Man Cub

I don't want to jinx anything, but Trey has been sleeping like a rockstar lately! He has been sleeping up to 8 hours straight, eating then going back to sleep for another 4 or so hours. Plus, he takes 2 naps during the day. It has been amazing!! Momma is finally getting some sleep. Granted, he's almost 10 months so it's about time! But I will take what I can get! I love the little bugger. His walking has improved in the past week and he's walking across the whole living room now. Standing up and walking on is own is becoming easier and we can hardly keep up with him. It's crazy that he is walking already!! I just can't believe it.

9 Months

Getting Around
I guess this is the area where Trey has made leaps and bounds in the past month. You can definitely say Trey is ahead of the game when it comes to cruising/crawling/walking. I chase this boy around all day!

I kindof wanted to do a progression chart that shows how Trey got to where he is today. As of yesterday he took his first steps. I knew it was coming soon. He was starting to balance on his own for a long time without holding onto anything. The only thing left was for him to get the guts up to take a few steps. It finally happened yesterday and Bruce and I were both there to watch. It was very exciting to say the least.

1. Pulling up on things. The coffee table, the couch, drawers, the dishwasher, walls, toys and my legs. Pretty much anything that's sturdy.
2. Cruising. The coffee table is definitely his favorite, but he cruises along pretty much anything. Usually patting his way along.
3. Moving from object to object while standing. If 2 toys are close enough, he will hold onto one while reaching for the other and make his way over.
4. Walking with his toy that he pushes around to help him balance/walk. Really wobbly but getting the hang of it.
5. Balancing while standing, but not holding on to anything. This started happening a couple of weeks ago. He would be holding a toy while standing up, let go of the couch/coffee table and just stand there on his own, rocking back and forth between his toes and heels. This is when I knew he was close to walking.
6. RUNNING with his toys that he pushes around. Dude man can fly!
7. Walking from object to object taking 1 or 2 steps. This started last week. He would be holding on to the coffe table and reeeeach out while concentrating really hard on the couch. Then take the 1 step in between the two to get to the other. He walks from coffee table to couch to end table and then drops to the floor to crawl around. He knows how to get where he wants to go.
8. Taking his first steps on his own. He did it! So proud!!!

(Trey started crawling right at 8 months, but I didn't add it because it doesn't really have anything to do with walking.)

Sleeping
His sleeping habits are pretty much identical to last month. Due to sickness, we've had a couple of bad nights where he wakes up 3-4 times in one night, but he usually only wakes up once to eat. I'm hoping we get back on that schedule REAL soon! Momma needs her sleep.

Eating
This area hasn't changed much either. I am starting to give him more of the food I eat, like mashed potatoes or bread or veggies. He was eating sweet potato fries at MacCool's last night. Yummo! He eats baby food 2-3 times a day and is breastfed mostly. He is much better at putting food into his mouth and actually swallowing it. Like the puffs; he doesn't gag anymore. He loves crackers but has a hard time gumming them enough before he tries to swallow, resulting in some choking. We're going to have to break it into pieces or lay off for a while. He still struggles with the sippy cup. He cant figure out how to get anything out. We're still working on it.

Talking
No new words this month. Just alot of jibber jabber. He doesn't really way "mama" anymore, and "burp" has turned into more of a "up", but everything is "up." He's starting to make more sounds, which is fun to hear. It sounds like he has his own language that makes no sense. I love it.

Playing
Trey will play with his toys for a bit, but most of his time is spent crawling around and getting into things. I cannot get him interested in books. I have tried to read to him but he is way too much of a wiggle worm to sit still for it. We have a couple of musical activity centers where Trey will stand there and play with them while pressing buttons, playing piano keys, or flipping things back and forth. He has a couple of cars that he pushes around while walking behind them, and like I said before, he is FAST! The Hills let us borrow a big toy that has a door that swings open, mailbox, light with a switch, and doorbell among a few other things. It talks and tells you what you are doing like "light on" or "goodbye" when you shut the door. Fun stuff!!

Quirks and Special Notes
Trey is still going through that phase where he has to have his momma. When he's fussy he even cries when I leave the room. Bruce is trying really hard to break that trend, but it's a challenge. Even though he seems uninterested in daddy right now, his face lights up when Bruce walks in the room. It's precious.

Trey can wave, clap and give a high five on occasion. All are absolutely adorable.

He still loves to take naps in his swing. This is a lifesaver!

He still cries and gets very upset when I use the hairdryer, vacuum or blender. It makes me laugh even though he seems traumatized.

At his 9 month well-baby check up he weighed 9 lbs 5 oz and was 28.5 inches long. He is still in 9 months clothes but fits some 12 months. Still size 3 diapers.

