8 months

Yes, so clearly 7 months is missing here! I will just show you a 7 month picture and then move on!

Ok, so I am a super depressed Mommy right now. My sweet little tiny baby, is not a big 8 month old boy!! He is so fun and I can not imagine my life without him. Eventhough it is sad to see him growing so fast, I love seeing him learn new things.

He is wearing 9 month size clothes but he is SO LONG!! He is definitely going to be tall like his Daddy! He is still sleeping fantasticly. He goes to bed about 8-8:30 and sleeps until 7am on the dot! As far as what he eats, he eats breakfast (cereal mixed with fruit and a 4oz bottle), lunch (fruit and a veggie and a 4 oz bottle), a snack around 3pm of either yogurt or a baby snack with juice, and then dinner when we eat dinner (veggie and fruit and 4oz bottle). Then before bed he gets a 6-7 oz bottle and thats it for the day. He is on such a good schedule. He has tried a few table foods but we dont give him a whole lot off of our plates yet because I dont want him to get used to that. He has had cooked carrots, sqaush, mashed potatoes, and he loves bread!! It will definitely keep him entertained sucking on a piece of bread at a restaurant. (Especially Olive Garden bread!)

I would say he probably weighs around 20 lbs right now, my big little boy. And within the last couple of weeks (so during 7 months), he has finally mastered crawling. He is into EVERYTHING and hates to sit still. Anything he shouldn't have, of course he wants. And his favorite toy is an empty water bottle, go figure!!

He has just recently gotten to where he is SUPER attached to him mommy! If he can't see me or I walk out of the room, he will fuss. Im not quite sure what we will do about that but I think it is just a stage he is going through. He is not shy and will let anyone hold him and I know I say this so much but he is just the best baby!! We can take him anywhere and he is such a good traveler! We have always just toted him with us wherever we go and he is just use to it.

He is saying BaBa and Da-Da which thrills his daddy to death! He loves playing with Daddy for sure. He loves puppies and kids and gets so excited around both of them! He also loves being outside and riding in his stroller, he would ride for hours in a stroller and just taking everything in, which makes for a GREAT shopping buddy!!

I can not believe I will be planning a 1st birthday party before I know it. Until then, I will cherish every day with my 8 month old little guy!!

And by the way, trying to get an 8mo old to sit STILL for a picture is near impossible!! We have NO good 8 month picture, but oh well! I will look back and laugh thinking about me trying to take this picture and my sleepy little wild child not a happy camper! haha

And just to prove how terrible it was to sit still and smile:

Maybe we will try for a better 8 month picture tonight!!

6 months

So yeah I know, it has been a month since I have posted anything on here. Well, we are busy people! I just really want to keep up with the monthly post on Tucker so I can look back at it later so I at least have to do that!

Anyways, can you believe that my little money is already 6 months old???!! Well I for one can not! I know I am going to blink my eyes and it is going to be his first birthday party. I am depressed just thinking about it.

But none the less, eventhough I hate to see my little man growing so fast, it is also really fun to see how he changes daily and learns new things.

Isnt this the sweetest thing you have ever seen!!

We had our 6 month check up last week and unfortunately Daddy is so busy at work he could not go with us so it was the first Dr. appt that I had to take him by myself. I hate seeing him get his shots and this time was no exception. After that appointment, he had his first round of being sick also. It was so awful. I was up with him all night literally rocking him all night long. He had a combination of fever from the shots, a cold with a stuffy nose, and the beginnings of teething. We survived it though and after a day home with him he was doing much better.

He weighed 19lbs and was 27 inches long at his appointment. He is in the 70-75th percentile on everything. He got an A+ checkup and was given the ok by Dr. Chris to move up the the 2nd stage of baby foods. We are pretty excited about this because there are many more options on food in that stage other than carrots, sqaush, sweet potatoes, and green beans. More colors other than orange! YAY!! He has also been introduced to the little puffs and baby mum mums which he loves! We have tried a sippy cup a couple of times as Dr. Chris would like us to start weening him to the sippy cup in the next couple months and I dont know how well that will go as so far we have had no success with the sippy cup. We will keep trying though!

He is officially sitting on his own now although he will fall over sometimes but he is doing much better sitting on his own and I don't doubt he will be crawling by the time I post the next months post. He is rolling like crazy and really trying to move around.

