Thomas Joseph + Miles Isaak = World Domination

Ok, so I think I’ll just roll through the thousand or so pics from Thomas’ first November.  Ready?

11.07.2008

My Aunt Patty came up for a visit and brought Thomas some gifts.  Here Thomas’ does a little reating of a book from my Cousin Kate.  The book came in a four pack.  Two now live at GrandmaCare and two are at our house.  Thomas reats them pretty much everday.

Later that night, Thomas’ wowed us all with shoe munching skills.

11.10.2008

The best way to keep a mouthy sea horse in line:

On this very day, we started giving Thomas multiple types of non-Mommy food for dinner.  Although the first taste of any other food yields a “ick” face, Thomas always finishes his food (shock!).  Here he is enjoying some carrots.  Note Danielle’s sly repression of Thomas’ crazy hand that wants to enjoy the carrots too.

Thomas looks good in orange.

Danielle’s aim improves when she’s not smiling at the camera.

Peas and carrots consumed (well, most of them), it’s time to clean this little piglet.

11.11.2008

Almost everyday, my day, and Thomas’ day start together.  We run through the morning routine of kisses, a new diaper, more kisses, his reflux meds, more kisses, some reating, a few more kisses (for good measure), and some playing in the crib.

I don’t know what this toy is called, but Thomas’ loves the doughnut (mmm, doughnut!) / ring things.  Almost every time he plays with them, the orange one ends up on an appendage.  Sometimes I help the rings end up on said appendages …

Already practicing driving.

I only wish there were a fourth ring!

Mmmm, zebra doughnut!

No, Thomas hasn’t shrunk, that’s just a giant leaf from this crazy tree in a neighboring yard.   I was going to do a Thomas Compared To …

That night was not one of Thomas’ best as he refused to sleep.  So he got to spend some time in the swing while I cooked.  Here he shows his adoring fans one of his favorite things – his left thumb.

And why does he love this thumb so much? 

11.12.2008

The next morning, Thomas works the rattle in the orange doughnut – his favorite.

11.13.2008

My Mom has commented many times on the cute outfits Danielle puts together for Thomas.  I was especially taken by how cute he was this Thursday morning as we prepared to drive south to GrandmaCare.

Honestly though, it was the hood that made the outfit.

11.14.2008

Uh oh, Thomas has started reaching for the camera (and everything else).

If you ever come to our house, don’t drink out of the tall, green, plastic glasses (plastic glasses?)!  Thomas pees in the bath often …

You’ve been warned!

11.15.2008

Thomas is a carnivore.  He’s also too big for his swing, and grabs at everything above him, unless he has something to play with (or eat).

For any gadget or photo geeks out there, the above pic was shot as ISO 5,000 – wowsers!  The full size (and other sizes) image can be seen here.  Today’s gear just amazes me.  I can’t imagine what Thomas will have when he’s older.  I almost wonder if everything will be so good that they’ll have taken the fun out of shooting.

11.16.2008

Danielle and Thomas waiting for me to get the camera ready for Operation Banana.

It’s hard to see in this small version, but Thomas was so successful at watching the banana into his mouth, that he’s cross eyed.  If he remembers these fundamentals he’s been a great baseball or football player some day.

Sometimes Danielle is not fast enough and needs a little help getting the spoon into Thomas’ mouth.  Thankfully, he’s always willing to do his part!

A great way to curb weight gain is to get most of the food onto your face, hands and bib, instead of into your mouth.

Thomas often signals that he’s done by plugging the food hole.

Two out of two Thomases in my household agree, a kiss from Momma / Danielle is a great way to end any meal!

Post bath, Thomas considers his options for standing and eating his toes at the same time.

Thomas and his Momma looking good at bedtime!

11.19.2008

Another night alone with the boy as Danielle had another night meeting.  I know it won’t last, but Thomas smiles pretty much any time I talk to him.

11.21.2008

Thomas may be allergic to sheep.

The glisten on Mr. Chub’s face is Aquaphor.  Aquaphor is a moisture blocker and moisturizer.  Thomas has very sensitive skin that would be incredibly chapped without this magic stuff.

Do you think Thomas will hate me when he’s blind from all the flash photos I took of him as a baby?  Yeah, this wasn’t supposed to happen.

More crazy faces:

The “I’m an angel” face.

The “fun loving guy” face.

