Lately

Lots of things going on since Easter...little Tripp is growing up so quickly. He is 10 months old now, I can't believe it.  Every day is so much more fun than the one before.  His personality has come out and he is so happy and laid back.  He has not started walking yet, but tries to take a step but eases himself back to the ground because he gets a little nervous. He does stand completely independently and can lean over and pick things up and stand back up again. He crawls and climbs all over the place, it's hard to keep up.  He says, mama, dada, nana.  He claps for more...and yay...and pretty much any time he gets excited for something. And if you cough and he watches you he will fake cough as well. We have introduced a few table foods to him.  He loves cucumber and any melon, he nibbled on a waffle the other day. He wasn't so sure about it though.  He would prefer his cheddar puffs over anything else.
I am now on my Summer break and have loved every minute of it!  He has been to the pool for his first time and had a ball! He loves the water and just likes to people watch.  Side note: Aunt Natty, who keeps Tripp during the school year, let us borrow this fantastic "game day type high chair".  I highly recommend it.  It is simply a fold out high chair and can get wet and is the fabric of a game day chair.  It has a little pouch you can zip it into when you are done and even holds the tray for easy carrying!!!  He sat it in and had some snacks and loved it as much as he did the water.  Here are some recent pics!

Getting lotioned up and ready to swim!

Daddy and Tripp

Mommy and Tripp

Excited clapping!

Swimming in the baby pool with Natty and Katie

Look at that sweet face

Aidyn and Tripp in his game day high chair!

Easter

We celebrated our first Easter as a family of three on Sunday. We started out the day with Tripp seeing his Easter basket and getting little gifts, which he was interested in for about 15 minutes. Then it was on to something else. He is into EVERYTHING, especially things that require him to climb and pull up. Then we all got ready and met my family at church. We put Tripp in the nursery and he cried most of the time. He has been very attached to RJ and I lately. Side note: At night when he is sleeping....or not sleeping...he stands up with his little head sticking out of the rails and cries "mamamama!!!"! I can't help myself, I go in there and love on him and he goes back to sleep...ok, maybe I just go get him and bring him to bed with me. Who cares, I'm embracing the moment. :) After church we went to my parents house for lunch, and watched the Masters. Tripp was worn out so he slept for a good chunk of the afternoon. We went home last night and just spent time together as a family. Such a great first Easter!

Spring Break and Baptism

I love Spring Break! I have been soaking in all the time that I have been able to spend with Tripp. Can't believe he is 8 months old!!! Mom and I went shopping today for Spring clothes...18 and 24 month clothes. My little giant! He has hit a few milestones this week...he waves back at you when you wave at him, and he comes in to give you a kiss! It is so sweet! It's more like a lick, but I'll take it! One other milestone that's a pretty big one is...he is about to start crawling, he gets on all fours and rocks back and forth. He has been doing this for a while, and can eventually "scoot" to what he wants. The leg and arm movement that is needed is about to come together...and then we will be chasing him everywhere! Also, he is able to sit and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and be totally occupied. This gives me a huge break. He loves it!! "Oh Toooodles" sticks in my head all day long, but it keeps him entertained. We have been having nothing but fun while we have been on the break. Although, this pollen has really aggravated his allergies. We spent one morning at the doctor making sure that he did not have an ear infection. He is all clear, but his snotty nose is causing some sleepless nights, poor guy!

We had his baptism on Sunday! He looked liked an angel. His gown was worn by my grandfather, my father, my sister, brother and me! It was so nice to have everyone together on this special day. He is one loved little boy, that's for sure.

Here is Tripp and his girlfriend Anne Barron. They played in the church library...the sermon did not interest them. :)

Back to School and Almost 8 Months Old

Just looking at the pictures from the last post, it shows I have not blogged in a long time. He has changed so much!! Since the last post we have had so much going on. I am back to school, and busy busy busy. I barely have time to just sit and catch my breath, let alone update my blog. BUT this is something that I promised myself I'd do to keep track of our life with Tripp. I have been reading everyone else's and thinking "tomorrow I'll update mine", well, many "tomorrow's" later. Im back! And in a nutshell...

1. We had an incredible Christmas and New Year's, very uneventful and so relaxing! We visited with both sides of the family. Tripp got many gifts over the holidays, but his favorite part was eating and making crunching noises with all the bows and wrapping paper.

2. We had his 6 month check up and he is growing right on track, getting so big! He started sitting up independently around the beginning of January and can do it COMPLETELY by himself now. We actually lowered his crib last weekend to keep him from pulling up and over.

3. School is good, very different from when I was "Tripp-less". It was hard leaving him for the first time with "Aunt Natty" his sitter. She is WONDERFUL, but the first week was hard. Dropping him off the first 2 days that I had school were sad. But the Friday after we started was the worst, I think I was probably exhausted and reality was setting in that I really wasnt going to get to spend every waking minute with him anymore....and thats when I lost it. Since then it has gotten much better, and although I think about him all day, I have no worries at all and I know he is in loving hands. I am so thankful to have her though. AND I'm so thankful to have Miss Whitney who keeps Tripp on Wednesdays! I know they probably get tired of hearing from me, texting them at all hours asking them for pictures, but I am so glad to have them.

4. Tripp is starting to say more consonant sounds and laugh and smile so much more. He says "mama" and "dada", but Im not sure he understands the connection to us. He sings/talks every day on the way to school. He is eating fruits and veggie baby foods, and formula, and would rather eat veggies every meal. His favorite is actually the mac and cheese. Imagine that...I dont know who he gets that from. :) If his daddy were on death row, I think he may order that for his last meal. He is so strong, and the doctor said that he may just walk, and skip crawling all together. Then we'll be REALLY exhausted chasing him around the house. He recognizes people that he sees frequently and smiles and reaches for them.

5. He has had two ear infections, which were not fun. But, worse than that was when he got his two bottom teeth. Sheesh, those were a pain in the neck. We lost a little sleep the nights those were coming in. Bless his heart! Those are the only teeth so far though.

6. Tripp is getting baptized next weekend at our church. We recently joined at Asbury Methodist and we are so excited! He will be wearing the same gown that my sister, my brother, and I wore at our baptisms. We tried it on him today and he looked like an angel, absolutely beautiful. It is so special that he is getting to wear what we all wore on this important day. I'll definitely put up pictures of that!

I think that's all for now, I promise I will be more diligent about getting news and pictures up from now on!

Here's a video of our little climber