He has been sleeping in his own crib for a couple of weeks now. It is just so much more comfortable for him. He goes to bed around 830-9 and sleeps actually until 7:30 or 8 in the morning. He is the best little sleeper I could have asked for.

He is now growing into his 9 mo size clothes. He talks a blue streak and is still the happiest little thing. He is really getting into playing with his toys and a very observant baby. He loves doing anything outside even if it is just sitting outside. We have been to many softball and baseball games already this summer and he will just sit in his stroller and watch the whole game.

He loves dogs and gets so excited when he see's any dog. He loves our little dog Roxy and dies over her sitting beside him. He will grab her and try to pet her (we will have to work on being gentle with her) but it is so sweet. I know they will be the best of friends!

I LOVE this face!!!

5 months

Is my baby really 5 months old already?!! Now it is really 5 and a half. I can't believe he is getting so big. I tell him everyday to stop growing but he just isnt listening!

Tucker is doing so good. He is such a happy sweet baby. He will smile at anyone and laughs out loud all of the time. He has learned how to roll over and we are working on sitting up on our own. I just cant even explain how much I love this little guy.

He is eating cereal/oatmeal with a bottle for breakfast and then baby food for lunch and dinner with a few snack bottles in between. He has outgrown his bassinet (tear*) and we just were not ready to move him to his crib yet in his own room. I debated it myself for a couple of days and when I talked to Andy about it, he said no I'm just not ready yet. haha He is a sweet daddy, he still worries every once in a while if Tucker is breathing in his sleep. So needless to say, he is now sleeping in his pack and play every night, still in our bedroom. He has always been a great sleeper but it just keeps getting better and better. He sleeps straight from about 8 at night (depending on what we are doing) until 7 am on the dot every morning. He LOVES sleeping on his belly and it is so sweet.

Tucker is really getting active playing with his toys and seeing his surroundings. We have been to a few of my nieces and cousins baseball and softball games already and he is so funny watching the players on the field.

Mothers day was this last Sunday and I could not have had a better first mothers day. Tucker and Daddy gave me a beautiful silver bracelet with swarkovski crystals in Tuckers birthstones and his name on it. It is the sweetest thing I have ever seen. I have only taken it off to sleep singe I got it! This picture doesnt really do it justice but I had to take a picture of it!

After church we went to lunch with both sides of the family (mine and Andy's) at my favorite place ever, the Bistro. It is a little privately owned italian restaurant downtown and sooo good!! After lunch we just spent the day hanging out together and running errands. I did some shopping and just had a fantastic day. Being a mommy is the best gift I have ever been given and I cherish every day!! I can not imagine my life without this sweet little guy!!

Sneak Peak

Weekend Wrap Up

I actually had a long weekend because I took off work on Thursday and Friday to do some things around the house that I had been wanting to do for a long time and just never have the time (nor want to make time) to do them on the weekend!

Thursday I went through all of Tucker's clothes (which is way too many might I add) and took out everything that he can no longer wear. I filled up an entire bin of 0-3 month clothes. I know one bin doesnt sound like much but think how small those little clothes are and the bin is STUFFED to the max! After that job was marked off the list, I broke out the white paint and went to town! We remodeled an older house and by remodeled I mean completely gutted the inside and started over so everything inside our house for the most part is new. But some things were left unfinished (for me). A lot of doors were stock white but never painted white, some of the trim and outside doors had scuffs that drove me crazy so I spent the rest of the day painting like crazy. I am one of those people that if something needs a little face lift, just paint it! Fresh paint makes everything look better!

On Friday I went to town to run some errands while the cleaning lady was there and got a lot of little outdoor trinkets to make the landscaping look a little better. We did so much to the inside of our house but the outside has a lot of work to still be done! I pulled some weeds, and then helped my husband finish planting the strawberry patch. Then I went and picked up my sweet little guy early and we had some mommy and me time!

Friday night we had dinner with some childhood friends of mine, it ended up being 5 couples! We always have so much fun together although we do not get to spend as much time together as we would like with everyone having busy schedules. After dinner we went over to Katie and Daniel's house and the girls played hand and foot (the best card game ever) while the guys watched TV.

Saturday my college friend Brooke and her family were in town so we spent some time together with them that day along with another night out to dinner saturday night. It always fun to catch up with them!

