UF Gator Family

Happy Four Months Wesley!!

2010-11-04T22:51:00.004-04:00

As is the case every morning, I walked into Wes' nursery on the morning of his four month birthday and was greeted with his huge smile. Every time I see that smile it lights up his face and melts my heart. We have truly been blessed with the happiest baby. He has started to giggle and it is the most wonderful noise. We spend our days playing together on the floor and trying hard to learn to roll over although we are not quite there yet. Wes' favorite time of day is till bath time. The minute we take him upstairs to get ready for his bath he instantly starts smiling and making his happy noises. Wes is a talker and talks to me all of the time. How quickly four months has gone by and before we know it we will have two little boys in the house rather than a little boy and a baby.

LOVE that smile!!

Halloween Weekend - Part 3

2010-11-04T22:32:00.006-04:00

What an end to the weekend with Halloween night. It was so much fun to watch Trey run from house to house as this year he really got what it meant to go trick-or-treating. He was so adorable saying thank you after he would get his candy. We set up shop down the street and had a big block party with tons of food and fun.

Hanging out on Halloween morning

Kisses for Wesley

Wesley the pirate monkey

The monkey with his monkey treat bag

Trey the pirate with his pirate monkey

Argh - Captain Treybow!

Trick-or-Treat

Man this bag of candy is getting heavy

Daddy the pirate with his sleeping monkey - it was so hot outside that Wesley's costume put him to sleep it was so cozy with all the fleece

Stay away from my candy Owen

All hopped up on sugar and not wanting to go to bed

I love my Mummy (outfit change since our costume was so hot)

Halloween Weekend - Part 2

2010-11-04T22:14:00.004-04:00

Saturday was a busy day starting with a trip to the zoo with Patty and the kids and Allison and Owen, and followed by a party at the house with great friends for the Florida-Georgia game. Go Gators!!

Wesley in his awesome Gator overalls sent to us by the Foster Family!!

Trey, Ava and Brad petting the llama at the zoo

The zoo was all decorated for Halloween - it was awesome!

The kids riding the train

Put asleep again by the fresh air

Playing in the splash park

Getting ready for bed in the Halloween PJs Nana gave to us

Halloween Weekend - Part 1

2010-11-04T11:27:00.005-04:00

Halloween weekend was packed full of good times this year and so here it goes with Part 1. On Friday, Trey had his annual Halloween parade and party at school. It is amazing to say that this is the third one that we have been to - what a long way we have come from his first parade when he was four months old and wheeled out in a crib with the other babies. It is always so adorable to see all of the kids dressed up in costumes and the school does a great job with decorating and planning fun activities for the kids.

Trey has two best buds at school - here he is with his buddy Charlie

Here is Barrett - partner in crime No. 2

Such adorable costumes!

Eric, Allison and Owen came into town for the weekend so they came along to see the parade - I think Owen likes all the kids and costumes.

Waiting patiently for the party snacks - it was truly amazing how well behaved all of the kids were - I mean Trey is good at home but this was beyond what we see at home.

Trey's teacher - Ms. Jihan

Hanging at home after a day full of fun

Our friend Mike came over to see the boys and hang with Eric and Allison.

The boys love him!!

Ready for bed in our Halloween PJs from Aunt Wendy

Our Goofball - Trey

The Pumpkin Festival at Hunsader's Farm

2010-11-03T23:22:00.006-04:00

The weekend before Halloween we headed down to Bradenton, picked up Trey and Wesley's second cousin Bobbi, and headed to the pumpkin festival at Hunsader's Farm. It was amazing how much bigger the festival was from when I was a kid. It was like a mini-fair and Trey loved every minute of it.

Fresh air always puts Wesley to sleep

Trey riding the train. Trey rode the same train a year ago for Belle's second birthday party and it was amazing to see how much bigger he is.

Bobbi and Trey on the train

Lately Trey is the king of the cheesy smile

Trying to get the boys together in a picture at the pumpkin patch was not an easy job - Trey kept wanting to give Wesley kisses rather than take a picture with him

The whole family - again hard to get everyone to smile and keep their eyes open :o)

Bobbi wanted to go on the bungy jump ride and of course Trey wanted to do what Bobbi was doing. I was shocked to see that you only had to be 2 in order to go on the ride. I thought for sure that Trey would get scared and decide not to do it but boy was I wrong.

The higher Trey went the happier he was

The laughter and the smiles were priceless

Riding the pony ride

Getting his face painted

The finished product - Trey was so proud of it and was so careful not to touch his face

After the festival we headed to Aunt Tina's house for a family dinner as my Uncle Norman and Aunt Martha were in town for the weekend. A great time was had by all as you can see from the picture of a laughing Wesley above.

Babies, Babies and More Babies

2010-11-03T23:05:00.002-04:00

Wesley is one lucky boy to already have so many friends in his life. In August our friends Ellen and Jeff welcomed their little girl, Audrey, and then in September our friends Tammy and Scott welcomed their son, Caleb.

Wesley meeting his girlfriend Audrey for the first time - isn't she beautiful?

Wesley and Audrey at Audrey's coming out party - can't you just see how cute this picture would be at a slide show at their wedding some day :o)

A playdate for Wesley, Caleb and Audrey - can you believe how big Wes is?

Jungle Gardens

2010-11-03T22:53:00.003-04:00

For her birthday, Aunt Wendy wanted to go to Jungle Gardens in Sarasota. We had not been there in probably twenty years and it was amazing how little it has changed. Trey had a great time and Wesley was once again just happy to be outside exploring the world.

All smiles as always

Anyone who knows me well knows that my biggest fear is of snakes so when Trey was chosen out of the audience at the reptile show to help bring out Lucy you can imagine my fear when Lucy turned out to be a huge snake. Trey however had no fear and was so proud of himself holding that snake up for everyone to see. I seriously thought that I would have a heart attack.

Posing with a baby alligator

Our future photographer

My favorite part of Jungle Gardens was always the birds and the bird show

Happy Third Birthday Belle!!

2010-11-03T22:45:00.003-04:00

It is so hard to believe that Trey's girl, Belle, is now three years old. Her princess themed birthday was so much fun and included a princess bounce house and a huge water slide. Belle is one lucky lady as Chris and Erika threw her the perfect third birthday party.

Chris and Belle flying down the slide

Trey was a little afraid of the big slide but Chris took him down and after the first time he just kept begging Chris to take him again and again

Wes spent the first part of the party asleep :o)

But Wes woke up in time to play with his friend Noah

Belle showing Trey all of her new toys

Month Three for Wesley

2010-11-03T22:23:00.003-04:00

Being a Mom of two has taught me many things but one thing I know for sure is when your kids are babies you should treasure every small moment as time goes by so quickly and before you know it you have a toddler instead of a baby. Those quiet moments of cuddling with Wesley are so precious and I cannot believe how big he is getting. On his third month birthday on October 1 we estimated that Wesley was weighing in at around 16 pounds. His baby chunk is just too precious. He truly is the happiest baby I have ever met and wakes up every morning with a huge smile on his face. He is always checking out his surroundings and loves to be outside.

Orlando Trip with Nana

2010-11-03T21:48:00.009-04:00

Nana and Papa Steve have a time share and so when they got an e-mail offering a week in Orlando for $200 we could not pass it up. So on a whim, Nana and I packed up the kids and headed to Orlando for the week. Papa Steve and Jimmy joined us for Saturday and Sunday. We spent most of the week in the pool but were able to fit in a few days out in Orlando.

Playing at the pool with Daddy and Papa Steve

Wesley spent most of his time at the pool sleeping under a net as the love bugs were out in full force but he was just happy to be outside.

Trey made Jimmy get his work out every day running around the pool. The week made us realize that Trey really needs swimming lessons as he loves the water.

Watching the Gator game

Big Bro and Little Bro in their matching monkey PJs.
Trey loves taking pictures with Wesley.

Wesley is getting too big for the boppy pillow that he used to fit on no problem.

One afternoon we headed out to take the boys to Downtown Disney. Trey was overwhelmed by all of the things to look at and all of the people but once he warmed up he had a great time riding with Nana on her scooter and checking it all out.

