Thursday, December 30, 2010

As good as it gets...

Tommi walked up to me this afternoon and kissed me and told me "love you much"....at first I was not sure what she was talking about but them I realized. I tell her "I love you so much" and that is what she was telling me!

Life is SO good!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Christmas 2010

Where to begin I have no idea...we had 3 Christmas' this year...one with TJ's grandparents and cousins, one with his parents sis, bro in law, nephews, and other grandparents, then the one is VB.

Tommi wasn't so sure about presents at the first one...I mean really I spend all year teaching her not to tear up paper and then tell her to. She was a bit confused but none the less was excited about her presents...one being a pair of Elmo slippers that she never wants to take off :)

At Christmas #2 she started to get the hang of it...with my help. She LOVED being santa and handing out all the presents and then opening some. She pulls a small piece off balls it up hands it to me...etc. So opening with her took a while...but that is ok b/c she is cute!

Christmas in VB was so much fun...she got lots of presents and had a blast with my brothers and parents. It was so much fun...we were down Wednesday evening till Monday morning and the whole time we were there it was Christmas to Tommi. She had so much fun...and so did I. If you have ever spent more than a few minutes with my family you know doing nothing can be fun with them. Add Tommi to the mix and you have a party!

We were not supposed to stay past Sunday morning but woke up to tons of snow so we got snowed in till Monday morning. Which still was not good roads wise but we made is out safe and after we got on 64 it was smooth sailing home. Which Tommi slept the whole way home due to being exhausted from being "on" for 5 days straight!

So way too many pics from the week to post them all so here are my favs....


Her Christmas eve present from Pappy and Big mama...a suitcase and back pack with her name on them!


The "pincess" on Christmas morning...


Waiting for the uncles to get up...




Tommi handed Chase a gift that was meant for her...he was a bit surprised by an Elmo book thinking it was his haha













Tommi and uncle Chasey...

By far this Christmas was the best in a very long time...there is just something about the joy of a child at Christmas! Plus Tommi can add joy to any situation!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Yay...

One of Tommi's new things is cheering people on...

TJ was taking pictures of her and after it would flash she would clap and say "yayy daddy!"

I was mashing potatoes for our Christmas dinner and Tommi was 'helping' by holding a spoon and watching...the whole time I was mashing them she was cheering "yayyyy mommy!"

At church tonight we had a children's play and after the kids sang their first song Tommi super loudly starts clapping and saying "yayyy!" It was perfect timing too!

I seriously can not get enough of this girl!

Giving...

Maybe it is from the good upbringing or just having a sweet heart...but Tommi loves giving presents.

We bought a little something for her little cousin Titus and gave it to him at the Christmas dinner at church. She was so excited to give it to him and watch him open it. I thought she would try to open it herself but she just pushed it over to him and kept saying "Titus open" over and over. She got so excited to watch him open it and play with his new car.

I am so glad she has a beautiful giving heart! She never ceases to amaze me with her sweet spirit and loving heart!

Christmas Dinner

We had a Christmas dinner at church last night....Tommi wore a pretty little dress....anyone who knows me knows I do not dress her up in frilly dresses...it is just not me...and it is just too much of a hassle haha. But I did it mainly for my mother in law who loves to buy her pretty dresses. This one passed my test for approval b/c it wasn't too much and it worked great for the occasion.


Tommi and mommy before we left for church


Tommi and daddy....love her shoes!!!


The best family pic we could do.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Pretty girl...

Best I could do...pictures do not do her justice!!!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

20 months

Seriously? That just sounds weird...

-Tommi loves to "mump" (jump) When I say love I mean LOVE she shows off her talent to everyone. And just randomly jumps all day. She gets some air too.

-Can recognize many animals including...zebra, giraffe, frog, rabbit, elephant, hippo, lion, turkey, deer, bird, otter, penguin, owl, etc. It is very impressive. But she is a full on animal lover!

-Talks up a storm and is doing really well grouping words (sometimes)..."Where's ______?""I want _____"...etc. She really amazes me with her communication skills. If she is thirsty she says "milk"...and goes to the fridge.

-She loves using a tape measure and "mechanicing" on things with a screw driver. But is also VERY much into babies.


