Tommy
Tom Webb (AKA. Tom Newman). I married Veronica Grant in 2001, we now have a son Thomas John Frederick Webb (TJ) who was born in Queensland (Aust.) in October 2009. I'm a senior PHP web developer and have been working in the industry since 2002, previous to IT I was in the Royal Aust. Navy for 12.5 years. We lived in the UK for 3.5 years working and travelled as much as we could but now we live back in Perth Western Australia.
Homepage: http://www.tomandvez.com
Posts by Tommy
One year on
Apr 26th
This is the first anniversary of my Nanna passing and I find it extremely hard without her. Nan to me is one of my most favorite people ever, who has influenced my life so much which has helped me get here today with a wonderful family.
There is not a day that goes by that I am not thinking of you and Pop.
I love you and Pop to the moon and stars and back, and I miss you both so much that my heart aches.
This passage was found in Nan’s diary
Tomorrow my love and I
We’ll sleep beneath auburn skies
Somewhere across the border
We’ll leave behind my dear
The pain and sadness I’ve found here
and we’ll drink from the Bravo’s muddy waters
Where the sky grows grey and white
We’ll meet on the other side
There across the border
New Job
Dec 6th
Howdy all. I’ve just started a new position with a company in West Perth called Loaded Communications and although its my second day, things are great here. The people here have been fantastic and friendly, the work is what I’ve been looking for and the best thing about it all is, it’s not far from home, just a short 10 minute ride from home and I’m sitting at my desk ready to go.
Hope you all are well, Veronica, TJ and I are going great. We laid some new grass in our backyard and man what a difference it has made. Veronica’s brothers came over for 2 days and gave me a hand removing the old grass and laying the new stuff. TJ goes crazy and runs all over the backyard now, it has made a big difference.
Anyway guys, take care and hopefully we will catch up with you soon
Tommy
New York wrap-up
Sep 29th
Well New York was fantastic, we had an absolute ball of a time. We did pretty much everything we wanted to do, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, Wall Street tour, American Chopper (OCC), NY bus tour (Up town, Down town and Brooklyn), we did heaps of shopping and walking around everywhere and I even managed to sneak in a Harley Davidson store over near Queens
TJ really enjoyed himself, he was absolutely knackered every day. He had a couple of moments but all up he was great, even on the plane for the big journeys.
We just flew into Hong Kong to wind down, we don’t really have many plans here except to take TJ to Disney Land; oh and to get some cheap massages.
We are back on Saturday night, a days rest before work. It’s been a fantastic holiday but it is always good to come home and of cause to see George II (my bike).
New York City
Sep 18th
After a hell of a long flight we finally made it to NY. TJ was fantastic on the plane, slept and played lots. We are now sitting in Starbucks resting and having a small coffee which is as large as a bucket.
Anyway just a short one to say we made it safely, let the adventures begin.
Bouncy Castle
Aug 2nd
A day out at the fun park, TJ just loved bouncing around, he giggled his butt off.
Mothers Day
May 9th
Well Mothers Day was particularly harder than normal with Nan passing only a couple of weeks ago, but never the less we had a great day.
Veronica, TJ and myself ventured out to the Perth Zoo for a bit of a treat and it was a cracker of a time too. TJ pretty much ran around the entire Zoo with Mum and Dad trailing behind. We got do see lots of animals as well as TJ’s gorgeous renditions of a growling lion and an arm swinging monkey, what a little champion.
After a few hours at the Zoo, TJ was looking exhausted so we popped him in the car and headed to Veronica’s parents house for a nice relaxing afternoon BBQ and for TJ to have a lay down, which incidently didn’t happen, he just ran around the backyard playing with his cousin Paige, having a good ole time.
After full bellies and a few yawns, we headed home and turned in for an early night, what a good day.
Happy Mothers day to all you Mum.
New Job
Mar 18th
Howdy everyone, just letting you all know that I will be finishing up with Digital Dialogue soon and starting my new job with Titan Interactive, I’m really looking forward to starting with these guys.
Digital Dialogue are moving to Fremantle and this is a bit to far for my liking (shame), but the good news is, Titan are just around the corner from where I work now so my travel arrangements won’t change at all.
I’ll let you know my new email and contact details when I start.
