Zoe pictures

our sweet little bundle
our little pink Joshua
she looks just like him! especially when she's sleeping
her cheeks are a little bigger, she has more (and spikey) hair, and she has dark dark blue eyes (for now)

Zoe's first bath
having sweet dreams. she smiles in her sleep whenever we talk to her.
she has a little 'tail' at the bottom of her hairline... and 2 little cowlicks that make her hair into a little faux-hawk on top. It's too cute!
see her spikey little hairdo?
Joshua loves giving her kisses. When we ask him if he wants mommy or daddy to help him give Zoe a kiss, he runs right over every time.
Zoe went to take a nap and Joshua wanted to see what this chair was all about. He looked like it was all new to him, I guess he has no idea how many hours he spent in it!!!
more kisses for sister
cute little profile
our pillsbury doughgirl. You'd never know from her cheeks, but the rest of her looks like a little chicken! The only thing that fills out her preemie & newborn outfits are her feet!

Zoe Kate Tripp

Here are some pictures of our sweet new little girl! Zoe Kate Tripp was born at 3:56pm on Tuesday July 22nd. She was 7 lbs 11 oz and 19.5 inches long. We got home from the hospital today (she did some time in the tanning bed for jaundice) and all 4 of us are doing great!






Look at her hair! I wonder where she gets it?!

all ready to go home!

things I have to take pictures of...

***7/22/10 - this is the day that Zoe ended up being born! I didn't know that I was in labor throughout the morning, until about noon when it got pretty uncomfortable. The real labor started after my water broke at 1:30pm while Craig was on his way home from work, and Zoe was born at 3:54pm, 14 minutes after we got to the hospital... and only because it took us that long to get into a room or she would have been here sooner! I always loved hearing my birthday story on my birthday every year, and I hope that Zoe will enjoy looking back at what went on the day she was born!***

in order to blog about them, of course!

-Joshua (that's a given)

Here he is! It's a hard day at the office for our little CEO. He likes to telecommute so he can work in his diaper. The market must be down, I heard him saying "buy buy buy" into the phone... or was it "bye bye bye"??

I was taking a picture of my belly in the mirror and Joshua wanted to give his little sister a kiss. How sweet :)



-our old table (not that there's a new one yet, but this will at least give you a sense of my desperation for there to be a new one), and some contenders for 'new table'


-our new (to us) used deck furniture


-my sunflower (well, really, it's God's sunflower because I'm still not sure how it survived under my care!) which, as Craig informed me last night, has bloomed! I don't know if you can see it, it's right in the middle of the photo. I didn't want to put my shoes on and walk out there.


-my plants that are beginning to bear fruit - I'm still not sure what I planted or, again, how it survived

-a plant about which I'm still trying to decide if it's a weed

-my first window mistreatment a la The Nester (and I need to figure out how to link to her blog so others can become as addicted as I am). OK, I tried to insert a link, but it didn't work... so I added "The Nesting Place" to my link list below.


-my big fat swollen feet! I may not put those photos on the blog, but I just want to have them as a reminder, you know, for the next time we're thinking we might want another baby. I keep telling Craig that my toes look like fat little vienna sausages, and yesterday a friend told me that her husband used to compare her feet to Frodo's (you know, from Lord of the Rings), with less hair of course. Mine also fit that description.

Help! Has anyone seen my ankle??


So, I guess that's on my to do list. We'll see if/when it happens

Here are some bonus photos:
burpcloths I made for Zoe... on top of my pile of stuff packed for the hospital

big butterfly next to our deck - I love our butterfly bush there, we see hummingbirds, butterflies, tons of bumblebees (Joshua loves them) and freaky looking hummingbees (which we googled and found are actually called hummingbird moths) all the time

we finally have a nice place to put one of the 2 pretty rugs I got in Afghanistan. I was just walking aroung taking random pictures to keep my mind off the annoying contractions I'm having that are enough to be painful but not enough to be labor. grrr.

here's what happened a few minutes after I was outside the first time. I forgot to bring the cushions in, I guess we'll find out how they hold up. Joshua didn't really like the thunder & lightning too much. I tried to convince him it was like fireworks - but he's no dummy :)

Zoe's room & FULL closet!


