Talking Up a Storm

Dunkin, Tommy, & Gracie Hanging Out at Home

Things have been pretty quiet since we got back from Colorado. I've been feeling sick, Tom's started feeling sick, and Tommy has the sniffles. Which equates to using the sucker a lot and he does not like that one bit. But he has still managed to expand his vocabulary quite a bit. He talked for about two hours straight last night. So far he can say "OOOOO", "OHHHH", "AHHHH", "AHH-GOO", "GLUG", "ARRR", "OO-EH", & "COO". Here's a small sampling of the little guy.

Videos at Home

Tummy Time

Kicking Practice

Vail Vacation - Take 4

After being in Colordao for 6 days it only seemed natural that Tommy should get some fun in his first snow. But, he preferred the idea of sleeping instead. We finished dinner and headed back to the condo to pack up for the flight home. Friday was pretty uneventful as we got home just a few minutes delayed. And after all that Tom still wanted to play volleyball so we packed right back up and headed out for some Friday evening fun.

First thing this morning, we went to the kennel to pick up Dunkin & Gracie. So now we are all back home and recovering from our week of fun in the snow. Give or take, next year, Tommy will be able to use his snowsuit for more than just a photo-op. We'll hit the tubing hills and get pulled around on a sled all week. Can't wait!

Tommy in his Tigger Snowsuit

Family Photo

"Snow Boarder in Training"

Vail Vacation - Take 3

After such a hard day of work on Tuesday, Tommy and I just stayed in to rest on Wednesday. But we did still get in some pool time and a good deal of naps. And after a ultra-cranky dinner at Bob's Place in Avon, CO Tommy was ready for some gigglin'.

Jenny & Tommy post-swim

Tommy & Tom

On Thursday it was back to Vail for one last day of snowboarding for Tom, one last massage for Jenny, and one more day of daycare for Tommy. This time he was with Alice at Small World Nursey - Vail. Apparently he was sleepy from his day of rest on Wednesday as he spent most of the day napping. But Alice still thought he was mega-cute and absolutely loved his dimples.

Tommy & Jenny Heading into Vail for the Day

Alice & Tommy Getting Ready to go Home

Vail Vacation - Take 2

Tommy hit the slopes for the first time on Sunday morning. Granted it was in his front pack and without skis or a snowboard. But he still got to ride to the top of Vail in the Eagle Bahn Gondola to have lunch.

Tom & Tommy Hanging at the Eagle's Nest

On Monday the guys went to Beaver Creek to board. Tommy, Amy, & I met them up for lunch and Tommy got to see his first celebrity, John Lynch of the Denver Broncos.

Amy, John Lynch (kneeling), & Trent at the Golden Eagle Inn

On Tuesday Tommy went to his very first day of daycare at Small World Play School in Beaver Creek, Colorado so I could try some snowboarding. Tommy didn't seem to care where he was and was pretty happy when Tom and I left. I however cried a little bit. Glad that we got that over with before I go back to work. Tommy spent the day with Louisa who said he was wonderful. His first report card said, "Easy to get to smile! Great dimples! Loves to be held." Which is certainly accurate.

Once we picked him up we grabbed some dinner there in Beaver Creek. After taking his snowsuit off we found out that they label not just the diaper bag and blankey but also the kid. Then when we got home we figured out they label the actual diaper! Extra security measures to make sure the right kid gets back to the right family.

Tommy and his outside label

Tommy and his inside label

Vail Vacation - Take 1

Last Saturday we headed out to Vail, Colorado for our first family vacation. Tommy did awesome on his first plane ride. He slept the whole time from take-off to landing on the first flight. And only woke up for one bottle on the flight to Vail.

Tom & Tommy on Tommy's First Plane Ride

Jenny, Tommy, & AA2375

We got in on time but it was too late to hit the slopes that day so we grabbed some lunch, bought some groceries and hit the pool. Tommy loved his time in the pool. Most of the time he just lounged in his life jacket floating around but eventually took to the arm-flapping method. He'll be up on a wakeboard in no time. Jess & Adam came all the way from Colorado Springs to meet Tommy and bring him his first Indians outfit. Now we just need to get him a Cavs jersey and he'll be set.

Tom & Tommy and Tommy's First Swim

Trent, Tom, & Tommy Post-Swim

Tommy Swimming Circles Around the Competition

2 Month Checkup

Tommy had his two month checkup on Tuesday. Everything checks out normal. Officially he weighs 12 pounds, 2 ounces and he is 22 inches long. This is up from 7 pounds, 14 ounces and 20 inches at his two week appointment.

Tommy enjoying some tummy time

Along with a regular checkup comes the first round of immunizations. Tommy got four different ones. One orally, one in the left leg and two in the right. I've never seen his face turn so red, so fast as he did with the first shot. And after a healthy wail about the whole ordeal he was fine. We topped it off with a yummy bottle.

Beautiful closeup

Since the shots Tommy has been a little more tired than usual, although I'm not too sure what the "usual" is yet, but he is still very alert when he is awake and playing. He was very talkative yesterday with a lot of "ah-goo" & "bah" sounds. Holding hands is still one of his favorite things and his grip is getting stronger and stronger. Now we'll spend today and tomorrow getting everything together for our first family vacation. If things go right, we'll come back with Tommy as a snowboarding expert.

