Pennsylvanians and Hiking

We had the Esslinger's visiting from Pennsylvania this weekend! They came in Friday and stayed with us until Sunday. Friday we all went to dinner at Chili's and Saturday we hung out mostly at the house and watched Thomas and Mason play. Then Saturday evening we went to Octoberfest by Saxony in Noblesville. We ate, drank, and the kids played. There was a bounce house that Thomas would have loved to play in but it was too full of big kids. So instead we walked around, checked out the firetruck they had onsite and eventually found a balloon! For those of you that haven't spent any time with Thomas recently he has the uncanny ability to spot a balloon ANYWHERE at ANYTIME! I swear I have no concerns about his vision because he can spot a loose balloon in the sky from a mile away!

Then yesterday Thomas, Dad and I went to get a new filter for the shop vac and stopped a park in Carmel. It was suppose to represent some sort of Indian grounds and had a couple slides, a rope wall and a huge sand box. It was close to the river too so we walked a bit and then did a bit of non-trail "hiking" down to the river. Thomas loved this! He was so cute looking around at all the trees and plants and then "hiking" on the trial by himself holding dad's hand:) Then on the way back to the van we played "here mommy try to catch my shoes as I throw them!" It was a good time and made me look forward to the day we can take Thomas camping and do some real hiking!

Playdate with Ella

Thomas had a playdate with Ella last night. They both had a fabulous time (I think!). They watched some Steelers football, played peek-a-boo with a dish towel, fought over some rings and who was going to ride the Thomas train and ate tasty mac and cheese. Ella even entertained us by putting a bucket on her head (one of Thomas' new tricks too) and walking around the living room. It was a good time for everyone! The babies were so entertaining that Ella's mom hardly even noticed that the Steelers lost and she's a big fan so that says a lot!

Aunt Tanya and uncle Alan are having a girl!

We found out this week that Thomas' new baby cousin is going to be a girl. We recieved a package in the mail on Wednesday with 2 boxes marked #1 and #2 along with instructions not to open the boxes until further notice. On Thursday after Tanya's ultrasound we recieved a phone call telling us to open box #2. Since we were at work we waited until that evening after dinner and opened box #2 as a family. In the box was a little dessert. When we took our fork and cut into it the inside was pink! Thomas was super excited about his new little girl cousin (we think) at the very least he definetly enjoyed the cake!

Congratulations Tanya and Alan!

runny nose and football

We have nothing we HAVE to do this weekend...sooo nice! Thomas came home from the sitter yesterday with a runny nose so we've been taking it pretty easy this weekend. There's been a lot of watching TV and reading books. Thomas and Travis are thoroughly enjoying that football season has started as you can see by the pics. :) Thomas loves watching football and always points out the ball to us...so adorable! Hopefully he sleeps a little better tonight and we can nip this runny nose in the butt ASAP!!

Ready for a ribeye?

I caught a glimpse of the inside of Thomas' mouth last night while we were playing steamroller (shout out to my mom!). It appears he now has his 2 upper canine teeth coming in. I told Amy this morning the kid is going to be ready for a ribeye here pretty soon with all those chompers!

Playhouse and fun with Grandma and aunt Sabrina

Riding his first carnival ride! He kept smiling every time he passed mom and grandma who were standing and waving nearby!

Climbing up the inside "stairs" of his new playhouse

Throwing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING he can find down the slide!

Mouth too full of chicken nuggets!! Mmmm...fair food!!

Thomas is now the proud owner of an adorable playhouse and merry go round courtesy of Grandma and aunt Sabrina who visited this past weekend. Thomas loves his new playhouse and has played on it every day since we got it. His favorite thing is to throw his toys down the slide and open and close the little front door. Too cute! He also likes to push the merry-go-round but isn't too sure about actually riding it yet.

We also went to the Zionsville Fall Festival on Saturday with Grandma and aunt Sabrina and Thomas rode his first carnival ride. It was a big firetruck. It took a minute for him to get use to it after it started but once he did I think he enjoyed it! Grandma and mommy also went through the "Castle of the dead"...the LEAST scary haunted house imaginable, too funny!

Walking fool!

Just this weekend Thomas started to stand up and walk A LOT more. Apparently, walking is becoming an acceptable means of transporation...finally!!

Way to go Bubs!!