New arrival
Mar 15th
CONGRATULATIONS to Brad & Lynda of their new baby boy, fresh out of the oven. Little Fraser John Ellison weighed in at 2.985kg and was born 14 March 2011. Both mum and bub are doing extremely well.
Well done guys!
Queensland holiday
Feb 18th
A quick trip over to see Tom’s family on the Sunshine Coast. It was a really good get together of the family with nearly all the family travelling miles to be there, it was fantastic.
Nan was in hospital for the first few day but they let her out for a few hours to have the whole family together for a big feast. Mum put on a great spread.
TJ had some trouble though, he was teething the whole time we were there, poor little thing. Finally his eye teeth have come through leaving 4 molars yet to come.
It was fantastic to see the family especially for a big get together like that. We didn’t have any time to catch up with friends (sorry about that) but this trio was all about the family.
Mother of all storms
Feb 2nd
Well the grief just doesn’t end, it’s like the weather gods have it in for Queensland with now this category 5 cyclone about to hit. As if the floods weren’t enough.
I rang my uncle Aggie who lives in Townsville which is right in the path of cyclone Yasi and he has secured his house as best as possible but he said with a category 5, its guaranteed that it is going to take most of his house. Which makes me very worried as he is going to stay home with his daughter and ride it out. My aunty works in elderly care and she has gone to work to relocate all the patients to higher ground and ride it out with them.
My other uncle, his pub is in Cardwell which is where they predict the centre of the cyclone is going to hit, so it’s goodbye pub I’m affraid.
I wish you all the best Aggie, Robyn and everyone else who is going to be affected by this.
GOOD LUCK AND BE SAFE!!!


Fire & Floods
Jan 17th
It’s certainly been a close call for my mum in the last couple of weeks. With the Queensland floods moving in and drowning the town that she live in, over in the west of Australia her house was inches away from burning to the ground with fires that’s struck the south west. Most of the property was burnt to a cinder but with a lucky change of wind direction at the very last second the house was spared. The closest tree to the house was burnt black on one side and the other side, untouched, so very lucky.#
However it wasn’t so lucky for a lot of mums neighbours as they lost everything including all their possessions, animals/pets and for some their businesses.

This is a photo of mums house with the water bombers flooding the boundary. The fire department did a fantastic job saving the house, such an under paid and uncredited job, WELL DONE GUYS!
What was pathetic from the whole unfortunate disaster was the so called POLICE who decided to arrest 2 guys (in their 40′s and 50′s) who tried to get back to their house to protect/save everything they have worked hard for. It is one thing to stop these guys for their own protection but there is another thing about taking advantage of turning them into criminals just because they wanted to protect/save their wealth. I find it SHAMEFUL that the very people who think they are protecting us are actually turning good people into criminals. What ever happen to this being a free country and protecting what you own.
PISS POOR COPPERS, you haven’t made any friends from that action that’s for sure.
The Festive Season
Jan 2nd
Christmas:
We had a fantastic Xmas, nice and quiet but very productive. TJ gave us a nice little sleepin until 7:20am which was his pressent to us, then we had a lovely family champagne breakfast.
Later that day we went over to Veronica’s parents place, where we had a fantastic Xmas meal and the desserts was to die for.
TJ ended up with an amazing amount of pressent, more that you could have in a life time and he has gone crazy over all of them.
New Years Eve:
We joined Leanne, Zack, Tamika & Xavier at the Perth zoo for new years. It was a great night, the kids just went stupid, TJ couldn’t stop hugging everyone.
There was thousands of kids and parents, there was heaps of entertainment with kids characters that I’ve never heard of but they loved them, so what the hey. Great night.
Bike Ride
Nov 21st
We had a big day of riding today. We pulled out our push bikes and went for a ride around the river for the Santos Great Bike Ride, Keir joined us for the occassion. It was only a 10km ride which was easy enough on the bike and little TJ was loving it, he enjoyed it that much that he fell asleep in his bike seat.


TJ’s 1st birthday party
Oct 20th
We had a fantastic day, lots of friends and family, even TJ’s Nanna flew over from Queensland for his special day. Our little man was very spoilt with lots of gifts, which we would like to thank you for, he is going nuts playing with them all.
Walking
Oct 14th
TJ is up and away. He has been pretty active on his feet for sometime now with a step or 2, but on Saturday just gone he decided today was the day, so he got up and walked from the edge of coffee table right over to us about 3 metres away.
