I play piano!

A friend gave us a baby piano for Thomas when he was born and I finally pulled it out of the closet and he LOVES it!  He pounds on it like a modern day baby Beethoven.  It cracks us up so I had to take some pictures of the little man with his shiny red piano :)

BABY POOL PARTY #2 !!!

Today after our regular swim lessons we headed to on of our TEA Mommy friend's community pool for round 2 of a baby pool party.  There was 11 mommies and 13 kidos all in the pool swimming at the same time and luckily one of the mommies, Tia got these cute pictures of Thomas and I.  We had such a great time with all of our friends and it was a beautiful afternoon!  What could be better than some babies in bikinis?!?

First Millet

Here is a funny video of Thomas' first millet.  I made a baby meal of millet, asparagus and pears.  He seemed to like it alright although at one point he does spit it out.  He has learned that if he throws food on the ground LaLa comes to play, aka, eat the food on the ground.  He always gets distracted while eating when she comes around, cracks me up although it can get annoying when you have places to be and the child won't eat!

First Parsnips

Here is Thomas' first parsnips!  I don't think I've ever even had a parsnip myself, but now Thomas has and he likes them :)

Survival Swimming - Day 10

So instead of taping the whole swim class today I did something a little different and only tapped the important part, his being flipped upside down and still being able to turn over!  He amazes me every time he does it!

Survival Swimming - Day 9

We didn't have a video of Day 8 because I had to work and wasn't the one that took Thomas to his lesson.  On day 8 he learned how to roll over so on Day 9, today I couldn't wait to see his progress.  Here is he is, floating and flipping away.  The flipping still isn't solid, I give it a week and he will be a pro :)

Momma's 1st night away....well not really....

So the girls and I decided to take advantage of a discount on a Ritz Carlton room and spend the day at the pool.  We decided we would go out to a nice dinner, a few drinks and spend the night in luxury!  We even got upgraded to a suite, although Momma had to ditch the ladies around 11:30 because the little man had been up for 2 hours with gas.  I knew if I came home that he would nurse and everyone would get some sleep, so Mommy came to the rescue!

So, I didn't get my "first night" away as planned but it's all good.  I got to participate in like 80% of the plan ;)  So here are the few pictures I took of us at the pool, our wine glasses at dinner and a lovely tour of our upgraded SUITE!  Sad I missed the slumber and breakfast at the Ritz but glad Daddy and little man weren't up all night....

Survival Swimming - Day 7

Ms. Penny said today that Thomas has a solid float! She's very happy with his progress as are we!

Mommies, Babies and Pedis OH MY!

Thomas and I had a big day today!  First we had swim lessons at 10:20 which ended up not starting till 10:40 because Ms. Penny was running late.  Then we headed to the library for story time, which we were a little late to because of swimming lessons running late.  Next was off to the nail salon with friends to celebrate mine and Kendle's Birthdays with pedicures!  What a fun and busy day!!!

BACHELORETTE

This season on the Bachelorette I happen to know one of the Bachelors.  I'm very excited to watch this season as I haven't watched it in forever and I hope that one of my fellow State Farmers makes it at least half way through the show to have at least a shot to getting to know her.

Anyways, his name is Roberto and he used to be an executive assistant to my boss's boss.  He would come into the office about once a month to try and help us think up different marketing tools and business development.  Now he is a State Farm Agent in Charleston, SC and has a very bright future, especially if it includes Alli!

Here he is:

http://abc.go.com/shows/the-bachelorette/bachelor-announcement/ThemeGallery/444476

So please watch and root him on!  He is a very genuine guy, cuter in person and always smiling!  Go ROBERTO!!!

Survival Swimming - Day 6

After a weekend off and only fun in the pool, I was anxious to see how little man would do in his lessons today.  He was a little slow in the beginning with the floating but it came back to him fast.  You can see by the end of the video that he is getting more comfortable with everything, although he might not like it, he's learning.

Pull Ups

This morning as Thomas and I were stripping my bed so I could wash our sheets he pulled himself up for the FIRST time!  I couldn't believe my eyes!  I knew it was coming soon but BAM!  There it was!  I ran into the other room to find the camera and waited for him to do it again.

This is what I caught:




**I accidentally said he was 7 months and 2 weeks but he's really 7 months and 1 week. I also said it was May 23rd and today is May 24th. Nice one Mommy!

