Thaddeus

Thaddeus Walking

2010-02-06T17:14:46Z

(Apparently there were no objection at the time this video was made to Thaddeus walking with a crayon in his mouth.)

10 Months

2010-01-27T21:28:50Z

We finally made it in to the doctor and Thaddeus weighed 18 pounds 3 oz measuring 28 inches long. He has started to walk, but is totally ignorant of the fact. He thinks he needs to hold on to something and cruise around, but will sometimes take several steps holding a toy in his hand...
He continues to mimic his big siblings and loves to climb up on the couch or trampoline and try to jump like them. He has had two bloody noses in reward for his efforts. His also earned a fat lip trying to climb over the large box we put in front of the tree in order to keep him out.
TJ sings himself to sleep many nights and is also able to reach up and play the piano. He also loves to join Eila in her cheerleading and claps and smiles along with her. We got a pass to a local kids indoor jungle gym and Thad has lots of fun climbing and exploring there, but still loves the outdoors the best. He is often standing at the window looking out or trying to push his way out the door.

Quiet and Quite Quick

2009-12-06T00:06:37Z

Thaddeus is very, very curious. He is also very quiet. This combination is proving to be a bit dangerous for him. He will creep away silently to explore all the potential adventures in the house. Thad is crawling super quickly now and so we don't always notice when he has left the immediate area, especially if I am trying to do something like making dinner.

He enjoys playing with or at least near Eila and Josiah, and when they move to a different location tries to follow them. Unfortunately, he tried to follow Eila downstairs yesterday to play with Josiah and tumbled all the way down. He wasn't hurt, but now his big brother and sister understand exactly why it's so important to shut the door and gate when they go to the basement.

Thaddeus loves water. He often climbs up the step stool in the bathroom and checks out the sink. He also has been trying to discover what is in the toilet; TJ is quite persistent.

With the Christmas tree up, Thad is pulling off needles and using branches to stand up. He is attempting to unplug the lights and take them on and off the tree (with his mouth). Despite his love of putting things into his mouth, Thaddeus is not actually eating anything and does not swallow anything he examines orally or any food either.

West Coast

2009-11-19T00:00:05Z

TJ went to Los Angeles for a long weekend and enjoyed being outside in the sunshine. He was happily carried along as I hiked around Malibu Creek State Park and even enjoyed climbing over a few rocks near the rock pool. He seemed especially to love the beach, stomping his feet in the mud and picking up sand and watching it fall. Thaddeus was pretty upset when I tried to take the sand from him as he attempted to taste it.
He was a great sleeper during each meal, but Thad wasn't terribly fond of the nail salon and maintained his usual disdain for the carseat. He was extremely excited to be home and gave his Daddy the biggest smile ever at the airport. After being smothered with loving welcome hugs from his siblings, TJ was ready to get back to crawling around and tasting everything in sight.

So Many Toys, So Little Time...

2009-10-29T12:40:46Z

Trying to stay awake and play instead of sleep has already begun and TJ is often distracted from nursing, falling asleep and diaper changes with a great desire to go join his big sis and bro in all sorts of playing. He loves to sit at the piano and play a soft melody, stand at the table and bang, crawl over pillows and blankets of the forts, knock over block houses, farms, and trains, roll over and race for the edge of the bed or couch, grab at food, faces, and hair to see what they might feel like.

Cruising

2009-10-22T13:04:56Z

Little Thad thinks that he is big stuff. Having mastered the army crawl and sitting up, he has moved on to constant practice of climbing and pulling up on things. He is often trying to climb on the printer or up the step stools. This week he also decided that he likes to stand up, so he is pulling himself up on any and everything that he can reach. Thaddeus has let go several times and then found himself immediately crashing to the floor. He has also transferred successfully from the couch to the coffee table and is cruising around the table or exersaucer or rocking chair without too much trouble.