Now that it has been a few days later he really has found his feet and is walking everywhere, it is so good to see, it just makes you laugh when you see him running towards you with his arms up for balance
Perth Royal Show
Sep 28th
Well the Webb family ventured off to the Royal Show on Sunday. The weather was fantastic the crowds were tollerable and TJ had a blast. Veronica took him on the merry-go-round, he was so excited he had to stand on the horse instead of sitting and when it was all over he was very uspet to get off. We ventured off to side-show-alley where TJ won a couple of small teddy’s by catching a fish and hooking a duck.
Next was the farm animals, TJ had and absolute ball looking at all the animals especially when it was time for the sheep and goats, he just had to get on the ground and give them a good ole pat.
We all had a great day and TJ even had his first lick of icecream. It was so funny seeing his little face covered in cream and he was just licking away loving it. I think we starting him on something that he is going to be asking for alot.
Swimming Lessons
Sep 28th
TJ had his first swimming lesson on Saturday (25-Sep-2010) and he had a great time. He went under the water a few times, sang songs and splashed around with all the other kids, it was fantastic, he really loved the water, which is great now that we have a pool.
The new house
Sep 14th
We are in the new house. After a week of painting, getting new carpets/curtains and cleaning we finally moved in over the weekend. We hired a truck, had Danny and Freddy help us and before we knew it, we were eating hotdogs and drinking beer in the new house.
The good thing is we pretty much feel at home already, certainly TJ has, there is so much more room for him to play around in. It’s so funny seeing the cat (Buttons) running out of TJ’s room and into ours, then close by is TJ crawling after him, then out comes Buttons from our room with a worried look and TJ right on his tail. Those 2 just dont leave each other alone since we have been in this place, they have really bonded, if it’s not TJ coming up to Buttons its Buttons coming up to TJ for a play, it’s great.
We still have a alot of things we would like to do with the place and it’s been pretty good fun so far. The good thing is, it’s got a pool so bring on summer.
City to Surf
Sep 3rd
Last weekend Veronica and I got our running shoes out of the cupboard and joined the 12km City to Surf fun run. We didn’t take TJ, pushing a pram up some of those hills would of just ended us so he spent the morning in a beautiful penthouse in the middle of Perth at Freddy and Julie’s place whilst we sweated it out down on the streets of Perth.
We stuck together the whole 12km and crossed the line together doing it all in 1 hour 24 minutes (1h24m40s) which positioned us 9869 (Veronica) and 9870 (Tom) out of 40468 people. I think we did pretty well finishing in the top 25%.
However for a few people that we had past towards the end it was all over for them before the finishing line, there were ambos and police helping them out on the side of the road after colapsing. There was even one bloke had managed to pass out 400 metres from the finishing line, you could actually see the finishing line, poor bugger, he should of crawled.
Our new home
Aug 16th
We finally found our home. After months of looking, the property we’ve been after finally came on the market, so we didn’t waste any time as everything we have seen lately has been going so quickly. So we checked it out and fell in love with it, so we decided to put an offer in that got accepted with a bit of negotiation.
This place is fantastic, it’s got a massive 701sqm block with an awesome backyard for TJ to play around in, it’s a newly renovated 1935 home that is really spacious and the best news is we move in, in only 4 weeks, so the packing has started.
Eventually we will knock this building down in about 5 to 10 years away and rebuild our perfect home, but for now this character home is absolutely lovely.
Here is a look at our new home: http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-wa-rivervale-106703377
Home sweet home
Aug 16th
Our little boy is home. After a 5 long days in hospital, it is all over. The doctor came in this morning nice and earlier, took one look at his finger and his chart and said, go home, get out of here and relax.
Veronica took him home and he was in his element, he was so happy to be at home he had to explore everything. He crawled up the stairs and into every room, pulled all his toys out and had a good play.
Tonight we had a good hard play around and tickle fights like we use to and he was absolutely loving it. It is so good to have him home.
