Thursday, April 30, 2009

Tripp at 14 months

I haven't posted updated stats since 11 months. Darn it I'm a slacker! Tripp has done so many things. I wish I could break it down, month-by-month, and get caught up, but I can't. The new things he does daily are getting blurred and I'm not sure when he did what. But here is what he's up to these days:

Personality - Fearless, funny, active, energetic, snuggly (when he wants to be), sweet, smart, and rambunctious (but in a good way). All boy!!

Height - I don't know, but he's tall!
Weight - Approximately 24.5 lbs
Size - Wears mostly 12 - 18 months, but is starting to transition to 18 month shirts and pjs.
Shoe Size - 5, possibly 5.5 We need to get his foot sized again. His current shoes are starting to look tight.
Teeth - Still 8 - 4 top, 4 bottom. His top left molar popped through the other day, so I guess 9 teeth now. Thankfully, I thought he was going to bite his fingers off. This was truly the first tooth that seemed to really bother him when coming in. Poor dude. His gums are all white on the top.

Interesting facts:
1. Poops no less than 4 times a day. Talk about regular!
2. Loves hitting. Yes, hitting. I hate it, he loves it.
3. Bright eyed and bushy tailed when he wakes up. He's happy and ready to go.
4. Eats pretty much anything, but particularly loves bananas, blueberries and grapes. Absolutely loves them.
5. Hates strawberries and eggs.
6. Finally a good napper (at home, not school). Typically takes a 2 - 3 hour nap per day.
7. Loves Sophie. Adores Sophie. It's so sweet. Sometimes when he's upset or crying or cranky and I can't settle him, Sophie will pat him and tell him it's ok and he'll settle right down. It melts my heart.
8. Knows where his mouth and nose are.
9. Can sign "more".
10. Can follow simple instructions like "let's go upstairs", "let's go wake Sophie up", "get your sippy"
11. Runs, not walks. Still falls all.the.time. He's fondly called "My Tripp & Fall" by his teacher Marie.
12. Is a total boy - likes to eat mulch, throw everything, play with cars, get dirty, poop with or without a diaper on (uh, yuck!).
13. Enjoys climbing on things - in the dishwasher, in baskets, up stairs, on top of furniture, on the fireplace. You name it, he'll climb on it.
14. Likes to put things in and take things out of bags, cabinets, drawers, etc.
15. Can do those little towers that have multiple pieces. He can take the rings off and put them on again, not necessarily in the correct order, but he can still do it.
16. Loves to play psycho in the bath tub. Can climb in and out of it, which is terrifying to me since he flips out like a dang fish but it's not water he's flopping in and out of. It's called a hard tiled floor. Ugh.
17. Likes to run and dive onto the dog beds.
18. Runs around the house like mad. Especially loves running around the kitchen island and behind the kitchen table and chairs. It's more fun when he's chasing Sophie or she is chasing him. That is a big game in our house.
19. Walks with a strut. He sticks his chest out, shoulders back, swings his left arm and keeps his right arm straight. He gos full speed forward that way. It's pretty funny! Cute, but funny.
20. Babbles a lot but really doesn't say words. He knows mama and refers to me, says dada but not really to john, but also says "this", "waz that", and i think he's saying "dawg" and meaning dog, but i can't be positive about that. I swear yesterday he said "hi" but I haven't heard it since.
21. Absolutely loves the water - both pool and beach - and after this weekend we now know he's not picky and likes the sprinklers too.
22. Loves being outdoors. Loves to explore. These go hand-in-hand. Will cry to go outside. Sophie was the same way. Interesting!
23. Loves music. He actually dances and runs around when he hears music he likes. When Yo Gabba Gabba comes on the tv, he perks up, smiles really big, and starts trying to hop up and down (his dancing). In his car seat when he likes a song (typically some type of rap or hip hop) he starts banging his hand and moving his body forward and backward. It's really adorable. Since I have no rhythm but have always wanted to be able to break dance, I think I'm going to enroll him in a hip hop dancing class so he can learn to break dance for me. Fun, right?! :-) He seems to have more rhythm than Sophie (poor baby. She dances like mommy and daddy, not a good thing!).
24. Has been drinking from sippies since about 9 months, can drink from a juice box, and even a capri sun. Has got this drinking thing down. Now when will he learn to stop throwing food?
25. Still a crazy sleeper. All over the crib, rolling from side to side and top to bottom all night. How he sleeps, I don't know.
26. Still has the funniest laugh ever. It's so contagious. People hear it and laugh because it's just so cute and funny. I've gotta get it on video. It's morphed into more of a laugh than it was, but it's still not really a laugh. Love it!
27. Hair is getting lighter and lighter and I'm wondering if I'm going to have another blond-headed child. He still has great hair. It's starting to feather a little and curl and stick out at the ends. OMG my little baby has model hair :-) See picture below.
28. Has gotten much better in the car seat. Has his moments, but at least it's not solid crying. It's more sporadic than constant.
29. Had his first hair cut after his 1 year birthday. Pictures to come of that. he wasn't a big fan.
30. Really smart. People tell us he acts much older than a 14 month old and he definitely looks bigger than one. He can be devious when he wants to. He knows exactly what he's doing, like he has a made a plan, especially when he's doing something he knows he shouldn't. It's pretty impressive.
31. Has a bit of a temper. Can be laid back, but mostly he wants his way and likes to vocalize when he doesn't get his way. He's definitely a handful. LOL
32. He's just solid. Really not chub on him except his thighs (yep, gets that from me!). I'm amazed at how solid he is. So are most people. I wonder if he'll have abs at the age of 5 like his cousin Anthony.

