Update 2010

Wow! It has been a while. Sorry. I just have so much going on.So, here is a brief update:
Big Daddy Tripp: Well, Tripp was deployed to Afghanistan in Mid February. He was in Indiana training from Jan 3rd until he left for the big A. He is doing okay so far. Weather isn't too extreme yet. He doesn't have great internet access, but can get email. I will post his email address and snail mail address with some of his pics soon. Says the mountains are beautiful. The girls miss him, but seem to surprisingly understand the importance of hi being gone. They don't ask or whine for him everyday like they would do when he woud be out of town for a few days. They run to the phone everytime it rings though!!
Ella: So stinking smart! Miss Tara has Ella reading books, doing addition (and carrying her 1's!!), subtraction and writing. Her spelling is awful, but she will write a long paragraph saying what she wants to say, spelled how she thinks it sounds. She is blowing through the Fancy Nancy books, so I broke down and bought her the Diary of a Wimpy Kid. She thinks it is hilarious. She let me get her hair cut short again. Loves to wear dresses and loves her best bud, Riley. She is very excited about starting school in the fall. I am so blessed that she can help me. She is very good about running up and down the stairs for things and will even help Sophia on the potty. Now when Sophia needs her backside wiped, she hollars for Ella! What else could a Mom ask for?
Sophia (Soda Pop): So beautiful. She loves loves loves her big sister and wants to go everywhere with her This includes going to Riley's house. Ella is starting to get annoyed with this. She will finally go to the potty alone, but still needs help wiping sometimes. Still needs a stool to get on and off. She is a small clone of Ella, just blonde! She loves to color and sing and is good at learning lyrics, like Ella. She now wants to stand on a stool and help me cook. She wants to set the table and is bad at it, just like Ella was! She likes to change clothes during the day. She is still scared of our dogs.She is going through the monster stage.
Me: Just trying to get by right now. DOn't expect hand written cards, remembering random birthdays or holidays. Not doing much baking. I did buy an elliptical machine so I could excercise while Tripp was gone. Going to see Kings again with Heather and Melissa in September. Can't wait for the next album. Haven't read a book for enjoyment since the Twilight books in August. Passed my boards!
I will post some pics soon, I promise!

San Diego

I am in love....seriously. Tripp and I went to San Diego for a conference at the end of Oct. It is the greatest city! We were right on the bay, within walking distance of the conference center. Our good friends , and co-fellow, Jennifer and Hal were with us. Tripp and Hal lung out while we were in conferences. We went on a dinner cruise, day trip to Coronado, trip to Old Towne, Trolley tour. We road all forms of public transportation very safely. Although we weren; sure we were getting on the right train when we were leaving Old Town. We bought tickets. but no one ever asked for them. Very weird. We didn't get to go to Balboa park or museums, which we must do. We wait too long to be tourist. Oh and the GasLamp area was awesome. So many restaurants, so little time. It is expensive. I think they do that because the whole world would want to live there otherwise!

The House

OK, so I have been a little slack. Tripp has been gone all week, every week, then plays catch up n the weekends. I had my boards to prepare for in Oct. We moved in Aug. Now I am trying to balance catching up on papers I am supposed to write and decorating this house. We JUST got furniture for our bedroom. We bought and PAID fully for it on August 15 and got it Oct20. Do not recommend Lazyboy furniture. Won't buy another thing there. Ashley furn was great. We have kitchen table and stools, master and guest bedroom, old nursery stuff, bonus room stuff and furniture for the front livingroom. We have zilch in the florida room, office or dining room. The girls wante o share a room, sowe have their twi beds, but we havent' "decorated the room at all. We got their bedspreads about 2 months after we moved in.I really only have these two pics to share. More once we are furnished. We bought a 52 in LCD tv that is over the fireplace.....with all the wires and cables hanging down. Another project.

We're Back!

Can't believe how long it has been since my last post. For those of you who didn't know, we moved on July 5th. We have been covered up in boxes! We have some furniture and some is on the way. The girl's room is a mess. Tripp and I are sleeping in the future guest room ( I am insisting on a King size bed). We have had several guests and its really embarassing how bad the place looks.
Update on Ella: She is really growing up and can be very helpful. She scales the steps quickly and pretty safely and helps with keeping up with Soda in the house. It is almost 3x the size of our tiny, tiny house. She loves that we live on a cul-de-sac and always wants to play with the neighbors. She recently took off her "swimmies" at a friend's pool party and now dives down into the shallow end and retrieves toys. Brave girl.
Update on Soda Pop: She is a mess. She is so sassy one minute and sweet as pie the next. If you say something she doesn't like she screws up her face and talks in a really ugly tone of voice back. She still occasionally pinches Ella, but has stopped biting. She is still scared of the dogs. She has become very good on the stairs. She will swim in the pool without us holding her. She is less shy, except around men. She won't talk or look at them at first, then wont leave them alone 5 minutes later. She is wearing panties 24/7, but has had a few accidents. Especially when her Daddy gets lazy and didn't make her go potty before bed. She sits in grown-up chairs and fusses about riding in the cart. She is always covered in ant bites and mosquito bites. She tries to be everyone's Mommy.
Update on Big Daddy: Tripp is being deployed in jan to Afghanistan. He will start training in GA on Oct 1. He is super busy trying to get the business ready for his accountant, Bob Avery to take over while he is gone. He has too many other responsibilities and can't say no. He also recently lost an Uncle and was a pallbearer in the funeral.
Update on me: Not much is new. I did finish my fellowship in June. I am an attending physician at USC Pulm, Richland and go to Kershaw Med Ctr occasonially. So far, so good. I have to take my pulmonary boards in Oct and I am very nervous about that. I went to a board review in sunny AZ and the temp was over 110 3 days in a row. Yuck. And they don't have sweet tea- disaster. And all my flights were delayed and I almost missed my connection back to Cola. I was running and wheezing all over ATL airport. Just like on TV.
We will take some pics of the house soon and post them. And some of the girls. They look the same....Ella is my mini-me and Sophia looks like someone else's child....