Bath time way very well be his favorite time. He KNOWS whats happening when we go in there and start running the water. Last night I turned on the water and started taking his clothes off when I realized he had a poopie diaper. So I turned the water off and walked to his room to clean him up. You would have thought the world was ending! He started screaming and crying! I told him we're going right back, but he wasn't happy until we were back in there with the water back on. He looked at me with the biggest smile on his face and started bouncing up and down. He couldn't WAIT to get in the tub! Such a funny baby.

The Best Blondie Brownies!

This recipe is AMAZING! For an extra-special dessert, serve each square topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce...delicious!! Hope you enjoy!

1 c. butter, melted
2 c. brown sugar, packed
2 eggs, beaten
2 t. vanilla extract
2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. white chocolate chips
3/4 c. toffee or caramel baking bits

Spray 9"X13" baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together butter and brown sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla until mixture is smooth. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt; mix in pecans, white chocolate chips and baking bits. Pour into pan and spread evenly. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 min or until set in the middle. Allow to cool in pan before cutting into squares. Makes one dozen.

War Eagle Baby!

We've had such a fun and exciting football season so far. Auburn, along with Cam Newton, makes for one amazing team and it is a great time to be an Auburn Tiger. Hopefully we can keep up the hard work and make it to the National Championship game. This weekend we watched as Auburn defeated LSU over at Annie and Ryan's house with Brad and Jacquie. Trey had fun playing with Bryn who is about 10 months older than him. I think playing with other kids around his age has been a great way for him to learn new things. Two weeks ago, after he saw another baby crawling, he started crawling the very next day. And now, after playing with Bryn, he's learned to wave and clap! His wave is the cutest, most lopsided wave ever and it is precious.

Now that Trey is crawling, things have changed a bit. Obviously, he is on the move and getting into everything, but he loves to follow me everywhere I go. I left him in his room on the floor while I went down the hall - I peek my head around the corner and here he comes! Making his way as fast as he could. He's getting so smart and he pays attention to everything. He's not walking yet, but I get the feeling he is happy with crawling for now. He gets where he wants to go. He still likes to cruise around the coffee table and push his car around, learning to balance. It is fascinating to watch him grow and learn.

Bruce's Birthday weekend

We had such a great weekend when Bruce turned 27 last Saturday. Our friends Zach and Lauren had a hog roast over at their house with lots of people and lots of babies. At the party, Trey gave me a high five for the first time. It was too cool! I had been trying to get him to do it for a couple of days, and he finally figured it out. The next day he started crawling on all fours. I think he saw another baby doing it at the party and it was like it clicked for him. He's been on the move ever since. It was a monumental weekend for Trey. I'm so proud of him!

8 Months

Trey is 8 months old today. I can't believe it! Time flies by with this kid. He has changed so much in the last month.

Playing
Play time has become a nonstop, on-the-move, all-over-the-place activity. I have officially started baby-proofing the house. Trey will no longer play in his exersaucer - I think it's because he hates to be confined. He will play for a little while with his toys on the quilt. I got a couple of our old cell phones out and let him play with those. But he seems to get bored easily and is usually trying to find something else to do. He will army crawl and roll his way around the room, finding things to pull up on - the coffee table is his favorite along with the couch and futon (which is in the living room for now.) He will stand there and patty pat pat on the coffee table, cruising his way around it. Usually reaching for whatever is on it. The kid has like a 3 foot reach, I swear! You think something is out of reach and he will get it! He loves to play with the drawers and doors on the entertainment center, but he knows he's not allowed. I will tell him NO! and he jumps out of his skin. LOL! He knows what NO means, and gets mad when we say it. Life is so not fair!

I bought him this new toy that you push around and it helps you balance while you learn to walk. It also converts into a car you sit on. He is getting good at pushing it, but falls easily. I usually help him. When he sits on it, he can push himself backwards but not forwards. It's pretty funny. Most of the time he just sits there and plays with the gadgets on it. I went to Kid to Kid yesterday and bought him an activity center that you stand at while you play. So far, he will play for a little while, but not long. So sad! I thought this was going to be a life saver. Maybe he will learn to like it more. So for now, most of my day is spent chasing after him and keeping a close eye on what he's getting into. I can only imagine what it will be like when he's walking...heaven help us when he's RUNNING!

Eating
I'm still nursing him and he's eating baby food about 2 times a day. He will eat just about any type of baby food. Definitely not picky anymore. He loves all the fruit combos. I started buying those meals mixed with chicken and turkey and he seems to really like those as well. He grunts for you to give him more. Typical male! Haha! I have started mixing in a snack here and there. He will eat crackers and biter biscuits, and sometimes those puff things. He is too funny with the puffs...he will put one in his mouth and then gag. And he's put half the biter biscuit in his mouth and then let it sit there and then try to swallow it and gag on it. He's not gumming it or chewing it enough. How do you teach a child to chew?? We're working on it. I haven't given him any adult food yet, but I think I'm going to start trying soon. We're also trying to get him to use a sippy cup. He will just chew on it. I'm pretty sure nothing comes out. I bought him one with a straw and he just chews on it, too. I'm not going to worry about this one for now.

