Crawling

Tonight I watched Tripp crawl for the first time. Wow! I thought I might feel a little overwhelmed by it all when it happened, but instead I felt very excited. It was only a few movements forward, but it was definitely crawling.

John had just given Tripp and Sophie their baths and I had Tripp all wrapped up in his towel. I took him into his room like we do each night to give him his massage and put on his pjs. He hates the putting on of the pjs routine and tonight when I set him on the floor he immediately rolled over - I'm sure to stop me from putting them on. He's actually very hard to diaper and dress, but that's an entirely different post! As soon as he rolled over, he got on all 4s and went forward. He moved both knees forward - twice! He wanted that bottle of lotion so badly! LOL

So I don't know if all this means he's a "crawler", but it looks like he will be that any day. I swear over this past weekend, Monday to be exact, I saw him crawl. Nobody else saw it or really seemed to believe me so I'll still consider today the day he first crawled. After he did it first as I described above, I got John in the room and Trippp showed his new skill off to him as well. Awww, my sweet baby is going to be mobile any day now. These pictures aren't the best. They were taken Monday when I saw him crawl but nobody else did.

8 Months Old

Hey handsome little man. You are going to be 8 months old tomorrow. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: time is flying by! I can't believe you are already 8 months old. The picture I have posted is from our visit to Amicalola Falls yesterday. We went there after we went to the pumpkin patch at Burt's Farm. You went on your first hayride, saw your first waterfall, and played in your first pile of leaves. How exciting! You also sat up in your crib for the first time today. It's only a matter of time before you stand up in there. We are lowering the crib right when we get home from vacation! We are going to NC tomorrow, so that will also be a first for you. You also officially crawled backwards today. You are doing so much these days! You are one active little guy and are not happy when you are sitting around. Not happy at all! Happy 8 month birthday, baby!

7 random facts

I never participate in these types of emails or requests. Don't know why, I just don't. Most of my friends that have blogs or journals always post these things about themselves so I know many random things about them, which I love, but they don't know these things about me. I've been tagged by my good friend Veryll and requested to write 7 random facts about myself. So here goes!

1. I'm am totally obsessed with taking pictures! I'm not ashamed of it either. I'll make John and the kids sit through 100 pictures if I have to so that I get one really good picture. One day they'll thank me for the great pictures!

2. I ran my first 5K when I was 10 or 11 weeks pregnant with Tripp. I despised running, but I wanted to lose the last few pounds of baby weight that I gained when I was pregnant with Sophie. John and I ran together, which was a blessing to me because that is the only reason I kept up with running. He really motivated me (thank you honey!). John would keep pace with me, mo matter how slow I ran, and he would push Sophie in the jogger. I actually got to the point where I started to like running. That is when I signed up for the 5K. I ran for a solid 2 months and worked my way up to 3 miles just before the race. The weird thing was that I wasn't losing weight and I still had a little belly. Then ... then I found out I was pregnant again. Well, that explained why I hadn't lose weight and still had a pooch. Good times!

3. I don't know why, but John loves this little fact about me. Sometimes he teases me about it. I was a Safety Patrol in 6th grade. We monitored the halls and also acted as crossing guards at the front of neighborhoods near the school. So what, I was nerdy and followed the rules when I was in elementary school! I think my brother was one, too! Nothing to be ashamed of LOL!

4. My dream job would be as a professor in the business department of a top university. I taught 2 weekly breakout sessions for Finance 101 from the time I was a Junior at UCF until I moved to Tampa (so thru my first semester of my MBA). There were 30 or so students in each of my classes. I absolutely loved this job - my favorite job ever! I did really well and was actually rated the best Teaching Assistant (TA) and Graduate Assistant (GA) that UCF ever had. Pretty cool! Always thought I'd continue on and get my Ph.D., but those plans are by the wayside now that I have 2 little babies.

5. To celebrate my 25th birthday I went skydiving! It was AWESOME! What a thrill! If I remember correctly, I jumped from about 13,500 ft. Everyone should do it once.

