Christmas Time is Here!!

So, here we are 2 and a half weeks away from Christmas and it's been too long since my last post. Just to let you know, in my ideal world, I would be able to hop on to our blog once every other day or so and just give you a short little taste of what our world is like. Instead, we seem to be doing the "once or twice a quarter, family buffet." So, let's hit some high points. Shall we?


Thomas is having a blast with all the family fun going on this time of year. We spent Thanksgiving together, just the three of us. What a blessing! Don't get me wrong, it is great to be with our families and extended families, but it sure was a nice relaxing way to begin the holiday with a yummy "mini-Thanksgiving meal" on Thursday night. We watched the parade that morning and watched a lot of football. Speaking of parades, we did go to the Raleigh Christmas parade a couple of weekends ago and Thomas had a blast. He was still and watching the floats go by for a much longer time than he's ever been still before. :) We spent Friday with my Mom and Sunday evening with my Dad. In between, we went to Wilmington to visit some of Shawn's extended family for an oyster roast. Shawn enjoyed the oysters, I enjoyed the desserts and Thomas enjoyed all the many toys that Aunt Nanny keeps at her house (and the dogs). Both places we spent time at in Wilmington had one or two dogs so Thomas got well aquainted. He actually woke up at Cousin Jo's house on Sunday morning and the first words out of his mouth...."ruff ruff".

Thomas has really been enjoying coloring lately. Grandaddy couldn't resist giving Thomas one of his Christmas presents a little early. It is a table that you can write on with dry-erase markers. He loves it! We have to watch him closely with the markers but he enjoys them.....

and so does Daddy.... (notice that my 19 month old son has a beard!) Hmmm, Daddy, how did THAT get there??

This weekend, we got our tree up and decorated. I really think Christmas is more fun with children around. The past few years I've just had a hard time getting motivated to get into the hoopla of decorating, etc. This year seems to be different. I'm loving it! We're even decorating the outside of our house, which is new for us. Now, after a few hundred trips to Lowe's and Target, I think we're about done. We changed from glass balls on our tree to garland and ribbons (to prevent much breakage!) I like the new look. What do you think?

Thomas is continuing to do well. He is talking more every day. He repeats almost anything you say and says many things on his own. I love hearing him say "Thank You" when we hand him something. He's also recently started saying "uh huh" when we ask him a question. This morning, I said "Are you okay?" after he took a tumble and he looked right at me and said "uh huh" with a big smile on his face. Not sure how I feel about that....but it sure is cute for now. He really loves bath time and usually goes "swimming" at some point during his time in the tub. He gets on his belly and kicks like crazy. The little butt cheeks peeking out of the water are so cute! :)

We'll soon be going to see Santa and get Thomas' picture taken. Wish us luck! I'll try to post some pictures when we get them.

That's Elmo's World

Yep, Thomas has discovered the world of Sesame Street and he loves it!! He particularly loves Elmo's World, which comes on the last 20 min or so of each Sesame Street episode. He grins from ear to ear when he hears the intro music...you may know it. "La la la la, la la la la, Elmo's world, Elmos loves his goldfish, his crayon too, that's Elmo's World!" (I've only heard it a few times) ;)

We've discovered one of many things that is different about Thomas' growing up years and our own. He knows how to make the DVR work for him. He doesn't know how to actually use the DVR but boy does he know the concept! When it comes to a part that he's not enjoying (anything that doesn't involve a muppet), he points towards the remote and says "Melmo, melmo", which is what he calls Elmo. He knows that we can then fast forward to a good part. He also doesn't have to wait for it to come on TV, we can just cue up a saved episode any time. What in the world did we do without DVR when we were kids??!!

Thomas is also recognizing characters and can name them. Big Bird, Elmo, Zoe, etc. When he sees The Count, he says "ah, ah, ah"... you know, the way The Count has that creepy little laugh. "One. One baseball. Ah ah ah!" It is terribly cute! He also loves to laugh and clap when others are laughing and clapping. He may have no idea what is going on but he will join right in! Again...so cute!