-She has a really good memory...she knows big mama, pappy, chase, luke, rooney, dean, and lilly all belong together....and same in TJ's family...mawmaw, pawpaw, bob, and aztec....then sissy, tom, nate, brandon, sam, and cody.

-She also tells me "daddy work pawpaw" every morning. Meaning daddy is at work with pawpaw.

-"Pappy teeth" means pappy works on teeth.

-All "berries" are "boobies" (blueberries)...it cracks us up when she tells us "want boobies"...but she is correct just can't pronounce it right yet.

-She can recognize herself in pictures...even baby ones...it sounds like she is saying "mommy" but it is her version of Tommi

-She is always "ready to go" whenever I start getting dressed she will come ask me "ready to go?"

-I thought she was gonna be stuck on having her elmo and blankie every time we leave the house. But now it is whatever she is interested in at the time...today it was a bucket and tape measure one time then it was a magazine. Elmos(elmo and baby elmo haha) and blankie are musts for bed.

-She is 23 and a half pounds...a light little squirt but she is tall. She is pretty true to size though...24 months or 2T...her waist is little so sometimes the waists are big on skirts but her butt holds it up :) She get it from her momma!

-She is a goober for her daddy...when he comes home she gets SO excited and starts gathering things to show him.

-She loves singing and dancing. She doesn't necessarily sing but she loves others singing and always says "more" when the song ends.

-When she says big mama she sometimes wraps her arms around herself when saying the big part and drags it out like "biiiiggg mama". She definitely loves her big mama!

-She can also remember books that we have not read for months...like a bath book of hers that went missing...I found it and gave it to her in the bath and she looks at it and said "princess" and it is a book about the Disney princess'

-Everything is "cool" we were in Target and I let Tommi walk around some and she would walk up to everything and say "cool" even a bottle of mouthwash haha

-Another big thing these days is building castles with her blocks...she wants us to do it but she "helps" by handing us blocks...I will admit daddys castles are far cooler than mine...she lets me know too. Her version sounds more like "tassol"

-She definitely has an opinion and expresses it…tonight she insisted on her “pink boots” and none of the others would work…I pick my battles and this one was not one I was gonna fight…mainly b/c she looks so cute in her pink cowboy boots!

-I have to brag b/c I have had a waiter/waitresses tell me...she is so well behaved when we are out eating. I love it. She is happy as long as she has food and "dip" (ketchup)

-Sesame Street is big in our house...she loves Elmo and Abby the most but will go for Grover or Bert when they are on.

-Any show or movie there is dancing in she loves...She has seen Happy Feet (the movie with the dancing penguin) one time and she loves "ping ance" AKA penguin dance

This was a really long post! She is just so fun! Words do not begin to describe how much fun she has become! She is a total character…I wish I could have a hidden camera to follow her around all day just to capture her amazing personality.


I tried to get a good 20 month pic but this child does not want to look at the camera or stand still for even 2 min. So I will make some attempts tomorrow too.

This was an attempt tonight....you can at least see her cute outfit!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Mechanic?

She definitely comes by it honest...but Tommi loves to mechanic on things. Her daddy is quite the worker daddy. Anytime we get tools out she wants to play with them and "fix" stuff. She also really enjoys the tape measure and walks around "measuring" things including me and TJ haha

Here she is working on one of her toys, I had just replaced the batteries so she had to have her turn...she worked on it for a good 15 min before something else distracted her.

Nakey!!

So Tommi loves being nakey...

Check out this bod....



She is honestly shaped like an S...haha

Saturday, December 4, 2010

A taste of amazing love...

This song never ceases to give me goosebumps...

You Are My King (Amazing Love)--- By: Newsboys

I'm forgiven because You were forsaken
I'm accepted, You were condemned
I'm alive and well, Your Spirit is within me
Because You died and rose again

Amazing love, how can it be
That You, my King, should die for me?
Amazing love, I know it's true
It's my joy to honor You
In all I do, to honor You

You are my King
You are my King
Jesus, You are my King
You are my King


So I have loved this song for a long time but since becoming a mom it has taken on another meaning. I have been able to feel "amazing love" from the other seat. I can not fathom the love the Lord has for us but I get a taste with my love for Tommi.

