In the midst of it...

Living life as a family of four has made it difficult, I'm finding, to blog about life as a family of four. I've been faithfully jotting notes to myself to blog about thus and such...and then a week goes by and I still haven't done so! But I'm going to snatch a minute now to give you all some highlights.

Jonathan's big thing right now is language. I find myself pausing many times a day, amazed, realizing just how much he's learning and how incredibly fast he's learning it. He is using complete sentences more and more often, and he's also imitating our speech patterns. For example, if something goes wrong around the house he'll sadly say "too bad". Or a few days ago I heard him say to his brother "Look at you, Thomas" - in the exact tone pattern that I use. A few days ago he looked up at me and sweetly asked "how 'bout some music?" And this morning, while carefully placing his cars and trucks end to end, he said "Let's make a car train!" These are just a few notable examples...every day he speaks more and more like a child and less like a toddler.

Thomas continues to be a sweet, lovable, laid back baby. He sleeps for 3 to 4 hours at a stretch during the night, which makes his parents very happy! He has his fussy moments, of course, but is often content just to watch the world during the day. He seems to like looking at Jonathan, particularly when Jonathan is being sweet and "sharing" his cars and trucks. (He puts them in Thomas' lap and informs me that he's "sharing" with the most angelic smile on his face!)

At one month old, Thomas has gained a lot of weight. I'm not sure exactly how much, but I'm guessing he's well over 9 pounds now, since he was 8 lbs 6 oz at 10 days old. He nurses like a champ - he's very effective and can finish quickly (a blessing, since Jonathan doesn't particularly like having me nursing and unable to be at his beck and call!) Thomas is becoming quite adept at holding up his own head. He's also becoming more responsive to our voices and will often make faces or (occasionally) smile for us. I really like the time after Jonathan is in bed to just snuggle with Thomas and enjoy his own sweet personality.

And now for a few pictures:

Thomas' first bath







A few pictures of Jonathan's favorite pastime since it has been so warm outside.





And last but not least - don't you keep your porpoises in the dryer?