Thomas' Snow Adventure

We had our first (and probably only) snow day of the season yesterday.
This was Thomas' first real experience with snow.
He wasn't sure what to make of it at first, he kept looking out the window, trying to figure out what was going on. . .

We bundled up and went outside to explore.
Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!

T just wanted to walk around in it.

Not too thrilled about stopping for a photo opp...

The scene inside after the morning's snow time:

(Thomas not pictured because he was busy taking a two and a half hour nap!)

Mommy's Shoes

His new thing--trying to put shoes on--his or anyone else's.

First Words

Thomas has several words now. Yesterday I shot a good video of him reciting a selection of the ones he knows. As you will see when you view the clip, this is a game we play often, as he starts to say Dada after Mama, before I can even prompt him. Also note the appropriate use of "ha ha" when he tries to sneak down the stairs.



I probably could have gotten more out of him if I didn't mention "book," his obsession. Once I uttered that word, we had to stop the tape and go downstairs to read.

T's complete list of words as of today:

Mama
Daddy
Truck
Car
Bus
Down
Hot
Hi
Uh-oh
Ha ha
No
Bottle (more like ba--but it means bottle)
Ball
Aba
Pop pop
Open
Stinky

Return of the Narrators

G's parents spent a few days with us last week, and Thomas put them to work immediately.

Lazy Sunday

Reading time with Mommy...

...and floor time with Daddy

What more could you ask for?

Inauguration Getaway

We decided to take advantage of G's day "off" by heading down to the Boar's Head Inn in Cville for our own inauguration festivities.

Just our luck (no really, this is good) the heat and water were out in the main building, so the Boar's Head upgraded us to a suite! Sweet! Thomas got his own room.
This didn't stop him from relaxing in our room.

Our next stop? Why, Bellair Market of course!
We enjoyed our Montpelier and Birdwood in the law school's alumni lounge.


Lunch was followed by a stroll through the hallways, you know, just for old times' sake.

Check out that view!

Our first night there, we introduced Thomas to Continental Divide.
He loved it!

"Get in here!"

The next morning, Thomas watched the inauguration coverage from the comfort of his bedroom. . .

T: "Hmm, that oath didn't sound right."

T: "Let me show them how it's done."

Sleeping Like a Baby

Thomas has several interesting sleep habits. First, he has the habit of sleeping with a blanket over his face. He's done it ever since he's had blankets in his crib, and it drives me crazy. I used to remove the blanket every time I would catch him sleeping that way, but now I've just given up. Below are photos of the position I found him in the other night, when I went to check on him before I went to bed.

Upon further inspection, I did notice that part of his face was exposed. Phew!

Second, look at that little bottom sticking straight up in the air!
Why do babies sleep this way? Try it, it's not comfortable.

Third, please note all of the "friends" he sleeps with. Although I really can't complain--these "friends" allow me an extra 30 minutes of sleep in the morning while Thomas "talks" to them upon wakening. Of course, he's very fickle--as soon as he loses interest in the conversation, he promptly throws them out of the crib.

Little stinker!

Thomas' Menagerie

Thomas fell in love with these plastic animals a few months ago when he encountered them at a friend's house. Santa filled his stocking with them for Christmas, and now he has his own personal petting zoo.

They aren't soft and cuddly, but nevertheless, he still finds it necessary to "love" them.

Loving the cow,

loving the pig,

loving the penguin.

He can identify most of the animals, and he can mimic the sounds of a few. For your viewing pleasure, I shot some footage of him in action this afternoon:

Happy Birthday, Renee!

Special birthday message from Thomas: "Can you believe how tiny I was on your birthday last year? Now I am all grown up and learning how to say your name! See you soon."

Holiday Recap

We had a lovely Christmas and New Year's with family and friends. Below are a few shots from the holidays.

The cousins in their PJs on Christmas Eve, all ready for Santa

Thomas admires his new Polar Express

The favorite toy (and noisiest!), a Hummer that plays five different drum solos, fit for a Tahitian Dance performance

Thomas' first taste of traditional Cuban Christmas dinner, pork, black beans, rice and yuca. As you can see, he liked it!

Umm, do I even need a caption for this one?
The favorite activity du jour, READING!
(don't think for one second that it was put on hold just because Santa Claus was coming to town!)


And we rounded out the holiday with a New Year's Day visit with Allison and the twins!

Rock Band 2

Thomas demonstrates his skills.

He cannot live without books!

To say that Thomas loves books would be an understatement.

He loves loves loves LOVES them, and we spend a large part of our day reading.
Each week he appears to have a certain selection in mind. Right now he's really into nonfiction, specifically the construction equipment genre.

Thomas' Best Seller List Week of January 4, 2009

Fiction
1. Sally's Snow Adventure by Stephen Huneck
2. No, David! by David Shannon
3. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
4. Ernie's Touchdown A Sesame Street Sports Squeaker Book
5. From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

Non-Fiction
1. My Little Picture Dictionary by Roger Priddy
2. My Little Word Book by Roger Priddy
3. B is for Bear by Roger Priddy
4. Trucks by Roger Priddy
5. Emergency Vehicles Hinkler Books


Renee and Pop Pop are his favorite narrators.
They don't seem to mind reading the same book 100 times, even if the only words in the entire story are "Concrete Mixer," "Mini-loader," and "Fire Truck."

Enjoying Emergency Vehicles, read by Pop Pop.

About to sucker Renee into another telling of Big Dog and Little Dog (that selection didn't make it on the top five this week).

And yes, sometimes he does do some reading on his own.

All Gone!

We just finished the last cannister of formula today and I couldn't be more pleased. Now if I could just figure out how to rid Thomas of the bottles...

New Year, New Camera

Stay tuned. . .
(oh, and Happy New Year!)