Daddy's Little Helper

Adam got a grant to do a project where he hides 100 dinosaur paintings for people to find all over the bay area, and with some help, the rest of the world. Thomas likes helping come up with clues, but he mostly likes trying to eat the paintings.

Christmas Tree Lane

Another Alameda Christmas tradition is Christmas Tree Lane - a block where almost all of the houses decorate. And do they ever decorate. It's such a big deal Santa also comes to visit. We figured Thomas was just a little to small for that excitement this year, but he will definitely be going next year.

Thomas loved looking at all the lights. We also ran into our friends Elena, Gabriella and Easton while Gabriella was dropping off her letter to Santa. Running into friends and neighbors is our favorite part of living here.

 Gabriella and I both picked this house as our favorite.

A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Baby

My mom is going to have a new office so we thought it she could use some art for her walls. Thomas made his first painting for her and it went so well he made another for his Aunt Sam. 

Meeting Luna

Our friends Skylar and Joa had a little girl, Luna. She's adorable. Her parents swear she sleeps eleven hours a night. We don't really believe them, if only so we can continue liking them.

Six Months!

Photo shoot!

City Christmas Tree Lighting

We love the town we live in, because it has super cute things like a town Christmas tree lighting complete with skating rink, sleigh rides, carolers, an orchestra and tap dancing Christmas trees - yep, tap dancing Christmas trees. Grandma and Aunt Sam came up to go with us and Thomas got dressed up for the occasion.

Adam also did a Christmas boutique next door at the Elks Lodge during the day, but it ended just in time for the festivities.

We met the Miners and the Govers there. Unfortunately, it draws a pretty big crowd so we never found the Yalin's, but next year! It was the first time we got to meet the Grover's new baby, Easton.

Our friends Chris and Sarah happened to be in town from Canada, too.  They were unprepared for the sheer amount of children - did I mention that Alameda has been named one of the 100 best cities for kids? - Sarah was afraid she would accidently kick one.

They left to go warm up over margaritas. We stayed and had a daddy-shoulder dance.

Teething

Dad's fingers make the best teether.

Baby's First Thanksgiving

Thomas got comfortable with solid food just in time for Thanksgiving. Sweet potatoes are old news so Auntie Sam made him some peas.

It was a day of fun with food. His favorite toy that day was a red potato.

Bath Time Is the Best Time

I mean, REALLY.

Like a Baby

They say car rides put babies to sleep. In Thomas' case, he would rather watch the scenery even if he is exhausted, so it only works if we tent his car seat like a bird cage or I cover his eyes with my hand. Then we just hope he doesn't wake up till we get to our destination.

Raspberries

Thomas has learned to blow raspberries and a few other choice sounds this last week. Excuse the fingers, I was having a hard time keeping a steady hand while laughing.

Visit with Gammie and Grandad

Thomas sure does love his Grandad. The feeling is mutual.

Twins!

Cooper got the same chicken costume that Thomas did, but we were never able to get them together before Halloween. Luckily you don't need an excuse to make babies even cuter. Especially when its two babies.

Jogging

Since becoming a stay-at-home Dad, I decided that part of my morning routine would be to go out jogging with Thomas. Whenever I tell people this, they all seem to imagine me running down the street, clutching the baby to my chest. This of course is not the case, we were able to purchase a Schwinn jogging stroller for about half the cost of the other jogging strollers that were tall enough for me to use.

(Pre-Jog)

(Post-Jog)

It took me a little while to figure out my routine. The first day I went out jogging was a fluke, so I wound up showering twice. Also, if I go too close to one of Thomas' scheduled naps, he dozes off for about 20 minutes during the run and then decides that he doesn't need any more sleep. I think we are getting the hang of it now though.

Baby's First Halloween

For the actual holiday we helped some friends pass out candy who live on the busiest trick or treating street in town. On the way back we stopped for burgers - of course. Thomas had fun munching on his costume.

Back to Work

Today was my first day back at work. Since I had approximately 4 billion emails to go through I worked from home. Not a bad way to start back!

Adam Quits!

Today was the last day that Adam will ever have to work a crappy office job.  To celebrate I got him a cake. Because we will now be a one (steady) income family I bought the holiday cake that was on super-sale.  Best $5 ever spent.

Meeting Rory

It seems our friends are breeding like bunnies. Rory is the newest baby to join the group, to parents Sarah and Dave. We got to meet him when he was just a week old. Thomas looked like a giant next to him.

Adam said it was hard to imagine Thomas ever being that small. Turns out he wasn't! Rory still didn't weigh quite as much as Thomas did at birth.

Halloween: Costume #1

Our friends Mary and Lael hosted a baby friendly Halloween party the week before Halloween. Once Adam saw the cheeseburger costume there was no convincing him otherwise. It worked out well since all we had to do was borrow some aprons from my mom and....voila! Family costume.

I felt a little bad that I didn't make his first costume but then I remembered how tired I am and got over it. Next year.

Thomas was an excellent party goer. We got there right when it started thinking we would have to leave an hour later for bedtime. Instead he took a disco nap in Adam's arms and partied with us until about nine.

Family Picnic: Costume #2

Alameda really is THE place to be as a new parent. One of the mommy groups I'm a part of had a family picnic and we figured it was a good excuse to dress all the babies in costume. Since it was unseasonably hot (still) and there were slated to be a flock of other chickens (they were not very happy in their costumes) we dressed him in the chicken costume Grandpa got him.

And Now We Are Three

We celebrated our three year anniversary this week. Mom volunteered to babysit so we could have some time to ourselves, but we decided to celebrate with all three of us. It only made sense...celebrating our three year anniversary with the three of us. Adam took the day off and we had a quiet day culminating in a walk around the park and sushi takeout (sushi takeout seems even more luxurious than going to the restaurant).

We also tried to recreate the picture that our awesome wedding photographer took during our engagement session and on our wedding day, even though Thomas has already grown out of his first pair of Converse, isn't quite adept at sitting yet, and it was a little tricky using the timer...

Reading is Fundamental

He's a nerd like his mama.

Baby's First Ears

Grandpa went to Disneyland so Thomas got his first Mickey ears. Sadly the names are now embroidered by computer - BLASPHEMY!

Fun with Solids!

At Thomas' four month appointment the pediatrician (a new one who actually likes children! Go, figure...) said that we could go ahead and start giving him solids since he can sit supported, lost his tongue thrust and (most importantly) is now eating every hour and a half - up from every two, believe it or not.

What is this, Mom...

I'm not sure about this...

Oh, solids are fun!

 

How about I just grab them?

The kitty decided he wanted in on the action.

Yum.

Not much ended up actually being swallowed, and Thomas started impersonating Jabba the Hutt. All in all, fun was had!