new trick with hamper

We use a collapsible hamper to hold stuffed animals in the playroom. Thomas prefers to dump out the contents and wear the hamper while walking around the house instead. His dad showed him this new trick.

Check up: 18 months

This morning I took Thomas in for his 18 month check up. He wasn't happy with any of it, esp. the immunization shots. To make matters worse, he also received a flu shot so it was just a bad morning all around for the little guy. The last 6 months have been one of much lengthening. He's only added about 2.5 pounds to his frame, but his frame has grown a full 3". He's a tall, skinny guy right now. And it's clearly due to all the running around he's been doing since he turned one year.

weight - 27 pounds (around the 60th percentile)
height - 34.5" (95th percentile)

focused on fish

We often find ourselves surprised by how focused or interested Thomas can be in something. Give him a great new car or block or book and he'll spend 15 or 20 minutes playing with that one toy alone. We don't really have experience to compare it to, but it seems like a long period of time. Today we took a trip to OMSI with his cousin (F is pictured in the previous post). M plopped Thomas down in front of the fish tank and Thomas was absolutely mezmerized. The fish were totally fascinating him...
[Note to self: Replace the three dead guppies with a new goldfish.] Those darn guppies are just not hearty fish at all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

No photos of the gorgeous Thanksgiving turkey or the wonderful table full of food so lovingly prepared by Thomas' great-grandmother. I only snapped photos of the three great-grandchildren (all 2-1/2 years or younger) running around and having a fantastic time all evening long. It was great fun to watch and really changed the dynamics of this small family get-together. In the photos above, Thomas is in his jammies and getting ready to hit the road for the long drive back home. Cousin F is helping him with his zipper and Thomas thought wearing his aunt's shoes would be fun.

cousin E

Thomas loves spending time with his cousins and E is definitely one of his favorites. This morning her lap became his new chair and even my lap wasn't good enough. He only wanted to sit on hers.

If Greta could speak...

"Leave me alone... Why can't I just be a dog...? I don't like to play dress up... You are embarrassing me... No more pictures, please..."

gearing up for photos

Grandma is always thinking about Thomas. She picked up this super cute outfit for him recently. It'll be perfect for the holidays! We're having his 18 month photos taken tomorrow morning so this afternoon Thomas was kind enough to allow me to dress him up in several possible outfits and snap some photos. I love this photo of him -- baby toes are just too cute.

We've been practicing our smile for the photos all day today, too. When M or I ask Thomas to smile, he'll flash us a huge grin with both eyes closed. If he'd only open his eyes when he grins, it would be perfect. We'll see how it goes tomorrow!

18 months

Listening to Thomas' language develop over the last two weeks has been really exciting for us. He has started identifying our dogs and other people by names. Bela is Ba-ba and Greta is Ta-ta. He knows his name is Thomas when asked, but he can't quite say it. Sometimes his name is also Ta-ta. Grandma, or Ga-ga as he calls her, is one of his favorite people. We look at photos of friends and family all the time and I tell him who we are looking at. He tries to say their names but they don't always sound like the real thing and often sound quite similar to all the other names he is trying to say. Grandpa is Pa-pa.

Not only is he beginning to identify people, but he has also started to put words together. He'll point to objects and describe them, such as Mama cup and Dada car.

When we play, I describe the objects and ask him to say the words with me. He does a great job trying to repeat all the same words I say. We mainly focus on shapes and colors, but sometimes we'll also do numbers and other object names.

Some favorites...

• [me] Thomas, would you like some more chicken?
• [Thomas] Bock bock.

• [me] What does a duck say?
• [Thomas] Duck duck.

one year

one year ago

today

walking around the neighborhood

It's been a long couple of days at our house with both Thomas and M down with colds. The relentless rains haven't helped our moods either so when the clouds finally broke this afternoon and the rain stopped, I couldn't resist taking Thomas out for a little walk around our neighborhood. He really enjoys going on walks. Since he began walking early last summer, we've walked around the 'hood a lot. Yet, even as we traverse the same streets, he always finds something new to catch his interest. Today it was the set of steps outside one building (he walked up and down, up and down, up and down...) and this little entrance nook to a small corner bar. I love that he forces us to slow down and really see things on these walks. I now know this bar is a non-smoking establishment and was a local newspaper's top pick (...really?!?).

yummy! yummy!

Thomas loves pasta. He'll eat it any way that it is prepared. With veggies or without veggies. With a marinara sauce, an alfredo sauce, a meat sauce, or no sauce. With parmesan cheese sprinkled on top or not. In soups, as a meal or in a casserole. It's all good to him.

I love pasta because he can easily feed himself while I enjoy my own meal.

We eat a lot of pasta.