I'm listening to Trey keep singing "mickey how coud how, go uh lide, go uh lide" translate: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Come Inside It's Fun Inside

it amazes me every day the things he is saying and telling me. he told me this morning that he wanted to hold the nail polish. how does he remember these things? he is still so little how does his little head (well he does have a big head) remember these things? AMAZING!

October?

NO WAY!!! is it seriously october tomorrow???

i always heard time flies by so fast when you get older and it is oh so true!! then you have a child and it moves that much faster! it is so hard for me to believe that it will be november/thanksgiving in one month! much less christmas in 2!

short update....
i was able to post some of our summer pictures on facebook (finally), trey has TOTALLY stopped with the potty and we are in full gear with school!

Pictures:
something is wrong with my camera/uploader. i would be sooooo close to completing an upload and then it would tell me there was an error. so every day i would take more and more pictures and couldn't get them off the camera. in swoops jerry to save the day and says "i will take the card to work and put them on a disk for you" WOOOO HOOOO! problem solved, well, for the time being a guess. sad part is, i have really enjoyed my camera but i can tell it is on it's last leg. it is very unreliable and half the time just won't work :( hopefully it will make it a little bit longer!

Potty:
for who knows what reason, trey decided that he doesn't want to potty on the potty anymore. i put his cloth trainer underwear on and he will full fledged pee! not a little bit like he once did but all of it! what happened? i don't get it! i have been told not to worry. i was told that since he won't even be 2 1/2 until december it was amazing he did so well for the 2 weeks he did it. i don't get it though. 2 weeks!!! he even woke in the night to go pee on the potty! what now?

School:
i am loving me some school! my class rocks, no criers!!!!! they are all very happy and super super cute!!!! and as for trey... he has been so much better all around. i have always heard that children really need to be "under" other adults and around kids their age to help them learn & listen etc. and i have now seen it to be true! he still has his naughty side don't get me wrong, but he is learning better on how to handle himself. and of course he still shows out more for me than anyone. why do they do that?

these are the biggest things since last post (that i can think of right now at 10:17 pm) :)
hope this finds you and your family doing well!

i don't understand

why are 2 year olds so hard?

they don't listen, they say "no" all the time, they don't listen, they are wild, they don't listen, they are never out of energy and they don't listen.

don't get me wrong, my child is precious and i love him dearly. he is "high spirited", i don't want to break his spirit, just mold him to be a little more obedient.

emily gave me 2 books, the strong willed child and bringing up boys.

i will begin the strong willed child as soon as i make myself a drink. hahaha and i mean crystal light, although something else may calm me more. :)

if you have any suggestions, believe me, they are welcome!!!!!!

Amazing #2

6:25 am
Trey: Mommy get me

no sleeping late :(

Amazing

it is 9:30 as i write this and my sweet boy is STILL in his room playing. he has this (quite annoying) singing bug thing in the bed with him and he keeps pressing the buttons over and over and over and... well you get the picture.

he has had a full day today. apparently 2 year olds and the energizer bunny have equal battery life. he was at church from 8:45-1:00, lunch at cici's, nap, running and playing in the rain, tacos, more playing and at 8:15ish he was in his room "ready" for bed.

i hope this means i get to sleep late... yea right!

My new found love

I can not get enough of sewing now! I have ALWAYS wanted to learn the ins and outs of sewing and I am finally doing it.

1st project: a SUPER CUTE John Deere blanket for Trey's bed. I took my wonderful material and everything that I had to Florence to my M-I-L's and she taught me what to do! We had a good time pinning it together and sewing it. Now she is going to help me put the border around the outside of it. (pictures to come when I get my camera/computer to download them)

2nd project: really fun pillows for Trey's room. He has never slept on a pillow (he doesn't seem to care for them). But I made a tie end, fire truck pillow case for him and he has slept on it ever since. I also made another pillow for his bench out of the same material.

