Baby On Board!

Buckle up Thomson: the students are back!!! Just got back from Babies R Us and a lovely co-ed rode my tail the whole way on the loop. As she passed I gave her the look "one day you'll understand, missy! I was once one of you and I have a 95-in-a-55 on my record to prove it!"

Within the first 6 months of moving back to Athens, I was rear-ended TWICE, both times by students who could have cared less and were not apologetic at all. One girl even said "My dad will take care of this". I could have punched her.

Earlier today I was driving down Baxter and a boy actually got over into the turn lane and passed me! The nerve! And it is not like he had to follow behind Grandma Natalie for very long - is Baxter even one mile long? And do I really drive slow? I drive a sports car for crying out loud!

Maybe it is just the initial excitement of being back in the Classic City: getting to see old friends, learning the new code to the ADPi house, making plans for pub crawls, I don't know. But hopefully it will wear off soon and all of them will calm down and drive responsibly.

Puffs

Thomson has developed his pincer grasp. You moms out there know what this is. About a month ago we went to a play group and Thomson is a few weeks younger than the other babies but they were all eating finger foods, AT 7 MONTHS. Me? I am more of a by-the-book kind of mom, mostly because I have no idea what I am doing and the books say to start finger foods at 9 months.

I digress. After that play group I started practicing finger foods with Thomson, things like avocados, bananas, cantelope, any soft pieces of fruit and vegetables... He had two teeth already and he seemed to really like the new way. For a long time I always said I would avoid "Puffs". They make me crazy. Even the organic kind. It is like feeding your child puffed nothingness, puffed process of nothing.

I digress again. So after a few weeks of me hand-feeding him small chunks of solid food to teach him how to gum and swallow, I decided it was time for puffs. I was tired of Thomson biting my finger with his two razor-sharps. The good thing about puffs is that they are not slippery like a banana or an avocado. And they helped Thomson learn how to use his pincer grasp and put a piece of food in his own mouth.

So there - maybe they aren't so bad after all. They did teach him one thing.

In other news: we are not even thinking about crawling yet. My mom says "put his toys really far away from him to get him to crawl". Thomson's response: "I don't care, mom, I will just play with my toes - they are pure entertainment!"

I guess he is just going to be on the late-end of development, or maybe he has learned laziness from his mom?

A new cousin and girlfriend!

Thomson has a new cousin and a new girlfriend! Baby Ellie was born on Tuesday. She is so beautiful and sweet! Aunt Caroline is my hero: delivering Ellie without drugs...maybe I should have done that, oh wait, Thomson was 10 lbs, remember? We saw Ellie on Friday and can't wait for lots of fun memories growing up together!

Another sweet girl was born this week, MaryKate Ninness. She is precious with a head full of brown hair and looks like the best of her mom and dad! She and Thomson are sure to marry one day! Or at least get into lots of trouble . . .

We spent last weekend with Gus' college friends at the beach - the PC/KA's. There were four baby boys and we had a blast: Leighton LaMotte, Brewer LaMotte and Cole Cannington. I have a feeling there are many future hunting trips in store for these boys!

I wanted Thomson to explore the sand. It was a messy endeavor, but he loved it and then we rinsed off in the ocean - which he also loved. He was laughing at the texture of the sand and thought it was so funny when I buried his legs. He kept trying to put sand in his mouth - you know the boy loves to eat! He thought the waves in the ocean were so fun! Yes - that is sand in his mouth in this picture:

Christina and Emory came for a visit last week. Emory is very close to crawling and started saying his first word, but he was whispering it! "Da-Da". So cute!

Happy Bachelorette Finale Day! Anyone with me?

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th!!! We enjoyed a Five Points Parade this morning and are looking forward to a barbeque tonight. Thomson decorated his wagon with flags and a fun balloon!

Thomson is 8 months old. His new tricks are throwing and dropping things. He is also eating some finger foods - avocado, cantelope, cheerios, watermelon, banana...We have been having lots of summer play dates and he loves the pool. Here are some friends: Maggie Parker, Will Garrard, and Neely Knox.

We have been going to the pool a lot. Last weekend we went to Legion Pool and yes, here he is in his swim diaper. Luckily we didn't know anyone there when we realized we had forgotten his bathing suit! We were the tacky people in the pool!
And here we are in Marietta with Lee at a fine establishment called El Ranchero. The salsa is the best anywhere and Thomson loves the avocados. He is so grown-up in a high chair just like Lee!!
On Friday we had the second shoot for the catalog in Marietta. It went much more smoothly and I have to say that I over-reacted about Monday. The pictures are phenomenal and I can't wait to get my hands on them! I don't think I will be able to post them on the blog because they are copyrighted but I can email a slide show to you if you want to see them. They will be ready in a few weeks.

We are waiting for two sweet babies to be born this week: Thomson's cousin Ellie and Keri's sweet baby as well!