Weekend with Grandpa!

James's dad came up for a visit this weekend. We had a great visit with him. Saturday we went to the park. Thomas had fun running around playing on the equipment. We're looking forward to the next visit with Grandpa, and we hope the whole family gets to visit that time!

Thomas and Grandpa:


Here is James, Thomas, and Grandpa
Doesn't James look handsome here!!

Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas morning started off opening the presents Santa left for Thomas at our house. He was thrilled to see the dump truck!


For breakfast we headed to Mimi and Pappys, along with Doug, Becky, Bree'Anna, and Mary. Thomas couldn't keep his eyes off this 4-wheeler!


For lunch we went to Grandmas house (Thomas' Great-Grandma), then we spent the afternoon with Sherri and had dinner with her side of the family! Thomas loves playing with the Little People Bus and Airplane!!


We all had a fabulous Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve

Thomas had a great 2nd Christmas! Our events started our Christmas Eve at my Aunt JoJos house. Here are a couple of pictures!


Thomas and Uncle Doug


Thomas and MiMi

Santa and our Christmas tree

We took Thomas, Bree'Anna, and Mary to see Santa. Mary and Bree did great, Thomas doesn't care much for Santa. He does say Ho, Ho, Ho when he sees him!

Here is Thomas running around before seeing Santa.


Here is Thomas with Santa.


Our Christmas tree

Haircut

Before:


During:


Side view after:

We took Thomas to get his first haircut. As you can tell he did not enjoy it!!

Fort Walton Beach

Last Wednesday afternoon, James and I dropped Thomas off for another long stay at Mimi and Pappy’s house. We were headed to the beach with our friends Whitney and RJ.

Thursday morning the guys woke up early to play golf at The Raven. While the guys golfed, Whitney and I ate a fantastic breakfast, at Another Broken Egg. Once our tummies were full, we headed to the Destin outlet mall. We weren’t quite finished shopping when the guys called and were finished playing golf. We met them for lunch, then went back to the condo to rest before dinner. That night we ate at McGuire’s Irish Pub. It’s a really cool place! They have over 650,000 thousand dollars on the walls from people that haven eaten at the restaurant. I know that makes it sound like a crappy place, but it’s a very nice place. The food was fabulous too!! Next time you see James, ask him about his meal.

Friday the guys played another round of golf at Kelly Plantation. The course was beautiful! Whitney and I did more shopping while they were golfing! After another nap in the afternoon, we met Nolan at Red Bar for dinner. We had a great time.

Saturday before heading home we had another nice breakfast. Then we started home. James and I were very anxious to see Thomas. He had just woken up from his nap when we pulled in.

He had a great time with Mimi and Pappy. They went and watched Bree’Anna in a Christmas parade; he played with my cousin’s daughter Rachael, and visited Coal at Doug and Becky’s on Friday. He was a busy boy!!

Thank you Mom and Dad for watching him, Doug and Becky for keeping Coal, and RJ and Whitney for inviting us to your condo!

James and I at one of the courses they played.


Whitney and RJ (and Baby Mac!)


I took a nap outside in the lounge chair on the balcony. This is what I woke up to!

Watching Alabama in Auburn

Today Jennifer, Shawn, James, and I headed to Auburn to visit our friend Mike and Kim, and other friends that were going to their house for the game. They were having an Alabama vs. Auburn party. We dropped Thomas off at my parents’ house and headed to Auburn.

The game was a night game, so we just played all day long. We grilled food, played Wii, and played Cornhole. I wanted to see what it was like to tailgate in Auburn, so Jennifer, me, and a few others went to see what Auburn is about.

Unfortunately, Alabama couldn’t pull out a win. It’s been 6 years in a row now that Auburn has beaten us. I hope we can end that next year. Even though we lost, we had fun hanging out with our friends! I didn't do a good job taking pictures today!


Here are the guys playing the Wii waiting on the game to start!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. We watched some of the Thanksgiving Day Parade this morning. Thomas has been watching a few minutes of TV every once in a while, so the floats really caught his attention.

For lunch we went to Grandma’s house. We had a great visit with family, played outside a little while, and ate!! Thomas was too busy visiting and playing to eat, I think he only had a few bites of Turkey.