I LOVE SEWING~!~!~!~! Now to learn to read patterns! I want to make curtains for our kitchen, bedroom, computer room & Trey's room not to mention maybe even a bed set for our room.....
boy am I getting ahead of myself. oh and btw I am doing all this on my Mema's Kenmore Model 42 sewing machine. (very very old)

the Potty

there are no words to express my excitement about trey going potty! it began last wednesday and really getting into it on thursday and he has been full force ever since!!! he is going on the potty away from home, waking up at night to go and even doing poo poo too! i am so proud of him!!! we are still doing diapers at night time and nap but as you are putting it on, he repeats "no pee pee pants" meaning don't pee pee in your pants! he is soooooooooo stinking smart! can i just say again that I AM SO PROUD OF HIM!!!!!!!!

during the day he is wearing the cloth training underwear where he may pee pee a little but then runs to me saying "pee pee pants" and we rush to the potty. he is getting 2 m&m's and a sticker. he gets so excited and i do too. my favorite part is, right after he finishes he balls up his fist in front of him (kinda like a boxing stance) and dances and grins. then he is reaching for me for hugs! we both get so excited i will kinda be sad when it wears of. we also have a elmo potty char that we are using to notate intervals and how he does. he has only had 2 accidents so far and again, I AM SO PROUD OF HIM!

So much has happened...

since our last post.

Trey is using full sentences and is full throttle ALL THE TIME!!!! He LOVES fire trucks, tractors, any heavy equipment (back hoes, dump trucks etc.) and trains! He is all BOY!!!!

He picks out his outfit each day (well his shirt, I match the shorts). It is so hard for me to grasp the fact that he is making his own decisions! He has began the FUN trail of potty training. I think we are gonna skip pull-ups (except for night time) because they are just like diapers and he will just pee in them. This is a whole separate post anyways.

We have had many fun events over the summer including a trip to Raleigh, EdVenture, the zoo many times, the splash pad in Florence, a junk band concert, beach with the whole family, a gymnastics gym, leaping lizards, another bounce place and my niece spent 2 nights with us! This is some of the many highlights Trey has enjoyed this summer.

We still have until September 9th until preschool starts and he is so ready. He DOES NOT like staying at home for extended time, unlike his Mommy, I would love some down time!!!

I promise I will try to do a better job of updating this. In a bit I will add some of our fun summer pics!

It gets worse :(

Trey has the croup! I have heard random stories about it and don't really know what to expect. I feel so sad for him. He has had a horrible birthday and now his party is canceled. He had a very low grade fever yesterday and today I haven't checked it but i know he was warm before the Tylenol. The dr. told me his throat was horribly swollen and bumpy and that he has got to be in some major pain. She also said it will get worse before it gets better. He has been a little winy and wanting me to sit and hold him. I feel so very sad.

what a poopie birthday for my baby boy

Crazy Birthday Week

Trey's birthday is today and he (we) has had a crazy week. He got poison ivy over the weekend, last night our AC went out (again) and today, his birthday, he has a funky cough and low fever (100.0). Our house has been like a sauna so we went out and about so he could be cooler. I don't know what is causing his fever but his attitude is fine. He has been chewing on his fingers a good bit lately so maybe it is teeth. We went for his 2 year pictures Wednesday and he wouldn't cooperate so we made another apt. to try today but had to cancel it for the AC man to come. We will try again in the morning.
He has gotten a couple of birthday calls in which he chats nonstop to the caller. My Mama heard him say he is 2, Aunt Sheila heard him say that it is his birthday and Aunt Gladys, sadly, called while he was napping. I will call her back later so she can talk to him.
It is now 4:30 and he is still napping since he couldn't get to sleep on time (the house was too hot) He did enjoy Chic-Fil-A with his BF Wells so that was awesome for him as well as got to ride on the "tractors" at Home Depot. So all and all it has been a fun day for him.
I'm gonna go wake him now so he will sleep tonight.
I will write more later.
Happy Birthday My Sweet Boy!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

No More Pap Pap

WOOO HOOO!

And he doesn't even ask for it anymore! It has been a week and a half and it has been easy sailing. He is waking in the middle of the night though and all he wants me to do is re-cover him. When do they do that themselves? hmm....

On another note, today was the last day of school! I ONLY cried like 8 times :) Very good for me! Emily and I found out we will be in the younger 1's next year with one of our friends, Amy! Good times and great fun! Can't wait.

VBS is June 15-19 and we are in 4's! How funny to go from "older babies" to 4's to younger ones! We will be able to do many new things that we haven't been able to do with babies the past 2 years and we couldn't be more excited about it!

