Tucker - 6 Months

We have reached the 6 month mark and each day is even more amazing than the last. Tucker is truly at a fun point where it is hard to just put him down and let him play by himself. I want to join in, especially when he is laughing and inching his way around the floor. I feel so lucky to be experiencing all of the great moments with him. Baby proofing has begun! I actually can't wait until he is moving around a bit more on his own. I see the frustration on his face when he wants to get places and wants to check things out but physically can't get there.

I guess the big milestone that we are embarking on is the introduction of solid foods. He has been eating rice cereal for about a month, but now we are introducing fruits and veggies. He started off with Prunes and loved them. Now we are trying avocado. Thus far things are going well. I am not too experienced to know how messy or not messy babies are with solids but in my opinion, and to my pleasure, Tucker is not a messy eater thus far. We have our moments when he decides to start laughing and thus the food in his mouth gets all over his bib or he sticks his fist in his mouth but other than that, things are tame.

Tucker has also been a great traveler. From driving to Maine to just sitting in his stroller, he really likes motion. I guess that explains why he does not sit still too long and is very happy to be in our arms sometimes just moving around the house. This makes going places very easy for us and makes my morning walks with a group of friends much more enjoyable. Sometimes he falls asleep other times he is just happy to be chewing on a toy while taking everything in.

Since these blog updates will eventually be part of Tucker's first book, I need to take a motherly moment and say that Tucker adds so much joy to my life. I cherish the moments that I have with him as well as the moments that I have with him and Brandon. I never realized the power and impact of these feelings until I had him and each day I feel so fortunate. These feelings have also helped me appreciate more my parents and the love that they have for my brother and I and the opportunities that they provided us as kids. I know that Brandon feels the same way with regards to his own childhood and realizations. Also, I never understood why they would be concerned and worried about things that we were doing and now, I get it! So thank you to our parents for the love and Tucker will always know how much we love him as we will always know how much you have loved and continue to love us. We can't wait to keep sharing our joys with you.

Colonial Williamsburg - Labor Day Weekend

For Labor Day weekend Brandon and Tucker whisked me away for my birthday. While we have had some fantastic trips this summer with our respective families, I really wanted some quality time away with just Brandon and Tucker. We had talked about wanting to go to St. Michaels but with the Bay Bridge backup due to a lane closure the decision was simple. This was the perfect opportunity to slow down and enjoy learning about a simpler way of life.

One of the highlights of the trip, even before we got to Williamsburg, was teaching Tucker "Sweet Caroline". Oh, those were the days in Boston at The Harp. Someday I will tell him those stories but they are not age appropriate right now. I had to resort to doing something to get Tucker to stop crying and guess what, it worked (: I think that Brandon even got a laugh out of it. Usually Ba Ba Black sheep works but there are only so many repeats of the song before he decides the song is phooey.

With three days to explore the Historic Triangle, we decided to start with Colonial Williamsburg. WOW! We were not able to go into every building or take any tours (stroller issues and at times crying episodes) but we did take advantage of what we could when the times were appropriate. It was fun exploring 18th century streets and interacting with ladies and gentlemen in period dress while they were pursing tasks common to living during that time period. I can't wait to return when Tucker is a little older.

The last two days we headed east and west along the Colonial Parkway to Jamestown and Yorktown. While both areas were very interesting, we agreed that we were not as impressed as we were with Colonial Williamsburg. Nonetheless, it was still interesting to visit an old Jamestown Settlement and tour some of the Revolutionary war battlefields at Yorktown.

Like any new thing we do with Tucker, there is always a lesson or two that we learn. I guess this time we had two. The first, pick up dinner before you head back to the room for the night. Room service usually sucks. We did this because after we spent the entire day out there was no way were were going to be able to go out for dinner. By the time we got back, Tucker needed some play time before his last feeding and bath. Which leads us to the second lesson. Book a room with a balcony so you have someplace to go and hang out after putting your baby down, which is usually MUCH earlier than your own bedtime. This left us to trying to read by slivers of light from the TV until we gave in and just watched TV.

Like our trip down, we had some excitement on our way home. Rather than enduring the DC and Richmond traffic, we decided to take a more rural and what turned out to be a more direct route home. I just did not want the trip to end (: Along the way, there were more signs for Discount Cigarettes and NASCAR stores than there were 7-11's. This sets the setting for what was about to come next, the Griswald wagon (National Lampoon's Vacation). This car was not only stuffed with a family of 6 (one kid sitting between the parents in the front seat), but it also had a canoe on top (reminded me of the grandmother) and the kicker for me, a box of Franzia (HORRIBLE box of table wine) stuck up against the back window like a slug. The moment of it all just made me laugh and thus I was then on a mission to take a picture of this car making sure to get the Franzia. So, as I was about to snap my picture, the car suddenly turned off at a Super Walmart. It would have been appropriate if I had decided to then nurse Tucker in a Hooters parking lot (which almost did happen).