Sunday we tried to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather! We ran some errands in town and visited a new store in town called Stockdales. It was the perfect shop for us. It had hunting/farming gear for the hubby plus a really nice home section for me to spend my time in. I got a star to hang outside that I have been looking for a really long time now. We had a great weekend and hopefully a great week is in store for us as well! I will leave you with a cute photo of my little guy after Saturday morning breakfast!

Our Schedule

After having a baby those of you who have had one know that your life is turned upside down! Nothing is the same as it once was. It is crazy how something so small can cause such a whirlwind. What helped me get over all of the craziness was getting on a schedule. And by getting on a schedule, I mean getting my new little babe on a schedule that worked for all of us.


Now some of you may not agree with this but this is just what we did and it worked for us. In my opinion, babies only know what they are taught to know. They know if they cry we will jump because that is what we teach them. After all of the family left, daddy was back to work, and it was just me and Tucker, I decided it was time to take charge of the situation.


I have said before that Tucker has been pretty consistent at being fed every 4 hours since he was born, and that is true, but only because I made him be consistent on it. After your baby is born, it takes a little while to get to know each other. To know their cry and what it means. To know how they like to fall asleep, how they like to lay down, how they like to be held. I can not tell you how many times at night the first week or so that Tucker was home that he would be crying at night and we would change his diaper thinking that was the problem (waking him up in the process) and then wonder why he wouldnt go back to sleep and lay down. I had to make him know the difference between day and night.


So during the day, I would always have him sleep in a place that was pretty well lit either by the sun or whatever it may be. As far as eating, he would mostly go 4 hours without eating but sometimes it would be 2 hours. Now dont get me wrong, sometimes he would go through a growth spurt and he would NEED to eat more often but for the most part, I wanted to get it at least 3 and a half -4 hours between feedings. The reasons were I did not want him over eating because I didnt know why he was crying. I know a lot of people that just shove a bottle in a babies mouth because it makes them stop crying to soothe them when really they might have just been tired or had a wet diaper.


So by me spending the time to figure out what those cries meant, he now has eaten every 4 hours. Sometimes longer, sometimes a little less than that but it helps me plan for my day. How many bottles he will need. What time he will eat and where we will be at that time of the day. He has slept SO GOOD because of this schedule. He usually will eat and then be awake for 1-2 hours (the awake time increases the older he gets) and then it will be time for a nap. Then when he wakes up after sleeping usually 2-3 hours, it is time to eat again. I tried a lot of things, like giving him a bath every single night but then in the winter that is not great for babies skin and lets be honest, how dirty do they get every day so now we bathe ever other day and sometimes if there isnt the time, it might be on the 3rd day before he gets a bath.


I think having the stability but not ALWAYS having to stick to it makes him flexible. He can fall asleep anywhere although he prefers being rocked because that is what we do at home, it is not the only way he will fall asleep.

I hope these details have helped someone, this is just what worked for us and it has worked GREAT!!

4 months Summary

On Friday was officially my little guys 4 month birthday and I can not say enough how fantastic he is! Andy and I were talking the other night about how good he is and laughing that our next child will have to be so hard because Tucker has been so easy (relatively as far as babies are concerned anyways!).

So here is what Tucker is doing these days....

(4 month picture was not so great-the lighting is horrible but you get the idea!)

You are such a sweet baby. You will smile at anyone and let anyone hold you. You are SO HAPPY all the time. The only time you ever cry or fuss is when you get TOO tired, or you are hungry.

You have recently started rocking. You have always been rocked to sleep so I guess now you figure you can just rock yourself! You will be sitting in someones lap and just start rocking yourself, it is so funny.

You are really getting to be a wiggle worm. You could easily jump out of someones arms. You are getting really close to rolling over.

You still sleep great (knock on wood). You sleep from about 8:30 to 6-6:30 every night, sometimes longer. You are still sleeping in your bassinet which is on top of your pack and play. We thought you might be getting to big for the bassinet so we tried just letting you sleep at night in the pack and play but you were moving around to much and had too much space and it didnt go to well so back in the bassinet you went!

After your 4 month appointment you got the OK to eat baby food! I had been giving you cereal for a couple of days before your appointment but now we have been trying other things. Dr. C said to try vegetables first so you wont get used to sweet fruits and not want any vegetables and also to stick with the same veggie for a couple of days straight to make sure you were not allergic. So far we have had carrots and sqaush. You are doing fantastic at Mrs. Leigh Annes at daycare and you are so good to just take anywhere we go. You have a great schedule but you are very flexible and sleep great in the car.

