So, today is mine and Tyler's 5th wedding anniversary. We haven't killed one another yet, and that only leads me to think that this thing may last. We have had a fun 5 years. There have been very few dull moments. How does one celebrate a 5th anniversary you may ask? Well, if you are Tyler and I, you go your separate ways. 5 years ago tomorrow we were leaving for our week long honeymoon. Tomorrow we leave for a week apart. I say that is how you keep a marriage healthy. Lots of time together, but some time apart too. I look forward to telling you about and showing you pictures of both of our trips. Please be in prayer for the Dominican team. Tyler's will definitely not be the week of leisure that I will be having. So here's looking to 100 more years of fun together. Happy Anniversary, Tyler!!
Friday, September 30, 2005
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
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We don't. We say that punk is not only in, but awful cute. Thomas loves being a big boy in the tub. He has toys that he plays with and is really interested in the water. It would seem he has inherited his mommy's love for baths.
We don't. We say that punk is not only in, but awful cute. Thomas loves being a big boy in the tub. He has toys that he plays with and is really interested in the water. It would seem he has inherited his mommy's love for baths.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
I know that none of you can tell this by the way I write about him, but Tyler and I both are smitten with our little boy. It's just a fact and we have come to accept it, so I hope that you can too. This post is just a bunch of fun photos that I have taken of him recently. We have so much fun with him and laugh at him constantly. He is a ball of energy that already keeps us on our toes. I know that will only get worse. (Or better depending upon how you look at it.)
This is our little budding musician. He may not look like a Johnston, but he has a lot of his dad's and Aunt Heather's traits. This includes his love for music. We are hoping that he will sing like his Aunt Heather. (Although, we would prefer a wee deeper voice.)
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Pea Facial Anyone?? This is us trying Thomas out in his big boy high chair. Needless to say he is not quite ready for it. He is normally a very neat eater.
Can these sheets still be considered clean?? To prevent Thomas from unfolding all of the sheets that I had already folded, I gave him some sheets to play with. He got himself all tangled up in them. I pretended like they were clean and went and put them on the bed anyway.
Crawling can get you into lots of trouble...
Especially when you crawl after a toy into a corner where your mom keeps lots of stuff. The garbage bag is full of clothes that he has grown out of, and the box belongs to a toy that is on loan from our friend Martha. His spatial dilemma did not seem to bother him and all and he just kept on playing like nothing was wrong.
Now, if that last picture didn't pull at your heart strings, this next one certainly will.
Thomas had not slept well today, so I tried to lay him down for an evening nap. I then started making some phone calls, checking my e-mail, etc. He started crying so after a few minutes I went in to give him his paci. This is what I found. How could I resist that?? I went and got the camera, took a few pictures and then scooped him up for a good cuddle. He knows how to work his mommy over.
I had to laugh though because when previewing parenting classes for us to teach at church, one of the classes was pro co-sleeping. (Don't worry we didn't choose it.) They described the crib as a cold dark cage with bars on it. I think even without reading that book, Thomas agrees with them.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Yippee!! At the ripe old age of 6 1/2 months, Thomas has gotten his first tooth. We are so excited. It's seemed like he has been teething for a long time. I was in the grocery store today and he smiled at me all sweet and gummy only for me to find out that his smiles won't be so gummy any more. So we have promised him that in just a few short months, he will be allowed to eat "real" food. He seems to think that sounds like a good idea.
I will try to get some pics of the new tooth. So far it is not big enough to see on camera. Believe me when I say that I have tried. I also have some new funny pics of the crawling boy playing. I will try and post them tomorrow.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Well, I wanted a little something exciting to post, and boy do I have it. Thomas has gone from being a boy who can crawl, but only if totally neccesary to a boy that can crawl, and will. He loves his stuffed animals, and today he just got really excited about one of them. Tyler and I would move the monkey across the room, and he would go get it. Of course, his reward was short lived because we would then take the monkey away again and make him go get it again. We are already saving up for the counseling this will require. He also can sit up for a lot longer today than he has been able to. Our little boy is growing up, and I can't believe how fast.
