Play "date" with Ella

On Sunday we went over to visit the Stuckers so the kids could have a playdate and the dad's could watch some of the tournament together. Thomas and Ella have had playdates before but this was the first time they really interacted together. It was amazing to see them together and see how big they both have gotten.

Here they are enjoying a book together...look at how cute Thomas looks with his hand under his chin like that!

Thomas really liked dumping the toys out the tub and putting it on his head! Ella wasn't too keen on having the tub on her head but really enjoyed saying "knock, knock" and knocking on it. They both thought it was hilarious!

Having a little moment sharing a goldfish snack and "cheer"sing their juices. Again SUPER cute!

And this is Thomas sitting back enjoying some basketball...what can I say the kid still loves him some ball! The cutest thing is when they shoot and miss he makes an "OHHH" sound. Him and Dad watching BBAll together always cracks me up because they sound the same:)

We've got comprehension!

So over the past couple of months it's been obvious that Thomas has started understanding what we are saying a lot more. (He's still not a big talker, more of the strong but silent type:-P) Anyway, tonight we had to run to the grocery store because we were out of juice (a big no, no in this house)! I went to the closet to get my shoes and Thomas came over to me and said "shoos" looking for his shoes in the closet. I said "your shoes are on the table". He immediately turned around walked over to the table, picked up his shoes, pushed the chair back and started to climb up to put his shoes on! Dad helped at this point but it was amazing to me that my little baby knew he needed his shoes to go to the store and was able to comprehend what I was saying to find them and then was attempting to put them on himself! He really is becoming such a big boy...and smart too!! "YAY Thomas!!!

Great's

Last weekend Thomas got to spend a little time with his great-grandma and great-grandpa Watters. Grandma Berghoff came down and stayed with us Friday night and then she and dad picked up the Great's at the airport on Saturday. (They were returning from Florida) We all enjoyed getting to see them and spend a little time just hanging out at the house. Thomas liked showing great-grandma his "future big boy ball room" and playing a little bit of ball with great-grandpa. It was really cool to have 4 generations here all together. Hopefully we'll be able to make a trip up to the Lake soon to visit with them again!

Cousin fun

Last night we had a surprise visit from Uncle Kort and cousins Riley and Eli!! Uncle Kort called around 4pm and said he was taking the kids back to Anderson and wanted to see if we wanted to have dinner. So Kort and the kids showed up about 6:45pm and we headed to Pizza Hut! We ate some tasty pasta and then the kids ran around the restaraunt chasing eachother for awhile:) (Luckily, there were only 2 other tables there!) Then we gave goodbye hugs and kisses and headed home for bed. It turned out to be a surprise Monday night filled with family, love and laughter.

Here's a video of the kids chasing each other around and laughing REALLY LOUD!! Luckily this was on our way out...:)

"GO, GO, GO"

These are new words for Thomas which he started saying after racing with the big kids at Amy's. We weren't positive that was what he was saying at first but then he started touching the dresser and running away and back, saying "go, go , go". It's really cute. Now he and Dad will race together and we can say "go go go" when we want Thomas to speed up... a tool which is helpful with a toddler who loses focus easily!:)

Just like Grandpa

Tonight after dinner Thomas took my hand and took me to the pantry. I said "you can't be hungry we just ate dinner". He then proceeded to show me that he wanted a cookie... So Dad, Thomas and I all had a cookie for dessert. Dad said he was "just like Grandpa" who also has been known to enjoy a cookie or two after dinner!!

Girl Scout Cookies

It's everybody's favorite time of year...Girl Scout Cookie Time!! Since this is Thomas' first official "enjoyable" (a.k.a. able to eat them) cookie time, we thought it would be fun to let him try them out! So far his favorite are thin mints:)

Thomas' Big Boy Room Pictures!

Here's some pictures of Thomas' newly completed "big boy room". I love it and I really hope he will too. So far we just spend a lot of time playing in there. Thomas LOVES all the balls and we've even set up a mini basketball hoop for him!

Circus!

Thomas went to his first circus last week!! We decided to go on a Thursday night since the show was earlier it wouldn't be as busy as on the weekend. We weren't sure what Thomas would think or how long we would actually get to stay but we did it anyway and we had a great time! Thomas' favorite part was the elephants, tigers and his light up sword/ball toy we bought him. Dad and I had a good time too and I think we'll definitely do it again!