It amazes me that just when I feel like I can not love her anymore, I fall in love with her all over again! And it is nothing she does on purpose it is just her!

I've always felt like I needed to do this and that to make sure the Lord loves me. B/c I really did not understand "amazing love"...I never understood what that love truly felt like. I can slightly understand now...I can see that like my relationship with Tommi she does not have to do anything to make me love her. Just her being her makes me love her! Of course her love for me makes things much smoother like with the Lord...my love for him makes our relationship so much better.

This may not make tons of sense to anyone else but I just really wanted to share (with anyone who reads this...even if it is only my mom haha) the amazing place I have come to. Not only in my life but in my relationship with the Lord.

God is SO good!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Full of thanks...

So it is a bit late but while sitting next to a happily naked child playing in the tub tonight...for 30 MINUTES! I realized how lucky I am for everything in my life.

This Thanksgiving we were at my parents house for almost a week long visit and I can not be more thankful for the amazing family I have.

My parents are not only amazing parents but even better grandparents...Big mama is by far the best grandma in the world. Her and Tommi are extremely tight! Pappy is so awesome...Tommi now associates him with cookies and ice cream b/c he provided them for her no matter what her mommy said...he is the only person on earth who can do this and I am forced to roll my eyes and let it happen.

My brothers are such great uncles. Luke is the most laid back one who she definitely loves but isn't as goofy like she is with Chase. Her and Chase are just nuts together...he is the crazy one! But they are both SOOOO proud...Luke kidnaps her when she is at church just to show her off...I love it!! I am so glad she has such a good relationship with the both of them!

I am also SO thankful for an amazing husband who loves us and busts his butt to make sure I can stay home and raise Tommi! He also thinks the world of Tommi so of course my heart melts even more.

Of course I'm thankful for the greatest daughter ever! She is seriously the sweetest little girl ever! She is so wonderful!!!

So I have an amazing family but I also am thankful for a good in-law family. They are so good to us!

Seriously life is far from perfect but sometimes I can't help but think how lucky I am to have everything I have. What more could a girl ask for?!?!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Be back...

So this morning Tommi put on her sunhat, one arm in her sweatshirt, put her baby in the stroller, came to me kissed me and said love you, then walked to the front door and said "Be back!" haha Not sure where she thought she was going with out me, but I sure do love her!

She is too cute!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Sweet...

Could this face be any sweeter...This was Nov 2009...time sure flies...I love her so much!!!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Phrases....

Some of the other cute things Tommi is saying...

"Be right back" most of the time it is "be back" or "right back" but it is super cute!

"Ready to go?" if you ask her where we are going she will babble something.

Her saying things is 100x cuter in person b/c of her sweet little voice. She sounds so grown up saying it too!

I also have to brag a little b/c I have had a few people in the past few days tell me how well she follows directions. And she really does...almost everything I tell her she at least gives me her attention. Even if she decided to be a rebel and go against me. Which most of the time is not the case unless she is trying to be funny or in a bad mood.

She basically understands anything I tell her. Which really impresses people and I LOVE it!

I was even told tonight b/c TJ's cousin (who is 9) that I was doing a really good job raising her. Though she is young it still meant the world to me. Of course when I told TJ what she said his response was "You know she is a little kid right?" He said it with a smile but still what a butt head!

Now some cute pics of my girl....






She insisted on wearing the hat all evening!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

19 months

I'm not sure I'm ready to say Tommi is 19 months old. I think it snuck up on me too quick. I seriously feel like she just turned 18 months.

Not too much to report other than she is AMAZING! Very polite (please, thank you, excuse me, bless you)

Her newest thing is "uh-huh" instead of "yes" It seriously cracks people up b/c it makes her sound so old. She is definitely 1 going on 13. I've got my work cut out.

A improvised version of peek-a-boo goes...."where did he go?"(with questioning hands and shoulder shrug) and then "there he is"...it is too fun! And sometimes goes on for up to 10 minutes at a time with Elmo.

I wish I could think of more of her phrases that are a crack up but maybe I will think of them and post them later.

Her animal noises expand by the day...the newest is the pig oink oink or as Tommi puts it "unk-unk"

Tommi is very affectionate and loving. She gives random kisses and "love you"'s which melts my heart every time.