Quarantined
Aug 15th
Our little superstar had a fairly decent night and a lot better day today with lots of play and a better appetite, however there was a couple of issues. Firstly his IV drip fell out just before lunch and with hopefully less than 24 hours left in hospital we were hoping that the doctor would recommend leaving it out and just giving him his medicine orally, but that wasn’t to happen, the doctor though it was best to put another IV in as the medicine works a lot better by directly injecting them into the bloodstream. Veronica and I want what is best for him so we agreed to having the second IV in and boy did it hurt the poor little fella. The doctor put the needle in and poked it all about trying to find the vain for about 10 minutes. The little fella was so distressed and in so much pain, I was so close to stopping the doctor and demanding oral medication, but F%&@en finally she got it (absolutely hopeless). Then because of all the poking around when the medication went through the IV drip and into his arm it stung him like crazy, he absolutely went hysterical. I hope I never see that much pain in his eyes again.
Then comes the quarantining. A couple of days ago he had a stool sample taken and the results came in today. Because he is allergic to penicillin he can only have a couple of types of antibiotics and the one he is currently on has given him a contagious stomach bug. Before knowing that he was quarantined we went to go for a walk, so there we were, Veronica, TJ, me and his IV drip all walking along the hallways when suddenly the head nurse came up and sent us back to our room telling us the news. The good thing from this is we now have our own room for him, so it is much quieter.
So with all fingers crossed he should come home tomorrow, the surgeon has mentioned if all looks good in the morning he can be on his way. His mannerism is back to normal, his playtime is now the same as before this whole ordeal and he is so much happier, he is certainly ready to come home.
Second night in Hospital
Aug 14th
Today wasn’t such a good day, after a really bad night of not sleeping and being very restless he had a really bad day of the same. Veronica had a sleepless night with the poor little fella being very restless and irritable and if it wasn’t him it was other poor little kids in the ward yell and screaming in pain. Hospitals are certainly not quiet places. During the day TJ was much the same, just wouldn’t sleep and was very irritable.
On a bright note though his hand has recovered very well, today his finger looks like it is almost normal size, it is still quite red with the infection but a hell of a lot better than it has been.
We found out today the reason why he had taken ill to the last two antibiotics is because they consisted of penicillin or related to penicillin which we now know that he is allergic too. So we are so very lucky that it wasn’t worse for him.
TJ’s progress
Aug 13th
Our little man had a decent first night on hospital. I would say the release of the pressure in his finger and now that the bad antibiotics are out of his system he feels a lot better. Veronica stayed the night with him on the couch and she said he was very good.
This morning I got to the hospital just after he woke up and he was fighting fit and bouncing around as normal trying to bang everything with his bandaged hands. It was so good to see the little fella in such good spirits, he’s a tough little man
TJ’s in hospital
Aug 12th
Our brave little man found himself in a hospital bed today. A couple of days ago whilst play he hit his middle finger on his right had with his milk bottle cap. He had a little red mark on his finger and it wasn’t anything to worry about. The next day when we picked him up after work his finger had swallen up and was very red, so we dicidered then and there to take him to the doctors in the morning. The next morning his finger was pretty much the same, so Veronica took him in to the doctor where he was given some antibiotics and an xray to see if there was any factures (which there wasn’t). As the day goes on he had his antibiotics with no worries at all, until that night.
His temperature rose to 39.3 degrees so we rang the childrens helpline nurse who advised us to keep up his water and give him panadol, which we did. After a very bad night we rang the nurse again in the morning because his temperature was still high and he had now developed a rash all over his body, he was as red as beetroot and he was swallen all over. The nurse then told us to get him to emergency as soon as possible. Obviously we just threw some clothes on and jumped in the car and rushed to hosptial. When we got to Princess Margaret Hospital they got him through very quickly as he as pretty bad. They told us that he had a reaction to the antibiotics which was causing the rash, redness and swelling. Because of the severity of the infection in his finger which came up over night with the help of the bad reation to the antibiotics he will need to be admitted to hospital and will have to have rush surgery so that the infection won’t spread into his bones and blood system. Also because of the very high body temperature there was a worry of damage to his internal organes.
They bumped him into surgery at 4:15pm where he spent the next 55 minutes on the table. When he came out he was very tired but he was in great spirits, wanting to point to every car that passed the window of his room. He still have a very high temperature but hopefully soon that will change with the old antibiotics leaving his system and the new ones kicking in.
Veronica is spending the night there tonight as only one parent can, so we will take it in shifts and that way we both can get some sleep, if that is possible with all the worry.