This is how I found Dad and Thomas when I met up with them on our way to the circus. They were sitting at a table in Starbucks enjoying a beverage and a snack! Travis said Thomas walked in, went to the cooler, picked out his milk and fruit, handed it to him to pay for and then sat right down just like adult!! It was so cute 2 people in Starbucks commented on it:)

This is Thomas and I taking in the scenery from our seats before the circus started.

One of his favorite parts was the tigers and lion. As you can see we were sitting really close to them! Thomas loved it! The only problem was he didn't understand why we couldn't go down closer to see them...

Here's Thomas' light-up sword/ball thing we bought him. I don't think any trip to the circus is complete without buying SOMETHING!!

And here's Dad trying to keep Thomas from hitting anyone with his new toy... In hindsight next year we'll try to keep the toy a bit smaller!

Dancin, Dancin...Owwww!

Thomas is starting to become quite the dancer:) This weekend while Grandma Vickie and Aunt Sabrina were visiting Thomas started dancing to "Dance-a-lot" robot on TV. He has danced in the past but this was the first time that he had done so for more than a couple seconds. Plus he did it everytime the robot came on. He had all of us; me, Dad, Grandma and aunt Sabrina all dancing along with him.

Then this morning he wanted Dad to turn on the TV in our bedroom to music so he could dance. He was standing in the middle of our room turning and dancing while I got ready. I can't think of a better way to start my day then by watching my little man dance. It definitely put a smile on Dad's and I's faces:-)

Thank you!

Here's Thomas doing some very important "computing"! Apparently 22 month olds have a lot of important stuff to do on the computer!

Here's Thomas helping Grandpa Berghoff and Dad put his new big boy bed together

Thomas Update:

Thomas is now officially saying Thank you! Of course you have to say to him "say, thank you" and then he'll say "ank u". It's incredibly cute!! He's also using "up" a lot more now and of course still "juice" for all beverages. He still uses sign language for "please" and "more" too. He also shakes his head NO now to everying even if he really means yes. For instance, if I say do you want some fruit snacks? He''ll shake his head no and then I'll say... no?? And then he'll smile and take the fruit snacks (shaped like curious George or "Ga Ga" of course!!).

His new favorite hobby is watching videos of himself on the computer. I swear the kid is addicted!! He would spend all night watching videos of himself and laughing. He especially enjoys videos of him in the bathtub and at the water park. I think the spalshing makes the videos more intersting!!

It seems like he is getting bigger EVERY day at this point. Just this morning Dad was telling him he was too long. He was sleeping sideways in his crib with both feeting sticking out the rails! I think his new big boy bed may not be too far in our future now. Dad's just not sure he's ready for Thomas to be roaming the house while we're sleeping:) I personally can't wait for him to sleep in his big boy bed in his big boy room. His "big boy ball room" is just so much fun and I think he's really going to like it!!

2 year molars

Well, Thomas is teething AGAIN! Fortunately, he's working on his 2 year molars so this should be our last bout with teething for awhile...YAY!

He's had it rough for the past couple of days though. He's been in obvious pain, holding his mouth and running a fever on and off. Both Dad and I feel so bad for him because we can tell it really hurts but there isn't much we can do for him besides giving him Tylenol and Motrin. So we've just been giving him all the love and understanding (because he's been CRANKY) and hoping they all pop through soon.

On a fun note, we've been working on his "Big Boy Room" this week too!!! I don't want to ruin the surprise but the theme is BALLS!!! It's going to be awesome!

Thomas' favs...

Here's a list of some of Thomas' favorite things right now...

DVR'd show: Curious George

Movie in van: Blues Clues

Drink: "juice" (which is really any beverage!)

Food: macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, carrots, green beans, applesauce, fruit and hormel chicken and dumplings

Activities: playing ball, somersaults, "attacking or tackling" people, running, being pushed around and/or playing in/on laundry baskets, playing with beads, and looking at pictures and watching videos of himself.

Words: uh-oh, juice, mama, up

He's also really fond of shaking his head no now. It's really cute but I know the actual word "no" probably isn't too far away and that scares me!!

