Tour de Alabama

Trey and I visited Alabama and were there from 24 June to 11 July. It was quite the trip and we got to see so many friends and family. We flew into BHM where Jenny and Jason came to pick us up. After a quick pit stop at Zaxby's (oh how I miss it), we headed to Auburn where we spent a few days with Ashley Ward and Evie, along with some of the Italy girls, Netherland, Jessica, and Kristen. Trey and Evie are only 6 days apart and it was unforgettable when they met for the first time. They were reaching out for each other and touching each others faces. It was priceless. We got our grub on at some favorite places like the Barbeque House for breakfast, Niffer's for lunch, Momma G's for some nachos, and Mikata and Laredo's for dinner. We walked around downtown and drove around to see all the new construction. Auburn has definitely changed in the last 3 years since I've been there. But it still has that wonderful feeling of "home." I truly miss that town.

Sweet babies!!

Italy Girls at Samford Hall

Our next stop was Birmingham where we spent a couple of days with Grandmother and got to see Kristie, Debbie, and Linda. Then it was off to Huntsville with Grandmother, Gigi and Aunt Katie. Trey experienced his first dip in the pool and he loved it! It's like he was made for the water. We had a blast going to eat at Mellow Mushroom and Rosie's. It was great to just hang out and spend time together.

Hims loves his Aunt Katie

Trey and Gigi

First time in the pool!

Totally doused in spf 100.

We rode with Grandmother back to Birmingham where we met up with Kimberly, Stuart, Alissa, and Lucas. We drove to Fayette where Kevin, Melissa, and Whitney were awaiting us at mom's. It was so great to see them! It was our first time to meet Whitney and she was such a riot! She was full of energy, smiles and squeals. She had the longest legs! Just like a Bailey :) I love it when all of my siblings and I are together. We have the best time. On Saturday, July 3, we had a big family get together that lasted all day. We started with lunch, a rook tournament, tug of war, watermelon and ice cream, talent show, and then dinner. We had such a blast and there were so many people there. Mom, John, Joshua, Kevin, Melissa, Whitney, Kimberly, Alissa, Lucas, Me, Trey, Granddaddy, Aunt Sheila, Uncle Jimmy, Jenny, Mike, Micah, Julie, Jonathan, Kallie, John, Joy, Neely, Jax, Andrew - Randy, Kellie, Dakota came for dinner - Aunt Marie, Aunt Mary, and Aunt Marta stopped by for ice cream. I loved seeing everybody.

Aren't they cute?

The Bailey/Gordon Clan

The whole clan

So precious - Maw Maw and Trey

Trey and Whitney - 1st cousins only 2 months apart

Aunt Kimberly loves her some Whitney

This just makes me laugh out loud. Especially Alissa's hair.

MawMaw and the Pud swinging with Whitters

All the girls!!!

A Fabulous photo shoot

Swing low, sweet chariot

So presh

Jenny and the babes

These two mean mischief.

The 4th of July bash wouldn't have happened without all of MawMaw's wonderful planning

Me and my beautiful momma

Momma and all her kids on the 4th of July at Crossview. It's a beautiful thing when we're all together.

The next day was July 4th, and we all rode to Uncle Steve's house after church. We went swimming and Trey loved the water. He was straight chillin' in the float. Uncle Tim, Aunt Jo and their kids, Nicholas and Jordan, were there. I haven't seen them in years!! As always, we had a great time. We left knowing we would see them in a week at Christina's wedding. Kevin, Melissa, and Whitney headed back to Virginia. It was so sad to see them go. Our goodbye lasted forever.

Bailey Girls and Trey at the pool

Me and my little buddy at the pool

After Uncle Steve's, we went to Kimberly's to spend the night. The next day we went to the pool with Aspen and then went to see Eclipse while mom watched Trey. We spent another night with Kimberly then went shopping a bit before heading home to Fayette. (BTW, I tried 5 guys burgers and fries and HATED it!!) 