Joshua's room... his was feeling left out, and I don't think I've put any pictures of his room on here since we've moved

Lemmie at it!

Oh to be pregnant and have nothing better to do than videotape your baby trying to kick the pint of ice cream, from which you're eating, off your huge belly. (Unfortunately, we didn't capture the most noticeable movements, she really almost kicked it off) She started kicking as soon as I started eating it - I think she wanted some! I promise, I didn't eat the whole thing in one sitting.

poo on the potty, still no baby

well, there is a baby, she's just still in my belly. Only 6 more days until my due date but I'm guessing little miss Zoe won't arrive until August. If she comes just a little late, she could share a birthday with my Grandma on the 30th, or my dad on the 31st (which would be fun, since Joshua shares a birthday with Craig's dad). Only the Lord knows what this week will bring, so we'll just wait for Zoe's birth with joyful anticipation! Joshua talks about Zoe all the time. He loves to point out which toys/swings/diapers/room/bassinet are hers, and any pink clothes are also "oe, oe."

We had yet another busy weekend. Craig cleaned the garage (I love him sooooo much!), I got some goodies at a yardsale a couple doors down, we shopped unsuccessfully for a dining room set, we shopped successfully for patio furniture (the resin wicker kind, not the kind at which you eat), watched a movie, C&J played outside while I did a little weeding/gardening, we went to church, made the obligatory weekend trip to walmart, made some chesscake (mmmm), ate some chesscake, went to a 1 yr bday party, hung some new towel racks, etc etc etc... Here are some pictures of Joshua dressed to play outside (he requested "gecko" for his shorts & then brought me his boots to help him put them on)



so, about that poo on the potty... Joshua has been warming up to his Bob the Builder potty seat, scoots around the bathroom on his little baby bjorn potty, and often tells us when he does his thing (1 or 2) and requests a change. He usually goes pee in the bathtub when we give him the opportunity and tonight, while in the tub, Craig noticed him looking around perplexedly (some tentative squatting involved)for a place to do #2. Craig got him on the potty in time and Joshua happily did his thing! I came in to join the celebration, clap, wipe, flush, wave bye bye, clap some more (and of course photograph the joyous occasion). So, without further ado, here's proof!

Flush!

Wave bye bye!

tomatoes and basil !!

Apparently Better Homes and Gardens in not unfamiliar with my predicament! Too much basil, too many tomatoes, too little time. When started up the computer this morning, here's what was waiting for me on the AT&T website. Thanks, Better Homes!

Fresh Tomato Pizza with Pesto

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
3 medium ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 2-1/4-ounce can sliced pitted ripe olives, drained (scant 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup purchased pesto or Homemade Pesto
Freshly ground pepper
1 16-ounce prebaked Italian bread shell

Steps:
1. Spread pesto evenly over bread shell. Place on large pizza pan or baking dish. Arrange tomato slices on top. Season with pepper. Sprinkle with olives and Monterey Jack or mozzarella cheese. Bake in a 425 degree F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese melts and tomatoes are warm. Cut into wedges. Makes 8 servings.

2. Pizza Crust Tip: If a prebaked Italian bread shell is unavailable for pizza making, you can use a 10-ounce package of refrigerated pizza dough instead. Simply unroll the dough onto a greased 12-inch pizza pan, building up the edges slightly. Bake in a 425 degree F. oven for 8 minutes. If necessary, cover the edges of the dough with foil to prevent over browning. Proceed as directed in the recipes for Fresh Tomato Pizza with Pesto.

Can't wait to try this one! Yummy!

everybody loves tomatoes (and Elmo)!

Once again I was awake at 4:20am, which made for a very long morning!
I got Joshua up at 9 and we commenced to play outside, inside, etc. I thought naptime would never come. It was just a looooooong morning. Fortunately, I put him to bed around 1:30 and went in to get him up after 6pm, just as Craig got home.