What have we been up to recently? Shawn's dad works at the Firestone plant in Wilson, NC. They had a family day so we went with Shawn's mom, dad and his brother (who also works there). They had fair rides and food and had hot dogs, chips and ice cream for supper. This worked out well because it was a much smaller scale but we sort of got to experience some of the fair without having to actually go. Me being the terrible photographer that I am, I forgot to get a picture of Thomas and his Grandaddy. Grandaddy was even in his work coveralls. Oh well, maybe next time!

We also had fun last weekend for Halloween! Our playgroup had a Halloween party and all the kids were dressed in their costumes and we had a yummy lunch and a pumpkin cake. Yum! On Saturday, we celebrated our friend Evie's 5th birthday in the afternoon and then stuck around for pizza and trick-or-treating in their neighborhood. Thomas did great and eventually got the hang of holding out his bag to collect candy. Once he had a few pieces in there, he was ready to sit right in the middle of the cul de sac and eat it. He hasn't had any of his candy (I've eaten most of it - there wasn't much, thank goodness!) He was a boxer for Halloween and he was pretty darn cute. I wouldn't have picked out that costume but when we tried it on in the store, I changed my mind.

Thomas has his 18-month check-up tomorrow and turns 18-months old on Friday. Hard to believe it's been that long. He'll be getting shots, I think, and also his flu shot, so I hope it goes well. Fingers crossed!

Down, Set, HUT!

Can't believe it's October already and we're nearing Halloween! The back corner of Target it now dedicated to Christmas stuff...yeah, that's right, Christmas stuff!!!! What in the world??!!

Anyway, back to the update. Thomas is morphing into a full-fledged toddler (in attitude), this week. There have been a couple of times this week where he is a happy squeeling kid that turns, in a split second, into a screaming, angry, mommy can't do anything to fix it, little boy. It's exhausting! Most of the time I just let him work through it (i.e., ignore it). Yikes!

When those fun times aren't happening, he is a cute kid! He loves to put on his socks and when you do put on his socks he will run and bring you his shoes. I think it's because he knows that means he gets to go bye-bye. He also has started saying "Bless you" ("besh-u") when someone around him sneezes. It is the cutest thing in the world and I must admit, I've faked a sneeze a time or two just to hear him say it. He also loves throwing his basketball and soccer ball around. Last night, Shawn and Thomas were laying on the floor on their backs, right next to each other. Thomas tries to throw the ball up in the air like Daddy and does a pretty good job of it! He also enjoys singing. I often sing "Jesus Loves Me" to him and he will sing with me. The only recognizable word is Jesus, but that's just fine with me!

Oh yeah, something we'll try to get on video is what Shawn has recently taught Thomas. Shawn can say "down, set, hut" and Thomas gets into somewhat of a 3-point stance and says "Hut!". It is so totally cute and, like I said, we'll try to get it on video and share it with you soon.

We were in Wilson a couple of weekends ago with Shawn's family to celebrate his Great-Grandmother's 94th birthday. Thomas got to sit on his Uncle Ryan's motorcycle. I sure hope he didn't like it TOO much! This past weekend, Shawn and I were supposed to go to a friend's wedding and his parents were coming to stay with Thomas. Well Thomas ended up with a fever for a few days so we didn't go, but The Williams' still came up to visit. We played at the park and had lunch at the NC Seafood restaurant at the Farmer's Market. It was a great relaxing weekend.

Here are a few pics: (the updated September family pics are posted. See the link on the right side of this page)

Summer Vacation and Other Random Things

So, we're almost at the end of the Summer and I'm not ready for it to go yet! We have had a great month or so since I last posted. I'll just hit a few of the high points.

Thomas had his 15-month well check at the pediatrician on August 6. At that point he was 25 lbs 8.5 ozs and 34 inches tall. That is 70% and >97% respectively. He is still a big boy, despite not being a big eater. Don't get me wrong, he eats, but just not as much as I would expect sometimes.