6. The terms "social butterfly" and "motor mouth" have been used to describe me on more than one occasion. But, I'm not as social as people think! Attending large parties is not necessarily my idea of a night of fun. Surprised? Being the center of attention is cool - sometimes - but I can do without that these days. Concerts, movies, clubs, bars, crowds for that matter - fun - but been there, done that, and I'm ready for smaller gatherings and quiter nights out. More importantly, I hate talking on the phone for extended periods of time (or any time for that matter!). I'm really good at email though - do I get credit for that? Most of you know that by now. :-)

7. I don't eat a lot of meat and rarely do I eat meat in restaurants; however, some of my favorite foods are meat! Weird, I know. This little fact really throws friends off. My two favorite dishes are panang chicken (Thai) and filet mignon. Some people like to call me a "vegetarian," but I'm not. These days the PC term is "flexitarian." Got it? LOL Friends never know what to feed me when they have me over for dinner. Take note - I'm easy, baked potatoes are always good for me!

That's it! There are 7 random facts about me. I'm supposed to tag a friend so they can continue this. So here's to you, Tracie!

Stone Mountain

We had a great weekend. It was one of the first weekends in a long time that we were home together and able to spend time as a family. John was actually out of town for a few days, but flew in Friday late morning. Sophie was so happy to see him! Of course, Tripp and I were also. It's tough when he's gone. Not just for me, but for the kids also - well Sophie mostly. Every morning she wakes up and goes through a list of things. If I get her in the morning, the list usually goes something like this: "Hi mommy! Hi mommy" ...."I want to see Twippy" ... if she's lost her paci she says, "Mommy, paci, right der" ....then "I want eat cerweal" and then "Daddy! I want to see Daddy!" She's a motor-mouth in the morning! When John's out of town I have to try to explain that he's not here. She runs to our room to check to see if he's there. Once downstairs, she runs to the office to check. She finally gives up and stops looking, but it breaks my heart to see her searching so hard for her daddy to no avail. Needless-to-say, she's completely thrilled when she gets to see him. It's that daddy-daughter thing, I'm sure!

So anyway, part of the reason we had such a nice weekend was that Johnny, Lori, and Lola (my brother and his family) were here visiting from Florida. The last time we saw them was at Tripp and Lola's baptisms in May. Typically that much time does not pass without us visiting Florida, but Tripp is such a pistol in the car ... by that I mean a lot of screaming, yelling, and crying ... so we haven't been brave enough to try another road trip to Florida. We haven't flown because we have to pay for Sophie's ticket now that she is 2. It was so good to see sweet Lola (you, too, Johnny & Lori) :-). Lola is my niece and is cute as ever. She'll be 2 in February. Sophie is only 5 months older than Lola. I imagine that they would be best buddies if we lived closer. That's the sad part. We see each other so rarely that I'm not sure Lola really remembers us. I hope to change that soon!

We all went to Stone Mountain for the Pumpkin Festival along with one of my brother's best friend and his family (Mike, Nicole, and Lilly). We had a great time. We took the kids on their first train ride and they all loved it. The train ride ran into nap time for all the kids and Lilly & Lola actually fell asleep on the train. It was precious. Sophie had such a blast. She was so excited and her facial expressions said it all. I think these are the moments that parents love - just seeing their kids so innocent and truly happy. It was like Christmas Day for Sophie and she was just riding a train. I loved it! I loved watching her smile and gasp with excitement. She's such a little sweetie (with a mind of her own these days). When we got off the train she said "Bye bye twain, bye bye." She's been asking to go back on the train each day, too. Tripp also had a good time and smiled a lot, but by the end of the ride he too was sleepy.

Once the train ride ended everybody except us headed home to put the kids to sleep. We, or should I say I, wanted to make sure we got to see the pumpkin patch. You would think for $25 a pop and a park theme called "Pumpkin Festival" that the pumpkin patch would be a grand event. Nope. Nadda. No. There were like 20 pumpkins. It was weird. Really, hardly any pumpkins and they were just kinda pushed off to the side of the walkway (see pictures below). They did give out "mini" pumpkins to the kids for free and had a little painting station set up for them to paint their pumpkins so that was nice. Sophie picked her pumpkin to take to school and one for Tripp as well. Oh yeah, there wasn't even a hayride. Apparently this was the first year with no hayride. Just my luck! I will say, though, that the train ride made the day and was worth the money. I just wish we could have stayed longer and taken the kids to the laser show.

I'm going to follow this post with another post to include pictures of my brother, Lori and Lola. I'm so glad we all got to share this trip together!

Great family picture of us on the train. Thanks, Lori!