You are really starting to become more active with your toys than you were last month and I love getting you new stuff to play with. You also love watching Disney Sing Along DVD. The one you have is the Bare Nessesities and you have watched it just about every day. I try to switch them out with other movies but you just love that one so much you prefer it over others.

Stop growing so fast sweet boy!!

At your appointment, you weighed 15lb 3 oz and were 26 inches long! The 70% percentile for weight and the 90th percentile for length! Our little tall and skinny baby! He got those genes from his daddy for sure!

Happy 4 Month Birthday!

This will be a short post but I had to take a minute to wish my little guy a Happy 4 month Birthday today! We have had a lot of changes with regards to the little guy in the last week and I promise to do a full 4 month post when I have pictures but for now, here is a shot of T at his 4 month check up:

I am happy to report an A+ check up with Dr. Chris. Although I must add the nurses who give vaccines have the WORST job ever. I tear up everytime he gets these shots and make Daddy hold him. He was in such a good mood and then as soon as she pricked him he screamed, it is horrible!! But we made it through even though he has had a fever this time which he never got after his 2 month shots. Hopefully we are on the mend now though!\

It might be Monday before you hear from me again but I have to say Good Luck CATS in our final four game against UConn Sat Night!!

Weekend Wrap-up

Well as usual, the Alford's had a busy weekend. This will be a quick summary:

Friday night

-Had a bday party for my cousin Jordan at Mr. Gatti's (similar to Chuckie Cheese)

-We ate some pizza, and Tucker had a good time looking at all of the games, he even got to ride a horse with big cousin Kendle:

-Then we watched the UK Wildcats beat #1 Seed Ohio State for a spot in the Elite 8!! GO CATS! Tucker was so excited about the win!!

Saturday

-Mom, Tina and I walked in the 5K Saturday morning for the Family Enrichment Center

-Then mom and I had a wedding for a woman that we work withs daughter (no pictures of that sorry!!)

-Then I was so exhausted from getting up so early and walking 3 miles and running back and forth to town, I got takeout for the hubby and I and we stayed home Sat night to watch so NCAA bball.

Sunday

-We watched the Wildcats beat UNC to make it to the FINAL FOUR!!!

Hoping for a great week and cant wait to hopefully see UK beat Uconn to make it to the Final game!! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Duck Duck... Goose!

Last night I went with my mom to a childrens consignment sale that our town has just twice a year. It is called the Duck Duck Goose Sale. Well I was invited to the private new mom sale so I got to go in the night before the real sale actually starts and man did I find some good buys!

Not that Little T doesnt have enough clothes already but who can resist getting a good deal?! I got out of there with tons of cute stuff for less than $50! Overalls, lots of clothes, monogrammed bibs, swim trunks, diaper bag, etc etc! I have been on baby clothes buying craze lately for some reason! Shh...dont tell my husband! haha

If I had thought about it I would have taken a picture of all of the stuff I got but of course I forgot! I was too excited to get home and see this sweet face!

Pretty Calm Weekend

This might have been the first weekend in a LONG time that we had nothing planned and it was FANTASTIC! Not to mention the fact that the weather this weekend was so nice!

We spent Saturday washing and cleaning out our vehicles (all THREE of them!). Hubby got a new truck so until he gets the old one sold, we are currently owners of 2 trucks and one SUV. Gas stations LOVE us! And by the way when I say "we" washed and cleaned out our cars, I really mean Andy did. Tucker and I were great supervisors! We helped some but then it was lunch time, and nap time so our cleaning time was limited. We did enjoy spending time in the sunshine. It was pretty much Tuckers first time being out in the sun. Being born in December he has seen more snow than grass!

Then we watched our UK Wildcats beat WV and make it to the Sweet Sixteen, wahoo! Saturday night we went to a cookout at my parents house and actually ended up cooking out sunday night too. Tucker loved being outside and so did we!

We also snuck in a Sunday lunch at Grandma Jackies (Andys mother) house. He sat in a walker for the first time and eventhough his feet didnt touch the ground, he was really entertained by the toys. Especially the bear, case and point!

