What a year!!!

I've learned time flies WAY too fast


So...I'm not really good at this blogging thing. The last entry was after Christmas!? How could I get so behind!?! Oh thats right....life. So many things have happened. Including Tripp walking!!! Yup! He started walking at 10 months and is now full on running. It seems he only pauses to eat, sleep, and watch The Wiggles. I try not to have him watch too much TV..but every now and then Mom and Dad need a rest so Wiggles to the rescue!! Not sure what it is about those Aussies...but he sure loves them!!

The day that I've been dreading since the day he was born happened. Tripp turned one! This past year went by so fast!! In a year, I've gone from having a little infant that just laid on the floor cooing and..lets face it..pooping. To a full on toddler who I have a hard time keeping up with. He's gone from a little baby that had just the sweetest disposition to a little boy with more personality than I could ever muster up. He has no fear in anything he does..which scares me and makes me proud all at the same time. His laugh is infectious and is so easy to make him do. I really could go on....

But his birthday came and went pretty painlessly. We had a birthday party for him the week after his actual birthday and that was super fun! It was so nice to be surrounded by friends and family who love and support us. The only thing I regretted was that my family wasn't able to be there. But we know they love Tripp and would've been there if they could've. Tripp was covered head to toe in hives on the day of his party which made him pretty cranky. But I thought he did pretty well considering.

Anyway..yes there is SO much more that happened..but I gotta go spend time with my family on this first day of summer break!!!

Mom's the word

Okay..so Halloween came and went, as well as Thanksgiving...and now Christmas is over! Time has flown by!!

Thanksgiving was an amazing experience. Making the dinner myself, with the exception of the turkey. I had all the intentions of taking pictures of everything I made and how I made it every step of the way..but man!! Making Thanksgiving dinner is hard!! It's all about the timing!! I felt rushed the whole time!! But man oh man, was the dinner good!! We had a friend come over, and that experience was..well..unforgettable. Not really in a good way. If you want the whole story, message me on facebook. Wow.

 Tripp ate his first bite of mama's mashed potatoes that day!! And from that day on we've been eating solids everyday!! I make his own food; it's super easy!! I love doing it!! He looooooves butternut squash. But he's not a big fan of my peas. He gags, he spits,he sprays, and he squishes his face into the cutest "gross" face ever.  He likes Gerber peas, though. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. I really want him to eat his vegetables so I've been giving him fruit as a desert after he eats all of his veggies. It has made for a few fussy dinners...but I think its worth it. Well..its hard to know if he's fussing because he wants the fruit, or if it's because I can't shovel the food into his mouth fast enough.
  

Between then and now, we've been really working on crawling. He's almost got it down. He can army crawl with the best of them! Only recently has he been trying to crawl up on his hands and knees. It's adorable watching him. He's fascinated with the kitchen...and Hero's water dish. Yeah...that's started. He's just plain fascinated with Hero himself! He loves crawling over to him and trying to catch his tail or his paw..but poor Hero just wants to be left alone. The other day Tripp was playing with his toys on the floor, and Hero was across the room chewing on his bone. I decided to check my facebook and noticed it got quiet...never a good sign. I look over, and there's Tripp where Hero was with his bone in his mouth and Hero standing there with a look on his face that could only be described as helpless. Of course, I jumped up screaming "NO!" and gave a command to Hero as I was running over there saying "GET IT! GET IT!!" He just looked at me like as if to say "You get it."
But, there are times when Tripp will be playing and Hero will walk by, sniff his ear, and give him a few sloppy wet ones on the face. Tripp laughs and the exchange is over. I love watching their relationship form.


A few weeks ago Tripp started to say MOM! At first I thought it was a fluke. But then I noticed he was looking at me saying "Momomomomomom!" That got me wondering maybe it wasn't a fluke. The final straw was when we put him in bed for the night and he was calling "Mom! Mama! Moooom! Momomomomom!" It melted my heart!!! Now, we're working on Dada!

Christmas was magical! Being able to play Santa was a dream come true for us. Poor Tripp is sick, so that was a challenge. He sat in his Bumbo watching his older cousins open their presents with curiosity. He opened his presents in between sneezes and nose blows and was pretty content throughout the whole thing. He loves his new toys! I might be in love with them as well!!

Well, I can hear Tripp from the bedroom sadly crying "Momomom!" So I guess that's my cue. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and lets hope for a Happy New Year!!!!

Pumpkin Head

I've learned that making traditions is extremely exciting and fun!!


  Today we carved our first Jack-o-lantern as a family! It was so fun!! I've been waiting for this day all week long. We went to Tacoma Boys and bough the perfect, although every expensive, pumpkin! It is absolutely gorgeous! The prettiest orange you will ever see!!

   I tried to archive what we did step by step..but you'll have to excuse me. I didn't have time enough to take that many pictures at that time, but you get the picture! (ha! get it!?!)

 I started out by lighting my new Ginger Peach candles to set the mood. Nothing says fall like Ginger Peach!! It's been my favorite scent since I can remember!! Then, we gathered all the tools and got to work!! We used the spoon to scrape out all the guts and seeds.

It was my job to scoop out the guts and place them all in a glass bowl.

I had a little help.....

While I took a break and cleaned Tripp off, Kevin scraped the inside of the pumpkin smooth!! He did such a good job!! 