For dinner we headed down to my parent house. When I think of Thanksgiving meal, my mind thinks of my moms chicken and dressing, yum!! Thomas would only eat when he was sitting next to Bree’Anna and Mary, or when his Aunt Becky was feeding him carrot cake.

We all had a Happy Thanksgiving!


Alex, Abi, Sherri, Thomas, and A.J.


Mom and Thomas


Becky and Thomas

Sunday night Lock-In!!

Remember when we were younger and would go to a church Lock-In on a Friday night? They were fun! Thomas had his first Lock-in today. Tonight after dinner we were headed to Target. My car was left in the circle drive from our Wal-Mart trip earlier in the day. James was putting Thomas in his car seat in the back. I was getting James' keys for him from out of my purse, then getting in the backseat with Thomas to put his shoes and socks on while we drive to Target. When I reached into my purse to get the keys, I accidentally hit the panic button on the key fob. Before I turned it off I accidentally hit the door lock button. It didn't even cross my mind that I had actually locked the doors to the car.
I placed James' keys in the drink holder between the two front seats, and left my purse with my keys in it in the front seat. I closed the front door to get into the back just as James closed the back door to get in the front. I went to the back door and it was locked. I rushed back to the front door, it too was locked. In a panic I yelled to James what had happened.
Thankfully his cell phone was in his pocket, so we called 911. We couldn't even get back into the house since my car wasn't in the garage. A few minutes later a fire truck turns onto our street. Within 10 minutes of our phone call the door was open!
I know you are wondering how Thomas acted being locked in the car, strapped into his car seat while James and I walked around outside! He was just fine. He never even really cried (thank goodness because I couldn't have handled that). I think he was a bit scared when all of the fire fighters (4 of them showed up!) were trying to get the door open. I have to admit that my immediate reaction was to panic, but I stayed calm by playing peek-a-boo with Thomas while we waited! James panicked a little at first too, but was calm after the immediate surprise of Thomas being locked in the car!
Thankfully there are no pictures of Thomas being locked in the car! I'll try to add a few recent pictures when I am back at the desktop!

Soccer on Saturday

Today we went to Alex's soccer game. He has played a couple of years now. He really enjoys playing and he is a great player!! Thomas was excited to see his Grandma, cousins, and Aunt Katrina and Uncle Paco at the game!

Grandma and Thomas
As you can see they are both sporting their Alabama gear!


Look at that great form!


Abi watching Alex play!

Halloween

This monkey was a little bit "puzzled" by Halloween.


Thomas had a great Halloween. Last year he was only around 8 weeks old on Halloween, so this year was his first year out on Halloween. We went to a neighborhood Trick-or-Treat kick off at a Katie and Mike's house. Their little girl is in Thomas's class at Mothers Day Out. After that we went to Doug and Becky's house so all of them (MiMi and Pappy were there too) could see Thomas. We met Shawn, Jennifer, Jordan, Amanda, and Mike at Westwood for their Halloween festival. Thomas was so scared at the festival. He only played a few of the games. After that we went home to put Thomas in bed and I sat outside to give candy to the Trick-or-Treaters. It was a great Halloween!


Mary, Thomas, and Bree'Anna


Shawn, Jordan, James, and Thomas

Chicago

This past weekend I was in Chicago. I left early Saturday morning to meet some friends I met through a pregnancy board 2 years ago! Over the years we have gotten to be very close friends. Its so great to go to them and ask them questions about things Thomas is doing, or will soon be doing. I didn't get to meet everyone, but hopefully I will over time!

Saturday we were very busy! Staci, Kim, Amy and I went to a coffee shop, out to eat at lunch, and then to the mall. We had a good time just hanging out and being silly! For dinner we went to Kims house for Chicago's famous pizza. It was so very yummy!!! I also gave them a taste of the South. Alabama was playing LSU that day. We watched the 2nd half of the game. I tried to be on my best behavior watching the game, and explained to them that just how Saturdays are in the South!! Kim's husband Steve said I could come over anytime to watch football!!

