Off to the County Fair...



Well, Tommy has had a very crazy summer so far. He vacationed in June, and unfortunately he spent most of July sick with various minor illnesses. He has fully recovered, and he's back - stronger than ever!

Last weekend Mommy and Grandma took Tommy to the Cuyahoga County Fair to see the animals. Tommy loves his farm animals See & Say, and he loves to read his books with the pictures of all the animals. So, we thought that he would REALLY enjoy seeing the animals live. Well, we were about half right.

Bunnies are cool. The big ones are "doggies". He pet a couple of bunnies and then we moved on.



Chickens and roosters are NOT cool. They are loud and scary. We didn't vist them long



Ducks are also not cool. They're better in still life pictures.



Horses, well, Mommy doesn't like horses - especially the enormous draft horses. We had to leave that barn ASAP.

Sheep are also not cool. They are not as hated as the chickens and roosters, but they are still a little too big.



Piggies are cool, but only the little ones.



Little goats are very cool. Tommy even hugged one. It took everything in Mommy not to dunk his body in Purell after that, but she settled for his hands and arms.



Cows are also not cool. They are big and scary.



That's about it. Next animal visit will be the zoo, and hopefully that will go over a little better!

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION

Tommy made his annual trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina a couple weeks ago. He went with Mommy and Daddy, along with Grandma and Papa, Uncle Mark, Uncle Chris, and various other aunts, uncles and cousins of Mommy's. It was one big week-long party for Tommy. He had so many people to entertain him!

Although this was not his first trip to the beach, it was the first time he could actually run around and play in the sand and the "oowa" (water). However, Tommy is NOT a fan of the ocean. The sand on the beach was okay, but only for about a half hour before he headed back to the house. The pool also took some getting used to. It was the last day of vacation that he willingly went into the pool on his own. The other days Mommy and Daddy just dragged him in whether he liked it or not!

On vacation Tommy also got to do some shopping, go for walks, eat out at nice restaurants (when he was willing to sit down), but most fun of all, ride the elevator in the house. He spent many hours riding up and down the elevator with anyone who would take him.

Now, we all know Tommy had a great time, but the real question is... did Mommy and Daddy get to relax at all? Sure! A little bit... Tommy slept like an angel and gave Mommy and Daddy at least two "Tommy-Free" hours at the pool every day.

So, we'll we go back again? Sure! Just as long as the next house doesn't have an elevator!



Day One: Ready to go!




The process of building and destroying a sand castle with Daddy.

Tommy's first attempt at swimming in the pool with Grandma

Day Six: Tommy finally enters the pool on his own and blows bubbles with Papa

Tommy's World... Threats of Invasion?!?

Oh, it's not a threat, it's a promise! Tommy's Mommy went for an ultrasound today. It has been confirmed, there is a baby in Mommy's belly! Do we know what kind of baby? Well, it's a little one... Tommy will have to wait and see if he gets a new brother or sister when he/she gets here. In the meantime, Tommy can enjoy the early pictures of his future sibling.

Happy Memorial Day!

Another year, another weekend filled with picnics and good times. Tommy made another trip to Pittsburgh to attend a picnic at his girlfriend Delaney's house. It was the third annual picnic, but the second appearance for Tommy and Delaney (they were at the first picnic, but they were merely fetus(s)). Anyway, Tommy had a blast! He spent most of the time on the move. There was no rest for him... He exhausted both his parents by running up and down the driveway and making several laps around the house. It is simply amazing how the 90 degree heat had no effect on him whatsoever. Of course, Mommy and Daddy were on the verge of passing out! We were able to hold him still long enough for a few pictures:



No shoes necessary to ride this ride!



Looks like another incident of drinking and driving...



Delaney and Tommy pause for a picture.



Tommy went in for the kiss, but was quickly denied!




This was a relaxing moment on the drive home from Pittsburgh. It was just too much excitement for one weekend!

