One Year Old

On September 29th, Trace turned 1!! We celebrated at our house with family and a few close friends. It was a great day and Trace did so well. I was really worried about him stressing because of everyone being around him or too much lovin'. He was GREAT! He LOVES being the center of attention, so this was right up his alley. Instead of a traditional cake, we had a cupcake cake in the shape of "1."

However, Trace did have his own cake and loved it!! He got into serious mode when it came time for the cake. No smiles - strictly business. He had it all over his hands, the chair, his birthday outfit and his face. We had a great day celebrating with friends and family!


Fun Notes on Trace:

• First step on August 28th, 2009 (hasn't slowed down since)
  
• He has 8 teeth and cutting his 9th
  
• Loves sleeping with his elephant
  
• Loves his new "big boy" carseat


• Says Da-Da, Cat and Dat (when he points at EVERYTHING)


• He waves and says bye-bye


• If you ask him what a cat says or when he sees our cat, he says (2 octaves higher) "be-a, be-a" It is sooo cute!


• Our cat's name is Willie and when we call for him, Trace will also try and call him by saying "WeWe"


• He points to lights if you ask him where the light is.


• He knows where his mouth is. If you ask him where is nose is, he bangs on his head (we need to do some work there!)


• If you ask him to "love" something, he will put his head on whatever it is and cuddle with it. He especially likes to do this with Willie.

He is just such a joy to be around. I can't get over how fast he is learning new things. He got an alphabet train for this birthday and it is amazing that he knew exactly what to do with it to make it "work."

Trace is going to be a monkey and possibly a chicken for Halloween-so check back for Halloween pictures.

11 Month Old Update

Well, once again it has been awhile since the last update. Trace is now 11 months and 4 days old. Things have been great around the house since Trace's arrival almost a year ago but they are getting even better.

Trace is starting to wean himself off of baby food and loves eating "real" food. He loves shredded cheddar cheese, chicken or turkey sticks, green beans, spaghetti, fresh fruit and Gripz by Cheez-its.

Last Friday Bobby and I had the joy of witnessing his first step. YAY! We were shocked because it happened out of nowhere. We just kind of looked at each other like "did you see what I saw?" Since his first step, he has taken quite a few more steps but still not really walking. Just random steps every now and then. So exciting to watch him learn new things.

He loves sharing now. He likes to feed me now instead of himself. He thinks it is funny if I open my mouth and he gives me the food. He has also started "playing" with us. For instance, if I roll him the ball he will pick it up and give it back to me so I can do it again. I am absolutely loving this!!

It is amazing what children learn from each other. I love watching him play at Muriel with Zanna (3) and Drew (2). He will crawl right over with them and just look at them and then try to partake in whatever they are doing. His most recent trick is standing in an upside down "V" with his head on the ground like he is about to a front flip. He sees Zanna do it all the time. I normally don't mind him doing that except for when he tries to do it in the bathtub and submerges his head right in the water. He loves giving me a heart attack.

His recent babbling is starting to turn into words or as much of words as he can say. He always says "Da-da" when we get home and he looks around the corner to look for Bobby to see if he is on the couch. It's so cute. We have a cat named Willie and Trace will say "dat" when Willie is around. He loves chasing Willie around the house. Normally Willie doens't let him get too close because when he does, Trace just hits him. He has also been saying what sounds like "duck" when I say "truck" or "Chuck"(Muriel's (Trace's sitter) husband).

Hopefully it won't be too long for the next update.

Often Wondered

I have often wondered what I would have looked like back in the days. One of my friends found this website and I think it is absolutely hilarious!! Here is what I would have looked back in the day. Not quite sure I would married anyone if I really looked this. haha

Cruising Along

I know I say this everytime, but I am awful at this blogging thing. I am sooo sorry and am sorry I can't promise to do better but I will promise to try.

A lot of things have been happening since my last post. Trace is 9.5 months old and all over the place. He crawls everywhere and is now pulling up and cruising along furniture and walking behind push toys all by himself. I love wathcing him learn new skills. Check him out walking at the link below.

I am sorry it is sideways but that is the way I held the camera and I don't know how to flip it.

This past week we were able to spend a week with my family at my parents beach house in Ocean Lakes (between Myrtle and Garden City). Trace was surrounded by his family that loves him so so much (Papa Hoover and GiGi (Great Grandparents), Papa and Gammy (my parents), Uncle Robert, Aunt Autumn and me and Bobby). We loved spending the week with him and watching him on the beach. He absolutely loved the beach. He loved crawling around, trying to eat seashells, eating sand, playing in the hole Bobby had to build him everyday so we could sit down for 5 minutes. He loved his sand toys that my parents gave him for Christmas. He also loved daily golf cart rides.I really feel like he grew up a lot while we were at the beach. He started using his voice inflections when talking and babbling. He now knows how to get our attention when he wants or doesn't want something...screams loud, clinches his fist and scrunches his eyes. He has eight teeth but I am terrified to give him table food. I have given him watermelon, mashed potatoes, apple sauce and maybe a few more things. I let Muriel (his sitter) do all that. She has given him english muffin, scrambled eggs, pasta, icy pops and probably some more that I don't want to know about. I know I have to get over it. I will have the only child in America who is five years old who is still eating baby food.
I can't wait for my next update. It will probaby be a post about his one year old birthday party. :)

First Beach Trip

Trace had his first beach trip this past weekend with his Ganma and Papa Andrews. I am so blessed to have such wonderful parents. They took Trace to the beach with them soBobby and I could go to Edisto for our 4th Anniversary for some rest and relaxation. It was so nice to spend some time with just the two of us. However, we did miss Trace alot and were sooo excited to see him when we got home. (He was excited to see us too!)

