The Birthday Party

He wasn't a big fan of his cowboy hat.


















The Albert Pujols jersey that Uncle Brian gave him!















Playing with his new dump truck in the Pujols jersey! We have decided that jerseys are cute until a certain age -- we just don't want him to be wearing one when he is 30 :)!









Teddy and Tucker

Teddy turns one on Monday! (Yes, they are the same age - Tucker is in the 25th percentile and Teddy in the 100th?)
















Mary Scott (Tucker's pretend-big-sister and Teddy's real big sister)

























We forgot to take pictures of all the family and friends attending the party... oops. It was a great time - lots of people in our tiny house. The cake was very over-the-top (like all 1 year olds should have for their first birthday, right?) and Tucker had a blast playing with the other kids that were here.

How he spent his 1st Birthday!

Opening an unbelievable number of gifts like the
train set from Nan and Pop (all the train cars are carrying Caterpillar equipment), a car that he is obsessed with from MeMe that makes LOUD noises, a Pujols jersey from Uncle Brian, his chair from Aunt Betsy and Uncle Casey, a dump truck from Uncle Patrick and Uncle Sean...just to name a few. He is so loved. He was running from toy to toy not knowing what to do!



He got an early morning phone call from Grandpa Mike, Uncle Patrick and Uncle Sean - singing Happy Birthday with Patrick playing accompanying piano. (Patrick (almost 9) and Sean (almost 7) have a basement band with neighborhood concerts!)










His first chocolate! This was the actual day of his birthday -- a warm up for his big birthday cake!

Bigger, Faster, Stronger

"It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired you quit when the gorilla is tired. " - Robert Strauss


In our quest for the perfect athlete I have included a sample of what Tucker is doing to prepare for the 2024 Olympics, NCAA Wrestling Championship, College Football National Championship Tournament (hopefully the NCAA will have figured out that the BCS system is worthless), World's Strongest Man, or whatever other athletic avenue of his choosing.

We currently use an Enfamil & Creatine mix for Tuck's weight and he will soon be getting HGH (Human Growth Hormone) for muscle mass....you know, the stuff Barry Bonds "didn't use"...we have been informed that it is safe for toddlers.
His strength workout regimine is as follows: crunches, deep knee-bends, lunges, mountain-climbers, wall sits, handstand push-ups, pull-ups and fingertip push-ups. That is all he can handle at this time. He will advance to free weights next year. For now it is all isometrics and natural strength exercises.
His Cardio workouts vary but he seems to enjoy indian runs, fart-lek runs, wrestling, stadiums, any type of shuttle run, line-drills and the eliptical machine. He is a natural runner (like Dad) and seems to have the body type for it as well (also like dad).

Please feel free to post any ideas that you think may help/improve his workouts.

TER's BFFs

Tucker has (3) BFFs (Best Friends Forever) at the current time.

Atlanta BFF: William. William is seen here with his beverage of choice. He is 5 months Tucker's senior and they are great playmates...except when William throws things at Tuck. Soon enough he will be throwing them back. They like playing at the beach and swimming together.

J-Ville BFF: Teddy. Teddy looks older, but is actually 11 days younger....Teddy is a big fella. They are fast friends and like to do a lot together. They swim, eat, drool and wrestle. Teddy is a very sweet and cuddly guy. He loves to be held and hugged and loved on...Tucker does not. Tucker likes no boundries and, unless he is sick or extremely tired, does not like to cuddle or hug.

NEWEST ATL BFF: Olivia Teague. She now has over 9 days of life experience, and Tuck is excited about sharing the trials and tribulations of his 1st year. She is healthy, eating well and her father (Ben) is now an expert diaper-changer after much trepidation in the last few months. They have not yet met, but their fathers have begun formal dowry negotiations. An equitable resolution seems imminent.

Early Birthday Fun

Although Tucker is still six days from his actual first birthday, he has received two early presents and he LOVES both of them so much. Look at this precious chair that Aunt Betsy and Uncle Casey sent! He has been climbing all over it and sitting in it since we set it up yesterday! (In both of these pictures he is holding HIS cell phone - what is the world coming to - that Kyle got him from the Nextel store so he won't ruin ours with slobber!)
Tresa and Clay got him a Noah's Ark play set complete with two of (almost) every animal in the kingdom. He sits for many minutes at a time putting each animal in to the bottom of the ark and figuring out all the doors and how to then get them back out so he can do it again!

Tucker's six tooth is coming in right now, so last night was a rough night of sleep. Poor thing!

A Typical Day

In light of the name of the blog, we thought we would share what a typical "Day in the Life" entails for Tucker Ryan.

It is a tough life, but somebody's gotta do it.

