Three for Thursday...

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope everyone had a great weekend...we sure did! I wouldn't be surprised if Thomas slept until lunch tomorrow because he didn't stop all weekend long. We have a water baby on our hands. Thomas is not the least bit afraid of the water (more than a little scary) and by this afternoon he thought it was funny when he went completely under the water. Here are just a few pictures from our weekend at the lake.

A cup + baby = Endless fun!!!!

Playing in his baby pool

Going under with Daddy

Thomas loves swimming with his Daddy!

One Year Pics!

I finally found time to shoot Thomas' one year pictures and I have made a video of some of our favorites. I had wanted to do baby naked pictures when he was nine months old but since he was not crawling or pulling up by then, I decided to wait. So after taking the "formal" ones, Julie and I stripped him down to his "birthday suit" for a few. I think it's really funny and just like a boy that I got the best emotions out of him once he was naked! Hope you enjoy!

Sorry...don't know why they look so blurry in the video. Supposedly this site uses low resolution for blogs, but if you order a DVD, I've heard it comes out super sharp.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Blue Eyes

CONGRATS BRANTLEY!!!!

Thomas' sweet babysitter, Miss Brantley, is graduating this Saturday and going home for the summer. We will miss her terribly and are so excited that she will return this fall to begin her Masters Degree for Speech Therapy. Two more years of babysitting...yeah!!! Brantley, we hope you have a wonderful graduation and an awesome summer. We already miss you!

LOOK WHO'S TALKING

What a little munchkin he is! Thomas turned fourteen months on the 28th, much to my dismay. I know I say this all the time, but time flies! He is so much fun right now. Always busy and on the go...running usually. He loves being outdoors and chasing Maggie all around the yard.

It has been so interesting to see his little personality emerging. He is sometimes so silly and then sometimes so serious...who knows what time will tell. He does has a temper and is feircly independent most of the time. He can also be the sweetest cuddle bug too...I love rocking him to sleep at night. I know those days will soon be over but I am enjoying every minute of him still being my "baby"!

All of the sudden in the past week, Thomas has begun saying new words every day. I figured I needed to write them down somewhere before I forget and since the poor thing has no baby book, the next best thing is the blog. The following is a list of words we hear on a regular basis:

• Dada and Momma (since around ten months) - He says dada all day long...it must be so sweet to be so loved!
• Bye and Bye Bye
• Papa (Papa Jim) and Nana - We are still working on Grandaddy and Meme
• Hap for happy - He loves the song "If Your Happy and You Know It"... and Happy Birthday
• Up - Finally! I have been working on this one for a long time. It's so nice for him to be prompted and sometimes on his own to say up when he wants us to hold him instead of fussing or whining.
• Ruff - we love dogs and our neighbors dogs bark a lot, so he is used to hearing that sound
• Moo - usually sounds more like ooo
• Dottle for bottle
• No - can't forget that one...he now points his finger when he says it. Wonder where he sees that?
• This probably doesn't count since I have not heard it since, but the other night at Moes Jenny and I swore he said pear and cookie...plain as day. Must have been a fluke!

I think that's about all. Thomas beginning to communicate is so fascinating to me. I can truly say that after working with so many children with autsim who struggle to get even their needs and wants known, each spoken word is like music to my ears. In the classroom each thing we did even down to how the room was arranged was in an attempt to elicit communication. Thomas' desire to communicate with those around him (even if it is to scream at us) is a blessing beyond belief...thank you Lord for our healthy baby boy!

One of my friends recently posted some pictures of her little girl on her blog and gave a "hats off" to all photographers, saying that it was nearly impossible to get any good shots of her. She actually did get some cute ones. So, here is the proof that even photographers have trouble taking pictures of their own kids! They are always worse for mommy even if she happens to be a children's photographer.

These are some pictures from an attempted photo shoot a couple weekends ago at my parent's house in Birmingham. He was either running, looking down, climbing, giving blank stares or as you can see, SCREAMING! What a mess. I am dreading shooting his twelve month sitting (now that he is almost fourteen months). Thank goodness for friends without children who love your child and whom your child adores, who always help make them smile.....so my "hats off" goes to Julie Henthorne. She has not missed one "formal" sitting since he was born and is my saving grace. Without her I would have no milestone pictures for my walls.

So Julie, are you ready????