Here is Tripp with his cool hair.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Quote of the Day

The first virtue of all really great men is that they are sincere.

They eradicate hypocrisy from their hearts.

-- Anatole France

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Thomas the Train

Sophie is really in love with trains these days, especially "Thomas the Train." We bought her and Tripp a train table a few weeks ago and they both love it. So when Holly told me that she was taking Marly to see Thomas the Train along with Natalie and Graham I knew we had to go with her. Thomas was going to be in Chattanooga for two days, this past Friday and Saturday. I checked into it and the day and time that Holly had tickets for were sold out. This was a no go for us this time around. Boo! Thankfully Drew stepped up and gave up his ticket so that Sophie could go. What a great guy! Unfortunately, there was only one ticket so John and I could not go, but Holly didn't mind and offered to take Sophie without us. She's so sweet and always thinking of others.

It wasn't a hard decision and we said that Sophie could go. I was definitely nervous about Sophie driving in a car without me for such a long distance, but I knew I shouldn't worry. I trust both Holly and Natalie and I knew Sophie was in good hands. We dropped Sophie off with the girls and off they went. Their first stop was Chick-fil-a for lunch then to the train museum. Holly said that all the kids loved Thomas and the train ride they got as well. Here are some pictures from Thomas.











Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Quote of the Day

Being defeated is often only a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.

-- Marilyn vos Savant 1946-NA

Monday, April 20, 2009

Big girl, Big bed

I guess it's official. We have a big girl now! We finally bit the bullet and transitioned Sophie to her "big girl" bed. We actually did this more than a month ago. The first night she slept in her big girl bed was March 17. Wow, that actually is only a little over a month ago. It seems like it has been months since we did this.

