A New Baby and Going to "Waukee"

Once again, I am a little behind on the blog posting! Sorry. The big news in the Johnson household is that Thomas is going to be a big brother! I am due January 24th, which makes me a bit over 14 weeks. I definitely started popping out a lot sooner with this little one. I could have put on maternity clothes at 9 weeks and been perfectly happy. Everything is going right on schedule. We've had two doctor's appointments and she said that everything looks great. We've tried telling Thomas that there is a baby in mommy's belly, but...he seems to think it is in his belly. :) The other morning he asked to give the baby a hug and it about melted my heart.

We took a trip to Milwaukee this past weekend, or as Thomas calls it...Waukee. Charlie took a USA Rugby Coaching Certification course. He said that it was a good experience and he's glad that he went. Thomas and I went along and played all weekend. The pictures below are evidence to that.

This picture is at the beginning of our 6 1/2 hour car trip. Thomas did very well in the car. We didn't even have to pull out the borrowed DVD player. He entertained himself with books, toys and snacks. Charlie sat in the back most of the way (I was feeling a bit car sick in the back), so the two of them had a fun time.

This summer at the local pool and in Waukee, Thomas has discovered how much he likes swimming. While we were in Milwaukee, he kept asking for the pool. We went both evenings and had fun. Thomas loves to jump off the side...he is fearless. He also discovered that hanging from the rim of a basketball hoop, after dunking it, is also very fun.

Thomas and I went to the Children's Museum for the morning on our first full day there. It was such a cool place! They had a life size Brio train set, a "Little Town" which had a grocery store, bank, tv studio, auto shop, there was also a music area, puppet show and art center. We had a great time. Thomas has discovered that he is quite partial to the Black Eyed Peas Song, I've Got a Feeling, which he calls the Do It song. He asks for it in the car all the time. Well, he lucked out at the museum, they had a kids game that played a "Kids-type" remake of it. He recognized it right away and started yelling, "Do It song, mommy!!" then he started dancing. This picture is a bit fuzzy, but you get the idea.

Thomas and I spent most of Sunday at the Milwaukee County Zoo. What a great zoo!! We had a fantastic time there. I think we saw every animal two or three times and rode the "choo choo" tour bus. Thomas was so excited to ride around on the choo choo and kept yelling, "woo woo choo choo," and saying hello to everyone that we saw. It was fun to watch him watch the animals. He usually pointed out the animals to me and then made the sound that they make. I think his favorites were the giraffes, hippos and elephants.

New adventures for Thomas:

• Like I say every time...his vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. He listens to everything and remembers it! My birthday was yesterday and he replayed the whole morning to me..."Mommy, Thomas flower happy birfday. Thomas hode it. Too Heaby. Daddy Hode it." Translation...Mommy, I brought you flowers for your birthday. Thomas wanted to hold it, but it was too heavy. Daddy held it. We can actually have conversations with him now...sometimes it takes a while to get it all figured out, but it's so cool.
• Thomas loves to dance. He has liked doing this for a while, but more and more now he wants to dance. He loves music and just has to move.
• Thomas is learning how to use his words, instead of hitting, screaming or doing other things. We haven't had a whole lot of trouble with this, but it's fun to hear him talk about it. He'll come home from daycare and say, "Jo Jo words, mom. Time out, Jo Jo. Jo Jo sit. Thomas words. Sorry Jo Jo." Jo Jo (Joseph) is his good friend at daycare. They are about two months apart, so they have a great time together but can also clash.
• We are really watching what we say around Thomas..."Oh Crap" and "Oh Geez" have been coming out of his mouth. :) I'm guilty of both of those. We are working on Oopsy and tonight he said, "Uff da!" What a good little Minnesotan.

We are heading to Seattle soon, to visit some of my family and friends. We will also have Thomas's 2nd birthday coming up! This means that I will have to post something else, sooner than a month and a half from now!!! Stay tuned...