The Hutchinson Family

Swagbucks!

2011-08-02T13:49:00.001-04:00

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-02T23:34:00.000-05:00

I just realized its been 4 months since a blog update. If you want more updates, facebook is the better option for keeping up with little Tommy. Since our last update, he celebrated his second birthday, dressed up as BamBam for Halloween, enjoyed visits from both Aunt Donna and Aunt Sharyl and had an amazing Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.

Here are a few pictures from a New Years weekend! Thanks Aunt Stephanie for taking our pictures!

Hangin' with the cousins

2010-08-04T23:53:00.000-04:00

Forrest is teaching Tommy the buckles on the puzzle. I am not sure who is concentrating more!

Train time

Kirkland taking credit from Uncle Tom's hard work!

Fun at the Playground & Backyard

2010-08-01T23:48:00.000-04:00

Nana came for a visit and we went to the park.


He is counting... one, two, three, go.

so excited!


WEEEEEEEE

He doesn't know what to think of his crazy Nana!

Father's Day at the Beach

2010-06-25T09:38:00.000-04:00

To celebrate Father's Day, we took a quick trip to Cape San Blas! We loved that Stephanie, Mike, and Kirkland drove over from Panama City. Of course Stephanie had her camera in hand to take some incredible pictures of Tommy!

Playing in the backyard!

2010-06-18T20:59:00.004-04:00

What a crazy month its been for us! After 9 years living in the same house, we have finally moved! We are enjoying the benefits in the new neighborhood - especially the pool! Tommy's latest phase includes discovering the water hose in the backyard. It was quite comically.

Video note: yes, I have since learned that video on my new phone can only be horizontal - not vertical! Turn your head sideways! LOL

Let's Play Ball (or with socks!)

2010-04-26T22:49:00.005-04:00

Easter 2010

2010-04-07T21:27:00.006-04:00

We started our Easter morning just being silly.

Then we colored eggs.
Tommy and Mommy debated if we
were coloring eggs or coloring balls.
In Tommy's word, everything is a ball.He was so excited about the soccer ball
in his Easter basket.
Candy time!We spent the afternoon playing in the yard with his
new soccer ball and sidewalk chalk.

Celebrating Spring! Feeding the ducks at Lake Ella

2010-04-07T21:13:00.005-04:00

Saturday morning was so beautiful and perfect outside. While Daddy was at work, we spent the morning at the park and fed the ducks.

Tommy "shhh'd" some dogs barking.

Springtime Tallahassee

2010-03-28T09:13:00.003-04:00

Tommy's first parade and festival!

Random Pictures

2010-03-24T13:42:00.009-04:00

Some random pictures from yesterday and back to Christmas.

"Surprise Face!"

Tommy's first living room fort

Uncle Philly's 4-Wheeler

Not sure why he is so grumpy... he is the one that put his glasses on that way!

Newest place to curl up and read a book

How much ketchup can one kid eat?

Tommy's First Trip to Disney (Magic Kingdom)

2010-03-15T22:11:00.007-04:00

We spent a weekend in Orlando, including our first night together - away from Tommy ever. Tom and I enjoyed a Reba McEntire concert in Orlando followed by a day at Disney with Tommy and the family.

"Surprise Face!"
(thanks to his school teachers, he does his "suprise face" on demand)

cousins Lindsay, Casey, Ashley and Tommy

Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sharyl, and Cousins Ashley, Lindsay, and Casey.

Catching Up with Tommy

2010-03-15T21:56:00.004-04:00

Time is flying as fast as Tommy is running. I spend most my time, chasing him around the yard and house. I miss him hanging out in his swing so mommy can update the blog! Most of the past few months included Tommy with his books and food. He is growing so tall. Today was his 18-month checkup and he weighs 24lbs & is 34" tall. His legs are growing out of his jeans while his waist needs a belt!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T17:29:00.007-05:00

"We are truly blessed!"

hanging the ornament from aunt sharyl

opening aunt donna's gift

"How's my artwork?"

"I don't know which toy to play with"

Chef BoyI'mCute

"Aunt Sharyl's ornament has my name on it"

These are videos we took Christmas morning of Tommy

unwrapping presents - sorry they are so dark.

Not A Fan of... Santa.

2009-12-13T21:24:00.006-05:00

Thanksgiving at home

2009-12-13T20:54:00.005-05:00

Not sure what to think of his first real Thanksgiving Dinner...

Then we played outside...

Then we went to the park...

and played on the slide...

Tommy's First Car

2009-11-30T14:03:00.004-05:00

The day after this video was taken - we bought a helmet!

Let's Go Seminoles!

