4 months old, first Christmas and first tooth!!!!

Alot has happened this month!  Thomas turned 4 months old on Dec. 22nd AND he got his first tooth on Christmas day!!!  I didn't even notice anything was different except he was a bit more chewy and seemed a little restless at night.  Then, I looked in his mouth, and there it was, his first bottom tooth.  Some baby tylenol took care of the nighttime restlessness and now he seems back to normal.  Thomas is rolling from front to back and back to front now and he is much more active.  He is grabbing his toys now and they go straight to his mouth.  We are thinking of starting solids soon as well.  We started out Dec. with our Mom's group holiday party with 9 families and their new babies.  Thomas looks little in the picture because he is the youngest one in the group.  Most of the babies are about 4 months older than him which is nice because then I can pick all the other mom's brains about things they have already experienced.  I traveled with Thomas alone....bad idea!!!!!!...to Sioux Falls, SD for Christmas.  After some major travel drama, we arrived in SD a little over 13 hours later, with no bags.  Thomas was a champ, not crying once.  I was the one losing my mind especially at the point where we finally arrived in Sioux Falls, only to sit on the runway for an hour and a half because a plane was parked at our gate with a mechanical. I also learned that most planes don't even have changing tables!!!???  What is the deal with that?  Just think that a diaper was probably changed on your seat next time you fly....haha.  So, Shem arrived 3 days later with minimal travel trouble, as did Douglas.  We had an awesome Christmas and were so glad that Doug made a last minute decision to be home with us.  Thomas adjusted great, staying on California time the whole time.  He met millions of people.  My friend Nan came over with her new baby Andrew.  He is a month younger than Thomas.  Nan has two older boys as well...I have no idea how she does it!!! I went over to my friend Maggie's for a playdate with babies Isaac, Charlie, and Sophia.  It was fun to see what Thomas will be doing 4 months from now...Isaac and Charlie were all over the place!  My other friend Jen was also home for the holidays so, Thomas got to meet her baby Anna for the first time which was super fun.  Anna is going to be Thomas's long distance girlfriend we decided.  Cousin Paige and her husband Dary came over to meet Thomas as well.  Paige is pregnant and due pretty much the same time Thomas was, just next year!  We are super excited for them...I am predicting a girl.  On Christmas Eve, Thomas got to meet 3 of his great grandparents.  My mom's mom Wilma, and my Dad's parents Joe and Dona.  My Grandpa Joe even posed for a few pictures with us for a 4 generation photo.  This was huge considering the last time my Grandpa allowed pictures to be taken of him was about 20 years ago....seriously.  We felt his pain but, those pictures are priceless.  Christmas night was also fun...we had our annual Christmas dinner with a couple of families.  Thomas just sat and stared at us while we ate way too much food, and drank way too much wine.  I got to go out for the first time and stayed out way too late.  Thankfully Thomas was sleeping until 9am there so, I got to get some sleep.  It was so fun being around my parents...it really makes me want to live closer but, there is no way we are moving to SD!!!!  It was freezing!  We are missing Grandma and Grandpa though now that we are back!  Thomas spent some quality time with both of them while we were home.   Shem and I even got to go on a lunch date.  Funny that lunch qualifies as a date now.  We hope you all had a great holiday and that you have a great New Year's Eve.  

Wheelie-Bee

Flippin' over

We hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving!!!!!  Ours was super fun and now I am looking forward to Christmas in Sioux Falls.  Shem's parents, my parents, Bob, Em and Ezra all came for Thanksgiving dinner.  Everyone was such a big help and everything turned out great.  Thomas and Ezra were on their best behavior as well.  It was so fun having the family around for the week.  While my Mom and I were in the kitchen, my Dad was chillin' with Thomas and I hear my Dad say in a weird tone "Sharon?"  Both my Mom and I thought the dogs pooped on the floor or Thomas was doing something gross but, when we went into the living room my Dad said "I think Thomas just rolled over for the first time."  So, we flipped him back over, and sure enough, he threw his little shoulder over, and flipped again.  He did this maybe 5 times and I haven't seen him do it since.  It is sad though because now I can't just leave him on the bed or his changing table.  I suppose it is just the beginning of him starting to be super mobile to the point where I won't be able to leave him anywhere.  He has started to laugh more and is busting out the super smiles these days.  He still is quite a serious little guy though.  When I take him anywhere, or take his picture, he never smiles.  Strangers do anything to try to get him to smile and all he does is stare at them.  Thomas is still loving sucking his thumb.  So much so that he will try to sneak it in while he is eating a bottle which doesn't work out so well.  I have been trying to get out and about and do more things with him as I have started to get a little stir crazy.  I have even recently contemplated getting a part time job but, it ends up mearly paying for childcare.  But, it is something I could do in the future maybe.  Shem is working lots.  Tuesdays he works for 12 hours which is hard because he doesn't really see Thomas unless Thomas wakes up early.  But, he is enjoying his job and we get to have fun on the weekends as a family.    I took a knitting class recently so, I am back into knitting.  My Mom's group also had a "Mom's night out" which was fun.  It was the latest night I have had in awhile.  I works out great that Thomas sleeps from 6:30-6:30ish because I can put him to bed and then head out.  Same goes for having a babysitter which is nice.  I always preferred babysitting for a sleeping baby when I used to babysit.   I thought we might try to do a holiday party this year (we had one last year) but, I don't think I am up for it.  So, we are just gonna go mooch off of everyone else's parties this year.   

