Bye Bye Baby... Hello Toddler!
The past two months have flown by! We've had alot going on too, alot of which has been fun. In September, Pj and I chaperoned the WCA (private school who works at) homecoming dance. My parents took Trey for the night (first time we were away from him all night) since we knew it would be a long and late night at the school dance. The next morning we got to sleep in (rare treat) and then drove down to DC to our favorite restaurant, a tavern along the river with all you can drink mimosa's and great breakfasts. It was a fun day! Then last weekend Pj's parents watched Trey overnight for our 4th anniversary and we went away one night to the 1840's Carrollton Inn in Baltimore. We had a tasty dinner in Little Italy and the best cappuccino I've ever had, took a walk up to Federal Hill where he proposed to me way back when. The following day we walked around New Market out closer to where we live and looked at townhomes that we're interested in. Then the following day we took Trey with us to Harper's Ferry. Lots of hills and definitely not stroller friendly. Next time we go we will leave the stroller at home;-) So those were the highlights for us the past two months!
Trey is walking alot now! At most, he only takes 4-5 steps. But he does this all the time now. I expect that he'll be walking enough to call him a walker by the end of next month, but we'll see. I know he can do it... and I know he knows he can do it... but he also knows crawling gets him around faster and that's his main goal these days. So he's in no rush!
He's got quite a strong will we've noticed more and more! The temper tamtrums... wow. Let's just say he lets you know what he wants and what he doesn't want. He's happiest when he's free to roam wherever/whenever he wants, when he is allowed to open and close doors and drawers, when he can pull things out of boxes and put them back in, when he can make noise by banging something on the floor or wall or furniture. He loves toys with strings that he can pull, he loves Elmo, he continues to LOVE Veggie Tales, he loves books. A couple times a day he will pull all the books off his shelf and surround himself on the floor with them and he will just quietly flip through the pages. It's really cute! Last night we introduced him again to crayons and paper. He actually seemed to "get it" for the first time, taking the crayon to the paper and drawing on it. But then he quickly learned that it was more fun to take the crayons out of the plastic box I have them in and put them back in, over and over again. Oh well!
We all had bad colds this past few weeks and are finally getting better. I took Trey to the doctor because I was worried about his ears (he was batting at them and fussing) and he was fine other than some fluid in there, but I did get to find out that he is 22.8 lbs! I'm not sure how long he is, but he's definitely growing alot! He's wearing all of his 12-18 month clothes. My little baby is disappearing and turning into a crazy little boy!!
We are currently planning Trey's 1st birthday party! It's exciting... we can't believe it has already been a year! It will be Veggie Tale themed of course;-) Pictures and details to come next month!
Pj's job is still going great. It's very challenging and exhausting (he works 60+ hours a week), but he still enjoys it!
That's it for now!
August Review
I'm so glad we have this blog because I've been so bad about updating Trey's baby book. Maybe its the day and age we live in, but I find it so much easier to just type up something and upload pictures. My sister Sarah on the other hand will have the amazing baby books made by hand since she is so creative and takes the time for it. Oh well, we all have our gifts! I just feel bad for our 6th kid (if we get that far)... at this rate that will just have a a Word document typed up IF that!
We've had alot of fun this past month! Last week we went with my good friend and her two kids and my sister Sarah to the DC zoo. Trey was sleeping most of the time, but the rest of us had fun. It is amazing how LITTLE you get to see when you have little kids though. After we packed up the car and then unpacked the car and then stopped for snack/drink and bathroom/diaper change break we finally saw a few exhibits. But then not long after that it was time for lunch and then we headed home for the afternoon nap. But it was still alot of fun!
Now that school is in session, Pj has been a ghost in our house. He has been working 12 hour days or more and many of his evenings and weekend time has been devoted to school events. We miss him! I can tell it really affects Trey after a few days of hardly seeing Daddy at all... he starts getting really moody. Today, for instance, was the first day this week he's seen more than 2 hrs of Pj and he was soooo excited. It's really sweet! I'm looking forward to October when things calm down a bit. But he still LOVES his job despite the hard work and long hours he's keeping... and we're very thankful for God's provision there!