2009-11-24T23:30:00.003-05:00

We took Tommy to his first FSU football game. He was so excited (as you can see by the first two pictures) that he slept through the second half! The crowd was cheering, stomping and screaming and he was OUT of it. He didn't wake up until we walked out of the stadium. What a great day for some football!

Tommy's First Haircut

2009-11-08T12:38:00.003-05:00

Tommy went to the barbershop!

Halloween - ARRRGGGG! I see a pirate!

2009-11-01T15:09:00.005-05:00

Our little punk pirate...

Mall-o-ween with mommy and daddy

... and Bob the Builder

too much energy to go home, so we stopped by Lake Ella for a late night
run around in the park. It was more of a chase around then a run around.

Caught by Mommy!sittin' on the rock, watchin' the ducks take a late-night swim.

Pumpkin Patch II and Carving!

2009-10-26T22:04:00.006-04:00

Tommy had such a great time going to the pumpkin patch at night, we made it an afternoon activity again last Saturday. He was quite obsessed with the pumpkins and insisted on bringing one of the baby ones home. Yes, Tommy is organizing the pumpkins - he gets that from his mother!

Then, we prepared to carve the pumpkin.

Daddy thought it would be a good idea to give Tommy a wooden spoon.

He was our little witch covered in pumpkin, stirring his spoon.

Fall School Pictures

2009-10-24T17:46:00.003-04:00

Tommy dancin'

2009-10-22T09:39:00.001-04:00

Tommy vs. the Lemon

2009-10-19T20:43:00.003-04:00

Tommy has always loved lemons. I know, its weird. He has been acting this way with lemons for months and i finally got it on video. Tommy shakes his head back and forth when he is really excited about something - doesn't realize he is saying no!

Mommy's Birthday

2009-10-19T20:35:00.003-04:00

We celebrated mommy's birthday with a trip to the jr. museum and BBQ dinner. Tommy mostly enjoyed watching the Florida Panthers and picking the nose of a cow! It was quite funny! Most of all - we enjoyed spending the whole day together as a family. This is the first time in months.

Yes, this is the cow and his nose!

Pumpkin Patch 2009

2009-10-19T20:26:00.005-04:00

Going to the pumpkin patch was the first big "adventure" we had after Tommy was born. He was only 3 weeks old when we propped him up against the big pumpkins just to take his picture. This year - he didn't fall over and he was the size of the big pumpkin!

Graduation from the Nursery Room

2009-10-19T20:11:00.004-04:00

Tommy graduated from nursery school and hit the road running for the toddler room. It took a full week in the toddler room for him to get used to not having his favorite teachers: Ms. Courtney, Ms. Kaleigh, Ms. Heather, and Ms. Jessy

Birthday Boy!

2009-09-21T16:40:00.014-04:00

Two days prior to the big birthday, I spent lots of time thinking about what I was doing and how I was feeling a year ago. It was ALL worth it! Here is some pictures from Tommy's first birthday party. We had a great time with the family, friends and so happy Tommy's teachers and classmates joined in the fun too!

Birthday boy arrives at the park for his party.

Then we had a cook-out and played with our classmates.

Addison was surrounded by boys!

Tommy loved Aunt Stephanie's new puppy. His name is Nine.

Mason and Tommy are buddies and get into trouble together.
Tommy is two days older.

Then we opened presents... well, Tommy waited so patiently.

Let's Go Seminoles!

Then we had some yummy cake.

Talkin' to the roasters and visiting the doggies at Aunt Joys farm

2009-09-16T21:21:00.004-04:00

11 months and not a baby anymore

2009-09-16T21:06:00.004-04:00

So yet again, I am a little late posting some pictures, but Tommy's Aunt Sharyl and Aunt Donna both reminded me to update the blog! Nana and Papa went with us to see Tommy's Aunt Joy (my sister) over Labor Day weekend and what an adventure it was!

Summer Time!

2009-07-30T22:42:00.005-04:00

Catching up on a few Summer-time pictures of Tommy.

Tommy - 9 months, 21lbs & 30" tall

being silly, playing with his favorite toy in the world

He saw me giving Gracie a bath and thought I needed his help.

Blue eyes!

Sleeping on the beach with Papa

Fun at the kiddie pool

10-months old celebration!

2009-07-30T22:31:00.006-04:00

So much is going on with our little man, its hard to keep up. Everyday he learns something new. In the past two weeks its been pretty exciting around here. He has mastered walking across the house and exploring the other rooms in the house, learned to say mama and dada (he definitely knows I'm mama and will yell for me if I leave the room), and waves bye-bye or hello. I am pretty sure he has been "waving" for a while but I am just now noticing that he does it without me telling him. We also snapped a video of Tommy walking around more than just a few steps. Since then he has mastered it all.... he is our little explorer. Watch out world!

