Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope you're all having a great day! It has been a fun day for us... we hosted our first Thanksgiving at our house! We can't take all the credit because my mom has been here helping us cook for the last few days, but it was fun to make our own turkey, eat on our china (for the first time I think :) on our dining room table, and have our family here with us! We also got to have my dear friend Sharon and her little baby boy with us since her husband and daughter went to visit some relatives. Enjoy some pictures from our day!

Brad worked the last few days to get our turkey ready...it was SO delicious!


The fam


Tucker's first Thanksgiving!


Our boys!

Tucker Weekly

Tucker is 7 weeks! I could really tell he was growing this week... He is smiling a lot more and when you make faces at him he seems to be trying to imitate the face back to you. He is cooing and it is the cutest thing I've ever heard! And he is definitely growing...I don't think his 0-3 month clothes will fit much longer even though he's not quite 2 months old yet! He's sleeping well...only waking up one time between 11 and 8! He's gotten into a great routine and we are having so much fun!

In light of this Thanksgiving week, we are SO thankful for our little one...he brings me the most joy without saying a word and although this hasn't been the easiest journey, I'm completely content to hang out with him all day long! We're so thankful for his great health and these 7 sweet weeks that we've gotten to spend with him!

Do they look like best buds or what?

Meet Bosten... He's automatically best friends with Tucker because we're best friends with his parents, Ryan and Sharon :) He was born 2 weeks after Tucker, although by the difference in head size, you would think it was more than that! They had their first playdate and thanks to Sharon, we have cute pictures to show for it! And we didn't even plan the stripes for this cute photo shoot!
Cute boys...

Toast and Jesus

Well, Tucker had a few more firsts today! We finally made it to church! It's funny because we started going to our church, Life Fellowship, back in the Spring, so I've never been when I wasn't pregnant! We all made it out the door and were only 5 minutes late! It was great to be there and fun to introduce Tucker to some friends there! He slept through the whole thing of course :) After church, we headed to one of our favorite local restaurants, Toast! They have great b-fast, brunch, lunch...we love it all! Tucker, I'm sure you'll spend many more weekend mornings at Toast!

Tucker meets the girls!

Tucker and I had such a fun weekend! My college best friends got together at the lake to hang out and celebrate Jen, who is expecting her first baby in January! This was also the first time most of them had met Tucker so we had a lot of fun reasons to get together! Tucker and I hung out last night and then went back this morning to spend the day. It was so fun for me to watch my friends love on my boy! These girls have faithfully prayed for Tucker before he was ever here and they are some of the most constant friends in my life--I'm so thankful for them! I'm so excited for Jen, who is having a little boy also--we can't wait to meet little Micah! Rebecca also has a little boy, Luke, who is almost two...so, we are working on a basketball team! Thanks for a fun weekend--Tucker had fun with the girls!







I think we wore Tucker out!

Tucker Weekly

So, I'm getting a little slack on the weekly update... forgive me my faithful blog stalkers! :) Well, Tucker was 6 weeks old yesterday! I just mentioned to Brad that he might be having a growth spurt since that is common for 6 weeks and he replied, "Doesn't he have one of those every other day?" That's about the rate our little guy seems to be growing! He is more and more in tune with what's going on around him...staring at you and things around him and even starting to smile! Hopefully we can catch a smile on camera soon! I think he has a dimple or two...and he usually lifts one side of his mouth much higher than the other--this smile melts me! He loves to lay on his blanket and watch his DVDS in the morning and he's still a champ when it comes to being in his car seat and "on the go"! We had a fun photo shoot with Sharon this week for our Christmas cards so that's where this cute red striped picture comes from...you'll have to wait to see our Christmas card of course :) Gigi got to come visit the last few days while Brad had to go out of town so Tucker has been spoiled once again and gotten lots of Gigi love! We have a fun weekend ahead since Tucker and I are getting to hang out with my best friends from college...we'll be sure to share pictures from that!

Weekend

Tucker got to meet more of his family... Brad's brother Andy and his wife Elizabeth drove all the way from Kentucky to come meet their newest nephew! Grey was most excited to meet some new friends and to her advantage, Andy and Elizabeth happen to be dog lovers that showed her great attention :) We had a low key weekend since I've been a little under the weather, but we had a great time and we're so glad Tucker got to meet his other aunt and uncle!

Happy Birthday GREY!

We'll take the focus off Tucker for a post to say Happy Birthday to our sweet dog Grey! She is one years old today! We didn't quite know her yet this time last year but it is hard to believe that we have had her for almost a year now! It's hard to remember what life was like before her and all the responsibilities that come with having her! Grey weighed about 11 pounds when we got her at 10 weeks and now she weighs 60 lbs! Grey is a huge ball of energy...she loves to run, loves people, loves to snuggle up on the couch, chair, or wherever she can get comfy--preferably next to one of us, she has to be in the same room with you at all times, she loves to go to work with Brad, she loves tennis balls, loves peanut butter, loves laying on any kind of rug, loves staring at squirrels in the backyard, and as of late, she loves to kiss on her brother Tucker! We love Grey and all that she's added to our life... Happy Birthday!
Enjoy these pictures from the last year!

