Picked is the brand we bought for him and buy now for his little sister =)

I couldn't help but snag this picture of him with his mis-matched pajamas, pushing around his little tricycle and brushing his teeth!!! I miss those little pajamas!!! 

Yep!! More mocs!! #ants My sweet boy is finally starting to get some hair now =)

We decided when Tuck was 18months to invest in Infant Rescue Swimming classes, and I can say hands down they were worth every single penny spent. We highly recommend SwimNFloat in Knoxville, Ms Camilla Hephner. She is sooooo wonderful with the little ones, and her system for training them is spot-on. 

Every New Year, we spend at least a day, if not an overnight trip in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, and we always go to Dollywood and see the ducks, ride the train and merry-go-round, and look at aaaalll the lights. It's truly one of my most favorite traditions we have =) but can we talk for just a second about those little pants!!!!!!!! He is so tall now that I can hardly keep from trying to squeeze that little cloth diaper booty in this picture!!! Whew! Melting my heart!!!

I don't remember exactly when this picture is from, but I can't take my eyes off his. And today (6.18.17) his little sister scooted around on the very same tricycle... I can't wrap my mind around how quickly this little one has grown up!!

One of our favorite places we frequented 5 days a week (most weeks) up until having another baby was The Health Factory and Crossfit Rhema. I would say this became our second home from the time Tuck was 16mo old. We still have so many dear friends who became like family during those 3 years. They have a wonderful kids program, too...

Another snowy day, and we knew we only would get about 15 minutes with him outside in the cooooolllllddddd so we snagged these pics right away =)

Oh man!!!! I love those cheeks and those eyes!!!! and that Daddy!!! My heart is completely melting over these two, and even MORE as I am reminiscing the memories this time around. I think this is why I completely want to begin blogging again. No rules. No limits. No comparing. Just loving life and LIVING LIFE, cherishing each moment. I'm sure there are so many more things about this day I would normally share that I now no longer remember and that's what breaks my heart.... thank goodness I take LOTS of pictures =) 

I remember this early spring day so well. We were so thankful for the sunshine that we loaded up his john deere wagon (a gift from Mamaw for his 1st birthday) with all the balls we could find and the frisbee, too. We spent at least an hour just tossing them in and out of the wagon and onto the ground, then back in the wagon, then onto the ground, then at mommy, then back in the wagon and back onto the ground...giggling, tickling, smiling, loving, breathing, living FULLY in the moment.

We live pretty close to a couple of different duck ponds and parks with walking trails and playgrounds, and that was Tuck's favorite thing to do on a warm and pretty evening... "go for walk" and "see ducks"... That little head of hair, though!!! So sweet!!!

3.26.15. Tuck was almost two years old, and mommy and daddy took a two-night anniversary trip to Asheville, NC. This was his very first time spending the night with Grandad and Mimi, and I feel confident in saying (as I did as we drove away) that we couldn't have left him in better hands. =)

Easter 2015. Two Years Old.

Oh how this child loves being OUTSIDE!!!! He would live outside if only we would let him, truly. That was one of my FAVORITE shirts too... and I mean, when you match it with a cloth diaper and a pair of camo mocs...it doesn't get much better than that!!

Now he just looks like a giant!!! Goodness those legs are GROWING and those mocs are SO much bigger that the last picture, but this was such a special night. Daddy was awarded Instructor of the Year, and we couldn't be more proud of him!!! We love you Daddy!!

More time outside, playing with his new dump truck he got for his 2nd birthday. We had his 2nd bday party on the farm. It fell on Easter Weekend, so it was perfect to have it at Mamaw's house since everyone was getting together anyways...aaaaaaand once again, I was a sucker for a t-shirt, cloth diaper, and a pair of freshly picked mocs =)

Sooooooo, maybe actually we AAAALLLL love being outside. We went to the Smokies Baseball game (Tuck's very first) and while it was HOT, we managed to stay cool with lots and lots of icecream ;) 

Every Sunday after church, we always have lunch with Grandad and Mimi. Then if its pretty enough and warm enough, we go outside and play (can you believe it???). I snagged this picture while he was watching Grandad and Daddy play catch with the baseball. He completely looks like he's posing for professional pictures, but no...just another sweet moment caught on camera. It's one of my favorite pictures of him, too.

Father's Day 2015 =) Goodness I love them both so much!!!! I remember Tuck really started to love taking selfies at this point, and he always thought it was so fun to see himself on the screen. I love the innocence of children, and that they live every single moment full of love and full of life. 

