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Friday, January 8th:
Bodie will be 13 months old and has decided to walk not crawl today. It was a slow transition, but a bruise free one.

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Sunday, December 13th:
Bodie will be 13 months old on Tuesday. He holds objects up to his ear and says, "hello." We're counting that as his first word. "Ut oh" is also a favorite, but doesn't really count.
He's attempting to walk solo 50% of the time and could make it across the room if he'd stop laughing so hard.

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Friday, November 27th:
Bodie got over his nursemaids elbow/fracture quickly. He only wore his cast for 6 days over Halloween week. Luckily the cast fit into his duck and dragon costumes for all of the parties and parades.
We had a nice small, family party with cake one night after dinner for his birthday. And then we went on an overnight trip to Milford, PA and a waterfall adventure for the big 1st birthday event. We all had a blast.
Bodie's 1 year well check was a success. He's on the charts and holding steady at 25 lbs. He's in the 75-95% for everything. He's getting taller at 30" and slimming down. And he's taking a few steps too. Look out.

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Tuesday, October 13th:
At almost 11 months old he's cruisin'. Bodie crawls super fast and walks around all of the furniture. His top teeth are breaking through as I write this. He's looking more like a toddler than a baby now that he is upright most of the time.

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Thursday, August 27th:
Bodie was 25 pounds at his 9 month well check. He is back on the charts and living large at 90-95%, which is great news. He has his two bottom teeth and is crawling around fast, in a belly dragging sort of way. He has his eye on the stairs and can manage to get up and down one step into our new addition with no problem.

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Tuesday, August 11th:
First tooth is FINALLY through. And he's feeding himself the cheerios now. They grow up quick.

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Monday, August 3rd:
Bodie is almost 9 months old and has his first tooth today. I can't say 100% that he is crawling. His belly is not necessarily off the floor, but he can get across a room through various methods of movement (i.e. rolling, scooting, army crawling, etc). He still likes to go with the flow which is healthy for all of us.

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Friday, July 17th:
Bodie, 8 months old, eating cheerios, and wearing size 18 months. Lordy.

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Monday, June 1st:
Big Bodie
Bodie had his 6 month well check today. He is 21 pounds and 26 1/2 inches long!!! He is only staying on the charts because he's actually 6 1/2 months old at this point. He's happy and healthy. Bodie is eating soft foods and loves those Gerber puffs. The spit up is few and far between since we started food. J&R sometimes call him Pop Tart as a nickname. Not sure why.

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Tuesday, May 26th:
Bodie, sweet Bodie.
He is the easiest, most laid back baby I know. He goes every where. Does everything. And doesn't complain.
He's not on any kind of schedule. Still is a good sleeper. And a good eater.
He started cereal and jar food and loves it. He now sits and plays and crawls like an inch worm.
He absolutely loves his brothers and can't wait to catch up to them.
He's even growing some hair and it's looking pretty red!

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Wednesday, April 1st:
It's April Fools Day, but this is no joke. Bodie is rolling over.

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Monday, March 30th:
Bodie has a seat at the family dinner table. He is a little over 4 months old and is starting rice cereal. He got a thumbs up at his well check today. He's on the charts, but barely. Bodie boo is in the 97th percentile for weight and over 90% for height and head. He weighs 19 lbs naked and is 26 inches tall. That's as tall as J&R were at 6 months and as heavy as they were at 1 year old.
No concerns. Happy, healthy, growing boy. Still a good eater and sleeper. We're very lucky.
He has started to giggle out loud, loves tummy time and is enjoying his exersaucer and other new found toys.

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Monday, February 16th:
Bodie turned 3 months old yesterday and is all smiles lately. We can't wait to hear that first belly laugh join his happy expressions. He's sitting up with props, enjoys tummy time and is averaging 7-9 hours a night. Thank you Bodie!
He made his first long car trip to Pittsburgh this past weekend with no problems.
He's keeping his blue eyes so far.

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Tuesday, February 3rd:
Bodie's check up went very well. He's above average for everything and if not for the fact that he was actually a little more than 2 months old at his check-up he'd be off the charts for weight. He's in the 97th percentile just 2 ounces shy of 15 pounds. He's a big boy and still sleeps between 6 and 8 hours a night and hardly ever fusses. He's a spitter, but a happy one. No worries. We couldn't hope for a better baby.

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Wednesday, January 21st:
Bodie's two month check-up is next week. We are dying to know what he weighs, because he is enormous. He sleeps 8-10 hours a night. Lucky us.

