The Life and Times of

THOMAS GODFREY MAGILL

Part One: The First Year

Chapter Five: Hello to Orlando

(click thumbnail to see larger picture) New Crib 04/10/2009 New Crib 04/10/2009 New Crib 04/10/2009 New Crib 04/10/2009 New Swing 04/11/2009 New Swing 04/11/2009 New Crib 04/11/2009 Big Fish 04/11/2009 Cute Outfit 04/12/2009 Cute Outfit 04/12/2009 Cute Outfit 04/12/2009 With Great Aunt Linda 04/12/2009 New Toys 04/14/2009 New Toys 04/14/2009 New Toys 04/14/2009 Playing 04/17/2009 Playing 04/17/2009 At Uncle Rob's 04/19/2009 At Uncle Rob's 04/19/2009 At Uncle Rob's 04/19/2009 With Uncles Rob & John 04/19/2009 With Uncles Rob & John 04/19/2009 With Uncles Rob & John 04/19/2009 New Chair 04/22/2009 New Chair 04/22/2009 New Chair 04/22/2009 New Chair 04/22/2009 New Chair 04/22/2009 New Chair 04/22/2009 In My Island Shorts 04/23/2009 In My Island Shorts 04/23/2009 On Daddy 04/23/2009 With John 04/25/2009 Asleep 04/26/2009 On Daddy 04/27/2009 On Daddy 04/27/2009 I Have Hands! 04/28/2009 I Have Hands! 04/28/2009 I Have Hands! 04/28/2009 I Have Hands! 04/28/2009 In My Throne 04/29/2009 My First Swimsuit 04/30/2009 First Swim 04/30/2009 First Swim 04/30/2009 First Swim 04/30/2009 First Swim 04/30/2009 First Swim 04/30/2009 First Swim 04/30/2009 First Swim 04/30/2009 First Swim 04/30/2009

By the time we arrived in Florida, Tommy's curiosity began to reveal itself. After months of trying to get him to interact with his toys or spend time by himself, he finally discovered the joys of play. We set up his swing for the first time, and for a couple of months, he really enjoyed spending time in it. We also set up a few playmats, which were just started to entertain him. He also discovered his hands, which were an endless source of amusement for him. Also, with the help of my brother Adam (a father of three), I built his new crib, which he took to right away. Tommy, luckily, never had trouble sleeping at night, once he was asleep at least. We also got a chance to introduce him to swimming. The first few dips in the water were uncertain, but he didn't cry about it. Once out of the water, he fell asleep immediately, and stayed there for two hours or so. The change to Orlando was a bittersweet move. On one hand, it was stressful, difficult, and humbling to have to leave our independant life in Maryland, but on the other hand, it was incredibly nice being around family. There were certainly perks involved with living amongst my parents and grandparents. For one thing, they were willing babysitters, so Amelia and I had the chance to occasionally escape by ourselves to take in a movie or go out to dinner. For another thing, it was good to have a handy source of parental advice. I went to work at my father's law office and, for a while, all three of his sons were working under the same roof. There were downsides, too, but it's best not to focus on those. Amelia, Tommy, and I also had the chance to visit with my brother, Robert, who lives close to our parents. In the pictures on the left, you can see Tommy with his Uncle Rob and his Uncle John (though not technically related to Tommy, John is an old friend who might as well be family). Rob takes to kids very well, though he is not likely to have any of his own as his wife, Erin, treats children like aliens. As for John, his wife, Belinda, is bound and determined to have kids, so John did his level best to figure out this baby thing, though it goes against his instincts as a recovering bachelor. Each month with Tommy seemed to get better and better. His personality gradually grew, and our parenting instincts quickly improved. As you can see here, he also seemed to get cuter with every passing day, and he knew it.