John and I have gone back and forth for months about when we should transition Sophie and how. I was the hesitant one, opting to put it off until later. I couldn't imagine getting up with a baby multiple times in the middle of the night and then possibly with Sophie, too. So we decided to wait to transition her until we got Tripp sleeping through the night. Tripp did that much earlier than Sophie did, but I chose to keep Sophie in the crib until she asked for a bed or outgrew the crib. Why rock the boat? LOL

It was a hard decision to transition her. After all, she was sleeping so soundly in her crib. She loved her crib. She would tell us during the day it was time for her nap, that's how much she loved her crib. I worried that it would be much harder to get her to lay in the bed once she figured out that she could get out of the bed and play. But I realized that at 2.5 years old, she was probably ready for the transition. Sophie's crib actually converts to a toddler bed and then to a full sized bed. Since she was 31 months when we transitioned her, I suggested that we just move her into a bed and skip the toddler bed altogether. What's the point of going through two transitions at this age? So John and I went mattress shopping. It was pretty fun! We purchased her mattresses and waited for them to be delivered. In the mean time, I agonized over the perfect bedding for her. To John's amazement, I didn't get the one Sophie "needed" from PB Kids since it was so expensive, I got one that I thought was just as nice, but cheaper. I really like her quilt because it has several pretty colors, is girly, but not too girly, and can grow with her. It doesn't necessarily have a theme, so when we get sick of the theme she has now, we can just change the wall color and decorations. Much easier than change bedding and decorations! Of course, we haven't decorated yet. I plan to paint the wall a light shade of blue and Erin is going to paint some nice, whimsical designs on the wall. Not sure when that will happen, but it will.

Here are some pictures of Sophie in her bed on her first night. Look how little she looks in the big bed! :-)







Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Slacker

I'm such a slacker! It's been a month since I last posted. Ugh. I have so much to say too. As if you didn't expect that. LOL

The new background is in honor of Spring and Easter. Sophie is so very excited to see the Easter Bunny this year. Spring school pictures were really cool this year. They had bunnies! Sophie actually got to hold a bunny on her lap for pictures. Now she thinks that bunny is the Easter Bunny. It's so cute. She's looking forward to sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap at the mall for pictures and for the egg hunt this Saturday. Jeffery and Braden are coming to participate in the egg hung with Sophie and Tripp and Sophie couldn't be anymore excited. In fact, she told me today that Jeffie loves her. Young love. LOL. I'll be back to post pictures of that for sure.

In other news, I ran 4.15 miles yesterday. That is by far the furthest I have ever run. That was in our neighborhood which is full of hills and my time was actually pretty good for me - 11:20 min/mile. I ran well below 11:00 min miles for the first 1.50 miles, until I hit the hills. Either way, I'm still proud of myself for running this far this quickly. Now if only I can keep it up.

I'm leaving you with this picture of Sophie. This is from her very first Eastier - April 2007. How sweet is she?

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Happy 1st Birthday to my not-so-baby BABY!

We love you so much Tripp. You have brought so much joy to our lives over this past year. When I got pregnant with you, I wondered how I could love another baby the same way as I loved Sophie. There is absolutely no wondering that now ... well there wasn't after the first second I laid eyes on you. You are my heart little baby. Your fiery personality and big smile lights up my life. I thank God every day for you. I can't believe you, my little baby, is a toddler now. To me, you'll always be my little baby.

Since you really do not like my singing {sigh}, I'll post a virtual song to you here LOL

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Trippy
Happy Birthday to you!!

I dressed you in your "My 1st Birthday" onesie and sent you to school this morning with 24 cupcakes to share with your class, teachers, and staff. They were all so appreciative. I think they are going to sing happy birthday to you. I forgot to bring my camera in so I instructed Roxanna, honestly it was more like pleading, to take pictures of you throughout the day. Hopefully she'll get some good ones. All the ladies gushed over how cute you are and how you are walking all around and loving the new big boy classroom. They also loved Sophie's shirt that she wore in honor of you. Her shirt says "Tripp's Big Sister"! She had a great time singing the happy birthday song to you this morning. I'll try to post the video I took of it. She really does love you! We are so looking forward to your big birthday party on Saturday!

