Another Video...

Carey and I had to do a video for Christmas at church and it came out okay - so here it is!

Merry Christmas Everyone

Just a little video I created for our Christmas Eve church service that I thought was good for everyone at this time of year. Some copyright infringements may have been committed....

Merry Christmas to you and your family from us and ours!

Thomas the Multi-tasker

Okay, okay. So all kids eat and then fall asleep all the time, and we see the face end up in the mashed potato... nothing new...

But Thomas! He's talented (what pride?). He can eat and sleep at the same time. Vegemite sandwich in hand, he attempts to eat, however he had fallen asleep. Does he stop? NO! He just keeps right on going... And eventually the food falls out of the mouth and the head drops to the shoulder.

Funniest Home Videos here we come!

Thomas the crazy monster!!

So Thomas is well and truly into 'toddler' status now... Stomping around the house and terrorising the dog (who can give his own back, mind you). 

I have decided to rename him "Stitch" after Lilo and Stitch movie's character. He walks around the house, like Stitch being Godzilla, and makes a big mess of everything i have freshly cleaned. He knocks down toys, pulls clothes out of drawers, puts sultanas on the ground... Does my head in!!

But on the upside, his independence means time to do things I never got to do before when I had a 'needy' baby. 

What a character. My little Stitch monster.

Thomas feeding himself (Mumm's not allowed to...)

Thomas Turns One!!

Happy birthday to Thomas! Although nearly a month ago now - here are some pics from the little man's big day and party. 

Another vid

I'm particularly fond of this video - one for the Grandmas...

Update...

So the bad news is that I haven't blogged for a month. The good news is we have a Mac now and I'm sooooo techie smart... I know how to make videos!! Yay!! 

More Happy Snaps

Continued....

Happy Snaps

With my new phone, I have had the opportunity to catch some lovely moments. I recently put them on my computer and here are the results:

Summer Lovin'

How good is this warm weather?? For the first time, Thomas is old enough to really play in the water - and it's not too cold for his little feet. So far we've been down the coast and up to Southbank with many more to come! We love the beach and pools, so we hope he will too.

Thomas' Firsts (so many of them)

Wow. I am totally blown away. Totally.

Thirteen years to the day exactly after Carey and I began dating, our firstborn child takes his first steps. Beautiful.

Maddy visits

Uncle Geoffie came around with his new camera today, and we all had a little play... The babies are so cute together. Madison and Aunty Sarah were there too!!

The Lucky Boy

I haven't been to a lot of live sport - I know that may shock those of you who really know me... But Thomas, lucky little boy that he is, has already been to three live soccer matches. I don't know if maybe we're influencing him a little too much to like a certain sport (insert sarcasm here)... but he seems to have fun.

I know the first two are repeat photos, but it's the timeline that's cool.
He's really growing up! What a little champion.

Clever Thomas

Thomas loves peekaboo! Aunty Katie Biggs was being very funny, and Thomas decided to be funny too!

Peekaboo!!

Thomas can crawl!!!

You asked for it, I delivered!!

Thomas' first crawl!!!

His own little person

Thomas has a very strong personality! He knows what he likes and doesn't like, and he will try to get what he wants. He is very musical, although Guitar Hero doesn't really count... He bops along to music and claps at the end with others. He loves remote controls and mobile phones - he thinks they taste awesome. Also keys. Typical baby type stuff... It's great that he's such a little individual, but we're trying to be very careful that he is not running the household. He loves to yell out loud when he wants something or if we aren't feeding him fast enough, and he's usually met with a calm, rational "Yes, Thomas, is there something you would like? Just tell us quietly". We dunno if it works, but he's so not the boss of me... :)

Okay - time really does fly...

