March is here!!!!

Momma- I got me a double chin!!! :)

My "scrunchy face"

We have been on birthday overload this past weekend, and even experienced our first Chuck E Cheese party! Doug and I were both completely overwhelmed with the craziness inside of that place- this applies to EVERYTHING... the adults, the children, the staff, the games, the huge mouse running around like a celebrity- I'm not kidding, this place is nuts! Even the staff and mouse put on little shows with dancing and singing. I have never seen anything like this! But, despite the organized chaos, it was actually fun (I can't believe I'm saying that, and one day this statement will come back to bite me- of that, I am sure!).

Trey and I have been keeping it low key during the week, with a trip to the park- where Trey has completely mastered his ability to go up and down steps, and he loves every second of it! He also has been making this weird "scrunchy face", that I can't describe, but almost every picture of him is this new look.

With Trey's birthday coming up, I've actually started buying him a few new toys (something I didn't do at Christmas). This week we got a new picnic table and benches, a tiger bubble blower, and a tunnel!

We're looking forward to hosting a playdate with our favorite friends this week- so I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures to come!

11 Months Old!

Trey turned 11 months old this past weekend! It's so hard to believe that almost an entire year has gone by- the phrase "cherish every moment, because they grow up so fast" is undeniable! Trey has been toddling around, attempting to walk, for a while. Although he is still only taking 5 or 6 steps at a time, I've noticed a big change this week. Now he stands up in the middle of the room and takes those few steps all by himself, with no prompting!

This was a rough week for the family- we lost a very dear friend, our pastor, who not only counseled and married Doug and I, but Mr. Hornby also dedicated Trey. I feel such a loss at all of the parts of my life that Mr. Hornby will never know, but I am unbelievably grateful for all the moments that he celebrated with us. We spent the weekend in Richmond, to honor Mr. Hornby's life, and Trey was amazing. He was wonderful all weekend long- Trey never had a meltdown, despite all the strangers (to him) that wanted to hold him, hug him, carry him around, and basically invade his space!

We also went to Gymboree, and had a super fun playdate at Noreen's. In both places, Trey was the ONLY boy! This has become quite the trend, and I keep asking myself- where the heck are all the little boys??? One thing is for sure- Trey is going to have his pick of girlfriends!

Some new items of the week: Trey experienced popcorn (thanks to his Daddy) and he loves it! I was a little concerned about the kernels and kernel shells, but Doug insisted he was fine, so I went with it. AND- Trey had his very first baby modeling shoot! It's a long story how that came about, but Trey apparently has a "look", and he did an amazing job! We just got the pictures back today, and they are so stinkin cute! I can't wait to share them with all of you!

This week we are planning on transitioning to ONLY sippy cups during the day, but keeping the bottle at bedtime... I'll let you know how that goes!

An Unforgettable Valentine's Day

Our Valentine's Day was more memorable than anything holiday we have celebrated, to date. I will share more details soon, but for now, I'll share with you Trey's week!

The week started off with a huge Super Bowl party at our neighbor's house, where Trey was surrounded by other kids to play with! He was such a trooper and managed to stay up for the entire game!

We went back to the ENT doctor for a follow up on Trey's tubes, and Trey had his first hearing

test. He did really well, but there is still some concern about his high pitched sounds, and as Trey learns to communicate verbally, we will have to watch his "S's" and "Sh's"- basically any sound that is classified as "high pitched".

We had a fun lunch with Melissa and our little buddy Eddie. Those boys are so cute together- they completely entertained themsevles throughout lunch by sharing avocado and banging on the table. Trey also had an afternoon playdate with Ella... they play great, but I can see that we are going to have to work on Trey's sharing skills!

On Friday, we made the decision to join the Level 3 Gymboree Class!!! Trey has been ready for a while, but I was resisting because I was attached to the other Mommies in the Level 2 class. But once we got there on Friday, Trey was SO excited and the class was much less structured and allowed Trey to go crazy with crawling, climbing, and walking, and he had a blast! I can always make new friends :).

