9 Months Old

Tommy enjoyed his first venture into a pool last weekend - kiddie pool, that is. The weather was sweltering hot and so we filled up a kiddie pool in the front yard, slathered on the sunscreen, and let Tommy splash around. He loved it. We start swimming lessons at the end of the month, so he's getting a head start!























Here's Tommy on the morning of his 9 month birthday checking out the shadows on the wall....he loves it.













Enjoying a popsicle....he likes this much better than the plain old ice cube we give him to help with his teeth.











Here's Tommy just being adorable and trying to get the camera.....the weather cooled off later in the week so we spent some time outdoors playing. He loved feeling the grass, listening to the cars drive by, and the kids going by on their bikes.






















And finally, he has discovered the doors, and especially loves the screen door. He is crawling everywhere, into different rooms, down the hallway, and is starting to pull up on furniture. We have purchased our first baby gate to be installed at the top of the stairs today.

Tommy is such a great little guy, and we are reminded everyday of how lucky we are to have him!

Two Teeth!

Some new Tommy pics......he's growing like a weed! He weighed in at 19 pounds, 7 ounces, and 27 inches long last week......he's doing an army crawl all over the house and is suddenly interested in the outlet covers and hardwood floors. July 3 will mark 3 months since Tommy's adoption....we must celebrate with some fireworks! Happy 4th of July!




I was trying to catch him laughing here, but once he sees the camera, he stops laughing.
















After a bath, bundled up in his cute giraffe towel from cousin Henry.

















Stuck under a chair.....he likes to crawl under, but gets mad when he can't get out.

If you look closely or click on the picture, you can see his two teeth!

World's Cutest Baby

Happy Father's Day

Tommy celebrated his 8 month birthday on June 13, and we all celebrated two months at home on June 16, and today we celebrate Father's Day! Happy First Father's Day to Doug.....Tommy loves you very much!

Tommy enjoying a dinner of squash, peas, and carrots at the river walk in downtown Batavia.

I couldn't get this picture to rotate - but Tommy is sitting up on his own now! Here he is holding on to an empty ice cream bucket, which he loves to knock over and to dump all of his toys from.

Sleeping....

Sporting his Boston College tshirt from one of Doug's college friends....not sure if it will still fit when he attends his first BC football game!

And showing off his muscles and new talent!

Almost Crawling....

Last week we went to the city to file a lawsuit to have Tommy's name legally changed from his Vietnamese name to his American name. These pictures are at the Cook County Sheriff's office, where Tommy was officially "served" with papers - of course he loved it! They gave him a plastic sheriff's badge to keep and he liked chewing on it.

Tommy enjoying the hammock in our backyard...but not for very long....he's screaming in the pictures that follow!

And here are some of his latest moves - a push up/plank pose where he rocks and scoots himself backwards on in a complete circle to get whatever object he wants....and he's doing it all of the time. He is also rolling while holding books, toys, his pacifier - nothing gets in his way, except for the wall, which makes him very mad.

Tomorrow Tommy will turn 8 months old. We haven't decided how we will celebrate, but he does like vanilla ice cream.....I will try to post new pictures again soon!

Catching Up

The month of May has flown by and Thomas has been a busy guy! He's met his Grandma and Grandpa Gray (known as May and Pops), his Uncle Adam, Aunt Heather and Uncle Todd, cousins Riordan and Maeve, and many more friends!





Tommy sporting some Illini gear.














With May and Pops















Tommy's baptism - with most of his Ryan cousins and second cousin Kevin.















Lunch with our friend Jenny in Chicago.

Hanging out in my Bumbo seat

Four Weeks Together

Four weeks ago today we met Thomas....it's hard to believe it's been only four weeks! He has started to eat rice cereal, has much better head control, and is working on sitting up....we are amazed at his changes everyday, and his laugh is contagious. We are completely enamored.

This past week we have had lots of visitors, blood work completed, a trip to the doctor to start nebulizer treatments, and a long visit with cousin Henry and Aunt Tracey. At first, Henry wasn't sure what to think of Tommy, but he warmed up after a few hours....it's good practice for Henry's new baby brother or sister who will be arriving this fall!



Tommy is keeping a safe distance from Henry here...

Tommy practicing his rolling technique.