Tommy turned 2 on the 16th...good thing he doesn't know his dates, because we had cake on Saturday. Grandma and Grandpa sent presents for all the kiddos, and fun was had. Probably our last birthday without a kid demanding a party.
And what to say about this little tyke? T is for Tommy and for Temper and for Tantrum. He is Mister If I don't get my way I will scream until you give in.
He's also destined to be the class clown, amusing his sisters at every turn with silly faces and gestures.
He's the daredevil. The only kid we've really seen bleed. Because when you are jumping off of everything, and getting in to it all, you are bound to get a little banged up.
He likes to announce "HAND" as he extends his so that he can lead you where he wants to go, which is, most often, to the kitchen for cookies.
Amazingly agile, he could climb the stairs like a big boy months ago. He's our little mimic, repeating everything the girls say. Tonight at dinner it was "Chuck E Cheese" over and over in varying voices to Dani and Tori's delight.
He is, by far, the best snuggler of the three. When you pick him up, he wraps his arms around your neck and places his head on that sweet spot on your shoulder made for baby heads and just snuggles.
He is love. He is energy. He is chaos. He is our Tom Tom.
And he loves his sisters. "DANEEE. TOWEEE" he calls, often when they sneak away to do something else.
We went to Animal Land a week ago. Tommy had no fear. He touched every animal he could, feeding them, petting them, and at one point, picking up a huge piece of deer poop that we thought was a rock.....ugh.
He's game for rides, and whatever his sisters have in store for fun.
On the safari ride, one camel followed us, and was fixated on Tommy. All I could think was "please don't bite my kid's face off", but the camel walked along us, sticking with Tommy as he petted her nose and said hello.
And then, of course there was some cake. Dani helped me bake it. What a difference a year makes. He wanted a fork, he always wants a fork because his sisters use one.
He's an amazing boy, our little Tommy. No doubt, because he has grown up with two smart, older sisters, his vocabulary at his age is amazing. He's the king of the funny face, and without a doubt makes Wes and I laugh at least once per dinner. He's our little fireball, and I love him to bits. Happy Birthday Tommy!
And, before I forget to add some of the recent fun things the kids have said.....
We've had a bunch of work done in our house recently, and I was somewhat friendly with the contractor beforehand...so that meant that he shared a number of meals with the family. One day, his car broke down and he took a cab to our house. We would routinely bring him home. On day three of no car, he mentioned at dinner, "I just feel naked without my car." Dani leaned over to me and said loudly, "Why does Mr. M think he doesn't have any clothes on? He's wearing clothes!". I looked at Wes, perplexed (probably because we weren't paying too much attention to Mr. M), but Mr. M caught on--and pointed out to us what she meant so we could explain.
In other news, and funnies, Dani is starting Pre-K next week. We received a packet in the mail two weeks ago with information from the teacher, and which advised us of the dress code: solid color collared shirts and pants/shorts/skirts in designated colors. Reading it, I explain to Dani that she will need to wear solid shirts to school. She looked both disappointed and perplexed. "Mommy, will the shirts be hard?", she asked. I looked at her, not having a clue...and asked what she meant. "Mommy, solids are hard...you know that," she said. There has been some talk of liquids and solids with water and ice cubes, but it's easy to forget how literally words can be taken. Ice cubes are solids, and they are hard, so wouldn't the shirt be hard too?
These kids, all amazing in so many ways, but I feel like I'm leaving Tori out. Perfectly potty trained, she's been accident free and wearing underwear to bed for about 6 months...amazing. At newly 3, she can write most of her letters, as she showed me with chalk on the sidewalk yesterday.
They are amazing little peeps, my kiddos!
I mean, I'm not even 2, I can't be expected to remember these things!
Good work Tommy! Really smear it all over yourself.
OK, now me! 
Sure, he's cute. He's also 5 months old, and wearing 12 month baby clothes. You'd think he would be sleeping through the night, but no. Mr. Chowhound needs a bottle at least once a night, which is okay, because he fusses, I get him up, feed him, change him, and he's back to down in 15-20 minutes. 
He's been the easiest kiddo so far, so I can't really complain, but damn, I miss sleep. And even with this minor mishap, I know I've got it easier than lots of new moms. But being perpetually sleep deprived still sucks. 
Dani, Tori and I enjoyed ice cream pops the other night...perfect pre-tubby time snack!
He's even been known to sport a play 'stache or two. So it should have come as no surprise that Tommy woke up from his afternoon nap on Thursday and sounded like he couldn't breathe. He was hoarse and congested and had spiked a fever. I called the doctor's office, who heard him breathing and instructed me to go right to the Emergency Room. I did. It's croup. The whole way there in the car, I was convinced he was going to stop breathing. After a few hours at the ER, he received a shot to open his airways and a prescription for steroids.
After a rough couple of days, Little Dude got his smile back. Now mommy can breathe again.
And you know your big sisters adore you, but you're getting SO BIG, SO FAST!
You are literally pushing yourself up so high on your arms that I told your daddy tonight that you'd be crawling by 5 months.
Well, I thought it was under my breath. When we were sitting at Dario's dining room table, Dani announced that, "Mommy had trouble parking because the bags got in the way!" I knew what she meant, but he just looked at us, confused. Looks like I've got to clean up my language a bit.