Six Months

2009-10-14T18:33:18Z

Thaddeus John is 17 pounds and 26.6 inches long. He is exceptionally strong and sturdy for his age and moves at a good pace with his army crawl. He loves to put things in his mouth, but has a very strong tongue-thrust reflex still. TJ will eat chew up and moisten anything he can, and shows a strong preference for paper, leaves, and crayons. He is taking two naps a day now and sleeps from 8:30ish to 7:45ish with 3-5 interruptions in there. He has a quick and effective raking grasp and likes to try to grab ahold of anything that comes across his path. Thad's favorite toys are currently champignon, blocks, Eila's headbands, Josiah's trains, piano pedals, plugs and outlets, and the broom.

Creeping Along

2009-09-22T14:46:01Z

About two weeks ago, Thaddeus decided that he had had enough watching everyone around him move and get what they wanted while he just laid back. He started slowly creeping one or two little reaches toward various interesting toys that belong to his big siblings - most often paper. He would turn around in circles checking out the nearby options. Then within a day, he was army crawling across the room to get a desirable object. Last week, he was up on his hands and knees rocking back and forth, lunging forward and then falling as he lifted up one of his appendages. Now, he has mastered moving from sitting to crawling position to creeping and can move (with much effort and very slowly) all around. He seems to enjoy checking out what is under the piano bench and often ends up there surveying the action in the rest of the house.

Enamored

2009-08-17T12:13:59Z

Thaddeus loves his big sister... A LOT. No matter what else is going on, he needs to be able to see Eila and if he can't and he hears her, he throws himself around in an attempt to find her. Eila often has him cracking up; she jumps around and talks to him, plays games with him and he finds her absolutely hilarious. When Eila walks into view, he gets excited and seems ready to play - even if he was previously seconds from deep sleep.

First Ride in the Swing at the Park

2009-08-14T19:39:13Z

Learning to Sleep

2009-08-13T01:41:01Z

Thaddeus is currently learning to go to sleep on his own. This usually leads to a period of intense crying right around 9pm. Then he falls asleep after Shannon cuddles him tightly.

Ok, maybe he hasn't quite learned it yet...

Four Months

2009-08-02T18:31:05Z

Thaddeus is now 15 pounds, 3 oz. and 26.6 inches long. That puts him at average weight and super long for a four month old boy. Mornings are a very happy time of day for the whole family. Thaddeus usually goes back to sleep for a nice nap after saying good morning to everyone. He takes another good two naps or so throughout the day with intermittent times of playing and eating. In the evenings, he nurses frequently and then goes to bed around the same time as his siblings and sleeps until about 2 am, when Josiah and him like to get in bed with Mama for a bit.

He smiles and coos regularly. He laughs at the most random times, especially when Eila is jumping around and talking to him. Thad just loves his big sister and thinks she is the funniest thing around. If it is quiet enough to hear him, he will talk happily for quite a while. He enjoys being tickled and watching fans turn around. Thaddeus loves to be in the sling, especially when he is tired and he'll gladly sleep on Mama all the time.

Diaper changes are a very happy time for Thad as he gets a lot of one-on-one face attention during that time and often a zerbert or two or twenty (depending on if Eila and Josiah are helping). Some of the new tricks that he is working on include blowing raspberries and attempting to roll over. He has rolled from his front to his back once, but has not yet gotten the back to front. Since he is getting stronger, we've gone in the jogging stroller (sitting up) a few times and even made a trip to the zoo where he slept peacefully in it.

Nicknames

2009-06-27T22:44:20Z

Flabbeus Maximus
Drooleus Maximus
Fladdeus
Fabulous
Thaddy
Taddy
Thad
Crabbeus

2 Months

2009-06-02T01:22:08Z

Thad is very average at 50th percentile for weight and height. He is observing all of the normal growth and development milestones just as prescribed. He smiles and coos. Thaddeus tracks objects with his eyes (like his mobile) and startles at loud noises (like his siblings). He has been a great sleeper going up to six or seven hours between feedings on occasion at night. He is often being carried very tightly and close to his mother and loves it except for the sometimes great heat that goes with this.