3 months old!

Thomas has hit the three month mark....a week ago.  I am having a hard time posting these days, not only because things are hectic but, because I keep forgetting to take pictures of the little guy.  Thomas has been doing great.  He still is a sleeping champ, and is really happy and easy going.  He has started smiling when I come home and has "games" that he likes to play where he gives us some really big smiles.  He also smiles alot when Shem comes home from work.  So clearly he has figured out who his parents are at least.  We are still waiting for a real laugh.  He reaches out for things now but, isn't so great at grabbing yet unless you put something in his grip.  In that case, he never lets go....especially to my hair, which is becoming a bit of a problem.  He loves sucking his thumb to soothe himself these days.  He also is loving the baby bjorn and loves going places with us.  My friend Emily from Sioux Falls came to visit for the day and brought her baby Charlie along.  It was hilarious to see what Thomas will be like when he is 6 months old...Charlie was all over the place.  I am going to have to babyproof sooner than I thought! We have been going to a friends house every Tues. evening and she has bigger kids there playing which Thomas is totally fascinated by.  I look at those older kids and can't even imagine Thomas ever being that big.  Thomas got his first cold as well which was a bummer but, he didn't even seem to notice.  We even passed the cold along to his bff Ez unfortunately.  Next up we are having my parents, Shem's parents, and Bob, Emily and Ez over for Thanksgiving so, hopefully we will have some good pictures soon. 

Happy Halloween

We hope you all had a fun Halloween!  Thomas dressed up as a giraffe.  I didn't really want to dress him up...never really been a huge Halloween fan except when I was a little kid.  I ended up passing a store and the costumes were 50% off so, Thomas ended up enduring a giraffe costume for half the day.  First we went to our Mom's group party where all the babies were dressed up. We were late because of traffic and rain (the rainy season has officially started here) so, we missed the huge group photos but, I got a couple decent ones of a few of the babies.  Most of the babies were crying alot, I think because the costumes were so hot and probably annoying for them.  Thomas thought it was pretty entertaining.  The costumes were all so funny and all the babies were super cute.  Then we went around to a couple neighbors houses just to chat and hang out.  Thomas pretty much just looked around wide eyed all day and then crashed when we got home.  Someone lent me a witch hat and I had it on while we were trick or treating.  Effie took one look at me in it and started barking like crazy....she was terrified.  She wouldn't come near me until I took it off, and even then she was hesitant for awhile.  As you can see from the pictures, Thomas wasn't a giant fan of Mom in the witch hat either.  Hope you all had a fun holiday!!!!  

Thomasland

Things are moving along quite nicely in the Klein household these days.  Thomas has started sleeping through the night!!!!  He sleeps for 12 hours straight which is pretty awesome.  He is loving his crib and even has a little duck friend that he sleeps with now.  It is so awesome to see him sleeping so well and he really is just a happy, mellow little guy because of it.  He has also become quite the "talker" these days.  He chats away in his own little language and seems to especially like it when we imitate him.  He is super smiley and giggling as well.  He does have a very serious side though too, like his Daddy.  He is laughing one moment, and then has his little scowl on the next moment.  We started using our cloth diapers a few weeks ago and they are so great!  I highly recommend them to anyone considering using them.  I dragged my feet a bit and they didn't quite fit him yet, but once we started I was surprised at how easy and nice it is.  We use Fuzzi Bunz...you can see Thomas in one in the pictures.  It feels good to not be throwing away tons of diapers every day.  

Two months!

Thomas is two months old today.  He is 12 pounds 7 ounces and when we went to the doctor for his first shot (sad!), he said because of his percentile in the length department, Thomas will most likely be at least 6'1" or 6'2".  I think it is weird they can predict that when he is only two months old.  I guess we will see!  We have just been chillin' these days.  It is starting to get colder which is a bummer but, I get to put Thomas in cuter outfits now.  Shem started a new job at his new job.  Now he has the weekends off which is nice...we can all watch football together!  Shem is actually at a movie as I write this.  First movie since we had the baby.  Now we just need to somehow manage to get out together.  I have been enjoying a great new babysitter once a week.  So far she has only come twice for a couple of hours but, it is pretty awesome.  I realize now why people move home...childcare!!!  It is a bummer not having either grandparents close by but, we did have great visits the last couple of weeks with them and everyone is coming out for Thanksgiving which will be fun.  Thomas and I headed to Santa Rosa for another visit with Emily and Ez.  Seeing the two of them together (Thomas and Ezra) is hilarious.  They are pretty much the same baby.  Aside from the fact that they were only awake for like 5 minutes at the same time, I think they had a good time.  Ezra was nice enough to let Thomas play on his play mat AND he let him sleep in his crib.  Sleep is going pretty awesome these days.  Not that anyone else probably cares.  I have never been so obsessed with someone's or my own sleep.  But, now we are settling into a routine.  Thomas is only waking up once a night which is pretty great.  He still hates napping for more than like half an hour but, we are working on it.  He smiles alot more these days and seems like he is gearing up for a true laugh or giggle soon.  He is talking alot but, I don't think he has really laughed yet.  He is into his new playmat and as you can see from the pictures, he is a little into Effie now.  She is certainly into him.