Happy Halloween!

From the puppy dog on Swift Boulevard.

The Pacifier Drop

Trey has a little game that he likes to play in the mornings. After he stirs from his peaceful slumber (and he really is a good little night-time sleeper - about 12 hours each night!), he crawls around his crib, pulls up on the bumpers and the bars, and looks around to see if there is any activity in his room. He then takes a pacifier, bangs it back and forth between two of the bars on the crib, and eventually tosses it onto the floor. As we keep several pacifiers in the crib (fully realizing this is against the instructions of all the baby sleep experts), Trey repeats the process until each of his pacifiers is on the floor, with the exception of the one in his mouth. For whatever reason, he declines to do the same thing with the toys he keeps in the bed. He then rolls around a bit more, lies down, and rests until Mommy or Daddy come to get him. When we enter the room, we are greeted by a sea of pacifiers on the floor. It really is too funny. We's posted a video of it on the bar to the right.

Social Butterfly

Trey had all kinds of social engagements over the weekend. After Fall Fest and dinner on Friday, Trey headed to a birthday party (a costume party where Trey dressed as a tiger!) and then a housewarming party on Saturday, where he was the star of both shows. The older kids at the birthday party loved holding and playing with him, and he entertained all at the housewarming by crawling around everywhere, laughing and giggling. Then, at Aunt Kacie's birthday dinner on Sunday, Trey squealed and smiled his way through the evening. Even after spitting up all over the guest of honor, he was all smiles.

Fall Fest

Trey had Fall Fest at school on Friday. It's their version of a Halloween carnival, where all the kids dress up and have a "costume parade" for their parents and other guests, and then the school has little booths and games in the courtyard for all the kids to enjoy. Trey dressed as a puppy dog, and Mommy, Daddy, Mama C, Daddy Tom, and Aunt Kacie all came for the festivities. They all got to meet Trey's teachers and some of his friends.

Here is most of Trey's class at the parade (Emerson the bunny, Jake C. the lion, John as Humpty Dumpty, Trey the puppy dog, Jake B. the pirate, Matthew the penguin, and Jeremy the lion):

Afterward, we went to dinner at Ibiza to celebrate Daddy Tom's latest visit. Trey was absolutely an angel at dinner and drew the attention of waitpersons and patrons alike. When the table next to us finished and got up to left, they commented on what a good baby we have. Of course, we already knew that! :)

Babyproofing

Our house is now on its way to being fully babyproofed! On Friday I had a service in to install safety gates to block off the dining room, put latches on the kitchen and baby's bathroom cabinets, and do a couple other miscellaneous things. Trey is now crawling around everywhere and trying to get into everything he's not supposed to touch, so we're doing more and more babyproofing every day. He's a very curious little guy, so babyproofing only does so much - we still have to hover over him whenever he's "on the loose"!

Mommy's Home!

Mommy is home after her longest time ever away from Trey - 48 hours! Trey greeted her this morning standing up in his crib, hollering for attention. When Mommy spent her lunch hour with him today, Trey was full of smiles and energy.

Trey is now more active than ever. He is crawling everywhere and pulling up on whatever he can. We lowered the crib once last week, only to find him leaning over the railing when he didn't want to go down for a nap. So we were forced to lower it yet again; it is now as low as it will go. The house is being babyproofed on Friday. He is no longer the little baby that stays in place and is easy to tote around, but he is more and more fun every day.

Welcome Baby Chase!

Welcome to Trey's newest friend, Chase Curran! Chase was born late Thursday night in Boston will a very full head of hair! Chase and his mom will be moving from the Boston area to Charleston, South Carolina; his dad has been working there for a few months now. Trey now has so many friends in Charleston South that we are going to have to try and visit sometime soon!

Another new tooth!

Trey has a new tooth! And it comes with no complaining at all. It is his left bottom lateral incisor, if you're keeping track. No signs yet of its mate, but we'll keep you posted!

Pumpkin Patch

We took Trey to the Pumpkin Patch this past weekend. We thought it would make a great photo op. The setting was cute, but Trey was not interested in smiling at all. Nope, he was too busy looking around at everything and everyone. At one point he pulled up on a pumpkin, although he didn't even realize what he did! (Did I mention Trey is crawling everywhere and pulling up every once in a while? He is!!)

We ended up getting a few cute pictures, but all in all the outing was a bust. But at least we had an official "fall" activity this month!