Thomas Jr’s 9 month update
Aug 2nd
All is great in the world of TJ, he has been going real well and all of this months measurements are smack bang on average other than height, which he is a bit over average, so he is going to be tall which is good. He has mastered the 16 step staircase, which he tends to climb about 3 or 4 times a day (he makes me tired). He has 6 teeth now and 2 more on the way, so there are 4 front top and 2 front bottoms with 2 more front bottoms on the way, so he is munching on everything.
But the best news is over the weekend he on 2 seperate occasions took 2 steps. The first time was with me, he was standing by himself with out holding on then he turned and took 2 little steps and then grabbed onto me. The second time was with Veronica, which was good because she miss it the first time, he was standing there again not holding on and took two steps towards her before grabbing on. So I don’t think it will be too long before he is up and running around, then we will be knackered.
Sixteen Steps
Jul 4th
Today was a big step or should I say 16 steps. Our little man was routinely chasing and tormenting the cat, when the cat run upstairs, so our little man decided that he wasn’t going to give up and pursued to climb up after him. We thought that 1 or 2 stair would stop him but he powered on up to the top defeating all 16 steps and from the look on his face he wanted to go back down and do it all again.
We are very proud of our little champion and what a perfect way to tire him out before bed.
Weekend Getaway
Jun 28th
We decided that we the three of us were going to get away for our first little family holiday. So we packed our bags, pram, toys, porter cot, formula; man there is a lot to pack now days; and we headed down to Margret River and the wine country, well first we had to drop the cat off at Gran’s
Day one was really all about getting there, setting up and relaxing after the long drive down. TJ pretty much slept the whole journey and what he was awake for he really enjoying the drive. That night we headed down to the pub for dinner and just like last time we were here many years ago, the food was fantastic.
Day two we had a bit of plan, first thing on the agenda was the petting farm, where TJ could get up close and personal with some of the animals. It was a really good time there, TJ got pretty excited about the animals and he even had a horse nearly eat his hand. The horse popped his head over the fence really quickly and grabbed TJ’s hand but luckily the horse didn’t bite down just gave him a slimy hand, I think Veronica’s and my heart stopped for a moment. So that was enough of the animals for a while so we went and played with TJ in the big kids room for a while, this was really good fun, I don’t know who had more fun, me or TJ. After slipping and sliding we headed for our first winery for some tastings and lunch. We ended up at Saracens winery, I had never really heard of it before but because the Duckstein brewery was there, that was the big attraction. So after a few sips of wine, a couple of pints of weiss bier (my favourite) and a nice meal of lamb shanks we headed in search for some port. Because of the big day we thought we would have dinner back at our hotel, so we went and bought a kilo of prawn and gorged ourselves silly.
Day three, again on the wine and port hunt but also our last day so we made 1 stop at the Woody Nook winery where we had a beautiful lunch and managed to get ourselves some wine and port to take home, really good port too.
The journey back was pretty tough, TJ certainly didn’t want to go home I think, so he performed for us most of the way back. It was so good to get home and get the little fella out of the car. Oh yeah we picked up the cat on the way home who is knackered after playing with Gran’s cat all weekend, so as soon as we got home he has been passed out on the couch absolutely buggered.
Good weekend had by all.
TJ’s girlfriend
Jun 20th
TJ was re-united with Matilda today (Keir & Lily’s little girl). It was absolutely gorgeous, the minute they saw each other they just bonded so well like they did last time they saw each other.
It didn’t take long before our little man made his move and went it for a kiss, he went so well that he just kept on going in for more kisses. The two of them trotted around the room after each other, giggling, swapping dumbies and really curious about each other, it was just awesome to watch.
Our little man is in LOVE aaaaahhhhhhhhh
Thomas Jr’s 8 month update
Jun 18th
At 8 months TJ is going very well, he is average for all his measurements, which is good news, he is eating pretty much everything we eat and he seems to enjoy eating what we eat more so that what we make him.
Standing, this is his new trick. The little fella is pulling himself up on anything he can and he tests himself at free standing and balancing without holding on. Talking is TJ’s next challenge, he has always got lots to say but just lately he has been putting different words together as aposed to repeating the same word over and over.