This was Sophie's first train ride. She was ready for the train to start moving!

Tripp is ready, too! Hold on!


Train is moving. Sophie & Daddy are enjoying the ride.

Tripp is just such a cutie. Love him! Look closely, you can see some of his teeth.

I just love this picture.

Tripp & Mommy posing for a picture by the huge fake pumpkin. Stone Mountain is in the background. That's kinda cool!

Hmmm .... which pumpkin should I choose? Or is she thinking "Hmmm... mommy has the camera. How much longer can I avoid her?" This is also a cool picture because you can see Stone Mountain and the carving of the Generals in the background.

I'll take this pumpkin ... and then I'll eat the dirt! Seriously, he was more interested in the pinestraw and dirt.


Sophie picking out a mini pumpkin for her and Tripp to take to school.


So sweet! We were walking back to the car.

2 babies, 2 standing

Tripp has hit another milestone - he is standing! He first stood on 10/16/08, so he was 7.5 months. I can't even believe it. It seems like he is doing things sooner than Sophie did, probably because I don't want him to do them! I'm sure crawling will be next. He's been getting on all fours and rocking back and forth. Sometimes he moves backwards a few steps and then sits. Sometimes he lunges forward and then falls. Most of the time he reaches as far as he can, sits back into position, and somehow scoots and turns himself in different directions. I hope he takes his time with crawling. I'm not ready for a crawler or a walker. I can't imagine this household with that much action!

Here are the pictures in sequential order of Tripp standing. I got the camera late, after he stood for the first time. He stood first, fell, and stood again. He was so proud of himself. His mommy and daddy are proud of him, too! His face just lit up. It was neat to watch. One thing I can say about Tripp is that he is a determined little guy. Determined and feisty!

First time standing

So proud of himself

Oops! He fell down
Trying again

Look at this face. Truly determined!

Pulling himself up

And he's up again!

He's a pro now. Standing and playing.

So happy, so proud of himself. What a sweet little boy!

Letters to Catherine

I sent an email to family and friends yesterday asking for prayers for a little baby girl named Catherine. In case somebody reads this blog but did not get the email, I'm posting the email below. I'm praying for this little baby. She's definitely a miracle and I really feel God is right there with her, he'll get her through, and he'll answer all our prayers for this sweet baby!

https://www.letterstocatherine.blogspots.com

"hi - i'm sending you this email to ask you to pray for this family. i don't know them personally, but someone sent me the link to this blog and i've been following it pretty regularly. the blog is public and the parents feel blessed to have so many visitors to the blog, so don't feel like you are invading their space. i think this family needs our prayers and they have mentioned how thankful they are to all the people who are praying for them, most of whom they don't know. Sophie and i pray for this little baby Catherine nightly and i hope you will each do the same even though you don't know the family either. i'm requesting that our church pray for baby Catherine as well.

this story is very touching to me. i feel so blessed, words cannot even described how blessed, to have two healthy babies. i can't imagine what it must feel like to go through a pregnancy wondering if your baby will live and then once she is here wondering if she'll make it. these are young parents, much like many of us, so i know that you will understand where i am coming from. i hope and pray daily that their little girl will make it. i just feel very deeply about it. i feel like i'm witnessing a miracle every time she takes a step forward, because apparently the drs. didn't even think that baby Catherine would live once she was born. i think at one point or another, we've all needed prayers said for us, so if you can find it in your heart, please say a prayer for baby Catherine. i really do think she needs all the prayers she can get. also, please forward this to anyone else that you think might be willing to say a prayer for this baby and her family. thank you so much!

love, tammie"

Good job, Honey!

I just have to give a shout out to John really quick. He was awarded "TA of the Quarter" last night at his division's quarterly meeting. I'm so proud of him.

John truly is an asset to Motorola. I have never seen one person work so hard while never complaining - he's truly a team player. John is always being asked to join in meetings he wouldn't normally attend, or give a presentation he created to other divisions, or help with a technical aspect of another team's deal. Basically, John is the "go to" guy because he's so dependable, smart, and he knows his stuff. I'm so proud of him! Oh, and the bonus he "won" wasn't bad either.

Good job honey! I'm so proud of you. You are amazing!

