First visit with Santa!

On Thursday we went and stood in line in the freezing cold to see Santa for Thomas' very first time. (we tried last year but he wanted nothing to do with it!) This year was completely different! When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas he said "Big tractor" and when Santa said what color tractor? He said "yellow". Then he walked right up to Santa backing right up against his leg and looked at the camera and said "cheese". It was adorable!! So down to business, no messing around:) Here's the picture we got and a couple of Thomas and I waiting in line taken by daddy.

Christmas George

Thomas is home with Grandma Berghoff today who is in town to help with the Watters Christmas Party at our house on Sunday. She'll also be watching him tonight so Travis and I can go to his work Holiday Party. Hopefully, he doesn't wear grandma out too much today! I'm guessing there is going to be a lot of playing with cars and watching Curious George's Very Merry Christmas or as it's called at our house "Christmas George". Thomas is in love with it and it's currently the only thing he wants to watch. He's seen it so many times he now sings along with it...it's the absolute cutest thing!!! I think we've got another future karaoke singer on our hands;-)

2 1/2 year old pictures

I finally got Thomas' pictures done! You can see them on FlickR by clicking on the link for pictures on the right of the page. He did great and I think the pictures are adorable. There are some Christmas and some normal. Enjoy!

Pee on potty!

Thomas has gone pee on the potty 3 times now! The first was on my birthday...a great B-day present :-) He's only done it at Amy's and really doesn't seem to be all that interested in it yet but at least we've got a start! I'm hopeful that one day he'll just decide he doesn't want to wear diapers anymore. So far we've talked about it alot and we even bought big boy lightning McQueen underwear for him to wear when he's ready! We've sat on the potty alot too but he seems more interested in sitting to read books than to actually use it. Oh well, I figure he'll do it when he's ready.

Big boy bed!!

Well as of last week Thomas is officially sleeping in his "big boy bed" in his "big boy ball room"! It all started last Sunday night when he awoke scared and wet. Travis and I had gone to the Sunday night Colts game (my first) against the Chargers so the babysitter had put him to bed. When he woke up he wanted me and didn't want to get back in his crib. I was tired (read: I didn't want to change his bedding in the middle of the night) so I asked him if he just wanted to lay down with mama in his big boy bed. He said yes and away we went. He immediately fell asleep with me beside him and I slipped away to my bed. In the morning he woke up with a big smile on his face so proud of himself for sleeping in his big boy bed just like Matt(Amy's oldest). The next day he stayed home with me so I put him in his big boy bed for naptime and he did great. At bedtime I asked him if he wanted to sleep in his crib or his big boy bed and he said "bid boy bed".

He's been sleeping in there since and seems quite happy with his new room. In fact I don't even think he's been back to his old room since last week! We've moved his toys into there and I've started moving his clothes over. Now we just need to relocate the "spare" closet to the guest room so he can have a closet again. We're still working on getting him to go to bed at a decent time as he seems to be a night owl like his mom and dad. We've all been doing better at this week though and bedtime seems to be getting easier. We're so proud of how big our baby is getting and all the big boy adventures he's embarking on!!

Halloween 2010

Halloween this year was so much fun!! Thomas dressed up as 'Thomas the Train' and experienced his first true trick or treating. He loved it!! Once he figured out that he got candy from each house he went too he was very focussed on the task at hand:-) We had Grandma and Grandpa Berghoff, the Stucker's and the Esslingers over to celebrate. We decorated the candy table and had scary music playing from the van. The kids were adorable. Evan baby Kylie got in on the fun! Here's a few pictures of the festivities

Showing Dad how to do it

Outfit? check

candy pail? check.

"Now what are we doing again?"