We all get on Skype every weekend so we can talk to his Nan and Nanna (Tom’s mum and Nan) over in Queensland and for the last couple of calls he is really interacting with them which is great to see that he can recognise them on the computer.
The bad news is, he has gotten his first cold, although he is still very cheerful and active, he is not sleeping during the day or night at all. Veronica has also fallen over ill, so we are currently in lockdown.
Talk to you all again soon.
Keir & Lily
Jun 7th
Keir & Lily are back in town. We went down and saw the lovely couple who are living in the Nam (Rockingham) and I think our little man TJ is in love. He was chasing Keir & Lily’s beautiful little daughter (Matilda) around everywhere. They got on so well that at one stage we found them in Matilda’s room where she was showing him around and they were hiding behind her cot sharing a kiss. Yes that’s right, kissing, we have photographic evidence, the two of them locked lips more that once, it was so cute and innocent. So our little man has his first girlfriend.
Veronica’s Birthday
Jun 6th
Veronica’s birthday today, the good ole girl had a great day. It all started off the day before where Veronica had a shopping pass to go and buy what ever she wanted, which she bought some lovely clothes. On the day though we thought a nice little sleep in would go down well, however TJ had better plans. So up we get, take TJ to the park to have a play on the swings and a snappy walk around the river. That afternoon we all had a little nanna nap before heading out for dinner with Veronica’s parents, Freddy and Julie to the local Chinese. Veronica and I ended the night at home with a nice boutique chocolate and well deserved Scotch. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE.
Buttons 1st birthday
Jun 1st
Our little rag doll turns 1 today, he is all grown up. He and TJ have been getting along perfectly, however when I say that I’m sure Buttons would like to have TJ stop pulling his hair out. Buttons has a busy little life, he goes to daycare 4 days a week with TJ and he has Fridays at home to himself to rest up for the weekend. We are going to give him his favourite meal tonight (prawns) and lots of attention, which he gets anyway.
Thomas Jr’s 7 month update
May 21st
TJ went and got his 7 month measurements done with his Gran, he is now 71cm tall and he weighs 8.2kg, so he is smack on the average for his age.
Over the last month he has developed his lungs and boy doesn’t he use them, he certainly going to be a talker. He has 4 teeth now, 2 top and 2 bottom fronts, and there is another coming through down the bottom. He has this amazing big smile on him now where he puts his teeth together and pulls off this beautiful big cheeky grin, it’s awesome to see. Crawling seems to be no worries he just gets himself everywhere now, there is just no stopping him, so with that comes his adventures where everything seems interesting.
Since the big sleep project over Easter he is still sleeping well, however I think we have entered a new phase with him though, he is starting to protest about going to bed. He could be passed out in your arms but when you put him down, he wakes up and wants out of his cot.
He certainly has alot more personallity than ever and it’s amazing to think in only a short few months he as gone from a little baby laying there without much movement to crawling around getting his fingers into everything.
TJ’s Development
Apr 29th
Well it doesn’t take long, TJ has been crawling for a week now and he also sits up by himself. You only have to walk out of the room to get something, by the time you turn around there he is, it is just amazing on how quickly he has grown up.
His 4th tooth has now broken through, so he has 2 front tops, 2 front bottoms and when he bites you, you really know it.
To be fair he has been a real pleasure, he is a very happy baby, he absolutely loves going out, loves his play time and we play pretty hard each night too.
He spends Monday to Thursday with his Gran and Oma during the day and on Fridays he spends his time wih Renata and Heinz where he is learning German.
Thomas Jr hits 6 months
Apr 18th
Today our little man turns 6 months old. He has 3 teeth (2 front bottoms and 1 front top) with another top one about to break through. He is on the verge of crawling, he gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forward vigorously whilst shuffling is hands forward.
He is is now trying to sit up by himself and is doing pretty good.
Sleep at night has been an issue for some time but over the Easter break we tried him on a sleeping technique we got from a sleep therapist and now he sleeps the whole night through.
From the 4 month mark he has been eating mashed up vegetables and he loves them.
New website
Apr 16th
Just to catch you all up. We are now living in Perth, both Veronica and I have gotten good jobs right near each other, which makes commuting easy. TJ is going very well, he has 3 teeth now and he turns 6 months old on Sunday (18th April). Here are some photos of our little boy. Anyway take care and we’ll speak to you soon.
