Everyone loves watermelon...

Well, except for me.  I don't like it.  Not sure why.  But Thomas loves it as you can see.  So do the dogs.  Summer has been fun so far...hot days, swimming with friends, trips to the Bay Area Discovery Museum, etc.  Thomas loves music and we have been continuing with his class.  Shem actually took him to his last two which was fun.  Now I am back on duty.  Thomas learned that he can stand at the piano and play it.  This is the piano that my Mom learned to play on as a child so, it's really cool that we have it.  Hope everyone is having a great summer!  

Thomas's new tricks

Thomas knows lots of words these days and although he can't say them, he can act them!  Missing from this sequence his his famous "kick kick kick," but that's hard to execute standing up.  

Thomas walking!...almost

Visitors!!!

This last month has been crazy!!!  One of my best friends Jen came and visited (of which we took no pictures).  We had tons of fun and although she came without her daughter Anna, and we missed her, it was fun having some girl time!  After that, Shem's Mom and one of his brothers came to visit.  It was awesome having family around!  Mikey was super awesome with Thomas, helping him climb the stairs and blow bubbles.  Grandma Char brought some great books and drawings for Thomas and we were sad to see them go.  We are heading out for a visit to PA in September and are looking forward to it.  After that visit, my Mom and Dad came for a few days as well!  Again, we had an awesome time.  Gma Arlene played lots of games with Thomas, and read him lots of his favorite books.  We all went for a nice lunch and hike together.  The visit flew by and we were bummed when they had to go as well.  Next up my brother will be in town for a bit this weekend!  Thomas had lots of playdates this month, turned ten months old, and sprouted 4 more teeth in one day!  He is much more active and can cruise around using the furniture to stand on.  He understands what "no" means, but whether he chooses to pay attention to us is another thing.  One of his favorite activities these days is to bother the dogs.  He chases them, bites them, grabs them, and tries to join in on their wrestling sessions to no avail.  It's been a stressful few weeks as Shem is working full time and finishing up school which requires an evening class and a weekend class.  I have no sitters at the moment so, I have been going a bit stir crazy, but we are getting through it :)  More posts to come soon!

Peri Park

We have this awesome park in Fairfax that we love to go to.  Thomas likes the swing and the slide and the sand so far.  It has been a super busy month so I haven't posted much, but I hope to catch up more soon!  Thomas is 10 months old in a few days and is moving around like crazy.  He can pull himself up on stuff and loves to cruise around.  He has quite the personality and is pretty obsessed with where his Mom is.  Now instead of crying as soon as I leave the room, he crawls after me while crying.  He is really hesitant around new people and things, but after a few minutes, he warms up to mostly everyone and everything.  He is a cautious little guy.  He is still pretty serious and mellow, but he has a great smile when he decides to bust it out.  Thomas's Grandma Char and Uncle Mike just visited so we will have some pictures of that soon too!!!

A day at the beach

There are so many awesome beaches around us, but all are about 40 minutes away.  So we often procrastinate about going especially since we only have weekends to go with the masses.  But, this weekend we decided to head to a beach that some friends said was good for kids.  We geared up, made the drive, (with Thomas getting pretty mad after his 30 minute car seat threshold was expired) and spent some time at Chicken Ranch Beach.  Thomas loved the sand and the water as you can see from the pictures.  We are going to try to explore some more beaches around the area, especially during the summer super hotness!!!  It was over 100 yesterday and with no A/C, I was dying.  The last couple of pictures came after Shem entered the room and asked "What do you want me to do with this last grocery bag Sharon?"  I looked over, and Shem was carrying Thomas around in the grocery bag :)  

The magic month

For the first time, I am just going to write...no pictures or videos :)  Next time.  Over the past couple of weeks, things have gotten really interesting in our household.  I feel like once Thomas hit 8 months old, he just turned into a little person.  He is crawling now, babbling alot more, just doing alot more in general.  It really takes the pressure off of me.  He just enjoys playing and hanging out these days which is SO much easier.  He used to cry cry cry every time I left the room.  Now he can follow me.  Or he is so immersed in something new (like electric cords...ha) that he just doesn't notice where I am.  I am loving it.  He is also just so FUN now.  It makes me look back and wonder how we even got through the baby blob phases.  I think you are just so excited to have a baby that you don't realize just how boring they are in the beginning.  Then they turn into little people.  Thomas actually plays games now and has a personality!  I love it!  He still loves things that make noise and he loves banging his toys together to see what will happen.  He is just such a good, mellow little guy.  If he is awake, he's happy (unless he sees me leave) and he is napping forever these days...I guess maybe he's tired from all the crawling.  His poor little knees have rug burn from crawling so much.  Shem and I are starting to branch out a bit more now too.  It feels like after they are 6 months old you can be you again.  I have started volunteering with the Ross Valley Mothers Group which consists of all the area small town Mom's who join with their babies/kids.  I am on the welcoming committee.  So far everyone has been super nice and really fun.  I can't wait to do more with them.  This is also the group where I got my playgroup which still meets once a week.  We have Mom's nights out once a month too which is fun.  Shem and I have our college babysitter back in town for the summer so I booked her for every Friday night this summer.  That's right, every Friday!  Starting tonight actually.  Tomorrow we are taking Thomas to the beach for the first time.  I am am embarrassed that we haven't been yet.  We will take pictures and that will be my next post.