Sunday we went to downtown Chicago and shopped. We also met Sapphire and her little girl Karalee. We walked down by the lake, through some stores, and went out to lunch. Then we headed back to Kim's for dinner and then dropped me off at the airport. I came home late Sunday night.

We hope to make this an annual trip! I am already looking forward to next year!

Pumpkin Patch

On Sunday we took Thomas to the pumpkin patch down by my parents house. My mom and Doug were on their cruise so it was just James, Thomas, Pappy, and me. We had a great time. Mainly we just chased Thomas around. He loves to be outside and is content just roaming! We rode behind the tractor, and rode the wagon out to get our pumpkin.


James, Thomas, and Laura


Thomas trying to pull the wagon!


James, Thomas, Pappy

Does this monkey look sick to you?

Today I received Thomas' Halloween costume in the mail. James and I thought a monkey was the perfect thing for him to be for Halloween. He loves bananas and climbing! I had to try his costume on immediately. It fits him great, and of course he looks so stinking cute in it, by far the cutest monkey I've ever seen!!

So my question to you is: Does he look sick? If you said no, you are wrong! Heres the story!

Saturday morning Thomas wakes up with a fever of 101.2 four hours before 20-25 people will be at our house for a day full of BBQ, beer, and football games! I know he has been teething so I blame it on that as I give him Tylenol. He is acting fine, and the fever goes away so I think nothing else of it. After he eats lunch I get him out of his high chair I realize he is shaking and discolored. His lips and creases in his nose are slightly blue, but he is breathing normally. His skin is blanching (thanks for the new word to my vocab, Jon!). He is burning up. I take his temperature, 103. I consult a few friends at the party, give him more Tylenol, call the dr, and get an appointment to an after hours clinic. Once the Tylenol kicks in, he is acting fine and even playing. The nurse on call thought it could possibly be the flu, so I have to share that news with my friends that have their children at my house, that was fun! Anyways, Jennifer, Thomas, and I head to the after hours clinic. We find out pretty quickly that Thomas has a horrible double ear infection. I decided it was better than the flu!!

We fill his prescription and head back to the house. The Alabama game had just ended, but thankfully my friends were still at the house. I was glad I got a chance to visit them when I returned, and I am so glad James stayed home with everyone so they wouldn't leave!! Our little monkey is still on the mend from his ear infection, but he seems to be feeling much better!

A week of birthday fun!

Last Monday I turned 30!! I know I look much younger, right? Anyways, I have had the best week celebrating my birthday! Last Saturday (before my birthday) Doug's family and my family went to my parents house to watch the Alabama vs. Houston game. After the game we grilled steaks! Everything was yummy! Thomas had a blast playing with Bree'Anna and Mary.

Last Sunday we had a birthday party at Sherri and Mike's for Mandy, Grandma, and me. It was great getting to visit with everyone, and do a little swimming (for those of us that swam-it wasn't cold!)!!

Monday on my actual birthday James, Thomas, and I went out to lunch to CPK, then shopping for my birthday present. I got a nice beautiful watch!

Yesterday we had a lot of friends over to our house to celebrate my birthday and watch Alabama play Ole Miss. It was wonderful to see everyone! Tomorrows post will have more about my birthday celebration!!

I guess everyone is expecting pictures with this post, but I am sad to say that we never took any, not even 1 single picture this week. So instead I will post a picture of Thomas this weekend of last year!

This is tricky! and "All Done"

Usually when I put Thomas in the bath tub the water is finished running. Last night it was still running when I put him in the tub. Thomas was interested in the water coming out of the faucet. He was trying very hard to grab the water. It was cute!!



Since Thomas started eating I have always said to him, "All done" when he finishes. Now I say it to let him know when I am finished changing his diaper, and other things that we do throughout the day. Tonight we had spaghetti for dinner. We were all sitting there eating, and Thomas says "All done" clear as day! It was so nice to hear him say!!

Outside!!

Over the last few weeks when we would let Coal outside Thomas would have a fit to go too. So we would go sit outside and watch Coal. Well after a few times that didn't satisfy Thomas anymore and he wanted down. I took Thomas out front to play in the grass, only he decided the concrete was just fine to crawl on (he is still crawling much more than walking, but he can do it!!). He would have a fit if I picked him up, so he just crawled around.
Last week James and I took him outside to play. He crawled around and rode in his wagon. He had such a fun time.