Playgroup - Kate turned 1

Last week we helped celebrate our friend Kate's 1st birthday. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of the birthday girl, she was too busy flirting with all the boys (: Sadly Tucker was not one of them but he was cool with that, he was a bit occupied watching Charlie devour a cupcake (: Thank you Debbie for hosting a fantastic playgroup!


Here are several photos from the party!

Tucker - 5 Months

How time is flying!! There are a lot of things I can't remember and choose not to remember when Tucker was only weeks old. However, it is hard not to forget, like most babies, his inability to talk and move around. Now we have a chatter box who LOVES to laugh and squeal like a dolphin and who, like his mom, can't sit still. No longer can we leave him on the floor and jokingly stay "now don't go anywhere". He is an inch worm. A lot of this has just transpired over the last several weeks when he was finally able to roll over from his back to his stomach. He accomplished this task while we were in Maine and now he is a rolling machine.

Other milestones. We have started to feed him rice cereal and thus far, he loves it. Of course what follows is an absolute mess. He likes to put his hands in his mouth while it is full and then thingk it is the greatest thing to touch his face, head, legs, and the chair. He has even taken the spoon from me a couple of times and proceeded to glop the food on his face and down his bib. I was in stitches laughing the first time and thought it was silly the second but the third...well now I keep a wet cloth nearby just in case.

Thanks for keeping up with Tucker's Months. So far he is around 26.5" (most likely going to be tall like Brandon) and around 14 lbs (on the lighter side but we are working on beefing him up).

Click the photo to see more pictures.

Tucker 5 months

Kennebunkport Here We Come~

The bags were packed, the car stuffed and Tucker fed and off we headed to spend 2 glorious weeks with Mimi and Grandpa Smith. Since Tucker had been sleeping through the night we decided to leave close to his bedtime and drive straight through the night (10 hrs) with the final destination Kennebunkport,ME. Yes, the trip was taxing but Tucker was a rock star and slept virtually the entire way.

Needless to say, I was in heaven. My summer was made when all in one day, after I took Tucker for a dip in the pool, I was on the porch looking out on the ocean, wearing a fleece (yes the temperature drops in the evening), drinking a beer, and laughing with family as Tucker rocked away in his chair. I could not have asked for a more perfect moment. Later in the week we ate lobster (one of the ones that Tucker was sitting next to in his photo) and fresh corn on the cobb!!

Unfortunately Brandon was not with us for the entire 2 weeks as he had a business trip. It was unfortunate for several reasons, the most obvious because he was away but also because the weather was spectacular the first week. The second week, the clouds rolled in and we had some rain. It still did not deter us from going to Freeport (LL Bean baby), Nubble Lighthouse, and Perkins Cove/Marginal Way. We were also around to view what looks to be President Bush's last visit to Kennebunkport as a sitting President. No more traffic checks, oozy men, massive Coast Guard boats, and protesters. It has been pretty cool to witness being up there while the President is in town but like most residents, I am happy to see town return to normal. For such a small area, things get a bit chaotic. For Tucker, he got to experience the roaring of the Motorcade and even poo pooed the protesters who were in town.

I am already looking forward to next summer when Tucker is older and can really enjoy being in Maine. We can take him to the beach, go in the ocean, go out on the boat, and even maybe taste his first Lobster (I have not consulted with the food books on that yet). Hopefully we will also be able to see more friends. I realized my hopes of seeing tons of people were too unrealistic with a 5 month baby.

I can't forget this moment, it was truly the "line" of the vacation. Brandon, Tucker and I were out to breakfast with Sarah and her husband Scott. We were led to a table by a nice younger man and upon arriving at the table asked for a high chair so we could turn it upside down and put Tucker's infant carrier on it. So we get it but before leaving the table the young man asked, "do you want a kids menu?" This young lad definitely did not realize that a baby, who was sitting in an infant car seat, was not going to be up to the task of eating a kids side portion of homemade pancakes!

KPT 2008

Nubble 2008

Tucker Thorson - Baptized

On June 27th Tucker Thorson (his Christian name) received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism at St. Ann's Episcopal in Kennebunkport, ME. It was truly a very special day for our family. As we sat on the pew overlooking the ocean, prior to the service, I felt this overwhelming emotion of love and felt so fortunate to be able to share the special day with my parents, my brother (Tucker's Godfather), my friend Sarah (Tucker's godmother), Mrs. Fuller (a close family friend) and of course my husband. What also made the day special was that Tucker was being baptized by the same Reverend that had married Brandon and I and at the same church. Each occasion we were both blessed to be surrounded by so much love.