The Leaning Tower of Peas

This evening at dinner, Tommy got a hold of two of his favorite toys - the salt and pepper shakers. They make fun noises and they are fun to throw around. This evening they were also fun to stack. But, just stacking the salt and pepper were not enough. It was missing something... his leftover veggies. One at a time Tommy carefully placed a pea at the top of his tower. Once he successfully got the pea to stay, he shouted "PEA!" We all know that Mommy and Daddy should never encourage their child to play with their food, but he was just having too much fun!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Tommy had a very fun and exhausting Easter. He was visited by the Easter Bunny, who brought him a drill and some snacks. However, what intrigued him most was the "grass" that was in the basket...



He spent the day at his Nana and Grandpa Chuck's house (Mommy's grandparents). He got to play with all his cousins and run around both inside and outside. He definitely had a good time, but Mommy and Daddy were VERY tired after chasing him all day. Tommy does not stop moving!

As with most holidays, pictures with the cousins must be taken. We included the Dads who are usually behind the scenes. The Mom's let them figure out how to get them to sit still, smile, and wear bunny ears!



If that weren't enough, the Mom's thought they should try to get a few more pictures of just the babies...



Only Tommy found this amusing....

All and all it was another very nice holiday, and we hope each year gets more fun for Tommy and MAYBE a little less exhausting for Mommy & Daddy (yeah, right)!

Spring Cleaning...

On Monday Grandma came over to help Mommy out with some housework (Mommy has not been feeling well). While Grandma tried to pick up the toys, Tommy helped by emptying out his toybox. He had to make sure he got every last toy out!

The Easter Bunny... Better than that scary Santa guy!

Tommy had a nice visit with the Easter Bunny yesteray. Mommy and Grandma took him to the mall to see if Tommy would be willing to get his picture taken. We were hesitant, as his visit with Santa back in December was nothing short of a nightmare. Before we actually visited the Easter Bunny (he was on break when we got there), we sat down and enjoyed a strawberry/banana smoothie. Tommy finally learned how to use a straw. Once we finished that, we went down to the Easter Bunny and crossed our fingers. We slowly introduced Tommy to the Easter Bunny. He was very intrigued by the large, white fuzzy creature waving at him. He slowly climbed up to the Bunny, and was willing to sit on his lap. Although he was unsure of what he was sitting on, Tommy was able to crack a smile for the photo. I quickly removed him from the Bunny's lap, thanked the Bunny for not scaring the crap out of my child, and took Tommy to pick up his overpriced picture. It was a good visit overall!

Tommy and Friends...

Tommy has been busy this month with his friends. A couple of weekends ago he was visited by another girlfriend of his. Shea and her mother Deetra came up from London, OH for an overnight stay. Unfortunately Shea and Tommy were not in the best of moods that day, but they got along fairly well.



Despite the crabbiness, Tommy felt like he had caught himself a good woman!



He did check Shea out to make sure she was a good choice...



All in all, it was a nice visit and we hope to visit Shea again soon...

Tommy also had his buddy Brock come over to play last week. They had fun playing in Tommy's car and eating lots of animal crackers. We found out that Brock can fit 5 in his mouth before he starts gagging. The boys had a lot of fun that day, but I think they will have a lot more fun when the weather gets nicer and they can run around outside and play...

Baby You Can Drive My Car...

Last weekend (3/4) Tommy had a visit from his girlfriend, Delaney. She came all the way from Pittsburgh to see him. She loves to hug:



Delaney also fell in love with one of Tommy's most prized possessions - his car. Tommy tried to show her how to drive, but the lessons didn't quite go so well:




She wasn't paying attention to the lessons, and Tommy tried to take over, but failed. His thoughts on the whole thing, "If she thinks she can do it on her own, I'd like to see her try..."



After the failed driving lesson, any chance she got, Delaney was behind the wheel. I think that is one toy she would have tried to sneak home if she could! All in all, everyone had a fun weekend. Even though Tommy and Delaney slept in separate cribs, nobody got much sleep. I think it was a long drive back for Delaney's Mommy and Daddy!