Trey had his 9 month appointment at the beginning of the month and he's grown quite a bit. He is now 29 1/2" long and at the time of appointment was 20 lbs and 4oz. Since then I believe he has gained atleast a pound or more... he's so heavy! He's been eating so much the past week. This morning he ate, for instance, an entire scrambled egg, 1/4 cup of fruit and a few tablespoons of cereal... that was after a 6oz bottle of milk! More than I eat!!!
Oh and the big news of the month... he is sleeping all the way through the night now. It's been AMAZING! He goes to bed at 7:30/8 and sleeps until 7:30/8 the next morning. I feel spoiled! He's completely weaned now too... so that's made things easier (although formula is so expensive we have found out). I think next time we have a baby I'm going to try to nurse all the way through the first year if I can to save the money (plus its so much healthier to do that).
Trey has gotten alot closer to walking, but not quite yet. He will take a few steps if I hold his hand. He also will walk while pushing some of his larger toys. He stands for long period of time now and will bend over to get other toys. Close! I'm in no rush though:-) His vocabulary is really expanding. All sorts of sounds! Its funny how he is trying to have a conversation with us (and so serious too!) but we of course don't understand a word of it. However he does say the following words (and we know he knows what they mean because he will say it when you put the object in front of him), "Guck" (Duck), "Ba" (Ball), "Clock", "Ma-a-a", "Dada", "Ba-ba" (bottle), "Car". He still loves to be read to... we probably read 10 books or so a day and he really doesn't get tired of being read to, which is nice. I need to be better about going to the library each week to get new books. I've been using vocabulary cards with him too... but who knows how much of that he is retaining... we'll see.
Other than that, its been a pretty low key month! This coming month will be big because we will be leaving him with my parents for one night and Pj's parents with one night. It will be the first time for us! I'm not nervous... thankfully we feel completely comfortable with him being with either of our parent's overnight. However its still hard... but necessary I know:-) I have a feeling it won't be so hard when we have 4 or 6 kids... we'll be begging people to give us a break, haha!
That's it till next month!
Breaking News: Trey's first word!!
This is going to be quick, but just wanted to announce that Trey has said his first word (well, apart from Me-ma "Mommy" and Da-da). The word is "clock". LOL! I know its weird. Ever since he was tiny he's had a fascination with clocks for some weird reason. Whenever he sees one he grins huge and just stares at it. So we area always saying, "Look Trey, there's a clock!" I guess we say it more than we realize and it stuck. The other day Trey was on the floor and I was asking him the names of different things so I went ahead and asked, "Trey, where is the clock?" He turned around completely, looked up at the clock on our wall, and said, "Cla-cla-cla!" over and over again. We were both shocked... so we kept trying it all evening. Sometimes he said it again, but not always. So I figured it might just be a coincidence. Then today I took him to the printer's and as we stood waiting for my proofs, he started saying, "Cla! Cla! Cla!" again. He was staring at the big clock on the wall. I'm so proud of my little boy, even if his first word choice is a bit unconventional;-)
That's it for now!
