Eight Months Later...

Eight months ago today Trey arrived and changed our lives forever, obviously.  Most things were all for the better- I admit I wish he slept in til 10am like I would like to :)  Other than that though, he has been the best thing I've ever done.  As I watch this little munchkin roll his way across the floor in front of me (yep, rolling, not crawling) I am so amazed at how quickly the last few months have gone.  They certainly didn't go that fast when he was inside!  I love watching him discover new things.  He is just like his daddy and loves anything electronic- ipods, phones, cameras, wires, cords, speakers, remotes... you name it, he has probably gotten into it and most likely covered it in drool.  I can hardly believe this little person is on the "little boy" end of life now- he's closer to being a one year old than to being a "baby" anymore :(  It makes me sad to think that part of his life is getting closer to the end, but I am so excited watching him grow and learn.  I love you little 8 month old...

Ha, ha Ripley, that tickles!

Just out taking a walk in the snow with mommy and Ripley...

I'm such a big boy I help pick out my own clothes :)

Just look at that Buddha belly

And, that is what 8 months does... 

HE Finally Arrived...

Our newest little nephew, Samuel Stephen Hwang, was FINALLY born yesterday, February 17, at 4:05 am.  He was five days overdue, which was REALLY driving Carley crazy (and the rest of us, but mostly her) so when the phone rang at 7:30 am I knew it had to be baby time!  As with the rest of her kids Carley didn't know who was going to be coming out, so we were pretty interested to see who it was going to be.  We weren't allowed to know what "it" was until we got to the hospital, and low and behold (and much to my surprise) there was a little blue hat in the bassinet!  We are so excited to have another little boy.  He and Trey are only 7 1/2 months apart, which is going to be very fun and very interesting in the next couple years... Carley and I both think with Jake, Trey and Sam we are going to have our hands full!  Steve was also very excited and surprised that his middle name was Stephen, also very happy and flattered, maybe?  Mom, Dad, Claudia and Jake are all doing well.  The kids are super excited.  Jake is definitely going to have some adjustments to make, but I think soon enough is going to LOVE his little brother.  And, I know Claudia is going to be very helpful.  She is great with Trey and LOVES reading books to the babies.  Here's a couple pics of our ever growing extended family!

Little Samuel Stephen- He's such a cutie pie and looks like his big brother, Jake.

It's AMAZING what just 7 short months will do- hard to believe Trey was even a whole pound smaller than Sam!

Meghan and Sam :)

R. Stephen and S. Stephen

9 lbs 3oz, 21 inches

Oh yeah, and Carley looks absolutely fabulous and since Sam cam out so quickly (just 3 quick pushes) she didn't even have an epidural!  She's amazing! :)

Vote for Trey Baby...

I entered Trey in Parents magazine's photo cover contest... I don't find out until March whether or not he makes it to the finals, but he was selected to be a "weekly finalist" for the photo of the week.  He needs votes though, so I am asking anyone who happens across this to click on the link and vote for Trey and if you want to tell your friends and family to do the same, please do so. :)  Also, enjoy the cute pic that got selected.

http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/113134

Attempt...

This is my first attempt at trying to upload a video.  Since Trey was born Steve and I take all these videos, both with our video camera and regular camera... hopefully now we will have someplace to put them :)  We'll see if it works.  I also figured, what better way to attempt uploading a video than with the cutest little baby laugh.  Steve and I both LOVE the sound of Trey's little laugh.  We continue to be amazed every day with this little person who is quickly (TOO QUICKLY for me) becoming less baby and more little boy.  He is discovering so many new things all the time and it is fascinating to watch.  We are working on crawling right now.  He is so close and has all the right ideas, he just has a little trouble getting his chunky monkey tummy off the ground!  Well, hope the video works and other people enjoy it just as much as Steve and I do!

Much later this afternoon...

Yeah, I CANNOT get the video to upload- I've been trying all day...  Anyone have any hints for me?  On another note, I'll add a couple of pics of Trey from recently- he's a big 7 month old boy now- just over 22 lbs!

Trey's early crawling attempts... he is just starting to realize he needs his legs underneath him as well as his arms :)

Helping DAD match socks- it's my most hated laundry task, so Steve sometimes helps.

