There was a time, when I couldn’t leave the room without Thomas crying and chasing after me.  Now, he will wander off in the house and play by himself.  He still comes back to check on me every so often, but usually I will go in search of him.

One day, I walked into his room to find this scene. I think he was waiting for me!  If you look closely, you’ll see the pile of laundry to the left. He had emptied out the basket and climbed in.  His sippy cup is next to him in the basket- he brought it with him!  He managed to climb out on his own, and even put all the clothes back in the hamper. 

A new favorite is the play kitchen.  He loves the one at the babysitter’s house.  He seeks them out anywhere we go.  The children’s consignment shops, the indoor playgrounds.  He loves to open and close the doors, turn the knobs, and even pretend to sip out of a cup.  

A friend recently loaned us her play kitchen.  Thomas is so excited to have it at his disposable.  

We had held off on giving him spaghetti, mostly because we knew it would be messy.  He eats ziti with sauce all the time, but they are manageable pieces and don’t make too much of a mess.  

Well, we finally gave in and let him have spaghetti.  He LOVED it!  He even figured out how to slurp up a long strand into his mouth.  I started out cutting it into little pieces, but then gave him some longer pieces.  It was fun watching him enjoy it.   

It was a mess, but it was worth it.  He’ll definitely get spaghetti again soon.   

When Thomas was a little baby, I would try to read him stories. He just wasn’t interested.  As he got older, he began to sit still for story time in the rocking chair.  Now, he will pick up a book on his own and ”read” it to himself.

Here he is in his room. He climbed into the chair on his own, and I found him there with a book.   

 Another time, I found him in his little tent with a book. 

I am glad he loves books.  He will often climb into my lap, or Daddy’s lap, and pick up a book for us to read.

We live in South Florida, but Thomas had never been to the beach until he was over a year old.  I’m not much of a beach person, but my friends were visiting from out of town.  They were staying right at the beach, so I decided it would be fun to take Thomas there for a little while.  We had a really nice time!  Of course, it is so beautiful- you can see the gorgeous green water in the picture.  I sat him on a towel, but he wanted to play in the sand.  I’m not sure why, but he put some in his mouth.  It couldn’t have tasted good, or felt good.  I know I’ve eaten plenty of sandy pb & j sandwiches in my life.   We had fun, and even went in the water a bit.  I took him one other time this summer, but that time was at a cove, not the ocean.  I know we are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place, and I should take advantage more of the beaches.  Definitely next summer, we’ll go more often.

On June 25th, my baby boy turned one year old!  We had so much fun at his party.  He loved being the center of attention.  We had never had so many people in our house, and he thought it was great.  He played with the kids, and smiled for the adults.  This was the first time he ate cake. It took him a few minutes, but he got into it.  I threw him in the tub for a quick bath, then he kept going strong. The best part of this day, for me, was when he walked for the first time!  For about a month, he had been taking a step or two without even realizing it.  But on this day, in front of all our friends and family, he decided to walk across the room.  It was so great!  Everyone was so excited to be there when he did it.   

I know that one day Thomas will need to feed himself.  So, I’ve been trying to teach him how to use utensils.  We have these cute, chunky plastic spoons and forks for him.  They’re the Baby Einstein kind- labeled with the color words.  He likes holding them, but he doesn’t really understand how to get the food into the spoon.  He watches me hold the spoon and scoop the food.  Sometimes we’ll do it together- I’ll guide the spoon as he holds it.  Then there are times when he is feeling really independent.  He just kind of dips the spoon into the food, not scooping it.  

This video is Thomas holding the spoon, but not actually using it.  It’s pretty funny.  He manages to get plenty of food in his mouth.

I’ve been trying to teach Thomas some baby signs.  He finally caught on, and started signing a little bit. He knows bye bye, more, and all done.  We have a cute book that he likes looking at, with real babies demonstrating the signs.  

Here is a cute video of him signing for “more.”  He doesn’t do it as often now, but only if he really likes the food.  This weekend he really wanted more plantains, and tonight it was rice.  He goes crazy for some foods! 

Sorry for the gap in posting.  I had a fabulous summer at home with Thomas.  Last summer, he was a newborn, and I was adjusting to my new life as a mom.  I didn’t realize that it would be a constant adjustment, as he would always be growing and changing.  Every new stage is my favorite, and I love this boy more every day.  He is so funny, and makes me laugh all the time.  I had no idea a one year old could have so much personality.  

This summer, Thomas started walking.  Now he climbs on couches and the coffee table.  And stands on them.  And jumps off.  

About a month ago, he completely refused any “baby” food.  Now he only eats what we eat. It’s fun to see him try new foods.  He will try anything.  If he doesn’t like it, he’ll spit it out, or just turn his head the next time it’s offered.  

It was a great summer, but I’ve been back to work for a few weeks now.  He’s settled in with his sitter, and I’m back in my routine at school.  I’ll get some pictures up on photobucket and start posting! 

Several months ago, we started feeding Thomas with a spoon.  He would try to pull the spoon from my hand and feed himself.  He just made a  huge mess.  Between us and the babysitter, we managed to break that habit.  Now, he’ll just open his mouth like a little bird without grabbing at the spoon. Well, he is almost 10 months old, and I would like him to learn to feed himself.  I read about it, and learned that the fatter plastic spoons are easier for babies to grasp.  So, tonight at dinner I loaded up the spoon with some fresh avocado and left it on his tray.  He picked it right up and put it in his mouth!  He ate it all, and only made a small mess.  I think it will be a while before he can actually dip the spoon into the bowl of food.   

Thomas just started waving bye-bye recently.  It is usually hit or miss.  Sometimes we’ll say good-bye to someone, but he won’t start waving until he’s buckled up in the car.  Other times, he’ll wave when we wave to him.  The last few days, he has started responding to my command.  When I say “wave bye-bye,” he does!  This is the first command he has responded to.  It is so cute!  I shot a video this morning.  Yes, his thumb is always  in his mouth.  He’ll usually just wave with the other hand.  The thumb rarely  comes out.