Happy Halloween!

Sitting High

TJ is getting so big - the time is flying! He just got his highchair and he absolutely LOVES it! He likes to be up high so he can see what's going on. This will be a life saver. Now I can get some more elaborate cooking done and we can eat as a family at the table. TJ likes to be able to do things on his own but he wants to make sure I'm in site at all times - he really likes watching what I do. He won't be starting solid foods for another couple of months but for now he likes practicing with his spoon in his new chair.

Dear Grandma & Grandpa

Thanks for letting me come and visit. I had a great time! I miss you already.
Love,
TJ

Big helper!

I always wanted to be a stay at home mom, the thought of having to return to work made me sick. We're so lucky that we're in the position that I can stay at home with TJ. I love my new job more than anything and wouldn't trade my time with him for the world. However, the one thing I don't think I was too realistic about was how hard it is to get anything done around the house! I had these grand visions of having the perfectly happy and cared for child, the immaculatly spotless house, and a gourmet dinner on the table. HA! It's all I can do to get the house mostly clean once a week and some kind of dinner (far from gourmet I assure you) made each night.

TJ's been trying to help me out but when you're too short to push the vacuum, too drooly to dust without making a bigger mess, and someone is always telling you 'HOT! Don't touch!' when you get near the oven there isn't much a guy can do. He is becoming an expert at laundry though. ;-) Now if only he could fold...

Busy Sunday!

We went over to my parent's house last night for dinner. Despite having a little cold TJ was busy as a bee! He loved playing cards and showing off his new skills. Too bad his Bear's jersey didn't bring the team any luck.

















He's also mastering sitting. We're hoping to have some crawling action by Christmas - though ought to make for a very entertaining holiday!

TJ's ESPN Deupt!

Our little guy is famous! TJ the Lion was on TV during the Penn State vs. Illinois game on October 3, 2009. We finally got a recording of the game and edited down this little clip to share.

4 Month Stats

17 lbs. 12 oz. - 92nd percentile
26.5 inches







Doctor says TJ looks great! He's way ahead of all on his milestones.
- Sitting unassisted for several minutes (just needs help getting into a sitting position)
- Rolls tummy to back. He almost has back to tummy but he just isn't very interested.
- Reaches and grabs for toys. He's particularly interested in the TV remote.
- Puts anything he can get his hands on in his mouth
- Loves to "stand" in our laps
- Starting to respond to his name
- Kisses
- "Talks" and Sings, laughs a lot
- Grabs his feet
- Has now discovered Lucy and pets her
- Still sleeping through the night (8:30 - 6 or 7) and is now getting better about napping during the day.

Time sure is flying, I can't believe how big my little boy is getting. I love being able to stay home with him and see how he changes from day to day!



Showing off that charming personality!

We've found a new use for our bum!

It's no longer used just for pooping and old man farts... TJ can now sit!

This was taken about a week ago. He's already gotten so much better! But I couldn't resist posting this one since he's so smiley and giggly too. I'll work on getting more video. To celebrate TJ's new accomplishment dad bought him his very first basketball hoop! Hopefully I'll get some video of that as soon as he figures it out.

4 Months Old!

New Discoveries

It seems like TJ discovers something new every day. This past week we had 2 big discoveries. TJ found his feet and he's starting to mimic. It started on the changing table, TJ brought his legs up and just grabbed his foot one day. Now he does that every time he gets changed and dives for them when he's sitting on my lap. He hasn't quite gotten them in his mouth yet - I think he has too many rolls in the way for that. ;-)







Another funny picture from this morning. TJ was playing in his gym while I was making some toast for breakfast and fell asleep. Suddenly I heard his piano and looked over. He had fallen asleep with his elbow on his piano. Too funny! Unfortunately, he only lasted 15 minutes until his piano playing woke him up.






TJ also "kisses" me! Check out the video on our shutterfly site!

The mom hair cut

I hated to do it, but I had no choice. Last week I cut off all my hair. I have been losing just fist fulls of hair, shedding uncontrollably everywhere. During pregnancy, your body (with the help of prenatal vitamins) holds onto hair. After you give birth you start losing that 9 months worth of hair rather rapidly. So annoying! I'm still losing hair in rather scary quantities, but since it's about 8 inches shorter, it's slightly less bothersome. It'll grow back! :-)

Here's my new mom-do! But not a soccer mom do at least, lol.

TJ's Television Debut!

Today was a big day! We went down to the lake for the weekend so we could go to the Penn State vs. Illinois game in Champaign. We planned ahead to tailgate and had a nice big group. Unfortunately, most of them were Illinois fans but my family was all decked out in our Penn State gear. TJ even dressed up in a lion costume complete with a navy and white striped scarf that grandma knitted for him!

The weather was pretty crappy - very chilly and overcast all day. TJ was a trooper though, he was happy the entire day. It's a good thing we had the lion costume, he kept super warm. He didn't pay any attention to the actual football game but was super intrigued at all the people around us. The few Penn State fans that were sitting by us were very impressed by his costume. Some people may think we're crazy for taking our 3 month old to activities such as this but the more places we take him the easier it becomes and the better he is in these situations. He spent about 4 hours in my lap and didn't complain at all.

Towards the end of the game most of the Illinois fans were leaving (they were losing pretty bad) so we went down towards the field and over to the PSU section to try and get a picture with the lion. We got a lot more than that! The PSU fans couldn't get enough of TJ the lion - I had person after person ask if they could take a picture of him. One gal even told her husband that she wanted a baby just so she could have a mini lion like TJ - her husband was not amused, haha. The lion was also impressed, coming right over to take pictures with TJ.

Low and behold, we suddenly had camera crews on us filming TJ the lion. When the camera appeared lots of people were jumping around trying to get in front of us. The camera guy actually asked people to move and said he wanted to get a shot of the baby! A short while after the game grandma and grandpa Cedar called and said we were on TV! They had us on for a good 10-15 seconds. TJ is famous!


TJ with Mom & Uncle John



TJ & Uncle John



TJ and the Lion