First Photo Shoot

Just 4 days old. I have to admit it was fun to have a sleepy and totally cooperative subject for a change.

Hold it?

Is it obvious how much he loves her? He's constantly asking us, "Hold it?" when she's around (meaning he wants to hold her). He's gotten really good about being very gentle when holding her. This was totally an impromptu shot, but I think it was just so sweet how he's holding her head, just like I asked him to.

Wish you could have been there

Having someone photographically document your labor and delivery probably isn't an offer most people would jump at, but my overwhelming love of photography got the best of me when our friend Lyndsay made the offer. The images she captured are spectacular. We will forever cherish them. Thank you, Lynsday!

We hope you enjoy being able to share a tiny bit of this experience with us: http://www.lifeinmotionphotography.com/slideshows/calla

Chomp

Uncle Jamey was never very fond of us dressing Brick in Longhorn gear. So, this year, he sent Brick a little something to show off his Florida side.

Special Delivery

So, in the end, all the whining, complaining and cramping was very much worthwhile. Calla Mae Tucker made her way into our world at 2:36 PM on Sunday, December 16th. She weighed 7lbs and 6oz and is 20 inches long.



As I'd said, I'd been experiencing really mild contractions and had been dilated all week. When I woke up on Sunday with actual sharp-shooting contractions, I couldn't have been more excited. I told Bryan to get ready and started timing. My contractions were about 5 minutes apart. It's recommended that you head to the hospital when they are 5 minutes apart for at least an hour. We may have been jumping the gun a little, but we headed to the hospital almost exactly an hour later.

Wouldn't you know it, as soon as we got in the car, my contractions stopped, and I didn't feel another one until about 15 minutes later. We decided to head to the hospital anyway and let the professionals decide if I needed to stay home. When we got to the hospital, I think the nurses had their doubts about me actually being in labor. I explained that I'd been having contractions, but their regularity had suddenly stopped. The nurse offered us an exam room, and explained that she would check me and phone the doctor. They would then monitor me for an hour and if I made no progress, it was likely we would head home. As soon as the nurse did my initial check she stated "Well, I don't think we'll be sending you home." Turns out I was 4-5cm dilated and about 90% effaced - pretty much in active labor.

Knowing this, I opted to get my epidural right away, before the labor pains really set in. When the doctor arrived, she broke my water and started pitocin in an attempt to get my contractions moving. Apparently it worked because about two hours later, they checked me again and Calla was more than ready to be delivered. After very little pushing, there she was.

We were released from the hospital today, and everyone's doing really well. I feel fantastic. My recovery was MUCH quicker this time around. Brick ADORES his new baby sister. He's constantly shouting out "Baby Calla!" or asking "Hold it?" (guess he hasn't quite grasped the use of pronouns yet). It's pretty wild how mature he suddenly seems. Throughout my pregnancy we were sure how much he'd understand, but now it seems he is definitely fully aware of our newest family member.

I promised to take loads of pictures just as soon as we're a little more settled. We were again fortunate enough to share this very special experience with our good friend and photgrapher, Lyndsay. She's posted a sneak peek of Calla to her blog.

So-Called Early Labor

It all started Saturday night. I started feeling contractions, but they were particularly mild, so I didn't think a whole lot of it. They more or less subsided throughout the remainder of the weekend. Fast forward to Tuesday, I went to my 39-week doctor's appointment to find that I was "a good 3cm dilated" For those of you who don't know, you have to make it to 10cm before you can deliver a baby. That means, I'm a good third of the way there. I was pretty excited to hear this news since (1) it confirmed that what I was feeling were indeed contractions and (2) it seemed to indicate that the baby's arrival was eminent.

Jump to today, I've been experiencing the same mild contractions for a few days now. They're stronger at night, subsiding by the time I wake up. Last night, they felt more intense and regular, so I decided to time them. They were consistently between 6 and 10 minutes apart. Nothing to get excited about unless they intensified, which I was convinced they would. Obviously, they didn't. I'm still here. Baby's still there.

