Sunday, August 7, 2011

3 months

Our little man turned 3 months this past week! He is growing too fast! Thomas' little personality is starting to come out. Squeals and a few giggles are starting to emerge. His eyes follow you everywhere-especially Tucker. He smiles when he sees love! Thomas is starting to bat at toys that dangle in front of him as well as hold on to a ring or rattle that is placed at his hand.


Thomas is sleeping well most nights. He occasionally wakes in need of his passy and on some nights an earlier dose of milk. But most nights he sleeps from 9 or 10 til 4 or 5. Mommy is thankful for that!


We went for a brief visit with the doctor this week to have Thomas' weeping eye checked out. He has had it since birth and just looks yucky. But we know it will work its way out. Just wanted to make sure we weren't getting infected-especially since we don't go for well baby for another month. Yet, we discovered just how much our baby boy is growing... 14lbs 7oz!! Has gained two more lbs this month! Thinking he is getting some good milk!







Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Smoothies and Hard Boiled Eggs




What a day we have had in terms of food! Tucker loves the Handy Manny book, Oscar's House of Smoothies. Everytime we borrow this book, we seem to have to make smoothies non stop! Well, today that was very true! We made the usual with strawberries, blueberries and either a strawberry yogurt or a strawberry/banana yogurt. Yummy and very healthy! We enjoyed it for lunch, along with a hard boiled egg (a new favorite). Well, by dinner time, Tucker was ready to make another smoothie. In this story, Oscar is opening up a new smoothie shop but has to come up with one last flavor. He ultimately comes up with a Peanut Butter/Banana smoothie. And of course this would be the smoothie Tucker was wanting to try. After trying to convince him otherwise, I caved and sow we tried it out. Can't say it was horrible but not exactly a great smoothie combo! And of course, he had to have another hard boiled egg! Lots of protien and fruits today! Thinking we'll stick to just regular smoothies in the future!


Smoothie MustacheMaking the first smoothie







Drama is a part of Life!

Yesterday, Tucker attended his last session of Children's Theatre for the summer! He had a great time going with his cousins, Abby and Sarah. The interest started when Tucker went to see Hansel and Gretel with his preschool! Then, as a way of getting out and about once Thomas arrived, Tucker went with Abby, Sarah, Grandma and Aunt Chele to see The Little Red Hen! They loved it and decided it was necessary to go back! So, they each have been reading Jack and the Beanstalk as a way of getting ready to go and see the production. They had a great time! Tucker has really done a great job of comparing the plays to the books! Both The Little Red Hen and Jack and the Beanstalk were definitely different from the books! Reading comprehension practice here! :)

A few extras...

July started off with a bang as a busy month- starting with the 4th of July! We all feel like we are finally unwinding and getting ready for school to start up (YES, this mommy is ready for that!). Here are a few extra pictures from July. We were able to visit with lots of family! We were excited to see the Weiss gang from St. Louis as well as Ryan and Peter McCormick from across the world! Only missing Aunt Bev and Katie Mae! It was great to catch up with Ryan and Peter. Tucker loved having Ryan here and wouldn't leave the poor thing alone! We loved having Peter to catch up with and visit! Once a year or two is not enough for us!

Ryan and Thomas (Ryan was great with him)
Birthday boy actually on his birthday morning!



Family pic from the 4th (it was a bit windy on top of the parking deck)


Baby brother! 2months old on the 4th of July







Tuesday, July 12, 2011

A Four Year Old

Our four year old! We might have posted this picture before but this picture definitely describes Tucker these days. He is all about the outdoors- camping, hiking, going on animal rescues, finding dinosaur bones (tree limbs and sticks) in our yard, playing with Woody girl (our cat), and helping Daddy in the garden. Tucker also loves his cars and Toy Story toys. He is has a full imagination and is constantly up to something. These days he is becoming more and more independent... Mr. I Can Do It Myself! And if he can't he gets so frustrated and mad because he doesn't want to ask for help... yes, a bit stubborn! And at the same time he is so loving. He LOVES Thomas and can't be around Thomas without wanting to kiss him or touch him or rub his head (to the point if I was Thomas I'd say, "Leave me alone!!"). Tucker will randomly tell us he loves us or ask for a hug or kiss. He is very affectionate and likes to show his love for you! He is full of life, energy and curiousity. Just as all four year olds should be! He still loves playdough, loves to paint, has discovered wet erase markers and loves them, has an office that changes location (from his closet to the corner in his room) and is obsessed with scotch tape, and thinks he can do it all! We continue to work on writing our name (that is like pulling teeth). He knows all his letters and some of the sounds but writing them is another story. Tucker just doesn't care to write or color much. He'll color with markers more than anything but would prefer to just play and never write! We are hoping this changes soon! He still loves his books and loves to be read too. He is very interested in what the words say and how you spell something. Wants to read and is definitely on the right track for that.

