Thomas and the Pretty Ladies

One of the girls who lives with Kristy Watkins graduated from college this weekend and was sweet enough to invite us to her graduation party! I think she more wanted Thomas to come, but we were glad to tag along! Thomas was really a show stopper! The second we walk in the door, he pees on the floor. Apparently a swim diaper is not very effective unless you are actually in water. That or it was too big. (although he weighs almost 16 lbs now...) Then he screams bloody murder when Kristy and Michael tried to feed him a bottle. Heaven forbid he be asked to drink from a bottle while mother is around. Then he pooped on Deanna. Exciting times. On a positive note, he was quite a ham with the people. He was happy with whomever held him. I was a bit worried about his social skills since he's home alone with me most of the time, but he did fantastic. He smiled at anybody who would talk to him. He even rolled over for the crowd! Below are pictures of Thomas and the pretty ladies.

Daniella and Thomas

Kristy and Thomas. He thinks her finger is very yummy.

Deanna and Thomas

Thomas also went swimming for about 10 minutes at the party. The water was very cold although he didn't seem to mind. The blue hands were a cue that it was time to get out. We bought him a bigger swim shirt since the last one was a tad too tight.

Pardon my windblown look. I thought he looked cute all cuddled up in his towel.

Thomas Rolls Over!

I know I posted a video of Thomas rolling over at 8 weeks. He did that with a towel under his arms, and once he got a little fatter, he quit! But on his 3 month birthday he rolled over all by himself!! I was sitting next to him in the floor talking to Michael when I feel him bump up against me, and he had rolled over! I was so sad I missed it!! But he did it twice more for me that night, and I caught one on camera. Its kinda long because he had to work himself up to it, but at the end, he rolls over! Its so cute to watch now because he gets his legs up under him and sticks his butt way up in the air and kinda plops over. Really cute!!

Summertime Give Away

Head over to my friend Laura's Blog for a summertime Giveaway!! She's an entertaining and faithful blogger!

Bookworm

Keeping his head in a book...literally. Hopefully it will be true figuratively when he learns to read. :)

My First Mother's Day

While I was likely pregnant already last Mother's Day, this Mother's Day was the first one I actually KNEW I was a mommy! (Yes, you're a mommy as soon as that baby is conceived. Growing a baby is hard mommy work!!) We actually made it to the service AND Sunday School (well...we only caught the preaching...just a tad late.) Michael got a photo book from Snapfish of Thomas' pictures from his first two months. We also got one for each of his grandmothers. (So I knew about this present). Thomas got me flowers, Michael cooked dinner, and I'm supposed to be scheduling myself a massage for Mother's Day.

Mommy and Thomas! I don't know what kind of face he is making!?!

Take 1 with the flowers. Fail.

Take 2 with the flowers after a full belly and nap. Success!

Mommy Graduates!!

I FINALLY graduated!! I am now Master Master Mary Beth Ketchum (I got two!). You know how they put an MA after your name if you have a Master of Arts, well a friend said you will have MAMA....get it Mama. :) hehe. That's what I want to do more than anything. Continue to be Thomas' Mama all day long! I am looking for some part-time work so I can begin gaining hours towards my license, but we want to keep Thomas out of full time daycare, so that limits my options (Run-on sentence, I know.) When we moved out here three years ago, I could never have imagined how much the Lord would bless me through this experience. Not only have I gotten a great education, but I've made three amazing friends (Courtney, Alyson, Rebecca--that's you), grown closer to my husband, taken part in two wonderful Sunday school classes, grown a heart for foster children by working at ACH, and fallen in love with my precious son. I am so blessed to return to Mississippi (hopefully) with a very full heart. I will always cherish my days at seminary. The Lord has done much for me here.

It was a VERY bright day, and Thomas hates the sun. No smiles. We were lucky he wasn't screaming.

Master Alyson, Master Rebecca, and Master Mary Beth!! (Courtney graduated at Christmas)

Mommy Graduates!!