It seems yesterday that Thomas was born - but now he's nine months old. He has FIVE teeth. He can smile, babble, wave, clap, walk while holding onto furniture and hi-5. This new little baby is fast becoming a little boy. He has so much personality and can be so stubborn. He is the absolute delight of our lives and we are so proud of him everyday. However, with me going back to work, time is passing way too quickly. I miss out on seeing him for at least 6 or 7 hours three days in a row. I hardly catch up with housework and the washing is never ever finished. I managed to wean him from breast to bottle, now it's bottle to solids - and there's no end to recipes. He's grown so fast that I'm clearing out his wardrobe constantly and he is now in 0s going quickly into 1s. I've had so many friends have babies since he was born that he has an endless selection of future girlfriends and best mates. And now we face decisions like - how do we say 'no' and mean it? What do we do when he bites? To smack or not to smack? This is all ahead. And people ask if we're having a second soon and wonder why I punch them in the face (well, if only...)!! So forgive me if I haven't been in contact recently, I really do love our family and friends, but life gets hectic!The LaBan family - all four of us.

Five!!! Three up the top, two down the bottom...

Family Photos

We have shared some lovely moments as a family and we have some great photos to remember them. We thank God everyday. We have been richly blessed.

Professional photos by Sublime
Thomas' first soccer game
Nicole's 70's Disco 18th Birthday

Visiting the Hoppers on holidays - a trip to the beach.

Soccer and all things fun...

We all went to the soccer together. This was Thomas' second international friendly match that he has attended live. That's pretty good for an 8 month old... My Nan knitted a beanie in the colours. So cute! We had a pretty good time, and Thomas has good photos to remind him of how great his parents are... :)
The latest match was a friendly against a Brazilian team and it was pretty good. It was put on by the Qld department of multicultural affairs, and was an "against racism" game. So we went along with banners flying and shirts on, and had a really great time.

An alternative view...

Here's one for Mummy too.....

Daddy's Boy

Thomas is such a picture of Carey. In every way he is like his Daddy. He is outgoing like his Mummy, but pretty much everything else including eyes, smile, face, temperament, and, yes, football team. He has a blues outfit too but he's only allowed to wear it if Daddy's gone to work already...

Quality Time

Now that I'm back at work part-time (blechhhh...) the time I spend with Thomas at home has become really special. When I was on leave, every day was great, but I didn't realise just how special those months were. Now whenever I get the chance we have some time to ourselves, whether at home or at the library or out at lunch, and I just take it all in and realise how amazing he is. I also want this for Carey too, as Daddies often get forgotten in the quality time factor, and I try to make sure they enjoy play time together. The other week, when I normally go shopping for weekly baby stuff, I just stayed home and enjoyed my baby. He's great. And I took him to Daddy to visit too.....Play time for Thomas and DaddyMummy and Thomas being silly

Dental Hygiene...

Thomas is such a little champion! We are in this dental health study and it's basically focusing on care of baby's and small children's teeth - we've all seen the kids with rotted teeth - it's gross. So we've been careful to watch for his teeth and make sure he cares for them...


New little teeth!
Keeping healthy teeth takes work!

As time goes by

It's really amazing how time goes by so quickly with a baby... Eight months ago we were childless (except for a bump) and time sort of didn't matter... well, we didn't really notice it passing. But with Thomas life is so much more vibrant and exciting - and fast!!

November 10th, 2008 - the day before he was born.


Tiny little baby just bornA month old or so...

A few months have passed...Six months old!! When did that happen???
Then all of a sudden heading to eight months??????????

Life really is more important - everyday is such a precious gift. Alone, you can become self obsessed and insular... and not really notice other people - but with a baby you are forced to look at everyday as a new day. It all happens so fast! I guess that's why people always say that having children makes you feel old. Amazing.

Lucky little Thomas with his many Great-Grandparents... He loves it - and I am getting heaps of photos with them. We went with my Mum's parents to a function and Thomas got plenty of cuddles!

Nature!

I just wanted to share some of the more amazing things I have seen recently... A whale frolicking in the ocean - they're so big... how do they manage to throw their leviathan bodies out of the water??
And a rainbow coming off the back of a wave... when the wind picks up the top of the wave in the right direction and you are at just the right angle to the sun, you can see a rainbow off the back of a wave... God's promises are everywhere...

My Dad's a great photographer....