Tool Of The Day!

So you are going to be installing a dropped ceiling? Well then you will need today's Tool of the Day: The Porter Cable Laser Line Level! You have to look close in this picture, but Brian is demonstrating how the laser line will shows up on your project (its the faint red line going across his chest and arm). It probably goes with out saying, but just in case, safety glasses are a must when working with your laser. You may want to select a pair that fit you but hey - to each their own! Brian and his Daddy are also looking forward to using this tool to burn ants on the driveway in a few years....but they do not recommend that to the novice carpenter.

I Need a Bath REALLY Bad!

Brian is fascinated by the dishwasher! Every time the door is opened, he crawls over for a closer look. Up to this point, Mommy or Daddy have always stopped him. Yesterday, out of curiosity we wanted to find out what would happen if we didn't stop him. The pictures below tell the story!

As far as Brian is concerned, the dishwasher door (like any other piece of furniture) is there for him to pull himself up with. This door was different though since it was so much closer to the floor! That made it much easier for our young climber to get a knee up....

....and once he had that knee up..........

....the only question remaining is: are little boys dishwasher

safe, and if so, do you put them on the top or bottom rack?

Brian's 9 Month Check-Up!

While Brian has his afternoon nap, Mommy will take the opportunity to fill everyone in on today's trip to the doctor for his 9 month well being check-up. Brian has gained almost 2 lbs since his 6 month appointment and now weighs 19 lbs even. That puts him in the 45% percentile range for weight gain which is average and normal. He has grown another 2 inches and now stands 28 1/2 inches tall! This puts him in the 55% percentile range for height which again is average and very normal! An exciting part of our visit was when the doctor told us that Brian is now old enough to start trying table food! With a few exceptions (obvious ones like things he could choke on, or peanuts, celery, honey...) he can start trying just about anything! The doctor said it may take him a while to get the hang of the whole " chewing" concept since he hasn't really had to do any of that with his baby food, but

it sure should be fun trying! I think the only one more excited about Brian starting this new eating stage is Walter who has been anxiously awaiting the day when the odds of food magically falling from the high chair will go up drastically!

These pictures show our little daredevil performing one of his newest stunts. He has no trouble pulling himself up to the standing position and once their, he doesn't always think he needs to hold on with both hands. In fact, sometimes he lets go completely! He definitely has the leg strength to hold himself up for as long as he wants, he just doesn't quite have all the balance to go along with it yet. Within a couple seconds with no hands, he is back on his bottom and ready to try it again!

I'm Nine Months Old!

It hardly seems possible but Brian turned 9 months old today! For those of you who follow this blog regularly, we hope that you have been able to "see" the same subtle changes his Mommy and Daddy get to see each day as Brian continues to grow and develop. If we had the ability to add sound to these posts, we would so you could hear the cute little babble he has been doing a lot of lately. Given all the "ba-ba-ba-ba......" and "ma-ma-ma-ma....." (which is not "Mama" by the way - even though it does sound quite a bit like it!) apparently, he has a great deal on his mind he wants to discuss!

His cold is getting much better but it is not completely gone yet. He doesn't appear to mind the taste of his medicine, it's just a challenge to get it IN him and not just ON him! One day he will understand that all the terrible things his Mommy and Daddy are doing to him right now are only to help him feel better sooner. In the meantime though, he has been generous enough to share his cold with both his parents!

Brian would like to wish everyone a very Happy Memorial Day! He and his parents certainly appreciate all the freedoms they have because of the sacrifices so many brave men and women who have or are currently serving our country have made on our behalf. We thank them all and we are very proud to be able to call ourselves Americans!

The Toy Box!

Brian doesn't have a favorite toy - a toy that he must have with him at all times. There are several that he will reach for to play with first, but for the most part, he still plays with pretty much everything and anything. Since Brian has the crawling thing under control, Mommy and Daddy put most of his small toys in this box which is much easier for him to get into.








Grandpa, I don't know if I'm left handed or right handed yet - but as you can see, I can hold a baseball with no trouble at all and I haven't forgot your advice about growing up to be a left handed relief pitcher so I can support my Mommy and Daddy!

Thick As Thieves!

What started out as Brian "petting" Walter..........

















....soon started to look like the hatching of an escape plan! Well who could blame them - it was a beautiful day on Friday!

A New Toy!