Here he is getting ready to go...
He is trying to get to a cord that is plugged in. I guess it is time to baby proof the house.
This is the one member of our family not happy about Thomas' new mobility.
I think that she is trying to come up with the best way to escape. She has been trying to for years, but now there is even more incentive. She prefers that he would just sit.
He thinks that is not fun.
The crazy look in his eyes should tell you the trouble that we are in. Your prayers will become even more important the older this wild child gets.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
So, nothing new going on around here. It seems like we have been busy, but I can't really think of what we have done. Thomas and I went to Cedar Key this past week. It was great being home for a little while and eating some good food. Tyler has been busy with church stuff. They were in planning meetings all week and he coaches a kids soccer team. We will have been married 5 years at the end of this month. It seems so hard to believe. As of now, we have nothing fun planned, at least not together. :) Tyler leaves Oct. 1st for the Dominican on a mission trip, so Thomas and I are leaving town too. We are going to fly up and see my friend Jen. I can't wait. We have a lot of fun day trips planned. I am sure that I will post about a hundred pictures that week. I have been inspired by Molly to learn to put pictures within my text. Billy has told me how. We will see how I do.
The other day without even realizing it, I put Thomas in clothes matching his daddy. I thought this was so cute. So have you seen them anywhere??
I have been looking for them ever since I took the picture. Maybe they both got sucked into that TV that they are so focused on. Thomas has a big boy bath now. He is not totally sure of what to do with it, but he loves that he can play in the water. He has toys that he likes to push around.
He has a great time. Well, that is all of the news for now. Hopefully I will have something entertaining to post soon.
Monday, September 12, 2005
For the past 4 years, September 11th has been a day filled with very mixed emotions. I was watching the news yesterday and it made me sad. So many people lost loved ones on that fateful day. I did not lose anyone close to me in the attacks that day. I did, however, gain one of the brightest spots in my life. This is why 9/11 becomes a day filled with a mixture of emotions. When most people say/hear that date, they feel a sense of loss, for what our country was, for the people that were killed and I feel that as well, but then I always have to smile. Because in addition to the terrorist attacks on our country that day, sweet Megan Hope was born. She has made me smile more than most kids could ever begin to. To know Megan is to love Megan. I remember talking to Ina about the surreal feeling that she felt that day. She was bringing her baby girl into a world that seemed to be falling apart. It's almost as if Megan sensed this. She smiled very early for most babies, and has kept on smiling. So happy birthday Megan, and thank you for the "Hope" that you have brought with you. Because just as your name says, "God always gives us hope." And you surely have. We love you!!
So sweet. These two have a special little bond. They played together for so long at the party. They were just in their own little world.
For those of you who know me well, you know that I have been a nanny/babysitter most of my life. In fact, that is how I have met most of the wonderful friends I have today. I have kept probably over a hundred children (not counting church kids) in my life and have been payed well most of the time. Well, last night I payed my first babysitter. We have had quite a few people keep Thomas, but they were all family and close friends who we have not payed. Their payment was the joy that comes from spending a couple of hours with the most angelic boy ever to have been born. :) It was a very weird thing walking back into the house with the money in my hand. I have crossed over. I am now the one paying people to watch my child. I am no longer the one getting payed. It's weird, very weird.
Friday, September 09, 2005
Hey all of you DIBC people, I found a fun article that I think you might enjoy. I am hoping that I can beat Billy to posting this. Since Tyler is going on this trip I thought that it was a fun find. Also, if you would like to donate, please do. All of the guys said that the tennis balls were the best things they took. They said that the kids all got so excited when given something as small as a tennis ball. So if you are interested in donating to the church call 251-1515. They will be very appreciative to whatever you are able to give. Thank you.
