Long time, no post

It's been almost two months since our last post, and we have been busy. The whole family trekked to Virginia so that Bret could complete two weeks of training prior to departing to Cuba for six months. He left this morning and has arrived in a 90 degree tropical paradise!

On the home front, Thomas got his third tooth while visiting Grandma and Grandpa Brown! We had a good laugh at his crying every ten minutes, as we couldn't figure out what was wrong. Then I remembered that his two top choppers were making their way in. Three teeth and counting. Hopefully by his first birthday, he'll have the other top tooth and a nice smile for the camera.

Chopper #2 Reporting for Duty

Sunday evening Thomas' second tooth decided to make an appearance to much screaming and discomfort! Expecting more any time as the typical teething symptoms continue...

Bath time is Thomas' favorite part of the day. Time to unwind before bottle and bed. He would play all night in there if we let him!

Poppy Returns

Bret returned home from his six weeks in Bahrain on Sunday (Sep 30)! Thomas seemed a bit confused at first, wondering who was invading our space, but he adjusted quite quickly. He can now hop on his pop once again (at least until the next trip)!

When It Rains, It Pours

So Thomas has decided to hit a bunch of milestones, literally, within days! It's hard enough keeping up with his baby calendar and baby book to record everything, never mind post every time. I'll try to cover them all at once here. He is crawling but still prefers pulling himself along. The creeping is faster because he hasn't quite coordinated the hand foot movements necessary for speed...lol. Yesterday he woke up from his nap, and I found him sitting up in bed looking over the rail at me. Needless to say, Bret immediately lowered the crib mattress. That was quite a shock! Lastly, this morning he decided to stand up all by himself. He enjoys playing in the laundry basket (I don't mind since it confines him for a short period of time.\!), so I put him in there, turned around for two seconds, and when I looked back he was standing proudly with a big smile on his face. The boy is trouble with a capital "T".



Actually, I forgot - he is officially eating regular food now. He is refusing baby purees in favor of tofu, cheerios, cheese, veggies, chicken, and crackers! Not really sure that is a balanced diet, but at least it's one he'll eat.

Houston, We Have a Chopper

After many, many, many months of teething (since 3 months!), Thomas has finally cut his first tooth. Apparently, it was very painful, but he made it through and has a little tooth to show for it - yay! On to bigger and better foods:)

Thomas Andrew Sayeth

Mama! Not really sure he knew what he was saying, but he said it. I left him to play on the floor in his bedroom so I could get his medicine out of his bathroom, and he was not happy about that. He immediately began fussing. I came back in two seconds later, turned my back to put the medicine down, and he started saying it! When I whipped around he had his arms out (he was still ticked off at me!) and was saying "mamamamama". I am pretty sure that this qualifies as his first official "word"! More to come!

Creeping is the New Crawling

Thomas is not crawling just yet, but he is managing to get around. He's pulling up on everything (and consequently bumping his head all over the place!), and he no longer needs to roll to get to what he wants because he can "army crawl" or creep. He has crawled on his hands and knees once, but he prefers lying on his stomach, kicking like crazy and pulling forward with his arms. It's quite funny! I'll post the video when I get a chance.

Tofu & Rice Krispies

A tasty combination. Tofu is a recommended first food. I am pretty sure Thomas felt the texture was weird, but he didn't mind the taste. Or so he didn't seem to. He kept picking up the slippery cubes and eating them. Worked out better for him when I added rice krispies to the mix and they stuck to the tofu, making the cubes easier to grasp! Interesting combination that he enjoyed. I may be on to something...

Success with Finger Foods

Thomas officially used his fingers to eat halved cheerios. Since he has no teeth, I have to break them in half. He did it twice on Friday and again on Saturday, but today he was able to successfully eat about a handful of puffs. He pinches them and/or they stick to his hands b/c they are wet! Pretty funny. I think he got a little frustrated at one point, as he grabbed an entire handful and tried to shove all of them into his mouth at once...ha, ha, ha.

On the Move

Okay, so he isn't crawling just yet, but Thomas has discovered how to get around. His current repertoire includes rolling, pushing backward and turning in order to get where he wants to go. He can pull up on on his changing table, crib bumper and anything else he gets near, but he isn't quite strong enough yet to get to a standing position (what a relief!). I guess it's time to start childproofing and lowering the crib mattress!

Simpsonize Yourself

I can't stop blogging now that I have discovered this outlet:) My friend, Jenn, from work has a family blog and turned me onto this site. She also has a link to the Simpsonizer - a marketing ploy for the recently released The Simpsons Movie. It's hilarious! Enjoy simpsonizing yourself, your family, your friends, your pets.

Simpsonize here: http://www.simpsonizeme.com

Maple & Gibbs

For anyone that was interested or knew, Maple and Gibby are doing just fine after their recent check up with Dr. Jewitt in Virginia. Dr. Jewitt has been their vet since Maple and Gibbs were adopted. She moved from a joint practice in Woodbridge to her own new facility in Stafford - Hartwood Animal Hospital. She sees Mapey and Gibby for the annual check ups. They recently had their teeth cleaned and a plethora of doggie tests completed. Maple was not so well, and she has apparently been experiencing a bleeding ulcer. Her vet here in Jacksonville misdiagnosed her condition, so she has been struggling since June. She is now on medication and doing much better. Soon we'll be adding an anti-anxiety medication to her routine in the hopes that it will allow her to lead a more normal life with less stress (as if!).

First Post

Thomas Gardner's blog is officially open for business! We will post updates and pictures on all his exciting adventures as well as those of the Gardner family, including Kelly, Bret (aka Dave), Gibbs and Maple.