Our Rugrat:-)
It's been a very, very busy month for us, which is why its been a while since the last posting. Trey is constantly on the move these days, usually getting into the dog bowls, pulling wires, or closing the door to his bedroom so that we can't get in! I'm pretty busy, to say the least;-) But he is doing great! He's constantly standing now and starting to take steps here and there. Today he actually stood up and balanced himself without using his hands for a few seconds. Of course, after that he came crashing down and bruised his cheek a bit, poor little guy. His favorite toys these days are metal bowls that he can bang things on, bouncy balls, cars/trucks and books. He LOVES books! I will put a pile of his books in front of him and he will look through all of them, making talking sounds like he is reading. I hope this will last! Last month I took him to a baby music and rhymes group at the Frederick library, which I plan to continue. He loves interaction with other people, especially kids. We're noticing that he's quite the social butterfly. He is the happiest when everyone is paying attention to him. And if you aren't giving him your full attention... well... he lets you know he's not happy with you pretty fast (usually with yelling). We're working on that one;-)
I can't believe he has his 9 month appointment in two weeks! I'm not sure how much he weighs or how tall he is, but I know he's fitting fairly well in 9-12 month outfits. I've put many of the 6-9 stuff away now. His first top tooth popped out last week while we were at the beach. He's eating all sorts of foods now, mostly finger foods. Favorites of his are: pears, bananas, whole bread pieces with hummus, and ham. When we're at Pj's parent's house, Uncle Mike gives him soda, and he likes that ALOT! So, in a nutshell, you can see that our little baby is quickly becoming a little boy, growing up faster than I thought he would! But I love seeing all these changes in him. And my favorite part of each day is still that huge smile he gives me and how he snuggles when I get him out of his crib each morning!
Pj has been at his new job for a few weeks now and is still loving it! It started out slow but now is starting to pick up pace. He's going to have a busy couple of months ahead, but is looking forward to it. It makes such a huge difference in the quality of life when you enjoy your job, doesn't it! It's been a change for Trey and I not to have Pj around all the time. But we definitely look forward to late afternoon when he comes home. Trey gets soooo excited when Pj walks in and then its sweet because he won't leave Pj's side. If he leaves the room to change or something, Trey starts to cry. I'm glad he loves his daddy so much!
I've been keeping us busy this past month! We went to the beach in North Carolina to stay with Pj's family for a few days. My sister Anne came with us! Pj's cousin Karen got married while we were down there (my first beach wedding experience). It was a beautiful ceremony! I've been busy hanging out with friends, trying out new recipes, trying to get a routine to life now that Pj is at work, and in my spare time still making extra money on the side doing graphic design.
Other big news for us is that we bought a minivan last week. We had been thinking about it and looking around, but the big decision finally came when the A/C in my 2000 Honda Civic broke on that 100+ day. Pj has a 1996 Civic that sort of has A/C, when it decides to work. So we knew with a baby we really didn't have an option, especially with the heat we've had this summer. Thankfully, we got a great deal on a 2010 Kia Sedona. It's got 7 seats, so plenty of room for other kids that we'll eventually have. We're very happy with it!
That's pretty much it for now! Pictures to come:-)
June Is Rushing By!
It's been a while since our last update and sooo much has happened I don't know where even to begin!
Trey is standing up now!!!!! I guess he's been doing it for a week or to now. I haven't taken a picture of him doing it yet but maybe I'll get around to that today. It's old news now I suppose for us... not to mention I'm more than a little busy following him around the house making sure he doesn't kill himself. His crawling skills have improved since the last update and he is so fast that I literally cannot turn around or he will be in a different room doing something. It's been fun! His favorite things to do are to pull wires or to try and eat the dog food. We've been putting chairs, boxes, whatever we can around wires to hide them. But we are also working on the word "No". Trey sometimes understands it and will cry because he knows he's in trouble. But most times he still just laughs at us when we say it thinking it's a game.
This past week I started Trey on small pieces of finger food... bananas, baby cereal, yogurt melts, cut up nectarines. He loves to feed himself... although most of the time it ends up in his lap or stuck to the back of his hands. But he's figuring things out! This morning however he did not want me to spoon feed me anything!! He kept trying to grab for the bowl. Once I gave him the pieces to feed himself, he was fine. My little boy is growing up:-(
Oh and did I mention that he LOVES apple juice! He won't drink water much anymore because he knows he has the option of apple juice. What he DOESN'T know is that I water it down alot;-)
We've had alot else going on this past month. Pj's grandfather Jim Hill has been in and out of the hospital with a number of back surgeries and problems that have gone along with them. If you think of him, please say a prayer because he is still in the hospital and trying to recover from it all! It's also been a month for weddings and bridal showers of course. My close friend Julie got married at the end of May. Last night a couple from our old church Shady Grove got married. And tomorrow is my old college friend Steve's wedding! Bed, Bath & Beyond probably gets sooo much business in May and June... I know I've been there alot!