Beach Fun

We have been soaking up the sun at the beach recently. The girls and I were in Charleston for my "pre- real job vacation" in June while Big Daddy worked. We went to the beach a few days, the pool a few days and spent a lot of time with one of my closest friends from college. Kristin has a little boy, Will, who is Sophia's age. They had a great time. This is the first year, since 2005, that I actually have a tan. This past weekend we were in Chas again to see my grandfather, aunt and uncle from PA. The girls were so cute. They just surrounded my grandfather, "GG Pa" and played in the sand with him. They stayed an extra day and Supernanny picked them up. Tripp is at his two week AT training in GA, so its just us! Last night we had dinner and playtime with one of our close friends (and prev co-fellow), Jennifer and Hal. They have 3 boys (5-4-1) and the girls just love them. Pool party today at my bosses house. At some point we should probably pack. WE'RE MOVIN! Yes, we are headed to Lexington. It isn't the location I wanted, but its the house I wanted and the school district we needed. Pics soon. We are hoping to close on the 5 th of August.
Update on the girls. Sophia is talky, talky, talky now. She is really funny and a little less clumsy. She is rebelling against all dinner. I have decided I am only cooking one meal- they can eat it or not. She is thinning out and looks so cute with her tan lines. She is obsessed with saying " shiny hiney" right now. She told a total stranger at the beach shower not to look at her "shiney hiney". The lady just laughed. Ella is trying to learn to read, but she really is just trying to guess the words based on the pics. We are working on it a little when we can. Supernanny is working on some during the day. She jumps off the diving board with her swimmies and loves to swim. She is obsessed with showing off her shoulders and back in her clothes. THAT is a problem. Not sure where she saw or heard that. Certainly not from us. I asked her why- she said because they are beautiful....

Where Ya Been?

We haven't fallen off the Earth! We have been very busy trying to buy a new house, celebrate birthdays, giving up binkies and such. While I write this I have a screaming 2 year old who has not slept well since the binkies retired to the land of the binkie fairies. The binkie fairy brought her presents and she has not even asked for it in the last 2 weeks. But...my baby that use to go to sleep without any problems is very demanding at bedtime these days. She is also a little sassier since turning 2, but nothing compared to where Ella was at this age. She has learned to like the pool and even the ocean waves. She has quite a little tan.
Ella has been busy at vacation bible school and being very, very difficult. Our new issues are: not wanting to wear anything BUT dresses, refusing to wear her hair pulled back or sporting a bow. She also hates her white dress sandals and has learned to make a fist at any adult that suggests something she doesn't like. She is still very good to Sophia and can be extremely helpful. She had a great time at the splash park in Myrtle Beach near our hotel. She had a total mental breakdown the Sunday we came back from vacation. Tripp actually pulled the car over and spanked her and she went to bed without a bath or book.
Tripp is busy at work and with drill. I am in the home stretch... I am officially finished with my fellowship on Friday and head to vacation until I start as a real attending on July1. Scared to death.... We have found a house that we love and are under contract currently. Can't wait to leave this tiny house and spread out some. We didn't want to live in Lex, but sometimes you have to go where the house is.
Sophia is screaming and sweating and I have let it go on for at least 18 min- I need to go. I will post birthday party pics and others soon!!

Birthday News

Well, as most of you know, Ms. Ella turned 4 on April 20th. She didn't have an official party, because we all decided she and Sophia would have a shared party. Sophia will turn 2 on May 24th! Both girls are into dolls and fairies and princess stuff, so we thought it would be best to have a fairy princess come to their party! They are both excited and we can finally share the details. I have not sent out the invites yet, but I will. Anyone who knows us enough to be reading this is certainly welcome. Just please RSVP so that we can determine how much food to bring. Sarah Dippity is famous here in Columbia for her art, magic shows and elaborate face painting! Check out her website! FYI- Boys will love this party as well!

Double click on the directions and the invite to read it more clearly!