Maddie's First trip to the Falls

Kudos to the city of Gadsden for what they have done to Nocululla Falls. When I was a kid, all you could do was climb on the rocks and feed the ducks. If you were lucky you would get to take a train ride followed by some Jack's ice cream on the way out. Lindsey decided that today would be a good day for us to take Maddie up to see the new attractions. They have added a new welcome center/gift shop, new animal attractions, and a new petting zoo for the kids. We have decided that Maddie must have been raised by a pack of wolves because she absolutely loves animals. She went nuts at the petting zoo. There were some animals that were pretty sketchy looking (the emu scared the crap out of me), but Maddie insisted of handling all of the animals and having seizure-like fits when they came close enough for her to touch. She got face to face with the sheep, stuck her fingers in the bird cages (despite the warnings), sat down right beside the deer, and tried to touch the emu when it got close enough. To top the afternoon off, we took a train ride around the park. Maddie got her first lesson in the Spanish language, as she was more into the Hispanic family behind us than she was the actual train ride itself.

Maddie's First Day of School

Maddie has been going to school three days a week at Southside Baptist Daycare. For the most part, she has really enjoyed it. She has her days when she whimpers when Lindsey drops her off, but she seems to do just fine playing with the other kids. She does come home with a "fussy" mark on her daily report sheet. Obviously, the daycare workers don't understand that Maddie just wants to be the center of attention like she is here at home. I guess she is paving the way for the future when she comes home with a "frowny face" on her conduct report. I guess she is going to take after Lindsey after all. She has also been sick an aweful lot since the start of school. Who knew that swapping passys with the other kids could be so detrimental to her health. She had her first fever two weeks ago, and she seems to keep a cough.

The Missing Months

Yesterday Lindsey and I decided it was time to start updating the blog again. I know I have totally abandoned this thing over the summer, but we were having way to much fun doing other things. I am going to try to take a few minutes to update everyone on what's going on.

JULY:Maddie started sleeping better once we got back from the beach. On July 3rd, she slept on her stomach for the first time! This was awesome for us because up till this point when she would roll over to her belly she would wake up crying. On the 11th, she got her first tooth! She really wasn't too cranky either considering it was her first. Now she likes to grind her teeth (I can use the plural form because she now has two) on anything she puts in her mouth. July 21 was the first time Maddie slept through the entire night without making a peep! Maddie started making this funny growling noise and developed a fake laugh. She loves dogs and is starting to get the hang of Peek-a-Boo! As July came to a close Maddie started rattling on with her baby talk.
AUGUST:The month of August was full of firsts! On the 4th Maddie said her first word (Momma). She had been making the "ma" sound over and over, but that night she was wanting to go to Lindsey and she just blurted it out. On the 5th we sold our house, and began searching for a new one! On the 7th she started waving to people. Maddie skipped over the awkward side to side wave and went straight to the beauty pageant wave. Both Lindsey and Maddie started school on Monday the 10th. Maddie started day care at Southside Baptist, and Lindsey started her new job at John Jones. Maddie likes day care so far, but she lights up when Lindsey picks her up in the afternoon. Maddie also started crawling on the 10th, and by the end of the week she was crawling over to things and pulling herself up to a standing position. Now she tries to walk a little but quickly finds the floor. On the 14th she started clapping when Sheila was playing patty cake with her. She loves swimming in the pool, being outside, and being read to.

More Pictures From The Beach

Back From The Beach!

We just got home from Maddie's first trip to the beach! Lindsey and I were dreading the ride to and from Gulf Shores because Maddie doesn't ride to church well, much less six hours to Gulf Shores, but she was awesome! Maddie probably cried for a combined 36 seconds on the way there and back. She loved swimming in the pool and playing in the sand, but she wasn't crazy about getting in the ocean. She was the ultimate trooper considering that it was her first time to drive further than Walmart.

Parental Influence?

