Saturday, December 26, 2009

Hi Family & Friends!  Merry Christmas to you all:-)  I hope that you all had a wonderful time with your families and didn't have any traveling problems what with all this nasty weather.  Atleast it wasn't as icy as they predicted!

We really enjoyed our first Christmas with Trey!  On Christmas Eve we visited our old church Shady Grove PCA for the candlelit service and it was so nice to see old faces.  It's hard to believe we've been away since August (when our church plant, Christ Community Church, started their Sunday morning services).  We won't be there again till Trey's baptism on February 28th!

Christmas morning Trey would not wake up... he was a sleepy head:-)  But we brought him out for his gifts anyway, even though he didn't see them till later.  We then went to Pj's parent's for gifts and breakfast, then my parents for gifts and a mid-afternoon dinner and then Pj's extended family get together for dessert.  It was so much fun to be able to see everyone on the same day... even though we were exhausted when we got home.  Trey did pretty well too!  He was a little grouchy in the afternoon, but had some happy playtime later in the day.  His schedule was completely off, so I figured it would be a weird day for him.  Thankfully he slept well last night... only woke once for a feeding.  I put him back in his crib wide awake afterwards and he fell asleep on his own... I think he's learning:-)  Although he sleeps better on his side or belly... but that still freaks us out to let him do that!

Tonight we're headed to Pj's parent's beach house at the Outer Banks for a week or so.  We've spent the entire day getting ready... this is our first trip with the baby and its amazing how much stuff we have to take!  Thankfully Pj's brother is letting us use their minivan size car... my little Honda Civic can't handle all this stuff.  So Trey will get his first trip to the beach... even if he will be wrapped up in thick blankets:-)

The past week or two he has REALLY started showing more personality and communicates more.  It's so much fun!  He is cooing and making all sorts of vocalizations.  When he sees Pj and I he will grin really big and his arms and legs go wild!  He loves meeting new people and seeing new places.  He's still cuddly, but we can tell he's already starting to become more independent.  He would rather have us hold him so he can stand or lay free on his back or belly on the floor to explore.  I have a feeling I have a strong willed little boy!  Sometimes he will whine and then he will stop for a second, look at us out of the corner of his eye to see if we are paying attention, and when we don't respond he continues whining. 

It's hard to believe that Trey will be 2 months old next week!  Where does the time go?  We are loving every minute with our little boy.  I find myself alway taking videos and photos in an attempt to "freeze" time:-)

In other news, I have decided not to return to my job so that I can stay home full-time with Trey while he is young.  We decided that would be the best thing for him right now and with our life circumstances it seemed to be what we needed to do too.  I will miss my coworkers though!  I had a really nice group of ladies that I worked with each day and they made coming to work really enjoyable!

I'm hoping to get my graphic design business going now that things are starting to calm down with the baby.  This week I designed something for my old church and it was so refreshing to have something to do besides take care of Trey;-)  I had forgotten how much I love to design and use my creative juices!  I was scared at first that I wouldn't have the time and that I wouldn't have the creativity anymore... I often feel so drained of energy:-)  But its still there!;-)

Pj is working hard right now on his thesis so that he can graduate from Reformed Theological Seminary in the spring with his MA in Religion.  He's been reading book after book... I don't know how he does it!  He is still involved in leading The Forum, a discussion group at Montgomery College.  And in a month or so he will begin working with his brother Mike doing closings.  Its amazing the paperwork that goes into that process so that he can do that! 

That's it for news for now!  Here are some pictures from Christmas:-)




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Sunday, December 13, 2009

Laughs and Cooing

Hi Friends & Family!  I figured it was time for another update on Trey.  The weeks are flying by so fast now.  Trey will be six weeks old on Friday... can hardly believe it.  He has already grown and changed so much.  At his 1 month checkup he weighed 9lb and 10oz.  The pediatrician also said she thinks his eyesight and mobility is advanced for his age.  I wanted to say to her, you think???!!!;-)  We give Trey tummy time each day and, providing he's already in a decent mood, he really enjoys it.  He rolls over from his stomach to his back all the time now and will bat at the toys that hang overhead and intently study the lights that flicker.  Today he was in a wonderful mood all day (barely slept too) and so when it came time to clean and cook, I just put him on his playmat and did my chores.  He kept himself busy playing with his toys and trying to move around.  He is able to scoot around quite a bit using his knees and elbows... and so I have to keep putting him back in the middle.

We're enjoying his cooing and other sounds now!  Its so sweet.  He does this the most in the mornings when we wake up and also in the evening when his stomach is full and he is not quite ready to go to bed. 

He sleeps really well at night 5 nights out of 7, only waking once to feed usually (twice at most).  The only problem is getting him to bed initially.  He fights us on it nearly every single night!  As I write this, Pj is pacing back and forth, patting his back, rocking him and putting his soft comfort blanket to his cheek.  We do this every night and after about 15-30 minutes of screaming and kicking and arching his back, he well eventually conk out.

So we are doing well... getting alot more sleep, enjoying seeing Trey's personality coming out more and being able to better interact with him.  We're loving being parents!  It's exhausting for sure, but he is worth it.  Time for the next one!  Just kidding... not quite yet;-)

More later... I am going to get some sleep!  Here are some pictures:-)

 

 
 Awesome sling my friend Carissa made for me.  Trey loves it!

 
Tummy time and hanging out with Daddy!

 
 Big smiles and laughing!

 

 
 My best friend Chelsie's daughter Ella with Trey (she is 3-4 weeks older than him)

 

 
My mom and aunt (holding Trey)

 

 
Picture of the three babies born close to each other at our church, Trey 11/6/09, Elliott 10/25/09 and Juliet 11/1/09.

 


Our Christmas photo:-)