I recently went out with a friend and left Trey with Bruce. To prepare, we tried to give him a bottle a few days before to see if he would take it. He HATED it. Will not touch a bottle - Just like me when I was a baby. Bruce ended up giving him baby food before bed and he went to sleep fine without it. I fed him when I got home.

Sleeping
Sleeping is where we have taken the largest strides this month. He is doing so much better! It is amazing! Last month we had all the drama with the baby monitors and not sleeping much. Well we've done a 180. I no longer sleep with the baby monitor. His room is right next to ours so I just keep the doors open. I usually wake up either on my own or when he's crying to feed him once or twice a night. He is sleeping 12 hours!!! Usually 7:30 pm-7:30 am. I LOVE it! Such a change. He is very active in his sleep. He rolls around, completely turns around facing the opposite way, and ends up on his stomach most of the time. When he wakes up in the middle of the night to eat he's usually sitting up in his bed, sometimes standing! Which really scared me at first. I was like what the heck! He goes right back to sleep after I feed him. He still usually takes 2 naps during the day. One morning and one afternoon. The times usually differ. Just when I think he has a set schedule, he goes and changes it. This is mainly b/c he doesn't always wake up at 7:30. This morning he didn't wake up until almost 9:00, and took his nap at 11:30. I'm flexible.

Moving Around
Like I said before, Trey is all over the place. He isn't up on all fours and crawling yet. He is really good at getting around, but it's usually by rolling and doing the army crawl. I think his favorite thing to do is stand up when I'm holding his hands. We're working on balance and he can stand for a good while, but usually falls over. He still loves cruising though. He walks along the coffee table, couch, chairs, toys...anything. As long as he's holding on he can get around. I think they call this "cruising." It's fun to watch - no walking on his own as of yet.

Talking
So Trey's first word (other than mama) is ... "burp." Hilarious! You never know how often you say something until your baby starts saying it. I've said "Trey, do you have to burp?" a million times since he was born so it's no wonder he picked it up. Now everything is burp. I point to Maggie and say dog, and Trey says burp. He makes me laugh. He still says mama every once in a while when he's fussy, but hasn't said dada yet. I haven't distinguished any other words through all his babble. He likes to skwawk - I think he likes the way it sounds.

Quirks and Special Notes
Trey still loves bath time, ALOT! We try to give him a bath every other day. He will splash and chew on his toys, while I pour water over him. He, of course, tries to stand up and I say NO. He's fallen over a couple of times. We recently filled up the whole bathtub and Bruce got in with him. It was hilarious. (See picture above.) He fell over and got his head all the way under the water and Bruce pulled him up. His eyes were all big and he coughed a little. He is so hard core.

I bought Trey some shoes this week for the first time. He had a cute pair of tennis shoes that he got from a friend, but mostly during the summer I didn't see the point in putting anything on his feet. But now that it's getting cold I went to Kid to Kid and got 3 pairs. They are really cute. You never know how incomplete an outfit is without shoes, until you see them on him. He's adorable! They're so small. Maybe they'll be magic shoes and he'll start walking.

I know this may be weird to put on here, but Trey has found his penis this month. He grabs it when I'm changing him. I'm like, "Look you found your penis!" So funny.

He is still giving us kisses, and does it very generously now. Me and Bruce actually compete to see who can get the most kisses. For some reason, Bruce keeps winning, but I'm picking up speed.

I don't know where this came from, bur recently Trey has started crying when there's anything loud going on. The vacuum is the worst, but he also did it when I was using the hair dryer, the blender and when Bruce was yelling at the tv during the Alabama vs Arkansas game. Such a kooky little guy.

Trey is wearing size 9 months clothes, size 3 diapers and weighs about 20 lbs.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

We had a bunch of people over for the Auburn vs South Carolina game and I wanted to try a new appetizer so I googled "game day recipes" and came up with this. It was easy and a big hit!! Enjoy!

2 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese (half jack, half cheddar)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
4 oz chopped green chilies
4 oz chopped jalapenos (8 oz for an extra kick - we did this and it was amazing)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 stick butter, melted

In a food processor, add the first 6 ingredients and process until smooth. You do not need to drain either can of peppers. Spread the dip into a greased 2-quart casserole. In a bowl, mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and melted butter; mix well. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over the dip and bake in a preheated 375 degree F. oven for about 30 minutes. You want the top to get browned and the dip to be heated through and bubble gently on the edges.

Do not over cook this dish or the mayonnaise will separate and you will have a grease puddle in your dip. Serve with Buttery crackers or a sliced French baguette.