Pj also graduated from seminary this past month. It was a great ceremony and his whole family plus my aunt came out to celebrate (my family was still on vacation and we missed them!!). He still has his thesis to finish, but he's getting close! I think it's going to 85 pages int he end?!? I can't imagine writing such a long paper... and definitely not on the subject he's writing about. It's on Christian Metaphysics I believe (I probably totally screwed that up but he can correct me if I did). Don't ask me what that means because I really don't know! I will read it when he is done and do my best to understand;-) He's very excited to finish though. Now we're talking about when he is going to start working on learning Greek, Hebrew and all those other languages so he can start his PhD. We're thinking he'll probably go to Catholic University in DC for the PhD, but we'll see. South Carolina's housing prices are looking reallllllly good these days when we think about expanding! If only the school he wanted was in a cheaper area to live;-) Details to work on later and thankfully we have plenty of time!
Speaking of Pj, his new job starts in less than 2 weeks (July 1st!). We spent last night working out the details of our new medical insurance plan. It will be so nice to have an income again! I'm thankful for unemployment $$, but it definitely isn't much!
As for me, I haven't had many graphic design the past month. It worked out well because I've been so busy I probably would have had to turn them down. My days start at 7am (and often as early at 5:30am) and don't end really until midnight (last feeding). I feel like I'm constantly on the run after my active boy. The past week or two I feel more exhausted then I felt right after he was born... go figure! And no I'm not pregnant (that I know of) for those of you who are probably wondering. I do wonder if I'm zapped of all my iron though... need to start taking those icky vitamins again I suppose. I really hate vitamins!
That's it for now! I will post some pictures and maybe a video or two!
Crawling Trey:-)
This is just a quick note to announce that we have an official crawler! While Trey has been sort of crawling for weeks now, this past week he's figured out how to put the legs and hands together and he's all over the place now. He's still fairly slow, but he's mobile! Now he's trying to figure out how to pull himself up to a sitting position... usually ending up either half sitting up and playing with a toy or falling backwards on his head. We're so proud of our little boy, but a little sad that's he's growing up so fast too.
Trey's is 1/2 Year Old Today!!
It's hard to believe it's been six months (1/2 year!!) since Trey was born. The time continues to fly by, faster than it did before he was in our lives. We are trying to enjoy every moment we have together. It's been a month month!
TEETH
Trey has two teeth now, his bottom middle teeth. They are VERY sharp! Thankfully he hasn't tried to bite mommy yet!
SOLIDS
He is also eating all sorts of solids now. His favorites are applesauce, pears, bananas, carrotts, sweet potatoes and green beans. He doesn't like chicken and chicken gravy and he doesn't like avocado. He is getting picky about his cereal now too, so we have to mix applesauce or bananas in it to get him to eat it. He's eating about 6 (sometimes 8) oz of solids a day now! Hungry boy.
SLEEPING
Teething really got Trey out of a good sleep pattern. I finally a few nights ago had had enough and started "Baby Bootcamp"... which means I let him cry it out. I went in every 5 or 10 minutes to ensure him that he was okay and I was nearby, but didn't get him out of the crib. The first night was horrible. The second was better. And the third he only woke up once for a feeding, yay! It's been great ever since. As soon as we get a good pattern of one feeding a night going, I'll try to eliminate all night feedings.
CRAWLING & SITTING
Trey is mobile now! He's been a supported sitter for a few months now, but now he can really sit on his own for a little while. A few days ago he actually started pushing himself up into a sitting position on his own too! As for crawling, it started by him just tucking his feet under him. Now he's got pretty much everything together, except he's still trying to figure out how to go forwards. My favorite thing that he dos is he pushes his entire middle off the ground and balances on his feet and arms. I have a video of it... unbelievable strength! So we have to baby proof the house now. He's already getting into the cords and reaching for things he can't have!