We spent a  couple of days in Fayette, ate at Lisa's, did the usual. We drove up to Harvest on Thursday to drop Trey off with Glenda while we went to Point Mallard Water Park. It was a hot day - perfect for a wave pool and a float. The big slide was crazy fun as always. I think this was the longest I had been away from Trey up to this point. And while I remembered to leave him some milk, I forgot to bring my pump with me. I thought my boobs were about to explode, and in result, I thought I was going to die. This may be too much information for some people, but I had to do into the shower and squeeze some of my milk out. It was both painful and relieving at the same time. A mistake I will hopefully never do again. Let's just say I was extremely glad to see Trey when we got back to Glenda's.

On Saturday we went to Christina's wedding. It was simple and elegant, and she looked beautiful. Most of the Bailey clan was there, so naturally it was a good time. Congratulations Christina and Brian!

We went to Uncle Steve's house for a while after the wedding and hung out with the fam. Me and Momma rode back together. It was getting late and Trey was ready for bed. We spent the night with Sis and she took us to the airport the next day. It was a long and wonderful trip full of friends and family. I am so grateful for chances like this one to be able to reconnect with everyone. I only wish Bruce was able to join us in the festivities. He sadly had his bi-annual canoe trip during the same time, and was unable to come with us. We were extremely happy to see him when we got back to Utah. There's no place like home.

Trey eats big boy food for the first time!

Trey went in for his 4 month check up a week ago and got 4 shots. The next day he had a 101.8 temp. His first fever!! I had to give him Tylenol for a day or two to keep it down. He was not a happy baby. On sunday we started feeding him rice cereal mixed with breast milk and a few veggies. His first meal was hilarious and priceless. He loved it and couldn't get enough. He had apples, bananas, peas, sweet potatoes, and peaches. He likes them all but the peaches. He makes such a  funny face like they are sour but I think it's because they are tart. He's such a big eater! I was hoping he would start sleeping through the night now but he is still waking up at least once to eat. The past few days, I've had him on a pretty good schedule of going to bed around 8:30, then he usually wakes up around 2ish (it really differs every night - last night it was 3:00, the night before it was 1:30, then 4:30 the night before - I never know) and then again around 7:00. We go back to sleep together in my bed (after I usually eat breakfast) and sleep till around 10:30 or so. He eats again and usually takes about a 2 hour nap around 1:00 or 2:00. Wakes up to play, then a small nap around 5:00, then is out for the night around 8:30 or so. It is a pretty good schedule. He still definitely sleeps a lot, but he definitely needs it. He is really fussy when he doesn't get enough sleep.

He is still laughing on occasion and we treasure those precious moments. You never know what might make him laugh. Sunday it was animal noises. Ruff and Nay were his favorites. I was ironing today while he was in his exersaucer and I started dancing to the music playing and he was just staring at me and laughing. So cute! We go on our Tour de Alabama in a week. I'm so excited. We get to see Ashley and Evie! Yay! I haven't been to Auburn in TREE years! War Eagle!!

4 months

Trey found his feet on Sunday and has been playing with them ever since. It is so cute, and a milestone we have been waiting for. He is 4 months old and we love him so much. I got him an exersaucer on Monday and he seems to love it. He's very intrigued by it all. There are colors, lights and sounds to keep him entertained for at least 20 minutes. He hasn't quite figured out how to stand up in it, but when he does he will be bouncing and spinning away.

I left Trey with Bruce and the guys on Saturday to go out with the girls. We watched Sex and the City 2 and ate at Sonora Grill up in Ogden. It was fun to get out and we had a great time. We had a couple of margaritas and were quite buzzed for the show. Well, apparently Trey was not well behaved while I was gone. Bruce said he cried most of the time. I'm not sure what the problem was, but Bruce swears he tried everything. Alligator tears everywhere!! Poor things. I wonder if it's because I was not there. I hope not. I want to be able to leave him & go do things. Especially be able to leave him with his daddy.

Apparently they had a good time at the beginning of the night. Trey had him a hand and a stack of chips. Surely the beer is someone else's ;)

Apple Brickle Dip

8 oz of cream cheese
1/2 cup of light brown sugar
1/4 cup of regular sugar
1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
1 bag of Heath Bar toffee bits or toffee brickle

Mix first four ingredients until soft. Then stir in Heath Bar toffee bits.