Grandma and Aunt Nancy came to visit this past weekend, and we spent an evening with Uncle Adam and Aunt Shannon- where Trey started off a little cranky, but was quite the ham by the end of the night :).

Trey LOVES riding his horsey- it's definitely a favorite, and he pulls it out and shakes the horse until someone puts him on top. Honestly, I'm getting a little tired of the horsey sounds, but I know how much he loves it, so I will suck it up and continue to play with him!

Valentine's Day brought a lazy day of Baby's First Valentine's cards, yummy meals, and just hanging out... nothing too eventful, but like I said, it was a Valentine's Day I will never forget ;-).

Playing before bed :)

Valentine's Day is on it's Way!

Where to start with this week... we visited 2 parks- North Meck Park (always a favorite) and Veteran's Park, downtown. Trey loves the slide and swings, so it's there is never a dull moment at the playground! We also went to 2 playdates- a Valentine's playdate at Hillary's house (where there were 9 babies all almost the exact same age), and a birthday playdate for Miss Grace! Tuesday was also Groundhog's Day, so Trey's school celebrated by all the kids wearing their jammies and watching a movie; they are so cute!

The other great news is that Trey is feeling a thousand times better THANK GOODNESS!!!! After the tubes were put in, he was still extra fussy and running a fever, so we went back to the doctor to find out that Trey had bronchitis- what the heck?!?!? For a while there I was starting to feel like I have the sickliest baby on the face of the planet, but this week brought new hope, and it's been wonderful! He is still a little fussy- his top and bottom molars are coming in on the left side, but all in all, he's doing great!

Trey is eating and sleeping like a pro these days. Every day this week he has been taking at least 2 hour naps in the afternoon (around 1pm) and he is eating everything in sight. Turns out he LOVES my homemade macaroni and cheese, Macaroni Grill's chicken, and birthday cake (of course).

He is walking with his walker toys everywhere, and it is so cute to watch him play. I actually took a video of him playing after dinner the other night. It's not action-packed, but it was adorable just to see the way he processes everything and plays with his toys. We also got some new blocks, and Trey loves for someone to build them up, so he can push them all down- typical boy!

We also took a few early birthday boy pictures to put in his Birthday Party invitations. I still am having a hard time processing the fact that he is going to be 1 years old! Yikes!

First Steps!!! 10 months, 1 week old :)

The weather was beautiful this week- nothing like what they are forcasting for the weekend- so we took full advantage of it and went to the park a few times. Trey has become so independent and curious about everything! Even though our neighborhood park is a little too advanced for him, he still had a great time exploring all the parts! It was more fun than I realized and I can't wait to go back again soon!

On Wednesday, Trey had the tubes put in his ears. We arrived at the surgical center at 6:15 in the morning, they put the tubes in around 7am, and we were on our way home by 8:00am- so all in all, it wasn't a time consuming event. Trey was a trooper! His little ears have been draining like crazy, and I'm pretty sure his ears are still bothering him, but I know this will wear off soon.

And- as the title of this post states- Trey took his first steps! He is only doing 2 or 3 steps at a time, but he is getting more and more brave every day! Yesterday, January 28, 2010, is the official date of Trey's first steps. :) I LOVE writing that! The bad part is that after Trey had done it about 10 times, we then decided to capture it on video, and of course, once we got out the video camera, Trey was just about done performing for us, so honestly- the video does not do him justice!

4 Funny Videos! Sip Sips is my Favorite :)!

I'm 10 Months Old!

This week brought a lot of ups and downs! Doug was out of town for work, so it was just Mommy and Trey- ALL the time! The weather turned absolutely beautiful for a few days, and we brought Trey's Jeep out into the cul-de-sac to ride around. It was a ton of fun, and Trey got to play with the other kids and be a "big boy" for a little while.

