The Buck Family

Goodbye Old Friend

2011-08-12T10:23:00.002-04:00

http://www.petoskeynews.com/news/pnr-petoskey-graduate-seal-among-dead-in-chopper-crash-20110811,0,4799904.story

Heath:

One week ago today you, the rest of your SEAL team, and the the other American servicemen riding with you were killed when your helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan. Seeing your name on the list that was introduced by Brian Williams last night on the Nightly News somehow makes your loss real to me now, and painfully so. I respect your decision to remain anonymous, even in death, but I can't say that decision makes it easy for those of us left who mourn you, who miss you. And this hurts.

I guess a part of me was hoping that they had made a mistake; that, like so many countless times that we will never have the security clearance to know about, you somehow pulled it off, somehow came back to us. Seeing that list last night made it clear to me that they were right, and that the part of me that foolishly held onto hope, however irrational that hope might have been, was wrong. And this hurts.

We will all miss you, in our own ways. Old friends, and family, will miss the crazy times that were; the funny expressions, the hilarious things that used to escape your mouth, yet somehow made sense. And we will, all of us, miss the crazy times that were yet to come, as we watched a new generation, made by us, as it took our place. Parents will miss their son. A daughter will miss her father. A wife will miss her husband, and best friend. We all will miss you, our best friend. And this hurts.

The people of a country who will never know the debt we owe you, and the rest of the members of your team, will miss you. Even if the names that flashed on the television screen last night had no direct connection to those watching, that connection to your country, and the debt it owes you, is unmistakable. But there IS a direct connection; for me, and for so many of us, and I don't know how we are supposed to let go of it. And, quite simply, this hurts.

I am, we are all, proud, and honored, to be able to call you "friend," "countryman," "soldier." Thank you for your friendship, your service, your sacrifice. It has been my honor, and my privilege.

Mommy & Jack at Mountain Branch

2009-09-14T21:06:00.003-04:00

Okay, I know. I know. No one is updating the blog anymore. Mary is too busy with Facebook, and, well, I'm just too busy. So the blog suffers.

I'll try to be better about it.

Cheeks!

2009-07-28T13:43:00.002-04:00

Popsicles

2009-07-06T21:40:00.003-04:00

In honor of America's birthday, we allowed Jack to taste a sugar-laden Firecracker popsicle for the first time this weekend. Needless to say, he really enjoyed it. Jack had a very nice 4th of July weekend. His Grandma Anna came up from Hilton Head to spend the weekend with us. He also got to spend lots of time with Grandma Susie, Auntie Kate, and Uncle Pat. Jack is very lucky to have so many wonderful people in his life!

Tampons are Fun!

2009-07-06T21:38:00.002-04:00

Swimming lessons

2009-07-06T21:21:00.002-04:00

Daddy and Jack had a great time at swimming lessons last week! Jack seems to be a natural swimmer. He loves kicking and splashing, and he doesn't even mind being dunked under water. We also discovered, at today's lesson, that swim diapers are really effective! We successfully avoided what could have been a very embarassing (not to mention disgusting) "fergie" in the pool situation!

Jack and his buddy Hannah had a fun time hanging out Memorial Day weekend...

2009-05-25T09:05:00.005-04:00

"All Doubt Erased - He's Definitely a Buck"

2009-05-19T10:45:00.002-04:00

Well, if there were any doubt that this child is the result of combining Mary and Jamie's DNA, consider it dispelled.

"I'm precious, see?"

2009-05-15T12:12:00.000-04:00

Eat Carrots... Turn Into Screetcher Monkey!!

2009-05-15T11:05:00.002-04:00

Madras and Mommy!

2009-05-13T10:24:00.002-04:00

Jack's New "Look" for Spring

2009-05-13T10:02:00.005-04:00

Well, to be fair, it's not so much a new "look," as a new expression. He gets this devilish, almost scheming, expression every once in a while, like he's thinking of doing something naughty, and I freaking love it. The new and normal looks are shown for comparison.

2009-05-05T16:55:00.000-04:00

"Yes, I can pull off these shorts."

The Elusive "Suzequatch"

2009-04-20T21:21:00.004-04:00

This video speaks for itself.