That's it for now! Happy 6 Month Birthday Trey!
Busy Month
It's been a busy few weeks for us! I've been busy with a number of projects for the marketing company in Gaithersburg I'm working for. It's nice to bring in some extra $$ to help out while doing something I enjoy! This month was our grand opening for the church plant... so that has pretty much consumed alot of our spare time, to say the least. I am the graphic designer for the church, so I've been busy creating signs, flyers, bookmarks, logos, etc. Pj is the children's ministry director so he's been especially busy as well, getting the new system up and running. But we've made it through and things are calming down a bit now I think!!
In the meantime, Pj has been busy working on his thesis. He graduates at the end of May from Reformed Theological Seminary. It's hard to believe that it's been 2-3 years since he began. He's been reading book after book and taking all of his notes. I wish I understood all that he is writing about, but I don't. However, he is pretty good at explaining it to me in a way that I can understand. That's okay with me, because it would be the same if I started talking about how I design to him!
Trey is sitting on his own now! It's still weird to me to come in and see him sitting playing with his toys. My little baby is growing up! He still falls over every now and then, but it's not as often. Because he's able to sit, I decided tonight to take out the infant seat in his tub and let him sit in it with his toys. He LOVED it! He didn't want to get out. He kept splashing at the water and I think he was fascinated with how his toes looked in the soapy water too. He isn't crawling yet, but he is getting into the crawl position alot now with his legs tucked and stomach off the ground, so I expect it soon. He just hasn't figured how to move the arms and legs together. It's hard right now because he wants so badly to move so he can get to his toys. He does not like to b confined to one spot!
This month has been pretty rough for him (and us!) because he cut his first two teeth. They are the bottom two. It took a few weeks! The days have been super cranky and the nights have been very very long for me (he would wake every 1-2 hours and want to eat because it was comforting). On the positive side, it helped me lose all my baby weight, lol! I thought I had a break after the first, but then the second one started (I have since learned that they come in two's usually (well, the bottom and top middle teeth that is... I forget the name!). They are very sharp, but thankfully I have only felt his bite on my finger so far;-) Trey's 6 month appointment is in a little over 2 weeks and that is when we get to start feeding him all sorts of solids (right now he is still just eating cereal once a day). Can't wait! I plan to make our own baby food. We want to try to do organic since it is much healthier. Also don't plan to give him any juices either! Figure if he doesn't know what he's missing... it won't be a problem;-) Guess it's time to order the food processor!!
That's it for now! Maybe I can get a picture of his teeth for you all... we'll see if he lets me;-)
New Jobs, Trey Progressing With the Sitting and Rolling Over From Back
In my last entry, I mentioned that things with Pj's job search were going well. Well now I can officially announce, although you all have probably a already heard, that Pj has accepted a full-time position at Washington Christian Academy (a K-12 Christian school in Olney, MD) as Dean of Dean of Student and Family Life. We're so excited! It's going to be a great job for him, one that he is looking forward to very very much. He starts July 1st, which is great because it gives him time to write his thesis since he graduates in June with his MA in Religion from RTS. When he first showed me the job description over our celebration lunch at Red Robin earlier this month, I teared up because it was just so overwhelming to see how God had brought various odd and end experiences in Pj's life the past couple of years and now the experience he gained will help with this job. We had wondered which his rather interesting resume what on earth God had in store for him! This was it:-)
As for me, I'm excited because this past week I've started working as a graphic design contractor for a marketing company in Gaithersburg. I actually just completed my first design project for them this morning and sent it off. I was really nervous about this because while I'm full-time at home, I have very little spare time... and I never know just how much of it I will get each day with the demands of Trey and also just taking care of home (little things like making sure I do the dishes before the mold forms and doing about 10 billion tons of laundry each week;-)). But Pj was very encouraging and also knowing I have so many family members closeby who are willing to help out (honestly, more help than I even need!!!), is helpful. I think I will be just fine even on my own without extra help... I just have to manage my time really really well and not let panic set in thinking I can't do it. Like the Little Red Train Engine, I have to be in the "I think I can, I think I can" mindset;-) Oh geez, I'm totally a mom now if I'm quoting children's books to make my point!