We went on vacation with my mom and my mom's family to Ocean Isle Beach, NC in early August. Thomas loved the sand and played with everyone and eventually warmed up to the ocean by the end of the week. We had a great time spending time with family and relaxing as much as we could and Shawn and I even got to have an afternoon to ourselves, which we enjoyed. (Thanks Meme) We went to lunch together, wandered around a few shops and got ice cream. During the week, we made the trip down to North Myrtle to go to Barefoot Landing, did some shopping and followed tradition by going to Wee R Sweets and loading up on candy & fresh taffy. I think Whitney and I enjoyed this the most!


The week after that trip, Thomas and I took off for a short weekend trip to Atlanta to see my high school girlfriends. We drove to the Charlotte area to pick up Miss Kerie and then the three of us hit the dusty trail. So, how long does it take me, a toddler and a pregnant lady to get to Atlanta?? A long time..... Anyway, we had a great weekend catching up with friends and Thomas had a buddy to play with. Anna Kate is 10 months old and they had a blast together! The drive home was worse than the drive down, so, we'll be flying next time we go to ATL for a visit! :)

Here is Thomas getting kisses from Kerie & Lindsey.

On August 24, I celebrated my 29th birthday. That is crazy to think that next year I will be 30!! Shawn planned a nice dinner out and invited my whole family! It was nice to celebrate with everyone, even if Thomas threw a ball across the dining area. :)

Things have continued to change in our little world. Thomas is continuing to grow up so fast! He now has many words that he will say, usually when prodded to say them. He will also repeat what we say pretty often. Shawn and I will be having a conversation and one of us will say "whew" or something similar and soon after that, you'll hear Thomas repeat the same thing. It's so cute. ...and makes us remember to watch what we say! :\


Thomas is walking very well now and can get wherever he wants to go, and fast! He is a big helper when it comes to laundry. He always helps me move clothes from the dryer to the basket and from the hamper to the washer. He loves balloons and we get one often when we go out, whether it be the grocery store or a restaurant.


Shawn and I will celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary next week. I feel so blessed to be married to him and I know that both of us feel blessed by our precious little family. It has been an exciting year and I look forward to so many more exciting years in our future. Love you babe!


Hope you are all having a great end of the Summer and enjoying the start of football season!!! GO PACK!! :)

ps - I added a link to all of our family photos on Snapfish.com on the right hand column of this page. Check them out! :)

Summer Fun!

Sorry for the delay in posting! I was reminded this morning that it's been a while...oops! We've been having a great summer so far. Lots of playing outside at parks, pools, etc. Thomas is getting over a cold so the past week or so has been a little less exciting.

Other than our normal days of playing, Thomas and I were able to enjoy a weekend away in Montreat, NC at the Christian Life Conference. My mom came with us and was such a great big help in watching Thomas for me. I had some responsibilities for the conference and I was actually able to make it to all but one of the plenary sessions. That was a great treat! We had fun walking all over the place, playing at the park, eating ice cream, and Thomas even met a cute little girl his age and they played together in the lobby of the inn where we were staying. Thomas left the mountains, unfortunately, with a big bruised egg in between his eyes and the beginnings of two black eyes. He tripped in our room and ran smack into the metal bed frame...right in between his eyes. Poor guy, it was pitiful. He is all healed now (except for a little bit of a residual bruise) and back at it!

Thomas is such a busy guy! He is walking all over the place and tries to run but gets ahead of himself and tumbles over usually. He still has a fascination with all things cooking! Any pots, pans, wooden spoons, etc. he loves to play with. Last night he was playing with Daddy and they were cooking. He was following directions like, "put the top on and let it simmer" and "take off the top and stir." He is also obsessed with balls - footballs, baseballs, basketballs and even anything in his line of sight that is shaped like a ball. He noticed a small stack of cannon balls in a picture we have on our living room wall. He even noticed a small decorative ball on top of our lamps in the living room. Nothing gets past him... :)

Talking hasn't really been too exciting lately. He knows "ball" and a few other words but doesn't seem too interested at this point, which is fine because he definitely understands and follows simple commands. He's also a very generous little guy. He likes to give you something when you walk into the room. Usually when I get him out of his crib, he hands me his blankie and his pacifier. He's getting a little challenging for me these days, but over all he is still a joy and such a sweet boy. Amazing the love that you can have for such a small person! :)

Father's Day 2009

Big thanks to LW and TW for making today awesome! It's great to hang with the family and watch Thomas learn something new every minute (literally). Below are a couple of recent pics and a must see video from last week:

TW and Dad hanging in front of the fridge just before dinner

Wonder how Thomas made it into the toybox?

