Squirmy worm!

Tuck wants to move... he is trying so hard and doing very well for 6 1/2 months but he wants to go more. He's rolling and flipping all over the place, trying to get his knees under him and reaching for things, high and low. It's fun to watch but I don't dare leave him alone. He has had a blast this week meeting new friends at daycare, although he's the youngest by about 3 years right now. It's actually working very well, he throws things and they love to pick them up...



For being the first couple days, we've done pretty well getting ready and out of the house. Tuck's sleeping very well at night, 6:30pm to about 6am, but he's not taking long naps at Cindy's yet, it'll come. They spend a lot of time outside and he loves that, and he's very aware of the other kids so it's very good for him! Although I do miss him of course!

We got to stay home this morning and play and I just had to force Tuck to take a nap. He's so tired but wants to play, but as soon as his eyes close, he's out and hopefully for a couple hours. Jay gets out at noon today so we're heading to Freeport before driving down to Penobscot for the weekend. Tonight's the Blue Hill Far and antique tractor pull, so we're going to bring Tuck so he can look at tractor's with Grampa Mac. Jay and I are guiding on Sunday on the Penobscot so Tuck's got a family day down on the coast. This is a nice long weekend, the last for awhile so we're going to relax, and then hopefully spend more time at home after this.

Back home and starting daycare...

Tuck is 6 1/2 months old and for all but a few days, I have been with him. School is about to start and today Tuck went to daycare for the first time. It's a great place, and all are teachers' kids in our district. Plus, there are only a few kids and they were all very excited for Tuck to come. I dropped him off around 10am and went in to school to set up the room a little before school starts. I picked Tuck up at 4pm, and they were just getting back from a walk. He had a great day, although he didn't take long naps, but it will take a few days to adjust anyway.

It's hard leaving the little man, but I know he's in great hands and it will be good for him to be with other kids. Luckily I'm only teaching Monday through Thursday, so I'll get one more day with my little man.

Tuck was very excited to get home this afternoon and he wanted to play. He was in a great mood, super giggly, and boy did he crash hard at 6:30pm. It'll be an adjustment for all of us, but I feel so fortunate that we had the first six months without me going back to work!

Penobscot River and Moosehead long weekend

Jay took just about every Friday and Monday off in August, so we have had several 4 day weekends! That makes it nice for traveling to the coast and to Moosehead. This weekend we drove up to the Penobscot River, via South Penobscot, before spending the night at Moosehead. Yes, we have literally driven all over the state the last few days.



Tuck slept the whole 2+ hour drive and only woke when we ran into friends on the Golden Road and Casco barked. They were all hanging out at Abol Beach and were making a day of it. There were about 6 kids, most around 4 years old, and they were paddling all over the inner Abol Beach area. There was just enough current to make it interesting, yet it was totally safe and great for swimming too. Tuck loved the water, even though it was a bit chilly, and spent a lot of time floating in his duck tub. This time he didn't mind the lifejacket either.


We probably spent about 4 hours in the sun, hanging out in the water and having a blast with the kids. Tuck is going to love this spot! Then we headed up to Big Eddy and ran into a lot more of our river friends. We hung out for a bit, and one friend I was going to paddle with couldn't because of an ear infection, so she and her cousin watched Tuck so that Jay and I could paddle together. It was a treat, although we were hoping to paddle with them too. Riley brought us up to paddle the Dryway, which I haven't run in years, and it was low flow, but super fun and creeky. The river was running about 3600cfs, and I felt like a bobber in my little boat. Big girl in a little boat, not spending enough time on the water, and I did an unintentional fish count in the cribworks. Oh well, it was still fun.


We headed over to Moosehead to spend Saturday with Jay's family again. Meacy, Dave and the kids came up, as well as EE and her friend Donna. Saturday was beautiful and we spent all day in the water. The lake is still a little cold for Spencer and Tuck, so the duck tub came in very handy. They both loved floating in the lake, especially after the sun warmed up the duck water a little. We have been having a lot of fun with everyone up at Moosehead and it's so great to have a place for everyone to stay together! We love family camps!


Jay and I raft guided my Dad and some coworkers down the Penobscot on Sunday, so Grammy EE watched our little man for us. They had a great time, although the lake was a bit more choppy. We both had a blast on the river again, feels so nice to be up there! We woke up on Monday to a light rain, and decided to cut the weekend short and head home. It's a good thing we did, because it took us a long time and Tuck needed to get home. We've been on the road so much lately, the little guy doesn't know where his home is. With school starting, we are hoping to get back on a good routine again, although he is still sleeping 11+ hours a night. He is one portable, flexible baby! Plus he loves the outdoors and we can't wait to bring him out more!

Visiting Great-Grandparents at Penobscot!

