12 1/2 months

Well, it's been a busy week over here. We visited a few parks with the Mom's Club and Thomas. He had a very busy time with his new birthday present, a truck that he can use to walk. He toddled all over the place with that thing, ranging far and wide, on the grass, on the sidewalk, on the rubber mat. The other kids were very interested in it, too, clustering around, taking it for a spin themselves, helping him push buttons on it. Poor Thomas -- littlest one on the playground, didn't quite know what to do about all those kids. To tell you the truth, neither did Matthew and I! We settled on a "wait and see if there's blood or theft" approach. That meant we intervened only a couple of times to save our little baby from those big bad kids (haha!). Thomas could have used our help to save him from one in particular, however. A little girl we know, five days older than Thomas, was intent on giving him kisses. Very cute pictures on the next or previous post!

We also had a "turning the car seat around" ceremony. Now that he's over twenty pounds AND one year old, he can sit face-forward! We are hoping it will calm him down a bit because sometimes he can get quite distressed back there. So far so good. I think he likes looking at where we are going and what we do in the front seat, so it keeps him occupied. Sometimes he points out the window and says, "ah!" which usually means he sees a truck.


We had a Thomas birthday celebration for Matthew -- which basically meant we had my friends over for cake and made Matthew babysit. I sent out a text and was quite touched that several people came! It was great to see them again and catch up over cake and blue jello. This time I made a bathtub cake with a duck, in honor of Thomas' first word, "duh!" (by which he means "duck"). Thanks to Michelle again, for finding the directions on the internet! She finds the neatest stuff!


And as a very belated birthday present, Matthew and I went diving at Epcot's Living Seas on Sunday. Mom and Dad were kind enough to babysit Thomas while we got into the tank with all the fishies. They hung around the observation deck and looked at all the fish while Matthew and I got wet-suited and briefed and followed the divers behind the scenes to the tank. It was very exciting to be backstage where all the Disney divers work and then march in wetsuits out across the floor! I felt like a rock star arriving at the airport with my entourage! Flashbulbs, people eyeing us curiously, parading down the hallway. And then in the tank, we saw lots of fish and endangered turtles, got to peer in at the diners at the Living Seas Restaurant, and wave to Mom and Dad and Thomas and everyone else at the picture window! I just started waving to everyone. And they waved back! Pics on the website next week!


Oh, and remember that last week Thomas had a problem with his arm and started favoring it? We went to our pediatrician, got it x-rayed, screaming Thomas on the x-ray table, then a miracle and it was ok again? Well, it happened again. He's not using his left arm again. We don't even know how it happened. One minute he's holding his train getting his diaper changed, the next minute, he's crying and his arm is limp. So we have an appointment on Tuesday with a osteopathic pediatrician -- or is a pediatric osteopath? Anyway, hopefully he'll be able to get the arm working again and have some answers about what it is and what to do about it! Thomas seems okay, just a little fussy from time to time and content to sit in one spot with his toys, which is very weird to see him rooted to one spot instead of roaming all over!

Well, must dash, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and Utaka and Shauna are coming down from Gainesville, so it will be seven of us for dinner tomorrow! I’m very excited. Menu: Turkey; stuffing; cranberry relish; sweet potatoes; italian broccoli salad; green beans; pumpkin and molasses pie for dessert. Yay!