Jamie: "Eat your heart out Orvis!! Let Susie Buck show you how it's done!! (Keep in mind, this water is 46 degrees Fahrenheit!!)."

Susie: "Does this vest come with a hands-free system?"

Family Fly Fishing!

2009-04-20T13:41:00.002-04:00

Susie and Jamie fly fishing the Gunpowder River on a perfect Spring day. Susie caught her first trout of the season using a difficult deep water "streamer" fly technique! Jamie almost caught several fish. The one that got away was, naturally, enormous.

Cute Close-Ups

2009-04-20T13:37:00.004-04:00

I couldn't decide which one I liked most, so I posted them all.

-Proud Papa

Busted?

2009-04-06T12:07:00.002-04:00

Is it me, or does he look guilty, like he was just caught in the act?

Chubster

2009-04-03T10:34:00.004-04:00

OMG. I was just looking through some pics of when Jack was a newborn and I cannot believe how incredibly small he was!!! I think that at the time I refused to see or acknowledge how tiny he was. I'll admit now that I even got a little upset when people saw him for the first time and commented on how small he was. But my god, it was so true!

Jack at Four Months

2009-03-24T10:20:00.002-04:00

I seem to get a lot of these pictures of Jack when we're puting him into or taking him out of his car seat. Maybe it's because he's sitting still, which is rare.

So, for all of you asking for updated photos, here's a picture from this past weekend.

Maggie's New Game

2009-02-20T10:30:00.003-05:00

So we finally decided to put the old stuffed animals that were mine as a baby away. The ones that Maggie kept pulling out and leaving on the floor. See Jan. 22nd post.

That didn't stop Mags though. Her new game is to search for and retrieve one, just one, of Jack's pacifiers, and leave it in the middle of the dining room floor as she did with the stuffed animals.

The other day I came home early, and was greeted by a VERY guilty looking dog, who apparently had just committed an illegal act. I immediately new something was up by her expression and demeanor, and asked her, "Maggie, what did you do?" She took me into the dining room and showed me this. I immediately snapped a picture with my phone.

All Smiles!

2009-02-20T10:12:00.007-05:00

Well, as you can see, Jack has a thing about being super cute in the mornings just before we head off to Grandma's house for the day.

He's almost at the point where he can actually laugh out loud, but not quite there yet.

So, when he smiles like this, a funny cooing giggling sound comes out of him. It's absolutely precious.

It's Cute, So It's Posted!!

2009-02-19T21:03:00.007-05:00

Well, simply put, this has to be my favorite picture of Jack so far.

I snapped this as Jack and I were getting ready to leave the house and head for Grandma's.

Mary was having a rough day (Friday the 13th I might add), as she had just come down with a cold. Jack was being about as cute as I've ever seen that morning, so I snapped this with my phone and sent it to Mommy to cheer her up.

It worked.

Concerned, Just About a Few Things

2009-02-19T20:54:00.002-05:00

"Ummm... I'm really not so sure about this whole 'sitting up' thing. In fact, I have some questions for you, if you have the time."

Daddy and Jack

2009-02-08T19:35:00.003-05:00

Strollin'

2009-02-08T15:31:00.003-05:00

We had gorgeous weather in Baltimore today, so we took Jack for a spin in his ride. He slept the entire time, but had fun anyway. We're very much looking forward to spring so we can go for walks more often, because being cooped up in the house gets old after a while.

Big Boy Clothes

2009-01-31T11:35:00.004-05:00

I usually just dress Jack in little sleepers, so I got quite a thrill out of dressing him up in big boy clothes today!

Almost 11 weeks old

2009-01-25T15:37:00.004-05:00

All of the sudden, my 2 and a half month old preemie is outgrowing all of his 3 month clothing! For the first 2 weeks he was home, he was wearing preemie clothes. From mid-December to mid-January he was wearing newborn clothes. Now all of the sudden his 0-3 month clothes all seem to be too small! I heard that they grow like weeds, but this is really too much.

Jack is so much fun now. He's smiling and cooing all the time and even laughed at me this morning. It's so much fun to watch his little personality develop. He is still so laid back, it's a wonder he's even my child.