Playing on the playground at the Lego store

Trey the Pirate of course had to get some pirate Mickey ears, a telescope and a sword. He had so much fun walking around with them and he was the hit if Downtown Disney.

Riding the train all by himself - it is amazing what a little man he has become - so independent. His favorite words these days are "I can do it myself Mommy."

One of Trey's favorite things to do is to take pictures with our camera - this is Trey's point of view as we were sitting down to eat at the Rainforest Cafe.

Outside the Rainforest Cafe - Wes was asleep in the stroller so we did not want to disturb him.

Trey and Nana played with his mateys in the big tub every night and the laughs coming from the bathroom were contagious.

Ready for bedtime again

On our last day in Orlando Eric, Allison and Owen came to meet us as Jimmy and Eric were flying out of town on business the next day. We decided to take the kids to the Green Meadows Farm. For anyone with kids I highly recommend an outing to this farm. It was absolutely amazing how much they let the kids do. Above is Owen petting a goat.

Feeding the goats

Holding a duck

Riding on the hayride

Trey trying to catch a Turkey but man those birds were fast

Riding on a pony ride

Petting a chicken

Showing Owen his chicken

Riding on a train

Milking a cow - we were amazed that he did it

Petting a guinea pig

Holding a baby duck - it was so adorable to watch him as Trey was so careful with the baby

Holding a baby chicken - what a great way to end the day at the farm.

Fun, Fun and More Fun with Friends in September

2010-11-03T17:05:00.005-04:00

Fall is always a busy time of the year with gator football, birthday parties and outings with friends and this year has been no different. September was a busy month starting with Claire's third birthday party at Sprouts (a local place in Brandon similar to Gymboree). Trey had such a great time playing with Claire and the other kids and especially loved the Yo Gabba Gabba theme.

Puppet Time

Time to blow out the candle

The birthday girl all tuckered out at the end of the day.

A great new bowling alley opened up in the Apollo Beach area and since that is about the half way point to Bradenton, we met Chris, Erika and Isabelle there on weekend in order to introduce the kids to bowling. I am not sure whether they enjoyed the bowling or the arcade more but it was a great time and I think Trey had a better bowling score than his Mommy.

The Ellis boys

Isabelle carrying her bowling ball - pretty impressive since it weighed 8 pounds.

Jimmy teaching Trey how to bowl

Another outing was to take Wes to the Tampa Aquarium for the first time with Allison and Owen. Wesley loved looking around at all of the tanks and Trey had a great time as always - he kept asking to go and see the scuba divers at the shark show and was so excited when he finally got to see them.

Labor Day on Elberon Street

2010-09-08T23:35:00.005-04:00

To celebrate Labor Day we of course had to have a BBQ with the Elberon gang. Jimmy got some great pictures of the kids.

Brad, Ava, Maia and Trey enjoying their lollipops

The girls

Maia and her silly face :o)

Ava and her blue teeth

Mr. Bradley

Mr. Bodhi

Mr. Wesley who cannot wait to be old enough to hang with the other kids

Go Gators!!

2010-09-08T23:32:00.003-04:00

Football season is officially here!! Training them young :o)

Happy Two Month Birthday Wesley

2010-09-08T23:21:00.004-04:00

I say it all the time but I cannot believe how quickly time flies and my little baby boy is now two months old. He has such a sweet personality and is a cuddler. He has always been curious but is really starting to take in all of his surroundings. He has started smiling and talking to us all of the time. He is also starting to grab at his toys and loves to read books with me. Two month stats were: 13 pounds, 11 ounces and 25.5 inches long, head size 16.5 inches. For his two month birthday, I put Wes back in the outfit he came home from the hospital in. You can't tell from the pictures but the onesie underneath the overalls did not even come close to buttoning and the overalls barely did. Amazing the changes two months can make as the outfit was huge on him when we brought him home.

Birthday Girls

2010-09-08T23:12:00.003-04:00

In my group of Tampa girls five out of the nine of us have birthdays in July so each year we have a July birthday celebration. This year since I was a little occupied in July, we celebrated in August. I am so blessed to have such great friends!!

The birthday girls, Amanda, Allison, Marilyn and I - we were minus one as Tammy had to be out of town for work.

The gang - Allison, Elise, Marilyn, Kelly, Megan O, Amanda, Ellen and I

The Neighborhood Slide

2010-09-08T23:04:00.005-04:00

The Elberon gang got together and contributed to a huge waterslide for all of the kids on the street. The first use was to celebrate Bodhi's second birthday. The thing is massive but the kids love it and it will serve as hours of fun.

The gator head slides - with the Dad's all serving as the lifeguards.

Trey and Lifeguard Daddy

Trey and Brad - buddies :o)

Trey and Maia - oh how Trey loves the ladies :o)

The birthday boy - Bodhi

Wes is a little young for the slide at this point so he hung out with us outside underneath the bug net.

Future doctor perhaps?

Trey and Brad enjoying their fruit snacks after a long afternoon on the slide.

The Boys - August 2010

2010-09-08T22:44:00.004-04:00

Both Trey and Wes get bigger by the day and it is so much fun to watch them grow in both size and personality. The only thing I need to get better at is taking more pictures of the two of them. It is amazing how life changes with two kids. When Trey was Wes' age, all we did was sit at home and marvel over him. Now life is so busy that we are constantly on the go and so not as many pictures are taken. But despite the fewer number of pictures, the memories are still being made.

Wes sleeps best on Mommy or Daddy - here he is with Daddy.

Wrapped up like a burrito.

The onesie reads "Mommy's New Man" and isn't that the truth. Mr. Wes is certainly the new man in Mommy's life and he could not be more loved. I wish that pictures would show better the color of his eyes as they are a beautiful blue. Everything I read says that they likely will chnage but there is hope as Grandpa Ellis and Aunt Wendy have blue eyes.

Mr. Trey with his ant hat that he made at school. He was so proud of it and could not wait to come home to show me.

We went for a playdate with Isabelle and Trey had a great time playing with her toys as you can see from the picture above. He was a pro at walking around in those high heels.

Brothers :o) The shirts are adorable and were made by my boss' wife, Jen. So appreciated as they are perfect for the boys and make for a great picture.

Trey loves his little brother!

Wes' One Month Birthday

2010-08-02T22:28:00.004-04:00

Wes' one month birthday was a busy and great day. We spent the morning with Nana and Papa Steve at the yacht club for a little swimming (for Trey and Jimmy) and lunch. The morning was made even better by a visit from Chris, Erika and Belle who came to see Mr. Wes for the first time. Jimmy, Chris, Trey and Belle had a great time playing in the pool while Erika and I sat under the fans and chatted.

Such a big boy - one whole month old.
Fanning Wes and trying to keep him cool in the miserable Florida heat

Swimming with Daddy

Trey had no fear and was jumping off the edge in about a minute even though he has no idea how to swim he sure wanted to and thought he could

Trey was in no time moving from the edge to the diving board

Jumping to Chris

Trey used his charm to convince one of the ladies at the pool to let him borrow her float

After lunch at the yacht club with Nana and Papa Steve we headed back to Tampa for dinner with the Elberon crew. Here are all of the kids and Todd entertaining Wes.

Hyde Park with the Wagner Family

2010-08-02T22:21:00.004-04:00

Our old neighbors, Ken, Chris and Taylor were in town for a very quick visit and although our time with them was too short, it was great to see them but of course made us realize how much we miss them.

Since time was so short, we also got to see several other friends all at one time. Here is Chris and Taylor with Shannon, Scott and Avery (who has gotten so big since the last time we saw her).

Just like all the kids, it is amazing how big Taylor has gotten.

I am supposed to drink this water right?

Brad enjoying a soggy pretzel.

Mr. Trey being a cheese ball :o)

Ava and Brad - adorable as always.

Wes - Week 4

2010-08-02T22:08:00.004-04:00

With week four came more awake moments and Wes starting to really realize all of the chaos in the Ellis house around him :o) It seems like Wes has doubled in size and he is really getting some neck strength and he is constantly attempting to lift up his head to check out everything around him.