Tommy's first steps

2009-07-09T20:13:00.004-04:00

We were lucky enough to get Tommy's first steps on camera for everyone to enjoy.

Nana and Papa's 40th Anniversary Vow Renewal Celebration

2009-06-16T15:12:00.005-04:00

Cousins: Forrest, Michelle, Dustin, Kirkland

water inflatable fun

chillaxin at Uncle Philips

in my shirt and tie at the reception (more to come)

Playing with one of my favorite toys at Philips - thanks Aunt Donna

Tommy's Laughter

2009-06-01T21:27:00.003-04:00

Tommy's First School Pictures!

2009-05-28T21:42:00.000-04:00

---
Bonnie Hutchinson (via Blackberry)

8-months and growing!

2009-05-25T15:36:00.004-04:00

Who needs to by toys that roll to help Tommy walk around... he will use his table! Seriously, there is no stopping this kid!

Is 8-months too young to start playing with a slinky??

Family Trip to Zephyrhills!

2009-05-25T15:20:00.006-04:00

We made a trip to Zephyrhills to see the family. It was a beautiful weekend and we even made it for one of Ashley's softball tournaments. So, we spent the day at the park and at the field. If Tom has anything to do with it, Tommy will be very familiar with the ballfield very soon.

7-months!

2009-05-25T15:05:00.004-04:00

Time is flying... so much so that I realized, I haven't even shared pictures of Tommy's 7-month! So, I am going to make up for lost time and post them now. This should put me back in good grace with Tommy's Aunt Donna and Aunt Sharyl, maybe.

Tommy's 7-months old!

Ignore the groceries, we had better things to do!

Baby-jail

Helping Daddy fold his laundry, starting him out young!Tommy loves his Daddy!

My first tomato!

2009-04-19T14:20:00.001-04:00

One Cool Kid!

2009-04-16T21:02:00.000-04:00

---
Bonnie Hutchinson (via Blackberry)

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T17:38:00.002-04:00

Visiting Aunt Joy's New House

2009-04-12T17:28:00.004-04:00

Tommy and Mommy went on our first road trip to Aunt Joy's house. To Tommy's suprise... there were lots of animals to pet, including a baby goat only 10 days old.
Proud cousins Michelle and Dustin!Replaying Lord of the Rings with a baby-size sword!

6-months

2009-04-12T17:15:00.004-04:00

Growing up so fast!

2009-04-12T17:01:00.002-04:00

Crawling, stage 1

2009-03-15T10:49:00.004-04:00

He is working on... every day we see improvements. Only once has he performed for the video, and now I can't find the video. Here is a picture of him trying to figure it out.

5 Months - Bubbles and Cuteness

2009-03-15T10:05:00.009-04:00

I realized the 5 month picture was never posted... alot has happened in his 5th month, and we are almost ready to start his 6th month.

Dinner with mom and dad at a restaurant, and our first time using the high chair. Tommy was still pretty small for the wooden chair, but after a blanket wedge behind him - he loved sitting up at the table with us.He is so cute holding his own bottle.Here are a few videos of Tommy's accomplishments this month. They turned out dark... next time, I will remember to light up the room! The best part of these videos is the sounds Tommy makes.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

2009-02-27T21:31:00.005-05:00

EMHE took over our city this week to bless the Kadzis family. The Chamber partnered with EMHE to help fundraise money to build the house. This allowed Tom and I to experience this up close. Saturday night we stood in the cold to be part of the braveheart walk, which we learned is very staged - as is lots of the show. The first thing every asks me is... did you get to meet Ty?? NO, but I did see him Thursday as he walked down the street, to get the house keys from the builders.Saturday - Braveheart WalkMy one and only Ty sightingWatching the volunteers build this incredible home!Giving Daddy kisses!
Tommy loved the noises and watching all the action!

February play time!

2009-02-27T21:18:00.005-05:00

February went by really quickly and I took a bunch of pictures, but never posted them. Enjoy!Mommy bought him squeeze blocks and rings!

Concentrating hard on looking cuteafter such seriousness, he couldn't help but laugh!just hanging out with Dad

A sign of the future... Tommy driving and not watching the road

Party in Tommy's Crib!!

Moving on to real food

2009-02-27T19:34:00.001-05:00

After struggling for a month to get Tommy to eat cereal, I took the advice of my mom and Juli - started him on food! First time - he ate the whole thing!!!

Our Little Man

2009-02-18T16:39:00.002-05:00

Lookin' at Mommy while Nana takes his picture!