His face just cracks me up in this picture! He has been watching a lot of winnie the pooh so maybe we can confused on what this bear was doing out of the TV!

Hope everyone has as good of a weekend as we did and hopefully this spring weather will stick around!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

My Little Leprachaun

Happy St. Patricks Day from the Alford's!

The Bachelor

Yes, I am one of the crazy people that is pretty much obsessed, with the Bachelor! And I am clearly not the only one since millions tune in every Monday night to watch the crazy drama that is 25 women dying over one man. I just cant help but love it.

It cracks me up that every season the girls are in tears over how hard it is to go on a group date or how awful it is to see the guy you are falling in love with (that you have known all of a week) with another girl. HELLO?! What part of the casting call did you not understand when you signed up for this gig?? I just cant tear my eyes away from it!

Now for those of you who are not obsessed like myself, this years bachelor was Brad Womack. He had previously been a bachelor on the show before (although I actually didnt watch that season). At the end of the show when it was time to pick a girl, he didnt pick anyone. He was crucified. I mean you would have thought he had set off a nuclear bomb, people HATED him. I honestly thought at the time well gee, if he didnt love either one then why SHOULD he propose to them? Whats the big deal?

So when they announced that Brad was going to be the Bachelor again, I really didnt care either way. He ended up picking Emily which is a mother to a 5 year old little girl whose father died before she was born. It is a really touching story and this girl seems so sweet and really in it for the right reasons. Well the media is giving this couple such a hard time because they have been fighting since wrapping the show. Well what couple doesnt fight?! I have a really hard time with this because I am proud of them for not coming out acting like everything is A ok like a lot of the couples that didnt make it (for example: Jake and Vienna). I know I do not know these people in real life but I am really and sadly hoping that these two can make it work! They have not done any of the normal interviews that most of the couples usually do such as like Regis and Kelley or GMA and I think that is a good thing. They are not in it to be celebrities, they are really trying to make it work and I love that!

So Brad and Emily, from the Alfords to you, I am really pulling for you!! Not that you will ever know it! haha

Busy Weekend

The Alford's had a very busy weekend. Starting on Friday around lunch time, mom Tucker and I went to the Lebanon outlet mall in TN. I love that mall! It has great kids and adult outlets. I can always find great stuff and this trip was no exception.

Andy, my dad, my sister and the girls left a little bit later and met us at Demos's for dinner in Lebanon. This is a GREAT italian restaurant. It is very inexpensive and has great food. If you are ever in Lebanon you should definitely check it out!

After dinner, we went back to the hotel in Nashville and went to the hotel pool. Now this was Tuckers first time in a pool but I figured he would like it because he is usually a big fan of a bath. I have tons of pictures on my camera but I only managed to get a couple on my phone.

Just taking it all in with Daddy

He looked so cute in his little swim trunks! I had a little hat for him and tshirt but I only got those pictures on my camera as well. Here is a glimpse at how exhausting the pool was for my little guy:

On Saturday morning we got up and had breakfast at IHOP which was fantastic. What could be better than chocolate chip pancakes, hashbrowns, sausage, and eggs?! Tucker slept through breakfast and then we all headed to the Childrens Science Museum. Of course Tucker was still too little to really enjoy it yet but he did have fun just riding around in his stroller and looking around at everything going on. The older kids seemed to have a blast though with everything there was to do there.

We also went to the planetarium and let me tell you Tucker was NOT a fan. I didnt expect him to really like it anyways because he hates it being pitch black, not that I blame him. I had him asleep before we went in because I knew he would not like it. Well of course he woke up right when the lady started. He was just not having it so we had to step out and of course once you leave you can not go back in. So there we were locked outside with no diaper bag, phone or anything and Tucker was screaming! Finally he calmed down and went back to sleep so we just had to sit on the floor and wait until it was over, 45 minutes later! Well when everyone came out they were bored to tears so maybe Tucker was doing me a favor!

After we left the museum, we had an early dinner at PF Changs which was SO YUMMY! They give you so much food there and it is so good and I am not even a big fan of chinese food!

Then we headed home and Tucker and I slept the whole way home! I was exhausted and I know he was. Here are a couple of pictures from our lazy Sunday trying to catch up from our weekend and the time change:

And which school will my little man choose, WKU or UK? We dont care, we love both! Go Cats in the Tournament!!