Trey has also had a constant double ear infection since the beginning of December. We have been on several different antibiotics, and this week our Pediatrician suggested that we go see an Ear, Nose, Throat doctor. In the meantime, we also decided to do Rocephin shots as a last resort, hoping that this antibiotic would help. Unfortunately the shots did not help, and they were horrible. Trey had to get a shot every day for 3 days, and this particular shot was extra terrible because the dosage was so large that the needle had to be larger, making it very painful- for both of us! The ENT and Doug and I have decided that the best course of action for Trey right now is to get tubes put in both of his ears. I am thrilled because I know that this will help him, and we won't have to take any more antibiotics that have awful side effects. The doctor also said that Trey's ear infections are so bad that Trey is hearing as if he had his fingers in his ears, plugging them- basically, all his sounds are muffled because of the built up fluid and swelling. I had no idea my poor baby couldn't hear clearly! This was another reason why I am so glad we are doing tubes! The surgery will be this coming up week, so we'll keep you updated!

Trey also has 4 MORE TEETH already poking through! Each tooth on either side of his top 2 and bottom 2 are coming in- that makes a total of 8 teeth in this little guys mouth! With all these extra teeth, Trey's chewing habits are increasing daily! Last night for dinner Trey really ate like a big boy- he had Asparagus Risotto and ham! Gone are the days of baby food...

I've included some pictures of Trey, without any clothes on, on our bed at night. He gets SO excited to jump in the pillows every night when we are getting ready for bed, and it's hilarious. I couldn't resist snapping a few shots of him going crazy!

Trey's accomplishments of the week are walking with the help of the walker! Our friends Lyle and Ashley let us borrow a stand up walker, and Trey loves to walk all the way across the room all by himself. His balance is also getting much better- he can stand all by himself, without holding onto anything for almost a full 30 seconds now... I think it's almost a matter of time before he gets brave and decides to take a step! And, of course, his 4 new teeth!

Warmer Weather, Finally!

It's hard to believe that next week Trey will be 10 months old! I was shocked when I was asked if I had started planning his 1 year birthday party yet! What?!?!? And then I realized that it's just about time for me to start doing that! Time flies by way too fast...

On Monday I took Trey back to the doctor's office- he just wasn't quite himself and he was running a small fever. I suspected he had another ear infection, and I was right- we are still battling the same double ear infection he first got before Christmas! The doctor prescribed a super heavy duty antibiotic, but she said that if the ear infection isn't improving by next Wed, we will have to go see a specialist- and Ear, Nose, Throat Doctor. I'm sincerely hoping that we don't have to do this!

On Wednesday, despite Trey's ear infection, he was in a great mood, so we did a playdate with the other Hip Mama's at Rolly Pollies in Moorseville. This place is AWESOME! It has everything- moonbounces, sponge pits, balance beams, toy ride-on cars, tunnels... you name, it's there. We had a blast and can't wait to go back again!

And, finally, today the weather is back in the 60's! Woohoo!!! We've been dying to play outside, and we finally had the chance. As you can see from the pictures, Trey still has a tendency to put everything in his mouth, so he has to be watched VERY carefully!

Trey's accomplishments of the week include continuing to want to use a straw with everything (which came in handy when the doctor gave us Probiotic straws to help put back the good bacteria), and saying something OTHER than DaDa! He now can say 'N's' very well, and in between our Dada's, you will hear an occasional Nana- which I'm hoping will soon lead to Mama :).

Week 43- Coming off of our Christmas High!

We began this week by going to a Jammie's Playdate! This was great- we didn't have to get ready, we just went in our jammies and had a blast! I think this may be our new favorite thing and all playdates should have this dresscode.

We've had our first "boo-boo" at Gymboree this week too. We were showing off our new crawling and climbing skills and we forgot we hadn't learned how to climb down. So as we neared the step, we took a nose dive onto the carpet and got a rug burn on our forehead. Luckily Trey isn't too much of a cry baby and he shook it off and started playing again quickly!

Our latest and greatest accomplishment is the straw! We weren't too sure Trey would understand the process of sucking throuh the straw, but once we showed him how, he caught on right away and now he wants to drink everything through the straw! Trey also loves to blow bubbles in his water- typical boy!

