Linkin' up!

My lovely cousin over at Jolinda sent me over to link up with Casey, so I thought I'd give it a shot!  Figuring out how to get the button on here has been my first accomplishment! :-)  My blog has been mainly to document our little family's happenings, but I would enjoy getting to know some other bloggers!  Leave me a comment so I can come check out your blog!

Pup Tent

Today, Trey got what seems to be his favorite toy ever.  We went by to visit my grandparents today, and before we left, Trey's great Pawpaw gave him a pop up tent decorated like a puppy dog.  That boy spent the ENTIRE evening going in and out of that tent.  At one point, he had even climbed up on the side and rolled it over upside down.  He's all into peek a boo lately, so we were playing with each other through the mesh window on the side, and he giggled harder than I have ever heard him before!  I have a feeling our front room will have a pup tent in it for a while!

For dinner tonight, we tried macaroni and cheese with mixed veggies, and it was a big win.  It seems to have stained his sippy cup spout, but I'm sure that would have happened eventually.  I'm amazed at how quickly he picks things up.  After finally figuring out how to suck from his sippy cup, he drank about 3 ounces of water from it today.  During dinner, he was drinking like a fish!  He had some of my apple juice from my cup and dribbled it on the counter, so he stuck his face down and started slurping it up, ha!

I also picked up my substitute pack from the admin office today.  There seems to be quite a bit left to do between TB test, background check, fingerprinting, etc.  At the earliest, I think it will take 3 or 4 weeks to get things through.  About the time I think I'm ready to try to sub, it gets bumped back again.  Can't say I mind, but I guess I can't put it off indefinitely!  Although I don't want to go back to work, I do find myself missing the classroom.  Kind of like I wish I could have the best of both worlds...being with my boy all day but still teaching.  Once Trey's a little bit bigger and we can start working on numbers, colors, and all those things, I'm sure that will help.  I know he's constantly learning and that we're already learning skills, but I just mean something a little more "schooly." :-)

I"m going to try to get another hour or two of my PD hours done this evening so that I can keep my license current.  Two hours down, 58 left to go!

Monday Randoms

I just noticed that my last post was my 100th post.  Wow.  Or not. :-)

• Steve had Saturday off, so we enjoyed some family time out at Harlan and Helen's house.  Lots of Dad's cousins, hay ride, pumpkin carving, skeet shooting, and yummy food!  Of course Steve and I were about ready for a nap when we got home, but little man had slept all the way home and was ready to play!

• Trey finally started drinking out of his sippy cup yesterday instead of just chewing on it.  Yaaaay!
• He also went up and down the steps to the stage at church by himself for the first time.
• On Thursday, he started dancing when he hears music.  He just bounces up and down.  Too cute!
• When he nurses, he rubs his blankie between his thumb and fingers.  Lately, he kicks his top leg up on top of my arm, sometimes putting his foot up on my shoulder.  It doesn't bother me unless he straightens his leg out and digs his toes into my shoulder joint.  That hurts a little.
• He's really enjoying his baby food and is extremely interested when we eat but still can't tolerate chunks of food.  This morning, he wanted to chew on my cinnamon roll and ended up with an icing mustache.

• One of the highlights of my weekend was singing along with the Monk theme song with Steve one evening on the couch.  We're dorks.
• I locked my keys in my car at the grocery store yesterday but thankfully left the windows cracked (which I never ever do) and was able to stick my arm in to unlock the door.
• I'm considering subbing some half days sometime.  Maybe.  Eventually.  Perhaps.

• It's a week until Halloween.
• It's a month until Thanksgiving.
• I'm pretty sure I'm going to put up our Christmas decor before Thanksgiving gets here.  I'm afraid if I don't, it'll be time to take it down by the time I get it all put up.
• I think that's all.

Trey should be waking up soon, and I think we'll go for a walk to return the library books we have.  We might as well enjoy the pretty weather before it gets cold!

8 months!