Back down to the coast for a long weekend to visit with Tuck's Great-Grandparents, Annie and Deeda. He saw them briefly last week, but we came down with Daddy for 3 days this time. We had the most beautiful weather and got to spend lots of time outside. We biked, golfed, walked and relaxed. Tuck got lots of attention of course, and took nice long naps. Jay, Trapper and Grampa Mac spent a lot of time working on Jan and Trap's house lot, and cutting firewood.

We golfed a few rounds and I finally feel I'm hitting the ball well. There were so many young kids out there, I can't wait to get Tuck golfing in a couple years. It's actually working out right now because Jay doesn't like golfing unless he has to so he watches Tuck. Then when he wants to cut wood or bike, I take him. That way we're both getting in lots of play, but not together always. Well, not until Tuck can come with us!

Back home last night for a night in our own beds. I really wanted to sleep in a little this morning, but Tuck did not want to. He wanted to play. We're going to check into school this morning and after my last class tonight, we're driving back down to Penobscot with Kathy D and her kids for a couple days.

Tuck - 6 months
19 lbs. 2 oz.
27 1/2" long
80th %ile

Harvest time and bath time...

I was nervous to go in the garden since we've been gone so much, so I waited until Tuck took a nap and ventured in. We gave up weeding awhile ago so it's sort of a scavenger hunt but there was a lot growing well despite the rain. I started at the top row and worked my way down. There were tons of cukes, tomatoes, beans, peas and one summer squash. Last year we had too many and this year we've had two. Oh well. Tuck and I also met our new neighbors and they let us pick a ton of high bush blueberries!!! All in all, we got a lot of good stuff today from the backyard!



We loved the sunny weather and spent all afternoon on the deck. Tuck was hanging in the exersaucer and of course Casco wasn't far away. We went for a nice long walk today and I even tried to run a little, which Tuck loved because of the slight breeze. He'll have to jog with Daddy if he wants a constant breeze... We did bathtime in the duck tub outside as well because it was so beautiful, and because our little Tucky is a splash monster now. He loves it! (Notice he doesn't have his Daddy's tan lines yet...)







Guess who will be 6 months old tomorrow? It's hard to believe but we have his check up and I'm excited to see how he's doing age wise, I know he's a healthy boy!

Lots of traveling and first camping trip!!

We have been on the go... I had to work both Tuesday and Wednesday last week, so Tuck hung out with Grammy Lyn down on the coast. I met up with them and we spent a few days down at Penobscot because Tuck's Great Grandparents, Annie and Deeda were there. It's so great that he gets to meet them!

Tuck and I then met up with Jay and we drove up to Moosehead Friday after spending time with EE and Papi in Waterville. Moosehead Lake was super high, but it was rainy so we didn't spend too much time outside. Jay and I had raft guided for North Country Rivers on Saturday, and Tuck got to spend the day with EE and Papi at camp. They had a good day and luckily got to play outside a little.

Sunday morning we got up after sleeping in, and drove the backroads to Big Eddy. It was Tuck's first GOLDEN ROAD experience, and he even slept despite the super bumpy roads, and missed his first moose. Oh well. Jay was itching to paddle, so I watched Tuck and hung out with the girls while the boys paddled. Tuck was still very tired so he slept in Mike and Kim's tent, and I took the others kayaking. He loved the tent, especially the air mattress and slept for almost two hours!

It wasn't too buggy, but it's definitely different bringing him up North. He loves to be outside and was just amused looking at the trees and being around people. Unfortunately, we set up the tent too close to the action so bedtime was tricky. He didn't stay down so finally I went in and laid down with him until he fell asleep, and so did I. He actually slept very well until it got light around 5am. I heard him talking in his pack 'n' play, looking up at the tress and smiling. We weren't ready to get up, so I grabbed him and snuggled. His hands were cold but he was plenty warm. It was funny because he would wrap the down sleeping bag around himself and suck on it. I wouldn't dare leave him alone though.

Anyway, we hung out by the river on Monday too, but after we knew it was going to rain, and that the Madison wave was in, we started the trek south. Tuck rides very well in the car, but when we make several stops, it interrupts his sleep a little. When we arrived in Madison he had had enough. Jay watched him so I could paddle and it was so great to be on the river. Jay tried to bring Tuck out on the rocks to watch, but had a little run in with high water... and they got a little wet. I'm going to leave it at that... Eventually we switched and he paddled too. After paddling we stopped back at EE's to get our car, gave Tuck a bath, fed him and put him to bed in the car. Not ideal, but he doesn't seem to mind and doesn't usually wake up when we transfer him to bed.

Great weekend and I'm so glad Tuck got up on the Penobscot River. He did get a few bug bites, inevitable, but is fine. He loves to be outside, so we're heading back up in a few weekends.