Mom said Trace didn't like the water very much and the sand was just "okay." We are going to have to get him used to the beach because we love it and will spend a lot of time there. The whole family is going in July, so we will try the sand and water thing again.

Since our last update (a month ago..so sorry!) Trace has changed so much. He still only has 6 teeth but is a mover-a quick mover. He is crawling all over the place and sometimes with his right leg straight out. It is soo cute. He has started pulling up onto everything. Some of the things he likes:

-Sitting on Daddy's shoulders

-Looking, laughing and talking to himself in the mirror (he knows he is adorable)

-Reading and chewing on his books

-Night time bottle/cuddle with Mommy

-Playing on our down comforter in Mommy and Daddy's bed

-Loves chewing on the car seat strap when in the car

-Chewing on the pink pig on his teething necklace

-Standing on all 4's like a monkey

-Loves eating his veggies and fruit

-Crawling away from anyone who tries to change his diaper or his clothes

-bath time (normally I am as wet as he is when he gets out)

They Come in Two's

Teeth that is.....at least that is the way it is working for Trace. Trace got his bottom two teeth at the same time a little over a month ago. Around two weeks ago, we noticed his top two teeth starting to come in. They are now in but not all the way. Yesterday, he let me put my finger in his mouth (without biting me!) and I felt MORE teeth. Yes, both teeth on either side of his front two teeth are coming in now as well. I am glad we are getting this over with all at the same time.

In the middle of cutting a mouth full of teeth, he has learned to sit up by himself and is doing such a good job. He is getting better at sitting for longer periods of time while holding toys, reaching for toys and eating toys. He has also started the first stage of crawling. He is on all "4's." He can move his knees to progress forward but when he starts moving his arms, he falls down. However, the determined little fella gets right up and tries again.

Some of the things he has been enjoying are: walking in the walker at MiMi's (Muriel), chewing on his teething necklace, grunting/screaming when he does not get his way or wants something, sitting up, getting on all-fours, laughing out loud, being tickled, talking to people, riding in cars, going for walks, playing with Willie (our cat), playing in his excersaucer, pulling Mommy's hair, laughing at Daddy, rolling over while we try to change his diaper (this is fun), taking baths and splashing EVERYWHERE and so much more.

Hopefully it will not take a month for another update. The White House has been pretty busy.

Poor Baby

Well, two doctors appointments in one week-poor baby! I was really trying to make it to March 27th for his 6 month check-up. Oh well.
Last Wednesday I took Trace to the doctor because of white stuff in his mouth. I didn't think it was just milk, but I needed an expert's opinion. I was right-it was thrush. YUCK! At this appointment, Trace weighed in at 14 lbs, 15 oz. Dr. Kapp gave Trace medicine for the thrush that I had to give to him 4 times a day. I also had to sterilize his passies and nipples after every use.
Last weekend, I decided to venture out and take Trace to his first Carolina Baseball game. While there, he started holding his ears like they were hurting him. I was thinking the music was too loud or something. Sunday morning he woke up pretty congested and chewing on everything three times as much as he already does. I immediately went to Walgreens to buy some Orajel because I felt like he was about to cut a tooth.
Monday morning as soon as I got him out of his crib he threw up all over himself because of the drainage. I took his temperature and it was 101.6. I called into work and Bobby and I split the day to stay at home with him. I was then hoping it was the 24-hour bug. He progressively got worse Monday so I called my grandmother and she very graciously came to stay with Trace Tuesday morning so Bobby and I could go to work. His fever broke Monday night/Tuesday morning but continued to feel so bad. All he did was moan like he was aching. He was holding both of his ears and any noise would make him cry. He wasn't sleeping, I wasn't sleeping, no on in the White House was sleeping-not a happy time as you can imagine. My grandmother stayed with him and we took him to the doctor on Thursday because I then had diagnosed him with ear infection(s).
First things first, the weigh-in. This time Trace weighed 14 lbs, 8 oz. He had lost 5 oz. The doctor said it was due to his lack of appetite. Dr. Kapp said his ears looked great and his lungs sounded great. So he looked in his mouth and the little monkey has his two bottom teeth coming in. I can feel both of them now and I am so excited. After testing for the flu and strep, he said it is probably a mix between the teething and a viral cold. Sad news-there is nothing I can give him. He did say I could rub liquid Benadryl (sp) on his gums to help them feel better. That stuff is great! Now I am trying to get Trace back to his normal appetite. I was supposed to start him on cereal last week and have not been able to do so because of the congestion. The doctor said I could go ahead with it but Trace just isn't in the mood for anything new right now. All he wants to do is sleep, whine and occasionally play in his bouncer. He is a little trooper but it makes me so sad to him hurting like he is. I hope the rest of the 18 teeth aren't like this. I just might go crazy!!
GiGi, my grandmother, stayed with us until Friday afternoon. I am so thankful God blessed us with such a wonderful, healthy family. I am so fortunate that my grandmother can drive here and stay with us. I know my papa missed her but was willing to give her up for a couple of days. Thanks Papa!
Once the teeth pop all the way through, I will try to snap a picture. He hasn't felt like me messing in his mouth lately. I wonder why??