The picture below is from this morning. Look how cute you are! Ugh, I could just eat you up handsome little man. Anyway,happy birthday little dude!!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Funny story

This morning I went to get Tripp out of his crib. He was awake and in the video monitor I could see him standing up just chilling out. Definitely nothing was in his crib with him. After I finished getting dressed I went into his room and he was squatting down and borderline yelling and pointing at something in the center. As I got closer I could see this big blob of poop in the middle of his bed. Gross! I checked him out and undressed him in the crib since I figured the poop would be all over him. It wasn’t. There was a little bit up is back, but not what I was expecting since there was a big blob of it in the crib. I have never seen anything like it! He didn’t really have any on his shirt, his hands, the back of his pants, etc. Just in his diaper, a little on the very bottom of his shirt, and the tiniest bit on his back. How did that blob get there? The funniest part was he was just squatting there pointing at the poop and talking to it, kind of yelling at it. It was like he didn’t know what to do with it, but he knew not to touch it. I wish I could have gotten it on video!! It was so funny that it made my morning! LOL

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Quote of the Day

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.

-- J.B. Priestly (1894-1984) English Author

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Success!

Sophie has been a rock star potty trainer! We finally decided to get serious about potty training and I'm so glad we did. We are at a point where I would like to document success. Potty training success!

I read something a long time ago that said if you want to potty train quickly to forgo using diapers or underwear on the toddler who is training. So I decided to try that route a month or two ago. Sophie thought it was really funny to run around as "naked butt." She would laugh and dance around and sing "naked butt" LOL! I only did it for a day or two before putting pull-ups and underwear on. I don't care how weird that sounds, it worked. Before we did naked butt, she would have accidents when she was wearing her underwear, but since the experiment she has not had one accident at home.

Anyway, so although she's pretty much been potty trained while at home for the past several weeks - since I posted the last post about potty training - she wasn't really potty trained at school. She would go on the potty once or twice per day while the rest of the time she would just go in her pull up. One day I realized that she was probably not using the potty at school because she had a pull up on. I guess she considers the pull up as a diaper and not underwear, so the connection for her is to treat it like a diaper. I decided the best way to fix that problem was to send her to school in underwear. Just cold turkey - no diapers, just underwear.

I spoke to her teachers and they said that at some point that is what all parents do. They advised me to pack a bag with a lot of pants and underwear. So I promptly took myself to the store and bought Sophie a bunch of underwear. Up until that point she only had 3 pair. I never thought shopping for my 2 year old's underwear would be fun, but it was! She looks so cute in her little underwear and there were a ton of designs to choose from. I immediately bought the Elmo underwear because for some odd reason she is in love with Elmo (we don't even really watch much Elmo!). I also bought hearts and polkadots as well as princesses. Wouldn't you know, she started clapping and cheering for Elmo and Abby! LOL It was so cute. I guess I could call this a really neat "mommy and daughter" moment.

We've been sticking to the plan and sending Sophie to school in underwear. We've been doing this for about 2 weeks now. We let her pick which underwear she'll wear at the beginning of the day - it's always Elmo! LOL Each day has progressively gotten better. Each day that I pick her up I immediately check her out to see if she's wearing different clothes. Sure enough, she always is. Last week she had 2 accidents on M, T and 1 accident on W, Th & Fri. Weird thing is the accidents were poopy accidents more recently and that is something she's never done at home. On Friday we bought Sophie her own little backpack to carry her spare clothes/underwear to school in. Yesterday was her first day taking it to school. I don't know if that was her lucky charm or what, but she didn't have an accident yesterday. She went all day without pottying in her pants. YAY!! Same with today. Two full days of no potty accidents.

We are experiencing potty training success!! Yay Sophie, we are so happy and proud of you! I know there will still be some accidents here and there, but you are really doing a great job. I can't believe my baby girl is using the big girl potty! I have taken you in public also. It wears on my nerves because you using a public potty is just yucky to me, but we deal. You do great, even though you touch everything. Ew. Anyway, I love you baby! We are so proud of you!

Here is Sophie on her way to school yesterday with her good luck charm (her Strawberry Shortcake backpack!)