it's been a while...

It's been too long since I last posted. We've been going here and there. I have a few things to post, including a mega post from Memorial Day.

The last weekend in April, my sisters, me and our husbands went to the race in Talladega. It's kinda become a tradition ever since we got into it. I never thought I would like watching it, but once we went to Bristol a few years ago, we were hooked. It's a lot of fun and the people watching is just as interesting!! We had a great time and can't wait to go back!



I took several pictures of the Montgomery flood a few weeks back, but I have yet to load them on my computer. It was pretty wild, I never have seen anything like that. Tripp loves playing in any kind of water, and he was outside with my dad and there were tons of puddles. My dad showed him how to stomp in them and he just thought it was hilarious. We got a little video... I just love his laugh!

Two weeks ago I was out of town for work and Tripp and Mrs. Whatley went to see Bob the Builder downtown at the Performing Arts Center. She said he had a great time watching all the tractors move around! He didn't want his picture taken, but here is a picture from the show.

May and June are always fun because Tripp has lots of birthday parties (several cute pictures coming soon when I can find my battery charger for my camera), including his own. He turned 23 months on Monday, and I can't believe he is just one month away from turning TWO! He is turning more and more into a little boy every day. He is talking nonstop. He points and yells at every big truck, tractor, bus, airplane, etc. that he sees. He loves playing outside. He loves milk, and wakes up asking for it. For several months now, his pa-pa (paci) stays in the bed. He knows when I come get him out of bed, to leave it on his pillow. He usually doesn't ever ask for it during the day, but as soon as he's going down, he always wants it. I was planning on doing away with it at 2, but he sleeps so well with it, and as long as it stays in the bed, maybe he'll get to keep it a little longer. Tripp's favorite song is Wheels on the Bus. I think they sing it at school a lot! He knows the motions and loves going beep beep beep! He also has been throwing some fits if he doesn't get what he wants. I usually just walk away, and he gets right back up. Apparently he has learned the art of "no," whenever he bumps into something or something bumps into him, he'll cry for like a sec and then say (in a stern voice of course) "No ___" and call out whatever he hit or whatever has upset him. It's hard not to laugh because he's so cute! I just can't believe how fast he's learning and changing.

Hopefully I can post from our exciting Memorial Day weekend tomorrow!

starting early...

Lee has been around trucks all his life. It's only natural that Tripp loves "big trucks" too! Friday afternoon I took Tripp to Lee's office to visit. He loved seeing all the trucks. He even got to sit in the driver's seat... Watch out!

spring fling

Tripp's school had a Spring Fling on Friday. Included in the activities was a spring fashion show. I wasn't sure exactly how they were going to get toddlers to participate in a fashion show, but apparently they practiced all week. They even sent home index cards to describe whatever outfit you chose to wear.

All ready to go! Doesn't he look good!?!?

Walking up the stage...

He ran across and I didn't get a good picture of him waving before they helped him down.

He still wanted to wave after he was done...

Cheeeeessseee!

It was a cute little fashion show, the teachers were definitely in to it! When it was over they had a cookout for everybody and several bounce houses to play in. Tripp had fun playing with his school friends. It was so HOT on Friday, it seemed like it was July or August! His little face was so red, but it didn't slow him down one bit!

easter weekend

We had a great Easter weekend! It was a beautiful weekend and we throughly enjoyed ourselves. We started early Saturday with an egg hunt at church. Tripp and two of his friends had a great time watching puppets and finding eggs.

It's pretty hard to get three toddlers to look at the camera and smile. Maybe someone got a better shot than me. :) But don't they look so cute!!

Tripp and Price wanted an up-close view of the puppets!

Tripp and Ella Jane on the hunt!

One down, one to go! Tripp and I head home to get Lee for round two, Wynlakes Easter Egg Hunt. They had all sorts of fun things to do. Tripp jumped in the bounce house and went down the big slide.

He made a beeline for this blow up bunny!

And surprisingly he also ran right up to the "real" bunny!

I really wanted him to sit still to make this a pretty picture, but there was too much going on!

Off he goes!

He did really well the second time around!

Sunday morning we woke up early to see if the Easter Bunny had arrived.... He (it is a he right?) hid Tripp's basket, but not to worry, he found it!

Sunday after a great service at church we enjoyed lunch with both of our families!

