Oh, the Many Faces of Tuck

Let's count these collages as 1 picture, so I don't break my "don't post a million pictures of my kid doing one thing" rule.



Tuck the Truck has become so expressive...I am so in love with this stage! Here is just a snippet of the wide variety of facial expressions he offers:



Another set of examples, which feature his many, many chins:

Eeeeshk, how in love with those baby blue eyes are you?!?!?!

And since I can't do a post of just Tucker, here is Kerrigan displaying her amazing multi-tasking skills. Few can focus so hard on the television and still get food into their mouth. I know, she is amazing! While not all the yogurt made it into her mouth, I think she feasted on a good portion without missing a second of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

I love how she is wearing her regular breakfast attire...diaper, bib and whatever hair pretty is laying around. The girl knows how to keep it classy even in her skivvies!

Let's end with the picture I have been trying to get since the day the stinker got here. HELLLOOOOO dimples!!!!

Couldn't you just kiss these chubby, dimpled cheeks all day!?!?!?! I know I could- and occassionally do!

Bigger Isn't Always Better!

Here is the proof.

This is me 4 days before K was born:

And here is me 5 days before Tuck arrived:

And to think I felt huge before the first time around...AY CARAMBA I had no idea what huge was!

Sooooo, seeing as my belly was way more stretched out this time, I received some little prizes that I had managed to avoid in my previous pregnancy- aka stretch marks. Gag!

Has anyone found anything that helps with them? I am not a huge fan- if I can at least improve their appearance, that would be AWESOME!

Considering the Unthinkable...

If this doesn't give you the heebie jeebies, I don't know what will...

Ok, its not that bad, but it kinda freaked my freak (any Ellen fans out there that caught that?)

So our stuff got in a wreck...old news, right? Well, a few weeks ago, a man called my parents house and left a message saying his stuff was in the wreck as well (the truck was carrying 3 families belongings). We weren't sure how he got my parents' # since the moving company has a privacy policy that prevented them from giving out our phone numbers.

A few days ago, Jared talked to the guy and found out how they got the info.

*edit: Jared pointed out that my previous explanation was a "roadmap" to how to cyber stalk someone. So let's just say my blog was involved in how they found us.*

That scares me. These people had good intentions, but what if someone with bad intentions had done the same thing....

So I am thinking about going private. I HATE private blogs!!!! HATE HATE HATE!!!! I never remember to check them. I hate having to sign in to look at them. I hate signing in just to see that there are no new posts. I just hate them in general.

But I want to be able to post the entire picture to show you my new house, not a cropped version of just us and the front porch (with information on the sign blocked out: )...




...and still feel safe. Not to mention, I have these 2 cuties to look out for:



I don't know. Does anyone know how to allow people to still find my blog even if it is private? Or how to alert people that I have actually posted (so they don't have to sign in for nothing, especially while life is crazy and blogs are sporatic at best)? Maybe how to export my posts to a new blog, and leave this one up to serve those purposes....

What a pickle!!!

Start sending your emails to lindseywstokes@gmail.com if you want to continue reading, just in case. Even if you wonder if I remember you...or if you think I would think you were really random for reading my blog. I blog stalk with the best of them, so don't be shy!

Labor and Delivery

Me 5 days before Tucker arrived!

I was scheduled to be induced on Monday morning, to ensure Jared would be there. I had been walking a few miles a day and continuously running up and down the stairs of my parents' house for about a week trying to get things going. I got my membranes stripped on Thursday, but nothing seemed to change so Friday night we went to dinner around 6.

While we were there, Jared teased me that I just needed a little blast from the past to get labor going (we were eating at Sizzler, where I worked for a couple years). About 10 minutes later, I had a tiny tiny contraction. I had 2 more before we left around 7. When we got home I started doing stairs again. I had a few contractions that were soooo mild I assumed they were nothing. A little after 9 I went to put Kerrigan down for bed, and had a slightly harder contraction. By 9:30 they were getting more frequent, but not very painful.

I had one goal for this time around. I looked HORRIBLE after having Kerrigan, so I wanted to shower, do my hair and makeup before going to the hospital this time. I hopped in the shower and Jared came in to see what he needed to do to get stuff ready to leave, and he realized my contractions were REALLY close together and told me we needed to get to the hospital. I said I needed to finish getting ready but we could go in a half hour. So he tattled on me...literally. My mom came in the bathroom, ordered me out of the shower and told me I was going to the hospital NOW!