Yeah, I have no idea what to call this face – it’s just weird.

The “check out my eyebrow control” face.

The “I am so done with this photoshoot” face.

The “would we be done if I ruined this diaper” face.

The “you pushed me too far, this diaper is done!” face.

The “I think we best take care of this” face.

And finally, just a regular old (one day short of six months old!) Thomas face.

Later that day, I cleaned the kitchen floor and Thomas experienced his first tummy time directly on the floor.  We’d been leery about this, as he has a tendency to smash his face down when he’s tired.  The hardwood would not be nearly as forgiving as the surfaces he’s used to.

“Hmm, can I eat this wood grain?”

This didn’t last long as Thomas was a bit too tired for a long tummy time session.

I love his “please pick me up daddy” look when he’s tired.

Of course I obliged and gave him lots of kisses too.  How could I not kiss those awesome cheeks?

We’ll pick this up later with Thomas’ six month birthday.  Yeah Thomas!

I keep thinking I’ll write a big, long, photo-tastic catch-up post, but I just never have the time.  So unfortunately this won’t be that post.  This will just a be a quicky before I hit the sack.

So what is our little man up to?  Well, he’s sleeping away his last night in Cleveland until Christmas vacation.  It has been a crazy busy, crazy fast 3 days, and Thomas is just about used to sleeping in the borrowed Pack’n'Play here at his Grandma Jan and Grandpa George’s house – perfect timing for us to head home…

Maybe tomorrow I’ll have time to actually catch up on things once we’re home, but for now, how about a few quick pics from the last couple of weeks that I just hadn’t had time to upload yet.

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 – Thomas’ one-hundred and fifty second day.  Thomas getting ready to go to GrandmaCare.

Thomas is constantly working on his “I’m so surprised” face.  Truth is, he’s never surprised when the camera is in front of him.

Often times when Thomas is lying on his back, he lifts his head up and does a pretty intense ab workout.  Here he is mid-set.

Thomas’ changing table pad is 30 inches long.  Thomas is 29 inches long.  One must be mindful of the lamp when Thomas is being changed.

One of my favorite onsies.  A monkey on our little monkey (or mono/monito, as we call him).

This pair of cords fit well on the waist, but not so well on his legs.

Sometimes he’s feet need a little help escaping the confines of Thomas’ pants.  A roll or two will usually do.  That rhymed.

Some socks and Thomas’ favorite camo shoes, and we are ready to go … or to reach for that enticingly shiny door knob.  Mmm, fake brass!

Thomas waking up after the short drive down to GrandmaCare.  Note how his hat is crooked.  His hats are always crooked.  We’d straighten them out if they weren’t so cutes!

Once he was freed from the almost-too-small car seat, it was time for some tummy time.  Note that angelic look on his face as he looks up at Grandma Carol.

Thomas catching flies.  I’m just kidding, there are no flies in my Mom’s house.  They can’t live in such a low temperature.  ;)

No tummy time would be complete without a face plant.  I give you, Thomas’ face plant.  Thank your Grandma for keeping the house so amazingly clean Thomas! 

Ok, that’ll have to be enough for now.  We have a flight to catch in the am, so I have to be well rested for all the “I hate you, you filthy parent” looks we’ll get at the terminal and once we board our flight tomorrow.

The first trip with our little man has now come and gone.  It was fantastic for the most part.  Barnard Vermont is certainly among the most beautiful places on Earth (at least that we’ve ever visited – and for Thomas, that’s a short list).  The leaves are turning, the air crisp, the grass soft under our little man’s crazily kicking feet.  We had three 2.5 wonderful days with Uncle Jonathan, and his Mom Holly.  Our homie Rick (Jonathan’s older bro) rolled into town on Saturday.  Food, family, chores, walks in the woods, photos, more photos, and a few more photos.  Excellent weekend.

The ride back, during daylight hours was decidedly not awesome.  Thomas pretty much ran out of steam for the whole car thing and made sure we all knew it.  The world returned to normal once we got home.  Thomas got some serious Jumparoo time while Danielle and I had take-out.  He passed out early and slept long and hard.  Though he did awake at 3am today ready for some action and 2 hours of awake time – ugh.

Add to that the fact that his second tooth is busting through and he had his best day ever at Grandma care, and things are looking rosy for our little man!  Pictures are coming, once I find the time to get through the several hundred I took this weekend.