You're 8 months old, sweet boy!  You haven't been to the doctor in quite some time, so I'm really not sure what you weigh or how long you are these days.  You're getting big though!  I've started getting you out of the car seat in the car so that I don't have to carry you around in it.  Too heavy! :-)

We still have a pretty good schedule, and you nap really well if we're at home.  You're not so good at napping when we're out and about or visiting with anyone because you get too interested in what's going on around you to take the time to eat or sleep.  Fortunately though, it doesn't mean you get fussy.  It takes quite a bit to make you upset!  You still get three good naps through the day and only stay awake for 3-4 hours at a time.

Mommy still nurses you to sleep, and you're nursing 6-7 times throughout the day.  Between the morning and evening, you eat a whole container of the Stage 2 baby food.  Since we got your new high chair, you've enjoyed eating at the kitchen island instead of the Exersaucer.  We have still been trying the melts, puffs, and Cheerios, but they make you gag and throw up every. single. time.  It doesn't seem to bother you though because as soon as I get you cleaned up, you start sticking them in your mouth again!  I think we're going to pick you up a mesh feeder at the store tomorrow so you can work on feeding yourself since you seem to like the independence so much.  Maybe once you get some teeth, they'll help you out with the food a little.  You're still our toothless wonder!  You also are kind of stubborn about figuring out the sippy cup, so we may try one with a straw.  You chew on it but won't suck on the sippy or a bottle anymore.  Goofy boy.

This month, you have continued to crawl all over the place and cruise along the window sills and furniture.  I find you standing up somewhere most of the time, and once in a while, you take off like you're trying to walk and face plant on the floor!  You also figured out how to jump in the Jumperoo and look kind of like you're doing the Riverdance. :-)  Although you have a few toys you like to play with and chew on (purple toucan, plastic balls, books), you really would much prefer to drag things off the TV cabinet and DVD shelf, dig in Daddy's sock drawer, and tear things up!

You can be quiet sometimes but can also be very loud!  We've been working on "hi" and "bye" but you seem quite determined to do things when you want to.  Imagine that.  Overall, you are such a pleasant boy to be around.  Daddy always comments on how quiet and still other babies are, not realizing that you're a little more active than your average baby!  We enjoy every single minute with you though and can't wait to see what you get into over the next month!

First injury

Well today was our first official wound.  I was putting some decor up on the mantle, and Trey was playing down on the tile and somehow cut himself.  He started crying, and since he had just woken up kind of cranky from a nap about five minutes earlier, I thought he was just fussing.  He stopped crying when I picked him up, but I noticed there was blood on his cheek.  I wiped it off with my hand to see what he had done, but there was no scratch or anything there.  Then I noticed there was blood on my chin, but it wasn't coming from there either.  As we got into the living room, I looked down and saw spots of blood all around the top of my shirt.  At this point, I was saying out loud, "Where is the blood coming from?!" while I checked Trey over.  Finally, a flash of red on his thumb caught my eye.  He had sliced it open pretty good, and it had specks of dirt in it, so I'm assuming he cut it on the fireplace somehow.  I held a baby wipe on it to get the bleeding to stop and called Steve to see if maybe he was close to home.  No luck.  I tried cleaning it out a little, but between the wiggly boy and the fact that the cut was on one of the wiggliest parts of the wiggly boy, I was really having a hard time even getting a look at it, let alone cleaning it out.  The sink didn't really work, and he was getting pretty irritated, so I called Mom to see what she suggested.  After telling her what had happened and what we had tried, she said a bath might be an easier way to get it cleaned out.  Brilliant.  I chucked the boy in the tub and cleaned out his cut as best I could while he splashed around.  (Incidentally, on the upside, he hasn't pooped in several days and doesn't really drink much out of his sippy cup, and during his bath, he sucked quite a bit of water out of a washcloth.) :-)  I got some antibiotic ointment and a bandaid on his thumb and tried to get our shirts in the washer while keeping his thumb out of his mouth.  I finally just had to pick him up while I did the laundry, but even with me watching him after we got into the living room, he sucked the bandaid off and started choking on it until he threw up on the carpet.  We spent the next 20 minutes watching Sesame Street on the couch and then we both took a nap!  As a matter of fact, he is still sleeping, so I'm sure his bedtime will be all wonky tonight.  I am NOT going to wake him up though!  I have had more than enough excitement for today and am kind of enjoying the quiet and my Golden Oreos. :-)

Here's a picture of his first battle scar.