Decorating

Well, the extent of our Christmas decorations are up. I think I have 6 plastic storage bins full of decor, and only used the contents of half of one this year. I keep reminding myself that anything I put up will have to be taken down. Only when it comes time to take down the decorations, I'll have both a toddler and a newborn on my hands. So, while the decor may be less festive than years past, it's enough to keep us in the spirit.

Our living room. Notice the new Black Friday early Christmas present to ourselves over the mantle? It was just installed yesterday.



An overhead view of the living room. Gives you a little bit of a better perspective on just how large that tree really is.


Our newest stocking addition. Baby Girl's not quite here yet, but we've got a spot all ready for her very first Christmas.


Our Christmas card banister. It seems like people are on the ball this year. We have significantly more cards to display already than we did last year.

Seasons Greetings

We Tuckers have been busy! With the baby due to arrive in about a week, we took advantage of our "free" time to get caught in the holiday spirit. On Saturday, we visited Santa's Workshop, where Brick got to have his picture taken with Santa yet again. Brick really doesn't have any fears about Jolly Old Saint Nick. In fact, Brick gave Mrs. Claus, the elves and everyone in line a good laugh when he let out a great big "Ho ho ho!"



On Sunday, we were off to the Elgin Tree Farm to find this year's Christmas tree. I'm not really sure which farm activity was most fun for Brick. He got the biggest kick out of the hay ride. He even learned two new words in the process: "farmer" and "tractor".



He did a great job helping Bryan pick out and cut down the tree. We laughed politely when some of the farmhands commented on how big the tree was, but boy did we have a good time giggling at the enormity of it when we finally got it unwrapped and set up in our living room. With the high ceilings and the general openness of the room, it honestly doesn't seem all that big, but the thing is honestly 9 or 10 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet in diameter at the base of the branches. I promise to have some pictures soon, but I'm not sure I'll do it justice.





After the tree farm, we headed out to the Zilker Park Trail of Lights. Each year, they construct a 155 feet tall tree out of lights around one of Austin's original moonlight towers.



It's an Austin tradition to spin around under the tree, looking up at the lights. This is what it looks like when you take a nice steady shot with a tripod-mounted camera.



Of course, this is probably a more accurate depiction of what it looks like to spin around under the tree. It's one of my all-time favorite Austin experiences. There are little things quite as joyful than watching all these people spinning around and laughing like 6-year-olds.

Little Man

Sweet Mommy Moment

Brick has blossomed into quite the opinionated toddler this past month. He's substantially more verbal and has started putting together phrases and speaking his mind. The other day, I was going to get him out of his carseat when he said to me "No, Mommy. Daddies." With my big belly, it's increasingly difficult for me to lift him out of the car anyway, so I happily stepped aside to let Daddy get him out of the car. It was bittersweet for me when Daddy came to get him, and Brick said "I wuv vu." to his daddy.

Well, today, I had my moment. I put Brick down for bed. He's gotten sneaky about asking for extra bedtime stories (he even refers to several books by name). So, tonight after I read him a story, it didn't surprise me when he requested I read "Hop Pop" (Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss). I explained to him that it was time for bed and told him I loved him. I asked for a kiss and a hug, but he didn't want to give one to me. So, I said I was going to leave the room. Said goodnight and I love you again.

He started crying, but typically settles down quickly, so I try not to disturb him in those brief moments. It wasn't until I got to our bedroom and realized through the monitor that Brick was crying "I wuv vu." over and over. Apparently, he was disappointed that he hadn't taken the opportunity to say goodnight properly because when I returned to his room, he gave me a kiss and a hug, said "I wuv vu" and "night night." and went right to sleep. So sweet.

Cheese

I can't really ask for more than eye contact and a big cheesy grin in a photo of Brick these days. I'll consider myself lucky that he stayed still long enough to remain in the frame (kind of).

Maternity Photos

Talk about timing. Lyndsay Stradtner is a totally amazing family photographer, who I "met" through an online community. A few weeks ago she and her family moved to the Austin area. I had the awesome experience of having maternity pictures taken by her. While I didn't shy away from the camera during my first pregnancy, I didn't intentionally get any shots of my big, baby belly and I'm a little disappointed that I didn't, so I jumped at the opportunity to have some pictures taken this time around.