How is it Sunday already?  This week has just flown by.  Ok, so if you’re really going to read this all in one sitting, do yourself a favor and take a bathroom break, grab a fresh coffee (or tea of course), and get comfortable for this is the longest post in Thomas Joseph – man about town history!  I am one wordy dude!

Ok, so I don’t remember much of what happened this week, so how about some pics of Thomas’ sweet outfits.

Monday

On Monday I worked from home.  Despite the temptation, I actually worked all day and didn’t take many pictures of Thomas.  Oh, and Danielle took him away from me and left the house for the entire afternoon …

Thomas about as close to blemish-free as you’re likely to see him.

I almost missed bath time as I was out with some friends saying good bye to our good friend Carlos who was heading back to his home country Spain the next day.  Not only did I have a great time sending Carlos off, but I made it home just in time for bath time.  Bath time is fun with our boy.

Tuesday

I can barely remember Tuesday.  What I do remember wasn’t great.  Being such smart parents, we decided that it was time to upgrade Thomas’ bottle’s nipples.  He was on stage “1″ and since he’s such a big boy, we figured it was definitely time to upgrade.  So we picked up stage 2 and some variable flow jobbers.  It seems like a good idea at the time.  Well, I delivered Thomas to my Mom’s and before I’d even left, Thomas was turning his nose up at the new nipples.  He gladly ate some rice cereal though.  After I’d left, the day did not improve, and we received our first mid day call from my Mom.  Thomas was not eating.  Well, we both immediately started over-reacting and planning how we could skip out of work and go get him.  This is where in hindsight, I laugh.  Look at Thomas, he could miss a few meals and still be bursting out of all of his 6-12 clothes.  Anyway, my Mom got him to take a bottle later in the day and eat more cereal (have we mentioned that rice cereal causes constipation in breast fed babies?) and he was improving.  Danielle waited until her sort of normal time to get him and the day was saved.  Apparently he was pretty much ripping Danielle’s shirt off trying to get some food right from the source when she arrived at GrandmaCare though… Funny little boy.  Yeah, we dug the “old” nipples out of the trash (yes, we’d already trashed them – we’re dumb), cleaned them, sterilized them, and are now all about the old stage 1′s!

Oh, and Thomas has started really fighting us at night.  Just not wanting to go to sleep.  Tuesday was a rough one.  He might be trying to just push his bedtime back.  Time will tell.

We did sneak in a crazy photo shoot while Danielle got the bath ready though.

Someone who shall remain nameless has taught Thomas to make raspberries.  He quite enjoys this and I quite enjoy the faces he makes.  I’d recommend not placing yourself directly in his spittle line of fire though.  Thankfully, no Nikon lenses were harmed in the making of this photo.

Seriously, we don’t do that to his hair.  It does it on it’s own.

He was really getting into it.

Wow, a normal face.  What a cutes!

“Hey, what are these things?  They taste good!”

Thomas must have a high pain threshold.  He didn’t even peep when they pricked his feet (twice) for a blood test.  He doesn’t seem to mind all the shots when he get immunized (the being held down is a completely different story though).  He also chomps very hard on anything in his mouth – whether it be your finger, or his own.  He never seems to mind.

Wednesday

Wednesday Danielle took Thomas out on the town as it was raining hard and both needed some time outside of our single floor condo.  They went to visit City Hall in Newton (where Danielle works) and also to Danielle’s manicurist whom she hasn’t seen in a dog’s age.  Then they came back and hooked up with Maggie and Jacob for an afternoon hang and a walk in the drizzle/rain.  Thomas and Jacob slept though it though.  They’d had a long day!

This just in!  Danielle had some pictures of Jacob and Thomas on your camera.  

Check out Jacob’s curl(s).  They rock hard.

Hard to believe Jacob is a month younger than our little beast!  What Thomas has in length, Jacob has in width.

Thursday

Thursday Thomas was back down to GrandmaCare.  This time, with the old, dumpster-diving nipples.  He liked them, he ate like a champ.  He also napped well – including one where he fell asleep in two minutes and then slept hard for over an hour.  Yeah Thomas!

By the time I get back from dropping off Thomas and get my day underway, and have some meetings, and trying to catch up on email my day is pretty much over.  But, I can’t miss bath-time, so before I know it, I’m back in the car heading home to catch the little boy’s last half hour of action.  Good thing I can catch up on work late at night while Thomas is (generally) sleeping.