It is amazing how in love I am and it only grows. I love my side kick and am so thankful for her sweet spirit.

She is getting much better with a spoon and fork....far from perfect but it is fun to see her do it herself with such pride.

We officially have 2 loveys now...Elmo and "blankie" have to go every where with us. I wish they would replace the "pappsy" (pacifier) but that will be something we will work on in time.


Not the best pic but the best I can do for now!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Daddy's girl

So no Tommi is not totally a daddy's girl...I think she will be one day. But she sure does love hanging out with him and playing with him...she get SUPER upset if he has to "punish" her (i.e. get a stern voice with her) since it doesn't happen much she gets VERY upset when he is the one who has to talk to her. But the great thing is that when is gets done crying her eyes out she behaves very well.

Anyway...yesterday (Sunday) she woke up and wanted to watch some Elmo. I needed to go to the grocery store so daddy stayed with her so she could watch it. Here they are watching some Elmo.





Then Sunday evening I gave Tommi and bath and got her ready for bed. When we came back in the living room daddy was eating goldfish so Tommi had to climb up in the chair with him and help him eat them! She fed him, he feed her, she faked him out like she was gonna feed him and fed herself some too haha!




Could these 2 look anymore alike!?!? I swear this child is his "mini me"!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Follow the yellow brick road...

with the sweetest girl you have ever seen!!!







I just love her to pieces!!!

Monday, October 25, 2010

It won't be like this for long....

While I was sitting watching Tommi play in the bathtub and "It Won't Be Like This For Long" came on...it made me so sad. I want her to grow up but then again I don't. She is so much fun and I don't want my baby to be a big girl...ever! I want her to be a sweet cuddly little girl forever!

I love being her mom more than anything in the world! She is so smart and eager to learn. I am so proud of her!

So I know I can't stop her from growing up...but sure wish I could slow it down!

Oh!

So for the past month when I ask Tommi a question she says "oh!" and nods her head, to answer "yes". Well I understood but wanted her to learn "oh" does not mean yes even if you nod your head. So TJ and I have been working with her and when she says "oh" we just tell her "yes" and she will say "yes".

It is really cute now b/c she has got the hang of saying "yes" now but still reverts back to "oh" but then corrects herself with out me saying anything. She gets super proud of herself and it is so cute!

She is just learning so fast!! I love it!!!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Extra prayer needed...

So tonight I put Tommi down like normal...she lays down I hold her hand and pray with her, turn on her heartbeat bear, kiss her and tell her I love her, then tell her "I will see you in the morning, we are gonna have a good day tomorrow!" as I walk out and shut the door.

Well we did all that...I walked out, did some stuff around the house then sat down and got on the computer. Well after like 30/45 min she started crying. Not like she is fussing herself back to sleep but like she was upset. So TJ went in and picked her up, she kept crying, and called for me.

He brought her out to me and I said "What is wrong? Do you want mommy to go rock you?" She said "Oh!" (which means yes) and nodded. I thought it was a bit odd b/c I have not rocked her before bed in many months. Anyway...I took her to her room rocked her some and hummed to her like I did when she was little. Then I laid my hand on her back and prayed for her. After I said Amen, she sat up. I asked her if she wanted to get back in her crib and she nodded. I put her back in her crib kissed her and walked out. I have not heard a peep in 2 hours.

Seriously thought this was the coolest thing...she must have just needed some extra prayer for the night!

Monday, October 18, 2010

18 month appt

Tommi had her 18 month appt today. The dr was of course very happy to see where Tommi is developmentally. She was so good letting the dr check her out and she kept pointing to me and saying "momma" It was a great appt! The only hard part was her getting 2 shots MMR and chicken pox. I kept my forehead on hers and just kept kissing her b/c I hate seeing them give her the shots and seeing her face while they do it. She was ok with the first one but the 2nd one she was very upset about. When we got to the car she kept pointing to her leg saying "boo boo". Too sweet! But all is forgotten now! :) We don't have to go back till 2 years old!