Yummy yummy way to eat apples or any other fruit. Enjoy!

Trey Giggles for REAL!

Bruce is on tdy to Malstrom and Trey and I are home alone for the first time. Tonight I was changing Trey and he really laughed/giggled for the first time. It was the most precious thing I've ever heard. I had his arms raised above his head and asked if he liked to giggle. And he did! It continued on as I said "giggle" over and over. I get so emo over the smallest things with him...this made me tear up. I absolutely love being a mom. There is nothing like it. My emotions are all over the place. I even feel like there are emotions I have never felt before with him. He is sleeping with me while Bruce is gone. We slept 8 hours for the first time in a while. Then went back to sleep for more!! Woo Hoo!!

Chicken Enchiladas

**From the kitchen of my good friend Denise Jenkins **

Ingredients:
1 cooked skinned whole chicken
2 - 10 oz cans cream of chicken soup
2 - 4 oz cans dices green chilies
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
2 bags shredded 4 Mexican cheese
1 large onion
1 pkg flour tortillas quartered
2 cups chicken broth from cooking (skim grease before adding)

Directions:
Cook chicken and let cool so you can take it off bones and shred into pieces
Saute onion and add chilies half way through
Add soup, seasons and chicken broth
Bring to a slow boil then turn down heat and add chicken
Layer in 9X13 pan sprayed with Pam
1 layer chicken mix
1 layer quartered tortillas
1 layer cheese
Repeat about 3 times ending with cheese
Cook 30 min @350 or until cheese melts


This is one of mine & Bruce's favorites. Hope you enjoy :)

What A Wonderful World

We welcomed Trey into our lives on February 8, 2010 at 3:30 pm. He was perfect from the minute I laid eyes on him. 7 pounds 11 ounces, 20 inches long and already as precious as can be.

It's true what they say...a baby will change your life forever. In the past 6 weeks we have welcomed that change with lots of laughter, smiles, burps, spit-ups, and late night feedings. It has been a whirlwind of emotion. I can truly say there is nothing like becoming a mom and having your first child. Trey has brought so much happiness into our lives and I am overwhelmed with love for him. Every sweet little stretch, every sweet little yawn, every sweet little smile amazes me. I am a sappy mom who is content to just sit and stare. I can't believe how fast 6 weeks has past by. I can't begin to imagine the next 6 months or even years.

Our first week as parents was spent in and out of the hospital getting his bilirubin levels checked and at home with a bili light trying to fight jaundice. This was harder on me than it was on him. I definitely bawled the first night, but he slept the whole time. I don't know what I would have done without Bruce. He was so supportive and caring. Seeing Trey get his heel pricked at least 6 times was about more than this new mommy could bear. A week after Trey was born we took him to get circumcised and Bruce watched the whole thing. I waited in the lobby :) My mom arrived on the scene that day and was such a big help. She watched Trey in the mornings while I went back to sleep for a while. I was so exhausted. My little chunk likes to eat every 3 hours. Milkaholic.

My sister and Alissa came to visit the next week and the assistance continued. Kimberly loved her morning time with Trey. Mommy loved the extra sleep. We watched movies and enjoyed each others company while we got to know Trey. Recovering from the delivery took a while, but it didn't keep me inside for long. We had fun going out to eat and walking around the mall while Trey slept the whole time. It was during this week that Trey's umbilical cord finally fell off and he got his first bath. He loved it. I'm so glad he loves bath time as much as I do.

A lot has changed in the last 6 weeks. He has outgrown one of my favorite pajama sets. He stays awake more during the day, which is so much more fun than watching him sleep. He has started the gees and gahs we call baby talk. He will look me right in the eyes and smile. It will melt your heart it is so sweet. He can bounce himself in the bouncy seat. He likes to lay on his play mat and kick till the cows come home. We love to take walks with the baby bjorn. And thank goodness the weather is finally enjoyable.

I have had some pretty terrible jobs in the past few years. I've struggled to find something that makes me truly happy. I think I've found my calling. I'm loving every minute.