A few of my Favorite things

I often find it important to think about all of the good things in my life that I am thankful for, especially when I start getting frustrated and/or depressed about the sometimes long days of motherhood. I love my children, but after weeks of sickness, teething, bed wetting, tantrums, etc. I have to consciously focus on the blessings in life in order to keep myself sane. So, here is a list of a few of my favorite things lately:

My happy Thomas. I love his smiles and laughter and how cute he looks when he plays. I love how excited he gets when he pulls himself up to stand and starts rocking out on his little music table.

Simple crafts that brighten my home. This is my Easter egg garland I made with my Cricut and paint color samples. Thank you Pinterest!

FREE stuff! This is a pair of glasses I got for free (ok, I paid $10 in shipping). I love the blog HappyMoneySaver that helps me score sweet deals!

My new iPhone and the cute cover I picked out for it. I love having data and am simply having so much fun with this new handy gadget!

My adorable children. Especially when Maybrie plays well with Thomas and does cute and creative things like pretending the laundry basket is a boat!

Our Mobile Man

Thomas is officially on the move! And now that he can move a whole new world of curiosity has opened up to him. Like a true boy, he has already found all of the cords, Blu-Ray player, garbage cans, etc. that I don't want him getting into! But at the same time it is so fun to watch him discover and the look of excitement and satisfaction on his face when he gets something is so darn cute, I can't stand it!

Pulling himself up to the Blu-Ray player

Maybrie intercepted his path into the kitchen and starting tickling him, which he doesn't seem to mind!

This is his favorite spot to crawl... right into the kitchen. He likes the linoleum and banging on the side of the garbage can.

Crawling on mommy, with Maybrie close behind

Here is a little video of him in action. Every time I tried to catch a clip, Maybrie would interfere. I think I need to try it again when she is not in the room to distract him from me and the camera, but you can still get the idea in this clip. Enjoy!

9 months old

Thomas is 9 months old this week! I can't believe it. I feel like he is turning into a little boy right before my eyes. He has been learning and changing so much lately. Here are a few of the big things our little man has been up to recently:

Thomas LOVES the bath tub. Though he has been splashing like crazy for quite a while now, his new thing is sitting up and playing with bath toys. He gets so excited. When we take him into the bathroom and start undressing him he starts kicking his arms and legs in a splashing motion... he knows what's coming!

Thomas has 6 teeth now! He got his top 4 over the past two weeks. Crazy! They are getting more visible everyday, which is changing his look. It is so funny to see his big grin with teeth in it now! He has been chewing on everything and his nose has been running like a faucet. Hopefully his mouth won't hurt him for much longer. This isn't the best picture, but you can see his top two from this angle when he smiles.

Thomas definitely isn't as attached to his pacifier as Maybrie was. But with all of these new teeth breaking through, he has been wanting it more and more. Also, I've managed to get some cuddle time in lately with him not feeling well... which is a rarity and is something I have been cherishing. Nothing better than cuddling a sweet, chubby sleeping baby.

Thomas is now MOBILE!!! Though he has been moving backward and sideways for a while, he really decided to take off forward today. This morning he crawled halfway across the family room into the kitchen after a scout rope Brian left hanging over a dining chair. I couldn't believe it! And all day he has been moving all over getting into things I thought were far out of his reach. He seems very pleased with himself.

Thomas chewing on his "victory" rope! Can you tell he is pleased that he got it all by himself?! What a cutie!

Thomas is a happy child. He laughs and smiles all the time and is just plain cute. He is a GREAT eater. He loves baby food, any kind. He is now eating solids for breakfast and dinner and he loves his little Gerber Graduates snacks. He goes nuts over them! His hair is totally coming in now, especially in the back and it seems to have a little curl. He also has Brian's cowlick. Thomas is such a joy to have around, we are loving him and having so much fun watching him grow (just going by a little too fast for me... though I am looking forward to a full night of uninterrupted sleep!). We love you baby Thomas!