Saturday's Adventure!

Stroller with canopy in place - check

Sunscreen smeared on - check

Sunglasses and hat on - check

Pacifier with the monkey on it and elephant pacifier strap hooked on - check

A fun afternoon at Brookfield Zoo with Mommy and Daddy - priceless!

Tent Sale!

Brian and Mommy stopped by to visit Uncle Colin and Aunt Karyn for their Summer Tent Sale at Budget Golf! The sale goes through Sunday July 1st so if you are in the area (14426 John Humphrey Drive, Orland Park IL) - Brian highly recommends stocking up on your golf needs from his Uncle!







In honor of the sale, Brian marked himself down! Perhaps he isn't aware that his parents are not putting him up for sale!

Unfortunately, they were temporarily out of Brian's size golf shoe but it was okay - admiring how he will look in them through the mirror was just as much fun!

Tool Of The Day!

Is that the Terminator I see? Why no, its young Brian Thomas yielding his Senco Duraspin DS200-AC! You may hear some people refer to this tool as a screw shooter since that is what it will do for you. Some examples of where you might use this tool are when hanging drywall or screwing down floors. If you have a job where you need to quickly insert screws - Brian would highly recommend this tool! Brian has both the cordless version as well as the electric one shown here, but he feels that either (of both) would be excellent additions to any child's tool shop!

I'm Ten Months Old!

Well technically, Brian won't be 10 months old until tomorrow, but since tomorrow is Tool Of The Day day, we are touching on it today! Brian won't see the pediatrician again until he has his 12 month well being appointment, so we don't know exactly how much he has grown and how much weight he has gained in the past month. Judging from his clothes, it is evident that he is definitely growing! The particular number he is wearing in this photo is a size 12 month onesie and a pair of size 12 month shorts. He still has a few 9 month items that he wears but he is filling out the 12 month gear very well.

After taking the picture, Brian decided the chair needed to be moved.......

to the other side of the kitchen to be exact! He used it as a "walker" and with a few steps he had the job done!

Vroom!

I hope that the driving technique Brian displays when he plays with this little car toy is not a glimpse of what his future driving habits will be!

Although, this face could probably get him out of a ticket......not that he would have any reason to get a ticket!

Peek-A-Boo!

When Daddy came home from work today, Brian played a game of peek-a-boo with him through the pet door.

I wish I could include sound effects on here as well as pictures. Brian has an adorable belly laugh and he thought playing this little game with Daddy was hysterical!

Summerfest!

Yesterday, our home town was having their annual "Summerfest" Festival. It had been raining on and off all day but the festival went on anyway, so when we returned home from the wedding we stopped by to check it out. Needless to say, we were immediately drawn to the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile! We came to the back side of it to have our photo opportunity because kids were lined up on the other side waiting for their turn at the microphone to sing the Oscar Mayer jingle. You all remember how it goes right? "My baloney has a first name.....its O-S-C-A-R......"

A Great Day For A Wedding!

Our congratulations go out to Mommy's second cousin Ryan who married the very beautiful Kazumi today! Brian and his Mommy and Daddy were very happy to be able to attend the ceremony and share with them in their special day!

Brian enjoyed a moment with the groom to wish him well and give him a hug!

Since he just had a cracker - or should we say, ate some and wore the rest of it, we thought it best that he NOT give Kazumi a hug. She was so beautiful in her traditional Japanese dress so we wanted to be sure to include a picture of her!

Congratulations Ryan and Kazumi! We wish you both a lifetime of love and happiness!

A New Shopping Experience!

Helping Mommy with the grocery shopping is nothing new to Brian, in fact, he is an excellent assistant in this task! Normally Brian sits in his car seat which is then clamped onto the front of the shopping cart. Yesterday however, for the first time ever, he rode in the shopping cart seat! At first he seemed a little unsure of the fact that he was looking down through the metal slats of the cart only to see the ground seemingly float by him, but if it made him nervous, he didn't let on to it! We took our clip on vibrating zebra toy just in case, but it was not necessary.....there were far too many people in the store that needed to be charmed by this young man's winning smile and giggle!

Tool Of The Day!

It's Thursday which means one thing.......that's right, its time for the Tool Of The Day! Brian was recently asked, "Hey kid, I need to drill some holes into a concrete slab but I don't know how I should go about it, what do you suggest?" (and let us tell you, that kind of thing happens to Brian ALL the time!) Anyway, after answering this question, it occurred to Brian that others may find themselves in the same dilemma, so here is his advice. Lay your hands on a Bosch 11236VS Hammer Drill like the one shown in this picture and the holes you are looking to put in your concrete slab will almost drill themselves! Of course you will want to remember Brian's rule of thumb - safety first! So, don't forget your hardhat, protective eye wear and ear muffins before starting your job!

