Penobscot and Sugarloaf, in 3 days

We are always on the go, no matter the time of year. After Thanksgiving, I got up at 4am and met some family for Black Friday. Tucky and Jay slept in while I was working the crowds. We did find some great deals. Later in the day, Grammy Lyn, Grampa Mac, Janet, Trap, Jeffy, Tuck and I all drove down to Penobscot for the afternoon. We wanted to check out progress on Uncle Trap and Aunt Janet's house, as well as hang with Ashley, Albert and Grant. Unfortunately it rained the whole time so we didn't spend much time outside. Instead, we hung out by the fire and Grammy Lyn rocked Tuck for his whole nap curled up by the woodstove.


On Saturday there was no rush to head to Sugarloaf so we took our time. Jay watched Tuck so Uncle Jeffy and I got in 4 runs. For being early, the skiing is good. Tuck was giving Jay a run for his money, on the go constantly. We brought Tuck down to The Rack to visit briefly before getting him back to be in bed by 6:30pm. He sleeps well up there, especially when he's warm!

Jay went in to work for Patrol early so I tried to have Tuck sleep in a little, but by 6:30am, he wasn't having any of it, he wanted to eat and play. He's a little adventurer and doesn't stay in one spot. It was a big day for standing and he stood several times for two minutes straight. He's getting better about falling and is even catching his balance a little. I gave him hot oatmeal with fruit smoothie this morning and he kept saying "umm!" It's hilarious. Tuck also really likes the dog bowls, the stairs and cords so you constantly have to redirect him and tell him no.


Luckily all this energy wearing exercise is tiring him out and he took two great naps today. This afternoon while Tuck was sleeping, I sneaked out and got in 3 runs while Uncle Jeffy watched him. He didn't make a peep and slept for another hour after I got back. Jeff did watch him though when I took a shower and they got to really bond this weekend!



We had a nasty drive home tonight after eating and taking a bath at Grammy Lyn's. It was snowing, sleeting, raining, you name it and it took us a long time. Tuck woke up briefly when I brought him inside, but he was so tired that I put him in bed and he went right out. He's a great little sleeper. Now, off to bed because Monday morning comes early!

Tuck's first Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving at EE and Papi's! It just happened that as were just about to sit down for Thanksgiving dinner, Tuck took a nap. He did wake up though as we were passing out pie and instantly wanted to eat. He had turkey, squash, potatoes and yogurt, then still wanted more. He's a healthy eater and loves food, he hasn't turned his face to anything yet.


After we ate, we all hung out near the kids so they could play. Tuck was using anything he could to try and stand up, even for a couple seconds. We also got outside and went for a nice walk, with both Spencer and Tuckerman in the strollers.

After all was said and done, Tuck was in bed sound asleep, by 5:30pm.

Back to Sugarloaf!!

We drove up to Sugarloaf Saturday morning and first stopped at our camp. There were flurries in the sky! We hung out and showed our camp before heading to my parents condo. Jay watched Tuck and I got to take my first 3 runs of the year. The snow was pretty good but it was really cold. Amy and Alan came up to hang out too. Jay worked ski patrol today but it was so windy that the quad never started turning. Tuck and I hung out inside next to the nice, warm wood fire while Jay was out on the hill. At one point I bundled him up and we braved the 15 degree weather and winds to give Casco a quick walk. He loves being outside and didn't mind the cold at all. His eyes watered and his nose ran for a little, but he was fine. We were outside probably less than 10 minutes, just enough to give him a little exposure to the cold weather he'll be loving in a few years.









It's that time of year again, weekends at the Loaf. Friday both Jay and I had the day off so we got to spend a nice day at home with Tuck. Jay was going to take him to story time but he slept for over two hours that morning. The weather changed and got real cold so we didn't spend much time outside at all. I had a girls night out, wine tasting, so Jay and Tuck hung out with Josh and Sage for the evening.
Tuck did really well at the condo but I had to move him upstairs to sleep because the downstairs bedroom was so cold for some reason. As soon as he's warm, he'll sleep 12 hours straight, but if he's a little chilly, he'll wake at the slightest noise. He's also been starting to pull himself up off couches, coffee tables, my pants. He can pull up and stand for a couple seconds and then he falls onto his bum. At one point he turned away from the coffee table and started to try to walk...well he fell pretty quickly but it was cool to see. He's not afraid to fall and he wants to move around so badly. Luckily he's crawling so he's not as frustrated, but I can tell he wants more. He changes everyday!

Coupons!

This website has helped me understand how coupons work and start saving a lot of money. Here is my trip to CVS this week and all the goodies I bought. Actually there is over $100 worth of stuff in this picture and after all was said and done, I came out making $3.00. It doesn't make sense and Jay couldn't even believe it, but after using coupons and timing sales, I got a lot of free stuff this week!

We have a huge supply of stuff like this, more than we'll ever need, so a lot of it I'm going to start giving away. Maybe in the spring we can do a yardsale or something, but for now our school adopts some families at Xmas time and a lot will go there.

This couponing thing started out as a great way to save money and that it has, but it's also turned into a game now because I love getting stuff for free or close to it! This mindset also helped out on groceries because our bill was $88 and we saved $58! yes, it's time consuming but totally worth it in the long run.

Exploration and "no"

Curious little man! This weekend we visited with family a lot and had a couple parties, Evelyn's 4th and Hunter's Welcome back from Iraq. Tuck did really well going from place to place and playing. Today we headed back to Windham after spending a little time in Oakland. Tuck had a great night, even slept in until 6:45! The theme for the weekend was exploration!






