Tuck's first Halloween!

Tuck was a penguin for Halloween. In fact he somehow grew so much lately that he was totally over the limit for his penguin costume. Oh well, it still worked great, but the hood didn't fit over his head. It was cute.

We went to Portland to go trick or treating with Meacy and the kids. Evelyn was so excited and could hardly contain herself. We had dinner with them beforehand and then we got all suited up. Tuck was sleepy but as soon as we got outside he got his second wind. Their neighborhood was full of kids and we had a great time. Tuck was so good and just took it all in.

After walking around the neighborhood, we went back to the house so we could get the kids ready for bed and Tuck into his pj's. Evelyn counted everyone's candy and the boys got ready for bed. As soon as I got Tuck in the car, he was out! I think he had a fun time and he loved the lit jack'o'lanterns!

Crawling!!!

forward that is.... This was a really big week in Tuck's movement phase! He started pushing himself around backwards a couple weeks ago, but two days ago he started inching forward well. Today I had to pick him up and bring him back to his mat several times. He also found the shelf where his toys are and has been heading towards it. He tries to pull himself up and it's scary because we really haven't baby proofed the house yet. Yes, we're out of time!





It's so nice to see Tuck moving and going where he wants to go. He was started to get frustrated, but he is a persistent little guy! Tuck's also been wanting to stand, although he can't unassisted yet, and today I let him try walking forward with me holding his waist. He fully supported his weight, saw a toy and took off running. I was on my knees and almost fell over because he's so strong. We're so in trouble...haha

Here's also a picture of Tuck playing his xylophone with Grammy Lyn from last weekend. Jay took the camera to work this week so I couldn't add it earlier. And my goto camera, the one I bought just before Tucky was born, well that fell in the river when we went bird hunting.

Tuck and his best buddy

We finally got a nice afternoon and a few minutes to play outside after I picked Tuck up. Casco was so excited to see us so we threw her some sticks before Tuck got in his swing. He loves to swing and Casco thinks it's a big game too. She kept running under Tuck and of course, he loved that too. It was really cute.

I also wanted to take a few pics of him on the grass so I let him crawl around a bit. He didn't try to eat grass this time, but I think he was a bit tired. Again Casco was playing close by and kept stealing kisses. It was definitely cooling off, so we headed inside just as Daddy was coming home. You can see the expression on Tuck's face when Jay walked through the door, he lit right up.

A trip to Vermont

This weekend we drove to Burlington, VT for our friends wedding. We left early Saturday morning and quickly made it to North Conway and the Mt. Washington area. It was the most beautiful day and there was more foliage as we headed west than there was in Maine. I really wanted to bring Tuck up to the mountain but we weren't sure if we'd have enough time, so we kept driving. Of course we didn't bring a map, so we found our way, but ended up taking about an hour longer than we needed to. Tuck got lots of nap time and we still made it to the hotel before the wedding so it worked out.



We met up with Jimmy and Bekah Blakeney at the hotel and we all made our way over to the wedding. Our friends Damon and Ashley were getting married at this beautiful barn hall and it was gorgeous. Tuck was one of several babies, all around his age, and we had a really good time. There were all kinds of our old kayaking friends that we haven't seen in years. Tuck did very well, although he ate or tried to eat everything in sight. He took carrots and celery off our plates, which he liked to suck on, and he wouldn't let us eat or drink anything, without getting his hands in it. He's got another tooth coming in somewhere and I know it was bothering him a little bit, but as long as his hands were busy, he was fine. Although he did get very tired and we had to make our way back to the hotel around 7ish, but that's an hour past bedtime so he did well!




The whole hotel experience was interesting with Tuck, especially since we had to watch the Red Sox game without bothering him. We put his pack'n'play in the bathroom which worked for a couple hours but then he woke up crying. So we moved it back into the main room and hung up blankets to block the light. That worked well, but he still woke up at 2am and I found him playing with his stuffed animal. He then snuggled with me until we woke up around 6:30am, although he was a wiggle monster.




