Dogs...or should I say children

Before I got my chocolate lab Milo, people always said having dogs is like having another child.  I always blew it off thinking, "No, it can't be that bad since you just leave them outside to hang out."  Well...I should have listened! 

Now I not only have 2 chocolate labs, but a six month old baby as well.  I LOVE my doggies, but MAN...Tucker is really my third child, not my first! 

This is why I think dogs are like children...if not harder!

1.  Going on most vacations is impossible!  At least with children you have more people willing to babysit.  Finding dog sitters is ridiculous!
2. Yes you can leave them alone for long periods of time, but you never know what destruction is going to be there when you get home!
3. You have to 'register' your dog every year with the county...REALLY??!!
4. You can't just go out and enjoy the sunshine, you have to leash them up!
5. If they get out or lost, they can't tell someone what their phone number is.  Instead, you have to have faith that a very nice person will find your dog, and if it's nighttime, hold the dog until the next morning until animal control can come and get them. 
6. You have to clean up pee, poop and barf out of the carpet just like a child.
7. Cutting their nails is harder than cutting your own childs.
8. They cause our grass to look like it has a disease.
9. At least Tucker will be able to communicate in the future what is wrong with him.  Milo and Mack it's a constant guessing game!
10.  And my biggest annoyance with having dogs is the HAIR!  It is EVERYWHERE!  No matter how many times I vacuum and clean, there is no getting rid of it!!

So you are probably thinking I hate my dogs now.  I really don't!!!  I love them so much and already know it's going to be rough when they pass.  This is just a heads up for all of you out there who are thinking about getting a dog.  It is just like having a child, if not harder!  So just know that a lot of work goes into it...but on the flip side, there is nothing better than being able to cuddle up with them and have them love you no matter what your day was like or what you have done.  I cherish this time with my doggies and wouldn't change having them for anything...except maybe a little less hair all over the place=)

6 months...really??

 I cannot believe my baby boy is 6 months old already!  It is so crazy!  We were able to get his pictures done last minute for the big 1/2 birthday and they turned out pretty well for it being so last minute.  Here are some of my favs!

 Also, here are some things about our Tucker.  He has been sitting up on his own for about a month now.  It really did happen over night! haha. 

 He has the cutest little giggle and lights up our home whenever he smiles!

 He is looking more and more like his daddy every day!

 He loves little kids and dogs and could watch them play all day!

 Tucker loves being outside and we learned he loves swimming!

 He 'sings' during the hymns at church.

 He is a great eater (as you can tell) and we haven't found anything so far he won't eat!

 He hates his tummy now, but loves standing and sitting.  Getting him to crawl might be harder than we thought.  It's a good chance he will walk before he crawls.

 He doesn't mind his helmet at all anymore and it has already worked its magic.  We still have about 2 months left, but we already got our money's worth!

After about a year after James and I were married I remember thinking "What was life like BEFORE I got married?"  It was like it was so normal and meant to be.  That's how I feel about Tucker.  "What did I do before he was here?" I wouldn't trade him for anything!!!  I have known all my life that I wanted to be a mom and when we tried for 3 years and it wasn't happening, deep down I knew it would work out SOMEHOW, SOME WAY!  I am so incredibly grateful for Heavenly Father blessing me with him! Seriously, don't you want to eat those cheeks???  He is so YUMMY! 

New experiences

 Well, we have quite an adventurous past few weeks!  Be prepared for TONS of pics.  I have always apologized in the past for all the pics, but I am really not sorry. haha.  When I look at other peoples blogs, I love seeing all the pictures!  So if you don't like see pictures, this is not the blog for you...

 So Tucker experienced mowing the lawn with James for the first time.  Even though it was kind of loud, he loved it!  He is his father's son...

 We had a play date with my best friends kids...This picture is hilarious!  It is Conner (Jessie's boy) "exploring" Tucker.  Cracks me up!

 The inevitable has officially happened.  This is when Tucker got fitted for his helmet.  He has always favored one side, even in the womb I guess.  So the back of his head is misshapen.  A lot of people we know said it didn't look nearly as bad as others they had seen, and those babies didn't get a helmet.  But, from what my pediatrician and the helmet doc said, he needs one.  So, we just sucked it up and did it.  We figure we would rather get it fixed NOW and not have him hate us later for not fixing it.

 It was really cool how they did it.  They cut up this stocking, attached the little imaging device on top of his head, then used a hand held scanner (like the ones at the grocery store) to scan his face into the computer.  Pretty nifty!  He could even move and it would still capture it!  Technology is amazing!  Won't lie, the image on the computer is pretty creepy!  Looks a little Chucky like.

 Then he got his helmet a week later.  We decided to go with this cool "carbon" print on it.  The other one's were too cheesy for our liking.

 This is what Tucker thought of it the first few days.  It was rough for mommy and daddy, that's for sure!  But notice the vinyl decals we put on it.  I think it turned out pretty cool.

 So...we had to get creative and distract him.  So we went on lots of walks!

 I also found that Q-tips did the trick...who knew?

 Finally he relaxed in his swing.  And I could finally justify putting him the swing cuz I knew the helmet would be working it's magic even more with him laying down.

 Another new experience was his first vacation.  It was only fitting for it to be to Manti.  He loved it!  It was a bit windy the first day and half which put a damper on things, but it turned out great!

 If he was outside, he was the happiest.  We would take one step inside the house and he would freak, then step back outside and he was a happy clam.  What a little bugger!

 Cute cousins...Grace, Emma and Lauren.  (SaraJane was hiding)

 Some of the kids in Manti on the 4-wheeler.  (Maddy-Hailey's friend, SaraJane, Emma, Lauren, Hailey, Grace).  There was a total of 10 adults, 14 kids and 5 dogs all in Manti.  CRAZY!

 Tucker in the bike trailer on our way to the park.  I got a new bike for Mothers day/my birthday so I was testing it out!

 HAHA...We put Tucker in backwards in the swing and he is straight as a board!  I love it!

 The helmet pushes on his forehead on the right side so it pushes his eye down so he looks like he is scowling all the time! haha

 Another new experience was James taking him for his first motorcycle ride.  It was only around the yard, but he loved it.  It was great too because Tucker was already geared up for it since he has his helmet. haha.

 He took his first Manti bath.  There is a really cool old fashioned tub there that the kids love, so it was only fitting to give Tucker one in it.

 SO CUTE!  I love my boy!

 Tucker and Weezy(Kennedy's nickname).  Weezy was awesome as usual!  We just wished she lived closer to us so she could babysit!  Tucker loves his cousin Weezy!

 He also loves his cousin Halo's (Hailey's nickname).  He is so lucky to have such great relatives!

 Tucker also tried watermelon for the first time.  All he really did was let it sit in his mouth while the juice came out.

 THEN...this past weekend he experienced swimming for the first time!  We have a little fishy on our hands.  He was in there for a good hour!  He was splashing and kicking and loving every minute!

 It was James' brother Randy's birthday.  This is him with his 2 cute girls giving him a birthday kiss!

 Then we headed back to Grandma's house for a quick wash off in the sink.

 Then Weezy rocked him to sleep...

It has been so fun watching Tucker experience new things!  It makes me more excited to experience them now just so I can see his reaction!  I can't wait to see what else is in store for us!