The family getting ready for trick or treating


Thomas' first piece of Halloween candy from our neighbor Rich

2 Grandmas??

Since we got back from our vacation (yay, Mexico!) Thomas has been talking up a storm! I swear I don't know what the grandparents did with/to him but his vocabulary and combining of words is amazing now! Who knew so much could change in 6 days! Anyways, since spending so much time with Grandma Vickie and aunt Sabrina and Grandma and Grandpa Berghoff while we were gone Thomas is all about his grandparents and it's adorable. This morning I told him grandma and aunt Sabrina and mamaw and papaw were coming and he said "2 grandmas??!! One, Two, 2 grandmas!!" He was so excited:) He also really wants grandpa to go camping with him like curious George goes camping with the man with the yellow hat. He says "Thomas, grandpa camping?". It's so much fun to talk to him now. He truly understands what you are saying and responds. Granted, we talk alot about trucks, tractors, food, and Curious George but it's still a hoot!

Yucky onion

Okay so I know it's been FOREVER since I posted but life just got in the way! Actually, I'm going to blame it on my new iphone! Don't get me wrong I LOVE it and makes everything easier to do except...post to this blog! So I'm going to try and do a quick catch you up eventually but first I wanted to tell you about Thomas' first experience with a raw onion.

Last night we went to BW3's for dinner and Thomas had macaroni and cheese (his favorite), most of my salad with ranch, some french fries and chicken and then when he was done wanted to try the raw onion rings from my salad. (He's becoming quite the eater these days!) I told him it was yucky but he kept holding it up to his mouth saying "eat??" so finally I said you can eat it but it might be yucky. So he took a big bite and started to chew. Then 3 seconds later he got the most awful look on his face and out came the onion all over the place! Needless to say I don't think he'll be eating anymore onions anytime soon! We went for ice cream after dinner to help with the onion taste but he stilled smelled like onion at bedtime!! I guess this is really one of those instances where you live and learn:)

On our way to dinner. SO cool!!

Thomas' first sentence!!!

A couple nights ago Thomas said his first sentence!!!! It was bedtime and we had just finished another "ship" (rocket ship) episode of Curious George. I picked him up and he looked at Travis and said "Daddy, come on". It was adorable and the first time he's put more than 2 words together. Then last night when putting his jammies on he dropped his truck and it rolled under the couch and he said "Truck, where are you?" :-)

His vocabulary is expanding daily now and he is literally like a little sponge. If you tell him something once he remembers it. Just yesterday morning Travis told him the van was Gold (a color we haven't learned yet) and last night when I said "What color is Daddy's van?" he said "gold". What a smart little boy we have!!!

First Corn "off" the Cob

Last month grandma Vickie and aunt Sabrina were down and thought Thomas needed to have his first corn on the cob! I don't know why but I just thought he wouldn't be able to do it and had always cut the corn off for him. Well he proved mama wrong and took to the corn like a true born and bred Hoosier!! Here's the pictures from his first corn on the cob experience:

Here's me helping him figure out how to hold it

And here he is doing it all by himself and already on seconds!!

Technical Difficulties

Sorry for the recent lapse in blogging but I have been having technical difficulties with my account! It seems fine this morning so hopefully I'll have a chance soon to update on all our recent doings!

Tractor detour

Thomas is in love with tractors right now. I think they have even surpassed trucks...I know crazy, huh?!! Luckily there is alot of contruction going on right now so we are seeing them everywhere. We have one working on the entrance to our subdivision right now and so we have to take the long way to Kroger just so that we can see the tractor! Anytime we pass one he says "ooowww tra-or" and then makes the sign for "more". Now if I can just make him understand that mama can't pull tractors out of thin air!

Family time at the The Taste of Zionsville and Street Dance

This past Saturday we went to The Taste of Zionsville and Street Dance. It was basically a lot of food venders and then a band that played in the street that you could dance too. We took Thomas in his wagon and he had a blast! We ate, drank and danced:)

the fam enjoying the band

Dad enjoying some tasty ribs

Thomas enjoying a corndog and fries....

a lemon shake up...

...and a bubblegum ice cream cone!

I think he enjoyed himself!! He definitely took advantage of the "taste" part of the event and even did a little dancing too in between the eating!

Colors and Numbers!