Day 1 of Daycare

Well this mommy had one rough day yesterday. It was Tuckers first day of daycare. I have been EXTREMELY lucky so far that I have been able to bring him to work with me until now. Andy's cousin's wife had previously kept children at her house but then decided to get another job. Well after Tucker was born she decided to go back to keeping kids again but she wasnt starting back until March 7th, which was yesterday.

I have been dreading this day for a long time. I am so attached to my little man I just couldnt imagine going through the day without seeing him. I really trust Leigh Anne who is watching him but I just had all of these crazy thoughts going through my head that he would be crying and she couldnt get him to stop the same way I do. I mean he has also gotten pretty spoiled to mommy as well!

Sunday night on our drive home from town T was falling asleep in the backseat and I was playing with his hair and he just started holding my hand. Well I just starting crying. How crazy am I! I just kept thinking I am sending him off to some stranger and he will miss me (like he would probably even know the difference!). I felt so horrible for taking him to daycare.

Well I finally calmed down but then yesterday morning, his first day, was even worse! Just getting his stuff together to take I was getting teary eyed. I made Andy go with me to drop him off because I didnt even know if I could get out the door. Well we got there and he was all smiles. There were 3 little toddler there and he was the only baby and he was loving all of the attention he was getting. I was about to lose it trying to explain to her everything in his bag and when he eats. I forgot to even leave my phone numbers with her in case she needed me!

As soon as we walked out the door I completely lost it. I could barely breathe I was so hysterical! I cried the whole 20 minutes to work and barely pulled it together to walk in the door. Then in all of my madness I thought I am crazy. I should be thankful that I know the person watching him and it is family that will take great care of him. I could have had to drop him off at a normal daycare with 15 babies crying with runny noses! Then I thought about someone I know who lost their baby a couple days after birth. I'm sure they would be so happy as to have the chance to take their child to daycare. Then I calmed down a little bit.

I talked to Leigh Anne a little while later and she said he had talked and played so hard with the other little kids that he could barely hold his eyes open and was taking a nap. That made me feel much better that she had gotten him to sleep with no problems. Of course I only worked half a day yesterday and went to pick him up around 1:30. What was he doing you ask?? He was asleep on the couch! I cant even get him to sleep laying on the couch at our house!

Why is it so horrible leaving your child for the first time at day care? I just kept thinking will he love me as much as he does now because he will be getting use to someone else. Will he be ok. Will he cry all day. Will he cause her problems. After picking him up and seeing that he was perfectly fine made me feel so much better. I know it will be good for both of us to spend a little bit of time apart and for him to get exposure to other kids, its still just so hard!

Today is day 2 of daycare and there have been no tears shed yet!

Week in Pictures (and a few words)

Tucker turned 3 months old on Tuesday and I can not believe he is growing so fast!

During the week Tucker also experienced his first time watching TV and I must say I think its obvious that he LOVED Baby Einsteins!

And last but not least, The face T makes when he is making a very "special" present! I know I will be in trouble for this picture one day but it was just too funny to pass up!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! We actually have NO plans for once this weekend so hopefully we can get some early spring cleaning done.

Last couple of weekends Wrap Up

The Alford family has had a busy couple of weeks. Last weekend we went to the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville and Tucker had his first nights stay in a hotel. We walked around all day with little man riding in his stroller. It was the first time he had ridden without being in the carseat in the stroller and he loved it!

I can not believe the day went by and I only managed to get a couple of pictures and none of anyone other than Tucker but none the less, he loved his first of many farm shows!

While in Louisville we also got to meet up with our good friends the Kruckenbergs and have dinner at The Melting Pot. Little man slept through the whole 3 HOUR meal thank goodness, the farm show really wore him out but we enjoyed catching up and having a great dinner!

This past weekend Tucker had his second stay in a hotel for the whole weekend. Daddy is the vice president of the Young Farmers Association in our area and this weekend was the State Convention in Hopkinsville. I wasnt quite sure how well T would do but there were tons of kids there. It was a lot of meetings for Daddy so we went to the mall (very small mall at that!) but we had fun none the less. Tucker did so good during all of the dinners and banquets. It is no small job I tell you keeping your child quiet during a 3 hour long banquet but there was a band there and Tucker just pretty much looked around at everything going on or slept the whole time. I was one proud mommy!