They say that kids in the state of Alabama are born rooting for either Alabama or Auburn. With Lindsey being an Auburn fan, there has been some concern that Maddie may be recieving some negative influence at home. Don't worry, Lindsey and I have decided that we would let Maddie decide what colors she will wear in the fall. Until then, we will continue to dress her in non-biased, neutral colors!

Summer Is Almost Here!

The last two weeks of the school year always seem to last for months. Standardized testing is over, the weather is nice outside, and everybody begins to shut down and move into summer mode. If you think that students are the only ones who get "summer-itus" then think again! Between umpiring and taming 12 year olds for the past 10 months, I have left my brain (and any desire to do any type of work) behind. I can already smell the salt water and feel the sunburn that's coming my way in early June. We are taking our first "family" vacation to the beach with Maddie! Lindsey has spent countless hours on the internet shopping for Maddie's first bathing suit, and I must say, she found two awesome ones. I know that nothing screams corny like a set of matching bathing suits, but I guess I had better get used to that with Ali, Claire , and Maddie being so close. Maddie looks like a regular parrothead in the making!

We Have Poop!

For those of you still keeping up with the poop watch, the eagle has landed. Yep, that's right...Santa's got a brand new bag! As we have neared one whole month without poop, the tension has been running pretty high around here. Maddie has been suffering through screaming fits due to her constipation. As I walked into the school this morning I received a text from Lindsey that sinply said, "We have a POOPER!" That text was followed by another that said, "We have had 3 poopers...Woohoo!" Then anther that said, "Make that 4 poops!" By the time I got home today the total had reached 6 poops! I'm not talking about a little skidmark in your Huggies....I'm talking about the kind that comes out of the top of your diaper and gets all over your outfit kind of poops! Have you ever seen two people so excited about a diaper full of poo? If you have been here lately and seen Maddie suffer then you know what we are so pumped about. Praise God for poop!

Raise Your Hand If You've Been Busy!

My hand was the first to go up. I would like to appologize to everyone for slacking off on my blog postings over the past few weeks. Between umpiring and being a stellar husband and father, I have not made the time to update the rest of the world on what has been going on at the Tucker house. I am going to attempt to catch everyone up to speed on the past two weeks in one mass posting....

Maddie really likes taking baths. After getting over the initial shock of being suspended over water for the first few times, she started getting the hang of this whole personal hygiene thing. And yes, she has the time tested classic bath companions....rubber duckies! (We are still trying to convince her that they are just for holding, and not for eating)!

We have also greatly increased Maddie's veggie intake due to a little constipation issues. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have said little considering that Maddie has not pooped on her own in over 3 weeks. Lindsey has tried the supository route, but that has only served as a temporary fix. We've also tried cycling her legs, rubbing her belly, apple prune juice and water, MiraLAX, and eating prunes. Believe it or not, Maddie has taken a liking to the prunes. Lindsey and I have to practically wrestle the spoon away from her. She is really tearing up some prunes!

Between screaming fits Lindsey and I have been taking Maddie out for little strolls around the neighborhood. She loves riding in her stroller. While I just load her up and take off down the street, Lindsey errs more on the side of caution. Lindsey gave me some flak because she thought Maddie was going to get too much sun. When I explained to her that I simply shifted the visor on the stroller when we were walking into the sun Lindsey said that Maddie couldn't see. So Lindsey went out and got Maddie a little gilligan hat to wear out in the sun and put it on when they went out. About halfway through the walk she looked down at Maddie and the hat was so big that it had completely sunk down on her face and was resting on her nose....Maddie couldn't see!
As you can see, there's never a dull moment at the Tucker house! I know I may be a little biased, but I'm pretty sure that Maddie is the coolest kid ever!

Yummy!

Last week Maddie had her 4 month checkup. We walked in with our little list of concerns and questions for the doctor (mainly the fact that Maddie didn't poop for 5 days) and found out that Maddie was now 25.5 inches and weighs 14 pounds and 7 ounces. She was somewhere around 14 lbs. 4oz. last time she went, so apparently the Easter food wasn't as good to her as it was to me. Speaking of food, we got the go ahead to start introducing some Gerber veggies! Maddie absolutely loves them! Yeah right! She still can't figure out what to do with her tongue when the plane (spoon) arrives to deliver its cargo. She ends up lapping it up like a dog right before she makes one of those priceless faces.