I Didn't Do It!

Having such an active boy means that a few Brian barricade's have been added to various locations throughout the house. This means that Brian spends a great deal of his crawling time going between the living room (where the majority of his toys are) and the kitchen, where all the stuff he would prefer to play with is located! The kitchen cabinets and drawers are especially interesting to him. So far, he hasn't wanted to open them to crawl in. He prefers to open them just a few inches so they make a cool banging noise when they are slammed closed. The challenge of not pinching a finger just adds to the fun of it all!

This is the point where Brian hears the words "BRIAN THOMAS" sternly spoken. The reaction is an incredibly innocent looking little face turning to look at you - which looks a little something like this!

To lure him away from the potential finger pinching, he can usually be distracted by a parent approved toy which is fine....until he remembers the great noise those cabinets make when you bang them!

My Room!

Today, Brian wanted to give you a tour of his room! It has been rearranged recently and he seems to be very happy with the new layout. Brian's crib used to be right on top of the air vent which wasn't a problem until we started using the air conditioning on a regular basis. Since we didn't want to risk the little guy getting too cool at night, his crib has been moved to the opposite side of the room. From this new location, he can also enjoy the rays of morning sunshine streaming through his windows! Brian was having his morning nap when Mommy snapped these pictures.

We have also replaced the original rocking chair in the room with a rocker recliner. This is much more comfortable for all parties, especially when it comes to snuggling in to read a good book! Brian was just about to outgrow his changing table so that has now been moved out of the room and the changing pad has been moved to his dresser top. For those of you who haven't seen his room in person, it's a little hard to make out in this picture, but the stuff on the wall on the right side of this picture are an assortment of little wooden animals scattered along the wall. They surround the letters "BRIAN" - lest we forget his name!

See How I've Grown!

For those of you who have been following this blog, you have witnessed on a regular basis just how much Brian has been growing! As wonderful as that is, it's hard to believe how much he has grown in just a few months until you see a "blast from the past" photo! The other day, Mommy was putting some pictures in Brian's baby book. This particular picture was one that went into he book. It was taken the day he came home from the hospital, all 6 pounds 4 ounces of him!

This pictures is of Brian now, at 9 1/2 months old! He was waving when I took it. So far we haven't noticed any separation anxiety issues that our pediatrician has told us sometimes show up in kids his age. When we ask him to wave hello or bye bye to people - he does it nearly every time, which makes us think he really does understand what he's doing. He is also very much into shaking his head "no". I understand that it's one of the first gestures that most kids learn, but Brian's Mommy and Daddy think he knows a lot more than anyone gives him credit for. He seems to shake his head "no" to comments that we make or questions we ask just like any adult would! It's very funny to see!

Happy Fathers Day!

Daddy celebrated his first Fathers Day today! It was horribly hot and humid outside so after coming home from church we spent most of the afternoon playing indoors where it was cool and comfortable! Later in the afternoon, Brian insisted that Daddy be taken out for dinner at the restaurant of his choice and who can say no to his little face??? When we got home, he wouldn't hear of going to bed until the best Daddy in the whole world read him a bedtime story.

Brian and his Mommy and Daddy send Happy Fathers Day wishes out to all the daddy's out there....and especially to Grandpa Dahlstrand and Grandpa Hansen!

Check Out My Sunglasses!

Brian had a gift card burning a hole in his pocket, so he took Mommy and Daddy to the mall today and found some fun summer clothes. To top off an already fun afternoon, when Daddy saw these sunglasses, Brian agreed that they were a must have since they would be an excellent accessory item to his new summer duds!

Not Walking.....YET!

Brian has the whole crawling concept completely under control, and he will pull himself up to ANYTHING that stands still! (Actually, they don't necessarily have to even be standing still as he has pulled himself up onto the dog numerous times too!) Mommy and Daddy borrowed a pushing/learning to walk toy from Uncle Kevin and Aunt June to see if we can tempt him into taking a few steps with assistance.

He will play with it if we put it in front of him, but he hasn't become intrigued by the idea of what this new found freedom learning to walk would give him yet. Maybe Mommy and Daddy should be grateful for that!

Tool Of The Day!

Brian and Mommy stopped to visit Daddy at his job site yesterday because that is where Brian's choice for this weeks Tool of the Day was at. After inspecting Daddy's workmanship and confirming he was properly using the tool of the day, Brian took a moment to grab this photo. This is the Porter Cable Manual Tongue and Groove Floor Nailer! If you are installing a new front porch like Daddy currently is, Brian strongly recommends using this tool for the job!

Nature Boy!

The weather has been beautiful here this week so Brian decided to take advantage of it by spending some time exploring in the front yard.

Peek-A-Boo!