Pap Pap

Day 3
20 minutes of fussing but it worked :)

Pap Pap

Day 2

AUGH! Last minute decision had Trey and I going to Mel's house last night. Horrible 1st night with out Pap Pap I know! He did have a fussing fit, I finally gave in and gave him his Pap Pap. He saw me walk in, he said Pap Pap as I put it in his mouth and he rolled over and was done! It is so crazy to me how attached he is to that thing. When we headed for home he woke up and stayed awake until we got home. As soon as we got here, he took his antibiotic and went to sleep, no Pap Pap... no problem.

I was talking to a friend and we were discussing how the child will have to "learn" how to go to sleep with out the "crutch". I never thought of it that way! I guess it is the same as when I had to learn how to fall asleep on my side and not on my belly when I was carrying this sweet child that we're talking about!

Nap time:
Oh wait, there was no nap time. He played in his room for 1 1/2 hours and NEVER slept! I gave up and took him outside to play while I did some yard work. Then when it was 4:15 we sat in the chair together to watch some of his firetruck DVD and he fell asleep in less than a second! I laid him down and gave him 30 minutes.

Nite Nite:
1st lay down: Horribly! He wailed like a banshee (hehehe Ashley) 2nd lay down: We had our discussion again that the babies need the Pap Paps and he is a big boy now so he doesn't need them like the babies do. I resettled him. I gave him his water, Elmo, Daisy Belle and his Thomas blanket and he was done. Praise God!

Saying good by to Pap Pap

Day 1

He only gets Pap Pap at sleep times and it stays in the top drawer of his dresser. So I took him when we got home and showed him that Pap Pap was going to the kitchen. (that way he wouldn't try to climb up his dresser to get it) He said "Bye Bab Bap" (his way of saying it) and that was it.

At nap time when he was ready for "nite nite" I took him in his room, put him in his bed and gave him his blankie. As usual he asked for Pap Pap. I told him "No Baby, No Pap Pap." Needless to say he was NOT happy. He stood at his door and cried for at least 15 minutes. I even sat with him and held him for a few minutes to no avail!

Jerry and I decided long ago that when he turned 2 he would not have it anymore. The main reasons we "pushed" the pappy is #1 he had HORRIBLE reflux and the pappy helped him keep his meal down. #2 you can take it away, a thumb you can't

Now we just have to get through the night time! But I am here to say... NO TURNING BACK!!!!

Crocs

I got Trey a pair of fake Crocs from Target yesterday and he put them on and said he didn't like them!!! I was sooooo super sad! He walked around like a robot picking his feet up like they wouldn't bend. Then he, Jerry & I went on a walk around the block and he was full fledged running up and down hills in them. Today he wanted to put them on 1st thing when he woke up and cried when I took them off for his nap. So needless to say, he has surley began to like them. The best story comes from tonight! I had already gotten him all dressed in his jambies, he had taken his meds, we said prayers and he was all tucked in. About 5 minutes later I hear him hollering for me, he had decided he wasn't really ready for bed and wanted to play. I walked down the hall to tell him to get back in bed and... you guessed it, he had put on his Crocs! It was so cute I couldn't let him go! I swooped him up and for a full hour just cuddled & read books with him.

AUGHHHHH

I can not believe Trey has another sinus infection! Poor thing! Both his regular Dr and the ENT said if this 2nd round of antibiotics poop out on him, then adenoids come out. AUGHHHH!!!!
I hate to know that he will have to go through all this hospital junk again!! Am I wrong, or do most people have the tubes and adenoids done at the same time?!?!?!? Why would my baby be any different? Please pray!

Scared to death!

Those of you at the shower last night know the fear that came from a 22 month old and a chicken bone!

We were at Wild Wings for Ashley's baby shower and Trey kept wanting some of my chicken. So I figured I would give him one of the wings with the chicken still on it. So, it worked wonderfully the first wing and HORRIBLY the second. He was on the other side of another girl there and when I looked over to check on him one time he was choking!!!! I jumped up and ran around to him and come to find out he had bit off the gristle and it was stuck at the back of his throat. Needless to say I was totally freaked out and have been making myself sick over it! It could have just been a fluke thing but it scared the mess out of me! He was quite upset about it also (duh) and was hugging me saying he wanted to go! I felt like the worst Mommy ever!

