Busy Mommy

There are very few things that can ever keep Mommy from leaving the office in time to pick Trey up from school on a given day. One of things, however, is a federal jury trial. It just so happens that this week, Mommy has one of those. For lawyers, federal jury trials are exciting, relatively rate opportunities. For mommies, they're evil things that steal your time away from your precious children. Alas, Mommy is giving into her job this time (really she has no choice - the federal judge probably wouldn't be too happy if she left trial early), and probably won't see much of Trey this week (which means she'll have a very similar week to lots of other women attorneys she knows . . . but that's a different story). Daddy is really stepping up and helping out with primary caretaker duty despite his own trial looming on the horizon (May 6!). And Mama C and Aunt Kacie are also helping lots with pick-up this week.

Daddy, for starters, is taking Trey to the doctor tomorrow morning to see about his cough. Trey has a cough that just won't go away! We hope it's nothing major but it's time to do something about it once and for all. The little coughs just break our hearts, as well as the hearts of Trey's teachers. And, as someone who has struggled with a chronic cough of her own, Mommy feels especially badly for Trey.

Next weekend, Daddy will be out of town for his BFF Trey's charity weekend (a.k.a bachelor party), so Mommy will have ample opportunity to make up for lost time while Daddy is gone.

Ball player...or musician...or both?

I think I have written before on here about Mommy and Daddy's little joke about the prediction they have with their children: Because Daddy is so athletic but not very musically inclined, and because Mommy is a talented musician but pathetic at sports, they have joked that they will have one child who is good at everything and one child who is good at nothing. We all know that, in reality, the dominant genes will win out and the Edwardses of Houston will have all dream children, but for now, we are left to wonder.

Trey, it seems, is on the path to greatness in both categories. Now that he is a master walker (and an almost-runner), he has started becoming more and more into throwing balls. He likes to pick up big balls and bounce them, and he'll pick up tennis balls and throw them. We are told he is the best thrower in his class! Last weekend, we taught Trey how to kick a ball, and now he will dribble a ball around the room like a little pro soccer player. Daddy is so proud.

Meanwhile, Trey is becoming quite the musician! His latest trick is that he will actually play on his toy xylophone the way it is intended - by hitting the bars with the attached mallets (okay, really they're just plastic drumsticks). His xylophone also has keys to press to play the same music, and he has figured that out as well. And even though Trey still isn't really talking, he is quite the singer! He hums himself to sleep during naps and at night, as well as at other times during the day. Often times, when we talk to him, he will say something back to us and repeat the inflection precisely. It seems he can already match pitch!

Mommy and Daddy, of course, are fighting over which talent will win out. Only time will tell...

A giver

One of Trey's favorite activities lately is to act as a little messenger for people, bringing them item after item. He practiced this trick last weekend at his grandparents' house, bringing Mommy rock after rock from the fountain on the patio, until Mommy had a stack of rocks next to her. Today, Trey practiced the same activity with Daddy in his playroom; he brought Daddy toy after toy until Daddy was literally covered with toys. Sometimes, he will try and say "thank you" when delivering one of these items. Mommy caught the second half of this episode on the video below.





Daddy at the end of Trey's giving spree:

First Baseball Lesson (and making up for lost blog posts)

Trey had his first "baseball lesson" with Daddy today. (This isn't normally the kind of thing I would post on here, because really Trey and Daddy were just playing, but since I've been so bad about posting lately, I figured why not.)

Trey has a little baseball toy that Santa Claus gave him in his effort to expose him to "boy" things - the Playskool Swing 'n' Score Baseball. The object of the game is to hit the baseball - either with the bat provided or with your hand - to swing the baseball around the center post of the toy. The electronic voice on the toy then exclaims, "Oh boy! You hit a double!" or "WOW! You got a triple!" or the obligatory "HOME RUN!" The single-double-triple-home run scoring does not necessarily seem to relate to how far you hit the baseball, but nevertheless, I suppose it teaches the fundamentals of America's game.

Trey has played with the toy before, and he likes the plastic bat provided with the toy, but he's never really put the two together before. So today, Daddy worked to officially teach Trey how to correctly use the bat. Trey got it, at least for a little while. We'll consider this his first baseball lesson. Many more to come over the years!

Big Boy

At school, Trey and his friends eat "family-style" at little round tables with short, little chairs. They feed themselves (spoons and all), and sometimes try to steal food from each other. Trey is so used to eating at the table that now, at home, he begs to eat at his "big boy" table instead of his high chair. When we tell Trey it's time to eat, or when we ask him whether he wants a snack, he goes directly to his "big boy" chair. And sometimes, when he's eating in his high chair, he points at the little table because that's where he would rather sit.



Trey's chairs at home are still a little too big for him to get in and out of on his own, but he still loves to sit there. It makes him feel like a big boy.

Happy Easter!

A day late, but better late than never!

Trey had a fun day of church, Easter lunch, and playing with family. After lunch and a nap (and a change of clothes), Daddy Tom took Trey to the park, where he had a blast splashing in the puddles left from the Easter-morning rain!

Trey did have a ball playing with his Easter eggs, and he loves the bath toys and book the Easter bunny brought him.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Neglectful

Okay, I fully realize I've been neglecting this blog lately. Maybe it's because now that Trey is walking everywhere, there aren't as many new developments. Or maybe it's because I've been busy at work or otherwise preoccupied with things. Who knows. I promise I am a more attentive mother than I am a blogger. In any event, I know I need to do better here. I promise an Easter post shortly. And maybe one about talking!

Ready for Easter

Trey had lots of practice for Easter over the weekend, attending not one but TWO egg hunts! At first he didn't really understand the point of the whole event, and he never really mastered the concept of trying to collect as many eggs as possible, but he did get a lot of practice picking up brightly colored round objects lying on the ground. He really got the hang of it by the end of the weekend!

Trey also got to meet his friend Kate this weekend -- a younger woman! And he had plenty of playtime with Kacie and Mama C. All in all, it was a very busy (and exhausting) weekend!

Placebo effect?

It seems Trey may have inherited his mother's chronic cough. We hope not, but Trey has been coughing a lot lately. It got worse this week, so much so that it was keeping him up at night and disrupting nap time. It worried one of Trey's teachers so much so that she called Mommy yesterday afternoon to express her concern. Mommy dropped everything to take Trey to the doctor, only to hear it was only "normal" congestion. At least we don't have to fight Trey to give him any medicine.

Trey, however, seems to be better since the doctor's visit. Perhaps it is a placebo effect. The same teacher today remarked that Trey did not cough AT ALL when going down for a nap. So, hopefully the cough has passed...

Outside

We have learned in recent weeks that Trey absolutely LOVES being outside, and especially roaming around free. He can be in an apathetic mood or even fussy, but when we put him down to run around outside on his own, he immediately turns into the happiest little boy you've ever seen.

Often when we get home at the end of the day, Trey will stand at the front door, look through the glass panes, and BEG to go outside. He does this at other times as well when he is reminded that he is inside instead of out. In this way, our sunroom is the perfect play area for Trey. It "feels" like you are outside when you are, in fact, perfectly sheltered.

Trey's school teachers tell us that he loves going outside to play and cries when it's time to go in. Mama C has gotten in the habit of taking Trey to the park nearly every time she comes to visit, and now, if she doesn't immediately take him outside when she arrives, Trey gets upset. We're not entirely sure what is so appealing about the great outdoors, but Trey seems to absolutely love it.

Believe it or not, "outside" was Mommy's first word as a baby. We have no idea what happened to her . . . but perhaps Trey is taking after her in this regard, at least for now.