Another day at the gym!! Crossfit has been a part of our lives since well before Tuck was born. I remember running my very first Marine Mud Run with Todd (pre-babies) and absolutely LOVING every minute of it. You'd probably never know that because I haven't run another one since then... but the very next week I joined a Crossfit Gym (Crossfit Knoxville). That was actually a gift from Todd for my birthday.. a 30-day Crossfit bootcamp (YES!!!!) and its exactly what I wanted! We had been Crossfitting on our own for about a year at that point, and also running a ton!! I would say that bootcamp was the start of a new love in our lives. A love for living a life of health, strength, and vitality. Are we always on track and perfect? No Way. But we do strive to do our best and teach our children to do the same. Make the best choice possible.

I remember taking this picture because I loved how the sun made his hair look so light and soft and perfect. Favorite outfit again, t-shirt, cloth diaper, mocs!!!! =) Sweet Tuck...I love you so so much!!

Tuck has always been the most helpful little thing. Whether its in the kitchen with Mommy, or scrubbing the Jeep tires with Daddy. Such a sweet sweet soul.

This one I won't ever forget either!!! We were heading to my mom's farm for a few days. We got all packed up and in the car. As I back out of the garage and driveway, I pull up my camera app to take a pic, and Tuck yells "Go see Mamaw!! Go Fast!! Ride Tractors!!" He loves loves loves his Mamaw...

...and he LOVES riding in the tractor with his Uncle Andy. This time though, he fell asleep to the subtle bumps in the road and sounds of the tractor engine. Moments I won't ever forget... 

Tuck has always been the BEST baby and toddler in the car. He never screamed or fussed for extended periods of time. He almost always falls asleep and there is just nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby, or toddler ;)

I'm pretty sure we were going out to lunch together in this one, and I snagged a pic of us in his lightning mcqueen pajama shirt. He went through quite a phase where he wanted to keep his pj shirt from the night before on, and I didn't fight it for a single second!!! I heard not too long ago, don't wish or pray the seasons away. No matter how hard they may seem at times, your two-year-old will only be two once. Goodness, isn't that so true?!?! Especially hitting me hard as I'm typing out a blog post to catch up on the past 3&1/2 years...

If you notice, we are now in undies, and no longer a cloth diaper!! This little guy potty-trained himself in about a weeks time. Looking back I don't even remember how it happened so easily, but I remember friends asking me, "how did you do it?" or "lets talk about potty-training, I need to know your secrets..." Well. I don't have any secrets except they will potty-train when they are ready to. I do believe his cloth diapers were a factor in how early and how quickly he trained, but we bought this little elmo potty book and a training potty for him. We let him play with it, sit on it when he wanted, etc., and he literally had that thing figured out within a week!!!! 

"Mickey-House" I always thought it was the sweeeeeetest thing that he wanted to wear his mickey house shirt!!!!! I never corrected him either. Again, they only are little once. Savor and cherish those moments and for heavens sake BLOG about it!!!! =)

Our family is blessed to have a timeshare in Pigeon Forge which we vacation at every fall. In the Mickey-House shirt, we were sitting out on the back deck looking at the fog lying over the mountains, and then here, he's figuring out what in the world to do with aaaaalll of those bubbles!!! This is always one of my very favorite weeks of the year. It lands in September, which is also my birthday month, and I always get money because OF COURSE I'M GOING SHOPPING at Tanger Outlets while we're up here ;) But, we eat really well at some amazing restaurants (Pancake Pantry, The Apple Barn, etc), and it's like our sweet indulgence week to be spoiled and pampered.

They always have beautiful fall and the start of thanksgiving decorations out too, and Tuck has always loved looking at the ghords and pumpkins each year!!! We usually spend day at DollyWood too, one of his most favorite places in the world.

This picture is one of HUNDREDS from an amazing trip and cruise we were blessed to take to the Bahamans, St Thomas, and St Maarten. Tuck was 2&1/2 years old, and I will definitely make a separate post with just pics from that trip because it was out of this world and will definitely go down as a top 5 memory for our family up to this point in time. In St. Maarten, we took a catamaran sailing day excursion and as you can see, we were able to "suit-up" and snorkel, swim in the stunning clear/blue Carribean waters, and bask in the sun as a family....

...a family of FOUR!!!! Yes, I was 8 weeks pregnant on our trip, so our little one has already flown and traveled abroad, AND without a passport ;) 

I will end this post with a verse that is very near and dear to our heart, because this wasn't our plan (although we were completely perfect with it happening WHEN it did or IF it didn't), but it was absolutely His perfect Will and perfect plan for our family. 

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you....to give you a future and a hope..." Jeremiah 29:11.