This is what I was working on when he decided to try to cut off his thumb.  (Ok, maybe it wasn't that bad.)  The banner is just scrapbook paper letters glued on to triangles made from a paper grocery sack.  I punched holes in the triangles and threaded them on to a piece of yarn.  I am looking forward to fixing and repainting the front room walls and replacing the tile with something a little prettier. :-)  Might as well decorate as best I can until then!

Sounds like Prince Charming is awake, so I'll go get him before he breaks his leg trying to crawl out of his crib. I'll leave you with a picture of his discovery of orange sherbet push pops last night.  Yum!

Big week!

Trey's had a big week!  Lots of new stuff!

• Crawling.  All of a sudden, belly off the floor.  No more scooting.  And he is F.A.S.T.
• Noises.  His new noise is this inhaling squealy kind of thing.  It cracks me up and makes my throat hurt.
• Sharing.  The other day, he was playing with his football (aka eating it), and I pretended to take a bite.  He looked at the ball and then held it out toward me.  Later, he did the same thing with Steve, except it was with a wooden block, and it involved contact with Steve's forehead.  Even if he's a little excitable, it's pretty sweet!

• Dada.  He pretty consistently says "dadada" in his happy voice and "mamama" in his whiny "I'm tired and hungry" voice.  This morning, Steve left for work, and I picked Trey up to feed him and put him back to bed, and he started crying, "dadada."  I'm not sure that he's big enough to make that association yet, but it was still cute in a sad way. :-)

Tomorrow is homecoming at JBU, so we're looking forward to going and spending the day on campus seeing old friends.  And showing off our little cutie, of course!

Huh?

Conversation attempt + hubby in shower + one deaf ear + baby asleep down the hall =

Get around, get around, I get around

Trey's been crawling off and on for a month or two now but would usually only crawl for a few seconds before dropping down to his tummy and scooting instead.  It was just faster.  Yesterday though, he decided that he is no longer a scooter.  All of a sudden, my little baby boy became a crawler.  No gradual switch over to help Mommy adjust.  Nope.  He just quit scooting cold turkey.  I just wish he would have given a bit of a warning so that I could have at least recorded a few dozen more clips of him scooting! :-)  Here's my big fella crawling...

Ketchup.

Catch up.  Ketchup.  You know.
I'm amazed at how busy things are with me staying at home.  I mean, I knew there would be plenty to keep me busy, but I didn't realize it would be quite like this.  It definitely makes me thankful that I don't have to work because something would not be getting done!

This past Saturday, Trey and I went hung out with the Hayes, Babb, and Largent (just the female representatives) families. We went to the fall festival there in town and got some fun ideas for crafts we can do without paying a ton of money to someone else. :-)  We also enjoyed watching the Hogs play ball and had burgers.  Trey was a sweetie, of course!  When he's around people, he kind of forgets to eat and nap.  But he doesn't get fussy at all.  Just likes to know what's going on!

Steve's been working his hiney off lately, but I try to have Trey awake so he can see him at least a little bit in the morning and/or before bed.  They are quite the pair when they're together!  He loves his daddy!

Trey's been up to a lot lately.  Starting to crawl a little more instead of scooting around.  Climbing on things (for example: using his monkey toe to use the baseboard as a step up).  Wrestling during every diaper change or bath time...makes this momma tired!  Talking a lot more (dada, mama, baba, and general noises). :-)  Sings and will respond back to it when someone sings to him, especially if Lydia does the high pitched noise he makes.  Loves baby food and eats about 1/2 a Stage 2 jar at a time.  Usually fruit in the morning and a veggie at night.  He is sleeping a little bit better, not waking up so often after I put him down and sleeping until at least 3:00, usually closer to 5 before waking up to eat.  Still taking three naps.  Overall, just a good, good baby boy!

I'll write again tomorrow but am going to go enjoy the evening with my hubby!