He wakes up between 6:30 and 7:30... we usually wait through the happy talking until he gets grumpy and wants to see our faces PRONTO. We bring him his morning sippy cup of milk. He hits the ground running, ready to see his toys, Jackson the dog and all that the day has in store for him. We play until breakfast. These days he is eating just about anything (this morning it was pancake and fruit, yesterday egg and fruit). Then more play time until the 9:00ish morning nap. He usually takes a solid morning nap because it is usually really quiet in the house with me also asleep :) and we tend to wake up at about 11 to continue our day. Another sippy cup of milk and lunch. Tucker is almost always in a phenomenal mood. His tempermant amazes us. Today he didn't like lima beans or broccoli (my two dinner choices for him) and that was as fussy as it got. The other side of his consistent jolliness is that he is very stubborn and often naughty and he does not give a flip about being reprimanded. We can be almost yelling and he just looks up and laughs! We say "no" a lot. Imagine when he is three... ugh. He now walks about 60% of the time. The best part of his walking routine is the way he gets something he isn't supposed to have and "runs" away with it giggling. So fun. Anyway, we usually run errands in the afternoon and he goes back down for a nap at 2:00ish. After that nap, we just play and wait for Dad to get home. The night is short for Tucker - he gets his bath and goes to bed between 7 and 7:30. Again, it is a rough life :)

Babies Galore

We wanted to announce that four (two sets of two?) of our dear friends had their babies while we were in Virginia Beach. We are THRILLED and thankful that everyone is healthy and well...


Ben & Jess with
Olivia Jane Teague






Bill & Julie's precious twins

Kyle Edward Van Rossum





Elizabeth Grace
"Ellie"

Pics of wedding

Tucker Ryan and Anne Tucker Sharp (David's niece/Sally's daugter)

David and Gracie Ball!

Kyle has taken over the blog. That's fine. I'll just add pictures.

DBall's Wedding

TER went to his 1st wedding this weekend in Virginia Beach. His Uncle DBall (David Ball) got married and TER was there for the festivities. Though it was not his wedding he acted like the star. I did manage to keep the knee-highs and saddle shoes far away from him....much to Libby's chagrin. And it was a good thing too, because there was a little boy (5-6) who was wearing them. Needless to say that he may have issues later in life.
TER is now walking when he feels like it, and when he does it is more akin to a "drunken sailor" than a normal walk. He thinks it is really funny though and giggles and cackles as he goes. (Today when I got home from work he walked from the living room to the kitchen to come and see me with a HUGE smile on his face....that's my boy). He also has a new early B-day present which he loves....a Noah's Ark toy complete with ark, and (2) of each animal. He loves it and keeps taking the animals out and putting them back in.

Tommy Tornado

All I do all day is chase after him and pick up the disaster zones!

4th of July

Heather (Burk) Pennington came to visit us last weekend! We had a blast in the short time she was here -- Tucker absolutely loved her so much and was very sad as she drove away :)

This is Tucker's friend Isabella (Izzy). She is a little older and wiser, but they love to play together. (I don't know what this face Tucker is making means. Perhaps he is just trying to show me the plastic lid he has in his hand.) We spent the 4th with her parents, Clayton and Cherie and the babies experienced their first fireworks! Didn't phase either of them....


The big news of the week is that Tucker has started walking! Usually he has to be going toward something he wants, but he is taking large numbers of steps. He is oh so proud of himself!

Tucker's Heros

1) Any Notre Dame football alumnus.....Zorich, Zbikowski, etc.

2) Any St Louis Cardinal.....Rolen, Pujols, Eckstein most notably

3) Dr. Phil

WILD MAN!!!

Tucker is a total wild man.....he is all over the place with unending energy. When I say that he is all over the place I actually mean that he is all over the entire house, or whatever area in which he is contained. Before you know it he is either....in the dog's bowl; eating electrical cords, standing up against the toilet; eating dog hair; racing towards any open door; climbing all over Jackson (our 100 lb. dog); trying to find open/unprotected electrical sockets with his small fingers; pushing the vacuum around; trying to hang on the blinds; doing headers into the rug/hardwood floors/tables, etc. after trying to stand.
What a crazy man! He will be a great wrestler when the time comes...much to Lib's dismay and fear of him "being gay in those tights".
He is also trying to talk like crazy, though nothing discernable comes out.
PLEASE....I welcome your comments.

My Cousin Paul

Kyle's nephew, Paul, came to help Carolyn move. In the evenings we enjoyed our last nights at the Plantation Beach Club swimming and eating and hanging out with Paul!

Paul is so great with Tucker.


I love being with Tucker all day so incredibly much! Today we were driving home after running errands and he was starting to nod off, so I rolled down the window (the "freeze out" concept with 98 degree hot air!). When the wind hit his mohawk, the hair went straight up, he threw his arms in the air and opened his mouth as wide as possible. He drove this way almost all the way home as if he was on the best roller coaster at Disney World! My only regret is that I could not (safely) get a picture! He is just a really fun little dude to hang out with. I'm thankful for the opportunity.

