Latest Thomas pics

Here are a few pics (and a new walking video!) from this last week. T is walking more on his own, 5-6 steps at a time, and trying to get in as much trouble as possible! His new goal, as you'll see from the first two pictures, is climbing.

He's figured out how to climb onto the bottom shelf of the coffee table. The better to get at daddy's computer!

It's so hard to wait for the tub to fill up! Thomas tries to hurry the process by attempting to climb over the edge of the tub while he wets his fingers.

T is very proud that he snagged a remote control, as you can see by his squinty-eyed proud smile. 

Playing with his talking puppy, a Christmas gift. 

Check out the (slightly) sturdier walking! Of course, no steps are complete without the usual full body lunge at the end.

11 months!

Time flies and Thomas is 11 months old. He's starting to look and act more like a kid than a baby, except for those wake-up cries somewhere between 5 and 6 a.m. And these monthly pictures are getting more difficult to take...he won't hold still! He's using his walker, the walls, and furniture to cruise around the house, taking steps on his own occasionally. He's eating more and more and is still just a happy kid, and a ton of fun.  

With teeth comes the need to brush them...

early January pics

Here's a collection of random photos from the first half of January.

Most nights we give Thomas a little "nakey" time before bed. Here he is standing on his own with his shirt stuck on his head! 

Kelly and Dustin came down from Chicago for a visit. 

Not many kids make Thomas look small! Here he is next to Molly Lawrence, who is almost 2. He wanted to eat her like he ate his cousin, Lauren. 

Tucker was just a means to accessing the coffee table while we were watching football a few weekends ago. 

Finally, T gets his hands on the phone. 

I just thought this was a really cute picture. 

Walking!

So this post sort of overshadows the videos I posted earlier tonight. Thomas started taking much steadier steps tonight that we felt could officially be called walking, so we started videotaping! 

More videos!

I had some time this weekend, so I've uploaded a few more recent videos: one from yesterday, and three more from the holidays. If you didn't see the "Thomas Loves Lauren" video, it's worth scrolling down in the blog to find.  

Thomas got a walker from Grandpa Tom and Grandma Alice for Christmas and he loves it! He cruises up and down our main hallway, pushing it along. He's gotten quicker and found some control (it used to be debatable whether he was walking it or it was walking him). He's taken a couple tentative steps that quickly spiral into a full-on body launch toward one of us, so we think actual walking is right around the corner...



Back in Wisconsin, Grandpa took Thomas for a ride around the family room.

Dad borrowed a Santa suit from my uncle and came to visit Christmas Eve. He had a great Santa voice! Thomas wasn't so sure about him. I think this year, Santa's visit was more for the adults' entertainment...but in future years, I know Thomas will love it. 

Some full on belly laughs from Christmas morning--they're contagious! 

Ruble family Christmas

We relaxed in North Carolina Tuesday night through Saturday, watching football, playing with the kids and eating! We celebrated Christmas on Wednesday, followed up by New Year's Eve the next day--a slight calendar anomaly. :)

A family tradition: Tom reads "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the kids. 

With stockings open, the kids pose for a picture Christmas morning before we started gifts.

I made Lauren a stocking to match her brothers' and sister's stockings.

Annie models some of her gifts: a leotard, ballet slippers, sparkly purple tutu, and wand.

Alice models the benefits of a Snuggie.

Thomas tries out his walker. I'll eventually get video posted of him in action. He really cruises around and then looks back at whoever's watching with a very proud smile on his face. 

New Year's Day we smoked a turkey. The boys called dibs on the turkey legs.

Grandma and Grandpa with their five grandkids.

Thomas tries to share Lauren's Cheerios.


We played two-hand touch football two of the days. The teams were so equal that both days we ended in a tie!

Bathtub buddies!

Grandpa, Bella and Thomas relax in the big chair.

Alli and her boyfriend Micah enjoy one last snuggle with the babies before heading back to the peace and quiet of Kentucky.

Alice and the babies pose with her first quilt--from one of my magazines--she worked on it this fall so it would be ready for T and L to play on. You can't see much in this picture, but it looks great!

Ruble family party

When we left Milwaukee, we headed to Columbus, OH, for the extended Ruble family get-together. The party had a great turnout and plenty of good food, as usual. It was great to catch up with everyone and introduce Thomas to the family.

The whole family

The youngest generation

The Tom Ruble family

Thomas x 3: Grandpa Tom, little Thomas, and cousin Tommy 

The lodge we stayed at had an indoor water park. The bigger kids had a blast on the tube rides and body slides, while the babies enjoyed the wading pool.

Thomas and Lauren spent a good half hour playing with this water trough.

Swenson family Christmas

We were in Wisconsin celebrating Christmas with the Swensons from Dec. 23-28. There are alot of pictures, but it's too hard to narrow it down further! Hoping to post pictures from the Ruble Christmas in the next day or two.

T's Christmas outfit. 

Emptying the tupperware cabinet on Christmas Eve (hopefully Santa's "naughty and nice" list was already finalized...)

Napping with Grandpa on Christmas Eve day.

Christmas Eve, Grandma Millie, Henry, Uncle Fred and Aunt Diane came over for dinner and presents. Dad dressed up in Uncle Fred's Santa suit to pay T a visit. Thomas still wasn't so sure about Santa...at first I had to sit with him. Maybe next year he'll like the big man in red better! Who knew Dad had such a great Santa voice?!

A great picture of Thomas and Great Grandma Millie

Opening his stocking Christmas morning. I wish I had a full picture of the stocking--mom made it and it's adorable!

Sitting in Ed's new suitcase, playing with his toy laptop. We're hoping this laptop will keep him away from ours, but so far it hasn't worked.

Christmas pajamas! Check out his name on the butt of his red union suit.

Playing his new piano

Who needs toys when you can suck on Uncle Pat's cool new level?!

Checking out Grammy's new left-handed day calendar, which opens backwards for those lefties in the family. Patrick, the gift giver, helpfully filled in the dates of family birthdays, weddings (!), anniversaries, and even added gift giving suggestions (Did you know that he'd like a gift on (St.) Patrick's Day in March?)

Apparently Dale Earnhardt wore these bubble glasses back in the day when he raced. Patrick bought them for Ed and Dad to wear for their upcoming NASCAR experience. He got a pair too.

And, if you're noticing Ed's bling, it was the discarded half of a choice gift for Jenn that he put on. Complete with the unzipped shirt and cool glasses, he's quite stylish! :)

T had to try the glasses on too!

Ed and Pat made each other gifts, potentially the start of an ongoing and endearing tradition. There are stories behind these gifts, but they're too long to type here...this is already an epic-length post.

Christmas day we headed up to Uncle Mark and Karen's in Plymouth for dinner, runaround ping pong, and presents. Here we are with Corey and Niki. I remember when they were Thomas' age!

The Swenson family at Christmas

Our little family of three

An argyle Christmas