I FINALLY graduated!! I am now Master Master Mary Beth Ketchum (I got two!). You know how they put an MA after your name if you have a Master of Arts, well a friend said you will have MAMA....get it Mama. :) hehe. That's what I want to do more than anything. Continue to be Thomas' Mama all day long! I am looking for some part-time work so I can begin gaining hours towards my license, but we want to keep Thomas out of full time daycare, so that limits my options (Run-on sentence, I know.) When we moved out here three years ago, I could never have imagined how much the Lord would bless me through this experience. Not only have I gotten a great education, but I've made three amazing friends (Courtney, Alyson, Rebecca--that's you), grown closer to my husband, taken part in two wonderful Sunday school classes, grown a heart for foster children by working at ACH, and fallen in love with my precious son. I am so blessed to return to Mississippi (hopefully) with a very full heart. I will always cherish my days at seminary. The Lord has done much for me here.

It was a VERY bright day, and Thomas hates the sun. No smiles. We were lucky he wasn't screaming.

Master Alyson, Master Rebecca, and Master Mary Beth!! (Courtney graduated at Christmas)

Watch Me Grow!!

9 weeks. Only a small grin for the camera.

10 Weeks. All serious. No smiles.

11 Weeks. Working hard at tummy time.

12 Weeks (really two days early, it was a busy week!)

3 Months!!

I absolutely cannot believe he is three months old! I can now actually get him to smile for the camera all by myself! He thinks I'm funny. So here is what Thomas can do:

• Jabber, jabber, jabber. He LOVES to talk to himself and his toys on his play gym and Mr. Crab on his bouncy seat. Michael says he gets this from me.
• Smile and giggle at everything. Pretty much all you have to do is talk to him, and he's laughing.
• Sleep through the night. He's usually down between 9-10 and wakes up around 4 to eat and then sleeps for another 2-3 hours. "Through the night" is 5 hours straight according to the docs.
• Stay on his tummy for about 10 minutes without complaining if he's just woken up from a nap.
• Almost roll from his front to his back. He gets stuck on his side and can't figure out what to do with his arm. Then he rolls back to his back and flails his arms in exasperation. Its pretty cute.
• He falls asleep independently sometimes. If its a normal day, I can rock him for a few minutes and then lay him down and he'll go to sleep on his own. He won't do this at night though. And if you mess with the routine, forget it.
• The kid LOVES LOVES LOVES his bath. Its a miracle worker in our house. No matter how fussy he is, a bath will fix it.
• He loves to sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes", "If You're Happy and You Know It", and most recently "This Little Light of Mine". Really, I don't think he cares what it is as long as mommy is singing and doing motions.
• EAT. As you can tell, the kid loves to eat. We don't eat on a set schedule. I always feed him when he wakes up from a nap, and then if he seems hungry when he's going down for a nap, I'll feed him then too. 
• His favorite toy is Freddie the Firefly. He's hanging from Thomas' play gym and he LOVES to grab hold of Freddie and make him swing. I think his new bouncer with Mr. Crab is a close second though.

Thomas Meets Cousins Joseph, Matthew, and Andrew

On Sunday, we visited our old church in Starkville, Crosspoint, and then headed home. We stopped in Jackson to meet Thomas' newest cousin (and likely to be partner in crime), Joseph, and his older cousins Matthew and Andrew.

Thomas, Joseph (2 weeks), and Matthew (5)

Andrew was napping, so we didn't get a picture with him.

First MSU Event

Saturday evening we took Thomas to his first MSU sporting event. MSU played Alabama in baseball. It was a beautiful day--it wasn't too hot and the sun was setting, so Thomas was perfectly happy.

Playing with Uncle Fatty

Notice Luke smiling in the background!

Okay mom, I will smile, but that doesn't mean I like it.

Thomas at Dudy Noble Field. Best place to watch college baseball.

So Luke's hat is just a little too big.

Saturday in Mississippi

Saturday was spent hanging around mom and dad's house while people came to visit. 

I LOVE Pa's face in this picture. :)

Easter photo shoot with the cousin. The ENTIRE family (extended as well) was huddled around them with 3-4 cameras trying to get them to smile. I think they were terrified and confused. Luke usually knows how to work the camera, but he's not sure which on to smile at!

Luke says, "Its okay Thomas, the camera won't hurt you!"

Pudgy baby playing with daddy.

Hanging out with Nana and Pops!

Meeting Mrs. Kim!

And Carrie

And Cason. These are the kids (missing Caleb) that I kept all through my teenage years. I claim them as my own. Caleb was "Troy" in High School Musical that day, so Thomas missed him. I went to see the play earlier that afternoon. 

With Dr. T.

My friends Jenna and Lindsey also came by to meet him, but the little stinker slept the whole time! Day came by that night and got to play with him, but I forgot to take a picture!!