We are currently working on Thomas' colors and numbers. He can count to five (we think!) and knows most of his colors. He can repeat all of them and for the most part we can understand him. He seems to struggle the most with "red" and "blue" is by far his favorite. If it was up to Thomas everything would be blue!! One of our neighbors has a blue car and he loves to say "boo cahh" each time we pass:) His favorite number to say use to be "one" but now it's "too". His second favorite color is probably a tie between orange and yellow. He sounds soooo cute saying them that I find myself asking him "what color is this" or "how many" all the time just so I can hear him!

Another haircut and Chili's to celebrate

Another haircut! This time Thomas chose to sit on the tractor instead of in the racecar. Seems fitting considering 2 of his favorite things right now are trucks and tractors! He made a couple of funny faces when she was using the clippers but held really still and did a great job again. Afterwards we went to Chili's to celebrate and Thomas ate more than I think I've ever seen him eat! Both Travis and I were finished with our meals and he was still eating!!

Sitting on the tractor like a big boy!

Check out that face!!

Macaroni and Cheese stuck to his cheek:)

What a cutie!

ENT follow up

Thomas had his 4 week surgery follow up on Tuesday and we were given a clean bill of health! In the past he hasn't liked it when the doctor looked in his ears but this time he did great! The part he minded the most was leaving the toys in the waiting room:) I think the difference was we had been playing with the medical kit at grandma and grandpas including the otoscope so he wasn't scared. Also, the last time I used a q-tip to clean his ears he liked it as long as I showed him his "boogies" afterward. So doctor playtime and boogies made for a much more enjoyeable trip to the ENT this time!

Now, we just have to go back every 6 months for follow ups.

A well rounded athlete

Check out our little man...isn't he talented???

Such a well rounded athlete already!!

playing t-ball at grandma and grandpa's

Slam dunk!

Golfing...he LOVES hitting his golfballs into the pool and then making mama or daddy go and get them!

"Welcome"

One of the cutest things Thomas is doing right now is saying "welcome" ( your welcome). Whenever we get him anything we have always reminded him to say thank you. Just recently though he has started saying "welcome". I first heard it on our way to Fort Wayne last weekend for Uncle Gavin's wedding. He asked for more raisins saying "peeez" and then when I handed them to him I said "say thank you" and he said "welcome" in reply. I looked at Travis and said did he just say welcome??? :) Since then it has become a big part of his vocabulary and I just think you can't get much cuter than a super polite Thomas Paul!!

fun with playdough

One of Thomas' rewards for taking his medicine after his surgery was playdough. He didn't really play with much right away but has since taking a liking to it. Last night he wanted to play before bed so we had a little playdough fun time!

Usually he just asks for balls to be made from the playdough but last night Erin was over and helped us branch out a bit. Here you can see his hot dog on a bun and mac and cheese that I made. I think he is about to put some ketchup on his hot dog in the picture! He also was saying "hot dog" which was hard to understand but oh so cute!

Thomas' first hike!

The family took a pit stop to the park a couple weeks back about a week after Thomas' surgery just to get out of the house. Thomas played on the slide a little bit but was most interested in the bridge. He kept going back and forth across it and sticking his head out the side. Eventually we got him off the bridge and did a little hiking in the park. It was really cute to see Thomas hiking just like a big boy. Here's a couple pictures we took.

Thomas sticking his head through the sides of the bridge

Mama helping Thomas walk along a log just like Daddy did

Daddy helping Thomas step over a branch, too cute!

He's back!!

Thomas is back!!! I think we've finally got to the point that he is pain free, sleeping well and acting like a normal crazy 2 year old!!! His smile is back all the time and he's crazier than ever! It is so good to see him like this after the past couple of weeks.

Now to catch up! The fourth of July weekend was nice. We went to the "Westfield Rocks the Fourth" festivities on Saturday with Dave and Kim and then went to the CarmelFest parade Sunday morning. Thomas helped daddy light some fireworks and had his first real experience watching fireworks. Luckily, our neighborhood was like a constant fireworks show all weekend so all we had to do was go out back to see them. Thomas liked all the colors but wasn't too crazy when they were right over us. It was the noise that bothered him the most but he never cried. He would just wave bye-bye when he was done and we would head indoors. He also held his first sparkler and it was a big one!