Showing off my MAD crawling skills

Pants on da Head

This is what happens when Daddy feeds Thomas breakfast and gets ahold of the camera....The lightening is bad because the sun comes in soooo strong through our sliding glass back doors in the morning but these were so silly and cute :)

Survival Swimming - Day 5

Here is Day 5 of lessons. Ms. Penny said he's doing very well. She asked how tired he's been and I told her he seems like his normal self after about 30 minutes of leaving the lesson. She laughed and said she could tell he has energy. She's been calling him "Big T!" Too cute :)

This weekend our homework is to just play and have fun at the pool! Looking forward to it :)

Survival Swimming - Day 4

Poor little guy was splashing a bit in the pool before his lessons started and as soon as he saw Ms. Penny he started to fuss.  He knows that she means business!

On a positive note he's floating so well now!  Penny was telling me that he's crossing his left leg which is causing him to tilt to the right so they were working on that a lot today.  She said he has awesome breath control and is doing awesome.  Also you'll notice that he doesn't cry as much while he's floating which says to me that he's starting to accept the survival lessons and is growing more comfortable with everything.  At least, I hope that's the case :)

7 months!

So this letter is a little late, and the picture was taken on the 17th, not the 16th but better late than never :)

Dear Thomas James.

You are truly becoming a little man these days.  This past month you have tried so many new foods, handled them all with ease, mastered sitting by yourself, started to try and crawl, learned to wave hello and mastered crawling a few weeks before your 7 months birthday!  You've been a busy little bugger!

I love our everyday life.  Simple.  Sweet.  Perfect.  You wake up between 6:30-7, nurse and then begin your day of play!  Around 8 you eat your breakfast of 2-3 T of oatmeal and 2 - 3 T of fruit.  Then you play some more and start to get tired around 8:30-9, snuggle with me and I put you down for a nap around 9.  You nap for about 45 minutes, wake up and nurse about 10.  Usually this is when we leave to go to the library, meet friends, run errands, shop and lately head to swim lessons.  You are usually pretty good in the car, although if it's longer than 20 minutes you talk to me and let me know that you would like to spend your day not in a stinking car seat!

Around noon you eat your lunch which is 2-3 T of cereal mixed with 2-3 T of veggies.  You always wash it down with water in your sippy cup, your favorite thing!  You can definitely drink on your own now and grab onto the handle bars of the sippy cup and suck it down!  Somewhere around 1 you start to get tired and I nurse you again before you nap.  Your afternoon nap is usually from 1:30-4.  This month Mommy changed your wake up feeding from nursing to a big boy snack of puffs, bread, yogurt bites and water mixed with veggie stock or juice.  We play waiting for Daddy to come home from work and we either go for a ride in the jogging stroller or enjoy the driveway/bath yard with LaLa.  Somewhere around 5:30-6 you eat your dinner which consists of 4-5 T cereal, sometimes 2 T beans, 2-3 T veggie and 1-2 T fruit.

Soon after that your Daddy comes home you LIGHT UP!  You love him so much and he does you!  I love to see my boys love on each other!  I love you both dearly!  Around 6:45 you get your bath, another highlight to your day.  Daddy usually gets it started and Mommy joins in at the end.  We sing to you as we put lotion all over your little damp body, lube your booty up and put you in your sleep bag pajamas.  We have a favorite song, an Amadori original, "Da Dotion on Da Head!"  You giggle in delight!  Then it's time for some boobie and bed.  You normally go down without and fight and if anything you just practice crawling and pulling yourself up until you finally settle down and fall fast asleep, blankie in hand or by your face till the next morning.

Our little man.  Yep you've been busy lately.  Starting to get into everything!  Mommy and Daddy love you in our lives and can't imagine it without you.  You are such a joy and smile all day everyday.  Whenever we meet a stranger that catches your eye they always talk to you and your smiles amaze them all.  Everyone says that you smile so much and that you are the happiest baby they've ever seen.  Lately everyone has been asking me if you are a boy or a girl because you are "pretty enough" to be a girl even though I always dress you in collard shirts, rompers and they are usually blue!

I hope that someday we look back on these letters that Mommy wrote to you when I'm old and grey and you are a Father yourself!  Then you will know the joy that you bring me!  You are the greatest gift and I am honored to be your Mommy!!!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

HAPPY 7 MONTHS!!!

Now that I'm bigger than you, I will attack!!

Survival Swimming - Day 3

Today was just amazing!  He was floating on his own for several seconds!  I just watched in sheer nervous amazement!  I was on pins and needles the WHOLE time!!!  I couldn't believe my eyes!  Here he is, floating on his own, after 3 days of only 10 minute lessons.  Crazy.