Here are a couple of photos from the convention:

Tucker and Daddy at lunch

His sweet little shirt Aunt Brooke gave him that he wore to the dinner banquet!

On Sunday we got up and drove to Clarksville, TN which was just about 20 minutes from where we were to meet up with Daddy's good friend from high school and his family. It was the first time T was around another baby really and they just loved looking at each other and talking. Here is a photo of the 2 dads and their little men!

All in all it was a crazy busy weekend and we are glad to be fun but we had a great time!! Hoping for a calm week!

12 weeks old

My little man is now 12 weeks old. He will be 3 months old on Tuesday. I seriously can not believe how fast he is growing! You hear people say it all the time that it flies by but it REALLY does!



So just for myself, here is what T is up to these days:



He is consistently sleeping at night from 10-5. He actually usually goes to sleep in his swing from about 8-10, then eats and then is down for the night. He still sleeps in his bassinet at night in our bedroom.



He is now eating 6 ounces as of a couple of days ago and he has been eating every 4 hours during the day for a very long time now, since a couple weeks after birth he has been consistent on that.



He is really starting to have a personality in the last month. He is constantly trying to talk and smiles all the time. He is really a mommys boy, which I dont mind at all! He loves being read to and he loves music. Anything that makes music he loves. He has just started sitting in his jumper seat and loves playing in it. He is getting more coordinated and can touch things he sees like his toys on his playmat and the toys over his carseat. I love watching him grow and learn to do new things.



He is still wearing size 3 months clothes but I would say here in the next couple weeks we will be moving up to 3-6 month sizes. At his 2 month check up he weighed 11 lb 12 oz and was 23.5 inches long. He was in the 50th percentile for weight and the 75 for length. Dr. said he was tall and skinny which he clearly doesnt get from me! I might be in the 25th percentile for heigth! I am interested to see what he weighs now. He goes back to the Dr at 4 months and will then start eating baby food/cereal. My sweet little man is growing up!

Mommy's Top 5 Baby Items

So being a new mom, there are a few things that I have found that every new mommy needs.

1. Mylicon

Our little man is a BIG FAN of Mylicon. We actually use the walmart generic brand which is only $3, the real deal is $10! Babies get gas just like us but on their tiny tummies, it reaks havoc and can result in one fussy baby. By giving T some gas drops before he ate he was a brand new baby. Not to mention the fact that he loves the taste so if he is really upset, you can dab some in his mouth or on his paci and he will stop screaming instantly. It is definitely our #1 baby MUST HAVE!

2. Cloud B Giraffe

Our little man loves noise. We can be in a loud restaurant and he will sleep right through it. In the car he loves music. Constant noise will keep him asleep. This little giraffe is like a travel size noise machine. It has a strap that will attatch it to the carseat. We are in the car a lot seeing as how we live 20 minutes away from town. We had a few screaming fits in the car (of course while mommy was by herself!) and there is nothing worse than being alone in the car driving a crying baby when you can do nothing to help them. Well this little giraffe has 4 different sounds: a play sound, a calming sound, a relaxing sound which is basically just white noice and by far little T's favorite and will keep him asleep for hours, and then a sleep sound which sounds like mommys heart beat. It has made our car rides much more enjoyable when we have a sleepy baby and a happy mommy! This was the best $25 I have ever spent. I got this at Dillards but I think Toys R Us also carries it.

3. Medela Pump in Style

For those breastfeeding mommies, a pump is your new best friend. This one is electric and works great. Without pumping I dont know how I would have gotten anything done. I have had to switch to formula feeding due to not making enough milk but that is another story but while I was breastfeeding, this pump was great. It doesnt take very much time and it helps give mommy a break so someone else can take over a feeding every once in a while.

4. Soothie Paci's

Our baby LOVES his paci. He has taken it from day 1. And his favorite is the kind they give you at the hospital although you can also buy them. Here is a picture of him from the hospital with his paci. These paci's are also supposed to be best if you are breastfeeding.

5. Swing
Tucker not only likes noise but he also likes to be moving. He LOVES his swing and so does mommy! He will sleep in it for hours during the day. Other than his swing, the only places he regularly will sleep right now are his carseat and his bassenet at night time. Just to lay him down on the couch or bed or anything, he will wake up but if you keep him moving, he does just fine.

Those are the top 5 for now, we will see how they change in the next couple months!