The pictures she's took are nothing short of amazing. She's pulled them together to be shared in a slideshow here: http://www.gigglesngrinsphoto.com/slideshows/annemarie/

Please respect Lyndsay's passion and talent and do not attempt to copy or reproduce these photos without prior consent.

3D

My doctor suggested another ultrasound just to check on the baby's growth. Everything is progressing fine. With three weeks to go, I'm officially 1cm dilated, but as I learned in first pregnancy, I could stay this way for weeks.

During the ultrasound, the technician switched on the 3D technology so we could get a look at our little girl's face. If you ask me, she already looks an awful lot like her big brother.

Swollen

Brick apparently contracted some kind of ugly infection. We noticed his eye was a little swollen last night, but I convinced Bryan to wait until the morning to see how it progressed. My mistake. He woke up this morning with his eye swollen shut. As soon as I could, I took Brick to the doctor. She couldn't find any evidence of a bug bite, and as far as we know, he didn't have any severe accidents that could have caused bruising, so she prescribed antibiotics. He's doing fine, but his poor little eye looks like it's on a lot of pain.

Crash Revisited

Those of you who are regular blog readers will probably recall that a few months ago, Bryan did some pretty hefty damage to my Jeep by crashing it into a post at our neighborhood Wal-Mart store. As we signed away Wal-Mart's responsibility in the accident, we joked about taking it to court seeing as a company as big as Wal-Mart was likely to settle. It seemed at the time to be have been a truly avoidable accident, but Bryan insisted it was a very poorly placed pole. Turns out, he was right.

This is what the very same pole looks like now, just a short 9 months later:



In those 9 months, the pole has been scratched, uprooted, lost its sign and finally lost the majority of the pole itself. It's hard to say how many times it's been hit. We guess it's at least 5-10 in addition to Bryan's collision. Every time we see it, I mention that I'd like to have a picture to update the blog, but I never seemed to remember to bring my camera. I snapped this photo with Bryan's phone because I assume it's only just a matter of time before the pole's removed completely.

A Christmas Affair

This past week was the Junior League of Austin's A Christmas Affair event. We participated in the festivities by taking Brick to a Santa Breakfast. I've been trying to prepare him for his encounter with the Big Guy by showing him pictures of Santa and teaching him what Santa says - Brick's learned to gleefully respond, "Ho ho ho." Apparently, it all helped. Unlike last year, Brick loved Santa.



The event had lots of fun crafts and activities for the kids. One of which was building a bookmark out of foam stickers.



Brick really just preferred putting the stickers all over his face.



We were also treated to a concert by The Biscuit Brothers. Brick really enjoys hanging out and dancing around with the big kids. It's pretty cute to watch him mimic what everyone else is doing.





And just for fun, here's one last picture with Santa. Look, Mommy's belly is BIGGER than Santa's!

Through Another Eyes

We're so excited that a photographer friend of mine has just moved to the Austin area. Austin's so lucky to have her! She's such a fantastic family photographer. She came by the other day to take some maternity photos for me, and has already posted a great shot of Brick to her blog.

Happy Halloween

Brick had tons of fun wearing his Halloween costume and going Trick-or-Treating. He just didn't really care about posing for any pictures.

Sunday Morning

Popcorn Please

Tonight was the IBM Fall Festival. They had haunted houses, snacks and entertainment. We were all sitting and enjoying a Joe McDermott concert when Brick got up and walked himself out into the lobby. We chased him down and brought him back into the room where the concert was only for him to get up and do it again. This time when we caught up with him, he was patiently waiting in line for popcorn. Apparently, the kid was hungry.

Cotton Candy

A scene from our neighborhood Fall Festival today.

Fall

We had our first bit of fall weather today. The high was in the 60s, rather than the 80s and 90s like it has been all summer. An overcast and rainy morning meant we got to break out Brick's rain coat. After daycare, we made a stop at the bank, hence the lollipop.

Cheerleaders

Brick has never been a particularly shy boy, but when we threw him in the middle of these two Dallas Cowboys' Cheerleaders at the Texas State Fair, he immediately acted all kinds of bashful. He would not look up until we picked him up.

Orlando

This weekend, we headed back to my hometown of Orlando, FL for my 10-Year high school reunion. We had a jam packed weekend and tons of fun.

