puppy love

We've noticed lately that Thomas will give some love to his favorite things. It's fun to watch him pick something up and press it against his head or face so sweetly. Learning Puppy is one of those favorite things. So was this 10-1/2 month old girl yesterday at the library's storytime...

Thomas with his daddy

Standing tall

Last night during Thomas' evening bath, he stood up. Yes, our little guy has finally managed to pull all 22 pounds of himself up into a standing position. He's been trying this for weeks, but only while in the bathtub. I've encouraged him to try in softer places, such as the living room floor. I've put his favorite toys on the sofa hoping they would entice him into pulling himself up and reaching for them. He wouldn't have any of it. Instead, he's only been trying in the bathtub. The cast iron bathtub. Weeks ago I could sit on the toilet lid and sing songs to him while he sucked on his bath toys and splashed. But lately I've had to be close by and ready to grab him for fear that he'll bang his head into the side of the tub. And now he's figured out how to get himself up. Oh, how things are quickly changing!

Children's Museum visit

First visit to the Children's Museum today! Thomas had a great time with all of the different things, but this was his favorite. He loves to watch kids play and there were plenty of them at the museum. Once he's walking we'll get a membership. This is a good place to "wear out the children". After an hour, I was done.

New Trick: fun with tongue

Thomas has been practicing and perfecting this new trick for the past week. Sometimes he's just running his tongue over his teeth, other times he's sticking it out at me, the dogs, strangers...

View out a window

Thomas loves to look out the bathroom window and watch Bela and Greta run around. The squirrels tease them from the neighbor's tree, driving them absolutely insane. During the summer months, they'll be out back all day hunting squirrels. Once it warms up he can be out there enjoying the show, but for now he watches from inside.

Zoo and Library

Took Thomas to the zoo today! It was cold but we walked around for an hour and looked at the animals. This is the greatest benefit to membership -- we can make these short visits and not feel like we have to stay for hours to get our entry fee's worth. He didn't care for the monkeys today, but did enjoy the enclosed area of the primates. With all the hard surfaces inside the exhibit, his babbling echoed which only made him want to babble more and louder. Poor monkeys, though I'm sure it wasn't the first time. We also enjoyed seeing the elephants close-up and watching the bats hang upside down in the bat caves.

I have been taking Thomas to storytimes at the local library since summer, but we hadn't actually spent time in the library itself. He has just started to show some interest in the books I read to him so I figured it was time to start making trips to the library for books. This afternoon we got him his very own library card and checked out three books to read at home. He enjoyed hanging out at the library -- he pulled books off shelves, watched the other children who came and went, and babbled loudly. The library has a nice selection of board books for infants and a great little corner with a small table and chairs just for these smallest of library patrons.

teething biscuits = yummy for all

Thomas with his first teething biscuit. The girls were a little too curious and wanted to try the biscuits, too (note their noses in this photo). Thomas gave his first biscuit to Bela and thought it was the funniest thing when I reprimanded her. The second biscuit he dropped on the floor, also to be quickly snatched up by Bela. The girls are now banned from the kitchen when baby is eating.

Baby Gymtastics!

Spoiled again by grandparents...

We had been going back and forth on whether or not to get a jumping thing for Thomas. He really enjoys his cousin's, but it hangs in a doorway and I wasn't comfortable with that setup in our own home. I could just picture him bouncing into the walls, or worse, the dogs running into him. Grandma picked this one up for him (it has its own stand) and although he really liked it initially, we're not sure that he still does. It seems like a fun thing to play in -- all kinds of great sounds and lights, but he doesn't seem to be enjoying it and we just got it today. We'll give it a few days before we decide whether or not to return it.

8 months

My Favorites: evening bath, watching the dogs wrestle, sucking on the remote control, dropping toys over my shoulder, walks in the jogging stroller

New things: tooth #7, sticking my tongue out, sounds like "gu" (as in gush and good) and "ga" (as in golly)

Good Night, Thomas

Thomas is a great sleeper. Not only does he sleep 12 hours, but this is what we see when we put him to bed. As soon as we lay him down, his hands go up under his head and he smiles at us. There is a musical mobile of cars and trucks above his crib that we often wind up for him. After laying him down I'll point to it and ask if he wants to listen to it and he'll smile again. Sounds unbelievable I know, but I'm not joking. It's the sweetest thing.

Alternate use for the Baby Bjorn!

Thomas hadn't been in the Baby Bjorn since the weekend before Halloween when I carried him around the pumpkin patch. It didn't take long for my back to become sore from wearing this heavy little guy. When we returned home, I hung the BB in the closet with no intention of using it again...

However, things have changed. Thomas wants to walk, yet he doesn't have the necessary balance and strength to do so. That's where the BB comes in. We can snap him in it and use the straps to hold him up. It saves our backs and he's actually able to move faster which makes him happy and drives the girls crazy. They have no idea what's in store for them once he gets this walking around thing figured out!

New Year's Day hike

For as long as we have been together, we have always started out the new year with a hike. It's become a tradition that has grown and evolved as our family has grown. We've tried many different hiking spots, but have a favorite that we always come back to all year long. It's gaining popularity as nature lovers seek quieter areas with less traffic, but we can all still enjoy it. The girls love chasing each other through the forest and diving after birds. It's as much fun for them as it is for us to watch them! Next year on this same first day hike we'll be chasing a toddler along the trails, but this year he was kept safe and dry in the backpack carrier.

New Year's Eve 2006

Thomas is outfitted in a very fashionable party hat handcrafted by his mom. Usual bedtime for him is around 7 to 7:30pm, but this evening he managed to stay up until 8:30pm. That was the best baby could do!