Baby Bat's First Halloween

Today Tommy (aka "Baby Bat") hosted his first party. And what fun it was for all of us! We had a full house with 14 babies from his play group and their parents, neighbors, friends and family. He had a great time spooking his baby friends with his costume...and they dressed to impress, too! A pumpkin was the most popular costume for the drooling set, but we also had a spider, a ladybug, an elephant, a "pea-in-a-pod", a giraffe and a surfer girl. All were precious as can be!
Here's a shot of Tommy in action blowing a raspberry. Who knew bats could make this funny sound?
And finally, a family photo including our tortured dog, Kaya. She tolerated the witch hat and cape long enough for this photo op, but she's really not one for costumes.

Little Slugger

Tommy is enjoying his first World Series with Uncle Derick. He is cheering on the Astros, Uncle D's favorite team for years and years. Though he hasn't been able to make it past the first couple of innings (darned bedtime!), he's had a lot of fun chewing on his stuffed baseball while the game is on.

Oh, and notice superstitious Derick...he is not wearing White Socks to protest Chicago's recent wins. We even removed Tommy's socks shortly after taking this picture to prevent any bad sock vibes from making it to Houston. Go 'Stros!

Mass-pberries

Today Tommy learned how to blow raspberries. He discovered this new noise this morning and happily buzzed "thhpppttppp" all day long. Why did we think this would stop when we attended mass this afternoon? Seated only five rows from the altar, Tommy delighted himself with his newfound talent during the service. He buzzed his way through the first few minutes of the liturgy, then Daddy took him to the back of the church before all of the surrounding pews burst into laughter, but it was a close call!

It appears St. Elizabeth's is the place he likes to make the most noise in public. Exhibit A: his baptism. Screamfest! And we can't forget when he tooted multiple times (quite loudly!) in front of Father Kevin. Having your child pass gas in front of a priest really makes a mom want to crawl under a rock. I guess Tommy just wants to be certain God knows he's at church!

Embarrassing moments aside, watching him grow and learn to do new things fills my heart with so much pride and love. And even the embarrassing moments create such wonderful memories! He seems to jump a new hurdle every time I blink and I feel so blessed that James and I get to witness his "baby steps" each day.

Sitting Pretty

Here's our beautiful boy sitting tall and strong. Today was a busy day for us. We went to lunch with Tommy's friend, Lylah, and her mommy, Jessica, at Macaroni Grill...he decided to sit tight in his baby seat and didn't get fussy until after Mommy ate her lunch. Bless his heart! We tried to go to Babies R Us for a professional portrait, but with a two-hour wait Daddy can do just as good of a job at home!

"Peas...make it stop!"

Hi, it's Tommy here. Today I turned 5 months old. I thought I might get some cupcakes or a few presents to celebrate...but nooooo, I got PEAS for dinner! I took half a dozen bites before I got cranky, but how am I supposed to eat this stuff when even Mommy made a funny face after taking a bite? She tells me they are good for me, but I'm not buying it so far. I think carrots or pears sound much better, don't you?

More Sitting Progress

What a difference a day makes! Tommy props himself steadily on his hands and can sit in this position for nearly a minute. All it took was a little practice!

"I was (almost) sittin' here thinking..."

Tommy is making some progess in the realm of sitting up! Seconds before the flash of the camera fired, he was perfectly balanced in the full, upright position. But as luck would have it, the Tommy tower toppled as soon as I got the camera ready. I'm amazed that he sometimes puts his arms out to catch his fall, though he's done his fair share of faceplants onto his blankie!

Our little man will hit the 5 month mark this Monday and today he weighed in one ounce shy of 17 lbs. He seems much bigger than friends his same age, but most of his baby friends are girls (what a ladies' man already!) He is a very happy baby and is very active wiggling and getting lots of exercise.

Tippin' the Scales

Tommy now tips the scales at 16 lbs., 9 ozs. We may have a future linebacker on our hands!

Our Big Move

Our move went very well and Tommy has adjusted to his new home already. He has begun taking regular naps of 45 minutes to an hour twice a day in his new room. A well-rested baby is a happy one, and this couldn't be more true with our little guy. Another big change for Tommy has been eating in his new high chair...Mommy assembled it herself! He's far more interested in the attached toys than his yucky rice cereal, but mealtime gets somewhat easier each day.
Here Tommy poses with Grandma Norma when we dropped her off at the airport after she helped with our move. They had so much fun together during her visit! While here she taught Tommy A-E-I-O-U (he prefers "I" and doesn't care for "O" or "U") and got in as many snuggles as possible until we see her again.