Trey, however, has had other things on his mind... like trying to sit without falling over and trying to roll over from his back to get his toys or Lilbit's ear! The sitting part is going pretty well. I put the Bumbo around him for added protection, but he can sit up for a minute or so with a straight back and hardly using his arms at all. He doesn't seem to mind tumbling over, which is great. I try to not rush to him when he does fall so as to not make a bigger deal of it then it is. But it's hard not too! As for rolling, he is a pro at rolling to his side and getting in perfect position for a full rollover to his tummy... but he just hasn't quite gotten it yet. I expect he will in a week or two though. He's scooting really well though. He is starting to get on his knees a bit and push himself up in the air as he moves... so the beginning of crawling has started. I guess that means I need to look around to see what needs to be moved to safety... like our wine bottles maybe??;-)
Last week we took Trey to the zoo for the first time. Actually, it was more like the 80th time for him, except he wouldn't remember because he was still in my tummy. Way back in October, Pj was still working for Metro Steel and had a job at the zoo so we could go in the middle of the night sometimes... kinda of cool! I used it as an opportunity to walk and walk and walk to get Trey to come... but it didn't work. Anyways, last Saturday was beautiful, warm and sunny. But apparently everyone else and their brother had the same idea we did. It took us forever to get there because of all the protests in DC (which, had I known they were having them, I would have joined them!) and then the zoo's parking lots were full, and then when we found a spot, it was time to feed Trey, and then we had to cover him up and get the stroller ready. So it probably took about 3 hrs before we were in the zoo. And it was PACKED! I haven't seen that many strollers in my life!! And it was hot too! Poor Trey slept most of the time and didn't seem to care about the animals much. Oh well! We have learned to: a) go on a weekday, b) go early, c) make sure its cool and overcast, d) take the carrier and leave the stroller. I just would like to take this moment by the way to give three cheers for parents of more than one young child who attempts to go to the zoo... you should get an award for that!
As for our church plant, we had our first grand opening Sunday last week! Pj is the children's coordinator, my mother-in-law is the church administrator, and I'm the graphic designer... so we were all working lots of hours right up until the first opening day. It was cool to see everything come together and meet new people we had been praying would come! Looking forward to next week.
That's it for now! Trey is crying so I'd better go see what's up:-)
Trey's First Solid Food, 4 Month Appointment and Summer Plans
Trey had his 4 month doctor's appointment yesterday and it went really well! As I mentioned in the last entry, we have been debating whether or not to start him on cereal since he seems so much hungrier these days. Well, we had decided that we would start him on it after the doctor's appointment UNLESS she gave us a really good reason not too. Thankfully, we didn't eve have to bring it up! Our doctor looked at his growth chart (he's 14 lbs and 2 oz and 26 1/2 inches long... so he gained almost 3 lbs and 2 1/2 inches in two months) and, after I mentioned he is wanting to feed more and seems hungry even after I feed him, she suggested to start him on rice cereal once a day. So that took care of that! She confirmed he has a mild case of eczema and believe it or not she told us to give him two baths a day and lather on the lotion (fragrance free) and dress him only in cotton... which has dramatically improved it! She also told us she thinks he will be an early talker and crawler. Apparently because he already has separation anxiety issues because he's so alert, she says that is why she thinks he will talk early (got me!! <shrug>). We're already starting to baby proof the house more (putting hazardous stuff out of reach, getting rid of our coffee table and putting a soft ottoman thing with storage there instead (great for storing toys too;-)), buying gates. I'm not going to super babyproof the house... but I'm definitely going to get the obvious hazards out of the way... why flirt with danger! Back to the appointment, we ended it with two shots and a drink of something sweet. It's too bad they didn't give him the drink AFTER the shots because he was VERY upset. It's so hard to watch your baby get his shots! I wish I could get them for him:-(
It was a long afternoon yesterday after his appointment... he was either screaming-crying uncontrollably or eating or sleeping. I finally got him to settle down with me in bed as long as I was holding him. Poor boy!
