Typical Conversation

Andrew got up last night from the couch and went to the kitchen.

I got up.

Andrew "What are you doing?"

Me "Going pee"

Andrew "OK - I thought maybe you were getting cake or something that wouldn't go with a beer"

Me "You have cake?"

Andrew "No. I didn't know if you had anything."

Me "So no cake?"

Dang.

Day by Day

This kid just amazes me. He is changing so much every day and is just so sweet and wonderful. Can't believe how amazing it is to be his Mom.

Been doing so much thinking lately about parenting techniques, parenting in general, etc. Every person, every family, every baby is a little bit different then the next. And I dare say that no combination of all the decisions made are the same for any household. It is weird - it evens feels like a competition at times - my baby did this, my baby is doing that. You want to just be happy for everyone and their accomplishments and not get caught up in it all. So that is what I have been doing lately. Not getting caught up in it all. Reading about things that I know will make me feel good about what we are doing. Enjoying the precious time that I have with Tucker.

Yes, at times - it all feels like too much. Andrew is working a lot. Long days and long nights. So I am so much like a single parent. But at the same time - I feel worse for him who hasn't gotten to see his boy awake in 3 days.

And time passes so quickly. Tucker is 7 and a half months old. Where does the time go? My little boy is now over 20 pounds, sitting up like a champ, thinking about crawling. He has figured out to lift his arms to me when he wants me to pick him up - which is so cute! He spent ALL day yesterday exploring his voice - very annoying, but so cute as well. Momma did just want 5 minutes of silence - but instead I got a loud, sweet, lovable, wonderful, fun baby boy.

He is amazing and I could not feel more blessed. No matter how tired, cranky, exhausted I get - I try to remember that - he is healthy, happy, and I am in love.

Stop Complaining

Just tucked Baby Boy into bed. Such an angel. What a blessing. So many of you have 2 or 3 or more kids plus a dog/cat/job/etc and I applaud you and am humbled by you.

Big Boy!

Good Lord this kid changes daily! He could not sit up unsupported yesterday - and today he is doing it like a pro! Now, I can't walk away from him sitting - he has his limits - but he is just amazing me. But I am learning that kids will do that. Love him.

Doing It All

Wow. I knew it was going to be more work having Abbey here - I had no idea how much more and how tired I would be. It is like starting all over again with the baby!
I love having her here. I get more frustrated with her at times cause it is annoying pushing Tucker in the stroller and having her pull at the leash. But she is getting better at it. And I have even been able to leave her out of the kennel when I leave the house for a couple hours. And that makes me feel better knowing she isn't just locked up and that we can trust her. So far;)

But I will say - it has been a hard week. I had a bit of a Mommy Meltdown and did cry the last few days more than I have in a couple months. It's tough being so far away from friends and family. Add in not having a car. And now the dog. And Andrew leaves about 7:30 every morning and comes home about 6:30-7:30 at night. So I am alone all day with Tucker and Abbey. No need to get out of sweats if I don't want to - but thankfully have enough little things going on that I need to. At least with Abbey I now have to get out of the house a couple times a day - if only for a little walk to throw the ball - it is getting outside. I just don't feel like 'me' anymore. And that is the hardest part. I miss the interaction with my friends. I miss a sort of independence of a car. I miss having a reason to shower and look like an adult.
But I also get to enjoy this first part of Tucker's life being so in tune and close to him. I get to see all the little changes as they happen day by day and watch in amazement as he learns new things. I get to snuggle with him to my hearts content and smile at him when he giggles at me!


So I don't want to feel like a complainer. Just a little unloading of everything on my shoulders so I can brush it off and move forward and stay strong. But I guess as any Mom knows - you just have those meltdown days at times and I have been having a few of them!

6 month old baby boy!

Wow! 6 months! Just seems that is how I should start this post. Tucker is amazing and sweet and giggly and wonderful. He keeps me up at nights, has started a high pitch girlie squeal for no reason, and hates taking a bottle. He is at least 18 pounds (was 17.9 a week and a half ago) and is 25 and a half inches long. He has a little scrape on his right cheek where I tripped with the stroller and he went for a tumble (thankfully strapped in). His little chunky thighs are adorable and he is the best napping buddy. He loves to bounce in his doorway bouncer- although sometimes it will lull him to sleep! He hates lying down - wants to stand up and sit up - but still needs support. Tucker continues to grow and change everyday. Andrew took about 20 minutes of video of him just bouncing and bouncing ha! He rolls over constantly and is starting to lift his butt up like he wants to figure out the crawling thing - not just doing superman while on his belly!

Abbey is here now as well. Love our big puppy girl. But wow - this is a lot of work. One week down and I am exhausted. Have gone back to taking naps with Tucker the last two days! It's difficult, because Tucker needs so much right now from me and it is hard to show Abbey the same amount of love and attention that she used to get from us. I knew it was going to be a lot of work - I had no idea. But, this is life and this is family and we do what we need to do - right? We have been heading out to the park 3 times a day for some runs with the Chuck It - not for an hour or anything, but enough to get her thirsty. Andrew has taken her out when he comes home while I am putting Tucker down as well a few nights. She is just having to adjust to not being top "dog". Baby is allowed on bed - you are not...and so on. Much easier at home where the outdoors is our backyard. Now we have to pack up the stroller and baby and go out in public to get her some exercise. And as someone else said, there is also laundry and cleaning, and exercise, and showering, and so on and so on. Welcome to Mommyhood.

So, we keep on keeping on. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger? Or want to drink;)
Love my family!

Abbey is here!

Abbey arrived! After much process with the paperwork - proper documentation on rabies vaccination, etc - she was cleared and is here in London with Andrew and Tucker and myself! The family unit is whole.
Don't get me wrong - I KNOW this is going to be a lot of extra work for myself. Like there isn't enough going on with my days that I need to add exercise the dog into it. But she is part of the family and I can't imagine Tucker growing up without her. So, like I told Andrew - I wouldn't leave Tucker or him int he States cause they were too much work - so we will make it work.
I immediately took her to the park for some good long runs to catch the ball once she got here. 8 hours in an airplane drives humans stir crazy - can't imagine how she felt not knowing what was going on. So she has gotten a workout in, fed her a little of her homemade food (yup, we make her food), let her sniff around the place, she found her bed upstairs that I brought back last week, and she is now curled up at my feet while Andrew and Tucker are curled up napping in bed. Peaceful Saturday afternoon!
Will get some pix soon of Abbey and Tucker and the whole family!