Tommy's First Email

2009-02-08T18:57:00.003-05:00

Its official we have a natural born genius, only 4 months and he is already sending emails.

Picnic at Wakulla Springs

2009-02-08T15:56:00.000-05:00

---
Bonnie Hutchinson (via Blackberry)

Our Cutie Pie!

2009-02-03T22:39:00.000-05:00

First Cereal

2009-02-03T21:53:00.004-05:00

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

2009-02-03T21:47:00.004-05:00

Bathtime with Mommy!

2009-01-28T21:24:00.003-05:00

Tommy's 4 months!

2009-01-26T21:12:00.004-05:00

Tommy's four month checkup went well.
He weighed in at 16lb 11oz. And 24 inches tall.

Talking and Driving...

2009-01-18T16:09:00.002-05:00

Weekends Hanging out with Mommy!

2009-01-18T16:00:00.002-05:00

Our little man is almost 4 months old!

2009-01-16T21:46:00.001-05:00

Tommy's First Day of Daycare

2009-01-06T10:42:00.004-05:00

Tommy had a great first day at daycare. He did everything he would normally do at home... eat, sleep, and play. As we were leaving the house yesterday, Tom told Tommy to be the teachers pet - well, he achieved that! Today he told him to learn his ABCs so we will have to see how that goes today!

The teachers said that he is such a happy baby and doesn't fuss unless he gets hungry. They also questioned me if this was my first baby because I am not the typical worried first-baby mommy. I feel very comfortable with his teachers and daycare facility.

When I picked him up yesterday, he was sleeping and he sleep the whole way home and while I cooked dinner. Then we played on the floor for 3 hours straight! It was amazing... he was laughing, talking, and wiggling. He has great hand-eye coordination now that he knows to hold onto the rattle and it will make noise. After all that playing, he went to sleep at 10pm and slept ALL night! 7 hours!! Perfect timing for our 6am morning start.

So, my maternity leave is over and reality has set in... but so far, its not bad. I'm happy to be back at work and catching up on everything I missed. I am so thankful to have spent 3 1/2 months with Tommy at home.

Tommy's First Christmas

2008-12-26T19:19:00.003-05:00

Tommy enjoying his new horse from Aunt Sharyl!

3 Months Old

2008-12-26T19:01:00.003-05:00

Tommy is now 3 months old and about 15 pounds.

Tommy's New Toy

2008-12-18T22:55:00.003-05:00

Thanks Mike and Aunt Steph!

2008-12-17T23:21:00.006-05:00

Tommy rolled over all on his own last weekend, but he won't do it for the camera. Here are some videos we have taken along the way.

Tommy playing on his hippo mat. Its almost time for an upgrade. (December 7)

Purring like a little kitty. (November 2)

How many noises can one kid make? (October 18)

2 1/2 Months and Aunt Stephanie's Birthday!

2008-12-17T23:11:00.003-05:00

Watching football with Mike and Kirkland!

Happy Birthday Aunt Stephanie!

Taking a nap at Nana's House

Mommy and Me

Santa and Black Friday Shopping

2008-11-29T22:38:00.007-05:00

Tommy is such a good little man for letting us lay him in the turkey pan and scan him at Wal-Mart.

Tommy's First Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T22:13:00.005-05:00

Cooking Tommy the Turkey!

Although he did not get to eat the turkey, Tommy had a great time with the girls kissing all over him. We have discovered that he is quite the social bug. If people are around in the room he wants to be awake and looking around, so needless to say - we didn't take many naps this week!

Tommy's Cousins (Casey, Ashley, and Lindsay)Uncle JeffAunt Sharyl

Early Thanksgiving at Nana and Papa's House

2008-11-25T22:39:00.008-05:00

Napping in Aunt Stephanie's orange blanket.

Sam and Michelle - Shelling Pecans!

Helping Papa put a new roof on the house

Taking a break

Macho Woman!

Aunt Joy finally meets Tommy

Sometimes you have to do crazy things to get dinner made.
After lots of crying, we realized all he wanted to do was watch Mommy cook.

Tommy's 2 months old!

2008-11-25T22:25:00.005-05:00

Tommy's 0-6 months clothes...
deciding what to wear each day is a hard decision to make.Talking to Daddy!

Tommy meets his Aunt Donna & Aunt Sharyl

2008-11-14T18:32:00.007-05:00

Aunt Donna

Aunt Sharyl

tired Mommy tired Tommy

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-03T18:25:00.002-05:00

Thanks Aunt Kelli for the Halloween outfit!