Ya live and learn I guess. Some lessons really scar you. Today I was worried about EVERYTHING he ate, even his yogurt. augh...

Weekday Zoo Trip 2009

Make a Smilebox slideshow

New friend... I think.

There is a little girl that lives behind us who is 4 and her name is Erin. She stands at the fence and calls Trey and Trey's Mama and asks 100 million questions. Her mom let her come over and hang with us the other day. Trey loved it and they had a awesome time.

The bad part is, it is almost as bad as having Sparky aka Barky back next door. He barked at us the WHOLE time we would be in the yard, she shouts question the whole time. Better or worse? I just can't say!

Verdict: NOT Ready

after 2 peeing on the floor episodes I came to the realization, TREY IS NOT READY TO POTTY TRAIN!

He is still asking to BEBE thought, so I get him undone and sit him down. We will continue to let him BEBE but will not press it yet. :)

Ready or Not?

For the past few weeks Trey has kept asking to go "bebe" in the potty every night. Then this Tuesday he asked over 5 times in a 2 hour span. So Wednesday we trucked out to get some pull-ups and try it out. We have been visiting the potty EVERY 30 minutes since 7:00 this morning! He hears the timer and runs shouting "bebe bebe bebe" Only problem is, as soon as his bottom hits the seat he wines to get off! What is that about? So he is EXCITED to get in the bathroom but doesn't want to sit on the pot! Please let me know if you think he is ready or not! I don't want to scare him away from it! Thanks y'all!!!!

My very own Handy Manny

Trey watched me change the batteries in his fire truck one day and ever since he has wanted to do it himself. Today he kept saying "moan Mommy, duck" translation "come on Mommy, stuck" so I was to get over there and help him. He actually has the screw driver in the screw but just doesn't have the strength needed to turn it, so to him it is "stuck"! Boy are we in trouble when he does get the strength!

Hospital, Hospital, Dance & More Hospital

I have been super slack about posting and I will try to do a quick "catch up" since New York.
First off, Trey and I have had sinus infections and he also has an ear infection!! This makes the #3 blockage in his left tube!! We go to his ENT today to find out about the next steps. (probably a new tube)
We went to Florence to see my new Niece Kaylyn! She is soooooooo cute and her Mommy and Daddy couldn't be happier! I could just eat her up! Trey couldn't go in since he woke up Saturday with a fever :(
We also saw Beanie in the same hospital, she had a ginormous kidney stone which they had to go after TWICE!!! Poor Beanie!!
While we were there we went to Arts Alive @ FMU to see Addie dance and she was precious! I love to see her tap! She does it with perfect style and is THE CUTEST one on the floor!
After the dance we headed for home since Trey was not feeling good. To end out our day, @ 11:45 pm we went to Providence Hospital for Trey who had at this point spiked a 105 fever and was shaking quite strangely. Come to find out from our 5 hour wait, he didn't have phenomena. Good job doc! We were quite frustrated! So I called our Dr.'s office and they said if he was still running fever by Tuesday then bring him in. So I did and that is when we found out about the ear and sinuses. Dumb ER!!! AUGH!! They guy barely looked at Trey!!!

NYC

I am now home, safe and happy to have had a WONDERFUL weekend with my Mom-in-law & sis-in-laws!! We had the MOST amazing time and everyone came back in one piece!
We saw 2 Broadway musicals, Marry Poppins & Phantom of the Opera. I have had so many people ask me which was better and I can honestly say, "I can't say". Mary was so energetic and exciting in the happy happy sense and Phantom was so dramatic and exciting and I mean, HELLO, it's Phantom!!!!!
We walked SOOOOOOO many places and like the words of one New Yorker "you really get to see the city when you walk it." We had the majority of our laughs on the Subways which we, almost every time, were headed the wrong direction first. Crys even had a homeless man fall on her and crack her back. Good news though, her back felt better after that. We had 2 very "exciting" rids in the famous NYC Taxis and even rode a bus and found out the last day that there is a FREE SHUTTLE BUS!!!! We ate amazing and not so amazing foods and I can honestly say, I had no complaints either way, I was in NYC!!! WOOOOO HOOOOO!!!
We shopped and were amazed that in the shopping mecca of the world, Bloomingdale's closes at 7:00 on Saturdays!!!! What is that about????? We came to the conclusion that most people probably are attending the "night life" activities or getting ready for them at that time. (just a little note about that, we walked up at 7:15!!!!!)
FAO Schwartz was closed when we got there too, but we were able to go to the 9 floor Macy's. It was so awesome and most of the escalators were wooden!! That was so super cool! The whole "cellar" floor was men's underwear. WHAT!?!?!?! There was even food places and a Starbucks in there!!!!
Speaking of Starbucks, it is so true that there is one on EVERY block! They were just shoving it up in my face. But I held off and only got 1 coffee the whole trip! Very good me!
We saw Lady Liberty and Ellis Island and enjoyed the little bit of history we were able to get from both places.