Tucker's Dad's 1st ever Blog

Well...I just found out about the existence of this blog yesterday! Yeah, that's correct, I just found out. I am glad that Tucker is getting some "press" and that y'all can follow his life. What a little joy he is. He is getting closer and closer to walking everday.....of course when he is tearing around the house we will wish that he was just learning to crawl again. That's all for now.

Just because...

Some days I just can't help but take a lot of pictures just because he is so adorable. These days (11 months old) Tucker is extremely close to walking on his own. It will be anyday. He loves books and is often found flipping the pages and telling the stories on his own. His MeMe moved out of her house in Ponte Vedra Beach this weekend, so he was very busy helping during that process! He can't wait to hang out at her new condo when it is ready in July. He is also looking forward to seeing his Nan and Pop for his 1st Birthday in a month!

St.Simon's

Fun little day trip to visit the Gitukus and McClatcheys in St.Simon's Island, Georgia. William and Tucker love each other and love the beach!

Ahhh! What are you doing now?

Tucker and Reagan

Betsy and Casey have a new puppy, Reagan! She and Tucker were fast friends. Tucker would squeal with delight as Reagan licked and played with him. Brian's golden, Herbie, was not such a fan because of the pulling of the hair/poking of the eyes/rolling over/stepping on issues. Herbie, you are so picky!

St. Louis Trip

Deena's twin boys, Andrew a.k.a. Mini-Darin (in the glasses) and Adam (fast asleep on the raft!) They are 5 months old and precious.

Julie's shower in St.Louis. She is having twins (girl & boy). Deena and I were both in town for the shower and had a fantastic time all catching up with each other. For those of you who do not know Julie or Deena, they are two of my dear high school friends.

He was also a fan of watching himself in the mirror (and "kissing the baby" as shown here). Dad took down this mirror from the bathroom and it was still in the sunroom, so this served as hours of entertainment.
He is so vain.



Kyle went fishing in Canada with Dad, Casey, Brian and Steve for the week. Tucker and I went to St. Louis to visit Mom and Betsy!


Reading the safety instructions
on the airplane... he was the
only one interested. What a sweet boy.
After returning on Thursday night, Tucker gave us a huge scare and passed out while I was cleaning his ear on Saturday morning. He is fine now, but he was out for awhile and the paramedics came and gave him several tests (including an EKG...as shown in the picture). It was terrifying! No one is quite sure why it happened and they assure me it won't happen again??? Before this happened, Tucker falling off the bed head first ranked as our worst "parenting moment" -- now we have a grand prize winner! We didn't even go to the doctor for the fall!

Jess and Ben's Shower

Tucker, Uncle Fredrick and William!

Aunt Jess looking fantastic with one month to go! We had a great weekend in Atlanta... The shower was so fun -- hanging out with old friends and meeting some of Jess and Ben's new friends. Tucker made his appearance at the beginning of the shower and made yet another cameo late in to the night when he was woken up down in the basement. He didn't want to be left out of the party! Sunday we slept in and then had a fun lunch with the Gitukus, the Teagues, Uncle Jeremy and Scott and Jane. Also got to go back to Jess and Ben's for the afternoon and hang out. We are so thankful for our dear friends.

Aunt Granbertee

We had a nice visit with Carolyn's sister, Bertee, yesterday. Tucker played with Bertee and his fire truck - then a slew of CK's friends came over in the late afternoon to visit with Bertee and baby. Later in the evening we all went to LuLu's Fish Camp for a nice dinner out by the water.

We are heading to Atlanta this weekend for Aunt Jess and Uncle Ben's Shower! We can't wait to see them and Aunt Girbs and Uncle Fredrick (who are pregnant with their 2nd baby!) and Uncle Jeremy and... Tucker is pumped! We were supposed to leave about an hour ago, but Kyle has a flat tire down the street. Hopefully we will get out of here pronto.

Tucker and Kaile

Tucker's first kiss ...
(Kaile is the daughter of our friends Josh and Holly who just moved to Houston!)

The New Blog

I just decided this could be a good way to keep everyone in the know about Tucker's adventures! I sort of wish I would have started this 10 months ago, but this will have to do. I don't think I knew what a blog was 10 months ago!

The news in Tucker's life right now is that his fifth tooth is coming in (on the bottom right) without incident. His vocabulary is expanding by the day - we now here a lot of "Rah-Rah, Ma-Ma" and the usual "Da-Da". He is quite vocal these days and especially loves to happily yell (?) in quiet public places. Other favorite activities include splashing in the dog bowl with both hands, climbing over and around Jackson squealing with delight and swimming at the pool.