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