No more bottles

Last week Thomas officially had his last nightime bottle. My goal had always been to have him completely bottle free by the time he was a year and half so I hadn't really even been thinking about taking it away yet. That is until one of my co-workers told me he was too old to have a bottle and suggested I do it. So to make what I imagined to be a horrible experience at least a little easier I bought some special "nightime sippies" and thought we'd give it a go. Well to my surprise Thomas loves his new sippies so much I don't think he's missed the bottles at all! In fact yesterday I packed up all the bottles and put them in storage. I was sure that when he saw them he would want one, but he didn't. He's just growing up too fast!!

P.S. Both Travis and I were a little sad to see the bottles go (our baby is growing up!) but also so proud of our little guy for taking the transition like a champ!! Next stop potty training...just kidding...we are so not ready for that yet:)

hot air balloon

There was a hot air balloon flying over the neighborhood next to ours tonight. Thomas absolutely could not get over it! He was so excited and kept pointing outside and saying "boon" until he went to bed. It was really awesome watching how much joy that one balloon brought him!! Too cute!

Thomas' shirt today says "I've decided to put myself in charge". It's VERY cute...and true for everyday I think!!

Labor Day weekend 2009

We didn't really do a whole lot for labor day this year. Gma and Gpa Berghoff came down Thursday night and stayed with Thomas Friday so Mommy and Daddy could go out to a nice relaxing anniversary dinner (5 years!!). BTW we went to Flemmings and it was awesome. Then Saturday aunt Tara and Tanya came over and we grilled outside and played with Daddy's new awesome cornhole set that Gpa made. They are beautiful! Then Sunday and Monday we did a lot of laying around and relaxing. It was a nice long weekend and the relaxing was way over due!

Walking, for real!

Although he often still prefers to crawl or be carried Thomas CAN walk! Multiple times today he took off across the living room. I guess a ball can be quite the motivator!! I'm sooo proud of our little boy and his new found skill!

Let the tantrums begin!

SO I guess we're at that age... Just this week, Thomas has started to throw little tantrums. We had to box our food and take it to go at a restaurant for the first time and then yesterday I had to leave Target before finishing my shopping. Oh the joys to come... and I thought we had at least a couple more months until the "terrible two's"!!

nightmares/night terrors

Thomas has started having nightmares. It's happened pretty much every night this week at 2am and 4am and occasionally other times (the first night was the worst). Usually if Travis or I go in and rub him lightly on his arm or back he settles down and goes quietly back to sleep. I just feel so bad for him. I wish I could just explain to him that he's just dreaming and everything will be okay. All we can really do is hope that he gets over it soon. My poor baby boy!

Berghoff Reunion

Here's a picture of Thomas and cousin Aidan at the Berghoff reunion last month. Too bad Aidan lives in Alabama now Thomas would love to have him around to play with all the time!!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Words

Here is a list of Thomas current vocabulary.

Mama

Dada

Bah (ball)

Booh (balloon)

Broosh (book)

kitty cat

god (dog)

he also has said the following:

duck

makey (monkey)

read

fish

And of course he says a LOT of other stuff too except we have NO IDEA what he is saying. I like to tell him that we don't understand "Dooderese"!

He also knows hand signals for "all done" and "more" although sometimes he gets them confused like asking for "more" when he's "all done" in the bath tub!

Thomas is walking!!

Thomas can walk!! This weekend Thomas has started walking on his own. Friday night he took about 6 steps when he thought daddy wasn't looking and then walked about 10ft yesterday while at the MotoGP at the track with dad and Dave. Since then he has taken a few steps on his own here and there. He still prefers to have a hand but at least now we KNOW he can do it! Congratulations Thomas!!

My baby

So, as I was rocking Thomas last night I realized that my baby is getting too big. He really can't even lay in my lap anymore. Now he has to sit sideways and just lean on me:( In so many ways he is still a baby and needs his mama but at the same time he is getting bigger everyday. It makes me both happy and sad. Thinking back, the past year and half has been the best and fastest of my life. I can't imagine my life without Thomas now and am so thankful for the chance to have him as a son. I'm absolutely loving every minute I get to spend with him!!

Is that a Spotosaurus??