First Family Hike

John and I took the kids on our first family hike last Friday. We had a great time! At first Sophie was a little hesitant to walk by herself, but after the first 0.5 mile of me carrying her she finally warmed up to the idea of walking. Thank goodness! My legs were starting to hurt. LOL

We went to Red Top Mountain in Kennesaw. We picked this particular location because we were looking for something free to do while staying outside because the weather was beautiful. I remembered someone telling me that this park had great trails. We just wanted to find something where we could push Tripp in the stroller, because we don't have the gear to actually hike with him in a pack. This park has a 0.75 mile loop that is paved that meanders through a semi-wooded area and alongside Lake Allatoona.

I really enjoyed this day. We haven't had a nice, relaxing family day like this in a long time. Makes me very thankful for family time, much needed family time! John had the day off, I think, or maybe it was just lack of cell coverage, but either way we didn't have any cell phones ringing or emails bothering us.

Although Tripp does not like the stroller, he seemed to enjoy the nice ride outside. Sophie was amazed at all the water around her. She had a good time running from us down the trail as we yelled, "wait, Sophie! don't fall down the hill" LOL She's crazy and the way she runs is just too precious. You'd just have to see it to appreciate it. Trust me! :-) We packed a picnic and found a nice spot in an open field overlooking the lake. Now that I think about it, this was also our first family picnic. Neat! A nice old couple walked by while we were eating. They were old, but they were newlyweds! The love between those two was really an inspiration, it was just radiating off them. Might sound cheesy, but it's true! Anyway, they were sweet enough to offer to take a picture of us, which was perfect because it's the only family picture we have from this day.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!




Boys will be boys - eating dirt. Yummy! LOL


Sophie running far, far way from us ... and surprisingly fast!


Sophie climbed her first tree! Ok, not really, but still ... she looks really cute up in the tree, doesn't she? A bit apprehensive, but she was having fun. I promise!


Such a beautiful, peaceful place. Nature at its best!

So many teeth!

Teeth, teeth, everywhere! Man, oh man, are we in the thick of teething in this house. Luckily for us, you wouldn't even know it. Both kids are doing well with the teething - sleeping fine, eating well, and overall still very pleasant. We are so lucky that we don't have any mood altering issues with teething.

Tripp now has 4 teeth - 3 on top, 1 on the bottom. Those include his two top center teeth, first tooth to the left of the center, and bottom center left. I looked in his mouth last night and the first tooth next to the right center is about to pop through. He may get his bottom right soon as well. There is a lot of white under his gums, so who knows he may get more teeth than that. He basically got 4 teeth in a matter of 6 days. Talk about an overachiever! :-)

Sophie is still getting the 2nd tooth to the right of the center. That has been coming in forever. Actually all of those respective teeth on top and bottom have been taking a long time to come in. However, when I was brushing her teeth this morning I noticed that she is getting her 2 year molars. Wow! She's going to have a full mouth of teeth. That's probably pretty good, because the way that Tripp is getting teeth he will surpass her if she doesn't hurry up and get all her teeth. LOL

5 words

This morning when I was nursing Tripp, I started thinking about how sweet and gentle he is. I love these moments with him. It's rare that I can steal a few minutes for just he and I so nursing affords me some much needed mommy and Tripp time. I usually just gaze at him and I always get this overwhelming feeling of how much I love him. Nursing truly has been a blessing for me and my relationship with my kids. I think a lot during these times, mostly about how blessed I am to have Tripp and Sophie, two healthy and beautiful babies, and I thank God each and every moment for them both. Today, though, I started thinking about words that best describe my kids.

I jotted down the first 5 words that came to my head about Tripp and did the same for Sophie. I wonder if these words will describe them in 20 years or if these descriptive words are just a part of the stage they are in now - Sophie as a preschooler and Tripp as an infant. I think it will be fun to keep track of the words that describe them as time passes, so I've listed my 5 words below. I also called John and asked him to give me his 5 words for each baby. You can tell he's so in love with Sophie, after all who uses the word "perfect" to describe anyone? Daddy's about their little girls, that's who!

My 5 words:
Sophie - Beautiful, silly, sweet, energetic, clutzy

Tripp - Gentle, snuggler, handsome, serious, strong

John's 5 words:
Sophie - Angel, Sweet, Daddy's Girl, Perfect, Smart

Tripp - Snuggly, Screamer, Handsome, Great Hair, Laid Back