A Gathering of Pumkpins

I love that there are so many "firsts" for Tucker. Not only do we get to take him to fun places but I also have an excuse to take A LOT of pictures. I am not sure that I will have that excuse in the years to come or have a baby/infant that will actually put up with me taking all of my pictures. So, I am taking advantage of the situation.

Today, Tucker experienced his first trip to the Pumpkin Patch! He had fun feeling the different pumpkins, trying to put the stems in his mouth and picking up dead stems on the ground.

Stay tuned - Tucker has a kick ass Halloween outfit!!

My Preppy Baby and the Ball Pit

The air is getting crisper and with that, we are starting to transition Tucker's wardrobe. So, I have been trying to get one last wear. I told him that he could spit up all he wanted this way I would feel better about his cloths getting more use. Oh well.

Since we were headed to a birthday (Happy birthday Finn - sorry he was running around so much I did not get a picture of the birthday boy) I decided to dress Tucker in his dad's favorite preppy shirt :) I am really kidding. Brandon's comment - "Tucker, I could say great to see you in your sisters hand me down pink shirt but oh, you don't have an older sister. I am sorry you are wearing pink."

So off my little preppy baby and I went to Finn's birthday party at MyGym. Tucker's favorite part was this huge ball pit. Most kids would jump in and sink. I had to place Tucker in and he would sink a little. When he is a little older I am sure that this is a place that he would love to be. A great place for me to let him get all of his little boy energy out!

Sitting Up Tall

Instead of sitting like a tripod Tucker is now sitting up tall. His posture puts mine to shame!!

7 months and going STRONG

I really can't believe how fast time is flying! Everyday Tucker is into something new and different. For instance:

a) he likes to get himself into corners and usually that is because he sees a cord and thinks that it is another Tucker toy.
b) he likes to bat balls around with his hands and then go after them. Sort of like watching a dog fetch a bone but here Tucker keeps batting the balls and they keep on going.
c) he is sitting up tall and unsupported now. This really only started to happen about a week ago.
d) he LOVES for us hold/ support him while he is standing. Sometimes he tries to take steps, other times it is just the sheer joy of seeing things from a new vantage point.

The cruel joke that is played on parents is when they have just gotten used to sleeping through the night, the baby decides to start waking up in the middle of the night again. I only mention this because indeed, it has happened to us. As such, there is a lot to think about while trying to get Tucker back to sleep. While rocking in the chair the other night it occurred to me that no matter how tired I was, I was not upset that I was up trying to get Tucker back to bed. I actually enjoyed the quiet moment with him wrapped in my arms, head nestled against my neck and at that moment I realized how fast he is growing up. Months ago he would just fall asleep in my arms and now it is like he is saying "mom, no way, I am a big boy I want to play around." I guess that is the part of me accepting that he is growing up and that I have to let him explore on his own, wiggle woo out of my arms and onto the floor. I have not even made it to his first birthday and these things are already hitting me.

The other thing that popped into my head was that I do not know what I would do if something ever happened to my little baby. Sad thought but one that came out in the moment of tender love and just wondering if I rocked a little harder, hummed a little louder, would Tucker fall back asleep sooner or should I just cherish this moment and hold on tighter and a little longer because you just never know. I opted for the later and in those silent moments I put my head back and held on a little longer, not wanting the moment to end. Fortunately he fell back asleep and has been very good about sleeping through the night again.

Junior League of Annapolis 5k Fun Run

On a nice crisp Saturday morning, we stumbled out of bed and pumped each other up to join friends in a 5k race to benefit Junior League projects. While I knew that this was Tucker's first race, Brandon informed me half way through that this was his first 5K. I asked if it was his last and he said nope. Hmmm It was our goal to use the race as a motivator to get back in shape. That meant that we were going to start running in the evenings but one thing or another always came up and well, our training began 2 days before the race. Ops.

It was our hope that Tucker would fall asleep since we had to wake him up but instead, he babbled and squealed (good sounds) the entire way. He was our cheerleader! We think that he had a good time. We certainly had a good time and ended up running most of the way.

Included are some pictures of us as well as fellow MRE friends.

Random Moments with Tucker

I am so lucky that I get to spend my days with Tucker so when he does cute things I get to laugh with him and admire him. But there are moments when he is above and beyond cute and I feel the need to share with friends and family.

One of his favorite activities is getting a ride on the train (laundry basket). We take a ride around the family room, hall, and kitchen. Yes we have a laundry basket (ops train car) just for this activity.

The other thing that we love to do is check on Tucker after he has gone to bed. Typically, when we put him down, he has a little energy left and with that, plays with his toys until he zonks out, usually holding a toy or surrounded by toys. These toys that are initially spread out around his crib in an orderly fashion and in this case with the picture, they were all lined up against the front of the crib wall where he in fact ended up on his knees.

Bath Time - Just Ducky

Sorry Tucker, I just could not resist taking pictures of you while you were playing with your ducks! He was so happy and looked so cute. I think that these are my first official bath pictures.

Bath time Sept 2008

Trip to CT

The traveling continued a couple weeks ago when we packed up the car and headed to Connecticut/NYC for the weekend. One of Brandon's friends was getting married in the city and I felt that Tucker was too young to leave with a babysitter. So, instead of staying home I decided that it would be fun to go see some family members while Brandon was attending the wedding.

My godmother was so gracious and allowed us to set up camp at her house, toys and all! Tucker also got to meet Cousin Barbara and Bill and briefly met his new first cousin Nate. Unfortunately, time was limited so we did not get to spend as much time as we would have liked with everyone.

We have decided that while the trips are a lot of fun, it is time to enjoy the wonderful fall weather in Maryland.

I Just Could Not Resist

The new spokesman for the Republican Party is now Tucker (: He was given this outfit as a gift (from one of my closest friends and a Democrat) and wears it with lots of Love! See Republican's and Democrat's can be friends.

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