blessed beyond measure

Sorry there are no pictures or video of this. We were just enjoying the moment. Last night, the three of us were in our basement/living room playing with Trey. It was time for a snack, so I went and got a handful of Cheerios and sat down in the middle of the floor. Trey proceeded to run from one end of the room to the other, back and forth slowing down when he went by me, holding his mouth open to chomp down on a Cheerio in my outstretched fingers. Then back to running. That in itself was pretty funny, but every once in a while Trey would stop and shuffle his feet to walk sideways. His arms were stretched completely out and he stuck his little bottom out to keep balance. So sweet! A few times he tried going backwards, very slowly and losing balance when he turned his head to see where he was going. Then once he ran and dove into a pile of pillows, rolled onto the floor and continued rolling across the room. Oh the energy. Have I mentioned that I love this phase? I know infancy has its...

Trey's love of books has not decreased at all despite his desire to walk around all the time. Reading is actually one of the few things he will stop and sit still for. Lately we have seen signs that he has memorized several of his books. For a few of them, I will do hand motions on certain pages, and he has started doing those as soon as we turn to the page. Also we can ask him where objects are on the page, and he can point them out. It's so neat to see him learning. A few weeks ago, Trey started something where I would read through a book one time, then on the second time through, he would babble a little, as if reading to himself. Then he started doing that on his own. Here is a little glimpse of Trey's reading time. It's hard to see him at first, but I didn't want him to stop because I walked in.

Trey's newfound love of walking (see post below) has us going on adventures all over the house. Here is just a sampling from following Trey around for ten minutes last night: Start in the kitchen with some Cheerios. Into the living room/play room where we do a lap to check on the toys. Off to Trey's room to turn on the humidifier. Haven't quite figured out the appeal here - maybe he just does it because he can. Quick stop at one of our favorite birthday gifts, the activity table. We have already changed the batteries in it. Next comes Trey's bathroom where he helps me with the laundry by gathering up his clean clothes that were hanging to dry on the bathtub. Then to the guest room, where our stockpile of birthday gifts temporarily resides, while we look for permanent places in our house. Back toward the kitchen. This is how we view our boy most often now, as we trail behind him. Having held fingers while he walked for several months, this is much nicer on the back!...

Sorry the blog has been silent for a week. Our little man is keeping us on our toes! Here's what we've been up to lately: Chicken pox: We aren't sure that was the cause of Trey's rash - it's being recorded in his medical file as possible chicken pox. If it was, it was a very mild case. The rash did spread beyond his legs a bit, but it never seemed to bother him. All the bumps have pretty much faded now. Thanks for your prayers! Separation anxiety: Trey's favorite person in the whole world is Mommy, and he lets everyone know it. The worst is at church, where we now leave him in the nursery through both Sunday School and service. The workers tell us he usually cries himself to sleep, then wakes up an hour later and cries some more. He is quite high maintenance for those blessed servants. And the look he gives me when I go pick him up is priceless. Something's gotta give! Opposites: Trey has become fascinated with opposites lately. He spends quite a bit of tim...

So at Trey's 12-month checkup he got the chicken pox vaccine. We were told that it's rare for the vaccine to actually cause chicken pox, and that if it did, it would be a mild case. Yesterday morning he developed a low fever and Brandon found these spots all over his legs. It was hard to get the spots on camera, as those little legs never stop moving!! They look like dozens and dozens of tiny mosquito bites. The fever didn't last all day yesterday, and though the spots have remained, they have not spread beyond his legs. We're not really sure if these are chicken pox or not, but if not we have no clue what it could be. He really hasn't had any new foods over the last several days, so we don't suspect a new food allergy. But who knows? Praise the Lord, he doesn't seem to be too bothered by any of it. What a tough cookie!

Trey's birthday party was on his birthday, July 5, at his Grammy and Pawpaw's house. It was a lot of fun for everyone, and at the end we were all exhausted! The gifts made an impressive display, and an even more impressive mess in the floor when all was said and done. Trey did OK with tearing wrapping paper (he likes tearing things up), but preferred getting tissue paper out of bags. He would rarely put down the tissue paper to pay attention to the gift underneath it. The first birthday marked Trey's first real exposure to sweets. I made him his own cake so he could feel free to dig in with his hands, and the guest cake came from Kroger. Of course Elmo had to be involved. Trey ate a few bites, but didn't seem to care for cake all that much. And the first birthday was also Trey's first sip of Dr. Pepper, provided by Pawpaw, which caused a very funny face. Finally after it stopped raining, we were able to get in the lake. Here is Trey swimming with his cousin Will. Tr...

This is the first of at least 3 birthday posts - the party pictures and 12-month update will come later. For now (and this will probably end up being a long one) I need to reflect... For the last couple of days, we've been telling Trey "last year at this time" stories. And I love it. I remember the long story of his birth all the time, and at least to us, it is an incredible, wonderful memory. Here are a few of the highlights: July 3, 7:30 AM - Driving to my due date checkup, in my belly it feels like Trey is straightening out his arms and legs, pushing his back up hard against my belly. I will learn later that these are contractions. July 3, 3:00 PM - After two two-hour rounds of fetal monitoring, the doctor sends me home with the news that I am in early labor. We are told to keep an eye on things. July 3, 7:00 PM - After having gone to the creek with Brandon to get water and walking laps around our property, I am now in the garden attacking every weed I can find. Anythi...