We got to the hospital at 10:15 or 10:30. My contractions were every 2 minutes, but still not hurting. I talked to the staff and filled out some paperwork before they took me back. I was between a 5 and 6. I was so excited that I wasn't in pain, and asked for my epidural....thinking how sweet it would be to get it before it started hurting.

Around 11:15 the contractions started getting very painful. I asked where my epidural was, and the lady taking my blood said she needed to send it down to the lab and get the results before I could get it. I wasn't thrilled they waited so long to take the blood since I asked for the epidural an hour before, but what can you do?

By the time the guy came to give it, it was 11:45 I was between 7 and 8 and my contractions were right on top of another. That was the worst part. I get scared when getting the epidural, and I think that combined with all the stress of moving, the moving truck wreck and guilt I had for making Kerrigan a big sister when she is so young. I sat there hunched over, buried my head in the pillow and sobbed. Jared said he has never heard me cry like that, it really shook him up (I kind of think that helped with my winning the name "battle" : )

After the epidural kicked in, we just sat and joked around. I got put on oxygen since his heart rate dropped during the time the contractions were painful. Around midnight I felt pressure so they called the doctor. For some reason he didn't get there for a half hour, so I couldn't push.

As he walked in the door, my water broke and it was time to push. 3 pushes later he was here.

Waiting for my epidural. I was having a contraction during the picture....thanks Jared for snapping this so I remember how minor they were!

My cheerleaders...I love that they were able to be there.

And the beautiful end result:

ABOUT TIME!!!!

Gross, I am now one of those people who has a baby, then doesn't blog forever! A pretty hypocritical move on my part, since I HATE when people do that.

After several threatening texts from a very angry Canadian (who will remain unnamed : ) who demanded pictures, I figured I had better fix the situation.

Don't you LOVE LOVE LOVE the cross eyed baby look (as long as they go back to normal, of course!).

Kerrigan is still in love with her brother, I was a little concerned it would disappear once his "newness" had worn off. The infatuation is still going strong, perhaps at times a little too strong (for instance, when she tries to pull him off the couch so she can soothe him when he is crying).

This is her version of holding him. Countless times a day she is begging, "hode im, hode im MOMMY pease!!!!".

Remember this picture, taken at 1 week old:

Well, here is the 1 month old version:

The kid's got some serious chunk going on! He is over 12 lbs already, and his 0-3 month clothes are getting snug (see how tight the NB onesie is on him!). It took K almost 4 months to accomplish what has taken him a mere 6 weeks.

I am basically obsessed with this picture. He gives people the stink eye all the time. It makes me giggle to have a 6 week old glare at me.

He is quite a bit fussier than Kerrigan was, especially in the evenings. Not sure if it is colic, but thank goodness it usually happens after Jared gets home so I have reinforcements (other than Kerrigan pulling him off the couch : )

Fussy or not, he is one sweet boy and I love kissing those ginormous cheeks all day! I haven't taken a picture that has captured one of my favorite features of his....DIMPLES!!! Be still my heart, I am a sucker for dimples!!!!

Let me introduce you to my good friend Ted...as in Phil and Ted's double stroller. I LOVE this and recommend it to anyone who is looking for a double. It is a jogging stroller. It is skinny/agile enough to maneuver in any shopping store aisle. It fits any variation of kids (newborn/toddler, infant/toddler, 2 toddlers, etc.). Basically, heaven on wheels.

Wait, Lindsey, where is Tucker? you may ask. Well, I am glad you did. He is here:

Tucked safely and comfortably under his big sis. Seriously, LOVE IT!!!

We have also been working on operation Independent Kerrigan, which includes potty training (no picture, sorry), drinking from a cup, eating at the table on her own (a new experience since we previously didn't have a table or dining room) and learning to play alone.

2 things to look at: Her first milk mustache and the mess behind her. We FINALLY got the dressers we ordered. With clothing getting put away, and random items finding their place it is finally starting to feel like home here.

The girl LOVES apples. She put this one down in about 5 minutes. Just sat there chomping away until it was gone. I think she even ate the stem.

This is how she colors when it is too cold outside for her liking. Notice the lack of grass. The poor girls outdoor experience is limited to a 10x10 slab of concrete. A problem we plan to address soon with some sod and POSSIBLY a swing set...still trying to convince the husband : )

Don't you feel better now that you are caught up on our lives, I know I do!