We were the last lesson tonight since I worked today and wanted to go if I could.  We ended up being the last ones in the pool so I could actually talk to Penny while she was teaching Thomas and ask her why she was doing certain things.  First she jokes that he is mad, has a hot temper, then she says that she was teaching him and he is already learning that if he screams and gargles that he gets water in his throat.  She explained that he is already learning to cry, but not to scream too hard because otherwise he starts to choke and freak out.  You will also hear me ask why she blows on his face, she said that it teaches them to breath when they are in the water.  I guess most babies will float because of how fat they are, they are just very buoyant, but they forget to breath so they choke on the water.  Scary stuff!

I realize we still have a long ways to go, and that we may have set backs along the way, but he's already come so far!  Till tomorrow....

Survival Swimming - Day 2

Thomas had his 2nd survival swimming lesson today and Daddy joined us.  It started out well and he was happy but that all changed as soon as Penny, the instructor, started putting Thomas under the water for more than just a few seconds.  Poor little guy.  After he had been in the water for 10 minutes, getting tired and getting really frustrated, I started getting nervous.  I wanted to jump in and make it all better.  Give hugs and help him feel comforted.  I had to pull myself together.  It was probably a good thing that J was there to help calm my nerves.

I had to shorten the video below because youtube will only let you post a video up to 10 minutes in length.  It starts out with him crying pretty much right away although he was all smiles for 4 minutes until this point.  Thankfully as soon as he wasn't on his back in the water anymore he was happier and calmed down within a few minutes of being out of the water.

Argh!  It was tearing me up but I would rather him know to "survival swim" than not, so it's worth the anxiety :)

this ain't so bad

ut o, that stinking Penny put me under!

not diggin this floating thing!!

Survival Swimming - Day 1

Yesterday we had the first lesson of survival swimming lessons and Thomas did awesome!  He never cried, constantly smiled and was only worried about the rubber ducky the instructor gave him.  He acted shocked a few times, as you'll see in the video, but would smile shortly there after.

It's a six week program where we go five times a week, for ten minutes a day.  This program is a big commitment for both of us but J and I feel that the alternative is just not worth it.  Even though it's not fool proof, at least it gives me a few extra seconds should something bad happen, and in most cases that's all it takes.  I pray that we never have to "use" the survival swimming, that's it's just for preventative measures but in the event he got himself into a bad situation, it's better than no experience at all.

Our instructor's name is Penny and she's awesome!  I feel very comfortable with the way she handles Thomas, maybe it's her 25+ years of experience!  She talked me through everything and was very sweet.  I can't wait to see how the program will play out and I'm confident that Thomas will be floating in no time.  He's in good hands which helps Mommy handle this new adventure!

I'm sure he will cry at some point, they all do, but for now I'm praying for smiles :)

before swimming class began

hanging out on my towel after swimming lessons

QUARTER CENTURY!!!

Happy Birthday to ME!  25!  Yikes!  Where did that time go?  I officially feel like I'm of an adult age.

Earlier in the day on Thursday, May 13th, I got to spend time with my parents and then we came home to Orlando where we had a very nice night out with my in laws to BoneFish.

On Saturday during the day I got to go to Sephora, aka the best makeup store in the world, and get my makeup done.  I try to go once a year or so to get some new makeup so I don't always look the same.  The makeup artist was also a Jason but he spelled it "Jaysen" and he did a great job on my new everyday look.  

Nana and Grandpa Lou came over later in the evening to watch the little man while Mommy and Daddy went out on our first date night since the birth of our sweet boy.  We had a tasty dinner at Maggianos complete with some calamari, chopped salad and rigatoni D!  Afterwards we met up with some friends to have a few drinks at a few different bars.  

We had a great time and I even had more than one glass of wine :)  Go me!  Thanks to my parents, in-laws, great friends, beautiful son and wonderful husband for a great 25th!

I would say we are officially....

CRAWLING!!!  

Just a few days shy of his 7 month birthday Thomas is crawling more than just a few "steps" here and there.  This video was taken on Friday and today, Sunday he is even better!

It's so amazing to watch babies master and learn new skills!  Today he is crawling all around the family room into the office and pulling himself up onto the dog cage door.  YUCK!  While I was making a sandwich I had to run over to his play area and move him back onto his play mat and try to get him interested in his toys.  I wasn't very successful...I guess all of the running around and chasing is a good workout for Mommy!