First Modeling Gig (3wk old)

2008-10-29T21:10:00.005-04:00

Rebecca Knowles Photography is awesome. Based out of Panama City, we enjoyed Tommy's first modeling gig during our visit when he was 3-weeks old.

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-28T16:37:00.004-04:00

We went to the pumpkin patch today in the beautiful 56* Tallahassee weather. It was a bit too chilly for Tommy so he wasn't too happy to sit on the grass, but he managed to look adorable anyway!

taking a quick nap between cries!Reminds me of "Where's Waldo?"
Humpy Dumpy sat on a wall... Humpy Dumpy had a great fall.... (this is Tommy falling backwards as one of the pumpkin rolled. He wasn't too happy after this!)

Tommy's 1 month old

2008-10-25T21:31:00.007-04:00

We survived our first month together. I dragged all my scrapbook stuff out from the closet and started back at the beginning of my pregnancy. I now hold Tommy and think to myself how thankful I am that everything turned out so wonderful even with our crazy beginning story. God wanted us to be together and now we are. I have to say, its been great.

We were dressed and ready to go to the pumpkin patch on Thursday, but then it started to rain and never stopped. So, we will try again next week. Daddy was happy that Tommy was wearing big boy shoes, but they didn't stay on for long.
This is my favorite place to take a nap (curled up in the boppy pillow on the coach next to Mommy). By the way, we went to the doctor this week and Tommy weighed 10lbs. 14oz. and grew two inches!
Tommy loves tummy time with Daddy. He just chills out and they each talk about their day.

Baby Gadgets

2008-10-17T01:48:00.002-04:00

If you know my husband, you know - he is a gadget man. He always wants to have and use the latest and greatest. Me - of course I like new but sometimes old is just fine. In our pre-baby shopping and studies, Tom had a list of a few baby gadgets that he thought we could not live without. Of course, me - trying to be economical and realistic about everything... did not agree, but knew which battles to pick and this was not one of them.

First item on his list - Angelcare Monitoring System. This monitor has a motion sensor which is placed under the crib mattress and monitors the babies breathing. Yes, it is so sensitive it can feel the tiny movement through the mattress. If motion is not detected for 20 seconds, an alarm - yes, an alarm will sound until motion is detected again. This same system monitors room temperature (which an alarm will also sound if too hot/cold), offers voice activation, and has two parent units so we have one in the living room and one in the bedroom. Of course, trying to be economical - I told Tom for months that a cheap baby monitor will be fine compared to this $130 system. His fear of SIDS was too strong and there was no changing his mind.

The second item on his list - Itzbeen Baby Care Timer. If you thought I teased about the monitoring system - I really teased about this gadget. Truely a gadget. Basically, its a stop-watch for diaper changes, feedings, naps and which breast you fed.

Family and friends would tease us about everything we have for Tommy. I don't know how many times we heard "we didn't have that when i had my kids". From these gadgets - to the formerly known as playpen, now called pack 'n play - to the way car seats and strollers (by the way, they are called travel systems now) are designed now.

Now, Tommy is almost a month old so we had a few weeks to test these gadgets and gizmos. The questions is - do we really NEED/USE them? the answer is YES! The Angelcare Monitoring System has allowed him to sleep in his crib - in his own room since the first night we were home. The peace of mind and the better quality sleep that I get between feedings is so worth it. I did apologize to Tom for the teasing and battling I did about his choice of monitoring systems. I would recommend this item to everyone. The Itzbeen Baby Care Timer was not a BIG help the first two weeks because we choose to chart Tommy's feedings and diaper changes to see a pattern, but starting last week when we stopped charting, this gadget has been a great asset. Tommy eats and poops so often that somtimes I forget how long its been we did something. I would remember that he ate for about 10 minutes but was that at 1pm today or was it 1am yesterday that I remembered to look at the clock. This also helps Tom know when I fed Tommy last so at anytime he can jump in to help and know what we've done in the past few hours.

Of course we could survive without these gadgets, just as family and friends have in the past, but it's not always about survival - its often about convience and making this transition easier on everyone, mom-dad-and baby.

Celebrated Mom's Birthday with a Nap!

2008-10-16T00:20:00.003-04:00

Today - I turned 27. Nothing special, just a night at home with my little family. Tom did buy me a new camera since we lost ours in the hospital somewhere. So, of course, I look a few pictures while Tommy was snoozing on the couch tonight.

We started the night out looking adorable as ever (and thinking the flash on mommy's new camera was really bright!)

Then we got a little tired of all the picture taking....

and finally we gave it up and took a nap.

I discovered my new camera does black and white photos (a feature my old camera did not have!)