Tommi is 22 lbs 15 ozes (upper 25%) and 32 1/4 inches tall (upper 50%) My string bean!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

18 months

18 months? That is a big milestone. According to my mom this is when I threw myself out of my crib and had to move to a big girl bed. I pray this does not happen for a while with her. She is too adventurous and would find trouble at night.

Anyway...life is great! Tommi is growing up way too fast but it is alot of fun. Well except the tantrums which have just started...but hopefully it is a short phase. I kinda feel bad how frustrated she gets.

Her vocabulary is getting quite large. She can have a full blown conversation with me, except I understand about 1 of every 20 words. Haha She is very polite and says please and thank you very clearly.

She loves calling all red round objects "Apple", it is clear as day too! She also has picked up on "good girl" and "nice" which are super cute.

I can tell her to do about anything and she understands. It amazes me how smart she really is!

She has 13 teeth and SO close to getting another 3.

Tommi is a big fan of "melmo" right now. And I don't mind him. She gets to watch him in the morning for the 20 min "Elmo's World" comes on Sesame Street...if we are home or she gets up at the right time. She really likes him. I am NOT a fan of "characters" but I can handle Elmo...maybe b/c we do not have any talking Elmo's, well her chair talks but I keep it turned off. Mean mommy!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Yet again....

she melted my heart.

While eating lunch today Tommi had yogurt with pieces of strawberry in it. So I was helping her with her spoon to get a piece on her spoon. She looked at me and said in the sweetest voice ever "Thank you, momma! Thank you, momma!" She was so sincere!

She is just the sweetest thing ever! I wish others were here to hear her say it b/c it was perfect! My persistence on her saying thank you paid off more than I could imagine. She even says it when I don't expect her to!

Wow I love her!!!!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Too smart

Tommi is getting to be too smart. She is actually able to use her words at the proper time. As much as I'm so proud of her I'm realizing I have to watch what I say!

All of these stories happen today....

Tommi was opening the cabinet below our TV and I told her "No" and held it closed and told her "Closed". She looked at me pushed me back and said "BACK!" I glared at her like I was upset with her. She leaned in and kissed me! Seriously how am I supposed to get upset. I just started cracking up!

When feeding her lunch one of the cats snuck up and swatted my hand. I yelled "OUCH!!" and grabbed my hand. Tommi processed to grab her hand and say 'Ouch' the rest of the day!

I put a band-aid on my ankle and she walked up kissed it and said "boo-boo" then wanted a band-aid in the exact same spot. So we were twins today! Too sweet!

I am with her all the time and even though I enjoy my little breaks at nap time and when daddy gets home I do not like to be away from her...she is just too much fun!!!

I can't believe my babygirl will be 18 months old next Tuesday! Time flies!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Uh oh!

While getting Tommi dressed for church I decided to just let her wear the clothes she had on all day b/c she had not gotten it dirty. So her outfit consisted of a cotton light blue/pink/purple/red striped summer dress and hot pink leggings. Super cute but sporty. So not typical church gear but it worked.

So I got her new tennis shoes out and got ready to put her shoes on and she said "no. NO! NO! NO!" Which shaking her head and finger at me. She turned around and grabbed the silver sparkly shoes she had worn the night before and handed them to me. I told her they didn't match her outfit and picked up her tennis shoes. She walked over and grabbed her tennis shoes from me and threw them and said "No!". Then proceeded to point to her sparkly shoes.

So figuring I had lost this battle I put her sparkly shoes on her. She got off my lap and started dancing and tapping her feet! I was ROLLING laughing! She of course ate this up and did some more of her little "jig".

This is the first time she has totally told me what she wanted to wear and boy am I in trouble...the sparkly shoes are on the brink of not fitting! :( Eeek!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Nursing...

So Tommi is officially done nursing. Well it was about a week ago but I just thought about documenting it.

We started off really rough but made is almost 17 months!!! Which is amazing if you knew all we went through!

I am VERY happy with being able to go that long. I planned for 18 months but I let Tommi lead the way and she weaned herself very nicely. So it was a natural thing and I'm not as sad as I thought I would be. Of course I miss our time together but she still likes to cuddle alot and I am still her comfort so that helps alot!

I like that I do not have to think about my clothing being "accessible". Makes it a bit easier!

Monday, September 13, 2010

17 months...