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2008:

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Monday, December 22nd:
Bodie's one month check-up was a HUGE success. He's in the 90th percentile for everything and only a 1/2 ounce shy of 11 pounds. What a big boy!!!
Just to compare, J&R didn't weigh 11 lbs until they were 4 months old.

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Wednesday, December 10th:
We should count the hours fast before our luck changes - last night we got 7 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep!!!
Bodie is an eater and a sleeper too. He's a formula baby who sucks down 3 to 6 oz a feeding, we co-sleep and he cluster feeds non-stop from 8 pm until 11 pm or midnight.
It must be doing the trick, because he normally only gets up around 4 am and then not again until 8 am, but last night I guess he forgot because he slept straight through.
Thank you Bodie.

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Monday, December 8th:
It looks like Bodie will have the same color hair as J&R. We're not exactly sure what that color is, but it's a mix of dirty blonde and red. And so far his eyes are only getting more and more blue. That is a nice surprise if it sticks.
He's a good baby overall so nothing major to report.

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Saturday, November 29th:
Happy two week birthday Bodie. He's an eater (and also sometimes a spitter). We have no idea what he weighs now, but we think he's going to be huge. He already eats 3-4 oz every 3-4 hours and has outgrown the small bottles, newborn diapers and PJs. Jack & Red didn't weigh 8 lbs until they were 2 months old. Bodie is now likely the same size as they were at 3 months. He's coming along nicely.

A few people have mentioned to us that Patrick Swayze's character in Point Break was named Bodhi. We didn't name our son after him, but we're okay with this information. His roles in Dirty Dancing, Ghost and Road House were lame and/or horrible, but he is awesome in cult classics like Point Break, Donnie Darko and Keeping Mum.

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Saturday, November 15th:
Introducing...
BODIE F THOMAS
Born on November 15, 2008
at 1:08 p.m.
Weighing in at 8 lbs, 3 oz
(roughly the weight of Jack and Red, combined, at birth)
20 inches long
blonde hair, blue eyes

Our photos can be seen by clicking here
Gram & Pop Pop took photos too

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Tuesday, November 4th:
The guys are totally into the baby thing. This is 4 minutes of cute that you have to see. Check it out here.
Note: It may take a minute for the video to start playing.

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Monday, November 3rd:
Mom is exhausted, but boy #3 is still head down and feeling groovy. The doctor gave us the green light this morning to wait it out as long as we can. We can go past our due date if need be and wait to see if nature kicks in. If not, a c-section will be scheduled, but the good news is that everyone is doing well and we might get one weekend with the kids before the baby arrives where we are not working on our house. We're thinking about a possible trip to the Philly Zoo, the new Please Touch museum, Strasburg Railroad or something like that. Cross your fingers we make it 10 more days to November 13th or later.

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Monday, October 27th:
I am now considered full-term. I think people who are normally this pregnant often say that they are ready right now (at 37 1/2 weeks). But I want this kid to stay in there until his due date of Nov 13th or even later would be great. The good news is that there are no signs of him coming out, today at least. He's still head down, so VBAC is possible if my body cooperates. The surges of blood pressure, slight puffiness and overall yucky feeling I've had for the past week are "normal" and due to hormones and such. I have no clue, because I never made it this far before and I can't compare this pregnancy to the last one. That one was crazy. Anyway, no news is good news. We'd like to get a few more things finished with our home addition before we start the sleep deprivation routine again.

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Monday, October 6th:
Bye bye breech
The boy turned. Yeehaw. Cross your fingers that he stays turned into the home stretch. We're hoping to get as close to our due date of November 13th as possible.
I'm at the point in this pregnancy (35 weeks) when I gave birth to the boys.
P.S. My addiction to McDonald's sausage biscuits is over. Thank goodness.

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Wednesday, September 24th:
Sort of sucky news.
The baby is breech. There is a slim chance he will turn on his own, but with every week that passes, and he gets bigger, he's less likely. They won't attempt to turn him b/c of risks associated with my previous surgery. So it's 90% likely I will have another c-section. I'm really disappointed, but it is what it is. I'm almost 33 weeks now. If we schedule a c-section it would be around 38 weeks, so that's Halloween time!
By the way, have you seen the Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator?

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Tuesday, September 17th:
What's in a name?
According to research a whole heck of a lot.
A bad name will haunt you and predict your success in school, work and life. We thought we had our list narrowed down and we weren't going to do a "thing" or a "theme" for our kids. The name of baby boy #3 doesn't necessarily have to match or flow with Jackson & Redford. But we like what we like. You may see a totally different short name or you may see another long name with a nick name. We're just not sure yet. This is hard.