After the ceremony we thought that it was only fitting to go to The Wharf for a nice lunch. Fortunately Tucker fell asleep so we were able to eat in peace (:

Baptism

I missed Tucker while I was away...

So, even though I was gone for 24 hrs, I still missed my little baby! I thought about calling home the morning of the golf tournament but I knew that that would be a bad thing. So, when I arrived home, I just could not get enough of Tucker and thus I decided to take too many pictures of him. He has really started to take on a personality and it is just so much fun to watch.

Tucker Mid July

Webhannet Member Guest with Mom

Ok, so this is not just a Tucker Blog but also a family blog so I have decided to include a post about my 24 hr trip to Maine. I know I know, it was a short trip to make especially with a 4 month baby. But Brandon was so nice and watched Tucker while I flew up because there is tradition in playing in this tournament for me and I did not want to miss it. For the past 7 years my mom and I have played as a mother daughter team with one of her good friends and daughter. Keeping with the tradition we dress up according the the theme, hence why we are wearing lettuce and a radish (which you can't really see) on the back of our white hats. For me, it is a special day and one that I would NEVER miss!! Hopefully next year our schedules will align so we can all go up for a week or two. All in all, the weather was awesome and we all had a fun time together! Thanks Mom, for inviting me back to play. I Love you!!!


Mother Daughter


Our Team







Cute baby trying to catch the beetles

4 Months and Mom Still Takes TONS of Pictures

Today Tucker turned 4 months! Holy @#$^% where is the time going?? Each day we are blown away by the new things that Tucker does and that also includes the things that he does not do, like NAP!!

Yesterday we put him in his exercauser for the first time and while I think that he was a little overwhelmed at first, he definitely seemed to like all of the different activities. He even figured out how to rotate around in the seat. I am sure that this is going to be a favorite of his when he can fully comprehend all that it has to offer.


Some of the Tucker's new milestones:

- When he smiles he actually gives us an audible sound as well. Hearing him laugh is hysterical!

- LOVES babbling on and on, sometimes we think that he is actually answering us.

- Loves playing the airplane game, just another movement and form of exploration.

- Has figured out how to move around in his crib with a sleep positioner. Each night when we put him in bed we place him on his side in the positioner with foam inserts against his back to help him stay on his side. The other night, when I was getting ready for bed, I went to check on him and somehow he had flipped to his other side and the foam was still in place. When I went to check on him later, somehow he had moved so he was diagonal in his bed with the sleep positioner still in place around him. I was beyond perplexed! Or the other night when I was in our office I heard some bells and thought, oh no he is awake. Well I let some time pass and never heard a cry. So I decided to check on him. Well he was still holding onto his Pig toy.

- Sleeps through the night for the most part (occasionally we have to get up to turn him on his side or get him to suck his thumb but it is rare).

- Still does NOT like to take naps much to my dismay. It takes a lot of energy and patience to get him down and this is usually after a good amount of crying.

- Sucks on not only his entire fist but also his thumb on a regular basis.

- Will play with rattles and move them from hand to hand.

- Rolled over once from tummy to back but we feel that any day he will be doing it daily.

- His discovered the wonders of splashing in the tub.



My motherly revelation is that while some believe that Sippy Cups are for Chardonnay, I figured out that Burp cloths are for twisting off beer caps!



Click photo for more fun pictures

Tucker 4 Months

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

We would all like to wish everyone a Happy (belated) 4th of July. Some may ask, where is Tuckers flag? Well, after going to every supermarket, party store, craft store and random other store in a 10 mile radius we could not find a simple flag that we could hold. We couldn't even find little flags to put in cupcakes that Brandon made. Either this means that we live in an unpatriotic area or the stores actually sold out of the flags. The cynical part of me (and yes I could go on an entire diatribe here but I will save my political opinions for another day) says that it was a combination of both because I sure did not see a lot of "extra" flags being displayed around our area. Shame on those unpatriotic people!! At least we were all wearing some color combination of the flag yesterday and we are proud to have an American flag flying outside our front door!

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!
God Bless America


Love BB&T

New Album 7/5/08 7:56 PM

Tucker's First Beach Vacation

We just returned from Tucker's FIRST trip to the ocean. The trip in itself was monumental in that it was his first time to the ocean, it was also his first overnight away from the comforts of his crib, first time in a car longer than 45 min, first time vacationing with Brandon's parents, sister and cousins, first time playing in a swimming pool, first time rolling over unassisted, and first time that Brandon and I were able to go out to dinner by ourselves!! Of course we ended up discussing Tucker half the time but it was nice to have our own mini date night.

