Cold Winter Days

Walking in the baby backpack at Morton Arboretum before the snow fell.....Tommy fell asleep after a few minutes and slept the rest of the walk.











Tommy loves the Curious George doll he liberated from Grandma Sharon's house - he carries him around and hugs him.











Cousin Charlie on Thanksgiving - he is a very smily, happy boy! Tommy was very interested in the buttons on Charlie's carseat, but not very interested in Charlie himself.












Tommy takes business casual to a new level.














Trying to pose for a Christmas picture


















Another attempt at a Christmas picture













A new favorite activity - pushing trucks around the house while walking - he goes in many, many circles through the kitchen, hallway, living room, dining room, and back again.
This can also be done while pushing diaper boxes, Tupperware lids, empty bottles, almost anything that Tommy can find.














Our handsome baby boy!

Walking and Talking

Tommy is walking and talking up a storm these days - he also enjoys pushing around his cars, grocery cart, vacuum cleaner, and other push toys all day long. He'll take a break to flip through a board book, or crawl through his playhouse, and then it's back to walking and cruising around the house. A few new pics until Thanksgiving.......

Happy Halloween from Tommy

Hanging out in the backyard with his funny hat.














Check out my cool SpiderMan push car.



















Tommy is cracking himself up on Halloween night.


















Checking out some Starburst - yummy.






















Little pumpkin Tommy












































Playing at home on Halloween night.

Did you know dalmations like pacifiers?

First Trip to Massachusetts and First Steps!

Last weekend Tommy flew to Massachusetts to visit his grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles. It was a great time and Tommy proved to be a great traveler, even in the face of Logan Airport's goofy T*S*A staff.
We visited the Atlantic Ocean, the local apple orchard, and Tommy had his first pizza with Pops, from the local favorite pizzeria.
While we were getting ready on Friday morning, I looked over to see what Tommy was doing, and I saw him take a few steps - all on his own! He did it a few more times on Saturday and is up to about 4 or 5 steps alone. It is hilarious! He's very proud of himself when he does it - it's pretty cute.
Enjoy some new pictures!

May and Pops and the Gray grandchildren

Tommy banging on May's glass top coffee table.....

Tommy with his one and only great grandmother!

Pumpkin birthday cake that cousin Teddy picked out!

Happy Boy!

Happy Birthday to Tommy

Tommy's second haircut, but first successful haircut - he did very well and now looks like a little man!










Chewing on the garage door opener in his sweet new wagon from Grandma Shermie - he knows that pushing the buttons on the opener makes the doors go up and down. It's a fun game.










Out for a walk with Daddy.














The morning of my first birthday!!













Yesterday we celebrated Tommy's first birthday with lots of family and friends! He had a great time playing with the other kids, and stayed awake long enough to enjoy some delicious frosting on his own little cake. As we celebrated Tommy's first birthday, we reminded ourselves just how thankful we are to his birth mother and the caretakers in Vietnam who loved him dearly. Without them, we would not be a family today.







Trying to get him to touch the cake....














After some help from Uncle Mark, he really liked the way the frosting felt!







Happy Birthday, Baby Boy!

Almost One Year Old!

Tommy will turn one a week from today - we are preparing for his first birthday party and can't wait to watch him open gifts and eat cake!
He's started to walk while pushing his many wheeled toys around the house. He'll also take a step from one piece of furniture to another.
Last weekend we visited Grandma Sharon's new house and he liked to cruise around her basement and chase the dog. Last month we visited Aunt Tracey and cousin Henry (who is now a big brother to baby Charlie!) and Tommy loved all of Henry's cool toys, especially his ride-on train.
Enjoy some new pictures!

5 months together

September 3 was our 5 month adoption anniversary....look at how much Tommy has grown and changed!

Tommy's First Photo Shoot

Even though we have hundreds of pictures of Tommy, we had never had his picture taken professionally....Tommy wasn't very interested in the session, and it took a lot of coaxing from Mommy and Grandma Sharon to get him to look at the camera!

Here is a sampling of some of the many shots they took......

Long Overdue Post

This is long overdue.....Tommy has turned 10 months old, had his first haircut, and is standing while holding on with just one hand! He is growing taller and his weight gain has leveled off - just under 20 pounds last week at the doctor.
He has started daycare two days a week and is doing well. He started out in the infant room and is now in the "waddler" room, where the kids are all crawling and starting to walk. He doesn't nap well at daycare, but he does seem to like the women who work there.
His first haircut wasn't a success. Each time the girl would comb his hair, he turned to look and give her a smile. She trimmed the bangs a bit and also the back, but was scared to touch his sides....so we may have to try again in a month or so because it's still pretty long.
Tommy has enjoyed a lot of time with his cousin Megan this summer and he is sad that she started back to school today :( We have spent a lot of time at Grandma Sharon's house helping her pack, and we're going to visit cousin Henry in a couple of weeks.
Hope your summers have been great - enjoy the pics! Tara, Doug, and Tommy