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Sunday, August 31st:
I'm actually pregnant.
I'm starting to slow down, eat more and get bigger.
I'm about 6 1/2 months, or 29 weeks, along. I've gained 12 pounds and counting and I feel the baby move all of the time. I'm still addicted to McDonald's sausage biscuits, but have only had about 8 total. All in moderation people.
Carrying two 25 pound two-year-olds with a beach ball belly is getting more difficult, but overall I feel good. Much better than last time when at 6 months I was on bed rest, was starting to show signs of blood pressure issues and by 7 months had lots of swelling. This time is a breeze. I really can't complain except that I am very tired.

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Tuesday, July 29th:
McDonald's has me under it's spell
I am 5 1/2 months pregnant and have had 5 McDonald's sausage biscuits to date. This makes me really mad. I crave them every single day. I blame McDonald's as the sole source or influence behind:
- the destruction of the family farm and depreciation of their crops
- the creation of feed farms and poor treatment of cattle to meet the demand of cheaply marketed food
- corn fed beef and therefore the use of antibiotics in our meat
- the massive, cheap production of high frustose corn syrup for soda and almost everything else that requires sweetening
- skyrocketing obesity rates in the U.S.
- the arrogant attempt to americanize every other country on earth
You'd think that if I opposed McDonald's so strongly I wouldn't eat there. But I am pregnant and I cannot resist the force.

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Monday, July 7th:
Maternity clothes are a must
I started popping out right around 20 weeks and am now past the "fat or pregnant?" stage. The boy moves mostly at night, but no major kicking yet. We are thinking about names and have it narrowed down to just a few. The name, like the child, will have to be able to stand on it's own. He will have a hard enough time being constantly compared to his brothers or lumped into their "group." So we're not necessarily looking for something to match Jackson and Redford (i.e. longer name with a nick name). Plus if you add another long name it may sound too Southern or too Martha's Vineyard.
Suggestions are welcome.

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Is anyone a math tutor?
Clearly we will need one for our kids.
A friend (Lia the smarty pants) just pointed out that it would be impossible for the boys to be one year apart in school even if we hold Jack and Red back.
J&R's birthday is August, so they make the September cut off, but we will wait until the following year when they are 6.
They will be 27 months older than baby boy #3 who will have a November birthday, therefore will not make the September cut off and will be 5, almost 6, when entering kindergarten.
This is way too much to think about right now. Please make it stop.

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Friday, June 27th:
Economies of scale in action
We will be the proud parents of three boys come November.
We thought from the very beginning that we were having another boy and are very excited that Jack and Red will have a little brother. We're "boy" people. I don't mean to assign gender to our lifestyle, but we can't wait to get these kids onto the slopes, paddling a kayak and camping in tents. You know what I mean - we're not shoppers. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
The boys will likely only be one year apart in school since Jack and Red are twin boys with an August birthday. That is going to be a lot of fun. And a lot of money for college at one time, but less money for weddings some day.

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Tuesday, June 17th:
Let the kicking begin
I felt the first kick last night. And I've been getting dizzy when standing up too fast. Time to start laying on my left side again.

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Tuesday, June 3rd:
I'm pregnant?!?
Apparently I am 17 weeks pregnant, according to our doctor. I have not been keeping track. I have not read any books or looked at babycenter.com at all. This pregnancy is a breeze. No morning sickness again, less appointments, and I have yet to gain even one pound. No heart monitors and no specialists. I wish I could say I've been eating well like the first time around, but it's simply not true. I am extremely anti-McDonald's, but found myself craving their sausage biscuits and stopped there twice this month. I normally don't eat there twice a year unless left with no other option on I-95. Oh well, there is just too much going on in life to fuss about it. The extreme exhaustion of the first trimester is fading and we're looking forward to finding out the gender in 3 weeks.

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Friday, May 9th:
New sibling
When we showed Red the ultrasound photo on our frig he said, "alligator." And when we asked Jack what we should name the baby he said, "Salty" - a character from Thomas the Train.

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Tuesday, May 6th:
Lesson #1: Life is not always fair
I am apologizing right now. This poor child will not have it's own separate pregnancy album, we likely won't have time to take as many photos or videos of this baby, and it will be wearing and using all hand-me-downs if possible. This webpage is the best I can do. Sorry. We do love you.

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Bodie's Blog
Birth Date: November 15, 2008
Two days past due