Bragging

And for once it's not about my baby. 

I think I've said before on here that I think Rob is a great dad.  A wonderful dad, in fact.  A fun, patient, and proud dad.  He changes diapers, makes bottles, gets up in the the middle of the night, gives baths, administers medicine, the list goes on.   I think most(?) of today's dads do these things, a change most of us have seen from even our own dads, and this isn't why I'm bragging.

He also works hard outside the home 40 hours a week at his job.  A job that often requires time and attention at home, after 5:00.  In addition, he works some weekend and evening hours at a side job when the opportunity arises.  All of this is fine and good but it's not really why I'm bragging either. 

Rob is also in a MBA program.  And he received his grades from last semester (his first semester): Two As!

That's why I'm bragging.

See Rob enjoyed undergrad to the fullest.  And I mean the fullest.  Class was somewhat of an afterthought, and he may or may not have graduated by the hair of his chinny-chin-chin.

But as a 30 year old man with many other hats to wear, he has buckled down and given 100% (ok probably 95%).

I'm very proud of him and I know that when she's old enough, Avery will be too.

Be Gone, RSV!

The Thomas house has seen better weeks.  Mr. Thomas has some sort of whooping cough and various other cold symptoms.  Mrs. Thomas has major sinus/allergy issues and Baby Thomas has RSV.  It is hard listening to her cough and cough.  And cry because she can't sleep.  And whine because she doesn't feel well and has a fever.  Unfortunately there's no medication for RSV.  We have an arsenal of things to combat it, though.

 

and

  

Cool mist humidifier-we always use this but we're cranking it up.

For fever 

 

Doctor said it might help

For good measure...what?! They're homeopathic!

Changes

Something has happened over the last two weeks and our baby is becoming less...baby-like.  Yeah, yeah, she's still a baby! But everything about her seems to be changing.  Her looks, her sounds, her mobility-everything!

For one, she has a new tooth!

No babies were harmed in the taking of this picture.  One was, however, majorly annoyed.

Two, she is moving around everywhere.  She has been crawling for a while, yes, but she has gained speed and agility.  She can pull up on any and everything.  She crawls and tries to stand in the bathtub, and for the first time last week she was standing in her crib when we went in to get her in the morning.

Give me a push, please!

And three...well, I don't really have a three per se, but look at these pictures Rob took last week.

She looks like a toddler.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Have Baby Will Travel

We had a wonderful trip and Avery proved to be a great traveler. 

Our journey started with a 3 hour delay at the airport.

 

 Hey, where's our plane? 

Avery napped while we waited and fell asleep again on the plane.  

  

Whoa, where am I?

After a two hour plane ride and a two hour car ride we arrived in Breckenridge.  Avery adjusted quite well to the accommodations!  She woke up the next morning with a crusty nose and a cough and we could tell she wasn't feeling 100% well.  Despite her cold, she still had a great time shopping, eating, playing in the condo with her grandparents, and having a few more "firsts."

 

First shuttle ride

  

First Valentine's Day

  

First gondola ride

  

 First time on a mountain

 

First time out to eat at a nice restaurant

We are very grateful we were able to take this vacation.  Even though Avery won't remember it, we will. 

9 Months

Our baby is 3/4 of a year old.  She is doing so many new things.

-Pulling up

-Feeding herself Cheerios, Puffs, and graham crackers.  Wants to feed herself with the spoon too.

-Making lots of sounds including but not limited to mama, baba, buh-bye, squealing, and laughing.

-Her crawl has evolved from army crawl to hands-and-knees crawl.

-Very recently has exhibited tantrum-like behavior when I took something away from her (it passed quickly).  Joy.

-Becoming very aware of her surroundings, especially people.  She is definitely in the Stranger Danger phase and wants to stick closest to those most familiar.

-Loves daycare and squeals when Rob takes her in the morning but is very excited to see me when I pick her up.

-Daddy's Girl.  She prefers Rob and doesn't try to hide it-not even to protect my feelings.

-Last weekend attended her first birthday party and first Superbowl party.

-Can take one or two cruising/shuffling steps while holding onto something.

-She is about to take her first out of state trip and first flight.

A few outtakes:

 

  

 

New Camera

We traded in this POS (not really, we still have it):

for this baby:

It was on the doorstep this evening.  I must say I'm impressed with the eleventy billion pictures we took between the hours of 5:30 and 7 (when Avery went to bed). 

 " Hey, what's that?"

 

"More pictures of me?"

  

Pulls herself up no problem

  

Funny thing: she loves to look at her reflection in the drain plate.  She will coo and laugh at herself.

  

Old Sugar Chin himself

"Seriously...enough pictures.  Please put my jammies on and put me in bed."

When we figure out how to use it, it'll be even better.  Can you imagine us taking more pictures?!?  The thing I am most amazed and impressed by is that when you push the shutter it actually takes the picture...like right then.  We have missed out on countless moments of cuteness with that stupid Sony (can you tell I'm bitter?).  But we're going to keep it around for video and other misc purposes.  Looking forward to getting to know this Canon.