I am Thomas' mother, therefore, if I choose to call him my beauty it should be okay. But just in case it's not, I have covered myself by also calling him my big handsome boy. He is handsome, but when I look at him I just can't help but think, "Man that kid is pretty." I just hope that if I ever have a girl, I can say the same thing. If we call her "handsome" then that is a problem.
Thomas is doing great. He continues to get bigger everyday. He is working so hard at crawling, but just can't seem to get the coordination right. His intense nature really wants him to be able to move. He really wants to be able to run after the cat. I think Allie knows this day will come. She seems to be watching him more intently these days. Tyler and I laugh because they will have staring competitions. Thomas will be on the floor near her and they will both just stare at each other. Thomas is thinking, "Wow, that is something soft and fun to chew on." Allie is thinking, "If that thing comes near me I am going to attack." We hope that neither one happens.
We went to Thomas 6 month check-up yesterday. He continues to get tall and lean. He is still in the 90% for height and 50% for weight. My little boy who is in 9-12 month onesies still wears 0-3 month shorts. I keep trying on the bigger sizes waiting for them to fit him, but they just don't. I just wish I had that problem. Hmmmm, maybe one day.
I have taken about 101 pictures of him today. I won't bore you with all of them, but I have posted some. He is still in the "I want to make funny faces at the camera" mode, but I think I got some pretty good ones anyway.
No, he is not unhappy about his current situation. He is making this face just for you, and the camera. His new thing is making an unhappy face when he is perfectly happy. We think he has figured out that he gets attention this way. After you acknowledge it, he will smile. We realized exactly how fake it was when I put him up to the mirror and he would make this face and then smile, repeat, repeat, repeat. It's true what all of our friends say. He might be me on the outside, but he is all daddy on the inside.
Thomas, you can tell, is a thinker. He loves to try and figure things out. This is one of his first times hanging out in the grass. He loved it. He kept pulling handfuls of it. I kept him from eating it although that seemed like a good idea to him.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Today I got on the floor with my camera hoping to take some "artistic" photos of my son. Well, he had other plans. He now notices the camera and when it beeps as it focus'. So I can no longer take pictures where he is not looking at the camera. Believe me when I say that I tried. What makes this whole incident funnier, is that he kept making these really weird expressions. I love this shot of him. He looks so shocked and surprised. I am going to post a couple of others just for my enjoyment.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
It is with a few tears in my eyes that I begin this post. All of you mothers out there remember getting ready for you new baby(ies) to arrive. You go to the store and buy stage 1 diapers, pacis, bottles, clothes, carseat. Everything is exactly the right size for your little bundle. You have the thoughts that everything is so small. You can't believe that your baby is going to be so small. And then you have your baby and everything actually seems so big. You have to fold over the diapers, the pacis cover their entire face, you roll up the legs and sleeves of the clothes, and they seem like little peanuts in their carseat. You then wonder how they will ever grow to fit all of this stuff. And then they do. I now refer to that as Stage 1 of parenting. We have officially entered Stage 2 of parenting. We now use stage 2 pacis, bottle nipples, and baby food. He is in stage 3 diapers, and a carseat that he will be able to use until he weighs 65 pounds. All of this has come gradually and I have slowly accepted it, but it's what I did tonight that makes me a little sad. I layed my sweet baby boy down in his crib tonight on the lower level. It is no longer up high and easily accessible. He is getting big enough now that we could no longer keep it there. I know that entering Stage 2 is just the beginning. Soon everything will be Stage 3 and then the stages just go away, and he just gets big. I do have peace of mind knowing that as his mother, as crazy as it may seem, I am still allowed to get a little sad and excited everytime we enter a new stage and begin a new adventure. I just can't believe that he is almost 6 months old, and in just 10 times that length of time, I will be sending him off to kindergarten. Now... that is a day I will spend bawling.
Daddy fixed the crib for us. It was not very easy, so mommy called for help and daddy came to rescue us. As you can see, Thomas helped out some.