Three steps to the newest dance craze here in Raleigh, the TW Slide:

1) Bend knees slightly, and bounce just a little bit (not too much though, because it looks painful)

2) Do the King Kong - pound chest w/ open hands and make noise

3) Grand finale, spin in circles and fall to the ground! It's the coolest!

It's Been a Big Week

The video above is a cute one of Thomas digging through the toybox...or maybe he was trying to get IN the toybox...I'm not sure. We've had lots of fun things going on since our last post, but this past week has been a big one!

A couple of weekends ago, we went on our annual Memorial Day trip to Ocean Isle Beach with our friends. We had a great time and spent some good quality time catching up with everyone. You would never know we all lived in the same place! :) Shawn and I are surely blessed to have a group of friends like this. We've grown by one for the past 3 years...all boys! Wow! Kids sure do make the trip different but still a lot of fun to experience the beach through a child's eyes. Thomas had fun playing the sand and was frightened by the water at first, but eventually warmed up to it. He enjoyed playing in the tidal pools at low-tide.

So, this past week, the big news is that Thomas is really starting to communicate a LOT! He has started signing all of a sudden. I've done some signs with him from the beginning but just thought he wasn't going to pick it up. Well he did and it's pretty cute to see. He can sign "more" and "eat". We are working on others but he's pretty proud of himself when he gets to use these words.

He also has a few words all of a sudden. His first word (we think) was "light". His other words are "ball", "uh-oh", "bottle" (which sounds a lot like "bible"), "this", "that", ...that's all I can remember right now. I think his favorite right now is "uh-oh". He puts a lot of emphasis on the "uh" part and then follows up with a sweet, quiet "ohhhhhhh". Adorable!

So, that's the excitement around here these days. He's a very proficient walker now. Walks all over the place.... doesn't like to sit in one place and play for very long any more. (not that he ever did that much anyway)

Shawn and I are doing well. Shawn is enjoying his job and playing in the company softball league. Thomas and I got to go to a game last night. It was fun...I did more chasing Thomas than watching the game though. :) I'm enjoying my time at home with Thomas. We keep busy and are enjoying the chance to get to the pool a little this Summer. I started playing volleyball again recently. Earlier this week, I played for the first time in 2 years!!! I'm in pain right now...it hurts to sneeze, sit, get up, etc. But, I didn't die or need an ambulance like I thought I might, so overall, it was great!

PS - Please pray for my uncle, Kevin. He just had surgery for cancer in his jaw and he is recovering in a CA hospital. Pray for the family, relief from pain, quick recovery and healing!

One Year Old & Mother's Day

There's our little (ok, not so little) one year old. Thomas celebrated his first birthday Wednesday, May 6. The celebration started the Saturday before at his birthday party. We had a great time at Lake Wheeler cooking out, eating cake and enjoying friends and family. Thomas had a great time getting passed around from grandma to grandma with others in between. He wasn't terribly interested in his cake. He needed some help to get into it and once he figured it out he only ate a few small bites and then wanted down. Oh well...

On his birthday we celebrated with a trip to the doctor (I now know that this is not a great way to spend his birthday). He did really well, but shots are not a very nice present for anyone, let alone a one year old. Thomas is now 24 lbs, 1 oz (70%) and 32.5 in (>97%). His head is still off the charts too. Nothing else too interesting came from this appointment. No news is good news, I guess. He is happy and healthy!

A couple of exciting changes:

-Thomas now sits facing forward in his carseat (for all the non-parents out there...this is VERY exciting!)

-He has been drinking whole milk for about a week now and seems to like it.

-Tonight is the first night that he's gone down without a bottle of formula and I haven't heard a peep so......NO MORE FORMULA!!

