The Mo-ster is Fifteen Weeks Old!

Just look at this little GOOBER!  Dangit he is adorable.  I spend much of my day just loving the stuffing out of this little guy.  And then of course there are the times when it is 4:30 in the morning and while I'm feeding him he blows out a diaper and I have the poops streaming down my leg onto the floor... and still, I love him.  He's just learned to roll over which is really exciting.  He can't roll BACK but he can roll from his back to his stomach both from the left and the right.  It's harder to roll from the stomach to the back it seems.  Here's a close-up of Elmer Fudd, er, Mo, in action:

And since I love him sooooo much I made him a rug out of old tshirts for his room, it turned out pretty cool.  I'd started crocheting it in the round but ended up ripping that out and making a rectangle:

It looks a little wonky in the pic but I've since washed and blocked it so it looks nicer. You can tell we are a fan of the gray tshirt in this house!

In other news, I've started working for my Dad part-time.  I'm trying to get 20 hours in each week but so far have been averaging around 5.  It's harder than I thought!  My Mom ("Meemaw" to Mo) has graciously offered to watch the wee babe one day a week and we've tried it once but he refused the bottle... it seems we have a "boob man".  We'll be working with him every day until he gets it, Mama needs to be away for more than two hours sometimes! 

All in all, this whole parenting thing is the coolest thing ever.  I never get tired of trying to meet Mo's needs and I don't even mind feeding him every two hours through the night, although I am sort of looking forward to when he'll sleep for a 6- or 8-hour stretch.  I love how being a parent changes your focus from yourself to someone else.  I've grown exponentially less selfish and much less concerned with what I wear, eat, read or sew.... and I've learned that prioritizing is my main lesson here:  the days I can't even brush my teeth until noon I realize how many more important things in life there are.  For the record, oral Hygeine is VERY important to me but sometimes your baby just really really needs to be attached to you for a few hours and getting dressed, eating, even going to the bathroom or brushing your teeth will just have to wait. I wouldn't trade it for anything and I'll bet I'll be missing this time when he's older. 

Here are a few more gems for your viewing pleasure:

Baby's First Breckenridge Brewfest

Yep, we took our three month old baby to a brew fest.  Thankfully we didn't get too many "what are you thinking, you terribly embarrassing excuses for parents?!" looks... and there were several other kids there.  I had forgotten how beautiful Breckenridge is and it was really fun to see where Nate had lived and worked as he'd spent a year in Breckenridge about 10 years ago.

We also got to try out our new baby carrier:

  After Breckenridge we headed up to Estes to my parents' cabin for my Dad's 60th birthday.  My bro, sis-in-law and their babe Zephyr (almost two months old!) were there too. 

Instead of gifts for my Dad's birthday we rented a pontoon boat on Lake Estes for a of couple hours.  They even had the babies wear life jackets!

On the boat we put baby Mo on the floor to change his diaper and he showed us his new moves...

Jazz Hands!

Opera Hands!

Symphony Conductor Hands!

Freestyle Hands!

He's now 14 weeks old and probably 10.5 pounds, pretty ding dang amazing!   Every single day I'm amazed at how beautiful he is and very blessed we are.  I couldn't ask for a better life.

Five Minute Video of Mo's Facial Expressions... aaawwww....

Bread and Blessings

I recently found a spare few minutes (Mo took a long nap in his swing!) and made this delicious Blueberry Zucchini Bread and wanted to share the recipe.
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Blueberry Zucchini Bread

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3 eggs

3/4 cup canola oil

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 cup blueberries

2 Tbs. turbinado sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Lightly coat the bottoms of 4 5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl combine flours, sugars, soda, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder; set aside. In a separate bowl combine eggs, oil, and vanilla and mix well. Add to flour mixture and stir until combined. Gently stir in the zucchini and then the blueberries. Spoon batter into prepared pans and sprinkle with turbinado sugar, if desired. Bake about 40 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of each comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan 10 minutes before removing. Serve warm or cool completely before slicing.

(Recipe courtesy of Parents Magazine)

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I think I had the extra energy to make the bread (after doing the laundry, feeding Mo, changing Mo, cleaning the bathroom, feeding Mo, changing Mo, sweeping and mopping the floor, feeding Mo, changing Mo...)  BECAUSE I got to spend a few days at my parents' cabin outside of Estes Park.  Their home recharges your soul and the mountain air invigorates your very being.  Here's a pic of their "backyard":

Here's "Meemaw" holding the wee babe:

And here's sweet baby Mo after having a bath at the cabin because he had an epic blow-out while Meemaw was holding him!  Even the grossest poops aren't that bad when you look at that sweet face! 

SOOOO BIG!!!!!

Mo can now smile, laugh, stick out his tongue, grab for toys and raise his arms up for "SOOOO BIG!!"  Ooh!  and I'd forgotten to mention that he's already attended his first concert:

He hung out in a sling the whole time and loved it!  What an easy baby he is!  He's definitely a music fan already!!



Baby, baby, BABY OH!!!

Well well well, it's been a lllllloooooonnnnnngggggg time since I've been on this blog because I've been busy being MADLY IN LOVE WITH OUR WEE BABY BOY!! 

Morrison Christopher Hugo Tuck

He was born April 18, 2011 weighing 6 pounds and 7 ounces and measuring 19.5 inches.  We had an exciting delivery as he came earlier than our scheduled c-section -- lucky for me I got to experience several hours of labor and my water breaking, it was the full deal! 

