s'mores, please!

M often tells me I'm an advertiser's dream. If they say I need it or I see an ad for something, I am suddenly convinced I need it and/or want it. The same holds true for this t-shirt. When I see him in it all I can think about are s'mores and how yummy one would be right now...

Thomas walks backwards! Not a step or two, but the entire length of our hallway. This morning we saw him walk backwards while pulling his 'push car'. He always does everything the hard way.

summer colds

It's been a long week for both me and Thomas. His nose started running Sunday afternoon and I've been sick since Tuesday evening. He's handling it better than I am though. He continues to run around and looks happy while I am the complete opposite.

I snapped some photos of him today in this fancy new sweater. The woman I usually see at the nail salon made this for Thomas so I wanted to get some photos of him wearing it to send in a Thank You card. I was so touched by her thoughtfulness!

Hot Kids in the City

Today's high temperature broke the previous record by 8 degrees. At 102*, it was hot. Fortunately we have central air conditioning in our house, but frozen fruit bars and playing in the swimming pool have also kept us cool during this heat wave.

Thomas loves Grandma

Thomas had his first sleepover at Grandma's house this weekend. From the sounds of it, they had a great time. His cousin E was there for awhile so they all walked over to the park to play and had dinner together. Later in the evening, Grandma gave him a cool bath and then he settled down to sleep on the living room floor. We were pleased to hear it all went well and found him napping on Grandma when we went to pick him up. Looks pretty content, doesn't he? There's no place quite like Grandma's house (or arms!).

Tiny Tot

The local library's storytimes have resumed! They were on hiatus for a few weeks so the librarians could visit local schools and sign up students for the summer reading program. Prior to the hiatus, we had been going to the Book Babies storytime which is geared to the under 12 months, non-mobile set. Thomas enjoyed them, but the last time we went all the other babies were under 6 months and it wasn't as interesting for him.

Today I took him to the Tiny Tots storytime and, though he was clearly the youngest one, he seemed to enjoy it more. He wasn't able to follow along with some of the physical movements related to the singing, but he enjoyed walking around and watching the other toddlers. During the actual reading of a book, all the children sat with their guardian except Thomas. He was the first one to walk over to the librarian and really involve himself in the reading (the others quickly followed). I was so proud of him! He seems to go through periods where he's more bashful than other times and it was great to watch him jump right in like that.

Thomas has completed the first path on the Summer Reading Program gameboard! We've been done for a week, but finally were able to take our boardgame in this morning for validation and a prize. He chose this red ball pictured above. Balls are his new interest and a word he's recently added to his vocabulary.

Thomas' new cousin

He's absolutely beautiful and perfect!

Fun times with the girls

Thomas had so much fun today with his cousins and their friends. He loved checking out all the things on their farm, esp. the chickens and the huge trampoline in the backyard. The girls were all so great to play with him, show him around and make him laugh.

Thomas caught some air on his bottom...

...and again on his feet!

summer haircut

I took Thomas in for his second haircut this afternoon and decided to have it cut even shorter than before. Once again, I didn't think he could get any cuter, but he did. Handsome boy!

got art?

Thomas' first artwork. Everything he does requires the use of both hands, even coloring! It isn't enough to have one crayon. He has to have a crayon in each hand. You might call him a "two-fisted colorist". He incorporated some stippling, some simple strokes and, when helped, even a little heavier hand to get some great areas of color. Budding artist?

He has been dabbling in all kinds of new foods these last few weeks. Those with stronger flavors make his taste buds happy. Kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, raspberries... In an effort to further expand his tastes, this morning I saw him reach into Greta's food bowl (bless her heart -- she didn't protest verbally or physically!), pull out a kibble and pop it into his mouth. He stood there smiling at me as though he understood we don't eat dog food. I, of course, removed the kibble and quickly escorted him out of the kitchen and away from the girls...

Margie

Thomas sneaks a drink from his cousin J's cup while their great-grandmother Margie watches...

our little boy

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Stopped at the park this afternoon to enjoy some sunshine.

love at first taste: strawberries

Thomas loves blueberries, but last week he tried strawberries for the first time and it was love at first taste. He nearly ate the entire pint and probably would have if I'd let him. Yummy.

[Note: Yes, that is a bruise on his forehead. He seems to have two speeds -- Stop and Move as Fast as I Can. The latter one isn't always his friend. At least this one didn't result in a bloody nose like some of the others...]

library's summer reading program

We read to Thomas at home, but probably not as much as we should. So I signed him up to participate in the library's summer reading program to help remind us to read to him. We track his progress on these handy little charts provided by the library. For every 15 minutes that we read to him, we color one of the stones along the path. Once he completes a path, he'll receive a little prize. After completing all four paths, he'll earn a t-shirt or some other prize.

13 months

The photos have been far and few these last couple of weeks. Thomas is constantly on the move so it's hard to photograph him. Many of them turn out blurry and/or we end up snapping photos of his back or parts of his body. He's enjoying being mobile and is really keeping us on our toes these days!

Thomas loves to point out all the dogs while we are out, but lately even his beloved canine friends have been trumped by the sight of a car or truck. He points out every car and truck he sees and tells us what it is. Even while in the house, he'll point to a window and say "car" when he hears one drive past our house.

Greta

caught in the act!

I put Thomas down for a morning nap but when I went in to check on him, he was reading one of his favorite books instead...

sshh...sshhi...sshhu...

Thomas has been adding to his vocabulary. We're not sure what he's trying to say with this latest sound, but it sounds alot like he's swearing. We don't use this word around him so I don't think it's really that word. But it is enough that you have to stop, look at him and wonder aloud, "...did he just say...?!?!" We have both done this and so has my mom.

rain, rain, go away...

...come again another day,

little Greta and Bela want to play!