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!

Not so much a model...

Okay - let me preface this post by saying that Thomson is such a good baby! He rarely cries unless he is tired or maybe hungry. He is laid-back, curious, smiles a whole lot, and loves to interact with people. This makes him very photogenic, like his Aunt Erin. In 5 minutes I can take 20 pictures of him that would look great framed on the wall...

So two weeks ago I got an email about a photo shoot for a bedding company called Carousel Bedding, based out of Atlanta. They were looking for babies to model their new bedding collection and had hired Shelli Allen - www.shelliallenphotography.com - a family friend in Marietta and the best photographer I know. So I submitted Thomson with this photo and didn't really think they would pick him.
And they picked him. So the shoot was this morning in a historic house in Marietta. Shelli was there and people from the bedding company and they had hired an amazing stylist from Florida named Mary Lyn Jenkins - http://www.mlhjdesign.com/. She was beautiful and really fun to work with. She set up the rooms with the bedding and props for all of the photos - everything was so creative! She has styled catalogs for Pottery Barn, Better Homes & Gardens and Coastal Living so it was really fun to see her in action! I heard her talking to the owner of the bedding company about whether or not a crib blanket is "chic" and should or should not be in the photo. I am way out of style and didn't know that these topics even exist :)

Thomson woke up this morning and decided that this day was not a good day for him to take a morning nap. So we arrived at the photo shoot completely exhausted and fussy, but I was hopeful that after a big bottle he would buck up and perform well, like he always does. But not so much. He cried and he screamed and he cried. I even heard Shelli tell her artist assistants "I bet this is good birth control for you guys!" Shelli assured me that she got some great photos of him in between the crying. And then to top it off, after an hour and a half we were almost finished and the owner of the company asked ME if I would mind being in some photos as well. Luckily I was not on my typical 5-day-no-shower stretch. And I might be in the catalog with T, if the pictures turn out.

We have one more day of photos this Friday and then I think we will retire from modeling forever. It was a good run, Thomson!!!

Evie's Wedding

We just got back from Erin's wedding - at our chapel in Marietta. Thomson and Lee rode down in a wagon, I don't have many pictures yet but here are a few that are on my camera. Erin, of course, was gorgeous! She had an amazing photographer who worked harder than any photographer I have ever seen at a wedding - I can't wait to see all of the beautiful photos she took and will post them when I can!
Thomson took a long nap this morning - I think he is as exhausted as all of us!

7 months and growing...

Thomson has grown up so much this past month! Since his 6-month checkup, he is: rolling around, sitting up, he has cut in two bottom teeth, and is saying "da-da-da-da" : his first word! We are having tons and tons of fun!

Love these pictures of Thomson and sweet Emory, they are 6 days apart. These pictures really show the difference in their personalities: Emory is so sweet and very laid-back, Thomson is vocal and excitable. They are going to have a blast growing up together, just like their moms!

We are headed off to the Lake this weekend for Aunt Evie's Bachelorette weekend, and then to Marietta next week for her wedding!!!