Happy Easter!

Christian, Lindsey, and Maddie want to wish a Happy Easter to everyone! We hope everyone remembers what we as Christians celebrate today...Christ's resurrection!

Love Sick?

One night last week we found ourselves laying on the bed trying to make a homemade family snapshot. After several failed attempts we were finally able to catch that special moment. You see...Lindsey and I were going about it all wrong. At first we were trying to get a picture of both of us kissing Maddie on the cheek, but it was like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. Finally we were able to time the moment just right. Just like each time before, we checked to see if our picture turned out. Little did we know, but we were in for a treat. Apparently Maddie had grown "sick and tired" of our futile attempts and decided to puke in the middle of the only shot we were able to actually fit all three of us in. Yep, that's right. Up from the well came a fountain of breast milk! Only my child could carry out such a devious plan. Needless to say, we spent the next several minutes laughing it up on the bed.

Cannon Digital Elf Camera: $200

Double Prints at Walgreens: $0.39 each

Maddie defiling the family portrait: PRICELESS!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hey...Can Somebody Pass Me A Roll?

Next time you find yourself surfing the web take a moment and check out bumbobabyseat.com. The site is dedicated to the bumbo chair...a product that helps babies sit up on their own. Heck, there are even dozens of thank you letters from parents who absolutely gush over thie chair. For example...

"The Bumbo Baby Seat is a snug and cozy environment for your baby... This revolutionary infant chair is uniquely designed according to the baby’s posture...Bumbo enables babies to sit upright all by themselves!... Bumbo Baby Seats are suitable for babies from as soon as they can support their own heads unaided until they can get out of the seat on their own....It is manufactured to the highest safety standards from low-density foam material, which makes it lightweight and portable...It is soft and comfortable for the baby, hygienic and nontoxic... The integral outer skin of the material is durable and easy to clean....Bumbo Baby Seat is definitely the extra set of hands you have always been looking for – the perfect gift for that special occasion...The Bumbo is a wonderful new way to ensure maximum interaction and enjoyable communication with your child."

Now don't get me wrong. Lindsey and I love the bumbo chair and all, but are you serious? Our letter would go a little something like this:

Dear Bumbo,

Your product rocks! Thanks to your baby bumbo seat my wife and I have been able to say 'goodbye' to numb shoulders and arms. Whenever our daughter starts to scream and yell we can just put her in her bumbo baby chair in front of the t.v. and BAM!...InstaBabysitter! And the best part about it is that there is no way she can get out....at least until her feet can reach the floor. Who would have ever thought that a carved up piece of purple painted foam could be such a Godsend! Your number one fans...The Tuckers

March Madness!

Ahhh...it's finally that time of year again! During the NCAA tournament, my television knows only one channel...CBS. Not only did I go 26-6 in the First Round of my Bracket pool, but is there anything better than non-stop basketball action all day long? Of course not! The cool thing about this year is that I am now feeding Maddie a steady dose of roundball so she can go ahead and start to develop her feel for the game (just kidding...we are going to push academics in the Tucker house...wink)! Maddie went shopping with Lindsey today, but now that she is home she is chilling out in her swing rooting against the Dookies (that's what us Tarheel fans call those imbreads eight miles further down Tobacco Road). I saw a special on SportsCenter about "Speedo Guy" (see clip below) from Duke. He held up his infant son (see 3:05-3:25 in clip) and declared that North Carolina better watch out in 20 years. Let's just say that this little boy better not ever set foot close to Maddie!

"Roll Maddie, Roll!"

