A Tommy Update

One of the reasons I decided to start blogging was not only to stay in touch with family & friends, but also to encourage myself to write things down for myself. I have never been good at keeping a journal, but since Thomas was born I've begun to feel more and more how important it is to write things down, since there are so many important and wonderful events and milestones I want to remember! So every once in awhile I thought I would do a little update on Thomas.

Thomas will be turning 16 months on November 10th. I know its the coined phrase of every mother, but how fast the time goes! I don't know what happens to the days...I can still remember being an expectant mommy, and now I have a toddler! And he is such a big little guy (little big guy?)! Every time we go to the doctor for his well checks, I am always excited to find out how much Thomas has grown. He had his 15-month well check a couple of weeks ago, and when the doctor started talking to me about Thomas' growth chart, the word he used was "phenomenal." Tommy definitely has all the Laidlaw and Kotter tall genes...he was 33.9 inches tall, which puts him in the 95th percentile for height. Like any mama, my buttons were bursting! Although, I've never needed the doctor to tell me Thomas is big for his age...my back definitely feels it! And complete strangers are always asking me how old he is, and then say they're surprised he's so young. Plus, I am already buying him clothes in the 2T size. I bought Thomas a new sleeper the other day in a 2T, and when I showed it to Ryan on the hanger, he said "That'll be way too big for him!" But the first time Thomas wore it, Ryan realized Thomas almost completely filled it out! I am so excited to see one day how tall Tommy will grow. Ryan and I are both 6 feet tall, and we both have some crazy tall people in our families: fathers, brothers, grandfathers, uncles and cousins who range everywhere from 6'2'' to almost 7 feet! So it will be fun to watch and see. But I don't want to wish his babyhood away!

When they weighed Thomas he was 25 lbs and 10 ounces, which put him in the 61st percentile for weight. Since the percentile was so much lower than his height I was worrying and wondering out loud to the doctor whether I was feeding him enough. He told me, "He's tall and skinny...nothin' wrong with that!" But truly, I know he's definitely eating enough...sometimes it seems all I do all day is feed that kid! He's very sturdy, has cute chubby legs and a big round potbelly, and he kind of has his daddy's stocky build too...my oldest brother Josh always calls Thomas "the brick." "Thomas the Tank" is a popular name for him too.

Thomas is acquiring lots of fun new hobbies as he gets older...its so amazing to see all he can do now as opposed to last year at this time! He's been walking really well since before his first birthday, and now he loves marching, stomping, dancing, and running. And his new favorite pasttime, which has his mom constantly on her toes, is climbing! On the toilet, into the tub, on top of the couch, on the coffee table, everywhere he can get to while mom's back is turned! I am just waiting to find him on the countertop one of these days, or on top of the refrigerator! So I am having to work extra hard to keep a watchful eye on him. (Note added 11/28: Um, yeah, I should've knocked on wood. He's long since accomplished the feat of making it to the tabletop/countertop. He gets up there so fast its scary!)

He also has the cutest habit of saying "mommy, mommy, mommy" over and over. I just love to hear him say it, and even when I'm feeling pestered and frazzled, its just so adorable I can't help but smile! He says "mommy" so often that sometimes he calls Ryan that, even though "dada" was his first word. He knows how to say "daddy" and has said it a lot before, so we are trying hard to teach him the difference and are always quizzing him, "Where's Mommy? Where's Daddy?" He's very talkative and is always trying to tell us things in his own little language, its so cute. He says all kinds of words now, I can't even think of them all. He's been saying "mee-mee" all the time lately, which I think means "binky." Yes, at 16 months, he is still glued to a pacifier...my goal is to get him off the paci completely before he hits 18 months, and I must admit I am dreading it! But I definitely need to do it before I get to the point where I have to deal with potty-training too...oh my goodness, potty-training?! How can I even be thinking about that already? My little boy is growing up too fast!

Ryan and I are incredibly blessed to have our sweet little Tommy...he has brought so much joy into our lives, its hard to remember a time when he wasn't a part of our family. I love him so much! And even though it seems such a short time since we brought him home, brand new and tiny, this new question has started buzzing around inside my brain..."When is Thomas going to get a sibling?!"