Laughing with Daddy

Thomas LOVES his Daddy and thinks his Daddy is hilarious. As shown in the videos below. 

He never laughs like this for me.

More Swimming!

Michael found an old blow up pool that we bought in college in my parent's storage room. So we blew it up for Thomas to play in. It has a hole but stays inflated long enough for him to have a good time. He was very brave in the water this time. He let me turn him every which way and didn't fuss. I think he actually enjoyed laying back in the water.

Tuesdays with Nanny and Pa

Since we moved back, we are spending some time each Tuesday with Nanny and Pa (Thomas' maternal great grandparents (my dad's parents)). Thomas loves Pa and all the funny faces he makes for him. We were in the parking lot of my dad's store last week getting gas, and Pa came up beside us. Thomas was grinning at him through the window! Thomas also likes to snuggle with Nanny. Here is a picture with Nanny from our first Tuesday visit:

I am so thankful that we have the opportunity to live close to my grandparents so we can spend time with them. I never knew any of my great grandparents, and I think its great that Thomas has this time with his.

Watch Me Grow!!

So a lot has changed for Mr. Thomas during month four besides him getting fatter! Here are his stats from his 4 month check-up:
Weight: 16 pounds 9 ounces
Height: 25 inches (although I think this was an incorrect measurement...)
Head circumference: 16.25 inches

He got two shots and one vaccine by mouth. He did super great this time. He cried for a minute, nursed for a few minutes, and then was fine. The rest of the day was perfectly normal. He did run a fever again, but didn't seem to be bothered by it and Tylenol kept it under control.

Doctor said everything looked great. We were sad that this was our last visit with the Fort Worth pediatrician. We really liked him and his office staff.

So as of four months Thomas could: (forgive me as I'm trying to remember back to what he could do then and not what he can do now)

• Roll from his tummy to his back when he wants to, which is about once or twice a day. He would just rather play on his tummy for awhile and then scream. But he is perfectly capable of doing it.
• He rolled from his back to his tummy the day after he turned 4 months and has not done it since.
• Nursing for about 10-15 minutes every 2 hours (I know that's often, but what can I do...he's hungry)
• Still sleeping through the night. Waking once to nurse sometimes not even that.
• Reach out, grab toys, and shake them vigorously
• He smiles for the camera very easily now...as you can tell from his pictures
• Still jabbering a lot. He's advanced to a high pitched scream when he's really excited.
• He's transitioned out of the miracle blanket and into a woombie which gives him more freedom with his arms. 
• Somehow he travels. We can lay him down facing one direction, and he somehow manages to turn his whole body the other way. (as in his feet are where his head were and vice versa)
• He is wonderful in Sunday School. He just watches all the other babies.
• He does really well with other people too. The night we loaded the moving truck, he was probably held by 5 different people and went a considerable amount of time without seeing me and was perfectly happy entertaining the company.

That's all I can think of! I'm sure there is more, but I just can't think that far back!! 

In case you hadn't noticed...

...we moved back to Mississippi! Thomas did AMAZING on the ride home. I could not be prouder of my little man. Stephen and Michael left about 6 AM, and we hung around until 8 to drop off mom's rental and tell our friends Alyson and Jonathan good-bye. He slept all the way from Fort Worth to Shreveport, which is about 3 hours. Mom and I were floating by the time we got there we had to potty so bad, but I didn't want to stop and risk waking him up! We had lunch there and let Thomas stretch, play, and eat. Then he sacked out until Vicksburg! This picture was taken in Vicksburg at the MS Welcome Center. You can see the MS River in the background. He is naked because he'd been in his Woombie sack sleeping in the car. We don't put any cloths on under that because he gets too got. Please excuse my mess of a head! That is what going to bed with a wet head will get ya! So, he snacked in Vicksburg and then slept until the other side of Jackson which was just about an hour or so. He ate again there, and then he slept until Starkville which is about another two hours. At that point, he had had enough and he scrame (screamed?) all the way to Columbus. But hey, 30 minutes out of a 12 hour trip (including stops!)...I will take that any day!!

Playing Catch Up!

Well I finally got my computer out of storage! So I can upload all the lovely pictures I've been taking and post them to the blog! I don't have long at the moment. We are about to leave to go to Stephen's to celebrate his 30th birthday! I'm so glad that I'm here to celebrate these occasions with my family! I will slowly catch the blog up over the next week or so. I've been faithfully taking pictures, so there should be plenty of posts in the future.