The other highlights of our week was lunch with Cousin Evan at a super fun restaurant- and the best part was that Evan and Trey were twinsies! We also went to a birthday party on Saturday, and Trey and Daddy had a "Daddy and Son Day" on Sunday. Some of Trey's favorite things to do are to drive his Jeep (literally)- he will steer the steering wheel and honk the horn, not to mention that he is a terrible driver and thinks it is hilarious to chase us around the kitchen and run into our legs!

First Words, Babyproofing, and New Years! 9 1/2 Months Old

After all of our company left, we took a look around our house and realized that Trey has WAY too many toys, and we can't live in a toy store anymore. So we decided to clean up... the pack n' play that has been a fixture in our Family Room for the last 12 months is now put away. We justified this by the fact that Trey naps in his bedroom most days now, and although it made me sad to see it go, our downstairs magically looks 5 times bigger now!!!! We also brought our beautiful chest that I gave Doug as a wedding gift downstairs and it is now officially a toybox for our living room. It worked out great, since it is big, and it is a gorgeous wooden color, so it looks fabulous with our furniture!

This week we have babyproofed the heck out of our house. I know so many parents that didn't have to babyproof to any major extent because their children just knew what was right and wrong. OUR CHILD, on the other hand, does not seem to get this. He crawls everywhere, opens everything, stands up and climbs on things, and puts everything in his mouth. Don't get me wrong... he knows the difference between right and wrong, he just chooses to do what is wrong, not what is right. He will actually look around to make sure I don't see him and then head over to the kitchen cabinets or dishwasher- and yes, he can get them all open. We have the big soft and wide baby gate to corral Trey in the kitchen and family room, we have baby locks on all of the cabinets (including the ones in the bathrooms), I have moved most picture frames out of his reach, we keep all toilet seats down, all outlets have covers, and I'm sure there is much more to come! Everyone tells me this is a sign of how smart he is... although that does reassure me, it is also a very real sign of the fact that he will push his limits, and that is so frustrating!

We had a wonderful New Years Eve with our friends- I couldn't have asked for a better night- and the best part of all was that we had put Trey down at the party, but he woke up around 10pm, and stayed awake with us until midnight. At around 11:45pm, Doug and I took Trey home and we rang in the New Year as a family- just the 3 of us, and it was so precious. Unfortunately, I have no pictures from that night, although I'm hoping someone will send me some so I can post them!

This week Doug joined Trey and I at Gymboree for the first time! It was so fun to have Doug there, and since it was a holiday week for everyone, a lot of the other mommies brought the daddies with them too. Having Doug there was definitely a distraction for Trey and he kept wanting to crawl to Doug and sit in his lap instead of play with the other kids and toys. I think Gymboree is more beneficial when it's just Trey and I! :)

Last of all, I am going to share something with all of you- against my better judgement. Since Trey was 6 months old (to the day, to be exact), he has been saying "Da-da-da-da". I have NOT documented this as his first word, since I wasn't 100% sure he actually associated Doug/ "Dada" with his "Da-da-da-da" rambling. Today we went to Autobell (the carwash) and Trey and I stayed in the back seat, while Doug got out of the car and let the men vacuum and clean. Trey was playing with me and he glanced out the window and saw Doug in the distance. He immediately started clapping his hands and saying (clear as a bell) DaDa. I still was hesitant to consider this a word, but the clincher for me was when he stopped clapping and POINTED to Doug saying DaDa. Ok, fine, Doug wins... Trey says DaDa! He also says "Bye" whenever I hang up or get off the phone, which cracks me up :).

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve, and I am looking forward to all that 2010 has to bring!!!!

Funny Videos!

Before I start telling you all about Trey's week- specifically recovering from all the Christmas festivities and New Years Eve, I wanted to share with you 2 videos that make me laugh. Once all of our company left, Trey's fear of the rocking horse disappeared, and now he likes to "pat-pat" the horse while riding on it. He also cracks up when you play hide and seek with him, and I wanted you all to get to hear this crazy laugh!