Thanksgiving / Seven Months

The Holidays are here which means time speeds up, right? I feel like November lasted about 4 days!! We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are gearing up for a great Christmas too! We were able to see family and eat yummy food over the Thanksgiving weekend. Lots of folks were able to meet Thomas for the first time and spend some good time with him. He is becoming quite the social baby. He does really well with other folks holding him.


Thomas is now a pro at sitting up by himself. He also rolls all over his blanket, front to back and back to front. He'll roll a number of consecutive times and end up across the living room. He's getting quite good at it. He reaches for toys that are far away and can support himself and usually can sit himself back up, although sometimes he reaches a little too far and topples. Just tonight, he was sitting in front of his exer-saucer and grabbed the top and pulled himself to a almost standing position. We were amazed. Maybe crawling and pulling up is closer than we thought?


This past weekend, we put up our Christmas tree. It's been a couple of years since we've had a tree so it was fun to decorate again and get out all those ornaments. Thomas likes all the lights and hasn't rolled over to disturb the tree yet. We'll see how that goes...

Just today we went to the doctor for a weight check and Thomas is now about 19.5 lbs, in the 73rd percentile. He's still loving his solid foods and we'll start giving him some finger foods soon. We've been having a great time getting to know all his little quirks and his personality. He is so much fun these days. Lots of smiling and laughing. His top two teeth seem to be breaking through, as well. Lots of new things going on all the time!

Hope you're having a great December and staying warm. Until next time...

Thomas' Baptism

This morning Thomas was baptized at our church in Durham, Triangle Presbyterian Church. We were so blessed to have lots of family and friends join us for the special occasion. Thomas did great during the service. He was very tired and a little fussy but as soon as Pastor Ray held him, he was on his best behavior. :) The congregation got a good laugh at Thomas, as he lay in Pastor Ray's arms with his hands behind his head. He looked as though he was hanging out in a hammock and not in a church service. Ray mentioned what a great example that was of how we should be comfortable in Christ. How true! Kids really have the right idea when it comes to God and his love for us!

Six Month Checkup

Thomas turns 6-months today and to celebrate, we went to the doctor for shots! He had 4 shots including his flu shot and an oral vaccine. He was a trooper! Just a little cry when the shots were given and as soon as I had him in my arms again he was smiling at the nurse. :) We have such a brave little boy. His 6-month stats are:

Weight: 18 lbs, 2 oz (60%)
Height: 28.5 in (97%)
Head Circ: 46.7 cm (98%)

His weight is not as high as it has been in the past so the doctor suggested we adjust our routine to try to get him to eat a little more. When talking about his height, the doctor said "Look at it this way... if Thomas was in a room with 99 other 6 month olds, he'd be shorter than only 3 of them." So, overall, it was a great visit and he's growing up entirely too fast!! He's sleeping right now (and that doesn't happen a lot during the day) so I'm off to get some things done.

Happy Halloween!

We hope you all have had a great halloween! We had a great day. We had a play date this morning. All the kids wore their costumes and we had yummy treats to eat! Here is a cute picture of the little ones, all lined up on the couch. We had a pea pod, Mack, a flower, a sugar plum fairy, little red riding hood, a lion and a bug. So cute!!

Tonight we went to our church for Trunk or Treat. We had hot dogs and saw all the other little kiddies in their costumes. Thomas did great in his costume again (although it was a little small). He was a pea pod this year. I told Shawn that this was the only year that I would do a cute little baby costume and next year he would be into all the little boy stuff. He agreed. :) We unloaded 6 big bags of candy and by 7:15 Thomas was falling asleep in his costume. He was all snug and warm, I guess. We fed him at church, got him in his pj's and he fell asleep on the way home. He's currently sleeping like a baby (ha!) in his crib. Overall, we had a great time. I can't wait for him to be able to walk around and trick-or-treat next year!

The Big 3-0!

Well, here comes Fall! I can't believe Halloween is tomorrow and I can't tell you how weird it is to see Christmas decorations and shelves of Christmas stuff in the stores and malls. I swear, I think I saw a worker at Target setting out some Valentines candy the other day. This is getting ridiculous!

Shawn celebrated his 30th birthday at October 19!! We celebrated by going out to dinner and out on the town with some friends. We had a great time and all-in-all, I don't think the big 3-0 was too traumatic for him. Thomas and I got Shawn a Mario Williams Texans football jersey. It hasn't made its debut yet, but I'm sure it will soon.

We also celebrated our friend Evie's 4th birthday last week. We went to Marbles Kids Museum and saw fish and all kinds of neat stuff. Thomas is obviously a little young and didn't quite know what was going on but we'll be going back when he is older...it is a very cool place!