-He is officially a walker now. He has been waddling around for a while, but just yesterday decided to make walking his primary mode of transportation. Now he walks everywhere!

-He is quite vocal these days. Nothing that we can understand yet, but he's getting there. He tries very hard to mimic our words, especially "balloon".

Speaking of balloons - he LOVES them. We went to the grocery store the other day and before we were fully in the cart and in the door, he saw the balloons at the checkouts and started pointing and saying "buh buh buh".

This past weekend was a busy one but a great one! On Saturday, Thomas' friend Ryan had his first birthday party. We played and enjoyed cupcakes, yummy strawberries and great friends! My mom's birthday was Friday so we went to her house for supper on Saturday night to celebrate. We had a great dinner and watched a really short but strong storm roll by.

On Mother's Day, Shawn got up with Thomas so that I could "sleep in" (which, these days, means that I lay in bed awake but lazy for a bit longer than usual). Sunday afternoon after church, we went straight to Mom's for a mother's day lunch with family - Mom, Gaga, Chip, Cissie, Devin, Whitney, Paul and Carrie. What a great time we had! We cooked out burgers, had lunch, played outside, relaxed, sang (thanks Carrie). It was such a wonderful Mother's Day, getting to see family that we don't get to see often enough. Also, it was very cool to have 4 generations together!

Overall, May has turned out to be a great month already! I cannot believe that our little boy is one. It still is just so hard to believe that I'm a mom. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and such a sweet little boy. Here's to many years to come and lots of memories to make!

First Steps

Well, Thomas finally took his first real, honest-t0-goodness steps this week! He doesn't do it often but every once in a while when necessary, he walks a very short distance. His preferred method of transportation is still crawling.

Finally got video of Thomas doing TOUCHDOWN!!

We're wondering if Thomas is headed for a career in cooking?! Every time I'm doing anything in the kitchen, with the dishwasher or the stove/oven, he whines and whines to be picked up so he can see what is going on. Sometimes I'll even put him in his highchair, in the kitchen, while I'm cooking dinner so he can watch. He is captivated! His grandparents have purchased him a play kitchen for Easter, so hopefully, he'll be excited to have his own cooking operation going on. (I hope!)

We've had some great play dates in the past week or so. On Monday we went to Duke Gardens. The weather has been so great recently (other than the rain), so we were itching to get outside. Thomas pushes everything he can get his hands on these days, including his stroller.

He is still eating pretty well. He eats whatever we eat. No more baby food, just the good stuff. :) He particularly loves pears and recently he's been devouring cereal bars and bananas, anything that he is able to take a bite of on his own. Overall, he's just a lot of fun. He's getting more and more strong-willed. (He gets that from his dad) ha ha :) No really, he's a sweet kid and seems to be learning new things every day. We cannot believe that in one short month, he will be ONE!! Can't believe our little guy has been with us for almost a whole year. My how things change in that first year and what a joy he has been!

Getting Ready for Football Season

That's right, we're getting ready for football season. Thomas can officially call a touchdown now! He does it mostly at the dinner table but we say "touchdown!" and he holds both hands up high above his head. It is terribly cute, I must admit. So, we're proud of our little football fan and hope that he'll be able to put that skill to good use, come September.

When we put the cabinet latches on the kitchen cabinets, Thomas had to improvise so he went straight for the pots & pans drawer under the oven. He opens that drawer and takes out every pot and pan and lid we own! They proceed to get tossed around the kitchen, banging and clanging against each other. Because we thought it'd be cute, we gave him a wooden spoon to make even more noise with. It is so cute.......for a little while. He loves it and it keeps him occupied, so we're going to stick with it, for now.

He has taken a couple of little stutter steps in between cruising, but no big steps on his own yet. We think it will be any day now, but who knows!!

Sun Glorious Sun!

Happy Spring everybody! I don't know if it's really spring yet, but I'm pretending it is anyway. The weather we've had here recently has been great! We've spent a good amount of time outside in the sunny 80-degree weather. Thomas just recently hit the 10-month mark. Before you know it, he'll be ONE!!

