Moments

Lately life seems to be a bunch of moments strung together. There are the moments that make me laugh out loud, those that make me want to pull my hair out and even those that stop me in my tracks at the sweetness and innocence of a small child. Most of the time, I feel like I am flying through the day, lucky to have my head on straight by the end. I wish I could stop more often and enjoy the special moments of each day.

Here are a few of those sweet moments over the last few days:

Thomas is one lucky little guy to be hanging out with these older beauties. We stopped by the MCC on the 4th to stretch our legs and eat a quick snackbar dinner after our 9 hour drive from Georgia. Thomas just wanted to walk, walk, walk, but we were able to snap a quick picture of these cuties. Both Margaret and Virginia can say Thomas's name and it is so cute!

Red cheeks with the hot 104 degree weather. Got our cup full of ice, though!

Thomas likes to help me do laundry. He will normally empty everything from the dryer into the basket. This time I was washing all of this blankets, lovies, bears....He came over and saw me putting them in the dryer and dove for his blankets. I would put it back in and he would snatch it out.

Then he decided to face-plant on the blanket. Guess he thought I wouldn't be able to take it then! This little boy loves his "blankies" almost as much as his Mama. : )

Thomas and Elizabeth Magee's lunch date. They have started eating lunch together and the small table and chairs every day now. How cute are they?

Had to capture the feet!

All dressed for church! Little man was so upset when we went to pick him up from the nursery after church. My heart hurt seeing him so sad. He was so excited when he saw us at the door. What a precious gift to be one of the people that can make the tears go away just by showing up!

Saying cheese with a mouthful of bananas!

Do you see these curls?? Where did these come from? All of a sudden, my little boy has curls and this Mama LOVES it! We are getting his haircut on Friday but they aren't going to touch the back. How could I cut these curls? I can't wait to see what they do as his hair gets longer.

Watching "DaDa" working in the yard.

Georgia on My Mind

We came to Georgia to visit Patrick's family over the 4th of July weekend. Thomas has had quite the time exploring the house and the farm. He spent hours doing laps in the den, practicing his new walking skills. He started the trip walking with his hands up in the air. As the days passed, his hands have slowly lowered and little man's confidence increased significantly.

Thomas loved all of the animals on the farm. He spent lots of time watching the dogs at the back door. He tried so hard to open that door. I think Brandy was grateful that Thomas wasn't quite tall enough to open it on his own!

Every morning, Papa would take Thomas out to help him feed all of the animals. Every time Papa walked towards the back door, Thomas would walk/run to the door and put his hands up. He loved it!

We had the Walker Family Reunion on Sunday. This was the 76th time that they have had the family reunion. Thomas is named after Patrick's grandfather, Thomas Walker. It was great to have other family members meet Thomas, and I know Patrick enjoyed seeing family he had not seen in years.

It was a cool 105 degrees (actual temperature, not an over-dramatization) in the shade that day. Thomas is helping Nana pack the cooler full of ice. He loves ice these days. His favorite ice is the little pellets at the MCC pool. He can eats cup after cup!

One of Patrick's cousins has a little boy just a few weeks older than Thomas. His name is Walker Nobles. He was a cutie...Thomas and Walker weren't quite sure what to think of each other. Both are in the stage where sharing isn't "cool" so there was a bit of toy/sippy cup stealing going on.

Enjoying some ice....trying to stay cool.

Nana bought Thomas his very own chair for the family reunion. Thomas loved to sit in it and put his sippy cup in the cup hole, time after time. We have been waving our American flag, trying to be patriotic for the holiday.

Thomas got to practice his walking a lot while we were there. He made lap after lap in the den. We would chase him a lot so it quickly became a game.

Rounding the corner...so proud of himself!

Is it sad that my one year old knows to point the remote at the TV to change the channel?

Thomas and Papa explored the farm a lot...Here are a few of the things Thomas got to do.

Ride the tractor

Pick veggies from the garden.

Drive Papa's new toy.

We also spent lots of time playing in the pool.

And playing in the sprinkler....

Thomas likes to bang on bowls but he really likes to stir. I guess he has watched us cook.

Since Thomas loves the farm, he has to have all of the gear. Wearing his new John Deere hat while he plays with his tractor and animals.

Christy, Jacey and Anna came to visit and play with Thomas. He had a great time!

Uncle Brian came in Tuesday afternoon, so we got to visit for a little while.

Nana is a wonderful baker. Thomas wanted to get in on the action. He was trying so hard to get a swipe of cake batter.

While Mom's Away....

While Patrick and I were in D.C., Thomas stayed with Tino and Mimi. They were so excited to have him, and I was so worried that it would be more work than they imagined. Thomas, of course, was a perfect angel for them....or at least that is what they told me. They were so nice and sent me pictures and videos all of the time while I was gone. This was my first time to leave him for more than one night, so I was a nervous wreck and missed him like crazy. He didn't notice we were gone!

Here are a few of the pictures that I received while I was gone:

Playing outside in the morning.

Helping to feed Scout and Daisy. He can now say Scout's name!

Reading Thomas the Train with Tino.

Mimi let him try broccoli....he is trying to spit it out. Don't think he likes that one!

Watching Sprout and enjoying a "BaBa"

Perfect hideout!

Little man LOVES balloons!

Playing at Davis Kidd.

I wish it would let me upload some of the videos they sent. They were so cute!

One Year Update

I've been such a bad blogger recently. Been living weeks in the past....We went for our checkup the Tuesday after Thomas turned one...litle man has really grown since his nine month checkup. He is 30.5 inches tall and 25.8 pounds - 75 percentile in both. We are now tall and chunky!

But boy are we cute these days.....cute and BOSSY! If Thomas doesn't get his way, he is very quick to let us know that he isn't pleased. He started walking the Friday after his birthday. He was playing on the kitchen floor with a Target flyer. Apparently, he wanted to take the flyer with him and crawling wasn't going to work. He stood up and walked across the kitchen floor all by himself..the whole way. I don't think he even realized what he was doing until we started clapping for him....then he fell down. He doesn't walk consistently, but he can walk whenever he wants to!

Last weekend, we had Thomas's one year pictures taken. Jen Howell took the pictures and she did a great job. Thomas was not in the best mood, but she managed to get some great shots of him. Jen really captured his personality. Click on the link below to see the preview of the pictures from Jen's blog - too cute!

http://blog.jenhowell.com/

Patrick and I are in DC the second half of this week. I have CPE on Thursday and Friday and we are staying on for the weekend. Annie turns 21 on Sunday so we will get to celebrate with her, and we get to spend two nights with our dear friends, Hope and Will. They just moved up to DC a few weeks ago. I miss her so much already, so it is nice to get to visit.

Thomas is staying with Tino and Mimi while we are gone. They are so nice to take him for the whole time. They have been sending me pictures and videos while I have been gone. He is having so much fun...I'm not sure he has noticed that we are gone. It has been hard being away from him. I know it is good for both of us, but I almost feel like I have left part of myself behind. I guess that is just part of being a mom, huh? No one said it would be easy!