As you can imagine I haven't been especially crafty lately but others HAVE been crafty in honor of Baby Mo.  This quilt my sister ("Auntie Em") made for him:

This handmade lovely features bold, vintage-inspired and tribal prints, animals (including owls, elephants and the cuddly sock monkey!) and is bordered by sky-blue satin.  I'm actually jealous of my son.  :)

And this quilt was made for Mo by my friend Lara ("Auntie Lala") in Seattle:

I am adoring the color scheme and the Asian-inspired prints!  I'm wondering if Mo actually needs two quilts... maybe he'll share with me...  :)

Mo is now seven weeks old and I'm nearing the end of my maternity leave -- except that we got REAL CRAZY and moved to Colorado during my leave and I had to give my notice to quit my job at the  newspaper where I worked since 2006.  Now I'm  in the process of figuring out what the heck to do next to earn our little family some supplemental income.  Nate is blessed to have been hired at the City of Westminster and has a job he likes and now it's my turn!  I'm loath to leave our baby at a daycare when it's so expensive (financially and emotionally) so am currently seeking work-from-home options... let me know if you have any ideas! 

Here are some pics of my little sunshine:



I'm baaaaaa-aaaackkkkk!!!

Where did this past month go?!  I mean, whatthe?!?!  I have been baby-baking and onesie-washing and cankle-nursing and before I knew it another month had flown by!  All of the sudden I'm less than two weeks to D-day!  BOY HOWDY!  Here's a lovely pic for all to enjoy:

Soooo, I haven't been crafty lately but other people HAVE been crafty so I'm sharing their lovelies.  This is the sweater and hat that my Mom knit for Mo which will have him looking like a stylish Nepalese baby!  

And here is the lovely blanket my Mom knit for Mo, it's super soft and cozy and it matches Mo's room which will be in browns and greens:

And here is a very special quilt that Mo's Grandpapi Tom had made out of Grandma Terry's clothes so that Mo can feel her love from heaven.  I love how bright and happy it is!

Here's a pic of Mo's dresser and all of the fun stuff we've collected for him so far:

And here's all of the stuff I need to find places for -- babies need a lot of stuff!  People have been SOOOO generous and I'm feeling really prepared, it's amazing!

And lastly, here's Mo's pack and play which we have in our bedroom and we're using it like a bassinet:

Oh, sweet sweet baby times are a-coming!  C-section is scheduled for April 21 so we're really getting close!  I'M SO EXCITED TO MEET THIS LITTLE MONKEY!!!!!!  AAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!   :) 

In like a lion...

I finally finished my little cubby hat for Mo!  I'm thinking it's more lion cub than bear cub because of the beautiful gold color but either cub, it's adorbs:

I can't wait to put it on his little head!  I don't have to wait TOO long since he's due in 51 days!  Here's a pic of my massive belly:

My friend Erin said I remind her of a snake who's digesting a big meal, like a rabbit or something.  :)

Ooh!  And I found this lovely, soft and sustainable bamboo yarn to make washcloths with:

I love this washcloth pattern because you can knit one washcloth in a little over one 2-hour-long American Idol episode. 

And how do you know Spring is coming?  My lawn boy (a.k.a. Loving Husband) has updated our landscaping!  He built and hung a trellis for some Carolina Jessamin and put our beautiful Agaves into the earth along with some other pretty things like Canna Lilies and Bi-color Iris.  Yea for Spring!!!

It's February already? Where did 2010 go?

It feels like this year is on the fast train to Babyville!  I can't believe it's already the middle of February and our wee spawn is due to exit his warm womb of a home in a mere 67 days.  He's been kicking and hiccuping and poking around in there quite a bit lately, I think he's gonna be a "big 'un"!  When I was back in Colorado this past weekend plenty of people commented on how big my belly was. 

It's really fun to be "large and in charge"!  I weigh more than I ever have and I feel SO happy to be blessed with this miracle inside of me.  In crafty news, while in Colorado I made Mo a babyhat out of super soft washable baby yarn:

I used two of my favorite colors, turquoise and gold and plan to use the gold yarn to knit the babyhat with ears next.  I can't wait to see this little hat on his head!!!! 

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I got home from Colorado on Valentine's Day and wouldn't you know it, my Valentine went ALL OUT!  Nate made his Pasta Natalio which is the dish he made for me the night he asked me to marry him (aaaawwwww) and spinach salad and baguette with vinaigrette dipping sauce.  It was heavenly! 

Maybe if we're nice Nate will give us the recipe for this dish, it's made with farfalle pasta, tomatoes, white wine, cream and basil.  YUMCITY!  

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And here's a pic of the sweet fuzzy babies all chilling together on the couch:

They'd better start getting ready to make room for baby!  :)  

We still don't know where we'll be living when Mo arrives so keep us in your prayers that soon we'll know whether Mo will be a Texan or a Coloradoan!  xoxo

Happy Monday!

I had the house to myself this past weekend while my babydaddy was in Vegas so I tried to make use of the time to be productive and ended up with a couple projects completed but still TONS more I want to do.  Thankfully Mo isn't due here for another 76 days (!) so I have plenty of time to make more softies and bibs and most importantly a babyhat with bearcub ears.  I did end up making a little babyblanket in monkey print with yellow on the back... and two matching burp cloths:

And then of course I could not neglect The Land of the Bootie so made a second pair of booties for Mo out of the speckly yarn in one size bigger than the first pair.  It's just too easy when you can knit up a pair of booties from kick-off to the end of the fourth quarter during the Super Bowl!  Here are the two side by side:

Badorbs!!!!

That's all I have for now but this weekend I'm blessed to be visiting my family in the Rocky Mountains and plan to spend the time in front of the fireplace knitting and sewing!  I'm hoping to have the babyhat knitted up and most of a diaper bag sewn.  I'm excited to use the fabrics my brother brought back for me from Togo... Mo will definitely have a one-of-a-kind diaper bag!  

Happy February!  Spring is almost here!!!  Woot to the MAXXXX!!!!