Our boys - so adorable!!

A gator in training :o)

At the beginning of the fourth week, Wes' umbilical cord fell off and so we were able to have our first bath in the baby bath tub. He was really not sure what to think of it the first time but now he loves his baths.

What are you doing to me Mom?

Ok I am really thinking I do not like this...

Well now that it is over - perhaps it was not too bad

Another peaceful moment.

Wes' Photo Shoot

2010-08-02T21:54:00.007-04:00

On Wes' two week birthday we had his first photo shoot courtesy of Sweet Serendipity Photography. We had a blast with Jaime and all of the pictures she got of Wes are adorable. Here are just a few and I have no idea how we are going to pick between all of them:

Big Brother Trey - No Longer the Baby

2010-08-02T21:25:00.004-04:00

Trey has truly become the big brother in the house and there is no baby left, he is all little boy and every day he appears to have gotten just a little bit bigger. His vocabulary is amazing and we are constantly amazed with the things that come out of his mouth. He is so sweet with Wes and insists on giving him a kiss whenever he is leaving the room that Wes is in. His current favorite is Scooby Doo and he loves to play with his Mystery Machine and Scooby Doo action figures. He is constantly asking us to watch Trey's show which equals Scooby Doo.

Hanging with Ava

Enjoying some animal crackers

As Trey grows taller he keeps thinning out and so pants that once fit his waist now fall down - here is Trey coloring (one of his favorite activities) while losing his pants.

Hanging with Maia

Trey's first black eye but he wore it well

Trey loves to hide behind the shower curtain every night and Mommy and Daddy spend several minutes trying to find him

Trey loves bath time and especially loves playing with his water cups

Hanging with his buddy, Roscoe

Yet again, hanging with the girls :o)

Wes - Weeks Two and Three

2010-08-02T20:38:00.005-04:00

It is something that parents say all of the time but it is true, time is truly flying by and weeks two and three passed by without me even realizing it to some extent. Wes is an incredibly good baby and we could simply stare at him for hours. As with most babies, most of weeks 2 and 3 were spent sleeping and hence there are many pictures of a sleeping baby.

Wes loves to sleep with his hands up in the air and it is so cute to watch as when he gets startled, his hands will wave in the air.

A rare moment when we got an awake picture - it is hard to tell from the picture but Wes has the most beautiful blue eyes at this point.

Big Brother and Little Brother

Hanging with friends

Wes loves his swing and Trey loves to give Wes his taggie blanket as a cover

Wes' monkey blanket is the one thing that is guaranteed to sooth him - he grabs on to it with one arm and tries so hard to get it in his mouth to chew on.

Asleep again :o)

Mommy's New Man

Wesley Stephen Ellis Arrives

2010-07-05T20:35:00.007-04:00

Wesley Stephen Ellis arrived on July 1, 2010 at 1:28 p.m. It was an interesting experience this time around given that it was a scheduled C-section but the moment that we saw our Wesley for the first time was worth it all!! He is perfect weighing in at 7 pounds, 15 ounces and 21.5 inches long. He is such a content baby and we are counting our blessings.

Last Belly Shot before Wesley arrives

Getting all checked out

Meeting Mom for the first time - he is beautiful!!

Meeting Papa Steve

Look at that sweet face!! Just like Trey, Wes has such a great complexion!

Big Brother Trey checking out his little brother

Such a sweet moment!!

Three Generations of Ellis men

Meeting Uncle Rory - this time around we were so happy that Rory, Kim and Dylan could be there to meet Wes upon arrival!!

Trey and Dylan finding entertainment in the hospital room

With Aunt Kim

We were able to convince the doctors to let us out of the hospital a day early and headed home on Saturday, July 3rd. Wes in his going home outfit - our little monkey!!

All bundled up and ready to go

Mom is very ready to go home!!

Going for a ride!

Welcome Home Wesley!!

Trey, Dylan and Nana waiting for us to arrive!!

Such a sweetie pie!!

Big Brother Trey taking good care of his little brother - he is so concerned whenever Baby Wesley cries - it is so sweet!!

New Arrival!

Celebrating the Fourth of July!! Not easy to get a picture with these three!!

Brothers!

4 days old and our first bath!! Compared to Trey's first bath this one went pretty smoothly.

All warm and snuggly after our bath

Trey's School Party

2010-06-30T00:08:00.003-04:00

Trey's actual birthday fell on a school day so Jimmy and I took the afternoon off to throw a party for the kids in Trey's class in order to celebrate the big day. Upon turning 2 Trey moved up to the next level at school so this was also a sad farewell to his teachers and friends in the "baby" class.

The cupcakes I made for the party
Trey with his best school bud Barrett

Passing out snacks to keep all the kids happy

Trey waiting patiently with Barrett and Hollyn

The birthday boy!!

Love this pic!!

Come and Play, It's Trey's 2nd Birthday!!

2010-06-29T23:53:00.005-04:00

This year we decided to have Trey's birthday party at Ballast Point park and given how much he loves Elmo, the theme was a no brainer. It is so hard to believe that our baby is two years old but it was so wonderful to be able to celebrate the occasion with family and great friends!

My new obsession is the website etsy.com where individuals can sell their handmade goods - this was part of a party pack that I found which was perfect for the day!

Since Trey loves coloring we had to have plenty of crayons available for the kids

C is for Cookie

Elmo loves you!

The kiddie snacks and favors

Trey's shirt before it endured a party with a two year old

More etsy!

The invitation

The cupcakes - my favorite part of any party :o)

Partners in crime

Love this picture of Miss Ava!

The birthday boy!!

Miss Finley styling in her shades

Trey loved it when everyone sang him Happy Birthday and he blew out his candle on the first try

Man this cupcake is good!!

A pirate beard of icing!!

Opening my presents - I am one lucky kid to be so loved!!

Memorial Day in South Carolina

2010-06-29T23:36:00.004-04:00

We took advantage of the long weekend and made the drive up to South Carolina to visit Rory, Kim and Dylan in their new home in Florence, SC. We had such a good time and were so sad that the trip had to end. There is nothing better than watching Trey and Dylan play together.

Riding on Dylan's motorcycle - with both boys on there it barely went anywhere but they still loved it.

Blowing bubbles

Sitting on their Japanese chairs drinking Capri Suns - the amazing thing is that in Japan these chairs are meant for adults.

Check out that grin!!

Look at those expressions

Dylan is wondering what Trey is doing with that drill?

Hugs before heading out to church

After church it was time for a little outside time in the water

Too cute!!

Trey's first try with a big slice of watermelon and he loved it!

Just goofing around

Father and Son - what a perfect picture!

A Luau to Celebrate our Little Monkey

2010-06-29T22:56:00.007-04:00

To celebrate Wes' impending arrival we thought it only fitting to have a luau. So with the help of Megan O and the Tampa girls, everyone was invited to share in our excitement over expecting our little monkey.

The invite and advice cards

The favor boxes for the kids

A luau would not be complete without Jimmy's famous rum punch

The cupcakes

The kids play area

Big Brother Trey with Grandpa

Allison with Mr. Owen - what a cutie pie!!

The Dad-to-Be

The Mom-to-Be (wow that belly is huge)

Trey did not know what to think with everyone playing with his toys - he just kind of sat back and took it all in. The hands behind the back was adorable!!

Chris and Finley

More kids = more mess :o)

Oh how Trey loves water guns!!

Playing in the pool and loving it on a hot day

With Allison

The Foley girls - Megan O, Victoria and Jen

Jimmy and Bill

My twin - Cara (aka Party Photographer)

The Elberon ladies - Patty, Patrice and Trista

Nicki and Wayne - oh how we wish they only lived closer so we could see them more often

More Elberon ladies - Karrie and I

Rusty, Amy and Baby Spoor (due the end of July)

Jimmy with Cara and Wade

Scott, Claire and Tammy (and Baby Givens due Sept 2010)

Partners in crime - at least when it comes to fishing :o)

Chris, Belle and Erika

The Tampa Girls

Three, soon to be four and so happy - so blessed to have such great friends and family!!

