3 months old and the train man

Brooklyn just turned 3 months old yesterday, hard to believe already. She's really doing well, super alert and smiling constantly. She is really a happy baby, mellow and she adores her older brother! She lights up when he gets close and talks to her. Brooklyn is really sleeping well too. She goes down around 8pm and sleeps to anywhere between 2-3am, has a quick feed and sleeps until 6am. We've been on this schedule for a couple weeks now and it's really quite pleasant. After her 3am feeding, sometimes we both fall asleep and little peanut ends up snuggling with me but most nights I can get her back in the bassinet. We have actually put the door on her room and the blinds so starting in the next couple days, she will be spending her first night in her room in the crib. Hope she likes it!




Tucky man is the train man! Just about everyday starts and ends at the train table. We have gotten our money's worth out of that for sure!!! He loves anything and everything choo-choo's, in fact he brings his trains to the table when he eats, although we have him put them aside. He loves train books, but actually he just loves books now. He has a nickname for most of his books and right now his favorite is "Go Dog, Go." He knows every page and reads aloud in his own words with us, it's really cute.




While I've been home on maternity leave, Tuck has continued to go to Cindy's between two and three days a week, which has been great. In the last couple of weeks he has started to name all the landmarks on the way to her house. "Mommy, Choo-choo, moose, brook, Cindy home", he says. That's exactly the order in which is goes, although it took me about a week to figure out he was talking about the small stream (brook) versus his sister. He is learning so much from Cindy and the other boys, it's really excited to see how quickly he is picking up things, his language is increasing rapidly.



Tuckerman is definitely also showing his "being two year old" side quite regularly, sometimes giving Mommy and Daddy a hard time. He's a really good boy, very smart I can tell already, but he is testing. He also won't leave Casco alone, grabbing her tail, hitting her, etc. Although the last two nights he has asked Casco to come upstairs at bedtime so he can say goodnight. He's just testing to see what the boundaries are and we're trying to be consistent with him, I'm just not a fan of hitting. He knows he shouldn't do it though, you can tell by his facial expressions.



All in all we are having a really good time and Tuck has totally welcomed Brooklyn with open arms. He hears me call her "honey" sometimes and the other day I heard him say, "hi honey." How cute!!! I am nearing the end of my maternity leave unfortunately, but I have really enjoyed being home with the kiddos. Brooklyn is not taking a bottle well yet at all and it will definitely be a transition for her but she'll be fine. Two months of school and I'm back out for the summer again. I am really looking forward to spending all this time with them this summer!

Peekaboo Children's Center in Westbrook

Jay and I had breakfast together this morning and then he drove in to work to fly out to Orlando for the next couple days. This will be the first time with the kiddos alone for three days, hope all goes well...




It's been super cold and rainy lately and today is no different. I had planned on checking out the Peekaboo Children's Center in Westbrook for a long time so today we decided to go for it. Monica and Tyler came over to play before going but we didn't leave until closer lunch time so they opted out this time. Meghan and Sage drove down and we met her sister there as well.

The place is in and old mill building near the river and is quite large. There are a lot of little rooms off the main space and it was awesome. Each room had a different activity and the main larger room had a trampoline, climbing tower and a huge train table. Any guesses to where Tuck went first??? Well, as I was unpacking, he took off running and headed straight to the monster train table. He didn't waste any time putting his train together and driving around.

We hit the climbing tower with a slide, great for his age! The kids loved this. We also played with the lego table, ball bins, tunnel and much more. Tuck found kids jumping on the Little Tykes trampoline and wanted to try it right away. He went in and started jumping away, it was so funny to watch him, he loved it.





We couldn't have planned it any better because by the time we got there, everyone else was leaving to go home, have lunches and naps. We decided on a later nap and snacks/lunch there and after an hour we had the place to ourselves! It was awesome and the kids had so much fun!!!! I would definitely recommend the place to anyone with little ones, there was so much to do. Plus it was really clean, safe and comfortable, and only cost $4 per person (well not Brooklyn). That's pretty reasonable I thought for two plus hours of fun!

After feeding Brooklyn, she slept most of the time we were there, all the way home, and into the late afternoon. I held Tuck off from napping until we got home at 2:30pm and then he crashed, it's 4:15pm and he's still out. It was a fun day!

