Tooth #11!

Trey has yet another new tooth! This time it a bottom molar (his bottom right). We probably didn't spot it right away, but Trey was chewing things more than normal this morning, so Mommy checked, and sure enough - a new tooth! Before long he will surely have a full set of teeth. Good thing we got dental insurance for our little guy this year!

Doctor's Orders

Trey went back to the ENT specialist today for a follow-up appointment. Sure enough, we discovered yet another ear infection. Poor little guy! So, the doctor officially decided that Trey needs tubes. We scheduled the surgery for February 20. It is supposed to be a relatively easy procedure these days - 10 or 15 minutes with almost no recovery time. So hopefully it will go well!

We are relieved, in a way, that the doctor has ordered us to go forward with tubes. We are tired of ear infections! Little Trey has basically had one a month for the last six months. While he rarely complains, he has to be uncomfortable. And we are hopeful, too, that it will only improve his speech - once he can truly *hear*, we're sure he'll start talking soon. Today, Trey waved his hand in the air, and Mommy swore he tried to say "bye-bye," only it came out "dye-dye." So we're betting he'll get it right after being able to distinguish "b"s and "d"s. Trey is destined to be a big talker. After all, with two parents who talk for a living and a grandmother who was nicknamed Amazon in junior high (by her future husband, nonetheless) because her mouth was as big as the Amazon, could we expect anything else?

Free Love

Trey's teacher, Ms. Angel, has sworn for months that Trey often blows kisses to passers-by. While Mommy was convinced this merely appeared to be the case (he likes to make sounds by covering his mouth on and off with his hand), Trey has now started to give away real kisses to anyone who asks for them. It makes your heart melt. When we say, for example, "Give Mommy a kiss!", Trey opens his mouth, leans in, and presses his lips against Mommy's cheek. He'll do this a few times and then repeat when prompted again.

Trey is talking more and more, and we're convinced he'll start saying "real" words any day now. He already says "Da-Da" a lot, and sometimes "Ma-Ma," but often it's "Da-da-da-da-da," or "Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma" (and that one usually only comes when he's wanting to nurse!). But he is making all kinds of sounds and jabbering all day long.

Meanwhile, Trey is starting to stand without support for moments at a time. He still sees no real need to walk since he is such a good crawler, and he still "walks" on his knees from time to time, but he is getting there slowly. He will sometimes wave hello or bye-bye to someone, but we haven't perfected that fine motor skill just yet.

Part of History

Trey just returned from Washington, D.C., where he went to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44th President of the United States. Although Trey did not participate in any official inaugural events, he made the journey nonetheless. While Trey surely could not imagine the significance of yesterday's events, we are glad he had some small part in the celebration. Hopefully Obama will do his part to make our country a better place for Trey to grow up.

Welcome Ehlers Babies!

Trey has not one, but TWO new friends! Jonathan David and Julia Rachel Ehlers were born today in New York. That's right -- twins! We are thrilled that Trey has both a new friend and a future girlfriend. We call them Bam-Bam and Pebbles because their daddy is known to all his friends as Caveman (we'll explain if you really want t know...). He can't wait to get into lots of trouble with both of them at future Princeton events.

Future singer?

Mommy and Daddy have always joked that since she is so good at music and he is terrible, and since he is so good at sports and she is terrible, that they will have one child who is good at everything and one child who is good at nothing. (It's only a joke!) Time will tell if Trey follows in Daddy's soccer-playing footsteps (he does like to chase a ball around the room!), but lately he is showing signs of being a future singer.

Mommy sings to Trey every night before he goes to bed and every time she puts him down for a nap. Now, when he has trouble falling asleep, or when he is napping at school during the day, Trey hums to himself in bed. Mommy likes to sing to Trey in the car when she is driving, and often times Trey will sing back to her. As we've mentioned before, Trey loves bouncing to music. And we've recently discovered that Trey loves American Idol! Although we don't really "let" him watch it, whenever a "good" singer performs, Trey turns to the TV and smiles with delight!

Whether he will have perfect pitch or hardly be able to carry a tune, we won't know for a while. But it does look like our little baby appreciates music so far, so we're off to a good start!

Popeye

Trey tried spinach today for the first(?) time and L-O-V-E-D it. Granted, it was creamed spinach, loaded with delicious fillers, but hey, anything to get him to eat his veggies. He grunted and whined until I gave him more and more, and when I decided he'd had enough, he actually wailed!


This experience was quite fitting for today of all days. It was "crazy hat day" today at school; Trey's *craziest* hat, and the one he wore, is a sailor hat (which I realize isn't crazy at all). Mommy, of course, picked out an outfit to coordinate with his hat. Could Trey be the next Popeye??...

Learning to walk

Trey is walking! But not in the conventional way. Rather, he "walks" on his knees. After all, what use is there in actually walking if you can get everywhere you want to go on all fours?

Trey got a walking toy for Christmas, and he loves to push it wherever he can. But, again, he likes to walk on his knees. Lately, though, he's started pushing it around while standing. The below video demonstrates both methods (taken in our sunroom/new playroom). Again, my apologies as the videographer. I promise a good neck massage to anyone who watches repeatedly.

"Bouncing" Video

We've told you about how our little guy loves to bounce... Here is a short video example. (Only I took it with my camera, not our video camera, and I guess my little camera doesn't automatically rotate videos... who knew! So tilt your head and enjoy.) :)

First Molars

Trey has two more new teeth! This time, they are his top two molars (so the symmetry remains intact). Trey will soon be able to truly chew all the foods he loves. Hooray! Maybe we will give him a steak for his first birthday...

Back to school

After a long winter break, Trey is back at school to play with his friends. While by all reports Trey had a good day and spent most of his time crawling quickly around the room with his friend Jake, he was very ready to go home with Mommy at the end of the day. He got used to being at home and playing with Mommy and Daddy!

We all had a grand old time playing at home tonight. Trey dug into his stash of toys and enjoyed pushing around the walking toy he got for Christmas -- only Trey doesn't use it in the traditional way, rather, he "walks" on his knees all around the house! It is too funny, and we will have to get Daddy to post a video of it sooner or later (along with the many other videos that are months overdue!). Trey also did not want to go to bed tonight and tried to escape from his room at least twice before we put him down, but when it was finally bedtime he knew better than to fuss (any effort is, after all, futile these days).

It is hard to believe we are on the cusp of Trey's first birthday. Speaking of: save the date - February 8, 2009 - for Trey's party! If you are a reader of this blog and would like to come, let us know so that Mommy can make sure you are "on the list." :)

Tooth #8!

At long last... tooth #8 has appeared! This makes four teeth on the bottom to match the four teeth on top. This tooth has come just in time to grow into place in time for Trey's one-year-old pictures, which makes Mommy happy (she is a fan of symmetry, after all).

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009 to all! Trey rang in the new year with the grown-ups last night. After returning from a long day in Shreveport, we went to a party at (Aunt) Jenny & (Uncle) Joe's house. We tried to put Trey down to bed, but he cried and cried - he wanted to join the party! Alas, we relented and let Trey join the big kids. Trey shut down the party with Mommy and Daddy and even had a date for the night (14-month-old Lourdes - an older woman!). Needless to say, Trey got lots of kisses from Mommy at midnight. He also added entertainment for the evening, pushing a box all around the living area and showing off his crawling skills.

Happy New Year to everyone! Here's hoping 2009 brings health, happiness, and prosperity to you and yours.