There are no words to explain the fun we had and my thanks to my Mom who treated us girls on the trip and to Cry for the wonderful planning and being our map reader. I can honestly say you two rock!

NYC

So as most of you probably already know, I will be traveling to NYC Friday morning from the Myrtle Beach Airport! I am going with my amazing Mom-in-law and 2 wonderful sister-in-laws!!! We are so excited to go and have 4 days of "girls only" together time! (this is so unusual because when we are together we usually have 4 men and 5 kids to tend with for time together)

We will be doing much shopping, lots of walking and even The Phantom of the Opera Broadway play!!! We will return back to the beach Monday night and from there I will drive home. So if I work with you @ Weekday, I'll see you Tuesday morning and for everyone else, I will see you as soon as I can! I can't wait to share all the wonderful stories, I'm sure I'll have, with you when I get back!

Please keep us in your prayers.

He's just so smart!!!

I came into the computer room to check my e-mail and of course Trey was not far behind. He jumped up in Daddy's chair and began to "explore" as he usually does. While he was on his exploration he stuck his hand down in Daddy's glass of Kool-Aid that he left on the desk (probably looking for ice) and when doing so the glass tipped over. He began to fuss and I looked to see what was happening and he was holding his hand in the glass so it would not fall completely over. I jumped up and grabbed the glass and began to wipe it up with tissue (not a really good absorber). Then I saw that Trey had gone and gotten the rag that I had been using to dust with. He reached right up on the table and began wiping! Now tell me that he isn't just too smart. #1 he held the glass up so it all didn't pour out #2 looked for something to clean up with

I LOVE MY BRILLIANT SON!!!

OH THE EARS......

So, we were under the impression that after Trey got tubes in his ears that we would be "foot loose and fancy free!" Yea, not so much. He has ANOTHER blockage in his left ear!!!!! This is the 2nd time. I can not believe it. So we have to do the peroxide/water drops for 7 days and then the Ciprodex drops for 7 more days. And of course ANOTHER doctor visit after all that! The BEST PART is, if it doesn't clear out.... he gets a new tube!!! WOOOOOO HOOOOO!!!! Surgery AGAIN!! Oh well, everyone does not always have the same experiences as others.

On a more fun note, Trey has a new thing where he has to have his PapPap, Blankie AND a sippy of water in bed. I guess I kinda get it. His throat gets dry from breathing through his mouth cause of the nose stoppage. So the past 4 nights he has gotten up and asked for drink. Tonight I am jumping ahead of the game and sending it with him!!!!

He is growing up so much and is really talking and MIMIKING EVERYTHING!!!!! I bit my tongue the other day at lunch, said "ow" and smacked the table. He then smacked the table over and over shouting "ow". Toooooo funny!!! So if you are around my boy, please be very careful what you say and do! I can only imagine what he will be pick up :)

Small Update

We have been battling the night time sleep stealer! For some very strange reason, Trey has not been able to sleep through the night for a couple of weeks. He wakes up, comes to our bed and wants to sleep with us. When we take him back to his bed he screams and has an outright tantrum! AUGH!!! I feel so sleep deprived and so does Jerry! Hopefully the ONLY reason he is doing this is that he has a yucky nose. I know how hard it is to breath and how miserable it is to sleep when you can't breath right. Hopefully after he is over this cold, he will go back to his regular sleep schedule... down at 8 up at 7. I can handle that!

