Dress up

Humor me...Saturday morning Thomas and I played dress up. There was a reason behind it though...he's growing so fast that I needed to see what still fit and what was starting to fit! 

Here are some of Thomas' new duds...I think you'll agree there's a nice variety! The onesie with his name on it came from a designer I know through work--her company makes personalized labels--very cool!

Oh, and the bass pro shop photo (which is absolutely hysterical!) is Ed's new desktop photo on his work computer!

:)

Summer is here!

Summer in St. Louis has started...Thursday through Sunday it was 80+ and sunny, with a suggestion of humidity. We grilled out all 3 weekend nights, which was great, and spent each evening on our deck. So nice! Ed did alot and I did a little yard work...as soon as our grass takes root, I'll share a picture, but right now it's just dirt and not too impressive to look at. (The stone path Ed and dad installed is great though--especially with today's rain!

Summer also means less clothing for Thomas--time to wear all the cute onesies and enjoy those adorable baby toes! He seems to enjoy the breeze outside, and spent a few hours in his bouncy chair on the deck on both Saturday and Sunday. Of course, he also watched some of the draft and the NASCAR race with daddy. Check out Ed's babysitting skills in the picture!

Our "little" man!

Check out the leg chubs! We took Thomas in for his two-month check-up today. He weighs...drumroll please...15 lbs. 3 oz. That's almost double his birth weight! Considering Ed's size, it's no big surprise that we'd have a big kid who is projected to be a big adult. But hopefully this growing pace tapers off at some point or we're going to have a man-child on our hands! He's now 24" long, which explains the rate at which he's outgrowing clothes. Thomas also had 2 shots (see band-aids in the picture). He didn't even cry--just stuck out that big pouty lip of his and then came home and slept for 4 straight hours. What a good baby!

Room progress

We've made more progress on Thomas' room! He now has closet doors (beautiful staining job by Alice and Ed), and his crib quilt is done! His room door needs a door knob and we need to hang up the artwork, and then we're done...only 2+ months after Thomas was born!

Overalls!

I love overalls and I'm so glad that Thomas is finally big enough to wear them. I'd love to dress him in overalls every day! However, when babies wear overalls and aren't old enough to sit/stand properly, the straps end up around their ears. I just tell Thomas to get used to it...this is what his life jacket will feel like when he's in the water and it rides up around his ears too!

We also tried out his bumbo seat now that he can hold his head up. (For the uninitiated, a bumbo is a foam seat that allows a baby to sit up comfortably by himself before he actually can do it unsupported.) He isn't quite as wedged in there as the picture looks. And Ed had taken down the overall shoulder straps because he was tired of seeing them around Thomas' ears. I don't know if it's because his head is still a little wobbly or because we were watching American Idol so there was music on, but he had a constant little head bob going on while sitting. Very cute!

Chubby Belly Dress Up

Thomas is a chubba chubba...from his little hamhock thighs to his round belly and his big smiling face. Here are a few recent pics of our chubby little guy. You'll also see his NU onesie and hat (go cats!) and Thomas posing with a beautiful mohair bear made by my friend Cate.

Thomas Travels

I introduced Thomas to my quilt studio the week he was born, trying to start him early as a quilter, or at least a toleration of quilting! Last week, I went one step further, taking him to his first quilt show! I needed to go to the Chicago Quilt Festival for work, so Mom accompanied me to care for Thomas while I was walking the show (as you can imagine, it was quite a hardship for her...). I don't have any pictures of Thomas traveling or at the show because walking through the airport with baby, diaper bag and car seat is challenging enough without trying to photograph it as well. Our second plane trip is in three weeks and Ed will be along, so we'll take photos then. Thomas did great--he slept on both plane rides, saving us from dirty looks from other passengers. At night, he slept in his little travel tent, which is awesome. 

This week Thomas also got to meet his Great Grandma Millie and some of Mom's friends, all of whom just wanted to eat him up! Grandpa Jeff introduced him to a wooden motorcycle rocker made by Great Grandpa Jerry. And Thomas got to meet Oscar. Neither of them was terribly interested in the other...I'm sure that will change once Thomas is mobile and starts chasing Oscar's tail!

Happy Easter! (and first smiles)

These two post topics needed to go together because some of the best photos of Thomas smiling were from Easter weekend. We started seeing a few smiles earlier this week, and they've increased in the last few days. Most of them last a few seconds, ending up in a big, open-mouth grin. He looks so happy and focused when he smiles--it's adorable! 

We also tormented Thomas with bunny ears and took him to visit the Easter bunny at the grocery store (he slept through meeting the Easter bunny, but I enjoyed it!). What a cutie!

Grandma and Grandpa's Visit

Grammy Lindy and Grandpa Jeff spent Easter weekend with us in St. Louis. We had lots of fun! They happily pitched in with the daily duties...diaper changes, rocking, story reading, and a few bottle feedings. Grandpa brought Thomas a stuffed Goofy (Grandpa's favorite character) from Florida, and Thomas also got a Brewers' outfit to help him cheer for his favorite team! 

More Thomas pics

Thomas has been sleeping in his crib (rather than the pack and play in our room) for the last week. We've all enjoyed this! His best "trick" is when he scoots down to the foot of his crib (while sleeping) and kicks against the aquarium music box to turn it on. It's definitely still an accident at this point, but he seems to like the music, and we sure like waking up to the music instead of a squawking baby! 

I also finished up the last homemade stuffed animal (the zebra), so here's a picture of Thomas with his four zoo friends. Ed thinks that Mom and me making these was a little bit over the top. Stuffed animals that are color coordinated with the room decor over the top?!?! Yep, I'm pretty sure they are, but I like them anyway!

And finally, another cute picture, just because!

A Beautiful Weekend

Last week and Saturday were beautiful days here, so we spent some time outside. Ed tried out the front carrier with Thomas and we took walk in the park. Saturday, Ed and Dusty hauled and unloaded dirt and gravel to fix up our backyard. We're putting in a new walkway from the deck to the garage and  evening out the backyard in general. Since it was so nice, we brought Thomas outside in his new tent--something that will be great this summer to avoid bugs and sunburns, as well as function as a portable travel bed. Despite the skeptical look on his face, he actually enjoyed his time in the tent!