Tommy's First Bath

2008-10-03T16:21:00.003-04:00

Tommy enjoyed his first day at the spa (aka our kitchen!) After carefully planning the water temperature, Tom gave our little man his first bath. He cried when the water first touched him but then he just layed there and let us bath him. He's such a good baby!

Now the bath is over and Tom decided to try out some baby oil on Tommy. He says its to "lock in the moisture". So Tom poured a little in his hands and started to rub on Tommy. After that - the craziest thing happened... Daddy decided to grab the large bottle of baby oil and POUR (like he was marinating a steak) the baby oil all over Tommy. After I freaked out by what I was witnessing, Daddy realized that probably was not the best move and started to wipe some off with a towel. Tommy was definitely very slick for a few hours after his bath!

All in all - he didn't seem to mind his first bath!

A nice long nap quickly followed.

Losing Things...

2008-09-29T17:05:00.004-04:00

Of all the things to lose... we managed to lose our camera somewhere between the labor/delivery room and the postpartum room. So, we are limited on pictures during our hospital stay and our ride home... thankfully we had an old camera sitting at home but I feel naked without my camera. If anyone knows how much I love to scrapbook... you know - I always have my camera within arms reach.

So, if you happen to be at CRMC in the labor/delivery area... and see a Sony camera laying around... let me know!

Since I am sitting here thinking about loosing things... I went and stepped on the scale. The day before I went to the hospital, the doc says I had gained 27 pounds total. As of just a bit ago, I have 6 pounds to go to be back at my pre-prego weight and its only been 9 days!! Hopefully because I am breastfeeding, I will loose alittle more than just the 6 pounds!

Our First Week Home!

2008-09-29T16:38:00.006-04:00

We survived our first week! Yipee! Actually, it wasn't that bad. Lack of sleep has a whole new meaning, but other than that - we set our routine within the first couple of days and even had a few visitors by Thursday.

Daddy has learned to multi-task - talk on the phone, be half asleep, and babysit!

The Chamber boys finally meet (Sol on the left, Tommy on the right)

Aunt Stephanie drove Forrest and Kirkland 100 miles one way, just to spend a few hours with Tommy. We love our Aunt Steph!

Aunt Stephanie didn't like to share Tommy with anyone!

We're Home

2008-09-22T23:06:00.006-04:00

We got home today about 130, everyone is doing great - though still trying to adjust to the newness - even Gracie.

Official Stats
DOB: Sept. 20, 2008
Time: 8:37am
Height: 20.5 inches
Weight: 7lbs 15oz
Total Labor Time: 10 hrs.

You can't get much prouder than this!!

Hours old watching the Clemson game.

First diaper change

Gracie was excited to see her new toy.

Tommy is in the building.

2008-09-20T10:03:00.005-04:00

We love Dr. Morales!

Proud Daddy!

He's here..........looking great, hasn't even left the room yet and he's 90 minutes old.

Tommy's Room is DONE!

2008-09-15T23:07:00.002-04:00

Most everything in the room was home-made or has a special home-made touch to it.
Thanks Nana and Papa for the Armoire! We painted it and added new pulls to it.

The crib was bought from a friend but we splurged on the bedding. We took extra fabric and framed the artwork ourselves. The bookshelf was Tom's from back in his college days, amazing what a little paint will do!

Tom and I hand-painted the wall decorations.

The blanket on the back of the chair was hand-made by my grandmother when I was born. The blanket on the arm of the chair was hand-made by Michelle, Tommy's 12-yr old cousin. The blanket on the bassinet (borrowed from my sister, Joy) was hand-made and given to Tommy from his Aunt Sharyl.
Most of all - the wood floors were installed (in the whole house) by Tommy's Papa! Don't they look awesome!!

So as you can tell, ALOT of love went into Tommy's room.

38-weeks and the FSU Season Opener

2008-09-15T22:58:00.002-04:00

Yep! I made it to the season opener AND even the Chattanooga game!

Prego Bowling...

2008-08-22T19:24:00.006-04:00

Last weekend Stephanie and the boys came for a visit. Tom thought it would be fun to go bowling, which it was... until I mentioned to my doctor this week that I went bowling. He kindly asked me not to do that again until AFTER the baby is born! Who would have thought to worry about my falling or getting hurt! I had a great time with them all weekend!

Scott and Michele even stopped by for a few rounds!

36 weeks

2008-08-20T17:22:00.002-04:00

Last night we had a little bit of a scare, as I wasn't sure if I was going into labor. The strong pain and pressure did finally relieve some after 3hrs of contineous pain. Our weekly doc appt today showed us what was going on. Tommy has settled his way low into my pelvis and getting settled in.