But today we fed him his first solid and he did great! He loved it!! I posted a video of this, if you would like to watch (it's short!). He kept wanting to take the spoon and bowl from me... the hungry little monster:-) I'm so glad that it went well. It's fun to start this new phase of feeding! Although I have to admit, part of me is a little sad because he's growing up.
On to other subjects... like this wonderful weather. I suppose that groundhog is feeling pretty stupid about now... because it definitely feels like an early spring. We went outside for a little bit this afternoon in short sleeves and it felt great. It was nice to not have to bundle of Trey! I can't wait till we can take walks each morning and start an exercise routine that doesn't include watching a video on my laptop while prancing around like a fool (I'm not the most coordinated when it comes to those exercise moves).
And its time to start the porch garden! I've bought potting soil and herbs and flowers. I was going to grow tomatoes, but instead I'm going to help my mom over the summer weed and water their really really big garden and go "shopping" over there. Its amazing how much money growing your own fruits, veggies and herbs saves! Plus, they are so much better. There is nothing better in the summer than a sun-ripened tomato fresh off the vine!! It will be fun for Trey too. My parents have an awesome backyard with swings (and a soon-to-be-added baby swing), a stream with frogs, tadpoles and weird black and red salamanders , and lots of room to run around. I'm hoping to get Trey a baby pool and set it under the trees out there while we do gardening. Can you tell that I'm looking forward to the summertime??;-)
This desire to grow my own things has been fed by our new favorite show, "Top Chef". My coworker from my old job at JHU bought me season 5 for my birthday and we watched the whole season in 4 days! It's a great show. And you can't help but want to try out cooking and baking after watching it too! Watching "Julie & Julia" didn't help either. I did try out a few recipes this past month that were not as hard as I thought they would be and tasted like something straight from The Olive Garden (we love our Italian food and Chianti in this house;-))! I'll have to post photos and recipes at some point.
As for Pj's job search, we have had some good news in the past week, but are still working through some things. I will update as soon as I have more to share! Keep praying for us.
Baptisms, Pasta Lunches, Job Interviews and More...
Wow, what a weekend we had! It was so crazy, but so much fun. Trey was baptized at our old church Shady Grove PCA on Sunday. We threw a lunch afterwards that initially was supposed to be a small thing with immediate family but turned into this "Godfather" like pasta luncheon for 80 at the American Legion! So Friday night night we left him with Pj's parents and went to Costco's, Safeway, and Party City for everything. Fun date:-) And then we zipped up to Hagerstown on Saturday for Pj's cousin's 30th birthday party and the back home to make 35lbs of spaghetti sauce (when I say made, I mean that we heat of Ragu and add all kinds of spices, fried onions, green peppers and seasoning ground beef... Pj's special sauce). Trey did really well both days... I was surprised. He was awake and fairly happy until the part of the service where we went up front. When we got up there, I think he was so fascinated by the pastor and then all the people sitting in the congregation that he forgot about being tired. Then he fell asleep on my shoulder quickly directly after.... perfect! I actually got to sit in and hear Charlie preach which was a treat!! Pj's cousin Heather and aunt Sheri were able to get him to nap while at the party too... so all was good. Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us:-)
In other news, Pj just left for an interview! I won't go into details just yet just in case he doesn't get the job... but we are hoping he does because it would be the most perfect job for him. God has been really good to us so far since I left my job and Pj was laid off in November. All our needs have been provided for. We haven't even had to buy diapers or wipes once yet! When we've had financial needs here and there, they have been met by very generous family members and friends who probably didn't realize just how much the $$ they gave us helped. So, while being unemployed is not desirable of course, sometimes being in need is really so encouraging because you see that you aren't alone, God will always provide and Matthew 6:25-34 really is true, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." I'd say more, but we'll leave the rest for another post!