Thomas has really been learning and changing a lot. He is now babbling a lot. His favorite sounds are "ma" and "ba", which become "mama" and "baba" repeated over and over...and over and over. We're working on "dada" for Shawn but he hasn't quite gotten it yet! He is also sitting up really well these days. He can prop himself up on his own and only tips over every once in a while. I still stay very close because I don't want him bonking his head on the floor too hard. He recently went through a growth spurt and was eating 8 oz bottles four times a day and eating lots of cereal in the morning and a whole container of baby food in the afternoon! He's since slowed down a little but still loves his solid foods. He's made it through all the vegetables and is now working on fruits. He just finished apple sauce...it doesn't seem like he liked it too much but he still ate it. Feeding him can be a lesson in patience but it is a lot of fun.

Thomas smiles a lot and giggles and laughs when we tickle him. He is so much fun and such a good little boy. Overall, his personality is still pretty laid back. He is a very easy-going boy! The only hiccup is napping. As some of you know, he pretty much refuses to take naps during the day. IF he falls asleep at all, it's usually for a max of 30-40 minutes and then he's up crying again. We've tried a few different approaches at this and none have worked yet. So, any great ideas, let me know!! He's currently sleeping soundly after getting only 1 hour of sleep during naps today, total. I don't know how he does it, but apparently we have a strong-willed little boy on our hands!

We hope you all have a fun Halloween and safe Trick-or-Treating! We'll be at the Trunk or Treat event at our church and Thomas and I are getting together with some friends to enjoy treats and take pictures of the kiddies in their costumes. Should be fun! Happy Halloween!! :)

GOOD NEWS!!!

Just an update, TW's head is perfectly fine!!! Thanks for the thoughts and prayers!!!

Where have you been?

The real question is, "Where have WE been?". Sorry it's been so long since an update. It seems we've had quite a busy month. So, I'll break it up into a couple of different updates... (for my sake and yours)

So, we did take Thomas to the NC State vs. ECU football game. He did great! He enjoyed tailgating and walking around to visit friends. His friend, Grayson, was there too. Grayson is a couple of weeks older than Thomas. When we got to the game he was a little startled at the yelling and loud noises but eventually got used to it and had a great time. He stood in our laps and watched the game and all the fans around us. He was especially interested in the bright yellow ECU shirt behind us. He took a couple of naps while we were there, but he was perfectly fine in the Baby Bjorn. I turned him to face me and covered his ears the best I could. He slept right through a touchdown, which was great! Only negative was that I couldn't cheer. Oh well, I'll take it! Oh yeah, and we won!! Yippee!! Go pack!

Shawn and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary with a road trip to the Outer Banks. My dear friend, Lindsey, got married in Kitty Hawk and we stayed in a house for the week leading up to the wedding with most of my high school buddies in Duck, NC. Thomas did so well. He was a little weary of being passed around at first, but he eventually got the hang of it and got lots of lovin from everyone. We had a great time catching up with good friends, playing cornhole & ladder golf and watching the wind and the rain. That's right...we were there at the very time that big noreaster came through. The wedding went off without a hitch, but some very last minute decisions were made concerning venue. Congrats to Lindsey and Justin!! What a wonderful week it was!
This past week, we had a follow-up appointment regarding Thomas' head circumfrence. He was remeasured and is measuring even further off the charts than last time. During the month, he should have grown 0.5 cm but he grew 1 cm. So, we have to take him for an ultrasound this Thursday at WakeMed. The docs want to make sure that all of the fluid in his head is the way it should be. We are confident that everything will be fine but it's no fun to wait on the ultrasound. So, please pray for us on Thursday that everything would be normal and that Thomas (and Shawn & I) would be comforted during the process and waiting. Hopefully, we'll be updating you all with good news very soon!

A good pic from our first trip to Pullen Park:

Real Food!

This past weekend, we started Thomas on cereal! We started with just a small amount on the first couple of days. The doc, and others, told us to expect a lot more on the bib than in his mouth. Not the case with our hungry boy...he ate it up! So far it's going well and after a while on cereal we'll get started on vegetables and fruits. This is going too fast!

The first NC State home football game was last weekend. Shawn and I went without the little guy this time. The game was a little too close to bedtime. We had some brave friends bring their little girl to the game and it sounds like it went well...we're not so brave. :) The game was pretty good, we won, at least. We're hoping to get Thomas to a game or two this year if the weather and the timing works out.

We also had Thomas' 4-month pictures made today, which are really cute. He has done a good job every time he's had his pictures made. The ladies there always laugh because we all have to work so hard to get a smile out of him. My mom came with us for pictures so that was fun for everyone, especially Thomas who got lots of love and hugs at lunch. :) Other than that, we're just having a good week and looking forward to another good weekend.