Moving to a Big Boy Room!!

2010-06-29T22:50:00.002-04:00

With the impending arrival of Baby No. 2, it was time for Trey to move into his big boy room. It is a room fit for Captain Treybow the pirate!

The pirate ship bed and barrel nightstand

Trey loves his pirate ship bed and tells us each morning how he slept in his pirate bed

Jimmy and Daisy breaking in the room

The Easter Bunny Visits Several Times

2010-06-29T22:39:00.004-04:00

The Easter Bunny came to visit us at Grandma and Grandpa's house first.

Dying Easter Eggs with Grandma
Hunting for Easter Eggs at Grandma's

The cupcakes I made for Trey's school Easter party

TThe Easter Bunny sure did spoil Trey

The Easter basket was promptly dumped out onto the floor

Trey loves playing in his pirate tent

The Elberon Street Easter Egg Hunt - Trey, Bodhi and Maya looking for eggs

Wow - that hunt really tired us out

After the Easter Egg hunt it was time for an Elberon Street driveway get together!

A Busy March 2010

2010-06-29T22:17:00.003-04:00

Finley Turns 2

We were there to celebrate the big day at her Nursery Rhymes themed birthday bash!!

Looking good in my big boy shirt and jeans
Mother Goose

The birthday girl with Mother Goose and Farmer John (a/k/a Chris)

A Day at the Aquarium

One of the best investments we made was a yearly pass to the aquarium as Trey loves it there and talks for days about how he went to see the fishies.

When I look at pictures like this one I cannot believe how much my baby looks like a little boy

Night Out for Megan and Jimmy

Jimmy's fraternity brother Travis got married at Mote Marine in Sarasota.

Check out that growing baby belly!!

MacDill Air Show

2010-06-29T22:10:00.002-04:00

One of the benefits of having an Air Force pilot for a neighbor is that you can launch your boat from the base marina in order to enjoy the air show from the water. We loaded up the kids and headed out into the bay. The view was awesome and it is always nice to be out on the water.

Ava and Trey soaking up the sun and watching the planes fly overhead

The planes were so close it was awesome to watch

Enjoying the beach on base after the air show

Trey, Ava and Brad washing off the beach sand - the three of them have the best time taking baths together - it is so cute to watch!!

Trouble, Trouble and More Trouble

2010-06-29T22:07:00.002-04:00

Partners in crime, Trey, Brad and Ava sharing in their favorite treat, popsicles!!

Pirate Invasion - Gasparilla 2010

2010-06-29T21:57:00.004-04:00

This year for Gasparilla we took Trey to Ballast Point Park where the pirate invade the park before getting on the pirate ship to invade downtown Tampa. It was such an awesome sight to see the hundreds of pirates walking by all dressed up and ready for the day. The pirates were so great with the kids, taking pictures and handing out beads.

Trey loved the beads and just kept adding to his collection

Ava and Brad beating up on Patty

The Pirate Ship ready to launch

Loaded down with beads

Argh!!

A Visit from the Wagners

2010-06-28T00:05:00.003-04:00

We miss our old neighbors, the Wagners, so much and California is just too far away. The holidays brought Ken, Chris and Taylor back to Florida and were able to get together for an afternoon during their travels. It was so wonderful to see them and sad to say goodbye.

Miss Taylor

The Wagner family - Ken, Chris and Taylor

Christmas with Rory, Kim and Dylan

2010-06-27T23:56:00.004-04:00

We were so blessed this year to get to spend Christmas Day with Rory, Kim and Dylan - this was the first Christmas that we were all able to be together and it was a blast!

Trey loves his cousin and wants to do everything just like Dylan

Rory and Kim

Dylan opening one of his many presents

The boys enjoying Trey's Christmas presents

The morning after - just hanging out!

Christmas Morning

2010-06-27T23:35:00.004-04:00

It was so much fun to wake up on Christmas morning this year and have Trey be at a stage where he could enjoy the present opening and all of the celebration.

Every year Jimmy and I try to outdo the year before with a bigger tree and

I think this one may have been our biggest yet - I loved it!!

Trey's pirate tree in his pirate room

The front of the house light up at night

Starting the morning off with the traditional opening of the stockings - in the Fredrick family the stockings were always the best part and so the tradition continues!

Bring the presents to me Dada

Trey loves puzzles!!

Christmas No. 2 down - just relaxing and waiting for Dylan, Rory and Kim to arrive

Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's House

2010-06-27T23:20:00.003-04:00

Trey was one lucky boy this year and got three Christmas' - the first at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Santa even made an appearance.

Playing on the Bradenton Country Club playground with Aunt Wendy

before lunch with the Coleman family.

Trey did not really like Santa but eventually sat on his lap.

Doesn't Santa look strikingly similar to Grandpa :o)

Playing with my favorite Christmas gift - my vacuum.

This big wheel is pretty cool too!

No more gifts Mama and Dada - I am wiped out!

Let it Snow!

2010-06-27T23:08:00.003-04:00

The Florida Aquarium had a night of snow for annual pass holders so it was a Daddy and kids night out as Todd and Jimmy took Trey, Ava and Brad to see the snow. Trey was not sure what he thought at first but the kids all had a great time.

Trey and Ava

Todd and Brad

Ava enjoying the snow

Trey on the pirate ship at the Aquarium playground

Thanksgiving 2009

2010-06-26T23:46:00.002-04:00

Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa's House

Halloween 2009

2010-06-26T23:20:00.004-04:00

I am so far behind on blogging that it is June but I am back on October of last year with my posts. With new baby coming in less than a week I am determined to get caught up so that we can start posting pictures on a regular basis again.

Halloween this year was extremely busy with Trey's school party and out of town guests who came down to Tampa to celebrate Halloween. It was so fun to have Rory, Kim, Dylan, Herb, Missy, Hannah, Allison and Eric there with us to celebrate. We had a street party with the Elberon Crew and then took the kids trick-or-treating.

Trey as a spider -

doesn't the kid behind him look so happy to he in his costume :o)

Daddy and his little spider

Out of our costume and ready for our day at school

The family ready to go trick-or-treating

The boys

Herb, Missy (with Baby Natalie in the belly)

and Hannah looking adorable in her costume

Allison (with Baby Owen in the belly) and Eric

Ready for bed after a very full day

Trey's First Haircut

2009-10-13T22:41:00.003-04:00

Although if it was up to me Trey would never have gotten a haircut as I loved his curls in the back, it became clear that his hair was approaching the mullet stage. We took him for his first haircut at the kids haircutting place in International Mall and by the end I was almost in tears because the curls were gone. On the positive side, Trey was a real trooper and did not mind the haircut at all.

The before picture

The during - Trey loved being able to sit in the car

The end

The finished product - he was so proud of himself

For being such a good boy Trey got to go to Build a Bear and make his own bear.

Meet Timmy T-Bear, Trey's new friend.

Go Gators - Beat Charleston Southern

2009-10-13T22:23:00.003-04:00

Trey went to his first Gator tailgate when he was three months old. This year we headed to Gainesville for the first game of the season - Charleston Southern. Trey had much more fun this year as he could run around and say Hi to all of the fans walking by. We tailgated at the Martin tailgate - the best spot in Gainesville on game day. Trey was the hit of the day wearing his Treybow jersey that Herb, Missy and Hannah gave to him.

The awesome jersey!

Trey eventually got bored with the party and wanted to color - Trey loves to color!

The Lambda Chi boys

My man - Timmy Tebow!!

New Hampshire August 2009

2009-10-13T22:11:00.003-04:00

Sadly, my Grammie passed away in August, so we got on a plane to New Hampshire for the funeral. Although the visit was for a sad reason, it is always nice to see family. I wish that New Hampshire and Florida were not quite so far apart so that we could visit with the Fredrick side of the family more often. My cousin Angie hosted the whole family at her house the night after the funeral for dinner and quality time. Trey and Dylan loved her piano and all of the kids loved playing together.

SURPRISE!!

