Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Two months in fast foward

The last two months has gone by pretty quickly for me.  We've been busy with a wide variety of activities, and I haven't stopped much to update anything.  So, I thought I would do it now.

On Father's Day Blake did Tanner's baby blessing.  My Dad, Uncle Derek, Stephen Whitener, Joey West, and my Grandpa Cristensen were all up there with him  It was really nice.  We were going to do it a week or two earlier, but we decided to wait for Derek to get back from Brasil and my Grandpa to get back from a long road trip with my Grandma.  I'm glad we waited for them.  That ended up being the last time we got to see my Grandpa Cristensen.  He passed away just a couple weeks later.  It was really special to me that he was there.

Tanner was nice and quiet for the blessing, and we were able to bless him before we left our ward in Arizona (which we really miss already!).


We took all the kids in to get their eyes checked in June because Stephen is very far-sighted and should have had glasses long before we knew he needed them.  He is legally blind without them, and we had no idea!  Berkeley's eyes are normal for her age, but Brady's pretty far-sighted as well.  So he got his new glasses, and is very excited about them.

We had to say good-by to all our good friends in Arizona for a couple of years.  This is Berkeley and her friend Sophi.

We got on a plane, and moved all the way across the country to Buffalo, Ney York!  The kids were really excited about having a "camping party" the first night before we got all of our furniture out of the truck and set up.  Uncle Cory and Aunt Cande drove a moving truck with our stuff for us, which was really nice because they got there the same night we did and got to spend a couple of days here too.

Blake's parents and brother took a week and drove our car across the country for us, stopping along the way to visit family and see some sights.  While they were here, we went to Palmyra, NY and visited the Church history sights there.  Here's a picture of our group at the Whitmer farm.

And the kids on the Hill Cumorah.

This was the first trip to Niagra Falls for the kids and myself.  We visited the Canadian side and saw the beautiful Falls from there.  The kids wanted to go on the boat, so we took a ride on The Maid of the Mist and went right up to the mist from the falls.  It was pretty awesome!



For the Fourth of July, we had a barbeque with some new ward friends and then went to the University at Buffalo to watch fireworks.





Later that week we had a picnic on a farm with the other residents that Blake works with.  It was really pretty.  They even had a hay ride for everyone.



On Wednesday last week, we went to a local farm and picked blueberries.  We ended up with just under five pounds, but the kids probably ate two or three more while we were picking.  I had never seen a blueberry plant that I can remember.  We used to go pick them in Portland, but I was too young to remember that.  The fields were beautiful, and it was a gorgeous day!




 Tanner is two months old now, and the big kids just love him to death.  He's super sweet, and growing like crazy. He's already 15 pounds!  It's been going by quickly, but we've enjoyed every moment of it.

So, that's what we've been up to for the last two months.  I will try to update this more frequently now that we are settled in our new home.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Baby Tanner!

Now that we are a little more settled and got the computer set up (finally), I can share some more pictures of our newest family member.


Tanner Kelby Tucker!

He was born May 22nd late at night.  He was 9 lbs 13.5 oz and 21 inches long.
He was by far our biggest baby yet!

The kids just love him and ask constantly if they can hold and kiss and snuggle him.


Biggest brother Stephen.


Big brother Brady.


Super excited big sister Berkeley!


Tanner's trip home from the hospital, and first time strapped in.


Taking a nap in the tire swing at the cabin.  We went up to Pinedale the day after we got home from the hospital.  I know people usually rest at home for awhile, but the older kids are a lot easier to watch when they can play and explore outside where it's not 110+ durring the day.  Plus, we had Blake's parents with us, so that helped a lot.  I didn't have to cook and clean.  I just got to relax and take naps durring the day with my Tanner.  It was really nice.  I'm glad we got to spend some time up there before we moved.