Tommy at 3 months! (September 29, 2009)

At his three-month birthday, Tommy is a great big chunk of a baby. He's wearing 6-12-month clothes! About three weeks ago, he weighed 17 pounds, so we're thinking he's about 19 or so now. His new tricks include laughing (very rarely, but it's sooooo adorable), holding on to toys (we have to hold it next to his hand, but once he's grabbed it, he moves it around himself), and reading books (well . . . being interested in books that Mommy and Daddy read to him).

We had two visits from our heroes over the past week. First, Aunt Becca had a layover at Dulles on her way back to Afghanistan. We had a fun dinner at Harry's Tap Room on the departures concourse. Tommy received many kisses and coos and only had a minor meltdown.

Then, our good friend Patrick stopped in for an all-too-brief visit on his way home for R&R before he is deployed to Iraq as an army chaplain this fall. Patrick's stories made Tommy laugh *twice* -- only his second and third times ever -- which will not come as a surprise to anyone who knows Pat Van Durme.

We will be praying for both Aunt Becca and Patrick and counting the days until we get to see them again.

In between these visits, we traveled as a family to Carlisle, PA, to spend a weekend with the Mahers. We played and played (and indulged in delicious Belgian food)!


Over the past few weeks, Tommy has befriended his hanging caterpillar. He is all-too-believable as a rugby player!
Tommy has become enamored of the activity bar on his bouncy chair. He smiles at it and coos along with the music. It's very cute.Aunt Stallone sent Tommy this festive outfit from Hawaii. We think it makes him look like a party animal!
Tommy is very proud of his Cards, who clinched a spot in the post-season this week.
These overalls are marked for 12-month olds. They're snug on our boy!
Tommy is working on his sitting-up skills. (Very seldom does the lad look small, but we think we managed it here.)
Tommy loves Aunt Becca!!!


Aunt Becca and Mommy love Tommy a little bit too.
Tommy melted down at the airport and then mellowed out. We thought he looked particularly roly-poly in this pose. Here, Tommy worked on sitting up at the Mahers' in Carlisle, PA, where we spent last weekend.

Here, Tommy is hanging out with his good friends, the Chaunceys.
Chauncey V and Tommy are BFFs.
Chauncey V is devising clever plots for them execute once Tommy is mobile.
Chauncey V is a very sweet honorary big brother.
A rare -- and all-too-brief -- Uncle Patrick sighting!
Here, Tommy demonstrates how he barely fits in his crib width-wise.

Likewise, he has reached the length of his changing table.
We put the finishing touch on Tommy's nursery with the adorable, custom-made name plaques from Ashley!

Cheeks!
At three months, Tommy still hates tummy-time, except when he finds his thumb and settles in for a nice nap. Either way, he doesn't get a lot of head exercise!

Big Tommy: 11 weeks, 17 pounds!

At Tommy's two-month check up (which happened between 10 and 11 weeks), he weighed in at a whopping 17 pounds. He was also 24.75 inches long and had a head circumference of 17-1/8 inches. Evidently, that's at the very top of the chart (i.e., the 97th percentile) for height and off the charts (i.e., >97th percentile) for weight and head size.

We've had a lot of fun since our last post. We traveled home from St. Louis by way of Indy and then a scenic drive through West Virginia. Once we were home, we had visits from good friends -- the Mahers, the Spampinatos, and Consie. We also attended Tommy's first baseball game (the Nats won, believe it or not!), and went to the pool!




Tommy rediscovered his thumb this week, and he figured out how to keep it in his mouth for longer than a couple of seconds. Despite Mommy and Daddy's best efforts, he seems determined not have the pacifier as an alternative. In fact, we've had several comical episodes of trying to get him interested in the pacifier as he not-so-subtly insinuates his thumbs (sometimes only one, but often both) underneath it.

While we were in Indy, we visited with the Brombereks. Here's Tommy and one of his very best friends, Erin.
Tommy and my beautiful godchild (and babysitter numero uno!), Sarah.
Brian, Tommy's future guitar hero.
Gigy got a taste of Tommy's love for dancing!

On the way back from Indy, we took a scenic drive that happened to take us through Thomas, WV, where we couldn't help taking some cheesy photos!
Thomas, WV, had a decrepit but charming riverfront shopping area (where most of the stores, including the bank, were closed on a Tuesday afternoon -- yikes!), where we stopped to eat lunch.
Tommy is getting cuddlier and cuddlier.

His stretching bit is still adorable, too. We think its days are numbered, though, since he is starting to wrestle out of his swaddler (in an effort to get his thumbs in his mouth). Soon, we may not get to unwrap the baby burrito and watch him get in a whole night's worth of stretching anymore. That will be a sad day!
We put Tommy in his swimsuit (given to him by Aunt Mimi) and took him to our neighborhood pool.

Over Labor Day weekend, Chauncey and Erin visited for a Saturday lunch. Here, Tommy gets his bottle from a pro (Erin).
Tommy and Baby Chauncey met for the first time!
Later that same day, we had a very fun visit from the Spampinatos (including Bruno - yea!) and Consie Hitchcock, who brought lobsters and mounds of mollusks!
And on the Sunday before Labor Day, Tommy had his first day at the ballpark, compliments of the Covington & Burling Food & Drug group. We had a very easy time, taking care of an infant in the air-conditioned suite! (Next year, we plan to brave the regular seats.)



Apparently, even an infant can tell that philosophy is boring! :)



Here, Daddy and Tommy are all dressed up after Mommy's swearing-in to the DC Bar.


Tummy time is a lot less onerous when you can get your thumb into your mouth and then take a nap! It's also a lot less fruitful. But it's darn cute.

We *love* skinny pajamas on a pudgy baby! (Thanks to Louisa & Rob for this adorable pair!)

SMILES!