Here is a cute video of his skills:

Making Homemade Yogurt

So a great Mommy friend of mine makes her own yogurt and I asked her how easy/hard it is to do.  She assured me that it was suppper easy so I thought I'd give it a shot!  Well it was SUPER easy!  Just have to be home to monitor it, but other than that it is just a few small steps.

So why would I make my own yogurt?  Because Thomas is going to be able to start eating yogurt at 8 months old, only one month away and I want to make sure I know what he's eating.  Plus, it's going to save our family money!  After Thomas was about 6 months old I could start eating dairy again and now I've been trying to eat more yogurt because of how good it is for you so I also plan on eating the homemake yogurt.  Also, I hope that J starts to like it too :)

I want to make sure that my family is making good choices and with making my own yogurt I am making another step in the right direction.  Will I make all my own yogurt all of the time?  I hope so!  Now I just want to learn how to make different flavors!

Here is the recipe I used:

Crock Pot Yogurt

Recipe notes: This recipe uses a 2 quart crock. In using a 4 or 4 1/2 quart crock I found the yogurt to have a bit of a "springy" texture. I was able to alleviate this by heating the milk an additional 15 minutes for a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes.

• Turn your crock pot to low and pour in 1/2 gallon of milk.
• Heat on low for 2 hours and 30 minutes.
• Once 2 hours and 30 minutes have elapsed turn your crock pot off and unplug it. Let the milk cool in the crock with the lid on for 3 hours.
• After 3 hours remove 1-2 cups of the warmed milk and place in a bowl. To that add 1/2 cup of yogurt with live active cultures and mix very well.
• Pour the yogurt-milk mixture back into the milk and whisk thoroughly.
• Place the cover back on the crock and wrap the entire crock pot in a thick bath towel or two.
• Let it culture overnight, 8-12 hours.
• In the morning stir yogurt (if desired) and store in glass quart jars or a container of your choice.
• For optimum texture, refrigerate for at least 8 hours before using

Here are a few pictures of my finished product:

The finished product after running through cheese cloth to make thicker

store bought consistency :)

the liquid under the colander after straining through cheese cloth for 6 hours

Walk with friends

The other day Thomas and I ventured to a good friends house and went for a walk through a beautiful neighborhood.  We ended up in a very nice area and ate lunch with the babies at an Italian restaurant.  The special part of the whole day is that we got to meet Gianna, who is now 6 weeks old for the first time!  She is soooo sweet and perfect in every way!  Here are a few pictures of the little rug rats :)

First Cauliflower and Waving Hello :)

I was taking Thomas' first cauliflower and started saying hi to him and then he started waving!  I haven't caught his new skill on video yet as it's only been a few days and very hit or miss.  Anyways, here is the latest video of our little man eating his first cauliflower, very uneventful but then waving hello to me several times, very eventful :)

First Avocado

This video was taken on Mother's Day at Brunch while Thomas has his first Avocado.  LOL!!!  It doesn't go very well and I get it alllll over his little face.  Guess trying a new not so sweet food isn't good idea with a fussy baby who has just had a lot of stimulation and a short morning nap.  Live and learn....

Thomas' Baptism

This morning Thomas was Baptized at Pine Shores Presbyterian Church.  It was beautiful.  I held it together and only shed a few tears, of course they were of joy :)  It was everything we could have hope for and more.

We are so blessed to have such a beautiful little boy and we are so glad that we were able to share this day with our families.  Both sets of Grandparents were there as well as Thomas' Great Grandparents.  We had Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and other close family friends present on Thomas' special day.

My Grandfather said a few words before the baptism began to explain to the congregation as a founding member of Pine Shores, that this was his first Great Grandchild and that the baptismal fount was donated by his father in honor of his mother.  It was very special to have him say a few words in honor of our family.  We also had an elder of the church, Bus stand and ask the congregation to help in Thomas' journey with the Lord.   Bus was my mentor and my Mom's mentor as we were confirmed.  This was very special to me and Bus was very honored we asked him to join us in Thomas' service.

Thomas ate his foot during the prayer and when the water was put on his head he just intently looked at Pastor Bruce.  He grabbed his facial hair and was all smiles as he walked him around for all of the congregation to meet.  He was perfect in every way and after about 45 minutes into the service he started to get hungry so we went out had a snack and were back in time before the end of the service.