School is going well for both of us as is Jerry's job. Trey is picking up new words every day and his 2 favorite things are trucks, mostly fire trucks, and Elmo. He is just too cut how he can spot Elmo from a mile away! And the really cute part is that he says it Male-mo hehehehehe. He is just too cute! There is a fire house that we pass on the way to school in the mornings and he says die-ya-duck ever time we get close to it! I could just eat him alive!!!!!!!!!

This is the short story of our lives for now! What a good life it is!

Mom's and poop

I know you other moms get it when I say, poop can really make you stress out!

Trey has been having some poop issues and we had to get some tested. Anywho, the tests came back normal and he has no parasites. However, he still may have an allergy issue.

We re waiting to see what the Dr. wants to do about that. He will probably have to have an allergy test in the future. Yet another test.... great!

I never thought I would see the day when I would spend long times discussing colors and textures of poop, but all us moms do it! It's part of the job!! :)

Are There Any Words

As I am sure you all have been here before, we go through times that life just doesn't seem to be able to get any better!!! I am feeling like I am at one of those times right now!!!

Most of you know that I will be going to Florence next week to spend the night with my niece and 2 nephews while Crys & Tim (sis & bro-in-laws) go out on a very exciting cruise for 2!!! WOO HOO!!! I am so excited about the fun that I KNOW we are gonna have!!

The end of February, Sheila will be coming down south and we get to see her! She is doing a dog competition and they are always so much fun! And as ya know, Trey loves some dogs, especially Rootie!

Then in March I will be joining my mom-in-law and 2 sis-in-laws on a GIRLS ONLY WEEKEND TO NYC!!!! Yep that's right! 4 wild and crazy Rhodes girls hittin' the streets of New York City!!!!!! Watch out Big Apple! We are so stinking excited you can't shut us up about it!!!! (but honestly, can you blame us??)

And on top of all of that, my family is healthy, we have jobs, a home, a good God and lots of love!
Are there any word to express my life? .......blessed

Snow Day

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Raising Angels

I would like to let all of you know that I have come up with a delightful little phrase that some of you may relate too. I shall call it "The Wicked Ones".

My dear sweet puddin' pop is 19 months and is really showing me what all he has. "NO" is now his very favorite of words, he LOVES to throw himself on the floor in an out right fit and could a child run any faster when you are trying to get a cell phone away from him?!?!?!?!

I love my son dearly but can get quite frustrated with his actions and can only imagine that this is how our loving Father feels about us sometimes. We turn our back on Him and say "NO" to His requests, we pitch fits when we don't get our way or what WE want and a lot of times we run away from Him and toward the world.

Our God is so good and we should obey Him in every way. Are we not to "Train up a child in the way he should go" as it says in Proverbs? We are to be godly examples to our children and show them what and Who is important in this life! I know that this is just a small phase in every child's life as they are growing and learning who they are going to become but, I pray that Jerry and I show Trey through the way that we live, how to obey God's word and live our lives for Him.

For the love of fingers

Some of you may not realize this but I can be quite "handy" in the kitchen. Now don't get me wrong, I can make/bake some pretty yummy things but "handy" in this story is something totally different.

I have a Pampered Chef Mandoline (shredder/grater) which has caused many a cut. Tonight was no different.

I was fixing supper and was using the mandoline to shred some cheese. When I was done, I began to take the extra blades from under the shredder and slid my left thumb right cross one of the other blades. Needless to say is was quite horrific and I ended up going to Doctors Care. Our super sweet neighbor Mrs. Deloris watched Trey for 30 mins until Jerry got home.

Apparently I heal quickly and after an hour of holding my thumb closed it had already began to hold itself together. The dr said it was a very nasty and deep cut but I was doing ok on my own. So for a week to 2 weeks I need to keep it dry and change the bandage on it regularly. yuck!

For right now it looks like I have a huge sock covered thumb. Now tell me, how am I supposed to scrap with a thumb like this??? :)

It finally happened!

Trey has an incredible interest in markers and ANYTHING that writes! We were just saying the other day that it is only a matter of time before a marker hits the wall. An low and behold, yesterday, it happened! Jerry turned around to see Trey scribbling on the wall!!!! Thankfully, it was a yellow highlighter on a pale yellow wall so not TOO noticeable!!! I can't say we didn't know it was coming... :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!