While the ocean was way too rough to take him near, we did take him to the kiddie pool and he seemed to have a blast. That or he just liked his crab outfit (: On the second day we tried very hard to make it a beach day but the weather got in the way. After walking from the condo to the beach we found out that the beach was closed due to thunder and lightening and they would re-evaluate the situation shortly. We waited and they ended up opening the beach pretty quickly. We scouted out our area, cognizant of high tide, put up Tuckers beach tent and Brandon started to feed him. Twenty minutes into it all the thunder started to rumble and then wham, downpour and thunder rumbles turned in to loud cracks. Thankfully the feeding was almost done but we all had to scramble to take everything down and run for cover. The lifeguards tried to make us leave it all up but no way. Needless to say we got wet and Tucker was pretty much oblivious to it all. We did not go back to the beach that day. On our final day the wind off the ocean was pretty strong and Tucker just could not find his groove so our day at the beach was very brief. Oh well.

All in all Tucker got to hang out with his Grandparents, his cousins Will and Kate and Brandon's sister Aunt Robin.

Oh the other highlight of the trip was the fact that he rolled over from his stomach to his back for the first time. That was very exciting!!! He has not done it again but I feel like any day now it will become a daily event!

Click the photo for more pictures.

Beach Trip June 2008

MRE Playgroup

Tucker ventured out for his first real playgroup this past week. He was definitely overwhelmed with all of the action at first and but then he found his kicking let me just babble away "groove". His friend Eloise (who never seems to cry and is the perfect sleeper) was there to help keep him in line and the ducky definitely was the highlight of his morning. His friend Finn and Charlie from walking and coffee were there to take the edge off as well. Plus he got to meet some other baby friends. Thank you Jamie for hosting!!!

Click on the photo for more pictures.

Tucker Playgroup

3 MONTHS AND GOING STRONG

The 4th trimester is over according to Dr. Karp and boy have the last 3 months been LONG. But we are making some headway. The duration of his crying has decreased but he still has trouble taking naps and just falling asleep. Which means I have little time to clean the house because if I do put him down for a nap it requires being nearby for a bit in order to keep plugging him when his binky falls out. Which really means, I spend more time on Facebook now... But back to Tucker, my theory is is that he really just wants to see the world and is afraid that he is going to miss something. Every time I take him out to meet up with other moms and their babies, or even just to walk around, he perks up and is an active looker and talker. So while it is frustrating that he does not want to settle down for naps, it is fun watching him take it all in.

As for milestones, he is making the FUNNIEST sounds and blows bubbles in his mouth, loves to droll and have me wipe his mouth, LOVES grabbing onto things especially a few favorite toys (never enough), is doing very well with tummy time and is sitting up very well in his Bebepod. You can see it in his eyes that he is ready to get on his knees and explore.

All in all, family life is awesome and Tucker is a daily reminder of how fortunate we are.

Click on the photo for more cute Tucker pictures.

Tucker 3 months

Auntie Sarah comes to visit

And the visitors keep on coming... To many she is known as "Goff" or "Sarah" but to Tucker, she is known as Auntie Sarah. Last week Sarah came down from Boston for a visit. While Brandon was gone, Breck got some Goff time and Tucker got some Auntie time. She swept in and stole Tuckers heart, it was Love at first site for him. He had seen pictures and heard stories but now it was the real person. It really was a special 4 days of bonding for all of us!!!


Click on the photo for more pictures

Goff Visit

Crabs with Vermonters

Tucker has been busy meeting family members this past month. Tony and Joanne (Uncle and Aunt) came down from Waterbury, VT (yes for all of you home of the Ben and Jerry's factory) over Memorial Day weekend to visit Ame and Ian (cousin and boyfriend) who are living in DC. On Saturday of that weekend they decided to take a road trip to Annapolis to meet Tucker as well as to "get down and dirty" with some Maryland Crabs. We took them to a local establishment where we got to sit on picnic bench's on the water and watch these Vermonter's attack the crabs. Brandon and I opted for something less messy. One of the more memorable moments, besides seeing family members and me having her first summer ale (Sam Summer and oh did it taste sooo good) in over 11 months, was a line from our waitress regarding Tarter Sauce. I had ordered a fried haddock sandwich and wanted Tarter sauce. After asking for it 3 times and saying that they had just brought me mayonnaise the waitress came out and said "here I brought this sour cream out to show you that that is tarter sauce, you can tell by the color." Not the finest moment for our waitress.

