Say Cheese!

Yesterday was picture day at the Tucker house. Lindsey decided that it was time for us to make our first real family portrait. If anyone would have seen how we were dressed they would have sworn that we were going to get our pictures made on the beach instead of at good ol' 2692 Hawthorne. You know...blue jeans, white shirts...the whole nine yards. And talk about feeling goofy...some of those poses they put us in would make Sergeant Slaughter feel like a woman. But most importantly, Maddie was a natural in front of the camera. She hammed it up while the photographer was snapping away. Who knows, maybe a trained professional can make me blend in with my photogenic wife and daughter.

Red Bird....It's What's For Dinner

Maddie has recently become fast friends with one of her toys. Very few things have been able to hold her attention as long as her red bird toy. All we have to do is prop the bird up beside her in her boppy chair and we have an instant baby sitter for a good 10 to 15 minutes. When her eyes are glued to the bird, nothing can divert her attention.

Why Not?

The last lady that looked this good sporting a bonnett was a young lady named Amelia Earhart. For those of you who aren't polished up on your history, Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross. When she wasn't busy setting one of her nine world records, she spent most of her free time writing books. Needless to say, Amelia Earhart was an extraodinary woman who broke the mold of her time. Many think she single-handedly shattered the barried that stood between women and men during that time. So as a father, I find myself asking "Why not?" Why can't Maddie go on to do extraordinary things? Why can't she become an inspiration to people all over the world? She may not fly around the world until she mysteriously disappears, but it is my prayer that Maddie go on to do things that no woman has ever done before.

An Apple A Day....

Keeps the doctor away, right? What if you're too young to eat apples, then what keeps the doctor away. NOTHING! Today I witnessed one of the most pitiful scenes I have even seen in my entire life as I watched Maddie get her first shots. In a mere 10 seconds time, I watched my daughter go from laughing and talking to the blood pressure machine to crying hysterically. After 30 seconds of having her mouth open with tears streaming down her face, she finally managed to let out the most heart breaking scream I have even heard. She looked up at Lindsey for help, but there was absolutely nothing she could do. Not even the colorful cartoon band-aids placed on either thigh could cheer her up. And to make matters worse, they didn't even give her a dum-dum as a consolation (not that Maddie could have eaten it, but it sure would have been nice to suck on as Lindsey played 20 questions with the doctor). And get this...just before giving her the shots, the doctor actually looked down at my nine week old and told her that this was for her own good. Oh, O.K. If that's the case.....yeah right, are you kidding me! On a positive note, the doctor did tell us that we have a perfectly healthy child that is growing like a weed (she is now nearly 24 inches and 12.7 pounds)!

Who's Your Daddy?

What started out as a fun movie night at the Tucker house has now turned into a major source of controversy. Upon watching the movie E.T., one must now question who Maddie's father really is....see the resemblance? Check out the bellies! There is no way she got that from Christian. We knew our daughter was out of this world, but come on....

Happy Valentines Day!

Christian, Lindsey, and Maddie would like to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day!

Sweet Dreams...

After looking at this picture, you would think that Maddie has got it made right now. In all actuality, she is fighting a gnarley case of the diaper rash that flares up and hurts her from time to time. The crazy thing is, despite the open blister like sores on her tail end the child is one of the happiest critters alive. She is constantly smiling and flailing her spastic arms all over the place. It really allows you to see why God wants us all to be like children before Him. I spend hours griping and stressing over petty things while my child fights a case of the diaper rash with smiles and giggles.

When The Cat's Away...

Every day when I come home Lindsey fills me full of stories about how she slaves over the stove after milking the cows and feeding the pigs, all while holding baby Maddie on her hip. She actually had me feeling sorry for her. Then today as I was uploading some recent photos I discovered some hard evidence much to the contrary...if only we all had it as bad as Lindsey.

What I Love About Sundays....

In his song "What I Love About Sunday," country music artist Craig Morgan loved singin' along as the choir swayed, every verse of Amazing Grace and shaking the preacher's hand. Yeah, yeah, yeah.....apparently Mr. Morgan doesn't have an 8 week old daughter. The only swaying we're doing at the Tucker house is intended to get Maddie to go to sleep. So before you go cat-nappin on your porch swing let me tell you why we have grown to love Sundays. For the past two Sunday nights, Maddie has slept through the entire night! I told someone today that we were going to have to start treating everyday like Sunday around here....head on over to the church for about an hour around 9:30 and then have a good ol' home cooked meal over at the Raines' house on Sunday evening. Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to steal a kiss as the sun fades next Sunday. Sounds like a plan huh?!?

Touchdown

We noticed early on that Maddie likes to sleep in what we call the "touchdown position." She has definately got a touch of the Tucker family genes in her. Check this out!

Schedule.....We Don't Need No Stinking Schedule

Lindsey has been reading one of those Mommy self-help books and decided that we needed to start Maddie on a sleep schedule.
Day 1: Maddie sleeps from 12:00 to 4:00 a.m and then from 4:30 to 7:00 a.m. Maybe we're on to something here.
Day 2: Maddie sleeps from 11:30 until 7:00! Thank God for sleep schedules!
Day 3 (last night): Maddie goes to sleep at 11:30...wakes up at 30 minute intervals until 3:30 a.m and then sleeps until 7:15. Hence the title of this entry: Schedules....we don't need no stinking schedules.

First Time Bloggers

This is our first time to blog. Lindsey has fun keeping up with other people through their blogs, so we figured everyone else can keep up with us through our blog. I can't promise that we will update it often, but we will try to keep everyone up to speed with what is going on at our house. As most of you know, we welcomed Madison Dane Tucker to the world on December 11, 2008, and nothing has been the same around our house. God has blessed us with a truly amazing daughter who seems to do something new every day. We will try to keep everyone posted on her "firsts."