It was Kevin's job to carve the pumpkin. He worked on it so hard!! He carved, and carved, and carved, and carved some more!! He carved so long that Tripp was able to take a nice nap and a bath before all was said and done. I wasn't able to get the process of the carving, only the finishing product! I'm so glad he carved it! I would have gotten too impatient and stopped! 

And then it went and ate the baby!!

Finally, we put it where it rightfully belongs! 

As for those seeds, I roasted them!! I went to Allrecipes.com and found this easy recipe.

• 1 1/2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds
• 2 teaspoons butter, melted
• 1 pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. Toss seeds in a bowl with the melted butter and salt. Spread the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown; stir occasionally.

They taste amazing! I played it safe by using only salt.Next time I'll be a bit bolder and use another spice. I used more than just a "pinch" of salt. I like salty seeds!!  All in all...I freaking rocked those seeds!! 

Well, there you have it! Our first pumpkin carving!! It was so fun to expose little Trippford to the wonderful holiday that is Halloween!! Next year will be so much more fun!! He'll be able to get into it more. I can't wait!! 

Tomorrow is Halloween! Can't wait to see him in his little Dragon costume!! Pictures of that tomorrow! 

Creepy Crawly

I've learned that time flies by too fast!

   I got home yesterday from work and the first thing that Kevin said to me was "Tripp is trying to crawl!!" To which I immediately replied "I don't believe you! I refuse!!" He then set him down on the blanket for some tummy time and then..it happened. He didn't crawl, but there was some definite forward movement!! He stuck his butt up in the air, straightened his legs out and puuuushed with all his might with his toes forward! And sure enough, he scooted across the blanket. His hands were down to his side so his poor face was dragging on the blanket, but it was plushy so I didn't worry too much.At one point, he was on all fours, for about a second!  After watching him do this for about 5 minutes I started crying! My little man is growing up waaay too fast!! He'll be 4 months on Sunday!! FOUR months! My sister started to crawl at 5 months, so I guess its in the family.  

He's rolling over onto his tummy so fast now! It's like he doesn't really have to use any effort at all. It's the fastest roll over I have ever seen!! Today, he rolled over so fast and then promptly started trying to crawl...this scared me soo much!! Not because I thought he'd hurt himself or whatever, but because the want to move is so strong in this kid! He's pretty busy! 

It's been so fascinating watching him grow. Now that we're nearing the crawling stage, I'm excited and somewhat scared. I guess not knowing what's ahead is the scary part. It's kind of like when I was pregnant and waiting to deliver. I was so scared! But then I did it and It wasn't so bad. Then taking him home was scary. The unknown of it all. It's so much better now...I'm pretty comfortable with how to take care of him NOW. But, now I'm scared all over again!! The great unknown! I guess that describes motherhood. Exciting and scary. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to see him start exploring the world around him and learning things! It's just that he's going to be into everything! Maybe I should have registered for a gate! :) 

"Nap" time

I've learned that when Tripp is quiet in his crib, he's not always sleeping.

  Tripp has been reaaalllly cranky all day long and has refused to take a nap. He didn't want to be held,lay down, sit up, even his favorite tummy time was a bad idea. So, I bundled him up, put the binky in his mouth, set him on his back in the middle of  his crib, shut the door, and walked away...just to see what would happen. I don't think I have ever heard such a cry before..it was pitiful. But, I held my ground and tried to ignore him.

   Kevin was cleaning out the car and rather than listen to him cry, I went outside to help him. When we finished we came in the house and all was quiet. Success!! I felt rather pleased with myself. Kevin tip-toed over to the door and put his ear to it...Noise. Well, at least he wasn't crying, right? Kevin opened the door and gasped "MEGAN! Look!!" I ran over to find Tripp out of his bundle, moved up to the edge of his crib on his TUMMY! He looked over at his and his expression was like "Hey..whats up?" He was even holding onto the bars! That's right people!! At the age of 3 months, my son has rolled over from his back to his tummy!! What have I gotten myself into?? Lots..and lots..and lots..of fun!


  This kid cracks me up!!

   You know who else cracks me up?? Kevin. I love hearing the pearls of wisdom he tells Tripp on almost a daily basis. He's hilarious!

  Alright, he's awake from his nap and I can't stave off the need to hold him any longer. Have a great evening!!

While he sleeps...

I've learned to get all my chores done while Tripp sleeps. Like putting the dishes away, folding laundry, making the blackberry pie I've been wanting to make since yesterday...all things I could be doing now...but I'm blogging. Go figure.

   I've been thinking a lot about this blog. What I could use it for, and how it would represent me. I could sit here and use it as a soap box to talk about my opinions on politics, religion, the economy, complain about my day...but I'm much more simple minded than that.

   As I sit here, Tripp is asleep on the couch. I look over at him and my heart swells for the love I have for him. Almost to the point of tears. I love the little family that Kevin and I have made. I wish to share that with you...all of my three followers. I want you to know how much I love my son, my husband, and even the dog.

  I'll share with you all aspects of my life. So get ready! I'm a wife, mother,daughter with lupus, ASL interpreter, and you guessed it..a Mormon.

I'll take two, please

 

My best friend since first grade, Courtney, just had a baby. And this is her! Jocelyn Elise Gentry!! I LOOOVE this picture!! I can NOT get over how adorable she is!! She had a photo shoot in her home and here are some more pictures of her and the happy family!!

The happy family!

I haven't met this little angel yet, and I'm anxiously awaiting the time that I can!! I can't wait for her and Tripp to play together! CONGRATS Cori and Justin!!