I often call Thomas a "Crankasaurus" when he's being cranky but this weekend we upgraded to "Spotosaurus"! Friday at dinner with grandma and aunt Sabrina, dad noticed that Thomas had some red spots on his legs. By the time dinner was over the spots had spread to all over his legs and his arms. By Saturday evening almost his whole body was covered including the bottoms of his feet! We took him to immediate care on Saturday and they diagnosed him with Roseola (even though he hadn't had a high fever) after the strep test came back negative. And in case you were wondering, Thomas did NOT enjoy getting his throat swabbed! I was sure he was going to puke on the nurse when she shoved 2 large q-tips down his throat to get the cultures but he didn't, thank goodness! Anyway, the spots slowly faded over the rest of the weekend and he seems pretty much "spotless" today
:-)

First Colts pre-season game

Last weekend was the first Colts 2009 pre-season game. We went to dinner with Dave and Kim at Wings etc and watched the game. And has you can see in the pictures I think this is one mom that's in trouble.... By the looks of things, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have another big sports fan on my hands!!!

Dipping maddness

Thomas now likes to dip EVERYTHING when he's eating. I'm pretty sure our almost weekly trip to Chilli's and getting chips and salsa probably had something to do with it! Besides chips and salsa Thomas has also dipped:

-mini corn dogs, fries and grilled cheese in ketchup
-waffles, pancakes and fruit in syrup
-grilled cheese in applesause
-grilled cheese in vegetable soup (dad really appreciated this one!)
-breadsticks in cheese
and has even tried dipping his french fry into his grilled cheese!!

It's just dipping maddness around our house right now!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/travisberghoff/3831709189/

Dad's shoes

Thomas has just recently taking a liking to shoes. As you can see he doesn't care who's shoes they are, he just thinks they are fun to wear!!

Dad's are a little difficult to walk in though:-)

Videos from the water park

Look at how much fun Dooder had!!

He really liked these fountains and being able to "swim" in the water all by himself.

!

Here he is putting his face in the water!

Waterpark Fun!

We spent this past weekend in Colombus Ohio at Fort Rapids Resort, a hotel with an indoor waterpark. We drove over with Kim and Dave in the van to meet the Esslingers for Mason's 3rd birthday. There were 12 people in all and we had a fabulous time. We all stayed in a 4 bedroom villa and spent Saturday and Sunday at the water park. It was a blast! Thomas LOVED the water as you will see in the pictures and the adults had some fun too! Mommy and daddy slept in bunk beds! and Thomas had his first experience away from home that wasn't grandma and grandpa Berghoff's house. We ate pizza and cake and got REALLY wet! So much fun!!!

15 month Dr's appt

Thomas had his 15 month check up yesterday and all is great! He now weighs 25lbs and is 32 inches long. Thomas stood on the big boy scale and kept everyone entertained with his "talking" and laughing (at least until it was time for shots). The doctor said that Thomas looks great and said that she considers steps to be walking and not to worry that he was doing great. She was impressed by his motor and verbal skills and said she wanted to make him her poster child because of how much he likes to read! We couldn't be more proud:-)

We've got steps!

Not officially "walking" yet but Thomas is definitely taking steps on his own now. Everyday he is getting braver and braver. Just tonight he took 4 whole unassisted steps to walk to me in the driveway!

Shhhhh...Thomas tried to walk....

This morning Thomas stood up and tried to walk by himself! He did it while he thought we weren't watching. He was only really able to get one step started before he fell down but we are so excited that he tried!! ;-)

Clay terrace fountains

While out to look for a life jacket to fit Dooder and get some lunch, we stopped and let Thomas play in the fountains at Clay Terrace. He had an awesome time as you can tell by the photos. By the time we left both Thomas and mama were soaked. Luckily, it was a hot day so we didn't mind a bit!

Daddy's work peep's and fun

Saturday we had a bunch of daddy's co-workers over for some pool-time fun. Thomas loved having all the kids around to swim and play with. He had such a big and exhausting day! In fact, he slept from 9pm until 8:30am without a peep!

P.S. It seems like every day Thomas is becoming more and more of a water bug!

Buster's new adoptive family

While uncle Alan and aunt Tanya are in Kansas this week we are dogsitting Buster (maybe we should call him cousin Buster?). Anyway, Thomas is loving having a dog around again and whenever he sees Buster greets him with a huge smile! It's pretty cute.

Tonight Thomas was trying to play catch with Buster but was having trouble throwing the ball far enough to entice Buster to go and get it. Thomas would wind up and try and throw it his hardest but it would only go a few feet at most. Buster was just looking at him like "hey, I thought you were going to throw it for me?" It was cute. Eventually Buster caught on that Thomas WAS throwing it for him and went after it. It was adorable seeing those 2 have so much fun together!!