Buddies

2009-01-22T15:03:00.004-05:00

Jack’s grandma Anna made a beautiful wooden toy box for him for Christmas. She also gave us 3 stuffed animals that were Jamie’s when he was a kid: a puppy, a unicorn and a bear in a raincoat. When we were putting away all of the Christmas goodies in December, I just put the stuffed animals in the toy box and left it on the floor in Jack’s nursery. One day last week, Jack and I went out to lunch with my friend Kim. When we returned home, Maggie met us at the door with a very guilty look on her face. We discovered that she had removed two of the stuffed animals from the toy box. One was on the dining room floor and the other was on the landing of the staircase. I told Maggie that they were not her toys and picked them up and put them back in the toy box. The same thing happened a few days later, so again I picked up the animals (the same two she chose the first time) and put them back in the toy box and this time put the toy box on the floor in Jack’s closet. Well, Jamie returned home from work yesterday and snapped these pictures. Apparently Maggie had gone into Jack’s open closet and retrieved the stuffed animals yet again, this time all three of them. You’re probably wondering why we don’t just put the stuffed animals away somewhere Maggie cannot get to them. The answer is that we find this little game to be absolutely hysterical. Maggie is well known for destroying her “buddies,” as we call her stuffed animals. She’s also very smart and understands when a toy is not hers. So, she’s bringing these toys to us and asking us if she can have them, but isn’t destroying them while she has the chance because she knows they aren’t hers, although they do look very much like her buddies (as you can see in one of the pictures). So basically, this is just a call for attention. Her life since Jack’s arrival is still far better than most dogs’. Jamie still plays ball outside with her at least once a day and we still shower her with love and affection. Cesar Milan would certainly disapprove of this game we’re allowing her to play, but we don’t care. The look on her face when we discover the animals strewn about the house and then feign disappointment is just priceless.

Christmas Day

2008-12-29T16:47:00.001-05:00

O Christmas Tree

2008-12-21T17:47:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone! (a wee bit early)

Stinky Jackson!

2008-12-19T13:20:00.002-05:00

I was under the mistaken impression that newborn poo wasn't supposed to smell all that bad. Boy was I wrong!

Bouncy seats are fun!

2008-12-08T14:06:00.002-05:00

Sleepy Monday Morning

2008-12-08T07:58:00.002-05:00

Jackson is home!!!

2008-12-05T17:19:00.003-05:00

Jackson finally came home yesterday, after 24 days in the NICU! Jamie also pointed out to me that yesterday was the 4 year anniversary of our first date, so it seems that December 4 is a good day for this family.

The highlight of the day was introducing Jack to Maggie. She wasn't really sure what to make of him, but she definitely seems to like him. She needs to learn that licking his hands is a no-no. I'm attaching a video...sorry it's sideways. I can't figure out how to rotate it. Just tilt your head ;)

We didn't get much sleep last night, but are just so thrilled to have Jack home that we don't care. He's a really loud sleeper (lots of cooing, groaning, gurling, etc) so that kept us up. Also, if Jack went more than 10 minutes without making noise, Jamie jumped out of bed to peer into the bassinet to make sure Jack was still breathing. It's so much fun being first time parents!

We took Jack to his first pediatrician appointment today and he weighed in at a whopping 7 lbs!

Wow.

2008-12-02T21:24:00.001-05:00

Jamie can't believe that horrible sound just came out of his precious, tiny baby.

EARLY ARRIVAL!!!

2008-11-30T16:44:00.002-05:00

Well, to say we were surprised by Mary's water breaking 5 weeks early should say a lot, if you know Mary, who's usually prepared, and a step ahead of chance. But, break it did, at 3:00 a.m. on November 8th. So off to the hopsital we went.

I won't go on about the details, but the short of it goes like this:

Water breaks; Mary wakes up Jamie; Jamie still thinks he's asleep.

We go to hospital, and are informed "oh yeah, she's 2 cm dilated, and 65% effaced. Jamie still doesn't know what these terms mean exactly, expecting to learn all about them at birthing class on November 9th. (more below).

We go to Labor & Delivery, but labor is stopped later that day.

Jamie walks over to the scheduled birthing class the next day, to tell them that, unfortunately, "we weren't going to make it." (Also, we wanted our money back.)

Mary gets moved to the "high risk unit," where she is told she will stay until her due date, or until the baby decides it's time, or until the docs decide the risk of infection is too high.