We were able to go to lunch with Aunt Whitney, Uncle Paul and Meme (my mom). We went to a great little place in downtown Raleigh called The Rockford. If you go there, order the ABC. ABC stands for apple, bacon and cheddar. It's weird, but it's good, I promise!!

This past weekend mommy & daddy got to go on a date! Woo hoo! While Thomas was at home playing with Papa & Oopsy, we went to dinner and met up with some friends for dessert. It was nice to get out, just the two of us. On Sunday we went to a park with our friends, Brian & Jennifer and their 4 month old, Benjamin. I didn't get any pictures (bummer!) but Thomas had fun crawling in the grass, sliding down the slide and swinging with mommy. It was a nice relaxing day!

Thomas is busy as ever. Shawn installed the cabinet latches this weekend so that I don't have to play keep away while I'm cooking dinner. Thomas can crawl around and pull up without me having to worry about what he'll get into. Unfortunately, I think we're nearing the end of the exersaucer, which was the last way that I could keep him stationary while I did what I needed to do. The only time he stays in one place, pretty much, is when he's in his room with his books. He'll play with his books for a long time (relatively), and loves shutting his bedroom door.

I hope you're all getting outside and enjoying this beautiful weather!

Nine (plus) months!

Ok, it's been a ridiculously long time!! I was without a computer for a while but I'm back online and have a moment or two to update. Thomas is just next door in his crib sleeping. :) Hopefully, I can get a full update done with some pictures.

Well, the little guy is really closer to 10 months than he is nine months!! We did the nine month check-up earlier this month and he was 21 lbs 9.5 ozs (80%), 30.5 inches (97%) and his head circumfrence is in the 100+%. Yes, they wrote the plus sign on the top of his growth chart!! So, he's tall and skinny and he's got a big brain. :) They gave us a clean bill of health except for a little blocked tear duct which I'm still stalling to get fixed. I'm praying that it will resolve itself before we have to take him to the eye doc.

He is a busy guy these days. He creeps along the floor on his belly, crawls, pulls up on anything and everything and walks along while holding onto something. No independent steps yet and he won't stand on his own but we think it will be soon. He's quite vocal - "mama" and "baba" are his most common "words". He makes lots of other conversational sounds but none that can be understood. Just this week, he seems to really enjoy laughing. He'll be sitting in his high chair and just start giggling, which makes me giggle ... and so on!

What's happened in the last month?

-Thomas saw his first snow!

-We celebrated a first birthday with Brinley Rich!

-Thomas went to his first Super Bowl party at Matt's.

-We went to Charlotte to spend some time with Thomas' great-Papa. Just a day trip but Thomas did great, especially considering he missed his afternoon nap!

-Lauren was able to spend time with some of her high-school girlfriends. Husbands and kids joined us one night for a great dinner at the Justice's and some Rock Band!!

Thomas really seems to have his daddy's personality when it comes to being social. As long as there are people around and things going on, he's good with or without a nap. We may pay for it the next day but he has a blast with people. He is just so much fun these days and such a busy-body. He keeps me running around all day long. My saving grace is that he loves to read books. He will sit in my lap for a relatively long period of time and look through his favorite books.

Thomas has also continued to be a great sleeper. He takes great naps each day - about 3 hours total, on average. He also sleeps GREAT at night. Down between 7:30 and 8 and up at 7:30 or so recently. He's turning out to be a great eater too. We are still having 4 bottles a day but he's not quite as interested in them as he used to be. We also have 3 meals a day. He pretty much eats what we eat at supper and has various foods at lunch. Some of his favorites are toast, applesauce and cheese. I have a feeling the cereal for breakfast isn't going to last much longer. He's not digging it much anymore. He'd rather have half a banana...something he can sink his teeth into.

Speaking of teeth...he now has 8!! Four on the top and four on the bottom. Well, hopefully this gets us up to date and I'll be updating more frequently now. FYI...if you want me to send you picture updates regularly, let me know and I'll add you to the list. Hugs!!

