Go Texan Day

Today is "Go Texan Day" in Houston to celebrate the start of Rodeo season. For those of you who haven't experienced the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, you need to come visit us during March! Today the city had a parade of cowboys and horses; this week was our famous Chili Cook-off; and all month the Reliant Stadium complex hosts the Rodeo, complete with concerts, the Livestock Show, and the Rodeo Carnival.

Trey celebrated by donning his cowboy gear at school, mostly courtesy of cousin Steven. Trey wore jeans, a white shirt, a cowboy vest, bandanna, and cowboy hat. He was the most costumed one in his class! And even though he didn't have boots to wear, he definitely looked the part.

Ladies' Man

Trey's former teacher, Ms. Angel, said today that she is jealous of all of Trey's girlfriends. Apparently he is considered quite the charmer among the teachers at school. Ms. Angel thought that she had a particular affinity for Trey, but she has learned recently that she must compete for his affection. We're pretty used to this by now. Any teacher (or woman, for that matter) who spends any significant amount of time with Trey falls for him pretty quickly. Not to mention the other babies in his class. Right now his friend Anna is at the top of his dance card, but there are plenty of other older girls vying for his attention. Trey, like any heartbreaker, is appropriately oblivious to all of this attention. He has Mommy by the heartstrings, and that's all he cares about. :)

Mardi Gras!

Happy Mardi Gras! Trey celebrated Fat Tuesday yesterday with festivities at school, including a parade through the courtyard. Trey got to wear a fun hat and wave at all the spectators. His face lit up when he saw Mommy! Afterward, the kids played in the interior courtyard while the Kindergarten and Primary students threw beads from the balcony. Trey captured a few to display around his neck. It was a fun time for all!

1-year Stats

Trey went to the doctor today for his 1-year check-up and immunizations. He measured in the 25th percentile across the board, which is exactly the same as his 9-month check-up. Trey checked out just fine in all other areas. The doctor was impressed he is already walking so well!

Trey's current class at school has been great for him so far. He is increasingly comfortable on his feet and is learning new things every day. We are trying at home to get Trey to focus on learning animal sounds and colors. They work on these things at school, but Mommy has decided we need more reinforcement at home. Trey also seems to be doing well with the tubes and is happier than ever. He still isn't really verbalizing yet, but we know that will come with time.

Tubes

Trey had tubes put into his ears on Tuesday. Mommy and Daddy apparently grossly underestimated the significance of this procedure. Not that it was major surgery by any means, but somehow our minds glossed over the fact that it was SURGERY at all. The accounts we had heard from friends were that tubes were a blessing, the babies recover in half a day, and they are good as new afterward. So Mommy had selfishly planned to take Trey for the "procedure" Tuesday morning and still make it into work Tuesday afternoon. It did not go according to plan.

Don't get me wrong, everything went fine, but we apparently downplayed the whole thing in comparison to other parents. Mommy had to wake up at 5:00 a.m. in order to get Trey to the hospital by 6:00 for the 8:00 procedure. We figured there was no need for Daddy to come along (and for both parents to waste valuable billing time!), so Mommy flew solo. Apparently, the Edwardses are the only family who think this way. Aside from the one woman who brought her nanny to the hospital, every other baby had at least two parents there - some also had full sets of grandparents!

Trey had been running a low-grade fever and had a terrible cough and congestion, so we were worried they were going to have to postpone the procedure. But the doctor said Trey was "no different than any other kid who comes in there," so the procedure went as planned. It actually happened ahead of schedule!

After a check-up by the nurse and a briefing from the doctor and anesthesiologist, Trey was whisked out of Mommy's arms and back to the surgery area. Although she had emotionally prepared for it, it was so hard for Mommy to let her little baby go! But no less than 20 minutes later, the staff called Mommy back to the recovery area to comfort her little one. Trey was a trooper, and although he was famished following the surgery (he sucked down 8 oz. of Pedialyte and wanted more!), overall he had a pretty good temperament.

Mommy and Trey were then sent home, where Trey slept for about an hour before waking up starving. Mommy cuddled with Trey for pretty much the rest of the day. He took a good-sized afternoon nap (and Mommy admittedly slept as well!), but when awake was not in a mood to do much of anything. Needless to say, Mommy didn't make it into work that afternoon, but she had no interest in doing anything other than comforting her sweet baby boy.

Trey took a couple days to recover, but now is pretty much good as new! The darn congestion is still there somewhat, but it's getting better. Hopefully the tubes will help prevent future illnesses like they're supposed to.

A Happy Birthday

Trey had a very happy first birthday! After he sleept in, Mommy took Trey to have his 1-year portraits made. He took some very official photographs in his birthday party outfit, and then came the fun part - Trey got to take up all his clothes and play with a birthday cake! We got some cute shots of Trey digging in and gobbling up the cake and icing.