The doctor took measurements again this week and says Tommy weighs about 6lbs, although I lost a pound over the past week. When he plugged in the numbers, the computer thinks Sept 9 will be the big day... but the computer doesnt realize its my first baby etc - so we can't really know yet.

Until next week...

Nursery Coming Along...

2008-08-14T23:02:00.004-04:00

We got a few things put in the nursery this week. Tom is working on finishing the armoire painting but we are very proud of the cute drawer knobs we picked out.

Our order came in for the crib bedding and we couldn't wait to put it on the crib!

35 weeks & 4 1/2 pounds!

2008-08-14T11:48:00.002-04:00

We are visiting the doctor on a weekly-base now. Its hard to believe Tommy will be here in 4 weeks (at most)! Doctor visit went good. He says Tommy weighs about 4 1/2 lbs and should gain about 1/2 lb each week from now on. So, if I carry him full term, he will be around 7 lbs. at birth. Tommy is "in the process" of dropping and should complete that journey in the next 7-10 days.

Tom and I went to CRMC after the appt yesterday to pre-register for our visit. This will allow me to get in the room and settled faster when I am in labor instead of filling out paperwork.

Meanwhile, as all this is setting in with mommy and daddy-to-be, we are working on setting Tommy's room up and arranging the furniture. We are starting the "fire-drill" phone calls with family, testing if they will answer their phones when we call :-) A few have past, many have failed!

Line of the Day: What Did I Hit?

2008-08-12T14:04:00.003-04:00

Tom loves telling people funny stories that happen to me while being prego. I finally have a story to tell about him.

Somehow, he managed to have this past Saturday off work. It was later in the day and we had some errands to run as well as grabbing some food while we were out. We got in the truck and looked at the front window of the house. There sits (as always), Gracie's head peaking through the plantation blinds. We both comment to each other at how freakin' cute she is. As we are commenting on her cuteness, Tom proceeds to back out of our single-car driveway. We hear: "BAM". Tom's comment was "what did I hit?" and all I could do was scream - "MY CAR!". He was too distracted by Gracie's cuteness to remember that my car was parked behind the truck and he needed to back around it. We both jump out of the the truck to find no real damage, accept from his trailer hitch cover that is oval shaped with a Seminole head on it. My car is now dawning a nice oval shape on the bumper!! Not a SCRATCH on his truck.

We finally got out of the driveway and started talking about it so much that I couldn't stop crying because I was laughing so much (its a sweeny thing). Tom had to calm me down in fear that I would put myself into labor from laughing so hard. It took a good 20-minutes for me to finally get my composer back.

Note to Daddy: If you hit my car because Gracie was so cute... imagine how it will be when your son is here and so cute! What will you hit then? -mommy

33 week check-up

2008-07-31T08:32:00.002-04:00

All went well yesterday at our 33-week checkup. Doc says that anytime after 35-weeks is ok to deliver, but the closer to 40-weeks the better. We go back in two weeks and then after that appt - its down to every week. During the "weigh in" yesterday, the nurse says I have gained a total of 20lbs, which is perfect. Everyone I see tells me that I'm so small.... obviously they haven't seen the size of my feet! Fluids have decided to take up residencey in my lower legs and feet. At least my toes look cute still (thanks Steph!).

So we quickly called Scott last night and he helped move furniture around in the baby room (and clean out some of the garage!). My nesting faze has started... if you call it nesting - or panic to get things done!

Tommy will be here before we know it!

Tommy has a crib finally!

2008-07-19T18:23:00.002-04:00

We bought our first (and most important) piece of baby furniture last weekend! Tommy now has a place to sleep in this beautiful white Generation Next crib!

Now, we just need to deal with the rest of the room!

Tommy in 3D/4D at 30 weeks!

2008-07-19T17:54:00.006-04:00

This is a link to the video of the 4D ultrasound, its 17 minutes long, but worth it :)

Tommy's First Home Video

Here are a few pictures from our 3D/4D ultrasound last week. I think Tommy looks like his daddy with cute lips and cheeks! Stephanie was able to join us for the fun and commented that it looks like he will nurse good. Just FYI - he was very active and drinking a lot. Stephanie fed me a piece of lemon cake just before going, to make sure he was active!

Baby Shower - 30 weeks!

2008-07-19T17:20:00.007-04:00

Thank you everyone (especially Patrick and Kelli for hosting) who came out to celebrate the expected arrival of our baby boy! I couldn't have asked for anything more. The backyard celebration with family and friends was an amazing time. We cherish each friendship and felt so loved. Here are a few pictures from last Saturday.