Graduation Day

Today was the big day. Trey "graduated" from Nursery I to Nursery II at school. Although there was no formal ceremony, Mommy and Daddy hummed "Pomp and Circumstance" to Trey all along the way to his classroom this morning. After hellos and goodbyes with his Nursery I teachers, Trey was whisked away to Nursery II for good.

By all accounts, he adjusted well to the new classroom this week. He is really getting around crawling and has even taken naps that correspond at least somewhat with their set schedule. He was extra tired each evening this week, which means he's probably playing a lot more during the day. Nursery II will give him a better chance to move all around and explore. According to Ms. Angel, the head teacher, Trey is even trying to pull up!

At the end of the day, we snuck back into Nursery I to say goodbye to Ms. Vicki. Trey and Ms. Vicki have a special bond, and we hope they will still visit each other across the hall!

Grocery Shopping

After nearly eight months, Trey made his first trip to the grocery store. Mommy brought a plush shopping cart cover that she splurged on before Trey was born (pictured), but then couldn't easily figure out how to put the darn thing on the cart, so she gave up. Oh well, maybe next time.

Despite being hungry and tired, Trey loved the store. There was so much to look at! And when there was an announcement made over the speaker system, Trey looked and looked to try to find whose voice he was hearing. He also babbled all over the store ("ya ya," "ba ba," "da da"). His favorite part of the adventure were the helium balloons in the produce section and checkout line. Who knew grocery shopping could be so much fun!

Busy Weekend

Baby Trey is back in Houston after a very busy weekend. He flew with Mommy and Daddy to Virginia to see family and visit Heaven on Earth (a.k.a. Charlottesville). Trey attended his first college football tailgate and his first UVA football game. The little baby was a good luck charm - the 'Hoos beat Maryland 31-0!! By all accounts, Trey was great at the game, enjoying the halftime show and eventually falling asleep on his great-grandmother's lap.

This weekend also marked Mommy's first night out of town away from Trey. While Trey was at the game with Daddy and family, Mommy headed to DC for a friend's birthday party. Mommy was so excited to see Trey again at the family brunch the next morning (to celebrate Papa John's 65th birthday today!), but Trey was so busy checking out the surroundings, Mommy hardly got a reaction out of him at first. After settling down, Trey gave Mommy plenty of smiles and was so sweet at brunch as he was passed from person to person.

Now back in town, Trey is almost as exhausted from the weekend as his parents are. But it's a big week for our little baby - he is transitioning to Nursery II at school this week!

Welcome Baby Kate!

Trey has a new friend! Kate Ricord Griesemer was born yesterday afternoon in Austin. Reports are that she, Mom Sarah and Dad Paul are all doing well. Trey can't wait to meet her!

Frequent Flier

Baby Trey is headed back to Virginia this weekend for the third time in his short life. This time, Trey will attend his first college football game -- or at least the tailgate before. Go Wahoos! We have his bag stuffed with orange and blue gear and long sleeves for the slightly cooler weather.

This will be Trey's seventh round trip flight, and his 15th and 16th plane rides! Too bad babies without a ticket of their own can't earn frequent flier miles...

Moving up!

Next week, Trey starts his transition into Nursery II at school. In other words, he is graduating from the little baby class to the not-so-little baby class. Typically, Nursery II is for babies between crawling and walking age, with some give and take either way depending on the needs in each class. With this transition comes a whole new world: regular nap times, lots of new toys to stimulate the crawling baby, more defined eating habits, and even the introduction of baby sign language. It also means saying goodbye to a group of teachers we have come to know and love.

Trey is moving up with his friend John (another John III!), who is officially his first friend. The two boys already have a lot in common. Besides a shared name, John also has a father and a grandfather who are lawyers. And they were born just four days apart (John is a Valentine's Day baby!). Trey and John play together every day and their beds in Nursery I are right next to each other. One of the teachers told me today that when Trey and John were in the Bye Bye Buggy (large stroller for 6) yesterday, sitting next to each other, they were holding hands!

So, we will desperately miss Ms. Cynthia, Ms. Vicki, Ms. Alicia, and the other teachers of Nursery I, and Trey will say goodbye for now to his other little friends in the class. But we will get to know a new group of wonderful teachers, including Ms. Angel, whom we met today, and Trey will get to see some of his old friends from Nursery I who moved to Nursery II in the past couple of months. And we're not moving very far - Nursery II is just right across the hall!