Crawling for Brian has become second nature and he can shoot across a room in record speed! His interest now lies in finding out what all he can pull himself up to. He has proven he can stand up in his crib, and in his pack & play, and yesterday he pulled himself up to the entertainment center with no trouble whatsoever! As an added bonus, when he got into the upright position, he found that the VCR was great fun to play with! Daddy has started the countdown of how long it will be before Brian tries to see how many Match Box cars he can shove into that VCR!

Brian's Tool of the Day!

Brian and Daddy had a lengthy discussion this morning as to what today's Tool of the Day would be. They decided that the obvious choice would be......"The Miter Box!" With that being said, Brian is excited to show you his Makita LS 1000 Compound Miter Box!

Again, before beginning any major carpentry project, be

sure to put on the proper safety gear. It's okay if you don't have your own yellow hard hat (which by the way is the universal sign for being the supervisor) like Brian does, but putting something on your nugget is always a good idea! We also don't expect novices to be able to multi task like Brian is doing here. Most people would probably want to finish their hammering before moving onto the Miter Box but again - Brian is a professional!

Brian The Bugman!

Brian, Mommy and Walter the dog have been enjoying the springtime weather by taking nice long stroller walks. However, since all 3 of us are about to experience our first "Cicada Invasion", Brian and Mommy may have to leave Walter at home for the next few weeks while we take our stroller to the mall for some indoor walks! For anyone reading this that like Mommy, had never heard of a Cicada before, our resident Entomologist Brian will explain further.

The variety of Cicada that we will see here live under ground and feed on tree roots, only to emerge every 17 years to mate. For a bug, they are rather large - about the size of a shrimp. They are completely harmless (to people, pets and all the freshly planted flowers), flying, red eyed, nasty looking little creatures that will generate so much noise (the males way to attract a female mate) that some local concerts have been postponed until they go back underground! They will stick around for 4-6 weeks and then, like clock work, be gone for another 17 years! Mommy can appreciate the whole circle of life thing; she just isn't looking forward to seeing the MILLIONS all emerging at the same time! It's a good thing brave little Brian will be around to save the day!

Brian's First Cold!

Given the fact that we have had such a wide variety of weather here lately......50 degrees one day, 80 degrees the next......it was bound to happen. Yesterday, Brian became one of many kids who have needed to pay a visit to their Doctor. The Doctor confirmed that he has a good head cold, but it is still confined to just his head and isn't in his chest. Since ear infections often go hand in hand with colds like this, we were all relieved when the Doctor said Brian does not have that, but he told us what to look for should it happen. Brian's main problem is that he is just really congested. Because of this, the poor kid has a little trouble sleeping comfortably throughout the night. Between fits of coughing and just the limited ability to breath continually out his nose, he does wake himself up from time to time. The Doctor gave him a grape flavored decongestant and he has been taking it like a trooper! His appetite has definitely taken a dip so he doesn't have much interest in his baby food right now. He will still gobble down a bottle with formula in it which the Doctor was glad to hear. As long as he keeps doing this, he will get all the fluids and calories he needs to stay hydrated and have a full tummy. Just like anyone who isn't feeling 100%, he has some rough moments, but they pass quickly and then the happy go lucky Brian is back! Playing, crawling, and exploring all the fun things that Mommy would really prefer he not explore are all part of his daily calender of events!

More "Firsts"!

Last weekend while at Grandma and Grandpa's house, Brian took a ride on their swing set! He was very curious as to how he was being strapped in but he enjoyed the ride!
















This weekend, Mommy and Daddy wanted to see if Brian would have any interest in trying his first taste of juice from a sippy cup. He grabbed right onto it and knew to put the spout in his mouth (of course, what DOESN'T immediately go into this kids mouth!) but for right now, that was about as far as he wanted to go with it. For the moment he is happy just playing with the cup, but as soon as he figures out that if he sucks on the spout he will get a wonderful surprise - he will think he is one very lucky little boy!

Bring On The Festivals!

To enjoy a lovely Saturday afternoon, Brian took his Mommy and Daddy to Wheaton to walk through their Farmers Market and then onto the Taste of Glen Ellyn! While in Glen Ellyn, Brian made a new friend with Officer Volpe.....

........and he got his first balloon! Talk about your banner days!

What A Great Weekend!

It is shaping up to be a beautiful weekend so I'm sure Brian and his Mommy and Daddy will be partaking in some outside activities later on today and tomorrow. Until I have some photo's of those events, here are just a few random cute photo's of young Brian Thomas for you to enjoy!