We get totally moved in. The docs THEN tell us the risk of infection is too high, and we're inducing that night. Nice.

The inducing does indeed happen that night, and we sleep through 13 hours of labor. Thank GOD for the epidural! (Jamie tried unsucessfully to get his own epidural several times).

JACKSON HENRY BUCK is born at 8:23 a.m., on November 11, 2008.

Little Jack has been in the NICU since his birthday. He's doing really well, and we're hoping spring him any day now!!

Here are some pictures to introduce you to Jack!

Love,

The Buck Family

Jackson Henry!!

2008-11-30T16:39:00.001-05:00

More Jackson Henry!!

2008-11-30T15:52:00.008-05:00

33 weeks

2008-11-02T18:27:00.002-05:00

At my sonogram early this week, the baby was estimated to weigh 4lbs 15 oz already...and I still have 7 weeks to go. My OB tells me that I am carrying a "gigantic" baby and joked with me that if he goes to term, we are going to have to figure some way to get this baby out of me.

PS...check out the Shrek hands.

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-02T10:14:00.002-05:00

Jamie's awesome pumpkin carving.

Karma?

2008-10-05T17:39:00.003-04:00

Having had my catalytic converter stolen from beneath my 4Runner last year, along with an attempted theft of it in '04, I get a sick sense of pleasure out of this news story:

Man Crushed By Car In Salvage Yard
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore city police said a petty crime turned deadly for a man at a city junkyard. Police said two people were looking for parts from vehicles at a salvage yard in the 2800 block of Hawkins Point Road at about noon Friday when they saw a man lying under a car that had fallen when a jack he was using to lift the vehicle collapsed. Authorities said the victim was trying to steal a catalytic converter. Crews found the tools he was using to remove the part. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not yet been released.

She was ready for some football

2008-09-30T18:45:00.003-04:00

The family that eats together...

2008-09-21T18:05:00.004-04:00

gains weight together! I'm not the only fatty in the house. Maggie had her annual physical yesterday. She gained a whopping four pounds! I know that doesn't sound like much, but it is. Since she reached her adult weight at about a year old, she's consistently weighed 66 lbs, give or take only a few ounces. When she was last weighed in April, she was, as usual, 66 lbs. But yesterday she weighed in at 71 lbs. She still looks great, and 71 lbs is still perfectly healthy for a female lab. But the vet was a bit concerned about the speed with which she gained the weight. We still play chuck-it with her twice a day, so lack of exercise can't be blamed. I've simply been more indulgent with her. When I eat my Jello No-Bake Cheesecake or ice cream (some might say at an alarming frequency), Maggie gets to lick the remnants. I guess things are going to have to change around here.

Breaking News: Family Dog Approves Pregnancy Diet

2008-09-16T19:07:00.013-04:00

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Maggie absolutely approves of Mary's pregnancy cravings, specifically, her daily dessert requirement. Maggie will sit quietly next to Mary on the couch, or the floor, or pretty much anywhere that allows her to keep an eye on Mary's progress with whatever the dessert of the day is. Most often it's cheese cake and whipped cream (left), or ice cream (above). Maggie's favorite ice cream appears to be Butterfinger.

99 days til the due date....

2008-09-08T20:01:00.002-04:00

It doesn't sound like a lot, but it sure feels that way! I'm not really that big or uncomfortable yet, I'm just ready for the baby to be here. This also means that I have approximately 99 more nights of sleep left, so I better enjoy it while it lasts. Looking at it that way makes the wait seem a bit less difficult.

How far along are you?

2008-09-05T19:45:00.002-04:00

(Warning: this post will be really boring to you if you don't have baby brain)

How far along are you? It's a question I get asked all the time. It seems like it would be such an easy question to answer, but it's not! Ask any pregnant woman and she will know precisely how far along she is, down to the day (maybe even down to the hour, if you're like me). Pregnant women, and their doctors, date pregnancies in terms of weeks and days. For example, today I am 25 weeks and 3 days along. But if someone not familiar with pregnancy asks me, and I tell them that I'm 25 weeks, they'll immediately ask me "well how many months is that?"

