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.