Friday
Our first day in town, we took Brick to Walt Disney World for the very first time. We started our day with the Playhouse Disney Concert Series. We were lucky enough to catch Ralph's World while they were in town. If you don't know who Ralph is, go check out his site. His music is so much fun for kids AND adults. I think we're even bigger fans after catching him live.



Brick had tons of fun dancing around with all the big kids. The quality of the video below isn't so great, but it was too cute not to share.

Bryan even got a shout out from Ralph from the stage. Before signing "We Are Ants" Ralph was explaining to the audience that when he sang "Why are we marching?" we should all respond "We are ants!" Bryan immediately threw his fist in the air and shouted back "WE ARE ANTS!" to which Ralph replied "Yeah. That guy's been to a rock concert before." Ahhh. It's good to be a parent.



After the concert, Ralph was super nice and stuck around to meet lots of the audience members. Brick was terrified of Ralph once he was up close and personal, but Bryan and I got a kick out of meeting him.



We moved on to Disney's Animal Kingdom. The park was extremely crowded, so we didn't have an opportunity to catch many of the attractions, but we did make a point to see Finding Nemo - The Musical. It's a lot like the Broadway version of The Lion King, with live actors and puppets. Brick is a BIG fan of Nemo, so he loved the entire production.







After the Finding Nemo show, we somehow managed to swap our stroller for someone else's that was identical to ours. We didn't even notice until we were halfway to the park's exit and I spotted a jetBlue tag on the stroller. Since we hadn't flown jetBlue, I thought it was odd. It still didn't totally register what had happened until I found a luggage tag with the owner's contact information attached to another part of the stroller. We eventually got in touch with the owners and swapped strollers back, but it kind of made me wonder how frequently that happens there and how often it goes unnoticed. It also made me realize that we need to put some kind of contact information on our stroller.

After the Animal Kingdom, we made on last stop at the Magic Kingdom so Brick could meet Mickey for the first time. Brick was a little hesitant to approach Mickey at first, but he was definitely excited to see him. By the time we left, Brick was kissing Mickey's nose like a pro.



See that ball in Brick's hand? Well, that ball managed to cause quite the commotion in Mickey's house. Brick dropped it and it rolled under the sofa to the back of the room. The room's kind of blocked off but there's nothing really valuable or breakable in sight. We were tempted to hop over the barriers and retrieve the ball ourselves, but we decided to seek the assistance of a cast member instead. Good choice, because as soon as she stepped over the barricades several alarms went off. Who knew Mickey's house was so tightly guarded. So, a little word of advice. If you lose something in Mickey's house in Toontown at the Magic Kingdom, don't try to get it back yourself. No matter how innocent it may seem.

That night, we met up with some of my high school friends for a little pre-reunion celebration.



Saturday
On Saturday morning, Bryan headed out that morning with my dad and my brother for a round of golf while my mom, Brick and I did some shopping. That night was my official high school reunion. What a let-down that was. If you're ever invited to a reunion that's coordinated by Reunions Unlimited, don't attend. The reunion wasn't even hosted in Winter Park (where I went to high school) and was not at all representative of our high school. They wasted our money on poor food, lousy atmosphere, an inept photographer and who knows what else. Of the 600 people in my graduating class, fewer than 100 attended. And those who were there spent most of the night talking about how bizarre and awful the event was. Most of my friends ended up leaving a couple of hours into the event. It was honestly that bad.

Sunday
Early Sunday morning, I woke up with symptoms of food poisoning. I had horrible cramps and was vomiting quite a bit. I'd like to blame the atrocious food they served at the reunion, but I can't, because (1) Bryan also ate that food and didn't get sick and (2) it turns out my mom, who didn't get anywhere near the reunion, also got sick. The cramping through the night was so bad, I honestly thought I was going into labor. I did visit an urgent care facility where the doctor seemed any additional symptoms I was experiencing were related to dehydration. Ultimately, Brick and I moved our return flight back, so I could spend Sunday recuperating (Bryan unfortunately had to be back at work on Monday). In the end, I think we're all okay.

Da-Da-Da!