2009-10-11T23:14:00.008-04:00

In order to celebrate Rory, Kim and Dylan's return to the States and Rory's 30th Birthday, we threw a surprise party at the house. It is always fun to see the look on someone's face when you surprise them. Everyone was so excited to see the guests of honor as it had been way too long.

Welcome Home and Happy Big 3-0!

Oh how I love cake!

Red, white and blue decor

Just a few photos to embarrass the birthday boy

Surprise!

With Chris, Erika and Belle - don't you love those curls!

The Lambda Chi boys and their better halves

The men's table - Dad, Uncle Bob, Uncle Ryan and Logan

Two lovely ladies - Courtney and Kim

Where's Dylan?

Rory and Jen

The kids having a great time and pulling out every toy we own

Rory, Kim, Mom and Aunt Paula

Jimmy, Todd, Eric and Allison (and Baby Stockton)

Cara and Wade - the party photographers - hanging out by Jimmy's famous rum punch

The first of many photos to come of the gang

Matt (who flew in all the way from San Francisco), Chris, Jimmy and Rory

The birthday boy with Mom and Dad

Back Together Again

2009-10-11T22:48:00.005-04:00

After a year in Japan, Rory, Kim and Dylan arrived back in the states at the beginning of August. To celebrate we packed our bags and spent the weekend at the beach with the whole family. It was such a special weekend and was so nice to be able to sit around the dinner table and all chat together in person. Trey was in love with his cousin and spent the weekend following him around trying to figure out what big boys do. One of the cutest moments of the weekend was Jimmy was flying a kite and Dylan was so upset that the kite seemed to be getting away.

Nana got the boys these Gator rafts - too cute!!

The boys turned this boat into their own personal pool on the beach

Riding the island trolley to lunch

Sitting on the swing at the pier

The boys taking the boat for a spin

13 Months

2009-10-11T22:37:00.004-04:00

At thirteen months Trey was not just walking but running. He had 12 teeth and was getting more as you can tell by the drool. He was learning a new word almost every day and kept us on our toes with having to baby proof the house. We turned the breakfast nook into a playroom and Trey loves to pull toys off the shelves. Trey loves to read books and is so cute as he scoots backwards until he is in my lap. He also loves to play catch.

Visit with the Wagners

2009-10-11T21:57:00.004-04:00

It has been forever since I have posted as the past few months have been busy but I am making it my mission to catch up over the next week.

At the end of June, beginning of July, we were so happy to have a visit from our ex-neighbors, Ken, Chris and Taylor. It was also Taylor's 1st birthday and it was so nice to be able to celebrate such a big milestone together!

Babies in the Bath

One afternoon we took Trey and Taylor to the pool at Finley's House - it was Trey's first time at the pool and he loved it!

Ms. Finley in her shades

Mr. Fourth of July

In addition to Taylor's 1st birthday, it was also Trey's and Taylor's friend Avery's 1st birthday and so one afternoon was spent celebrating at Avery's party

Trey and Taylor making themselves at home with Avery's toys

The birthday girl - Avery

Ms. Taylor outside of the Wine Exchange where we went for dinner on the Wagners last night

Trey and Daddy

Trey was so sad to see Taylor leave but we are working on planning a visit to San Diego to visit

Argh Matey - Trey Turns One!

2009-06-26T21:25:00.011-04:00

It is so hard to believe that Trey is now a one year old little boy. In order to celebrate we of course had to have a Pirate Party for Captain Treybow. So the day before his birthday we invited Trey's family and friends to Ellis Island. I might have gone a little overboard with the party (I know you would never think right :o)) but Trey had a great time so it was all worth it.

Welcome to Ellis Island!!

Pirate Flags lining the walkway

Enter at your own risk... Luckily we live in Tampa where Gasparilla is a huge pirate party every year so Trey's party got the benefit of some of my Gasparilla decorations.

The goody bags

Jimmy made an excellent rum punch and several of the adult pirates needed a nap to sleep it off so it was fun for adults and kids alike.

I took Trey for a pirate photo shoot a few weeks before the party and used the photos for decoration.

The birthday boy with Mama and Dada

Jimmy and Mini Me

Trey with his best bud Brad

Eric and Allison (with Baby Stockton on the way) and Cara and Wade all came into town to celebrate

Angelina and her Mom, Marilyn (with Baby U on the way)

Avery, Shannon and Scott - Trey misses his friend Avery at school since she moved to a new daycare

Belle and Shelby became instant best friends

Finley looking gorgeous in her party dress

Trey with Aunt Wendy, Grandma, Grandpa and Chris

The Tampa Girls - Marilyn, Kelly, Allison and Elise - this Mom is very lucky to have such a great support system

Trey's pirate cake - not sure if you can tell from the pictures but the cake basically fell apart which caused Mom to melt down in tears shortly before the party but Jimmy calmed me down and convinced me we could just call it the shipwreck cake and it would be fine.

Trey with his smash cake - he was not sure what to think and tried to offer it to Jimmy - it was really cute.

Not sure if I like this - I don't like getting my hands dirty while eating.

Ok so I changed my mind, this is good stuff.

Jimmy just plopped Trey in the kiddie pool to clean him off as what else do you do with a kid covered in blue icing?

Trey and Hannah playing in the pool

Fun in the pirate sandbox

It was a great day and one that Jimmy and I will treasure forever. Trey is so lucky to have such great friends in his life.

Go Rays!!

2009-06-26T21:15:00.003-04:00

Chris, Courtney and Finley invited us to go to a Rays game with them a few weeks ago and it was so fun to watch the kids at their first Rays game. Trey had a great time eating game food but it was not so fun when it came up later that night and we were up half the night with a kid throwing up - that will teach us :o)

Hanging with Friends

2009-05-28T22:42:00.003-04:00

As Trey gets older it is so much fun to watch him play with other kids. He loves every minute of it and could not be happier than when he is around other kids.

Playing in the pool with Brad

Trey's birthday present came a little early - a pirate ship sandbox and the kids love it!

Trey's first bath with someone other than Mom and Dad - while Jimmy fished in a fishing tournament, Hannah and her Mom, Missy, hung with Trey and I.

Mothers Day

2009-05-28T22:36:00.003-04:00

My first Mothers Day was a very special one. We had brunch with Nana and Grandma and then spent the rest of the day just relaxing as a family.

11 Months and a Birthday Party

2009-05-28T22:21:00.004-04:00

Trey spent his eleven month birthday celebrating his friend Brad's one year birthday. At eleven months Trey is a speed demon on his knees and is cruising from furniture item to furniture item. He loves to stand up and laughs all of the time. With his walker train he can cruise around the house. He also has mastered the art of getting all the way up the stairs in the house (with close supervision of course). He eats everything in sight and especially loves to eat whatever Mom and Dad are eating.

Crawling around at the birthday party trying to chase Ava.

The birthday boy, Brad, eating his cupcake.

Trey loves to play with Ava and Brad's car. We put Brad and Trey in the seat together and push them around the house and they love it!

Dressed Up and Dressed Down

2009-05-28T22:05:00.008-04:00

The last weekend in April was a very busy weekend. We started the weekend off with a visit from our friends from Atlanta, John, Ashleigh and Elle. Saturday was the Kentucky Derby and we went to a party at Ellen and Jeff's new house. Sunday we headed to Apollo Beach for Finley's Baptism. A great weekend spent with friends!

The boys dressed in their Cuba Havera shirts at the Derby party -

what a handsome pair they make.

The kids were more excited to play with each other than to watch the Derby. Trey loves the older ladies and so he was so happy to see Claire and Belle.

We were so happy that we got to share in Finley's Baptism as it was a very special day.

All dressed up for the church service. As always Trey was a flirt and spent the entire service flirting with all the ladies sitting in the rows behind us.

Check me out - Mom just could not resist this tie and amazingly I did not mind wearing it.

Trey's First Easter

2009-04-23T22:09:00.002-04:00

For Trey's first Easter we spent the day at Grandma and Grandpa's. It was so much fun to see Trey crawl around the house and to watch him investigate all the goodies the Easter Bunny brought.