My mom took this picture and it brought her to tears... her kids grown up!

Philip and Sam

Guess my belly size - Tom was exact! (go figure!!) but everyone said thats cheating!

29 Weeks and Childbirthing Class

2008-07-03T13:56:00.002-04:00

Tommy will be born at CRMC, formerly known as the community hospital. My doctor only delivers there but it was my preferance too. So, we started our childbirthing classes last week. Every asks me "is Tom going with you?". The answer is YES! This is his child too! His attendance is required at all doctor appts and classes.

Even though CRMC recently went through a major makeover, it still has the feel of a community hospital. Other hospitals have powerpoints and videos, not so much at CRMC - we have 1980s posters! Not that videos are required, the posters show enough!

I like the teacher. She's been a Labor and Delivery nurse for 14 years (and at 5 different hospitals). Overall, I'm not too worried. I am definately going for the mind over matter relaxation. Not to mention, Stephanie (my sis) will be here for the delivery. She has a way of calming me down and not letting me worry (thanks steph!).

So all is good here. The house is almost back together from the floors and we are getting Tommy's room furniture figured out. We go next week for our 30 week check-up as well as a 3D/4D ultrasound. It will be nice to see Tommy again as we haven't had any new pictures in about 10 weeks.

27 weeks & the floors are in!

2008-06-19T20:40:00.008-04:00

Well, yes... the floors are done - almost. Here's what my house looks like now!

The kitchen was completed shortly after this picture was taken.

Yes. That would be my bed in the dining room. We had to clear out the master bedroom after the living area was done.
Finally - SOMETHING is in Tommy's Room! Needless to say, we need to clean it out again :-)

The only room left to complete... could it be because there is so much stuff everywhere??

We will now spend the next week digging out and putting things back in their place. Tom planned to work on it one room at a time when he is not working. We were so blessed to have my dad and brother come lay the floors in just TWO days!

The feeling I get when I walk through the house and no longer have to see or smell the old carpet, its overwhelming. I actually feel comfortable bringing Tommy home to a clean house that he can roll around on and not worry.

Once we finish digging out, I'll post pictures of Tommy's room. My sister, Joy, sent her bassinett to me for Tommy to use and we now have an armoire for his clothes etc. We just need a few more things and then it will just be waiting on his arrival.

Contractions have started, as my doctor says "your body is practicing". I can tell right now, I need the drugs when I get out of the car at the hospital... if these are the practice contractions... well, I dont want to think about the real ones yet. We start our childbirth classes on Wednesday, so I am sure it will all settle in starting with the class.

25 Weeks!

2008-06-10T16:00:00.004-04:00

We spent last weekend in Tampa with Tom's family for Lindsay's Graduation. Finally got a chance to upload a belly shot! I know it doesn't look like much, but each outfit I have shows differently! Its hard to believe I am 6-months along already!

6 months and growing

2008-05-28T16:08:00.003-04:00

I rolled (literally) out of bed this morning and suddenly feel very ROUND. Not just alittle prego, but ALOT prego! Tommy must have gone through a growth spirt last night because today my balance is off and I am having to bend differently. I guess this is what happens when you hit the 6 months mark! Eventually Tom and I will be in the same room long enough to take another belly shot. Until then, I feel like an Oompa-Loompa in the Chocolate Factory!

Baby Registry

2008-05-26T12:44:00.002-04:00

Yes, we finally registered. That was definately an interesting experience for soon-to-be parents. For months, I've been saying "we haven't made any decisions". Well, picking bottles and bedding etc - decisions have been made and everything is a little more real to me now. For 7 years that Tom and I have been married, I avoided the baby sections so I wouldn't get my hopes too high to start a family so quickly... it ws fun to finally be part of that department! We registered at Baby Depot (especially for the bedding theme) and Target.

It's hard to believe in only three months, little Tommy will be here!

Hardwood Floors & Baby Theme

2008-05-22T10:48:00.006-04:00

Tom is working in his spare time to replace the old carpet in the house with pretty hardwood floors. This past weekend, Tom completed Tommy's room and it looks awesome! Now, for the rest of the house... the living room is next!

We decided on a theme for the room. Its called Antique Toy (at Baby Depot). It features antique trucks, cars, footballs and baseballs, sailboat, and airplanes.

I love the idea of using antique toys for many reasons. Little Tommy's name has been a family name for many generations, so we like the antique feel. Also, Tom's dad owned a Model-T car for along time. Since Tommy will never be able to meet his grandfather, it gives a little connection to him. I think the pattern of the Antique Toy is very classy and he can grow with it for the first couple of years.

Now that Tommy's room has new floors, we need the furniture!