For awhile now, Brick's been doing a little something we like to call the Dadda Cheer. While, he will sometimes perform the cheer on demand, the best ones are the spontaneous ones. A typical DaDa Cheer goes something like this: "Da - Da - Da - Yay!" As Brick shakes his fist triumphantly with each "Da" and throws his hand into the air on the "Yay!"

Captain Part II

Brick had so much fun pretending to drive a boat, we decided to give him a turn behind the wheel. I think it's safe to say he enjoyed it.

Splash Pad

Brick's had quite a bit of summertime fun at this splash pad near our house. We decided to get in one last visit before it closed for the season.

The Big Apple

Bryan's in NJ for two weeks participating in a sales training for his new job. When he found out about the trip, he suggested Brick and I fly out for the weekend. While Brick's no stranger to air travel, this was my first time flying with Brick without Bryan's assistance. We flew jetBlue into JFK because we could get a direct flight, and I figured the TVs that come standard on all jetBlue flights would help occupy Brick through the 3.5 hour flight. We were lucky enough that there was apparently an extra seat or two on the plane, and the flight attendant asked the gentleman who was initially seated next to us if he would like to move, giving me more room for Brick. Brick was such a good boy on the flight there. He bounced around a bit, but for the most part, he was content to watch cartoons, flirt and smile with the patrons around us, eat his snacks and play with his toys.

The hardest part of our trip was maneuvering our way to the JFK Airtran, which took us from the airport terminal to the rental car. Imagine if you will, me (remember, I'm 6 months pregnant), with a carseat in a carrying case strapped to my back, pushing Brick in a stroller with one hand while toting our suitcase behind us with the other hand. It wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done, but we managed. I'd purchased a new stroller with the trip in mind. What a blessing that turned out to be because there's no way I could have pushed any of our existing strollers with a single hand, making pulling our luggage that much more cumbersome.

As soon as we left the airport, Brick fell asleep in the rental car. He slept through the entire one and a half hours journey to New Jersey. I tell you, I give New Yorkers credit. The trip from JFK to New Jersey takes you right down 34th Street, smack in the middle of midtown Manhattan. While I never felt endangered, I felt it necessary to wholeheartedly concentrate on the car in front of me the entire time. The trip is only about a mile and a half long, but it takes 30-45 minutes. I imagine my anxiety levels were off the charts for that mile and a half.

That night, we had dinner with my cousins, all of whom still live in New Jersey. I forgot to replace the battery in my camera, so I had a non-functioning camera at dinner. Note to the cousins, please send pictures!!! My oldest cousin, Tony and his wife Kendra, have a son who is almost exactly one year older than Brick. Brick thought the world of cousin Tyler. They would chase each other back and forth or hold hands and dance around. It was so much fun to see them interact. We also got to meet Amanda, my cousin Tom and his wife Jen's daughter, who is just a month younger than Brick, and Ava, Tyler's little sister who is 10-months old. The age difference between Tyler and Ava is exactly the same as what will be between Brick and his baby sister. So, that was another fun little glimpse into what may be.

On Saturday, we headed into NYC for some sight-seeing. It started raining not long after we arrived, but stopped in time for us to enjoy some of Central Park including the Central Park Zoo. Brick absolutely adored this polar bear. He put up a big fight when we explained that it was time to leave the bear and visit something else.




The next day, we again took the ferry into the city.



Notice Brick's pants in the picture above? It's likely that they now belong to some lucky kid in Brooklyn. While we were taking a stroll through Battery Park, Brick decided he'd like to pour what was left of a bottle of water all over himself. It was a nice day out, so we stripped off his pants (fortunately he was wearing a onesie). We then boarded a tour bus bound for Brooklyn. While in Brooklyn, we laid the jeans on top of the stroller so they could finish drying. Somewhere between the tour bus and Grimaldi's pizza, we lost Brick's pants. Don't ask me how. It's just one of those things. Brick wasn't even phased. I'm sure the Grimaldi's pizza and the black and white cookies we enjoyed for lunch helped ease the pain.



That evening, Brick and I headed back to the airport for our flight home. It was definitely a whirlwind weekend, but we're glad to have had the time with Bryan and are looking forward to him getting home on Friday.