Happy Valentine's Day

We spent Valentine's Day with grandma Berghoff who was in town awaiting the arrival of Kylie Jean. We ended up going back to the Carmel aquatic center so Thomas could show grandma how he liked to play in the fountains and go down the slide. He was a little more hesitant this time to jump right in. I think it was because there were more kids there than last time. He did end up loosening up and he and grandma enjoyed some time in the water with mom and dad. After the water park Dad and I went out for dinner while Thomas and grandma stayed home to make Valentine's Day cookies! By the look of it he had a good time!!!

New cousin!!

Kylie Jean Coltrain was born at 3:20pm today! We went to the hospital tonight to meet her and congratulate proud new parents Aunt Tanya and Uncle Alan. Thomas thought his new baby cousin was precious and pointed and smiled at her. On our way home (because we got in trouble for being too loud!) he even blew her a kiss goodbye!! So sweet!

Cousin on the way?

Grandma and Grandpa Berghoff are here and aunt Tanya is at the hospital... Hopefully by this time tomorrow Thomas' new cousin baby Kylie will be here! Good luck Tanya and Alan!!!

past weekend updates...

Even though its winter we've still been pretty busy! I haven't been as good at keeping the blog updated in the last month (thanks work...) so I thought I'd do a quick catch up....

A few weekends ago we had uncle Kort and cousins Riley and Elison down to visit. Thomas loved playing with his cousins and was very sad when they left!

On Groundhog day we visited Alison, Dave and Eli for their annual "Groundhog Day Chili Party". Thomas enjoyed playing with Eli and Ella and of course playing the drums! He also ate some chili and played with some balls. A fun time for all!!

Thomas has taking a liking to daddy's nerf gun... Like father like son I suppose:)

Last weekend we were lucky enough to have the Esslingers visit us! Thomas had a great time playing with Mason and Reid. (Although he did not like it when mom held Reid...we found out he has a little jealous streak when it comes to his mom holding other little ones!)

Saturday we decided to take the kids to the Carmel Aquatic Center. The boys had a good time playing in the water and sliding down the kiddie water slide. We stayed until the older boys' lips turned blue!!

Thomas really liked the zero entry pool and the water slide. He also enjoyed the fountains of course!!

And last but not least Thomas has taken a liking to taking off mid diaper change...I'm sure he won't appreciate this picture being on here later in life but I just think this fashion statement is to die for!! Naked karate anyone??

"Uh-Oh"

Thomas' new favorite word is "Uh-Oh"!! He just started saying it this week and its adorable. Now whenever he spills something or drops something he says "Uh-Oh" in such a serious manner that you can't help but smile:)

His vocabulary seems to be getting better and better each week. His favorites now are Uh-oh, fish, juice (drink), Gaga (for Curious George), Mama, and of course ball. He also can say shoes, dad, up, and mimic other words like flower, boat and cat which are in his favorite books.

He still enjoys reading and being read too. His favorite show is Curious George and he watches it so much that sometimes Dad and I think he's starting to sound like a monkey!! He likes to do somersaults in our bedroom and insists that we all take turns so Dad and I are getting some exercise these days too! He's getting better at stairs and can understand things when you tell him like "turn around and go down backwards" (so he doesn't fall). He can also follow simple instructions like "get your shoes" and understand questions like "where's your juice?". He's just growing up so fast!!!

Here's the short video I got of Thomas his first night saying uh-oh...

Somersaults

Thomas can do somersaults!!! I'm guessing this is something he has been practicing at Amy's but wasn't something we had seen him do until today. It's a little scary and not always completely straight but incredibly cute non the less! I think his "karate" kicks he's been doing for a while may have been an attempt at somersaults all along we just didn't know what he trying to do! So now in addition to walking, running, walking backwards, kicking and throwing a ball we can add gymnastics! How exciting!!!!

My Lovie

Over the past couple of months Thomas has become quite the lover. As many of you know as a baby he was not a cuddler. Well now things have definitely changed!! He gives out hugs and kisses and even pats you on the back when you hug him! Just this morning he found a book with a stuffed pony head on it "Paddy the Pony" and kissed and kissed and kissed it! It was adorable:)

I must say I am soooo loving this new affectionate stage! Nothing beats a welcome home hug or goodnight kisses from my lovie!!!

We decided to introduce Thomas to sledding today! So after dad got the driveway cleared AGAIN we grabbed our saucer sled and headed out back to the hill behind our house. Thomas still isn't too sure about the snow but we did catch him smiling while sledding! I think he enjoyed watching Dad and I sled the most especially when we fell off! We couldn't stay out too long because it was really cold but we still had a blast and I definitely see more sledding in our future!