Just a quick update on us: Michael really likes his job so far. He's been working mainly in the Columbus office but has done a few days in Starkville. I've been busy as a bee visiting people and getting us settled. We are scheduled to start looking at houses Wednesday! I'm so excited! Thomas has done really well with the transition. He is enjoying meeting all the new people, although I think he wishes mom would just let him stay at home at least one day a week! He's been a bit cranky today. We are trying to figure out if we need to up his reflux meds due to weight gain, or if he is just teething.

Here are some pics of Thomas. After all, we know that's why you check in:

Thomas all laid back in his bath tub.

Just chillin' on the couch.

I promise, we do not pose him. He just ends up like this. So funny!

Thomas' New Trick

Here is a video of Thomas' newest trick. His daddy and poppa taught him how.

In other news, we are in Columbus, MS, and beginning to get settled. My Mac accidentally got put in storage, so I will be retrieving it this weekend. I have several posts in mind once I get my computer back.

Thomas and His Rattle

Okay, so I know most of you who don't have kids probably think this is totally stupid. However, we come into this world not knowing how to do anything! You probably don't remember that time in your own life when you were discovering all the neat things your body could do. Well Thomas is in the middle of this discovery process, and it is so entertaining to watch. Today, he has figured out how to take his hands and grab a toy then shake it furiously before throwing it away. He starts with his arms stretched wide, and then slowly moves them in towards his target while concentrating very hard. He is thrilled with himself when he grabs it. SO CUTE! Here is a video. Its not the best, but I do what It can!

Surprise Post

Surprise! You get two posts instead of just the one!

We celebrated Thomas' little girlfriend's first birthday last weekend. Adelae does not turn one until the end of June, but since we would be gone, her parents sweetly threw a little party for her and their seminary friends. Thomas loves Adelae. He likes to watch her run around and play. He always grins really big when she comes in. (Adelae and her mom along with another friend, Alyson, have been coming over for Monday lunch Thomas' whole life.)

Jonathan and Thomas. Jonathan thinks Thomas is super cute. I was a little nervous that he was going to try to take off with my baby.

Adelae's daddy protected Thomas from her "pats".

Our best shot at a picture of them together.

Holding hands... :)

Being sweet. 

Little Fish

So I can't say whether or not Thomas loves the water, but I can say he is definitely not scared of it. We've taken him to the pool twice in the last week and he just chills in the water. The last time he got more active, kicking his legs and waving his arms. He kept trying to dive forward and got a face full of water several times. He didn't seem to care. Here are the pics:

Playing with the water fall. He enjoyed putting his hands and feet under there. Then Daddy put his head under it and he thought that was funny.

Laying on his back.

More interested in chewing on Daddy's hand than playing in the water.

Father Son bonding time.

Moving Update

I'm sure the 4 of you that read this blog already know, but I feel obligated to report the news on the blog. Michael has officially accepted a job at Rollins and Crigler in Columbus/Starkville, MS. We are moving one week from today which will be June 11. Thomas will be four months old that day. Michael will be working as an accountant doing tax returns and book work while studying toward the CPA exam. We are VERY excited about this job. The two partners are wonderful Christian men who really want to help Michael grow as a professional. I will hopefully be counseling part time (3 mornings a week) at a local Christian counseling center while Thomas goes to Mother's Morning Out! I'm so excited for him but nervous at the same time. I don't want to leave my little buddy, but if I want my license, I've got to counsel! So I will be studying to take the NCE (Counselor licensing exam) this summer. I guess that is really the nuts and bolts of the move. We will be living with my parents while looking for a house or building a house in Starkville. We've yet to make that decision. If you know a good realtor in Starkville, shoot me their information!

BTW: Michael is going to pack up this computer as soon as I finish blogging, so no posts until we get set up at mom and dad's. I'm gonna write one more to go up tomorrow, but that will be it!  Here are some pics of Thomas because we all know that's the only reason you read...

Thomas in his new swaddle the Woombie. He's basically in a stretchy sack. So he can move around in there, its just slightly restricted. We found him like this one night. He slid down and was all curled up.

Thomas is our jogger trying out his new elephant ears. It's a headrest that better keeps his head from falling over when he falls asleep.

I can't figure out how to rotate this, sorry. He's chewing on Sophie the Giraffe, his new teething toy. It is supposedly wonderful. We will see.