And he thinks he is five! Or he is trying to convince us he is because his cousin is five and friends will be five soon! He seriously wanted five candles on his birthday cake- that was a battle in itself! A funny one at that!

He is a growing boy! Went to visit our favorite doctor for the second time in a week (Thomas first...wanted each boy to have his own appointment so I could focus on them) and we received a great report! He remains in the 95th percentile in weight and height (46lbs and 43 inches). He was so proud that he was able to potty in a cup like Mommies and Daddies do (yes, he learned of this with a couple of OB appointments). He had great blood pressure (wasn't too sure of this one but was ok once he realized it would just hug his arm) and had great conversations with Dr. Huie (told him all about his garden with Daddy and the pumpkins he was planting- then asked if Dr. Huie had a garden and told him he should). But when it came to any kind of prick or shot, Lord help us all! It started with the finger pricking. I have never heard Tucker holler and cry like he did. Poor kids in the area were all probably scared to have their finger pricked after that! We then had quite an adventure with shots. I jokingly asked the nurse if she was strong and from there, let's just say we had backup! Mommy held the arms and hands while another nurse held his legs. And the entire office and waiting room most likely heard my child! BUT, after all was said and done, no more shots til 6!!! And Mommy felt so bad she promised in the midst of all the crying two new Cars cars at the store afterwards! Needless to say, we are not fans of shots around here and Mommy is a sucker for crying! :)

So we enter his 5 year of life on this Earth with a bang and can't wait to see what the year has to bring for our wild but wonderful four year old!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Two Months and Growing

Two months and growing very quickly! We visited with our favorite pediatrician today. We love seeing Dr. Huie. And even more, we love hearing good news about our baby boy. Thomas gained two pounds this past month and grew an inch and 1/4. So, he is now 12lbs 7oz and is 23 3/4 inches long. He is definitely growing in many ways! We have seen so many changes in him over the past month. His little personality is starting to come out. Thomas has started smiling. In fact, we are convinced he knows the word smile already! Such a smart boy! :) All you have to do is smile really big and in a squeaky, high-pitched southern voice say "Smile," and you will get a good smile! See... he knows the word (I also firmly believe he understands the word milk). He also smiles just on his own and at random things like the ceiling fan, his newest friend! Thomas has also discovered his hand. One night we awoke to him smacking down on his little fist. Must say it is pretty cute to hear him chewing away on his hands. Thomas likes to talk to us. He is talking more and more- lots of "oooos" and "aaahs". Getting in those vowel sounds. And finally, he can roll over from belly to back! We are working on tummy time as much as we can. Some days we get it in and other days we don't. Thomas has always had great head strength and can keep his head up when he is over our shoulder (his favorite postion). So, we didn't do much tummy time to begin with. Then, guilt took over this Mommy and I started worrying that I wasn't doing as much with Thomas as I had with Tucker, so we have started having daily tummy time!

I wouldn't say that we are totally on a schedule yet. With Tucker, we were able to easily get on a schedule. But now, I must say, Thomas tends to be more on Tucker's schedule than on his own. I think once school starts back up, Thomas will be able to get on more of his schedule. Right now, he tends to eat his last evening meal around 9 or 10pm. He then sleeps til 3 or 4 or 5 depending on the night. He can sleep through the night but we aren't pushing it yet. Then he awakes again around 6 depending on what time he last ate. He then might sleep or might not- depends on if brother is up bothering him or if he is wanting to stay awake for a bit. But he will typically nap in there again before lunch and after. Then come afternoon he tends to have a good stretch of staying awake. By dinner time though, he is worn out and naps again (with much help) and naps on and off during the evenings. Of course all of that is on a good day! We still deal with some fussy times in the evening but feel it is more of being over tired than anything else. Poor boy tries to sleep but his active brother can sometimes alter that sleeping. Plus, Thomas LOVES Tucker and likes to watch what he is doing!

Thomas also had an appointment with an ENT last week. We had his tongue checked out and have decided to have it clipped come 6 mos. Even though he is growing and doing well with his eating, we worry of what the future could bring in terms of Thomas' self image and speech. So, with the advice of a wonderful ENT, we are going to have his "tongue tied" tongue clipped in a few months. Will keep you posted on that as we get closer to time.

Below you'll find a few shots from the past few weeks! The boys on Father's Day


Bath time



Floor gym time


LOVES the musical star on his floor gym! He gets so excited!








Sunday, July 3, 2011

Happy 4th Birthday, Tucker James!

The birthday boy- 4 years old!
Making a wish!




Jumping with Abby and Sarah Catherine


Craziness with cousins!


Partial family photo



Exhausted little brother!

He had a busy day with lots of family to hold him!