Thomas was very playful when we dumped him in the nice, warm tub.  Rather than start his bath, I got the camera.

Thomas knows that bath time means boob time is close at hand.  So he warms up with a big-toe appetizer.  Yummy toes!

Thomas can get pretty soapy, so we’re constantly rinsing him off.  Here Danielle pores some toasty water on Thomas’ belly.  He’s pretty interested in this whole water thing.

Clean and oh so kissable!

Friday

Normally Friday’s are Thomas day with Dad, but this Friday was a little different.  There was a meeting at work that I wanted attend, so I asked uncle Michael if he’d be willing to baby sit.  Now keep in mind, Michael DJ’s every Thursday night and is generally not an early to bed, early to rise (Rise?) kind of guy.  In any case, I didn’t need to ask twice if he’d take Thomas from 9:30 to whenever.   Of course we were running late and only arrived just before 10, when my meeting was scheduled to start.  Well, rushed Michael and I lugged Thomas and all his junk up into Michael’s apartment.  I immediately started trying to do things and stressing of Thomas and Michael reminded me that they were all set, and I should get to my meeting.

Yeah, I was late, but hey, I wasn’t even supposed to be there.  Oh, and I only texted Michael once during the meeting to see if they were both still alive.  ”We good” came the response.  The meeting went long and it took me longer to get out of work than I thought so I didn’t get back to Michael’s until 12:30.  And yes, they were good.  Having never done it before, Michael successfully tackled a truly nasty dirty diaper and fed him nearly an entire bottle.  He also did some work with Thomas on his lap (something I am not good at, Thomas always wants to contribute a few keystrokes that I think are unnecessary).  All in all it was a very successful first baby sitting experience.

Then strangely Michael took us out for lunch (it really should have been the other way around as he’d just done me a solid taking Thomas).  Soon after we finished, Thomas got sleepy and passed out.  He stayed asleep for the next 90 minutes as I took Michael to the club he works at and was stuck in traffic.  He awoke just as I was turning on to our street.  What a great day.

Before we knew it his Mommy had returned to him and all was perfect in the world.  Oh, except that he has a cold.

We thought it was allergies.  He has seriously puffy and watery eyes at Michael’s.  Strangely they would come and go.  We suctioned out his noise, and all would be well for a while, but not for long.  Yes, he was sick, and low and behold, so was your humble auther and his lovely wife.  Oh joy.

I only took a few pics of Thomas on Friday.  Here’s one of him before we went over to Michael’s.  He was passed out in our bed.  We should have known something was up.

Saturday

With all three of us sick, the day started out kinda slow and stayed that way for much of the day.  We didn’t get much done, but did do a lot of hanging out together.  Oh, and Jumparoo-ing of course.

Did I mention that I bought this on a whim?  I think he likes it.

No idea what was so surprising.  Maybe I looked at him without a camera in front of my face.  Nah, that couldn’t have happened.

This post is already a mile long, but I gotta include this one.  I just love his tough guy pose!  I wouldn’t mess with him, would you?

Thomas makes eye contact mid-jump.  Check out the drool.  He is a fountain!

I’m not sure if the constant wardrobe changes Thomas forces upon us with his spit up and, um, other stuff are because he doesn’t like the outfits, or just has so many good ones it’s hard to wear just one (or four) a day.

Someone needs a nap.

I will never get sick of that move.

Thomas tells me that this can work two ways: one, I put the camera down on my own or two, he puts the camera down for me.  I chose to put it down (and pick him up).

Later I tried to feed Thomas some rice cereal.  I’m pretty sure some of the food actually made it into his mouth…

Even though we all were under the weather, Danielle, Thomas, and I went for a walk.  Thomas promptly fell asleep and slept through all of our gabbing, off roading, leaving the stroller on enough of an incline to send him rolling into a tree (that was totally Danielle!), and even some pictures.  Here Thomas and Danielle are right up the road from our house in front of the local Catholic elementary school.

And then the beast awakened and made some really cute, “where am I” faces.  You’d look like that too if when you awoke from a nice nap I was staring at you!

He relaxed once he realized his Mommy was there with him.

