Lazy days around the Thoma house

I loved this picture of the boys...he definitely is little Chris!

Not such a fan of this one but, Sadie sure is cute!

Sadie and Granny did some snuggling in the sun.

Where was I...

oh yeah, the fourth of July.  That's what my last post was about...which was posted over a month ago.  Seriously, I feel like a slacker.  The truth is, we are busy!  Life has been crazy lately.   So, here's a quick current update before I head back to July and start posting about this summer again.

Chris finished his first trimester at Logan at the end of August.  He got all A's except one B.  I think he really enjoyed what he learned.  Then he got a two week break...the first week he was sick with a virus, then he redecorated Casper's room, Sadie's room, and the hallway.  This place is starting to look like home!

I love my new job, I started at Rabo AgriFinance at the end of July.  It has been hectic and crazy...trying to teach an old dog new tricks.  But, I love being busy and love learning so its working well for me.  Thankfully, I didn't get the virus Chris and the kids had...but I did lose a lot of sleep for about two weeks trying to make everyone feel a little bit better.

Casper is doing well now.  He had been home sick for over a week with the virus.  Thank goodness he's feeling better.  He's such a talker...likes to tell us what happened and make up stories.  All of sudden he's taken an interest in Spiderman.  Not sure why, but now we have spidey shoes, pajamas, umbrella, and anything red or blue is "kinda of like spiderman". 

Sadie is walking.  Just one or two steps at a time but it's really happening.  I can't believe it at 8 1/2 months.  She's had a rough summer with four ear infections back to back.  The doctor referred us to a ENT but we decided to try a few other tricks first.  We switched her to Soy formula and started taking her to a chiropractor.  She's been infection free for over three weeks so things are looking good.  It's amazing what a pleasant and cheerful girl she is...with a beautiful smile!

That's it for now.  A quick update on where we are at.  I'll try to shoot out a few historical posts too...maybe I'll stay on the wagon this time and get caught up.

Fourth of July in Michigan…

Sadie took her first trip out of Missouri over the fourth of July as Mommy, Casper, Sadie, Granny and Poppy headed to Michigan to see the family.  The kids were pretty good travelers, but Mommy could not have done it alone…

While Casper helped out around the house, Sadie hung out with her great-aunts…

Aunt Barb, Aunt Joyce, and Aunt Mary…

Sadie also made the rounds with some other relatives. 

Above is Ember (Mommy’s cousin’s daughter’s daughter) and Ember’s Grandparents Jim and Kathy.

And then there were more cousins…Paige (Mommy’s cousin’s daughter) and Ellie Mae (Mommy’s cousin’s daughter’s daughter)…whew.

Just me, Mom, and the St. Louis Cardinals

Mommy decided to reward Casper at the end of June for being completely potty trained…one day he decided he didn’t want pull ups at night, and potty training was done.  So, we headed out for a Cardinals game…we took the “train” (i.e. Metro) which Casper loved.  We got there early and got a free Yadi bat, which Casper loved.

It was 100 degrees and we had terrible seats, which Casper hated.  Yadi hit a home run, which Casper loved.  They shot off fireworks, which Casper hated.  Now, he was ready to go home and we were still in the 2nd inning. 

After some walking around the stadium, I convinced him to stay a little longer but the next home run/fireworks and he was done.  He didn’t know that I had paid $25 for him to be in the Kids Club and run the bases after the game.  There was no way I was leaving early.  So we looked at all of the souvenir stands, walked up and down the ramps and escalators, and played for over an hour in the kids play area until the 8th inning when we got in line to run the bases. 

Since this line takes you down under the stadium, and Casper didn’t really understand what we were doing, he went into total freak out mode!!  Kicking, yelling, crying the whole works.  I fought hard and held my ground…when we finally walked out on the field and he realized where he was, what he was going to get to do, and that Fred Bird was out there waiting for him, it was worth all the work it took to get him to that point! 

He loved running the bases and loved being on the field.  He took his task very seriously and made sure he ran well.  As he was coming to the sidelines from home plate, Fred Bird caught up to him and walked with him for a couple of steps.  Casper didn’t know he was there so Fred Bird stole his hat. 

Casper still won’t stop talking about naughty Fred Bird and how he stole his hat but gave it back. Everyday at daycare, and anytime when he meets someone new, he makes sure to tell them that he went to a St. Louis Cardinals game, and then shows them his pitching skills!

Swimming lessons…

In June, Casper started taking swimming lessons on the weekends with Miss Abby at our neighborhood pool.  He is learning a lot and is a very good listener for Abby…It helps that Abby is a great teacher!

St. Louis Zoo

We did brave a trip to the Zoo one Saturday with friends from the neighborhood.  We had a lot of fun hanging out with Amber, Drew, and Aaron…I think Casper was a little more brave because he had the boys to follow.

Casper’s favorites were the tiger, the train ride, and the snacks!

Here comes June…it’s like a heat wave!

June was hot!!  We spent a lot of time hanging around inside the house having as much fun as possible…

Sadie is a full fledged crawler and sitter now, so we do spend a lot of time chasing her around and keeping her out of trouble.

Casper’s just a little crazy!!  Super Casper!!

She’s even pulling up to standing!!

I know, she’s the most brilliant 6 month old you have ever met.