Tuckers new tricks...

Well, its been another exciting few weeks in our lives. Tucker learned some new tricks this week and is keeping us all entertained by clapping and waving all the time. He claps anytime someone says, 'Good Job' or 'Yeah'. (Such a smart kid) :) I do have to say that from the stories I have heard about Ben when he was a child, Tucker is exactly like him. I am going to have my hands full these next few years. (well, I already do but...) Tucker was playing with his toys in the living room a few days ago, and I just went into the kitchen for like 2 seconds to throw something away. While I was in the kitchen for those 2 seconds, I hear this huge thud from the living room, then Tucker squealing. Not a painful cry, but almost a laugh. Well, I ran back into the living room, and found Tucker lying on his back in the corner of the living room where we usually have a big plant on a plant stand. In his hands was that plant stand. He was smiling so big, like he was so proud that he was victorious in getting the plant stand in his hands. And like 5 feet away was the plant-- dirt and water EVERYWHERE! (once he discovered the dirt it went straight into his mouth, but that's another story) :)

Then a few days later I walk into the living room to find him hanging on for dear life while swinging on our fireplace door. You know those big iron doors that you usually have to pry open; well he had somehow opened it and grasped the top of it and his legs were still on the floor, but his body was swinging with the door, and he would not let go. I really wish I would have thought to get my camera out both times because the looks on his face were priceless. I don't know what we're going to do. I'm afraid he is really going to hurt himself one of these days. Two weeks of crawling, and already so many close calls. But all I can do is laugh when I see him do these things because hes so dang cute.

We went up to Greenbluff to pick some apples and pumpkins with grandma and grandpa, before my dad left for Alaska. Tucker found this toy horse and had a great time exploring everything!

This is Tucker and his best friend (girlfriend) Karly in the bath together. What can we say, they both love baths!

He discovered the toys at the mall and had to ride. It wasn't until after the ride that we saw that it was for 3 years and up. Oops! He had a blast and held on like a champ while it went up and down.


And as for us, Ben surprised me for our Anniversary (I can't believe its been 4 years!) with a weekend trip to Seattle, just the two of us. (Thanks to grandma and grandpa who were more than happy to have Tuck for a few days.) It was so nice, and relaxing and exactly what we needed. What a guy, huh! :) It was so sweet and I was completely surprised.
This is us in Seattle.

Oh, AND... Allen just graduated with his Bachelors degree! Yeah!Congrats on graduating, we are so proud of you!

Welcome Baby Elia!

The newest member of the ever growing Pyper family has arrived!!!

Elia Joy Pyper joined us on Saturday afternoon, September 15th weighing 8 lbs and 9 oz. (the smallest PYPER child to date!) Congratulations Jeremy and Laura, we are so happy that she is here and that we got pictures of her so fast! Just look at that face! :) She is adorable and with that thick black hair, I love it! She is definitley a Pyper baby already, with those big lips and that cute little button nose! Its amazing.

Here are her proud big sisters, Kira and Sophie. Kira gets to be a big sis for the first time and Sophie gets to be one all over again. I bet they will have so much fun! And we can't leave out Alex and Joshy whom I'm sure will take good care of all THREE of their little sis'. :)

Congrats Pyper fam! We can't wait to meet her. I hope that she is a wonderful baby for you. You know, we hadn't seen Kira since TWO Christmas' ago either, so this picture of her was a huge shock for us as well. Last time we saw her she had the dark hair and was still sleeping in her carseat all day! We can't wait to see you guys at Christmas time! Love you guys!

10 years....

Well my friends, it has been 10 years since we last set foot in good ol' U-High. I really can't believe that it has been 10 years already. Seeing all of my wonderful friends these past few weeks (for the reunion and what not) has been so much fun, and has inspired a trip down memory lane.

Ok, these pictures are post 10 years, and I have to say you are all still as gorgeous as ever! And being together again made me remember why I love you all so much!

Kristi, Jess, Meg and I (and Tucker and Boston)

And these beautiful ladies: Jamie, Kelly, Em, Gen, Tucker and I.

OK, Please don't hate me for posting these next pictures, I couldn't help myself!

10 years ago:

Graduation day, what can I say, we thought we knew it all.

