Happy Birthday Tom!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of the most caring, genuine, giving and loving man that we know!  We love you and hope you have a wonderful day today.  You deserve the best!

Crawling!

A week ago Thomas crawled about 2-3 moves forward.  By Friday he was crawling all over the house!  I think he looks like a little crab stumbling on the sand.  Isn't he precious!

Lunch with daddy

Gosh, isn't he CUTE!!!

On Wednesday I took Thomas to a 'baby sign language' class at the library.  We learned the signs eat, milk, more, frog, bird, please, you're welcome and thank you.  We will learn more next Wednesday when we go for part two.  After the class we met daddy for lunch.  I am telling you this boy LOVES his daddy.  He lights up when he sees him, it is very sweet and makes me melt when I see that smile.

Drinking water from a straw

Thomas trying to eat daddy's face

Giving daddy a hug and kiss?

Anticipation

Sometimes before I even take the picture Thomas will make this face.  I think he is anticipating the flash.

Those are not teeth, he has food in his mouth :-)

Weekly play date

Thomas and I spent the day over at Karen and Brodie's house yesterday.  The boys actually played together (well acknowledged each other) a little more this time.  I felt terrible though because Thomas literally put every single one of Brodie's toys in his mouth.  Woops!  Of course I came home with a list of toys and books that Thomas would like (or should I say mommy would like).  I enjoyed lunch because both of the boys were able to eat with us at the table and Karen made me lunch.  :-)  I always like when someone cooks for me.  She also made this delicious zucchini bread.  I am very grateful for Karen's friendship and being able to have play dates with her and Brodie has done us a world of good.

Sunday fun

Last Sunday we had our friends Angela, David and their 1-1/2 year old, Landon over for dinner.  I made my green chili burros and Angela brought over cheese dip.  I was in heaven.

As you can see, Thomas seemed to like Landon's toys better than his that evening.

I also made this yummy sopapilla cheesecake.  Ashley had made it a few years back and I am not sure if she sent me this recipe or if I found it, but it is my go to recipe for our Mexican dinners with friends/family.  I love it and have a hard time sharing.  Ha Ha

Click HERE for recipe if you would like.

Blueberry, banana face

This is what it looks like after a banana, blueberry and cereal breakfast.

He was tired so he was rubbing his eyes after he had his fingers in his mouth.  Obviously there was a bath involved after this breakfast because there are not enough wipes or washcloths for this job.  Ha ha

You may wonder why we don't have a bib on this child?  It's because he throws a fit and pulls it off.  Yes, the snapped ones too.  So sometimes it's easier just to keep it off and wash the high chair straps.  Hey, I am just excited that he is eating!

An afternoon at the museum

Thomas and I went to the VA Living Museum today with Karen and Brodie.  We walked, talked and looked at the different animals.  It was a little cold outside so we didn't walk through all the outdoor exhibits, but we did walk through (or should I say breeze through) most of it.  Karen and I both bought a pass for the year so we can go anytime with the boys.  We can't wait for spring so we can spend more time at the outdoor exhibits and picnic in the garden area.

Love the mohawk!

Karen and Brodie

This blazer, shirt and jeans were a thrift store score!
They had fill a brown paper bag for $7 so I got the following:
2 pairs of jeans for me
1 pair of jeans for Randy
workout pants for me
This turtleneck
2 blazers (this one and a black, velour Merona one)
An American Eagle button down shirt for Randy
Sweatshirt for Sonia

Did I mention, all for $7!!!

This is a 37lb lobster!  That would be some good eatin for A LOT of people.  :-)

Enjoying the weather

Today was too beautiful not to enjoy and get out of the house.  It was sunny with temperatures in the high 50s.  Thomas and I decided to walk around City Center and have a picnic in the grass by the fountain.  Thomas was fascinated with the grass and kept pulling it out.  We also met another pug that loves babies.  It's amazing how refreshing and nourishing a little sunshine can be to the soul.  I know I keep saying this, but I can't wait for warmer weather!

Playing on the playground

Uncle Mike and Aunt Ashley came over yesterday for a wonderful visit.  Ashley made yummy pulled pork sandwiches, excellent cheesy potato casserole, awesome jalapeno ranch dip w/ veggies and cole slaw.  While they were here, we took Randy's remote control car outside and decided to take Thomas to the playground.  As you can see, he loved the swings.  We will definitely have to take him to the playground more often.  Can't wait until it warms up!

Ashley took these super cute pics!  She took about 80 pictures in the 15 minutes we were out there!

I LOVE this picture!  Ashley is an amazing photographer!
It is tough to take a bad picture of this cute little boy though.  :-)

Judging by this smile, I think he likes the swing :-)

Uncle Mike

Playing with the remote control car

Sliding him down the slide

Play Date

Karen and Brodie came over to spend the day with us today.  I had such a wonderful time visiting with Karen and the boys got to play in between naps a little bit.

Snowflake

Grandpa Barney and Grammy Deb brought over a new toy for Thomas (and Precious).  The first time we put Thomas next to the pony, daddy made a horsey sound, lifted his head and Thomas started crying.  As you can see, Thomas ended up loving his new friend, Snowflake.  Now we put him on the pony and he hugs him and eats his mane.  I have been pulling out white hair from his mouth the past couple days.

We keep catching Precious laying on Snowflake

New sleeping position

Went in to check on Thomas the other day while he was taking a nap and this is how he was sleeping.  I have heard of babies sleeping with their butt in the air and how cute it is, but ours is definitely the cutest!

Look who's......

sitting on their own!  We can now put Thomas on the floor sitting up and he stays all by himself!  Just days before his 8 month birthday (today).  Way to go buddy!

Happy Valentine's Day

Precious says.....

"I am not looking forward to you crawling"

Oh happy day

This was the very first bowl of food that Thomas completed!  For the past 3 days now it is like feeding a different baby.  He opens his mouth, swallows the food and wants more!  Amen!  So far he has liked everything that we have fed him, but we haven't got back to the green beans or peas.  So we will see.  ha ha

Strike a pose

In the midst of working on crawling, Thomas has learned how to pose on his side.  It is so funny because sometimes he looks like a model.  I haven't been able to get one of those pictures because you never know when he will do it, but these pictures give you an idea.  :-)

Chocolate Chips and Raspberry Bars

Ok, so I don't normally post recipes on the blog, but I have to post this one.  I had made these bars for Ashley's birthday because I wanted to make something other than carrot cake and I knew that she liked raspberry.  They were a definite hit for me and Randy!  We LOVED them and will be making them again and again.  We were even fighting over who got the remaining 7 bars after I packed up Ashley's (Sonia had 2, Randy had 1 and I had 4 ha ha).  The chocolate and raspberry together was amazing.  It was just the right amount of tart and sweetness.  

I got the recipe from my Hershey's cookbook which seems to be 1 of the 2 cookbooks I actually use (the other being our family cookbook that Heidi made).  You can find the recipe HERE .  Enjoy!

Sitting up

For the most part, Thomas can sit up unassisted.  He will topple over right to left or backwards at some point, but he is getting better every day!