So the baby girl is officially 17 months...and life as a mom is still amazing!

Tommi is SO full of life! She has an amazing vocabulary...and will try to say almost anything word I say. She is definitely getting an attitude and letting me know she has an opinion. But she is also the most lovable child ever. She still enjoys cuddling up with me alot! So an amazing balance of perfect!!! :)

She LOVES books right now. Sometimes she wants me to read them sometimes she will sit and "read" them/look through them all by herself. She LOVES anything that has a cat or dog in it.

The apple does not fall far from the tree with her...she LOVES animals! Especially the ones she knows the name or sound to. Today she saw one of her great granddads cows and she stood at the door mooing. Since we have never been able to teach her what a dog says she now pants when we ask her what a dog does it is seriously so sweet!

Just a funny fact but she has become obsessed with belly buttons, saying it, looking for other peoples, and showing off her own! It is too sweet and cute!

OK so she is not perfect and is VERY frustrating at times. Spankings have been introduced and I hate being "that mom"! Esp b/c she misbehaves more in public than anywhere else...of course!




Friday, September 10, 2010

Tears...of joy?

So I was just reading through some of my blog and I started to cry. Not b/c I'm sad...at all but I guess the past 2 years have been the best ever!

It has been the most amazing thing ever...from the start with finding out I was actually going to assist the Lord in a miracle...to...now discovering the world all over again with the sweetest little girl ever!

I am SO thankful for the Lord allowing me to be Tommi's mommy! I feel like I can't thank him enough! Being a mom is the best!!!

A post just isn't as much fun with out pictures....oh how times have changed!!!

Labor day weekend 2009



Labor day weekend 2010

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Talking and tickling

I may have posted this a few times but Tommi is definitely a talker! Tonight we were at one of TJ's friends shops and they had their dogs in the car and Tommi kept pointing to the truck and talking non stop about them I guess. It seriously just sounds like she is talking a foreign language with some English thrown in. She is so matter of fact, pointing, putting her hands on her hips, etc. It is amazing!

Tonight at dinner she looked at TJ said Dada and then proceeded to tell him something all while pointing at her hand like something was on it. We were both cracking up! It is amazing how much of a personality she has and how smart she is getting.

I tell her "look at mama" when I need her to pay attention...95% of the time it works and she looks right at me. She is a pretty good listener most of the time...it really impresses me. When she walks away from me most of the time she will come right back when I call for her. Unless their are other kids or animals haha

I know I'm bias but I have such an amazing little girl. She is everything and more I could have dreamed of. She is laid back with the sweetest personality with a bit of spunk thrown in. I again can't get across how great she is...but anyone who spends anytime with her (after she warms up) they can't get enough of her.

So she has also started the cutest thing ever...if I tell her to go tickle daddy she will go toward TJ wiggling her fingers saying "tick, tick". We roll laughing every time she does it. Maybe I can get it on tape soon...but knowing her she doesn't like to perform when I film!

Gosh I love her!!!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Mosquitoes

When we were down in NC this weekend the mosquitoes decided Tommi and I were amazingly tasty. We went to the rehearsal dinner and I didn't even think about them eating us up. So before we could get bug spray on we were attacked. I knew I had killed tons on me but didn't think she was getting it too bad.

Well the next morning the poor girl looked like she was diseased. 12 bites on that little bitty body, including 5 on her face. I felt like the worst mom. Well as the day went on they got bigger...she got that from me! When I get bit it swells up huge! Example...I killed one on my arm no more than I second after it landed and the bite got as big as a Nickel. Yuck!!!

Luckily she never seemed uncomfortable and never complained! Needless to say we sprayed bug spray before the wedding and a couple times during so we got no new ones! Here are some pics of my poor babies bites...


Her poor little face!



If you look close you can see 3 on her forehead and 2 on her arm.

Weddings...

So we just returned from Ocracoke,NC. We were down there for one of my cousins weddings. It was a quick trip but definitely alot of fun! Tommi was really cutting a rug during the reception and it was TOO funny! I really enjoyed being able to see some of my cousins again and welcome another lovely lady into the family! Colin is a lucky man! We were not able to get a good pic due to my camera dying so this is the best I can do. But here is Tommi and I this past weekend.