Click photo for more pictures

VT Beards

Play Time - New Fun

I fell in love with a toy from K's Toys (I am the Boss) before Tucker was born and was determined to either get it or try to make something like it. I opted to try to make something somewhat similar (maybe someday I will break out the sewing machine and get creative with fabric) with and old sheet and box from a stroller. One of my friends told me where I could buy the balls (Toys R Us) and presto. Overall the concept is somewhat the same, sans the animal, and best part much cheaper. For now we put the bebePod in the box to help him sit up and from time to time add some of his toys that he likes to play with. The result, Tucker likes sitting in the box surrounded by all of the balls!!

Another thing that Tucker LOVES is his Musical Elephant when he is in the pack n play changing table. This is actually the second Elephant as we broke the string on the first because we kept pulling it when he was younger. At first, he did not like the changing table and just CRIED!! Now, he does not mind the changing table as long as there is some music. Brandon and I even like listening to the elephant!

Next time I will have to post some pictures of Tucker on his real changing table in his nursery. There is a print above it that he ABSOLUTELY adores. He can stay on his pad for a long time and just kick around and talk as he not only amuses himself but us.

All in all, when Tucker is with his toys, he is having a great time and we LOVE watching him play with them!!

Click Photo for more photos

Play time may

Happy Birthday Day!

Tucker wanted to say Happy Birthday to dad (May 21st) and mom has been slow to post this on the website for Tucker. While we did not get a birthday dinner in yet (fondue night will be soon) Tucker was able to present dad with a cake from Maggie Moos .

Click photo for more photos

Happy Birthday Dad

Family Visit

Tucker is a popular little man, as his Grandparents and Aunt and Uncle came to for separate visits. They really just wanted to pinch his adorable cheeks. First, Mimi and Poppop (Breck's parents) came for a night on their way North to Maine. They met Tucker the day he was born but had not seen him since. How he has grown and immediately they were welcomed with TONS of smiles. Hopefully by the time they seem him again in a couple of months he will be laughing! Unfortunately, I could not convince either of them to change a diaper. They both claimed that they had enough 30 or so years ago with twins. Hmmm....

A couple of days later Uncle Drew (Breck's brother but she refers to him as Ru Ru to Tucker because there is no way Tucker is ever going to be able to pronounce Drew) and Aunt Ashely came down from CT to visit. This was a first visit not only to Annapolis but also to meet Tucker. After 6 hrs in the car they finally arrived around 11:30 pm. Blood shot eyes and all, Drew was very eager to meet Tucker. Of course, Tucker gave both of them a knockout smile (yes he was still awake much to our dismay). While we had a slow start on Saturday (Tucker decided to be a little fussy in the morning) we showed them a bit of Historic Annapolis and The Naval Academy. Drew even got some baby parenting tips. However, we could not convince him to change a diaper either. We figured that this would be great practice for the arrival of their baby in September. Oh well, maybe next time.

All in all, it was wonderful to see family and for them to meet Tucker!



click the photo for more pictures

Drew Visit May 2008

New Places to Sleep

So Tucker has discovered that sleeping does not just occur in the his crib or in the infant carrier. The first time he fell asleep on Kojo the Croc we thought it was cute but figured it was a one time occurrence. The second time, I thought he was looking at himself in a mirror but was relieved to find him asleep so I could take a nap (listening to the advice from everyone that when the baby naps, you nap). Now, the third time maybe he really does have a new friend and likes to sleep on Kojo. Our concern of course is that he likes to sleep on his belly!!!

Click photo for more pictures

Kojo May

2 Months - Time is Flying!!!

The 2 month milestone and we are still kicking away. Maybe not as sleep deprived as we were a month ago but Tucker still picks inopportune times to be awake (night and usually up just for a binky). It really is amazing, the simplest things can really bring the greatest joy.

Yesterday Tucker had his 2 month visit to the Dr. and he weights 13 lbs and is 24". We do not need weights around here. When we want an arm workout we can do arm curls with him and soon we will be able to bench press him (: Ha!


So here are some updated pictures. I had to stick the Dodger one in for the proud father. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a Mets fan all the way and would not get caught in anything that has to do with the Dodgers! Since I have known Brandon, the Mets have of course been the better team. He is too scared to make season bets on who the better team will be because he knows that I will win.

No milestone lessons today...if we have not learned some of the basics by now we are in TROUBLE.

Oh...he did have a diaper that weighed 7 oz's this morning and it was all Pee!!!

Enjoy!

2 months