Anyone remember the first time you actually told your dog to sit...and he did? Many of us never get to experience that satisfaction, but for some of us, after countless hours and tons of scooby snacks, man's best friend finally decides he will do what you've been begging him to do for months. Well, today our little "Fido" (Maddie) did her first trick. She has been flirting with rolling over for over a week, and believe me, Lindsey and I are there dangling the doggie biscuits right in her face. At times I actually think she's toying with us as she rolls 3/4 of the way over before stopping to look up and smile and squeal at us. This afternoon during a routine diaper change Maddie decided it was time to please her owners when she rolled over on her own out of the blue. Even though the smiles only lasted for a few minutes, you would have thought Lindsey and I had turned down the bed sheets to find a million dollars hiding under the sheets.

Maddie The Great!

"Come one, come all. Step right up. Ladies and Gentlemen. Don't miss this once in a lifetime chance to see Maddie the Great. For only $5 she will tell you the secret to becoming a millionaire...Oh wait, I meant to say $10, but $5 will get you your lucky numbers!" Sorry, but couldn't help but to think about one of those carnies at the state fair when i saw this picture. Either that or one of those skinny bearded guys that plays the wooden flute while the cobra dances in the basket (that's way to risky for my kid)! Or maybe it's that creepy genie in a box Jambi from the old school TV show Pee Wee's Playhouse. You know, the guy who said "Mekka-lekka hi mekka hiney hiney ho!" Wow....memories. Now I remember why that guy creeped me out so much. No, we are not training Maddie for a future in the "Big C" as Uncle Eddie would call it (carnival). Maddie was just making the most out of one of our little "wardrobe malfunctions" when Lindsey was struggling to get her dress off today.

Maddie Dane!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Guess What Happened On December 11...

1620: Mayflower pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock

1816: Indiana joins the Union as the 19th state

1844: First dental use of nitrous oxide (for you dad)

1909: First color moving picture debuts at Madison Square Garden

1919: Boll weevil monument dedicated in Enterprise, Alabama

1930: Bank of the United States opens in NYC

1932: San Francisco's coldest day (27 degrees F) - it snowed!

1938: NY Giants win NFL championship

1941: Germany & Italy declare war on United States

1946: Hank Williams begins to record on Sterling label

1951: Joe Dimaggio announces his baseball retirement

1954: Jermaine Jackson (the forgotten member of the Jackson 5 is born)

1958: Nicki Sixx of Motley Crue is born (one of my favorite guitarists)

1961: Elvis Presley's "Blue Hawaii," album goes to #1 & stays #1 for 20 weeks

1966: Al Nelson sets NFL record returning missed field goal, 100 yards

1981: Muhammad Ali's 61st & last fight, losing to Trevor Berbick

2008: Madison Dane Tucker is born (7lb. 7oz , 20.5")

Can you believe Maddie is 3 months old!

Shopping!

Lindsey and Maddie went on a shopping spree on Monday. Okay, Okay...let's not get carried away. It was only a shopping spree if you consider rushing in and out of one store to buy one outfit (at least that's all I was made aware of) without even trying it on. Let me rewind and rephrase myself...Lindsey and Maddie went on their own little shopping sprint on Monday. Apparently Maddie does have Lindsey's good taste in clothes. Lindsey sent me a picture at school today of Maddie sporting her new threads. I bet Maddie had a fit over this outfit when she saw it. (Even if she does look a little like Rainbow Brite)!

Don't Blink...

Useless fact: The average human blinks 25 times per minute. Good thing I am not your average human. Kenny Chesney hit the nail on the head in his song "Don't Blink" when he said "you're six years old and you take a nap, wake up and you're 25 and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife.....don't blink, you just might miss, your babies growing like mine did...." Okay, I'll quit singing now, but you get the point. It is really depressing if you think about it. It seems like just yesterday that Lindsey and I were fighting for the "long couch." Of course being the good husband I am, I did momentarily loan it to her while she was pregnant. Now Maddie is almost three months old and we don't have time to sit down, much less fight over couches. Before you know it, Maddie will be 20 and I'll be running boys off of my porch. Haha!