Maine Maple Sunday

Today we met up with the Fieldroy family in Gorham to go to a Maine Maple Sunday gathering! I had no idea this place was just 5 minutes from our house and it was crowded! Everyone in Southern Maine was out today in the cold weather to catch some sweet maple syrup goodies, although we have Poppi making his own, it was still fun to watch this operation in progress.




We heard the sap wasn't running great but they had all kinds of samples to try, lots of food for sale and plenty of activities for the kids. Tuck loved the playground area with a few clubhouses, slides and lots to do. Tuck, Evelyn and Spencer got to go on a wagon ride behind a few oxen as well. Despite the cold, I had to sample some homemade ice cream with maple syrup on top... TUcky love that too!

Everyone was all bundled up and Brooklyn slept in the Bjorn in her tasty down suit! There were all kinds of cows and pigs to look at but I couldn't believe just how many people were there. We stayed for a couple hours but it was really cold and close to lunch time. Plus, I think the kids had a lot of fun and were ready for a change of scenery.

Brooklyn is napping right now and Tuck is playing "Choo-Choo's", no nap since he woke up at 8:45am. Actually we all were sleepy heads, no one of us up before 8:30am!!!! Well, Brooklyn fed at 6am and Jay got up to rock her for a half hour and then they came back to snuggle.

John Deere tractors w/Poppi

The big Hammond Tractor extravaganza was Saturday up in Fairfield and Poppi wanted Tuck to come look at tractors with him. I packed the kids in the car and off we went to meet Poppi and Mimi at the John Deere tractor show. Well, I don't know who was more excited, Tuck or Poppi, but they both were kids in a candy store!

There was a clown there making balloons for kids and Tuck couldn't have cared less, he instantly saw all the kids ride on tractors up on display and was glued to them. He also noticed that one wasn't green and made a point to tell us all.






We found the John Deere toys section right away and Tuck wanted every toy "out" he said but he finally settled on a neat tractor/trailer combo that Mimi and Poppi bought him to play with. After looking at all the toys, we walked up back and saw all the big tractors and the food... Tuck started off with some popcorn and he loaded up his new trailer with popcorn pieces, it was pretty cute. Then we had hot dogs and all that good concession food that you dare eat once a year. Little Brooklyn was so good and slept the whole time, that being from the time we left Windham at 8:30am to the time we drove to Mimi and Poppi's house at noon. She didn't even budge, she was all warm and cozy in her car seat, not even noticing the noise.


After all the tractor excitement, we hung out at Mimi and Poppi's for an hour or so, changed diapers and let the kids play a little. Tuck picked right up where he left off on Sunday, wanting the caboose and getting out all his toys. At 1pm we got in the car and drove home, both kids getting in a nap again. Jay had just returned from the dump and he took Tucky outside to play. It was still a little cool but finally nice to be able to get Tuck outside to run. Jay pulled out the kayaks so we could sell one and Tuck already picked out his for the summer, I'll have to start looking for a little one now. Then we took Brooklyn and Casco for a walk, Brooklyn again facing out and loving it! Monica, Trevor and Tyler came over to hang out and we all had a fun evening!

Feeding Aunt Ann's chickens w/Fieldroy's

On Thursday, Tuck, Brooklyn and I packed up the car and headed out after breakfast. Jay's Aunt Ann lives in Wilton so it was about an hour and a half in the car before we got there, which works out well for Brooklyn's nap. We arrived just as EE did and Tuck was very excited to see her because he had just made her a birthday card and was ready to play!

Tuck didn't waste any time and remembered exactly where the buckets were that he used the last time we were there to feed the chickens. So he grabbed one and started head out, prompting the rest of us to follow along. He loved feeding the chickens but he was really the most interested in the big rooster. They were also excited to see him coming and I think Tuck thought they wanted to play because he started trying to chase them like he does Casco...uh oh. I nipped that one pretty early and since it was pretty cold/wet outside we didn't stay out long.



Meacy and the kids showed up shortly after and they were excited to feed the chickens of course too. So again we went outside, this time Tuck really wanted to chase the chickens and ended up taking a digger on the very wet grass. Oh well, he's a boy and loves the mud. Thankfully Aunt Meacy had an extra pair of pants for him because I neglected to pack those for some reason.

