Walking

Last Friday, Tripp made a huge milestone...  He started WALKING!!!  Rob and I are still so excited and love see him move around like a small Frankenstein.  Up to that point, Tripp had only taken a maximum of four consecutive steps (without holding onto anything), but it was never consistent.  Although he had only taken steps without holding on a few times, he had been running behind his walker and cruising on furniture for months.  We were so happy to see that he was finally confident enough to let go.  His walking skills are improving daily even though he still does a mixture of walking and crawling.  Crawling is the preferred mode of transportation if he wants to get somewhere quickly.  I made sure to get a video of him in action and will post that soon.

One Fish, Two Fish...

This morning, Tripp and I went to the Georgia Aquarium with my friend Amanda and her son Hampton.  Amanda was one of my college roommates and is also a very close friend.  I love that our boys are only a few months apart and will grow up together.  The boys had a good time looking at the fish and other sea creatures.  Here are a few pictures from our playdate.

"Mama, let me out so I can see the fish please."

"Look at the shark, Mama."

Hampton showing Tripp which sea animals are in the tank.

Cheesy Smiles

Oh, how I love this sweet boy.  His little smile always brightens up the day.  What a ham!

Future Quarterback?

Lobster

Lobster!  Just typing that word gets me really excited.  Why am I so excited you ask?  The answer is, Rob, Tripp, Mom, Claudia, and I are headed up to Maine in a few weeks to enjoy the fall foliage and to take in some of the wonderful things Portland and Bar Harbour have to offer.  Rob and I have been talking about planning a fall vacation for awhile now so I finally bit the bullet and booked our flights.  Rob's 32nd birthday was this past weekend and I thought this would be the perfect surprise.  I was right.  Rob was absolutely thrilled.  We can't wait to walk around the quaint towns, shop, eat delicious seafood, hike Acadia National Park, go sea kayaking, and take in a lighthouse or two.  Originally, Rob and I had planned to go by ourselves, but decided it would be really fun to take our Moms along.  Even though our little guy won't remember much of the vacation when he's older, Rob and I have decided to bring Tripp with us since we are making it a family affair.  Honestly, neither of us are quite ready to be away from him for that many days.  Plus, one of the things I'm most excited about is all of the wonderful photo opportunities we are going to have.  As Tripp grows, I want him to have a lot so he is able to reflect on all the places God created that he has been blessed enough to visit.  What wonderful memories we are going to make! 

The Savannah half-marathon

Running has always been a passion of mine.  I've done 6 half-marathons over the past few years and hope to continue running and doing races for as long as my body will allow.  Knock on wood, but I've stayed pretty much injury free for the most part.  Not to say that I haven't experienced any aches and pains, but I'm usually good about listenening to my body so I don't overdo it.  When I was pregnant with Tripp, I had a problem with gestational thrombocytopenia or low platelets and had to stop running completely after 16 weeks or so.  The platelet issue resolved after Tripp's birth, but I have yet to complete another endurance race.  I work part-time as a NICU nurse so I run on the 5 days a week that I'm off.  It's been incredibly hot lately, but I love running outside anyway.  I put Tripp in the jogger and together we go up and down the hills around our neighborhood.  Tripp may not like riding in his carseat, but he absolutely loves being in the jogging stroller.  He sits back drinking water and barely makes a peep the entire time we're out.  I love it even more when Rob is home and can go with us.  Rob may not have the same passion for running as I do, but he does enjoy it and feels like it's a great way to stay in shape.  This year, the Rock 'n Roll series is doing a race in Savannah for the first time.  The race is the first weekend in November and Rob and I are signed up.  Of course, I always want to improve my PR, but for now I'm just excited to be back to running frequently and to be registered for my first post-baby race.  Well, endurance race that is.  I've done a few 5Ks, but a half is an entirely different story.  My goal is to finish in 2 hours, but it wouldn't hurt if I could beat my PR of 1:58:39.  That was my finish time from the Georgia half-marathon in 2009.  My last long race.  Maybe posting that time will help me train a little harder and run a little faster.  I won't be pushing a stroller during the race so who knows, maybe all that hardwork pushing Tripp up and down hills will pay off on raceday.  We shall see.  For now, happy training to us and to those who will be at the start line with us in November!

Hilton Head Island

The last weekend of July and into first week of August, Rob and I took Tripp to the beach for the first time.  We went to Hilton Head Island with our friends the Attridges and the Slides and had a blast.  I was curious to see if Tripp would like the ocean and sand since many children either seem to really love it or hate it.  No worries there, Tripp abolutely LOVED everything about the beach.  Before we left, I bought a $5 bucket of beach toys and he stayed occupied the entire time.  He had a great time digging in the sand, pointing at seagulls and crabs, and crawling straight into the ocean.  I think we may have a little beach bum on our hands.



Casey and Tobey watching Tripp eat sand.  A little sand never hurt anybody, right?!?



Tripp and Tobey

In the pool with Daddy

Daddy and Tripp looking at the big boats and wishing we owned one

My loves

Playing in the water with Daddy

A little playground outside of the Parrot Cove Restaurant

HHI has trails everywhere you go.  We rented bikes and rode around one afternoon.  Tripp had a blast on the back of the bike.  He was more interested in pointing at the cars passing by than taking a picture with me here.

Rob and Tripp in the ocean with the Slides

I couldn't seem to get a picture of him not squinting in the sun.

Tripp, Tobey, and Liliana

He saw a dog that looked like Layla and got really upset when she passed by without stopping to say hello.  He kept pointing at her until she was out of sight.

Crazy face