4-month Checkup

Thomas had his 4-month checkup today. He is a healthy baby with a big head! The stats are as follows: 16 lbs, 6.5 ozs (80%), 26.5 in (95%) & a head circumfrence of 45.25 cm (>97%)...in other words, his head size is off the charts! He's apparently going to be a super smart boy. He had 4 shots today and did very well. He screamed when he got the shots but once I picked him up he was pretty quiet and fell asleep before we left the office.

In other news... yesterday, we noticed that he had cut his first tooth! It's on the bottom and it's just poking through his gums. It doesn't seem to be bothering him much although he's drooling like a champ and biting anything he can get in his mouth. So, our little boy will no longer have a toothless grin. It makes him seem so much older to me....

We were able to go visit Thomas' Aunt Whitney at her school this week. We had lunch and walked around campus. What a beautiful campus it is! Here are some pics from the outing...

Reunions and Birthdays

As I mentioned last time, I had my high school reunion last weekend. I, surprisingly, had a great time. It was good to see everyone and catch up with folks I haven't seen in a while. I only had one instance where I had to pretend I knew who in the world I was talking too. I didn't figure out who he was until later in the evening. Oh well... I got to show off my hubby and the pictures of our little man. It was fun and makes me look forward to the next reunion. What is that, like, 20 years? Whew...


I celebrated my 28th birthday last weekend and Whitney's 24th birthday was this week too. Lots of fun stuff and family celebrating going on! Thomas and I spent the day with Kendal and the girls on Wednesday and we made the most amazing strawberry cake. It was totally sinful but SO GOOD!! Kendal and Evie sang happy birthday to me... awwwww!! It was fun!

Anywho, Thomas has been a busy little guy this week. He seems to have more and more energy. When he wakes up in the morning, he seems to have saved up a lot of that energy and gets his day going with lots of movement on the changing table. He will push his feet down into the changing pad and arch his back. I guess it is even MORE important know, that we not leave his side while he's up there. I'm afraid he's going to launch himself off the thing!


He's turned out to be a pretty smiley baby. He smiles more for me and daddy at home but he's started to smile at friends and family too. What a sweet face! He's also growing a lot. His 4-month appointment is this week, so I should have some updated info to share. In the meantime, we've done a quick weigh in by Shawn getting on the scale and then getting on the scale with Thomas to see how much he weighs. Our unofficial estimate is 17-18 pounds. Big boy... He's also wearing 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes!


Thomas is such a great sleeper at night but he's turned out to not be a great napper (he's like his mommy)! He just cries when I put him in the crib during the day. We're working on it and I'm hoping that it gets better soon or I'm going to go crazy. :) He also experienced his first NCSU football game. Thank goodness he was asleep and didn't witness the carnage. Next weekend is the first home game and Shawn and I will be going but T won't be there with us...lucky for him. ;)


This week, Thomas also found his feet. He grabs onto them a lot and finds them quite interesting...almost as interesting as the TV remote. :) Until next time....

End of Summer Update

Ok, sorry it's been so long since writing. I have no excuse. :) We've had a great couple of weeks. Thomas continues to roll over (when he feels like it). It seems as though he learns a new trick, does it a lot at first and then stores it in his back pocket to pull out when he wants to. For instance, he was making all kinds of noises and such and now he does a lot more looking around and studying than he does "talking". He sure is a cute kid. There are times that I'm tired and frustrated and I'll look at him and he just smiles at me. I imagine him saying, "It's okay Mommy!" :)

We went to a cookout at a friend's house last night and had a great time. Thomas slept in the pack-n-play and did great transitioning from there to the car to the crib at 1:00am. Went right back to sleep and didn't peep until 7:00am!! Go Thomas!! Tonight is my 10 year high school reunion. It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since I was at CE Jordan HS!!! :) Ahh, the memories. Maybe I'll have some stories to share about the reunion next time.....or not. We were going to take Thomas, because it is at the ballpark during a Bulls game. We decided against it so Grandma & Grandpa Fonville are going to come stay with him tonight. I think they're looking forward to it. :)

We've been watching a ton of Olympics and just enjoying our evenings and weekends with Daddy. I was sick a few days this week so we really took it easy. We're looking forward to a good week and a couple of fun playdates. We'll also get some new pictures to post soon (hopefully!) Hope everyone is enjoying the end of summer! Oh yeah, a quick shout out to my husband....tomorrow is my birthday and I got my present a little early this morning. Tickets to sit in the floor seats at the Michael Buble concert in October. WOO HOO!!!!! And he's already lined up a babysitter!!! Go Daddy!! :)

BREAKING NEWS!!!

TW rolls over for the first (through fifth) time(s) late yesterday afternoon. The pic above was taken just seconds after this major accomplishment. More details to come from LW...