Trey's Easter Basket

Wow Mom - the Easter Bunny is pretty cool!!

Grandma and Grandpa gave Trey a train for Easter and he loves it. He gets so mad when we stop pushing and so we have to hide it from him until we are ready to push for a long time :o)

10 Months Already?

2009-04-23T22:02:00.004-04:00

Trey celebrated his ten month birthday on April 8th. It is amazing how much he has grown in the past few weeks. He has started crawling and is pulling up. He is eating everything we put in front of him and is really working on his words. He says Ma-Ma and Da-Da and hat and cat. He waves high at everyone (especially the ladies) and loves to give kisses. He throws the ball back and forth with Mommy and still loves bath time every night. Trey is still a cuddler and it melts my heart every time he snuggles with me.

Happy 60th Birthday Papa Steve!!

2009-04-23T20:27:00.016-04:00

Last time we were in Napa Valley was in November of 2007. I had planned the whole trip and found out shortly before we left that I was pregnant with Trey, as a result there was no drinking wine for me. This year my Dad turned the big 6-0 and to celebrate he wanted to head back to Napa Valley. So this time with Trey in tow (out of the belly instead of in the belly) we headed to California and I am happy to say that I tasted plenty of wine.

Trey did really well on the flights out to California but by the time we got to the house that we were renting in Napa, he was tired of being confined. We put him down on the floor and apparently he was determined to get moving and crawled for the first time. It was awesome to see him go and he was so proud of himself. A big moment for the little man!!

Frog Hollow House - the house we rented - it had a huge redwood in the front yard.

DAY 1

We started the day at Opus One where we go to taste wine that we will never buy at $200.00 a bottle. It was good but not the best we had that weekend.

The wine barrels at Opus One

Trey crawling around on the grass at Opus One - he loved being able to get around and check it all out. I am in love with his plaid pants - orange and blue of course.

After Opus One we headed to Silver Oak's new winery in Napa (the old one burned down). We all love the wine here and the servers were extremely friendly and generous with the wine allowing us to taste several varieties.

The wine snobs at Silver Oak.

It was the end of Mustard season in Napa so you could still the mustard seed flowers all over the valley - the yellow flowers everywhere made for beautiful scenery while we were driving around and awesome pictures.

We ended the day at Vine Cliff where Jimmy and Dad went on a private tour while Mom and I stayed in the car with a sleeping Trey. The grounds at this winery were gorgeous!

DAY 2

We started our second day with a tour at Beringer. Here is the Beringer mansion which has been turned into a tasting room and gift shop.

The family next to some of the old wine barrels at Beringer.

That afternoon we went to Duckhorn and Plumpjack.
Here is Trey at Plumpjack with his wine.

Our last winery of the day was ZD Vineyards - the view from this winery overlooking the Valley was gorgeous.

Right across the street from the house that we rented was an awesome park so we took Treybow over for his first ride in a swing. As you can see he had a great time.

Trey also got his first ride down a slide with Mom - he was not sure what to think about it but Mom had a good time.

Day 3

We started our third day out at Whitehall and then moved on to one of Jimmy and Dad's favorites, Franciscan.

A picture of the fountain at Franciscan.

A picnic lunch at Folie a Deux - it was a gorgeous day and the picnic grounds were perfect.

Trey enjoying playing with his water bottle among the flowers that were in full bloom all over the Valley.

We ended our day at Mumm Napa with a champagne tasting outside.
It was the perfect ending to our time in Napa.

Jimmy and I at Mumm.

Trey loved riding with Nana on the scooter.

Day 4

On our last day in California we spent the morning walking around downtown Napa and then headed back towards San Francisco. We made a stop at Muir Woods on the way back since the last time we tried to go it was pouring down rain and we were walking around in ponchos.

The last time Jimmy and I got our picture taken in front of this redwood Trey was in my belly. Here we are with our little man - how much things have changed in a little over a year.

The whole family at Muir Woods.

A view of the Golden Gate bridge from one of the lookouts.

Trey after a long day of hiking in Muir Woods.

Trey's First Time at the Beach

2009-04-23T20:12:00.005-04:00

Our neighbor, Todd, is a pilot in the Air Force stationed at MacDill Air Force Base. A few weeks ago, he, Patty, Brad and Ava invited us on base for an evening at the beach. Trey was not sure what to think at first but he loved the sand and the surf (a true Florida boy).

Building a sand castle

Not so sure what to think of the water at first....

Ok I like this Dad! And yes my shirt does say "I Get My Muscles From My Dad."

Watching the sunset - it was a great evening!!

Nine Months Old - Can You Believe It?

2009-03-19T22:19:00.006-04:00

So hard to believe that Trey has been out in the world as long as he was growing inside me. Some of Trey's tricks are giving high fives, waving Hi and Bye and clapping his hands. He goes from sitting up to rocking back and forth on his hands and feet in the crawl position. He is working on pulling himself up and he loves to play catch with Mom.

Good Luck Charm Babies

2009-03-19T22:04:00.003-04:00

Finley O turned one years old on St. Patricks Day - how fast time flies as this time last year Jimmy and I went from our childbirth class in the hospital to visit Finley on the day she was born. We celebrated Finley's first birthday on Sunday. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and the breeze blowing - a perfect day for a party!

Check out my hat - it stayed on for about 10 seconds.

The birthday girl enjoying her cake - yummy!!

A circle of babies - Finley, Trey, Ali, Cohen, Jake and Brett

Happy St. Patricks Day - Trey got lots of kisses as always!

Not sure if you can tell but I am holding a goldfish cracker in my hand and I LOVE THEM!!

Mommy Time

2009-03-19T21:59:00.003-04:00

I am proud to say that I survived my first time away from Trey and came back a rested and relaxed new woman. My Tampa girls group spent two nights on Anna Maria Island, lounging in the sun, drinking fruity drinks on the beach and getting pampered at the spa. It was an awesome weekend and I am so lucky to have such great friends!

We Miss the Wagners!!

2009-03-19T21:43:00.003-04:00

Last week was a very sad week for us as our neighbors, Ken, Chris and Taylor moved to San Diego for Ken's job. We are really going to miss our Idol nights and our picnics in the driveways and Trey is really going to miss his girlfriend Taylor. We spent our last weekend getting in as much Wagner time is possible and went to the Strawberry Festival and had a going-away dinner.

Taylor loves Strawberries!

Trey really loves strawberries and was up all night because I think Mom gave him a little too much whipped cream - live and learn :o)

Turns out Brad and Ava love strawberries too :o)

Trey getting in some quality Taylor-time

Brad decided that eating some blue sidewalk chalk before dinner was a good idea.

The Elberon Babies

Brad showing Trey and Taylor how cool it is to crawl

Ava demonstrating the cool backpack to the babies - isn't it amazing how all parties always end up in the kitchen.

Playing Catch Up!!

2009-03-19T21:29:00.003-04:00

Yet again life has gotten busy so here are a bunch of random pictures from the past few weeks. Trey is growing up way too quickly and it is so amazing to watch him change every day. He says Ma-Ma and Da-Da all of the time and has the most contagious laugh. He is eating everything in sight and does really well with his sippy cup. He is rolling all around but is not really making an effort to crawl yet.

8 Months Old - the awesome outfit is thanks to Scott and Brenda

We love anything with alligators!

Trey's first baseball game with "Aunt" Amanda - Yankees vs. Rays. Trey got to eat part of a hot dog and french fries and he loved the french fries just like his Mom.

We went to Courtney's Surprise 30th birthday party - I think there were as many babies there as there were adults and here are a few of the gang.

The boys all dressed up for the party.

Happy Valentines Day from Captain Heartbreak!

Mr. Giggles...

2009-02-27T15:08:00.002-05:00

Landon's First Birthday

2009-02-02T21:33:00.002-05:00

This past weekend we went to Landon's first birthday party. It was a great time and our friends, Brad and Jenna, threw an excellent party!

The birthday boy thoroughly enjoying his smash cake

Trey loved the trampoline at Landon's house and cannot wait to go over and play with the big kid toys another time

Trey's first real experience with grass

He thought it was pretty excellent and especially liked to eat it.