Cutest thing ever :)

CONGRATS...

I have to write a quick little blog because I am so excited!  My BFF (first) and sister-in-law (second), Katie, got engaged tonight!  I am so excited and happy for her!  We love her FIANCE Joe and are so excited to have him around forever now :)  On that note, I am adding a couple pics one of me and Katie and one of the happy couple! 

Updates from Summer 2009...

Since becoming a mommy I have found I have a lot less time on my hands... weird! So, I haven't written much this summer, but I have taken LOTS of pictures. I thought I'd use some of those pictures to do some updates as this VERY fast summer comes to a close, which in itself is very sad.

In July, Trey got a belly button! That was fun and a milestone in a small person's life.

Steve and I went out for the first time by ourselves and left my parents and grandma home with Trey. It was for Jim and Amanda Scarlett's wedding downtown at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. We weren't worried about his babysitter's but we were sad to be leaving him alone- we checked in probably 3 or 4 times with them (and that was just during the reception, because we went home in between the ceremony and reception :) )


We took Trey to Imlay City for the first time for the Blueberry Festival and my 10 year high school graduation. He seemed really thrilled about it. My mom was even out of town for the night of the reunion, so Trey stayed home with just grandpa and great-grandma helped a little too!


A couple pictures from the reunion. It sure was fun catching up with old friends- I only wish more people had come to the reunion!



And, Trey's first trip to grandma and grandpa's church, and the church I grew up in. He was a big hit! We even had to stand up and show him off in the middle of the service. :)


We took our first vacation as parents in August.  We went up to Houghton in the UP for Steve's fraternity's 35th anniversary.  We also took our time coming home and did some geo-caching and went to Pictured Rocks and took a boat tour.  I had never seen them before, so it was pretty cool.  Trey really just liked the motion of the boat.  It put him right to sleep.  He was so good in the car on the 10-hour trip and really good the whole weekend.  We took him everywhere with us and everyone loved him- obviously!
Crossing the Mackinac Bridge- Trey's first time, not in utero.  I thought it was pretty neat we got the whole family in the pic with the bridge! :)
At the Sig Tau house for the family bonfire- Trey wasn't the only kid there, but he was the youngest at 6 weeks. :)
We got Trey his first Michigan Tech sweatshirt at the campus bookstore.  This is us on our first geo-caching trip with Trey- he liked it until he started to get hungry.  There were some very cool spots to geo-cache.  This one was in a very old cemetary outside of Houghton.  I think old cemetaries with VERY old headstones are neat, so we really enjoyed creeping around this one trying to be discreet while searching for our "treasure". 
This is a gorgeous sunset over Lake Superior we were able to catch at a scenic overlook.  We were hoping to catch it while in Munising at a waterfall geo-cache, but didn't quite make it in time.
On our Pictured Rocks boat tour and Trey's first time in the Baby Bjorn.  He wasn't real sure how he felt about it.  We had a great time touring the Pictured Rocks though.  I thought it was so neat!  It was one of those touristy things I've always wanted to do, but we never stop in our trips to get to Houghton or to the cabin.

August 18 was my birthday, which we kept pretty low key.  A small dinner with some friends and fam at Bar Louie.  Sure had a great time though!  

Here's a cute pic of my best birthday present, my little Trey B!

On September 1st, Steve and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary.  We went out for an AMAZING dinner at the Bistro Bella Vita, our favorite restaurant and where we got engaged almost three years ago.  I sure do love my hubby! :)

And finally a few pics from Labor Day 2009.  It was a fun weekend in Elk Rapids on Steve's parents boat- crowded and chaotic, but super fun.  For most of the time, we had 8 adults and 3 kids on the boat, but we always make it work.  We had fun in the sun and great trips out to Grand Traverse Bay.  The water was FREEZING, but we went in anyway.  What a great way to end a great summer!

Just a few Trey pics...

This is his special blanket from Nana and Papa- cousins Claudia and Jacob each have one as well.

He's REALLY good at sleeping... most of the time.

His first run in the bouncy seat... he looks so much different in it now :(

Trey's first trip to the Dry Dock- everyone at Butch's LOVED him!

Not too many words, mommy doesn't have that kind of time...  just some cute pics of our rapidly growing little man :)