No more baby...he's a little man!

Wedding number two went off without a hitch. Ryan and Cassie are officially married. Congrats to both of you! We had fun spending time with Shawn's family and getting to see some family that we don't often see...aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Thomas did great again, although, I think he was ready to be at his house, in his crib, following his routine. I don't blame him, I was getting tired of the hotel room routine too! :) We met a nice man at the hotel who was our bellhop for check-in and check-out. He has a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 1/2 year old. He had lots of advice to share with me as we rode down the elevator together as Shawn and Thomas went to get the car. His biggest piece of advice was to have another baby when Thomas is 2. Sounds like a plan to me...although right now, it makes me shudder a little to think of me with 2 kids. Anywho, moving along....

Thomas is developing that little personality every day. He smiles a lot more and squeals and makes all kinds of noise. Lately, he's discovered this new noise, I'll call it a scream for now because I can't think of anything else to call it. He can get quite loud and it's somewhere between happy and frustrated. When you hear that, you should move fast...he's about to get mad. That being said, I really am enjoying staying home with Thomas. We have such a good time and it's neat to be able to interact with him and learn all his little quirks. Shawn was playing with him the other day after he got home from work. Thomas was propped up in Shawn's lap, facing him. Shawn would raise his arms in the air and Thomas would follow suit and do the same thing. He did this three times in a row. It's amazing how the little things make you so proud of your little man.

Here he is in his Bumbo. We've just started sitting him in it...he seems to like it so far, can't you tell?

We've had fun playing with our friends, Kendal and Brinley (and Evie, of course), Jennifer and Lilly, and we've seen Aunt Whitney and all of his grandparents. What a blessing it is to have family that lives so close! On August 6th, we passed the 3 month milestone. For some reason, that seems so big to me. To say you have a 3 month old no longer feels like you have a true newborn. He looks like such a little boy now. No more of that newborn look. They sure do grow up fast!!

I'll leave you with this...we went to the pool today with Jennifer (thanks for having us!) and we had a great time relaxing and doing a little swimming. I'm a bad mom...I don't have any pics of T in the water (maybe next time). I did get a picture of the post-swim nap. Michael Phelps better watch out...Thomas Williams is training hard for the 2028 Olympics!!

Family & Friends

We're in the middle of wedding mania right now. We just returned home from a very fun wedding weekend and we're headed out to do it all over again this weekend! Our friends Jeremy ("Worm") and Amanda got married in Denver, NC this past weekend. We went down on Friday and had dinner with the crew and I had sushi for the first time. Yum! Then, on Saturday we met up with some of my family who live in Charlotte. We had lunch with Cissie, Gaga, Devin and Dickie. We had a great time catching up and introducing Thomas to Devin and Dickie, whom he hadn't met yet. Cissie & Gaga were kind enough to watch Thomas, in the hotel room, for us while we went to the wedding and reception. Huge thanks goes out to them!! They claim that Thomas is the most well behaved and smartest baby...and I would have to agree! :) The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time with our friends.

Hanging out in the hotel with mommy & daddy:

This weekend, Shawn's brother, Ryan, will be getting married in Myrtle Beach. The pack-n-play won't even be taken out of the trunk this week. We're just leaving all that baby stuff packed up to save some time. We're looking forward to seeing Shawn's family and Thomas did so well in the hotel last weekend that we're looking forward to him doing just as well this weekend (fingers crossed!)

Check out that double chin:

Thomas is really communicating a lot more now. Lots of smiles and coos! He's discovered how to make the "razz" sound with his lips. That, in turn, produces bubbles, which he is pretty proud of! We've also confirmed that our child is a MORNING PERSON! I'm not necessarily, but it makes it easier on those mornings when I lean over the crib and he smiles a big smile for me. I'd wake up to that any day! He's grasping toys pretty well now. Unfortunately, he's not a big fan of tummy time, but we'll keep trying.



Thomas' first trip to Bojangles!!:

This Could Be Bad

Hi folks! Many of our friends are now blogging and I'm pretty curious about the whole thing. So, I've decided to give it a try. I figure it will be a good way to share news and info about our family and what is going on with us. We'll also be able to share pictures, etc. That's the good news... The bad news is that now I'll end up spending what little free time I have updating this blog. :) No really, I'm excited about it, especially to keep those of you that we don't talk to often in the loop.

Thomas is now 10 weeks old and keeping us entertained! He is smiling a lot...not just little grins now, but big, wide, mouth open smiles that make us laugh and melt all at the same time. He coos and makes noises and it's so cool to see him learn new noises every week. He's such a good boy and we both feel so incredibly blessed to be entrusted with his precious little life. We look forward to all that is in store for us and sharing it all (or at least most of it) with you guys. Pictures will be up soon. Until next time...