Probably one of our girls nights! :)
And just another day at the lake.
So much has happened in our lives since these good ol' days, but I want you all to know that you all still mean so much to me!

Some firsts this week....

Well this was a big week for Tucker. Lots of firsts. We'll start with the BIGGEST first of all. He started crawling!! I was afraid that he would never have the strength to lift those legs off the ground (they are a little large for a 9 month old, but that's why we love him) :) This is him in action on the living room carpet, and unfortunately we don't have too many crawling friendly surfaces in our house. Sorry Tuck! But look at the determination in that face, he loves to finally be able to get into things he couldn't before.




Also, he went to the fair for the first time, and we all know how exciting that is in a child's life. I think that you can tell by the look on his face in these next pictures how much he liked it!












And he loves himself some Aunt Kayla. He had a blast hanging out with Kayla and Grandma and Grandpa. He especially loved the animals and watching the rides go up and down. We tried to take him on a few of the little rides, but he was too small and we were too big. Maybe next year.









And, last but certainly not least in his eyes, his first Marshmallow. I know, I know, its a major event! His grandpa just bought a fire pit for their backyard and loves having smores EVERY night and Tucker is A-OK with that!



That's all for this week, but each week brings new and exciting events, and I am the luckiest mama in the world to be able to have so much fun with Tuck! I have just realized though that since Tucker has been born, I have zero pictures of Ben and I. There are some with Ben and Tucker or Me and Tucker, or the three of us together (very few) and usually Ben and I are just blurs in the background or all awkward on the side of the picture, or like half cropped out of it altogether, but I promise those of you who are dying to see pics, I will work on getting some taken! :)

I'm officially a blogger...

Welcome to the adventures of the Pyper family. I must warn you that since my eyes have been opened to the blogging world, you will never get rid of me. For many of you this is the first time that you have probably heard from me in a long while! I am so sorry that I am so bad at keeping in touch with many of you, my friends and family. But I promise you that I am working on being better at that! For those of you whom it has been a long while, let me fill you in on the past four years of our lives. Ben and I were married September 13th, 2003 and it is hard to believe that it has been FOUR long years already! :) We hail from Spokane, WA, or Spokompton as we like to call it. Ben is still in school for Business management, and I can't wait for him to be done. It seems like he has been in school forever, and I know that he feels the same way. He is also working full time as the operations manager for a window installation company here in Spokane, which he loves, and it is great experience for him, so he is happy. And then when he is done with school, we'll see where that leads us. We have a 9 month old son named Tucker, who just happens to be the cutest thing on the earth (see pictures below and I'm sure you'll agree). :) So I am now officially a full time mommy. I love it. It has been two months now that I haven't been working, and I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I tried to go back to work after Tucker was born, and knew it would only be temporary until some of those nasty hospital bills were paid off, but only ended up lasting 4 months. It was the best decision we ever made and Tuck and I have had such a fun summer. I just feel bad that Ben has to work every day and I get to play with Tucker all day. He is such a happy little guy and we got so lucky!

Anyway, I really want to be able to share photos and stories with our friends and family that are so far away who don't get to spend a lot of time with us and especially with Tucker. So grandma and grandpa and aunts and uncles across the country, this is for ya'll. :)

Well here he is, my little love bug (Ben hates that nickname) But then again, the nickname Ben wanted for him was Prickly Pete. (Seinfeld fans, anyone?) He is so proud of himself for standing all by himself on his dresser drawers. He is SO close to crawling and loves pulling himself up onto the coffee table. (Hence the bruises that you will find on his forhead every now and then)

Future Auburn fan, just like his daddy?

Spending the day at Lake Roosevelt. Tucker loves the water, and he should, he sure does have a beach body! :)

And finally, him pretending to be sleeping on the kitchen floor. Speaking of sleeping, our little angel who was once such a wonderful sleeper has for the past few weeks been anti-crib. Anyone have any advice? I used to be able to put him down semi-awake and he would just fall asleep on his own, but now refuses to sleep anywhere but on ME! He will fall fast asleep in my arms and then as soon as he can even smell his crib, he is jolted awake and screams bloody murder until I pick him up again. I don't want this to become a habit, but hate to leave him screaming in his crib for so long! HELP!