Fire Station

It was a big morning for Tripp- we went to the Clayton Fire Station to watch them do their weekly check on their big trucks. We pulled up just as they were bringing their trucks onto the street to start the check up. As soon as Tripp got out of the car and started watching the action, he started shaking. I asked him if he was ok and he replied "I am just really excited Mom!!"

He got to help test out the deluge guns, empty the water from one of the tanks, and raise up the stabilizer legs!

Then we went back to the station and he got to get in the basket of the big ladder truck, hang out in the ambulance, and sit up in the front of the fire truck.

He couldn't stop smiling the whole time we were there. He just soaked it all up!

Twins!

Ok, they are not exactly twins, but I ran across this pic of Tripp from when he was 5 months old and the similarities between the two is pretty amazing! And as a side note, a good friend who used to share my similar dislike of all things very girly, told me that once I had a girl, my feelings would change. And I have to admit, they are starting to. When I put Lily in this outfit this morning, complete with pink, flowers and ruffles, I kinda liked it. But only a little bit. :) I will make sure she gets into a Cardinals onesie later on to make up for the girliness!!!

Rain, rain, go away!

Well, today was supposed to be Tripp's first big race but due to some not so cooperative weather, he will have to wait for another time to start his running career (my dad is probably happy because he wasn't going to be able to see him run today so hopefully he will be there now for Tripp's first race). We still had a great time yesterday going to get Tripp's race number and check out the race expo.

And of course he is happy about his new t-shirt. All was not lost!

Happy Easter

My in-laws are pretty great. Probably the best out there. They did a great job raising their kids and providing them with a wonderful childhood. Except for one area that I might have to disagree on with them - the Easter basket. I have to be honest- I remember feeling a bit disappointed when I learned that Nelson grew up without getting an Easter basket. But after a few days of contemplating whether this was a deal breaker, I figured that it wasn't, but that he had better agree to have Easter baskets for our kids! So this year is Tripp's first year of an Easter basket. I guess last year I didn't have my act together (and I am pretty sure I was in the midst of pregnancy sickness so that was a pretty good excuse). I would not go so far as to say I have my act any more together this year, but I would say that I was determined to make sure he had an Easter basket. We just finished putting it together, and I can't wait for him to wake up and see it at his spot tomorrow morning!!

Another Tripp-ism

Tripp enjoys surprising us with random, but very grown up things to say. Yesterday we were driving and we were talking about something that strange/had gone awry (I can't remember exactly what it was) to which he responded: "That's unusual I'd say!"
Wow, 3 going on 30.

Houston, we have a problem

Ok, not a "real" problem like as in a medical emergency and now you should dial 911 type of problem, but a problem in that when I put Lily down, she is not always in the same spot as where I left her. I am pretty sure she gets there by rolling, but yesterday, Nelson and I both noticed (much to our dismay I should add) that she can get up on her knees while doing "tummy time." (As a very random note, Tripp has also added the phrase "back time" to our vocabulary for the times when Lily is on her back. I guess he did not want the back to feel so left out). Anyway- she was on them so much, I noticed they were red when I finally picked her up. She also moves her legs in the crawling motion while on her tummy, she just thankfully has not realized she could push off with them if she wanted to. This is totally new territory for us as we enjoyed 9+ blissful months of Tripp not being able to move. Then one day I made the mistake of teaching him to crawl. Now with #2, she is already way more progressed then I would like her to be. This is definitely problematic. Maybe she will un-learn it as quickly as she learned it. Then re-learn it somewhere down the road, closer to when her big brother thought it was more appropriate to crawl. Otherwise, Tripp is going to have a rude awakening of all his toys with little pieces are going to have to be put away in a special spot where Lily can not get them (and if any of you guys have any suggestions to this matter, I would greatly appreciate them). So here's to hoping that maybe it was some kind of April Fool's joke and we can enjoy some more crawling-free months ahead!!

Refined Sugar

I know a lot of people don't let their kids have refined sugar. Me, on the other hand, well I don't like my kid (plural eventually) to have lots of it but some days are just like that. I have a feeling it's like that for a lot of other people too. It started off with our weekly trip to the donut shoppe yesterday morning where Tripp picked out the biggest, chocoloatelyest (probably not a word) donut there. It was a German chocolate cake one with coconut chocolate icing. And probably the size of his head. Well, he ate the whole thing. Then asked for another one. Feeling a tiny bit guilty at this point, I at least made him eat some of his eggs to try to balance out all the simple sugars he just ingested. And then let him have only half of another one. This one was an iced, jelly filled donut. At least it had jelly in it, that counts as a fruit right? So that was our solid start to the day. and we decided to finish it off with a visit to St. Louis's finest frozen custard spot- the Custard Station. I was a tiny bit nervous that it was a mean April Fool's joke and it wasn't really open, but thankfully that was not true. We all enjoyed some delicious custard (let's just forget the fact that I gave up sweets for Lent and remember that I do have a philosophy that rules are meant to be broken). It, of course, was so good and enjoyed by all. Tripp enjoyed another round of refined sugar for the day (and as a side note, I am pretty sure his behavior was better than it is most days. So moral of the story- while sugar may make some kids hyper, apparently it makes my kid more well behaved. So maybe we should eat it more often)!