We decided to go into Burlington for breakfast with Bekah and Jimmy, and we also met up with Danielle S. She's in med school at UVM. We had a nice breakfast in this super small diner and Tuck tried so hard for a piece of egg. He actually grabbed them at one point so I gave him an empty coffee creamer to keep him occupied. He also got a little toast which he devoured. After breakfast we started the trek back to Maine and Tuck was beyond nap time so he was so tired and a little cranky. He was asleep in less than 5 minutes!

We stopped two hours later at a picnic stop near Mt. Washington and fed Tuck. He was starving so we filled him and drove up Rt. 16 near Pinkham's Notch. We thought about the auto road but decided to take Tuck on a short hike instead. We stopped at Glen Falls and packed him into the backpack. He was so cute and so excited to be out of th e car. He loves the outdoors!





It's only a .3 mile walk to the falls and they are quite impressive. The view of the mountains in the background was so pretty as well. Tuck seemed happy to be out there until Jay brought him to a lookout and he could see down the falls. I actually don't know if maybe his teeth were bothering him or he was being pinched somewhere, but he started screaming. It was bizarre but he kept crying and crying. I thought it was funny at first but you could tell he was uncomfortable or something. We took him out of the pack and he slowly calmed down. We decided to walk back to the car, but he was much happier again, so we found a nice grassy spot to play before getting back on the road. Tuck was examining leaves, tried to eat a few and we took a bunch of pictures.
He slept the rest of the drive to Windham too.

Tuck's first trip to Vermont was a success and we hooked up with a bunch of old friends so that maybe we can come back over and ski this winter. It's nice to have so many friends with little ones, we're all looking for to getting them out skiing and paddling together!

Sugarloaf Homecoming, chairlift ride and 8 months old!

This weekend was Sugarloaf Homecoming weekend, an annual event for us. We were already in the area since we went bird hunting with Grampy on Friday. Everyone met up Friday night/Sat. morning and enjoyed the beautiful, warm weather. Just after lunch we gathered the crew up and walked up to the lift. There were free chair lift rides and you could walk down Tote Road afterwards. We packed Tuck in his new backpack and I wore it frontwards for the lift ride which we rode with Grammy Lyn and Grampa Mac. Tuck got tired after only a few minutes and feel asleep on my neck so I had to lean back. It was tricky getting off the lift but we managed and after putting Tuck on my back, we started hiking down. Jay, Jeffy and Amy hiked up to meet us and were quick getting there. We also met up with Josh, Meghan and Sage, and her sister's family. It was amazing to see all the babies and people out enjoying Sugarloaf and the fall foliage. It was beautiful!





Tuck continued to sleep as I passed the pack to Jay. He finally woke up when we repositioned his neck because it was looking very uncomfortable. He loved the view and being outside, we can't wait to do it again!




We hung out at the condo and on Sunday morning found some golf balls down at the river. We actually found 50 in about 20 minutes. We visited our camp briefly and then rode home. Tuck actually rode to Oakland with his grandparents so he could sleep and not have to go up to camp. Apparently he loved their hardwood floors!





Monday was a great stay at home day, time with Mommy and Daddy. Tuck spent all day on his belly, reaching for toys. We cleaned up outside and worked around the house, and it helped Tuck took a nice long afternoon nap. He didn't last long into the evening, that boy loves his sleep! Great long weekend!






Tucky is 8 months old today! It's hard to believe because it's really gone so quickly, but each stage we get to with him, we love more and more. We're only a week or two away from some serious crawling. He gets frustrated because he wants to move so badly, but can only go backwards. He's a persistent little bugger though. Tuck's got 6 teeth, 2 on the bottom and 4 up top. We haven't found a food yet that he doesn't like, but he especially likes yogurt! He's got the best little smile and loves people, especially his family. He learned to hug and kiss this weekend, which we love of course, and he likes to snuggle...well unless he wants to move. Tuck loves cars and trucks and his doggy, Casco! She doesn't like to leave his side either. All in all it's been a wonderful 8 months and we feel so fortunate. I'm really looking forward to the next couple because I know Tuck will be so happy when he can maneuver some more, and maybe I'll get back to pre-Tucky shape since I'll be chasing him!