Thomas's birthday week

I've only recently made a big deal of birthdays. Like, in the past couple of years. I try to do something small every day of the week for Matt and so I thought I'd pass that on to Thomas instead of dwelling on the fact that my baby isn't a baby any longer.... I didn't take a picture every day like I had intended BUT we did do something special every day though some days were smaller than others. 

On Monday, Thomas, Matt, and I spent the evening and swung and swung on the swing outside our house. Thomas LOVES the swing and the weather was perfect. 

On Tuesday, Thomas and I went for a walk around the neighborhood early in the morning. You know, before it got smoking hot.

On Wednesday, Thomas's actual birthday, we went swimming! And playing in the neighborhood playground. Thomas tried to swing his alligator but the alligator face planted pretty early one. He loved it. Thomas loved it, not the alligator.

On Thursday, Thomas and I went to the library! He is way too fond of sitting at the base of a bookcase and pulling all the books off so I didn't let him just roam free. We did get one of his favorite books - Llama Llama Red Pajama. 

On Friday, we went golfing with Matt! Well, not exactly. We went to the driving range. I don't think Thomas and I could handle actually golfing with Matt. Thomas isn't one to sit still for long. 

On Saturday, we had Thomas's birthday party!! Details and pictures to come!!

Twelve Months!

It's incredibly hard to believe that TWELVE MONTHS have passed since this little guy was born. It seems like just yesterday that I was calling the message service for my doctor to start the delivery process. I can't say that the last twelve months, or even the last 30 days, have been absolute happiness, but I can say that I've never been happier. Never been this sleep-deprived, this confused, this disorganized, but never this happy. Month 12 was full of smiles and play-time. Thomas is "finally" getting to the stage where he can play and play and play. And laugh, and laugh, and laugh. Oh gracious, that kid can laugh. He cracks himself up all the time. I wish I had a camera on him constantly to record his precious giggles so I can replay them when he's up all night crying or when he gets mad when I won't let him play with a plastic bag. Instead, I'll just have to replay them in my head and remind myself that he laughs more than he cries and he smiles way more than he pouts. 

Thomas weighs   20 pounds and 11 ounces and is 29.5 inches long. He wears a size 3 diaper but is about to move up to size 4s. He is too big for Carter's brand 12 month clothes, but most 12-18 clothes fit him just right or a touch too big. He wears a size 4 shoe but let's be honest, I don't put shoes on him much. He can crawl faster than I can walk. He's cruising all day long. As of May 6, he wasn't really showing any interest in walking but as of the date of the post, I bet he'll be walking within a month. His favorite book is I Love You Through and Through. He sings with me when I sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat and the ABCs. His current favorite toy is a little Indian girl figurine from a London bus set that Kat and Jeff got him for Christmas. There are about 5 figurines - the driver, the steward, an elderly English couple, and the Indian girl. He throws the others away to get to the girl. Then, he promptly sticks her head in his mouth and continues playing. Kind of like a lollipop. It's odd.... 

He babbles and sings like he will forget how if he stops for a second. When he stops, I know he's up to no good. He loves opening and closing doors. If he's on one side of the door and I am on the other, he'll knock on the door in response to my knocking on the door. For hours. 

Happy first year, Thomas! I'm so excited to see what the next year brings! 

Discovering Giselle's paws... 

At the NOLA aquarium 

At the aquarium. 

Playing racecar in an empty diaper box

Side note: "Racecar" is a palindrome.