Houston......We Have Liftoff!

As we have mentioned, Brian has been right on the edge of getting a full grasp of the crawling concept, and it has now officially happened! He has crawled a couple arm and leg movements forward and then turn into the seated position, or crawled a couple arm and leg movements forward and then drop to his belly for the "army man crawl". However, the majority of his movement is now in the full out crawl position. He is picking up speed quickly as well!

Brian doesn't seem completely interested in spending a lot of time on the floor though. His interest has now moved onto the concept of pulling himself up with the furniture! This is great - until he gets all the way up and then just......lets go! Maybe that's where the phrase "what goes up must come down" came from!

Tool Of The Day!

Today, Brian is pleased to introduce you to his pick for the Tool Of The Day, which is.........."The DeWalt 10-Inch Portable Table Saw!" I'm sure it goes without saying, but as safety is and shall always remain to be a prime concern for young Brian, for this particular photo, he has removed the blade guard and lowered the saw blade. He does however recommend that all novice Table Saw users leave the blade guard on at ALL times (and once you have had the proper training - using the blade would probably be helpful too!) If you have any questions as to why using the blade guard at ALL times is a good idea, you can direct those questions to Brian's Daddy.

Little Gripper Hands

Brian has been using his hands to reach and grab for things for quite some time and over the passing weeks his precision has gotten better and better! He started by using his whole hand to pick up larger items. The clothes basket in this picture made for a great bucket to put toys in and then take them out of.........

.........Brian has now moved onto picking up smaller items. For this he needs to use his thumb and pincher finger to accomplish the goal. It takes more patience from him but he is mastering the new craft extremely well!

Yoga Baby!

I can't believe this could possibly be a comfortable position to nap in, but based on the last couple morning naps Brian has taken...............it is!

More Weekend Fun!

Aside from Mothers Day, Brian had lots of other fun things on his weekend agenda. On Saturday, Brian helped Mommy and Daddy pick out some flowers for the planters in front of the house. After the selections had been made though, he couldn't resist getting into one of the stores planters just for some fun.....okay, and for the photo opportunity it provided his parents!

As an extra treat, Uncle Corey was in town to help celebrate Mothers Day so Brian got to have some playtime with him as well which was WAY cool!

Happy Mothers Day!

Today Brian's Mommy spent a very special day celebrating her very first Mothers Day with her two favorite boys.......Brian and Brian's Daddy!









Brian strikes a pose with Mommy and her Mommy....










....and Daddy with his Mommy too!









Happy Mothers Day to all the Mommy's out there! No matter how old your "babies" are, we hope you all enjoyed your day!

Another Crawling Update

While we were on vacation, Brian was showing all the signs of learning how to crawl. He would get into the proper position and be all ready to go, but as you can see, one of his knees was creating a bit of an obstacle for him. The frustration of this would cause him to just get down onto his tummy so he could roll where he needed to go.

After spending some time on the floor getting all tangled up in his own legs, sometimes a boy's just gotta take a little break!

Brian has reached a new crawling milestone in that he has figured out how to get the knee out from under himself! He is now up on both hands and both knees! He hasn't put the hands and knees in motion together to be able to move himself forward yet, but he's close! While he's in this position, he bounces and lunges so we know its now just a matter of time before he puts the whole sequence together!

Since Brian was being extra photogenic while Mommy was taking these pictures, I couldn't resist throwing in one more of his big smile!

My Pillow Needs Fluffed!

During a recent nap, Brian found a new use for the bumper pads on his crib! He has yet to find a mint on his bumper pad awaiting him though, so that must just be a special night time treat that only happens when you stay at Uncle Corey's house!

Tool Of The Day!

As promised.......Brian (and his Daddy) are introducing a new and improved version of the tool of the day segment. Again both Brian and his Daddy are trained professionals so please do not attempt to operate any of the items that will be listed in this segment without first receiving the proper safety training and preparations. Brian and Mommy needed to drop something off to Daddy at his job site today. That job site also just happened to be the location of today's tool of the day, so without further ado....today's tool is the "4 x 4 Scissor Lift". This lift can be used for a number of purposes. Rebuilding eaves and gutters like Daddy is currently doing, or trimming tree branch's or finding out if you can see all the way to Grandma and Grandpa's house are just a few of the many things it is useful in doing!

***Disclaimer to all Grandmother's reading this entry: No babies were harmed in the taking of these photo's since after all.......Brian is a trained professional!