Where has my little Tommy gone?

Indoor playground time at the McWane Center

Tommy has turned into such a big boy, and I'm not sure when it happened. My cute little baby has disappeared, and an independent little man has taken his place. I love this new Tommy, but I have to admit I miss my baby. I miss him falling asleep in my lap, I miss his cute little "uh-oh" when something fell, I miss being able to put him in adorable little one piece outfits. Here are some of the new Tommyisms:

He has to walk to and from the car by himself (holding my hand) and won't let me carry him. He also has to climb into the carseat by himself, but he does let me buckle him.

He says "Thanks" instead of his cute little "tank-q."

He has to wear rugged little boy clothes because he climbs and digs and gets really messy at daycare.

At bedtime he has to sit in the chair, and he tells me to sit on the "ground" while he reads me a book. Then he gets down and crawls into bed by himself. He does let me cover him with a blanket and give him a kiss at least.

He sings me songs. If I try to start singing, he often says "No Mommy" and then sings it himself. Sometimes he lets me sing along, or help him remember the words if he forgets. He does let me sing Old McDonald, although he tells me which animal to use.

This new (improved?) Tommy is a lot of fun. He loves to play outside, and watching him in the sprinkler always makes me laugh. His favorite food is "peanut butter candy" (Reese's cups). He still loves Mickey Mouse, although Jake and the Pirates is giving Mickey a run for his money these days. He knows lots of colors, tons of animals, basic shapes, all his letters, and can count to 12 (and to 20 if you don't need the numbers in order). He knows that TOMMY spells his name. He knows what Mommy and Daddy's real names are. He loves to swing, especially when we push him high. His favorite activity in the truck on the way to work is spotting the tractors (lots of construction going on). He says "I love you" a lot now, although sometimes he's talking about swinging, or Cheezits, or tractors, or whatever has his attention at the moment. Most of the time he says it to us, and it's usually followed by a big hug and sloppy kiss.

He does not want to be potty trained, but we've got plenty of time for that later.

So, my baby Tommy is gone. This new little boy Tommy is a lot of fun, and can be quite sweet when he wants to. I'll enjoy this new phase as long as I can, because I know that before too long he'll be moving on to a new one.

Enjoying some down time with Hank and the froggie boots