Our little monkey - we went to the doctors at the end of last week and we are weighing in at 21 pounds.

Treybow the Pirate

2009-02-02T21:04:00.004-05:00

Every year the Gasparilla Pirate Festival comes to Tampa. The name of Tampa's traditional Gasparilla Carnival comes from legendary pirate Jose Gaspar, last of the Bucaneers, who terrorized the coastal waters of West Florida during the late 18th and early 19th century. When Gaspar died he supposedly left an untold fortune in buried treasure somewhere along the Florida coast. The story was unearthed and Gaspar's memory was revived in 1904, when Tampa's social and civic leaders adopted the pirate as patron rogue of a city wide celebration. Secret meetings gave birth to the first "Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla" whose 40 members planned to suprise the city with a mock pirate attack on Tampa. Masked and fully costumed, the first krewe arrived on horseback and "captured" the city during a Festival Parade. This first invasion was so successful that the city has been doing it ever since.

Gasparilla and the whole pirate frenzy in Tampa was the inspiration for Trey's pirate nursery and thus we of course had to go to the Gasparilla Children's parade this year. Along with our neighbors we decorated our strollers and the kids and headed to the parade.

Trey's decorated stroller - as you can see he is not a fan of the pirate hat.

Trey and the rest of the Elberon Krewe participating in the toddler parade.

Clearly we need to start decorating our stroller much earlier next year -
this is one of the winners from the toddler parade.

The Elberon Krewe

When the actual parade started and we were hanging out watching, Trey was a real hit with all of the parade participants and they all came up to him to give him beads.

Treybow the Pirate with some of his bead booty!

Six Month Stats

2009-01-21T16:39:00.002-05:00

I can't believe I forgot to post Trey's stats from his six month doctors appointment so here you go:

Official Fighting Weight: 19 pounds, 13 ounces (77th percentile)
Height: 28 1/4 inches (90th percentile)
Head: 18 1/4 inches (96th percentile)

Go Gators - National Champions 2008

2009-01-19T00:30:00.003-05:00

Although we really would have loved to go to the game in Miami, with Trey in our lives that was not a possibility so we decided to have a party to watch the game and to celebrate Jimmy's 32nd birthday. What a wonderful birthday present to watch the Gators win another national championship!!

Treybow practicing for the big game

It is not a game without plenty of friends and food

Megan C and Ellen

Todd and Ken

As you can see Trey really enjoyed the game

Colorguard Reunion

2009-01-19T00:24:00.004-05:00

Yes I know some of you may be shocked to hear it but in high school I was on the colorguard - for those of you who do not know the terminology those are the girls that twirl the flags in the marching band. After 14 years and with the help of facebook, a few of the girls got together for a reunion over the holidays. It was great to see everyone and catch up and hopefully it will become a more regular event.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-19T00:23:00.002-05:00

Wishing everyone a wonderful 2009!

Trey Loves Bathtime

2009-01-19T00:10:00.003-05:00

Bathtime is Trey's favorite time of the day - literally when we just start walking up the stairs and say the words bath he starts giggling and bouncing in excitement. Thought we would share a few pictures as there is nothing more adorable than a naked baby :o)

Trey's First Christmas

2009-01-18T23:26:00.008-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Christmas - Jimmy lovingly calls me the Christmas Nazi - but I have to say that the joy of Christmas reached a whole new level this year with Trey to share it with. It was so much fun to decorate his room, shop for him, watch him open presents, etc. It was a whirlwind couple of weeks but somehow it all managed to get done and I think that Trey enjoyed his first Christmas and I know that Jimmy and I did.

Trey's Christmas Tree - a pirate theme of course!

One of Trey's many Christmas outfits - this reindeer one was courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa and Trey looked like such a big boy in it.

Trey's first Christmas present - Megan O and Amanda came over for a movie night and we had our annual Christmas get together - Trey loved the shiny bow and was more interested in it than in what was inside the package

One of our many Christmas celebrations was with our neighbors - here is a picture of the Elberon babies, Brad, Taylor and Trey - it was so cute as they all had on their striped Christmas PJs and were just checking each other out.

Look Mommy, isn't Taylor pretty?

Trey's first Christmas morning - Look Mom and Dad, Santa came!!

Man this tissue paper tastes good

I really like my stacking cups and check out my slippers - oh and did you notice that I am doing a pretty good job of sitting up all by myself.

For Christmas breakfast Trey got to try bananas for the first time and they were a big hit.

Trey's big boy Christmas outfit - how cool do I look?

Look everyone, I got How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Christmas Dinner with Nana, Papa Steve, Aunt Wendy, Grandma and Grandpa

With Grandpa

The day after Christmas we traveled to North Tampa to have Christmas with Great Aunt Paula, Great Uncle Ryan, and Cousins Justin and Logan - here is Trey and Daddy - as Paula pointed out there will come a time when Trey will not let his Mom dress him in a sweater vest :o)

Logan was nice enough to share his Rays cowbell with Trey and Trey thought it was awesome!!

Hanging with Nana and Papa Steve - a great end to a wonderful Christmas week!!

Tampa Girls

2009-01-18T23:21:00.002-05:00

The Tampa Girls at our annual holiday fondue party at my house - a great time of year to be thankful for such great friends!!

Happy Six Months Old

2009-01-18T22:46:00.002-05:00

Trey got to spend the weekend of his six month birhtday shopping in Orlando with Mommy, Nana and Great Aunt Paula. It was supposed to be Dad and Trey's first night alone but Dad was sick so off Trey went with the girls.

For six months we also tried drinking from a cup for the first time as Trey has never really liked the bottle so we are trying hard to get him to get liquids in other ways.

Oh and we also love to play with our feet!!

My First Thanksgiving

2009-01-11T14:49:00.006-05:00

For Thanksgiving we spent the day at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Bradenton with Aunt Wendy and Wendy's roommate, Chevy. Nana had just gotten back from Guatemala so she came also but Papa Steve was bringing the boat back with crew so he spent Thanksgiving in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.

Nana and I spent the morning watching the Macy's Day Parade and making our first baby food for Trey. Many of my Mommy friends had told me that purees were simple so I decided to give it a shot and they were right. In honor of Thanksgiving we started with pumpkin and butternut squash. As you will see below the butternut squash was a real hit.

Unfortunately Thanksgiving weekend we realized that Trey had caught a bug and we ended up in the doctors office on Monday morning and found out that Trey had bronchitis and an ear infection. The little guy was a real trooper as you would never have known that he was that sick but we spent the next week at home on a nebulizer which was not fun.

Trey's teachers made him his Indian headdress at school so we picked up Nana from the airport in it to give her a good laugh.

Trey did not find the Macy's Day Parade as exciting as Mom and Nana

Hanging with Mom and Dad

Hanging with Nana

My first taste of butternut squash - Yummy!!

Clearly my first veggie was a hit.

Napping with Dad on the Hammock

A shot of my first two teeth

Week Twenty-Four in the Life of Trey

2008-12-17T00:07:00.002-05:00

Yet another week of not many pictures but this week we broke our second tooth (the bottom right front). The second tooth was a lot less painful for both Trey and for Mom and Dad. The first tooth kept us all up all night but the second one only resulted in a few cries in the middle of the night but Trey went right back to sleep.

Trey absolutely loves to stand up and would be happy if someone held him in this position all day long.

Week Twenty-Three in the Life of Trey

2008-12-17T00:00:00.004-05:00

Well it seems that the weeks are getting busier as we are taking less pictures and just spending more time treasuring every minute with our little boy.

Watching the Gators beat South Carolina with my Dad

Trey's Grandma bought him an early Christmas present, a bouncer, and Trey loves it as it allows him to stand up (his favorite thing to do). This is the classic "what Mom?" look. You will also notice the drool on the chin and the soaked shirt, a sure sign that we are teething.

I love this new toy - thanks Grandma!!!