Sunday

It’s past my bedtime, so how about a nice summation to close down this week of Thomas Joseph – man about town?  How was this week with our little Thomas J?  Not bad, not bad at all.  He’s seems to be coming through his cold nicely.  He watched his first Patriot’s game (and the won – woohoo).  He’s getting more vocal (I never thought that could be possible).  Best of all, he’s just getting more and more fun and relaxed and smiley, and loving every day.  Our little 136 day old boy is sure tough at times, and incredibly willful, but amazing at the same time.  We are so very blessed!

I am old.  Officially I’m older than when this week began, as I flipped a odometer from 34 to 35 on Thursday.  But that’s not why I know I’m old.  I know I’m old because it’s 8:30 on a Saturday night and I am so ready for bed it’s not funny.  But, before I nod off to dreamland, I figured I’d update the blogosphere on the wonderful world of Thomas Joseph.  Ok, so let’s see what I can remember from this past week.

Monday

Monday I was late-ish for work.  I was late because Thomas was up and playful – oh, and Danielle wanted a bit more time in bed.  Totally understandable as she’s the one who still gets up at least once every night to feel the little munchkin.

Anyway, I figured we’d kill two birds with one stone – pictures and tummy time.

Tummy time is hard, and sometimes you need to take a rest.

It’s nice to use window light sometimes, as opposed to flash.  Sometimes I think I’m going to blind him with all the shots I take …

Unlike the last couple of days that have been super rainy, Thomas and Danielle got out for a nice walk on Monday.  Which is a good thing, as he was being really finicky at home.  We think he might have been a little under the weather.  He was sniffly, and really, really needed to be help – pretty much all day.  But, they did sneak in a walk.  They met up with Jackie and Ellie – more friends from the neighborhood.  Kids really are great ice breakers.  They also make you feel a part of your neighborhood so much more – because this is now HIS neighborhood.   Parenting is weird.

Tuesday

Tuesday Thomas was back down in Hanover tormenting my Mom.  They seem to be figuring each other out though, and getting into a rhythm.  That’s not so say taking care of Thomas for 9 hours straight is easy though.  It is most certainly not.  He’s a demanding little guy, and Tuesday was harder than most days.

Yes, Thomas was definitely a bit off still on Tuesday, which makes for a very tiring day for Grandma Carol.  He pretty much needed constant holding.  This is pretty different from his latest behavior where he’s happy to hang out alone for a while and keep himself occupied – wether he’s chewing on a buddy blanket (or lovey for those of you who are in touch with your feminine side) or eating his hands / thumb.  He’s been doing very well just being alone.  Something that’s nice when you have to get his bath ready, or mix up some rice cereal and mommy’s milk, or go to the bathroom …

The highlight of the day was two record naps that Thomas took – something like 90 minutes each.  The only problem was that he’d only nap when my Mom was pushing him in the stroller.  The Thomas / Grandmacare workout plan is unforgiving to say the least!

Wednesday

Wednesday Thomas was up early again.  Danielle needed some more sleep, so we hung out and you guessed it, took some pictures (I might have a problem).

He’s changing so much.  He kinda looks like a little boy here, not a four month old!  I love those PJs.  :)

Thomas continues to refine his “oh, I’m so surprised” face.

Thomas cools down while waiting for a fresh diaper.

Whatever had him out of sorts of Monday and Tuesday seems to have worked itself out, and he was back to his old happy self.  He is a totally different baby since he turned four months old.  Sure, he’s still willful, and can make noise like no other baby I’ve ever heard, but as he finds his voice more, more of what might have been crying before is just his chatting.  It’s a very nice change – though I feel for our neighbors when he decides to have a long and loud conversation at four in the morning.

Thursday

Thursday was backwards day.  Danielle had a night meeting at work, so she had to take him to GrandmaCare in the morning – and then deal with the traffic.  Let’s just say it’s not good.  Anyway, this meant that I would pick him up.  This was her first time leaving him.  It’s old hat for me, and I’m pretty much hand him to my Mom and say “good luck” as I run out the door.  Ok, not quite that bad, but close sometimes.  For Danielle it was a little tougher to leave her little man, but everyone survived and Thomas even had a pretty good day – with the exception of not napping much.  He was more back to his old self for her and I think that was a welcome change from Tuesday.

When the afternoon rolled around, I had to leave work at 3:30 to get down to Hanover before 5 when my Mom was meeting with a new student.  Oh, she not only torments young Thomas, but Junior High and High School kids in the form of tutoring.  Yeah, she’s nuts.

