Don Strange Ranch

The Cattle Baron's Gala Committee had a family picnic at the Don Strange Ranch yesterday as a wrap-up to a successful year. We raised over $300,000 for the fight against cancer. Don was definitely missed and remembered for being a gracious and hard-working chair of the committee. The family activities Don had planned included zip-lining, feeding the longhorns, and per usual, the food was delicious!

Patrick getting ready to zip-line:
Feeding the longhorns:

Patrick and Thomas:

Thomas's first Petting Zoo

We took Thomas to a precious 2 year old birthday party, and they had a petting zoo! Here are some pics....Thomas loved the furry goats and sheep:
Then, he seemed semi-interested in the baby micro-mini pigs...

Standing at the gate giving us that "please, please let me in" look:

This little piggy wanted in Thomas's warm jacket:

These little piggies wanted in his lap:

And these little piggies just loved Thomas!

....but Thomas did NOT love them back...

Nope, he did not love these fearless piggies at all...

The Ervin's and a little piggy - SO cute in person...but this pig kinda looks rat-ish here

A horse for a baby....

While the pictures are blurry, you get the point.... We went to a friend's house Friday night, and they busted out this stuffed animal horse that was the perfect size for Thomas! He was already trying to post / jumping up and down holding onto the reigns....I think we're going to have to get him a horse for his 1st birthday, he's a natural.

Better Late than Never

Even though he's only 10 days away from being 10 months old, we had to make it official and sneak in a 9 month old photo. We'll try to keep it more time for the next few months until his 1st birthday :)

Little monkey

Going to work is so hard when this is what I see every morning! Gives me something to look forward to during the day though! Thomas sleeping til 9:30AM is a blessing on the weekends, he's going to be a night owl like his parents.

Pink Eye and a new Hair-cut!

Last night we took Thomas to an after-hours doctor at Goodnight Pediatrics. His little stink eye went from clogged tear-duct to a case of highly-contagious conjuntivitis...yuck! He'll be better within 24 hours though with his super awesome eye-drops....long story short - CVS is WAY better than Walgreen's. Walgreen's tried charging us $91 and had the absolute rudest staff, so we took the prescription back exchanged unpleasantries (apparently I'm a fiesty pregnant woman) and headed to our neighborhood CVS. $20 later and lots of smiles, Thomas had his eye-drops and is off to a speedy recovery.

We got home and realized his "bangs" were so long they were getting stuck in his eye junk - ewww. So, daddy patrick busted out some scissors and went to work. I don't see him owning a barber shop anytime soon, but for a first hair-cut, it will do.

A chunky monkey

Originally I was supposed to get crafty and make a bam-bam costume, but luckily our friend Marisa Fulmer saved the day!!! Thomas is the perfect chunky monkey anyways....obviously.

Our little prepster

Thomas is such a perfect baby; we take him everywhere! Here is being a perfect angel outside at 20nine, the perfect happy hour spot!

We've got a crawler

Little Thomas is now not quite so little anymore! At his last doctor appointment two weeks ago he weighed between 25 and 26 pounds and was over 30 inches tall!

Today he is officially NINE months old! I have no idea where the past nine months have gone. Thomas has been scooching his little self around for a while now, but he really only got moving for a remote control or cell phone....until last night. I set the little guy on the floor and he just took off! He crawled from one room to the next, but really enjoyed playing with the dresser handles in our room the most. It was really hard to get a picture of him on the move, but here he is investigating daddy's clothing drawers.

August 15th - Grand-Mary's bday & A day to remember

As you may know, our baby Thomas was named after Patrick's cousin Tommy Jacomini who passed away with his family in a tragic plane crash August 15, 2008. The Quiros and Jacomini family hosted the most beautiful remembrance ceremony I have ever had the priveledge to attend this past weekend. The pictures here are from the Jacomini's farm in Round Top.
Thomas's first time in a swing... he loved it!

A Poke In The Eye.