Anyway, Aunt Ann made us all a great lunch and the kids played with all the toys she's saved from her kids/grandkids. They had a blast. She also has this really nice rug with the roads and buildings on it, the same one I've been scoping out on ebay and planning on buying for Tuck. Well she said her family doesn't use it anymore and that we could take it home to play with. Thank you Aunt Ann! Tucky loves it and we had to lay it out in the living room as soon as we got home!




Luckily both kids napped on the way home and Tuck was really excited to show Daddy the egg he brought back from Ann's house. He was actually very careful handling it. I also put Brooklyn in the Baby Bjorn facing out for the first time and she loved it. She is very strong and has great neck control so it was time for a try. I probably wouldn't go long distances like this but this way she could be held and not forced to sleep, which happens when she's facing in. I think she was surprised by what she saw in the mirror too!


Tuck and Daddy went and picked up a cooked chicken at Shaws for dinner and Tuck got his first experience eating from the bone. It was hilarious!

Sugarloaf - visits with Grandparents

Another beautiful weekend up at Sugarloaf! We had a late night getting up to the Loaf last night so I was happy the kids slept in a little. Brooklyn only got up once, at 3am to feed and she went right back to sleep. Good girl! We got to relax Saturday morning because Jay wasn't rushing off to patrol. After a big breakfast and some play time with Tuck's cars, I got him ready to head out on the slopes. Jay planned on watching Brooklyn so I could take Tuck out skiing.



It was super warm out so I'm glad we got out early before it was too soft and slushy down low. We started out on the Birches for a few runs so Daddy and Brookie could watch. We used his harness system again and he was actually starting to turn more. Since the snow was soft, it was slower skiing and therefore I could let him go a little more. After a few runs we headed up to the Landing area and then a run down Boardwalk. Tuck was doing really well and we were having fun but about halfway down Boardwalk we stopped for a break and he said, "Mommy, choo choo's inside." He was a tired little boy so I let him ski a little further and then I just picked him up because the soft snow was so heavy for him.

Jay, Brooklyn and Casco were at the base lodge and they stopped us on the way by. It was also the Maine Handicapped Skiing BBQ so we hung out there with everyone. I fed Brooklyn inside while the boys ate and chatted away. Amos the Moose skied by and we caught him for a picture! Tuck even got to sit on his knee! He was pretty happy!



Jay walked Casco and the kids back to the condo so I could ski with my MHS friends for the afternoon. He got his first real two kids with Daddy day and I got to get out for a few hours, and I got to help tether again too! I skied back around 3pm and they were doing well but Tuck wouldn't nap. He naps maybe 50% of the time now, not a lot for a just 2 year old, but he sleeps over 12 hours at night and isn't fussy in the evening... oh well, we're still trying.



After hanging out at the house a little, we packed up the kiddos and decided to go visit with friends down at the Rack. It was fun and they both did well. Brooklyn was quite taken with everyone talking to her but after about 10 minutes she fell asleep. Tuck loved looking at everything hanging on the wall and even found the Big Buck Hunter video game upstairs... he freaked when we brought him back downstairs away from it. We just started reading Bambi at home, that's all we need now.

Anyway, Jay patrolled Sunday so I cleaned up as best I could drove the kids down to Mimi and Poppi's house. I was hoping we could get outside all day but it was flurrying and cold. Tuck played with Poppi's train and somehow ended up with his antique caboose...he walked right upstairs and took it off the tracks. He was careful with it though.


After Tuck's 3 hour nap we did get outside. The sap wasn't running at all so Poppi, Tuck and I went for a walk in the woods and checked out our lot. We're planning on building in a couple years there and it was fun to picture the house and my sun porch! We did find out though that the ticks are out unfortunately... I hate those bugs!

We did baths at Mimi's house and then drove to Waterville to visit with EE and Papi. They were very excited to see the kids, little Brooklyn changes so much every week! We had a nice dinner with them and I think Tuck found every train in the house. It ended up being a late night for Tucky because he didn't fall asleep on the way home, but we got to have nice visits all weekend.