the ROBOT party

Today we celebrated Thomas' birthday with his friends. With two parties essentially back to back (Meredith's was just 3 weeks ago) we decided we didn't want to do his party at home. I think with four year olds, too, it's just easier and more fun for them to go somewhere. So Thomas' party was held at an indoor playground in town. He provided the guest list (primarily preschool friends, but also some neighbors and three playgroup pals) and, lo and behold, all 14 kids came! Add our two and younger siblings and we're talking about 20 kids -- wow! He wanted to have pizza so we had some delivered and also served up some cut fruit and Kettle chips. It was a busy 3 hours, but a very fun birthday party for this special little boy!

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practicing their party smiles at the house

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food station ~ pizza lunch for everyone

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playing with friends

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birthday cake ~ party girl loves her robot shirt

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TIRED kids winding down as we load the car

FOUR years old

Can you believe it?

Thomas is 3 years old!

T wanted a "car cake" made with strawberry cake and chocolate frosting

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Three years ago he entered our lives and changed everything.

Today... he's excited to be starting preschool next month, he inspects his trucks and other toys to figure out how they work, he makes connections and asks for explanations regarding everything, he thanks me for taking him to swim lessons during the drive home, he's kind to his sister, he has a great sense of humor and he's such a joy. Happy Birthday, Thomas. We love you so much!

23 months - "Baby, you are camping!"

Last summer we discussed taking Thomas on his first camping trip. Friends had had mixed experiences and for the most part they weren't positive, so this discussion probably lasted all of about 5 minutes. A one year old, two energetic pointers and a couple who aren't even avid campers doesn't add up to a family camping trip that is going to happen anytime soon. Truth be told, we will probably hold off for a couple more years before venturing into a weekend of camping since baby #2 is expected next month.

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However, with a kitchen remodel underway, it often feels like we are camping. Every single time we sit down to eat a meal with our paper plates and plastic utensils, it feels like we're camping. We don't have a stove or oven to cook with so we're limited to whatever can be heated in the microwave, cooked in the toaster oven, or picked up/delivered to our house. Because of this, we've found ourselves telling Thomas several times that we are camping.

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We're just over a week into our estimated six week project and it's actually been much better than I had imagined. And there have been some good changes made during this last week. More fresh fruit for us all, less coffee for M, no more Ghiradelli hot chocolate in the morning for me... I think we are probably actually eating healthier and I see far more benefits to losing our kitchen for this short period of time than simply getting a new kitchen in the end.

22 months

Thomas really enjoys riding in his friend Logan's wagon. We borrowed it this afternoon for a walk to the neighborhood nursery for plants to brighten up the front porch. He enjoyed poking around the plants, but his favorites were pushing the cart and trying to pet the store's indoor cat. On our way home, we stopped at the park to play and run around. It was a nice little outing and I know a lucky little boy who will be receiving a Radio Flyer of his very own for his second birthday (if his parents can hold out that long)!

21 months

"Dump truck comin'

down the road.

Dump truck haulin'

a great big load.

Round and round

the wheels they roll.

Round and round..."

Thomas loves this dump truck. He loves pushing it up and down the sidewalk, letting it roll down driveways, and filling it up with rocks and twigs. Last week his friend L (Thomas calls him "Go-go") brought his dump truck out and the two had a great time rolling them around together. For months, Thomas would say "choo choo" every time we passed L's house due to the fantastic collection of trains L owns, but now it's "Go-go dump truck play".

20 months

At 20 months, Thomas is one laid back little guy. He's easy-going, sweet-natured, friendly and makes this mama gig much too easy for me. Well, most of the time anyway!

19 months

At 19 months, some of Thomas' favorites these days are...

...reading. We often find him quietly reading to himself. He likes to pick out 6 to 8 of his favorite books, pile them on the sofa and then climb up and settle in to read the books he's chosen.