Mommy then took Trey to eat lunch at Berryhill because he loves the grilled fish tacos there. It was a fun lunch date.
Then, after nap, Trey enjoyed a trip to the Children's Museum! (The original plan was to go to the zoo, but it rained most of the day.) Trey loved it!

Even though the toddler area was closed for renovations, Trey enjoyed playing with some of the exhibits that had blocks or balls, and also loved exploring the wide open spaces, as shown in this video.

Mommy and Daddy then took Trey up to his Riddle Grandparents' house for dinner, where Trey was treated to yet another cupcake!

He had more sugar in one day than he'd had before in his entire life! He was generous with the icing, however, and offered a taste to everyone at the table.

Needless to say, Trey crashed later that night. After snoozing on the way home, he cooperated for a brief Skype chat with his (Gran E Sea Salt) Sugar before going down for good.

All in all, it was a great first birthday! It is hard for Mommy and Daddy to believe that their little love bug is already a whole year old. He is on his feet more and more now, and he is slowly but surely growing from a baby to a little boy.

Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, dear Trey,
Happy Birthday to you!

Trey is ONE today!!! It is hard to believe a whole year has already gone by. Trey woke up with an ear infection and congestion yesterday, so we're hoping he feels better for his big day today. We will check in again at the end of the day to let you know how Trey's big day went!

Walking Video

Trey showed off his walking skills after the party last night. The video is on the bar to the right, and here is a link to the full-screen version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqVWd-mVs-8

Party Time!

Even thought he doesn't officially turn one until Tuesday, Trey celebrated his first birthday today! Mommy and Daddy threw him a bash with lots of his little friends and some family. Mimmie traveled in from Shreveport for the occasion, and even Daddy Tom was able to come all the way from Nigeria to be here for the party. Trey had a great time sharing his toys with all of his friends and shoving cake and icing into his mouth - he ate an entire cupcake! Afterward, Daddy Tom treated us to a family dinner at Ibiza, where Trey was as well-behaved as ever and gave out plenty of kisses. After working all weekend getting ready for the party, it's safe to say Mommy is more pooped than anyone and will likely crash even better tonight than her little baby coming off a sugar high.

Anna's Birthday

Trey helped celebrate Anna's FIRST BIRTHDAY at school on Tuesday. Here is a picture of him enjoying the mini-cupcakes Anna's parents brought for snack time.

Moving up!

Another graduation day is coming for Baby Trey. Next week, he moves up to the Movement 1 class at school! Movement 1 is for babies who have started walking or are around 1 year, depending on space and needs. Sure enough, a spot opened up for Trey just as he was meeting both criteria, so off he goes!

Movement 1 will have lots of new challenges for our little boy. In addition to learning to master walking, the toddlers (can we say that now?!?!) sit at little tables and chairs (bye-bye highchairs!), feed themselves independently (which he does with bites of food, but not yet with a spoon), learn to stand and wash their hands (without a baby wipe? what?!?!), nap on mats (no more beds?!), and line up at the door for rides in the Bye-Bye Buggy. They also work on their vocabulary and start learning Spanish!

Trey is excited to see some of his old friends who have already moved to Movement 1, but he is sad to leave some of his other friends behind for now. Trey has become very close to Anna, in particular. They play together all the time, especially in the morning when the other (younger) babies are napping! Hopefully they will be reunited before too much longer.

First Steps

Trey took his first steps this morning! After Daddy dropped Trey off at school, Mommy went for a visit on her way from a meeting to the office. After playing a little while, Trey pulled up as usual, and after some encouragement from Mommy, he took about 3 steps into her arms! (Rumor has it he was taking 6-7 steps at a time at school on Monday.) We will try to capture a video soon for all to see!

Kisses

For those of you interested in seeing Trey giving kisses, here is a short and sweet video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPktwMUjlGA

Almosts

Trey had a weekend of "almosts".... almost walking, and almost talking!

First, for the sake of the complete record, I must note that we went to Fort Worth this weekend for a wedding. Trey wasn't wild about spending so much time in his car seat (at least on the airplanes he gets to move around some!), but we got through the trip without many complaints. Cousin Holly babysat while Mommy and Daddy went to the wedding (thanks Holly!), and by all accounts they had a good time.

Trey also saw his first Superbowl this weekend, although he was more interested in pulling on Daddy's hair, trying to get his fingers into the 7-layer dip, and staring down our friend's cat (I don't think he'd every really seen a cat before).

But, back to the "almosts"... Trey is almost walking! This weekend, we caught him a few times standing unassisted and taking a step before realizing he was upright and quickly dropping down to all fours. And Trey is almost talking! In fact, we think he might be saying his first word - "hello." He says it in a very cute way that would be nearly impossible to describe in writing. On Sunday morning, Trey waived his cute little hand while saying "hello" to Mommy. So while we're still figuring out if he knows what the word means, he is close to recording his first word in the baby book.