Afterwards we all enjoyed a fabulous cake from Publix!  It was the best cake I've ever had from there!!!  We were debating what size to get and I had a feeling I should go with the largest sheet cake they provide, good thing I did as about 90% of it was finished and the rest the youth group is going to eat tonight.

Again, we couldn't have asked for more!  It was a beautiful, intimate service and Thomas was his typical cheerful self!  We are so lucky we have such a cooperative child :)

first boat ride

Today Thomas got to go on a boat for the first time!  He loved it and was such a good boy!

The three of us went with Grandpa and Grandma Gabbert, Grandpa and Grandma Amadori and Aunt Ashley to lunch at the Phillippi Creek Oyster Bar where we all enjoyed great company, atmosphere and food!  Here are a few cute pictures courtesy of Aunt Ashley's iPhone!

Sooooooo close

Thomas is sooooo close to crawling!  He can take a few crawling steps in a row now! Only a week ago he was just rocking back and forth and two weeks ago he was just starting to get up on all 4s.  It's amazing how fast they can change in a week!

I would say by next week, or at least his 7 month birthday which is 10 short days away he will be crawling full on, all over the place, all day long!  Momma's job is about to get 10 times harder....I better savor these last few days of being able to put him down without worrying if he is going to hit his head or get into something!

In the mean time I can laugh at his cute little baby body trying to crawl around on those little baby knees and hands.  These are the moments we live for as Mommies!

First Dried Apricots

Here is a video of the other morning of the little man eating dried apricots for the first time.  This morning he had it for the 2nd time and it was a hit again.  I would love to make fresh apricots but they are very hard to find around here and especially if you want them to be organic.

Baptism Preparations

Thomas is getting baptized this coming Sunday, Mother's Day and I've been working on making his special day, well, special.  I looooove the invitations!  I think they turned out fabulous!

Also the other day at Dillard's I found the perfect outfit!  It looks a lot like my friend Abby's outfit, I hope it's not the exact same one, but I'm in love with it.  It's perfect.  Exactly what I was looking for.  As you will see below it is very simple and I found these adorable white shoes to go with for $6 on sale!  What a deal!  Makes it that much sweeter :)  Here is a picture of his getup:

Now all I have to do is call and order the cake.  I'm thinking of getting a big sheet cake in white and blue.  Thinking of having it look something like this:

So now, all we have to do is hope that all goes well on the day.  I just hope he doesn't cry when the pastor holds him but he's a baby and that could very well happen.  Hopefully he is his typical self, the wiggly, giggly, bouncing sweet baby boy!!!  Wish us luck!!!

1st Yellow/Summer Squash

Again, very uneventful but he's just too cute for me not to post his non eventful videos.  Plus it's a better video than normal because J was there to help me instead of it being propped on the kitchen counter :)

In non baby news...

Jason did a race this past weekend with my Mom and friend Manny called the Talon.  It was a 10 hour adventure race and they placed 1st!!!  Go TEAM NATURE CALLS!!!!

If you are interested in what an adventure race entails take at look at Manny's full race report: http://windermereroadies.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7952

J and my Mom, Lori

J racing

J and Manny

Leu Gardens Story Time - May 3rd

One of our great friends Tia and her daughter Chloe told us about a library special event Story Time at Leu Gardens that is held on the first Monday of every month.  In past months I have forgotten and almost forgot about this month's event but luckily she sent me an reminder email on Sunday :)

There is three different story times for the different ages of children and we joined Mother Goose and about 30 other babies and their Mommies for the 10 o'clock meeting.

After the story time we met up with a few friends and walked around the gardens.  Here is a cute video of Thomas just taking it all in during the story time:

mobile motorboat

This past weekend we took a trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa Gabbert.  While we were visiting we spend some time with Aunt Ashley at her new place and even got to see our great family friend the Craigs. Also on the agenda was a visit to the church where I was raised to meet with the pastor to discuss the plans for Thomas' baptism which is this coming weekend.  We love the pastors there so much as they are very laid back, just like us.  We are very excited about the pending baptism of our son and even more thankful that we are going to have my Grandfather, Thomas' Great Grandfather speak at his baptism.  So this week I need to find an outfit for all of us to celebrate Thomas' baptism and my First Mother's Day.

Here are some cute pictures of our weekend and a funny video of Thomas and I in the back of the truck on our way home doing the mobile motorboat :)

visiting Aunt Ashley's Condo

visiting Mr. Craig for the 1st time

cuddling with Mrs. Craig for the 1st time