Thomas wanted to give his Poppy a big ole' hug. Awww... so sweet.
Then he decided he wanted to give Poppy a big ole' poke in the eye.
Ouch.


Little Thomas loves giving size huge hugs. We're still working on coordination...

Hal Templeton Baylor

Daddy Hal, Thomas's Great-Great-Grandfather, passed away Monday, July 6, 2009. He claimed to be 93, but his birth certificate suggests he was 96! This picture is a 5 generation picture. Thomas Ervin, Victoria Wright Ervin, Keith Baylor Wright, Sandra Baylor Wright, & Hal T. Baylor.
Daddy Hal's relatives included the founder of Baylor University, a defender of the Alamo, Texas Rangers, an aide de camp for George Washington, and relatives traced back all the way to Ireland. I have recordings of him singing Danny Boy, which I will try to post as soon as I can. He will be remembered for his love of history, and endless entertaining stories. When I was pregnant, he told me that he wanted to live long enough to meet his great-great-grandson, as Daddy Hal was very proud of his growing family. In true Daddy Hal style, he was remembered with a party where everyone was taking shots of Jack & partying to mariachis.

6 months old!!!

Thomas turned 6 months old yesterday! It's unbelievable how quickly the time has gone by. 2009 has been a crazy year to say the least!

Here is little Thomas snoozing his 1/2 year b-day away... such a cutie!

Thomas does Polo

What is cuter than puppies? Thomas in khaki shorts and a Polo of course! Definite stud. It's official now, he says "Mama" and "Dada", and "mama" came first!!! woohoo!

Our little Cutie

Little Thomas is such a poser. He flirted with a girl for the first time this weekend...she was 10 months old! Already going for the older women, he even giggled when she stole his pacifier! We'll have to keep an eye on this precious one:

ER trip disclaimer

Little Thomas was perfectly fine. His little red bump didn't even last a few hours. Dial-a-Nurse freaked us out, which is why we took him to the hospital. The people at Methodist Children's ER are absolutely fabulous. Better to be safe and error on the side of overly-cautious :)

No cat-scan, no x-ray, no nothing. Just a couple free gatorades for the exhausted parents, and a cool souvenior ankle bracelet for the baby Thomas.

He cried more when he got his blood pressure taken with an ankle cuff then he did when he bumped his head!

First Trip to the ER

Unfortunately, I'm sure the first trip to the ER will not be the last. Thomas is getting so big and strong! Dial-a-nurse told us to take him to the ER after he fell about a foot out of his swing and smacked his head on the wood floor. Of course once we got there, they tell us stories about kids who have fallen out of 2nd-story windows. I felt only slightly better about myself, but Thomas seemed to enjoy the change of scenery.

Great - Grandfather's Birthday

Jarrett and Thomas are already BFF's.
Thomas helped his Great-Grandfather celebrate his 77th Birthday!

The first swim!

Drying off with the shark towel from kelly and ashley - his favorite!
Thomas and his Grandmothers!
Puppy Bella wanted in on the fun. She gets super concerned when little man gets fussy. She is VERY protective of her little brother.
3 generations - Thomas, his daddy, and his 2 grandfathers all hanging out in the pool on Memorial Day.
The happy little family, minus Bella .

Memorial Day Weekend

Thomas LOVES to play airplane! I'm getting some legit biceps, little man weighed in at over 16 pounds at his 4 month check-up. He was also 27" long - in the 100+ percentile.He's such a happy baby!

Little man's first trip of many to the Blue Bell Creameries. Maybe next time he'll get to actually eat some ice cream!
About 27 years ago, Patrick wore this onesie. The 80's are revived in this precious pass-down.

Sarah, the Cat.

...Sarah gets a little jealous when Thomas come to visit. But, as long as there is room on her Daddy's lap, she is okay...kinda.

Tummy Time with Daddy...gone WILD...and stinky.

Having good times laughing at each other...
Uh-oh....Thomas got so excited he had a little accident....
On Daddy's face!