This doesn't hurt, I promise!


Faster, faster!


Look Mom and Dad, no hands!

1 year appointment

We took Thomas to his 1 year appointment last Wednesday. He does not like to even sit on the wrinkly paper on the examination table. I think he already knows it means possible shots. He was so funny while we were waiting on the nurse to give the shots. He was pointing to the door, crawling to the door, trying to open the door. I think he just wanted us to leave before the nurse came back in! He had to get 2 shots. Of course he didn't like to get them, but was fine immediately after. I am so thankful that James goes to the appointments with us because I can't even look while they are giving Thomas the shots. Everything on Thomas checked out just fine.

Here are his stats:

12 months weight 23 lb, 7 oz
birth weight 8lb, 3 oz

12 months height 30.5 inches
birth height 20.75 inches

Visitors from Florida

Over Labor Day weekend James' dads family came to visit! They arrived late Friday night (I guess it was actually early Saturday morning!) and stayed until Monday after breakfast. We had a great time visiting with them. We don't get to see them as much as we would like because they live 7 hours away. We just make the most of the time we do get to visit with them.
Saturday for lunch we met Katrina's family at Chuck E Cheese. The kids had a fun time playing! Saturday night we went to dinner. Sunday we went to Katrina's house to visit, then back to our house for dinner and birthday cake for Mary. Here are some pics from our weekend!

Katrina and AJ


Thomas with Grandpa and Grandma Mary


John, Mary, Tommy, Thomas, and Christie

Happy First Birthday!!

One year ago!


Tonight!

This time last year we were admiring our new little baby boy. We are still doing the same thing one year later. It is so hard for me to believe that he is one year old, but it’s also hard for me to imagine my life before him. Thomas has brought so much joy to our lives. I laugh at myself because there are so many times that he brings tears to my eyes, I wonder how long that can possibly go on!!

We had a great day today for his birthday. We went to our first KinderMusik class, then went out to lunch. Tonight my parents, brother, and his girls came over to wish Thomas another Happy Birthday. Thomas decided tonight that he likes the cake, but not icing. He really seemed to enjoy the cake!!

Eating cake!


I love you little boy!!

First day of School!

Thomas started Mothers Day Out at a local church today. He is in a class with 3 other kids with 1 teacher. His teacher is very sweet! Today when I dropped him off I went over all kinds of information with her about Thomas, some unnecessary I am sure. I knew she wouldn't remember all of it so I typed all the info in a letter for her too!! (She told me when I picked him up that my letter was very helpful for her!!) I stayed a few minutes just to get him used to the room, then left. He was a little fussy, but fine when I left.
When I picked him up (15 minutes early because I couldn't stand it anymore!), he was napping. His teacher described him as a "loving child." She said he was a little standoffish of the other kids at first, but he seemed to be warming up to them. She said he was fussy at first, but then he was laughing and smiling having a good time. He was very tired around 12:30 and he went to sleep. He didn't wake up today until 3:30, so he must have been tired from school!!

Here is a picture of him on his first day of school!

A week of firsts!

This week Thomas will have a lot of firsts! This past Sunday was his first birthday party. We had a houseful of friends and family over to celebrate. We had BBQ, cake, ice cream, and presents. Thomas got wonderful gifts, now he just isn't sure what to play with first!
He wasn't sure what to do with the smash cake. He would only eat it if I would break it up and put it in his mouth. I saved the cake and we are going to try again on Thursday.


Thomas with MiMi and Pappy


Thomas and Grandma


Thomas with his cake during Happy Birthday!


Thomas with Mommy and Daddy opening presents!


Stay tuned for tomorrows post: Thomas' first day of school!

Sketti!

Last night for dinner we had spaghetti. Thomas has been eating whatever we eat for a while now, but he hasn't liked spaghetti. Last night we stripped him down to a diaper and a bib to prepare for dinner. He loved the spaghetti. He didn't get as messy as I thought he would, but he still needed a bath afterwards!

We thought he was done, but once the bib came off he started eating again!