Last week then Grandma Berghoff came down and watched him Tuesday, he went back to Amy's for the first time on Wednesday and then Grandma Loving watched him Thursday and Friday. Saturday we went to Huntington for Uncle Gavin and Carrie's wedding at the Sunken Gardens. Thomas wore his sunglasses through the whole ceremony. It was adorable!! Then he played with all the other kids and the balloons at the reception until grandma and grandpa came and picked him up. Sunday we went to the splash park with Grandma and Grandpa and crazy aunt Tara! Thomas chased the kitty and played some T-ball in the back yard. On our way home yesterday we stopped at McDonalds and Thomas ate a whole cheeseburger (minus 1 bite) all by himself! Then we stopped at a rest area to get some drinks and sat and watched the trucks. Thomas loved it! We sat on the curb and just waited for the trucks to drive past and then we waved. Once we were home last night we went swimming and got in the hot tub. We let Thomas run around naked and skinny dip...too cute!!

Thomas' surgery

Well we are officially 2 weeks past thomas' surgery! Just to update everyone he had his tonsils and adenoids removed and his second set of tubes put in on June 25th. The actual surgery took about 45 minutes but we were at the surgery center about 6 hours. Watching him come out of anesthesia was hard but he did really good after getting a little extra pain medicine. Dad brought his iPod so he watched a little curious George but slept most of the time we were there. Thomas hated the IV in his foot so when the nurse said he had to drink his juice before she could remove the IV and send us home he gladly drank his juice! Recovery at home was pretty easy the first day and a half but then on day 3 got really bad. He started refusing his pain meds so was in a lot of pain. Day 3-8 were the hardest and neither Thomas or I got any sleep. Between the fevers, pain, vomiting and no sleep it was a VERY rough week. Luckily though we're now 2wks out and he's doing so much better! He only seems to have some pain when he sneezes or coughs but otherwise is doing great. We got off schedule the week I was home with him so now we're working on getting back on track with bedtime and sleeping. He seems to do better each night so hopefully soon all can return to normal. Thomas has his follow up In 2 weeks but so far I think he's doing great! What a little trooper!!

Thomas' first real smile at day 10 post op!

Sleeping champ

Okay so I've been reluctant to post anything about Thomas' sleeping because HE IS DOING SO GOOD and I didn't want to jinx it:) But I figure it's been long enough now that I think we' ve finally got there. I can officially say that Thomas "is a good sleeper"...I can't believe it!!! It only took 2 years and ALOT of interupted sleep but we made it! I am soooo proud of my little man.

"Hey Baby"

Okay, so anytime Thomas sees anyone naked (like when changing, bathing, etc.) he'll say "hey baby"... We have no idea where he got it from but it is sooo funny! At first we thought he was saying "booty, booty" because we'll say that to him and pinch his bottom sometimes when we're changing his diaper but it has definitely evolved into a clear "hey baby". Too funny! Hopefullly, this is something he'll outgrow...otherwise I can already see the letters being sent home from the school;-)

Surgery Scheduled

Thomas' surgery is scheduled for next Friday June 25th at 7:15am. He will be having his tonsils and adenoids removed as well as his second set of tubes placed. We're keeping our fingers crossed for an uneventful surgery and super fast recovery!!

Playing with cars

Thomas' most favorite thing to do right now is play with his cars and trucks! He will lay on the floor and just push them back and forth. He also likes to line them all up and then "race" them:)

Here's a couple pictures of him playing with his cars:

"Addy"

Thomas now calls Travis "addy" (for Daddy). It is the absolute sweetest thing and I love it!! He'll say "addy, addy" while looking around!

Update: Okay so it's not "Addy" it's "-ddy, -ddy" (pronounced dee, dee). There is no "a" sound. It is soooo cute!!

He's also gotten very fond of saying "Mama" all the time! He says it so much that when I'm in another room and he says "Mama" repeatedly I say "polo" and he thinks it's funny:)

Love Bug!

After greeting Thomas this morning with "Good morning, Love Bug!!" I realized that at some point in his life he may find some of my nicknames for him a little embarrassing. Oh well, for now he can be my "love bug"!;-)

I also call him: Bubs, Bubbies, Dooder, Love Buggy and I'm sure others that not thinking of!

