Uncle Bob and Aunt Anita

So I try to be so good about keeping pics updated as Tommy meets new people, particularly members of his family! This summer Tommy met his great aunt Anita and Uncle Bob (lovingly known to all the kids as Bob the Builder). The pics we took were not on my camera and now I have them and want to share since Tommy's family is so important. Bob and Anita came in August for Gigi's 90th birthday and Corinna's baptism. We got to see them again when we got to Nashville after Thanksgiving. My apologies for these being so ridiculously late!

First trip to Gram and Grandpa's house: My first steps!!

So I know this is totally awful but Tommy's first trip to Gram and Grandpa's (the Largays) did not occur until the child was almost a year old! I finished work at Bolles on November 14 and then my mom came and helped us pack (AGAIN) that next week. Then she rode with me and Tommy up to Atlanta and thank goodness I had her in the car! It only got ugly one time with a good meltdown in the backseat but for the majority of the 6 hour ride, it was quite pleasant. We spent the entire week of Thanksgiving at my parents' house and it was wonderful. You can see in the pics that Tommy has quite a few teeth now...to date I think he is up to 7. My brother and Katie came in town and it is the first time we have EVER all been together on a holiday! For whatever reason, Tommy felt the need to work on some lung development that week with some interesting sounds coming from him and his aunt and uncle nicknamed him Bonkers the Pterodactyl. Probably the most exciting news of all was that the day before Thanksgiving Tommy took his first steps!!!!!! We had a great time and it was such a gift to all be together!!! As you can see, Tommy is still fascinated by Uncle Ryan's facial hair. At that point, Tommy was in the pushing boxes and rearranging furniture stage.

My first Halloween!

So I am really writing this blog in January, but I haven't put up a post for so long that I am going to pretend that I am doing it at the actual times!!! For Halloween, we went up to Nashville so Tommy the monkey could have Halloween with his cousins, and because I had my job interview at Brentwood Academy that day. Our friends Patrick and Kristen and their son Gilbert who is only about 2 months older than Tommy (and about 8 pounds lighter!) were in town as well. This was Tommy and Gilbert's first meeting and we had been anticipating it for months...probably ever since we figured out we were both pregnant at the same time. Anyway, we started Halloween off at Gigi's where all the kids went to visit and then we trick or treated around Dan and Jessie's neighborhood. It was a bit uneventful for a 10 month old but we all had a blast. Here is a key for you: Gilbert=zebra, Corinna=bumblebee, Carter=Prince Charming, Catherine=Sleeping Beauty and Drew=the other monkey. Enjoy the pics!!!

This one is for Bob...

Sorry for the delay in my posts....I know you've all been eagerly awaiting the next Tommy update!! If you haven't heard, things here are a changing! Ryan's company is transferring us to Nashville, so we are moving yet again (just when we got all the boxes unpacked!) But now that means that Tommy will be able to grow up near his cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and will be closer to Gram and Grandpa in Atlanta. Ryan is already splitting time between Nashville and Jax, and Tommy and I will officially be moving up to Nashville around Thanksgiving. I sent our address in the email before this update. We'll be living at the Bauchiero B & B for a few months until we get settled and until I find another job and then we'll hopefully find a house near my new school.

As for Tommy, he is doing great. He has 4 teeth now and is a busy little guy. He is certainly showing some daddy characteristics...if he wants something, he figures out a way to get it. He is very happy and vocal, quite like his parents. It is amazing to watch him discover the world and how things work. He is a constant source of amusement and we'll pretty much do anything we have to do to get him to laugh. He enjoys our ridiculous antics on a regular basis.

Last week we made it through our first ear infection which is actually pretty good considering he has been in daycare since he was 4 months old and he is ten and a half now. He was a trooper as always and we are pretty much back on track now. He started a new daycare a few weeks ago and he loves it there. He is really into playing with other kids and now he is around a lot more babies his age so it is a wonderful environment for him.

The one big disappointment in Tommy's life right now is his Tennessee Volunteers. For his first football season, he is quite disillusioned by our pathetic performance this year. Luckily he is young enough that he will soon forget how his Big Orange was a Big Disaster this year. But it builds character and we are teaching him not to be a fair weather fan.

Here are some recent pics along with a couple videos for you to enjoy. One is an example of how he loves to imitate sounds we make and another is a tribute to all the Bobs in his life, and I think there is even a Rob in there for his uncle. Enjoy, and we'll be in touch with our updates!

Talkin' & Walkin'

Tommy is 9 months now and is doing so much fun stuff. He talks all the time (who does he get that from?). His favorites are da da & ba ba, and he is getting pa pa, too. He is weighing in at 23 pounds 3 ounces as of last week. Still only 2 bottom teeth but I think the top ones are not too far away. He is pulling up on anything possible. All in all, he is a busy little guy! He is still so happy and nothing puts a smile on our faces faster than him. Here is a little clip of bathtime, which seems to be his favorite time to talk. Of course I didn't get the full effect by the time I grabbed the camera, but you get the idea!




Ryan bought him a toy the other day, thinking he would eventually understand how to push it to help him walk, and within a minute, he was pushing it across the room! Pictures of course would not do it justice so we captured it on film to share.

Tommy goes to No Cal

On July 24, we flew from Jax to Northern Cal to visit with our friends who have been in Japan for the last 2 years, Jim & Julie. We were surprised at the airport by Aunt Mary, or as the kids lovingly call her, May May! She drove all the way to the airport just to get a few minutes to meet Tommy. You can see that Tommy was happy to meet her!





















Jim & Julie have a daughter who is only 5 days older than Tommy and we have the honor of being her godparents. So the trip was doubly special because we got to see their family and be there when Reagan was baptized. As you can see, she gives Tommy some good competition in the weight category! We had a great time with them: we got to spend a day in Sonoma while Julie's mom watched all 4 kids, we took a ride in Julie's dad's boat across the bay to have lunch at his yacht club and the baptism was very intimate and special. Tommy was a great traveler and adjusted to the 3 hour time change much easier than I though. I must admit I was dreading it but he was a trooper. The time spent with them could not have been better! We did get some really cute bathtub pictures but unfortunately we didn't get any where both of them were not exposed!

































































After our long weekend with them, we visited Tommy's godmother, Carissa, in Walnut Creek. Tommy & Darcy had lots of fun together, but it was tough to get a good picture of them at the same time. How is Tommy ever going to choose between all these girls!?

8 month photos

We took Tommy to get his 8 month pics taken almost 2 weeks ago. He is becoming much more tentative and aware of new surroundings, so it was a bit of a struggle to get him to smile just right, and to stay still for that matter since he is crawling all over now. But we did manage to capture a few adorable pictures so here they are! By the way, Tommy is mastering the army crawl although he is still not up on the hands and knees. Perhaps his proudest accomplishment is pulling up to standing, especially in his crib. He is quite pleased by this and thoroughly enjoys doing it instead of taking naps! My next post will be pics of our trip to Northern California....I'll put them up soon!