Trimming the tree

Tad supervised our tree decorating while getting in his workout. It's too bad Johnny doesn't have a matching holiday outfit! We attempted to "Abby proof" the tree this year, so hopefully the ornaments are too high for her to destroy. Crabby Abby had her best bah humbug expression on as she watched from her perch on the couch. Tis the season. Tad is determined to move around these days - rolling across the quilt and swimming on his belly. He is getting excited for Santa's arrival.

ibaby

Who needs toys when you have Grammy's iphone? The iphone kept Elsie, Kit and Tad entertained. Elsie practiced the alphabet, while Tad and Kit thought the iphone might be a good toy to chew on. Apple hooks another generation...

Tad meets Santa

Ho Ho, as Elsie calls him, visited the Salty Dog the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Tad enjoyed his visit with the old man. He is wishing for a tooth - not his two front teeth - just one tooth.

Happy Thanksgiving

Battle of the birds! We enjoyed two turkeys this year - one cooked on the smoker and one cooked traditional style inside. They were both delicious. Tad enjoyed his first taste of cranberries. We are not sure how much he actually swallowed.

Cheers!

Bouncing in the closet.

Dining with the little people.

Reunited!

The Howells gang gathered at Hilton Head to celebrate Pat & John's 40th wedding anniversary over the Thanksgiving holiday. Happy Anniversary Grammy & Poppa! We had a great time - it was a wonderful first Thanksgiving for Tad. He loved playing with all of his cousins. The kids and grandkids stayed in an unbelievable rental house just a few steps away from the Howells' house, where Grammy and Poppa stayed along with the four smooshed faced dogs.

Happy Half Birthday, Tad!

Is this bowl edible too?

Brrrr... we went on a chilly walk. Why do my parents make me look funny?

Fiesta! Apparently my parents celebrated my half birthday after I went to bed with another one of Daddy's amazing dishes. Looks much better than my cereal and pureed fruit and veggies.

Tad turned six months old on November 20th. He celebrated his half birthday with some of his favorite things - a hike and dinner with the Boukaters, as well as some serious bungee bouncing. Wahoo! Tad is into everything these days, grabbing whatever he can find and putting it in his mouth. He keeps us very entertained with his wonderful grin and silly personality.

Tad's likes: his puppies, bananas, yogurt, Sophie the Giraffe, bungee bouncing, being outside, sitting on Grammy's quilt, watching Frenchie wrestlemania (except when fan participation is required and Tad gets knocked over), tubby time, people watching, 4:00 am parties in the nursery (lucky for us these have decreased in frequency), the Bumbo, making loud bird like sounds, the Grammys, Pop, Poppa and all his big cousins.

Tad's dislikes: the dreaded nose bulb (this is on the top of our list of dislikes as well), getting his diaper or clothes changed, slow service when hungry, cold milk, slow walks (Tad is our little trainer as he prefers a rather brisk pace) and socks (he is quite adept at getting them off).

Ladies Man

Tad and Zoe had another hot date this past weekend, supervised by big girl Claire. It's a toss up as to whether Zoe or Tad has less hair. We were reminded of how our lives have changed as everyone left by 8:00 pm!

Playtime with the pups!

Tad had a party in his crib with the Frenchies. Have we totally lost it?

Trick or Treat!

Yum! Tad clearly inherited my sweet tooth.

I would like to say that Tad enjoyed his first Halloween as a hippo, but as you can see from the photos, the costume was not a hit. Perhaps it was the hot polyester fabric and large hippo head, or maybe it was just that he wanted to be a monkey. There is always next year. Bryce was a friendly ghost and Brooke a cute pumpkin. We had a great time with the Boukaters, Andrea, Pat, John and all of the trick or treaters.

We had a special treat this Halloween weekend - Grammy (Jeanne) and Pop arrived in town on Sunday and stayed for a few days. Somehow Grammy managed to escape without posing for any photos. Thanks to Grammy, Tad now enjoys bananas and seems to be getting the hang of this eating thing. While he will put just about anything in his mouth these days, Tad is still partial to his toes.