Well, I got to my car at 3:40.  A bit late, but I thought I could make it.  Well, after much back roads shenanigans, I made it to Hanover with two minutes to spare.  Although I didn’t come screeching into the drive way at high speed, it sort of felt that way.

Thomas and I finally got home at about six.  He was beat, and I was nervous that he wouldn’t fall asleep for me.  You see, we’d only tried this Dad putting him to sleep thing once before and it failed epically.  I thought it was going to be so easy, but no, it wasn’t and he was still awake and rather unhappy when Danielle arrived home at 8:30.  But that was the first time, it could only get better.

And did it ever.  Thomas had a great bath, took a huge bottle, was happy the entire time, and crashed hard at 7pm.  Well, I think it was 7pm.  I’m not totally sure since I passed out in the rocking chair with the little full-bellied guy in my lap.  At 7:45 I awoke feeling like I had a broken neck, but with a little boy who was in such a deep sleep, I could have marched a band through the room and he wouldn’t have batted an eye.

Danielle was very happy to get home and hear that we had such a successful night.  Thomas has changed so much.  I think he’s gotten easier, or maybe we’ve just grown more patient and better able to read him.  In any case, things are much happier in our house now.  Yeah Thomas!

Friday

Wait, I have to take care of him all day?  I just took care of him last night!  Ouch.  On Friday I decided to take some pictures of our day.  Not the cute captures I normally go for, but the rest of the day.  Don’t worry, there are no diaper shots.  I draw the line at poo!

Thomas has been waking us up with his talking / chanting / yelling pretty much every morning, Friday was no exception.  It’s fun to walk in there.  You hit the light and he stirs a bit and makes more noise.  You come into his view, and he stops chattering and just beams a big smile at you.  There are so many days that I’m pretty tired and would really love to stay in bed, but that smile wipes it all away instantly.

When I came in, I found Thomas and his lamby.

Here’s the rest of Thomas.  Check out that sweet sleep sack!  He’s finally mature enough to not wack himself in the face and constantly wake himself up.  Good thing too, as he’s too strong and too large for the swaddling blanket now.

And he’s free!  He usually celebrates with some hard kicking.

A few quick kisses (I mean, how could you NOT kiss this cuteness).

I said no poo shots and I mean it.  So just trust me that I moved him to the changing table and freshened my buddy up.

The next step in his morning routing is taking his reflux drugs.  Some folks say that when their kids were put on reflux meds it was like a totally new baby.  Our experience with Thomas wasn’t quite that drastic, but it made his reflux bearable.  He still refluxes quite a bit, but where it used to almost always end in sad, pained, hard tears, he just deals with it.  In any case, we’re looking forward to moving him off the drugs soon.  But not yet.

Here it is, 0.9mL ready to get squirted into his mouth.

Sometimes Thomas spits some of the drugs out, so it’s best to have a burb cloth ready and waiting.

The first drop hits his tongue.  It tastes kinda pepperminty.  I don’t think he hates it, but he sure doesn’t like it!

Heeeeelp meeeee!

Almost done. Note that he’s holding my hand as I drug him.  Such a cutes!

Mmm, nothing like a little big toe to wash down that nasty medicine.

I’m just posting this one because I love it.

The rest of our day went pretty well with the exception of all the rain outside and having to stay in.  We did a lot of hanging out, spent lots of time in the Jumparoo, read some books, had more tummy time, and Thomas voraciously sucked down three big bottles and had some rice cereal.  Yeah, he’s figured out the food thing well.

Danielle got home from work just in time for bath time.  After Thomas’ bath, we put him in yet another cute sleep set.

So that was Thomas’ work week.  It started off a bit rough, but sure did finish strong.

It’s late, so I’ll keep this short. It would appear that Thomas and Grandma Carol are coming to some sort of an understanding. This week actually went pretty well. He took some naps. He ate a lot. He cried less. I guess that’s all we can really ask for right? We’ll see how he is for me tomorrow – er – later today. Ok, a few pics from today before I head to bed.

When all else fails, grab a handful of toes.

Or put on your favorite socks.

A new top ten for me. He is such a little bear!

Even bears can pout.

After the bear outfit excitement, we headed down to GrandmaCare.

Thomas hanging out by the flower garden with my Mom and me.

Thomas wondering why he’s not moving.