Week Twenty-Two in the Life of Trey

2008-12-16T23:40:00.005-05:00

Week Twenty-Two was a big week...Trey really fell in love with his feet and also broke his first tooth (the bottom left front tooth). It was also a big week for Mom and Dad as one of our oldest friends, Tara, got married and another, Ellen, turned the big 3-0 so we of course had to celebrate that as well.

Man these feet are amazing entertainment and they are attached to me which is great for Mom and Dad as I have a built in toy to occupy me.

Hanging with my Dad

The Tampa Girls at Ellen's Surprise 30th Birthday Party - we had a great time and welcomed Ellen, the baby of the group, to the 3-0 club.

Jimmy and I at Tara's wedding
The reception was at the Don Cesar on St. Pete Beach and it was a blast.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Gutman

The Pi Phi Girls - Jessica, Tara, Kiera and I

With Jessica and Joe - it was so nice to see them although I felt bad for them as Trey decided to break his first tooth that night and we were all sharing a two bedroom suite at one of the hotels on the beach. It is a good thing Trey is so cute so that they had to forgive him.

I Still Love Joey!

2008-11-03T21:35:00.006-05:00

So last night I went back in time fifteen years and relived my youth at the New Kids on the Block concert. We had a great time and by the end of the night I was losing my voice and could not hear a thing. It was amazing how loud a bunch of thirty year old women could scream. It was also amazing how many bras and underwear ended up on the stage although as the boys pointed out the bras were a lot bigger than they were fifteen years ago :o)

The Block.....

Was definitely back :o)

NKOTB arrived on stage in grand fashion

With Gina and Amanda - yes those are huge Joey buttons and he looks better today than he did fifteen years ago.

For part of the concert the boys sang in the middle of the forum which was basically directly in front of our section in the stands so we had a close-up view.

Even at forty those boys had some serious moves

Still Hanging Tough :o)

Part Two of Week Twenty-One in the Life of Trey

2008-11-03T21:13:00.003-05:00

We ended the week on a high note as we watched the Gators beat up on the Georgia Bulldogs and then we had a visit with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Wendy. For the first time Trey got upset with all the yelling while watching the game but perhaps it was because since we creamed them so bad we were yelling every few minutes - GO GATORS!!!

With Victoria, Bill and Sauce (finally a dog Trey's size who he was very interested in)

Too cute!!!

In my final Halloween outfit that Grandma and Grandpa bought for me.

Finally...

2008-11-01T13:49:00.001-04:00

Well I have been slack but I finally caught up so you will have to go all the way down through week 18 in order to get all the updates. My favorite picture is at the end of the week 18 post so that will give you some incentive :o)

Part One of Week Twenty-One in the Life of Trey

2008-11-01T13:03:00.010-04:00

Although Week Twenty-One is not quite over, I wanted to get these posts up as there are so many cute ones from Halloween :o) Halloween was so much more fun this year with Trey to celebrate with. The big event for Trey this week however was that he discovered his feet and he is just amazed by them (I am trying to get a picture but every time the camera comes up he puts his feet down and smiles at me).

Just a cute picture of Trey hanging with his Dad - do those two look alike or what?

We had several holiday outfits so we had to start wearing them early in the week. Thank you Nana and Papa Steve for this one - it was a big hit at school.

Yet another one (apparently we like spiders).

We started Halloween off with a party at Trey's school. Mom and Dad both took the day off work so that we could chaperone and be a part of the festivities. The teachers made costumes for the class and they were all dalmations and it was the most adorable thing. Here is dalamation Trey.

Dalmation Trey with is friend Dalmation Avery.

In order for the babies to participate in the costume parade, they were loaded up in the fire cribs (these are the cribs that are made to roll outside in the event of an emergency) and dog houses were born :o)

I have no idea who this kid is but I just thought his dracula costume was too cute not to mention the facial expression.

The whole class. The teacher in orange in the middle is Trey's teacher Ms. Tina. The teacher on the right is Trey's secondary teacher Ms. Dalia.

All dressed up for Halloween - there were so many cute Halloween costumes out there but I saw this monkey and just fell in love with it. It is perfect for our little monkey. Then I saw the banana treat bag and of course we had to have that also (with our name on it).

I have heard many a story of babies hating their costume but not my little man - he loved it!

The family all ready for our neighborhood Halloween block party. Mom dressed up as a Mummy :o)

Trey's first pumpkin which Grandma and Grandpa bought him from the pumpkin patch - of course a pirate

The Elberon babies - Pirate Brad (six months old), Gator Cheerleader Taylor (four months old) and Monkey Trey (five months old). We are so lucky to have so many babies on the street so close in age as our kids have playmates right next door.

Pirate Ava - she was so adorable and loved handing out candy to the kids.

Hey Mom - where did all the candy go?

After a long day, we were defintely ready for bed. Thank you "Aunt" Amanda for the adorable PJs.

Trey's School

2008-11-01T12:29:00.007-04:00

I have been meaning to get photos up for awhile and since we just went to Trey's school Halloween party I finally have the pictures to post :o) Although it was a hard decision and I had thought we would go with a nanny for Trey when I went back to work, I just never found anyone that I was comfortable with. So after talking to alot of people and watching Trey and how much he likes being around other kids and watching the world around him, we decided school was the best decision.

The school Trey attends is right downtown and so I can be there in a minute by car if needed. Trey has three wonderful teachers, Ms. Tina, Ms. Dalia, and Ms. Erika. Ms. Tina is his primary teacher and Ms. Dalia is what I like to call the closer as she is the last teacher there at night. She and Trey get some quality one-on-one time as Trey is usually one of the last kids to be picked up as I leave at 5:30 but most parents leave at 5:00.

The outside of the school

The door to Trey's classroom. This is one of my favorite things as the door constantly changes but there is always a theme with each of the kids names on the door.

Here is the classroom play area.

Here is Trey's crib at school - yes that is a Gator mobile and I was super excited when I found an orange sheet :o)

Trey loves the bouncer at school and smiles whenever he is in it.
We need to get one for the house :o)

Week Twenty in the Life of Trey

2008-11-01T12:25:00.003-04:00

I guess this was just a busy week for us in that I did not take as many pictures this week which usually means we are just constantly on the go and there were no major moments (as cuteness is an every minute occurrence so I cannot take pictures of every minute :o))

Trey and Taylor - how adorable is this. Jimmy was in San Francisco for a conference so we went to visit Taylor and her Mom and Gradmom next door. Trey kept putting his hand on Taylor and at times they even held hands. Hey, he knows a beautiful girl when he sees one.

Check out yet another awesome outfit!!

Tagged

2008-11-01T12:04:00.002-04:00

I got tagged (thanks Megan) so here goes....

8 fave TV shows

Ok this is a hard one for me as I am somewhat of a TV junkie (although now I have a lot less time to watch :o))....

Friday Night Lights (this one is number 1 hands down)
Lost
Brothers and Sisters
Greek
Amazing Race
Greys Anatomy
One Tree Hill
Bones

8 fave restaurants

Square One Burgers
Cappy's Pizza
Bamboo Club
Bellas
Wrights Deli
Demetrios
Flemings
PF Changs

8 things I did yesterday

Chaperoned Trey's school Halloween party
Picked up my dress for Tara's wedding from the tailor
Decorated funfetti cupcakes
Cleaned the house
Went to our neighborhood Halloween party
Missed my Mom
Fell in love with my husband all over again (this happens every day)
Kissed my little money - Mr. Trey

8 things I look forward to

Watching Florida beat Georgia
Playing with Trey and watching him grow
Going to the NKOTB concert (yes I am reliving my youth with my girlfriends)
My parents getting back from Guatemala
Rory, Kim and Dylan moving back to Florida (for good)
My next girls night
A full nights sleep
Tara's wedding

8 things on my wish list

A cure for PLS
A cure for Autism
Rory, Kim and Dylan living close so the boys can grow up together
A live-in maid and cook
A closet devoted totally to my purse obsession
A sister for Trey
More hours in a day and less sleep needed
Jimmy to come up with the million dollar idea so I never have to work again

Peope I am tagging

Kim, Courtney, Nicki, Jenna, and Cara