Tucker Weekly

It's been 5 weeks since Tucker was born! I'm not happy that time is going by really fast but I am thankful that things seem to get a little easier as each week goes by! We have had a better week...but unfortunately, Brad got a sore throat a few days ago and passed it on to me...I have been laying low today and can't do anything more than whisper right now :) So, this would explain being a day late on the "Tucker Weekly"... Hopefully we'll be well soon and Tucker will not get sick!
Tucker is doing great! His infection is better in his mouth but we think (and the Dr. said) that he might be having a reaction to the antibiotics I have been on (I'm stopping them today)...he has been really gassy and seems uncomfortable when he's eating and he has NEVER had a problem eating before so hopefully we'll see a difference in a few days. It has been frustrating to watch him be so uncomfortable so I'm looking forward to things back to normal! But, he continues to be much more alert--staring at the fan, lights, our faces...it is so much fun! We think he has flashed a few smiles but he isn't doing it on a regular basis quite yet :) He really likes his nightly baths now and he's sleeping great in his room! He loves riding in the car and sleeps the entire time when we're out doing things which I'll enjoy as long as it lasts :) And as we shared in his 1 month stats, our boy is growing and he just looks so big to me! I am loving being his mama and feel like we're all figuring out more of what our life looks like now. It has been challenging in so many ways but we're learning a lot and having so much fun with Tucker!

In this picture, Brad has just swaddled Tucker before bed. He takes this swaddling thing seriously, taking pride in doing it perfectly...and I can never do it as good as him, of course :)

Milk...does a body good!

So, we are officially raising a linebacker... Today, Tucker had his 1 month check up and his stats are out of control! Last week, we were at the doctor on Tuesday and he weighed 10 lbs, 2 oz...today, just six days later, he weighed in at 11 POUNDS! I promise I'm not feeding him pizza and burgers on the side! What was even more surprising to me is that he had a huge jump in height... two weeks ago he was 21 1/2 inches and today he was 23! So, he went up to the 85 percentile in weight and the 90 percentile in height! Clearly, he did not take after his mama in the height department--who knew I could produce that! We are so proud of our little hungry growing man...and seriously couldn't be more thankful for a happy, healthy boy! Off to feed...growing boy's gotta eat!

1 Month old!

Isn't he the cutest?

Had to share...

This morning, following our date night last night, Melissa emailed me to share this hilarious thing that Taylor told her... She still has a pack and play, so she set it up in her room last night for Tucker to sleep in. This morning she was breaking it down when Taylor came in. She said he got mad at her, telling her it needed to stay up for Tucker. He said, "I'm not going to give you the trophy for Best Mom award anymore!" HILARIOUS... and so sweet that he thinks Tucker just belongs at their house. As far as I'm concerned, that pack and play can stay up as long as you want! :)

On another note, today was a good day... I'm feeling much better and with the exception of last night, I haven't left the house all week. I think Tucker has been feeling neglected that I've never taken him to Starbucks before, so Starbucks we went! Oh the irony--there was Christmas music playing and it was 76 degrees outside! But the pumpkin spice latte was delicious! Then we took our time walking around a few stores and it was so nice! Tucker just sleeps the whole time...he's a natural shopper :) It does take an effort to get out the door--I feel like I have to start thinking in the morning how to work my whole day around leaving the house for 2 hours, but there is something about walking around stores with no purpose just to waste time...time that I would just be sitting at home trying to catch up on laundry or thank you notes or one of the many other things hanging over my head. The day ended with a delicious dinner that was cooked for us...does it get any better than that?

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh.....

That is how we feel tonight after the wonderful gift of a DATE NIGHT!!! That's right... a real date, Brad and I...no Tucker...out at our favorite restaurant... I've definitely never appreciated this so much! Recently, the Gibbs gave us a gift card to our favorite local place to eat--131 Main--and along with that, they offered to be our first babysitters, encouraging us to take them up on it in the first month of parenthood. So, tonight, we cashed it in--just a few days shy of Tucker's 1 month birthday--and we were so thankful! Like I mentioned in the last post, it has been a tough week and in a lot of ways, leading up to going out tonight felt like a little more work and stress than it was worth, but of course, it was SO WORTH IT! On the contrary, it probably came right at the perfect time. We enjoyed some yummy dinner and even splurged on our favorite key lime dessert as well. Our "babysitters" that came in the form of 4 little boys, are so sweet with Tucker. They really do treat him like a little brother that they want to nurture and take care of and I LOVE to watch it! I just picture Tucker trying to keep up with them as soon as he gets on his feet! I couldn't imagine anyone I'd rather have "babysit" Tucker than Melissa... So, thanks guys for the great gift of dinner...a night out...and for lovin on our boy!

Tucker Weekly

Tucker is 4 weeks old today! Every time another week goes by, I cannot believe how fast this is going by... Our boy is definitely growing, even out of his size 1 diapers actually, so time is going by quickly for sure!

This week has been full of some challenges... I have suffered from a few infections associated with breastfeeding which has been quite uncomfortable and we're tackling that with medicine right now with hopes that we can get that all worked out soon! Tucker has gotten thrush--AKA yucky stuff in his mouth that can cause him to be uncomfortable while he's eating, so we're also hoping his medicine kicks in soon as well! This has all been very draining and I can't say all of that without mentioning how AMAZING my husband is! He has already been stepping up to the plate these last several weeks, but he has gone out of his way to help me this week and I can't imagine doing this without him! He's probably wishing he did not work in our house right now, but as for Tucker and I, we're grateful to have him around...THANK YOU BABE!

Other things to report on:
--When we went to the dr., Tucker weighed in at 10 pounds, 2 ounces--GROWING like I said!
--He's got the typical case of baby acne on his face
--He's growing out of a few of his smallest outfits (that seemed huge at first)...this makes me SO sad!
--He started taking naps in his crib and is actually spending his first full night in there tonight as we speak...wish us luck!

Big Boy Bed!

Just thought I'd share a picture of Tucker in his crib...for the first time! He's just been sleeping in our room up until this point and we haven't quite moved him to the crib at night yet, but he's starting to take some naps up there and he seems to like it!



And this is just my new favorite picture of the handsome little guy!