This door is located off the kitchen and leads to the basement. When Daddy first moved into the house, he cut this "cat door" into the door so that Jem could access the basement where her litter box and food are kept. Even though Walter's bed and food dish are also located in the basement, up to this point we have generally left this whole door open during the daytime so both pets could come and go as they pleased. Dateline: June 2007 - where a certain little boy is now very much on the move and an open door at the top of a flight of steps is probably not the best idea! For Jem, having to go back to using the pet door since the door is now closed is no big deal. Walter had a little more trouble adjusting since it is a pretty snug fit for him to slip through, but he is getting more comfortable with the idea. I'm sure that if Brian really wanted to go through the pet door, he could, but as of right now, he hasn't shown much interest in it. Mommy and Daddy figure that the longer he isn't interested - the bigger he will grow and the more this will not even become and issue for his parents to be concerned about!

Take A Seat!

Brian tried out his new bath seat this weekend! This was just a test run since it doesn't work quite as well in the kitchen sink. But.....in the near future when Brian moves onto using the bathtub, Mommy and Daddy think this seat may come in very handy. It lets him sit up safely but still have enough flexibility to splash around and play with his tub toys!

10 Items Or Less!

Brian and his Mommy and Daddy went exploring after church today. We went to Geneva, a very cute little community about a half hour from our house. They have a summer French Market each Sunday during the summer months which we had fun walking through. Afterwords, we stopped at a store called "American Science and Surplus" which was unlike anything Mommy had seen before! They sold everything from Venus Flytrap plants to test tubes to an ant farm! Brian tried on a hat while we rolled through the isles of the store taking it all in!

Cozy Quilt Comfort!

Brian is very fortunate to have so many people in his life that love him very much! Two such people are his Great Grandma's! In addition to being very special people, they are also very talented which is evident here by the baby quilt they each made for him!

This is the baby quilt that Great Grandma Frenz made....

......and this baby quilt was made by Great Grandma Hansen! Brian is getting lots of use out of both of them and he would like to thank both of his Great Grandma's again for all the work they put into making them for him!

Spin The Bottle Anyone?

Daddy loves his RC Cola and Brian is equally thrilled to play with the empty bottles! It's too bad that this poor little boy has NO toys to play with and that he's forced to play with garbage before it goes into the recycling bin. Maybe someday........he will have some real toys to call his own!

Tool Of The Day!

How's the weather up there? If you had today's tool of the day, the fiberglass 6 foot A-frame ladder, you would know that its warm, humid and windy in our backyard today!

Whenever possible, Brian likes to pass on safety tips in these tool of the day segments so.......as the ladder states, "The top step is NOT a step!" and "Watch out for electrical wires overhead!"

Solid Food Update!

When last we left our solid eating boy......he was having some trouble getting a grasp on the concept of eating solid food. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that his Mommy and Daddy started him on things he wasn't quite ready for yet. So, we have tried going at this from a different angle. He is now eating the baby food "dinners" which are much thicker and therefore require him to do more than just open his mouth and swallow. This picture was taken after today's lunch menu which consisted of a container of thick and creamy style vanilla yogurt - a new solid food which he is quite fond of! While he was eating today, Mommy noticed that his jaw was moving up and down, so I think his chewing reflex is definitely kicking in! At this rate, Daddy has suggested that we put corn on the cob on tomorrow's menu!

Catch a Tiger by the Tail!

If you are very very careful, you can catch a tiger (or in this case, your house cat Jem) by the tail.......

....just be sure you put on your cute and innocent face when you are done so no one is the wiser!

Scenes From A Bedroom

There is just nothing cuter than a sleeping baby all snuggled up in his blanket.....

....but this is what has become a familiar sight once that baby wakes up! Normally, Brian is still still quite content to just hang out in his crib and play or babble away for awhile. Sometimes we don't even know he's awake until he starts running his pacifier along the crib like an inmate clanking a tin cup on the bars of his cell! Even though we are getting used to the fact that he loves to be on his feet - there is still something slightly shocking to his Mommy and Daddy when they walk into his room only to see this big boy looking back at them!

Grandpa and Me!

When Brian heard that Grandpa was going to be power washing the pool deck area today, he insisted that we run over to visit him. He wanted to make sure that he would be on hand because you never know - what if Grandpa ran into a problem or had a question? If that happened Brian wanted to be there to help him out! Fortunately, Grandpa had everything under control so Brian used the opportunity to take an afternoon nap.

My People Will Call Your People!

It may be the weekend, but a young boy's work is just never done! Brian decided to lend Daddy a hand in getting some of his work proposals put together, and to do that, you will need your briefcase!

And speaking of briefcase's....could someone give me a hand with this one? It's bigger than me and then there is the whole issue of my not being able to walk quite yet.