This is Dad and Thomas heading out back with the sled

Here they are checking out the hill trying to decide which side would be the best to sled down

The first push...

...and he's smiling!!! YAY!!

Doesn't he look cute all bundled up??

This was from earlier in the day. He was way overdue for a haircut so we did that in the morning and then got some lunch. This is him sitting on a bench enjoying his post haircut sucker waiting on lunch. What a cutie!!

Finally... Christmas pictures!

We literally did an "Amazing Christmas Race" this year attempting to see all our family and friends over the holidays. Unfortunately, we have lots of loved ones and only had 1 weekend to see them all... so we were very busy!! Below are a few of my favorite pictures from our holiday fun filled trip!!

This is Thomas' wondering why the heck Dad just put his drink and a plate of tasty cookies on the fireplace for some guy named Santa... and now he has to go to bed???!!

Dad and Dooder getting the milk and cookies ready for Santa. We actually put out eggnog but we didn't figure Santa would mind;)

Here's Dad reading Thomas "The Night Before Christmas". It was probably one of the fastest reads in history! Thomas was way more interested in looking at the pictures and turning the pages than actually hearing the story! In his defense neither Travis or I remembered the story being so long!

Here's Thomas playing with the big kids at the Berghoff Christmas at Travis' aunt Margie's house on Christmas Eve. He was the youngest one there by far but had a great time playing with all the big kids and their toys.

This is a RARE sight for us!!! Thomas played so hard that he had to rest by laying his head down on a pillow, on the floor in the middle of the party!! Don't worry it lasted only a minute and then he was up and ready to go at it some more!

Here he is checking out his new drum set from Grandma Gwen on Christmas Eve day at the Sunderman Christmas party. The party was held in a big room in a church and Thomas spent his time running around the room, playing basketball, cornhole and eating M &M's....lots and lots of M&M's!!

Here's Thomas and I playing with the new barn set Travis and I got him for Christmas. This is the big gift we got him that he opened at home on Christmas Eve morning before we headed north.

opening some more gifts at the Sunderman Christmas party with Dad.

Eating lunch on the road as we started our Amazing Christmas Race on Christmas Eve day!! Isn't he adorable? I made him a little "plate" with his book and he thought he was such a big boy:)

excited about his new barn

using his new crayons on his present. He did this for AWHILE before we finally convinced him to open it. . . this was before he realized there were presents under the paper!

Thomas helping Grandpa open his gift.

Here he is IN the presents at Grandma and Grandpa Berghoff's on Christmas morning!! He actually did this himself. He made his way to the middle and just sat there. We couldn't even get him out to open more presents!!

I just though this picture was cute!

This is him and crazy aunt Tara sliding. I have no idea what Tara's present was but Thomas loved sliding down the box it was in!!

Pointing to something on the tree that he liked at Grandma Vickie's and Aunt Sabrina's on Christmas day. We ate some muffins and opened gifts around the tree and had a great time!

Waiting for a present? Too cute!! This was at Great Grandma Zent's on Christmas evening. Grandpa Bowers was playing Santa and passing out gifts.

Cheese!! How adorable is he??? I mean really could he be any cuter????

sitting at his new table set from Gma Vickie and aunt Sabrina. He sat and ate brunch at his new table and thought he was such a big boy! I think he is really going to enjoy having his own patio table come summer!

Borrowing Grandpa Bowers' santa hat!

Look, its a reindeer! (Good thing I was using our new camera otherwise I would not have got this shot because those ears only stayed on about 2 seconds!)

Guess what this present was from uncle Kort??? A BALL!! Thomas' favorite thing in the whole world!! He was so excited:)

Thomas helping pass out presents at Gpa Bowers' the day after Christmas.

Thomas trying out his new vacuum cleaner at aunt Tara's apartment on the day after Christmas. We went to check out her new place and so Dad and Grandpa Berghoff could help install her new TV. Thomas did his best to make sure the new place was spick and span!

And that concludes our Amazing Christmas Race!! We loved seeing and spending time with all our loved ones. This Christmas was also special for us because it was the first one that Thomas could really enjoy since he was still a little too young last year. We loved watching him unwrap his presents and play with all his new toys. We can't believe how fast the last year has gone by and how big our baby is getting. I mean look at him, he's vacuuming for crying out loud!!! ;-)