Last year we traveled to Georgia for another cousins wedding (brother of this groom). Which was alot of fun. Tommi was only 4 months old then and much easier to handle but definitely not as much fun! This was Tommi and I before the Snider wedding last year.



Wow how life has changed...but it is so bitter sweet!

I love this whole wedding every summer...fun weddings and family time!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Sleeper...

So this post has been a long time coming but I keep forgetting to do it.

Tommi started her life as an amazing sleeper...8 hrs the first night home. Then things got shaky and sleeping in our room was not working, she woke up too much. So around 1 month she was moved to her own room where she become once again a good sleeper. Until we moved when she was 4 months old! She had been sleeping in a bassinet thing that came with the pack n play but due to weight we had to take it out...so that started it all. We battled for months to get her to sleep in her own bed. But failed and due to exhaustion she just slept with us. Naps and everything I had to be with her sleeping. Ugh! We even went through a phase where I had to put her to sleep in her front carrier and try to lay her down with out disturbing her...so it was a hit or miss thing. Sometimes I would get 1/2 the night in her crib but she would always end up in bed with us!

Finally around 12 to 13 months she seemed to be getting restless sleeping between TJ and I. So needless to say I was getting very little quality sleep. So I told TJ it is time to let her cry it out and see how it goes. The first night she cried for maybe 35 min with me going in every 5 or so min and laying her down. All the sudden silence for like 20 min kinda scared me...well I walk in and she is asleep standing up. So I laid her down and heard NOTHING till morning.

Ever since she has been the most amazing sleeper ever! Some nights I do have to get up in the middle of the night but all I have to do is give her her passy and she is out again. It is rare so I don't mind.

So now our nightly routine consists of a bath, lotion, jammies, nursing, some cuddle/quiet play time, then I walk in lay her in her bed rub her back and say prayers and walk out! It is the most amazing thing ever!

Naps are also in her bed now which is so nice for me b/c I can actually get stuff done or even just have mommy time! So she is not perfect and naps are not always perfect but she is a toddler so sometimes life is just too exciting to sleep. Esp on the weekends when TJ is home...meals and naps are limited b/c she just wants to play with daddy :)

I'm not bragging just telling the world how amazingly blessed I am...ok so a little bragging but I have an awesome daughter so you can't blame me :)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

16 months?!?

Tommi really is 16 months old! And is only getting more amazing by the day. Yes she is a toddler and has her moments but I know I have mine too :)

She is just full of life and a little sponge absorbing everything around her. We are gonna have to start being careful b/c tonight when I was putting her diaper on after her bath she tooted and I giggled and said "You tooted silly girl!" and she kept saying 'toot' luckily it sounds more like a noise but I know what she is saying.

Tommi really everything and more than I could dream up. She is as sweet as can be with a little spice in there. I love it! She can give Eskimo kisses now and they are the sweetest!

One of the few times I get at a loss for words is when I am trying to describe her personality...there is SO much of it and it really is wonderful. Nothing can totally capture it or describe it.

Some new words....Monkey and baby! Baby is a favorite and she will point out babies to me now!




Look how grown up she looks!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Tricks

Tommi performing all her newest "tricks"...not in order but here is what is going on...

She always says no to night night
She tells Rooney "No No" which has a finger wave but I was too close to get it
Cat says meow
Dog says dawg
Snake says hiss (which you can hardly hear but it is there)
Cow says moo
Aztec is TJ's moms horse...she calls for her all the time and it's pretty clear Dobro (our dog) is called DoeDoe
Mandoline(our dog) is called ManMan
Big mama is called mama...she says it a little different than my name
Pappy is called pap



Isn't that the sweetest voice you have ever heard! :)

Pigtails and words

First I have to show you a pic of Tommi's first set of pigtails! She looks like a little cute shrek baby! haha



Some new words Miss Tommi is saying...
Doe Doe (Our dog Dobro), Aztec (TJ's moms horse), and Man man(our dog Mandoline)

It is too cute to hear her call for the dogs and horse.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Big Meadows...

After living here almost 5 years I had never been to skyline drive and big meadows so we went up there the other day...So here are some pictures from the evening.




Cool flower!!!