Lately I've been trying to get some paid jobs doing graphic design work. It hasn't been easy! I signed up with this website called iFreelance.com. It's pretty neat! You create your own page and bid on jobs or the website lets you know when a job comes up that you are a good match for. So, for instance, the other day a company in Ireland posted their need for a graphic designer to create business cards for them. So I, and others, went and bid on the project (telling them how much we would be willing to design the cards for). I haven't had any successful bids yet, but it's still early. Part of me is actually kind of glad I have to say. With the baby, every day is different and I never know if I will have spare time or not. Its one thing when you are doing something for free, which I've done alot of lately. But when you are paid, that deadline is clear and I wouldn't want to fall behind. But I really do think that once Trey can crawl and play with toys on his own... I might have some more spare time. Haha, or maybe some of you are laughing at me right now saying, "Yeah, in your dreams!" Well, I guess a girl can dream;-)
We've had alot of fun with Trey the past few weeks as he's really starting to show his personality and can interact with us so much more. The best part of his day is usually in the morning. He's usually super hyper because he's got lots of sleep and he's fed. His favorite thing to do is I lay back on the couch and put him on my stomach and he tries to crawl up towards my face. When he gets close I give him a bear hug and shake him and blow bubbles on his neck. He laughs so hard and then we start over. It's a game! He also is making all sorts of new sounds (some of which are on the new video I will post). He has this very boyish grunt he makes when he's hungry... which I find hilarious. Stomach comes first, doesn't it men!!! He also is cooing alot more and honestly it sounds like he's trying to sing. I wouldn't be surprised because we play music, all kinds, all day long. The other morning he woke up at 8am like usual but when 10am (morning naptime) came around he was not tired. I put him in his crib anyway, but through the intercom I could hear him cooing. I peeked in and he had his head up and he was talking to the animals printed on the side of his crib with a big smile. He did this for 1 hour all by himself. Cute! He did it again when we put him to bed that night... in the dark. We have a video which I will upload today!
And Trey is essentially 4 months old now! The big question this month is do we begin solid or not. I've listened to everyone's advice and have gotten a broad range of answers. So anyway, now we are just trying to decide what's best for Trey. After all, parent's know best, right?! We've decided to wait and talk to the pediatrician at his 4 month appointment next week. I already know she'll most likely encourage us to wait until he is 6 months. We'll see! We bought a box of rice cereal, just to be ready. I'm not convinced that he's waking up more at night because he's hungry. I think he's just waking up and because he's older and more alert he's having a hard time going back to sleep and on top of that he expects to be fed whenever he wakes up night... even if it's only 30 minutes after the last feed. Hungry? Yeah, right Trey! I know better than that;-) So my goal this next week is to wean him from this extra feeding he has been wanting each night when he wakes up. I'll keep giving him that other middle of the night feeding until we talk to the pediatrician. But if he's gaining enough weight and she doesn't think he really needs more, I'll go ahead and try to wean him from all night feedings. Wish me luck!!
Wow, this is a long one! Sorry everyone. But if you go this far... thanks for reading and catching up with us. I don't have time to write letters or even call everyone as much as I used to... so its nice to keep you posted on our life here.
New Year.... New Blog
Its a fresh new year with lots of changes for our family, and so we thought it was time to start a new blog. Alot of you have asked for me to email you cute videos we have of Trey and I wasn't able to do that (or atleast I didn't know how) using the Google Blog. So we've moved to Shutterfly. And I have to say that so far its alot easier and I like the layout much better!
Additionally, this blog is not just about Trey... even though he will probably get most of the attention since he's the baby! We will do our best to keep you all updated on what's going on with Pj and I... yes, even our dog.
So feel free to "follow" our site. I added a bunch of our friends and family as members so that you can automatically get updates (which you can do if you want).
With Love,
The Fleming Family