Weekend with the cousins

This past weekend we had a little celebratory family weekend for uncle Gavin who just got home from being in training for the Air Force in Pensacola Florida. To celebrate, Gavin, Carrie, Kort, Lindsay and the kids all came down for Saturday night and Sunday. We had a wonderful time swimming, grilling and letting the kids play. Thomas thoroughly enjoyed his time with his cousins especially swimming in the pool.

P.S. A big thanks to uncle Kort for all his "handyman" work this weekend. Thanks to his hard work we are now the proud owners of a screen porch ceiling fan and freshly painted carriage lights! Dinners on the porch now will be under a nice light breeze...how nice:)

A couple cute pics

Baby ice cream cone

After dinner tonight we decided to go to Handel's for ice cream and they gave Thomas a free baby ice cream cone. It was the cutest little miniature version of a vanilla cone with little candy eyeballs. Thomas LOVED it! He ATE IT ALL...even the cone!. Granted he was a mess afterward but it was worth it for him to have his first ever ice cream cone experience!!

Grandma Berghoff is here!

Grandma Berghoff came down Wednesday night to help mommy and daddy out by watching Thomas during the day while Amy is on vacation with her family. Yesterday grandma and Thomas went shopping and visited Aunt Tanya and Buster and Nina (the dogs!). Then he played basketball outside with the neighbor and grandma took him to the park where he tried to escape up the slide...grandma had to run after him to catch up!

Today they are home together again and who knows what kind of fun/trouble? they are getting into to...Hopefully Thomas isn't wearing grandma out tooo much!!

First Play "date" (and kiss!) with Liv

Thomas had his first playdate with Olivia last night. They had an awesome time and it was good to see Mae and Scott again! (I'm sad to say the last time was Christmas '07?- Where does the time go?) Anyway, the babies had a fabulous time and thoroughly enjoyed eachother! They played with Liv's table toy and then ate dinner on the sunporch (Boston Market, yum!). Then we all took a dip in the pool. I think Liv loved the water and Thomas got to show off his pool BBAll skills:) After swimming the kids got their jammers on and we called it a night. Before she left though, Liv and Thomas shared a goodnight kiss. I'm still smiling just thinking about it. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!! We'll definetly have to get them together again soon!

Goodnight Kisses

Last night was the first time Thomas gave Mommy and Daddy goodnight kisses! So sweet!!

Birthdays and reunion

Thomas playing Bball with dad at the 2009 Berghoff Family Reunion

He's addicted!-- Do they have ball players anonymous?:-)


Thomas and Aidan (with Sara and Travis) at the reunion


Playing with a truck at cousin Riley's 4th birthday party... all the while keeping an eye out for balloons of course!


Thomas wallking with grandpa at Riley's birthday party in huntington. We had lots of fun. There was food, fun and even a spongbob pinata!

ARhhh matey!

Look at our cute little pirate!!

Thomas recently started lifting his arms to help mommy and daddy take his shirts off (yay!). Occasionally, though they still get stuck on his head:)

Thomas is going to the zoo today with Amy and the boys. I must admit I'm a bit jealous not be going along but excited for Bubs because I know he is going to have a great time! BTW lets all say God Bless to Amy for taking 2 babies, a 3 year old and a 5 year old to the zoo by herself!!

Walking one-handed

Thomas is down to only needing to hold one of our hands to help him walk now...

We're running out of time though...his next Dr.'s appt is only 2 weeks away!!

I did hear however, that Eli Manning didn't walk until he was 16 months old so that makes me feel a little bit better:) Maybe we've just got a pro athlete in the making!!

Thomas took his first step!!!

Thomas has officially taken his first "non-assisted" step and we were lucky enough to get it on video!! Both his dad and I are VERY proud. Now we just have to keep practicing and practicing!!

I keep telling him he's gotta walk by Aug 13th (for his 15 month check up) or his doctor is going to think we're bad parents!

We went to the Fair!

Saturday was the Hamilton County fair so we decided to take Thomas for his first Fair experience. It was a blast! Thomas got to see (real) cows, pigs, goats, bunnies and chickens. I think the goats were his favorite as he wanted to walk through the cages and touch them all. I don't think he quite knew what to think about the big moo cows but did enjoy petting the bunnies. He stole mom's corndog (thank goodness I ordered 2!) and drank mommy and daddy's lemon shakeups. We also all shared an elephant ear because everyone knows a trip to the fair isn't complete without an elephant ear!