Now, I have to back up a second and state that my due date is up for debate. If you go by my last period, as doctors usually do, my due date would be somewhere around December 9th. But since we were trying to conceive and I know exactly when it happened, I knew that date would be about a week off based on a screwy cycle. At our very first ultrasound at 6 weeks and 3 days along, I was told that my due date was December 20. However, for some reason the tech wrote down that my due date was December 21, so that's what my doctor has listed as my current due date. However, at every single ultrasound I've had since then (the grand total so far is 8, with plenty more to go) the baby has measured to be closely on target with the estimated due date based on conception, putting him due sometime between December 16 and 18. But the doctor hasn't changed my official due date yet. I'm going with December 16 since I fully intend to have this baby by then.

Then, depending on which pregnancy book you read, you never really know how many months along you are. To greatly complicate matters, there's the whole 10 month pregnancy concept that so many people (often men, I've noticed) do not understand. I didn't get it myself until I got the "Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy" book, which explained it for me. The Mayo Clinic book subscribes to the 10 month pregnancy idea, so according to them I just started my 7th month of pregnancy (weeks 25 to 28). However, according to one of my other pregnancy books (I have like 8 of them), "What to Expect When You're Expecting," I'm still in my 6th month, and will be for another week and a half (weeks 23 to 27).

I'm sorry if that was really boring and/or confusing. It's just something I think about at least daily when I get asked how far along I am. And since this is my blog, I get to write about whatever I feel like!

On another note, Jamie and I will be spending our day tomorrow at the hospital in an "Infant Care" workshop. Having babysat all through high school and college, I'm pretty familiar with the basics of how to care for a baby. But I've never been the primary caregiver for anything other than a certain yellow labrador, so I figured it may be a good idea to take a refresher course. Apparently we're going to learn all about bathing, feeding, when to call the doctor, how to administer medicine, etc. Jamie just asked me, quite enthusiastically, if he was going to learn how to change a diaper tomorrow. It's so wonderful to have a husband who's just as excited about having this baby as I am :)

Whatever keeps her happy works for me!!

2008-09-01T14:17:00.004-04:00

I was working at my "shop" in the basement when Mary came in and asked me for an extension cord. Without thinking about what she might need it for, I opened the drawer in my (incredibly well organized) tool chest, and produced the cord. Soon after she left with the cord, I heard, almost felt, this strange humming vibrating sound emanating form above. As I came upstairs, I was presented with this scene, and went immediately for the camera.

"Secrets of the Baby Whisperer," a vibrating, bubbling foot massager, and a giant comfy chair...

...works for me!!

Madam State

2008-08-26T19:31:00.004-04:00

So I started my new job as a prosecutor yesterday. I got a badge and everything, so I'm pretty official. So far so good. I'm assigned to early resolution court, which basically deals with victimless crimes like trespassing, simple drug possession, prostitution, etc. The caseload doesn't seem like it'll be to bad (about 150 cases a day and somehow that's actually manageable), and it seems like a fun way to start to learn how to be a good prosecutor. I am stressing about the maternity leave issue though. FMLA will not apply to me since I just started the job Monday and FMLA's benefits are only for employees who have been continuously employed for 12 months at the time the leave is to be taken. I was really hoping to have 12 weeks off to bond with the little guy, but now it looks like the medically necessary 6-8 weeks might be all I get. I know it'll all work itself out, but it definitely keeps me up at night for now. Anyway, that's the news this week!

Our first baby

2008-08-23T19:32:00.000-04:00

23 weeks

2008-08-23T19:20:00.000-04:00

23 weeks and definitely getting bigger! My swollen fingers outgrew my wedding rings weeks ago (the ones on my finger in this picture are from a kiosk in the mall and haven't turned my finger green yet.) Fortunately my feet and ankles are not yet swollen. Baby is kicking and punching wildly all day and night. My OB tells me I have a "maniac" in there and says that we are definitely in for it with this child.

Henri and Maggie's Wedding in the BVI's

2008-08-23T19:16:00.001-04:00

16 weeks

2008-08-23T19:15:00.001-04:00

16 weeks along in early July.

12 weeks

2008-08-23T19:06:00.000-04:00

Some shots from the first half of my pregnancy. This one was taken in early June when I was 12 weeks along.