Until this morning, I had no idea that Joshua knows who Elmo is! Why would he know who Elmo is, we don't have TV or any Elmo videos or books. We did have an Elmo sprinkler that I recently returned due to Joshua's lack of interest in going anywhere near it. When we first got it, Joshua and I were coloring, and I drew my rendition of Elmo. My picture was in a drawer until yesterday when we colored some more - it was so bad that Craig thought it was Bob the Tomato from Veggie Tales. Last night after we were done coloring, I threw my color-me-Elmo out. This morning, Joshua saw him in the trash and wanted him back. So, my Elmo Picasso sat on the kitchen floor while I worked in the kitchen & Joshua played. Next thing I know, Joshua's sitting next to Elmo on the floor saying "Emo" (to no one in particular). I'm always amazed by his little memory and how smart he is! I'll have to check out his Sunday school room to see if there are any Elmos in there.

Anyway, I went out to check on all my veggies after dinner and my first tomato was ready!! I brought it in, took an unusual number of photographs for one little tomato, and then shared it with Joshua (I think he thought it was a strawberry, but once he got it in his mouth he liked it anyway). I didn't offer Craig any because he doesn't like tomatoes, but he claims that even he was going to try some of my very first tomato. Woah. He must really love me :)

This one was a cherry tomato. I have a cherry tomato plant, a roma tomato plant, and one with the big tomatoes on it. There are lots of green ones out there so I'm excited to have an abundance of fresh tomatoes very soon. The basil is also doing great, I need to start giving it away, make lots of pesto, or figure out how to store it! Tomato sauce??!

wrestling with Daddy

Here's a typical evening wrestling session for Craig and Joshua. You won't catch me and my big belly rolling around on the floor with him - not this much anyway! Before this, they were playing dodgeball. boys. You can also get a good view of our living rm / playroom area on the video. Here's what they were saying...
Daddy: "don't headbutt me"
Joshua: "mower, mower"
Daddy: "that's a plane"
Joshua: "Dat?"
Daddy: "No, Daddy's not flying"


Here's Joshua vaccuuming last Thursday, I forgot to post this one. He pushed the vaccuum all over the living room & kichen.

We played outside in the yard/pool/sandbox for a couple hours today. My friend and her twins came over to play too - they all had fun & Joshua got to practice sharing his toys! Here's Joshua throwing a little ball around the yard

Up on the deck, he climbed into the chair to sit next to me. Guess I looked comfy :)

Here's Joshua sitting next to our new kitchen table, eating his yogurt. The chairs were due to arrive on Thursday. Unfortunately, Craig thinks the table is too big so I guess it's going back and I get to start looking for another table. Hip hip hooray.

Lastly, here's a pair of bloomers that Zoe got from Masie & Presley today. They're too cute for words!!! Thank you girls!


Oh, and one thing I didn't get a picture of - I'm sure many of you mommies have had this moment - yesterday morning when I walked in to get Joshua up he was wearing only a diaper. For all the funny firsts that Craig has missed, I was glad he was here to share the moment. We knew he could get his pants off but I guess he was covertly working on his stripping skills and figured out how to get his shirt off. Fortunately, he didn't try to get his diaper off, and there was no leakage in the crib. At naptime, he took his shorts off as soon as I put him in the crib. I tried again but he took them right off. So, I put them on his teddy bear. Neither of them had any shorts on after naptime :)

done painting! yay!!

The finished breakfast nook (I keep saying I'm just going to call it the dining room, since the dining room is really a playroom now)

You can kind of see the "strie" faux finish. It's subtle b/c the top and bottom colors were very similar, but enough to look nice. Craig & I like it lots, and it was easier than I thought to do. I might do it in Joshua's room if we paint in there.

Here's a picture of the breakfast nook, hallway (that's Joshua's closed door, he's napping) and kitchen

I'm done painting for a while though. I just had to get rid of some of that pea soup green (or as the paint store calls it, "antique pine")