The Easter bunny came two more times for Tripp... new golf clubs, new sandals, new books, and legos!

We hope everyone else had a great Easter too!

day out with thomas!

With Tripp's love for trains and Thomas, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go see the real Thomas in Calera for Day Out with Thomas. The big blue engine was the first thing we saw when we got there. Tripp was so excited! When we boarded the train, he was a little unsure at first, but once we got going he was yelling go Thomas go!

There was so much to do after riding the train. They had a tent set up with train tables, Tripp loved this!! He ventured to several different ones and didn't let the big kids get in his way!

There were bounce houses and putt putt too!

Tripp loved meeting Sir Topham Hat and really wanted to hold his hand. He wouldn't even look at the camera. Maybe it was the plastic face he was mesmerized by. He didn't really want to leave him.

He really enjoyed feeding the goats. He even tried to "love" on them like he does the dogs. We were sure to wipe him down right after that!

There were also old rail cars and he loved seeing them (so did my Dad)! We had a great time and the weather was perfect! I am pretty sure Tripp had a blast! He woke up the next morning asking for choo-choo.

21 months!

Mommy's Birthday...

Although Tripp thought everyone was singing to him :)

It's been a few weeks since I last posted. We haven't had too much going on. This week Tripp hit the 21 month mark. I cannot believe in only 3 months he will be two!!! He's all about having fun, and is pretty much non-stop - on the go, talking, eating (finally!) and playing. He loves to read books and sing songs. He's starting to learn his colors. He loves playing "ouside" and with it being so nice lately, we spend a great deal of time outside. He also loves his lawn mower, he takes it everywhere. He would probably sleep with it if we let him. Oh and his hair is finally starting to grow!! It's still sticking up on top, but he's getting more!!

Helping Daddy mow the grass!

Last weekend my sister Andrea was in town and brought her lab Nelli. Tripp loved on Nelli so much! He doesn't get to hug Sugar, she never even lets him get close. The funniest thing was that Tripp got a hold of Nelli's collar and walk her around. He was so proud of himself. He probably walked her around my parent's house for about 30 minutes. Nelli just let him do it. It was so cute!

Loving on Nelli.... She probably never wants to come back.

I had to post this too. I was out of town a couple weeks ago and Tripp spent the night with my parents. He had just fallen asleep and their dog Gus climbed up and laid down next to him. So sweet!

fun and snow!

Having fun with Gates and Price during the tornado warnings!

Call it crazy for sure... Friday and Saturday we were all wearing short sleeves and worrying about tornados, then Sunday morning we wake up to snow! Tripp has now seen snow two years in a row! This snow just wasn't the flurries either, it snowed all morning long and actually collected on the grass, roofs, cars, etc... It was so pretty, I kinda wished we were in some parts of the state that received 5 inches or more!

Snow Baby... January 2008

Tripp loves snow.... March 2009

Tripp thought the snow was fun, reaching out and trying to catch it. It was too wet and windy to stay outside for more than a few minutes, but we ventured in and out several times that morning. He would look out the windows and just ohh and aww. I am so mad because I left both cameras at work last week, and so Sunday morning I was driving out to get a disposable so I didn't miss the moment of Tripp's second snow! I'll drop it by this afternoon to get developed. What a pain... Thank goodness for digitals! How did we manage before? I did get some good pictures with Mom's camera. Here are a few.

The snowflakes in Tripp's "hair"

Saturday morning during the tornado sirens and all, we went to the new Gymboree Play & Music that has just opened. We had a free pass to check it out in hopes of signing up for monthly classes. Tripp had a blast! They have play mats, tunnels, and slides for him to run around and play with. They also had a parachute, which poor little Tripp was not very fond of... see video below.

We had a great weekend! Tripp is now twenty months old and constantly learning new things! He learns new words everyday and loves to talk and yell! He loves giving kisses now, but he also loves to push :( He has been a frequent visitor to timeout lately at school, but hopefully it's just a phase, not a warning sign for terrible twos. He definitely fights for what he wants. His new BFF is Thomas, the train. As mentioned before he loves his Thomas dvd. He wants to watch it when he gets up in the morning and when he gets home from school everyday. It has made getting ready in the morning and cooking supper in the evening a lot easier. I am just not used to him sitting still for so long. I guess I better enjoy it for the time being!