Worn out from all the pictures

Crabs, crabs, crabs!

Saturday dawned the second semi-annual all-you-can-eat crab fest. In preparation Tom and I took Tommy and the puppies for a walk around the neghborhood.

Tommy, Dunkin, Jenny, & Gracie post-walk

The festivities started out strong. 30 pounds again to split amongst everybody. This time there were 8 participants. The final score ended up:

Tom = 4.5 pounds
Sam = 4.5 pounds
Jenny = 4.5 pounds
Dave = 3.5 pounds
Brian = 2.5 pounds
John = 2.5 pounds
Trent = 2 pounds
Amy = 1 pound

John, Lindsey, Amy, Mark, Katrina, Trent, & Brian in the crab aftermath

Dave, Jen, Tommy, & Brian post crab

Dunkin & Gracie hoping to get in on the crab action

Tom showing off his new snowboarding gear

Dinner with Friends

We went to Loagan's Steakhouse for dinner before heading over to John and Lindsey's for some gaming. Tommy got to make some new furry friends.

Sarah, Tommy, & Brent

Mark showing Tommy dancing on the table

Lindsey introducing Tommy to Behr & Alaska

"Hmm...If I just sit here sleeping long enough maybe they'll take this ridiculous shirt off of me."

Laura, Lady, & Tommy

Thanksgiving Photos

Grammy with Tommy

Grampa and Tommy

Tommy hanging out

Mark, Lindsey, John, & Tommy

Dunkin, Tom, Tommy, & Gracie

Ornamental Fun

Last night's family activity was making the hand imprint Christmas ornament that Gramma got for Tommy. Now we did this four years ago with three huge dogs without any problems so who would have thought that an eight week old would pose so much difficulty. On his first try, Tommy kept his hand nice and flat for a good shot at an imprint. However they made this clay like bubble gum, so when we went to pull his hand out, it stuck, then he clenched and all success was lost. On about the fifth try we got a decent print. It won't be hanging in the Louvre any time soon but it should make next year's tree.

OSU National Championship Game

Even though we were busy getting ready for the OSU game, Tommy still had time to admire himself in his new mirror. He picked this gadget out with his Christmas gift card. Now I see it was for self-indulgence and not self-improvement! :)

Tommy and his mirror

Right before kick-off a huge storm rolled through and we had tornado warnings and everything. This took about a half hour hanging out in the basement but everything was still ready in time for kick-off. With the solid start to the first quarter we thought everything was going to be OK, but as you can see from Tommy's expression the game turned south pretty fast. At least he got to wear his jersey.

First OSU jersey


Dunkin & Gracie in their jerseys

Tommy sleeping it off after the big loss...so peaceful

January Weekend

This weekend was busy with friends but Tommy did manage to make a couple milestones. He seems to be focusing in on Mommy and Daddy now and looks at more than bright lights and blank walls. In fact, the picture below is him laying on our bed and staring at the fan blades that I sat and spun for him. This amused him for about 1/2 hour while I got some laundry put away.

Tommy checking out the fan blades

Tommy had his first shopping trip in the carrier facing front on Friday. His head control isn't 100% but it's pretty close so as long as I keep an eye on him he does OK. And on top of this first, we got quite a few dimple shots when he decided to smile on Sunday...and an adorable first laugh. Talk about progress.

Thinking about laughing

Wednesday hangin' at home

Pretty boring day yesterday...Tommy spent most of the day catching up on his sleep. Which also meant that he spent most of the night keeping us from catching up on our sleep. We tried baby yoga for the first time and Tommy seemed to like it well enough. If we keep it up, Tommy is bound to be more flexible than Tom is :) Sam stopped by last night to bring Tommy a welcome present and bring us some homemade cookies. Delish!

Sam & Tommy

Newborn photos

What a tough ride

First family photo

Julie and Tommy

Wes and Tommy

Jen, Brian, & Tommy

Rose Bowl 2008

After a late night Monday night, yesterday morning was off to a slow start. Tommy hung out on his Baby Einstein mat for a while after waking up. Tummy time continues, but still not a strong grasp on the rolling over thing. He tries pretty hard and gets close to pulling it off but keeps just falling short. Over the past two weeks he has had 3 successful attempts. So we're going to keep trying.

Hanging out on the Baby Einstein play mat.

We went to our friend's, Trent and Amy's, to watch Tommy's first ever Rose Bowl. The outcome was of course not in anyway like we hoped. We're hoping next Monday's National Championship game goes a lot better.

We've been trying to get a night-time routine established and now that we're back home hopefully it will take. We start with a nice warm bath which Tommy seems to enjoy. Hopefully this is a strong indication that he enjoys the water. After this we do a massage with the nighttime baby lotion. Once he's in his jammies we finish it off with a warm bottle. Hopefully this will encourage him to keep sleeping at least the 4 hours that he is doing now and keep lengthening that time.

Bathtime fun.

Yesterday was the first day for a big-boy bottle. He drank 5 ounces two times. So that appetite keeps right on increasing. Pretty soon there won't be enough formula in the house for him.

First big-boy bottle.