Year One

Our little boy Thomas is one year old. For his birthday we took him to the Kjellander's and greeted trick or treaters. His mother dressed him like an owl and everyone loved it. He had to wear tights that made him look like Baryshnikov but he was pretty cute. Grandma Kathy made his costume for him, and next year we're thinking of stepping up to bald eagle, so hopefully she'll design him another masterpiece.

Tommy and Grace Kjellander are becoming fast friends. When they're not crying in terror from either Eric or me, they're practicing for after prom 2029.

It's been a pretty incredible year. Easily the best year of all 3 of our lives. We welcomed him into this world with tears and hugs and one year later, as we put him to bed, it's about the same. Karen loves Tommy so much and she's a little sad that he's growing up so fast. The nursing sessions are coming to a close and she thinks before we know it, he'll be driving. Personally, I just want him to start talking so I can have somebody who hasn't heard my stories yet. If Karen has to listen to me tell her about the time my mother sold all my Thundercats in the devastating garage sale of 1993, we're going to have a real problem on our hands.

He had his first light bulb moment the other night when we were leaving. I waved at Kristen and Grace and said goodbye, and Tommy balled up his hand a few times and said "bye, bye, bye" and it was awesome. We stayed an extra 15 minutes to get him to say it again, but it sort of morphed into "nye, nye, nye" and then "ba, ba, ba" and then just a look of confusion at all of us. So all in all, a great night.

One of the earlier posts was of his abilities. Here's an update:

Things he can do on his own volition:
He can walk
He can talk (we can't understand him, but he's talking)
Feed himself
Feed us
Squeal
Go grocery shopping
Drink from a cup or straw
Throw toys
Bite
Laugh
Help read a book
Trip and fall
Use hammers





Things he cannot do on his own:
Climb stairs
Clean up his toys
The Heimlich (he eats way too fast)
Avoid danger
Dress himself
Turn the vacuum on or off
Vote


Things he refuses to do:
Hold still for a photo
Leave my remote control alone
Kiss nicely
Lie on his back
Be put in a carseat
Wear a hat
Pick up a tab
Leave a book on a shelf
Eat any number less than 5 pancakes at breakfast
Accept that your nose is attached to your face

A few weekends ago, we took him on his first "vacation" to a little beach town in Michigan. We did this in the middle of October because nothing teaches you to swim better than vicious white caps and hypothermia causing water temperatures. Sink or swim, boy. There's a video of him seeing the ocean for the first time on our YouTube channel. I'm aware that it's technically a lake and not an ocean, but I think all moving bodies of water that are too big for me to swim across should be categorized as oceans.



That YouTube page is pretty great if you haven't checked it out, but let's get serious, if you're reading this blog, you're probably well aware of the YouTube page. These moving picture things just might have a promising future.

Thomas, forgive us for airing these without your permission. I believe them to be essential to the greater good.

He is most clearly our son, as he loves the fall like we do. Please enjoy some photos from the last few months. The majority include a pumpkin.

 A good boy. A good year. Lets go back to back.