...playing with the dogs' stuffed animals. He carries them around the house, feeds them his food and gives them drinks from his cups, sets them up on chairs or tables and snuggles with them. This morning we heard some kissing sounds and when we turned to look, we saw he had one in each hand and he had them kissing each other. Later he put them on the table just like this.

...playing make believe. He'll crawl around on his hands and knees making various animal sounds. His favorite is a panting dog, but he'll also do kitty sounds, sheep sounds, etc. And he'll want you to pretend with him.

...flirting with the girls. Everywhere we go he finds a woman to flirt with. Yesterday morning at a downtown coffeeshop it was a 20-something woman sitting by herself. Thomas was really interested in her and soon she was just as interested in him. She even walked with him over to the large windows when the train passed to watch with him and answer his "choo choos" with her own. I was told today he's going to be a heartbreaker.

...playing with older kids. Last night he and our neighbor had a playdate at our house for a few hours and I'm told Thomas wanted to do everything L was doing. Older kids are just so cool.

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.

17 months

Since Thomas was born on a Friday the 13th, it'll always be a very good day for us...

16 months

I was busy in the kitchen yesterday afternoon but keeping an ear out for Thomas as he ran around the house playing. After what must have been 15 minutes of quiet, I went looking and found him in the spare room reading a book quietly by himself. Sometimes he's so serious!

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15 months

Thomas is 15 months old today. Where is the time going? There are so many things I love about this little boy, but here are fifteen that come to mind...

1. You make me snort. I never snorted before but your antics make me snort.
2. Your pronunciation of *car*. Baby, we don't live in Boston. There's an *r* at the end of that word.

3. I love watching you squeal with delight and run from Bela and Greta as if they are chasing you around the house.

4. The flicking thing you do with your big toe. You got that from your dad.

5. The way you zone out in the car, stroller, jogger and bike trailer. The movement seems to put you in some sort of trance-like state.

6. Your obsession with water.

7. The way your hair stands on end/ straight up when you wake.

8. The running form you've adopted.

9. Your love for all animals, esp. dogs.

10. The way you put your hands behind your head and fall back into me, trusting the whole time that I'm going to be there to catch you and/or break your fall.

11. Your dance moves. I love that hearing the ice cream truck while we are out walking is enough for you to break out your signature knee-bending moves.

12. Listening to the *conversations* you have with your dad.

13. The way your eyes light up when you see me after some time apart.

14. The ease with which you approach new things.

15. I love that you will go up to a complete stranger in a shoe store, point at the shoe they are trying on and exclaim SHOE! It makes me snort.

14 months

Thomas really enjoys bath time. Every evening I ask Are you ready for your bath? Sometimes he'll actually reply Yeah, but he always gets up and walks straight down the hall to the bathroom door. He'll stand there with his hand on the door, waiting for me to follow and open the door for him. Pretty much anything involving water ranks up there as a favorite pastime.

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.

Happy 1st Birthday, baby!

Thomas is one year old today. One year old. Today. I can hardly believe it. This past year has been incredible with this truly amazing and wonderful little guy. We are so lucky!

11 months

Thomas got this walk-and-ride toy last weekend and he loves it. He'll push it around the living room, bumping into furniture and the dogs, too, if they aren't paying attention. Once in awhile he'll stop and put his arms up in the air as if to say "Look! No hands!!" and then he'll continue pushing it and bumping into things. He also loves to put things into the trunk (green thing in front) and take things out of the trunk. He puts them in and takes them out. Over and over and over...

10 months

My Top Five Favorite Places to Kiss You...

1. middle of your forehead
2. bottom of your bare feet
3. top of your head/ your hair
4. inside of your hands
5. on the cheek, esp. when you are smiling

9 months

Likes: avocado, couscous, hummus, rice crackers, oatmeal, apples, pears, mangoes, cottage cheese, water, corn, bananas, toast, anything orange (vegetable, fruit or otherwise) and wants whatever we are eating

Dislikes: nothing

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)