Laugh Out Loud

I'm currently sitting on our couch, watching American Idol auditions. So, if this posting is a little disjointed, it's because I'm stopping every few minutes to belly laugh with America. Some of these folks make me wonder...hmmmm. Really??!! But, thanks for the laughs. :)

Thomas is such a joy. He is so much fun these days. He's been standing up A LOT! He actually will fuss a little if I sit him down when he's in the mood to stand (which is pretty much all the time). He seems to be starting a little separation anxiety, but not too bad yet. I hope that phase doesn't last long! He's eating lots of different types of food and seems to like most of it.

We've recently started brushing his 5 teeth! Most nights, before bed, he gets a good brushing and then he gets to "brush" a little himself, which means he's pretty much chewing on the toothbrush. I mention this so that his future dentist, Jennifer, will be super proud of his clean teefies!!!! Ha!

I'm looking forward to a girls weekend with my mom, sister, grandma & aunt this weekend. So, Thomas and Shawn will be having a guys weekend at home! Hopefully no one will get into any trouble. :)

Christmas / Eight Months

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years. We kept busy visiting with family and friends and enjoying Thomas' first Holiday. The Williams' came up to our house to visit and open presents on Christmas Eve. They brought Thomas a stocking that was about 3 feet long....Thomas could actually fit in it! We have pictures, but my computer is messed up so I'll have to post them later. Sorry! We saw my family on Christmas day, some during the day and some in the evening. Thomas was definitely spoiled by his grandparents and aunts and uncles! We had a great time. We were able to see some extended family, as well, before the holidays. Thomas kept everyone entertained. He seems to be quite a ham when he's around other people.

Just because it was the holidays doesn't mean Thomas hasn't been working hard on all kinds of new things. He can now pull himself up by holding on to the couch cushions or anyone's fingers. I sat him down in front of a toy while I made a bottle last week, when I came back around the corner, he had moved over to the couch and was standing up, leaning against the couch and reaching for the remotes. Uh oh! Mommy can't do that anymore!! We're not sure whether he will be crawling or walking first. He seems to have more interest in standing than crawling, but we'll see. He's also starting to "cruise" around the living room couches. He holds on tight and takes a few steps side-to-side to reach something that catches his eye - a passie, his burp cloth, the throw pillows (which he loves to snuggle with). He will get up on all fours to crawl but eventually lowers himself down to his belly to "creep" along the floor. He does make some great forward motion but just on his belly instead of hands and knees.

Thomas is slowly getting into finger foods. He still loves his baby food, but when he sits at the dinner table with Mommy & Daddy he eats some of his baby "pick up" food and also eats some of what we're having for dinner! He does great...Mommy & Daddy are still a little nervous about it. :) The funny thing is that usually EVERYTHING that gets into his hands eventually makes its way to his mouth....except food!! We give him little puffs (sort of like cheerios), and he will not put them in his mouth. The only way he will eat them is if we put them in his mouth. We did give him a larger cracker tonight and he held onto it and gummed it a bit....ate the whole thing. Way to go buddy!!

One other exciting thing is that we lowered his crib to the lowest setting, which makes him seem so much older to me. He used to kick an aquarium that hangs on the side of his crib, so when he went to do the same thing, his leg hung through the crib bars. He found that funny. Hmmmm.... an aspiring escape artist, I can tell!

Thomas now has five teeth and they seem to be coming in so fast, we can't hardly keep up with them. He is still saying "mama" & "baba", but he doesn't quite know what they mean yet. He recently picked up "dada". It took him a little longer to get, but now he says it quite a bit. He's babbling more now in a way that sounds a lot more like he's trying to have a conversation. He is now also able to let us know exactly when he's unhappy about something. He will squeal at the top of his lungs. It can be hard to tell the difference between a happy squeal and an upset squeal sometimes.

Shawn and I were recently reflecting on how blessed we are and what a big year it has been. We've had such a good time watching this little man grow up and develop. It is going so fast - we can't believe he'll be 8 months old tomorrow! What a blessing he has been to us!! While we're on the subject of blessings, we've also been so blessed by all of you - all of our friends and family. Thank you so much for the love and support. May we all enjoy a wonderful 2009!

(Pictures will be posted soon, hopefully!)