Our "Spotosaurus" is back...

Thomas came home from Amy's on Wednesday with little red spots all over his body. Apparently, Michael (Amy's son) has the same thing. We don't think it's contagious and neither Thomas or Michael seem to be bothered by it so we're just going to watch it. Michael's pediatrician thought it sounded like Fifth's Disease which will go away on its own and doesn't require treatment. So for now we've got our little "spotosaurus" back!!

Back to the ENT

I took the day off yesterday and took Thomas back to the ENT for his recurrent infections and foll0w up for his tubes. It turns out his left ear tube had fallen out and the canal is already showing fluid collection again. So because of this and his constant infections we have decided to go ahead and have his tonsils and adenoids out at the time his second set of tubes are put in. We're not looking forward to putting Bubs under anesthesia again or the recovery period, which apparantly can be up to 3 weeks, but we feel its the best option at this point to try and keep Thomas healthy.

As of right now the surgery is scheduled for June 25th. I plan on staying home with him the first week and then then we'll go from there depending on how he's doing...I still remember having my tonsils out and it was terrible! I'm hoping that Bub's experience is better and his 2 year body bounces right back!! Now the fam just needs to eat some frozen foods to make room for the all the frozen treats we're sure to buy for recuperation time!!

New summer do and stepstool

I took Thomas last night to get his haircut and he did sooooo good! He sat in the little green racecar (which he loved) and watched Dora. He was so good that the stylist just kept cutting and cutting. So now Thomas' hair is the shortest it's ever been!! He kept feeling his head last night like "where did my hair go?" We're calling it his summer do. Doesn't he look handsome:-)

He also got a new stepstool. I bought it to raise him up so he can reach to wash his hands in the bathroom. So far that's only happened once and he prefers to use it to get himself up to the counter. In the picture you can see where he is playing with ALL his silverware he pulled out of the drawer. Of course then he had to put each one in his mouth then too!!





P.S. When I got the camera out to take these pictures I said smile at mama and he turned smiled and said "cheese". What a cutie!!

Where's Thomas??

Thomas is at the age now where he thinks it's fun to "hide" from mom and dad by covering his eyes. We think it's cute that he thinks that since he can't see us that we can't see him:) Yesterday when Travis went to get him out of the carseat in the van he covered his eyes and then we had to pretend to try and find him...so adorable!!!

Thomas' vocabulary expanded this weekend too. I think it was probably due to the fact that he spent a lot of time with the Rabels with Coen and Harper. Whenever he's around other kids especially girls he tends to try and talk more. This weekend we heard: hot, ouch, Mack (the truck from "Cars"), drink, snack, milk, night night, window, and daddy (which sounds like "addy" alot). He can also tell you that a duck says "quack, quack" and point to the ducks in the pond behind the house. That birds say "tweet, tweet", pigs say "nk, nk" and cows say "boo" :)

Thomas "hiding" from us at the track

Summer's here!!

Yay!!! Summer is finally here and it's officially Pool Time!! We spent the last 2 weekends enjoying the awesome weather and the pool. Last weekend Grandma and aunt Sabrina were here to help us break it in and this weekend the Rabel's were over. Oh how we love summer!!

Thomas in his floaty for the first time this year

Dad and Thomas doing some chillin in the pool together

Enjoying a popsicle from the ice cream man (Daddy ran him down and got the whole house wet in the process trying to find his wallet!)

taking a break from the heat with a beverage in the sun porch

putting his feet up with Frog:-)

playing by the pool with Dad and aunt Sabrina

"Shhhhh"

The other night when it was night night time Thomas waved goodnight to Thomas the train and all his toys and then said "shhhhhh" while putting his little finger up to his mouth to gesture. When I looked closer though I realized he was putting his finger on his nose!! Too cute! I love watching him learn all the little things that I often forget about like saying "shhhhh". He is growing up so fast and learning so much. It seems like everyday there is a new word or skill and it's absolutely amazing!!

Back to the track for pole setting!