Tuck has been crawling for a couple weeks now, but really picked it up a notch in the last several days. He wants to touch and feel everything and go anywhere he can. He pulled clumps of hair off Grammy's dog and tried to do pull ups using the cabinets. Luckily he hasn't figured out that they open yet.


We have a woodstove in the living room and really haven't baby proofed the house at all yet. Yes, we're out of time, we know. Well, Jay and I both were introducing the word "no" this weekend everytime Tuck crawled towards the stove and the wall outlets. At one point Jay was pretty direct with him about not pulling the light cord and he started to cry. I had to do the same thing about 5 minutes later, and he just sat there but didn't try to pull it again. It's a learning process for us too!




Grammy Lyn gave Tuck his first real shampoo today during a tub in the kitchen sink and he smells so good. We've used the baby wash stuff, but this was the real deal. He was so good in the tub too, playing with toys and sitting there, loving the water. I can't wait to get him swimming again!



Meacy, Dave, Evelyn and Spencer came over for dinner tonight and we threw in a big turkey. Tuck ate squash, potatoes and turkey, plus a little yogurt. He really ate a lot of food, and didn't mind the turkey pieces at all! He's really a great little eater! It was fun to watch the kids play together, they did really well. I bought Tuck this Little Tykes workbench and the kids loved it. Tuck's still a little small for it, but Jay says he's never too young for tools... I can't wait until he gets a plastic set of mig welders!!!

9 months old

Tuck is 9 months old!!! It's amazing how quickly he's grown and the past two weeks especially. He started crawling, talking nonstop and interacting much more. It's really exciting to see him take off and start exploring.

Today was Mommy's Tuck day and I was hoping he'd have a couple good naps, we'd go to story time and just relax at home. Well, he took a 45 minute nap early and we went to story time. He just wanted to move around at the library so he didn't really want to sit still. Luckily there are a lot of toys and things to see so he had fun. I chased him around trying to prevent him from sucking on library toys... everything's in the mouth. We got home and I fed him, got him ready for his nap, and he woke up maybe 30 minutes later with a messy diaper. I fed him lunch (I split up bottle and food), and he started spitting up while we were playing. He hasn't spit up in a few days and not much lately at all. I brought him upstairs to change his clothes, and mine, and almost stepped in a huge Casco doo-doo pile on his nice Pottery barn rug. I was so mad because Casco wasn't supposed to be upstairs when we're gone, but she had knocked down the gate and hung out in Tuck's room.

So after removing the rug from his room, I tried to get him to take his afternoon nap again. He was really fussy but not going down easy which he usually does. I let him spend about 20 minutes in his crib, fussing, light crying and then he slept, again for a little more than a half hour. We were both fried and tired of being inside, so I took Tuck and Casco on a walk in the mist. He loved it and it was much better. Jay worked a little late so I gave Tuck his bath, fed him and got him into bed.

Not our typical Friday... in fact, Tuck's crawling so much that I found him reaching for the lamp cord where it's plugged in to an outlet...yikes. I really needed to clean a little so I pulled out the pack'n'play and let him play in there so I could get a few things done. That actually worked like a charm! I did walk in once, however, and saw him reaching for the top because he wants to stand up. He's also rocking the exersaucer and trying to get out, I'm afraid he's going to tip it over...boy how he's changed!

Crawling crazy man!

Crawling, chasing and crawling some more! Tuck just wants to be on the ground, exploring! It's awesome to see and we realized that we needed to trim our spider plants, tuck the books in on the shelves and pick up the numerous Casco dust bunnies hiding in the corners. He's starting to get into everything and he just realized that our house has a big loop. I turned to pick up something and he was already in the dining room.

Tuck had two boys join him at daycare this week. He's played with them from time to time before but now they're there everyday. It's like a boys club, and they all like making Tuck laugh. He's napping better there during the day but he's still ready to crash as soon as he gets home.

9 month appointment!

One week before Tuck turns 9 months....he is

21 lbs. 4 oz. (65%)
30" long (96%)

so, Tuck's is long and has a big head, but is pretty average in his weight! I was afraid he was eating too much, but I guess not! All that crawling is slimming the boy right down!

Playtime just before bed with Daddy

During the week, Jay and Tuck haven't been able to spend much time together because by the time Jay gets home, Tuck's on his way up the stairs. Last night they got to spend a little time playing and Tuck loves it when Daddy lifts him up high!


The time change has been tough because Tuck is so tired by the time we get home, he's ready for bed. The nighttime sleeping has been better, although last night he would not go in his crib for some reason. He started out going to bed easily at 6:15pm, but woke up at 9pm and neither Jay or I could get him into his crib without him screaming. We had no idea why, so I laid down with him in my room for about a half hour and then Jay tried to transfer him again, to no avail. Needless to say, we were beat and Tuck slept between Mommy and Daddy again, which is exactly what we're trying to avoid. It's hard though when he's stuffed up and you really just want him to sleep.



He's only been taking two short naps at daycare and I think it's catching up with him. The more he sleeps, the better he does. This morning you could tell he was still tired. I gave him his bottle and was going to do his cereal after an hour to avoid overfilling him so he doesn't spit up. He played for about 20 minutes and started rubbing his eyes. So upstairs we went and he's been napping since 8.

Today is also Tuck's 9 month appointment even though he won't be 9 months until next Friday. I'm excited to see where he is on the growth chart but I'm not so excited for him to get shots again. Although, he's been handling that well to this point.