In other news, Tommy had tubes put in his ears yesterday. He is doing very well, all things considered. He was quite a ham in the hospital. He made sure to wave to everyone in the waiting room as well as any hospital staff he saw. He looked very stylish in his hospital gown and pants. Both were way too big, but he wore them well. As much as I would have loved to take a picture, I think the other parents might have thought I was insane if I had brought my camera to my son's first surgery. Anyway, the anesthesiologist said that Tommy smiled until he fell asleep, even with the mask on his face. What a trooper! Of course, he woke up screaming and crying. The anesthetic can make a small child quite crabby! After about 20 minutes, we were able to comfort him with graham crackers and cheerios. After that, he slept for an hour and a half, and he was back to normal! We think he is hearing us a little better, since he is quicker to repeat what we say. I guess it is time for Mommy and Daddy to clean up their potty mouths!!!

JUST "DO IT"...

This weekend Tommy went to visit Nunny and Poppy. Nunny had a big party so that everyone could see Tommy (and help Mommy with her new Pampered Chef business). He was a big hit at the party.

During his visit, Tommy was a little sponge, learning all sorts of things that are proven to drive Mommy and Daddy crazy. There will be no light switch or ceiling fan left turned on, or off, or on, or off... well, you get the picture. But, the magic words to turn on and off the switchs are "Do it". Whenever a light switch (or ceiling fan, lamp, etc.) is spotted, you will hear "Do it" over and over until the switch (or ceiling fan, lamp, etc.) has been turned on and off SEVERAL times.

Another fun thing to do is slide down the side of Nunny & Poppy's stairs. Where there once was a banister is now a carpeted ramp that is so much fun to slide down. Tommy enjoyed sliding down this over and over and over.

Tommy went to the mall with Daddy, Poppy, and cousin Alexis to take a break from all the partying. At the mall he purchased a new telephone. Tommy's telephone collection is starting to rival Uncle Vinny's watch collection. Anyway, Tommy is not much of a talker, but he has a lot of fun simply saying hello, or "Lo?"

As always, Tommy greatly enjoyed his vist to Nunny & Poppy's. He is looking forward to going back again this weekend where he's hoping to learn more fun things to wear Daddy & Mommy out.

Hello and welcome to Tommy's World! Since I get a bird's eye view of Tommy's daily adventures, I thought I'd take time out from all the fun to share them with all of you.

Some quick stats on Tommy:

Age: 14 months (born 12/4/04)

Height: 31 inches

Weight: 24.5lbs

Hair: Very Red

Eyes: Hazel

Favorite Foods: Milk; Honeycombs cereal, graham crackers, bananas, broccoli, carrots, peas, grilled cheese, pancakes, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, tater tots and ketchup

Likes: Running, opening cabinets, tearing up paper (magazines, newspaper, paper towels, etc.), throwing small objects, singing Pat-A-Cake and Itsy-Bitsy Spider, playing in Homer's (our dog) water bowl, turning on and off light switches, playing with the phone, playing with the remote, and turning on/off the TV. Oh, and of course, he likes Mommy, Daddy, Homer and Sunshine the cat(even if she doesn't like him).

Dislikes: Riding in the car for more than 5 minutes, too many doggy licks, getting out of the bathtub, having toys/keys/any other child "contraban" taken away from him

Favorite Toys: Li'l Tykes Car, the big yellow dump truck, Tickle Me Cookie Monster, Snoopy stuffed animal, mini basketball hoop, toy cell phone/car remote, play telephone, Peak-A-Boo blocks and balls, and anything else that makes noise.

Words he can say: Dada, Mama, Bye-Bye, and Uh-Oh (pronounced Ha-Ho)

Tommy is a typical 14 month old boy. He loves to play and make messes. He's always laughing and having a good time. He's not too mischievious just yet, but there's still plenty of time for that. He is a very social little guy, and he's not afraid of very many people. He always has a smile and a wave for anyone who wants one!

I will do my best to keep you all up to date on what's happening in Tommy's World. Today he is spending the day with Grandma. He is there every Thursday. Today he had a small collision with Grandma's dog, Winston, and got a little black eye. He quickly recovered, though, and resumed play. Nothing can stop him!

Tommy has some big plans coming up. He's going on a couple trips to Pittsburgh to visit Nunny and Poppy. Also, in March, Tommy will be getting tubes in his ears. Hopefully that will help all his ear issues and he will be an even happier little guy! We'll let you know how that goes...