His hood, though cute, kept covering one eye.  Thomas chose function over fashion, and moved it.

Here’s hoping we have a great Friday.  Oh, and you know they’ll be more pictures…

Hmm, how do I express how sub-par last night was? Let’s just say this, it was the worst night in a long time. Maybe ever. Why? Well, it wasn’t as if he was a terror going to bed. He wasn’t great, but did go down eventually. It was the fact that he awoke at 12:15am and proceeded to be an angry (and vocal) little monkey for a solid 140 minutes. Ugh. We took turns, but again it was Danielle who brought him back to Earth and got him to sleep. Needless to say, the alarms which start sounding at 6am came way, way to early.

The good news is that Thomas had his best day at GrandmaCare yet. We tried something different, which may have contributed to the success. We brought down  our Phil & Ted’s Sport stroller. The Snap-n-go that we have been leaving down there works great while shopping (since it lives in our trunk, it’s the only option other than carrying him – and he is really, really heavy!), but not so great as an actual stroller. Anyway, he napped for my Mom. Yeah!! I now feel like there is a chance we all might get out of this arrangement alive. Sure, it’s no guarantee, but there is a chance!

So tonight it’s a bit chilly and Thomas is just too strong and large for the swaddling stuff we have, so it’s time for pajamas (yes, with feet).

Thomas is happy with his newly pajamad state. (PS: my spell check thinks “pajamad” isn’t a word. I think my spell check is dumb.)

I think we’d have to de-claw Thomas in order to completely stop his near daily facial work he does.

Feets!

Yes, it’s way past my bedtime again. Time for bed.

Oh, and Friday Thomas goes in for his 4 month check up. We’ll be running a pool to guess his weight. The winner will get an autographed limited edition (we’re only printing one) print of the little man. Ok, he can’t really sign his name, but he might drool on it. He’s an adept drooler.

So yeah, last night was not the poster child for how do deal with a sleepy baby.  Danielle and Thomas arrived home sometime right after six pm.  Thomas had been fed a bit when Danielle arrived at my parent’s house, and as is often the case, passed out in the car.  What was different today from all the other days?  Well, he hadn’t really napped all day – but he pulls that routine more than I’d care to admit.  So what was different?  Who knows, but he stayed asleep in his car seat until 10:30pm.  Yeah, over five hours in his car seat.  He’s a strange little man.

Often times when Thomas wakes up, and sees you right in front of him, he looks at you like you’re an alien.  I love his just waking up looks.  Note the adorable (and warm) sweater that GreatGrandma Francis made for our little munchkin.

Sometimes you just need a good face rub and yawn to wake up.

Check out Thomas’ great pajamas!  They’re kinda too small, but so cute we put him in them anyway.

After a nice European dinner (re: late night), Thomas watched some TV and hung out with us on the couch.

Stick ‘em up!

“I find this program most intriguing.  That plot twist really caught me unawares!”

“Oh my goodness, what happened to my thumb?!”

And finally, he went down for the rest of the night.  Another exciting day with Thomas.

With Thomas, you should never get your hopes up that a day will be easy, nap-rich, or quiet. Pretty much any hope like that will doom you to bad-Thomas-dom. So yesterday, as mentioned below, was a good day for us. I had high hopes that the little one had turned the corner and would be easy for my Mom today.

No dice.

Despite all my Mom’s best efforts, he refused to nap. Long walks – ok, a tiny nap. Swaying in a dark, quiet room after a meal – haha, you’re kidding right? Actually trying to put him down after he has been asleep in your arms for 15 minutes – oh, you must be kidding.

So, it was another tough day (at least the last part) for my Mom with Thomas. He ate 16oz of milk today. For those of you who don’t know, that is a TON of breast milk for a 9 or so hour period…

Anyway, when Danielle got him ready for his trip south to Grandma’s, she put him in this super cute hand-me-down outfit. I usually don’t go this big with photos for the blog, but I think this one is worth it!

Yes, that is a knit sweater union suit. Where do I get one of those? I have a feeling it’s prohibitively expensive to knit something that will fit all of me …

At the end of the day – after almost no napping – this is what Danielle brought home:

Thomas lu-u-u-vs his Lamby Lovey.

How much?   A lot.

He’s actually been asleep for the last 3.5 hours in the outfit, in his car seat, with his Lamby Lovey. I guess he saved up all his napping …